Role Models

Paul Rudd is at the top of his game right now. The movie revolves around a mid life crisis of a 30 year old but brings it into a more humorous light and highlights a couple of his poor life choices a long the way.

Sean William Scott also stars in this hilarious film. Scott plays a character that loves to party and slacks off at work. They both travel from school to school and talk to students about the danger of drugs and alcohol. At the same time they are promoting the energy drink that they work for. Rudd finally realizes what a hypocrite he is and has a breakdown after a breakup between him and his girlfriend (Elizabeth Banks).

Rudd and Scott get arrested and end up having to do community service at a place that gives role models to kids. The kids that they end up with are sort of outcasts who really need help from them. It is clearly a learning experience on both ends.

The DVD release and the Blu-ray release are packed with extras, all the stuff that you have come to expect. A directors commentary with some stuff from Rudd and Scott, it doesnt shed much light on what was going on during filming, but they are entertaining enough to listen to. There are the standard deleted and extended scenes as well as trailers for upcoming releases.

The interaction of the actors is fun to watch and the movie as a whole is hilarious. This is definitely a must see film.

Car Repair Prices

Fuel injection services are growing in popularity for the following reasons in the order of motive.

1) Increases service center's profit
2) It's an easy sell with today’s gas prices
3) Offsets manufacturers' maintenance reductions
4) Poor gas quality
5) Poor adherence to vehicle maintenance

Notice that "It's required" did not make the list. That's because fuel injection services are not required the majority of the time.

However, injector services are at times beneficial, even necessary. See the following frequently asked question and answers…

What do they do?

Depending on the product, injection services clean naturally forming carbon deposits from the fuel injectors and fuel rails—some will even clean the fuel tank, and valve carbon deposits.

Do they work?

In short, yes. Provided it’s a premium product (such as BG), and the service is performed correctly. Fuel injection services can do amazing things. They can improve fuel efficiency, increase horse power, and repair some performance concerns, although these benefits are rare.

Whether or not fuel injection services will do all the above "every time" for your car is another story.

I have even seen fuel injection services quiet horrendous carbon knocks--a knocking noise from the engine due to excessive carbon build-up coming in contact with internal engine components.

Are they worth it?

Maybe. It really depends on the condition of the vehicle. If the service achieves any of the advertised claims, it may be worth it. In truth, most cars don’t need it. The consistent use of quality fuel, and proper vehicle maintenance should be all that is necessary to keep a car running properly.

However, consistent use of cheap gas and poor adherence to an auto maintenance schedule, as well as certain driving styles can significantly increase the accumulation of carbon deposits. Thus the possibility of poor fuel efficiency, decreased horsepower, and performance issues increases--all of which could be helped by injector maintenance.

The other factor to consider is the expense. How much fuel savings justifies the cost of the fuel injection service, and how long is the pay off. BG claims that their product will pay for itself in a year's time. However, remember that the condition of the vehicle is a big variable! If the car doesn't need it, there's no benefit.

How often should it be done?

It depends on the product, but generally between 15,000 to 30,000-miles.

Are they necessary?
It depends: See the discussion under Are they worth it?

Can a fuel injection service do any damage to my engine or car?
Not if done correctly. Done incorrectly, anything goes. A technician could conceivably hydro-lock your engine, or blow a hole in the piston—although both scenarios are rare.

If anything does go wrong, there is usually an underlying problem, which gets exacerbated by the fuel injector auto maintenance.

Why doesn’t my manufacturer recommend fuel injector cleaning auto maintenance?
No manufacturer recommends fuel injector cleaning auto maintenance under normal operating conditions. From a manufacturer’s viewpoint: take care of your car right (i.e., as the manufacturer dictates) and you’ll be fine.

However, depending on the problem, some manufacturers will recommend fuel injector cleaning auto maintenance as the cure—especially carbon knock. With the wide variety of fuel qualities available, manufacturers are reconsidering fuel injector cleaning auto maintenance.

How much does fuel injector cleaning auto maintenance cost?
Prices vary depending on the service center and the actual procedure performed, and product used. The procedure you want should clean the entire fuel system including the tank and should not cost more than $150.

Also, make sure the service is actually performed as fuel injector maintenance is a common scam across the industry.

Lastly, fuel injection maintenance is often presented in such a way as if it is the magical cure for all your car's quirks--it not!

When in doubt, don't do it.

Di Pengadilan Juga Bermesraan

Celebrities Bikini - Video Jennifer Dunn Ciuman dengan Sunan kalijaga sang pengacara kasus narkoba yang sedang melilitnya dan kita bisa lansir sebuah berita tentang kedekatan antara Sunan Kalijaga dengan Jennifer Dunn yang seksi serta cukup hangat bibirnya buat Sunan Kalijaga. Dari balik jeruji ruang tahanan Pengadilan Negeri Jakarta Barat, Jennifer Dunn, pesinetron muda yang berstatus terdakwa kasus narkoba, mengungkap hubungan asmara dengan salah seorang pengacaranya, Sunan Kalijaga.

"Saya dekat lah sama dia. Dekat sekali. Pokoknya dekat lah," tutur Jenifer Dunn, gadis 20 tahun ini, usai persidangannya, Kamis (11/2), di Pengadilan Negeri Jakarta Barat.

Rupanya, para pemburu berita gosip malah lebih tertarik untuk mengorek kabar asmara Jennifer dengan pengacara muda itu, ketimbang kasus hukumnya. Bahkan, di balik tembok pembatas antara pengunjung dengan para terdakwa, para juru kamera infotainment tampak sibuk mengambil gambar, seperti adegan mesra antara Jennifer dan Sunan.

Tak pelak, sebuah adegan ciuman mesra antara dua pasangan muda ini, di balik jeruji ruang tahanan yang kecil itu, terekam kamera-kamera digital infotainment.

Selain tak mengelak bahwa telah memiliki hubungan dekat, Jennifer justru meminta para wartawan dan sejumlah reporter infotainment, untuk menanyakan status hubungan asmaranya ke Sunan. "Kalian (wartawan dan infotainment) lihatnya gimana? Tanya dong sendiri sama orangnya. Masa` aku doang yang ditanyain," ujarnya.

Pemain sinetron Hidayah ini juga tampak tak keberatan dengan status Sunan, yang santer dikabarkan telah memiliki seorang istri. "Saya juga minta maaf kalau memang ada yang tidak suka atau keberatan dengan hubungan saya dengan Sunan. Saya minta maaf," jelas Jennifer. "Saya nggak bisa bohongin perasaan saya, kalau saya sayang sama dia," tuturnya dengan polos.

Jennifer menuturkan, ibunya, Linda Caroline --yang selalu hadir di setiap persidangan putrinya--, tak keberatan dengan status hubungan asmaranya dengan pengacara itu. "Mama aku tahu aku udah dewasa. Dia dukung aja sih. Pokoknya, dia dukung aku yang terbaik aja," tambahnya.

Seraya berkelakar, salah satu reporter infotainment berceletuk kepada Jennifer, "jadi, ongkos pengacara gratis ya?". "Gratis? Enak aja! Mentang-mentang aku pacaran sama dia, Jadi bayarannya dengan cinta saya?" ucap Jennifer, membantah.

Kisah asmara yang terjadi di sela-sela peradilan Jennifer itu, bagi para pemburu berita gosip, seolah mampu menutup materi persidangan yang dijalani perempuan berparas bule itu. Maklum, jalannya persidangan kali ini, yang memiliki agenda pemeriksaan saksi dari jaksa penuntut umum, hanya berlangsung kurang dari lima menit.

Damayanti, salah seorang saksi dari jaksa penuntut umum, tak dapat dihadirkan ke persidangan.

Sidang perkara ini kembali dilanjutkan seminggu pasca-sidang hari ini, dengan agenda yang sama, pemeriksaan saksi

Evolving as a designer in the current economic climate

Cuando Me Enamoro - What I love about design and working within a creative industry the most is that it is constantly changing. From trends, software, clients to working practices, the design world in which we, as designers, live is a great place to be. But is everything really that peachy? Or are we at the peak, waiting to fall?

Competition (literally)

Graphic design is an over-saturated market, no doubt about it. The lure of what seems (from the outside at least), an attractive lifestyle, along with a misconceived acclaim to fame, means that more students are enrolling in design-related courses than ever. Eventually, a percentage will graduate and seek design-related jobs. Also, don’t forget the uneducated hobbyists who claim to be ‘Graphic Designers’ & then, of course, there’s those already established within the industry. With service providers multiplying at a rapid rate & the current economic climate limiting the number of new start-up businesses, is there enough work to go around? I asked 4 top designers for their opinions:

Nathan Sarlow of www.cobaltcow.com thinks design is going down-hill:

I think overall, the design industry is in a state of decline, and the difference between the high and low end of the industry is widening. The industry is flooded with incompetent designers, and businesses cashing in on the ‘tough economic times’ by facilitating the ability for a company to see hundreds of custom designs for only a few hundred bucks.

The businesses/websites that Nathan refers to, I’m not going to link to them as you probably have already visited if you’re reading this, are also multiplying. By offering “design competitions” for measly prize amounts, you would think that this would harm our beloved profession. Well, in a sense, it does, but let’s look a little deeper. I believe there are two types of “clients” that use these design competition sites, 1) those which have a very limited budget & 2) those looking to save money by taking the cheapest option available. If a business only had $250 dollars to spend on a logo or website design before these sites existed then chances are they would have acquired the service by another means for the same price. For example, via a local printers, a friend who knows a little photoshop or illustrator, or maybe they would have had a crack at the design themselves. Of course, this still happens today, and let’s remember that there will ALWAYS be someone out there willing to work for next to nothing.

Mike Rock also known as @kaimere on Twitter, stays optimistic:

Ultimately the design industry has followed the trends of recession, feeling the impact as business’ decline or prosper. It’s easy to jump on the bandwagon and say we are in decline when in effect we should counter the effects and re look/ rebrand ourselves to make ourselves viable propositions. Some may say crowdsourcing hurts the industry however in actual fact it caters for a CERTAIN market who’s brand is moulded around a logo rather than having a logo crafted to their needs, so one may hope as their product grows – as do their aspirations as they try to gain more of your market share and they look for credible sources.

Some have said that the recent influx of crowdsourcing increases workflow and helps designers improve their skills.

Sean O’Grady also known as Fogra on Logopond said:

The design industry is now reduced to which designer can offer the lowest price for design work. In fact, I have seen some prospective clients offering only $10 to anyone who can design a logo for their company or even NOTHING in some cases to gain a portfolio piece. I have set-up a search on my Tweetdeck with the keywords, ‘looking for logo’ and it brings up results from people looking for logo design to other people promoting CrowdSpring, Elance, etc. It really is a buyer’s market right now but ‘if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys’.

Realistically, these crowdsourcing sites only directly affect you if you charge similar prices to the prizes on offer in the competitions. The problem comes when clients instantly believe the best way to get ‘good’ design is by seeking as many concepts as possible. The key is to educate the client that quantity doesn’t necessarily mean quality.

Educate.

The biggest stumbling block a business faces when seeking design work, is where to look? There are thousands of designers online, all with similar strategies, looks & styles, but most portfolios do not include a set price list for fear of exposing themselves to peers. Fair enough. A designer shouldn’t have to public display their going rate, but by setting up a design competition a client can decide how much they want to pay THEMSELVES. Why should a client go with the more expensive option anyway?

We all get frustrated when we don’t hear back from an enquiry. Was the price too high? Did they go with someone else? Wasn’t my work good enough? Nine times out of ten, if a company has taken the time to get in touch then that means they like your work, if they don’t reply then we could be to blame for not justifying the price of services.

Mike Rock thinks designers need to adopt new strategies:

The role of the designer amidst the plethora of home dtp solutions is becoming more cloudy and itself is in decline for those who choose not to adapt. The process and strategy is being lost among the other resources available so much so the title/role of designer is viewed as an unnecessary expense in relation. I could rant on and on but the main point is we need to adapt, educate and be dependable and as credible as the logos/ brands which we create.

I said at the start of this article that the designer industry is constantly changing, so why aren’t designers? Why are we waiting for the phone to ring and getting disgruntled when we don’t land a job? Never before has a designer had to be so dynamic:

Trish Scheafer-Montgomery of www.contemporary-native.com backs this view

Graphic designers not only have to know their own business, industry and market, but they have to learn and understand their clients’ in order to create the right design for them. Not just a great design, but a design that works.

Graphic designers also have to be personable and educators. An educated client makes for a more loyal and appreciative client.

I offer a lot of “Free” support services to clients. None of which are a hindrance to me, but are a good value to the client. I provide the logo in various formats and sizes for almost any media and I a logo guide. The formats and guide are both emailed and burned to disc to be snail mailed to them. For the first six months from the full purchase of the final logo I offer free production support and minor updating of the logo (such as changing the slogan). Part of my job as a graphic designer is to educate, design and provide enough upfront support to help the client become successful. This minor investment is a large investment in myself as well as the client. Happy clients mean they’ll come back and they’ll probably bring friends.

Sean O’Grady believes good communication is more important than ever:

There is no value put on good quality, professional design services. The trick is to work with the client closely on discussing their business, getting involved in it and informing them of all aspects of media available to them. After a meeting you should know as much as they do about their product or service. This will not only help your client appreciate their position but more importantly it will help you the designer create a more effective and meaningful brand identity. I just feel that clients don’t get a meaningful brand identity when they approach the likes of these spec work sites for example. There is also a bigger danger of a client being sued for using a logo which may conflict with an already existing logo all because it either wasn’t researched properly or the designer plagiarised the design. This seems to be more and more prevalent lately, in my opinion.

It’s not just clients that need guiding; it’s budding students too. Some leave education thinking that the only way to make a living through design is to enter competitions and progress from there. That may be the case for a lucky few but not all.

Nathan Sarlow thinks the education system could help:

It seems that the majority of people that graduate from design school come out with the same knowledge and a similar style. I personally feel that the education part of the design industry needs to be guided more by active designers and less by teachers (that used to be designers). This way, the students would be learning more about current ‘real world’ design and not theoretical design that will only aid to give them a false sense of their worth to the industry. With hundreds of competitions running every week across dozens of spec-work sites, more and more companies are re-inforcing the spec stye of sourcing work is acceptable. Regardless of the quality of the end result, very few of these companies will ever be convinced that paying a designer for their time is of any inherant value.

Unfortunately, I believe spec work will always exist within the design industry, as long as there are people willing to take it on. It doesn’t effect me directly though, and it shouldn’t effect you either, but that doesn’t mean I am saying what these crowd-sourcing sites are doing is right. Fortunately, there are still clients out there wise enough to know that they have to pay for quality, we just need to justify our own positions in the market & our services. As has been said above, being a designer is more than just drawing a pretty picture and sending an invoice, it’s about sellling yourself too. Theres a big difference between selling yourself and selling your soul though.

We could all take the easy option & light our stakes, pick up our pitchforks and run to the crowd-sourcers to point the finger of blame or we could just take a look at ourselves, and look at how we can be improved. After all isn’t that the role of a designer anyway?

Ukraine Election Boosts Debt Yields

Teresa Telenovela - The close-call vote between Ukrainian presidential candidates Viktor Yanukovych and Yulia Tymoshenko has boosted the risk of holding the country's debt and currency, analysts said Monday.

Ukrainian sovereign debt was yielding 11.10% Monday, compared with 10.59% Friday, indicating "some tension" surrounding the election that took place Sunday, broker BG Capital said. The difference between the rates at which banks buy and sell the hryvnia in exchange for dollars also expanded a "little bit" compared with Friday, according to BG Capital.

"Given the strong performance of Ukraine credit over the past couple of weeks and its resilience during the recent market weakness, risks seem skewed to the downside at the moment," Barclays Capital said. "Early parliamentary elections seem likely if a narrow Yanukovych victory is confirmed, potentially delaying political stability and negotiations with the International Monetary Fund further," the bank said.

So far, Mr. Yanukovych has 48.6% of the vote, or slightly more than Prime Minister Tymoshenko's 45.8%, the Central Elections Commission said, based on results from 86.7% of polling stations. Yet Ms. Tymoshenko, known for her role in the Orange Revolution that overturned Mr. Yanukovych's victory in 2004, has shown no signs of conceding.

The UX Index of local Ukrainian stocks declined slightly, falling 0.2% to 1656.94 after earlier rising as much as 0.8%. Oil company Ukrnafta sank 2.6%. In credit derivative markets, Ukraine's five-year sovereign credit-default-swap spread—a key measure of credit risk—was steady at 9.46 percentage points, but activity was muted, according to CMA DataVision.

CDS are over-the-counter derivatives contracts that function like a default insurance for debt. If a borrower defaults, the protection buyer is paid compensation by the protection seller. Swap buyers may be protecting investments they own or simply making bearish bets against companies or countries.

Even if the election hurts Ukraine's nascent financial markets, Russian companies, many of which own assets or do business in Ukraine, may benefit from the apparent victory of a more pro-Russian leader like Mr. Yanukovych, UniCredit SpA said.

"In particular, we expect that a win by a relatively pro-Russian candidate would be positive for Gazprom, which could benefit from a reduction in the political component of annual negotiations over the gas price and transit tariffs to Europe," said analyst Vladimir Osakovsky.
—Clare Connaghan contributed to this article.

Mobile Phone To Mobile Computer

Triunfo Del Amor- With the current mobile phone market in the UK reaching an all time high there seems to be a multitude of handsets on the market. New and updated models hit the market at a rate of around 4-5 per month. Many features seem to bundled into these phones as standard and the costs of making them has soared to the point that many of the mobile phone networks in the UK are now pushing for 18 month contracts to reduce the cost impact. Phone manufacturers are now having to make a choice between producing a handset that covers all the bases at a respectable level to those handsets designed to do an outstanding job in one particular area for a more specific user. How many times have you heard someone tell you that they don’t use their camera, multi media messaging (MMS) or that they never listen to the radio function.

No sooner had the general public become accustomed to getting all this extra functionality from their phone, along comes 3G (3rd Generation) with it’s ability to offer mobile to mobile video calling and better access to internet resources it was almost certainly going to be a hit. The first real push in the 3G market in the UK came from a company who were specifically targeting this new generation of phones, aptly names Three.

A mobile without a camera these days is considered old and out of date, they are getting better and better the number of mega pixels (the higher the number the better quality picture you can take) seems to be getting larger each month and with it the storage capacity increases to cover the larger overheads. Very few models available in the market today are without the now “standard” features of a camera, sound recorder, alarm, internet browser and of course the much loved games. These days with the addition of “organiser” functions like calendars, task management and of course your “contacts” people rely more and more on their mobile.

For those people who are into music then Sony Ericson have released their “Walkman” phone W810i with a built in MP3 Player and fantastic handset design, or the W850 which also includes two way video calling.

Mobile phones are becoming more and more like a computer, with internet access, the ability to surf the web and pick up your emails, organise your diary and even the addition of instant messengers you really can hold your life in the palm of your hand.

If you want to take a look at what is on offer for the latest handsets and some of the best tariffs available on all the UK’s major networks please visit - www.bestmobilesolutions.co.uk