TSFMag Advances into the Digital Age

Last month I mentioned how anxious I was for the fall equinox to arrive. Cooler weather, stronger tides, etc. Turns out I didn’t have to wait very long. Stepped outside this morning (Sept. 10) and, hallelujah! North wind at 15 mph and the thermometer said 64°. Long range forecast is calling for five days of continued north wind and daytime highs mostly below 90°. If that doesn’t get your blood flowing nothing will.

This issue is filled with prospects for much-improved fishing and I hope everybody gets a chance to enjoy it. We’ve been shooting doves and teal season opens this Saturday. Great time to get out and enjoy the best of fishing and hunting.  

Big announcement! Pam came up with the idea to increase TSFMag’s appeal with a program to create increased exposure for our writers and, hopefully, a greater flow of support for the advertisers who make this whole thing financially feasible.

What you will be seeing throughout the magazine are increasing numbers of QR Codes within the writers columns and some of the advertisements. The written word is certainly still powerful but we believe the effect can be boosted even farther with video presentations.

The QR Code is a box filled with a pattern of dots and sometimes squiggly lines, and it works very similarly to a barcode. They have been around for a while but have become more common recently, in restaurants of all places. During all the Covid-19 precautions, diners are accessing restaurant menus electronically, rather than printed menus. Fewer things on tables needing disinfected, etc.

The iPhone is particularly easy to use in gaining access to YouTube video presentations, presumably other brands of smartphones have the same or similar capabilities. Being that I am definitely old school and under-educated in the world of modern mobile devices, I will leave the details to the experts. I must confess that I learned to access the menu at my favorite Mexican restaurant only a month ago.

All you need do is open the camera app on your iPhone, hover over the QR image, and snap a photo. When the YouTube link appears at the top of the screen, just tap on it, and you’re redirected to the video presentation. We believe this will be a great way to get to know the writers and hear what’s happening in their world in a more personal manner.

We started in publishing when columns were printed on paper and then cut and pasted onto frames that were placed in front of a giant camera and photographed. Images were burned to press plates and the plates were installed on press rollers. Ink adhered to the burned images and was transferred to paper that sped through the rollers. Technological advances over the years have greatly simplified the process. Thank God!

Like my childhood hillbilly neighbor who lived up the holler and loved listening to baseball on my transistor radio would exclaim… “What will they think of next?”