Prior to retirement I’d set up a mobile detailing franchising company, and over the years I’d learned that auto-detailers take their trade and craft very seriously. Most treat it like an art more than a science, and I understand that, and so would you if you detailed cars to perfection and show room quality for a living. We all know that auto detailing isn’t a rocket science, but maybe it should be closer to a science than an art, without destroying the finesse and talent it takes to get there.

Now then, I’ve sat in seminars and listened to automotive detail experts and gurus explain how to turn a detailing shop into a production line. And, Winslow Friedrich Taylor, the grandfather of modern management, is in my family tree, and he believed in paying people piece-meal, paying people for each unit completed, rather than a salary or per hour. That makes sense for a mobile detailing shop, and you must have goals for your production, so that you don’t waste any of your bays, or any of the time during the week, and still have maximum output.

Granted, all of these things are important however when you are dealing with artists who really care about the detailing, and pride themselves in perfection, something that your customers also desire, then the last thing you wish to do is alienate them. If you push your detailers too hard, or chisel them on the amount of money that you pay them for each car they detail, they may get upset when you give them a “dog” or a totally trashed car when another detailer gets a car which is already in pretty good shape, and each person gets the same amount of bonus for each unit completed.

They won’t find this to be unfair, and the “dog” could take them twice or three times as long to do a perfect job, and being a perfectionist they won’t quit until it’s perfect. You need to have some sort of a bonus system so when someone gets a really ugly car that is totally trashed, they get a few extra bucks. You should also take “before and after pictures” and put those in the lobby with the individual’s name under it, to show how great their work is. I used to introduce them to the customer and have them thank the detail directly and perhaps even give them the tip and request them next time.

Motivation should not only be based on money, there should also be for rewards for performance, perfection, professionalism, and production. I hope you will please consider all this because it’s important, and it’s also the fair way to play it. Think on it.

Playing music using the piano will always definitely provide a very gratifying experience. The music you are able to compose the minute you hit the piano keys can produce an uplifting mood not just for the audience but for the piano player himself as well. That is why many people are yearning to develop such musical skill.

This is evident in how people would not dare to miss every chance of learning how to play piano. For those who are interested in taking piano lessons, you are so fortunate to have an easier access to Piano Tutor. Especially with the advancement of technology we have now, all you need to do is find the time to go online and let your online tutor do their job of teaching you this musical skill. Here are just a few of the things you need to know regarding this music tool:

1. First of all, you should know that the online Piano Tutor introduces to you the basics in playing the piano. The ultimate thing that the program will teach you is the basic notes so you will learn how to know the basic rhythm. For the beginners, the lesson is all about the essentials you should learn before hitting the major and minor notes. Online tutor is just right for those who are willing and starting to learn piano or already know how to play the instrument but still would like to further improve their piano skills. You can be assured that with such online tutors, you will learn the craft of playing the piano regardless if you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced piano player.

2. Second, although it is understandable that you might be too skeptical about this, your mind should be open to the benefits and advantages of availing one. If you doubt that the online piano tutor will never be as effective as a private piano tutor who can tell you the fundamentals of playing the piano in person, you can always research for more information about it online. As a matter of fact, there are a lot of available resources in the Internet about the various piano lessons that you may acquire and learn in just a short time. You will surely be able to develop the skills about having proper posture, dynamics and style in playing.

3. What is more, the convenience is just too much. In fact, there are just a plethora of benefits the online tutorial will give you such as big savings on time and efforts. Imagine, there is no need to go out of your house and drive to the music schools which requires you to spend big on gasoline expense and tuition. Truly, there is nothing compared to the convenience of doing your piano lessons online.

Most importantly, find a competent piano tutor that you can afford. Yes, there are a multitude of such piano tutors, available anytime you need them; however, the thing is they are not so reasonably priced. So, it would still be better to resort to finding the piano tutorials that will offer you not only efficiency but of course, also affordability.

Learning to play piano begin with the basic elements of music consisting of notes, intervals, chords, scales, and modes. This is accomplished by developing the ears and eyes to identify musical patterns, the brain to interpret the sensory information, which then guides the fingers to play the correct keys on the piano.

Learning to play piano is like speaking in public. You are nervous until you develop a level of confidence. Learning to play piano is about learning to press the right keys to produce the sound you want. I personally believe it is equally important to read music and play it, to hear the music and play it (play by ear), to improvise (produce new music on the keys), to memorize (play from memory), and also, to be able to compose and transpose (play the same passage in another key).

Learning To Play Piano is a long-term endeavour which teaches you the skill of practice and perseverance, something that is rare in today’s society. If this is applied, you will get enjoyment and satisfaction from seeing your efforts turn into achievements. Learning to play piano is the best introduction to music your child could have, as all skills learned can be applied to any instrument.

It’s important to understand that it will not matter what you do to learn piano, if you do not apply yourself to learning, or devote some time each day to practicing, you will never become really good at playing the piano.

Practice requires a recurring time commitment, and is very important, even if it may not hold the same excitement that it did in the beginning. You will need to renew your commitment to improving your playing, set long term goals that you can look forward to reaching as your playing gets better, and find piano music that really interests you to play so that you can recapture some of that interest in your dedication to practicing what you have learned.

Learning to play piano is more than just playing the notes. There can be no better way to begin to speak the “language of music”, as opposed simply to knowing the vocabulary, than to immerse yourself in it, also learning to play piano will improve upon a young child’s coordination skills. Unlike many other instruments, the piano requires both hands to independently maneuver the keys.

Learning to play piano can be achieved by anyone that is willing to try it. Like any other skill, piano playing requires patience, practice and the ability to have fun.

There’s an awesome online piano course that gives you the skills to be able to learn to play the songs YOU want, and gives you theory in a way that’s fun and easy to remember. This online program is “Rocket Piano” Rocket Piano is a complete piano learning system, and contains everything you need to know to play piano. And it is easy to follow , it is all laid out in a step-by-step method.

With Rocket Piano’s method of learning the intricacies of music theory and how it works, you’ll be hooked! Rocket Piano was created by the same people who developed the internet’s best selling, pioneering Jamorama software for guitarists. With their new product for aspiring pianists, they have once again set a new standard for online self tuition. It contains Step-by-step Piano Lessons (supported by video and audio files) organized into 3 high quality books taking you on a journey from beginner to advanced in your piano playing. These piano lessons are awesome!

Always remember, learning to play piano can be achieved by anyone that is willing to try it. Like any other skill, piano playing requires patience, practice and the ability to have fun.

Are you confused and frustrated not knowing which one to buy? A cheap desktop PC or a great value laptop? Well let me offer you my thoughts about the differences between a laptop and a desktop PC.

My aim is to make it easier for you to make the right choice and buy a PC to be proud of.

There are many different factors that should be considered with regards to your purchase.

Let’s have a closer look at this:

Portability – It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that buying a laptop will give you greater mobility. The laptop is very portable. Perhaps a better question to ask you is…where do you plan on using this computer? Are you going to be home based or would you need to take it away from the home. Would it be an advantage to be able to take it away from the home? Personally I always choose a laptop. Why? Because it gives me greater flexibility in the working environment and it is nice to work in the garden in the summer! So for portability the laptop is preferable.

Perhaps you are not fussed where you’re computer will be located. If that’s the case and your happy sitting at the same desk in the same room, the desktop computer is the choice for you.

Hardware Capability – There used to be a huge difference in the hardware capabilities between a desktop and a laptop PC. A few years ago if you wanted a powerful PC you never considered a laptop. These days technology gets more powerful and smaller so there really isn’t much difference. The only difference is the size of the hard disk. To me this doesn’t really sell a desktop PC as laptops normally have more than enough disk space to cater for my needs.

Desktop PC’s are great for heavy processing activities. If you are passionate about your music, video, photography or games then you might want to take advantage of the desktop PC’s larger storage capacity.

The other great thing about desktops is that you have plenty of scope to upgrade the components.

You could add an external storage unit to a laptop but it compromises its portability.

Processing capabilities – If you are a die hard gamer then a desktop is the only real answer. Many games put a tremendous burden on the processing capabilities of a PC. With a desktop you can always upgrade your graphics card, something you can’t do with a laptop.

So if you can’t live without your games and you want to be able to play them effortlessly for the next couple of years then I suggest a desktop PC with a support hot graphics card installed. As companies aim to take software to its limits they place more demands in having the hardware to support it. Technology gets smaller and even more powerful.

Cost – Laptop PC’s usually cost more than the equivalent spec desktop PC. Laptops do come with other external peripherals such as built in monitor mouse and keyboard.

OK let summarize:

Laptops are great for portability and for traveling about. So if portability is important you really have no choice but to go with a laptop.

If you don’t mind working on your PC in one place then ask yourself if you’re likely to play games. If gaming is something you are likely to do then a desktop PC is the choice for you.

Charles Blasius was a native of Cologne Germany, and he came to America when he was 25 years old.

After working for a number of other piano makers, he established his company in 1855 under the name of Blasius Brothers in Philadelphia on 1006 Chestnut Street. This was a Piano Alley, if you will, with Chickering and Sons, Decker Brothers, and Steinway warerooms on the same street.

In 1857, he parts ways with his brothers as business partners, and Charles changes the name of the firm to Blasius and Sons, with the admission of his two sons Levi and Oscar as partners.

In 1887, Blasius took control of the Charles Albrecht Piano Company, which was one of the oldest piano manufacturers in America. Along with the Albrecht name, Blasius & Sons also built pianos under the “Regent” brand name as an affordable alternative to his costlier Blasius brand.

It is always a good business practice to offer a customer several choices.

Because of their high cost when new, Blasius pianos were never built on a huge scale like many other American piano manufacturers.

Thomas Edison was very fond of and endorsed the Blasius piano, and used them in his experiments. He was conducting an experiment with the piano and phonograph. Here is a letter Edison wrote to Blasius in December of 1894.

“Dear Sirs,

We are still experimenting with your piano in connection with the phonograph. We are not yet satisfied with the phonographic reproduction, but the piano itself is very fine. We shall continue until we have reproduced the original with all it’s richness of tone.

Yours Truly,

Thomas Edison”

I can tell you as a piano technician, that Edison probably didn’t succeed in reproducing the “richness of tone” of the piano with the phonograph.

Charles Blasius dies in 1894, and the company was sold to Preston Rice, and Philip Wuest, owners of the Rice-Wuest piano company,

Around 1916 having trouble keeping up with orders and outgrowing their Philadelphia building, they take on the task of moving to a larger building in Woodbury, New Jersey, relocating over 400 employees and their families.

Woodbury, NJ was offering “no taxes for five years” to encourage businesses to move there. In the meantime, they began leasing the Philadelphia building to various companies.

By 1919 (the ending of World War 1) the company was financially in trouble filing dissolution in New Jersey. They move back to the smaller Philadelphia building, and tried to keep the company going, but they went out of business in 1925.

Note:

The historic building in Philadelphia was destroyed in 1970. The Woodbury, New Jersey building burned down due to a disgruntled employee, who even shut off the sprinkler system before starting one of the worst fires in New Jersey history.

When the screen fills with the five-pronged army of characters who do not have even a single trait in common, even the mildest of skeptics is sure to harbor doubts as to their capabilities. But all misgivings are dispelled as the movie progresses and the unlikely combination of five does manage to save the galaxy from falling into the clutches of an autocratic tyrant.

Based on a comic strip of the same name, the movie ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ revolves around the main plot and while director James Gunn has retained all the main leads as also the supporting characters, he has deviated a bit from the literary plot. To his credit, the deviation seems to have worked well in the sense that this audio-visual adaptation carries a standalone quality while drawing its identity from a well-known series.

The story begins with the often-discussed theme of alien abduction (courtesy X-Files) wherein a nine-year old kid is nabbed by aliens outside his home while grieving his mother’s death and grows up into light-hearted, no-good and yet charismatic youth in a galactic city. Much of the first half of the movie is focused on development of each of the five characters wherein the youth is portrayed as Peter Quill/Star Lord.

Compelled by circumstances, he joins hands with ruthless green-skinned Zamora and muscle-man Draz who is deeply bitter about his tragic past. This trio expands into a quintet when Rocket Raccoon, a trigger-happy and glib rodent, and his self-appointed guardian Groot, a humanoid tree, also agree to contribute.

Could there be a more unlikely bunch of saviors? At first it is difficult to even imagine them together but the cohesion with which they operate, stand by each other and share an unspoken understanding is reflective of exemplary teamwork. Each of these five characters retains his unique personality but never fails to contribute to the team when the situation calls for it. So they could be described as being distinctly different from each other and yet single-mindedly united in their objective to save the galaxy, which is what teamwork is all about.

For viewers, there is a lesson to be drawn in leadership from Peter Quill as regards the way in which he balances the remaining four members and channels their talents to the team’s benefit. But the greatest lesson in friendship and loyalty is provided by Groot not only when he is busy looking after Rocket but also when he sacrifices himself to save his four friends from certain death by enveloping them within his invincible fold. Tragic though the consequence is but his selfless act provides sufficient inspiration to the others to wage this war till its purpose is realized.

‘Unity in diversity and adversity’ is the message that emanates from this saga that takes place amidst the most overwhelming and amazing backdrops and is sufficiently sprinkled with humor, action and excitement. However, in spite of all the spectacular technological effects, ultimately it is the message of upholding friendship, trust and greater good above self that trickles through in the most subtle way possible. And each one of the five warriors is attuned to respond to it in his/her peculiar way, whether it is the eloquent Peter Quill or the reticent Groot with his varied intonations of ‘I am Groot’.

For all of you “newbies” to football, when watching a game, you may be thinking that just about anything goes. This is football, after all. However true, there are rules that need to be followed and when an offending player commits an infraction, his team must be penalized.

In the NFL, when a player commits a penalty, the Referee announces the penalty to the whole world. He will announce what the penalty is, and who it is on. For example, he will say something like, “Holding, number 74, Offense”. This tells everyone that number 74 on the Offense committed a holding penalty. In the NFL, you can run, but you can’t hide. When a player commits a penalty, the Referee (or one of the other Officials that spotted the infraction) tosses a yellow “FLAG” (which is really a weighted down hanky) into the air. So, anytime you are watching a game on TV and you see or hear the word “FLAG”, you will know that a player committed a penalty. While there are a number of different penalties that players can commit, I am only going to mention the most common ones. Here they are:

– False start – this occurs when a player on Offense (usually an Offensive Lineman) moves or flinches before the ball is snapped. This is usually a pretty easy penalty to spot. It usually occurs because a player is trying to get a jump on his opponent before the play starts and inadvertently moves before the snap. False start costs the Offense five yards.

– Holding – this occurs when a player grabs hold of his opponent in an illegal manner. While it may appear that holding occurs on just about every play, the Officials must pick and choose their battles. Usually, unless it is pretty obvious, the Officials will let this go. Holding costs a team ten yards if it is on Offense, and five yards and an automatic first down if on the Defense.

– Offsides – usually occurs on the Defense, but an Offensive player may be Offsides as well. Offsides occurs when a player (other than the Center) has any part of his body in or beyond the neutral zone when the ball is snapped. The neutral zone is the area between the lines of scrimmage (or, the length of the ball when it is on the ground at the start of a play). Offsides costs a team five yards.

– Encroachment – this penalty is similar to Offsides in that a player enters the neutral zone before the snap, but on this penalty, he makes contact with an opposing player. The penalty on this is five yards.

So, when watching the game, look for these common penalties. Pretty soon, you’ll be calling them before the Officials.

Breaking up is hard to do even in your own language, but what do you do when you have to break up in a foreign language? Read on for some Japanese phrases that will help you at that difficult time if you need to break up in Japanese.

Remember when you read the following phrases that the language used by males and females in Japanese can be different. The male language tends to sound rougher and the female softer.

If the relationship is over, then you may hear ‘Mo owari-yo’ (This is what a girl would say) or if you are a boy and need to end it, you would say ‘Mo owari’ or ‘Mo owari-da’. ‘Owari’ means to be finished, and this phrase is meaning that the relationship is over or finished.

Unfortunately you may also hear ‘Mo aishitenai’. This means ‘I don’t love you anymore’. This expression can be used by both males and females.

If you are a boy and want to tell the girl that you won’t ever forget her, you can use ‘Kimi-no-koto wasure-nai’.

You may have wonderful memories of being together and to express this you can say ‘Suteki-na omoide-o arigato’, which means ‘Thanks for the great memories’.

Some relationships don’t end so well, and if it is like that, some of these phrases might be useful ‘Mo denwa shinaide’ – which means ‘Don’t Call me anymore’ or ‘Mo aenai-wa’ – ‘I can’t meet you anymore’ or ‘Mo aishitenai-kara’, ‘I don’t love you anymore’.

Hopefully you won’t need to know or use the phrases in this article, but if your relationship does end, its better to be prepared.

Learning a new language can be tedious and boring but it does not have to be that way. Using French language games can make this work easier and more enjoyable for teachers and students alike. The newest learning methods use French language games in conjunction with audio and written lessons and they are a fun way for adults as well as children to learn how to speak French.

One of the easiest ways to get started with French language games is to play eye spy in French. This is a game that should be played with two or more players, ideally a small size classroom: the teacher will pick an item in the room and ask the students to guess what it is. For example: “je vois quelque chose de rouge/I see something red”; the students will answer by naming red items in French until the correct one has been found. Beginners can start with colours but more advanced learners should use the first letter of the word to be guessed.

Word searches and crosswords are French language games that can be played by students on their own or completed by entire classrooms as part of homework or class competition. These can be found in French magazines and newspapers downloaded from the Internet, but if you are a French teacher it is preferable to create your own, using vocabulary that your students are familiar with at first as some word games can be challenging.

The game of hangman (“le pendu” in French) is one of the simplest French language games and the first word game that many children learn to play. The teacher picks a French word and lets the player know how many letters are in the chosen word by drawing dotted lines where the letters should be; the player has to name the letters of the alphabet he or she thinks are contained in the word. When a correct letter has been guessed, the teacher writes it on the corresponding dotted line and if a letter has been proposed that is not part of the word, the teacher draws a part of the hangman. If the word is guessed before the hangman drawing is completed the student wins and vice-versa.

Older students can play the game of scrabble in French, where between 2 and 4 players create words from a combination of letters; with the aid of a French dictionary to look up words and their meaning, this popular word game has the potential of teaching new vocabulary and learners can get even more benefit out of it by making up sentences using the words found and saying them aloud.

If you are teaching grammar, one of the French languages games you can play with your students is to mix up the words from a French sentence and let them put the words back in the correct order. A similar exercise that helps in the comprehension of French is to make up a simple story four or five sentences long, mix the sentences and let the students put the story back in the correct order.

The use of French language games in new learning methods make learning French more interesting. Whether you are learning or teaching French, many resources are available to you and one of the places you can always rely on to find French language games is your own imagination.

Closes circuit television or CCTV refers to a system in which video cameras are used to transmit video signals to a specific set of televisions or monitors. Unlike television broadcasting system signals from these cameras will not be transmitted openly for the use of public. CCTV is available in both wired and wireless models.

CCTVs are most commonly used for surveillance in places which requires monitoring system. It includes air port, military installations, banks, casinos and convenient stores. Though rare, CCTV surveillance is seen to be used in private homes for security reasons.

The credit of installing the first CCTV surveillance system should go to Siemens AG. This system was installed in the year 1942 at Germany for the purpose of observing the launch of V2 rockets. In order to detect the malfunctions of rockets, CCTV systems are commonly used at the launching stations of rockets. This system is also used effectively in larger rockets to transfer pictures of stage operations of rockets to the controlling station.

Major industrial concerns now make use of CCTV surveillance cameras to observe the functioning of the factory from a remote camera room. These types of cameras are very common in industries that deal with dangerous substances like chemicals and nuclear fuel. By installing a thermo graphic camera it is even possible to measure the temperature of the processes going on in the factory by the person who observes the process.

Main intention behind installing CCTV’S at institutions like banks is crime registration. These hidden cameras are now become very popular among those who are keen to the security of their houses and business. The new generation CCTV surveillance cameras are very effective in their function and remain almost undetectable by the strangers who come to your work place or home.

The wide spread use of CCTV surveillance cameras are greatly increased the possibility of using these cameras to curtail the privacy of individuals. Many view use of cameras like this as an encroachment to the privacy of individuals.

In order to avoid problems arising out of the installation of CCTV surveillance cameras it is better to go through the laws relating to the installation of surveillance cameras before you install one at your work place. If you want to get the best out of your surveillance camera you have to carefully assess the security needs of your establishment and make a comprehensive surveillance plan in accordance with the security needs of your business place.