Coffee Talk #653: Ignorant Pacquiao Fans Dismiss Mayweather’s Victory

Last night’s boxing match (hard to call it a “fight”) between Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Manny Pacquiao was disappointing. The most lucrative bout in the sport’s history, it was pugilistic clinic by Mayweather that didn’t exactly electrify the crowd. While Manny had a few moments of flashy offense and stunned Mayweather a few times, “Money” dominated the fight. For various reasons, many Pacquiao fans aren’t giving Mayweather the credit he deserves. As a hardcore boxing fan, I find all the talk of “all Mayweather did was run” and “Mayweather was holding all night” incredibly annoying; it shows that many Filipino boxing fans — especially the ones that only watch Pacquiao fights — don’t understand the sport at all. Before I rant more about that, let’s get to the official particulars.

Judge Dave Moretti scored it 118-110, while judges Glenn Feldman and Burt Clements had it 116-112. I was scoring the fight and gave Pacquiao two rounds, matching Moretti’s score. I also put an asterisk next to two rounds, noting that they were tough to score, so the 116-112 scores seem reasonable to me.

According to CompuBox, Mayweather landed 148 of 435 punches (34 percent), while Pacquiao landed 81 of 429 punches (19 percent). With those numbers in mind, I find it hilarious that ignorant fans have accused Mayweather of “only” holding and running. While he certainly held more than ever before and fought backwards for the majority of the fight, he also landed 67 more punches than Pacquiao and was the more accurate fighter.

It appears that several Pacquiao fans don’t understand how boxing is judged. The Association of Boxing Commissions uses three criteria to score a fight. I’ll list all three and discuss them in the context of Mayweather vs. Pacquiao.

  1. Clean Punching — Mayweather landed more shots and cleaner shots. He was accurate with his jab, straight counter-right, and check hook. Even when Manny managed to land combinations, many of his punches were partially blocked.
  2. Effective Aggression — Many Pacquiao supporters claim that Manny should have gotten more credit for being the aggressor. While it’s obvious to anyone that Pacquiao was pushing the pace, he wasn’t aggressive in an effective manner. His low connect percentage reflects his ineffective aggression.
  3. Ring Generalship — This is where Mayweather excelled and this is what’s lost on many Pacquiao fans. For the majority of the fight, Mayweather controlled the pace and distance. Again, the numbers support this. This was Pacquiao’s lowest and least accurate output for a 12-round fight; it had everything to do with Mayweather’s fantastic ability to control other fighters.

 

Keep in mind that I’m not a fan of Mayweather’s personality at all. I was rooting for Pacquiao and hoped that the God he prays to would bless him with a miracle. Even though I think Mayweather is a woman-beating piece-of-crap, his boxing ability is undeniably spectacular. The fight went pretty much how I thought it would — a dominant but unexciting boxing clinic by Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

Many fans are denying Mayweather’s dominance of Pacquiao due to ignorance. They simply don’t understand the sport of boxing and their whining is irritating me. It makes it look like Filipinos are homers that have no idea what boxing is about — they just complain about holding and running, while ignoring punch output and ring generalship. If you judged the fight logically and objectively, the only reasonable conclusion is that Mayweather thoroughly outboxed Pacquiao.

Anyway, that’s my take on the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao boxing match and how some stupid fans have reacted to it. What did you think of the fight? Yeah, it was a snoozer, but I don’t see how anyone could deny Mayweather’s performance. If you watched the fight, please share your thoughts on it in the comments section.

Random Thoughts on Avengers Age of Ultron

Avengers Age of Ultron is sure to delight most fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie has everything that made the first Avengers movie incredibly popular — fantastic special effects, awesome action sequences, and snappy Joss Whedon dialogue. As a lifelong comics nerd, my usual pet peeve with comic book movies is deviating greatly from the source material. To my surprise, I really liked the major changes made for the movie.

While I greatly enjoyed Avengers Age of Ultron and will definitely see it in theaters again, there were a few things about it that bugged me. Below is the customary RPadTV binary breakdown of the film. As always, I’d love to hear what you have to say about the movie, so after you’ve seen it, kindly share your thoughts in the comments section. Now turn on your spoiler shields and let’s get avenging!

Ultron Owns (Good): I’m a big fan of the comics version of Ultron. Since the movie version is very different, I was worried about this incarnation of the robotic bad-ass. The original was created by Hank Pym (Ant-Man, Goliath, Yellow Jacket, etc.) and based on his brain patterns. The movie version was created by Tony Stark and based on his personality. That made for a highly entertaining baddie. Whereas comics Ultron is a megalomaniac that’s hellbent on wiping out organic life, the movie version is like a warped version of Tony Stark with the “sardonic dick” dial turned to 11. Like the original, movie Ultron is powerful, ruthless, and brilliant. Unlike the original, movie Ultron is hilarious and witty. Despite the fact that movie Ultron wants to destroy humanity, you kind of want to have a drink with him (yes, I know he can’t actually enjoy liquor, but still….).

Some of the early reviews of Avengers Age of Ultron criticized the movie’s villain, saying that Ultron wasn’t nearly as good as Tom Hiddleston’s Loki. I could not disagree more. Even though he was very different from the comics version, I thoroughly enjoyed the Ultron character. James Spader had fun material to work with and he rocked it.

Incredible Action (Good): This aspect of Avengers Age of Ultron was completely expected, but enjoyable nonetheless. I loved the blend of CG special effects and melee choreography. The effects — there are just so many cool ones to choose from. As for combat, there were a few Captain America scenes that made me utter a Keanu Reeves, “Whoa.”

Black Widow and Hulk (Bad): While the first Avengers movie was very Iron Man heavy, Avengers Age of Ultron was far more of an ensemble effort. The movie gave more characters time to shine than the original did. Unfortunately, it also gave us plot lines like the romance between Black Widow and Hulk. This bit did absolutely nothing for me. It felt forced and unnatural; going into the movie, I couldn’t imagine these characters having a romantic relationship and the actors/script did nothing to change that. This plot was a waste of time — a poor excuse to give Scarlett Johansson more screen time.

Hawkeye Surprises (Good): To my surprise, Hawkeye had a lot of screen time and great material to work with. As one of the “normal” humans on the team, Hawkeye’s mortality and fragility help make him more interesting and easier to identify with. I enjoyed how Avengers Age of Ultron played on the fact that he’s just a guy with a bow that’s hanging out with Norse gods, gamma irradiated powerhouses, and dude’s with billion-dollar self-defense suits. Showing that Hawkeye has a normal family life in addition to his insane Avengers life, was a fun touch.

Captain America’s Mighty Magnets (Bad): I hated Cap’s magnetized gauntlets, even though they make his unbelievable shield-throwing somewhat more believable. This is a total fanboy complain and I’m well aware of this, but I love Cap’s ability to ricochet his shield at impossible angles, hitting multiple targets, always having it return to his arm. While magnetized gauntlets that help the shield return to his arm makes sense, I preferred Cap’s shield-throwing being one of his inexplicable abilities.

Whedon Witticisms (Good and Bad): Some of the early reviews of Avengers Age of Ultron said that Whedon’s dialogue seems tired and dated. I respect that opinion, but disagree with it. As a fan of dense and witty dialogue, I very much enjoyed the movie’s script. While some called the snappy dialogue tired, I found it familiar and entertaining.

Quicksilver (Bad): Seconds after Quicksilver was introduced I thought, “Wow. Kick-Ass got a crappy costume and an even crappier accent.” Although I enjoyed how Quicksilver’s storyline ended in Avengers Age of Ultron, I thought he was mostly lame until his resolution.

Elizabeth Olsen big

Scarlett Witch (Good): Sure, the movie version of Scarlett Witch basically had Phoenix’s powers — a combination of telepathic and telekinetic abilities. Given how vague and ridiculous her “hex” powers in the comics are, I understand the change, even though her powers were awfully convenient in several scenes. All that said, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Chase Olsen is beautiful and I’ve been ready for ascent for nearly two years. She made the Scarlett Witch how in Avengers Age of Ultron.

Vision (Good): I enjoyed the movie version of Vision. He was cool, calm, and collected character. His power’s special effects were fun to see. Vision had one of the most enjoyable “Wow!” moments of the movie when he handed Thor his hammer. A more subtle moment (that totally got me) was when he checked out Thor’s cape, admired it, and grew himself a cape. Out of all the new heroes introduced in Avengers Age of Ultron, Vision was my favorite. I’ve enjoyed Paul Bettany’s acting and the character’s special effects were slick.

Bottom Line: Aside from the banal and insipid romance between Black Widow and Hulk, I only had minor complaints about Avengers Age of Ultron. I very much enjoyed the movie, will see it again in theaters, and watch it dozens of times after it’s available digitally. It has everything I want from a summer movie — great action, snappy dialogue, and fantastic special effects. While I understand why some people won’t enjoy Avengers Age of Ultron, I think those people enjoy killing fun. If you’re any kind of comics nerd, go see this movie now!

For another take on Avengers Age of Ultron, check out the PaulSemel.com review.

The Vape 48 Week 5: POET Electronic Nector’s Randy Freer

POET Electronic Nectar is one of my favorite e-liquid companies in the world, so I was thrilled that CEO Randy Freer was kind enough to stop by Vape Star Los Angeles for The Vape 48. The company makes several complex e-liquid blends that I absolutely adore and Randy is one of the nicest people I’ve met in the vaping business (or any business, really). More importantly for you guys and dolls, Randy is quite smart and interesting. To kick off this episode of The Vape 48, he gave an update on what’s happening with POET and talked about his involvement with the Njoy Artist Collection.

Many enthusiast vapers think of Njoy as a mainstream e-cigarette company that sells basic “cigalike” products. The Artist Collection is a series of e-liquids geared towards enthusiast vapers and made by some of the top juice creators in the world. As a fan of POET, I’m jazzed that Randy is involved with the Artist Collection and it was fun hearing him talk about the project.

On the hardware side, Randy brought a pair of small 18350 tube mods and a pair of box mods to chat about. He’s been thrilled with the stealth-vaping combo of the Monake Vape Calvert mod and the Praxis Vapors Derringer atomizer. The Damascus steel Element Mods 18350 prototype he brought was absolutely gorgeous. On the box mod front, Randy has been enjoying the Vapor Shark rDNA and the Sigelei 100. My hardware pick was the original Youde Tech Goblin, one of the best rebuildable tank atomizers I’ve tried as far as vapor production goes. Since the time this interview was filmed (February 2015), Youde has updated the Goblin and addressed the capacity shortcoming I mentioned in the video below. If you’re a cloud chaser that wants some capacity, the Youde Goblin is a compelling choice.

On the juice side, Randy brought four e-liquids from Proper Vape. He was enamored by the complexity of these juices and how they used tobacco as a complementary flavor. I brought Vader from Cyber Liquids (a delicious cookie dough juice) and Don Pedro from Bizarre Juice Supply (a wonderful dessert and tobacco blend).

Check out my chat with POET Electronic Nectar CEO Randy Freer for an update on his excellent company and to learn more about all the products mentioned above.

Vaping Diaries #298: Ripple Works Modulo Interview (VapeCon Manila)

There were a ton of box mods on display at VapeCon Manila 2015 and the most unique box mod I saw was the Modulo from Ripple Works. A modular box mod, the Modulo can accommodate dual-18350 or dual-18650 batteries. The battery receptacles can be hot swapped, allowing for some nice versatility. In 18350 mode, the mod measures 65mm high, for a nice and powerful stealth setup. When maximum power and battery life is needed, the Modulo measures 95mm high. While the modular aspect of the Modulo is its most obviously unique feature, I loved its simple and elegant style. Ripple Works co-owner Bong Lising spent some time with me at the show to tell me about the Modulo.

The Modulo’s body is made from T6 aluminum, with delrin inserts that aid in heat dissipation. All the contacts are gold plated, allowing for excellent conductivity and corrosion resistance. The contacts are adjustable, allowing the use of nipple-top and flat-top batteries. Lastly, the firing button is insulated and Bong guaranteed that it won’t accidentally shock anyone.

One of the advantages of the Modulo’s design is that it’s expandable. Bong promised some unique add-ons for the device in the future. While he wouldn’t say exactly what they would be, I’m going to guess that a phone charging module will be released. That seems to be an easy module to make and one that many vapers would find useful. My “wish” module for the Modulo is an SX350 add-on. While I love my mechs, I’ve been vaping mostly regulated devices in 2015 and I’d love to see what Ripple Works can do with the SX350 chipset.

As I mentioned in the intro, VapeCon Manila 2015 was pretty much box mod heaven. I saw loads of cool boxes, but the one I wanted the most was the Modulo. The features are unique, cool, and versatile. The aesthetics very much appeal to me. And it appears to be a well-crafted device. The Modulo is hitting shelves in small quantities now and I hope I can get my hands on one. In Internet speak, “Want!!!”

The Vape 48 Week 4: The Force Vapors Eric Trotter

The Force Vapors CEO Eric Trotter and I chatted back in February for this episode of The Vape 48, filmed at Vape Star Los Angeles. Eric has a number of cool things going on with this company, many of which I’ll get to see next week at The Vape Summit III in Las Vegas. On the juice side, he’ll have two new flavors that will debut at The Vape Summit. The Force Vapors is partnering with Cloud Kicker Society for some excellent t-shirts. Last year, The Force Vapors had some awesome box mods that Star Wars fans loved; I sorta kinda expect an updated version next week…that may or may not appeal to fans of Jedi masters…but that’s just conjecture.

On the juice side, Eric brought SBP by Turncoat Industries. He doesn’t vape a lot of juices that he doesn’t make himself, so I was intrigued by this southern bread pudding e-liquid (and also because it’s southern bread pudding!). My juice picks were a pair of complex and layered e-liquids from Tasty Cloud Vape Co — Stay Gold and Skyline. The former is a mix of apple, caramel, vanilla, and tobacco, while the latter blends pineapple, cake, coconut, and hazelnut. I liked Skyline, but loved Stay Gold.

Wrapping things up with hardware, Eric brought the Vicious Ant VariAnt Ti Slim. A sleek, beautiful, and versatile box mod from the Philippines, it’s been one of Eric’s favorite vaping devices for the last few months. I brought a box mod that’s not nearly as cool, but quite versatile and very affordable — the Sigelei 150. In a very short time, the Sigelei 150 has become one of my favorite “beater” mods.

Check out my full chat with The Force Vapors Eric Trotter below for more details on everything mentioned above. He’s a cool guy that makes some great juice!

Vaping Diaries #297: Psywar Fabrications Interview (VapeCon Manila)

Psywar Fabrications is known for its aggressive products — both in terms of style and how they vape. I’ve covered the company’s Onslaught atomizer in the past and still use it today. At VapeCon Manila 2015, Psywar Fabrications was showing off four new products. The company’s arsenal at the show was comprised of the Assault and Fierce box mods, as well as the Onslaught H21 atomizer and Purge red copper tube mod. Psywar Fabrications designer Manuel Torrejon and marketing consultant Dave Arenaje walked me through the products.

Let’s start with the box mods. The Fierce box mod is made from ironwood and accommodates two 18650 batteries. The bottom caps are easily adjustable with fingers, allowing the mod to use both flat-top and nipple-top batteries. The Assault box mod has the burly looks people expect from Psywar Fabrications. It uses a single 26650 battery and includes an adapter for an 18650 battery. The top of the box has a cutaway for an atomizer.

The Purge tube mod is made from red copper and features some beautiful engravings. According to Manuel, each tube takes two hours to engrave, making the Purge difficult to make.

Last, but certainly not least, is the Onslaught H21. A “Onslaught Mini” of sorts, the H21 has a smaller designer for improved flavor. The air holes have also been modified for what should be a superior vaping experience. Under the cap, the posts have been improved. After using the Onslaught for several months, I really like the way it vapes and am looking forward to seeing how Psywar Fabrications improved on the design with the H21. Hopefully the quality control issues I had with my unit were addressed too.

Check out my chat with Manuel Torrejon and Dave Arenaje for more details on these Psywar Fabrications products and to see them up close.

Vaping Diaries #296: Highwind Innovative Designs Interview (VapeCon Manila)

As I was walking through VapeCon Manila 2015, Highwind Innovative Designs’ booth caught my eye with a pair of atomizers — the Diferion and Ruzgar. Company designer Rey Panaligan walked me through the features of these atomizers. First up is the Diferion. This rebuildable dripper uses a unique four-post setup and handles airflow in an atypical matter. While flavor fiends should love the way this RDA vapes, cloud chasers will be surprised by the maximum airflow. For an atomizer designed with flavor in mind, the Highwind Innovative Designs Diferion has a lot of cloud potential.

One of the best looking rebuildable tank atomizers (RTAs) that I’ve ever seen, Highwind Innovative Designs’ Ruzgar stands out with its handsome style. It uses a quartz glass tank, allowing vapers to enjoy any type of juice. According to Rey, the Ruzgar uses a leak-proof design and won’t suffer from the spills many RTAs suffer from. Covering it all up is a metal sleeve that gives the Ruzgar a classy appearance.

In an industry filled with many “me too” and copycat products, it was cool to see some unique atomizers from Highwind Innovative Designs. I was very impressed by the looks of the Diferion and Ruzgar, and intrigued by the potential of their respective designs. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on these atomizers to see if they work as excellently as I think they will. Check out my chat below with Rey for more details on these Highwind Innovative Designs atomizers.

The Vape 48 Week 3: Craft Vapery’s Joshua Krane

Here’s a very long and very cool conversation I had with Craft Vapery president Joshua Krane. The chat was filmed at Vape Star LA in late January, but due to several videogame consulting projects and a personal issue that had me out of the country, I didn’t get a chance to edit it until now. I apologize to Craft Vapery and Josh for the delay, but most of all I apologize to you loyal RPadholics because Josh had a lot of excellent things to say in this conversation.

In addition to giving an update on Craft Vapery, Josh spoke about an issue that’s very personal for him — the difference between vapers and people that vape. For numerous reasons, he wants people and companies to make the distinction. You need to watch the video for the full story on that particular topic. Josh and I also spoke about some of the things the vaping business needs to do in order to grow up and becoming more legitimate. Some of the those issues parallel what we experienced in the videogame business (Josh and I are both G4tv alumni). As expected, Josh was an outstanding guest that had loads of interesting things to say.

On the hardware side, Josh brought the Monake Vape Calvert mod and the Praxis Vapors Derringer RDA, while I spoke about the Kanger Subtank. Josh brought a number of e-liquids to talk about  — I was particularly grateful to learn about the excellent Njoy Artist Collection. My juice choices were two bottles from Evaper8’s Straight Drippin’ line.

One of the issues that I brought up was being disappointed with vaping coverage on my favorite tech sites. I mentioned The Verge as a tech site that I love, but could be doing better coverage on vaping. Between the time the video was filmed and the time I posted it, The Verge’s coverage has gotten better, but it’s still not great; the site has covered more areas of vaping and in some cases has done a very good job, but some of its stories had poor reporting and there’s a segment of the market that The Verge continues to ignore.

As I mentioned, the video below is long, but please watch when you have the time. Craft Vapery is the best e-liquid subscription service in the business and its president had fantastic things to say in this episode of The Vape 48.

Google Project Fi is a Potentially Awesome Mobile Alternative

Earlier this week, Google announced the upcoming Project Fi mobile service. A unique take on how consumers are charged for wireless connectivity, Project Fi is potentially awesome for some consumers and a novelty for others. Launching exclusively for Google Nexus 6 phones, there are a number of features that make the service stand out. Let’s take a look at them and see if Project Fi is right for you.

Billing — The aspect of Project Fi that seems to be getting the most attention is its costs and cost structure. The price is split into two parts. The mandatory basics cost $20, which includes unlimited domestic calls, unlimited texts (international included), inexpensive international rates, WiFi tethering, and coverage in 120+ countries. After that, customers select their data packages, which cost $10 per GB. The cool part is that the cost of unused data is credited to the customer’s account after each billing cycle. So if I have a 3GB plan and only use 2GB, my next bill will have a credit of $10. Overages are billed at the same $10 per GB rate, pro-rated, so a 350MB overage would cost $3.50. Project Fi plans do not require contracts and, as expected, the usual taxes and fees will be charged.

Network — Domestically, Project Fi will use a combination of the Sprint and T-Mobile networks. Between the two, consumers in large cities should have ample LTE coverage. Phones on Project Fi will automatically select the network with the best coverage at the given time. For those in rural areas, the use of these two networks could be a deal breaker. It all depends on how strong coverage is where you live, work, and play. For me, T-Mobile coverage is very strong in Los Angeles, while Sprint pretty much blows. In many rural areas, these networks are very weak compared to AT&T and Verizon.

WiFi — Project Fi will rely heavily on WiFi connectivity to complement LTE coverage. Calls can be made over WiFi, with Google promising seamless handoffs of calls transitioning from WiFi to LTE and vice versa. I’m curious to see how the software solution works, as current WiFi calling handoffs work well, but not quite great. Consumers can choose to receive their Project Fi calls on their phones (duh), computers, or tablets.

International Coverage — Google claims that Project Fi users will have coverage in 120+ countries. There are a few caveats though. Data rates are “limited to 256kbps (3G)” and call costs could add up if users aren’t careful. International data usage in countries where Google has roaming agreements is deducted from the user’s monthly bucket. For business users that need to reachable 24/7, the international roaming is potentially awesome and much cheaper than what the incumbents charge. Personally, I’d rather use a local SIM card so that I can have 4G data, but understand that some people need their phone number active at all times.

My Take — While I’m greatly intrigued by Project Fi, it’s not something that I care to try straight away. First off, I’m not high on the Nexus 6 — at all. I expect the service to be limited to Nexus phones for the next year or so (at least) and am more interested in the rumored Nexus 5 v2. As far as network coverage goes, most of the places I travel to domestically are covered nicely by T-Mobile, while having Sprint as a backup is nice a nice feature to have. The international coverage isn’t for me, since data is more important for my needs than having my domestic number reachable. I always go with a local 4G SIM when I travel abroad.

Even though Project Fi isn’t right for me at this time, I absolutely love what Google is trying to do with this service. Most American telecommunication companies suck. The prices (for single-line plans) are expensive for what’s delivered. Project Fi’s relatively inexpensive and easy-to-understand pricing is refreshing to see. Between T-Mobile’s aggressive initiatives and services like Project Fi, I hope the American mobile market gets the shakeup that it sorely needs.

Oh yeah, for people on family plans, Project Fi isn’t nearly as compelling. There are some great family deals out there and they make Google’s pricing seem banal.

While I’ll be watching Project Fi with great interest, I’m content with my iPhone 6 Plus on Verizon for personal/work use and my Nexus 5 on T-Mobile ($30 plan!) for Android work projects. What do you guys and gals think about Google’s service? Any of you thinking of requesting an invite? Do you think Project Fi will change the American mobile telecom market? Or is it another pie-in-the-sky initiative from Google? Leave a comment and let me know (please!).

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Better Than Batman vs. Superman Trailer (Dawn of Justice)

As some of you know from the RPadTV Google Hangout, I wasn’t a fan of the recently released Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer. It did absolutely nothing for me. It didn’t show me anything new (control your photo leaks, Warners!) and it didn’t get me more excited for the movie. It was two minutes of banality. Thankfully, the crews from How it Should Have Ended and Screen Junkies have whipped up videos that are far more entertaining. Continue reading “Better Than Batman vs. Superman Trailer (Dawn of Justice)”