I’m testing several budget 22LR ammo vs CCI Standard velocity. CCI Standard is the go-to practice ammo for many competition bullseye pistol and 100-yard rimfire shooters. In this test, I compared it to Fiocchi Range Dynamic in my factory CZ457 Varmint Precision Chassis.
Both are lead round nose 22LR cartridges, the Fiocchi having a slightly heavier wax coating, common with European-made rimfire ammo. Pricing for 50 rounds of both ammo was comparable, but the average performance I got was not. CCI was consistantly better.
The Miady Clip-On Lamp set comes with 2 lamps. Each lamp offers the option to run it wirelessly using its built in Lion battery. Or you can remove the internal 18650 battery and use it as a USB-C us it as a normal plug-in lamp.
They do not recommend leaving the battery in the base while using it as a plug-in lamp because it probably does not have a strong cut-off circuit to prevent over-charging the battery. The lamp has a touch-activated button on the clip-on base. Each touch changes the brightness mode. With a price under $20 for a pair of them including the battery, this makes for a compelling value.
Aphids love my hibiscus flower bush. I’m loath to use chemical pesticides. I’ve sprayed it with detergent and water multiple times but every spring they come back.
Ladybugs are natural predators of aphids, and I’ve seen an occasional beetle on the bush. This year I bought a box of live ladybugs online to treat this aphid problem. The box contained a sachet of crawling, live beetles. I gently shook them over the plant though most stuck to the bag. I ended up carefully picking them out with my fingers. Some crawled onto my hands, and I placed as many directly onto more infested buds and branches.
The next day, I checked on the bush and was disappointed to find that only a small fraction of the ladybugs were around from the previous day. Some must have flown away; perhaps some were eaten by birds or predators? In any case, a few days later I could barely find one ladybug left on the bush and there were still aphids.
So the attempt seems to be a failure. Perhaps I needed to starve the beetles a few days before releasing them? Or maybe this is just to be expected?
Aquilifer is a budget scope brand that takes its name from the Aquilifer, the soldier in the Roman Legion given the honor of holding the golden eagle standard. Their EP 6-24×50 FFP is the smaller brother of the EP 5-25×56 scope, with a lower price just above $200.
To achieve this low price, this optic made some trade-offs. It has a tight eyebox, though better than its 5-25×56 sibling. It is a heavy scope at nearly 2lbs. Its elevation turret only offers a pittance of 9 MRAD of adjustments.
Its value-tier price and overall performance make up for many of its shortcomings. It has ED (Extra Low Dispersion) glass, which allowed me to see a good level of detail at 24x, though the image lacked contrast and sharpness above 16x. Its limited range of elevation adjustments makes this a poor choice for PRS or NRL-22 competition, but its thin tactical reticle is ideal for bench rest.
Stopping at the Vector Optics booth at SHOT Show 2026. One of their biggest announcements was their new Frenzy green dots and micro thermal optics. Vector Optics is the OEM for a number of well known US brands so these reflex sights promise to be every bit as good but at a lower street price.
Enter for a chance to win a CVLIfe magnetic laser boresighter. Each qualified contest entry will be included in a random drawing during my TMI Livestream show in May.
Entries must be received no later than 12 pm noon EST on April 30, 2026.
This prize is supplied by CVLife and is awarded at their sole discretion and direction.
CONTEST INSTRUCTIONS
There are 2 ways to enter. Prove you have the skills to fill out a form and upload screenshots.
NO PURCHASE OR DONATION IS NECESSARY TO ENTER. YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING DO NOT INCREASE WITH A PURCHASE. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
1. Eligibility
Void where prohibited by law. Must be a legal resident in the USA. Moondog Industries employees, subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, advertising and promotion agencies, and employees’ immediate family members are ineligible to participate in the contest/giveaway.
Entrants must be willing and able to appear on YouTube to discuss the contest and post images of the prize on their social feed should they win the contest.
2. Sponsors and Platforms
CVLife (known as the SPONSOR) and Moondog Industries (known as the CO-SPONSOR) is a video Edutainment producer and game promoter based in San Francisco, CA. YouTube, TikTok, Rumble, X and online video platforms (known as PLATFORMS) are not SPONSORS or in any way affiliated with the contest or content.
3. Entry Period
Contest email entries must be received between: 12:00pm EST 1 Apr 2026 and 12:00pm EST 30 Apr 2026
4. Agreement to Rules
By entering the contest, participants agree to abide by the SPONSOR’s Official Rules and decisions. The SPONSOR retains the right to refuse, withdraw, or disqualify entries at their sole discretion. By submitting an entry, the participant agrees to accept the decision of the SPONSOR as final and binding.
5. How to Enter
This contest requires your skill in navigating your phone or computer controls to screen capture an image of the following YouTube channels/Social Media accounts. Subscribe or Follow and make a screen capture of those pages showing a greyed out Subscribe button or indicator that your account is Following that page. If the page is not functioning, please contact contest@moondogindustries.com . One entry per person or per Social Media account. Fraudulent methods of entry, photo retouched, or other methods of circumvention of the rules may result in the SPONSOR invalidating a participant’s entries.
6. Prizes
The winner must be able to receive the prize by e-mail or by physical mail. Prize may be substituted at the sole discretion of the SPONSOR. Acceptance of the prize grants SPONSOR permission to use the winner’s entry, name, and likeness for advertising, promotion, and trade without further compensation or remuneration unless prohibited by law.
7. Odds
The odds of winning are dependent upon the number of eligible entries received.
8. Selection and Notification of the Winner
The winner will be chosen at random by the SPONSOR from among the entrants who demonstrated the skill to navigate the electronic entry and have met the minimum requirements. Winners will be contacted via the email used to enter the contest. Winner must have a legal address within the US to ship the prize.
SPONSOR is not liable for the winner’s failure to receive notification of winning if he or she provided the wrong email address or if their email security settings caused your prize notification to go into the spam or junk folder. If a winner does not respond within 24hrs of sending a notification, the SPONSOR will select an alternate winner. Receipt of the prize is upon the condition of compliance with federal, state, and local laws.
9. Rights Granted by the Entrant
The SPONSOR, upon submission of an entry into the giveaway or contest, has the right to use the participant’s submission, voice, likeness, image, statements about the contest, etc., for publicity, news, advertising, promotional purposes, trade, and so forth, without any further notice, review, consent, compensation, or remuneration.
Participants shall defend or settle against such claims at their sole expense, and shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the SPONSOR from any suit due to damage of or by the prize.
10. Terms & Conditions
The SPONSOR reserves the right to modify, suspend, cancel, or terminate if unauthorized human intervention, a bug or virus, fraud, or other causes beyond your control impact or corrupt the security, fairness, proper conduct, or administration of the contest/giveaway.
11. Limitation of Liability
Entry into this contest constitutes the participant’s agreement to release and hold harmless the SPONSOR and PLATFORMS, subsidiaries, affiliates, employees, etc., against all claims, liability, illness, injury, death, loss, etc., that occurs directly or indirectly from participation in the contest or use/misuse of the awarded prize.
12. Disputes
As a condition of participating in the promotion, the participant agrees to resolve all disputes with an arbitrator designated by the SPONSOR in the state of California, without resorting to any form of class action. Entrants waive all rights to punitive, incidental, or consequential damages, and waive all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.
13. Privacy Policy
Participants agree to abide by all privacy and NDA laws in the State of California and any federal laws of the United State of America.
14. Winners List
Participants may request a list of winners by submitting a request in writing to Moondog Industries for up to 30 days after the contest ends.
15. Social Media Platform Rules
Winners will agree to post a photo of the prize on their social media channels in such a way as does not violate any rules of that platform. The winners also agree to appear for an interview where they will discuss the prize and its performance. If there are functional problems with the prize, the winner agrees to make a good-faith effort to resolve all issues with the SPONSOR prior to posting reviews or opinions about the prize.
16. Affirmation of Acceptance of and Agreement to All of the Official Rules
By entering the contest, the entrant has affirmatively reviewed, accepted, and agreed to all of them.
Enter for a chance to win an Aquilifer 5-25×56 FFP Scope. Each qualified contest entry will be included in a random drawing during my TMI Livestream show in May.
Entries must be received no later than 12pm noon EST on April 30, 2026.
This prize is supplied by Aquilifer and is awarded at their sole discretion and direction.
CONTEST INSTRUCTIONS
There are 2 ways to enter. Prove you have the skills to fill out a form and upload screenshots.
NO PURCHASE OR DONATION IS NECESSARY TO ENTER. YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING DO NOT INCREASE WITH A PURCHASE. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
1. Eligibility
Void where prohibited by law. Must be a legal resident in the USA. Moondog Industries employees, subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, advertising and promotion agencies, and employees’ immediate family members are ineligible to participate in the contest/giveaway.
Entrants must be willing and able to appear on YouTube to discuss the contest and post images of the prize on their social feed should they win the contest.
2. Sponsors and Platforms
CVLife (known as the SPONSOR) and Moondog Industries (known as the CO-SPONSOR) is a video Edutainment producer and game promoter based in San Francisco, CA. YouTube, TikTok, Rumble, X and online video platforms (known as PLATFORMS) are not SPONSORS or in any way affiliated with the contest or content.
3. Entry Period
Contest email entries must be received between: 12:00pm EST 1 Apr 2026 and 12:00pm EST 30 Apr 2026
4. Agreement to Rules
By entering the contest, participants agree to abide by the SPONSOR’s Official Rules and decisions. The SPONSOR retains the right to refuse, withdraw, or disqualify entries at their sole discretion. By submitting an entry, the participant agrees to accept the decision of the SPONSOR as final and binding.
5. How to Enter
This contest requires your skill in navigating your phone or computer controls to screen capture an image of the following YouTube channels/Social Media accounts. Subscribe or Follow and make a screen capture of those pages showing a greyed out Subscribe button or indicator that your account is Following that page. If the page is not functioning, please contact contest@moondogindustries.com . One entry per person or per Social Media account. Fraudulent methods of entry, photo retouched, or other methods of circumvention of the rules may result in the SPONSOR invalidating a participant’s entries.
6. Prizes
The winner must be able to receive the prize by e-mail or by physical mail. Prize may be substituted at the sole discretion of the SPONSOR. Acceptance of the prize grants SPONSOR permission to use the winner’s entry, name, and likeness for advertising, promotion, and trade without further compensation or remuneration unless prohibited by law.
7. Odds
The odds of winning are dependent upon the number of eligible entries received.
8. Selection and Notification of the Winner
The winner will be chosen at random by the SPONSOR from among the entrants who demonstrated the skill to navigate the electronic entry and have met the minimum requirements. Winners will be contacted via the email used to enter the contest. Winner must have a legal address within the US to ship the prize.
SPONSOR is not liable for the winner’s failure to receive notification of winning if he or she provided the wrong email address or if their email security settings caused your prize notification to go into the spam or junk folder. If a winner does not respond within 24hrs of sending a notification, the SPONSOR will select an alternate winner. Receipt of the prize is upon the condition of compliance with federal, state, and local laws.
9. Rights Granted by the Entrant
The SPONSOR, upon submission of an entry into the giveaway or contest, has the right to use the participant’s submission, voice, likeness, image, statements about the contest, etc., for publicity, news, advertising, promotional purposes, trade, and so forth, without any further notice, review, consent, compensation, or remuneration.
Participants shall defend or settle against such claims at their sole expense, and shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the SPONSOR from any suit due to damage of or by the prize.
10. Terms & Conditions
The SPONSOR reserves the right to modify, suspend, cancel, or terminate if unauthorized human intervention, a bug or virus, fraud, or other causes beyond your control impact or corrupt the security, fairness, proper conduct, or administration of the contest/giveaway.
11. Limitation of Liability
Entry into this contest constitutes the participant’s agreement to release and hold harmless the SPONSOR and PLATFORMS, subsidiaries, affiliates, employees, etc., against all claims, liability, illness, injury, death, loss, etc., that occurs directly or indirectly from participation in the contest or use/misuse of the awarded prize.
12. Disputes
As a condition of participating in the promotion, the participant agrees to resolve all disputes with an arbitrator designated by the SPONSOR in the state of California, without resorting to any form of class action. Entrants waive all rights to punitive, incidental, or consequential damages, and waive all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.
13. Privacy Policy
Participants agree to abide by all privacy and NDA laws in the State of California and any federal laws of the United State of America.
14. Winners List
Participants may request a list of winners by submitting a request in writing to Moondog Industries for up to 30 days after the contest ends.
15. Social Media Platform Rules
Winners will agree to post a photo of the prize on their social media channels in such a way as does not violate any rules of that platform. The winners also agree to appear for an interview where they will discuss the prize and its performance. If there are functional problems with the prize, the winner agrees to make a good-faith effort to resolve all issues with the SPONSOR prior to posting reviews or opinions about the prize.
16. Affirmation of Acceptance of and Agreement to All of the Official Rules
By entering the contest, the entrant has affirmatively reviewed, accepted, and agreed to all of them.
What is LoFi Hip-Hop? Where did it come from? And how is it connected to the underground music scene in the English city of Bristol?
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This British record company was founded in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. Richard Branson would use the money to found a similarly named airline, music and book store company, and even a soda brand.
DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
ChillHop
LoFi a genre of electronic music characterized by slow-tempo beats and analog music sampling. It was popularized in late 2010s on Spotify and YouTube.
During the Covid lockdowns of 2020 many people discovered niche genre music. One of the most popular and lasting is an electronic genre called Chillhop, LoFi Hip-Hop, or simply known as LoFi.
NOTE: For most musicians, LoFi doesn’t mean a genre of music but a quality of recording and generation of recorded music. Low Fidelity. Vintage recordings are LoFi as apposed to amplified Hi-Fedlity music that peaked with analog tube Hi-Fi in the 70’s.
Chilled Cow aka Lo-Fi Girl is one of the most popular YouTube channels.
Today you can easily find this category of music and it’s often signature on YouTube and Spotify is down-tempo intrumental electronic music paired with an Anime-style visual, often a girl.
Cartoon Network’s Toonami introduced younger audiences to Cowboy Bebop and Samuari Champloo that had soundtracks which had groundbreaking cross-genre music that mixed jazz, soul, and techno. Cartoon Networks PowerPuff girls introduced audiences to British Jungle and Breakbeat music.
SIDE QUEST: This animation was inspired a scene from the Studio Ghibili anime “Whispers in the Heart”
Interestingly, the founder of ChillCow is named Dimitri and is from France. When I first found that out, I misidentified him as Dimitri from Paris, a club DJ famous for his Lounge album Sacreblue. But also not to be confused with D.J. Dmitri from the 80’s dance music trio Deee Lite.
Why are so many of my favorite music made by DJs named Dimitri?
In the 1990’s, I was a huge fan of Lounge Music and the revival of Exotica Music from the 1950s. But along with it, an electronica genre that I would later learn was called Downtempo. Downtempo was played in boujie hotel bars and clubs in Manhattan.
Some notable examples of Downtempo are bands like Zero 7, Tycho, Air, and Thievery Corporation.
Downtempo is a sibling to TripHop which was a darker style of music. Both are offshoots of House music that came out of the underground club scene in the British port city of Bristol; wit bands like Portishead, Sneaker Pimps, and Massive Attack.
These were more chill and slower tempo offshoots of the British house music also known as Breakbeat. If you’d like me to explore the origins of Breakbeat, Big Beat, Jungle, and Techno, let me know.
BRAND CONTEST CLUE
This record company published Massive Attack’s first album. This record company got its name from Branson and his partners due to their lack of experience. The word also means “pure and innocent”, which Branson and his friends certainly weren’t.
At SHOT Show 2026 they showed me a prototype of a new 1-10×24 LPVO and production models of their 8-80×56 Tracking spotting scopes. March Scopes creates handmade optics in Japan that produce bleeding-edge results, and their prices are eye-wattering.
