Binoculars

One day last week, while sharing a hilltop with my woodchuck hunting partner, Wayne Albaugh, he announced, "How do you like these? I finally broke down and bought a good pair of binoculars."Binoculars are essential to the outdoorsman, boater or backyard bird watcher. I have been a regular user for more than 30 years and am convinced that a good set of prism binoculars are well worth their weight in gold.They allow the hunter to save shoe leather and to verify game animals or their hunting buddy's location across the valley.

Join in the Big Sit! and celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week, Sunday, Oct. 9, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., at the National Wildlife Visitor Center, 10901 Scarlet Tanager Loop. Chairs will be set up in a 17-foot diameter circle and volunteers will use binoculars to identify as many birds as they can. No experience needed and no registration necessary.

Coupling binoculars with a digital camera is one of those ideas that is long overdue. Bushnell, which has produced many a hard-working set of binoculars, has made this idea a reality with the ImageView ($100). Created for those who like to watch wildlife and sporting events, the ImageView handles its dual task admirably. The binoculars, at 10X strength, have been augmented with a digital camera located in a module between the two lens barrels. The camera does not shoot photographs through the binocular lenses but has its own 8X lens for pictures with focus at 40 feet to infinity.

Have you noticed Jupiter? The giant of our solar system is nearing "opposition" on Aug. 14, its nearest approach to Earth for the year. It rises in the east, "opposite" the setting sun in the west. Look for it gleaming high in the southeast in late evening. On a clear night, steady binoculars should reveal up to four of Jupiter's tiny Galilean moons, in a line, on either side of the planet's disk.

HOLLYWOOD - The security officer seen scanning the crowd with night-vision binoculars at last week's media screening of Warner Bros.' Dreamcatcher wasn't looking for pockets of critical resistance. He was testing new anti-piracy measures aimed squarely at Hollywood's pre-release promotional machinery. Warner and the other studios are working closely with their trade group, the Motion Picture Association of America, to search for potential high-tech film thieves among the thousands of reporters, critics and assorted hangers-on who populate the movie industry's busy screening circuit.

Rhonda Brown has been trying to see Jupiter and its moons from Baltimore: "Your article said you could see it with binoculars. All I see is a bright dot. What kind of binoculars are you using?" Or, what have I been drinking? I use 10x50s, but good 7x35s work for many. On clear evenings this month, Jupiter is the brightest object in the southeast. Steady your binoculars on something solid. Jupiter's moons are tiny dots, aligned on either side of the disk like the forward slash on a keyboard.

POLICE LOG* Town Center: 10200 block of Wincopin Circle: Someone broke into a 1990 Honda Civic between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, and stole a $85 radar detector, a $150 pair of binoculars and $120 worth of CDs.

Join in the Big Sit! and celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week, Sunday, Oct. 9, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., at the National Wildlife Visitor Center, 10901 Scarlet Tanager Loop. Chairs will be set up in a 17-foot diameter circle and volunteers will use binoculars to identify as many birds as they can. No experience needed and no registration necessary.

Joystick system offers realistic feel for flight simulators In piloting your flight simulator games on the PC, it would be difficult to find a better product than the X36 Flight Control System. Saitek's $99.95 package comes in two parts, a joystick and a throttle/rudder controller. The joystick is the primary steering device. It also has a safety switch that can be flipped down for launching missiles. The other device is for precise speed control and operating the plane's rudder. Taken together, the joystick and throttle/rudder controller are among the best available, although becoming comfortable with them might take awhile for novices.

The person who walked off with a hunting stand and related paraphernalia from a wooded area in Gambrills might have had a second thought if he knew who owned them: Sheriff Ronald S. Bateman. Bateman had left three hunting stands and related items in a 12-acre wooded lot behind Kaufmann's Tavern in the 300 block of Gambrills Road. The wooded area and the tavern belong to Maryland Delegate James J. King, a Republican from Anne Arundel, who had given Bateman permission to hunt there. The sheriff and his 13-year-old son hunt deer with bows and arrows, although they have not bagged one this year.

The lowdown -- Visiting attractions isn't always cheap, but Baltimore is willing to cut you a deal. Saturday and Sunday, BaltiMORE for LESS Weekend makes having fun in the city cheaper. The citywide event highlights free events as well as discounted parking and admission to 15 attractions, including Center Stage and the Maryland Science Center. If you go -- Events in the BaltiMORE for LESS Weekend begin Saturday and Sunday at various times and locations throughout the city. Call 800-343-3468 or go to baltimore.