Great ambition, but the overflow of guests kill overall flow
346551
As an artist I totally respect Reed's decision in his career to create something so ambitious and full of various feeling. But really theres barely any vocal appearance of Reed on this album, and though Defoe, Anderson and Mr Pink do excellent dramatic readings i find myself wanting more out of Mr Reed's mouth. Plus the new version of "Perfect Day" took a full point off my review, there's no reason to stage a Poe-esque murder on your own creation, and I swore Tiny Tim passed away years ago-he seemingly posthumously appears here! overall an excellent idea, just that it leaves me a little empty...
4409719
The book contains enough to keep you involved however it moves at a snails pace and what is with the elaborate descriptions with the food?? Seriously?? There is so much padding in the book describing furnishings, food, drink, the landscape, etc. that it could be cut back by a quarter - i know that you need to describe the surrounding but, come on!!.
1137338
First of all, let me say that this concert was extraordinary--there's no denying that.  HOWEVER, the video and audio are NOT IN SYNC.  The music lags behind at least half a second, which is more than enough to be distracting, especially when Martin hits a drum or a cymbal.  It is especially distracting when you see Hiromi moving to the music (especially the fast solid beats).  It takes a lot of the enjoyment out watching it.  I just wish the engineers would have done a better job when putting all the media together.
1363586
This book is like being invited to a fancy banquet where you get to watch the table being set and can smell the food from the kitchen, but are promptly ushered out before anything is served.

This is half a book, specifically the first half. The entirety might in the end be something quite good, but I still feel a bit cheated. I get that publishers want an author's works to be of a certain size and come out with a certain frequency. However, I would have appreciated at least a short afterword from the author explaining why this is the way it is.
2100376
I wish I would have purchased the pent-up model instead of the Celeron.  There seems to be a lag at times in processing requests.  I am running an accounting package on this using SSHD's and maximum memory
1202080
The idea is great -- I love the shut-off lever, placed right where you need it, easy to operate, and leaving just enough of a trickle of water to move the cleaning process along without yet using the full stream for rinsing. Also, it is a full-stream aerator (2.2 GPM), and the movement between stream and spray is easy, Finally, it swivels widely enough to cover my whole sink. So far, so good (very good). However, one problem is a deal-breaker, and another is too inconvenient: (1) The aerated water stream against my stainless steel sink is very noisy -- unpleasantly so -- and so frothy that I need to fill up a glass of water in two stages, to wait for the froth to settle. (2) The swivel bottom fits so loose that it is easy to bump it out of position, especially any time I need to swing the faucet around. My three stars is the result of "I like it" and "I don't like it" -- but not really "it's OK". Too bad the very likable aspects weren't enough...
1994848
Oh, I wish I could rate it higher, because I love, love, LOVE this fountain. As others have noted, it has a great aesthetic, the paintjob is terrific, the sound is fantastic and the LED lights add so much. At night, they're other-worldly. HOWEVER, as others have also mentioned, it splashes. For me, not much -- very little, actually, but even a tiny bit is enough to ruin a tabletop in not much time. I did find a good solution, though. I went to the nursery and bought a nice 14" ceramic pot liner, set the fountain in it and filled it with small stones. It actually has a terrific look, but we, the consumers, shouldn't have to do that.
4128370
We purchased 4 of these to use for our off-grid house.  They were installed in July 2011.  We use solely harvested rainwater, with no other water supply, so both effective filtration and effective water collection are essential.

These units looked great and have a very clever design, which would be outstanding if it actually worked: there's a part in the lower tube which expands when exposed to water, with the idea that after a small amount of rain has fallen, it seals off and diverts the remainder of the rainfall to the cistern.  Unfortunately, we're consistently disappointed with the devices' ability to actually collect water.  High-flow situations generally occur before the expander has absorbed enough water to shunt any water to collection, so all of the water is lost rather than sent to the cistern, even though the roof should effectively be 'washed' within the first minute or two. Even more problematic, the expander doesn't work adequately for slow, steady rain, either: even with prolonged low-flow, there's enough of a gap even after expansion that practically all of the water is lost.

We had an entirely full cistern when the units were installed, and in our prior experience, about 3 months of typical rainfall is all it took to fill the cistern (which holds about 18 months of water).  After not quite 2 years with these filtration devices, however, our cistern is nearly empty due to inadequate collection. We're going to have to replace these units very soon or else truck in water.

Its one redeeming feature is that the leaf-screening portion of the device does work just as designed, and is one of the best large-debris removal systems we've tried.  When we rework our filtration this summer, we plan to keep that portion of the device, while removing the first-flush system which works so poorly.

This device might be adequate if you only need to collect a small amount of rainwater, but particularly given its price, it's not a system I would recommend to anyone.
2169549
This was a very fun read, however you could see the beginning of about five sequels in the making. Too many players and too many side actions.  I really liked the thread but too much B S about all the Action people.  A bit over the top on the government playing with the Mob.
682599
As a marketing guy I'm as interested in understanding the
affluent customer as you would expect.  After all, as Hemingway
said to Fitzgerald "They have more money".

Specifically they have lots of money to spend in ways average
consumers have a hard time getting their minds around.  This
isn't to say that every wealth person is an indiscriminate
spender.  In fact many of them got to where they are by
being cagey about money in the first place.

The new rich are largely self-made - they aren't heirs to
large fortunes... and while not all of them started out
dirt-poor, many of today's wealthy made their money quickly
in what is called a "liquidity event" - which can transform
a business or asset owner who is living an affluent but modest
livestyle into somebody who suddenly has so much cash they
are practically forced by social expectations to upgrade
their homes, wardrobes, cars, country-club memberships,
even spouses -  by default.

So you have these people who didn't grow up boating on big
yachts suddenly having so much money a yacht is one of
those things they are sort of expected to have.  After all,
other rich people hang-out on yachts so having one is sort
of an entrance-ticket to the new luxury society.  The boats
are growing in lavishness too - while yachting was sort
of adverture-oriented in the 1950s today's super-yachts
are have stabilizer motors so you don't feel the waves... and
in fact the bigger boats have their decks so high off the
water you couldn't even jump off for a swim without fear
of getting hurt by the height of the fall.  Paul Allen's
mammoth flagship (he owns three giant yachts, the 2 smaller
200-foot-plus crafts reserved for loaning to his guests)
is so vast it cannot berth with the other yachts in the
glamorous harbor, but instead must be parked next to
greasy tankers in the industrial part of the port.

Kind of ironic isn't it?

The book focuses on the lifestyles of the extremely wealthy -
a small portion of the affluent market.  If you want to
learn more about the mass-market affluents who shop at
Whole Foods and drive BMWs or higher-end SUVs, you'll
have to look elsewhere.

"Richistan" is a breezy read but it's only describes a
small portion of the significant pie of affluent consumers -
so while it's worth reading if you're in marketing or sales
or interested in social criticism, it's perspective is warped
by the focus on a small group of extremely rich people who
are either public figures or agreed to be interviewed.
3279283
This book is exceptionally well organized so readers can find what they need. Given the book's apparent simplicity, readers may question paying the suggested retail price of $17.95 for obvious ideas. However, the value of author Brian Cole Miller's writing is that he presents these ideas as if you were thinking them up yourself (but you didn't).
The book's sections discuss grouping the people; breaking the ice; and organizing the activities for small, large, and huge groups. A few of the grouping ideas are repetitive. For example, Miller has several different ideas for groups of two, three, or more people, but for each he suggests to start with a count-off to break into groups. It would have been more valuable if he had given several alternatives, and I found this and other repetitive examples boring. Nevertheless, they are a small part of the book.
I would not call these activities "quick," as the book's title extols. Most activities take about 20 minutes - too long for short meetings. Such activities are only appropriate for half-day or longer meetings when individuals do not know one another, groups are brought together for the first time, or they are part of team-building exercises. A more accurate albeit less catchy title for the book might be: Twenty-Minute Activities for Groups of People Who Need to Be Introduced to One Another.
3358015
This game gets annoying fast.

It has so much potential. Problem is, it's way too much micro managing. Not only are you trying to keep

all your resources coming in, you are trying to get all of you crew to like each other. I lasted a week on this game. I thought

the building of the space port was cool. Personally i thought this was going to be like Sim City. It' not. It's very

annoying. The sound effects alone get on your nerves real quick.

I had a big port, and lots of nice equipment and hotel. This gave me so much money I could train all my people

to be super efficient, and create lots of fast robots to work. I STILL didn't have enough time to get my people to like one another.

Rent this game. If you last more then a few days, buy it. If you DO buy it, save the receipt.
2858412
Loved some of the performances but the master of ceremonies and his two so-called comedians take up way too much time in this video.  Amos Milburn does a great number and Duke Ellington is classy.  There are several other musical highlights.  Keep the remote handy to fast forward past the comedy routines!
2892325
Im glad I listened to this one on audio, as the narrator did a good job with the story he had to work with and managed to keep the characters personalities separated and everything flowing. Unfortunately, I think I may have given up had I been reading because there was just way too much going on. I even zoned out a few times during some of the action scenes and am not sure I missed a whole lot. Too bad too, because the premise should have been pretty fun or at least gorily entertaining, but ultimately tries too hard to be summer blockbustery, which killed it for me.
2642529
The book started out great, and remained so for over 2/3rds: the story of Henry Whittaker and his rise to riches was fun to read. With Alma Whittaker's birth (Henry's daughter), Gilbert really takes off into a fine entertainment. Alma's development from precocious child to young scientist, to awkward womanhood, to late bride, to traveler, and finally to genuine scientist, is wonderfully recounted.

But...the major mis-step for me came with the appearance of Tomorrow Morning. From the moment he enters the scene to the wacky embarrassing mystical exchange on the mountain, I felt that Gilbert was throwing away a solid story and resorting to some kind chick-lit sexual/spiritual mumbo-jumbo.

When that portion of the novel is over and we rejoin Alma in the Netherlands, the book becomes fun again, and very much worth reading. But I suspect many readers consider the Tahiti section a high point in the book, a place where "truths" are uncovered and satisfaction attained. To me, that's scary.
3689395
This is a great story line about the disasters that can happen when planning a wedding. I can see a few of the things happening, but wow does it get a little unrealistic and excessive. I guess it doesn't help when your not rooting for any of the characters, the bride is completely full of herself and ignores the groom. The groom ignores the bride, cheats..., and all kinds of other fun characteristics. Then you have the friends, who encourage their relationship falling apart, or the shady aspects of them. Over all a Money Pit type scenario would have been hysterical. But it was just too much for me.
248103
Looks great, conceptually a great idea, but uses way too much water for this family.  Our hot water doesn't last through two showers with this unit and we've never had an issue with hot water.  Sunk costs, but we are going to have to replace it with a WaterSense labeled shower head. Our water usage has increased and that is an unnecessary expense I'd rather not pay.  I also miss the massage features of our old Waterpik, while the Ana Bath combo has many settings there really isn't one that compares to a shower massage.