© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc. This feed is subject to our terms of use: http://www.epinions.com/help/rss_terms http://www.epinions.com/user-scmrak Recent reviews written by member scmrak en-us 121 37 http://www.epinions.com/ http://img.epinions.com/images/epi_images/logos/epinions_121.gif http://www.epinions.com/content_492419976836?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - You can't fix what you can't see, and you're certifiable if you work around sharp tools and can't see the edges. Both mean that good lighting is essential for any shop area, both general and spot lighting. That's in the shop - but what do you do when you... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~492419976836 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:49:28 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_492419976836?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_491630268036?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - Rust is a regrettable fact for owners of barbecue grills: no matter how carefully you cover your baby, windblown rain and snow will find a way in; and in climates such as Houston's the high humidity creates condensation on anything left outside... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~491630268036 Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:30:58 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_491630268036?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_491438837380?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - Although a sign with the legend Caution: Area Patrolled by Labrador Retriever Security Company has been prominently displayed on the fence of our last three houses, the idea of Labs as watchdogs has always struck me as slightly funny. Labs, after... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~491438837380 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:40:11 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_491438837380?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_491040837252?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - When we first moved in to the Great White Elephant on the Edge of the Prairie (an 1895 Queen Anne farmhouse in a small Illinois town) the kitchen porch was this close to collapsing under its own weight. One of the many POs¹ had haphazardly... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~491040837252 Sun, 8 Nov 2009 14:58:00 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_491040837252?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_490934472324?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - Fine furniture- and cabinet-making projects often involve building joints without screws or nails, thereby keeping focus on the wood's natural beauty instead the fasteners. While nails and screws have their place, especially in primitive pieces, their... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~490934472324 Sat, 7 Nov 2009 14:48:01 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_490934472324?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_489058504324?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - The Glen Rock Book of the Dead by Marion Winik "Fantasy" means more that swords, sorcery, and scantily-clad nymphs. Fantasy is all the things we hope can come true even though we doubt they ever will - and we all have them... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~489058504324 Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:13:53 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_489058504324?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_488705199748?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood With the exception of limericks about Nantucket and perhaps Poe's "The Raven," there may be no bit of poetry more familiar to those who received an education in the USA during the... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~488705199748 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:34:13 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_488705199748?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_488915111556?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - I try to be healthy, really I do. For example, there's the daily exercise (walking instead of running, unfortunately), the low -fat and -sodium foods, and the two decades since the last time I was in a fast-food restaurant (if you don't count Subway and... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~488915111556 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:59:06 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_488915111556?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_488526089860?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - There's a certain elegant simplicity to a well-made tool: the shape rests comfortably in the hand; superb balance allows the tool to perform its best; and tiny, subtle features extend the range of usefulness. Quality does not come cheap, however: if you... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~488526089860 Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:47:34 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_488526089860?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_488311656068?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - It'd be tough to survive as a locavore here in Houston. I haven't had much luck finding locally-grown food - next to zero luck, in fact. If you're a beer fan like me, however, there are plenty of breweries of all sizes within the state's boundaries -... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~488311656068 Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:49:20 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_488311656068?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_488190086788?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - My sister-in-law, Lord love her, long ago decided that I like unusual gadgets, so holiday gifts the past couple of decades have often been... err... been kinda weird. There was a battery-powered motorized tie rack (I hate wearing ties), a battery-powered... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~488190086788 Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:59:01 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_488190086788?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_487642664580?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - Erica McDill paddled her canoe out to watch the eagles return to their nest at sunset. She never came back. Virgil Flowers was on a boat of his own when he got the call, only a couple of hours into a big muskie fishing tournament. Virgil never came back,... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~487642664580 Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:46:12 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_487642664580?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_487749422724?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - There are a few emergency repairs that darned near anyone can accomplish on a modern car - replacing fuses is one. That, of course, presumes that you have a replacement fuse (and your owner's manual tells you where the fuses are). Having been at one time... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~487749422724 Fri, 9 Oct 2009 19:03:32 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_487749422724?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_485763223172?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - Fire and Ice by J. A. JanceICE: The sixth body was found by a snowplow driver who'd pulled off along a deserted forest road for a little privacy. Except for the yellow snow nearby, the remains were essentially the same... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~485763223172 Tue, 6 Oct 2009 11:29:58 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_485763223172?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_487305154180?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - Up until recently, my total investment in iPod technology had amounted to twenty bucks (plus tax), the cost of one of those snazzy (and strangely expensive [no, wait, it's from Apple]) white dock cables that let you charge the device and transfer... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~487305154180 Mon, 5 Oct 2009 21:11:53 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_487305154180?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_486412357252?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - The Spire by Richard North Patterson Sixteen years ago as a senior (and one of the B-est of MOCs) at Caldwell University, Mark Darrow stumbled off fraternity row one early Sunday morning, only to find the body of a young... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~486412357252 Sun, 4 Oct 2009 18:44:03 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_486412357252?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_487052906116?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - Odder Jobs - Nancy Rica Schiff For her 2002 collection Odd Jobs, Now York-based photographer Nancy... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~487052906116 Sat, 3 Oct 2009 14:14:33 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_487052906116?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_485380099716?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - Bad Monkeys -Matt Ruff The metaphor of a wheel within a wheel is far, far older than author Matt Ruff or even his muse, Philip K. Dick; which doesn't necessarily mean that Ruff can't pull off an extended version of... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~485380099716 Fri, 2 Oct 2009 10:49:51 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_485380099716?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_486764809860?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher (2001) Rumor has it that for most people, "high school" turned out to be little more than a variant spelling of "hell" - head cheerleaders and varsity quarterbacks excluded, I guess. I can't... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~486764809860 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:04:02 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_486764809860?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_486386404996?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - Those of us who survived wood shop classes in middle or high school are probably (still) familiar with handsaws in all their many forms: backsaw, crosscut saw, rip saw, dovetail saw, coping saw... If you're a BOOF like me, though, every saw you used in... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~486386404996 Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:36:00 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_486386404996?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_486208867972?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - Some people buy ball caps as souvenirs, some buy them as collectibles. Some even buy them to wear: what a concept, eh?! I fall into both the first and third categories, I guess - I buy them as wearable souvenirs. If you have a solar panel on top of your... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~486208867972 Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:20:06 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_486208867972?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_485152034436?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - The Siege - Stephen WhiteAlong about April every year, things begin heating up on Ivy League campuses. Perhaps that's because the school year's end is imminent; perhaps it’s all the sap rising in hormonal student... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~485152034436 Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:53:55 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_485152034436?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_485515234948?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - If you have a handyperson in your family, you've probably long since noticed that projects and repair jobs almost always seem to involve bunches of little pieces and parts. The wise handyperson keeps a variety of screws, nails, washers, bolts, grommets,... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~485515234948 Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:36:42 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_485515234948?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_484846636676?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - Realtors used to tell their clients to paint the walls in a house white before putting it up for sale on the theory that plain white makes it easier for potential buyers to visualize their own stuff in the space. On that theory, I guess, the POs... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~484846636676 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:06:22 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_484846636676?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_484733849220?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author scmrak - Eclipse - Richard North Patterson From where we sit in our comfortable homes, protected from the excesses of tyrants by a system of government that has real steel in its spine; the excesses of petty dictators in faraway... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~484733849220 Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:54:26 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_484733849220?linkin_id=8003929