FTJoe

Too late!! ;-) I don't see where we disagree. There are two components, physical and habit. I believe people have varying degrees and reasons for reaching for an analog or PV. Sometimes people like you really need to juice up (those really addicted to nic), and sometimes the habit kicks in, I'm stressed out, brain goes gimme gimme gimme. I know many people who only smoke on the weekends or only when they are stressed. My wife is one of them, it amazed me that the tables have turned, I have to make sure I'm packing some PV for her or she will buy a pack on the weekend. I had to leave a pool party last weekend because I forgot it. That is NOT a nicotine addiction, nicotine is gone from the body in a relatively short amount of time, it is pure reflex and habit, brain remembered a few weeks back what made it feel good, go do some of that. My point is I think its a spectrum of different levels of addiction/habit/reasons people smoke/vape. That's why I'm wondering if, for some of us, even a little nic trickling in is enough to not go through withdrawal, and give a decent throat hit, feel of smoking. The brain is awfully stupid when it comes to habits. That is why I think that study in NZ is doomed, 8 weeks of 16mg and 0mg then quit. Two groups of ex-smokers freaking out, 0mg group in the beginning, but if they can get past the nic addiction they might be okay until they have to put the PV down, forget about the 16mg, probably okay until the 8 weeks is up, they have no hope. But I bet if they go back, its to PVs. Maybe we disagree here but the best addictive scientists out there are experts on the physiology of the brain, no soft science there. Mappings of the addiction and other areas of the brain during a study are quite revealing. They also have a good empirical handle on addictive studies that have been done, I disagree the the study of addiction is soft. Many many rodents and other animals including humans would disagree with that. I should have also added that its obvious this was a conclusion looking for a study.

I have a bunch of steel, nickel, whatever. Only one I use is the black plastic.

I wonder if this supports what I have said about the addiction and Speakeasy on nicotine. I believe cigarettes delivered nicotine and that felt good. Are brains register that and like any good drug addicts, when we stress, eat, are bored, whatever, brain says do that again. But it really only cares about the action as it has linked that to that good nicotine stuff, it doesn't know if the drug was delivered at that moment. It satisfies the craving to smoke, not to get nic. Its only later on as the brain truly goes through withdrawal it shows signs but withdrawal always seemed to be very insidious and subtle. And before ddave gets in a huff, ;-), I am not suggesting the actual addiction isn't real, just that there is a learned behavior related to addiction and a physical addiction and folks have varying degrees of each. I think when I went to 0 then two weeks later my brain said forget it and I didn't really need to vape anymore, I actually think I had re-educated my brain. This is a person that would tempt the fates to have that last cig in an airport before a flight, who tried everything to quit, drugs, patches, everything and failed miserably at it. So maybe the amount of nicotine being introduced is small, but enough to not have the user freaking out, blood levels are enough to keep the brain from withdrawal, etc. But the act of vaping stops the urge to do the hand to mouth that the brain is really wanting. I think they really need to let the scientists back off and get people in here that understand addiction to do the testing. But this will always be about the pharma aspect not the addiction. I know I'm not explaining it very well, but as ddave points out, how else do they explain all the people here who are successful and some that really have the nic monkey, are 36 or 48 and/or still supplement with cigs but many many others are just fine 1t at 16 or even lower? And I'm not convinced there is not an addictive aspect to the other 1000+ chemicals in analogs. Speakeasy used to write about the half-life and how nic really wasn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be and I think he is correct.

Just adding...if you can get a 0 nic juice same flavor as what you vape and try it, if the throat hit is no good for you, then mix with your 24s to get lower strength, 50 50 is 12.

It always confused me but I think it basically says don't always fully discharge except once a month or so to keep the fuel gauge calibrated. I also believe when the battery is new, you should discharge it, let it charge full, discharge it, full and maybe one more time. I find with at least bigger batteries I see the first discharge takes only 2 hours for a lappy lets say, then 2.5 then maybe a little longer.

Glad you're feeling better and thanx for the support. BUT GET RID OF THOSE HORNS!!!! ;-) As far as nic goes, there were some discussions in the health section, and I think the consensus was the amount absorbed via e-cigs was a joke compared to cigarettes. Search on halflife or "half life" or half-life. Having said that, if you are asking because you are chain vaping, my suggestion would be to get some lower nic juice. Vape that for a while and then go 24 sometimes, like when you would normally have had a cigarette. I think there are two addictions, one hand to mouth (brain says do that hand to mouth because then I get the drug), and the addiction to the drug itself. Once blood levels are up, any stress, boredom, eating, etc. cues are really just triggering the hand to mouth thing, pavlov dog. It's not the nic you need, just your brain saying do that hand to mouth thing, that worked last time I was "stressed, drinking, bored, ate, etc. I worked down from 24 to 0 at 2mg a week. At 24mg I was a little worried I was getting too much, so I tried to stick to my regular smoking ritual. Once I got to 18 or so I was vaping like a madman. A few weeks after getting to 0 the hand to mouth addiction went away. I'm even having a drink right now, haven't vaped all day. Now everyone is different and some are very addicted to the nicotine, they vape 36 or even 48. My point is I think the bulk of MY addiction was hand to mouth, embarrassing as I thought I was a real bad-*** smoker, once an hour, chain when drinking. Anyway, everyone's different and like I said, I am having a drink!!! ;-)

Truth be known, I have about 50 cartos sitting around, I'm at 0mg and they are not for me. I tried low res and they just burned me. Search continues, I would like medium res cartos please!!!

An empty 510 cart will work as well by the way. I had a whole post pointing to different methods and I give up, can some folks just post their methods? Almost all methods that fill from the top include shaking it down like a thermometer and then trying to get more in. The condom method when bottom up doesn't require that. I know this sounds stupid, but if you search on thermometer, you'll pick up some nice threads on cartos.

Loaded question. This is where you will find so many opinions it'll drive you crazy. If you search the forum for pack or sample you'll find some options. I usually point folks to wordup because they have nice sample pack options. http://www.shop.wordupecig.com/e-lquid-Variety-Pack-e-lquid-Variety-Pack.htm Many who are traditional tobacco have trouble with finding the right one so they go off the reservation, grape soda, chocolate marshmallow, etc. I was menthol and my search continues for the perfect menthol. Right now I combine two juices in the store here at VaporTalk, mentha and dulcis. Juices here are fantastic and they have a sampler as well. http://www.vaportalkstore.com/products/VT-Collection-E-Liquid-Sample-Pack-10ml.html Others will chime in with their opinions, you wil be well armed.

Here's the university opinion on Lion batteries...it says that's false, then I think says run it down to keep the little meter that's in there from getting confused. http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm "A lithium-ion battery provides 300-500 discharge/charge cycles. The battery prefers a partial rather than a full discharge. Frequent full discharges should be avoided when possible. Instead, charge the battery more often or use a larger battery. There is no concern of memory when applying unscheduled charges. Although lithium-ion is memory-free in terms of performance deterioration, batteries with fuel gauges exhibit what engineers refer to as "digital memory". Here is the reason: Short discharges with subsequent recharges do not provide the periodic calibration needed to synchronize the fuel gauge with the battery's state-of-charge. A deliberate full discharge and recharge every 30 charges corrects this problem. Letting the battery run down to the cut-off point in the equipment will do this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate. (Read more in 'Choosing the right battery for portable computing', Part Two.) "

There are a bunch of threads on cartos. I think 20-30, varies. But check the thread on techniques for getting fluid in there. I use the lazy method. Keep the battery condom on, pull the white plug and the clear plug if inside. Then balance the carto open side up and fill up. wwalk away, when absorbed, do it again. After awhile you will have to shake it down like a thermometer. After it glistening and no more will go in, let sit for an hour or more. Then take the condom off the bottom and blow through over a paper towel to make sure there is no juice in the hole in the middle. http://www.vaportalk.com/forum/forum/topic/4870-510-cartomizers/page__view__findpost__p__42791 Here's a Christopher vid that's in the how to section of the store: http://www.vaportalkstore.com/pages/How-To!.html Note there are other vids here as well, Direct Dripping, etc.

Wow. Can someone explain how this is good? I'm not getting it at all. If I read it correctly, they want folks to use e-cigs for 8 weeks then then stop using altogether. Some have 16mg e-cigs, other have 0mg. Smoking cessation is being tested but hey really mean nicotine cessation.

Well...my point was I don't think we may like the results unless they document how the 16mg e-cig users were fine while vaping and liked the results. Calle me a sourpuss, but I think the patch, and both sets of e-cig users are cut off after 8 weeks. So the 16mg users who are probably doing great will freak and the 0mg users will be freaking all the way through it. Unless the addiction is mostly mental, then they will go into withdrawal in a day or two, if they can fight their way out of it, they might be the best group coming out of this.

A high level of nic will give a really big throat hit, but not burnt taste. With a cart I used to make sure I had the device pointed down to ensure the liquid kept moving to the wick as I vaporized what was there. It almost sounds like there's no fluid getting there. Is this regular filler? Have you tried direct dripping? You get about the same number of puffs, then drip some more onto the wick.

Have you tried blowing out the attys really good and/or getting a paper towel down there and gently soak up whatever juice is there? Re-prime with a few drop and try again? Or dry dry burning?

Serious? Computer, lappy, desktop? I hit it with a can of compressed air (CVS, walmart, etc.) and Windex. The air will blow horrible stuff out so beware. And don't spray the windex on the keyboard, just on the paper towel so its damp. Then wipe each key with a little pressure, not crazy so they pop off.

Yeah - testing smoking cessation which actually initiates when you start using the e-cig, but they want to stop using nicotine. At least its recognizing the mental (placebo) affect of the act itself. Oh well, someday someone will see if this is a healthier smoking alternative. Unfortunately this study is giving a patch, 16mg strength e-cigs and 0mg. So the 0mg will freak out right away, and the 16mg will probably be okay until they take it away at 8 weeks. Am I reading that right? Seems kind of stupid when even the patch recognizes the benefits of stepping down. I would consider myself quit after going to 0, because I rarely vape now. But I think the nic addiction was not strong in this one grasshopper, it was more the act of smoking, who knew! I did it by cutting down 2mg a week from 24mg until 0mg, then two weeks later my brain even gave up the ghost of craving when under stress, eating/drinking, etc.

it is funny that many people thought the US was toast (currency wise) but then Europe went down the tubes. China I believe will end up in a very good position. And for those keeping score, it started with Greece, courtesy of your friend and mine, possibly the most Evil corporation ever, suckups to the Rothchild's, drumroll please Goldman Sachs http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=akqC4y5U7MnU Love the line, it was "legal at the time" I love this stuff, anyone familiar with the slightly lesser evil brother, JPM? Killed a county in Alabama doing a swear project. One of the best writers ever had the story, 'Looting Main Street' by Matt Taibbi, but now buried in Rolling Stone, synopsis here: http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latest-news/looting-main-street Best is last two paras, JPM owed 647M dollars as part of an agreement when county couldn't pay debt which was impossible and engineered by JPM At least a court killed that and charged JPM, do the math though, they still made tons of money.

sucky - tranny just went on my truck. I'm in N. NJ, nice storm went through, otherwise weather is sucky (I like t-storms as long as I get my raid arrays shut down in an orderly manner). LBI coming up soon and I usually have a good time down there!!!

http://seekingalpha.com/article/211202-niall-ferguson-u-s-fiscal-crisis-will-likely-occur-within-2-years?source=hp_wc http://www.tulving.com/ http://apmex.com/ http://www.bulliondirect.com/ http://www.providentmetals.com/ The guys I follow (a blog) are kind of split up on how badly this will end. My fear is even if we had a slim chance of getting out, the gulf is what is known as a black swan. Still being downplayed as much as possible. BP still in charge, why? I believe this way the current admin and finance knucklheads/Goldman Alumn will be able to say, what we did in QE, stimulus and bailouts would have worked (NOT). But blame BP for the current state of the nation and let us keep working (possible martial law). Sorry, I never had faith in the fiscal policy and the Gulf is the final nail (IMHO). For the conspiracy folks, isn't it funny how this happened just after the okay for more offshore was given. Also notice how quiet the environmental groups are? And finally (who knows if this is true) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-borowitz/goldman-sachs-reveals-it_b_558774.html

Don't feel bad, I thought the exact same thing when I saw it, but after rereading it several times, I finally got it.

Hey Count!! I'm confused, why not just pick up some more ego batteries at around $20 or so? Sounds like it may have just come to a timely or untimely death. Or are you saying you're using this as a reason to upgrade?

There are actually mega Pccs. Love it. And unlike the regular pcc, it will fit two batts, one charging, and an atty/cart. Only a couple shops have it. Also, with a $3 attachment, you can charge the ego on a regular charger, just takes forever. Also, they have chargers that fit both, they look like the USB fast charger, but is a regular charger.

I don't think I can take this. I think the issue is the juice just can't get down there quick enough. I like the middle resistance V4L ones but the 901 makes it tough for me to share. The best is still a low res and dripping. Darn.

I was still using the first ones I got from nhaler, nice easy draw, got some more and the draw was tighter so I shopped around. VT were good, right now working on one from TW, fine as well (except for the draw). I haven't lost one yet though I think I stupidly donated one of the looser draw ones before realizing it was something special. Based on what I hear from other folks, many like the tight draw so apparently perfect for me is too loose for others.