Welcome to Michael's Article Collection

Fly Fishing and Kids

I have taught all three of my kids about fly fishing, and many of their friends as well. Like all things taught to humans, some caught on faster than others. Some pursued it, so never touched a fly rod again. I have become a patient and good teacher, and now enjoy the time I spend teaching others, in particular adolescents to fly fish. I was not always so good at this. When my two oldest kids w. . .

Stabilizing the Core to Eliminate Low-Back Pain

This is the first article of a series of articles to follow. In this article I will be addressing one of the main core stabilizing muscles of the lumbar spine and its role in back pain, as well as specific exercises that should be performed to prevent and recover faster from your back pain. You should make these exercises part of your everyday routine, just like brushing your teeth. Words of wi. . .

Twenty Questions to Ask Yourself When Choosing a Sleeping...

Before you head out to buy a new sleeping bag, make sure you know exactly what you are looking for. When you answer these questions, you’ll be better prepared to pick out the sleeping bag that is just right for you. How will you be using your sleeping bag? Will you be backpacking or hiking? Or do you just need a bag for a family camping trip? What time of year will you be camping? Will you be. . .

Horse Training Voice Commands

To the uninitiated, voice commands for the horse are nothing more than words. But to the horse they are only sounds. Obviously, horses cannot speak our language. Since they cannot speak our language we should think through what we say to them when we want certain responses from them.Take the word "whoa" for instance. I have no doubt this is the most abused word in the human/horse language. . . .

How to Dunk a Basketball

How to dunk a basketball. Well there are a few things one needs to keep in mind when you start dunking a basketball. One is to remember there is a lot more to the game then just the dunk. And not to spend to much time on learning how to dunk. Even though its very fun and can be addicting. But some good things about dunking is when its done during the game and you are the one doing the dunking t. . .

Hilton Head Island is Golf Heaven - and the Ocean Too

Imagine, 42 square miles of golf and surf Hilton Head Island is appropriately called Golf Island. Located just off the coast of South Carolina, the semi- tropical 12-mile barrier island is devoted to providing world-class golf, tennis or water-recreation activities to the 2.5 million visitors who arrive annually. The majority are seniors, who faithfully return each year during the balmy winter . . .

Know the Odds when you Bet

In the casino, each game has different odds. This means that you are more likely to win some games than others. Knowing the odds, therefore, is very important if you want to maximize your chances of winning. We assume for the purposes of this article that each game is fair, and that you employ no 'card counting' strategies. This will allow us to work out the 'expectancy' of each game - i.e. the. . .

Getting Into Wimbledon

Wimbledon. It's a word that stands for tennis at its best.Although it is first of all the name of a London suburb, for millions of tennis fans around the world it is shorthand for sportsmanship, athletic prowess, and celebrity stardom. For the half-a-million or so people who manage to see at least some of the annual championship games in person, it also means a huge social event.One of the grea. . .

How A Simple Golf Stretch Can Add 20 Yards To Your Drives

To quickly improve your golf, stretch your golf muscles regularly!What’s the difference between a “golf stretch” and an everyday stretch? The answer to this question may be your missling link to a great game and years of enjoyment instead of frustration and weak attempts at quitting the game.I know…you’ve considered it! I’ve been there many times. But the bottom line…we keep coming back!So t. . .

Starting A Food Plot

So you're thinking of starting a food plot? I found myself in that same situation about two years ago when I cleared my first plot. In the area of deer management and food plots I was like most beginners. I had no clue where to start or what my final plan was going to be. This article can be seen as a starting point for people who are thinking of starting a food plot, and incorporating it into. . .

Beat the House with this Supabets Blackjack Strategy

In the game of blackjack, the final hand you hold can only be one of the following - a blackjack, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16 or less, or bust. If you bust, you have lost, whereas if you hold blackjack the worse case scenario is a tie with the dealer with the best case scenario being you get paid a bonus of 1.5 times your stake. You probably realize that the chances of winning if you stand on your 1. . .

Horse Training 101

Horse training is an art. But it also has rules that govern how to work with and train a horse.For instance, when you're training a horse to do something, you don't want to drill him with it so much that he becomes sour on it and unwilling to do it next time. The trick is to get him doing what you ask, then asking him to do it a few more times, then stop asking.You can ask him to do it more f. . .

Poker Tournaments

Tournaments are poker competitions where all of the players play at the same time and continue to play until only one player is left. Tournaments are fun to play in, have a low entry fees and offer a large prize pool to be won. For these reasons they are a very popular. They are inexpensive way for novice poker players to learn how to play the game, as well as a providing a place for more exper. . .

Duke Ellington Starring in “The Evolution of Jazz”

Duke Ellington is considered to be one of the greatest figures in the history of American music. Edward Kennedy 'Duke' Ellington was born in Washington D.C. on April 29, 1899.His parents were James Edward and Daisy Kennedy Ellington. They raised Duke as an only child, until his sister, Ruth, was born when Duke was sixteen years old.Duke, even as a teenager had a great talent for music. In the b. . .

How Has Eminem Risen to the Top?

How is it that a little white boy from Kansas City has become the most well known rapper in the world? Starting from nothing and eventually moving up to a multi-millionaire, Eminem over the past seven years has been in the eye of the public everywhere you look. He has essentially entered a black man’s business and gone to the top over the course of a few years, but how? On October 17, 1972 Ma. . .

Martial Arts and The Bible

As a Christian and a martial arts student, I have often wrestled with the idea of self-defense. Does God expect me to defend my family and myself when physically attacked or am I to “turn the other cheek” and endure it in the name of Jesus? As I considered the many comments I encountered on this topic, I became even more confused. Some advocates for “religion” have gone as far as to say that. . .

Horse Training Facts And Maxims

To the uninitiated horse owner, there are timely facts about horses they should know. In fact, when someone first gets a horse these timely facts should be studied and learned.These timely facts come from the Jesse Beery horse training manual. Jesse Beery was a famous horse trainer from the 1800's. Interestingly, Beery's training methods are as powerful today as they were when Beery was aliv. . .

Why The Horse's Eye's Are So Important When Training Him!

They say the eyes are are the gateway to the soul. When it was said, they were referring to us humans. But the truth is, it also refers to horses.Many horse owners don't understand the importance and usefulness of the horse's eyes while training. That being so, let me share with you some things you may find useful - some you may know...some you may not.First, there's the eye which reveals a . . .

Do You Make These Mistakes Loading Your Horse Into A Trai...

Mistake #1: "Here, Kitty Kitty..."Unless they have been educated, new horse owners often think a horse is like a cat or dog. They figure if they tap their thighs and say, "C'mon,...C'mon,...C'mon..." the horse'll will simply jump right in the trailer like a happy dog or cat. Mistake #2: "Using Food As Bait"Putting hay, grain, apples, or whatever at the front of the trailer to tempt a horse . . .

The Cure To Stop A Horse From Kicking

I get a lot of horse training questions about stopping a horse from kicking. The kicking habits of these horses range from the horse kicking at virtually anyone to kicking at only the husbands.It's a daunting problem that lots of people have no idea how to cure. That being so, I want to share some insight to horses kicking.First I want to relate some causes of horses starting in the habit of. . .

The Secret That Keeps Horses Trainable!

As you likely know already, horses have at least 10 times our strength. If they also had our intelligence, they would probably be riding us humans. Fortunately, horses cannot reason like human beings and therefore will never have superior intelligence. Since they don't have reasoning abilities, horse training becomes a challenge because you now have to understand how their intelligence works. . .

The Top 3 Tricks Horse Owners Can Use To Unspoil A Barn S...

It’s been weeks since you went riding. Now you have time to ride this afternoon and there ain’t no one gonna stop you. Excited, you saddle up your horse and get on him. You get about 50 feet from the barn and your horse turns around and goes back – and you can’t stop him. Why? You have a barn spoiled horse. This is a common scenario for novice horse owners. Here are the top three tricks t. . .

The One-Minute Horse Training Manager

If your life is so busy you literally only have a minute or two a day to spend with your horse, then here are 5 smart training tips you can use to keep your horse "tuned up" when you have just minutes a day.Smart Tip #1: Practice Backing UpSuppose you just fed your horse some hay and he's eating. Assuming you have enough room to get beside him, put your finger into his chest and get him to ba. . .

A Horse Training Secret From The 1800's To Teach A Horse ...

Horse owners who are history buffs may recognize the name Jesse Beery. Beery was an enormously famous horse trainer from the 1800's and early 1900's.He learned to train horses at a very young age. It was clear he had a gift for horse training and made it his life's work.Among the almost countless things Beery could do with a horse, he taught them tricks. One of the most amazing tricks he tau. . .

How To Load A Horse Into A Trailer - Easy As Pie!

If there is an art to getting horses to load in a trailer, then this it.The first thing that must happen is communication between the horse and his handler. The horse must understand what is required of him and the handler must make it easy to understand.Thus, you must start by getting the horse to move forward in either direction. After a direction is established then get him moving in the o. . .

Horse Training Techniques From The 1800's-

Was he the world's greatest horse trainer of all time? Would his picture be in the horse trainer's Hall Of Fame? Perhaps.His name was Jesse Beery. Before he was twenty he became a world class horse trainer. He was so well known, there were more people who heard of him than didn't.Jesse Beery learned how to train horses almost entirely on his own because there were few people who knew how to. . .

Horse Training Gets A New Face Lift From A 108 Year Old H...

If you have a passion to learn all you can about horse training, then you will want to know about a 108 year old horse training manual recently revived from a dusty old book shelf of a used book store.This horse training manual was written in the late 1800's by a then world famous horse trainer named Jesse Beery.In Beery's manual he explains the different steps it takes to train a horse to be g. . .

Amazing Insights Of A Horse Training Expert From The Late...

Could a horse trainer, born about 154 years ago, teach us anything new today? Would the methods be old hat or would they be useful?The answer is a resounding Yes!, they are enormously useful.The horse training expert referred to is named Jesse Beery. Beery was a world famous horse trainer from the late 1800's who possessed amazing ability with horses. Fortunately, Beery's secrets remain afte. . .

How To Use Horse Training Thinking To Solve Dang Near Any...

Horse training can be a relatively mysterious subject to people who have not studied it. Even more mysterious is a behavioral problem a horse has that causes his owner stress and frustration.What many horse owners don't understand is often the handler, not the horse, is causing the problem.That being said, that is the first consideration in unscrambling the horse's ill behavior. For instance,. . .

How To Stop Your Horse From Rearing And What To Do If He ...

There is a dangerous problem that horse owners should be very aware of. It’s when a horse stands up on his back legs. It’s called “rearing.” This problem can be quite dangerous and cause severe injuries to the rider and/or horse. Rearing is perhaps a horse’s most effective defense against the rider. It is dangerous in that the horse can fall over backward onto its rider. Because of a hors. . .

Crack of the Bat

What is that sound that batters love to hear? That bang, that square hit, that crack of the bat. You know, as a batter, that you have just launched one. You know that the ball is taking off. You know you got your monies worth on that at bat. Pitchers hate it. After a batter wacks that ball, the pitchers will look down at the ground, maybe curse (usually at themselves) or look to where the ball . . .

The Value of Observation

The beginner must learn to look with eyes that see. Occurrences of apparently little importance at the moment may, after consideration, assume proportions of great value. The taking of an insect, for instance, may mean nothing more than a rising trout; but the position occupied by this fish may indicate the position taken by others in similar water.The flash of a trout, changing his position pr. . .

The Way Of A Bass Fisherman With a Fly Rod And The Way Of...

-----SIDEBAR------------------------------------------Older fly fishing classics contain a wealth of knowledge for the beginner fly fisher as well as the experienced angler. The following is an excerpt from Practical Fly Fishing, by Larry St. John (1920)-----END SIDEBAR----------------------------------WADING A STREAMIdeal FishingThe ideal way to fish a bass stream, if its depth and bottom will. . .

Digital Camera Metering

Looking at the most intricate details of the digital camera as a technologically advanced device a lot of functions come into play. Such s a point is that of the digital camera metering. This discussion focuses towards that intention of understanding and knowing the details of the component. Basically speaking the metering system in a digital camera measures the amount of light in the scene and. . .

How Can Sports Psychology Help Athletes?

The question you need to ask yourself is this: Am I performing up to my capability? I’m sure you know some fellow athletes who have “great talent” or physical skills, but haven’t played up to their potential. One of the myths athletes buy into is that you first must develop “perfect” technique or knowledge about ones sport before you can work on the so-called mental game. But, from my perspecti. . .

Fly Fishing for Largemouth Bass

Like all bass fishing, bass fly fishing has exploded in popularity. The largemouth bass is considered by many the greatest of all gamefish. Once limited to just the Eastern United States, the largemouth bass has been introduced all over the continent. When most people think of bass fishing they think of, stiff fiberglass rods, heavy lines and large lures. But more and more fisherman are finding. . .

Where To Find 10 Fly Fishing Tips In A Single Paragraph

When looking for information on how to fly fish, fly fishing tips or fly fishing techniques, many anglers, or anglers to be,who limit their search to books or material written ithin the last few years or decades are short-changing themselves. Fact is, many anglers continue to miss out on great fly fishing information by not reaching back into the rich history of the sport and seeking the advice. . .

How To Install An Emergency Brake On Your Horse

Imagine being on a horse and he bolts. You pull those reins to slow him down but it’s no use. He resists and the fence posts go whizzing by you as you panic and pray he doesn’t shift his bodyweight and you fly off his back into a post. It’s scary to be on a horse that runs on his own volition and can’t be slowed down. Many people will sell their horse because they’re so scared of that happening. . .

How To Prevent Your Horse Going Lame From The Most Common...

There are lots of ways a horse can go lame. Perhaps the most common cause of lameness is a result of Navicular Syndrome. The fortunate thing is that it can be treated where the horse gets complete, successful recovery if diagnosed and treated in it’s early stages. Here’s what you need to know about Navicular Syndrome.First, there is a small bone between the coffin bone and the short pastern bon. . .

Which Of These Horse Catching Mistakes Do You Make?

The other day, I was invited to see my friend’s new horse. He had her for about a month before I got to see her. When I arrived at his house, he met me outside and said, “C’mon…let’s go see her.” We stood at the fence and marveled at how beautiful she was. Excited, he asked, “You wanna pet her?” “Sure!” I said. So my friend grabbed the halter and went after her.As I watched him chase her I was . . .

Horse Training Secrets For Busy Horse Owners Short On Time

Picture this. You're late for work one day. You look at your watch and notice you have about three minutes to feed your horse before you have to leave. Plus, it seems to worsen every day. You notice your life getting busier and you have little time, if any, to spend with your horse.Should you sell him? Should you keep him? What do you do.It depends. If you only want a pet that eats a lot. . .

How To Get Your Horse From Pulling Back While Tied

Some people have horses they don’t dare tie. Why? Because they break their halters and/or crossties. So what is a person to do in their horse training practices?My first suggestion is to get a rope halter. But not just any ol’ rope halter. Get one of those rope halters that are thin because they cut into the horse’s poll more if they pull back. It sends a message to the horse that’s it’s . . .

How To Use Leading Your Horse To Get Control And Response

I’ve been around many people who try to lead a horse by controlling their head with a lead rope. They end up pulling or jerking the lead rope and the horse will typically pull back or push around the person with the lead rope.Ultimately, you want slack in the lead rope while leading your horse because you don’t want to pull or jerk him. If your horse moves incorrectly while leading him then you. . .

How To Properly Check The Club Heads Of Second Swing Used...

Interested in Second Swing used golf club? No surprise there. Second Swing golf clubs are swiftly gaining popularity these days. And why not, they durable and with good quality. So with the rising demands I wrote this article on how to properly check the clubheads of Second Swing used golf clubs. This is vital task so you get a good quality and good performing Second Swing golf clubs for a fair. . .

Fishing Tips For Beginners

There are many kinds of fishing equipments in stores, numerous fishing methods in books, and fishing advices online. To make it all simple, here are the basic things you need to know for your first time fishing adventure.1) How to fish with bait* Tackle. To plunk the bait, you should purchase lead weights. The weight of the lead would vary depending on the current of the environment. Anglers co. . .

Purpose Of Fishing Rod Holders

Fishing is a sport designed for relaxation. It is where fish lovers pride themselves of the fish caught while celebrating it with friends and family. The rod holder is a fishing tool that allows fishermen to multi-task easily. It was invented because fishing requires the use of both hands in the whole process of luring, hook clearing and removing the fish from the hooks. With all these tasks, l. . .

Air Guns For Target Shooting

It is important to know the proper procedures for using anair gun since many people use it as a safe means forpromoting target shooting, hunting and plinking in theyounger generation. The majority of people judge the qualityair gun by its accuracy level.Air guns are available in different shapes and sizes and youcan select from a good variety available. Some air guns comewith an option of adjus. . .

The Basic Fishing Supplies

Fishing is a nature-oriented sport that allows you to relax. Many people want to experience fishing, but are unable to buy the appropriate supplies for their adventure. There are many fishing stores around, but majority of the stores try to sell unnecessary fishing supplies to gain more from the innocence of the fishing novice. Here are some of the basic fishing supplies you need for any kind o. . .

Gas Scooters Safety Rules For Staying Alive!

By following a few safety measures gas scooters can be as safe as any vehicle on the road. However, taken lightly, gas scooters can cause serious injury or even death.Gas motor scooters are often thought of as toys, innocent and cheap fun. But it's exactly that type of thinking that can get a gas scooter driver into deep trouble. First and foremost scooters are motor vehicles just like motorcyc. . .

8 Golden Rules for Betting on Horses

People assume that betting on horses is based on luck, and that the only method to win money while doing it is to get inside information. By inside information, people generally refer to match fixes or some other knowledge that one or more of the horses is sick. This might have been true once, but in todays modern world where the gambling is institutionalized and checked daily, this sort of thi. . .