Amazon Vine Review: Thieves & Liars

I've just completed my review of the new Thieves & Liars CD When Dreams Become Reality. The overall reception for this CD has been pretty lukewarm to this point, but I really enjoyed it. You just don't find much these days that would be considered rock 'n roll, and there is no shortage of bad music that is really well marketed. Fortunately, I think that this is a quality CD. Being based on a story from the Bible, you don't have to worry about your kids listening to the lyrics. At the same time it avoids a lot of the watered down fluff that passes for Contemporary Christian music. I apologize if I have stepped on any toes with that last comment, but we will have to agree to disagree.

Until next time...
PH

January on the Vine

The January offerings from Amazon Vine were pretty interesting. They had a number of music selections to choose from, and I opted for a CD from new rock band Thieves & Liars. I've been listening to this CD for about a week now, and I've really enjoyed it. It tells the story of Joseph found in Genesis. I should be posting my review by the end of the week.

In addition they had a few gadgets available - yes, I love electronics. They are essentially toys for grown men. This month I opted to evaluate the Logitech Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote. I haven't spent a lot of time with it yet, but the set up has proved to be challenging to this point. I'll probably be a little bit later in the month with my review on this.

Until next time...
PH

Back in the Saddle

I apologize for the gap in posts this month. It has been a bit of a whirlwind. I started out the month under the gun to finish up annual reviews for 2007 then I took a knockout punch from the crud that has been going around. However, I think all of this is behind me now. I'm reasonably caught up and feeling like myself again so hopefully you will see more regular posts here.

Amazon Vine Review: Daydream Believers

Well folks, I have completed my evaluation of the book Daydream Believers by Fred Kaplan and posted my review on Amazon. I mentioned earlier that I thought this was an important topic in light of the upcoming primaries and election this year. Foreign policy is honestly something that I have not given sufficient thought to, and I think that I am more informed as a result of having read this book. Kaplan does not paint a pretty picture of Bush and his aides, but that is not really his purpose. I know that I will be looking for what candidates have to say about foreign policy and the war in Iraq over the months to come.

Until next time...
PH

A little of this and a little of that...

I haven't been very consistent in getting posts up lately, but I'm hoping to change that. I just finished writing annual appraisals at work, and that was rather time consuming. Since a lot has happened over the last few weeks, I'm going to jump around a bit today.

Anyone else have Cowboys letdown this morning?

One of the great things with music is rediscovering something that you liked but had forgotten. My recent experience was with the Traveling Wilburys. While I didn't buy the CD set listed here, I bought "Handle with Care" and "End of the Line" from an MP3 site. Among the many things to like about this group is it has one of the last recordings by Roy Orbison. Good stuff.

I've been using dotphoto for uploading and sharing pictures since getting a digital camera last month. I recently took advantage of the 50 free prints, and we got them in the mail last week. Prints are normally $0.12 a piece, but I'm not sure how good that is. I'd be curious what other folks are using.

There is an interesting looking movie coming out next month called Vantage Point. The movies main web site is not responding at work, but the IMDB link has the trailer.

We are in the process of changing realtors again with the hope of getting back on the market by the end of the month. If you know anyone wanting to relocate to the Hurst/Fort Worth area....

I'm nearly finished with Daydream Believers. Look for my review by the end of the week. It's turned out to be a pretty interesting read.

And now my head is emptied of random thoughts for now.

Until next time...
PH

Law and Order is back

Law and Order, one of the longest running shows in TV history, returned last Wednesday with two new episodes and some cast changes. This was a show that had honestly been in decline for the past few years after the death of Jerry Orbach. Dennis Farina took his spot for a few years, but it was never quite the same. It seemed to me that they were trying for something that was too close to Orbach's longtime Detective Lenny Briscoe.

This season they have fixed this problem by going in a different direction. Ed Green now has a younger partner (relatively to past partners) in Cyrus Lupo. This pairing works much better because it is a new mix rather than trying to recreate that which could not be recreated.

The other major change involves the departure of Fred Thompson who is pursuing the Republican Presidential Nomination. Longtime ADA Jack McCoy slides into the DA position. McCoy was really the only reason to tune in over the last few seasons. However, new ADA Michael Cutler promises to pick up where McCoy left off. Cutler is reminiscent of early McCoy in his fierce courtroom presence and risk taking out of the courtroom.

It is good to see this show take an upswing. I was actually thinking it was time for Dick Wolf and NBC to pull the plug, but I'm glad that they stuck with it and re-energized the show. Check it out this Wednesday.

Until next time...
PH

Amazon Review: Odyssey Mobile Navigation Software

I actually had this software prior to receiving my HP GPS system through Vine, but I just now got around to writing a review for it. The Odyssey Mobile V4 navigation software is decent low budget software if you already have a PDA and a receiver.

Until next time...
PH