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How To Build The Best EDC Kit

An Every Day Carry Kit, or EDC, is comprised of the everyday carry gear, including emergency items, that you might need to face challenges or dangers, that come between you and home. In the strictest sense, we all take an EDC kit with us each day. Our wallet or purse, keys, money, cell phone; these are the things we’ve decided we need each day to ensure that we can do what we need to do and get home safely. But is it everything you need?

Identifying Your Everyday Carry Gear Needs

If only we knew exactly what situations we would face on a given day, we would never leave our house unprepared. There are no warnings given for disasters. You have to try to anticipate your needs before they arrive. Your daily routine can give you some ideas about the types of situations for which you need to be prepared.

Where Do You Live? Do you live in an urban, suburban, or country community? Or do you live so far out in the boonies that, without a four-wheel-drive truck, you’d need a 72-hour pack to make it home alive?

Work Environment? You may live in a gated community but work in a dangerous part of town. Consider where you’ll be spending time, especially outside of your car, as a part of determining likely risk.

Long Commute? People who commute long distances have a higher likelihood of certain challenges like car trouble, or dangers such as car accidents.

Responsible For Others? If you often have children with you, you may need to consider their needs as a part of your every day carry gear.

Unique Medical Needs? Do you suffer from a food allergy, bee allergy, asthma, high blood pressure or diabetes? Rescue medications like back up inhalers, epi-pens, blood pressure medicine, insulin, and needles would need to be a part of every kit you prepare.

Assessing What Challenges or Dangers You Are Likely to Face?

There are three types of scenarios for which you need to be prepared.

Challenges: common situations like a flat tire or a dark parking lot, a power outage; things that won’t kill you, but a little preparation goes a long way toward making things easier.

Threats: a personal attack, car accident, injury, or an opportunity to help another person with one of these scenarios.

Catastrophes: Terrorist attack, natural disaster, rioting, getting lost or breaking down way out in the wilderness, anything that results in a major disruption to routine, or makes it necessary for you to survive on your own, at least for a time.

You know your routine. Only you can identify your unique needs and likely threats. It’s important to be prepared, but if you try to prepare for every single emergency that could ever arise, you could end up with an EDC kit that’s so enormous you never have it with you. The very best everyday carry gear is the gear you actually have on you when the need arises.

The Difference Between an EDC, a GHB, and a Bug Out Bag

If your initial instinct is to over-prepare, relax. At least you’re on the right track. There are several types of emergency kits that are valuable to have around, and they all serve slightly different purposes. A Get Home Bag, or GHB, carries a little more equipment than you would want to carry on your person and is designed to do exactly what the name implies, get you home. Another type of emergency kit, called a Bug Out Bag, or BOB, and is as much as you can carry (within reason) and is designed to give you everything you need to survive up to a week. The weight limit recommendation for a Bug Out Bag is 1/3 of a man’s body weight and 1/4 of a woman’s.

Preparing for eventualities with all three of these types of kits in mind can allow you to prepare efficiently and give you ultimate peace of mind. You could think of it this way: Your everyday carry gear is designed to get you to your Get Home Bag. Your GHB is designed to get you to your Bug Out Bag. And your BOB is designed to support you through a minimum of a week in the wilderness, should the need arise. Best case scenario, you never need a GHB or a BOB, but it’s nice to have them. An EDC kit, however, you are almost certain to need at least a couple of times a year.

What To Carry In Your Every Day Carry Kit

There are many recommended items that you might want to carry as a part of your EDC kit. Based on the risk assessment that you’ve already performed, you’ll need to choose the items that best help you meet those needs.

Must Have Items:

Self Defense – a knife, box cutter, credit card knife, tactical pen – any item that you can use to defend yourself.

Fire – Lighter – windproof is best, waterproof matches, fire starting kit. Depending on the size of the kit you’re creating, you can choose the size. But at a minimum, you should have at least one way to start a fire.

Light – Flashlight – You may end up with several different light sources, stored in different places, and in different kits. But you should always have some source of light on you at all times. If nothing else, a mini flashlight on your key chain is a must.

Compass – this could easily be incorporated with an analog watch, rather than as a separate piece of equipment. What you can’t count as a compass is the GPS in your cell phone. In the event of infrastructure failure, one of the first things you’ll lose is your cell service. You need an old fashioned, magnetic compass, either integrated into your analog watch, or by itself.

Cordage – a box of unflavored floss, a paracord bracelet, a bundle of paracord, or even replacing your shoelaces with paracord – too many situations will require some type of cordage. Don’t be without it.

Shelter – Mylar blankets are the easiest and lightest choice for very small kits. As you develop larger, more advanced GHBs, or BOBs, you can incorporate better shelter. But a Mylar blanket or two will go a long way in a pinch.

First Aid Kit – This can be as simple as a few bandaids, a couple of alcohol pads, and some antibiotic, or as evolved as a full fledged First Aid Kit, complete with a defibrillator. Consider the other kits you’re preparing, and carry what you think you’ll need. First aid items you may want to consider, even for a small kit, include: band aids, bandages, alcohol, antibiotic, antacids, ibuprofen or acetaminophen, and certainly must include any personal rescue medications.

Food – or more correctly, a way to get food. At a minimum, a couple of fishing hooks in your daily wear hat, or folded into a piece of aluminum foil in your wallet, or a small medicine bottle full of supplies, you choose. These can be combined with your floss for fishing line.

Cash – You should always have at least some cash that is for emergency use only. It’s probably a good idea to store it separately from your normal funds.

Should Have Items:

Items you should incorporate into your everyday carry gear, if you can. If necessary, use this list to begin putting together a Get Home Bag.

Small Pill Bottle of Vaseline – Vaseline (or any petroleum based jelly) has variety of uses including treating chapped lips and hands, cuts and scrapes, and for use as a fire accelerant

Cotton Balls – first aid uses and as tinder for starting a fire

Weatherproof Matches or Fire Striker

Battery – at least AA size. Maybe you already have one in your flashlight, but carry spares if at all possible. They come in handy for other things, too, like starting fires.

Small Wire Saw – This can be included as part of a credit card size multi-tool, to cut down on the amount of gear you have to carry.

Fishing Supplies – a couple of fishing hooks in your daily wear hat, or folded into a piece of aluminum foil in your wallet, or a small medicine bottle full of supplies, you choose.

Food – hard candies, a bullion cube, anything to give you calories and a morale boost. The more the better, within reason.

Water Purification – Whether tablets or a filtration system, something to get you clean water in a pinch. There are straw sized filtration systems.

Multi-Tool – either full sized, or a credit card multi-tool that you carry in your wallet.

Whistle – For signaling, scaring away wild animals, or human attackers

Super Glue – comes in mini tubes and can serve a variety of purposes, including minor repairs, first aid, and as a fire accelerant.

Nice to Have Items:

A few things that it would be nice to have, if you can fit it in. If it won’t fit in your everyday carry gear, this could be the beginnings of a great Get Home Bag.

Small Address Book – in the event that you lose the use of your cell phone, you’ll need the emergency contact information for those closest to you. Include in it, any other information you might have difficulty calling to mind under stressful situations.

Shoes – a spare pair, in case you have to walk a long way. Hiking boots would be preferable. This is especially important for women, who might be wearing heels when they discover the need to walk.

Larger Knife or Weapon – Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

Bright Yellow Poncho – good for weather protection and easier to spot.

Stainless Steel Water Bottle or Thermos – This can also be used as your kit container, as a weapon, or just to keep some water in.

Food – One or more high calorie energy bars or protein bars, enough to get you through a few hours of stress, at least.

Finding The Right Container For Your EDC Kit

Once you’ve assessed your needs, and chosen the items you can and will carry on you every day, it’s time to figure out how to carry it. There are a couple of ways to go. The typical method is to get a small container and fit your gear inside. You’ll need to choose a container size based on how you’ll be carrying your kit. If you have a briefcase or purse, you can accommodate a larger size. If it must go in your pocket, you’ll have to use a smaller container and be more creative in the way you carry anything that doesn’t fit.

Metal Box – If you can find something metal that fits your needs, a metal container is optimal. It will hold its shape and maintain a water tight seal better than some plastic containers. If necessary, you could also use it to cook with. Altoids tins are a popular choice, especially for an in-your-pocket EDC kit, though it is limiting in its size.

Plastic – The advantage of a plastic container is how easy it can be to find one in a size that fits your needs. Rubbermaid style containers come in a variety of sizes and are inexpensive. The downside is the lid can sometimes be too easy to remove; you may have to seal it with some duct tape.

Organization Pack – Commercial EDC organizational packs are available in a number of sizes, designed specifically to help you organize your essential Every Day Carry Gear.

Wearing Your Gear – You can distribute your gear throughout your clothing, using cargo pants pockets, your hat, key ring, wallet, a chain or lanyard, etc. Women are at a distinct advantage because they are expected to carry a purse, and by simply carrying a slightly larger one they can accommodate many more items with little trouble. Men can improve their carrying abilities, depending on their work dress code, by wearing cargo pants with a number of pockets, or carrying a briefcase or small backpack with them to work. (Maybe now is the time to consider purchasing that ultra trendy man purse you’ve been secretly eyeing.)

Self-Contained Kit – Your container could also be a part of your kit. A thermos or metal container that can be used for cooking, etc. The only downside to this container is that you still have to figure out how to carry it with you every day.

The Best EDC Kit

There’s what you should carry, and then there’s what you will carry. The very best Every Day Carry kit is the one you have with you when you need it, and includes the knowledge to use the gear you’ve carried. All the preparation in the world doesn’t do you any good, if you don’t have your gear or don’t know how to use it. So be realistic in your risk assessment, practical in your kit assembly (remember you can assemble a GHB and BOB, as well, you don’t have to carry everything every minute), learn to use the items you’ve chosen, and be faithful in carrying your Every Day Carry Gear, every day!

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Source by Kelli Warner

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I would like to talk about when you truckers should replace those rod and main bearings to make your Diesel motor last forever. Unlimited miles!

Rod and main bearings used to get replaced from around 200,000 to 3 or 400,000 miles. The diesel engine bearings and the oil we run now a days makes them last much longer. But I have been finding that a lot of or I should say most truck drivers are avoiding changing them and taking a chance that they will make it to the next overhaul. But the time in between these is also changing to record numbers.

When to change them tho is the question since every diesel motor is different and is always changing.

Here we go I am going to give you a few and see if yours falls into one of them.

Detroit diesel 60 series 6 to 800,000 miles depending if hauling rock to over the road. I have seen them spin on out anywhere between 800,000 to mil 200,000 miles I have seen overhauls last to mil 6 or 8 before needing liner o rings and usually just gets overhauled since there but I would not of been scared to just use knowledge and little cleanup time and just re seal the motor if it would have had good bearings because everything else was very reusable.

If it was mine I would have saved a few thousand and took the chance it wasn’t using oil so why change it. I have done head gaskets and not changed the Cyls’s and their still running daily With hundreds of thousands of miles more on them. The pistons hardly ever wear any at all. I have done it to a few tight truckers diesel engine and it worked great.

Cat engines are about the same mileage. The bigger the cat the longer you can go. Cat is a rpm motor to create power. The smaller the diesel engine the harder it cranks and the smaller the bearing. If your running a C 13 or smaller change them before 800,000 or else! Most motor replacements have been cat smaller engines from spinning a bearing. 8 hours labor and $200 in parts is one hell of allot cheaper than $ 10,000 Eng plus core charges in the thousands plus labor and a few bugs to work out. The bigger cats I have seen bearings out of them up to mil 400,000 and they were shot but the cat cyl’s just don’t make it they wear out from the outside and pit through and or liner o rings blow out and put coolant in the oil.

Cummins engines are the hardest on bearings they are more of a stoker diesel motor. Low end torque! This beats the bearings out but this is one of my most favorite motors to work on to make last for ever! Esp N14! N14 requires bearings every 500,000 you can go longer but the bearings look horrible and lots of brass showing. I have found the motors with this interval seem to last for ever and this is a motor that was designed like much larger motors that were make to fix one or 2 cyl’s at a time and last forever. Only reason to ever replace a block and crank is if you have a big hole in the block and it is almost imposable to do this unless you have very unusual special circumstances. L10 , M11, ISM 6 to 800,000 this motor will spin out of pushed to far. I have seen them with allot more miles but I have seen the larger percentage of these diesel engines not make it! ISX 1 mill This motor has been very good even tho its not my favorite and have had lots of complaints on HP Idling etc etc it seems to be a very low maintenance motor. ERG seems to be its only downfall. That’s a never ending expense!

Mercedes diesel this motor reminds me allot of smaller Cat diesels in the bearing department. Not many make it to mil without changing the bearings. It has very small bearings in it compared to others.

If you follow these guidelines for changing your rod and main bearings your diesel motor may out last you!

Ask trucker diesel doc.

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Source by Brett Hoene

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Starting a limousine rental business these days is seen as a good investment choice. As the tourism and hospitality markets have been stable for decades, this investment venue is seen as a sector that will continue to experience steady revenue growth.

Although the competition is currently stiff, there always seems to be room for operators who are reliable and provide good-quality service that most customers look for. Limousines serve as an elegant and comfortable means of transport, and these are used for a wide array of events and occasions, such as corporate parties, proms, weddings, bachelor parties, city tours and out-of-town excursions.

The Limo Rental Industry Has A Lot Of Potential Clients

According to current data from Limousine and Chauffeur magazine, the breakdown of potential limo rental service customers are in the following areas: hotel and resort clients, night-on-the-town transportation, corporate shuttling, weddings, funeral transport, proms, and other occasions. The business is usually broken down into two major aspects: Corporate/professional clients and occasional customers, and most rental firms specialize in either one or both.

Corporate customers span a wide range of businesses that use these services for ferrying their executives, clients and customers. Much of this service involves airport-to-hotel transportation, as well as shuttling clients to restaurants, theaters and other entertainment venues. Corporate clients can be at times, more demanding than the standard client. These people expect prompt and reliable service, particularly when the need suddenly arises.

Keeping Clients Satisfied Ensures A Successful Limo Rental Business

If you so wish to invest in this type of business, you need to do all you could to make your customers happy, and satisfied. Be prepared to do a great deal of cold-call selling to capture these lucrative accounts, which include corporations, law firms, investment firms and banks.

As the occasional customer usually celebrates some sort of event; whether it’s a birthday, anniversary, wedding, bachelor party, office party or prom, you need to be prepared to serve the needs of varied groups of people and events. Your advertising needs to focus on your ability and desire to make any kind of event feel special and memorable.

As with any type of business, you need to do a lot of research before you start operating. It is good to understand your competition, your target market, and the specific area you wish to operate. You also need to be creative in determining how you are going to make your service unique, and different, or better than the competition.

Once you’re in operation, you need to ensure that you can facilitate inquiries, handle different sales accounts, deliver professional service and provide information to your prospective clients on a 24-7 basis. Your customers also need to get their queries effectively answered, and place orders at their convenience, without having to let them wait in line either on site or on the phone. You also can build and enhance customer relationships by staying in touch with them via e-mail, or through opening an online website.

http://miamilimo.biz – Miami Limo

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Source by Vanessa A. Doctor

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Maintaining a vehicle’s finish can be a tiresome chore. If you’ve ever found yourself with a filthy car on days or even weeks of consecutive rains you’ll find yourself in a quandary. Should you quickly wax or allow your paint’s finish to absorb the brute force of the rain. Read on to find out a simple solution.

Many a car enthusiast will have found themselves debating whether or not to wax their car during days of consecutive rain. For one thing, we know that rain is capable of easily stripping off protectants we apply to our car. Whatever wax you use be it synthetic or carnauba it is not going to last long with continuous rains.

Should you wax quickly in the garage before exposing it to the rain again? Or just let the rains stop altogether and hope it’s acid content doesn’t eat up your finish? This can be very true on areas that experience heavy rain throughout the year.

However, waxing repeatedly can be costly both in time and money especially if you are using boutique waxes. Most waxes too have a curing time, synthetics are claimed to instantly bond but most people believe that a good 12 hours will make it last longer.

What we’ve found is that you can wax your car in sections. For example doing the hood, or fenders today would be quick and easy. Plus it would allow you to finish quickly and let it cure overnight. Doing the other parts on consecutive days will make it much easier.

Making sure that the surface is as dry as possible also will prevent the wax from being blown away on the next rain shower. You can use some terry towels after a round of chamois patting. After that you can even use your leaf blower to make sure its as dry as a bone. Since you’ll be doing sections at a time this can be so much easier.

As mentioned above letting waxes cure will make them last longer. Waxing as soon as you arrive home will mean that when you get out to work the next day you’ll be protected with a strengthened wax layer.

Using synthetic wax should be compulsory during rainy days. Most synthetic waxes are easy to apply and almost magically as easy to wipe off. Going for traditional waxes will make your rainy days extremely frustrating. Plus all the effort will go down the drain when you realize that 12 hours is too short of a cure time for even the hardest carnauba waxes.

Some people recommended waxing weekly if your car is exposed to bad weather. We can’t recommend this highly enough if you love your car. Don’t forget to rotate each section. You can wax a different section once a week or or once every third day if the weather is really bad.

Lastly it is recommended to make sure that you vehicle is not damp when you wax it. This can leave unsightly white swipe marks all over your car. They can be a pain to remove with washing. That’s a lot of time and wax wasted too.

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Source by M. Maxx

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Plastic is one of the most amazing innovations of the last millennium. The name plastic itself comes out of the Greek word ‘Plastikos’ which refers to the ability of taking any shape or mold. This ability of plastic is unmatchable by any other naturally occurring substance. Not only that it can be molded into any shape itself, there are several uses for its resins as well. For instance, manufacturers who produce contract vinyl coating and OEM vinyl coating use polyvinyl chloride which is a common plastic resin.

Plastic is typically classified into two types: thermoplastics and thermosetting polymers. Thermoplastic melt when heated and can be mold again. The thermosetting plastic is melted and molded, and then it remains solid. Together both kinds of plastic have replaced metals in most application. The reason might be the light weight of this material and its ease of production. This article discusses some of the most commonly used plastics and some of their most common uses.

Polypropylene:

It is one of the most commonly used polymers. Its chemical designation is C6H3. The properties that make it the most commonly used option are its rigidity and resistivity to many chemicals. It is used in manufacturing food containers, bottles and containers’ hinges, car fenders and plastic pressure pipes.

Polystyrene:

It is a polymer made from styrene. It is used in making Styrofoam for packaging and making disposable cups. It is also a common material for CD and Cassette cases.

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene:

It is well known for its toughness as well as gloss. Therefore, it is commonly used in electronic equipment cases.

Polyester:

This is probably the one we hear the most about. Polyester is mixed with cotton and other natural fibers to make a fabric. It is also used to polish high quality wood product.

Poly Amides:

Also called Nylon, this material is another type of plastics which is used as a fabric as well. It is mainly used in car moldings. It is also used in making the bristles of a toothbrush. Fishing lines are also made up of Nylon.

Polyethylene terephthalate:

Also abbreviated as PET, this is what PET bottles of carbonated drinks and mineral water are made up of. It is also used in making microwavable packing.

Polyvinyl Chloride:

This is the same material which is used in Vinyl tiles and coatings around the house. It is also used in hosing and tubes. Because of its flexibility, it is used to make inflatable objects.

Polycarbonate:

Polycarbonates are usually used in chemical and manufacturing industries for different purposes. They are both temperature and Impact resistant. Many useful plastic products such as CDs, sunglasses, lab equipments and lightning lenses are made up of Polycarbonates.

There are several other kinds of plastic with countless general and special purpose types of plastic. The properties of all these plastics are different from one another. Therefore, plastic offers a wide flexible range to fulfill a variety of manufacturers’ requirements. However, environmental issues and hazards call for a cutback on this usage.

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Source by Connor R Sullivan

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When it comes to portable storage units there are perhaps two names that are more commonly used than any others; Portable On Demand Storage, or PODS and PACK-RAT. Both companies offer portable storage units that make a wonderful alternative to the hiring of a moving company or the hassle of renting a moving truck and all the mess that goes with it. Both have been around for quite some time and offer great services and value, so what are the main differences between the two?

Both PODS and PACK-RAT are tops in the portable storage industry but they do differ to come degree in some ways:

o Sizes: Both PODS and PACK-RAT offer different sizes for you to choose from but the number of sizes each company offers differs. PODS has three sizes to choose from that include 8X8X7, 8X8X12, and 8X8X16 all measured in feet. PACK-RAT offers two sizes that include a 12 foot and a 16 foot container. Each company offers you a guide online to help you determine how much can fit into each container or you can call a customer service representative and they will be happy to assist you.

o Storage unit construction: Both PODS and PACK-RAT feature steel frames and aluminum skins, but the PODS containers have a polymer top that allows light to shine in and the height is a bit taller than that of PACK-RAT’s. PACK-RAT containers feature a built in rack for hanging cloths that need to be moved. The doors on the units also differ as PACK-RAT uses a door that swings open and is lockable and PODS has a lightweight roll up style door that is also lockable. Again, the two are virtually identical but there are small differences.

o Number of locations: Though PACK-RAT is quickly closing the gap, there are currently more PODS locations throughout the United States. Still either company can offer you a cross-country move at an affordable price.

o The lift: The way that the two companies lift and unload their portable storage units also differs. While there is not one that seems to be better that the other, it is none the less a difference.

o Price: This is of course the number one concern on peoples mind no doubt. Price is indeed important but there is no set fee as each person’s moving and storing needs is different. That being said, there may be a situation in which PACK-RAT is more affordable and there may be a situation where PODS comes out with the price advantage. The only way to know for sure is to take advantage of the free quote system that both portable storage unit companies offer online. If you find yourself getting all discombobulated, then you can also call either company’s toll free 800 number and ask a representative for assistance.

For every fan of PODS, you will find a fan of PACK-RAT. Both companies offer award winning service and support but there are differences between the two. While the differences may seem insignificant to some, to others it may be the difference on which company they ultimately trust to move or store their stuff.

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Source by Jason Kay

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I started practicing Lean Management in the 1980’s when I was responsible for the smooth operation of 16 adhesives manufacturing plants, and believe me I have heard nearly all of the reasons why Lean will not work in a given business. Excuses such as “We are low volume, high mix,” “We are high volume, low mix,” “We are a custom shop,” “We are not manufacturing,” “We don’t make automobiles” and the ultimate excuse, “We are unique.”

It is true that each business is different or “unique” and the Lean approach needs to be customized for each individual company. In all of my years of experience, I have never run into a situation where Lean did not have the opportunity to considerably improve a company’s safety, quality, delivery, lead-time, cost, customer satisfaction, employee morale and stockholder value.

The origins of Lean rest with the Toyota Production System implemented decades ago. Toyota was inspired by some of our industrial and quality leaders like Henry Ford, Fredrick Taylor, W. Edwards Deming and Joseph Juran to name a few. The key thought is that because each company is different, you cannot blindly adopt what works for Toyota or any other company for that matter, you must adapt Lean principles to fit your business.

Lean is a mindset, a way of thinking with a commitment to achieve a totally waste -free organization that is driven by the customer. It is about leading with respect and full employee involvement. Lean is achieved by simplifying and continuously improving all your processes (administrative and manufacturing). I challenge any business, no matter how “unique”, where this concept doesn’t apply.

Some of the benefits achieved through the proper implementation of Lean are as follows:

• A minimum of 50 percent improvement in quality defects per year

• 99 percent On-Time Delivery to Customer Request Date

• Reduction in customer lead-time of 50 percent per year

• 15-20 percent improvement in productivity per year

• Double digit inventory turns within the first two years

• Significant improvement in market share as a result of better service and quality

The organization’s shareholders benefit as well, such as a sweeping improvement in employee morale as they become more involved in designing and improving the work processes they operate on a day-to-day basis. Customer satisfaction significantly increases as your quality and lead-times improve. Finally, your stockholders experience the benefit through higher quality earnings and a solid balance sheet.

In the final analysis, any business (service or manufacturing) has the potential to flourish from Lean. I have never witnessed a situation where Lean, when properly implemented, did not have a significant impact. In order to realize the full benefits of Lean, leadership needs to be fully committed and resist the tendency to revert to the old way of doing things.

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Source by Willie Carter

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Art is reflection of our society and life and movies are often regarded as modern expressions of art. They make us laugh and cry and we often love to quote them, they edify us enlighten us.

Every year numerous movies are made in the entertainment industries but all are not liked: some top the charts while others are kicked out of the box office. Some become the hot topic of discussion for the critics while others just escapes their notice, in short some get a thumps up while others a thumps down.

But how many of these, which get a positive feedback, are actually good movies? Well it is not that simple to answer, as it seems. The topic is very much subjective. What seems good to some may not be the same for the others. What appears enjoyable to a few others might be enjoyable for others. Then what exactly is a good movie? To generalize it, we can say that those movies, which are liked by the mass and not by some class category of people, could be considered as a good movie. But what are the traits that are needed for a movie to qualify as a good one. First of all a movie should provide good entertainment. They are of course others:

Touch our feelings: A movie should touch our heart and make us talk or think about it instead of just becoming a time pass. It should have the capacity to teach and inspire us and provoke us emotionally.

Educative: It should be able to let us know about something new. Nowadays movies are considered to be one of the most effective educational tools used to teach or educate people regarding certain issues. In short a good movie should have some educative value for the masses.

Mirror of the society: A good movie must also provide some elements of encouragement and inspire people towards successfully overcoming barriers. Movies are regarded as the mirror of life. Every story of a movie is more or less inspired by our life, by what happens around us.

But this is not all; there are some other factors also which contribute in making a movie, to be considered as good. Following are the points:

The Plot: This is the most important part of the movie. Without a good plot a movie fails to attract and retain the viewers in the theaters. Even if they were drawn to it initially for some reasons, people would loose interest sooner than later.

The Characters: The second most significant factor of any good movie is the characters of the story. Without them there would be no story and no plot. Characters should be such, that the audience likes them. Be it a positive character or negative one. They should have some qualities to which the people can relate.

Actors: We need good actors to make a good movie. Actors, who can justify the characters and make them, come alive in front of the audience. They must be able to portray the characters well so that people say that the characters are made keeping them in mind. They should blend themselves into the characters.

Script: Without dialogues movies look dead. Script is the life of movies so they should be very strong and appealing. They can even make people come and see the movie repeatedly.

Last but not the least, visual display of a movie with beautiful scenes and sceneries can also influence and draw people to the theaters.

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Source by Victor Epand

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Rain can be refreshing on a hot and humid day, but car owners usually don’t like it much, especially when their cars are newly-washed and sparkling. Somehow, rain has the uncanny quality of making the shiniest of cars dirty and grimy.

Here are few reasons why rain can actually be bad for your car.

Rain makes the car dirtier than it should be. The funny thing is, rain makes a clean car dirty, but makes a dirty car even harder to clean! When you take out your dusty car and drive it through the rain, some of the dust and grime are washed off, but when the rain stops and you’re still driving, expect the remaining mud to. Your tyres accumulate hard to remove mud, and even the underside of your car is caked with mud. Failure to do this will hasten the deterioration of your car. A car’s metal parts, when left underneath layers of dirt will quickly rust, therefore causing depreciation and eventual breakdown of the car body.

Rain puts added pressure on the tyres, wipers, fan belt, power steering and brakes. Rain or moisture causes a lot of car parts to slightly malfunction. Although cars are meant to be driven even through the roughest of rains, the moisture it produces makes some normal car functions to trip and cause some alarm to the driver.

The most obvious will be your windshield wipers, which take the brunt and force of heavy rain. And what will you do without them? Driving through rain with broken or malfunctioning wipers is extremely dangerous. Especially when visibility is near zero, you’d be better off parking somewhere safe, and allowing the rain to pass – this is the best thing to do when you know you have trippy wipers that could cause you major accidents. Keep you wipers in tip top shape.

Another victim of moisture is your fan belt. Moisture can cause your fan belt to squeal, especially if the moisture gets between your belt and the pulleys or belt tension.that all hold it in place. If you notice your belt squealing minutes after you drive through a large puddle or in the rain, chances are your belt is getting wet somehow. Have it checked out by a good mechanic.

If you drive a car with power steering, you know that the rain messes up with it, too. The power steering will fail temporarily (it locks up). Having your mechanic replace the pump regularly is a good idea, but rain and its moisture will somehow affect its normal function. Once it locks up, force it to move back and forth and little, the belt will finally give a little squeal and then everything is back to normal.

Another victim of rain is the braking system. A lot of cars have a tendency to make brake-grinding noises for the first few stops after they’ve been parked in the rain or mist. It’s because brake discs rapidly get a very light coating of rust from the moisture. Using the brakes scrapes the rotors clean again, and the noise goes away pretty fast. Your brake rotors can rust very quickly. They can make a grinding noise when you first drive your car after the rotors get wet, but it will go away after the rust gets scraped off by the brake pads.

Acid rain. Defined by automakers as environmental fallout, it is a term used to describe the deposit of damaging pollutants, whether wet or dry. These pollutants are released by burning fuels and react with other elements in the atmosphere and become acids. Rain itself is not the culprit, but when the rain dries, it leaves the concentrated acid part. Paint acts like a sponge and it keeps collecting all that acidic material.

How to avoid damage on your car – Repeated exposure is bad. If you consistently park your car in a covered area, garage or carport, you can avoid some of the worst effects of acid rain. Some manufacturers used acid-resistant paints, which costs a lot less than it might cost you to fix a problem afterward. To avoid permanent scarring, have your car washed and hand-dried frequently. Light-coloured vehicles seem to suffer less obvious damage; darker-colored vehicles will show wear sooner.

And when some paint damage has already happened, there is still hope. Hire a professional to have your contaminated paint cleaned up. A high-quality polymer paint sealant also has co-polymers and amino functional resins that will fight future acid rain while resisting the effects of soap and sun.

Rain is a natural phenomenon which brings life and helps maintain the environmental equilibrium. It may not be kind to man-made machines, but there are ways to make your metal babies survive even the harshest rain weather. The prime factors are care & responsibility but maintenance is the key.

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Source by Tim Matthews

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How many times have you watched a limousine being driven down the road and thought to yourself, “man that sure would be nice to own one”. The cost of purchasing one though is the prohibitive factor for most people. There is an affordable option though and that is to turn the car you now own into a stretch limousine by following these simple easy to follow instructions.

Start Taking Your Car Apart

Your going to start by removing all of the interior paneling and seats, down to the point where the car is pretty much bare inside. Next, you will need to climb under your car and remove the drive line and any brake fluid lines that are running up the under carriage.

Cut Your Car in half

Also, you will want to remove any wiring that is running the length of your car both inside and out. Next, remove all of the side windows as well as the doors. Your next step will be to get a saws-all and a pack of new metal cutting blades and saw the car in half.

Head to the Wrecking Yard

Make sure that your cut line avoids any doors for simplicity. Have a friend help you to pull the two halves of your car apart and set them up on blocks. Now head to the wrecking yard and find a car just like yours that you can cut a midsection chunk from.

A Total of Six Doors!

Bring the chunk back and weld it in place. Now you have two extra doors in back, for a total of six doors in your car! Grind and sand down your welding seams, finish them off with bondo and then hit them with a good coat of primer paint.

Easy As Pie!!

Take your drive line to a machine shop, have it extended and start to put your limo back together. Some of your interior panels will fit and some won’t, so you are going g to have to do some creative upholstery work. Your also going to need some extra long brake lines and an extended wiring harness. Hit the car with a paint job and you are good to go!

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Source by Zena Andersten