Tag: Not Reviews

Random Thoughts on The Newsroom Season 2, Episode 7

I skipped out on recapping last week’s episode of The Newsroom because I found it a bit dull (yet still watched it 11 times). Will had a sweet moment on ACN Morning and the Operation Genoa story continued to unveil, but too much of it was tiresome. I was tired of Lugubrious Will, Cock Blocked Jim, and Not Getting Any Action Don. Thankfully, this week’s episode was thunderous. It was dramatic and ended with a stentorian roar. Let’s start at the ending.

Leona Lansing is Mariano Rivera: Jane Fonda came in at the end of this episode of The Newsroom and made it her bitch. She completely owned it and starred in the best scene of the season (possibly the second-best Newsroom scene ever behind Will’s speech at Northwestern in s1e1). Her character, Atlantis World Media CEO Leona Lansing, dominated the last three and half minutes of the show with a passionate, charged, and hilarious diatribe. It showed so many sides of her character — her toughness, her wonderfully harsh sense of humor, and her hidden love for Atlantis Cable News. It was a thrilling way to close the show and reminded me of Mariano Rivera closing out an exciting Yankee game.

Don Keefer Lights it Up: Naturally, the best episode of the season kicked of with The Newsroom’s best character. Don was at his sardonic best, “working” with ACN’s lawyer. He also had several great moments in the “Red Team” meetings — sharp lines that only Don Keefer can deliver with the proper bite. While Don is no closer to a relationship with Sloan Sabbith than he was in s2e1, he’s still the coolest cat in the newsroom. This character rules.

A Few Good Men (and Women): One of the reasons I enjoyed this episode so much was that it was a legal drama. Twelve Angry Men, A Few Good Men, and Primal Fear are some of my favorite movies of all time. In this episode, The Newsroom’s use of real-world events and romantic comedy took a backseat to the legal drama. Having ACN’s lawyer played by the excellent Marcia Gay Harden helped too. Hmmmm, the people that say that The Newsroom portrays women as fools need to look at the characters played by Jane Fonda and Marcia Gay Harden. Those ladies are tough.

Shot-Clock Violation: Brian Fantana Jerry Dantana doctored some raw footage of a key Operation Genoa interview so that it would tell the story he wanted told. When the interviewee insisted on leaving March Madness basketball games playing in the background (s2e6), I knew that the shot clock would play a role in the Operation Genoa report unraveling. Honestly, I thought it was silly that nobody caught it. You had the news teams from two shows and 30 ACN lawyers combing over the material. While I understand that the enormity of the story was foremost on their minds, I don’t see how all of them missed the shot clock jumping back and forth. I was kind of disappointed that MacKenzie was the one that eventually spotted it. It seemed like something Slumdog Millionaire would have sleuthed.

Sloan Dislocates Her Shoulder: Sloan Sabbith didn’t do a lot in this episode, which means that Olivia Munn didn’t have many opportunities for unbelievable acting (playing a character that has two doctorates is one thing, but playing someone embarrassed by naked photos is completely unbelievable). Since dear Olivia was denied the opportunity to offend, you should watch her dislocate her shoulder. The video is a week old, but it’s still frickin’ hilarious!

Vaping Diaries #94: Clever Vape Review

Clever Vape is a relatively new e-liquid company that sells some interesting juices. There are several unique blends in the Clever Vape lineup and I recently vaped three of them: Nostalgia, Brooklyn Pop, and Abandon Mint. They’re three very different e-liquids that will appeal to all sorts of vapers. For the most part, I was very pleased with my first Clever Vape experience.

The company’s 30ml bottles are glass and feature stylish labels. The juices are fairly priced at $14.99 ($18.99 with a flavor boost). Abandon Mint and Brooklyn Pop vaped very cleanly, while Nostalgia was a “dirty” juice. This wasn’t surprising, since it’s made with real tobacco in a process that the vendor calls “true tobacco synthesis.” Nostalgia gunks up coils quickly and probably isn’t the best choice for a carto/tank.

Abandon Mint and Brooklyn Pop are good to go straight away, with only slight changes after a month of steeping. Nostalgia changed more and I suggest giving it at least two weeks of steeping.

Here are the flavor breakdowns and steeping notes for these Clever Vape juices:

Nostalgia: Vapers looking for a bittersweet tobacco e-liquid should definitely give Nostalgia a try. It’s a lovely melange of tobacco and black honey. The mix is very flavorful, with a medium-strength tobacco playing off the honey flavor nicely. As a huge fan of tobacco e-liquids, I enjoyed this juice. It almost reminded me of something that Heather’s Heavenly Vapes would make.

Just keep in mind that it’s heavy, so you’ll have to dry burn your coils relatively frequently and probably shouldn’t vape it in a carto/tank; when I was dripping it in a Nimbus, I couldn’t even get a full day of vaping before a large chunk of buildup appeared on my coils. As I said before, the taste is worth it.

Brooklyn Pop: This is a great black-cherry-cola juice with an excellent kick of spice. The cola flavor is authentic and not candied. The end result is similar to a gourmet soda. It was a close call between Nostalgia and Brooklyn Pop being my favorite Clever Vape juice of the bunch, but Brooklyn Pop gets a slight edge for its addictive spiciness.

This juice is a good choice for vapers trying to lower their nicotine levels. The spicy kick adds a sensation that helps compensate for loss of throat hit you get as you go down in nicotine. Even though I was born in the Bronx, I have to give it up for Brooklyn Pop. Clever Vape did an excellent job with this juice.

Abandon Mint: This was my least favorite of the bunch, but it’s a good choice for those that want a combination of sweet and minty. When I was dripping it, I could make out the different mints and menthols used in the juice (spearmint, wintergreen, etc.). In a cartomizer and clearomizer, the separation was lost to the sweetness. I would have loved this juice if the sweetness was toned down and the various mints were played up. Vapers that like mint candies will probably enjoy this juice, but for me the sweetness negated the complexity.

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.

Nostalgia
50/50 PG/VG ratio, 6mg nicotine
Uncapped: July 5, 2013 6:56PM
Vaped: August 18-24, 2013

Brooklyn Pop
50/50 PG/VG ratio, 6mg nicotine
Uncapped: July 5, 2013 6:56PM
Vaped: August 18-24, 2013

Abandon Mint
50/50 PG/VG ratio, 6mg nicotine
Uncapped: July 5, 2013 6:56PM
Vaped: August 18-24, 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.

Vaping Diaries #92: Avid Vaper AMP Tank Review

The Avid Vaper AMP Tank is a juice delivery system that’s fantastic for a very specific type of vaper. It uses old-school dripping atomizers and submerses them in a pressurized tank. The result is the full flavor of dripping combined with a sizable amount of juice capacity. It takes a little time to get the hang of, but vapers that enjoy dripping atomizers and want a simple solution for capacity should strongly consider the AMP Tank.

Build Quality: The AMP Tank is a well-made device with smooth lines. The threading and machining are high-quality. One minor criticism I have with the device is that the materials don’t feel particularly luxurious. It costs $120 and doesn’t feel like it should. Of course you’re paying for the research and development that went into the product, as well as the performance, but several high-priced atomizers feature more expensive metals, such as high-grade stainless steel. Remember, this is only a minor criticism; I was generally happy with how the device was made.

Design: The AMP Tank is available in three anodized colors black, clear, and gold. The different colors complement a wide variety of mods reasonably well. Vapers that use standard-sized atomizers get 3ml or capacity, while users of long-barrel atomizer get 5ml. The device has AMP printed on its base using a stylish, but subtle font. The black model I reviewed looks great on white and steel mods. A friend of mine has the gold model and it looks nice on brass mods. The clear coating is probably the most diverse finish, since it looks good on a variety of mod colors and finishes.

Performance: Once you understand how the AMP Tank works and know how to control juice flow, the performance is brilliant. I’ve used it successfully with atomizers from a number of companies: Avid Vaper, Boge, Empire Mods, Joyetech, and Vapage. It took me a little under a week to get used to manipulating air flow and juice flow; since then, the AMP Tank has become one of my favorite juice delivery systems.

I’ve used the AMP Tank for several months with 70/30, 60/40, and 50/50 juices (PG/VG). I haven’t had any leaking issues after my first week with the device and I rarely had to adjust from the default juice-flow setting. For the first half or two-thirds of the tank, the automatic juice flow worked perfectly. Towards the end of the tank, I’d have to manually manipulate juice flow. It really varies from juice to juice, but in my experience, it works fantastically. That said, I have seen reports from vapers of thicker juices (high VG content) saying that they had problems with getting juice to flow to the atomizer.

Avid Vaper should be commended for its great instructional video (embedded below) on how to use the AMP Tank. While it does require some finessing — particular as the tank gets low — I loved how the AMP Tank performed with my juices. If you vape thicker juices then there’s a chance that the device isn’t for you.

Ease of Use: There is a learning curve with the AMP Tank and there are a few things vapers have to be careful with. Like I mentioned in the performance section, using the device for the first half or two-thirds of a tank couldn’t be simpler (again, it depends on the thickness of your juice). When the tank gets low, it’s simply a matter of covering the air hole, inhaling to draw juice into the atomizer, and slowly removing your finger to get the vacuum flowing again. Yes, it’s not as simple as direct dripping, but it’s still a relatively easy process and you get the benefit of capacity.

Replacing the atomizer and refilling the AMP Tank are simple, common-sense processes. While I don’t recommend this device for beginners, most intermediate to advanced vapers should find using it a cakewalk.

As for what I mentioned about requiring care, this isn’t a device I’d recommend sticking into your pants pocket. The O-rings aren’t snug (by design) and you can have an embarrassing juice explosion on your jeans. Changes in air flow and juice flow can cause leakage out of the air hole. If you’re not careful with juice flow and you start taking trying hits on your atomizer, the coil can pop prematurely. Again, once you learn how the AMP Tank works, that becomes a low-risk issue.

Verdict: Vapers that want the full flavor of dripping have a lot of choices. There are Genesis-style atomizers and bottom-coil silica atomizers (like the excellent GP Spheroid). Those juice delivery systems require some extra work and there are some people that simply aren’t comfortable with rebuilding. While those types of rebuildable atomizers are more cost effective, this one is more accessible. The Avid Vaper AMP Tank fills a niche and does it very, very well. If you want maximum flavor and minimum fuss then the AMP Tank is a fantastic solution.

Vaping Diaries #90: Want2Vape Review II

Back in June, I reviewed three Want2Vape Signature Blend e-liquids and was very impressed. This time around, I cover three juices from the company’s other lines: RY4, Rock Star, and The Blond. Whereas the Want2Vape Signature Blends e-liquids are straight-up, in-your-face tobacco, these juices are lighter, but still very enjoyable. Two of them mix tobacco and sweet flavors, while the other is a dead-ringer for a very distinct cigar.

As far as performance goes, Rock Star was the cleanest juice of the bunch. The Blond and RY4 will clog up your cartomizers or gunk up your coils a little bit faster, but are still relatively clean juices. All of them are suitable for a variety of juice delivery systems, whether you use cartomizers, clearomizers, or dripping atomizers.

Overall, I was quite happy with these three Want2Vape juices and especially enjoyed RY4. All three are quality e-liquids that are very tasty. The prices are slightly on the expensive side ($18.50 for 30ml of The Blond, $17.00 for 30ml of the others), but certainly reasonable. Check out the flavor breakdowns and steeping notes below.

RY4: This is a Western-style RY4 that emphasizes tobacco and caramel (to my tastebuds, anyway). It’s one of the heavier Western RY4s I’ve tried and also one of the best. The tobacco flavor — which uses a percentage of Want2Vape naturally-extracted tobacco (NET) — is fantastic. For Western-style RY4s, I prefer juices with a deep and flavorful tobacco taste to complement the sweetness. This juice fits the bill. If you’re looking for a deep and decadent RY4 then you’ll be happy with this one.

Rock Star: Fans of lighter Western RY4s should give this juice a go. When I say lighter, I absolutely don’t mean watered down. This is a bright and effervescent e-liquid that’s more balanced than Want2Vape’s RY4. While it does a better job of balancing the tobacco, caramel, and vanilla flavors, I preferred the NET “oomph” of its sister juice. Those that prefer RY4s that are brighter and lighter will probably prefer Rock Star.

The Blond: This juice really impressed me. It’s a spot-on approximation of the unique Acid Blondie cigar. For CYA purposes, it’s me that’s saying that this juice tastes like Acid Blondie; Want2Vape doesn’t make any such claims on its web site. For those of you not familiar with Acid Blondie, it’s a very distinct cigar that’s often described as botanical or herbal. Many people feel that it combines tobacco with clove, honey, ginger, mint, and caramel flavors. It’s definitely a unique flavor and Want2Vape absolutely nailed it with The Blond.

For me, the flavor is almost too unique. This isn’t an all-day vape for me or even a juice I can enjoy every other day. That said, I really respect the job Want2Vape did with this juice and like it as a once-a-week treat. If you’ve ever enjoyed an Acid Blondie cigar then you’re sure to enjoy The Blond.

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.

RY4
70/30 PG/VG ratio, 0mg nicotine
Uncapped: March 1, 2013 5:47PM
Vaped: July 17-22, 2013

Rock Star
70/30 PG/VG ratio, 0mg nicotine
Uncapped: March 1, 2013 5:47PM
Vaped: July 17-22, 2013

The Blond
50/50 PG/VG ratio, 0mg nicotine
Uncapped: March 1, 2013 5:47PM
Vaped: July 17-22, 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.

Vaping Diaries #89: Ahlusion Review VI

Ahlusion’s aromatic e-liquids are some of the best tobacco juices you can buy. Made with naturally-extracted tobacco, these e-liquids are fantastic for vapers looking for authentic and complex tobacco flavors. In the past, I’ve covered Ahlusion’s Blue Grass Burley, Devil Dog!, Vurley, and Honey Cured aromatics. This time around I vaped Cocoa Blend, Maple Burley, and Sweet Georgia Peach.

These flavored aromatics behaved similarly. The striking tobacco hits your first and is complemented wonderfully by the secondary flavor. These juices are heavy and not recommended for carto/tanks (the coils will gunk up fast). Dripping gives you more of the tobacco flavor (my personal preference), while vaping in a Kanger T3 clearomizer brought out the sweetness of the complementary flavor. Keep in mind that when using a clearomizer, you’ll have to rinse and dry-burn the coils more frequently. Unlike many made-to-order e-liquids, the aromatic line doesn’t require steeping and is ready to go right from the mailbox.

As with my previous Ahlusion orders, these juices were immaculately packed. As far as protection goes, the company does the best packing job I’ve seen. As for the e-liquids themselves — they’re fantastic! The tobacco flavor is superb and the complementary flavor blends in marvelously. Here are the flavor breakdowns and steeping notes.

Cocoa Blend: This juice took me by surprise, due to my own ignorance. I’ve had a lot of bad chocolate e-liquids, but this one uses cocoa, not chocolate. My friend Andrew let me try some of his Cocoa Blend and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The cocoa has a nice bittersweet flavor that works brilliantly with the Virginia and burley tobaccos used in this juice. The outstanding tobacco blend’s earthy tones are highlighted by the bittersweet cocoa. The flavors mix together perfectly for a deep and authentic tobacco vape with a lovely bittersweet touch.

Maple Burley: I was expecting something different from this e-liquid. I thought it would be more like Vurley, which has a deep burley tobacco taste and a brightly sweet vanilla flavor. With Maple Burley, the tobacco is the dominant flavor, while a natural maple sugar flavor is in the background. I’m a big fan of Ahlusion’s maple sugar flavor; it’s sweet, but not in that artificial maple-syrup way. Although the mix wasn’t what I expected, this ended being my favorite of the three. Burley is one of my favorite tobaccos (for e-liquids) and the maple sugar flavor is delicious.

Sweet Georgia Peach: A few of my vaping friends are totally high on this juice and it’s easy to understand why. As expected from an Ahlusion aromatic, the tobacco flavor is phenomenal. What’s really interesting is the peach flavor. Most peach e-liquids use a flavor that’s similar to a Peach Gummi candy or a natural, fresh peach. Ahlusion’s peach is distinct; it’s natural, but more like a dried peach than a fresh peach. It works incredibly well with the tobacco flavor. This juice is an amazing approximation of peach pipe tobacco. It’s wonderfully executed, with a perfect blend of striking tobacco and a unique (and yummy) peach flavor.

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.

Cocoa Blend
70/30 PG/VG ratio, 6mg nicotine
Uncapped: May 31, 2013 6:32PM
Vaped: June 24-July 16, 2013

Maple Burley
70/30 PG/VG ratio, 6mg nicotine
Uncapped: May 31, 2013 6:32PM
Vaped: June 25-July 16, 2013

Sweet Georgia Peach
70/30 PG/VG ratio, 6mg nicotine
Uncapped: May 31, 2013 6:32PM
Vaped: June 23-July 16, 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.

Random Thoughts on The Newsroom Season 2, Episode 5

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”

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.

Vaping Diaries #85: EHPro EA Mod Review

The EHPro EA Mod is an affordable mechanical vaping device with surprisingly great performance. It’s a clone of the Electric Angel EA Mod (which some vapers consider a clone of the Golden Greek) with some minor improvements. While the fit and finish aren’t as nice as the Finnish mod it’s based on, the EHPro clone provides better performance for 1/4 of the price. This is the mod that made pay attention to Chinese clones.

What’s in the Kit: The EHPro EA Mod comes in a fairly ordinary box. It’s a clone and I’ve yet to see fancy packaging for a clone. The box comes with a short tube and a long tube to accommodate different batteries (18350 to 18650). Also included is a polishing cloth. One minor nitpick is that the longer tube isn’t long enough to accept an 18650 battery and an Evolv Kick.

Build Quality and Construction: The EA clone is primarily made from stainless steel. The button and contact points are made from gold-plated brass. The gold plating helps the mod’s performance, since gold is more conductive than brass, but users need to treat it gently. Gold is a relatively soft metal, so care must be used when cleaning the contact points. For the price, I was impressed with the materials used.

The mod’s lines are very clean, but the internal machining work is uneven. The threads are decent, but could have been smoother. One of the tubes in my kit had shavings around the threads, which is just sloppy. The overall build quality is good, but not great, which is acceptable for the product’s price.

Ergonomics and Design: The EA clone has a side-mounted firing button placed at the bottom of the mod. I like this type of button placement as the mod’s weight is distributed evenly through your hand, but some vapers don’t like hitting the firing button with their pinky finger. The button itself has a slightly better feel and is easier to take apart for maintenance than the one on the original EA Mod. Most importantly, it didn’t misfire once. I found the mod very comfortable to hold and the button action quite smooth, but that’s subjective.

The mod uses a floating pin, allowing atomizers of various sizes to sit flush. I had no problems with various direct-dripping atomizers, clearomizers, carto/tanks, and rebuildables I used with it. This is a very easy mod to work with in my experience. However, some users have reported that the floating pin is too long and can’t get their atomizer to sit flush.

Performance: The EA clone’s low voltage drop was quite surprising. It’s very, very good — much lower than the original’s. This mod hits hard and delivers true power. If performance is your chief concern then you’ll be quite happy with this mod. I had average expectation’s for the clone’s performance and was pleasantly surprised by what it delivered.

Verdict: While it doesn’t have the craftsmanship of the original, the EHPro EA Mod offers superior performance. If you’re just starting out with mechanical mods then this is a great choice. It’s also a fantastic option for experienced vapers that want a backup device or one that they’re not afraid to beat up. With online prices ranging from $50 to $60, this EA clone is a sweet value. You get great materials and decent build quality in a mod that performs as well or better than those that cost four times as much.

Random Thoughts on The Newsroom Season 2, Episode 4

Things are moving fast in The Newsroom. A lot happened in s2e4, so let’s jump right into it.

The Return of Dick Don: After getting Sensitive Don, Passionate Don, and Jar Jar Don in the first three episodes of the show, I was starting to wonder if the lovably roguish Dick Don (DD) was gone for good. In episode four, DD made his return, but it wasn’t as triumphant and glorious as it could have been. Before I get to that, let’s go over some DD highlights. Continue reading “Random Thoughts on The Newsroom Season 2, Episode 4”

Vaping Diaries #84: Janty Ludo’s, RY4-X, SE555 Review

Here’s a review of three e-liquids from Janty, best known as the creators of the original eGo e-cigarette and the RY4. Ludo’s, RY4-X, and SE555 are covered in this article. The first two juices are based on two of the excellent RY4s I covered in Vaping Diaries #82, while the other is Janty’s take on a popular artificial tobacco flavor. Here are the flavor breakdowns and steeping notes.

Ludo’s: This juice is named after Janty’s president and founder Ludo Timmermans. It’s based on the company’s DK RY4, which is my favorite artificial RY4 on the market. The first thing that hits you is mint, followed by the excellent DK RY4 flavor (neutral tobacco + caramel + vanilla), and topped off by a coffee after taste. It’s a very interesting and complex juice, but it’s definitely not for everyone. Personally, I loved the striking blend and found this juice to be the most enjoyable of the three covered. Some of my friends found the mint overpowering and didn’t care for the coffee note…but I (respectfully) think they’re nuts. This is a great juice.

RY4-X: If you took Janty’s Classic RY4 and cranked the tobacco up to 11 then you’d have RY4-X. To me, the unique tobacco flavor and great balance is what makes Classic RY4 so excellent. While this is certainly a very good juice, turning up the tobacco actually made RY4-X less enjoyable to me than Classic RY4. My personal preference is for naturally-extracted tobacco, so if I want a tobacco-heavy RY4 then I’ll go for something like Goodejuice’s GJ4. Again, this is a very good juice, but the balance of Classic RY4 is what makes it great and that’s out the window with this juice. If you’re a fan of lab tobacco flavors and want a bit of sweetness to round things out then you’ll probably like this one.

SE555: Many vendors have e-liquids based on State Express 555 cigarettes. They’re almost always sweet tobaccos with a touch of nuttiness (the fruit variety, not the mentally unstable variety). Janty’s RY4 is a good 555 e-liquid, but it’s not as distinct as the two RY4 variants above and it’s comparable to many 555s that are available. At $15.95 for a 20ml bottle, the online price is expensive. You can find 555 e-liquids that are just as good or better for a lower price.

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.

DK Ludo’s
House PG/VG ratio, 11mg nicotine
Uncapped: April 24, 2013 7:12PM
Vaped: May 14-June 15, 2013

Classic RY4X
House PG/VG ratio, 11mg nicotine
Uncapped: April 24, 2013 7:12PM
Vaped: May 14-June 15, 2013

DK SE555
House PG/VG ratio, 6mg nicotine
Uncapped: April 24, 2013 7:12PM
Vaped: May 14-June 15, 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.