Vaping Diaries #66: A Visit to Planet Vape (Glendora)

During my road trip with Envision Vapor Rob, I hit up a new vape shop called Planet Vape. The store has been opened for a few weeks and had its grand opening this past weekend. In addition to a very cool “parlor” (or parlour, if you’re British) feel, I was impressed by Planet Vape’s hardware selection. Check out the photo gallery below and read on for more details on this excellent store.

The lounge area is comfortable and classy. The tasting area uses cushy bar stools, there’s a corner section with three comfortable couches, and center section with a high table adorned with a chess board. If chess isn’t your thing, there are a pair of televisions for you to enjoy. The TVs were playing ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption while I was there, making it tough to leave (Tony Kornheiser rules!). The shop has a water cooler and teas for your to rehydrate with. Most vape shops I’ve been to offer water. It’s very classy of Planet Vape to go beyond plain old H2O.

Like most vape shops, Planet Vape has standard eGo-style e-cigs for people to buy. Generally speaking, these are the most profitable products for stores and the easiest to sell to new vapers. What floored me was the excellent selection of high-end mechanical mods available — very unusual for a new vape shop. The store has mods from the Philippines (Sentinel, Nzonic, TItan), Finland (Electric Angel), Thailand (Siam Mods Cube), and more. Also unusual for a new shop is the rebuildable atomizer selection; the Los Angeles shops that have opened in 2013 are still getting ready for the wick-and-wire crowd, while Planet Vape has had RBAs and RBA supplies from the get go.

E-liquid choices include juices from Black Label, Uncle Junk’s, Naughty by Vapor, Villain Vapor, and more. The overall selection is strong, but as a fan of NET (naturally extracted tobacco) e-liquids, the tobacco choices are thin.

For a vape shop that just opened, I was very impressed by Planet Vape. The staff is friendly, the vibe is comfortable and fun, the hardware selection is killer, and the juice choices are solid. It’s definitely a place that I want to hit up again. Hmmmm, I’m going to give Rob a call to see if we can find an excuse to head to Planet Vape. Ha!

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Snarky PlayStation 4 Meme Should Be a Real Sony Ad

This PlayStation 4 meme that pokes fun at the Xbox One’s vaunted television features should be a real advertisement. It’s a simple message that has an element of truth, has a witty edge, and will get the fanboys riled up. While Microsoft is looking to control the entire living room, Sony appears more focused on games. (That’s the narrative so far. It could be a different story after E3 2013.) The meme is edgy and snarky, reminiscent of Sony’s best marketing (ENOS Lives, Kevin Butler, etc.). It’s also fantastic ammunition for flame wars; members of the Sony Defense Force 4th Battalion are going to throw it in the face of every XBoner on the Internet.

Although consoles have evolved into multifaceted entertainment devices, enthusiast gamers are passionate about games first and foremost (duh). The Xbox One’s television and NFL features are novel, but don’t excite the core audience. Sony appears to be positioning the PlayStation 4 as the “gamer’s console” and I’d love to see a full-on ad campaign with an attitude similar to the one used in the meme. It would give SDF fanboys a charge and could possibly help win back gamers Sony lost to the Xbox 360. The Xbox One has (unfairly) been slapped with the “not for us” label by some enthusiast gamers. Wouldn’t it be fun if Sony launched an ad campaign that took advantage of that perception? The flame wars would be glorious. Fore!!!

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Coffee Talk #587: Excessive Nerd Rage and You

Nerd rage is a funny and often ridiculous thing. The world has many problems — damage to the environment, malnourishment, and homelessness, for example. Yet dorky debates often escalate the point where you’d think people were more interested in solving the “Han shot first” dilemma than making sure kids have enough to eat. Sure, it’s sometimes hard to maintain perspective and it can be fun engaging in geeky arguments, but this week was out of hand. Look at the nerd rage that dominated the Internet this week: the “controversy” over Alice Eve’s half-naked scene in Star Trek, the pronunciation of GIF, and anger over the Xbox Onemore

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the Phil Jackson watch, Olivia Munn’s disgusting Esquire interview, or Yahoo! possibly buying Hulu, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Nerd rage is a funny and often ridiculous thing. The world has many problems — damage to the environment, malnourishment, and homelessness, for example. Yet dorky debates often escalate the point where you’d think people were more interested in solving the “Han shot first” dilemma than making sure kids have enough to eat. Sure, it’s sometimes hard to maintain perspective and it can be fun engaging in geeky arguments, but this week was out of hand. Look at the nerd rage that dominated the Internet this week:

  • Star Trek: People were passionately railing on JJ Abrams, Damon Lindelof, and company for having a needless scene featuring half-naked Alice Eve. Never mind that James Tiberius Kirk is a total dog that also appears shirtless and that many men don’t need a narratively-sound reason to see Alice Eve half-naked. People were demonizing the scene as if it were comparable to slashing acres of rainforest for kicks.
  • GIFs: People were arguing over the pronunciation of GIF (Graphics Interchange Format). The creator says it like the mediocre peanut butter, while most of the world pronounces it like the word “gift” without the last letter. I’m struggling to understand why anyone cares enough to participate in this argument. You say JIF and I say GIF, let’s call the whole thing off, no?
  • Xbox One: Unsurprisingly, people are harshly passing judgement and hating on Xbox One. Yes, there’s a lot to criticize, but there’s also a lot that Microsoft hasn’t revealed yet. The full story will be revealed in a few weeks at E3 2013. Enthusiast gamers know this, but that hasn’t stopped them from raging against the machine (*snicker*) and bombarding the Internet with palpable anger. There are fair points to be made, as seen in several excellent comments by RPadholics, but I don’t understand some of the vitriolic criticism being hurled at Microsoft.

How do you feel about this week’s nerd rage. Was it just a typical week on the Internet? Or were netizens particularly angry this week?

Vaping Diaries #65: Envision Vapor and Five Pawns

Sorry, I’ve been MIA. I’ve been on the road for the last few days for what amounted to a vaping expedition. Wednesday, my friend Rob popped in from San Diego. He recently started a new business called Envision Vapor. The company offers beautiful glass vaping tips that are competitively priced. Rob and I ventured out to Glendora to check out Planet Vape, a recently opened vape shop with a classy “parlor” vibe. After that, we hit up three Los Angeles vape shops (Viper Vapor, The Vapor-Mart, and Vaping Ape LA). I introduced him to store owners and he generated interest in his tips. While Rob is certainly a dashing fellow, Envision Tips sell themselves. I’m stoked that his new business is off to a successful start. Stay tuned for a full review on these tips in June.

It was lots of fun hanging with Rob. As vaping enthusiasts, we spent a huge chunk of time chatting about mods, atomizers, e-liquids, and more. Both of us are huge marks for Ahlusion e-liquids and we both know a bunch of Ahlusion fanatics. Several of them were mentioned throughout the day, making it feel like they were on the road trip with us. All of us started vaping in order to quit smoking, found a company that makes fantastic e-liquids, and connected because of those two things. It’s cool that those commonalities led to two people enjoying a 10-hour road trip together during their first real-world meeting.

Yesterday, my buddy Paul and I drove to Irvine to visit Five Pawns. This is a relatively new e-liquid company that makes some truly excellent juices. Some vapers have given the company heat for its pricing. After chatting with the company president and learning about the business model, I believe that the controversy is unwarranted. Five Pawns isn’t about competing with the numerous vendors that sell e-liquid online. The focus is on retail, which is why the company’s online prices ($27.50 for a 30ml bottle) seem high. It doesn’t want to undercut its retail partners, so its online prices are the same as what you find in stores. Compared to online prices, $27.50 is definitely high, but it’s inline with brick-and-mortar prices. I’ve seen 30ml juice sell for $20 to $25 in stores. Considering that Five Pawns e-liquids use premium ingredients and packaging, $27.50 is a reasonable retail price.

Five Pawns has an awesome tasting room at its Irvine headquarters. It hasn’t officially opened yet, but the grand opening will be in a few weeks. Obviously you can try the five e-liquids Five Pawns currently offers, but you can also try the “Reserve” line, which is currently being steeped in barrels. I got to try some while I was down there and it was absolutely delicious. The tasting room will also be used for flavors that the company developers. In that respect, it reminded me of visiting a vineyard that lets you sample wines that aren’t available in stores. The room has a great layout, full of comfy chairs, great bar space, and signed Shepard Fairey prints. It’s a super-cool space and I hope to make it back down for the grand opening.

Oh yeah, I filmed a few spots on Five Pawns while I was down there. Stay tuned for an interview with the company president, as well as a video feature on the tasting room.

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

My consoles are all packed up, waiting for the (three-block) journey to their new home. That means it’ll be an iOS gaming weekend for me. First up is Wizard Ops Tactics. A pal at Autodesk brought this game to my attention and I’m super happy that she did. The game is a tactical RPG with combat that’s similar to Final Fantasy Tactics (my all-time favorite) and Ogre Battle. Nerd combat on isometric grids is totally my thing. As I mentioned earlier in the week, my friend Scott Foe has a new game called Douche Defender. I’m going to give his naughtily-named creation a spin this weekend as well.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

Douche Defender Hits iOS

Scott Foe has always been one of my favorite people in the gaming business. Known for his work on the Sega Dreamcast, the Nokia N-Gage, and the award winning Pocket Kingdom, Foe has had some unique experiences in gaming. Plus, he’s just excellent company for libation-fueled conversations. Adding to Foe’s coolness is his latest game, Douche Defender. This free-to-play game is full of cheesy lines and familiar faces. Here’s what Foe said about his latest creation in the Douche Defender press release:

I’m always trying to bring something new, something that people have never seen before, something from the way-way out-there machine, and we have definitely achieved that uniqueness with Douche Defender. There is a huge subculture of seduction lurking out there on the internet and this is both the first game that I have designed with female players as the targets and the first game that I have designed with real-world implications outside of the game, and so I am very excited to see how Douche Defender is received.

I’m going to download the game today and give it a whirl. I hope you do the same. It looks like a fun, simple, and unique game with an awesome title. Well played, Mr. Foe.


Today’s Poll: PlayStation 4 vs. Xbox One Reveal

Round one is over! Sony kicked things off way back in February with its PlayStation 4 reveal. Like an old-school videogame featuring turn-based combat, Microsoft countered months later with its Xbox One press conference. Which company had the more impressive show? Kindly vote in today’s poll and sound off in the comments section!

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Xbox One Press Conference Summary and Analysis

Sony fired first with its PlayStation 4 salvo and today Microsoft fired back with an Xbox One counterattack. Due to professional conflicts, I am not permitted to write about the performance of executives at the press conference. I’ll leave that to you. Thankfully, I am allowed to respond to any judgements you make about how Microsoft’s executive team did at the Xbox One reveal. For now, let’s do that thing where I make a bullet point and follow it up with rambling thoughts.

Xbox One Will Have an Eight-Core AMD Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) Clocked at 1.6GHz
The CPU and GPU are on the same die, while the system architecture is 64-bit x86. It’s nice to see Microsoft and Sony using x86 architecture. That should make things easier for developers. While there will obviously be differences creating games for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, it should be much easier than previous generations that featured drastically different consoles. One potential issue with x86 architecture is…

Xbox One Isn’t Backwards Compatible With Xbox 360
This counts for Xbox 360 disc games, as well as Xbox Live Arcade games for Xbox 360. I haven’t checked any forums or blogs yet, but I imagine that some gamers will rage about this “issue.” Microsoft could have added an additional chipset for backwards compatibility, but that would have made the console larger and more expensive.

Xbox One Looks Like an Old VCR
I’m digging the looks of the Xbox One. I like the sharp angles and dramatic vent cutouts. If Darth Vader had a bad-ass VCR, it would look like the Xbox One. The lines make it look like a modern version of the original Xbox. I’m guessing that I’m going to be in the minority on this one and that many fans will bag on the console’s looks because it doesn’t have the smooth aesthetics of Apple products. *shrug*

Cloud Computing Continues
Like the PlayStation 4, Xbox One will have several cloud-based features. You’ll be able to access your console’s gaming content, save files, videos, and more from “anywhere.” You’ll also be able to record gameplay clips, upload them to the cloud, and share them with your friends.

Kinect and Xbox One Control Your TV
The next-gen Kinect is a huge part of the new console, with deep integration than ever. One futuristic and potentially cool feature is how Kinect and Xbox One integrate with your television service. The console will feature a UI that beats the crap out of the one most cable boxes use. Kinect’s voice recognition allows you to control the TV. Saying, “Watch ESPN!” to watch ESPN is very Star Trek.

Xbox One Will Have a “Pre-Owned” Fee
RPadholic Smartguy posted a link in the RPad.TV Google Hangout that confirmed that the Xbox One will have built-in measures to combat the used-games market. Xbox One games will have an installation process that’s tied to individual Xbox Live accounts. An undisclosed fee will have to be paid if another Xbox Live user wants to install the game. Personally, I have no problems with this system, but understand that some people do…and am looking forward to the nerd rage over this “issue.”

[Update: The Xbox Support Twitter says that the report on pre-owned fees is incorrect. It’s a little confusing considering that Microsoft VP Phil Harrison was the first executive to mention the fee.]

Xbox One Has Blu-ray, USB 3.0, and WiFi Direct
The first two features are necessary in 2013. I haven’t used WiFi Direct for anything, but imagine it’s useful for quickly connecting peripherals.

The Xbox One Controller is…
The pictures make the controller look cheaper than the Xbox 360 controller, but that doesn’t mean much. I’m guessing it looks better in person. A few of my journalist friends said that they weren’t allowed to touch the controller. Feel is obviously the most important thing. The new controller allegedly features more than 40 improvements over its predecessor. Many gamers believe that the Xbox 360 controller is close to perfect, so I’m curious to see what the reaction will be to the new gamepad.

Halo…the Live-Action TV Show
Steven Spielberg will be the executive produce of Halo: The Television Series, a live-action program that will debut on Xbox Live. The kids will go nuts for this.

Microsoft and NFL Sitting in a Tree
In a move that will be huge in America and nowhere else in the world, Microsoft has the exclusive rights to create interactive experiences that complement NFL programming. Kinect and SmartGlass will be used to enhance the (American) football experience. I’m sure that many of you will love this.

Price, Release Date, SKUs
Those should be announced at E3 2013. You have to save something for later, right?

Your Take
Now it’s your turn! What are your initial thoughts on Xbox One? How do you feel about the deeper Kinect integration? Are you digging the television features? Any opinions on backwards compatibility and the pre-owned games fee? Share your thoughts like a Care Bear in the comments section (please)!

Yahoo! Adds 1TB of Space, New UI, Android App to Flickr

Once the darling photo service of the digerati, Flickr has languished under Yahoo!’s ownership…until now. When Marissa Mayer took over as Yahoo! CEO, one of her first goals was to make Flickr relevant again. She has done that with 1TB of storage, a new UI that emphasizes photos, and a lovely new Android app. Here’s a snippet from the official announcement:

Today, we’re thrilled to take Flickr even further with a beautiful, completely re-imagined experience that puts photos front and center. When it comes to photography, technology and its limits shouldn’t hinder the experience. So we’re also giving our Flickr users one terabyte of space — for free. That’s enough for a lifetime of photos — more than 500,000 original, full-resolution, pixel-perfect, brilliant photos. Flickr users will never have to worry about running out of space.

Most people will focus on the storage limit, which is a remarkable thing and reminds me of how Google (Mayer’s former company) used to trounce the competition in terms of storage space (remember when Gmail was first announced?). The new UI is a notable improvement. For too long, it was too easy to get lost in Flickr’s text, which is something you don’t want a photo-sharing service to do. While I’m still getting used to the new UI, I’m really enjoying it so far. Between the new storage limit and improved UI, I’m certain that I’ll be using Flickr more in 2013 than I have in the last few years combined.

Have you gotten a chance to check out the new Flickr yet? I’d love to hear your thoughts on it. Fire away in the comments section (please!).

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Coffee Talk #586: Villains With Villainous Names

[Seinfeld Mode] Did you ever notice that some comic book, movie, and television bad guys have names that make it completely obvious that they’re bad guys? [/Seinfeld Mode] What’s up with that? Are these guys and gals predestined to be evildoers? Or did they legally change their names while sufferings delusions of grandeur (see Hellwig, Jim). Star Wars is especially guilty of this, particularly The Clone Wars cartoons. Look at some of the villains that threatened the universe a long time ago in a galaxy far far away: General Whorm Loathsom, Savage Opress, Moralo Eval, Cad Bane, etc. There might as well be a Star Wars baddie name Evel McEvelson.

One of my favorite villains with a villainous name is…more

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the lead-up to the French Open, the end of the frauds known as the NY Knicks, or Lady Gaga in Machete Kills, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

[Seinfeld Mode] Did you ever notice that some comic book, movie, and television bad guys have names that make it completely obvious that they’re bad guys? [/Seinfeld Mode] What’s up with that? Are these guys and gals predestined to be evildoers? Or did they legally change their names while sufferings delusions of grandeur (see Hellwig, Jim). Star Wars is especially guilty of this, particularly The Clone Wars cartoons. Look at some of the villains that threatened the universe a long time ago in a galaxy far far away: General Whorm Loathsom, Savage Opress, Moralo Eval, Cad Bane, etc. There might as well be a Star Wars baddie name Evel McEvelson.

One of my favorite villains with a villainous name is Thaal Sinestro. Once the greatest Green Lantern in the universe, Sinestro betrayed the Green Lantern Corps, fought them as a rebel, and eventually formed the menacing Sinestro Corps. Did the Guardians of the Universe not see this one coming? Dude’s name is Sinestro! The word “sinister” is part of his frickin’ name. It would be one thing if Connie Congeniality betrayed the Guardians and the Corps, but the guy with sinister in his name? Of course he was going to go turncoat.

Yes, I realize that some of these guys have evil names in order to help younger readers and viewers figure out that they’re evil. But what about the people they fight, backstab, etc.? Shouldn’t they know better? In the immortal words of Chaz Michael Michaels, it’s “mind bottling.”

Anyway, who are some of you favorite villains with villainous names? Kindly leave your choices in the comments section!