Another bit for the vaping section of the blog, so a few bullet points on MY thoughts so far:  (which of course means that this my opinion, and we all know what those are like, right?)

First up:  I love Vaping, and after a month of being completely smoke free because of it…I love it.

And the bullets o’ ranting:

1. Most “mods” (custom made e-cigarette gear) are junk. Or I should say:  crap, crap, CRAP, MEGACRAP!  –this also goes for 90% of the standard junk foisted upon an unsuspecting public as “e-cigarettes” as well.
2. 90% of said “mods” -good AND bad- look like weird uncle Ned built the stuff in that sub-basement where a certain fictional serial killer whined about putting the lotion on.
3. In the 21st century most of this equipment is put together with bits of wire and absorbent materials, glue, duct tape, baling wire and is, in general, about as far away from hi-tech as the aforementioned weird Uncle Ned, who thinks email is something you pay extra for at the post office.
4. MOST of these e-cigarette “mods” are so horribly overpriced as to enter “plaid-speed”. Which leads to point 6:
5. Vaping can be a very VERY expensive hobby. Think of that word (hobby) as code for “obsession”.
6. Higher voltage, while giving very “cigarette”-like heat doesn’t necessarily mean a good time.
7. Higher voltage can mean vaping is similar to inhaling burnt toast. (Not always, but yeah.)
8. The ECF (the main forum where all the “coool kids” hang out) reminds me of a clique of those who “get it” vs. everyone else. It also reminds me of a lot of West Virginia sometimes. (This is NOT a happy memory.) –please don’t take this as totally bad…lotta’ good info in there, but it has a not so awesome tone…to me.
9. Most of the innovations in e-cigarettes advances are happening in China and Europe, and not here.  Here in the US it seems like we are just taking existing stuff and ‘tweaking it’, ‘modding it’ or ‘fiddling’.  This point could go on a HUGE rant about what this country is losing/has LOST, but I’ll just leave it here as it is, because it’s pretty self explanatory.  -sigh.

After a LOT of personal research and more than a few $$$ spent on some dodgy gear (love the brits for that word “dodgy”), I have realized there is a reason that while I LOVE the video reviews and most of the reviewers on youtube that are putting their faces and reputations out there, I haven’t broken down and dumped $$$ for this stuff.  That reason is:

V I S U A L

Period.

Currently I use this device, the eGo-T, and not only is it functional and works like a charm (for me) , it is sleek, elegant in its design and hi-tech in its appearance:

 

Most “mods” on the other hand are absolutely ridiculous looking. From uber-steampunk stuff like this:

 

…to utterly cheezy (though functional) stuff like this:

 

 

…AND BEYOND! to absolutely frackingly laughable designs like this buck rogers monstrosity:

 

 

I am a tech by trade, an uber-science fiction/fantasy geek/writer by hobby and a person who would, if I could, live in a time where we as a species have moved on to bigger and better things.

Sticking a tube in my mouth  that looks like Kyle Reese put it together in a cheap motel room in order to blow up Ahhnullld is not sleek, sexy, cool or in any way a desire of mine.

All hope is not lost however. This just might do the trick until I can find an e-cig that is powered by linux:

 

Oh yeah, and guess who created this one?  Yep, not a US based company.  Oh well, Firefly rocked, so I guess learning Chinese won’t be a bad thing.  🙂