Epinions Recent Reviews for BigMonkey

Wega, Wega All the Way Home!

Thu, 11 Dec 2003 01:49:02 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - After an absurd amount of research, I settled on this unit to serve as the centerpiece of a home theater in a 13x16 windowless room. The lack of ambient light told me I didn't need to go plasma and there was no way I was going to wrestle a heavy...

Harboring Criminals

Sat, 15 Dec 2001 05:25:45 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - This is a horrid, horrid movie. I figured by waiting to rent it on DVD my expectations would be low enough that I could enjoy it on some level. No. Every facet was fundamentally dishonest and manipulative. Not an honest, logical emotion or thought can be...

Dell Dimension 4300 Series: Your New Xmas Box

Fri, 30 Nov 2001 04:02:43 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - Product lines are tricky things for buyers and sellers alike. Mess up--on either end--and you are out a lot of cash. With the 4300, Dell very nearly commits the cardinal sin of stepping all over its flagship, the 8200 line. What buyers have to do, is...

Diablo 2 for Windows: Baal to Be Wild

Mon, 9 Jul 2001 17:41:46 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - This expansion has had as much hype--and lead time--as many full-fledged games. But there turns out to be a very good reason this.

More than just adding a level V to the Diablo 2 storyline, or even a couple of new character classes, Blizzard...

Blade of Darkness for Windows: Blade of Lameness

Sat, 19 May 2001 18:33:30 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - This first person fighter got some pretty good reviews, especially surrounding its supposed lifelike melee combat and gore. So I was surprised to find that BoD is merely a polygon engine with that herky-jerky boxy effect. (Note: my Win box met and then...

North Carolina: Outer Banks, Inner Peace

Sat, 19 May 2001 13:45:19 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - Ten plus years of visiting the Outer Banks have seen many changes, most for the good. It remains a great vacation spot for families.

Roads have improved, but summertime traffic tie-ups are still common and certainly no worse than any other...

Trust Yes, But Value Add?

Tue, 17 Apr 2001 12:40:11 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - I have way too much experience with how banks are run. Various mergers along with a couple of relocations have brought me in contact with everything from tiny, single branch community banks, to credit unions, to mega nationwide McBanks.

So...

All DVD'd Up

Wed, 28 Mar 2001 16:46:32 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - Pioneer's DV-333 was on many year-end best of 2000 lists as it proved to be a great DVD entry point for the non-Early Adopter crowd.

Plus word quickly got around that the 333 could play the self-made CD-R and CD-RW audio discs that many...

Pixel Popping Fun

Tue, 20 Feb 2001 18:52:26 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - If all you are looking to do is grab shots for Web pages or to email around, this modest little number should do the job.

OK optics and fairly clear directions should have to snapping clean shots within minutes. They won't be the match of your...

2001 Saab 9-3: Go Buy This Car

Mon, 19 Feb 2001 23:53:10 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - OK, a solid year looking to buy a reasonably priced, near luxury sports sedan/wagon. EVERYTHING test driven, some good even great handling cars. But nothing that said gotta have it, especially pushing a sticker of $40K in some cases.

Last...

Dell Dimension 8100 Series: ME O My, Why Does My Box Hate Me?

Mon, 19 Feb 2001 22:58:11 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - I knew that going from a five year old Dell PentPro running WinNT to a brand-new Pent4 running WinME I might miss some of clunky sure-footedness of the old machine.

But I had no idea that Dell would ship an OS totally unfit for its hardware...

Give It the Hook

Sat, 23 Dec 2000 04:13:08 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - This would be a horrid beer if I were certain it is in fact beer. Utterly devoid of taste or anything the least bit interesting. A cipher, really.

Pours a nice creamy head and it a pleasing cola color, but it doesn't even taste like a cola...

Chipotle Grill: God's Own Burrito

Fri, 15 Dec 2000 14:31:35 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - This chain single handedly redeems the notion of chain fast food, strip malls, and up sizing. The question is whether the quality can be sustained as the chain grows.

The burritos are huge and stuffed with quality ingredients. I've have linen...

Old Nut

Thu, 14 Dec 2000 21:36:02 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - A tribute to the importance of water in the brewing process. A beer with such a well balanced feel depends on a soft, "natural" tasting water. After 250 years, Samuel Smith's breweries know what to do with it.

This brown ale...

Jingle Brew All the Way

Mon, 11 Dec 2000 13:25:48 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - If the first sip doesn't put a smile on your face, give up. You're the Grinch. Climb back up your mountain with your annoying dog.

Starting with the stunningly complex hopping--notes of grapefruit remind you that winter doesn't last...

Daddy's Turn

Sat, 18 Nov 2000 16:34:09 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - Another triumph for Sharon Osbourne. Ozzy's wife, savior, and manager (puppetmaster?) shrewdly wrangled an agreement from Sabbath axe-god Tony Iommi never to use the Black Sabbath name again as a condition of Ozzy's participation in the '97-'98 Sabbath...

Thin Gruel

Thu, 9 Nov 2000 14:43:44 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - This would be a perfect beer for the big automakers of Detroit. All the parts and features have been glued in place, it is enjoyable and affordable enough, but when all is said and done it lacks a little soul.

Nice creamy head, not bad for a...

Gimme Danger

Fri, 1 Sep 2000 00:47:14 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - Builds on the first BLS release in unexpected ways. Yes, it is still basically the complex prog rock we'd expect, but with imaginative, surprising flavors.

The opening track sounds like it could be one of dozens of loud, fast aggro bands, or...

First, But Best?

Sat, 26 Aug 2000 15:23:00 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - Yeah, yeah, yeah. "World's First Pilsner," yadda, yadda, yadda. Is it any good? Hell yes.

Better still, as someone who has been drinking it on and off for the better part of a decade, I can say it has never been better. Time was that...

Finger Lickin' Good

Thu, 3 Aug 2000 00:43:03 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - All of 27 minutes long, NP single handedly takes psycho billy to the extreme and redefines redneck party music.

Start with with a Philthy Animal Taylor back-beat, layer on some Lemmy-worthy bass rumble provided by NBAer Cherokee Parks'...

Riff Master

Fri, 28 Jul 2000 16:38:46 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - Another genre defining effort. Drummer Bill Ward now says that he considers Master of Reality the last true Sabbath album, the last one done before the grind of world-wide touring had sapped the band's energy and began to warp internal band...

Diablo 2 for Windows: Whack a Ghoul!

Sun, 16 Jul 2000 01:23:18 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - Suffice it to say there is massive confusion amongst gamers over what D II is supposed to be. Well, here is what it is not: a pure RPG. There, now let's move on and see what D II has to offer.

If anything, D II is closer to a first-person...

Ideological brew?

Sun, 16 Jul 2000 00:12:12 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - Sam Adams--the man not the brand--shows us that politics and beer can mix. But what if you mix your politics IN your beer? You end up with something like Hempen, not quite a complete beer, but not a half-bad political statement.

Frederick (nee...

Pocket Rocket

Sat, 15 Jul 2000 04:39:15 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - A beer drinker's beer, all hoppy and sharp. The pils is a recent follow-on to the Tupper's ale which Dominion has been doing for ages.

With slightly less body than the ale, the pils is also not so massively hopped on the original Tupper's...

Sub-par, maybe

Sat, 15 Jul 2000 04:17:38 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author BigMonkey - This is not a bad beer, but it is not what I would call a top-notch seasonal from a micro either.

As with all Blue Ridge offerings, the Sub has a limp mouthfeel that just kinda squats there and doesn't spread out and fill up your...