Category Archives: General Info

My Recording Equipment in Modesto, California

This will hopefully be used for our Modesto Plastic Surgery office for quality recordings.  Or perhaps I could even narrate Botox and Juvederm procedural videos in the future.  Hopefully it will create some nice recordings for Modesto.

My new recording toys

My new recording toys

DAW (Digital Audio Workstation):

Avid Pro Tools 11 (software) on PC

MICROPHONES:

Neuman SKM 184 Stereo Microphone Pair
AKG C414 XLII pair
Shure Beta 57A Microphone
Crown PZM 30D Boundary Microphone
Crown PZM 30D Boundary Microphone

COMPONENTS:

Universal Audio 4-710d PreAmp
Apogee Rosetta 200 A/D converter
Avid Mbox 3 interface
Furman AR 1215 AC line regulator
DBX 160A Compressor/Limiter
DBX 160A Compressor/Limiter
DBX 160A Compressor/Limiter
DBX 160A Compressor/Limiter

COMPUTER:

HP Elite Desk 800 SFF, i7-4770, quad core
32 gigs of ram: 8GB ram x 4
Card readerSamsung
840 evo 2.5 inch 1 TB SATA III internal SSD
500 gig secondary HD
HP Monitor z24i 24 inch display DisplayPort Cable
HP Monitor z24i 24 inch display DisplayPort Cable

SPEAKERS / HEADPHONES

Dynaudio BM 5a MKII Studio Monitor
Dynaudio BM 5a MKII Studio Monitor
M-Audio Studiophile AV 40
Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro-80 Closed Studio Headphones

MICROPHONE / STANDS

DR Pro SMS 1BK Wood Studio Monitor Stands (black, Pair)
DR Pro Tripod Mic Stand with Telescoping Boom
DR Pro Tripod Mic Stand with Telescoping Boom
DR Pro Tripod Mic Stand with Telescoping Boom
DR Pro Tripod Mic Stand with Telescoping Boom
Proline Conductor Music Stand

CABLES:

Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 25 foot
Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 25 foot
Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 25 foot
Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 25 foot
Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 25 foot
Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 25 foot
Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 3 foot
Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 3 foot
Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 3 foot
Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 3 foot
Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 3 foot
Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 3 foot
Mogami Gold TRS patch cable 3 feet
Mogami Gold TRS patch cable 3 feet
50 foot Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable for Studio Neutrik XLR
50 foot Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable for Studio Neutrik XLR
Livewire TRS to Dual 1/4
Livewire SPDIF RCA data cable
Livewire SPDIF RCA data cable

RACK FURNITURE:

Raxxess Black Oak Studio Rack
Raxxess Black Oak Studio Rack
Raxxess Black Oak Studio Rack
Raxxess Economy Sliding Rack Drawer
Raxxess Economy Sliding Rack Drawer
Rack Pack Nut Retainer Clips
Rack Pack Nut Retainer Clips
Regrip cable straps cinch

YouTube “Recordings”

 

Thank you for visiting!

It wasn't easy putting this together! I still have some issues I need to work out.

It wasn’t easy putting this together! I still have some issues I need to work out.

 

Updated: 8-24-14

YouTube vs. FaceBook Video Sound Quality

Piano as surgical dexterity practice

As part of my daily surgical dexterity practice, I play the piano.  But I also need feedback by self-assessing my technique by making videos.  Most importantly the sound created with my fingers, arms, and body is important.  I do load the videos up onto the internet at times to get feedback from others.  I would say that there are plenty of experts out there on the internet who know a lot more about piano playing than I do.  But part of my goals is to have my dexterity improve for my cosmetic surgical practice where I inject Botox, Fillers, Veins and I perform Acupuncture too.

Two social sharing platforms are FaceBook and YouTube.  I had to compare to see which one had better sound quality.  In the end I think the sound quality goes with the video quality.  YouTube won out in my opinion.  But both platforms do change the volume and degrade the quality of the original file which was taken as a quicktime move with a Canon 60D camera which I got from Costco about a year ago.

Head to head comparison: YouTube vs. FaceBook

My initial conclusions are that YouTube’s sound quality degrades less than FaceBook’s. YouTube has a tendency to lower my volume and FaceBook does the opposite – it raises the volume (when compared to the original quicktime file sitting on my hard-drive). Here’s the YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqCNMfsNBvQ

I don’t know if I can share the video from FaceBook, but this would be the link:

I guess you can decide for yourself.

I did the listening through a new beyerdynamic professional headphone.  It’s the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80 Ohms.

beyerdynamic professional headphone dt770 pro

The box got crushed in the delivery to me, but I think the headphones are fine.  This is how it arrived (there was an outside box that got beat up too).  The box was torn in several places, but I think miraculously the headphones were flexible enough to take some of the squishing that happened.

Beyerdynamic Headphone specs for the DT 770 Pro, 80 Ohms:

  • Transducer type: dynamic
  • Operating principle: closed
  • Nominal frequency response 5-30,000 Hz
  • Nominal impedance 80 Ohms/system
  • Nominal SPL:  96 db SPL
  • Nominal THD:  <0.2%
  • Ambient noise isolation:  approx. 18 dBA
  • Weight without cable: 270g
  • Cable: 3m/stright cable
  • Connection: gold plated mini jack 1/8″ and 1/4″ adapter

Skin Care Peptides and Vitamin C

Peptides in Obagi Hydrate Luxe

Peptides in Obagi Hydrate Luxe

Peptides in Skin Care

Peptides, another hot topic in skin care, signal cells to stimulate collagen and elastin. Peptides are short strings of amino acids which can act as signaling molecules to help slow down visible signs of aging. Obagi Hydrate Luxe is the first and currently the only product at Surgical Artistry which contains peptide technology. Obagi Hydrate Luxe containes two key peptides which reduce the appearance of fine lines and increases skin firmness: Chronoline and Kollaren. This was my attempt to teach and discuss within our Modesto office.

Vitamin C in Skin Care

Vitamin C is used by fibroblasts to make collagen and elastin. Vitamin C is also an antioxidant which has a photoprotective effect by reducing damage to cells and DNA which are caused by oxidation from UV light exposure. Oxidation is also caused by pollutants over time. The vitamin C also protects the sunscreen from oxidative changes caused by UV light. This allows the sunscreen to work with less degradation from ultraviolet light. 

Skin care is an integral part of plastic surgery.

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Thank you!  Enjoy!  Disclaimer: double check the facts, I’m just writing all this off the top of my head.  Facts can change over time too.

Body Mass Index for Me, and my best so far in Modesto.

Body Mass Index

Regarding body flab, I’m going from Good to Great / from Overweight to Obese. My body mass index has got to stop increasing. It is currently at 27.6. Normal BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9. My BMI falls into the overweight range. A BMI of 30 or more is considered obese (I’m getting close?). 30 must be some sort of magic number because if I lose 30 lbs, I would be right in the middle of the “normal” range for BMI. Gosh this BMI scale is harsh.

My best Modesto recorded BMI was 24.5

Here’s a BMI calculator I found on the web:

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/BMI/bmicalc.htm

Lip Augmentation with Cannulas

First what are blunt tipped cannulas for fillers?

Surgical Artistry - Calvin Lee, MD / Tammy Wu, MD

Borrowed over from the world of liposuction and the world of Huber needles for chemotherapy.  There are four benefits of using a cannula for filler (ie. Juvederm) injections:

  1. Tip is blunt, not sharp – so it won’t easily pierce unwanted delicate structures such as nerves and blood vessels
  2. Side exit port for the opening for extrusion of filler.  This is on the side so that the tip can be blunt.  So this reason goes along with the blunt tip reason.
  3. Flexible cannula.  This allows for less injury as well, it has the potential to wiggle around obstructions which are sometimes cause by the vitals structures of nerves and vessels.
  4. Long length.  this allows for fewer puncture sites.

Why do we care about blunt tipped cannulas?

In the end the results are for safety and less bruising.  But are the effects better looking when the swelling goes down?  for the most part I think so, for broad areas such as cheek and temples.

Picture is worth a thousand words

Perhaps a picture would help describe cannulas for injectable fillers:

blunt tip cannulas

blunt tip cannulas

Lip augmentation with cannulas?

Currently, for myself as an injector in Modesto, I’m a fan of cannulas for filling the central part (body) of the lips.  But for precision, I feel that I lose a little bit of the precision needed when working on the border of the lips.  Thus I still find myself gravitating to the regular needle.  I have also used longer needles.  So for now, there’s a role for both cannulas and needles in my practice for lips.  But for the most part, I’m doing most of the lip augmentations with needles.  I like the precision that I get with a short stiff needle.  However, I understand that there is more of a risk of bruising and swelling right after the procedure.  These are just my thoughts at my current level of comfort with cannulas.  For more of what I think, visit: my thoughts on Lip Augmentation with fillers:

www.SurgeryToday.com (209) 551-1888

www.SurgeryToday.com
(209) 551-1888