this is the ONLY tub to buy. Really., July 19, 2003

The molded contours hold baby quite well, allowing for almost hands free bathing! Now that DD is 12 months old and over 31 inches tall the tub still fits her very well.

It is very deep and can be filled quite full for older babies sitting up, the water comes almost up to her armpits when sitting. She stays warm and has plenty of room to splash around. Its much safer than putting her in the bathtub, but all other baby tubs would be too small for her now.

For smaller babies you can simply put less water in and baby lays down in a comfy contoured area.

The only down side, it is a BIG tub and not going to fit on most counter tops. This is a tub to put on the floor or sit inside the bathtub.

Probably the BEST tub on the market. Don't waste your $$ on other tubs. Get this one first, hopefully babies r us will continue to sell it.

Tallest most comfortable seat, and fits in small backseat., July 19, 2003

So we have been searching for the tallest car seat available, but that will still fit in the backseat of our smallest car (a Saab 9-3). I went to various baby stores and measured the seating area of every car seat I could find. We figured out that the Marathon has the tallest seating area available (aside from the Britax Wizard which is not available in most stores yet). The inside seating area is about 26 inches tall (compared to about 21 inches for the Evenflo Triumph we have now).

Basically:

1. Installs (rear facing) like a dream. I did use a pool noodle and a mighty tite to level and tighten the seat. Fits in both vehicles (Saab 9-3 and Ford Explorer 4-door) with more room to spare than with the smaller Evenflo seat. Probably because the base itself is narrower and shorter than the evenflo model. So for a big seat, it actually fits better than some smaller seats.

2. Versa tether further stabilizes the seat, this seat does not move at all. We attached the tether to the metal track of the front passenger seat. I did put a non-slip car seat mat under the seat to protect our leather seats and keep the seat from sliding around.

3. Height of 26 inches inside seat allows for children up to 48 inches tall to use this seat. Weight limit of 33 lbs rear facing, 65 lbs forward facing. If you plan to go for maxiumum safety and keep your child rear facing longer than a year, this is probably the best seat for you.

4. Also a wide comfy seat, my daughter seems quite happy in this seat. Seems like there will be plenty of room to grow. 4 height adjustments for the harness, with the tallest harness height available on the market on the top adjustment. Sleeps easily in it. Comfy material (we got it in "Stormy" pattern which is like a beige faux suede/velour type material.

5. Only 2 recline adjustments. In rear facing position it must be reclined. Fortunately the recline is just enough to keep her head back if sleeping, but upright enough that she can see outside and play with toys or books when awake.

6. Others mentioned a problem with the belly buckle pad falling off. (It is not permanently attached, rather it slips over the buckle through a slot in the material). We have not had a problem with this, but we are probably being extra careful after reading your comments about this.

For a younger baby just moving from a snug infant carrier to a convertible seat this seat may be a bit large. However the lowest harness setting is quite low, and compares to other on the market. Probably with the addition of a "Snuzzler" by Kiddopottamus this seat could still work well for a small infant. I have to say we really liked the evenflo Triumph carseat as a transition seat. If we had to do it again though, I would have skipped the Evenflo and saved some $ by buying this seat and adding a Snuzzler.

I probably should comment on the cost. It is priced too high, and everyone should be able to afford a carseat of this size and quality in order to keep their child rearfacing beyond a year. I hope Evenflo or Graco will address this soon and manufacture a seat with the ablity to keep taller children rear facing longer. In the meantime we decided that our daughters safety came first and decided to bite the bullet and pay for a Britax.

Because a newer Britax is coming out soon (the Wizard) many internet sites are selling the Marathon for...low [prices] shop around and you will save some$.

Can't go wrong with a trilogy., July 17, 2003

Any way, Amazon.com would like me to review 'Silence in the Heavens.' Delrio does an excellent job unraveling some of what the "Dark Age universe" is all about. He explains the HPG breakdown, the role of prefects & prefectures, role of paladins (no Knights though), etc. We are also introduced to characters with a lot more depth (i.e. Tara Campbell, Paladin Crow, Will Elliot, Colonel Griffin, Anastasia Kerensky, etc).

The book begins with a look at the life of Will Elliot; a knowledgable wilderness guide put out of work due to cutbacks (the HPG network has slowed business down as less offworlders are likely to visit). He finds work in the military where he becomes a scout and befriends Jock & Lexa making for an unlikely but entertaining trio. I hope all 3 survive the trilogy. The only thing I don't like about Will's character is his vocal assurrance to his friends that he knows the surrounding forest like the back of his hand. I found myself saying, "I think Jock & Lexa know by now that you know where you are going even when it is dark, you don't have to keep telling them."

Duchess Tara Campbell is Prefect of Prefecture III after the previous Prefect decides to take off and start her own faction (the Dragon's Fury). Delrio explains through the voices of the clan characters that Tara Campbell is a formidable warrior and such but I am still unclear as to the politics involved in electing one to the rank of Prefect. I don't mind that kind of explanation, it's what made the original BT series so interesting; a balance of action & politics.

Without spending too much more time on this book, go pick it up. The end battle is written in an intersting manner. When one side does soemthing, you are immediately in the opposite camp reading how they reactt to it and what their next move is and it goes on like this back and forth. It could be annoying by not leaving anything to our imaginations but the battles are so small (relatively speaking; it's not like full RCT's fighting) that the story would be much, much shorter if you told it from one side only. But I do see that that could give you the opportunity to go into greater detail.

Bottom line, I look forward to the other two books in this trilogy. Maybe the title will make more sense to me (Proving Grounds? Silence in the Heavens?).

Why can't we give it ZERO stars?, July 17, 2003

Something that threw me off very early in the story was that the main characters (Dale, Austin & Sergio) shared the same last name as Raul Ortega from 'A Call to Arms.' This universe is still in it's infancy, lets at least wait till we're about 15 novels into it before we start recycling surnames.

'Ruins of Power' had the potential to be a powerful story with the characters it introduced. Unfortunately, the author never takes any time to dig deep into any of the characters; many questions go unanswered. Why is Sergio Ortega so adamant a pacifist? What evidence is there that Sergio was a great mechwarrior in his past? Why does Segio not confide in his own son, Austin, as to what Dale and Hanna knew of Lady Elora's work to undermine his authority as governor? It is obvious Sergio can trust no one, so why not his son? Is it because he feels that Austin is incompetent? Well that can't because Austin is given a political postition alongside his father plus he spends a week outfitting a Centurion for battle (i.e. programming it, loading LRM ammo & AC ammo, and other superhuman feats). It seems Austin is more than ready for the truth; I hope you can sense the sarcasm. We are also introduced to Capt. Manfred Leclerc of the First Cossack Lancers charged with protecting the governor till they are handed over to the Legate's control. Manfred's relationship with Austin is never given much time so you can imagine my surprise when Austin deeply embraces Manfred (who has been in hiding). Does Austin look to Manfred as a surrogate father, a big brother, what?

Despite the many character flaws inherent in this book (don't get me started on Legate Tortorelli) there were some definite technical mistakes. As I mentioned before, Austin loads LRM & AC ammo into a Centurion locked in a museum. How in the world does he accomplish that without some sort of gantry or crane? Whatever. Also, the Centurion is capable of much more damage than it was allowed to dish out. It was taken out of battle early and Vardeman even wrote of Austin having to watch heat levels even after firing only two weapons/salvos. Unless the Centurion had no heatsinks, Austin should not have given heat a second thought until he was in the thick of battle. Besides, his long range weaponry should have taken out any mech-killing tanks well before he was in range of their guns. Lastly, is the mysterious Atlas that arrives with Envoy Parsons to save the day. Not only do we not know who is piloting the Atlas (Vardeman spends no time in the cockpit of the Atlas for the reader) it seems he is the worst pilot in all of the Republic. The Atlas is ordered to minimize collateral damage to the city and to fire only when fired upon. There was no mention that the Atlas even took any vehicles out! In fact, the Atlas was about to be felled by the Home Guard forces before the battle turned. It seems to me that the Republic would have sent along an elite pilot (a Knight or something), Vardeman should have given his name, and would be able to take out any vehicle with well-placed laser, gauss or LRM salvos. Please do some research before writing and/or talk to past BT authors.

Bottom line, this is a horrible story. I could have written it and I am not very creative. There were no 'levels' to the plot, the characters, the battles, etc. Buy this book just to add it to your collection. Read it once and never touch it again unless you have a wobbly table that needs fixing.

By the way, I thought Far Country was entertaining (but yes, it was dumb).

Not bad for Loren L. Coleman, July 16, 2003

Great story and great characters! I love the idea of the not-so-great pilot redeeming himself and becoming a hero. Many of the BT novels told stories of gifted pilots who just needed a chance to hone or test their skills and prove to everyone that blah, blah, blah... I definitely prefer the story of the underdog as opposed to some mechwarrior prodigy like Kai Allard Laio or Morgan Hasek Davion.

Like I said, great story with some awesome characters (look for Tassa Kay to show up later). Also to Loren L. Coleman, great job with the Classic Battletech site. It is definitely appreciated.

Where did they hide all the mechs?, July 16, 2003

The premise for the whole new series is absolutely captivating with this idea of a Republic now in ruins because of some secret & coordinated breakdown of all but a few hpg's. Unfortunately, that's all I have been excited about thus far. One of the things that kept me reading BT so much was having the TRO's on hand so I knew what the mechs were and what their capabiliities are. Now with all those damn vehicles & infantry running around, it has become very confusing. I guess I've got to hunt down the new TRO's.

I've got too many questions still (I just finished Book I of the proving Grounds Trilogy; that title makes no sense to me either) and I'm starting to get worried that this mystery about the hpg breakdown and this business about the forming of factions is going to go on forever (much in the same way Katrina's murders were never proved for so long).

How in the world does someone get to be a Knight of the Republic? Or even a Paladin? Why is it these people are treated like gods, like they were ordained to be protectors of the universe? Where did all the mechwarriors go? Did they die of old age? Why choose Victor to be the only one alive? If the Republic can field a mech for each Knight and each Paladin and so on, what keeps them from issuing martial law and going around planet to planet stomping factions out? Why just send one person (in most cases without a mech) to "fix" things? I absolutely appreciate the political & social aspect of the BT novels but there is way too much talking and not enough mech action. Didn't anyone hide any mechs much in the way that Comstar hid warships for so long? Lastly, what is happening in the rest of the IS? I noticed in the maps that came with each MW:DA book that (with the exclusion of the Republic) none of the boundaries have changed.

All in all, I give this book 5 stars for being the first book in what "could" become a powerful and intriguing series. It also gets 5 stars for some outstanding writing by a venerable author. Go out and buy his other books; non-BT related that is! I am concerned that this series could die becuase of poor writing. WizKids, please bring back some of the original BT writers (i.e. Pardoe, Keith, Gressman, Thurston, Billis, Charette, Milan, etc.)!!!!