Wavelength

Ideal for a Small Room, 7 Feb 2013

I bought this system for use with a Bravia HX8-series television in a relatively small room (the kind of room which would just about contain a double bed with enough room left over to smash your shins against it).

Setup is an absolute doddle - all the speaker cables are colour-coded and labelled, and there is basically only one HDMI connection to make to the television. The HDMI input port supports ARC (audio return channel), so if your TV also supports ARC then audio from your game console, satellite box etc can be looped back from the telly to the Blu-Ray player automatically. If there's no HDMI port that supports ARC on your television, then the same thing can be achieved… Read more

Uniquely Engaging, 7 Feb 2013

I chose this book after reading the sample pages for Kindle, which I found intriguing. The setting is a collision of colonial space empire and turn of the century aristocracy, which certainly made for an interesting mix. In terms of plot, several themes are brought together which include viral pandemic, theocratic oppression, and an ecological mystery.

Tepper very capably fleshes out the principal characters, but one weakness I found was that far too many of the secondary characters seem hurriedly thrown-together, even one-dimensional and desperately shallow. I have to admit though that this didn't detract terribly from the story, which although in some respects was quite… Read more

A Quick and Helpful Read, 7 Feb 2013

This book is not a complete course in being likeable, it's more like a quick guide to preventing yourself from making a variety of common mistakes which can lead to awkward or undesirable social situations. Primarily, it's about how to interact with people in a way that won't make them resentful, motivate others without using guilt, and avoid giving advice that will blow up in your face.

The title is slightly misleading, as you don't need to be "too nice for your own good" to benefit from this book. For example there's a four component system for telling people how you feel about something they've said or done, and why it matters to you, without assigning blame. Very… Read more