Comments: Automotive Repair Manuals - Auto Mechanic Tips and Information

Unique Ideas for Personalized Jewelery

Personalized jewelery is such a great gift for someone you love on a special occasion. From engraved rings that carry a personalized message to charm bracelets that have a carefully chosen selection of charms, we've got some great ideas on great ways to add to that extra extra special to your gift.

Trollbeads

Trollbeads are a wonderfully unique gift. Each charm has it's own story and origin and crafted with only the finest silver, 18 carat gold, Murano glass and precious stones. Because each piece has it's own story, it is easy to find a beautifully unique piece of jewellery perfect for someone special.

Trollbeads have received recognition all of the world as not only wearable pieces of jewelery but also as works of art and have been exhibited as such.

When choosing one or a selection of Trollbeads for a bracelet or necklace, consider the person you are giving it to and think of their favorite colors, their birthstone, whether they wear gold or silver and what pieces are inspired by what they like.

A unique bracelet with a hand picked selection of charms

A charm bracelet is a great gift as it not only is something you can personalize with a selected number of charms, but it also is something that they can add to and you can continue to give them for years to come.

When choosing charms, think about the things they enjoy, hobbies they have and their favorite colors. There are so many charms to choose from that you are sure to be able to find almost any type of charm you are looking for. Some charms include precious stones and gemstones which can also look great on a charm bracelet.

An engraved piece of jewelery

Engraved jewelry is a great way to say something special to someone and make sure they remember that message every time they wear that piece of jewellery. Diamond rings are always a gift that will never disappoint, but by adding an engraved message you are adding something extra special to your gift.

Just keep in mind that some metals can not be engraved and if it is a ring or bangle you are wanting to have engraved, keep in mind it needs to be of a certain width to be able to have the engraving service done.

If you are stuck for a message, a great idea is to look on the Internet for quotes and personalized messages.

Something you design yourself

Many jewelers have a service where you can discuss with them a design you want and together create a wonderfully unique piece of jewelery. This makes a wonderful thought gift and something the person you are giving it to will treasure.

Just keep in mind that this process may take time, so make sure if you are wanting to design something, you need to start the design process months in advance to make sure you have it by the date you want to give it.

Jewelery is such a wonderful gift. By personalizing it, it becomes something even more special. I hope we've inspired you with some great ideas on how to personalize your gift next time you are buying something for someone special.

Electrical Engineering Technology

In order to succeed in their jobs, electrical engineers have to familiarize with a variety of electrical engineering technology. To deal with various aspects of electrical engineering technology, electrical engineers must become familiar with various theories of communications, electricity, and electronics. Electrical engineers can use electrical engineering technology to help them develop new systems, test systems, and make older systems more effective and efficient. Electrical engineers learn the drafting, designing, and technical skills that they will need to put their ideas as an electrical engineer into action.

One type of electrical engineering technology that electrical engineers must be very familiar with is the technology of circuits and how they work. In its simplest form, an electrical circuit is a connection of electrical elements that is in a closed loop to allow the current to pass through continuously. Electrical engineers learn how to predict where the current is in the circuit and the voltage that is in the circuit, as well. In today's world, it is much easier to design circuits than ever before due to newer electrical engineering technology that has software called circuit simulation software, to design the circuits safely and effectively.

Digital and analog electronics is another form of electrical engineering technology that engineers must be well acquainted with to perform their jobs. Both digital and analog electronics are used in computers and phones, however, digital electronics are becoming more widely used as analog electronics is becoming more and more outdated. This form of electrical engineering technology requires that engineers understand Boolean algebra, digital circuits, and how logic gates work. Even those that deal with digital electronics must also understand the electrical engineering technology of analog electronics as well. Digital electronics are usually built with various analog components, so understanding how analog electronics work is essential.

Another type of electrical engineering technology that electrical engineers must be familiar with is opto-electronics. This technology deals with how light interactions with devices that are electric. Various forms of light that may be used to interact with these devices include X-rays, infrared, gamma rays, and ultraviolet rays.

Electronic engineers also have to familiarize themselves with the electrical engineering technology that deals with control systems as well. Control systems are used to control electrical devices as well as regulate and command them. Engineers must know the differences between sequential controls and linear controls and how to properly and effectively use these control systems. This type of electrical engineering technology can be used in a variety of ways from controlling your computer to controlling aspects of a space shuttle.

If electrical engineers are going to be effective in their jobs, they must understand electrical engineering technology and how it works. There are many different technologies that they must use together in their work each day. Because of the knowledge required, becoming an electrical engineer is not for the fault of heart. It takes years of study and work to be able to implement various forms of electrical engineering technology in order to successfully complete electrical engineering jobs.

Work From Home - Make Money Online With eBay Store

By now you have probably heard plenty of success stories of people that have managed to utilize eBay to make money. The degree of success varies, but generally speaking there are certainly enough tales of financial gain out there to make anyone with even a tiny bit of entrepreneurial spirit perk up and wonder if they too could pad their income through eBay. The problem that most people run into, however, is that even those with a keen business sense and a natural talent for knowing how to find a make a sale do not typically know the tips and tricks that must be used on eBay to get a leg up on the competition.

While it certainly matters what you are trying to sell, there are other factors that will affect your trends of success. Understand that you are essentially using eBay as a store front and many of the traditional rules of making a sale apply. You have to be able to make yourself available to the customers, show that you can offer a better deal, and generally find a way to attract all of these different consumers to your product. Obviously, if you are not selling anything you will not be making any money; very soon you will most certainly need to begin mastering the different tactics that successful sellers use to attract customers to their listings, but before that you must become acquainted with the most basics of eBay.

What you want to do with eBay will determine how you need to approach the entire of your situation. If you intend to mainly use the service to attempt to try and sell a few items that you just have lying around the house then you might be well served simply by creating a few listings with catchy titles and allowing the bidding to resignation. However, if you are going to be using the service often or to sell several items, you may consider some of the other options that eBay offers. For example, one popular option that is offered is the ability to create an eBay "store".

If you tend to offer items along a particular theme, antiques, for example, then a store can provide users a quick, easy way to peruse your wares and to frequent your offerings on a fairly regular basis. This provides you with the opportunity to have a base of interested customers that are constantly updated on your new items and what you have to bring to the table. Additionally, as with most other eBay items, you do not actually have to offer the listing as an auction; it is completely within the realm of possibility to price the item yourself at the amount you would like to charge using the "Buy It Now" option. You can even offer your customers the option to haggle a bit by allowing them to make an offer; you obviously have the option to refuse this offer, but you might find yourself able to make a sell if you are willing to compromise a bit.

This, essentially, is what you need to know if you are new to eBay- that the basic styles of selling an item are a traditional auction style, where the item goes to the highest seller at the end of a set amount of time, and a very store-like option where you set the price and wait for an interested party to come along and make the purchase. Knowing these things is a good start towards making money on eBay, but these are just the fundamentals.

How you present your item could very well be the key factor in whether or not you are able to profit from your eBay venture. As you know, if a customer is unable to find your item they will, obviously, be unable to purchase it. eBay differs from a traditional store front in a variety of ways, but one of the most significant ways is that customers have to find your item by a text search, usually. This means that there are any number of problems that can occur and make someone who is otherwise interested in buying your item unable to find it.

For example, let's say that you make a spelling error when you list your item. This is going to make it significantly more difficult, sometimes even impossible, for someone who is looking for exactly what you have to offer to be able to find it. Basically, this means that you will have valuable equity locked up in an online limbo because no one is able to find your item to purchase it in the first place. You absolutely have to make sure that you do not make any errors such as this listing your product.

There are other aspects of the title, however, that are immensely important. It is not just enough for a buyer to be able to find your item; you need to try and make sure that they see what you are selling before they see the competition's merchandise. This means that you must be selective with the words that you use in your title, and even quite picky in the order of the words themselves. If at all possible, use Terapeak to try and discover what keywords customers search with to find products related to yours. These are the words that you need to use. Remember that you only have 55 characters so you have to use the most relevant keywords in the shortest space; these keywords are what will help you to be towards the highest results. If you need to communicate something else to a potential buyer you can use the subtitle feature; be aware, however, that eBay does not use this section to check for keywords, so keyword spam in this area is fruitless.

Additionally, you should be aware of the amount of time that an item is on sale for. If you have the item listed as a "Buy It Now" item this is not necessarily as relevant; if there is not very much competition on eBay from similar items it may be that you simply need to wait for the right customer; alternatively, lowering your price might be a good idea. However, the aspect in which you really need to be aware of time is the auction. Many sellers choose to put their item up for sale for the entire duration of seven days. This might seem to make the most sense- after all, the longer an item is for sale, the more opportunities people have to bid. This train of thought while being sound, is untrue.

If you pay very much attention to the various auctions on eBay you will notice that a sort of a bidding frenzy begins to ensue as the item approaches the end of the auction period. Once an item has less than a day remaining it becomes more immediate, and therefore more interesting, to a customer. In the last few hours customers are bidding constantly. One reason for this is the way in which eBay displays search results. An item with less time remaining will appear higher in the search results than an item with similar keywords but more time left. This means that you have the option to use good keywords and put your item on auction for a shorter amount of time to move your merchandise up the list of search results; additionally, you will still be able to attract the feeding frenzy type of bidding that occurs as an item nears its end. You can make the same amount of money in less time by making sure that your item is markeded properly.

Marketing is at the very soul of using eBay to make money. The odds are fairly strong that you will not be in a niche market and that you will have to struggle against competition to be able to really get a foot in the ground. If you are just starting out you can be at a distinct disadvantage against sellers that have been using eBay longer. For example, feedback is an important tool that many use when evaluating whether or not to make a purchase. Without good feedback you are fighting an uphill battle. There are, however, some tricks that can help you to overcome these obstacles and make a move on the competition.

Essentially, you must build your reputation as a quality seller from scratch. While it might be tempting to copy what it is that your competitors are doing, approach this from a customer's point of view. Why would a consumer purchase the exact same item from an unknown seller when they could get the guarantee offered by high positive feedback for the same price? It is not enough to simply do the same thing that your competitors are doing; you have to go above and beyond. To make any progress, you must outperform them.

One of the things that you must consider in the beginning is to offer your product at a lower price than other sellers. It does not have to be significantly lower, maybe as little as five or ten percent. However, a lower price can be the perfect way to sway buyers who might have otherwise made their purchase from your competition. This is not the only way to attract positive attention, however.

Depending on what it is that you are selling you might be be able to include a bonus item, something that is not very expensive if you have had the receipt to purchase it at a very low cost. For example, let's say that you are selling a smart phone- well, typically a new phone comes equipped with a charger and the necessary cables, but not a mobile charger. If you so desired, you could invest in a few of these and distribute them as a bonus with the order- you can often get a regular charger for which the owner supplies their own cable for only a dollar or two; it is a small gesture, but one that may influence a buyer to give you their business instead of your more popular competitor.

You can do other things, such as offering free gifts, that can help to build customer loyalty. For example, something as simple as including a small piece of candy with the package can be seen as a good will gesture; people will remember that you went the extra mile to make their experience just a little more pleasant, and if a mistake ever happens they might be more likely to give you a bit more leniency.

Shipping is also of the utmost priority. A common tactic that many eBay sellers attempt to use is to make a profit by charging more for shipping than it actually costs; this is not an encouraged idea. The point is to build up a great reputation among the eBay community to ensure your possible customers that you are trustworthy and will deliver their item, as promised. Padding extra costs into the purchase price very often results in very negative feedback.

You do not have to offer free shipping, but you do need to do everything within your power to make sure the buyer receives their item as soon as possible. Try to ship the item the same day that the offer closes, and be sure to supply the buyer with a tracking number so that they can keep track of their package. If something goes wrong in shipping this allows them to know the mistake was not yours; while they will not be pleased at the delay, most people are basically reasonable and will not hold this against you when leaving feedback.

Along the same idea of ​​customer service comes the feature of eBay to allow a potential buyer to ask a seller a question. If you happen to get a question from a consumer be aware that this person is, most likely, very interested in your merchandise. It is in your best interest to answer this question as quickly, and as honestly, as possible. You must do all of the little things that your competitors do not to build up positive feedback and to get the critical traffic you need as you are just getting started. The way to make money with eBay is to market yourself, market your product, and ensure people that you are a quality seller that makes sure they receive their item quickly and in the promised condition. Once you have established these things customers will be drawn to you; this is where you can begin to make money.

Money-making investments in the real estate market?

The real estate market is one where a profitable investment is always to be found; somewhere amid the foreclosure lists or lying dormant on a real estate agent's desk. This guide aims to give you the background necessary to allow you to find profitable investment real estate.

The first key to profiting from real estate is to find a highly motivated and urgent seller. The idea is that to negotiate a lower price on a piece of real estate requires the seller to want to sell their house quickly or favorably. If you are talking to an unmotivated seller on the telephone then it will soon be very clear that you are not going to get a discounted price on this real estate. If the seller is unmotivated then you will be unable to negotiate a lucrative deal.

One counterintuitive aspect of real estate investment is that you normally make a profit when you buy real estate and not when you sell it. This means that, while there is often little you can do to increase the value of real estate; sellers are human and are often willing to negotiate their price. Saving money while buying real estate is the key to selling homes for a profit in the real estate market.

With that in mind, your first step is to develop a list of real estate properties that you are considering investing in. You are going to need to view around ten pieces of real estate before you careful choose which one will be your chosen investment.

One useful technique for sourcing profitable real estate properties is to interview real estate agents; the people that profit from real estate on a daily basis. Interviewing a real estate agent and finding out if they own any investment real estate they would be very useful. Remember, they will be more than willing to be interviewed because you are offering them your regular custom.

Real estate agents understand the market "inside out" and can be an excellent source of investment properties with low prices because others have not seen or understood the potential of them. After you create a good relationship with some local real estate agents you will typically receive a phone call every time they notice a good property reach their desk. Remember, they receive a lot in return for this relationship because the more real estate that they sell the more commission that they earn.

Another very useful method for sourcing great real estate deals is the use of foreclosure lists. All you have to do is to search Google for "foreclosure lists" in your local area. Typically, you will have to pay a subscription fee to access this but it is definitely worth the cost.

In order to profit from foreclosure lists easily and quickly, follow these steps:

* Firstly, buy the daily foreclosure list for your area and flip through the pages.
* Select the only real estate that has been on the list for less than thirty days.
* Highlight the real estate that is within your budget.
* Look specifically for real estate that is located in nice surroundings or desirable neighborhoods and only select properties that are within fifty miles from where you live.
* Using the internet, access the local tax records and obtain the tax value of this particular piece of real estate.
* Also, search for the real estate in question on meritrealty.org. This website is also designed to give clues as to the value of real estate.

Once you have picked a few potential properties then ask your real estate agent to take you for a viewing. If you are happy with this real estate then hire a real estate property surveyor to make sure that the house is structurally sound. This step is necessary to ensure the value of your investment.

After this point you will be in a position to make an offer on this real estate and to attempt to "buy low" in order to "sell high".

Admittedly, finding a profitable piece of real estate is usually the result of a small amount of hard work. However, this article has put you at a great advantage in the real estate market. Also, the rewards of finding valuable real estate speak for themselves. Buying an under priced piece of real estate can mean profits of tens of thousands of dollars.

So, with all that new knowledge behind us,

Happy House Hunting

Top 10 Car Drawing Books For Beginner Artists

1. How to Draw Cars Like a Pro, 2nd Edition

In this long-awaited follow-up to the best-selling first edition of How to Draw Cars Like a Pro, renamed car designer Thom Taylor goes back to the drawing board to update his classic with all-new illustrations and to expand on such topics as the use of computers in design today. Taylor begins with advice on selecting the proper tools and equipment, then moves on to perspective and proportion, sketching and cartooning, various media, and light, shadow, reflection, color, and even interiors. Written to help enthusiasts at all artistic levels, his book also features more than 200 examples from many of today's top artists in the automated field. Updated to include computerized illustration techniques.

Author: Thom Taylor

2. How To Draw Cars Fast and Easy

How To Draw Cars Fast and Easy is a 134 page car drawing guide in downloadable e-book format, jam-packed from cover to cover with all the tips and techniques previously known by only a small hand of professional designers. This program contains all the information you'll ever need to draw perfect looking cars quickly and easily that will amaze your friends.

Author: Tim Rugendyke

3. How To Design Cars Like a Pro

This book describes how car design and technology work through the eyes of the most talented and powerful car designers in the world. The interviews give a deep understanding of why we see what we see on the highways of the world. Author Tony Lewin has been a highly regarded magazine editor on the world stage for so long that some of the top young guns revealing all in this book were hanging on his words just a few years ago.

Author: Tony Lewin

4. How to Draw & Paint Cars

This book is not about learning how to draw and paint fashionable cars, super cars, tarted up street or 'cool' cars as referred to by some motoring journalists, it is about drawing and painting all types of cars. The author has endeavored to distill experience from many years creating images on this subject into a book that will help and encourage those keen to draw and paint cars, both for pleasure or as a career. The author takes you through the history of the car from it's conception in 1885 to current models with sketches and paintings created in a variety of mediums, with examples and step by step guides. Readers are encouraged to develop their skills, whether raw beginners or accomplished artists. The road to success will not be easy, but, through this book you will learn all the techniques short cuts accumulated over decades by an accomplished commercial artist. Whether for business or pleasure this book is THE handbook for automotive art. With 185 illustrations and step by step guides this is a must have for any budding auto artist.

Author: Tony Gardiner

5. How to Draw Cars the Hot Wheels Way

This book provides excellent how-to-draw detail that is appealing and easy to follow for Hot Wheels (tm) and drawing enthusiasts from ages 10 to adult. Detailed drawing techniques with descriptive captions allow readers to create their own automated designs. Illustrations emphasize how to draw fantasy, custom, concept, and hot rod cars. Author Scott Robertson uses original Mattel art throughout the book. With real Mattel artwork featured in detail, the bo0ok has great appeal for collectors, even if they are not aspiring artists. Because Hot Wheels (tm) diecast cars are modeled after both real and fantasy vehicles, the techniques and interest to readers is the same as for real-life car enthusiasts. Officially licensed by Mattel.

Author: Scott Robertson

6. H-Point: The Fundamentals of Car Design & Packaging

The ultimate reference guide for car designers and automotive engineers! H-Point was written by the pioneer of the Vehicle Architecture course at Art Center College of Design, Stuart Macey along with the Director of Advanced Mobility Research, Geoff Wardle. Currently used as the educational handout for the transportation design students at Art Center, it will now be available to aspiring car creators everywhere, clearly organizing the packaging standards that apply to car and truck design; along with insightful graphic explanations, this book demystifies the automotive design process and allows designers access to an illustrious careers worth of knowledge.

Author: Stuart Macey

7. How to Design Cars Like a Pro

This comprehensive new edition of How to Design Cars Like a Pro provides an in-depth look at modern automotive design. Interviews with leading automotive designers from Ford, BMW, GM Jaguar, Nissan and others, analyzes of past and present trends, studies of individual models and concepts, and much more combine to reveal the fascinating mix of art and science that goes into creating automobiles. This book is a must-have for professional designers, as well as for automotive enthusiasts.

Author: Tony Lewin

8. DRIVE: vehicle sketches and renderings

DRIVE features Scott Robertson's very latest vehicle designs intended for the video game space communicated through skillfully drawn sketches and renderings.

DRIVE builds upon the success of his prior two vehicle design books, Start Your Engines and Lift Off. Featuring four chapters, each representing a different aesthetic theme, Aerospace, Military, Pro Sports and Salvage, conceptual sports cars, big-rigs and off -road vehicle designs are beautifully represented through traditional and digital media sketches, and renderings.

Author: Scott Robertson

9. How to Illustrate and Design Concept Cars

Beginners will find an easy-to-follow introduction to the topic, while more experienced designers can find new inspirations by reading about the author's workflow process. A very interesting book for everyone who loves drawing and rendering cars.

Author: Adrian dewey

10. Start Your Engines: Surface Vehicle Sketches & Renderings from the Drawthrough Collection (Air Vehicle Sketches)

Start Your Engines compiles works from Scott Robertson's vast archives of ground vehicle drawings and renderings, and features the following chapters: Cars, Bicycles, Snowcraft Mechanimals and selected work from the conceptual design of vehicles for the video games Field Commander and Spy Hunter 2. The Cars chapter reviews about half of this book and features original designs both futuristic and retrospective.

Author: Scott Robertson

7 Factors Affecting TIPS Bond Performance

1. The Expected Future Inflation Rate - The performance of TIPS bonds are affected by the expected inflation rate for the future. These securities are inflation protected securities, and if the expected inflation rate for the near future is expected to rise then these bonds will perform better. If inflation is expected to fall in the near future then the bond performance can suffer as well. If inflation is expected to increase then the demand for these securities can also increase significantly.

2. The US Economy - The economy of the United States can affect the performance of Treasury Inflation Protected Securities. A weak economy usually means a lower inflation rate, and this in turn causes the performance of these Treasury securities to decrease as well. A strong economy often means rising inflation, and this translates into better performance for this type of bond investment. The state of the US economy has a big impact on the performance of TIPS investments.

3. Changes in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers - The Consumer Price Index is one factor that will help determine the TIPS bonds performance. When this index increases then the performance of these securities also improves because these bond rates are fixed to the CPI. The link between Treasury Inflation Protection Securities and the CPI means that the CPI is essential for this bond performance. Any changes in the CPI will affect the bond performance as well.

4. The Current Inflation Rate - When the current inflation rate increases then the bond performance for TIPS will improve automatically. Because these bonds are inflation protected then the return on this investment is better when inflation increases. Any changes in the current inflation rate will affect the way that these bonds perform.

5. Deflation - Deflation can destroy the performance experienced by TIPS bonds. These bonds are designed to perform better in times of high inflation, so deflation adversely affects the bond performance and can be a cause for concern with investors who hold these securities. Historically times of deflation are also the periods where Treasury Inflation Protected Securities perform the worst.

6. The Global Economic Situation - The global economy can play a role in the performance of Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, because this economy helps to determine supply and demand. When the economy around the world is strong then foreign investors are more likely to invest in TIPS. If the global economy is weak many investors may choose to hold their capital, so there is less demand for these bonds on a global scale due to lower inflation rates.

7. Decisions Made by the Federal Government Concerning Monetary Policy - The TIPS bonds performance is dependent on the decisions that the Federal Government makes on national monetary policy. If the Feds change the policy in place, this can affect the bond performance in a number of ways. The government may adjust the inflation rate higher or lower depending on the economic conditions and other relevant factors. These changes can cause TIP securities to perform better or worse, depending on the specific changes made to the policies in place.