The Clever Shark

Tank for sale on eBay, no bidders found. Gee, doesn’t *everyone* want one of those? I mean, that would make the neighbors stop complaining about your dog on their lawn wouldn’t it.

Mozilla.org unveils Firefox, the best browser out there. It’s not just a must-have, it’s the official browser of this web site!

CleverShark Photo now features photos of the World Trade Center. Taken from 1999 to summer 2001.

Earlier today I was reminded that I hadn’t written a follow-up on my Eclipse trial since Tuesday, so it is high time indeed that I wrote the final article on this. I’ve been putting a lot of work both in the office and on the photo site (feel free to check it out, the link is on the right side of the page), and in my world “time flies when you’re coding.”

To recap…

It has now been 10 days since I decided to change the brand of cigarettes I smoke. I used to be a pack-a-day “full-flavor” (they should really just call it “full-strength”) cigarette smoker, and had (I think) signed up for smoker information on an RJR site, so in January 28th I received an advert and discount coupon for RJR’s new Eclipse cigarette. At that point I decided to smoke these for a 7-day trial period — nothing official or funded by RJR, by the way — and report on what those cigarettes were like from the point of view of a habitual smoker.

At this point I feel confident that I can make certain observations about this cigarette which will be useful to smokers considering switching.

From the onset I should mention that I have decided to stick with these new cigarettes. It’s not every day that you see a smoker switch brands, but this is really something different.

Taste and smell

The taste of this cigarette is really something one must get used to. This cigarette has very little taste, when compared to a regular brand. This is largely due to the Eclipse primarily heating, and not burning, tobacco. The taste is hard to describe. It’s a slightly more “humid” taste, and it tends to change as the is smoked — it’s fuller at the beginning, then fades gradually, and when the cigarette is finished it is faintly redolent of inhaling from an unlit tobacco pipe. Because it doesn’t burn, that taste is the signal that the cigarette is done.

The chief advantage here is that Eclipse really doesn’t smell, compared to full-strength cigarettes. Unscientific as it may sound, my apartment smells a lot better since I made the switch, as do my clothes (and, probably, my breath). This is certainly due to it not producing ashes.

All in all I think the Eclipse is an improvement over my former brand in terms of taste and smell, and while it did take some getting-used-to, I think it would be equally hard for me to go back to a normal smoke at this point.

Strength of the Eclipse

The Eclipse is a low-nicotine, low-tar cigarette. Unfortunately the pack doesn’t show the tar/nic numbers, so this can take you by surprise (it certainly surprised me). If you’re switching from a full-strength cigarette you will definitely notice some discomfort for the first couple of days. This could lead some to smoke more, but it didn’t do so in my case — I started the trial during the work week, and there are limited opportunities for me to go out and smoke then anyway.

Lung irritation

I have noticed that Eclipse causes considerably less irritation of the lungs than other cigarettes. This manifests itself in no coughing or wheezing in the morning due to cigarette smoke (although I am getting over a chest cold just now). The smoke produced by Eclipse is considerably less dense and more humid than regular cigarette smoke, and that is probably why. Note that I’m not implying that this is a healthier smoke, just that it’s a lot more pleasant from the “lung irritation” standpoint.

How it’s smoked

By and large the Eclipse is smoked like any other cigarette, except for some aspects. First, it can be rather hard to light sometimes and require re-lighting in the initial stage. This can be really annoying to certain people.

Also the Eclipse will burn in a certain amount of time (I haven’t measured), whereas with regular cigarettes people tend to smoke them more or less quickly depending on their own puffing patterns.

There is also the fact that only the Eclipse’s tip burns, while the rest appears intact (although it does get warm). This gets you a few funny looks, but that’s about it; you get used to it rather quickly. Putting what seems to be a whole cigarette in the ashtray does feel a bit off at first.

Availability

This is the bit that worries me about Eclipse. It’s already been put on the market and withdrawn, more than once. Granted, it is said to have been greatly improved since then, but it is a cause for concern that they might disappear from the market once again.

It is also not available everywhere normal cigarettes can be purchased. So far I’ve noticed that the safest bet is to look for them at drugstores, since smaller establishments usually don’t carry them.

Overall conclusion

I am feeling quite positive about this cigarette, which represents what is probably the biggest advance in smoking since the filter. Granted, it does require some adjustment on the part of a regular cigarette smoker, but in the end I think it is well worth a try for smokers who are looking for something new.

Apparently the era of free speech is over for America. Apparently if you’re against the war you’re a terrorist.

Kerry never granted favors in exchange for political donations? CNN seems skeptical. Good thing that Kerry is the candidate who will chase “special interests” right out of Washington!

Rules for being a Republican! (via Metafilter) You’ve always wondered, well, now you know.

CleverShark.com photo site now greatly improved! Now with bookmarkable, more friendly URLs and 90% better navigation!

It’s official: the feds will spend untold amounts to investigate Janet’s boobie. From all the brouhaha around here you’d think Americans have never seen a breast before.

A whole day later, America continues freaking out about seeing Janet Jackson’s partially-covered boobie. Reaction from most of the rest of the world: “It’s a tit. Haven’t you ever seen one of those before? Chill out!”