Archive for the ‘tips and tricks’ Category

A quick note regarding VG vs. PG

Friday, July 1st, 2011

Okay, this is just a short tip for vapers. The two types of fluid used in e-cigs are Propylene Glycol (PG, same stuff used in fog machines), and Vegetable Glycol (same as PG but with a vegetable base).

Now, here’s the thing. I got some VG juice from Johnson Creek — their flavors are great — and I began to have problems with harsh hits from my eGo-T (yeah, I got one, I’ll write a review later) and my 510-T.

It turns out this can happen with VG because VG is thicker than PG and you have to allow more time for the atomizer to “drink it in”. I replaced the VG in my e-cigs with PG-based Vanilla from Vaper’s Choice…and, lo and behold, the harsh throat hits stopped. I also started getting a lot more vapor per puff.

This may not be exactly what was causing the harsh hits, but, given that the PG worked, I’m inclined to believe it was a major factor. But I do not speak for all vapers — some prefer VG to PG. Search the Internet and draw your own conclusions. But do it before you blow $20 on a bottle of e-liquid that may end up being useless to you.

Fix for Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings Launch Bug

Sunday, June 26th, 2011

I’ve noticed on a few gaming boards that several people are having problems starting up Witcher 2. They launch the game, see a wolf splash screen, then they’re either returned to the Launcher screen, or, if they launched with the .exe itself, the desktop.

The following GOG .exe file can help many of those with this problem. It can be downloaded here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2DT6N3XR

Happy gaming and good luck if you’re having problems getting Witcher 2 to launch — keep trying, it’s an awesome game.

Quick review of the new Joye 510-T “Tank” e-cigarette

Tuesday, May 17th, 2011

Joye, the makers of the hugely popular “510″ e-cigarette (the numbers mean nothing — or they indicate something, but I have no idea what it is) introduced a new e-cig: the Joye 510-T “Tank” cigarette.

So I plunked down $70 for a starter kit from e-smokeytreats.com (they still ship the fastest) and it came in the mail yesterday. I’ve been vaping steadily with it for a day and a half now.

The primary change to the 510-T is a “fluid feeder” system, meaning that instead of using wadding to hold the e-liquid, it uses a cartridge that you open up and directly fill with e-liquid — meaning you’re going to be adding more fluid less frequently.

And indeed, it does last longer and gives out a higher kick of vapor than the old 510. The batteries also last a good deal longer than the older 510 batteries. And a quick tip here: Do NOT plug a 510 battery into a 510-T charger, you will burn it out. Although the 510-T can use a regular 510 battery, even though it’s a lower amperage.

So, after testing out the 510-T, I’m fairly impressed. Vapor output is about the same as the regular 510, but removing the need to drip and constantly top off cartridges with e-liquid is now no longer a problem.

I have two small complaints about the 510-T. The first is that the blank cartridges they use are a pain in the ass to open. I have to bite the top off at the moment; I’m still looking for a better way to get that top off.

The second complaint is lack of flavor. The regular 510 isn’t so great at delivering “taste”; the 510-T is even worse. Although the juice I’m using could be the problem, so I ordered up some e-liquid from Johnson Creek, which many people swear by (the new Blu cartomizers use Johnson Creek e-liquid and they produce a LOT of taste — unfortunately they don’t produce a lot of vapor).

Other than those two issues, though, I find the 510-T “Tank” system to be a definite step up from the regular 510. It kicks out a little more vapor, but the key thing is how much longer it lasts than the 510 — both in terms of battery and in terms of refilling the e-liquid.

In the final analysis, I think vapers are still waiting for an “iPhone” of an e-cig — something that’s a real change, a huge step up. The 510-T is not there yet. But it’s on its way. It is definitely well on its way.

However, one caveat — I’m an early adopter of e-cigs, and this system has only been on the market for a short while, so unless you really really want one, I would wait a little longer to see if there are any problems with the 510-T over time.

I will be sure to let you know if there are. In the meantime, I consider the Joye 510-T “Tank” to be the best electronic cigarette currently on the market.

Vape on!

For anybody in Egypt who wants to bypass the government blockage of websites…

Friday, January 28th, 2011

(First, much thanks to Mateo Geoly for posting these IPs on Facebook).

Apparently — although for how long this will last, I do not know — you can get around Egypt’s block of communications/social networking websites by using the numerical IP address as opposed to the name (which has to be resolved by a DNS). So:

To bypass government blocking of website names, use numerical IP addresses:
For Twitter “128.242.240.52″
For Facebook “69.63.189.34″
For Google “72.14.204.99″

“Media is write protected” error in Bittorent (or any torrent program)

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

If you get the titled error (“Media is write protected”) out of nowhere and it’s driving you nuts, try the following:

Hit Windows-R and bring up the Run dialog box.

Type “cmd” in the box and watch the DOS-like screen pop up.

Type “diskpart” in the DOS-like window.

Next, select the volume you’re having troubles with (i.e. “select volume C”).

After it’s been selected, type:

“attributes volume clear readonly”

Give it a second, and that should do it. You should now be able to set permissions as you like on the selected volume.

Disabling the Civilization 5 opening video

Wednesday, October 13th, 2010

Civ 5 was driving me nuts. Every time I started it, I got the annoying opening cutscene, and it seemed the only way past it was to randomly hit keys, until it would eventually stop.

I’ve found a better fix, though, a way of disabling the opening movie altogether, and I’m happy to share it.

Go to your Documents folder and open up “My Games“. Inside is a “Sid Meier’s Civilization 5” folder,

Open the folder and then use Notepad to open the UserSettings file.

Find the entry that reads Skip Intro Video = 0.

Change the 0 to a 1 and save the file.

Congratulations, you’re done, and you’ll never have to see that opening movie again.

Use your Logitech Rumblepad 2 with Xbox360-controller games

Monday, September 20th, 2010

Okay, I’ve been using this a lot myself but haven’t gone through the trouble of putting it up for other people.

If you have a game that takes an Xbox 360 controller, and you have a Logitech Rumblepad 2, you’re going to need an Xbox 360 controller emulator.

Here’s a great one. Download it from kiplange.com  here:

x360ce vibmod 3.1.4.1

Now, to get it to work, put the files (you don’t need to put the src folder or the test program in, though) in the directory where the game you want to play is installed. It should work perfectly. I’ve used this with tons of games and had no problem whatsoever.

Enabling 30-second DVR skip on the new Comcast DCX3400 box

Wednesday, September 15th, 2010

Dug this up. Here you go.

First:

1) Select Aux
2) Hold Setup 2 flashes
3) Enter 01376 2 flashes

Next:

1) Select Aux button
2) Hold SETUP, 2 flashes
3) Type 994, 2 flashes
4) Tap SETUP
4) Enter 00173
5) Tap CABLE, then button to be programmed (triangle is a good one), 2 flashes

Make sure on step 5 you hit the Cable button first before triangle.

Congratulations, you can now skip 30 seconds ahead on recordings using the triangle button (or whatever you chose).

Resetting the Logitech Dual Rumble Gamepad

Monday, July 12th, 2010

There’s nothing posted in the instructions included with the Logitech Dual Rumble Cordless Gamepad about this, so I felt it would be a good idea to share this information.

If your controller suddenly stops working, or if the red light on it starts blinking, and it will not connect, attempt to reset it. This is done by taking out ONE of the batteries, holding down buttons 5 and 7 (these are the two right-hand huddle buttons) and re-inserting the battery.

Hopes this helps some people out.