Been distracted lately...

DIGGER27

In Memory Of
Joined
Feb 13, 2010
Messages
15,649
Location
Alabama, by way of Detroit, Tampa Bay, Alabama and
Not a whole lot of hunting for me lately, the weather has been a little cold coming in waves a few days at a time but even if it gets warmer I have another issue...my Garrett Carrot switch went bad after about 9 months.
Disappointing but it happens.
I am waiting for them to repair or replace it as we speak but even though I have a backup Detectnix unit the switch went bad on that one too and it is just a huge hassle to deal with.
I just don't like hunting without a pinpointer at all, I can do it but it is just too frustrating so now I am just waiting for my Carrot to return before I head out again.
It should be back this week.


Pretty boring life for me otherwise but there are two things that recently came into my life that have fully distracted me and have taken my attention away from hunting and have become new obsessions due to my anal nature.
The first was I quit smoking and this time it was fairly easy and I think it will stick.
A few years ago I tried using those electronic e-cigs that you see for sale in gas stations and other stores, it was ok and kinda worked but the replacement cartridges weren't all that cheap and the place I was buying them switched brands so I just didn't feel like going on a hunt looking for them and I didn't want to start over with another brand so I eventually went back to smoking cigarettes.
Then a couple of weeks ago I went on a hunt with a new friend that turned me into a whole new version of those e-cigs, called vaping in the industry, with a higher end set up th an the ones you buy in most stores.
He had a mod unit which is a more involved piece of hardware that had an added atomizer that you could fill with your own e liquid instead of buying those cartridges...a less expensive method once you buy a few things.
The next day I went to a couple of Vape stores to gather some info to see if this was for me.
The first store was a head shop that had a few Vape products and salespeople with no knowledge.
I went to another one and knew I had found the right place to get my questions answered.
I didn't plan on buying anything that day, I needed to do research in order to get the best bang for the buck and I wasn't carrying much money on me either but after learning a few facts and with some urging from the sales staff I did end up buying a starter kit that was not expensive at all and a small bottle of house brand e liquid that simulated the menthol cigarettes I had smoked for decades.
That was life changing, it will be three weeks since that happened on Monday and I have not bought a pack or smoked an "analog" cigarette since.
This was a Joytech D16 AIO, (all in one), refillable pen type unit that was less than $20 and a much better and more satisfying experience than I had using that other cartridge unit...light years beyond that one.


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I was thrilled, my wife was thrilled and for that first week I was happy.
Then I went online and watched some vids about these things and joined a pretty big forum too and learned enough to know it could get even better.
A week after I bought my first one I went back in and upgraded to a better mid grade kit, still considered a starter set up but with more features, settings and control and most importantly a much closer cigarette experience than my pen was giving me.
I was what they call a mouth to lung vapor, pulling the vapor into your mouth and then inhaling like you do with a real cigarette and the closer I could get to that experience the easier it was to stay away from the cancer sticks.
There is another side to this also, what they call lung hitters where people pull huge amounts if thick clouds if vapor into their lungs and exhale which is more pleasurable to some, (called cloud chasers), plus there is a whole different thing going on with those that doing it this way with cloud competitions and trick competitions.



I am not into that, I just want to quit spending all that money on and killing myself smoking cigarettes.
To that end this is what I upgraded to after that first week and I love this thing.
A Zelos 50w starter kit with an Aspire Nautilus 2 tank.


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Now I am getting into another side of this stuff because there is a hobby side to this also that I have become obsessed with, lately.
One has to do with building coils because they don't last forever, maybe a week or two depending on how much you Vape and the makeup of the kind if e liquid you use.
Not super expensive but if I can build them myself I can drop down from spending a couple of bucks a week for coils down to pennies plus there is kind of an art to building coils that I am eager to learn.
Build them right and you can get way more flavor and maybe even more pleasure than I can using my existing units.

The other side has to do with the e juice itself which can cost a few bucks depending on what you buy and where you buy it.
I have a favorite I am using now, I still have that menthol blend but I have gathered a few others in the last couple of weeks.
My favorite is something called Strawberry Crunch, a tasty concoction of strawberry ice cream, crunchy treats and a nice vanilla.

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You can spend anywhere from 30¢ on up per mililiter for the premium stuff, easily 50¢ or up to a buck or more for the real popular brands.
Compared to $5 a pack for cigarettes not all that bad but even though I don't go through much in a day, maybe 5-6 millimeters, but there are some that do a whole lot more than that and it can get expensive.
Because of all of this there is a whole bunch of people that make their own concoctions and many that have gotten very good at it.
This is also very appealing to me, a few basic supplies and some flavorings and if done right I can make up any scrumptious flavor I would like.
There are forums and YouTube vids and websites with hundreds of members that post all kinds of DIY recipes with all their measurements and recipes, plus online calculators that make it easy to figure it all out.
There is also an art to this side of it, there are ways to make money at it if you are good enough and can become a master chef but I just think making my own liquid that tastes good, keeps me off of cigarettes and costs me literally a few cents a day is the ultimate goal.
Now I have to get another set up with a RDA, (a rebuildable dripping atomizer),
Which will let me use my own coils I will build and easily test out the recipes I am making.
As I said I am becoming obsessed with this stuff and getting good at it...almost like the fun I have learning about my detectors.
Luckily none if this stuff isn't all that expensive, way less than buying new detectors and most coils or pin pointers.


The second thing I am obsessing about that just came into my life is a new pressure cooker we just got for the house.

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Again a ton of websites, vids and forums online for those that own and use these things and the time you can save using them can be shocking.
http://pressureluckcooking.com/recipes/

Plus the taste...I have only made one meal so far with mine, a pot roast, and neither the wife or I have ever had a lot roast meal like this that ever tasted so good.
I am a pretty good cook but this thing can bring me to a whole new level.
The meat cooked in 38 minutes, 58 counting the 20 minutes it took to release the pressure.
A whole 6 qt pot of red potatoes, mushrooms, celery, onions and carrots were done to perfection in a total of 6 minutes, I didn't think it was possible to do this to vegetables in such a short time.
Next up is some chicken wings of some kind, maybe this Polynesian chicken meal, only about a million recipes out there to choose from and a ton of vids to help out if I need them.



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Two new obsessions in my life.
One that lets me save time cooking great food which might ultimately give me more chances to dig up great treasures and another that might help me live longer to do it.
 
I have been mixing my own vape juice and building my own coils for a few years now. It will definitely save you money over buying the pre-made stuff. I have quite a bit of vape equipment, mods, RTA's, RDA's, etc. It is another obsession of mine and I enjoy my diet coke and vape first thing in the morning. Glad you are quitting the stinkies and if you want to know more about the vaping world you can check out the forum at vapingunderground.com. Lots of cool folks over there.
 
I have been mixing my own vape juice and building my own coils for a few years now. It will definitely save you money over buying the pre-made stuff. I have quite a bit of vape equipment, mods, RTA's, RDA's, etc. It is another obsession of mine and I enjoy my diet coke and vape first thing in the morning. Glad you are quitting the stinkies and if you want to know more about the vaping world you can check out the forum at vapingunderground.com. Lots of cool folks over there.

Already a member, I also go to all the flavors, 99juices and any other DIY sites I can find, I read ECF and this one for recipes, watch DIY or DIE and JFM on YouTube for mixing tips among others.
Plus plenty of vids about making my own coils.
Like I said...obsessed.
The artistic side and the mad scientist in me just loves this kind of thing.
I am saying this is a good thing overall which I think you will agree with.
 
Yes, I do understand the obsession aspect and the art of coil making being very attractive to the mad scientist type. I have tried to build some of the more complex coils but generally stick with fused claptons. I like vaping at 40-60 watts so I build accordingly.

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Yes, I do understand the obsession aspect and the art of coil making being very attractive to the mad scientist type. I have tried to build some of the more complex coils but generally stick with fused claptons. I like vaping at 40-60 watts so I build accordingly.

Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk

A kindred spirit.
I am already looking at easy to build RDA's, mechanical mods or some other simple mods in about that same wattage range.
I will leave the high wattage crazy stuff to the hard core cloud chuckers.
 
Good for you for giving up those cancer sticks. I bought one of those pressure cookers and I love it. You are 100 % right on the flavor those things can produce. I’ll come home from work, throw in some frozen chicken thighs, vegetables, a can of cream of mushroom or chicken soup, and some noodles, a little water , put it on a 15 minute cook time, go outside and play , come back in an hour and it taste like a meal that’s been simmering all day.
 
Been worried about you for the past month! You could tell you were distracted or something was going on with you...I figured it was the After Christmas Doldrums!

Congratulations on your success with kicking the sicstix! Good luck on your new obsession! Good to see you back posting detailed! :laughing:
 
Been worried about you for the past month! You could tell you were distracted or something was going on with you...I figured it was the After Christmas Doldrums!

Congratulations on your success with kicking the sicstix! Good luck on your new obsession! Good to see you back posting detailed! :laughing:

Got the new Cannon coil I need to keep messing with, I should get my pinpointer back soon and the weather is cooperating and back into the 50's, 60's and a few days in the 70's are coming up.
Summer drought kills us here but this is the best time of the year for us.
Lots of rain for the rest of the month which is both bad and good.
Should keep the ground very diggable.
 
My father quit smoking by simply not buying cigarettes. Three years ago I tried the same method, it worked, smoke free for thee years and I don't miss it.
 
My father quit smoking by simply not buying cigarettes. Three years ago I tried the same method, it worked, smoke free for thee years and I don't miss it.

Good for you...any way you can get off of cigarettes is a great way.
I ain't that strong, I have quit cold turkey before but the cravings still eventually tripped me up.
Vaping just made it much, much easier as it has for thousands of people just like me.
 
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Good distractions are sometimes a blessing in disguise!


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My father quit smoking by simply not buying cigarettes. Three years ago I tried the same method, it worked, smoke free for thee years and I don't miss it.

Same for me three years- but I do miss them. lol
 
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