How to quit smoking in one easy step

Just stop smoking.




But seriously, for those of use addicted to nicotine or just cigarettes in general; there is a practical way.

Electronic Cigarettes or e-cigs, or as they're called in europe, electro fags.
So we'll call them e-cigs.

Since I got my order, a couple of months ago, I haven't gone back.
I had a drag of a 'real' cigarette, and my reaction can only be described as "blehhhrrgg".

Please check the legality of purchasing and selling these products, where you live.
They are not legal to sell in australia at the moment, for some fucking retarded reason that escapes me at the moment.
But it is legal to import them (in small quantities) from overseas.

Now, the benefits:

• Arguably a safe alternative to smoking.
• Cheaper, by far. a 30ml bottle costs around $10 and lasts 2-3 cartons!
• Lotsa different flavours. ie doesn't taste like shit.
• Feels like smoking a cigarette,
• No smoke to stink up any room you're in
• No ash.
• You can put it in your pocket after having a single drag.
• You get to pretend that you're from the future with you're "usb powered, nicotine delivery system, with flashing lights, and delicious flavours"

The sucky bits:

• It doesn't help quiting nicotine, in fact I probably have a higher intake now than before, which is because of all the above benefits.
• Some maintenance of the device is required, basically just cleaning.
• You'll need to recharge the batteries when they go flat, (just keep one on charge and swap them over)
• doesn't really fit behind your ear (if you're into that kind of thing)
• ordering from overseas, instead of visiting the local shop
• exhaling in someone's face causes them to smile (smells nice) instead of making you look tough.

The links:
These parts are from the company I've been purchasing from (no kickbacks or anything).

• here's the starter kit, which includes all the basic bits you need
• You'll need some empty cartridges to fill up with the new flavours
• then some nicotine juice, with many choices of flavours. My favorites are RY4#, watermelon, french pipe, apple, vanilla, menthol, grape and lychee
• you'll need to replace the atomizer every 2-3 months or so, depending on use
• There are also bigger batteries and chargers of various sorts.

I'll make another post at some point with more details on cleaning, and other tips.

boring code

Boring code really is the worst.


Please don't write boring code


am-i-being-boring



I wouldn't be surprised at all, if boring code caused bugs.

The most complicated guitar rig ever

I have a line6 variax 700 guitar, in black.
This is not a normal guitar, well it is, but it has extra bits. It can model other guitars, including 12 strings, acoustics, banjos, sitars etc.

It's awesome.

It has a normal guitar plug as well as a cat5 network connection ( audio, data and power).
Because it's partially digital, there are a LOT of routing options available.
I've gone with a setup, that while complicated, allows the maximum flexibility, and being-able-to-modify-things-later-ability as possible.
I plug the network cable from the variax into my bass podxt live. That plugs into my PC via usb, so that variax workbench can modify the guitar model and tuning in real time. I also take a direct line out of the podxt, that goes into my echo audio audiofire8 which connects to my PC via firewire, so that I can record a clean guitar channel.
I've setup direct monitoring of the clean guitar channel, that goes out to my tonePort DI-Gold, the tonePort connects to the PC via usb, to gearbox which controls the amp and effects modelling on the output of the tonePort. The effected/amp modelled sounds from the tonePort then goes back into the audiofire8, which is direct monitored out to my m-patch 2 volume control then out to my M1 mk2 monitors. On playback, the clean guitar is re-amped through the gearbox vst plugin, giving me complete control of the guitar sound, after recording.
Now that sounds like there's a LOT of connections and digital conversions and buffers, which usually means .... LATENCY.

but there's not.

Hardware monitoring accounts for the normal Analogue -> Digital conversion latency (due to buffering), which is done at multiple stages.
The other magic latency defeater is the hardware (rather than software) effect monitoring done by the tonePort.

You'd think that the multiple stages of analogue -> digital and back again would degrade the signal, and maybe it does to some degree; but I can't really hear any problem with the sound and more importantly the flexibility is worth it.

A friend of mine had a play with the variax through this setup, while I played around with the workshop and gearbox settings. He would start playing a particular style of music, and so I'd modify, in realtime, the sound of the guitar, amp and effects. A very short cut-out (with no digital artifacts) occurs when switching between different guitar/effect/amp models. We were switching between hendrix, metallica, country music, classical; then at one point I got the song wrong, and put the wrong sound on. It was instantly obvious that the sound was wrong for the song, which made me realise it was actually by a different band than I thought.
If I was recording the session, I could have re-done the amp and effect sounds, but the guitar sounds is fixed.

I've never before had that level of control, and power over the overall sound of a guitar, with that kind of immediacy. It really is amazing.

now, I just need to make some time to actually play the bloody thing ...