The Winter Safety Check List For Drivers

I hate the winter! OK so despite I sound a little aggressive but you know what I mean, the ever unpredictable yet always extremely cold weather, the dark nights and constantly feeling blue; if it was not for Christmas, this season would be a real dud! I'll tell you what I really struggle with during this half of the season the most and it beats everything hands down ... driving!

Do not get me wrong, driving is a fantastic skill to have and being able to take charge and get yourself everywhere is not only a great feeling but a hugely convenient during the constant hustle and bustle of everyday life however driving in the winter can easily be a tremendous challenge.

Limited visibility that is affected by harsh weather conditions which can result in tricky and dangerous conditions can make driving in the winter months a challenge for even the best of them. Without we somehow manage to switch with the Australians and get their heat for the next six months or choose to hibernate like a turtle, winter driving although can be limited, can not quite be absolutely unavoidable.

We can never be sure what the road conditions will be like until they actually hit but what we can do is ensure that we are as prepared as possible in order to avoid any issues and preventing danger. Not sure what kind of preparation is the winter driving? Below is my ultimate road safety checklist that should get you started ...

· Service - Making sure that your car is in the best condition possible is the most effective way to ensure that you will not face an unsuspecting breakdown or any other kind of hassle whilst out on the road. Knowing that your car is working properly will not only provide a great piece of mind but will help to ensure that you can face anything the winter throws at you without increasing your risk of danger!

· Tires - As the foremost part of your car that will come into contact with the road, it is important that your tires are in the best condition. From tread depth to general wear and tear; are you taking care of your tires? Consider either rotating your current tires or even opting for a new replacement tires and always make sure that you have an inflated spare in your boot just in case.

· Ice scraper / de-icer / antifreeze - We may or may not get snowfall but it is a given that during many mornings and evenings you will be faced with the dreaded layer of ice on your windscreen. Always be prepared with de-icing equipment and ensure that, if your car is parked in the drive or outside of the office all day that you have kept your levels of antifreeze topped up to avoid a frozen engine.

· Driving Style - It is important to note that amongst your entire safety checklist you put yourself on there too because as the driver, your style of driving and manoeuvring will play a major part in your on-road safety. Avoid harsh breaking and accelerating to prevent skidding, pull out in second gear if on a hill and avoid driving on desolated and un-scratched roads. As much as the above points are critical, it is important that you also monitor your driving skills as they can play a huge part in your safety while on the road.

The winter can never be as fun as the summer, particularly when it comes to driving and it definitely is not as safe so be prepared and ensue that both your driving style and your car are ready for the unexpected. Opt to include an emergency first aid kit in your vehicle too as it is always better to be safe than sorry!

Some of the Best Ideas On Making Money Through Affiliate Marketing

If you are not sure what direction to go in with affiliate marketing, then you want to start learning as many tips as possible. People seem to become more focused and have an idea with what they want on their sites when they understand ways they can succeed in affiliate marketing. So take a look at this article and see what inspires you.

Consider weekly or monthly prizes. Visitors will keep coming back to your site to see what the prize is. Do not forget to keep their interest by providing relevant information that they want to learn about. This is also a good way to get sign-ups to your newsletter; tell them you will notify them about the prize through e-mail.

If you have a website for your business, your domain name should be on everything that you own. Use your own personal vehicle, t-shirts, stationary, email signature and more, to permanently put the name of your website out there. Constant reminders will stick in people's heads and make them want to look it up.

Look for easy to sell products when you first start out. In the beginning, you do not want to be advertising for something no one has ever heard of. It puts pressure on both you and the consumer. The best way to go is to look at what products are currently "hot" and start with those. Once you have established a base, you can move to more challenging sales.

Stick with an affiliate marketer that consistently churns out products. If you want reliable contracts and new product promotion opportunities from a reputable, solid affiliate company, look for one that continually produces new products for you to promote. Fad products tend to work well for only a short period of time. Therefore, they are not good for a stable income.

To get a wider range of visitors to click through to your merchants, give them choices. Rather than sell just one hairdresser, sell five hairdryers and let them choose them favorite. Giving your visitors options makes them feel in control of the situation. Providing choices also increases your chance of appealing to visitors with specific criteria in mind.

In order to make money through affiliate marketing, you need to have an understanding of the basics. You should do all you can to make sure that your website or blog is ranked as high as possible with the search engines. This will earn you better affiliates, which leads to additional money.

A great affiliate marketing tip is to promote good products on your web site. By promoting good products, your customers will trust you even more. On the other hand, if you promote an inferior product, you may lose the trust of your customers, which is definitely bad for business.

Hopefully you have a better understanding of the direction you want to go in when it comes to affiliate marketing. Just remember to pick a topic you know about and continue to expand your knowledge on it as well as learning new tips on how to succeed with affiliate marketing.

Auto Repair Manuals

If you are an amateur auto mechanic who loves to dig in the car engines until the wee hours while most people are under their blankets, entails the spirit of the "do-it-yourself" -doer and are not afraid to get grease on your hands or if you are in an emergency situation, a very handy resource is the availability of the right auto repair manuals.

There are two types of car repair manuals:

Online downloadable manuals

Printed manuals

Online Manuals

The best thing about online manuals are that whatever manual you'll need for whichever car brand, it is only a few mouse clicks away; you can load it down from the internet in no time.

If the time is a significant factor for you, for instance if you are in a situation that require repairs information immeadeatlY and your knowledge about the specific problem is limited, the fastest and cheapest solution is to go online to find high quility vehicle repair manuals.

Some of these manuals include not only repair information, but also updated technical service information and some of them even include approximate business hours. This is valuable info if you decide to take your car to a mechanic: You'll know in advance how much you could expect to pay for the repair. Most of these websites charge a minor fee for their service, but compared to what you'll get back, it is worth it.

Good vehichle repair manual sites also features updated diagnostic and maintenance information. Their manuals are Original Service Manuals Written by the manufacturers and contains the original workshop repair descriptions. Therefore many professional auto technicians are using quality downloadable manuals. .

Good manuals contain thousands of pages of diagrams and all the necessary detailed information for the specific vehicle and car part repair.

Printed manuals

I have chosen to make a brief review of three of the best printed motorcar fixing manuals available on the market today. If you chose these instead of the online alternative, expect some time for shipping and handling.

Bentley

• the target is the experienced mechanic, and is considered by many experts as the hands-down best reference.
• probably the most detailed car repair book available
• Unfortunately, Bentley focuses on European models mostly, not US models.

Factory

• The target for these service manuals are factory certified mechanisms, and unfortunately not amateurs
• may require access to special tools only available to authorized mechanisms.

Chilton

• Simple step-by-step procedures, easy-to-follow standard format their target audience is the average, general backyard mechanic
• focusing on maintenance and basic repairs
• containing lots of sequential photographs and graphics to simplify maintenance and then make the job easy and fun.
• new cars are treated with thorough attention. Older cars however, get lumped together and the instructions for these are a little more generalized.

Money Maker - NOT!

Seems like more and more kids are influencing the top keyword searches in google. When you look at the top searches, whether it's AOL's, or Lycos Top 50, or Word Tracker, you'll find things like celebrities, movies, myspace, rap, video games, etc ... These entertainment type searches have been popular for a very long time and will continue to dominate the search engine rankings for years to come.

So many advertisers are chasing these keywords and losing their shirts in pay per click like adwords. I just ran across another keyword that advertisers are wasting their money on. Today I looked at the keyword "money maker". I typed it into Google and 9 ads came up. 8 of them were about how to make money online. The remaining single ad about listening to music is probably the only one that got it right.

You see, the most likely person to type in the keyword phrase "money maker" is probably some teenager who wants to download the song by Ludacris titled "Money Maker" and is probably not the least bit interested in "how to make money online. " I assume this based on the following data:

Searches done in November 2006
Count Search Term

187264 money maker

15237 shake your money maker

10537 money maker lyric

6990 ludacris maker money

3917 act make maker millionaire money think way wealthy

3749 ludacris lyric maker money

2660 shake that money maker

2540 shake your money maker lyric

2277 shake ya money maker

2083 ludacris lyric maker money shake

1473 maker money shake yo

1075 by ludacris lyric maker money

Although this "Ludacris" fan may click on "how to make money" ads, what do you think the conversion is going to be? The only keyword in the list that I would maybe buy is "act make maker millionaire money think way wealthy". Of course I would trim it down to "money maker think" or "money maker wealthy". So instead of a 1 in 20 chance of getting someone interested in making money online, I've narrowed it down to almost a 100% chance while lowering my cost per click from $ 0.90 to $ 0.10 or less.

So make sure you research your keywords before wasting your advertising money!

Functions And Applications Of DC Motors

The Direct Current motor or the DC motor helps to convert electrical energy into mechanical energy. It is used in majority of household applications and electronic devices. It is widely used in CD players, computers, remote control airplanes, electric razors and so forth. Some of the most important parts of the Direct Current motor include the rotor, armature, stator, commutators with brushes. It is considered to be the simplest types of motor used in many of the electrical appliances. Compared to the AC motor, it is more controllable and powerful.

Working Procedure of DC Motors

A field of magnetism is created inside the device as it is equipped with magnets and electromagnetic windings. An armature is placed in between the south and north poles of the magnet inside the motor. When power is passed through the armature, the magnetic field interactions with the field generated by the armature. The opposition polarity causes the motor to turn.

There are basically three types of DC motors which include the stepper motor, the brushed and the brushless motors.

Stepper Motors: One of the most common varieties of Direct Current motors includes the stepper motor. These electrical brushless motors function on the basis of electromagnets that rotate the internal shaft. There are computer controlled stepper motors available in most of the online and offline shops. It is widely used in satellites, Floppy drives, CD drives, toys and scanners. Due to its functional operations, it can be controlled quite easily. But the stepper motors require an external controller as it includes low power.

Brushed Motor: The Brushed motors are considered to be the standard dc motors that can be powered by any type of Direct Current battery. It includes a split run commutator. However, these devices have certain drawbacks. The brushes and the commutator ring come into contact with one another which create friction and consider damage to the ring and the brushes. Both the ring and the brushes will require constant replacements. The modern brushes are made of carbon which is durable compared to the copper wires. It also causes less friction. These devices are less expensive and easy to operate.

Brushless Motors: As these motors do not include brushes, it is considered to be the most appropriate device. It is durable and includes less maintenance. It is also efficient and powerful compared to the other types of Direct Current motors. It includes an external commutator and a rotor which reverses the direction of the current.

As this motor does not include brushes, there is hardly any possibility of friction and equipment damage. It can there be used or heavy machineries and electrical equipments. It is also considered to be cost efficient and durable. It is also cooler than the AC motors and so it last longer.

The DC motor is used in different applications such as drilling mills, weaving machines, lathes, shaapers and spinning machines. It is also used in air compressors, vacuum cleaners, sewing machines, elevators and hair dryers. Apart from these, it is used for a wide variety of industrial purposes.

Landing Pages - How to Create a Free Landing Page

Are you starting out with a string budget? Have no experience building webpages? You know you need your own landing page, squeeze page or opt-in page. But if you do not have the money in your budget to pay for it, and need to do it yourself, where do you begin? I'll give you simple step-by-step instructions to walk you through the process using a neat little site called BlinkWeb. You can do this with no technical experience whatsever and best of all ... it's FREE!

Sign-Up for Your FREE Account

Simply go to BlinkWeb.com and sign up for your free account. Then there will be a button that says 'Create a New Site.' Click on it. BlinkWeb is a place where you can create free websites. So, they give you different options as to the type of site you want to create. In this case you'll choose the salesletter style for your landing page.

The next step is entering a title for your landing page. Of course it should be pertinent to your offer. It's even better if your title contained keywords relating to your site. This in essence is the domain name of your site.

Creating the Landing Page

After you name the page, you'll be taken to the page builder. There are four boxes on the left-hand side:

Editor Tools
Widgets
Layouts
Pages

Editor Tools and Widgets are basically drag and drop menus. You can choose where to place your title, paragraphs, images and videos. You decide the order. To keep it simple you can be with a title box (which is your headline), then follow with a short paragraph. Make sure to really convey the benefits because this is going to capture your customer's attention.

I'd also suggest you either have a quality image or video on your page. People are visual and giving them something to look at will increase your conversion rate. For image and paragraph choose image / paragraph under Text Tools. For video and paragraph choose video / paragraph under Video / Images.

Cool Tools

Here's something really cool. Under Widgets, there's a section called Sales Pages. It makes it really easy to incorporate bullet points - which is the check list. And there's also a testimonial box. All the work has been done for you. Simply choose the tool and type in your text.

Under layouts you select the template you'd like for your site. Remember a plain white background is best.

Now for the most important part. The Opt-in Box. The tool you need is Custom HTML and it's located under the Advanced section in Widgets.

Note: You will need a account with a contact management company such as Constant Contact or AWeber for this to work.

Simply create the actual opt-in box with whatever software you use. Then copy the HTML code that's generated and paste it in the Customer HTML box on BlinkWeb. You will have an opt-in box right on your landing page and all the names and email addresses of your customers will be collected. No need to export information, it goes directly to your contact management software.

Be sure to view your page before you publish it. Check the spacing and make sure everything is "above the fold." For more tips regarding copywriting, landing pages, opt-in pages, visit the website. Learn more secrets that top internet marketers use to set their business apart from the masses.

How to Drive Manual Vs Automatic Transmissions

There are two types of transmissions that vehicles can be built with. These include either an automatic transmission or a manual transmission. There are several pros and cons to each that you want to consider before driving one or the other. How you drive these two types of transmissions will also change while driving in the snow during winter time. So make sure you know how to drive your particular car's transmission when the time comes.

Automatic Transmission Pros and Cons

In general, cars with automatic transmissions are easier to drive and preferred by some for this reason. Automatic's still shift gears like a manual, but it is involuntary, so you do not have to focus on controlling several things yourself while driving. It can also be safer because you can keep both hands on the wheel. The automatic vehicle has a clutch, but the clutch pedal and torque converter separate the transmission from the engine automatically.

Some negative aspects to this kind of transmission is that it is not as fuel efficient. That torque converter and the hydraulic pump working together cause the car to lose power and lowers efficiency. These cars also take automatic transmission fluid, which has to be changed more often than a manual. This kind of fluid can deteriorate quicker over time. Another con to automatic's is that the vehicle may require more repair costs because of the gear box and complexity of the transmissions used while driving.

Manual Transmission Pros and Cons

There are several reasons to drive a manual transmission car, as well as adverse things to consider.Manual vehicles are driven with a clutch pedal and stick shift to change gears yourself. These cars tend to be cheaper in general for repairs because problems are less likely and they are less complex making them easier for mechanics to work on. Manual vehicles also take gear or engine oil, which has to be changed less frequently than its automatic counterpart. Also, these cars are much more fuel efficient because they do not use as much power while driving.

While manual cars are easier to control, some cons to consider are how much harder they can be to learn to drive at first. When you are driving, you shift gears based on the speed of the vehicle. This is done by depressing the clutch pedal, however, it is disengaging that pedal that can prove to be difficult. If not done correctly, it can make the car jump-start and may even cause it to stall out. It takes time to learn how to drive a manual so that you start out smooth and transition between gears smoothly. Since all of this is required while on the road, you have to take your hand off the wheel and concentrate more on shifting, sometimes providing to be distracting.

Manual vs. Automatic Driving in the Snow

While there are several pros and cons to consider when deciding between an automatic transmission or manual transmission vehicle, there are certain things to consider while driving on snow and ice. With both, you will always want to keep your distance to bring your vehicle to a complete stop avoiding sliding though regardless if you are moving yourself or simply stepping on the brake. Driving a stick shift can be easier in the snow because you are controlling the gears yourself. With a manual, the car is in more control so ease up on the gas if you are slipping on ice so your wheels can gain traction.

If you are driving on a hill, there are several things to keep in mind. Make sure you are pushing on the brakes as little as possible whether you are going downhill or uphill. When you're about to drive uphill, speed up so you do not have to hit the gas as much causing the wheels to spin. If going downhill, slow down before the hill so you can coast as much as possible. You want to do your best to drive as smoothly as possible with steering, accelerating, as well as using the brakes as little as you can. With an automatic transmission, an automatic gearbox can help with decelerating just as a manual would do; while declutching.

While driving a manual transmission in winter road conditions, try your best to start off in second gear, even though this will take some getting used to. This will make your tires turn slower and be more forceful when beginning to move, which can be very useful to get going on s now. If braking is necessary, downshift before you do because going into lower gears you can lower your speed by slowing the tire rotation. By keeping all of this in mind and dependent on the road conditions as well as how you drive, you can absolutely increase your fuel efficiency.