Would have been 5 stars, but...
355729
I read the second epilogue and think it was gross on several levels. I like sweet endings. It's almost like the 2nd epilogue was written by someone else, because the first was professing love, the second stupid and disgusting.
4513088
I thought this was an excellent book until I reached the ending. I thought the story just dropped off for no discernible reason, and I didn't feel like the historical notes section served the story well either. So, I'd like to give this five stars but can't. Otherwise, the writing was well done, lots of great characterization, plot development (until the end), and back story woven in nicely, and even some signs of hope in the narrative, but all in all this fell short for me.
4905662
I would've given this product 5 stars if I didn't have to send it back for a missing part.

Solid construction and does everything I want.
4919238
I really wanted to like this camera 100%, but one major flaw was a deal-breaker for me.  The camera appears very well made and feels solid.  It doesn't have that cheesy-looking ring of LEDs around the lens for night vision, but they are hidden behind the faceplate.  It's probably one of the best looking cameras on the market.  The image quality is ok, but certainly not close to my 720p TV set, although I suspect that is a function of the lens quality.  The sound is actually pretty good in both directions, and the video and audio lag is minimal (1 to 2 seconds when viewing live on a PC, a little longer using the iPhone and iPad apps).  The motion detection worked very well for me, and the ability to set 3 independent, irregularly shaped detection areas was very nice.  The playback on the saved clips indicates which of the 3 areas triggered the recording.  The length of each clip is determined by the length of the motion.  Maybe there is an upper limit (like the 5-minutes for a forced recording), but my experience has been with shorter clips, like 1 or 2 minutes, and the recording usually ends a second or two after the motion stops.  Sometimes it looks like there is a 2 or 3 second "buffer" built into the system, because many of my clips actually start before any motion was detected, so you can see the very start of the motion; not sure why it doesn't do that every time.
Unfortunately, there is one major flaw which is a significant problem for me. I was led to believe by the product description and some of the other reviews that e-mails or texts could be used to provide notification of motion detection, but in fact Alerts are the only type of notification you can receive (this was confirmed by their Customer Service, was was always very pleasant and easy to contact).  The REAL problem is that the Alert will only go through if your phone is logged into the app, and when you're logged in you're using data.  I measured about 16 MB of data use after being logged in for only about 1/2 hour!  The free cloud storage is nice, but my data cost would be through the roof if I left my phone logged in all day while I'm at work. So that sort of defeats the purpose of having a security camera, in my mind.
Maybe a future software update will resolve this problem, but I plan on sending mine back.  Too bad, I really liked the camera.
3937436
This could have been amazing. the one we got was muted, pixelated, and lacked the depth that appears in the photos here. From far back though, it looks great. nicely numbered panels, okay quality paper. careful not to bend it, the image will show any little scratch and crease. we had to trim off about 4 inches from the top & maybe 6 from the bottom. We have a 115 year old house with no straight lines or plumb lines, so we had to wing it a bit. This was my first attempt at wallpapering, & my husband & I managed it-from trimming to final wipe-down in about 2.5 hours. Seams are okay, and air bubbles seem to be drying flat. I would have liked to see more of the green color, but the brown, yellow & gray tones are still nice. The pixelly appearance actually helped disguise slightly misaligned seams, so that was alright.
3214504
I would have loved to give this case 5 stars, but without the ability to use a majority if headphones and chargers with it, I cannot give it the five stars I had hoped to give.
1305841
I really liked these books. The characters are well-developed and the story lines are riveting. I had to hold back one star because of what I believe is a serious continuity problem. In the earlier stories, Jack retired because of a drug deal that killed everyone in his SWAT team but Jack, who was seriously injured. The main theme of the third book is based on Jack's last SWAT op being a bank heist in which he was injured but his team survived. Maybe there is an explanation, or maybe I'm missing something. It wouldn't be a big deal if this weren't a series. It seems to me that the author should have been more careful about the series story line.  Regardless, this is a great series, and I am looking forward to the next book.
4004769
I would love to give this 5 stars, but here's just a few things.

* picture "bloom" - on black screens, you do see a cloud-like image of fog.  This really doesn't bother me at all, but I see it, and it's something that a TV manufacturer just shouldn't allow to happen out of the plant....

* remote/tuner/speakers - why oh why does a tv still come with a remote control, a tuner built-in, and speakers built-in?  I'd love to have the options to just buy the tv only.  I already have a universal remote (plus this tv will let your android/iphone work as a great remote), I already have external sound, I already have a satellite box (but soon I'll be ditching satellite and cable tv entirely, as well as physical media like blue-ray or dvds - soooo 2000s).

* built-in apps - AWESOME - just need to have more of them, namely one for each network television station and hulu.... the vudu app is great - the picture quality insanely beautiful.

* thin - wonderfully thin, gotta love it

* Soap Opera Effect - yes, the 240hz and pictureview and whatever other settings are out there to sharpen the image work, and work too well... just turn these options off under your "movie 1" settings and you'll always be happy, because this gets rid of the effect.

* SHINY - my LEAST favorite part of this TV - why oh why do all TVs have to be shiny?  here's my suggestion: ship the tv's with an "anti-glare" sticker on the entire screen (to also protect against scratches during shipment) - if people always watch tv in dark rooms, have them remove the dang sticker revealing a mirror-like finish.  If they watch TV in a bright room (I live in a high rise in Arizona - it doesn't get much brighter than here), then suggest that they keep the film on.  I would realllly really really like this feature, and everyone I talk to says the same thing, "why are screens so shiny and reflective, if I would have wanted a mirror I would have bought a mirror"... it's so shiny and awful that if you're using the remote control or looking at your phone, you'll see it reflected off the screen at night... and during the day, it's just crazy reflective.

Thanks!
4878009
As (it seems) many others did, I pre-ordered this book after getting hooked with the previous two of the series.  The high points from the others are all present:  lots of action, suspense, interaction with alien species, etc.  I truly enjoyed the read.  With that being said, as with any other form of customer feedback, you're going to remember the bad more strongly than the good, so here are some points that "bugged" me:

1.  In the end of the second book, there is a specific line about Capt. Weston wanting to have a long talk with Central on Ranquil.  Did this ever happen?  The reader is left to assume that it did not, as no mention is made of it in this volume and it seems that nobody has learned any more regarding the history of the colonials or a possible relationship with the Terrans, or any more information regarding the mysterious puppetmasters hiding behind the Drasin.  I seriously doubt, though, that Capt. Weston as portrayed would delay in finding out more about the situation they landed in after the first two books, given that he is described as a bit of a history buff.  I am at a loss as to why this was overlooked, as it could have given the entire series so much more context, and honestly Central is one of the best characters introduced thus far.

2. It's unclear to me why, during the engagements, the Prim ships shouldn't "see" the other's ships other than a "shadow".  OK, it was covered that metallic ships give off a less intense signature, but with all of the "ping"s being made in the Sol system, you'd think that they would catch some kind of reflection.  It isn't covered whether the others have a "black hole" setting for their ships, but since they were so impressed with those capabilities of the Odyssey, I was left to assume that if they did, it wasn't as effective as that one.

3. The descriptions of the technology behind the T drive morphs into a bit of a lecture at one point; I even noticed that the tense of the wording changed, which got under my skin.

4. The ending, while intriguing, seems like it could have used a little work.  Everything seems rushed- in the last few pages SO many things happened that I had to re-read it 2-3 times just to make sure I'd captured it all.  The description of the forge wasn't clear to me, either.

5. The cliffhanger in this book is much stronger than those in the past two, leading me to appreciate this one less and look at it as a bit of a stepping stone, even though a lot did happen.
3676724
This couldve been a great novel with just a few tweaks. Mainly the explicit/graphic sexual content, and the casual use of vulgar language by the women -- if  that doesn't bother you than maybe you'll like this. It bothered me and I'm not a prude. I feel there are times when certain words are appropriate, even in sex, but it's all in the way it's presented. It's sad to think that today's professional women in their 30s feel they must talk like a man in order to feel equal to one in casual conversation with their peers. Couldn't a question like "Did you f*** him yet?" be phrased differently? ... "have you gotten him in bed yet?" or perhaps "seduced him yet?" Which isn't as crude and accomplishes the same objective. I know many middle aged professional women who take pride in their femininity and do not resort to vulgar expressions to make a point.

I skimmed through a lot of the sex scenes as they were lengthy, graphic, and didn't add that much to the story line. I liked the story line of Finns family (the guy).  He has an interesting (yet poorly developed) grandmother who raised him, a son who needs his guidance and a daughter in a wheel chair, but no money. Hed never forgotten his first love, Liz, the main character. Liz, is likable enough, has money, a good business, but lacks personal-self confidence due to being formerly fat. She is supposed to be smart, a professional woman with a strong business expertise, but her plan to have unemotional sex with her first love, Finn, is unrealistic and predictable. Her girlfriends didn't add much to the story either, except a few expletives, but I understand each of them has their own novel.

SPOILER: I agree with many that commented that Finn's reaction at the end was crude, when he found out his seduction was all planned in advance. There again he didn't have to say she'd been "f***ing" him for practice" in front of everyone... He could've said she'd hopped in the sack with him, but apparently the writer feels she needs to use the F word for shock value. She should realize that all readers are not comfortable with that, and that if the writing is good enough, the shock value isn't needed.

Although this was entertaining enough for lovers of romance novels, it is not something I will recommend to anyone I know.
4026436
.....and I would have been glad to pay for those tweaks.  The nylon mounting brackets should have been swivel side/or top mount.  That picks up 100% of the mounting options.  In my case, the angle on the bottom was not enough but I have a band saw and jigged them up and added more angle.  With the normal cap rail slant, those brackets are set so that the knobs have to be inserted from the outside in.  That lets the knob hang outside the boat's protective rub rail where it is likely to snag things when docking.  A few pop rivited D rings and velcro straps to keep the fabric top centered at all times would be nice.  And the attachment of the front straps to the tube could also be a small steel ring to neaten the job and keep the strap from wearing through when abraded by the screw.  I'm thinking 2 bucks net max added to manufacturing cost, and maybe 8-10 bucks marked up through distribution to selling price.  I would have gladly paid it.  I spent more than that to correct and a lot of time.  That said the final install was nice and I think I'll like it. I put it on a 14' epoxy composite skiff that I made.
1712734
I really wanted to love this book. First, I must congratulate the scholar on her exemplary research. The strength of this book is indeed its meticulousness. I applaud her attention to not just the details to be found in the texts she studies, but also attention to the previous scholarship as pertains to the topic. This aspect of the book is worth a full five stars. What hurts the book is its density and disjointness. Perhaps a few more charts would have helped, as she frames the whole of the book on a horizontal and vertical map she repeatedly refers to, but we never get to actually see applied. Just in general I was asked to fill in a lot of gaps and the book seemed to jump from one place to the next. I would get a splash of detail followed by a declaration of the problematic lack of evidence. This only served to heighten the disjointness. In the end, the author offers commentary on the New Testament in light of the research. Again, great details. But where is the context into which I would place these details? I am writing this review not to complain, but to ask for something. With so much of value in this book, I think it would be helpful if perhaps some supplemental materials were added. I think the author must be energized and onto something with her references to the horizontal/vertical map. Perhaps if the author has a university web page she could publish some supplemental maps that show how the details she discovered in her research and how they can be applied to, and understood within, her framework structure. The point is important, something shifted, I hear that. Please. Show me.
2451768
I just love these and would have loved to have been able to keep them.  The footbed fit true to size and the first band (the one closer to my toes) was just fine, but the second band (over my instep) was way too loose and so they didn't fit right.  I studied them extensively to see if a shoe repair place could make a modification, but I don't believe that would be possible.

If only there had been elastic (on the arch side) on that second band or they'd planned for some method of self-adjustment these would have be HUGE favorites of mine.
1085119
This could have been a five star review except for one very important detail. The action was way too high, and there was not enough material on the bridge saddle to even think about trying to lower it. This was a deal breaker for me on an otherwise great guitar. Overall build quality was very good (except for the playability) , the sound was excellent both unplugged and amplified. One of the other things I really like about Breedlove guitars is their pinless bridge system. I wish more guitar companies would go this route.....
2911138
If only it had been far longer. Would have given 5 stars.
3251274
I was quite inspired by the lessons, was eager to go through with them, and they were well set up, and quite professional, with links to a vimeo video, worksheets--very efficient and no doubt would have been exceedingly informative and useful: if I could have gotten the vimeo video to co-operate. it jst wouldn't, and not being familiar with the way the site was set up--I do have an account, I just don't visit it often--I didn't know how to rectify it. I was sorely disappointed, but I gave him four stars anyway, because I was still impressed with the parts I was able to access.
1728799
This could easily have been a five star book. The author tackles a tough subject, attempting to choose the best things that have been invented by Americans (or, if not invented by Americans, how a good idea was added to and turned into something better). The chosen stories are highly enlightening and entertaining. While I would have preferred paintings or photos rather than the pen and ink drawings at the beginning of each chapter, the consistency of artwork was a positive. Rather than a march through history, author Kevin Baker has chosen to group inventions together, such as Computing, Apparel, Curing, Trains, etc., and I thought this was a good choice.

 "America the Ingenious" is the title, with "How a nation of dreamers, immigrants, and tinkerers changed the world" as the subtitle. In his introduction to the book, Mr. Baker tells us the inventions were "...inspired, shaped, and made possible by the character of our country." He credits freedom as a key to our inventiveness, and recognizes "...the 'ordinary' people who made our progress a reality. I was impressed, and anticipated a fantastic book.

Unfortunately, Mr. Baker unnecessarily injected politics into some of the stories. The chapter describing the Tennessee Valley Authority centered around Progressive Republican George Norris and his battles with his own party. Worse were the constant references to the race or skin color of the inventors. Worse than that were the accusations of racism and bigotry leveled against some of the inventors as part of their introduction, with no facts to back up the statements. Based upon the books introduction, I understood the book was about Americans who had given back to their fellow man. I have great respect for all the inventors in this book, and when all is said and done, that respect does not increase or lessen based upon the color of their skin, nor their politics or personal beliefs. I am not sure of Mr. Bakers intentions, but his constant harangues from the soapbox were bothersome and a distraction.

Overall: An interesting book which discusses inventions that affected the people living then as well as those of us living now, marred slightly when the author veers from his own stated goals. Four stars.