This week’s episode of The Newsroom used a pair of emotionally heavy real-world events as the backdrop — Trayvon Martin’s murder and Tyler Clementi’s suicide. Unfortunately, the impact of those stories was overshadowed by Olivia Munn’s horrendous acting. While she can be entertaining in comedic roles, this week her character dealt with a situation that…well, let’s just jump into it Continue reading “Random Thoughts on The Newsroom Season 2, Episode 5”
Britney Spears Negotiating For Meatball (Spot)
In addition to being in negotiations for a Las Vegas residency show at Planet Hollywood, Britney Spears is in negotiations to open a Meatball Spot. According to People, the pop star is friends with the owner of the restaurant, which will be opening a new location outside the Planet Hollywood auditorium, where Spears will be performing. The restaurant has teased that it’s partnering with a major celebrity for its new location. Hopefully it’s not Christina Aguilera, because that would be awkward.
On one hand, I would eat at Britney Spears’ Meatball Spot because the name Britney Spears’ Meatball Spot is frickin’ hilarious. On the other hand, I don’t know about trusting a woman born in Mississippi and raised in Louisiana with Italian food. That said, the restaurant’s menu looks fantastic. Of course I have to ask you the question — would you eat Britney Spears’ meatballs?
Naturally, this article was an excuse to “research” Britney Spears photographs and post them here. A lot of people say that she was adorable before she went crazy. I actually love that she went a little nuts. The multiple cosmetic surgeries, however, were a damn shame. She was so naturally cute before Michael Jackson-ing her face! *sigh*
Vaping Diaries #88: Evolv Kick 2 Preview
Yesterday I received an Evolv Kick 2, the latest version of one of my favorite vaping accessories. If you’re not familiar with the original Kick, it’s a drop-in module for mechanical mods that sits on top of a battery. It gives you variable-wattage performance, allowing for consistent vaping experiences no matter what mechanical mod or juice delivery system used. For example, if you set the Kick for 9.5 watts, you’ll get 9.5 watts whether your atomizer is 1.2 ohms or 2.8 ohms. Additionally, the Kick provides short-circuit protection.
The Kick 2 has several improvements over its predecessor, as well as some design changes. The device can be set as high as 15 watts. The original model capped out at 10 watts. The suggested atomizer resistance range is 0.5 to 3.3 ohms. The previous version listed 1.3 to 3.0 ohms as the workable range. These two improvements make the Kick 2 potentially attractive to vapers that like to use sub-ohm coils on rebuildable devices. I’ll be testing the Kick 2 with a sub-ohm coil on a rebuildable dripping atomizer.
As far as design goes, there’s one significant change. The original Kick features a contact spring to ground the device. The Kick 2 uses two grounding posts. The posts are sturdier and useful for mods that have internal threading (the Kick 2 can be screwed in). On the downside, the original’s grounding spring offers a little more flexibility, since it can moved to ensure contact.
On paper, the Kick 2 sounds like another winner from Evolv. The original is one of the most popular and useful accessories for mechanical mods. The Kick 2’s increased range makes it even more useful, extending its appeal to sub-ohm vapers. Again, that’s on paper. I’ll be trying out the Kick 2 with a number of mechanical mods and atomizers to see if it delivers the goods. Stay tuned for the full review.
ESPN’s Stunning Analysis of James Harden
The other day I was reading an ESPN.com roundtable on NBA shooting guards. I was absolutely floored by something Graydon Gordian from 48 Minutes From Hell wrote about Houston Rockets guard James Harden. Check it out:
Harden is only 23 years old. In five years he’ll be 28.
This is a stunning revelation. I’m so grateful that Gordian provided this information to me and millions of ESPN readers. Clearly he understands that America is getting dumber, particularly in math and science. He saved ESPN readers from having to waste minutes on computing a complex calculation with their fingers. Gordian’s analysis shows, once again, why ESPN is the worldwide leader in sports.
Ha! Seriously though, it’s a fun article, but those two sentences killed me.
Check Out PaulSemel.com (Please!)
My excellent friend Paul Semel has started a blog named PaulSemel.com. It’s full of wonderful articles about wonderfully nerdy things — comics, movies, music, toys, videogames, and more. He’s new to the whole blogging thing and I’d appreciate it immensely if you paid his site a visit. If you have extra time, please leave a comment on one of his stories. Naturally, you can tag that comment with “Sent by RPad.TV!”
Paul’s current stories include Monsters University, Batman: Arkham Unhinged, John Coltrane’s Sun Ship: The Complete Sessions, and The Smashing Pumpkins’: The Aeroplane Flies High Deluxe Edition.
Fun fact: Paul used to be an editor at a magazine named Gene Simmons’ Tongue.
Edit: He’s the guy I mentioned in Pacific Rim. You should absolutely make fun of him for not liking the movie.
Vaping Diaries #87: Vape Tree Preview + Contest
Last week I received a few e-liquids from The Vape Tree. The company is new to the online e-liquid world, but the owner is an experienced juice maker. There are a few things that make The Vape Tree stand out:
- Transparency: The company is totally upfront about using commercially-available flavorings and nicotine from Wizard Labs. Although some vendors are honest about how they make their juices, most are secretive about their ingredients. I really appreciate The Vape Tree’s transparency.
- Pre-Steeping: The Vape Tree pre-steeps its juices in an ultrasonic cleaner for at least three hours. Many people believe that this is the equivalent of two to three weeks of steeping. For some vapers, this means that the juices are good to go out of the mail. For others, it cuts down on steeping time. Again, some vendors of made-to-order juices do this, but most don’t.
- Complexity: The owner is a big fan of complexity and most of his juices use several flavors. I’ve dripped a few of The Vape Tree’s juices and like them so far. There are some interesting flavor mixes going on.
It’s going to be a few more weeks until I review The Vape Tree’s juices. Stay tuned for a review of Banyan Tree, Pinoy Punch, and Royal Tobacco. For now, let’s get to the contest!
Contest: Win an Innokin iClear 30 Clearomizer
To enter the contest, all you have to do is go to The Vape Tree web site, peruse the menu, and leave a comment below with the flavor you most want to try and an explanation of why you want that particular flavor. It’s that easy!
[Edit: August 10] The Vape Tree will also be providing a 30ml bottle of e-liquid to the winner!
Now for the boring contest rules:
- Only one entry per participant
- Contest closes on August 18, 2013 11:59PM PDT
- Winner will be chosen with a random number generator
- Must 18 or older to participate
- Must have a U.S. mailing address to be eligible
- RPad Productions Inc. is not responsible for the prize being lost or damaged by USPS
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix Trailer
Square Enix has released a new trailer for Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix for PlayStation 3. For those of you not familiar with the compilation, it serves up Kingdom Hearts 1 Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days with updated graphics.
Even with the refresh, the footage in the video (embedded below) looks so dated to me, but I’m still utterly charmed by these games. I love the characters, cameos, and gameplay. Although the story can be confusing (in that JRPG way), the elements that are easy to understand have so much heart. Even though the graphics aren’t that improved, I still want to dive into the Kingdom Hearts world when this compilation is released.
How about you? Any of you amped for Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix? Also, I wish I had a gummi ship.
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
This weekend will be full of errands. Today, I have to go back to the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China. Last time, I waited nearly two hours before being told that I needed additional papers. It’s back to the front of the line again. Hopefully the wait won’t be as bad…but it probably will be.
After that, I have a bunch of notes housekeeping to do. As I mentioned earlier in the week, my beloved Catch Notes is shutting down at the end of August. After trying a few alternatives, I’m begrudgingly going with Evernote. It has way more features than I need, but the barebones alternatives I tried were too barebones. Plus, I’m confident that I don’t have to worry about Evernote shutting down the way that Catch Notes did…though I’m still kind of worried. *sigh* Too bad Google Keep isn’t better and Apple doesn’t have a note-taking program that syncs with iCloud. Anyway, I’ll be undertaking the incredibly mundane task of transferring my Catch Notes files to Evernote. Too bad RPadholic 1ceman’s receptionist isn’t around to do this for me. She’s yummy.
Vaping Diaries #86: Five Pawns Review II
Here’s a review of three e-liquids from Five Pawns: Grandmaster, Queenside, and Gambit. There are several Los Angeles vape shops that carry Five Pawns and these seem to be the most popular flavors. All three are high-quality juices made with natural ingredients. One of them is comparable to similarly flavored juices, another has a unique twist that distinguishes it from the competition, and the last is something quite special.
Five Pawns uses an atypical business model that’s focused on retail. The company’s online prices are the same as the ones you’ll find in stores — $27.50 for a 30ml bottle. Compared to other online vendors, that’s expensive, but I think two of these juices are definitely worth price. Here are the flavor breakdowns and steeping notes.
Grandmaster: Elvis would have loved this e-liquid, as peanut butter and banana are the primary flavors. There’s also some caramel in the mix. Some people feel that this juice is a bananas-Foster style e-liquid, but I disagree because the (lovely) peanut-butter flavor make it different from the popular NOLA dessert. A lot of vendors offer bananas Foster, but peanut butter-and-banana juices are much less common and this one stands out. Like several other Five Pawns juices I’ve enjoyed, Grandmaster is very rich and savory, with a fantastic mix of flavors that come together for a delicious blend. As a fan of peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches, this juice was a real treat.
Queenside: This juice features blood orange and French vanilla as its primary ingredients. The end result is an orange-creamsicle style juice, which is something many, many vendors offer. That said, this is one of the better ones out there. The French vanilla flavor is particularly excellent. While this is definitely a high-quality juice and I enjoyed vaping it, I don’t think it’s as special as some of the other Five Pawns e-liquids. There are a few orange-creamsicle juices that taste just as good to me and are available for a lower price. Personally, I would buy Ahlusion Orange Creamsicle over Queenside.
Gambit: This is — hands down — the best apple pie e-liquid I’ve ever vaped. I enjoyed it so much that I quickly finished the bottle and had to buy another one to photograph for this review. Normally, I don’t enjoy brightly sweet e-liquids unless they have complexity. Gambit has complexity in spades. You can taste the apple, French vanilla, crust, and cream. The flavors come together marvelously for a brilliant, rich, and complex vape. Out of the six Five Pawns e-liquids I’ve had, this one was my favorite — definitely one of the best juices I’ve had in 2013.
Steeping Notes
On the advice of Wlad from Ahlusion, I’ve been trying a new steeping method starting December 27, 2012. When the e-liquids arrive, I leave them uncapped for five minutes. Previously, I left them uncapped for about two days. After the liquids are given a few minutes to oxidize, the caps are put back on. The bottles are shaken every day for at least two weeks before vaping.
Grandmaster
50/50 PG/VG ratio, 6mg nicotine
Mix Date: March 22, 2013
Uncapped: May 23, 2013 7:22PM
Vaped: June 10-17, 2013
Queenside
50/50 PG/VG ratio, 6mg nicotine
Mix Date: March 22, 2013
Uncapped: May 23, 2013 7:22PM
Vaped: June 14-19, 2013
Gambit
50/50 PG/VG ratio, 6mg nicotine
Mix Date: March 22, 2013
Uncapped: May 23, 2013 7:22PM
Vaped: June 10-17, 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) juice; since those are known to clog up cartomizers quickly, those are vaped in atomizers and clearomizers.
Microsoft Lists Xbox One Gold Features
Microsoft has posted a list of Xbox Live Gold features you can enjoy on the Xbox One for $60 a year. The expected features of online gaming and premium entertainment apps (i.e. Netflix) are extra. Features touted at the two Xbox One press conferences earlier this year also require Xbox Live Gold — NFL on Xbox, OneGuide, Game DVR, Skype, and SmartMatch are part of the premium service. Check out the nifty infographic above for a visual explanation.
Now that you have more information on what’s free and what’s not on Xbox One, has your opinion on PlayStation 4 vs. Xbox One changed? Do you feel that Microsoft is being to stingy with the features that it holds behind the Xbox Live Golden gate? Or do you think these features justify the cost of a premium subscription? Do you believe that the PlayStation 4 is a better value because it offers more features without a subscription? Feel free to have a console flame war in the comments section!