|
|
Note: This account is no longer active.
|
Web/Graphic Design, Art, Computers (Macintosh), Activism, Cars, Music (drums, bass, guitar, CubaseVST)
more
|
Activity Summary
|
|
Reviews Written: 70
|
|
Member Visits: 3,380
|
|
Total Visits: 309,399
|
|
|
About herjazz
|
I've been working on this website for BMW 325Ci owners/shoppers at www.325ci.com; please check it out if you liked my BMW review here on Epinions. As a special treat, come on down to MP3.com and listen to some of my band's (old and new) music.
» Some of my favorite Epinions: Etymotic ER4S earphones, 2001 BMW 325Ci, 2001 Acura 3.2 CL, 2001 BMW Z3 Coupe 3.0i, U2's Achtung Baby, and a satire in the SUV vs. Car section with a story on my worst gig.
Yes, that photo is not me (duh), it's the lovely Shoo of SES, a K-pop band that I love. :) She's way more photogenic and cuter than me, so I'm keeping that there. But yeah, that's me on the right, albeit 4 years ago...
Rating and Trust
Although I'm conservative about putting people on my Block List (98% of my Block entries are for abusers), you'll notice the list is big because lately I've come across a lot of abusers ranging from duplicate posts, mulitple IDs, plagiarism, spam, padding, etc. I usually run into them when reading the "not recommended" and "recent opinions" sections of the car category... If you see anything like this, you can report abuses here. Eventually, they disappear or Epinions cancels their accounts, so they come off my Block List and the list shrinks.
My Web of Trust (WOT) consists of Epinioners who write superb Epinions, have more or less the same opinions or views or interests as me (hence I trust their opinions), give other Epinions ratings that I would give out myself, and crank out Epinions and comments on a regular basis (e.g. which is why someone like aaquino is no longer on my WOT, although he writes superb epinions on cars). All folks on my WOT are on my email notification list, so when they write new opinions (sometimes even comments) that's the first thing I read when logging on.
I've gotten a bit more strict in rating: I'm not afraid to give out SH and NH ratings to people. If my rating seems to differ greatly from others, I'll always leave a comment justifying my rating. I usually try to leave a comment for every rating that's not a VH or H, since the writers will want to know why they got a negative rating and want tips to improve their Epinion. But if the reason is self-explanatory (i.e. it can be explained by my rating system, see below), I won't leave a comment at all to save myself from carpel tunnel syndrome and repetition...
People are here on Epinions to comparison shop and potentially buy a product or service. (It even says on the right column, "Help others decide: Write an opinion") Your epinion has to address this fact, and my rating system is heavily based on this:
NH = "not helpful" for someone shopping around for the thing you're reviewing, is off-topic, gratuitously offensive, or used as spam/abuse, etc. If I find that I NH more than 5 of your reviews, you're probably on my Web of Distrust.
SH goes to people who try, but still isn't much help to someone shopping around. SH folks don't intend to abuse Epinions, they just didn't write a good review that is helpful, that's all. Too many factual errors and grammer/writing errors also warrant an SH. No offense.
H is for things that I find are "helpful" for a potential consumer, and i recommend it for reading. But to get an
VH , you must have done all or most of these: 1. write an epinion that is top notch, compared to others in that category, 2. writing that is thorough, detailed, backed up with facts/experiences, and with a little style, 3. humour and/or personal experiences are a major plus in my book, 4. mention something that other Epinioners in that category has not mentioned.
I take into account the category in which you are writing to give out the ratings: I expect a lot more detail from a car review than I would for a household product, for example. A car review should at least have 3 paragraphs minimum to get an H or VH. I don't subscribe to the "you can get an VH even if you wrote 100 words" philosophy because you really can't cover all bases in 100 words, I'm sorry to say.
I usually do NOT give a rating to non-product Epinions (e.g. your opinion on social issues, debates, tips and editorials)-- unless I feel that they help in making a purchase decision, or are superb comments and/or you're on my WOT. Likewise, I do not rate based on whether I agree or disagree with your opinion-- If I find that I strongly disagree with you, I usually do not rate it at all.
Car Reviews
I feel it's important to know the person reviewing autos to better understand the review. Preferences and height differ for each person, so for me to be helpful in my reviews you'll need to know a bit about me:
I'm a short (5' 5", 130 lbs) and young (25 yo) guy who likes big, luxurious American cars with automatic transmission that are very comfortable and ride like a boat. I used to drive a '88 Buick Century which I loved driving with one finger and one foot. :) In contrast, I also like sporty Japanese and European cars with stick shift that handle well and have tight steering/rides. I have a 2001 BMW 325Ci that replaced my Buick this May. And I just bought a 1986 Toyota MR2 which is such an awesome "small and dirty" sports car-- raw and cheap. I mostly autocross this car on weekends. I recently bought a 1991 Toyota MR2 as a project car that I will build up for road track use. I am putting in a japanese 1993 MR2 Turbo engine in there, so it'll be a 1991/93 hybrid. (Can't you tell I like MR2s? I have yet to drive the Sypder though...) I personally hate non-offroaded, suburban road-hogging SUVs. In short, I'm okay as long as a car doesn't pretend that it's something else (e.g. a sports sedan trying to be a luxury car, or a 2WD "mini-SUV" trying to be an off-roading truck).
Cars I've owned: 1984 Buick Regal, 1988 Buick Century Limited, 2001 BMW 325Ci, 1986 Toyota MR2, 1991 Toyota MR2. Other cars my family has owned (Germany, Korea, USA): 1976 Opel Kadett 12 Coupe, 1979 Audi 80 LS (coupe), 1984 Buick Regal, 1991 Ford Taurus, 1994 Ford Crown Victoria (aka "The Choi Family Boat"), 1990? Kia Concorde (rebadged Mazda), 1997 Kia Sephia LS, 1997 Buick LeSabre Limited, 2000 Buick LeSabre Custom, 2000 Hyundai Tiburon.
| My cars: |
'01 BMW 325Ci: That's my car set up for autocross (17" BBS RK wheels and 225/45/17 Kumho V700 Victoracer |
'86 Toyota MR2: Isn't it cute? It's a bit too loud and "raw" for long distance driving (that's what the BMW is for), but it's such a fun little car! |
'91/93 Toyota MR2 Turbo: Work in Progress (To be my race car) |
Here are my biases/preferences:
I like cars with big rear windows (for easy backing up / parallel parking) and great visibility all around (very easy to check blind spots and be an alert, defensive driver). I like very simple dashboards and interiors, and comfort/ergonomics is important.
I hate floor-mounted shifters on an automatic transmission car-- they should be on the steering wheel column because you don't need to touch it while driving, unlike on a manual! I don't like leather seats much, unless they are truly luxurious and soft (Rolls Royce, anyone?): I prefer plush cloth or velour/velvet seats. I also don't care for cupholders, and I think that fold-down rear seats are the best invention of the century!
In terms of exterior design, every eye is different: These are what I consider beautiful cars, or cars with timeless (will not look outdated) / appropriate design: Ferrari (all!), BMW E36 (1992-1998 3-series) Z3 and M5, Acura Integra and NSX, new Buick Regal/Century, Chrysler LHS, Chevy Corvette, Audi 80 S4 and A6, Mercedes SL600, Honda S2000, Porsche 911, Lamborghini Diablo and Countach, new Cadillac Seville, Mini Cooper
These are cars whose designers I think should go back to art school and not sleep through lectures this time around: Dodge Durango, Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable, Pontiac Aztek/Buick Rendezvous, new Hyundai Sonata and Santa Fe, new Honda Prelude, Land Rover Discovery, AM General Hummer, VW New Beetle, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Plymouth Prowler, Ford Excursion, Acura CL, Volvo (all), Dodge Neon, Toyota Echo, new Toyota Celica, Lexus LS430, Mercedes CLK and E-class, Porsche Boxter, BMW M Coupe and X5, Mitsubishi Eclipse
»More thoughts on cars, as well as editorial material and links, are in the "car" section of my homepage (cars.mchoi.com). Also check out 325ci.com, a site for 2001 BMW 325Ci enthusiasts, as well as E46coupe.com Also, the site for my two MR2s is here.
Computer Reviews
I am a PC and Mac user; most Mac users hate PC users and vice-versa. I'm in the middle: Each is good for specific tasks and good at certain things. I own a PowerMac G3 Blue/White 400MHz with MacOS 8.6 with upgrades up the wazzu, and my PC is an old Pentium 166MMX Dell Latitude laptop (1997) running Windows 98SE and RedHat Linux 6.1. I consider myself to be a semi-expert and I guess I'm a closet computer geek.
» More stuff about computers are in the "computers" section of my homepage.
I'll try to emphasize usability/user-friendliness in my reviews, since that is my "area of speciality" as well as offer perspectives from a Mac user's point of view to balance out the majority of PC/Wintel-oriented reviews.
About me
I've been on the internet since 1992, and I am a self-taught web designer and programmer. I used to frequent a lot of Usenet channels and IRC and web discussion boards to read opinions on products and help make buying decisions: I'm glad I found Epinions, a place for just that! Though I miss the old days of the internet sometimes: the text-driven internet (anyone remember Gopher? I still surf the web using Lynx or Mosaic sometimes!) that was all about content and not about eye-candy, profits, and get-rich-quick entrepreneurs, "dot-com" hype, and such. But in some ways these changes are good: It changed lives and helped us do things we never imaged we could do in our lives, and get in touch with people we never thought we would talk/chat/email with. Love the internet, damn the internet.
Oh yeah, I lived in different parts of the world and travelled a lot (esp. Europe while growing up Germany), eventually going to college in upstate New York (@ Cornell-- any fellow alums or current students, drop me a line!) and now I'm on Long Island, working in NYC at a web design firm.
» If you want gorey details about me and my political views, some pictures, music I make, etc., I have a huge personal website you should check out: www.mchoi.com
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.