reviews
1997 (updated : 2013.01.16)
This website began as a series of movie reviews on January 1, 1997 with the movie Scream. As of mid 2023, I'm slowly closing in on 1,000 movie reviews.
Then there are my book reviews, of which I have not so many but I think the quality is better and they're certainly more relevant and timeless .. because books are. No one reads these but it's better to write for yourself and have no public than write for the public and have no self. Someone smarter than me wrote that.
Curiously, the page requests keep coming, year after long year, for my reviews of modest watches, out-dated camera equipment, and the odd bit of computer tech, so I'm still writing them. That's not to say I haven't retired some, I mean who wants to read about a 1998 digital organizer. A couple of thousand people did at one time, but the Sharp ZQ-520 was never exactly destined to be a semi-historical item. The surviving handful of articles appears below.
But first, an important public service announcement on watch collecting that equally applies to camera gear.
quietly despairing with Seiko's SARB033
2017
Seiko's SARB line of watches exist to give "aspirational" Grand Seiko owners something with which to pretend it's all right.
my fishing watch - the Casio MDV-106
2017.03.15
I bought a beater Casio that turned out to be a fine watch–with a few warts.
review: Minolta X-700 camera
2002
A short review of the Minolta X-700, the SLR with which I learned a lot about photography. It's a well-built, well-designed model—don't let the plastic exterior fool you.
review: Olympus 35DC
2007
My review of the Olympus 35DC, an excellent little rangefinder that produces great work (and now costs a song!).
review: Minolta XD - XD-11
2004.06.12
The Minolta XD was perhaps Minolta's finest hour as a manufacturer. This is a camera that is a joy to use, and yields remarkable results.
review: Pentax *istDS
2006
A review of the Pentax *istDS digital SLR camera. A sturdy workhorse that mixes good image quality and standard features.
review: Olympus OMD EM5 Mk II
2021.03.04
I've been using this as my main camera for more than five years. I know it well, and because I've just decided to commit to the micro-four-third platform as long as it exists I thought I'd share some thoughts on the model.
my CASIO weighs a ton
2021.05.23
Some thoughts on my Casio G-Shock MT-G B-2000 - which OK doesn't really weigh a ton.
don't buy a St. Moritz made-in-Canada watch
2011.06.12
My tale of woe regarding a "Canadian made" wrist watch.
review: Alba solar watch (AQGD403)
2021.11.28
A review of a modest Alba solar watch - the AQGD403.
review: Kodak EasyShare Z612
2022.04.23
For nearly a decade, we used an aging Kodak Easyshare Z612. Here are my thoughts on this little bridge camera that could. Plus; a photo gallery.
modifying a Guanqin watch
2022.10.18
I bought a Guanqin watch and replaced the hands.
review: Asus 'TUF Gaming' FX504G
2023.03.08
The Asus "TUF Gaming" FX504G laptop is a disaster and you should avoid Asus laptops.
review: DxO Photolab 6
2023.08.06
I love DxO PhotoLab 6, warts and all.
A response from AirTransat? As I recall, they told me off. What did I expect. I'll never fly with Air Transat again, that's for sure.
Flight to Cancun, Mexicoi
We encountered many problems with Air Transat, we booked our flight to Cancun in October of 2003, leaving for Mexico ion May 22, 2004 and was informed 3 weeks b4 we left that our flight had been cancelled and rescheduled with Westjet. We originally had club seats on a charter fllight and pre-selected seats, instead we were booked on Westjet with no pre-selected seats,, not meals and small seats and to top it off, there was eleven of us and we were limited to 3 drinks to a person. No TV, no meals, and 8 hours in the air. We left from Vancouver and we thought we would be able to go through duty free and of course that did not work out, on our stop in Calgary we had 10 minutes to go through duty free and get back on our plane.
Of course, I will never book through Air Transat again, I would rather drive to Seattle and fly from there.
Coming back my son and daughter-inlaw were not seated together, instead they were across aisles from each other.
I cannot believe that we spent this kind of money and were treated this badly. This was probably one of the more expensive trips we have taken, and we also had our grandchildren with us.
I was told by my travel agent that apparently they booked Westjet and AirTransat was suppose to supply everything anyways these our my comments.
Your gripes, except for the flight cancellation sound relatively minor. I've never understood why people expect luxury when flying discount (I think someone else commenting on this website said the same).
But it is worth noting that while Air Transat does their very least to ensure that their customers are happy, they're also raking in record profits.
Fido is a MAJOR dissapointment
I am one unhappy customer of the Fido product and consumers really need to consider the the value in a dollar or two when considering cell service and what can happen if they make the wrong choice.
I relied on Fido service and time and time again I have been disappointed getting delay voice calls, unable to speak with customer service agents, features that are built in to be so annoying, being put on hold and finally hearing that they lost all my personal information from my handset. Prior to your last screwed-up, I could handle some of the negative aspects and at times was good but the last big one was the final straw.
When I first got the phone I was proud of it, small compact, new and upcoming company but lately i've been embarrased to own it because it seemed to give me problems whenever I used it in front of someone.
Even after sending a similar email like this to the company, the response I got was that they would talk to the customer service agents that delt with me initially. From thier point of view it seems that the customer is always wrong and always has to wait. Why can't companies understand this simple failure... if they did their books would reward them but instead they never know.
Now i'm shopping for another phone.
Suggestion: Don't buy a Fido
Ken Hakes
That's too bad. I've found it worthwhile, but then I haven't had to deal with their customer service recently. I have read commentary by 'industry analysts' that suggests the company is not long for this world....
P.S. By 'your last screwup' I hope you don't associate me with Fido for some reason?
Dear Friend: I just bought a YO-520 Sharp organizer, and heartily agree with your review.
Cordially,
Robin
Groovy. Still using mine, after two years so it must do the job.
Need some help
Hi. i haven't seen a lot from your site, but i crossed it because i was looking for information about my YO-520, specifically i am looking for a manual, i know i can get it at sharp's home page, but since i live in Mexico i don't think i can get anything this far, so if you know of some place where i could get that manual on line i would really appreciate that you tell me where this could be... well, thanks for the trouble, and good look finding your job.
Hi! I saw your comment on my home page; perhaps you could look at the mywizard.com site for help, contacts, or downloads?
Good luck!
Yo-520 windows 2000
The package stated this works with windows 2000, it did with windows 98.
I have updated my computer to windows 2000 and now yo-520 does not replicate. I have done everthing your techs told me to do and it still does not work. Finally they admitted that they do not know why but with some windows 2000 units the yo unit does not work.
Are you addressing this issue or not?
Erm, no. I am NOT affiliated with Sharpe Electronics.
Problems with software
I have recievd a gift from afriend in china a YO-520 organizer but unfortunately the software and manual accompanied are of YO-515P
I am not able to syncronise my data with PC could u be of any help can I download the software and manual if yes pl get me the link
Thanking you in anticipation
Dr Kukreja
Have you had a look at mywizard.com? I'm not associated with the Sharp people at all (my post is just a private review).
I don't see anything in the documentation about data when changing the batteries. After you replace the batteries and hit reset, is your original data still in the organizer or is it lost (requiring a synch with your PC database???
My manual is long gone. I don't even remember how to set the time zone. But I still use it for memos and the calendar function. Good luck with your search!
ZQ-520 / YO-520
I got one recently, and have found it to be a really good tool, my job is a programmer and i have filled it up with code snippets, but i have also found it great to put ideas in to it that i wake up with during the night.
Also does anybody know if we can add applications to the organizer or update the amount of memory???
Carl;
I've no idea whether this is possible, but it seems that mywizard.com might be a good place to poke around for such answers.
Where can I get the software for my YO-520?
From mywizard.com. Good luck, Larry.
Lost operational manual
I lost my electronic organizer manual for the Sharp yo-520. Can you send me one? Or can I download it?
Please let me know before I send my address...
GC
Gretchen. I am not affiliated with the Sharp Electronics people in any way. Please see mywizard.com for the answers you seek. Good luck!
my organizer is not work j dont why help meeee
Your email address didn't exist when I responded, so I don't see what I can tell you. Other than "I don't work for Sharp Electronics!" 8)
SHARP YO 520
I USE MY YO 520 EXTENSIVELY. I HAVE OVER 1000 NAMES, OVER 200 SCHEDULE ITEMS, AND OVER 200 MEMO ITEMS. 300 kB HAVE BEEN USED TO RECORD THESE AND OTHER ITEMS. THE INFO IS BACKED UP TO A COMPUTER AND ANOTHER YO 520. I HAVE A RESERVE SUPPLY OF AN ADDITIONAL 5 YO 520s TO REPLACE ANY THAT MAY MALFUNCTION. THAT HAPPENS SOMETIMES BUT I'LL BE USING THEM FOR YEARS. NOT A DAY PASSES THAT I DON'T USE MINE 10 TIMES. WITH THAT AMOUNT OF USAGE THINGS DO GO BAD SOMETIMES.
As I said in our private correspondence, my own organizer has packed it in. The screen no longer functions, despite a change in batteries. It served me well for three years, and got my through four moves, a couple of job changes, and a few other hectic episodes, so I can't complain.
YO-520 Manual
For anyone looking for it go to:
http://media-server.amazon.com/media/mole/MANUAL000008824.pdf
Thanks for the tip, Dan.
help
where did you find this laptops external cd rom? and was it reasonably priced
Mary;
I tried responding to your query via an email, but your account was full.
I wound up buying a parallel-port external CD-ROM for roughly $CAD 200. It's made by 'backpack': it's slow, but it works.
is popular culture the same as mass culture?
Yeah, good question. I used that title because I didn't know what else to call my collection of lightweight reviews on lightweight movies, books, and whatnot.
Ace of Spades ... Production quality??? ... experimental??? ... I think you've missed the point mate!!
I'm always astonished when people take the time to write something, then won't put their name on it. Seems... limp, somehow.
I stand by what I wrote; I'd sooner listen to this band's earlier or (even much) later works than this album.
your review of Swept Away
I thought I better let you know that the Japanese animated film is called Spirited Away.
Swept Away is, by all accounts, a terrible film Guy Ritchie made starring his missus.
Thanks
Thanks for the tip. I've changed the entry.
Fly air NZ you ---fool
I find it interesting your love of Air NZ, you must not know that this same airline that you give a rating of 4 put a DC-10 into the side of Mountain. KILLING ALLL ( look up your internet you fool!!!) I to have had many flts on many different airlines and would put Air NZ at the mid to bottom of most even Ga on safety. READ the inq. to the mess to understand what it said they did to cover up this the truth. PS good luck with the job hunting, Air NZ needs every bum and fool on its seats.
The best part of this comment is that I can try to guess what you mean by "---fool".... Is it 'assfool', like "assclown" from Office Space?
Did we forget our meds, today? Thanks for your good wishes (I think).
thanks for reviewing my Fiji guide
Hi Michael, Thanks a lot for the insightful review of my Fiji guide http://www.southpacific.org/fiji.html which you posted on your site. It’s always encouraging to hear that a reader found my book useful—I do the best I can. Happy travels to you in future.
Hey, cool. Yeah, it was a lifesaver. Fiji's awesome and your book really does the job.
review of Sharp
I HAVE ONE ABIUT 15 OR 20 YEARS OLD. THAT ONE QUIT.
BUT LUCKY I HAD PURCHASED ANOTHER ONE. CAN THE OLD ONE BE FIXED. WHERE CAN I PURCHASE A NEW ONE OR FIX THE OLD ONE???
It's been a long time since I used that organizer. I've really got no idea. Sorry. 8(
Air Transat IS Craptacular!
Hi Michael,
I've been taking a peek at your site from time to time and just noticed your letter. Did you get any response from AirTransat? I'm curious because of a recent journey with SkyService to Costa Rica where we encountered similar shoddy service.
Cheers,
Mitch