I've moved...

I'm now hosting my blog on my own server, www.composed-chaos.com.  Feel free to join me there, as posts are no longer being updated here.

Thanks,

Matt

Blue Mist Vaping 60mg Nicoting Solution - First Impressions

Just got my shipment from Blue Mist Vaping, ordered a 120ml bottle of 60mg unflavored nicotine solution.

120 ml bottle of 60mg Nicotine Solution.  6ml bottle on right for size comparison

First off, shipping was fast, and the bottle was well-packed and well-protected.  The bottle has some nice weight to it, and the top has a rubber seal inside to prevent leaks.  I can't detect any kind of odor of a base to the liquid when I attempt to smell the contents, which is a great relief over unflavored DIY nic concentrates I've purchased in the past.

When I get home this evening, I'll mix up a small batch of e-liquid and do a proper review.

-M

Lovebugs, WTF!

It's lovebug season in Florida. Again. Twice a year these little pests have their mating season, and that involves pairs of the insects, one male and one female, flying around aimlessly, attached at the ass end, seeking out the shortest path to your windshield as you're driving down the highway.

They're not the smartest of insects. In fact, they're not much smarter than most plants. During a two week mating period, hundreds of thousands of them meet their demise by being embedded into a speeding radiator grill. It's like the old joke once said, "What's the last thing that goes through the mind of a female lovebug? The male." It's not uncommon for your car to leave the driveway sparklingly clean, and arrive at your destination looking like something CSI should be investigating.

What's even worse is trying to do anything outdoors during this time.  They don't bite or spread disease, but there's so many of them that it's near impossible to breathe without a half-dozen of them shawshanking their way to your nasal cavity.  They get into everyting; your home, your car, your clothes, that little flap of skin-fat that separates North Waist and South Waist.  The outside walls of your house looks like a miniature set for a revival of Hitchcock's "The Birds".

Thankfully, once their annoyance starts to peak, it's soon over.  And I suppose it could be worse for us Floridians.  We could have to deal with hurricanes, tropical depressions, lightning, one of the Bush brothers, rednecks, blue hairs, hanging chads, humidity, sunburn, shark attacks, alligators, mosquitos, and Disney.  If we had those things, this state would suck.

The Hunt

Salia worried about her husband. Since he was a boy, Carlos had participated in the hunt. She knew it was important to the village and their survival, but she also knew the dangers involved. Many times during her life, she would see the men return from the forest, some badly bruised and injured, and some mortally wounded, never to return home to their loved ones. Every hunt, she feared Carlos would be next, and she would become one of the village widows. She quietly wished there were another way, but in her heart she knew the importance of the hunt.

Carlos worried, too. Worried that he would make a mistake, and leave his beloved Salia behind. Worried that they would not get enough meat, skins, and fur to sustain the village through the brutal winter. This was his seventeenth hunt, and he knew it was likely that at least one of his tribe would not return. He knew that others would be maimed and would never be able to participate in the hunt again. But their job was vital to their survival, and without their efforts, everyone in the village would perish. As he moved through the trees, he spotted his quarry, deep in the underbrush. He steadied his spear, and realized that, no matter the danger, he lived for the hunt. It called to him each year, and he was drawn to it.

After all, it was marmot season.

New songs, new e-cigs, and more

Started tracking 2 new songs the other day, and I think I finally have what I need to make a first-rate self-recorded album. Well, except for a real life bass guitar. I've got my eye on a sweet Ibanez Soundgear 6-string, just gotta come up with the cash for it.

So, the tunes. Both are instrumentals, one is a heavy piece that'll smash your face into the back of your skull, the other is going to be so beautifully lush and sweet that you'll cry worse than when your first pet died. Having quit smoking 17 months ago in favor of e-cigs, my voice is a lot stronger now that I'm no longer breathing in cigarette smoke every 15 minutes, but I'm still not confident enough to put my vocals on a track. Soon, though, I'm still practicing.

Speaking of e-cigs, bought a 510 Riva kit today. It's the first e-cig I've bought since I got my Puresmoker Prodigy v1 mod May of last year. The Prod has been just fine for me, but I'm a gadget geek and I finally broke down and got some new hardware. Looking forward to it, have heard some really nice things about it, and it was dirt cheap, too.

This FDA thing looming over our heads is growing, too. Oral arguments in the appeal for the lawsuit between NJOY and the FDA are supposed to be tomorrow, I believe, so I'm eager to hear news of that. FDA is on the losing side of that appeal, so I'm hoping the momentum from the initial ruling carries over and the injunction against the FDA is upheld. As soon as I see some news on it, I'll share.

My office finally told me yesterday that they're ordering my new Verizon phone. Contract was up weeks ago, and it's taken every ounce of willpower not to throw my current phone through the window, but by this time next week I should have my new Samsung Fascinate. I've started work on an Android application, and the emulators on the PC do a decent job for testing, but actually having an Android device will be a welcome change.

So, good week this week. I'll try to post some rough cuts of the toons I'm working on later this week to see how you all like 'em.

Vape on, and keep rockin'.

-M

Electronic Cigarettes featured in the Wall Street Journal

Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal posted an article about e-cigarettes. I've been an e-cig user since April '09, and the device completely changed my life. From waking up in the morning and losing that feeling of choking caused by years of cigarette smoking to regaining all of my lung functionality and getting my vocal range back to where it was before I started smoking, I haven't felt this healthy in years.

The article was very well written, and was able to present views on the use of e-cigarettes from users, vendors, members of the scientific community, and the government. It's no secret that the FDA has a vendetta against the continued use and sale of e-cigarettes, and that this stance is at odds with common sense and what we know about the devices and how they compare to traditional cigarette smoking. Authors David Kesmodel and Danny Yadron were able to cut through the fog of misinformation wafting through the air and present a very fair journalistic piece on e-cigarettes. (I'm sooo sorry about the pun, but I just couldn't resist)

The American Council on Science and Health have written a response to that article that highlights some inaccuracies in the WSJ piece. They make a great argument that, even though more long-term studies should be performed on the use of these devices, removing them from market while these studies are conducted would be a dangerous move that could do much more harm than good to e-cigarette users.

It's my hope that the tide is turning on public perception on the devices, and people will begin to realize just how much these devices have to offer smokers who just can't give up their cigarettes through other methods.

Links to the Wall Street Journal, and ACSH's response, are below.

E-Cigarettes Spark New Smoking War - WSJ.com

Dispatch: WSJ finally lights up e-cigarette issue > Facts & Fears > ACSH

Westboro Baptist Church meets Brick Stone

I gotta say, this video is just full of win.  Brick Stone is my new favorite person of the day.