California Redwood Birding Trail

Archive for January, 2012

The Current River in southern Missouri is one of the most beautiful and pristine in the country. Winding through some of the most beautiful hills and valleys the Ozarks have to offer, its pastoral attraction is obvious. The river flows entirely through Ozark National Scenic Riverways Park, which results in limited streamside development, and excellent public access. It is one of the most popular float and fish streams in the country.

And no wonder. The river’s cold, clear water is perfect habitat for rainbow and brown trout. Indeed, the river seems tailor-made for trout fishing. Settlers in the area soon realized this, and regular stocking began in the early 1900s. Although habitat seems perfect, trout have never been able to reproduce well. Lately, with new regulations, a fairly significant wild rainbow trout population has come into existence, although they still must be stocked to meet angler demand. Brown trout cannot reproduce at all in the river, although they are stocked heavily. The constant water temperatures from spring-water allow the fish to stay healthy and active throughout the year, even in the dog days of summer.

The river rises from several strong springs in Montauk State Park. Where the river leaves Montauk, and enters Ozark National Scenic Riverways, it comes under Blue Ribbon trout regulations for the next nine miles to the Cedar Grove Bridge. Regulations here allow the harvest of only one trout, and there is an 18″ minimum. Artificial lures and flies only are allowed. Nearly 10,000 Brown trout are stocked throughout Blue Ribbon area annually, and many rainbows migrate from other areas of the river. Trout number about 400 per mile.

The first mile of the Blue Ribbon trout water, from Montauk State Park to the Tan Vat access may be the river’s best water for wade fisherman. This water is too shallow to float, so acts as a sanctuary for wade fisherman. Many rainbows, and some large browns are found here. Thousands of rainbows move down from Montauk State Park into this area each year, and it usually proves relatively easy to catch a few fish.

Another popular river section us from Tan Vat to Baptist Camp Access. This is also mostly a wade fishing situation, although a few canoes may be encountered. There are almost equal numbers of rainbow and brown trout in this part of the river. This run is classic trout water, with some awesome riffles and deep pools. The fish tend to be a bit more selective here than further upstream. Small flies and delicate tippet are often required.

The Blue Ribbon area stretches for 6.5 miles below Baptist Camp. There is good wading access at Baptist Camp, Parker Hollow, and Cedar Grove Bridge, but float fishing is more popular. A good one day float is from Baptist Camp to Cedar Grove. Brown trout predominate, and they tend to grow quite large. There are also some rainbows, which tend to reside in the faster moving water. Browns are found in the deep pools as well as the riffles.

The White Ribbon area begins at Cedar Grove, and stretches downstream for 8 miles. The Missouri Department of Conservation stocks the White Ribbon area every few weeks from March through October. Statewide trout regulations are in effect, and there are no bait restrictions. Browns are not stocked this far downstream, but many migrate from upriver. As a result, many of the river’s largest browns have come from this area.

The White Ribbon area can be divided into two distinct sections. The first iss the 5 mile section from Cedar Grove to Welch Spring. The river here is relatively slow and shallow, and it can get warm in the summer. Temperatures occasionally rise into the mid-70s. Generally, trout are only stocked in the spring and fall. Some trout hold over from year to year, but most fish will be fresh from the hatchery.

The situation changes dramatically below the mouth of Welch Spring, 3 miles to Akers Ferry. Welch Spring is a major cold water source, and it keeps this part of the river from ever reaching the 70 degree mark. For this reason, fish are stocked through the summer. Many trout hold over, and some real trophies are found here. Below Akers Ferry, smallmouth bass begin to predominate, and the river becomes on of the country’s best smallmouth streams below Round Spring.

Fishing techniques on the Current are many and varied. It is a surprisingly good dry fly fishery. Tricos are the river’s “big name” hatch. Every morning from mid-June through mid-September, massive hatches of tiny tricos come off. These are seriously small bugs, ranging from #22-#30, and it takes some skill to fish them properly. Caddis also come off during the warm months, and #16-#20 Elk Hair Caddis will do well.

Nymphing may be an even more popular method. All the standard nymphs work well, including Prince, Hare’s Ear, Pheasant Tail, and Copper Johns. The best year-round bet, however, is a #16 Scud imitation. Scuds (tiny freshwater shrimp) are a top food source throughout the river, 365 days a year. They are best fished near weeds.

Many other techniques also take fish on the Current. Egg imitating flies have probably taken more fish than all other patterns combined. Orange, pink, peach, and white are all good. San Juan worms, and various streamers also work well. The river also works well for spin fisherman. 1/16-1/32 ounce spinners and spoons of just about any make or color will always take fish. Marabou jigs from 1/32-1/128 ounce work extremely well in white, brown, green, and olive.

No matter what technique you choose to use, the Current River is a great trout stream. With many miles of great trout water, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better stream in southern Missouri. With its beauty and excellent trout fishing, this is a stream that holds interests for all fishermen.

The Ozarks are a magical place and the Current is one of the main reasons why.

Davdison Manning is an avid outdoorsman spending over 100 days per year pursuing his passion for fishing, many of them in the Ozarks of Missouri and Arkansas. He details many of his favorite spots on his website Family-Outdoors. His other pursuits include many days spent in the field camping and hunting. Davidson loves to share his knowledge of the outdoors in the hope of helping others to find their own connection to the outdoors.

Microphone Types

Long the role of the professional sound engineer, choosing the appropriate microphone has now become, with the proliferation of the home studio, the task of the amateur and even the beginner. This choice should depend upon what you’re going to be using the mic for, but also on personal preferences. In this article we’ll be dealing with the two main categories of microphones: dynamic microphones and condenser microphones.

Dynamic Microphones

These mics generally have a more robust design due to the fact that they are more often used in live settings. They are also usually less expensive and resistant to moisture.

Dynamic microphones use a diaphragm which is attached to a coil of wire placed within the magnetic field of a permanent magnet. When there’s a variation in pressure on the diaphragm it will cause the coil to generate a varying electric current which then needs amplification. Because it’s necessary to attach the coil directly to the diaphragm, dynamic mics tend to have thicker diaphragms than condenser mics. Because of this, recordings are less precise as they’re less sensitive to high frequencies than condenser mics. Popular models include Shure SM57 and SM58.

Dynamic mics generally don’t need any electrical power to operate (as opposed to condenser mics). They are ideal for all-round high sound pressure levels (SPL).

Condenser or Capacitor Microphones

Also known as capacitor or electrostatic microphones, this type of mic picks up sound through a thin, flexible diaphragm that’s placed next to a metal plate ( as opposed to the rigid diaphragm/coil system used by dynamic mics).

Condenser mics can range from inexpensive Karaoke mics to ultra high level recording mics. Generally, they produce high-quality audio signals and are sensitive to distant sounds and high frequencies. Because of these reasons they are often used in studio recording situations.

Because condenser mics are more sophisticated and are more difficult to manufacture, high quality condenser mics are rather expensive. Condenser mics are ideal for recording voice, acoustic guitars, pianos, orchestral instruments, percussion, and sound effects. Some of the most famous models are the Neumann U47 or the AKG 414.

Phantom Power

Condenser mics require a power source, provided either from microphone inputs as phantom power or from a small battery. The most common type of phantom power is +48v DC. This phantom power is used to charge the diaphragm and plate. It also supplies a small amplifier which boosts the small current* generated by diaphram movements. Phantom power supplies are often built into mixing desks, microphone preamplifiers and similar equipment.

Ribbon Microphones

Ribbon mics are a type of dynamic microphone. They use a very thin metal ribbon that’s suspended between the poles of a powerful magnet. Sound waves cause this ribbon to move and create an induced current. Voltage output of older ribbon mics is much lower than dynamic mics so a transformer is used to increase voltage output and to increase output impedance. Modern ribbon mics avoid this problem by using improved magnets and more efficient transformers. Ribbon mics are usually bi-directional (see next page on pick-up patterns). Classic models include the RCA 44 and 77 as well as Royer mics.

Pick-up/Polar Patterns

A pick-up (or Polar) pattern, also referred to as the mic’s directionality, indicates to the area(s) from which a mic picks up sound. It shows how sensitive it is to sounds coming in from different angles about its central axis. It’s important that you choose the right pattern for what you’ll be using the mic for, or you might capture sounds from areas you don’t want or lose sound information you need.

Omni Pattern

This is the most basic type of mic pattern. It has a theoretical 360° pick up response, which means that it responds equally to sounds coming from all directions. Ideal for group vocals, sound effects, and room ambiances. Omni patterns are pressure sensitive and therefore less sensitive to wind noise than directional (velocity sensitive) mics. They also give less of an impression of proximity than directional mics so they’re

Cardioid Pattern

This heart-shaped pattern is the most common for unidirectional microphones. The name cardioid come from Greek for heart-shape. This cardioid shape means that its unidirectional and that most of the sound is picked up from the front. This pattern is used for most basic recording situations or whenever a sound has to be picked up from mainly one direction. Because the back of the element rejects sounds it receives, dynamic cardioid mics are often used for live situations. This property helps reduce unwanted spill from other instruments, and therefore reduces the risk of feedback.

Hyper-cardioid

This pattern is similar to cardioid but with greater directionality.It has a tighter area of front sensitivity and a tiny lobe of rear sensitivity.

Bi-Directional

These mics receive sound from both front and back but not from the sides. These mics are ideal for recording two harmony vocalists, duos, or face to face interviews with only one mic.

Other Considerations

Frequency response

This is a measure of the microphone’s sensitivity to different frequencies. It’s a characteristic of all mics that some frequencies are exaggerated and others attenuated. So the frequency response shows how a particular mic responds to particular frequencies.

A chart usually shows a mics’s frequency response. The x axis shows frequency in Hertz, the y axis shows response in decibels. A higher value means exaggeration and a lower value means attenuation. A completely flat chart (frequency response) would show that the mic is equally sensitive to all frequencies. But in reality a totally flat response is impossible and even the best mics have some degree of deviation. Also it should be noted that sometimes a mic is especially chosen for the specific frequency response that it has. For example, a mic with a frequency response adapted to the human voice would be a good choice for recording in an environment with low frequency background noise.

Self Noise

This measurement represents the lowest point of a mic’s dynamic range. This is important if you want to record very soft sounds. Basically, the lower the number is, the better.

Maximum SPL (Sound Pressure Level)

This is the maximum level a mic can accept. Here, the higher the number, the better. But one should note that mics with very high SPLs have higher self noise.

Sensitivity

Indicates how well the mic converts sound pressure into output voltage. The higher the number, the higher the sensitivity. A highly sensitive mics produces more output and will therefore need less amplification after. It should be noted, however, that a higher sensitivity rating does not necessarily make one mic better than another.

Sarit Bruno manages content and editorial line for Audiofanzine

AudioFanzine offers benchmark testing/reviews of products, software or instruments and articles of a tutorial nature, all of which are systematically illustrated by exclusive videos or audio extracts. Addressing a universal audience, both amateurs and professionals alike, http://en.audiofanzine.com addresses musicians as well as sound engineers, home-studio recording enthusiasts, and audio and lighting engineers.

When it comes to your wedding favors there is a wide choice available, but sometimes it is the simplest choices that work the best. So don’t spend hours agonizing over which favors are the best, follow our creative ideas and make your own pretty favor boxes to fill with chocolates.

1. Beautiful Butterflies: Use a simple cube style favor box and wrap with ribbon, present style. Top with a pretty fabric or feather butterfly to coordinate with your wedding colors.

2. Floral Double Act: Again use a cube style favor box and wrap with ribbon. Check out silk and paper flowers in your local craft store or online. Look for two flowers which you could layer one on top of the other, for instance, a flat daisy with a rose on the top. Make the bottom flower the width of the box and the top one the same width as the center of the bottom flower, so that they look in scale.

3. Plain and Simple: Choose a box which is symmetrical in design, such as a square, rectangle or round. Purchase a square punch (or one to match whatever shape your box is) in two sizes and card which matches the color of your favor boxes and one other coordinating color, for instance, cream and pink. Use the punches to cut two squares, one each from the two colors. The larger square should be cut from the coordinating color and a smaller square from the same color card as the box. Layer the two together – small on large and center on the top of your box. After sticking them in place glue a small flat backed gem or pearl in the center.

4. Classic Monograms: Design your wedding monogram on your computer or if your have nice handwriting or are artistic you could draw it freehand. Add your wedding date underneath and if there is room a small motif between the two. Cut these out to match the shape of your favor boxes, making them approximately 2mm smaller and stick onto the lid of your boxes. Use card which is the same color as your boxes and stick to just one color of ink.

5. Pretty as a Picture: Choose a medium width satin ribbon in a coordinating color and tie it around your favor box (square or rectangular work best) so it runs over the top. Bring the two ends together on the side and tie in a bow. Using some card in a coordinating color cut out a square and using a decorative punch cut a shape in the center. Take a small piece of craft wire and a bead, thread the bead on to the wire and affix behind the shape you have just cut out. You should have a pretty cut out shape with a bead in the center. Affix this to your box with some double sided padded tape making sure you attach it to the ribbon as well to hold it in place. Punches are available in a wide variety of shapes including hearts, flowers, butterflies and birds.

6. Glitz and Glam: This one is so easy, but looks a million dollars. Use a cube style box and wrap a piece of satin ribbon, firstly around one side of the bottom half of the box, gluing the ends inside. Then do the same for the lid of the box, matching the ribbon up with that on the bottom. Thread a crystal buckle on to the ribbon and position in the center of the lid, and then glue the ends of the ribbon inside.

Mae Andrea is a professional writer who collects wedding favors and wedding related articles. She is working with a wedding planning social networking company that caters to all the wedding needs of brides in almost every major center in America.

Glass blocks, especially manufactured by Pittsburgh Corning, are extremely durable. After all, they use them to make walls, sometimes massive in size for office buildings on the interior and exterior. They also have other uses, including the one I prefer. How about a decorated lighted glass block, for example?

You purchase a glass block from a hardware store and drill a hole on the backside just the perfect size to slide in a strand of lights into the interior. They make light strands, such as Christmas light strands, with 20 or 25 lights and with only one plug on one end. This makes it easy to feed the lights inside the glass black, then all you do is plug it in and you have the perfect nightlight.

So how do you dress it up? My choice is to use wired ribbon and adornments to make it appear as a fancy, wrapped present. Some people like to use rub on decals to fancy up the glass and possibly add some adornments to make the glass block interesting.

Here is a list of ideas that you can use to make your own:

Christmas ribbon and fancy ornaments to make a festive nightlight
Weddings using white silky ribbon and lacy or feathery adornments
Valentine’s Day using heart ribbon and cute little animal figurines
St. Patrick’s Day using green and shamrocks
Spring using sunny yellow or bright polka dot ribbons
Easter using cute little bunnies and soft pastel ribbons
Mother’s Day using Mother’s favorites
Father’s Day prefers to keep it masculine
Fourth of July of course red, white, and blue
Halloween using anything scary, like black ribbon and ghosts
Thanksgiving using Tom Turkey here would be good. There’s tons of fall ribbons available.
Baby Night Lights anything pink, blue, or yellow. The dollar store sells cute, safe, plastic figurines.
Toddler/Small Children Night Lights using your child’s favorite color.
Nature using anything natural, such as dried flowers or potpourri
Victorian using vintage lace and roses, etc.
Team Spirit (High School & College)
Harley Davidson using leather and lace. Try putting a small replica of a Harley Motorcycle on top.

I’m sure there’s plenty of other themes you can think of. These are definitely safe for any room, including a newborn’s room. I have made these beautiful glass blocks for many years now, and sometimes I leave several of them plugged in around the house for several months. They do not get hot, provided you stick with a 20 or 35 light strand. They do not create any smell from the lights being on too long.

They are incredibly sturdy, and therefore will not break unless you intentionally take a sledgehammer to them. You can add fragrance to the adornments to make a nice atmosphere in a room. There are so many uses for them. Wondering exactly how to make them? I have created an EBook with full instructions and tips to help you along.

Kat Bush
Learn how I sold over 400+ crafts in my EBook Titled
How to Make Decorated Lighted Christmas Glass Blocks
Included is a full, step-by-step tutorial complete with pictures.
http://briteblocks.com

Do you find yourself constantly asking what other people think about products? Are you one of those people that find yourself always double checking reviews before purchasing something? Well we going to review the Sharp UX P-100 Printer and discuss some of its features, price range, and general performance.

Perhaps one of the best places to start when reviewing something especially an electronic appliance is to consider space. How much space do you actually have to set up a new machine? Well this Sharp system happens to be able to fit even in the smallest of spaces due to its small size. So space here is definitely not an issue.

Some people like to fully understand how a product works before purchasing it. Well that is definitely encouraged in case something happens and the product needs to be fixed or replaced altogether. Well the Sharp UX-P100 Printer uses a ribbon for its printing purposes. This ribbon can be easily found within your printing machine.

Ribbon printing isn’t horrible the only main concern people have with it is whether or not it is completely functional. Well the answer here is yes and there are several little tricks that you can do as well to get more life out of your ribbon. The reason some people complain about this type of printing is because the ribbon initially costs around $20.00 to purchase.

Once the ribbon transfers spools completely most people throw them out. Well here is the secret. If you are careful you can rewind the ribbon back onto the starting spool. If done correctly you can actually get 2x the life out of the ribbon. The quality of printing stays roughly the same with maybe only slightly less sharpness here and there. Most people who have performed this step don’t usually have any noticeable problems.

Like most machines this one has some of the comparable features of others. It has the capability to store up to 30 numbers for fast and effective dialing. Also it can handle up to 24 pages of printing if you happen to need that many all at once. The printer itself only holds 10 pages so once page 9 is taken you have to restock the printer for it to continue efficiently.

The Sharp system does have the capacity to store up to 30 numbers as was said earlier. In order to access these numbers there are arrow keys located near the dialing mechanism. This allows for you to scroll through the numbers to find the one that you need. Also if you happen to have Caller ID activated on your service you can even review your call list.

The Sharp UX-P100 Printer is quite a reasonable buy for all of the above reasons. It isn’t really something that should be second guessed. If you decide that this system is the one for you then don’t forget to pick up the Sharp UX P100 toner to go along with your purchase. Purchasing the toner that correlates to the printer is always recommended.

It is wonderful how creative some brides can be when it comes to things like wedding favors. Somehow they manage to take the plainest of items & turn it into something wonderful, a memorable keepsake that will be treasured for years to come.

So how is it they can stamp their own personality on to just about anything – wedding favors, stationery, even their wedding dress? Whilst many of us get lost in a sea of printed ribbon & paper roses, they are busy creating the most unique of items.

Actually all it takes is a little imagination, some confidence & a clear vision of what you want to achieve. Take an evening to look through magazines, browse the internet & put together montage of those wedding favors you like. From here you should be able to narrow it down to those that fit with your wedding style or theme. Remember colors & small details can be changed; it is really the overall look of the item that you should focus on.

For instance a plain favor box can look amazing with a band of patterned paper wrapped over top. This is a design that you may have seen time & time again, you just need to envisage it with a paper band that matches your wedding.

A lot can be achieved simply by adding a decorative tag to a box with ribbon. Look for die cut shaped tags – try Ebay; look for shapes that coordinate with your wedding theme or style i.e. hearts, leaves, flowers or bells.

Personalized stickers are another inexpensive way of jazzing up your favor boxes. You will find many online stores that offer customized stickers & just need to simply stick them in place.

With the rise in the popularity of scrap booking & card making, craft stores are full to bursting with beautiful stickers, toppers, die cut shapes, tags & a wealth of innovative decorations which could be applied to wedding favors. Choosing decorations such as these will lead to the creation of some truly unique favors, unlike any which could be found in the shops & which will take you no time at all to assemble.

For example, take a look at the rubber stamps. Choose one that matches your wedding theme or that has a wedding related image. Choose a colored ink pad – you will find colors range from solids to pearl scents, glitters & metallic. Next pick up some shaped tags for your favor boxes. It is them just a simple process of stamping your tags; once dry writing your message on the blank side & attaching to your boxes. Voila! Unique & stunning wedding favors! If you are feeling really brave then you could stamp the boxes instead before you assemble them. I would advise ordering a few more than you need though so you have some to practice on.

Here are a few other ideas for jazzing up your wedding favors:

o Ribbon a Deux. This stylish look is achieved by placing a thin ribbon over the top of a wider one. Try it with contrasting colors, patterns or fabrics for an eye catching effect. For a touch of glamor you could thread a rhinestone buckle on to sit on the top.
o Dainty Ribbons. Usually favor ribbon is about half inch in width but a wonderfully elegant look can be achieved with ultra thin ribbon which is wrapped twice around the box & finished in a bow (or just a simple knot with short tails if you’re no good at tying bows!). Two colors of ribbon works especially well as an alternative.
o Paper Bands. As mentioned earlier, a band of decorative paper is very elegant & stylish. Look for scrapbook papers, interesting handmade papers or origami papers. You could even trim the edges with decorative scissors for a pretty edge. Simply cut them to size (a guillotine is useful for this) & wrap over the top of the box, gluing in place on the bottom. A card tag, label or sticker looks particularly effect stuck on the top.

These are just a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing. The world of wedding favors is an ever evolving place with new designs & styles coming to life all the time. The trick is to keep it simple & to stay within your capabilities. Try to do something too technical & you may end up disappointed with the results.

Mae Andrea is a professional writer who collects wedding favors and wedding related articles. She is working with a wedding planning social networking company that caters to all the wedding needs of brides in almost every major center in America.