Category Archives:
Uncategorized

[ad_1]

A decent cared for truck usually lasts longer than one which has not been looked after. How long do you think a truck will last without a routine maintenance? What if all the transmissions, the engine and some components fail on you?

If the major components such as the engine fail, then you should then think about replacing your old truck with a new truck. However, if certain truck parts such as the axle or suspension fail, you can simply replace those truck parts. A truck can be kept for as long as you provide it with a regular service, is in good running condition, and can take you from point A to B.

A new truck should last you about ten to twenty years depending on how it is used. New carrier trucks are usually accompanied with a service plan that will cover major and minor truck services. If your engine should break down, that would mean you must replace it (which could be as costly as a new truck) or get a new one. If the truck it is still in a good working condition then replace only the truck part that needs to be replaced.

On the other hand, the longer you keep your truck the less valuable it becomes. When you reach the point when the truck’s value is worth less than it’s worth, then it is time to let it go. In other words, if the truck causes more problems in terms of engine failure and regular part replacements, it may work out better to invest in a new truck. This goes without saying that new insurance, service plan, licencing, labelling and branding must now be done. By investing in a new truck especially for long distance driving the old one can now be used for short distance deliveries and pickups.

If you can, it’s ideal to keep your truck for as long as you can. It is also worth considering trading your truck in before the service plan expires, namely before five years. Then consider buying a truck that is either new or is less than a year old so that you can continue with a service plan. This will keep your service costs to a minimum for the five year period. If you are able to get a maintenance plan that would be better. This will cover the costs of any maintenance required and should also cover the costs of new truck parts.

[ad_2]

Source by Zaid Majam

[ad_1]

One of the elegant cars many people are dreaming of is the BMW car. The first-class design, parts and performance make it really easy for many car enthusiasts to love BMW brand cars. Though BMW is one of the best cars around, you can still make it look much better. If you want to make your car more appealing, adding BMW accessories will do the trick. These BMW accessories will surely get you the attention you want for your car.

Searching for BMW parts and accessories is easy because the market offers a wide selection to choose from. You can purchase these accessories from your local auto shop or online dealers.

If your grilles happen to lose its iconic look, you can replace that dull looking or cracked grille on your car with a new pair of BMW custom grilles. These new BMW grille inserts will surely improve the look of your car and restore its iconic look.

One of the BMW accessories that really get a lot of positive attention is the stylish BMW lights. You can customize the headlights and tail lights of your car in a way you want it to be. No matter what make or model of BMW car you have, you can improve the lights by simply replacing the old headlights and tail lights with the latest addition of BMW lights.

It is important that you know the specs of your car and the lights you are considering to purchase to make sure you get the right BMW car accessories. You can actually find a lot of interesting and good looking accessories, but getting the right one that will fit your car is the most important. You should choose the right combination BMW accessories to make sure that they will go with the rest of your car.

You may consider talking to a BMW accessories expert for best tips and advice about accessorizing your dream car.

[ad_2]

Source by Quicny Claine

[ad_1]

Automatic transmissions tend to have a narrow range of problems that affect them, as compared to engines which seem to have an endless list of things that can go wrong. That is, transmission problems tend to be limited to being unable to shift the selector into any gear, not being able to move it to certain gears, there being a delayed or jerky gear change, unusual noises heard during the gear changes, slippage where the engine revs increase without any increase in engine speed and finally, when the vehicle can move with it is park or neutral.

The inability to select gears is most likely a problem with the transmission fluid. Either there is not enough fluid in the system, or there is a problem with a faulty oil pump or an old and clogged up oil filter. A routine and proper service of the transmission fluid should resolve the problem, and this should be done no less than every thirty thousand miles; every twenty thousand miles is a better.

When there is a delayed reaction to the effect of selecting a gear, this can suggest problems with the computer controls, or the solenoids and the spring loaded dampeners called actuators controlled by the computers and this is more likely to require the services of a professional with specialist diagnostics equipment to get the bottom of the issue. If the vehicle suddenly and violently thumps into gear, then this is most likely the spring loaded actuators at the center of the problem.

Slippage is easy to detect because it is quite noticeable that when you push down the accelerator, you can hear the increase in engine revs, but there is no acceleration of the vehicle; no sense of increased power to the wheels. This may be a low fluid situation, and it is wise to check the transmission for its color. Good clean transmission should be a red tone, and if it is dark or blackened, then it has been polluted by the components being worn out. Dark colored fluid is most likely caused by the internal clutch mechanism or bans are out of adjustment, causing them to slip and to wear out rather than provide traction. This can quickly lead to very expensive repairs being needed if it is not caught early enough. Urgent servicing should be sought if this is detected, and no heavy towing should be down while the vehicle is in this condition. Slippage can quickly lead to a total burning out of the clutch and bans mechanisms all leading to the need for a replacement transmission.

Finally, difficulty with selecting low gears or reverse can most likely point to problems with the torque converter. It is a clutch that can only allow movement in one direction, and if it is not working properly, it most likely won’t allow low or reverse gear selection.

Of course, there is always the possibility that one of the gears themselves has been stripped.

[ad_2]

Source by William Silver

[ad_1]

This article may be interesting for anyone who has seen used commercial vehicle ads online but is unsure if employment using this truck would be prolific or stimulating. Vacuum truck driving could be a great job for anyone who loves operating commercial trucks.

Drivers of these vehicles pick up, transfer and discharge various materials. These materials come in a variety of forms such as fresh and brine water, crude oil, wastewater and toxic chemicals. Considering the types of materials that are involved, these operators should undergo various kinds of training, several certification programs and must abide by the hiring company’s operating procedures to perform the job productively and safely. An applicant for a job with these types of vehicles should know the requirements necessary to operate them if they are interested in pursuing this in-demand field.

Educational Prerequisite

Even though there are no specific educational requirements, some companies will only accept those who are high school graduates or those who have received a General Education Diploma (GED). Additionally, the applicant must have a clean driving record. Experience working in a repair shop may also be an advantage.

Driving Experience

Requirements for hiring based on experience can vary from one company to another. For this type of vehicle operation, the applicant is usually required to have two to five years of commercial truck experience.

The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) explains that “driving experience” means the vehicle handler was previously employed by a company that required the operation of commercial trucks, such as vacuum trucks. Subsequently, the applicant needs to have passed a hands-on skills test given by a certified licensing and testing office recognized by each state. Most importantly, after the testing and during the applicant’s employment at their previous company, they must have actually operated commercial vehicles for at least two years.

Licensing

A vacuum truck operator must hold a valid commercial driver’s license (CDL) and be certified by the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) by having completed any requirements set forth by them.

The following are requirements one must complete to be qualified to receive a commercial driver’s license. They must:

• Be at least 21 years old or above and physically fit. Some states accept 18 year olds, but they are limited to working within that state. Being 21 years old allows one to do interstate driving.
• Pass a medical exam every two years. The physical exam includes a:

1. Hearing and visual test

2. Blood pressure test

3. Drug test

4. Alcohol test

• Have normal upper and lower extremities
• Pass a written exam regarding certain rules and regulations
• Prove that they can operate the vehicle
• Have a good driving record. According to the DOT, a “good driving record” means that they may not hold another license or have a revoked license and may not have any serious traffic violations.

Training

Training for a vacuum truck operator is done informally. New hires must attend a one to two-day training seminar in which they learn: general rules; company policies and safety operations; and complete any necessary paperwork. Some states offer a “hands-on” type of seminar to enhance the knowledge of the operator in handling the vehicle. Certification is given after one passes the training seminar.

Finding a vacuum truck for sale is not that difficult; however, becoming a vacuum truck operator can require more effort. One must undergo several training and skills tests to become certified. The government requires vehicle operators to have a commercial driver’s license. On top of this, the applicant should have medical exams to ensure that they are physically fit to operate the vehicle. The company usually provides safety training regarding operation of the vehicle.

Hopefully the above information will prove useful to those individuals interested in pursuing employment in the field of vacuum truck driver and operator. The best of luck in finding that desired job!

[ad_2]

Source by Christopher M. Hunter

[ad_1]

There are two main types of electric motors. There are direct current or DC and alternating current or AC motors. The reference of DC or AC refers to how the electrical current is transferred through and from the motor. Both types of motors have different functions and uses. Dc motors come in two general types. They can have brushes or be brushless. AC motors, as well, come in two different types. They can be two phase or three phase. The differences in DC and AC motors are sometimes subtle, but these differences are what make one types better for a certain use.

Direct current or DC electric motors work for situations where speed needs to be controlled. DC motors have a stable and continuous current. DC motors were the first and earliest motors used. They were found, however, to not be as good at producing power over long lengths. Electric companies found using DC motors to generate electric did not work because the power was lost as the electric was transmitted. Brush DC motors use rings that conduct the current and form the magnetic drive that powers the rotor. Brushless DC motors use a switch to produce the magnetic drive that powers the rotor. Direct current motors are often found in appliances around the home.

Alternating current or AC electric motors are used differently based on what type of AC motor it is. Single phase AC motors are known as general purpose motors. They work well in many different situations. These AC motors work great for systems that are hard to start because they need a lot of power up front. Three phase, also called polyphase, AC motors are usually found in industrial settings. These motors also have high starting power build transmit lower levels of overall power. AC power gets its name from the fact that it alternates in power. The amount of power given off by an AC motor is determined by the amount of power needed to operate the system.

DC and AC electric motors are found everywhere from the home to the car to industrial plants. Motors are important to everyday life. Dc motors were introduced and caused a great revolution in the way many things are done. When AC motors came on the market the way motors were looked at changed because of their amazing starting power potential. DC motors and AC motors are different in many ways, but they still both are usede to power the world.

[ad_2]

Source by John Francis

[ad_1]

In the global economy, it is increasingly common for companies to require enterprise printing across multiple geographic locations. When a company begins to research the available advanced print spooling solutions on the market, they will soon see that there were two distinct (if not polar) schools of thought regarding advanced spooling software implementation strategy.

The two strategies are either to use a single centralized print server or to install spooling software onto the various distributed application servers throughout the enterprise. Both of these approaches have advantages and disadvantages.

The Centralized Print Server Model

In the centralized print server model, the company would simply install the print management software on a single centrally located server accessible throughout the enterprise.

One advantage of a centralized print server is that it allows a single point of control and oversight of all enterprise print jobs and queues. This model can be easier since it is a single standard solution, requiring less administrator training and fewer printer definitions to maintain. Since this is a single standard solution rather than a solution that needs to be installed across multiple servers, it has the potential to save a company money through lower software license fees.

However, while this model offers the single point of control, a major disadvantage is that it offers a single point of failure. Not only does this imply enterprise-wide downtime in the event of the print server crashing or otherwise going offline, but there are also significant concerns around disaster recovery situations. In the event of a disaster at the centralized print location, enterprise print operations would be offline indefinitely until the location could recover or until a different server location could be selected to reinstall and re-implement the print solution.

This seems to be a significant enough limitation in its own right, but the centralized print server model also entails a loss of autonomy at the local print site level, wherein administrators do not have the ability to manage local queues and print jobs. Also, implementation of the central print spool solution requires multiple hops over the network, consuming precious bandwidth and increasing related latency of print times.

Distributed Print Server Model

The distributed print server model, on the other hand, is installed at multiple locations throughout the enterprise–either on the scale of multiple regional print servers all the way down to installation on every client workstation throughout the enterprise.

The benefits of this print server model is that print jobs and queues may be controlled locally, with less dependence on support from central IT and print administrators. Since print requests are made locally, the amount of print request traffic and bandwidth used on the central print server is exponentially reduced, resulting in improved performance and printer response time. Finally, the distributed print server model offers a degree of inherent redundancy since downtime at one location does not imply enterprise-wide termination of print processes.

However, the benefits of the distributed print server model are checked by the increased cost to the company. Multiple installations will mean multiple software license fees, which multiplies the cost of the initial installation along with increasing the cost of maintaining the software on the servers via license renewal fees. Increasing the number of separate installations will also increase the cost of training and maintaining IT staff proficiency in the software.

In the distributed print server model, you also lose the centralized control that makes the centralized model so appealing. You also have more printer definitions to maintain with the distributed model.

Decisions, Decisions

The advantages of these solutions appear to be largely mutually exclusive of each other. However, one can deduce the significant advantages a company would enjoy if they could implement a blended print management solution that would provide the benefits of central print servers (maintaining fewer printer definitions, the ability to print from any location in the enterprise to any enterprise printer, along with the lower license fees one would expect with central print management) alongside the benefits of distributed print server software (lower traffic and bandwidth requirements on a centralized server, higher print performance with minimal latency, and local print job and print queue control).

To implement a blended solution, a company can try to integrate two separate print management solutions–one centralized print management solution and one distributed solution. However, this could prove not only costly, but difficult to perform effectively in the desired functions.

Print management program packages do exist that offer hybrid functionality, however. This solution allows the customer to implement a truly distributed print environment while maintaining the advantages of a centralized installation. They have much fewer printer definitions to maintain, an enterprise view of job/queues, a single standard solution, less administrator training, and low license fees.

Among these multi-functional models is Plus Technologies’ OM Plus V2 software. In a hybrid output solution like that, the software is installed on a server in each center. Only the local queues are defined in each center (requiring minimal administration and upkeep). The software gives each server the ability to automatically “advertise” its queues to all the other servers on the network with the same software installed. In this way, all queues are available to all systems even though they are defined only once. The user interface of each installation allows users (with the appropriate security) to view all jobs and printers on the network from a single status screen. System administration privileges are set up to limit the functions performed locally vs. centrally, which provides administrators the centralized control one would normally only find in a central print server management program.

When a print job is spooled, the printer definition is looked for on the local server. If the printer is not found locally, then the software-enabled server searches the other software-enabled servers for the printer and delivers the print job accordingly. This functionality allows all printers to be available to all systems. All local jobs are printed locally ensuring efficient use of the network with low latency and high performance.

With this particular software, license fees are minimized since license pricing is based on number of queues defined on each server. Therefore, only small licenses are required locally. This means the number of queues and the associated price remained low. A print management tool like this provides a true distributed print management solution that eliminates redundant printer definitions across the enterprise, while allowing printing to both local and remote server’s printers.

[ad_2]

Source by Bob Russell

[ad_1]

If you are a confirmed off-road enthusiast, then you understand the benefits of fender flares. However, if you’ve never ventured beyond the edge of the pavement, but want to, or simply want to add great rugged looks to your truck for on-road use, then fender flares are of definite interest to you.

What are fender flares?

In essence, these are additions that mount to the exterior of your wheel wells (the actual mount is inside the well), that extend and expand the size of you fenders. In addition, you have several options on the market that you will need to understand prior to buying a set.

The basic job of fender flares is to protect the sides of your vehicle from mud, rocks, sticks and other debris that might destroy your paint job in seconds, or wreak havoc on your bodylines (dents don’t do much for clean lines!). Of course, they also beef up the look of your ride, giving it a ruggedness that suggests muscularity and masculinity.

Finding the Right Set

Choosing the right type of fender flares is important. For instance, if you have a Jeep, you will need a different type of fender flare set than would someone driving a Dodge 1500 or a Chevy Silverado. Therefore, your first order of business is to find a set of flares that is made to fit your vehicle.

Caution should be exercised here, as well. Some manufacturers sell their flares in sets of four, for obvious reasons. However, other manufacturers sell them in sets of two, which can come as a surprise if you don’t read the fine print. If you don’t want to end up with two, instead of four, make sure that you check out the entire listing from the manufacturer.

Construction Material

Most flares are “plastic,” though you will find several different types, including ABS and polyurethane. You should, however, ensure that any fender flares you choose are UV stable, or UV resistant. UV rays will cause many types of plastic to dry rot over time, which will result in damage to the flares far before they should wear out.

Size Considerations

One of the other major considerations you will need to make is the size of the flares you want. If you are simply seeking a cosmetic fix for your vehicle, then any size will work. However, if you actually need to protect the sides of your vehicle from the ravages of rocks and debris off-road, then you will need to make sure that the flares extend far enough past the lip of the actual fender.

For Jeep owners, flares are a special consideration and will actually extend your fenders out by about three or four inches, in order to cover the entirety of the tire.

Color Concerns

A quick glance at the types of fender flares available will show you that most of them are black. Most companies should provide you with paintable fender flares, though you will find some that can be ordered in OEM colors. However, you should not purchase any fender flares that do not state specifically that they can be painted (unless you intend to leave them black, of course).

Finding a set of fender flares to enhance and protect your vehicle can be accomplished easily, though you will have to ensure that the set you purchase matches your wants and needs. Remember that some sets are purely cosmetic, while others provide tremendous protection in the off-road environment and you will easily find a set to meet your needs.

[ad_2]

Source by G. Evans

[ad_1]

A. Marketing merely reflects the needs and wants of customers. B. Marketing shapes consumer needs and wants. 

Part A  

‘Marketing merely reflects the needs and wants of customers.’ We all need to eat, drink and sleep and reproduce, this is all part of who we are as human beings. Therefore at the basic level companies will strive to satisfy these functions and keep doing so by once in a while showing advertisements that tells the public that they are around and can provide the products they need.  

The other aspect is that needs vary depending on what country you live in. “For example a consumer in the United States may need food but may want a hamburger, french fries and a soft drink and a person that lives in Mauritius that needs food may want a mango, rice, lentils and beans. Wants are shaped by our society.” The other part is wants, everybody can want something but only a few has the means to acquire it. A good example would be that everyone wants to eat out at expensive restaurants everyday but in reality only very few people can actually afford that lifestyle. This is why various segments have been created to target different groups and classes of people.

Marketers must therefore continually be creating and developing attractive products and then in turn devising a brilliant marketing strategy to win the consumer over to buy their product over other competing products. Companies strive to retain their customer base by delivering value and satisfaction from their products and this is formulated in consumers’ minds as a combination of service, quality and price. Some consumers would not mind paying a higher price for an item or service if they received very good service.

This is all part of what a consumer’s expectations on a product are, if these perceived expectations are met time after time then they become a loyal customer to that particular company. We as people like consistency and if a marketer provides consistent service in addition to great products and price then we will keep on going back for years. A good example would be Ben’s Chili Bowl located in Washington DC. It is an eatery that has been in business for decades and the fact that it had kept so many loyal customers is because they have offered consistent service and great food over the years and people who used to go there to eat as kids still go there as adults. They even have patrons fly into Washington DC just to experience their food and service. Companies also create brands and these brands have an effect on people’s purchasing habits.

These brands can mean several aspects of the company combined to form a perception in the consumer’s mind such as products, services, information and experiences. The more unique and interesting a brand the better it will perform. One brand that comes to mind is the Coach Company that manufactures accessories in the retail sector. They produce items such as handbags, purses, belts and other items. Coach has built a strong brand name for themselves by being unique in their style and service and this is primarily the reason that customers create a high demand for their products. This has also allowed the company to maintain an above average price for their products compared with their competitors with the knowledge that consumers would pay that higher price. Segmentation is another way that companies target the consumer to satisfy their needs and companies use this technique to target where they should market their products. There are various criteria that companies use to segment their products and some of them are geographic, demographic, psycho graphic and behavioral.

They would use factors such as how populated and area is or how wealthy the population of a specific area is and target products that fit that mold. This has proved to be a very successful tactic for companies in marketing. Marketing channels are also used by companies to reach their consumers. They use three types of marketing channels which are communications, distribution and service channels. Communications is important to get the company’s message out to the public and this could be in many forms such as the radio, television, the internet, posters and the like. They also need to distribute their products to the consumer and this means they will need a physical location like a store, or be a wholesaler and have others retail your products for you and also sell your products on the internet. Service channels are needed to effect transactions with the consumers and these could be banks for credit card purchases and transportation companies such as UPS to deliver the products to homes and businesses.

Marketing has relied on four marketing skills and tools and they are the sales force, advertising, sales promotion and marketing research, they must also use brand building, customer relations, telemarketing and others to make their product selling become reality. Companies must also function ethically and honestly to serve the consumer in the best possible manner. Marketing in the United States is unique in the world because it has evolved and changed over the years to blend in with the capitalistic society we live in in the US. This also means that some of the marketing we use in this country can only work with the credit system we currently have. This is not so in other parts of the world even in industrialized countries. So I would view marketing in the United States as one of the spokes in the wheel that makes our economy such a giant as it is today. 

Part B 

Regarding the second argument ‘Marketing shapes consumer needs and wants.’ I have to also agree with this statement. My reasons are many and varied. After seeing so many television commercials and advertisements both on the Internet and on newspapers I have concluded that some companies construct their ads to create a need in the consumer’s mind even if originally they were not interested in the product. I took some time to research some of the words that advertisements commonly use and I found an interesting mix of words and phrases. The word ‘free’ is the most common denominator I found in the ads, free is used in combinations such as free home trial, free inspection, buy one get one free, free installation, free estimates, free parking, free demonstration and free consultation. The word free is usually a powerful catalyst that springs the consumer into buying that particular product or idea even though he or she might not need it. I think other terms also kind of bait people into buying things they don’t need.

Terms such as ‘no payments till 2010’ or ‘money back guarantee’ ‘no down payment’ ‘offer good while supplies last’ help dissipate any doubts that the consumer may have and spur them on to make the purchase. “Because the goal is to get customers’ attention, persuade and create demand, market segmentation has historically been based on variables that correlate to creating demand: geography, age, gender, income, education, occupation and other traditional demographics, as well as psychographics around personality, lifestyle, values and attitudes. It works because these attributes are helpful for defining how to effectively speak to different groups of people.”

Some companies do act unethical in their advertising, for example I have seen some ads on the internet especially where companies would advertise a product and make it very appealing to the consumer then at the very bottom is tiny fonts the word ‘restrictions apply’ they would hide the link that takes you to where the restrictions are listed. So if you happen to buy that product without reading the fine print and something happens that you are not satisfied or want to return the item the company would refuse and make reference to their restriction policy. Other tactics that companies use to shape consumers needs and wants is to use celebrities or other famous people to sell their products. A good example of a company would be Nike. Nike teamed up with Michael Jordan to create marketing giant. One of the themes behind their partnership was to create the desire within consumers that if they wore Michael Jordan’s sneakers they could play basketball or jump as high as him.

This was directed primarily towards the younger consumers and turned out to be a huge marketing success. Companies also take advantage of world events or changes in the economy to come out with new products. A good example is the ever increasing popularity of hybrid cars. This has been brought about by gas prices going up and the economy slowing down. However the increase in hybrid cars has led to a marked decrease of large SUV vehicles. In the past we used to associate hybrid cars with car companies such as Toyota and Honda, but nowadays companies such as Lincoln, Ford and others are coming out with hybrid vehicles. This has been a necessity of them to compete in today’s changed car market.  

However advertising is not the only force that drives the consumer. Most companies do a lot of research before releasing an advertisement in getting a feel of what the consumers really desire. There is a constant interaction with the public in studying what is in vogue at the time and also what brands people want to be associated with. I have always wondered at why companies come out with new models or new releases at such a quick pace. This tactic is basically mainly a tweak or an enhancement of the previous model or version in order to create the perception of a totally new product which in turn creates more demand for the product.

Good examples of these products would be software, Microsoft is especially good at coming out with new versions of their products. For example with the release of Microsoft Vista operating system it meant that people had to upgrade their computers also because their existing hardware could not support Microsoft Vista’s requirements. In conclusion, newer firms tend to lean more towards creating needs because the public does not yet know about their products. Established companies are more interested in fulfilling the existing needs of consumers. These companies are already known and their products have already being deemed essential to their lives so they would continue buying their products even with little or no advertisement. 

[ad_2]

Source by Julia Ekundayo Lynch

[ad_1]

Tinting the windows of your vehicle is the most practical way to personalize your car and improve its appearance. Tinted car windows protect the driver and passengers from direct sunlight, hide them from public eye, and strengthen the car window. Tinted windows create the atmosphere of coziness and comfort. Here, in this post we will overview the films for tinting car windows.

This article will help you to pick up the best option for your car. The first thing you should look for when you are choosing a film is the tint brand name. Some of them are really worthy of your attention. One of the companies, providing films for window glasses is Llumar. Their films have high resistance to scratching and a strong adhesive basis. Tint films of Sun-Tek are made in the USA and have decent quality. Their most famous production is black graphite shade and mirror film series. Another American Standard film is ASWF. -it provides sun light control and has low prices. Another company I’d like to mention is Armolan. The films from this brand are widely represented in the global market. Films from the mark 3M tinting do not need advertising as they are famous and very popular among customers due to a hundred percent quality and reliability. Tinting Film Company “made in china” provides packaged films up to 2 meters. They are cheap but not as reliable as the other films. Let’s state some types of car window tinting films along with their purposes:

Protective Anti-grit car tinting

Protective Anti-grit tint films protect car bumper, hood, fenders, or the entire surface of the vehicle from scratches, chips, gravel, and other mechanical damages. Due to its flexibility this type of film can be applied to any part of the car body, leaving no visible traces of its application.

Colorful film

Colorful film is applied to the vehicle body color. This tint protects the surface of the car or changes its appearance. Such tints can give texture to the vehicle or its elements, for example, highlight the bumper or hood

Complicated auto tinting

Usually auto tinting is carried out within one hour by specialists, as for the same type of work for foreign cars; it will take 1.5 to 2 hours. There are several decorative protective films for various types of vehicles designed to improve the performance properties and appearance of the car, as well as improve its safety.

Sunlight dubbing films

Sunlight dubbing films will help prevent overheating of the dashboard of your vehicle in the summer. The film reflects ultraviolet light, absorbs bright sunlight and eliminates sun glare that provides comfortable conditions in the salon during the sunny and hot days.

Protective films

Protective “Armor” film is capable of giving the necessary additional strength to the glasses. Glass with a protective film is hard to beat or shoot that provides protection for the car driver and passenger in the vehicle. This film has a thickness from 50 up to 200 microns. It is applied to the outer side of the car windows of. This film is reliable as it resists impact.

Decorative film

Decorative films are often used for design issues. Such decorative films don’t provide safety but are nice and give the car a whole new look

A-thermal film

It is obvious that this type of film is just made to reflect the sun’s UV rays and control heat in the car salon. Such films usually have high prices

Colored film with the transition

The transition is from black to any color -red, green, blue. Visually it has a very original look if the color of the film matches with the color of the car. But there is one thing – looking from inside you see that same things have red, green or blue shadows that is not very good for your eyes. Tired eyes make the object lose the real color. So, such films are not recommended for a long time use on your vehicle windows

Removable silicone toning

This film can be successfully installed on windows.It has various percentage related to light transmission value of 5 %, 15 %, 20 % from darker colors to the lightest ones.

Mirror film

Mirror films have transparency of 10 %, 20 % and 35 %. They provide wonderful visibility inside. They give the car an unusual appearance but are 20% more expensive than regular films. Site: http://carwindowtintingx.com

[ad_2]

Source by Jon Joli

[ad_1]

CO Hi Steve and thanks for agreeing to take part in this interview.

SC It’s my pleasure.

CO Could you start by telling me a bit about yourself and your sporting background?

SC Ok, my name is Steve & I’m a Capricorn, and I have an interesting life! I have a family, three children, and I live in San Diego, California. I’ve been involved in physical training for pretty much my whole life. I was athletic as a child and when I was 12 years old I moved to California from the East coast, and I became involved in traditional martial arts training, Chinese martial arts, and that became really the focus of my life from the age of 12 until the age of about 26. I was teaching professionally, many different people, youth programmes, tai chi programmes, older people, martial arts to adults, and that was really all day every day for a period of many years. After I’d been involved in the arts for 7 or 8 years I started get involved in the full contact and eventually full contact fighting competitions in the States, and had good success, myself and the school I was with. We went to national competitions and I personally won two U.S national titles in full contact kung fu fighting, the sport Kuoshu, which is a type of sport that’s like fighting in a ring without ropes. There was a movie years ago by Jean-Claude Van Dame called Bloodsport and they sort of were depicting this traditional sport which they call Lei tai fighting; lei tai is a platform. So that was my primary sporting background as far as formal training was concerned, mainly in martial arts and also the full contact fighting component of that. My martial arts training also included a lot of meditation and Qigong which is a deep breathing component. In addition I did some of the Chinese medicine, bone setting, massage, and things like that. I also learnt the use of certain herbal tinctures and liniments.

CO Cool. That sounds like an incredible foundation. So how did you get into kettlebell training?

SC Well, in 1996 I went from teaching martial arts full time to having a change of heart and deciding that wasn’t what I was going to do for the rest of my life, I didn’t want that to be my business and profession any longer; I had seen that sometimes people would change when they became involved in the business and would lose love for the art and I didn’t want that to happen to me, so I decided I wanted to continue to teach martial arts out of passion but make my money in a different way. So I became interested at that point in going to college full time, so to answer your question about kettlebells, after I’d been a full time college student for about three years I noticed that my conditioning was starting to deteriorate and I went from being a world class athlete who was training all day every day to being a person carrying a backpack who really wasn’t training very much at all, and I didn’t like the changes my body was making. So I was really wanting to get back to very elite type of conditioning but I no longer had the time or the inclination to train all day every day, and I also didn’t have my involvement with the martial art community so I really was kind of on my own and I was looking for ways to increase my fitness to a very high level but be able to do it in much less time. It dawned on me that I had to learn to accomplish the same amount of work, or a lot of work, in much less time and be smarter about how I used my time. There’s a saying that when the student Is ready the teacher will appear and so you could say that the kettlebell appeared, as a way to teach me how to use my time more efficiently and achieve a high level of fitness.

I came across kettlebells in a martial art catalogue and they intrigued me as they talked about using the body as a whole unit and how is was complimentary to martial artists and military athletics, so inherently it made a lot of sense to me. I was a little prohibited at first because I didn’t have any money so the kettlebells were too expensive for me, but after having investigated them for a few months I finally decided that I had a chance to try them and once I’d tried it once I was hooked and came up with the money to buy some kettlebells. I began training myself with them using Pavel’s (Tsatsouline) first kettlebell DVD back in 2002 and that was the beginning. I then started integrating kettlebells with personal training that I was starting to do professionally and had great results; I was really getting back into a much higher level of fitness again, I loved the way it felt and the dynamic expression and it just went from there.

CO Excellent. And what do you consider to be unique about kettlebell training?

SC There are a couple of main things. For one thing, the more traditional training protocols tend to segregate the different energy systems, so typically the formula would be that people would do their resistance training two or three days a week and then they would do their cardiovascular and cardio-respiratory fitness training, aerobics, separately, and still even flexibility they would have to separately, so these types of things take up a lot of time. So one of the unique things about kettlebells is that it really combines these facets into one protocol so you can work resistance training, cardio-respiratory fitness and range of motion therapy all at one time with one tool and even with one movement or just a few movements.

CO Ok. So I recently attended your certification course in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was brilliant by the way!; what led you create the IKFF and who is it for?

SC I’ve always loved teaching. I was able to be in teaching since I was 15, that was when I started teaching martial arts professionally, so I had the opportunity to teach many different people of all different backgrounds, and I loved just being in front of groups and directing them. My passion was in the whole physical culture, so I did have experience in teaching for many years before I came to kettlebells. After getting involved with kettlebells for a few years I developed some DVDs and then later on I was approached by a martial art DVD manufacturer who was interested in developing a comprehensive kettlebell DVD called the Encyclopaedia of Kettlebell Lifting, and once I did that my visibility started to increase and I was starting to become more well known, and I was able to sell my DVD in various markets internationally. So as a result of that I was getting various enquiries via email from folks who were asking if I would be offering my own certification, and also giving good feedback on the teaching approach that I offered on the DVDs. So that was what first planted the seed that there was genuine interest in it. However, it took me several years to finally come up with the IKFF. The reason I finally came up with the IKFF, and I want to quite frank about the certification process, is that there are a lot of various certifications in all industries and fitness is no different, and a lot of times I see certifications simply as ways of charging people more money for the same thing and by calling it a certification they are able to charge more money than than would if they didn’t call it a certification. So I resisted creating a certification initially because of that, because I didn’t feel that that was a reason to do something. I have no aversion to money but I do have an aversion to taking advantage of people and for a long time I didn’t see the need for it because I was already teaching and already offering workshops. However the enquiries persisted and as time went on I observed that the existing kettlebell certifications courses were lacking in the area of member support, that it really seemed to exist for the people that were running the show, for their benefit, but for the fitness professionals who were paying their money to attend the course, they were still on their own and weren’t really getting the support necessary to develop their own professional interests. So that was one of the primary reasons for starting the IKFF, I wanted it to be member centred and member based, not just about myself and my success but really to be able to help individuals to build their own professional career doing something that they loved, and trying to develop a federation that could support their growth in that regard. The other reason is simply that I recognised there was more and more interest for kettlebell certification and I felt that I could do a better job than those that were already doing it, so I felt that since people were going to get certified anyway I might as well be offering certification because I felt that I had their long term interests in mind as well as doing a very good job teaching them.

The reason I came up with the name for the International Kettlebell Fitness Federation was that I wanted it to be international, it’s a global effort and I think that the world has changed; we’re no longer limited to our local marketplace and the internet has really made that possible. The K, standing for kettlebell, obviously is a major component of the programme that we have; F being for fitness and kettlebells obviously being a component of that, and the final F for Federation, which really means that it’s focused on the membership itself. The IKFF was designed to not just be able to be a high quality kettlebell instructor training programme but also a comprehensive programme which expresses my complete experience and what I view as a holistic approach to training my body spirit, via kettlebells, and other protocols; Qigong and martial arts, joint mobility and flexibility, as well as body control via bodyweight conditioning. So these are what I call the five pillars, the five facets of fitness and well-being, and they are really what the IKFF is all about.

CO Sure. One of the things that really fascinated me when I attended your course was the quite significant difference between the ‘hard style’ of kettlebell training that I learnt during my original certification here in the UK, and the competition style that you taught. What would you say are the main reasons for using one over the other?

SC Firstly I view myself as a teacher, so it is my obligation to be willing to improve when I have new information and sometimes we have to be willing to throw away old information if it doesn’t serve us, or if we find something that works better. So when it comes to kettlebells there’s this sort of interpretation that there’s different styles, and really that is more of a marketing driven division. In reality if there’s such a thing as a style it has more to do with individual body types. By that I mean if someone is short and stocky they have different levers than someone who is tall and thin. So you’ll see stylistic differences in the way that they move their body, and in the way that is the most efficient path for that person to use. But the idea that there are different styles of kettlebell lifting is really, in my opinion, something that has been created in America as something that is a way to differentiate the business model. The reason I believe that is kettlebell lifting in itself is quite simple, it’s very natural, and once someone learns the basic techniques it’s not difficult to learn; the difficulty is in the amount of effort required to achieve a higher level. So I refute the idea that there is such a thing as a hard style and a competition style, but that’s the impression that’s given out. The hard style was something that was created by Pavel and the RKC, who borrowed the language from martial arts. In martial arts there is a division between what they call hard style and soft style, so we can use the same analogy to answer your question. The hard style is differentiated in the way that the focus is on the tendency for there to be a lot of rigidity, a great amount of effort in the movements. Traditionally, hard style in the martial arts, such as hard style karate, the movements are very rigid and tense; that’s not the same in all instances, there are very fluid stylists as well, but by classification hard style has a general characteristic of relying heavily on maximal force production. In martial arts what is called the soft styles are those which tend to be more fluid, inner based, and focused more on the redirection of forces rather than overpowering someone. The terminology would be to use the attackers force against them. So, using that comparison we can say that hard style kettlebell lifting strives to maximise the force in every rep, and what people refer to as the competition style, the idea is to minimise the force in every rep simply because the goal is maximal reps. And if you’re going for endurance the more tension you carry in your body the more fatigue you’re going to illicit and you’re not going to be able to last as long. So that’s the definition of terms, but in reality, the way we really differentiate is by skill level and not by style. If you get the best ten lifters in the world you’re going to see ten slightly different body styles, every move is not going to be the same, even though they all have an extremely high of ability. So the question really is what manner of movement do I want to use that is going to give me the greatest effects and results? With kettlebells we’re talking about fitness and volume, what method will enable me to have the greatest volume and therefore the greatest conditioning effect?

CO Right, so in terms of people who are training purely for fat loss, not for competition, would you say that the more fluid method of lifting would still be most effective?

SC I think that the answer to that is similar to having two cars at a race track, a Ferrari and a Toyota, which one’s going to win? The answer is quite obvious. The method that is going to illicit the greatest fat loss and the greatest level of conditioning is that which is going to allow the greatest volume. So, what is going to allow the greatest volume is the method that is going to enable you to go for the longest, do the most reps, and work for the longest period of time. That is going to be, using the earlier terminology, the competition style. I don’t try to reinvent the wheel so instead of me trying to sell my approach, I look at the best lifters in the world and see what their approach is and how they get to these high levels, and anyone that pursues sport at a high level is going to realise very quickly that if you’re using rigidity in your movement you’re going to fatigue very quickly and you’re not going to get very good results. To use a martial arts analogy, just as you don’t want to bring a knife to a gun fight, you don’t use 100lbs of force when 10lbs of force will do the job.

CO That makes sense. Another thing that I know there is a lot of debate about is squat depth and what is safe. In the strength and conditioning world the opinion tends to be that changing the position of the lumbar spine during the squat, particularly under load, isn’t a good thing in terms of the shearing forces it places on the vertebrae, whereas during the IKFF course we worked a number of squat variations through full range of motion and into what one would call a deep squat. What are your thoughts on that?

SC I would say that to be fair it wouldn’t just be the strength and conditioning community that would advocate that, it would also be the medical community as well, but you have to look at the physics and you have to look at the stressors on the spine, the mechanics. I think the real concern is going to be that when the spine is under load and the curvature changes at the bottom, the lumbar is going to tend to curve under, and that curvature, especially when you’re under a fair amount of load, is going to put shearing forces on the lumbar spine. So there’s a couple of components here. The first is where the weight is situated. There’s a huge difference between if someone’s just using their bodyweight versus where say they have a maximal load on a barbell on their shoulders. The other point is where the load is actually placed. If the load is in front of you, as in the front squat, it’s going to be very different to if it’s behind you, say in a barbell back squat. Then there is the range of motion and the overall flexibility of the lifter. A well trained lifter can do a full range of motion squat with a heavy load and not injure the spine because they have the flexibility in the hips to create space and allow the forces to dissipate. A very stiff person has no business putting a heavy weight on their back and squatting it full range of motion. With kettlebells we typically will do the overhead squat or the front squat, not on the back, so it’s usually not a super heavy load anyway. So with the weight in front of you you have an offset counter of balance, a mass in front of you, so that serves as a counter weight and enables you to sit back further and deeper. So to summarise this on the position of the spine, we have what’s appropriate for athletic performance and dealing with massive amounts of resistance, and then we have what we need for general daily function. If we look at the body and natural function there’s a definite need, from the time of ancestry, where the ability to go to a full squat was really crucial. For example, for someone who’s going to work in the fields they don’t have chairs and in any non-industrialised nation you’ll see workers moving into the full squat even into their old age, and if you look at children they’ll naturally do a full squat. And if anyone’s been to Asia, you have to move into a full squat to go the bathroom even, so the ability to be able to do a full squat with the bodyweight is really a fundamental movement.

CO Cool. Steve you mentioned earlier about Qigong and this was something you took us through after the first day of the course. Can you tell me a bit more about it and why you consider it to be so important as part of training?

SC Yes. Qigong, if we try to define the terms, can be difficult as Chinese language uses pictograph, whereas we use words, so we’re trying to change a picture into a word which isn’t exactly possible, so we can only estimate what the meaning would be. The only way to really describe the meaning is through a picture, but Qi will quite often be translated as breath, or energy, and neither of those are exact. A more precise explanation of Qi would be that there is an intrinsic force that exists that is most closely associated with the breath. Gong Is a terms referring to any ability or any skill, so we would say that Qigong is a system of breathing skill or energy mastery, and there is a very rich tradition behind it. The most famous method of Qigong internationally is Tai Chi, which has its origin as a martial art but is also a system of Qigong. Some of the key characteristics of Qigong are that it combines deep breathing with very relaxed posture, and there’s a mindfulness, a deep meditative presence in all of the movements. So another way of saying Qigong is that it’s a form of moving meditation.

Why it is important after training, it’s really important in general for everyone because we have our physical body, and then we have what you could call your energetic body. This is not to sound mystical or metaphysical but we have forces within our body that are not the flesh or the bone; in the west the Russians talk about the term bioelectricity and maybe that might be closely associated to what the Chinese call Qi. It’s this idea that energy radiates in, through, and around our body and all life forms. So through exercise and fitness we can condition our muscles and we can train our nervous system, and we can make our bones more dense through resistance training, but through just physical exercise alone we cannot actually train the energy. So Qigong is a method to train the quality of our energy and not just our physical body. In Chinese they talk about yin and yang to symbolise balance and so in life we have have to have balance between hard and soft, so the idea for health and well being and overall longevity is that we need to balance the vigorous nature of physical training with the recuperative and rejuvenate aspect of the deep breathing and Qigong meditative movements. The last point I’d like to make about this has to do with biology and the fact that we all age, and the reason why I include Qigong with my system of training and even with the kettlebells is that any exercise system that is based purely on physicality is inherently incomplete. This is because of the fact that we can’t sustain the hardcore aggressiveness indefinitely, we reach a physical peak, and every person will get to a time where the body ages to the point where they’re no longer going to be as fast, or be able to jump as high, and if your whole system is based on running faster, jumping higher, hitting harder, lifting heavier, lifting more, you can certainly do it when you’re 20 and 30 but maybe not when your 40, or maybe when you’re 40 but not when you’re 60, 70, 80. That’s not to say you can’t do the physical training but you have to balance it, so Qigong is something that anyone can do throughout their whole life, you can’t overtrain with it and you can’t do hard physical training all the time, so we need Qigong to really restore the body and it’s something we can use even into our elderly years.

CO Great. I think it’s fair to say that you are one of the world’s most highly regarded and inspiring trainers. What do you mostly attribute your personal success to?

SC That’s a really good question. Firstly there’s no replacement for going very in-depth into the subject matter; we can’t fake expertise and there’s definitely a prevalent marketing approach, particularly on the internet, to do with fitness, where people market themselves as experts, where in reality just because someone says they’re an expert and promotes themselves as an expert doesn’t actually give them expertise, so the first thing in success in anything is that we have to have not only familiarity but we have to have studied deeply the subject matter at hand. As a general philosophical thing, success has certain universal attributes and I believe, from what I’ve seen and experienced, if you study successful people who are willing to share their road to success, their secrets if you will, you’ll see many parallels and universal congruents among them, regardless of their field of expertise. So for me, fundamentally it’s an internal component, the expertise comes from the study and the knowledge base, the practical understanding, and part of becoming an expert is becoming a teacher. When I became a teacher it was initially for selfish reasons because I wanted to become a better student. And by teaching you get asked questions so you really have to study deeper. The techniques and the training and the knowledge, that’s what I’d call the external or the outer element of success. The internal component has everything to do with our mindset and our approach. One thing I like to say is attitude is altitude, and that is really the truth with success. Success is an attitude, an acceptance of being willing to be successful and to live our dreams and fulfill our purpose, and that begins with clarity. We have to know exactly what we want to achieve before we have any chance of achieving it.

There are many people that are sort of wandering, talking about what they want and look to others and say this person’s lucky or that person’s lucky because they have that wealth or that girl or they have that life, and they’re successful and I’m not, and they don’t see the inner workings of that, they just see the trappings of it. But really the first step is for an individual to really look inside themselves and ask themselves certain questions, and that’s what I call clarity. You have to have a clear idea of a) what you want to do and accomplish, it doesn’t matter how big or small; it just matters how meaningful it is. It could be something as simple as someone wanting a healthy life surrounded by friends and loved ones, which is a tremendous success in its own right, then it can be all the way to the level of someone who wants to be the president of America or wants to be the best in the world at something. There’s all different manifestations of what it means to be successful, but in my experience it begins with clarity. I believe another important component is the idea of creativity. We’re all creative and life is creative, a creation. And within every creation there is a creative process. If you take the most beautiful sculpture, before it was a sculpture it was just a block of wood, someone has to have the idea to turn that blank block into a beautiful chair or table, or a blank canvas into a beautiful painting. So success is the fruit, but the labour is what bears the fruit, the internal work and identifying what you really are and what you want to do. As the saying goes, the only thing to fear is fear itself. When we think of success we become successful. It begins within. We always hear about competition but this is a mindset we need to get out of. There is of course an element of competition in business and in sport; however to me competition is really something we have with ourselves, we are competing with what we are now because we want to become better. People focus so much on what the guy down the street or some other trainer or colleague is doing that they’re focusing their energy on that versus keeping it on an internal ‘what can I do right now?’ All we can control is ourselves, that’s the only tangible thing that we can really keep control of, and that’s where success really begins, the way we use our mind. What people actually refer to as success is the results of success, but success itself has nothing to with results, it has everything to do with the driving force which is behind the results, which is the mindset.

CO That is very true. Thanks Steve. Can you just finish off by telling everyone how they can find out more about the IKFF and upcoming courses?

SC Absolutely. Well first of all there is the IKFF website, which is our primary website and gives all the information about the courses. In addition we have quite a large group on Facebook so people are welcome to join that and we post information there, and we also have a really growing network of really high calibre physical teachers in every continent now, with the exception of Antarctica, for the moment! Here in the UK I suggest people go to your website as well to find information about kettlebells and the IKFF.

CO Perfect. Steve thank you very much for taking part in this interview and I wish you and the IKFF all the best for the future.

SC You’re welcome!

[ad_2]

Source by Charlotte Ord