Review Day

There are no spoilers in these reviews.

Shadows by Lenka:
Lenka's third album is billed as "lullabies for adults", which is exactly what was delivered. The music has lost much of the playful quality that I enjoyed in previous albums, and replaced it with a hazy, washed out sound that's mellow and comfortable, but not always interesting. The advertising blurb states that this album was inspired by Lenka's marriage and pregnancy, and it's true that it's the musical equivalent of a contented mom.

Final Grade: C+

Regular Expressions Cookbook by Jan Goyvaerts and Steven Levithan:
Regular expressions are in one of those knowledge areas that I actually have learned over the course of my career, but when the time comes to write any expressions that are reasonably complex, I find it faster to just look for examples online. I had hoped that this book would nudge me more towards regular expression self-sufficiency, but it has not. The progression of "recipes" increases in complexity nicely, but so much space is devoted to edge cases and differences between different languages that it greatly loses readability. I still find it faster to adapt online examples than figure out new expressions with my brain.

Final Grade: B-

Excelline Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas:
In my continuing quest to find freezer foods that are easy-to-prepare and actually taste good, I tried these quesadillas from Costco (they were next to the chicken pot pies that were so delicious). On the positive side, the box says that there are 8 but I ended up with 10. Everything else is a negative: the quesadillas cook unevenly in the microwave, resulting in cold chicken and burnt cheese, and a puddle of water leaks onto the plate making any surrounding foods soggy. The smell is good but the taste is forgettable -- there are no real "food" flavours in a bite to cover up the "generic processed stuff" flavour emanating from both ends. The quesadilla falls apart as you cut it, and the salt content is so high that it will probably start crystallizing on your uvula during the mastication process. Leonard wouldn't like this.

Final Grade: D-