Friday Housekeeping: Happy Fourth Birthday RPad.TV!

Wow, where does that time go?!? Ha! Today is RPad.TV’s fourth birthday. It seems like yesterday when I was going through a bout of depression over G4tv and RPadholic N8R convinced me to start my own blog. The site has had lots of ups and a handful of downs. It has changed a lot (mostly for the better, I think) and the focus has shifted a bit. Obviously I’ve been posting a lot of vaping content for the last 11 months and I’ve been writing more general entertainment articles. The former is because I’ve been largely unsatisfied with the vaping content that’s out there and the latter is me just posting whatever is on my mind.

While I’ve met so many of you through videogames, I don’t post as much gaming content as I used to. Part of it is because that I often work as a consultant for publishers and can’t write about that stuff. Part of it is because I don’t get nearly as many content opportunities in gaming as I used to. That’s somewhat understandable since I’m one guy working on a very small blog. Still, it’s disheartening. I’ve been writing about games since 1996 and made tons of PR contacts over the years. While I expected many to completely forget about me since I’m no longer working for a large outlet, I hoped (rather naively in retrospect) that I’d get more support for RPad.TV. It’s incredibly frustrating when PR people that I’ve known for more than a decade won’t let me attend local events or attend local demos. Honestly, part of the reason that I don’t pursue gaming content as much as I used to is because I know I’ll end up getting pissed off and annoyed. Between the lingering effects of my 2012 surgery and my always-ready-to-flare-up skin, I’ve largely given up dealing with most videogame PR people because I don’t need all that noise.

Then there’s the mobile phone coverage. I’m just completely bored by the market. There are only two types of phones I’d buy — Apple iPhones and Google Nexus phones. Everything else bugs me, partially because of silly things the hardware manufacturers do and mostly because of the garbage American carriers pull. The mobile-phone space (hardware, anyway) hasn’t interested me in a few years.

Still, the four-year mark of RPad.TV has me missing all the gaming content that I used to post. I’m going to try to do more, whether I get support from PR people or not. I miss writing about games for the site and I miss talking about games with all of you. With that in mind, kindly join me in an RPad.TV birthday wish for the site’s videogame content to rise again!

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

I recently finished two fairly involved consulting gigs, but I’m still playing both of the games for said gigs. Part of it is that I want to make sure that I didn’t miss anything and part of it is addiction. I’ve been playing both of those mystery titles hardcore and it would feel weird to quit them cold turkey. Hopefully my buddy Paul will let me borrow his copy of Beyond: Two Souls. I’d love to start that game. The reviews indicate that it has many of the elements that I loved in previous Quantic Dream titles. Aside from that, I have a ton of vaping reviews to catch up on…before I fall behind again due to the upcoming Vapetoberfest con.

So how about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

Coffee Talk #601: Your WrestleMania Dream Match

Looking at the current WWE roster, I was wondering what WrestleMania dream match is floating around in your head. It doesn’t necessarily have to be for WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans. Any WrestleMania in the near future works for this fun game. Do you want to see a clash of giants? How about two masters of technical wrestling going at it? Perhaps you fancy a David-and-Goliath showdown. Whatever your WrestleMania dream match is, I’d love to hear about it. As for me, the answer is easy. I want to see…continued

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 Miley Cyrus media blitz, spending an hour researching the life and times of Kevin Sorbo, or Scarlett Johansson looking perfect without makeup, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Looking at the current WWE roster, I was wondering what WrestleMania dream match is floating around in your head. It doesn’t necessarily have to be for WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans. Any WrestleMania in the near future works for this fun game. Do you want to see a clash of giants? How about two masters of technical wrestling going at it? Perhaps you fancy a David-and-Goliath showdown. Whatever your WrestleMania dream match is, I’d love to hear about it. As for me, the answer is easy. I want to see Daniel Bryan vs. Antonio Cesaro fighting for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.

I’m a big, big fan of these two guys, going back to their Ring of Honor days as Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli. I’ve seen them have amazing matches together and I’d love to see them have an all-time great match at WrestleMania. They’re both wonderfully talented pro-wrestlers with diverse arsenals. Both are technically proficient, but have skills that complement each other. Danielson has the edge in high-flying maneuvers, while Claudio can pull off some power moves that few others would even think about trying. For a taste of how awesome a WrestleMania dream match between Daniel Bryan and Antonio Cesaro would be, check out this 2008 Ring of Honor clip below.

If you didn’t think that match was fantastic then I hope someone gives you a Ricola Bomb followed by Cattle Mutilation.

Sadly, it looks like this WrestleMania dream match is a few years away. While Danielson has been main-eventing WWE cards for some time, Claudio is being held back by Jack Swagger and Dutch Mantel as part of the “Real Americans” group. Hopefully he gets a chance to break out as a singles wrestler soon. He certainly has the ability. He just needs another opportunity. When that happens, I hope (but doubt) WWE creative brings back the, “Heyyyyyyyy!!!” gimmick. I miss that.

Anyway, what’s your WrestleMania dream match? Be the booker-man in the comments section (please!).

Watch Antonio Cesaro Giant-Swing The Great Khali…Twice!

Claudio Castagnoli, known as Antonio Cesaro in WWE, has been one of my favorite pro-wrestlers of the last decade. He has an incredible combination of power, technical wrestling skills, and dynamic moves. While his “Very” European uppercuts are wicked to watch, WWE fans have been marveling at Antonio Cesaro’s “giant swing” move. Check out the two clips below of Antonio Cesaro executing the maneuver on the gargantuan Great Khali. The first is from the WWE Battleground pay-per-view event on Sunday and the second is from last night’s Monday Night Raw. They’re just amazing displays of strength…and my back hurts just watching Antonio Cesaro do the move on YouTube. After you’ve checked out the clip, let me know who you’d like to see as a future victim of the Cesaro Swing. The Big Show? Mark Henry? Vickie Guerrero?

(On a side note, I love how Michael Cole accidentally called Hornswaggle by his real name, Dylan, in the second clip. Sadly, WWE edited that part out.)

Vaping Diaries #128: El Kapitan 1.5 Review

The El Kapitan 1.5 is an updated version of a beautiful mechanical mod from the Philippines. Made by Wu Tang House of Mods, the El Kapitan 1.5 features distinct looks and great performance. For those of you not familiar with Wu Tang House of Mods, it’s highly regarded by enthusiast vapers, but isn’t as well known (to American vapers, anyway) as other Filipino vaping companies like Grand Vapor and VapeHead Origins. With products like the El Kapitan 1.5, Wu Tang’s reputation will burgeon. It’s an attractive vaping device that’s among my favorite Filipino mods.

Build Quality and Construction: The El Kapitan 1.5 is available with a stainless steel body with brass caps or a brass body with stainless steel caps. For the last few weeks, I’ve been using the former version. The materials are quality and the craftsmanship is mostly impressive. The stainless steel body is cut well and the threads are totally smooth. While the brass caps screwed on smoothly, you can see burrs on the threads. Some vapers won’t care about this since the caps attach just fine, but it will bother those that enjoy the collectibility aspect of mods.

Ergonomics and Design: Using the El Kapitan 1.5 is just like using other mechanical mods. It comes with 18650 and 18350 tubes, both of which are inline with similarly sized vaping devices. The mod is comfortable to hold and is relatively light. Its 22mm diameter makes it a great match for several Genesis-style and bottom-coil silica atomizers.

One unique feature of the El Kapitan 1.5 is its reverse-telescoping pin. The pin slides up and down, similar to how self-adjusting pins work. However, it also has a smaller section on the top that can be adjusted. For vapers that use different types of atomizers and different brands of batteries, the pin isn’t the simplest solution. It’s not that it’s difficult to use, but it’s not as mindless as floating pins or self-adjusting pins. For anal-retentive vapers that insist on zero battery rattle, a minute or two of pin adjustment is require when changing to a different atomizer or battery.

The firing button on the El Kapitan 1.5 has a short throw and a medium feel. The spring is firm enough that the device can be placed down while unlocked. The throw is short enough that a relatively soft press is needed to fire the mod. Since the firing mechanism uses a somewhat narrow spring, off-center hits can give the mod a clicky feel. Overall, I enjoyed the feel of the El Kapitan 1.5’s firing button; I love that I can place it on a table without having to worry about it firing, while also enjoying a relatively light button press.

Lastly, the design of the El Kapitan 1.5 is just lovely. Several of the more popular Filipino mods have numerous bold lines and/or stylized knurling. The El Kapitan eschews those aggressive designs for something that’s distinctly elegant. It has two engraved swirls going up the body, an anchor logo at the base, and the Wu Tang logo on the firing cap. Put it all together and you have a mod that stands out, but isn’t as hyper-aggressive as some of its competitors. Naturally, looks are subjective. Personally, I think the El Kapitan is one of the most distinctly beautiful mods from the Philippines.

Performance: The contact points on the El Kapitan 1.5 are gold-plated brass. Gold is an excellent electricity conductor that isn’t affected by air, moisture, and most corrosive agents. One thing to keep in mind is that gold is a relatively soft metal, so care should be used when cleaning the contact points. The gold-and-brass combination offers a nice blend of power and relatively low maintenance. The mod’s design combined with its materials help it delivery performance that will satisfy most vapers. Voltage drop isn’t as low as some competing high-end mods, but it’s certainly acceptable.

El Kapitan 1.5 Review

Verdict: Since Wu Tang House of Mods is a relatively small company, vapers can take advantage of direct sales. Wu Tang, along with some trusted Facebook group-buy runners, routinely makes his products available for a relatively low price. People that follow Wu Tang on Facebook were able to get the El Kapitan 1.5 for around $172 shipped. At retail, I’ve seen it for $220 to $250. For $172, this mod is a sweet deal. Even $220 is a reasonable price for a unique mod with high performance.

The issues I have with the El Kapitan 1.5 are minor ones. The caps thread smoothly, but don’t have the smoothest appearance. The reverse-telescoping pin is mildly annoying to use. Those issues are easy to sweep under the rug when you look at everything else the El Kapitan 1.5 brings to the table. The mod is made from quality materials, the workmanship is impressive, the performance is very strong, and it’s simply a gorgeous device. Whenever I meet up with vapers, the El Kapitan 1.5 gets attention for its looks and keeps attention with its performance. If you want a mod that’s beautiful and hits hard, the El Kapitan 1.5 is a fine choice.

This Week’s Videogame Releases

It is a marvelous week to be a gamer! Millions of people will be picking up Pokemon X and Pokemon Y this week. As someone that spent 700+ hours on Pokemon Pearl and a former writer of a weekly Pokemon column, I’m completely psyched for this game. Another one that’s high on my personal wish list is Beyond: Two Souls. Most of my videogame-journalist friends love it, but a few of them aren’t into it. It really depends how much of a Quantic Dream mark you are. As many of you know, I’m a big-time mark for Quantic Dream games. Fans of awesomely quirky and wickedly deep tactical RPGs should definitely pick up Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness. I absolutely love that series. Honestly, between the three games I just mentioned, I could be a happy gamer for the rest of the year (and more). Lastly, two game-of-the-year editions are hitting store shelves, for those of you that have missed them: Borderlands 2: Game of the Year Edition and Dishonored: Game of the Year Edition.

So, any of you picking up new games this week?

Vaping Diaries #127: Vapor Stands Max-E Review

The Vapor Stands Max-E is the latest handmade product from the excellent people at Vapor Stands. In the past, I reviewed Vapor Stands’ Pie Slice and Trek-E v2 products, both of which I loved. Those two stands are finely crafted (made in the USA!) products that blend beauty and functionality. The Vapor Stands Max-E is cut from the same cloth, but is the company’s largest product yet. It has 27 felt-covered holes that hold a variety of products — large mods, eGo-style e-cigs, 30ml juice bottles, atomizers, clearomizers, and drip tips.

Like the company’s other products, the Vapor Stands Max-E features impressive workmanship. It’s made from oak and walnut that’s sanded to a silky smooth finish. The wood is then covered with three layers of polyurethane for a glossy appearance and to protect the wood. The Vapor Stands Max-E looks great on your office desk, in your living room, in the den, etc.

As far as functionality goes, I was mostly happy with the Vapor Stands Max-E, but had one criticism. It held a variety of my gear just fine — 22mm mechanical mods, various eGo devices, rebuildable dripping atomizers, bottom-coil silica atomizers, clearomizers, and 30ml plastic juice bottles. Unfortunately, the holes for the juice bottles are too small for 30ml glass bottles. Several of my favorite juice vendors (Ahlusion, Five Pawns, Indigo Vapor, etc.) use glass bottles and it’s a bummer that they can’t be cradled by the Vapor Stands Max-E.

That issue aside, I was pleased by everything else the Vapor Stands Max-E brought offered. Like its sister products, it’s superbly crafted and looks marvelous. It’s a great choice for vaping enthusiasts that have a lot of gear. It’s currently priced at $60, which is absolutely fair for a quality made-in-the-USA product that featured topnotch workmanship. If you’re looking for a handsome stand that holds a lot of vaping gear then you should definitely consider the Vapor Stands Max-E.

Vapor Stands Max-E review

Thor: The Dark World Clip (Loki Rules!)

Here’s a a sweet clip from Thor: The Dark World that shows two things. First, it shows how pissed off Thor has become. In the past, he’s always held back in his fights against Loki because a part of him still loved his adopted brother. Those days are over and the thunder god is no longer putting up with Loki’s trickster ways. Secondly, it cements the awesomeness that is Loki. Tom Hiddleston plays Loki marvelously. He’s evil and conniving, but extremely charming. He’s the kind of bad guy that you want to have a flagon of mead with…while secretly worrying that he’s just getting you drunk in order to sleep with your sister. He’s one of the most entertaining villains in the history of comic-book movies and the clip below shows why.

Plastic Piranha Jason Brice Talks Rekoil

Watch Plastic Piranha president & CEO Jason Brice talk about his upcoming game Rekoil. This first-person shooter for Windows PC and Xbox 360 emphasizes skill and balanced gameplay. In the interview, Brice talks about Rekoil’s various modes and different weapons, as well as what makes the game stand out from the competition. While I enjoyed several deathmatch rounds of the game, one of the things that charmed me about Rekoil was the little details. For example, it has a capture-the-briefcase mode instead of a capture-the-flag mode and it has black barrels that explode instead of those deadly red ones we all fear. Those flourishes aside, a lot of hardcore shooter fans have been high on Rekoil. While Brice agrees that it’s a “pure shooter,” he also explains why it’s great for casual fans of first-person shooters.

For more information on Rekoil be sure to check out this excellent preview on PaulSemel.com.

Rekoil Preview