Epinions Recent Reviews for mrlarry

American Advantage: Quite Advantageous

Sat, 11 Sep 2004 20:22:18 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - It used to sound too good to be true—earn free airline trips on the ground. After ten years in the American Airlines Advantage program, I can assure you that this program is the real deal—a way for customers who know how to use the system to fly...

Forget Budget Living: Save Your Money

Sun, 1 Feb 2004 11:33:42 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - When I first got an ad for Budget Living, I was excited. The cost was only $14 a year and I figured that if I got one good tip out of it, the price would be worth it. Meanwhile, since I wrote a budgeting/finance column for www.betterbudgeting.com, I...

Hilton Lax Airport and Towers: LAX Hilton--Efficient, but Nothing Special

Sat, 31 Jan 2004 21:50:37 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - I just got back from my second visit to the Hilton at LAX. Both stays were to attend a professional association weekend meeting. The experiences were, well, okay. If you are looking for clean, reliable lodgings near the airport, you’ll do fine...

La Quinta Vista: Attractive and Pleasant

Sat, 4 Oct 2003 20:11:36 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - I’m a budget motel type. Usually when I travel I’m so much on the go that the motel is just a crash pad, so I don’t spend much on it. A few weeks ago I was on a family visit in Escondido. Rather than doing my usual Motel 6 gig, I decided to follow my...

AA Advantage Advantageous to Me

Thu, 31 Jul 2003 16:02:59 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - If you’ve read the other reviews of the Aadvantage Card (and other airline travel cards), you proba...

A Brilliant Madness: Accurate and Accessible

Sat, 17 May 2003 01:35:41 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - It's been several years since Ron Howard released the film "A Beautiful Mind" based on Sylvia Nasar's biography of the same name.

Some viewers found the film superficial and not a faithful, complete representation of Nash's life. It is highly...

Shrub Helps Understand the Bush Phenomenon

Wed, 2 Apr 2003 16:13:49 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - We’re now a little more than two years into the Bush administration with neither peace nor prosperity in our midst. We have seen a budget surplus transformed to a deficit with the President wanting to cut the taxes of the wealthy while spending on...

Ruby's: 50's Food and More

Sat, 9 Nov 2002 01:27:40 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - If you’re my age, you remember when we had hamburgers and malts without worrying about fat and cholesterol. We enjoyed and sometimes the food made us fat, dumb, and happy. We didn’t worry about sodium content.

If you long for a...

Motel 6: Motel 6: Locations vary

Mon, 4 Nov 2002 23:46:22 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - A little more than a year ago, I wrote a scathing review of the Motel 6 in Watsonville CA. If you read that review, you’ll hear about noise, poor service, and all the rest.

Being a glutton for punishment, when I took a recent road trip...

Sheraton Gateway Gets the Job Done

Sat, 19 Oct 2002 22:34:31 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - Okay. I’m a budget hotel kind of guy. Usually when I’m on vacation, a simple crash pad will do as I’d rather spend my money elsewhere. When I went to a weekend convention at the Sheraton Gateway, I was looking forward to seeing what I was...

Dollar Rent a Car: Is It Worth a Dollar?

Wed, 21 Aug 2002 13:16:24 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - I belong to a travel service that claims to automatically find the best rental car deal available if you give them where you’re going and when. On a recent trip to Raleigh NC, Dollar came up as the best deal and I took it. My mixed experience shows...

Mall of America: Biggest but Is It the Best?

Wed, 21 Aug 2002 09:44:28 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - Question:Where can you do the following all under the same roof: Get married in a wedding chapel, visit Bloomingdale’s and Dollar tree, eat a meal in a food court or fine restaurant, go to an amusement park, see a movie, and visit an aquarium?...

USA 2001 Budget Travel: A Valuable Resource

Wed, 10 Jul 2002 08:16:05 GMT
rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - Note I originally and mistakenly published this under the magazine. A fellow epinioner suggested this is a better place. I have taken it out of that category and put it into this.

This year the editors of Budget Travel put out a...

Ventura: A Fun Quick Getaway

Sun, 7 Apr 2002 12:46:52 GMT
rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - Ventura has often been called Santa Barbara’s little brother. Less glamorous, and smaller, it is also often less crowded.

As a life-long Angeleno, I have often found Ventura a great place for a quick one-day getaway. A little closer to home...

Subway: Good Sandwiches for Fast Food

Thu, 7 Mar 2002 11:26:04 GMT
rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - I'd just gotten out of my late afternoon meeting and was on my way to an evening meeting about 20 minutes away. I didn't have time to go home or go to a real restaurant, so fast food would have to do. I really didn't want the grease and kiddy...

Vanguard: Vanguard: A Solid Mutual Fund Company

Sat, 16 Feb 2002 22:32:52 GMT
rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - Two or three years ago a friend of mine insisted that no one should be in a mutual fund because you could do better trading stocks on your own. Now that same friend will have nothing to do with stocks because you can’t make any money in them.

...

Exploring a Complex Mind

Sun, 6 Jan 2002 16:50:00 GMT
rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - By now much has been said, both positive and negative about A Beautiful Mind. Those who like the movie cite the excellent performances by Russell Crowe and Jennifer Conneley, its probing into a complex mind, and its sensitivity. Cons mentioned,...

San Juan Bautista: Nice Day Trip

Sat, 25 Aug 2001 12:05:37 GMT
rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - Chances are you’ve never heard of San Juan Bautista, either the state park or the town. That’s because it’s a small town a little off the beaten path (about 3 or 4 miles east of Highway 101 between Salinas and Gilroy). If you happen to be out that way,...

National Steinbeck Center Graces Salinas

Sat, 25 Aug 2001 08:46:50 GMT
rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - Author John Steinbeck said in his Travels with Charlie that once the Interstates were finished, you could go from New York to California without seeing anything. There would be so many towns with so much that you wouldn’t even know about thanks...

Meet Erin Brockovich

Fri, 17 Aug 2001 21:43:05 GMT
rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - Note This isn’t actually a movie review, but didn’t know where to put it. I thought readers would find it interesting.

Several weeks ago I watched–and thoroughly enjoyed–Erin Brockovich with Julia Roberts. When I saw that the real...

Big Bear: A Well-Rounded Resort

Fri, 17 Aug 2001 10:54:43 GMT
rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - If you’re looking for a California travel destination that will keep you as busy, or unbusy as you want to be, consider Big Bear. This lakeside resort has a great deal to offer you, whether you are interested in manic activity or a kick back experience...

Meet the New Economy--Warts and All

Thu, 5 Jul 2001 09:24:33 GMT
rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - It’s a new economic world out there. The organization man of the 1950's was loyal to his corporation and his corporation is loyal to him. Now we become consultants after we are downsized and land a new job once we find a new niche. Many of us do...

American Beauty: What Makes It Attractive?

Thu, 28 Dec 2000 23:26:02 GMT
rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - It's been about ten hours since I finished watching American Beauty and I still can't get my mind off of it. This thought-provoking dark, satirical comedy chronicling the repression thought to be rampant in Suburbia, is a mind-stimulating experience...

PayPal Works for Me

Thu, 9 Nov 2000 11:56:42 GMT
rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - I was surprised to see a fellow epinioner give PayPal a one-star rating today. I use it frequently and it works for me. I think my use of it is varied enough that I can say I've put it to the test.

As with many people, my main use of PayPal...

Raging Bull Message Boards: Fun, Sometimes Informative, but . . .

Sat, 4 Nov 2000 10:38:26 GMT
rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mrlarry - I first became involved in the Raging Bull Message Board when a stock I owned (PDIM--great restaurants like Koo Koo Roo and Hamburger Hamlet, but a lousy stock) got kicked off the NASDAQ.

We had had an active group of stockholders who...