Category Archives: Travel

Gadgets, Travel

After Market Cargo Covers

https://youtu.be/qGpJoyBx19I
https://youtu.be/8D0Wniik6DU

I bought a cargo cover for both my 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander and my 2019 Kia Sorrento. Both covers came in generic brown boxes from Amazon without any branding or instructions. By external appearance and function, they were essentially identical despite being sold by to “different” companies on Amazon. They are primarily black sheet metal tubular pillars with spring-loaded ends, allowing them to pop into the square indents inside the front of my SUV’s cargo compartment walls just behind the rear seat.

Once in place, it’s a simple matter to pull on the cover and notch it into the J grooves in the rear pillars of the cargo compartment near the cargo hatch. These cargo covers come in a variety of sizes for various car brands and models, including hatchbacks. Time will tell if these are durable but by all appearances, they are identical to the “factory” model at less than half the price.

Car break-ins and petty crime have exploded in cities around the country since the 2020 Summer of Love. Driven by souring economic prospects, lefty soft-on-crime laws such as California’s Proposition 47, progressive prosecutors not charging criminals, and Defund The Police Movements. San Francisco is notorious for this.

“Don’t leave valuables in the car” is a mantra I live by. When liberal laws also require you to carry reusable shopping bags, at a bare minimum, I store a couple of empty shopping bags in my SUV. These bags, first aid kits, emergency water supplies, etc. could be easily mistaken for tempting store-bought products to petty thieves and addicts.

Both of my cars have been broken into and burglarized, some multiple times. This is why I finally decided to buy a retractable cargo cover for my SUVs to obscure these empty shopping bags and whatever ends up in the back of my vehicle. These cargo covers are similar to retractable window blinds that you can pull back to cover over your entire cargo compartment or be retracted quickly when the full space is required.

The cargo covers often come with luxury or upgraded models of vehicles but alas, I am a miser and bought the basic model of both of my SUVs. As a dealer upgrade part, these covers easily cost over $200. However, when purchased as an aftermarket car accessory, they cost a fraction of that.

BUY

Mitsubishi Outlander
Powerty https://amzn.to/48oKg3i

Kia Sorrento
Motoforti https://amzn.to/48oKg3i

Shooting Sports, Social, Travel

Jade Struck interview at Arken

https://youtu.be/eyPQU4QSJeM

At SHOT Show 2024, I was invited by Arken Optics to interview Jade Struck, competitive shooter, firearms instructor for Keanu Reeves on John Wick, the face is Call of Duty’s “Iskra”, and proud Arken LPVO shooter. Jade has a remarkable resume and is an equally remarkable individual. She is one of the most physically fit firearms instructor I’ve ever met and she owes that inspiration her husband, former marine, Rudy Reyes.

In a feature rich half-hour conversation that ranged from working with celebrities, her competition background, the importance of fitness, Christian faith, and our favorite Batman actor. Thanks to Arken Optics for sponsoring this video and the opportunity to meet and be inspired by Jade.

Shooting Sports, Social, Travel

DC Predator interview at Arken

DC Predator is an Instagram and YouTube channel of Scott Morris, his brother Ken, and son Kamron; a family of hunters from Arizona who have posted some of the most cinematic hunting footage this side National Geographic. Cam Morris is the primary cameraman for the channel and he brings his photo and videography experience to his family’s coyote hunts. And in case you’re wondering, I asked. DC is not a reference to our nation’s capitol. DC stands for “Death Clap”, the sound of a varmint going down.

Shooting Sports, Social, Travel

Pewview at Arken

Nick Johnson started his TikTok and YouTube channel “Pewview” practically on accident. He was friends with popular Guntuber “Honest Outlaw” and would sometimes shoot with him at Outlaw’s backyard range. Outlaw would film Nick him during speed shooting practice (3gun and 2gun). Oh a whim, Nick posted a few videos on his TikTok and within days they gained millions of views.

Now nick has almost a million subscribers on Pewview with less than 200 videos. How did this guy get so big so fast? Looking at his videos, its easy to see why. He’s a competent and fast marksman and presents gun reviews and shooting tips that are practical, authentic, and without ego.

He’s been a long time owner of Arken scopes and recently started a partnership with Arken. I caught up with him at the Arken booth at SHOT Show 2024 and had an opportunity to sit down for an interview with him.

Shooting Sports, Travel

The Best SHOT Show Badge Holder

SHOT Show is an Industry-Only trade show, not open to the general public. The only way to get access to the expo floors is with a SHOT Show badge. Companies like Geissele triggers give out free badge holders as swag. But at the Leapers/UTG I came across a super deluxe badge holder and opens into an Admin pouch with plentiful pockets for business cards, pens, and velcro flap for moral patches.

The smart SHOT attendee will head to the Caesar’s Forum Expo on the first day so that they can score a UTG badge holder before they all get snapped up.

Product Reviews, Travel

Daiso Disposable Panties

I saw these while shopping at Daiso, a Japanese discount “dollar” store chain. But I have to wonder who are these for? I can kind of understand that if you are traveling on multiple long flights and can’t wash and dry your clothes. For hygene, you need to change your underwear and if you have an accident, you may want to dispose of soiled clothes.

I understand if you don’t want to feel bad about tossing expensive panties. But Daiso also sells low-quality cotton panties for $1.50 each. They’re thin and low quality, so they are essentially disposable because they probably won’t last more than a few months or weeks.

One would need to be an extreme penny pincher to prefer wearing an uncomfortable pair panties to save $1.20. Who do you think these disposable panties appeals to?

Airsoft, Travel

OP: Bad Blood 2023

I produced another successful Operation: Bad Blood airsoft event at EMR Event Park in northeastern Pennsylvania. Over 600 players signed up for the event, fewer than last year due to inflation many opting out due to June thunderstorms. There was a down pour on Friday afternoon and rain through the night which made me fear a huge no-show for the following days game. As it turned out over 570 players showed up to play by the morning briefing; this despite a morning rain shower.

The rains were welcome as there were no serious heat related injuries this year. The game ran non-stop all day, with the players forming 4 different competing factions and non-aligned Tribal forces warring it over 200 acres of woods, multi-leveled forts, and simulated villages. The objective of the game for the factions was to collect up to eight different blood sample stamps hidden in the field and on the person of each faction commander.

A bonus mission this year was the capture and extraction of my niece who played a CDC Research Scientist who’s medical convoy was destroyed and needed to be evacuated to safety. A Marxist squad was the first to locate her in Fort Wor and ran off with her into the woods and back canyon. They weren’t seen again until nearly an hour later and were able to get her to her “chopper” and score a bonus which pushed their faction into a tie for second place by the end of the game.

The final score was Greens 1st (6 stamps); Deus-X and Marxists 2nd (5 stamps); Black Shirts 3rd (3 stamps)

After all the players exited the field and recovered, they gathered around the EMR stage for the legendary post-Bad Blood raffle. Each player received a complimentary raffle ticket and over the course of nearly an hour we raffled off over 20 AEGs, pistols, plate carriers, weapon lights, gift cards, and accessories supplied by Evike.com, Jackal Tactical, Amped Airsoft, O-Light, and EMR.

The next morning, I organized a bonus game of OP: Dead Blood, a zombie game. Over 200 die-hard players spread out around Tipmon Town and competed against each other to find bio-hazard declas. As players were killed they added to the ever-growing zombie hoard which swamped all the players after nearly an hour of intense play. The rest of the Sunday, EMR ran skirmish games for everyone.

Help find a cure for diabetes by supporting the JDRF: https://www2.jdrf.org/site/Donation

Gadgets, Travel

Norshire Digital Tire Pressure Gauge

I needed a new tire gauge when my car was ransacked and my emergency tool bag was stolen from my car in front of our home in San Francisco. While surfing through Amazon, the Norshire caught my eye. This digital tire gauge is as thin as a pen.

When I got it, the package was scarcely larger than the product itself. The instructions were printed in minuscule lettering outside of the box obscured by a stuck-on UPC inventory label. Fortunately it proved easy to figure out.

The Norshire looks a 2000’s minimalist modern, black-on-black, squared plastic tube, reminiscent of a fancy fountain-pen or draftsman ruling-pen. It has a circular black button next to a black LCD screen. Pressing the button activates the system and tapping cycles through metric, Bar, and PSI settings. The unit also displays ambient temperature and air pressure.

It has powered by a single AAA NiMH battery which can be recharged through a USB-C port. One end of the gauge has black raised nub to use as a tire deflater. The other end, with a red rubber washer, pushes into a tires Schrader valve to measure the pressure.

The Norshire proved to be accurate. Comparing it against my car’s onboard tire sensors and to the analogue gauge of my tire inflator, the Norshire returned consistent readings which aligned with my other sources. And unlike any other pressure gauge I’ve ever used, the Norshire had such a good seal that I scarcely heard the hiss of any leaking air while pressing onto the tire’s valve.

The Norshire hovers around $15-19 on Amazon and I plan to purchase a few more when the price dips, as a backup and they would make great holiday stocking stuffers.

This is available on Amazon through my Affiliate link https://amzn.to/3oKh2Yh

Airsoft, Travel

OP: Bad Blood Rules

Operation Bad Blood is a MilSim-Lite game with unique game rules designed to support an immersive experience. This video helps explain those rules to visual and auditory learners for whom a printed rule packet is TLDR. I strongly encourage all participants at this event to download the player packet from the Evike ticket page and follow along to this explainer video.

Key Rules Concepts

  • Body, clothing, gear, and gun hits count.
  • When hit, get out of the line of fire, then wave a red rag.
  • After calling your hit, go to your Triage to respawn.
  • The Triage/Respawn moves with your army so keep tabs its location.
  • The goal of your team is to safely get your Ebola sample collectors to each sample stamp.
  • The game is a 5-hour non-stop moving battle; prepare accordingly.
Airsoft, Travel

Join OP:Bad Blood 2023

Operation: Bad Blood is an annual JDRF charity airsoft event that I created to raise money to help find a cure for diabetes. The game is produced at EMR Event Park in Pennsylvania and is also the official East Coast Customer Appreciation Event for Evike.com. The event attracts 1000 players from all over the country.

My dedicated staff of volunteers help me plan and execute the event every year. We’ll be starting weekly Sunday Q&A Livestreams to help players get the most out of the event. I posted this video to answer some basic questions about our gun and gear requirements for the event. The biggest change for this years game will be a switch from FPS chrono measurements to Joule based limits.

Be sure to subscribe Moondog Go my new travel channel on YouTube to get notified of our upcoming videos. https://www.youtube.com@moondoggo

TICKETS

https://www.evike.com/products/108249/

FACEBOOK

https://www.facebook.com/groups/343065087856288

EMR Camping Reservations

https://emreventpark.com/event/bad-blood-2023/