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Note: This account is no longer active.
Writer and geek from the snowy Northeast
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Activity Summary
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Reviews Written: 44
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Member Visits: 1,607
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Total Visits: 11,932
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About lionhill
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Obligatory self-aggrandizing blather:
I'm a software engineer, but that doesn't define me well. Besides both playing and working with computers, I stay sane and challenged with any number of hobbies and diversions, including writing, oil painting, and playing with my cats.
About my movie reviews:
As with many things, my tastes are eclectic, and frequently don't jibe with what most viewers think. I tend to value acting over special effects, concepts over explosions, and intelligence over sentimentality.
I will try to reveal as little as possible about the plot - what's the point of a review if you don't need to see the movie afterward? (I make exceptions to this - see my review of The 13th Warrior.)
About my music reviews:
Though I may review some popular items (see my reviews of U2, Kid Rock), I tend to prefer artists who work on the boundaries of rock and roll (Pete Townshend, Thomas Dolby) or rap (The Goats, Fun Lovin' Criminals), or the fringes of conscious reality (Tom Waits, MC 900 Ft. Jesus).
I will generally not review every track on an album - I like to discover surprises, and operate on the assumption that you do too.
About my computer products reviews:
I've been programming computers since I was 8. (Yes, programming. Our school had computers donated but had no budget for software - it was a do-it-yourself kind of thing.) I took apart my first TRS-80 when I was 9. I've worked on just about everything from Big Iron with washing-machine-sized disk drives to Linux & BeOS. I work as a software engineer, and study cryptography and computer security issues as a hobby.
Why the resumé? Some people hold what amount to religious views about their favorite computer/OS/language/software/whatever. If I disagree with you, understand that I know whereof I speak and we just have a difference of opinion. (Of course, I'm still right.)
How I rate reviews and who I trust:
People likely to get high recommendations and make my WOT are not necessarily those I agree with (though this is generally so). Most important are the honesty and intelligence in your review and essays - if you put across some passion about what you're reviewing and can show me interesting reasons for how you feel, I'll be impressed.
On the flip side, if you (for example) give a movie a high rating because the stars just have the best clothes and omigod did you see their hair? - well, you won't get a great deal of positive attention from me.
A bit about the ratings themselves:
HR: This means I found your article well-written and informative.
R: I found the article informative but not as well-written as I'd like, or vice versa.
SR: Important information was missing from this article - I didn't feel like it was a real help making a decision.
NR: This article either offered no information, or advocated something I found unconscionable, such as bigotry or zealotry.
About my product ratings:
5 stars: I couldn't ask for better.
4 stars: I could ask for better, but this is still very good.
3 stars: Mediocrity. Anywhere from "just OK" down to "not so hot".
2 stars: Bad. Might be marginally functional in terms of advertised features, but no better.
1 star: Abysmal.
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