Saturday, 19 June 2010
Games For Windows - balls of steel, best game ever
To quote Duke Nukem from this actual game... "FAIL TO THE KING, BABY"
Now I could nit pick about how bad this is... But I think other reviewers will get that just fine as I am not the only one that has been MAJORLY disappointed by this game. SO this will be MY personal single player experience with this... Turd of a game.
Some of the Duke Nukem humor and such is there but nothing I really haven't heard before. They really should have asked Bruce Campbell for some new quotes since it looked like the writers couldn't think of much of their own.
I don't know why people are complaining about graphics... Why would you only play a game for the graphics? The load times for me were around 15 to 20 seconds... So get better computers then. If sitting still for under a minute makes you fly into an uncontrollable rage fit then you need some professional help.
One of the FIRST things I noticed, in comparison to the other 3D Nukem games is that there are NO SECRET AREAS or end level Nukem buttons like Duke 3D, Zero hour, and Time to Kill. This actually pissed me off the most as one of the things I liked most in the Duke Nukem games was getting to explore the levels and find hidden bad guys and secret areas and buttons that do random things and reveal special areas... It gave it this little thing that current developers seem to forget about called RE-PLAYABILITY!!!!!!... "Unf unf unf unf Where is it!?!" But there is none of that in this game! You can only carry TWO weapons! No jet pack! The path you take is pretty much standard SUPER LINEAR C.O.D. and Bulletstorm knockoff with bits of Prey and Half Life 2 thrown in... In fact, my friend was watching me play and kept thinking I was playing a Half Life 2 mod.
There was really nothing new added in terms of bad guys or guns. The A.I.... Oh damn the A.I. is absolutely HORRIBLE! TERRIBLE! BEYOND BAD! At one point I saw some, now shirtless, pig cops and then backpedaled into a room with huge open double doors, and in the other room they just kept shooting and throwing pipe bombs at the wall. I let the game run for 30 minutes while I went off to play Duke Nukem Time to Kill on my ps1 (because I needed a healthy dose of good Duke to make up for all the bad Duke) and not a single one came into the room I was standing defenseless in the middle of. I think the developers said something along the lines of "We want the A.I. to feel like the 90s" In all honesty I think that was their way of saying, "We really don't want to put too much effort into making this a good game for a historic gaming series because people will buy it just for the name alone."
The game starts off Duke Nukem enough but then it loses it's nostalgia really quick... It was promising at the first level or two and felt like it would be an OK Duke Nukem game... So if you want to play an OK Duke Nukem game, just play though dukes Casino/Hotel level then sell the game or turn it off or return it to the place you rented it from... It felt like the developers spent more time on the first two or three levels than the rest of the entire game, and just sort of settled for whatever came along after that. If I had wanted to play around in Las Vegas and Hover Dam I would just play Fallout New Vegas instead because this game goes nowhere else! In other Nukem games you would go from Frankenstein Castle, to an alien ship in space, to the Wild West, to an urban area, to a submarine under water, to England, a duke burger, forward and backwards in time, and many other things. This game was the exact opposite and just too predictable, there was no excitement, no anticipation for what may come next.
The most this got out of me was a halfhearted chuckle at a very few moments in the game. It is nothing like the Classic Duke 3D games where I would bust up laughing at something I couldn't believe they got away with showing or doing. Though I think the part I laughed the most in this game was Duke and The glory hole. When you do this part, just jump up and down to see who, namely what gender, is actually in the stall next to you!
Even if this game came out 10 years ago, I would still be rather critical about it because it just doesn't feel Nukem enough. In car terms it would be like Wanting a New Ford Mustang GT and then getting a Rusty Ford Pinto instead.
-No Secret areas.
-limited environment interactivity after first few levels.
-No good Rock and Roll level music.
-Duke doesn't KICK things anymore, he now does the typical weapon butt melee thing.
-A.I. that is so bad it made me twitch.
-No really new content, guns, or bad guys.
-Way too linear and predictable for a Duke Nukem 3D game.
-For over 12 years of development how can they release an under 7 hour game?!?!?
-No end level Nukem Button.
-No jetpack.
-No really good new "one liners."
-Dated Level design and graphics.
-NOT ENOUGH DUKE!! Duke Nukem Forever
I posted this same review for the BoS edition, which is the one I almost bought, thought I'd repost it here as there are people that just want the game, not the BoS edition.
I had the opportunity to play Duke Nukem Forever before it was released, and I played up to the levels after the "Queen Bitch" level, where you are outside, high up in the air climbing over the alien growth. The only reason I made it that far was because I am a fan of Duke and really wanted to see this through. So when Gearbox finally finished the game and proved all the skeptics wrong, I was stoked!
Unfortunately, after playing, I canceled my preorder for the balls of steel edition. As much as I enjoyed the previous Duke games, even as a fan I can't justify paying $90 for this game. I've also been told by friends and other people that bought the balls of steel edition that the items are underwhelming. A predictable anti climax if you ask me. But I'm not here to review the items, I want to talk about the game. That's the reason you're buying.
This game is worth the budget bin price of $10 - $15, at most. Kudos to Gearbox for just finishing it, and the graphics don't look amazing, but they don't look bad either. They managed to keep the cheesy macho American lines and overall character of Duke, but beyond those three things, I can't really say anything else good about the game.
Let me start off with the weapons. All your favorites from Duke Nukem 3D are in there, but the problem is, they feel like crap. I know the pistol isn't supposed to be powerful, but it doesn't even feel powerful. None of the weapons are really satisfying to use either, save for maybe the shrink ray and the rail gun. Not only that, but you can only carry two at a time. I can't help but think they only put this in here because of the fact it's going to be on consoles. The whole game is a tribute to the old Duke and how FPS games used to be, as in, you played a character that was practically a one man army.
Next, the A.I. is... From the same era as Half-Life 1. Yes that was groundbreaking, but that was also 1999! Enemies run at you or hide behind cover. That's it.
The level design isn't that good either. There isn't anything innovative and you know you're doing something wrong when, in a level where you control a car, you can't find where to go next. There are also moments where enemies will just spawn out of ships and you have to deal with wave after wave of enemies until they go away. This is lame and if I wanted to experience such cheap gameplay I would play Modern Warfare or Black Ops. The bosses are also pretty standard, just the regular shoot until it dies.
What I do like is that they managed to keep the theme of Duke with cheesy jokes and objectification if women. Though a lot of the people who might find this funny are pubeless thirteen year old boys. Of course, if this was released ten years ago, this might be a different story. By todays standards, and by that I mean Half-Life 2, not Bad Company 2, this game is mediocre at best. A tribute to how shooters used to be.
Overall there is some fun to be had, for a few minutes, but after that, I don't feel compelled to finish the game. The multiplayer has your standard modes and there's no co op, which might of made this a little more bearable going through it with a friend.
Gearbox are responsible for Opposing Force (the best expansion ever made) and Borderlands, so I expected the game to be ok, but not amazing. I thought this was reasonable considering how long we've had to wait, but the game failed to meet such low expectations. If they had made it from the ground up it might of been a good game, but that would of meant an even longer wait. Like I said, kudos for finishing it. I, like many other Duke fans will finally cross this one off the bucket list.
I've played all the most relevant, and some obscure or underrated FPS games on PC, but this is down there with the worst of the lot. If you really must play this game now, rent or borrow from a friend, or wait until it goes on budget. It's not worth full price. I'd give this game a 3/10. - Babes - Finally - Balls Of Steel - Best Game Ever'
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Image Plates - bundle monster, stamping
Okay, first off: I am guilty of loving my stamping plates a whole lot. The scraper is fine to work with, although, the small grooves and holes in it collect nailpolish and need to be cleaned off every few swipes. IMO, an expired giftcard works just as well and is easier to clean off.
Unfortunately, there are no cheap substitutes for the stamper. I suggest you guard it with your life. It is flexible and can mold itself onto the nail to ensure a proper image stamp. The double ended one is perfect for making small adjustment to the nail (eg: the plate image is too small to cover the entire nail) and you have to make a second 'swipe'. The stamp end is about 1" round. It cleans up beautifully with Acetone and after hundreds of cleanings, still looks new.
Just an FYI, as I've been Konad'ing for a bit now, instead of the black "Konad Special Polish", I have found (after trying 11 different products) that WET 'N WILD black velvet nailpolish is the best. It costs less than $2 at CVS or WalMart and it is by far the best black out there. I've tried Orly, Chanel, and others, and none of them are this thick and black. Others are too sheer when you try to stamp them, or they simply don't show up on a darker background. I like to do dark blue with a black argyle pattern on them. Looks great, just don't forget your topcoat.
Now, for the regular stamping polishes... what I have found is that any basecoat color is fine. Its when you need one to stamp with that you have to be careful. Don't be fooled by others who say that 'any nailpolish will stamp'. Well, yes it will, but it may be so faint that it will be a waste of your time. The best nailpolishes for stamping are ones that have some metallic in them. Sally Hansen Chrome nailpens are good, but expensive. I have found that the best stamping polishes are at WalMart. Yes, PURE ICE nailpolishs in 'Outrageous' and others stamp up beautifully. They are thick, quick drying and accurate. I only use the ones with a bit of 'chrome-iness" to them. If you're going to put a design on your nail, make it pop!
For the White polish, Sally Hansen French Tip White is a good one. White is tricky. It almost has to be like 'liquid paper' to get it to work and look right.
Good luck, fellow nail afficiandos! Konad Nail Art Double Ended Stamper And Scraper
One thing I want to say about this product, which as far as I know wasn't in any of the reviews, if this is your first time buying a stamper, make sure you look at the tutorial on YouTube and also make sure that you FILE YOUR STAMPER before the first use!! I learned the hard way, I usually like to jump in feet first when doing things so after hours of trial and error, I finally watched a very informational video and got my stamper to work. I first assumed it was defective..lol, Im still learning how to stamp, but of course like all great things, it will get better with time.
If you are trying to decide between the double ended stamper and just the normal one, I would definately go for the double! I feel like the normal stamper is too small (the handle part), this one is easy to work with. The larger end works great for a full nail design and the small one is great for just single designs. The scraper is nothing special, it does scratch the plates though. That doesn't really bother me, but if you wanted, you could use an old gift/credit card so that it doesn't scratch as much. Based on other reviews, I did use a nail file to "buff" the stamper, and I've gotten perfect stamping results, Overall, great product and an obvious must if you want to do nail art stamping!
There are other Konad products out there that have only one stamper and are about one dollar less- I say stick with this one! The small side is perfect for smaller nails to be more precise as well as with the smaller designs and with the French Manicures.
The scraper works well also, but I found that its hole often got a little clogged, but that wasn't much of an inconvenience, merely an observation that it works best when cleaned after each use! A little hint, to save nail polish only put polish on the top half of the design and when you scrape down, the excess nail polish from the top will fill into the bottom half, saving you more nail polish! Overall, this is a must!
I was glad I purchased this stamper!
It's nice to have the two sizes for smaller designs and nails!
A couple of tips...
Lightly sand the two tips with your nail filer. Sometimes it's to new and won't work effectively.
Use only Acetone nail polish remover
When stamping the plate only push straight down and up. No rolling or wiggling.
The nail polish does matter. I have used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear and it does work.
and of course..Tutorials...Tutorials...Tutorials!!!
This is a super fun little thing, and it worked just as described. I used it with the MASH plates and Sally Hansen Insta Dry nail polish. I did not like the scraper, so I used an old cancelled credit card instead. I didn't have to 'file' the end of the stamper as some users mentioned to get the image to transfer; it worked just fine right out of the package. I used pure acetone to clean the stamper and plates and it cleaned off perfectly. I think this was very worth the price, and I can see myself using it over and over.
On a side note, make sure you wait until your base coat of nail polish is COMPLETELY dry...I was impatient and tried stamping too soon. It turned into a gooey mess!
Works great, does as described. Easy to clean and use. Makes doing nail art fun and easy. I really enjoy doing my nails now, and with so many different nail art stamp plates out there, it's totally worth it and great price.
My daughter (11) bought this and has watched youtube videos on designs and how-tos and I have to tell you, he nails look more professional than the free hand designs I sometimes get at the salon. Very professional looking, easy and just fun! - Bundle Monster - Nail Art - Image Plates - Stamping'
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Self-stick Note Pad Holders - self-stick note pad holders, post-it
I received the product sooner than I expect, so I have no complaint with the seller. I do, on the other hand, have a problem with the product. The product apparently has a sand-like glue mixture that is inserted from the bottom in order to had weight (I assume). They glued a small rubber material to the bottom in order to seal the hole. Well, the glue does not hold and the rubber material keeps trying to come off, which causes the sand-glue mixture to come out. If you purchase this product you will have to sit it on something solid and leave it alone. You can not move it around too much or the mixture inside with go everywhere. Tech Tools Desktop Madness Series Hand Cell Phone Holder (HS-8038)
This thing is sooo cute! It's heavier and bigger than I expected and made of good quality. I want another one. I'm having fun putting stickers on it and gonna paint it fun colors -- so thanks for leaving it white. One of my friends wanted to know if you make one giving the finger while still holding the phone. She's quirky that way.
Thanks
This is such a great item! My desk at work is usually covered with paper etc. I can keep my phone above the clutter and am able to see messages as they come in. I was surprised on the quality of this produce and it is worth the price. Would make a great gift for someone that has it all.
I bought this for my husband as a "plastic" gift for our anniversary. He LOVES it. He usually has a pretty cluttered desk, and he says that this has made all the difference in actually being able to see his cell phone and when he has phone calls and messages, helping him keep up with everything. He loves the quirky design and has gotten several comments and questions about where he got it.
I got this for my desk at work to keep my phone in a specific place at all times. I love it. The item is super simple, a white plaster or clay material that is really nice and smooth. Looks like the picture. Has perfect little fingernails...I'm trying to resist my insane urge to paint them! Has a nice weight, not too heavy but won't tip over if you sneeze in the direction of it. Tempted to get one for my apartment.
This is great! Holds my Samsung Infuse which is huge. Everyone at work loves it! I've had no issues with its manufacturing. In fact, I can charge my phone (charge port is on the bottom) and still have it sit in the hands. This is great. - Post-it - Post-it Dispenser - Self-stick Note Pad Holders - Office Humor'
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Heart Ring
The woman I bought it for is a business woman, and as such, she tries to keep everything appropriate and discreet. I got this ring with the help of a friend. It's not big or flashy or expensive, which is what I need when only making the first commitment (as opposed to an engagement proposal). It's appropriate for work in that it's not a distracting piece. It's smaller than I thought it would be, but I know very little about jewelry. Overall, it is a very beautiful ring. It came in a nice sky blue box with a white bow on top. She was ecstatic about receiving it, and she thinks it's lovely - she would tell me if she didn't like it. I'm happy with my purchase. Diamond Heart Promise Ring Crafted in Sterling Silver .07ct
My 13 yr. old son ordered this ring for his girlfriend. He gave it to her today and she was so excited. It really is adorable. Only reason I didn't give 5 stars, the diamond is quite cloudy. But I mean, for the price I guess you could expect that. She didn't seem to mind.'
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Garmin Nuvi 1350t - garmin nuvi 1350t
Not much to say about this other than it works perfectly with my Garmin GPS. I lost the original in a rental car. This snapped onto the suction mount and fits my GPS without any problems. Very happy with my purchase. CC-GPS Bracket holster mounting cradle for Garmin nuvi 1200 1250 1260 1260t 1300 1350 1350t 1360 1370 1370t 1390 1390t
I bought this mount after losing the one that went to our Garmin GPS. I fits our GPA perfect and best of all I can not unmount it with out having to take the whole thing off the dashboard mount so I'll be less likely to lose this mount. I paid a couple of bucks extra for expedited shipping as we were going on a trip and needed the mount and it came sooner than they said it would. I would highly recommend this product as a replacement for your Garmin GPS or as a spare. - Garmin Nuvi 1350t'
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3 Gallon Solar Shower - portable shower, advanced elements
My son recently returned from his second tour of Afghanistan. His outpost spent 4 months with no running water. I sent him this solar shower so he could have hot water, instead of bathing in a cold mountain stream. 5 stars is not enough for what this shower gave to him! A hot shower!!! A++++ I bought 5 more to send to him so that he could share with the other guys in his unit! It was like Christmas to those guys! Something as simple as a hot shower. I totally recommend this product. If it can survive the conditions in the mountains of Afghanistan, it will hold up for your summer camping trips!
Cindy, Proud Army Mom of Chris, 10th Mountain Advanced Elements 5 Gallon Summer Shower / Solar Shower
This is the third and best sun shower I've owned. It heats water well, as advertised. I use it camping to wash dishes, to shower and to wash my hands.
The details make this shower stand out from the others I've owned...
* The filling hole has a screw-on cap which easy to put on with one hand.
* There is a mesh pocket on the front. I use it to hold eye glasses or soap.
* You can hang the shower nozzle on either corner of the bag with handy velcro tabs. Very useful because sometimes the nozzle drips if you leave it dangling.
* The carry handle is comfortable
There are two pockets. One for the mirror, so it does't get scratched. Over that pocket, is the mesh pocket for soap, etc. The mirror is about as reflective as tinfoil, btw.
I have one complaint... one seam burst open after it fell off its hanger. Other sun showers I've owned fell many many many times over many years before bursting open at the seam. Despite this, I highly recommend this shower.
This shower does what it promises... it gets hot in the sun and it cleans you up! It is stable and durable. We got five showers out of this, not washing our hair. I would think you could get two very nice hair-washing showers out it though.
We live in NYC and every once in a while, there's no heat or hot water for a day or two - sometimes the boiler conks out. This thing has saved us so many times. You just heat water on the stove til almost boiling, add some cold to make it justtttt riiiiight, fill and hang in your shower! Never go to the gym to shower again!
Heats up great in direct sunlight, stays hot for a fairly good amount of time, and works great. A very good value for the money. The shower head drips a little after you open and close it a bunch, but it works better than a lot of them I have used. Best solar shower I have used to date.
I've used many bag showers over the years in an industrial setting, and camping. This unit,and the 3 gallon model, are the most durable. The competitors are subject to pinholes and valves tend to pull off the hose easily.
Summer, that's what we named our Solar Shower, was an amazing addition to our camping family. We use it for almost all of our water needs while camping. The mirror isn't very good quality, but personally, I prefer not to use a mirror while in the great outdoors anyway. One word of caution, the hose is openned and closed by pushing/pulling on the shower head so if you have slick hands, it can be a bit tricky. Even hung in the shade, the water eventually warmed.
Great product, as advertised. VERY durable: we have dropped the shower full of water couple of times and nothing happened to it. Silver-colored on its front, it looks cute yet warms water as good as black showers do since it has black backside.
The mirror supplied with the shower is crappy and not useful but who needs a mirror while taking a shower in wilderness?
THIS THING ROCKS!! This solar shower has SAVED OUR BUTTS!!! (Literally, we don't have hot water right now as we are remodeling a house and living in a tent trailer!) It doesn't work if it's overcast and cloudy all day, and it doesn't work if it's tooooo cold...(well below 50*), but if you have a clear shot of the sun, and at least 3 hours, sometimes within 2, you've got minimum 90* water... and it CAN get HOT, up to 130* (my boyfriend adds cold water...) and there's plenty of water for 3 of us if we fill it all the way up... me--and I have pretty long hair, my boyfriend, and my son, all suds off. awesome. Buy it now! WAYYYY better than the $6 Coleman camp shower... which we also have as a backup but it takes at least 6 hours to get warm, and the nozzle leaks all over the place and the hose came kinked... no signs of un-kinking, plus the temp gauge on this one is nice (it's gotta be touching the water, NOT the air bubble, and you've gotta shade it from direct sunlight for at least 30 seconds to get an accurate reading.) There's a little pocket in the front and a mirror that does a good enough job. All in all, a great buy. - Portable Shower - Advanced Elements - Camping - Camp Shower'
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Wireless Access Point - access point, cisco
I recently purchased two of these Cisco WAP4410N WAPs. The goal was to help my brother-in-law cover his large home with good quality wireless. Based on my experience doing previous WAP installations, my guess was that is would take between three and six WAPs to full cover his large house (which has lots of brick and steel) with good quality coverage. I was impressed that by strategically positioning the units I was able to cover the entire house with only two of these WAPs. The coverage consisted of three floors (one was a finished basement).
The setup of these units was simple, the firmware is stable, and configuration was straight=forward. Since they were setup they have worked flawlessly and required no further attention.
The only thing a bit unusual (for those used to Netgear, Linksys, etc.) is that you have to setup a Cisco account (no charge just register online) to be able to download firmware, etc. This ended being unnecessary because the firmware in the unit was up-to-date.
If you're looking for really good WAPs that support Wireless-N and have lots of configuration options (e.g., Mesh, Multiple SSIDs, etc.) I highly recommend this unit. It has a slightly higher price than other (consumer units) you can buy, but it definitely deserves the "business-class" label that Cisco gives it. Cisco WAP4410N Wireless-N Access Point - PoE/Advanced Security
I just installed 2 WAP4410's on a Linksys RVS4000 router and brought them up in a basic configuration just to get the system running. I will be tuning the configuration over the next few weeks and will report the results.
Right out of the box, the units worked as advertised with zero hassle. I updated the firmware, changed the admin password, assigned both static IP addresses and resolved the host name to enable roaming which has worked well thus far. I initially enabled SSID broadcast to make it easier to find for setup, but I will eventually disable. So far (anecdotal) the speed seems good, and the APs have had no issues with a mix of a/b/g/n devices. I have no plans to enable PoE, as there are known issues with the link speed dropping to 100mb/s. So far, so good.
It has now been a month, and I have enabled a second guest SSID and have configured links with a number different devices (WGA600n gaming adapter for an Xbox360, WET610N for printer with no hassle at all). The performance and range have been excellent. No problems with the VLAN or the QoS functions for streaming.
In the final analysis; a little pricey but an excellent product. 5 Stars.
Having been fed up with the problems I've had with building my own and buying various AP's, I decided to spend a little bit more and try this one. It's been fairly dependable. I use the "fairly" qualifier, because I have had a an issue or two, but I can't be sure it wasn't a neighbor setting up a new AP on the same channel, or something like that. Otherwise it's been solid in nearly a year of service. I really appreciate that it supports IPv6 out of the box, even in the management interface. It's got a lot more control than a regular consumer AP with things like vlan support and pretending to be multiple AP's with different SSID's, etc. One other thing is that it's more and more difficult to find a decent AP only wireless AP. At the consumer level, they all seem to be wireless routers now. I already have a firewall and only wanted an AP. This fits the bill nicely. One other feature I'm not using now, but may later is PoE.
After reading some of the stronger complaints and one star ratings, I still bought the WAP4410N, based primarily upon my experience with Cisco products. Once received, I immediately downloaded the latest firmware update: WAP4410N-fw-2.0.2.1-K9.img. Connected the access point to my computer and followed the quick start instructions provided. Flashed the firmware and rebooted the access point. Set the configuration to work with my gigabit network configuration and then reset my HP wireless printers and wireless computers.
This works as designed, no issues and no drops. So I'm not sure what those 'experts' are saying when they complain. Maybe they were on an older version of the firmware, maybe it was something else, but this access point is much stronger than the old Netgear WG302 access point we had.
As far as experience goes, I have 25 years in IT with a good bit of that in network appliances. This is a good small business/home business network appliance. And I do recommend it, above and beyond the negative comments posted here. And we do intend to buy more.
The price is good and the warranty is 3 years.
We bought a couple of these 4410N for office. It had to support VLAN trunking (802.11q), multiple SSIDs, RADIUS authentication on a Windows server and 802.11n. On paper this nice Linksys supports all these features, right?
In fact multiple SSIDs feature simply doesn't work with stock 2.0.1.0 firmware on devices with MACs starting with 68:xx:xx (that's all new hardware, I guess). I had to open a ticket with Cisco and they sent me 2.0.2.1 beta firmware which fixed the issue. But it still doesn't work for iPhones with Radius authentication feature enabled - the device puts iPhone's MAC into "User-Name" field instead of a real domain login name.
Overall, it's not a business-grade solution, I wouldn't recommend it so far - the software is waaay too buggy.
And if you want to buy it for home - consider other options. You don't need VLANs support anyway. Linksys E3000 or Netgear WNDR3700 cost about the same, but provide 5 GHz band and faster transfer speeds.
I installed three of these wireless access points at a customer site - they worked great at first, but after three days, they quit responding until they were rebooted. No errors were indicated and the latest firmware had been loaded. Once the access point was rebooted, they worked great again for another two or three days and then the problem would re-occur. After a number of incidents, and much research, it appears that this is an ongoing problem with these access points. Check this thread at cisco support before you buy:
[...]
I have removed these and replaced them with another brand. Just couldn't afford to drive out every time they failed. - Wireless - Access Point - Wireless N - Cisco'
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19th Century Britlit Classics - arthur conan doyle, sherlock holmes
This book included 12 adventures:
1. A Scandal in Bohemia
2. The Red-Headed League
3. A Case of Identity
4. The Boscombe Valley Mystery
5. The Five Orange Pips
6. The Man with the Twisted Lip
7. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
8. The Adventure of the Speckled Band
9. The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb
10. The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
11. The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet
12. The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
Great classic literature. I really enjoy reading Holmes and Watson's adventures, solving the mystery, and putting the puzzles together. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
This free Kindle download is the prelude to The Return of Sherlock Holmes. Arthur Conan Doyle's timeless tales are perfect for Kindle and, actually, the Kindle's electronic voice does an admirable job of reading them to you!
Special thanks to Eileen T for posting the list of stories contained within!
The only downside to this free Kindle download is that it doesn't have linked Table of Contents. So how do you quickly skip to a chapter later in the book?
Elementary my dear Watson! (-:
Pick a unique word from the story title. Click MENU > "Search this book"
Then type the most unique words from the title. Alas, this doesn't always work, and I can't figure out why. A new mystery! In the meantime, enjoy the classics....
English history is served up along with the amazing mystery stories. I enjoy the pictures of daily life...the maid bringing in lunch to Holmes on a pre-arranged schedule, passing the street vendors and beggars, imagining the opium den frequented by addicts, vivid descriptions of period clothing, transportation and commerce slipped seamlessly into the tales. I read this often to refresh the imagery in my mind.
Spending so much of my day plugged into the internet, peering at my iPhone, staring at Excel spreadsheets, it has been an absolute pleasure reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes(on my Kindle, I must admit). I am reminded, in adventure after adventure, that there is no substitute for a sharp mind and astute observation. As I watch the master investigator calmly solve the most "singular" of mysteries through the eyes of Dr. James Watson, I almost want to myself be transported back to 19th century London.
If you haven't read any of Conan Doyle's stories, they are worth perusing. I only read a dozen of Holmes' adventures. But in those stories, I grew intimately close with both the detective and his trusty sidekick and doctor-cum-biographer, Watson. I came to admire Holmes' heroic stoicism, encyclopedic memory, and sharp wit.
Each of the adventures follows a somewhat similar plot structure. The adventure opens with a shot into Watson's or Holmes' personal life. You might hear briefly about Watson's life as a doctor, or get a glimpse of Holmes' tobacco, alcohol, or cocaine habits (yes, the rumors are true--Holmes does cocaine). At some point, Watson ends up at Holmes' pad on Baker Street. Both men are then found lounging, Holmes in his "dressing gown," both men likely smoking, drinking, and enjoying a fine meal, usually arms' length from a cozy fire.
Watson, the narrator, will then tell us how, in all of his time with Holmes, the case he is about to elucidate is the most "singular" one yet. Then one of them will see or hear someone approaching their home base; inevitably, the bell will ring and in will enter yet another all-but-hopeless client. We'll get a detailed description of the client's physical appearance, from the clothes on his or her back to the flushness of the face. We'll also always get an idea of what class the client falls into; most regularly, the clients are from higher classes. The client will give us a detailed account of his or her problems as Holmes and Watson listen intently. It is here that the reader is supposed to do the detective work to piece together clues to solve the case. Of course, most of what the client tells us seems unrelated and inane; Holmes will remind us that the simplest cases are the hardest ones, and the smallest of details often the most important.
In most cases, the client has a suspicion that the police's conclusions on the case were flawed. In almost every case, the police were consulted and ended up being wrong indeed. Holmes generally requires a trip to the crime scene, sometimes in costume, and the readers have the privilege to join him with Watson. But most trips are simply chances for Holmes to confirm what he already suspected. Guns may be drawn, extreme danger is almost always encountered, and Holmes emerges the hero. Holmes has a penchant for withholding his conclusions from us until the very end of the story, however, so as the reader follows Holmes' movements at the crime scenes, the reader must do some sleuthing as well.
Holmes will finally tell us what actually happened, and the seemingly innocuous clues from earlier in the chapter prove to be essential to the weaving of the truth. Holmes prefers to strike a deal with the crimes' perpetrators rather than offering them to the police. The clients offer to give Holmes unlimited reward for a job well done, and Holmes calmly requests only that which will defer the cost of his work. He gets enough pleasure out of a job professionally well-done.
Because of the similarities between stories, I recommend taking Holmes in limited doses. But his is a very powerful medicine, one that rejuvenates the mind and strengthens the character. As an example of someone who betters the world by doing what he loves, Sherlock Holmes is a timeless hero.
Although he also wrote several novels featuring the world's greatest fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, it was especially in his short stories that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle perfected the Holmes formula. And of the five collections of Holmes short stories (about a dozen in each collection), "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" (published in 1892) was the first and is easily the most popular and best of the five. It contains all except one of the five all-time most popular short stories in the Sherlock Holmes canon (A Scandal in Bohemia, The Red-headed League, The Blue Carbuncle, and The Speckled Band), as well as some other gems like The Five Orange Pips. For newcomers to Holmes, this there is no better place to start than with the dozen stories that comprise "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes". And for long-time fans, these are old favorites worth reading again and again.
Here's a list of the stories in this collection (with the better stories marked with stars):
***A Scandal in Bohemia, 1891 - The very first and one of the top five Sherlock Holmes short stories. After some brilliant detective work involving disguises and acting, Holmes is outwitted by the woman Irene Adler in his quest to help the hereditary king of Bohemia regain a scandalous photograph from her.
***The Red-headed League, 1891 - Generally regarded as all-time second best Sherlock Holmes story, this bizarre tale features a pawnbroker who is paid money to join the mysterious Red-Headed League and copy out Encyclopedia Britannica, as part of an ingenious scheme to rob a bank.
A Case of Identity, 1891 - Holmes solves the mystery of Mary Sutherland's fiance who disappears on the morning of his wedding, unmasking it as scheme hatched by her greedy step-father.
The Boscombe Valley Mystery, 1891 - Charles McCarthy's son seems the obvious murderer of his father after a violent quarrel, so it is up to Holmes to show that the murder has its real roots in the Australian past of the dead man and his landlord.
**The Five Orange Pips, 1891 - One of Doyle's personal favorites, this tale recounts the death of two men, both preceded by the arrival of five mysterious orange pips. In one of his few failures, Holmes connects the events to the Ku Klux Klan, but not soon enough to prevent another death.
*The Man with the Twisted Lip, 1891 - A baffling mystery about Mr. Neville St. Clair who disappears from a room into thin air, and a professional beggar who is the suspected murderer.
***The Blue Carbuncle, 1892 - Another favorite all-time top 5 Holmes story, as Holmes unravels how a blue diamond ended up inside the goose intended for Mr. Henry Baker's Christmas dinner.
***The Speckled Band, 1892 - Universally regarded as the most popular short story in the Sherlock Holmes canon, and easily one of the more suspenseful and chilling. The engaged Helen Stoner is terrified when she hears the same strange whistling that preceded the death of her twin sister in a locked bedroom shortly before her wedding. Her step-father Dr. Grimesby Roylott, a evil and greedy man with a passion for exotic pets like his cheetah and baboon, is the suspected villain - but how could he do it? The only clue are the mysterious words of Helen's dying sister about "speckled band"...
The Engineer's Thumb, 1892 - Victor Hatherley, a hydraulic engineer, is offered a lucrative contract to go to a secret location at night to fix a fuller's earth press, but why does he lose his thumb and nearly his life in the process? As Holmes says to the engineer about the missing thumb: "Indirectly it may be of value, you know; you have only to put it into words to gain the reputation of being excellent company for the remainder of your existence."
The Noble Bachelor, 1892 - When Lord St. Simon's new American wife goes missing shortly after their wedding, it is up to Holmes to find both her and the reason for her disappearance,
The Beryl Coronet - Expensive jewels are mysteriously damaged in the home of a wealthy banker, his ill-reputed son the prime suspect.
The Copper Beeches, 1892 - Violet Hunter is paid an exorbitant sum to be a governness at a house called The Copper Beeches. Her employment includes some strange stipulations, such as cutting her hair short and wearing a particular blue dress - but why?
- GODLY GADFLY - British Mysteries - Mystery - Arthur Conan Doyle - Sherlock Holmes'
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Immersion Blender - blender, java juice
This is the third hand blender I have owned, and is by far the most solid, smoothest running and easiest to clean. The brushed chrome construction looks great and is also easier to clean than plastic versions. Handy features like detachable base, included mixing cup and extra long mixer are thoughtful and useful. The motor is smooth and powerful - it is the Audi V8 of the hand blender world. For the quality, brand and power, $30 is an absolute steal. Cuisinart CSB-76PK SmartStick 200-Watt Immersion Hand Blender, Pink
Well ok, maybe I am not all shook up so much as BLENDED up. I purchased this immersion blender after my older no name brand unit purchased at Wally World died in the middle of blending a pot of hot soup. I like that you can wash the blenders blade assembly in the dishwasher and the stainless steel shaft is not stained like so many of the ALL PLASTIC models. Another thing I love is the power of the unit and the sharpness of the blades; they will reduce a pot of cream of broccoli soup to a smooth consistency in nothing flat.
Oh and when I say broccoli soup folks, I MEAN broccoli soup. I put nearly two bunches of steamed broccoli in my soup and I only chunk it prior to blending with the immersion blender. This blender will puree` the soup to a perfect creamy texture in nothing flat. (Reserve a few pieces of the chunked broccoli to add back to the soup for texture purposes) I have also used it on my potato and asparagus soups with equally great results.
If you are looking for an immersion blender with lots of power and a "NO STAIN" Stainless Steel shaft then IMO, you cannot go wrong with this model from Cusinart.
Happy Blending!
Ciao!
Holy guacamole! I was a disbeliever, but now that I have this Cuisinart immersion blender, I am a True Believer. It is substantial yet quiet, and it works really, really well. It is easy to clean as the blender piece pops right off. I love that I can just place it into the pot and puree my soup right there! Awesome! Carrot soup, cauliflower soup, sweet potato soup have all fallen under my spell with this magic wand. Recommended.
I know it's my fault, but I didn't read the fine print of the product description, I just saw that it was described as "brushed chrome." The top part is actually ABS plastic painted in the color "brushed chrome," with the bottom part of the wand being stainless steel. It would be more appropriate to describe this blender as gray than the deceiving name they've chosen. The top part has a somewhat flimsy feel to it when you consider how powerful it is.
I was not at all expecting this blender to be as enormously powerful as it is; it works amazingly well. One thing that I didn't like so much was that when I put it in a stock pot to blend a soup, the wand was so powerful that it sucked itself down to the bottom of the pot, making it difficult to move to other areas of the pot while on. It was nearly impossible to keep the wand off the bottom of the pot with a soup that was about 5-6 inches deep, and I'm a big, athletic guy. Variable speed would be a nice feature, and it's available on other immersion blenders. Depending on the particle size of the things you are blending, they may not get pulled through the blade guard (see picture) and blended if the wand is stuck on the bottom of the pot. It works great though; it'll blend an entire pot of soup in about 20 seconds
I wish I could put the blender in a nalgene bottle, but the blender is just a tad too wide.
The bottom part detaches and cleans easily either in the sink or in the dishwasher; no complaints there at all.
This device is well-made. It's biggest advantage is the total ease of cleaning after use - a real pleasure just rinsing under the faucet.
It's very powerful and can digest things such as ice cubes easily if they'll fit within the cage.
It's elegant to the eye and fairly comfortable in the hand.
The biggest downside is that you must keep a firm grip on the mixing vessel, or if the machine hits something big it can twist the vessel right out of your hand - spewing the contents all over the kitchen countertop, cabinets, and floor. Don't ask.
Another problem is that anything large and hard - like the frozen strawberries I get at Trader Joes - don't fit into the machine's jaws and thus elude the blades. Of course, my first reaction to this problem was to compensate in my typical way, by pressing down harder, and now the machine has slightly bent blades - and a slight wobble.
That slight wobble means that the machine now feeds more unevenly into the mix. So tonight I was chopping two ice cubes into milk, and when an ice cube caught the blade the milk splashed out despite my firm grip on the tumbler. When using this device there is no protective top as with a blender.
As I said, there's plenty of power. But the downside to that is the cord snaking over your countertop, collecting food.
They give you a nice plastic mixing cup; very high quality. But it's way too small to be of any real use.
In short, when using this machine have a large open area to work in. Don't expect to grind big hard things. Don't force the machine too much. It requires more time and more attention than a blender.
Biggest advantage over a blender: easy to clean. I wish it were near as easy to use.
__________________
Follow up: about three weeks into this thing I've straightened out the bent blades, eliminating the wobble, but I've reverted back to my 30 year old cheap blender anyway. The SmartStick is a well-made tool, but it's useful only if what you want to chop will readily fit within the blades' protective cage. If that's not the case, you're going to spend a lot of time and effort trying to get large chunks fed into the blades.
My almost exclusive use for the device was to make protein smoothies, which entailed blending full-sized ice cubes and sometimes large frozen strawberries. For that use, SmartStick just wasn't worth the hassle, especially considering that if you rinse out the full size blender right away, cleaning the larger machine isn't so bad.
I questioned the SmartStick's feed opening being so small. But I suppose if it were larger the tool would feed too aggressively, and it would jump out of hand when hitting something large and hard, which would be dangerous and messy. So I think the present design must be a necessary but unfortunate compromise.
Bottom line: the SmartStick is a great tool for some uses, and not for others. - Easy - Hand Blender - Blender - Java Juice'
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