Living in the Future…
Sunday, August 24th, 2008Behold the technofix to my terrible lack of will to give up smoking!
I ordered this thing from China last Monday and it arrived just yesterday. It is the Super Cigarette, a fabulous little gadget which features psuedo-smoke, glowing tip, and last but by no means least, nicotine!
The second image shows size compared to a regular cigarette, and you can see it’s kind of jumbo by comparison (which makes me think I should have got one that looks like a small cigar instead).
The third image shows it fully disassembled. The long white bit is a lithium battery (one of two supplied) with an LED tip, the silver part is an atomizer/nebulizer, the small orange bit is a capsule with a sponge containing nicotine + glycol solution, and the black thing in the final panel is the charger. One capsule/cartridge is supposed to be roughly equivalent to a pack of cigarettes, and at less than a dollar a pop that’s a rather big saving right there.
To use, you just suck on it and some ingenious electronics atomize the solution into the airstream so you inhale what seems like a mouthful of smoke (while the tip glows red; very cute). The taste is almost nonexistent, but if I had to describe it it would be like having licked your fingers after rubbing baby oil on them. You can achieve gobs of smoke if you want, and there appears to be no substantial odor generated, although there is a very slight musty odor which you might recognize from smoke machines, since they use the same chemical. Because there is no combustion occurring the smoke is not actually smoke, but it looks and behaves almost exactly like the real thing. (short video of me puffing on my giant fake cigarette)
… and the past
Behold the solution to my dearth of 1980 Honda Civics!
This is one of those embarrassing purchases that I regretted the moment I committed to… After browsing cars for so long before buying the Lupo I had simply got myself into the habit of scanning the auction site for cars. I saw this 1980 Honda Civic and really liked the color and model, and before I knew it I was bidding on the damn thing, shortly afterwards finding myself the not-so-proud owner of a silly car that I don’t really need.
Unfortunately it is not in quite the pristine condition I had hoped (although it has only done 95000km which is amazing for a car this age) so right now I’m trying to work out how keen I am to spend time trying to fix it up a bit. The main problems are that the brakes are starting to squeak (money) and the doors appear to be badly aligned (time) so I have to slam the crap out of them at the moment to close them properly— It seems I need to refit them, adding some shims to position them correctly (they are about 5mm too far forwards which stops the strikers from enaging the door latches properly).
Its first useful role will probably be as the car in which Sandy learns to drive a manual so she can get her NZ driver’s license, but only after she stops making fun of it.
Since it is an old car with "personality" I think I should probably name it; I am thinking either Bluey, Civvy, or pehaps Shaky, maybe Loudy…
August 24th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Let me be the first to say “WTF are you doing sticking that thing in your gob?”… As much as I enjoy a technical solution to pretty much any problem, this strikes me as about as clever as the time you and I decided to make tobacco tea!
If this was really any sort of reliable/healthy alternative to smoking do you not think it may have received slightly better praise than “one of the best business ideas of the year”?
Oh, and Civics are cool! Convert it to electric!
August 24th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
and something else that just occurred to me is that the beauty of this product is that any long term negative effects could easily be blamed on the prior behavior of the client…
or in fact they could even advertise this as being so accurate a simulation that it even gives you cancer….
August 24th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
i better you it doesn’t even use petrol.
i didn’t read the thing about cigarettes, they look scary.
August 25th, 2008 at 12:49 am
Although there is definitely some question about whether or not these things can help people quit, chemically it all seems rather simple… and although nicotine is still a poison and therefore bad, this has got to be the more healthy option for people who would smoke otherwise.
BTW If it was as bad as tobacco tea I would be in hospital already ;)
August 28th, 2008 at 1:50 am
My bro in law is using a similar product, the name of which escapes me. He proudly puffs away in nightclubs and on aircraft.
August 28th, 2008 at 11:30 am
sounds like he is spoiling for a fight ;)
one real issue with these things is the psychological effect of using them in non-smoking places… I wouldn’t want to try it myself
August 28th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Maybe call it Shitty? ;)
August 29th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Can you not jam the fake ciggie into the end of one of those party whistle thingies?
Then you could use it anywhere. In the supermarket, on a plane, in the library… anywhere!
Of course, when people saw you sucking away on that party whistle instead of blowing, they might want to tell you that you’re doing it wrong. But then you could just blow a cloud of smoke in their eyes and make them all confused, and perhaps even a little intimidated.