Author: Gunner Quinn
On August 25th, 1609, astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei demonstrated his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers, including the Doge of Venice, Leonardo Donato. — August 25th,1898: 700 Greeks and 15 Englishmen were slaughtered by the Turks in Heraklion, Greece. — On August 25th, 2010: Panic caused by an escaped crocodile being smuggled aboard a domestic Filair flight led to the crash of a Czech Let L-410 Turbolet passenger aircraft near Bandundu Airport, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing all but one of the 21 passengers and crew. — Reader H.L. alerted us to a noteworthy obituary: Last American fighter ace from…
With a sub-$250 MSRP, Firefield’s Hexcore HD is proof that night-vision devices do not need to be exorbitantly expensive. A digital-night-vision binocular that offers all-day functionality across a total of five zoom settings (1X, 1.5X, 2X, 2.5X, 3X), the Hexcore HD’s 1280×720-pixel CMOS sensor, 640×360-pixel TFT LCD display screen and adjustable 2200 mW infrared illuminator work together to provide surprising clarity given its price point. The unit has a nighttime range of up to 150 yards and is also capable of recording high-definition video and pictures and saving them to a memory card, while also providing in-unit video playback. An…
This article, “What Price Mean Radius,” originally appeared in the August 15, 1925 issue of “The American Rifleman.” To subscribe to the monthly magazine, visit NRA’s membership page. The problem of target measurements has been the subject of much discussion in friendly debates since the early days of competitive ammunition tests. Apparently, everyone has his own, or someone’s else idea as to what should be the governing factors for determining the winner of ammunition tests, and, if he has sufficient perseverance, he eventually gets his ideas incorporated in the specifications governing these tests, even though the new thought may live…
(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) AI WRITING While there are many brain developments, AI will be shortchanging our youngest single-digit aged youth on, they’ll also be robbed of learning many of the skills that are learned later in life as well. I’ve always enjoyed writing and creating things with pencil and paper since that poem I wrote about the Pilgrims in second grade that my teacher loved so much. It’s something I’ve continued to develop since then and even after all these years, I’m still learning. I don’t know what a dangling participle is and I can…
On August 24, 1847, Charlotte Brontë sent the manuscript of her novel “Jane Eyre” to the publisher Smith, Elder & Company in London under her pen name “Currer Bell” — August 24, 410: Rome was overrun by the Visigoths in an event that symbolized the fall of the Western Roman Empire. This is a moment in history that we would do well to remember. An empire that ruled the known world was corrupted from the inside to the point that they could not defend themselves from a much weaker enemy. This could conceivably be the beginning of the dark Middle Ages.…
Henry Repeating Arms got its start in 1996 with the Golden Boy .22 lever-action rifle. A few years later, the company introduced the Mini Bolt Youth, a single-shot, .22 LR bolt action that was scaled for younger shooters. For nearly a quarter century now, the Mini Bolt has been a go-to rifle for introducing a youth to firearms marksmanship and safety. New for 2025, the company is making updates to the design with the Mini Bolt Youth G2. Henry’s Mini Bolt has been a standard for youth firearm training and as a “first gun.” The G2 Mini Bolt maintains the…
(Continued from Part 1.) TRYING AN AI APP After my wow experience with my daughter showing me how her drawing app works, she showed me the ropes and I started doing some pictures myself. Since I have the artistic ability of a quadriplegic starfish, it was a lot of fun to be able to create some photos, paintings, and cartoon characters. I’ve been working on illustrating the events of my life the year I was nine years old. While it’s done nothing to develop the artistic portion of my brain, it’s physiologically too late for that, it’s been amusing. And…
On August 23, 79, Mount Vesuvius began stirring on the feast day of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire, and went on to destroy Pompeii. (Note: Some recent evidence suggests that the eruption actually occurred after October 17, 79.) Above: Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum (c. 1821) by John Martin. — August 23rd is the anniversary of the declaration of the independent state of “Franklin” in Eastern Tennessee by the settlers there in 1784. Unfortunately, the Continental Congress rejected it, so the state of Franklin never became a reality. — In 1833, Britain abolished slavery in the colonies and 700,000…
The Gnome was on a mission to find the biggest bighorn ram in the mountains. He spent the last months of summer in the craggiest peaks of the backcountry, scouting and glassing for the full-curl of his dreams. He spent weeks clambering through boulder fields and scurrying over massive slabs of granite.Around him, pikas chirped from the rocks and hawks soared on the updrafts around the peaks, letting out occasional sky-piercing cries. Other than the occasional flutter of an insect, it was fairly lonely up so high, but the Gnome could see for miles and miles. He’d found a few…
At the southern border, a new threat is creeping into the United States—and no wall can stop it. Enter, the New World screwworm: a small fly that lays eggs into open wounds of a bird or mammal, where the larvae feast on live flesh. If untreated, the wound will become infected and likely fatal.The flies target almost all warm-blooded species—humans occasionally included—but the most common victims are deer and cattle. Wildlife experts are warning that an imminent invasion could have devastating effects on the populations of both animals. The risk to deer, especially, should be of concern to hunters.“The raw…