Random Thoughts on NBA Finals Game One

Game one of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs was fantastic. It had drama, beautifully executed basketball, and one of the silliest plays I’ve ever seen in a finals game. RPadholic 1ceman was on the scene and snapped some excellent photos that you can see in a gallery below. Naturally, I want your thoughts to the start of the NBA Finals. Let’s do this!

Tony Parker’s Shot: His shot at the end of the game was ridiculous. He dribbled around like a dick for 20 seconds, fell down, got up, and managed to hit an awkward bank shot with 0.1 seconds left on the clock. While that’s impressive on its own, LeBron James was draped all over him. Just…wow.

While I admire Parker’s game, I don’t trust him. He’s French and sleeps with married women. That said, the French thing, getting dumped by Eva Longoria for sending naughty text messages, and getting his eye damaged in the crossfire of the Team Chris Brown vs. Team Drake battle royal aren’t enough to negate how crazy that shot was. If the Spurs win this series, Parker’s “The Shot” will be replayed for decades to come. Even if they lose, it will get a fair amount of play.

Underrated stat that’s not getting enough play: Parker had 0 turnovers in the game.

Kawhi Leonard’s Hands: While LeBron James had a great game (18 points, 18 rebounds, 10 assists), he’s had more spectacular playoff games and the Heat really needed one of those spectacular performances last night. It’s not unusual to be loved by anyone for James to shoot over 50 percent, but last night he was under that mark and Kawhi Leonard was a big reason why. He played some nice defense on James, which is especially impressive considering that he’s only 21 and this is his first NBA Finals. His unusually large hands help his defensive game. Put on a pair of oven mitts and you’ll understand what it’s like to have Kawhi Leonard-sized hands. They remind me of Tom and Jerry cartoons when Jerry would cause Tom’s hand to get slammed by a door and it would comically balloon. Leonard’s paws are comically ballooned 24/7.

Fourth Quarter Woes: The game was really tight for the first three quarters. It was wonderfully executed basketball, with only a few breakdowns (most noticeably the Spurs’ transition defense). In the fourth quarter, the Spurs defense got a little bit better and the Heat tightened up just a bit. Miami made some poor decisions and sloppy plays that resulted in a bunch of Q4 turnovers. Miami had four turnovers through three quarters and four in Q4 alone. As amazing as Parker’s aforementioned shot was, it was the defense and turnovers that decided the game. It’s fascinating that it came down to subtle elevation by one team and subtle decline by the other.

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Chris Bosh Sucking: Poor Bosh. He’s been getting slammed for his 2013 playoff run and his 6-for-16 game last night added fuel to the fire. I haven’t read much about Mario Chalmers’ 3-for-10 performance, but he gets a pass for not being one of the “Big Three” and getting paid a lot less. I’m a fan of Bosh; he’s one of the nerdier and more interesting players in the NBA. I’d like to see him do better. The upside of Bosh sucking is that it leads to a lot of dinosaur-related jokes on ESPN.com. Those crack me up.

Your Take: Now it’s your turn! Kindly leave your thoughts on game one and predictions on game two in the comments section.

Noobz is on Netflix

Blake Freeman’s videogame movie Noobz is on Netflix. The movie, starring real life gamers Jay Mewes and Zelda Williams, is about a group of gamer friends that go on a road trip to compete in a Gears of War tournament. If you have some time this weekend, please check it out. After you’ve seen it, please share your thoughts on the flick in the comments section. If you need additional background info on the movie then check out the video interviews below. Continue reading “Noobz is on Netflix”

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

Now that my AT&T U-Verse Internet and television service is up and running, it’s time to fix up my consoles and games. My consoles have been ready to go, just waiting for a solid Internet connection. My games are in boxes in the living room. I didn’t want to unpack them until the wiring was all done. As expected, I had to move the shelves several times and that would have been a pain in the ass with hundreds of games and movies on them. After the dust clears, I’m going to try to play some Fuse for PlayStation 3, but just a little bit. E3 2013 festivities start on Sunday. I’m excited for the show and looking forward to catching up with old videogame friends.

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

Microsoft Outlines Xbox One Game Reselling, Sharing

In a post titled “How Games Licensing Works on Xbox One,” Microsoft has detailed its policies for game sharing, reselling, and trading. The bullet point that has been getting the most heat is the gifting policy, which states that a game can be gifted to a friend once. Here’s the full text:

Give your games to friends: Xbox One is designed so game publishers can enable you to give your disc-based games to your friends. There are no fees charged as part of these transfers. There are two requirements: you can only give them to people who have been on your friends list for at least 30 days and each game can only be given once.

While the policy doesn’t change anything for me, I totally understand why some people are angry about the new rule (Bill Maher TM). Naturally, I want to hear your views on this policy and Microsoft’s other Xbox One licensing proclamations. Kindly shout it out in the comments section!

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I Haz Internetz!!!

After a 12-day wait to verify that the last person that lived in this apartment has moved to Korea and is unavailable to cancel his/her AT&T service, I finally have a real Internet connection! I feel like a real person again. Since my new place gets poor LTE signal, I’m unable to use my Verizon iPhone 5’s tethering option in an acceptable way. For the last week, I’ve been working out of various cafes. It feels so good to have a zippy home connection. The Speedtest.net result above shows my naked connection, while the one below shows my connection through a VPN. Yes, AT&T U-Verse isn’t as fast as a Docsis 3.0 cable modem connection, but it’s cheaper and I don’t have to deal with crap bag Time Warner Cable.

Props to U-Verse technician Eric for being friendly and fast, as well as receptive to my wacky cabling ideas.

Vaping Diaries #68: American eLiquid Review

If you’re a vaper that enjoys 0mg nicotine juices or someone that’s looking to eventually reach 0mg then you should give American eLiquid a look. The company sells juices that are made in the USA, using American-sourced ingredients. One unique American eLiquid practice is that its 0mg juices cost less than ones with nicotine — $10 less than 36mg juices and $5 less than juices at lower nicotine levels. A company rep told me that this was a “job well done” reward for 0mg vapers.

I recently vaped three of the company’s juices: Pineapple, English Toffee, and X1. While none of them blew me away, I enjoyed two of the juices and was surprised by the uniqueness of the third. Read on for the breakdowns and steeping notes.

Pineapple: This is a simple and straightforward flavor that I enjoyed. When vaped in a carto/tank or clearomizer, it tastes like grocery store pineapple juice. When dripped directly into an atomizer, it tastes closer to a fresh pineapple, though not quite. Flavor strength and sweetness are moderate, making it suitable for all-day vaping.

English Toffee: This was my favorite of the three e-liquids. It has a moderate sweetness and decent complexity. The caramelized sugar is complemented nicely by a buttery savoriness. Candy heads might find the sweetness lacking, but to me, toffee isn’t supposed to be overly sweet the way that children’s candy tends to be. I believe the company got the sweetness level just right — sweet enough that you can taste it, but not so much that it overshadows the buttery richness.

X1: This is one of the most unique juices I’ve tried this year, but it’s also not for me. It’s a tobacco juice mixed with various sweet flavors and a noticeable kick of anise. There’s a bit of cocoa (not chocolate) that’s well done too. The end result, for my tastebuds anyway, is a funky RY4 laced with anise. While I enjoy small amounts of anise in e-liquid, X1 had too much for me. I’m glad I tried the juice and I recommend giving it a shot if you’re looking for something different, but it just wasn’t my thing.

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.

Pineapple
50/50 PG/VG ratio, 0mg nicotine
Uncapped: February 25, 2013 5:33PM
Vaped: April 28 – May 4, 2013

English Toffee
50/50 PG/VG ratio, 0mg nicotine
Uncapped: February 25, 2013 5:33PM
Vaped: April 28 – May 4, 2013

X1
50/50 PG/VG ratio, 0mg nicotine
Uncapped: February 25, 2013 5:33PM
Vaped: April 28 – May 4, 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.

Major League Baseball PED Scandal Set to Explode

According to ESPN, there’s an enormous performance-enhancing drug scandal set to explode. Roughly 20 players have been connected with a clinic called Biogenesis of America. Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun, Nelson Cruz, Gio Gonzales, Melky Cabrera, and Jhonny Peralta are some of the athletes that allegedly received PEDs from the clinic. Biogenesis founder Tony Bosch is reportedly assisting MLB in its investigation. According to the site, “Major League Baseball will seek to suspend about 20 players connected to the Miami-area clinic at the heart of an ongoing performance-enhancing drug scandal.”

As a lifelong baseball fan, I’m bummed by the news. While I know that a few of you feel that PEDs should be allowed in sports, there are many that don’t. Millions of fans feel that steroids, HGH, greenies, etc. ruin the purity of the game. No matter your stance, the scandal will be a black eye for baseball and cast a shadow over what has been accomplished in the sport for the last 20 years.

The one silver lining I see is the possibility Alex Rodriguez getting severely punished. I’ve never been a fan of A-Rod and wouldn’t mind seeing him slapped with a 100-game suspension. In a perfect world, he would also be found guilty of killing baby seals for leisure and burning down acres of rainforest for kicks; those crimes would justify the cancellation of his ridiculous contract.

On a random but related note, if I ever get rich, one of the first things I would do is commission a painting of myself as a centaur smashing a baseball bat into the head of an Alex Rodriguez centaur.

What do you think, sports fans? Do you think the Biogenesis scandal will be a huge deal? Or will it just be a blip on the radar? Will MLB get away with 100-game suspensions? Or is the players’ union too strong? Shout it out in the comments section (please)!

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DC Comics Adding Two Interactive Features to Digital Books

DC Comics is adding two features that aim to enhance the digital comic book experience. The features fall under the DC² brand and initially come in two varieties. The first feature is similar to what Marvel uses in its “Infinite” line, while the second adds a Choose Your Own Adventure element. TechCrunch has a bunch of details from DC Comics co-publisher Jim Lee. Here’s the skinny on the interactive features:

There’s DC², which adds dynamic layers to a panel. Readers can swipe through multiple elements (like word balloons) and images within a single panel, giving the writer and artist an opportunity to pack more story and content into a given space and, in Lee’s words, “explore and bend the rules of traditional storytelling.”

And here’s the deal on the Choose Your Own Adventure-style elements:

Then there’s DC² Multiverse, which allows readers to shape the story of the comic. It’s more about exploring the characters and subplots that you’re interested in. For example, Lee said that at one point in the Batman: Arkham Origins comic, Batman and Catwoman are standing back-to-back in a fight, and the reader can choose which character that they want to follow for the next section of the story. At another point, you can choose which weapons you want the heroes to equip themselves with.

I’m curious to check out these new features, but I’m not sure how much I’ll enjoy them. What I love most about digital comics is that I can download them straight away instead of going to a store and I can store thousands of books on my tablets. Marvel Infinite comics were amusing to me — more of a cute diversion than something I’d actively seek out. DC² sounds like an enhanced version of Marvel Infinite, but also something that could be entertaining in the hands of creative writers and artists.

DC² Multiverse sounds like it could be fun too, but the first thing that popped into my head was writers thinking, “Man, what a pain in the ass this is.” Comic book writers are used to writing linear stories. While I’m sure some scribes will enjoy the possibilities that interactivity offers, I’m also sure that some of them will struggle to use the gimmick in an entertaining way.

There’s some neat potential with these interactive features and I’m willing to give them a shot. However, I’m guessing that they won’t be for me — at least initially. As writers and artists wrap their heads around the gimmicks and use them in creative ways, perhaps they’ll hook me in the future.

What do you think of DC Comics’ DC² features? Are you interested in checking them out? Or are they too gimmicky for your tastes?

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Chicago Sun-Times Fires Photographers in Favor of iPhone-Armed Reporters

In a depressing sign of the times, the Chicago Sun-Times has let go of its entire staff of photographers and will require reporters to take mandatory iPhone photography lessons. The cost-cutting measure was made partially due to the iPhone’s impressive camera and partially due to horrible judgement. While it’s a credit to how far phone cameras have come, it’s a slap in the face to skilled photographers everywhere. The decision screams “suit” and “bottom line,” with no consideration for quality content.

While I’m sure there are several Chicago Sun-Times reporters that can frame a snazzy photo, I’m also sure there are many that take crappy pictures. Writing quality news and taking quality news photographs are two extremely different skills. Being able to tell a story or complement a news piece with an image is a difficult thing to do well. It’s upsetting that the Chicago Sun-Times doesn’t see the value of quality photojournalism. Thinking that a team of iPhone-equipped reporters is an adequate replacements for trained photographers is just stupid.

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Check Out The Sweethome

From the folks that created the excellent TheWirecutter.com comes TheSweethome. If you’re not familiar with the former, it’s a simple and straightforward consumer electronics guide that helps people find the best products that meet their budget. TheSweethome works the same way, but the focus is on home goods. You’ll find detailed recommendation articles on the best laundry detergent, nail clippers, garden hose, toaster oven, electric razor, and more.

I’m a big fan of both sites because they bring readers quality information in an easy-to-follow way. They’re also fantastic examples of bloggers making it big. Both sites were started by former Gizmodo editor Brian Lam. It’s fantastic that he found a way to succeed with quality content without having to sell out to a giant publisher (though I’m certain a giant publisher will buy the sites one day).

When you have a chance, check out TheSweethome and let me know what you think (please).