Too Much Information live chat show. I’m going to share my experiences searching for an Assisted Care facility for my mother, and discuss the difficulties of aging. This video is sponsored by Aura. Stop leaving yourself vulnerable to data breaches. Go to my link https://aura.com/moondog to get a 14-day free trial and see if any of your data has been exposed.
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#aarp
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The largest non-profit organization in the United States focusing on issues affecting those 50 and older. What are the 4 initials that form its name?
Prohear quietly released an updated version of their bluetooth electronic shooting earbuds. Their primary use is hearing protection when shooting firearms. This new version features enhanced sound quality, so that you can also use them as music/media earbuds, addressing a complaint of their original version and upgrading to digital from the analog volume controls.
The buds come in a USB-C charging case that is capable of recharging the earbuds up to 3 times. The buds also come with replacement foam and silicone earpads. They are activated by pressing the button on either earbud for 6 seconds, and pressing both 4 times activates Bluetooth pairing.
Testing them at the range, I found them very comfortable and their small size makes shooting rifles a lot easier for noobs. Strangely, though the earbuds have a 27 NRR, my rifle sounded louder with the earbuds than with my 22 NRR Prohear Machete earmuffs. One theory is that with eabuds, because your ear isn’t covered, sounds get picked up by the cartilage of your ear and transferred into your skull. I don’t know if that’s true but it sounds plausible.
I may just go back to using my old earmuffs. But in any case, these buds are small enough for me to keep as a backup in my range bag.
My friend Laurent was having difficulty seeing .22 bullet hits on black targets at 100 yards with his 24x scope and felt he needed more than just a 30x scope. He found an affordable 60x TPO scope and asked if I would test and review it. It turns out, I knew TPO but under a different name, Texas Precision Optics.
If you’ve never heard of Texas Precision Optics, it’s either because it’s a small scope brand or because you’re more familiar with the old brand name they marketed their rifle scopes under, Sniper. I always found the name Sniper to be a bit a bit cringy and affectatious. It’s a positive move for Texas Precision Optics to update to rebrand their Sniper rifle scopes with the simple initials TPO.
I’ve reviewed a few Sniper brand scopes in the past. I still run a 4-16x on my 10/22 for 100 yard target shooting because it’s one of the smallest and shortest 16x scopes available. Their scopes are in the budget price tier with extra accessories to give them a higher perceived value. But I found their build and construction to be rather unrefined. Despite this, their glass quality makes up for their lackluster externals. Their glass is sharper than some higher-tier brands but has noticeable chromatic aberration.
The TPO KT is a 12-60×60 SFP scope with a street price of $339 which is crazy cheap. Suspiciously cheap. This scope is nearly 20″ long because of the long focal length required to focus a 60x scope. Like TPOs other scopes, the KT comes with extra accessories such as a focus wheel and scope rings with a diving board.
TPO’s build quality hasn’t much improved since my previous reviews with rough finishes, reminding me of Soviet-style (or ChiCom) construction. The elevation turret is TPO’s standard hand-painted and CNC etched numbers which I find to be bold but hard to read due to the paint filling in some curves. The turrets have audible clicks and have quite a bit of slop between clicks.
The scope rings are similarly budget quality but have been improved with squared cross bars in the bases that function like recoil lugs. I appreciate the diving board scope ring top that’s included and the replacement “normal” ring top should you not need the additional accessory rail.
Unlike its internals, this TPO’s glass quality is much improved. While the manual doesn’t state it (which still bears the Sniper brand name), I suspect it uses ED glass. The KT exhibited little to no chromatic aberration. Given the scope’s widest magnification is 12x it’s no surprise this scope has an unforgiving eyebox; this scope tighter than most.
It’s SFP reticle reminds me of specialized European tactical reticles with extra ranging stadia and diagrams. My quibble is that it has a rather fat central floating dot as its center aimpoint which would obscure a Benchrest bullseye ring at 1000 yrds. Unfortunately for my friend, his goal was to see .22 holes on a black target at 100 yards but at 50-60x the scope loses too much contrast and brightness to make out those holes. The TK at 60x is not clearer than a 35x Discovery ED-PRS or Arken EP5.
The TK is still an amazing value for a high-power scope. The better-built Athlon Ares ETR 60x costs about 3 more and more premium 60x scopes by S+B, NF, and March are thousands more. Despite the TPO KT’s rough build quality, tight eyebox, and milky view at 60x, it is a value.
Czechoslovakia is one of the top arms makers in the world, though most Americans often overlook and underappreciate it. Meopta is a Czech-based company that manufactures various products, mainly optics. At SHOT Show 2025, Meopta showed off its newest optics for military and law enforcement. It’s new enclosed reflex sight utilizes OLED technology to create a sharper and clearer projected reticle.
Superfine: Tailoring Black Style is a special exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It is put on by the Met’s Costume Institute and brings together examples of Black fashion over 300 years. It ties it to celebrities of different centuries and eras and how the past influences the present.
Seeing the Met’s custom collection is always exciting. New York is the center of America’s fashion industry after all. Over the last 20 years, fashion and cloting as art have made a larger presence at the Met. This exhibit connects high fashion to and the influence of Black pop-culture.
DEDEPU is a specialty scuba tank company that produces a portable electric air compressor for its mini scuba tanks. This electrically powered air compressor can also be used to fill air tanks used in PCP tanks used in airguns, paintball, and airsoft. My hobbies encompass both, and fortunately, they reached out to me to test it for the latter.
The unit comes in a large, hard-shell lockable travel case. Inside the case is high-density foam padding with just enough space for the compressor unit and its cables, hoses, and filters. The air compressor unit is a black metal case about the size of an early 1990’s PC, weighing about 27lbs. It contains a pair of computer fans to cool the compressor, a pressure gauge, and connector ports for air and power.
The unit can be powered either with 12V DC power or 110/220V AC power. There are separate connectors on opposite sides of the case. There is a separate power/kill switch for AC or DC, respectively, with a 3rd compressor/fan activation switch. The pressure/fill gauge has a selector dial that controls its auto-shut-off feature, which turns the pump off after the tank/hose has reached the selected pressure.
The DEDEPU pump has a maximum rated pressure of 6000 PSI, so it can fill 4500 HP PCP hunting air rifle tanks. It took about 7 minutes to fill a PCP pistol to 3000psi. While not very fast, it was surprisingly quiet for an air compressor. While speed is a convenience, slow is less stressful to tanks and can help prolong their lifespan. The DEPEPU pump has a retail price under $500. While not a budget pump, its high-quality build and components, and ability to be safely used for both airgun and SCUBA give it a value that cheaper pumps do not have.
Too Much Information live chat show. Today’s episode I’m coming to you live from Los Angeles International Airport where I’m waiting for my flight on Frontier Airways.
This video is sponsored by Aura. Stop leaving yourself vulnerable to data breaches. Go to my link https://aura.com/moondog to get a 14-day free trial and see if any of your data has been exposed.
EARLYBIRD Clue:
#golds
THIS WEEK
Moondog2A
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The name is the 3 letters designation for this airport that is the international airport for the city of Los Angeles.
DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
LA Airport trivia
George Lucas filmed parts of his Busiest end destination airport in the US. The majority of passengers disembark here rather than connect to other cities.
Began in 1929 as Mines airfield
This airport is mentioned in the very first line of Miley Cyrus’ hit song “Party in the USA”
It’s iconic Space Age structure in the center is simply called the “Theme Structure” or at one time the “Theme Restaurant”
George Lucas filmed parts of his student film “THX 1138” in parking lot walkways late at night. film “THX 1138” in parking lot walkways late at night.
Czechoslovackia is one of the top arms makers in the world, though often overlooked and under appreciated by most Americans. Meopta is a Czechia-based company that manufactures various products mainly in the field of optics. The company was once well-known for its professional photographic and movie cameras, although it no longer manufactures such products. At SHOT Show 2025 Meopta showed off their wide line of hunting and target scopes that offer high-quality glass and precision construction.
5.11 Tactical was asked by the Las Vegas Police Department to supply their new duty uniforms. 5.11 too it a step further. Rather than simply supplying their off-the-shelf apparel, 5.11 talked to the Department, and using their feedback, they customized their uniforms to fit the Department’s priorities. At SHOT Show 2025, they showed off the results.
“Sargent in Paris” is a new retrospective at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) showcasing the early career of American painter John Singer Sargent. John Singer Sargent is one of my favorite painters and was a rare American artist who created some of Europe’s most iconic portrait paintings during the late 19th Century’s “Gilded Age.”
Sargent grew up traveling throughout Europe with his parents. He studied art and painting in Paris under famed portrait artist Carolus-Duran. Paris in the 19th Century was the center of the art world. It was also a time when tastes and style were being transformed by Impressionism and the Industrial Revolution.
This retrospective includes works Sargent created while a student and during his travels around Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. It explores contemporaries and influences, and friends like Claude Monet and Rodin, and includes pieces by Renior, Manet, and Sargent’s mentor Carolus-Duran.
The exhibit culminates with the portrait of “Madam X”, a painting that would make Sargent famous, because of the mini-scandal it created in Parisian high society. The painting was presented at the 1884 Paris Salon exhibition and created a stir among the public and Art Critics due to the hanging dress strap as worn by Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau. She was the Kim Kardashian/Paris Hilton of her day.
