My pal Scott Foe dropped me a line to tell me about ShufflePix for iPhone. It’s a simple iOS puzzle game that turns your pictures into jumble puzzles. The goal is to put the puzzles together as fast as possible. You can check out how your puzzle-solving abilities stack up on the leader boards. While playing with strangers and strangers’ pictures is fun, playing with friends is even better. You can challenge your friends and use your photos for a more social experience.
If you’re so inclined, please download ShufflePix when you have a chance. You can use Facebook to connect, but can also use the game’s account system if you’re averse to the social network. This could be a fun RPad.TV activity and bragging rights will be on the line. I only ask that we keep the RPad.TV ShufflePix games schlong-free.
For more info on the game, check out the video below.
Over the weekend, I caught up on a bunch of movies I’ve been meaning to see. All three featured protagonists that are old and washed up. I’m hoping that the choices were a coincidence, but I fear that these movies reflect my current state of mind. Ha! Anyway, here are a bunch of thoughts on Skyfall, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Here Comes the Boom.
Skyfall: I was supposed to attend a screening for this, but don’t remember why I missed it. That’s a regret. This movie has everything I want from a James Bond film — fantastic action, beautiful women, slick cars, and charmingly goofy lines. While I’ve been impressed with Daniel Craig’s run as Bond, Judi Dench and Javier Bardem rocked in this movie. Craig was very good, but his costars were great. Dench blended fierceness and vulnerability perfectly, while Bardem rocketed to the top of my list of favorite Bond villains. The only problem I had with the film was Ralph Fiennes. Whenever I saw him, I thought he was going to perform the cruciatus curse on Bond. That Voldemort hangup is totally on me and not the actor or the movie.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: I remember this movie getting tepid reviews, but I enjoyed it. It’s not as good as the first three Indiana Jones films, but it has some nice moments. Part of it was nostalgia; it was nice seeing Indy and Marion together again. Karen Allen is old, but her smile is still captivating and I dig her rapport with Harrison Ford (though I was hoping Starman would pop up to form a love triangle). Cate Blanchett makes a fetching Russian communist. I had visions of her sexily saying, “Stupid moose and squirrel,” as she stood over me in bed holding a riding crop. The action sequences — the bread-and-butter of these movies — were thrilling and laced with nice comedic moments. Normally, that Shawn LeBeef kid bugs me, but I didn’t mind him here. Yeah, the movie felt formulaic at times, but it’s a fun formula.
Here Comes the Boom: This was clearly the worst movie of the three, but I have the most to say about it. The premise seemed absurd to me and I wanted to see if Kevin James could make me believe he was an MMA fighter. He didn’t. BUT, the movie almost comes together for four reason.
Neil Diamond — “Holly Holy” plays an important of the movie. Lord Neil is one of the few deities walking among us mere mortals. The musical choices are rounded out by a scene featuring “Faithfully” by Journey.
Kevin James — As an overweight and charming comedian that writes, the guy is pretty much my role model. Seriously though, he has charisma and there are well-written lines of comedic dialogue sprinkled through this mess.
Henry Winkler — The Fonz is awesome at making mediocre and bad material hilarious. He definitely got the most out of this role. I can’t think of many people that would have been as good.
Bas Rutten — This was the huge surprise here. El Guapo was frickin’ hilarious. I had to tweet him after I saw the movie and the MMA legend wrote back! He had unexpectedly great timing and delivery. I hope he does more physical comedies in the future, because I think he’d do well (you know, before joining the cast The Expendables 6). Wait…I see my dream buddy movie featuring Bas Rutten and Russell Brand!
So yeah, this movie wasn’t very good, but it had some interesting elements and Rutten was a pleasant surprise.
If you’ve seen any of these movies, let’s talk about them in the comments section (please!).
Rumor has it that those evil Internet service providers will start using the Copyright Alert System six-strike anti-piracy policy today. The companies kicking it off are AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon. The six strike part of the equation is easy enough to understand; your ISP will give you six warnings about downloading or sharing copyrighted material before punishing you. The consequences vary from provider to provider. They include bandwidth throttling, cutting off access to certain web sites, and temporary suspension of service.
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, 2013 Oscar snubs, wishing herpes on J.A. Happ for breaking Curtis Granderson’s arm, or revisiting the PlayStation 4 unveiling now that you’ve had a weekend to think it over, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Rumor has it that those evil Internet service providers will start using the Copyright Alert System six-strike anti-piracy policy today. The companies kicking it off are AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon. The six strike part of the equation is easy enough to understand; your ISP will give you six warnings about downloading or sharing copyrighted material before punishing you. The consequences vary from provider to provider. They include bandwidth throttling, cutting off access to certain web sites, and temporary suspension of service.
There are some interesting pitfalls and potential loopholes. How will ISPs handle offenses detected in shared environments? If you’re getting heat at home, will you be able torrent at a coffeeshop or shared office space? Will virtual private networks (VPNs) see a surge in business from downloaders that want to mask their activity? Implementing the six-strike rule is going to be a nightmare and I hope every major ISP in America suffers. Those companies deserve an expensive venture for reaping huge profits and not spending the money on infrastructure. They’re inhibiting technology and limiting consumers.
More importantly, how are you going to deal with the six-strike world? Are you going to quit torrents? Are you going to purchase a VPN subscription? Or will you throw caution to the wind and deal with the consequences as they come?
Earlier in the month, I reviewed three e-liquids from Vape Dudes. I thought that two of them were good, but not great, while one was disappointing. This time around I checked out three e-liquids from Vape Dudes’ Naturals line, which uses 100 percent organic flavorings. The juices vaped were Spicy Chai, Bananas Foster, and RB Dude. While I definitely preferred the Naturals line over the standard e-liquids, the results were the same — two good, but not great, and one disappointing. Here are the breakdowns and steeping notes.
Spicy Chai: This is a sweet e-liquid that’s a nice choice for people that like mainstream chai drinks, like the ones served at Starbucks or Coffee Bean. The sweetness is high, but doesn’t drown out the tea flavor. While the chai taste is pretty accurate (again, in the mainstream sense), it doesn’t have the spicy edge that some chai beverages do. Calling it “Spicy Chai” is somewhat misleading because I didn’t find it the least bit spicy. That said, it was still an enjoyable juice, but it really should have a different name.
Bananas Foster: I was wary of this one going into the review, because I’ve had some gnarly banana e-liquids, but this juice ended up being my favorite of the bunch. It has an enjoyable banana flavor topped with caramelized sweetness. However, I’ve had other bananas foster e-liquids where you could taste the bananas, vanilla, caramelized sugar, cinnamon, and rum. This one isn’t that nuanced, but still a very enjoyable e-liquid.
RB Dude: This is Vape Dudes’ root beer float flavor. As a mark for root beer, I was really looking forward to this one, but ended up being disappointed by it. I picked up the root beer flavor, but it was overshadowed by whatever cream or vanilla flavorings the company used. The result was a somewhat nutty taste that I didn’t like. It didn’t taste like a root beer float to me at all. I’ve had better root beer float juices and much better root beer juices from other vendors. Oh well, two out of three ain’t bad, hey?
Steeping Notes
Spicy Chai
50/50 PG/VG Ratio, 6mg nictone
Uncapped: December 3, 2012 6:08PM
Recapped: December 5, 2012 6:56PM
Vaped: February 18-23, 2013
Bananas Foster
50/50 PG/VG Ratio, 6mg nictone
Uncapped: December 3, 2012 6:08PM
Recapped: December 5, 2012 6:56PM
Vaped: February 18-23, 2013
RB Dude
50/50 PG/VG Ratio, 6mg nictone
Uncapped: December 3, 2012 6:08PM
Recapped: December 5, 2012 6:56PM
Vaped: February 18-23, 2013
Review Process (Updated February 17, 2013): RPad.TV e-liquid reviews focus on the flavor of the e-liquids, since throat hit and vapor production can be altered by the PG/VG ratio and nicotine level selected. Each juice is vaped over a period of days in an atomizer, a cartomizer/tank setup, and a clearomizer. The exception is naturally-extracted tobacco (NET) juices; since those are known to clog up cartomizers quickly, those are vaped in atomizers and clearomizers.
Michael Bay has announced that Megan Fox will appear in the upcoming Ninja Turtles movie he’s producing. Many fans have speculated that Fox will play April O’Neil. While I’m totally down with seeing Fox in skimpy clothing, I’m a little bit scared of the movie. It has gone through some strange twists and turns, and I sincerely doubt it will be faithful to the source material. It’s suppose to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, but later transformed (get it?!?) into Alien Turtles and is now being referred to as Ninja Turtles. Rumor has it that Leonardo and the gang will not be the focus of the movie. Instead, it will allegedly star the turtles’ pal Casey Jones.
Hopefully the Fox rumor is true and the Casey Jones rumor doesn’t pan out. I loved the original Eastman and Laird comic books, so I’m hoping for something similarly grim and gritty. My fear is that Bay will make a big-budget version of that stupid TMNT cartoon. Oy.
Here’s a great video that starts off with a promo from WWE Superstars Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter. Shortly into the clip, the two break character and address the viewers as Jake Hager and Wayne Keown, the real people behind the characters. Political commentator Glenn Beck recently took issue with these characters and their anti-immigration stance against Mexican wrestlers like Alberto Del Rio. He referred to the WWE as, “Stupid wrestling people.” Hager and Keown do a phenomenal job shutting down the “controversy” Beck is trying to create.
While the WWE has done a lot of questionable things over the years, there are several instances of the company responding to the mainstream media’s (sometimes) stupid view on pro-wrestling. This is one of those instances. Of course the reality check is self-serving as well. WWE is wisely capitalizing on the media coverage it has been receiving as a result of Beck’s put-down. The company has even invited to Beck to appear on Monday Night Raw. Whatever comes of the situation, it’s nice to see the WWE turning something negative into something positive.
Check out the promo when you have a chance and let me know what you think (please!).
Clearomizers are a popular choice for vapers looking for large capacity and ease of use. Two of the best that you can buy today are the Innokin iClear 30 and the Kanger T3. Both hold 3ml of e-liquid and feature plastic tubes, but there are some major differences between these clearos. The iClear 30 is a dual-coil, top-coil product, while the Kanger T3 is a single-coil, bottom-coil device. Here’s a comparison of these great, but very different, clearos so that you can find the one that’s right for you.
Construction: The iClear 30’s metal parts are made from stainless steel. The Kanger T3 uses a cheaper metal. The iClear 30 feels like a sturdier product that’s made better and will last longer.
Throat Hit: Since the iClear 30 uses two coils that are closer to your mouth, it gives you a warmer vape with more throat hit.
Vapor: The iClear 30 takes this one too, also because of its dual-coil nature.
Flavor: This category is subjective, so your experience will vary based on your taste buds and the types of e-liquids you vape. For my comparison, I vaped 6ml of Ahlusion’s Vurley and Orb Vapor’s Orange Vanilla Cream in each clearomizer. It wasn’t a huge difference, but I was definitely getting a wider variety of flavor from the T3. The vanilla in Vurley and the orange in Orange Vanilla Cream were definitely more pronounced in the Kanger clearo. The sweetness was muted in the iClear 30, taking a backseat to the tobacco and vanilla, respectively.
Filling and Refilling: Filling the iClear 30 couldn’t be easier; you simply unscrew the tip and pour e-liquid into the clearo. The hole is big enough for most dripper bottles and dripper caps. Filling the T3 is easy too; you hold the tube upside down and pour e-liquid down the side. However, refilling the T3 can be a little bit messy. Even if you’re careful, it’s possible for juice to drip down the T3’s center pole when you refill.
Cleaning: To clean the T3, you really only have to worry about two parts. It’s a snap. Cleaning the iClear 30 is also easy, but you’re also working with more parts and smaller parts. I’ve lost a few of the rubber caps that cover the unit’s coils by clumsily dropping them down the drain while washing (thankfully I have spares from the iClear 16). You just have to be more careful when clearning the iClear 30.
For people that like to dry burn their coils, the iClear 30 is easier to work with since it’s easier to see the unit’s coils.
Performance Issues: The Kanger T3 produces an airier draw, which I prefer over the iClear 30’s tighter draw. Some people prefer tighter draws, so there’s no winner here.
Both products are compatible with 510 vaping devices. The iClear 30 uses a standard 510 connection, while the T3 uses an eGo-threaded connection. You’ll need a 510-to-eGo adapter to use the T3 with certain hardware.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the iClear 30 goes through e-liquid much faster than the T3 due to its dual coils.
The iClear 30 has a unique swivel tip that allows you to hold your vaping device in a more comfortable position and optimize wicking. Some people think the tip is a gimmick and have no use for the swiveling feature, but I like it. I don’t miss it when I use another clearo, but I appreciate it when I’m using the iClear 30.
I’ve been using T3s since October and most of units I’ve used had gurgling issues for the last 1/4 or 1/8 of the tank. I had a similar issue with one of the iClear 30s in my rotation, but it hasn’t been nearly as common. I’ve also had some leaking issues with several T3s. I had one with an iClear 30, but it turned out to be a bad coil. Aside from that particular unit, my iClear 30s haven’t leaked.
For the most part, the iClear 30 has been a more consistent performer than the T3 in my experience.
Bottom Line: Out of all the clearos I’ve tried, these two are the best I’ve used, but I don’t think one is clearly better than the other. They just offer different experiences. People that like a warm vape and throat hit will be happier with the iClear. People that like sweetness and an airier draw will prefer the T3. Personally, I love the performance and construction of the iClear, but I also like the T3’s draw and flavor production. Hopefully this comparison helped you find which clearo is best for you.
Ever wonder what it would cost to be Batman or Iron Man? Yeah, I’ve never thought about it either. Thankfully (for your amusement), the people at HomeOwnersInsurance.com have! Check out the large infographic below that breaks down what Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark have have to pay to maintain their superhero lifestyles. Costs include equipment, housing, staff, transportation, and more. The final bill is…ouchie. Continue reading “The Price of Being Batman and Iron Man”
As a Bill Simmons fanboy, the “Ewing Theory” is far more relevant to my life than any scientific theory. When Simmons posted a column revisiting the Ewing Theory, I started thinking about it in videogame terms. Obviously videogames are larger team efforts than sports are, so some of the principles of the theory don’t apply, but it was a fun exercise. Over the last week, I asked a bunch of friends if they could think of any videogame franchises that improved when a “celebrity” developer moved on or left the team.
The most common answer I received was the God of War series. A lot of my friends feel…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, Shia LaBeouf getting booted off a Broadway play, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. switching from HBO to Showtime, or celebrities wearing pajama pants, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
As a Bill Simmons fanboy, the “Ewing Theory” is far more relevant to my life than any scientific theory. When Simmons posted a column revisiting the Ewing Theory, I started thinking about it in videogame terms. Obviously videogames are larger team efforts than sports are, so some of the principles of the theory don’t apply, but it was a fun exercise. Over the last week, I asked a bunch of friends if they could think of any videogame franchises that improved when a “celebrity” developer moved on or left the team.
The most common answer I received was the God of War series. A lot of my friends feel that the series reached new heights after David Jaffe left the team. The answer surprised me. Part of it is because I hold Jaffe in high regard and part of it is that I believe the series simply progressed. Of course Cory Balrog and Stig Asmussen did wonderful jobs directing the next two God of War games, but I believe the series would have improved similarly with Jaffe at the wheel. (Hmmm, now I want to rewrite the song “Jesus Take the Wheel” with the lyrics “Jaffe Take the Wheel.”)While I understood their points, I don’t think it was a “Ewing Theory” situation. God of War definitely got better, but I don’t think it was because of David Jaffe taking a different role (II) or leaving the team (III).
A few people mentioned John Romero and the Quake series. I understood this argument more, but felt that the older guys I spoke with still had Daikatana on their minds. That said, Tim Willits and Graeme Devine definitely took the franchise to new heights.
Now it’s your turn! What videogame franchises can you apply the Ewing Theory to?
The excellent Frank Cifaldi from Gamasutra conducted an excellent interview with the excellent group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, Shuhei Yoshida. If you’re counting at home, that’s three times the excellence (E3). One of my favorite parts of the interview was Yoshida talking about making the PlayStation 4 accessible to small developers. Check it out:
We believe in smaller developers. They are very creative and they go out of the norm to do something really amazing. So we really want to make it easier for them to come to our platform and publish. And we know there are many things we can do, in talking with these guys and asking what they want us to do. And one effort we’ve been doing in that context is the PS Mobile platform. That doesn’t even require the purchase of a dev kit. It’s totally software driven, and they can develop games…on PC, for example. And once you decide to publish it, you want to test it on the final hardware, but you don’t have to acquire a pricey dev kit.
The approach to PS4 we’re internally working on is, I hope to see somewhere in-between the current model that we have on PS3 and the PS Mobile totally software-driven model. We could continue and go and expand the PS Mobile approach, but the beauty of developing games on console is we allow the developers to go really deep into the hardware, and to unlock the potential. And so in order for us to do that, the developer has to have the dev kit to work on. So at least initially, we have to provide the dev kit to make games on PS4.
One of the things I love about Sony Computer Entertainment is that it has consistently championed independent games from small developers. Games like Journey and The Unfinished Swan have helped developers like thatgamecompany and Giant Sparrow flourish. I believe that Sony has done a much better job than Nintendo and Microsoft at promoting these kinds of games. And it looks like that will continue with the PlayStation 4.
Having a wide variety of content is vital for the ecosystem of any console, especially since the console companies are competing with established mobile ecosystems (Amazon, Apple, Google), as well as each other. Small developers often bring games that are creative and different to the table. It’s cool to see Sony believing in their importance and making an effort to include them.
