Year: 2020

How to keep your car in good condition

If you want to keep your car safe and valuable, it is best to regularly check it. Or if you buy a second-hand car, there are a number of things to check before making your purchase. In addition you can acquire a cover at MyCarCovers to protect it best when you are not using it.

Check Tyres

A vital part of safe driving is a legal set of tyres. If you have your car regularly serviced, the garage should tell you when it’s time to change your tyres. For your own peace of mind, check the correct tyre pressures for each make of car.

Check Registration

All you need to know about car number plates, giving the years of registration and the letters that show where it was first registered. The new registration is designed to last until 2050, with changes every March and September. The second two characters are numbers that indicate the age of the car.

Check Battery

Batteries are probably the biggest single cause for non starting, especially in colder weather. There are tips to get you going if your battery is flat how to jump start or push start your car.

Check Engine

Most engine repair jobs are better off performed by a qualified mechanic but with a few tips you can carry out minor repairs and servicing yourself or just make sure that you’re not being ripped off by a dodgy garage.

Check Brakes

Checking brakes is usually a job for experienced mechanics it is advisable to have them checked each time you have your car serviced. Tell tale signs if its excessive brake effort or excessive brake travel our troubleshooters will give you some possible causes and solutions.

40 mph FRONTAL OFFSET CRASH TEST.

A major part of NCAP current testing program is Crashworthiness Evaluations of new passenger vehicles. The principal component of each vehicle’s rating is performance in a 40 mph frontal offset crash test, based on certain criteria.

All of the passenger vehicles for which the Institute has 40 mph frontal offset crash test results are shown on their website. The Institute tries to cover as much of the marketplace as possible with this testing program.

The vehicles represent a range of manufacturers and the largest portions of new car sales. The Crashworthiness Evaluations of new passenger vehicles tests a car’s performance in a 40 mph frontal offset crash test, to measure its structural design.

Suspension Testing

A safe vehicle must be able to stop and maneuver over a wide range of road conditions. To be able to stop and maneuver quickly there must always be good contact between the tyres and the road. The suspension is responsible for keeping the tyre firmly planted on the road. The suspension also provides a comfort buffer between the rough road and the passenger cabin.

There are many different types of suspensions. Each is a compromise between comfort, cost, and road holding. To meet these compromises for each vehicle, many types of suspensions have been developed. Each design shares two essential components­ springs and shock absorbers.

Some vehicles have struts instead of shocks. In reality, a strut is just a shock absorber built into a suspension link. The strut is generally replaceable as one unit. In this discussion, any reference to shock absorbers will also apply to struts.

There are also some variations in the type of springs used on vehicles. There are coil springs, leaf springs, air springs, and torsion bars. Despite the differences in design, these variations all react with the suspension in the same manner. Any further reference made to springs will be general and includes any of these types.

The Shock Absorber

The shock controls spring motion by damping (absorbing) energy from the spring. A shock absorbs energy by forcing oil through valves whenever it is moved. It takes a lot of energy to push oil through the valves so when the spring is done pumping, it doesn’t have much energy left to keep bouncing.

Imagine running 50 yards on bare ground – you could do it and have plenty of energy to run back again. Now imagine running the same 50 yards through 6 inches of mud. How much energy would you have for a return pass?

Shocks also control the reaction of the body to road undulations. A stiffer shock tends to transmit more road irregularities to the driver but will also not pitch and roll as much as a vehicle with softer shocks. Thus shocks, like springs, can be changed to obtain a personalized ride.

Shock absorber condition is difficult to evaluate. Shocks are wear items, like air filters or tyres , and do need to be replaced occasionally. The Car Care Council recommends inspection at 25,0

What if the shock absorber is just wery expensive diagnostic technique. The only way, up until recently, to check shock performance was a test drive or bumper jounce test – both of which are very subjective. In any case it was difficult to identify the worn part because all the shocks are working together.

The Need for Suspension Testing

Why is it so important to keep good tyre contact? All actions a vehicle performs – acceleration, cornering, and braking are transmitted through the tyres . The tyres perform all these actions through a phenomenon called friction. The most important rule of friction is that the more two objects are pressing together the higher the frictional forces between them. Therefore, it is necessary for the tyre to be pressing firmly on the road at all times if the vehicle is going to brake and turn.… Read the rest

How to Renovate Your House

Spacious attics look best with a dormer window. This can make the exterior of the home look charming while possibly providing double the amount of space inside the home.

Gain space

Your property value will rise, and you will end up with more usable space without having to spend a lot.

You can use steel wool to barricade any areas where you believe rodents may be hiding. This is a preventative measure, used while full repairs are made. Mice are unable to chew through the steel wool which makes it invaluable.

Vinyl decks are popular with homeowners. If you’ve got one, make sure to thoroughly clean it at least two times every year so that it will look great and provide you years of use.

The best time to clean your deck is once in the fall and again in the spring.

A helpful tip on home improvement that can save you and your neighbors some money is to create a “community toolbox” that everyone can contribute to and use for home improvement projects.

You can always borrow tools from your neighbors that you might not have laying around. Even better, you two can share tips.

Remember, home improvement does not have to be a daunting task! With the right information, you will make wise decisions. Whether it’s a DIY project or a work-for-hire one, a bit of effort can go a long way.

Home improvement projects are more fun when you share them with someone you love. Make a weekend of it and get something accomplished together. Consider all the savings you’ll make by doing it by yourself.

The advice in this piece will help you determine your project and collect everything you need to begin.

Most lampshades are actually quite boring. Brighten up a lamp shade by using stencils and acrylic paint. This will add some style and personality to you rooms and take away the drab look from a cheep looking lamp shade.

If you have no counter space, install a microwave over the range. These units take the place of a range hood and are available at a variety of price points. Some even have features such as built-in convection cooking. These units contain a recirculating ventilation system.

Prior to installing paneling, paint stripes on the existing walls. No matter how careful you are when installing paneling, the old wall still peeks through. Be sure to measure the paneling before you install it.

Use a color that will match the paneling and paint the areas where the paneling will meet.

Choose one room to work on at a time. Rather than trying to do the entire house at one time, you can go room by room to save time and money.

Plan your renovation ahead

You should plan ahead and look for price deals on required project items. Planning ahead is a smart way for you to save money when you are improving your home.

You can get rid of that ugly bubble in your vinyl flooring with a shot! You can easily slice into the vinyl floor and let out the air. The bubble will collapse in the short term.

After that, though, you must put in a bit of glue to keep things the way you want them to be. Use glue that comes in syringes to get the job done.

If you are looking for a cheap method when it comes to floor tiles, try using vinyl tiles rather than using stone or ceramic tiles.

Vinyl has several things going for it. It is durable, installs easily with an adhesive backing, and resists water damage. You can find vinyl flooring as individual tiles or in a complete sheet that will cover an entire room at once.

Or a great idea is to install epoxy flooring. This modern-looking type of floor can get personalized for that unique look that will make your friends jealous.

When performing home improvement tasks, a drill is essential. It lets you make the holes you need for driving screws and other fasteners. You should have a cordless, 9-volt power drill that come with a variety of drill bits and bits for Phillips and flat-head screws.

How about the doors

If you want to change a lock, you should replace the whole thing, or if not just change the cylinder. The cylinder being the lock’s mechanism that completes the lock action.

When you lose a key, a cylinder replacement is a great way to re-key the lock. If you’re doing it for aesthetic purposes, change the whole assembly.

Sitting on chair cushions flattens them over time. If you want to “fluff” up those cushions, and give them new life, use the sun. The sun helps the moisture evaporate from the cushion’s fillings, bringing the bounce back.

Carefully flip the cushion’s sides, and be sure not to let it sit out too long. Too much time in the sun can cause the colors in the fabric to fade.

Last but not least, rent a roll-off dumpster so that you can easily remove all the construction debris and it is guaranteed you will get a lot. Depending on the size of your renovation, you can hire a 20yd up to a 40yd dumpster from a Concord dumpster rental service or other locations in the nation.

Developing a solid plan makes it easier to succeed at home improvement. Doing this together is enjoyable, and you can also enjoy the results together.

It will be a treat for you to sit back and think over the work you’ve done and how much money you saved doing things on your own.… Read the rest

3 Simple But Useful Conversion Rate Hacks

Traffic is the number one target if you want to dominate the search engine results page and get a profitable online activity. It has been proven that getting visible on the first page of the search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo can ultimately drive your sales up. However, a consistent traffic in itself does not ultimately equate to boosting sales. More is needed!

Many webmasters who have realized the need to optimize their conversion rate are finding different ways to help them garner more sales. While it can be tricky to compel your visitors to purchase your products and services, there are a number of ways to achieve this. 

Let us talk about the three simplest yet most useful conversion rate hacks that you can do, so that you get more online sales from the same amount of traffic.  

Study Your Posts and Pages

People are typically drawn to the things they want to buy. Consumers check the price and the brands for the items that they are interested to acquire. However not all people who search for the things they want will immediately buy that product or service. They need a little more convincing. 

This is a lot similar to buying a dress at the mall. When a store looks aesthetically enticing and impressive, you are more drawn to check out the products there, as opposed to another clothing store with a plain and boring looking interior. By studying your pages, you can identify which part of the website needs some tweaking, so that they become more appealing to your visitors.

Switch Things Up and Test

Try to switch things up on your website. Change the colors, the layout, the font size and style, the images, the punch lines, the call to actions etc… You can also try to change the theme and the placement of the various elements on your product page. A good looking site leaves a good impression on buyers. Test, test, and test!

So try to tweak a few things here and there, then test it out. Did your sales go up? Did you lose traffic? Conduct a SEO analysis of your website to determine how making a specific change affects your profit. After all the bottom line is what we should focus on!

This is how you will determine what your visitors like and dislike without asking them to leave their comments and suggestions.

Look for Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) Resources

When we say resources, this may come in the form of a tool or a live service from a specialized app. There are many different online resources you can choose from.

For instance, there are tools that can help you see the different tests they have run in the past. Some of the best conversion rate optimization tools can directly compel your visitors to convert into customers. 

When you try to increase the organic click-through rate for a specific result, then you are doing what is called conversion rate optimization (CRO in short). By constantly studying your website, updating your posts, and acquiring extra help from Conversion Rate Optimization tools, you will start seeing improving results and sales.
… Read the rest

How to Optimize an Old Computer

Outdated computers can find a second youth.

Your old computer seems slow and inefficient? Before you get rid of it, there are ways to give it back some youth. If the computer station is mainly used for word processing, communication (emails, chat), reading media (music, video) and browsing the Internet, rejuvenation may suffice. Such an approach is less costly for the wallet and for the environment, compared to a new purchase.

An external hard drive to lighten the computer

Make a big cleaning of your data: save all personal data on an external hard drive or DVDs. This is an opportunity to delete everything that has become useless and to put aside what is important and should not be lost.

Faced with the slowness of your computer, simple steps can be effective, using specific software: install, update and run antivirus and antispyware software. This will remove unwanted malware that has been installed without permission.

Install, update and run cleaning software like CCleaner and Glary Utilities (free). These tools will delete unnecessary files (cookies, temporary files, duplicate files, empty folders …). They also allow you to check and repair the registry in one click (these software programs also facilitate cleaning operations, which can also be executed by Windows tools).

Uninstall any software that has become unnecessary or is used very rarely using the control panel (ProgramsUninstall a program). Disable applications that launch automatically at startup and slow down computer startup (Control PanelProgramsChange startup programs). Only those that are used regularly should be kept.

Clean discs

The next steps are devoted to discs: check for errors on the disks and correct them: My Computerright click on C:PropertiesToolsCheck now.

Defragment hard drives to reduce data fragmentation and speed up their use (Control PanelSystem and MaintenanceAdministrative ToolsDefragment your hard drive. Please note that this operation can take several hours if the data is numerous and very fragmented.

Reinstall only useful and frequently used data. The others can be kept on storage media so as not to clutter the computer and to protect them in the event of a computer problem. In the event of a serious problem, consider a complete reinstallation of the system. In this case, personal data must be saved before embarking on the operation, armed with recovery discs.

Recycling your Computer

If your computer remains too obsolete for your taste, think of recycling it before buying another! Here are some pointers for a successful computer facelift!

If you have to change computers, consider recycling the old one. If you really want (or need) to get rid of the old machine and acquire a new one, you must first make sure that it no longer contains confidential or personal data. Indeed, emails, passwords, contact details, financial information … can be used in the context of industrial espionage, scams or identity theft!

You must therefore first save personal data on an external hard drive or DVDs: text documents, spreadsheets, slideshows, photos, videos, software, game backups, emails, favorites, etc.

Then the data should be deleted from the hard drive. Unfortunately, selecting everything, putting it in the trash and emptying said trash is not enough: the data is always present as long as no new data is saved on top. Even formatting is not enough to destroy the data, apart from resorting to what is called low-level formatting using specific software from the hard drive manufacturer.

We must therefore operate this type of formatting or use specialized software, such as Eraser, which erases data relatively efficiently.

Reusing your old computer

Then, depending on its condition, the old computer can be sold second-hand, donated to an association, or thrown away. The sale, when possible, makes it possible to recover a (small) part of its funds to finance the purchase of new equipment.

If the computer no longer has any value on the second-hand market, it can still be useful for a disadvantaged audience. Several associations such as the Emmaüs Foundation or Club Numeric are responsible for repairing, reinstalling and recycling old computers for the benefit of institutions and people with limited means (individuals, schools, developing countries).

Recycling channels

Finally, if the machine is no longer functional, it must be recycled in channels capable of recovering them and avoiding pollution due to the toxic substances they contain.

As electrical and electronic equipment waste, old computers must therefore be put in recycling centers or exchanged when buying a new computer, according to the One for One rule.… Read the rest

The Government of North Carolina


North Carolina is a constituent state of the U.S. One of the 13 original states, it lies on the Atlantic coast midway between New York and Florida. It is bounded to the north by Virginia, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by South Carolina and Georgia, and to the west by Tennessee. Its capital is Raleigh.

The Province of North Carolina was a British colony that existed in North America from 1712 to 1776, created as a proprietary colony. The power of the British government was vested in a governor of North Carolina, but the colony declared independence from Great Britain in 1776. South Carolina separated from North Carolina in 1719 when it was named a royal colony. Most of the settlements were located in the southern part of the colony. The colonial government was created through the Fundamental Constitution of Carolina.

The government of North Carolina is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. These consist of the Council of State (led by the Governor), the bicameral legislature (called the General Assembly), and the state court system (headed by the North Carolina Supreme Court).The Constitution of North Carolina delineates the structure and function of the state government.

Like the federal government and almost all the other states, North Carolina has a bicameral legislature, consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets in regular session beginning in January of each odd-numbered year, and adjourns to reconvene the following even-numbered year.

The North Carolina Department of Administration oversees government operations as it relates to the construction of buildings, purchasing and contracting of goods and services, managing state vehicles, acquiring and disposing of real property and operating auxiliary services that include courier mail delivery, the sale of state and federal surplus property and waste management and recycling.

Waste management and pollution is a priority focus of the NC government with an emphasis on promoting recycling and optimum landfill management. The local authorities recommend residents to rent a dumpster whenever they have unwanted junk and debris on their premises, so that no accumulation with pollution risk can occur. Different sizes of roll-off rentals are provided by local companies so that house owners and business directors can get such tasks easily completed.

The Constitution of the State of North Carolina governs the structure and function of the state government of North Carolina, one of the United States; it is the highest legal document for the state and subjugates North Carolina law.All U.S. state constitutions are, according to the United States Supreme Court, subject to federal judicial review; any provision can be nullified.

How does the State Government works? Laws of North Carolina, known as statutes, are made by the General Assembly. The North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA) is made of two bodies or houses; the Senate, which has 50 members; and the House of Representatives, which consists of 120 members. The integration of analytics into agency business decisions and enterprise IT strategy, along with a focus on data management, governance, and data security, are the fundamental focus of the North Carolina Government Data Analytics Center (GDAC).

This commission worked hard to reform local government financing throughout the state and its successor, the Local Government Commission, remains one of the bulwarks of North Carolina government today. Experience with various local arrangements for road building and maintenance had a comparable effect on state policy.

The N.C. Department of Information Technology provides technology services to state agencies and other government customers across North Carolina. Their services include hosting, network services, telecommunications, desktop computing, project management services, and unified communications such as email and calendaring.

In North Carolina, as in other states, lawmakers and public officials are elected in part to manage the state’s finances.This includes generating revenues (money coming into the state from various sources) and approving expenditures (the money spent on governmental functions and servicing state debt). State budgets are complex and fluid, as they depend on anticipated revenues and planning. The Government and Heritage Library serves the operational needs of state government agencies, those doing research on genealogy or North Carolina history, and the citizens of North Carolina. Visit us to explore the many services and resources, both digital and print, provided by the library. … Read the rest