In article , Iain Churches
wrote:

"Jim Lesurf" wrote in message
...


This issue does interest me ......

But not enough it seems that you would take the time to listen to the
examples which I recorded.

You seem to either have not read or have forgotten what I wrote about that.
Should I repeat/quote it to aid you? The central point was that your set of
'examples' doesn't actually explain and resolve the problems with your
initial assertion. Indeed, they made things worse in that respect since you
had *more* that two 'different' process-flow examples whilst your initial
statement used just two terms in two orders. (You also don't seem to have
replied to my point about using different variable values from one example
to another also clouding the issue. Nor to my asking you to identify which
example(s) you gave used "delay" as a "noun".)

Until you do listen, this discussion is going round in circles.

Perhaps you have not realised that I'm not saying that the examples you
gave would not sound "different". My questions are all about your use
of language in the first place. As I point out above you (more than two)
examples actually would only made the ambiguity worse - as may also your
later adoption of "noun"/"verb" that was not indicated in any way in
your original statement - nor since identified with any of the examples
you posted.

I'm afraid I am coming to the conclusion that you haven't actually
understood the points I made. If you do, you can answer my questions easily
enough *if* you choose to do so.

Not doing so is a shame. It is perhaps a sign that the ambiguity in your
wording is also in your mind. That is one of the problems with people using
"jargon" and assuming others will understand it without any explanation.

An alternative, I guess, is that you simply may not want to admit that your
original wording was ambiguous and so would simply muddle people who
didn't have your *hidden* changes in word meanings pre-defined and flagged
for them.

Slainte,

Jim

--
Please use the address on the audiomisc page if you wish to email me.
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html

In article ,
Jim Lesurf wrote:
In article , Dave Plowman (News)
wrote:
In article , Iain Churches
wrote:
Sparrows used to be about the most common bird in this part of
London. Then all but disappeared perhaps 10 years ago. And although
they've returned, in nowhere near the same numbers.

What happened to cause a reduction in their numbers?

I dunno. I've searched, but found no definitive answer. They seemed to
disappear near overnight.

I've hear mention of this a number of times. In general with people also
saying they don't know the cause.

Two that have occurred to me are

1) Cats. The little expletives are probably mass murderers.

Yes - but in this part of London they were by far the most numerous
species. Cats simply couldn't account for the fast disappearance.

2) There is an infection that has been found to move from just one
species of bird to another recently, so maybe that has also done for
sparras.

That's the likely one - but I don't remember seeing lots of dead ones. Or
indeed any. Perhaps the foxes cleared them up. The cats are too well fed
to bother.

Hard for me to tell. But I certainly see far more other types of birds
on our garden. Even wrens which I only started noticing a couple of
years ago as they tend to be so small and shy.

Yup. Lovely little things.

--
*Horn broken. - Watch for finger.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Wed, 8 Dec 2010 09:35:39 +0200, "Iain Churches"
wrote:


"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Keith G wrote:
Church locations are fraught with problems - aeroplane noise, traffic
etc We had to temporarily stop a session at Petersham Church when a
huge flock of sparrows landed outside a window:-)


:-)

And they can be quite 'vocal' can't they? We get a flock of them in the
hedge at the edge of the garden and they are a noisy little bunch which
wouldn't do any recording session any good! In fact, I occasionally get
birdsong creeping into my own recordings, along with the odd car going
past!

Sparrows used to be about the most common bird in this part of London.
Then all but disappeared perhaps 10 years ago. And although they've
returned, in nowhere near the same numbers.

What happened to cause a reduction in their numbers?

It's interesting how birds that live in an noisy urban
environment can alter their call/song by shortening it
and rasing the pitch slightly to make themselves better
heard.

Here we have seen a large increase in the number of owls
and hawks, due to, it is said, to an increase in the number
of field mice, voles and moles a year or two ago.





Insecticide. Certainly in England now there are virtually no flying
insects compared to, say thirty years ago. I remember that a cross
country drive back then in summer would involve a few enforced stops
to get all the squashed bugs off the windscreen. Now one or two at
most in an hour's drive is all you can expect. This has had a major
effect on the populations of small birds. A great shame.

d

"Don Pearce" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 8 Dec 2010 09:35:39 +0200, "Iain Churches"
wrote:


"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Keith G wrote:
Church locations are fraught with problems - aeroplane noise, traffic
etc We had to temporarily stop a session at Petersham Church when a
huge flock of sparrows landed outside a window:-)


:-)

And they can be quite 'vocal' can't they? We get a flock of them in the
hedge at the edge of the garden and they are a noisy little bunch which
wouldn't do any recording session any good! In fact, I occasionally get
birdsong creeping into my own recordings, along with the odd car going
past!

Sparrows used to be about the most common bird in this part of London.
Then all but disappeared perhaps 10 years ago. And although they've
returned, in nowhere near the same numbers.

What happened to cause a reduction in their numbers?

It's interesting how birds that live in an noisy urban
environment can alter their call/song by shortening it
and rasing the pitch slightly to make themselves better
heard.

Here we have seen a large increase in the number of owls
and hawks, due to, it is said, to an increase in the number
of field mice, voles and moles a year or two ago.





Insecticide. Certainly in England now there are virtually no flying
insects compared to, say thirty years ago. I remember that a cross
country drive back then in summer would involve a few enforced stops
to get all the squashed bugs off the windscreen. Now one or two at
most in an hour's drive is all you can expect. This has had a major
effect on the populations of small birds. A great shame.



You're not wrong but sparrows are grain and seed eaters (and sliced white
white bread) so the lack of flying insects probably present less of a
problem than say the less spilt grain today resulting from efficient modern
farming practices and the farmers ripping out all the hedges.

As to numbers of squashed bugs, I would invite you out for a summer
motorbike ride and you would see just how few bugs there aren't - judging by
the coating you get on your helmet/visor and front of the bike (headlight
etc.)!

"Keith G" wrote


snip


You're not wrong but sparrows are grain and seed eaters (and sliced white
white bread) so the lack of flying insects probably present less of a
problem than say the less spilt grain today resulting from efficient
modern farming practices and the farmers ripping out all the hedges.


As per (in part):

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/bird...servation.aspx

On Wed, 8 Dec 2010 20:03:10 -0000, "Keith G"
wrote:


"Keith G" wrote


snip


You're not wrong but sparrows are grain and seed eaters (and sliced white
white bread) so the lack of flying insects probably present less of a
problem than say the less spilt grain today resulting from efficient
modern farming practices and the farmers ripping out all the hedges.


As per (in part):

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/bird...servation.aspx

I always thought sparrows liked insects as well as the other stuff. Oh
well - I'm sure that some of the small birds are vanishing because of
the shortage of insects.

d

"Don Pearce" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 8 Dec 2010 20:03:10 -0000, "Keith G"
wrote:


"Keith G" wrote


snip


You're not wrong but sparrows are grain and seed eaters (and sliced
white
white bread) so the lack of flying insects probably present less of a
problem than say the less spilt grain today resulting from efficient
modern farming practices and the farmers ripping out all the hedges.


As per (in part):

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/bird...servation.aspx

I always thought sparrows liked insects as well as the other stuff. Oh
well - I'm sure that some of the small birds are vanishing because of
the shortage of insects.


There can be little doubt of that! Shortage of food (insects and grain) and
habitat have made modern farmland a barren place for a lot of birds.

"Keith G" wrote in message
...

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Keith G wrote:
Church locations are fraught with problems - aeroplane noise, traffic
etc We had to temporarily stop a session at Petersham Church when a
huge flock of sparrows landed outside a window:-)


:-)

And they can be quite 'vocal' can't they? We get a flock of them in the
hedge at the edge of the garden and they are a noisy little bunch which
wouldn't do any recording session any good! In fact, I occasionally get
birdsong creeping into my own recordings, along with the odd car going
past!

Sparrows used to be about the most common bird in this part of London.
Then all but disappeared perhaps 10 years ago. And although they've
returned, in nowhere near the same numbers.

With my sort of location recording, I missed them very much. Their
constant noise helped mask other more intrusive ones.


Well, it worked for me because I never found the twittering of spuggies
intrusive whether in a TV prog or even on the odd record I've got here but
not all birdsong is acceptable in the same situation - starlings, for
instance.

I remember going to a performance of Beethoven's Pastoral at the Fairfield
Halls some years ago, and it coincided with an exhibition of caged birds in
the lobby. Clearly audible during the quiet passages, to the amusement of
the audience!

Geoff

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Jim Lesurf wrote:
In article , Dave Plowman (News)
wrote:
In article , Iain Churches
wrote:
Sparrows used to be about the most common bird in this part of
London. Then all but disappeared perhaps 10 years ago. And although
they've returned, in nowhere near the same numbers.

What happened to cause a reduction in their numbers?

I dunno. I've searched, but found no definitive answer. They seemed to
disappear near overnight.

I've hear mention of this a number of times. In general with people also
saying they don't know the cause.

I heard that it was the unexpected result of an ill-judged campaign by the
RSPB to preserve the sparrowhawk, but I have no idea if there is any truth
in this.

Geoff

"Jim Lesurf" wrote in message
...
In article om, Rob
wrote:


I still prefer the PC route though, having finally found a way for it to
work easily and reliably. This with deference to Jim's idea of a
standalone CDR - didn't really get on with the NAD and Yamaha machines I
used.

FWIW I'd agree that a suitable soundcard+computer+software combination is
quite capable of making excellent recordings. And I'd agree that this then
saves the need to 'import' recordings from some other audio recorder. So
very convenient if you get something working correctly.

My worry is just that it seems to me that choosing a combination that
genuinely works well can be a minefield. Not yet found a setup that worked
correctly 'as came'.

My impression is that in the general 'PC' biz there often is no real
distinction between "I can hear something" and "works fine". Indeed, I've
seen some comments in computer mag articles that make me think the authors
are clueless about issues like resampling problems, timing problems,
clipping, etc, etc. So I have my doubts that most computer mags will help.
And I also fear that the 'advice' in audio mags can lack the required clue
about computers. (The last couple of issues of HFW have been
amusing/depressing on that score, for example.)

And if you choose the soundcard+pc+software route you may run into the
snag
of needing to 'upgrade' a few years later. Particularly if driven by
playing 'keepie uppy' with Windows or Macs by other requirements.

But in the end, it is another example of personal choice, based on what
the
individual prefers and has most experience with.

Slainte,

Thanks, Jim, you've summed it up. I keep my PC for word processing, email,
pictures for eBay and occasionally catching up with Radio 7. My audio stuff
is quite separate, and I'd prefer it to remain so. I asked for comments on
the Brennan in this NG a while back, and all the replies pointed me towards
a PC solution. My point is that while I've had a few failures on the audio
system(s) over the years - mainly blown fuses, an arcing failure on the ESL,
a burnt out valve etc - I've never had one which caused me to lose my
entire record/CD collection! Entirely possible with a PC based solution,
whether from a virus, unspecified bugs or simply Bill Gates waking up with a
hangover and deciding to render all previous releases obsolete. I don't
want "music on the move", I'm just looking for a way of archiving the whole
lot and giving me ease of access, hence my interest in the Brennan (no, I'm
not plugging it, I haven't bought one yet) but if it really does what it
says on the tin and works straight out of the box then it takes away all the
problems of software compatibility and so on which do not interest me at
all.

Geoff