Archive for the 'Review' Category

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Soda C: Sony Action Cam vs GoPro HD3 Silver

Published on February 3, 2013 in Gear and Review by taro. Closed

So I’ve had these two long enough to play with them a bit and take some side by side footage. The Sony is their recent foray into the compact, self contained, HD POV video camera market dominated by GoPro. GoPro has such a strong hold that the name is becoming a verb among the action sports crowd, “Are you going to gopro that?” “I hope you were goproing that!” So it’s interesting to see what one of the big electronics names brings to the table.

I’m going focus on how it stacks up against the GoPro. Continue reading ‘Soda C: Sony Action Cam vs GoPro HD3 Silver’

I Like the Crakka

Published on January 23, 2013 in Gear and Review by taro. 1 Comment

A few posts ago I showed you the “Dead Cat” I made for my GoPro for a couple bucks. This weekend I did a Soda A, Soda B comparison test. You can watch it here:

My conclusions after the break. Continue reading ‘I Like the Crakka’

Pucker Factor 3 – Koko Crater Rim

Published on January 21, 2013 in Review by taro. Closed

Chris having some free time this weekend, we decided to check out the Koko Crater rim trail. The man who put the bug into my brain couldn’t make it so it was just the two of us parking at the botanical garden. This isn’t an official sanctioned trail so you wont find any marker. Suffice it to say that as soon as we turned left through the plumeria we were heading the wrong way. A pit stop at a stinky porta potty and it was looking pretty obvious this wasn’t going the way we wanted. We turned around and took the path less travelled. Continue reading ‘Pucker Factor 3 – Koko Crater Rim’

Beer Is Good – Samuel Adams Alpine Spring

Published on January 20, 2013 in Food and Review by taro. Closed

Latest SA seasonal, pours a somewhat cloudy yellow with fairly strong head that quickly subsides. Faint floral with a citrusy brightness. A little bitterness comes through, but not strong and does not linger long. I can detect a touch of skunkiness that I did not taste in the first bottle I had a couple days ago. Carbonation is not too strong, mouth feel actually a touch heavier than I would have expected from a beer of this color, but not heavy by any means. A very easy drinking beer. Oddly this second bottle doesn’t fill me with as much joy as the first one I had. I was almost ready to give the first bottle a 4, I really can’t now. Hm, actually seems better as I get near the bottom of the glass and it has warmed up a touch. It will have to settle for a solid 3 of 4 Alpine monkeys.

Yet More 2013 Post-New-Year Season Anime

Published on January 19, 2013 in anime, Culture and Review by risu. Closed

There are a couple of new shows running on Funimation’s site too.  Like some of the other properties they stream there, they may or may not produce retail DVD or BD products of these shows.  Read on! Continue reading ‘Yet More 2013 Post-New-Year Season Anime’

More 2013 Post-New-Year Anime

Published on January 13, 2013 in anime and Review by risu. Closed

A few shows are returning after the New Year programming hiatus, and some new fill-in shows have started popping up.  Here are some brief reviews after the page break: Continue reading ‘More 2013 Post-New-Year Anime’

Beer Is Good – Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale

Published on January 8, 2013 in Food and Review by taro. Closed

Pours a moderate dark brown, moderate head that quickly goes away. Roasty aroma, but not strong, nutty tones, well tempered finish, a bit of lingering bitter. Smooth mouth feel, but not heavy syrupy. An easy quaffing beer.

Solid 3 out 4 touch of wheat monkeys.

Beer Is Good – Widmer Brothers Winter Seasonal Ale

Published on January 7, 2013 in Food and Review by taro. Closed

Pours clear medium amber, small head, light carbonation. Aroma is bam, floraly hops! Can smell it before even taking a taste. Flavor wise the hops is dominant, however not skunky. There is a bit of light roasty malt in the middle, strong lingering bitter finish. Mouth feel is medium, there is a touch of syrupy feel, but not objectionable. For how hoppy it is, I don’t find it offensive, however the bitter is a bit too much for me. I can drink it, but want strong food to go with it. On its own it’s a bit hard for me to drink. Oh, and it’s not my imagination, this does pack a bit of buzz, over 7% ABV is higher than your average beer.

2 out 4 hoppy monkeys.

ITS Tactical Skeletonized Bottle Holder

Published on January 6, 2013 in Gear and Review by risu. Closed

This highly-adaptable bottle carrier designed by ITS Tactical and manufactured by Zulu Nylon Gear can fit almost any EDC water bottle currently on the market, even legacy GI 1-quart canteens.  Made from US-sourced materials in the USA, this MOLLE-compatible bottle holder uses a Velcro-adjustable perimeter nylon webbing band at its base and elastic shock-cord keeper at the top to retain bottles up to the size of a 1-liter Nalgene.   The MOLLE attachment is a traditional 1″ nylon webbing weave strap with a terminal snap.  It uses one channel in width and three high.  It can also be configured to fit a 2″ belt by passing the strap under the lowest two sections of weaving webbing.  The main body is made from a piece of 2″ nylon webbing folded over a LDPE stiffener.  The webbing perimeter band is sewn to the body and uses hook Velcro on one end and loop on the other for diameter adjustment.  The tail of the main body loops under the bottle and is captured in the adjustment of the perimeter band by hook and loop sections at its terminal tip to keep the bottle from just slipping out the bottom.  The elastic shock cord top retainer has a grippy tab for easy manipulation, and can be adjusted both in girth by tying it larger or smaller (the knot is inside the tab) and height by using one of two slots in the main body.  I got the MultiCam version that uses jacquard woven MultiCam webbing and pattern matched Velcro.  The snap is a blackened, Mil Spec non-magnetic brass component. Continue reading ‘ITS Tactical Skeletonized Bottle Holder’

White… No, Black…Wait

Published on January 6, 2013 in Culture, Food, rant and Review by risu. Closed

As a special edition for sale in Hokkaido as omiyage to take back to the rest of Japan, Yuraku confectionery introduced the Shiroi Burakku Sandaa (White Black Thunder) chocolate bar.  Since the introduction of Ishiya’s Shiroi Koibito white chocolate coated butter cookies, Hokkaido has been inexplicably tied to white chocolate.  This is of course in tune with the image of Hokkaido as a snowy, white realm.  Thus, the substitution of a white chocolate overlay on the normal dark, milk chocolate automatically makes the Shiroi Burakku Sandaa “Hokkaido-ish”.  I haven’t seen the white version as a single bar for sale in grocery or convenience stores, but I’m generally not looking for candy bars.  This gift pack is available at various shops at the Shin-Chitose airport, and according to the packaging is in fact made in Hokkaido.  I have eaten the normal version, but I can’t recall what it was like, beyond being not “premium” chocolate.  The white version essentially tastes like an inside-out Oreo cookie.