Posts
- By Daily Mail Reporter
- 28th August 2008
Heated car seats and long traffic jams 'may be a threat to men's fertility'
Traffic jam: Scientists claim heated car seats can lower a man's sperm count
Heated car seats may keep drivers warm on cold mornings - but they could also lower a man's sperm count, scientists claim.
A study found the electric-generated heat emitted by some driver's seats raises body temperature to a point that interferes with the production of healthy sperm.
It follows evidence from previous studies that men who sit in a car for more than three hours a day, or who work as long-distance lorry drivers or long-haul pilots, could be putting their fertility at risk.
The ideal temperature for sperm production is around 35C to 36C (95F to 97F), just below the average core body temperature of 37C (99F).
If temperatures are much higher - because, for instance, men wear tightly-fitting trousers or underwear, have long, hot baths or spend too long sitting down - sperm counts can fall dramatically.
Some fertility experts believe changes in fashion and lifestyles are partly to blame for falling sperm counts in recent decades.
To test the effects of car seat warmers, researchers at the University of Giessen, Germany, fitted temperature sensors to 30 healthy volunteers who then sat on a car seat fitted with a warmer for 90 minutes.
Within an hour, temperatures had risen from to an average of 37.3C (99F).
One man recorded a temperature of 39.7C (103.5F) New Scientist magazine reported yesterday.
Sitting on an unheated seat also led to slightly raised temperatures of around 36.7C (98.1F).
While the researchers did not test the quality or quantity of the volunteers' sperm, they are worried the effects of car seat heaters may pose a greater risk to fertility than merely sitting for long periods.
Researchers in Holland compared the sperm counts of men who wore tight-fitting underpants for six months and found it fell compared to when they wore loose undergarments.
Monday, September 01, 2008
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY!
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY!
- BS Brash
Video is not new, but selling classic cars with it is a new wrinkle. YouTube.com, a Google website has pretty much set the stage to post any video for the public to see. Once you post a video to YouTube, you can use the URL to send it to anyone by email or YouTube offers you the html code to embed it in your website or your ebay auction. The following two examples are samples of both a personal and an ebay video.
Most people don't have the knowledge to jazz up, read that edit, a video for posting.
This is where the business opportunity come in, if you do have a video camera, the knowledge and the software to edit the videos, it would be worth a lot of money to people who don't have that knowledge or equipment to help the make a video to post on their eBay auctions.
There are also some websites that allow you to make slide shows and videos from still pictures. Here are a few of those sites, http://280slides.com/, http://preezo.com/, most of these have a small learning curve and look pretty professional when done. Some of them even allow audio and music too.
Just as an idea, how about this; you take a video of cars for sale and post it to YouTube. You change the owners anywhere from $50 to 100 depending on how in-depth the video of their vehicle is, then you put 5-20 cars on the video and post it on YouTube. I am sure you can refine the business plan to suit your time and ability.
CLASSIC IMPALA CARS 4 SALE!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ6Dml8YukU
---------------
1968 Chevy Impala Fast back RARE and PIMPED OUT for sale
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5N9ZLDRG88&NR=1
If this idea interests you, I am sure that a little digging around on the Internet will come up with a lot more info on it. Mean while, you will learn how to do this just for yourself.
Copyright 2008 BS Brash
- BS Brash
Video is not new, but selling classic cars with it is a new wrinkle. YouTube.com, a Google website has pretty much set the stage to post any video for the public to see. Once you post a video to YouTube, you can use the URL to send it to anyone by email or YouTube offers you the html code to embed it in your website or your ebay auction. The following two examples are samples of both a personal and an ebay video.
Most people don't have the knowledge to jazz up, read that edit, a video for posting.
This is where the business opportunity come in, if you do have a video camera, the knowledge and the software to edit the videos, it would be worth a lot of money to people who don't have that knowledge or equipment to help the make a video to post on their eBay auctions.
There are also some websites that allow you to make slide shows and videos from still pictures. Here are a few of those sites, http://280slides.com/, http://preezo.com/, most of these have a small learning curve and look pretty professional when done. Some of them even allow audio and music too.
Just as an idea, how about this; you take a video of cars for sale and post it to YouTube. You change the owners anywhere from $50 to 100 depending on how in-depth the video of their vehicle is, then you put 5-20 cars on the video and post it on YouTube. I am sure you can refine the business plan to suit your time and ability.
CLASSIC IMPALA CARS 4 SALE!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ6Dml8YukU
---------------
1968 Chevy Impala Fast back RARE and PIMPED OUT for sale
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5N9ZLDRG88&NR=1
If this idea interests you, I am sure that a little digging around on the Internet will come up with a lot more info on it. Mean while, you will learn how to do this just for yourself.
Copyright 2008 BS Brash
Saturday, August 23, 2008
I HAVE ONE WORD FOR YOU, PROVENANCE!
KL Nichols
American Heritage Dictionary defines Provenance as:
(prŏv'ə-nəns, -näns') *n. Place of origin; derivation.
1. The history of the ownership of an object, especially when documented or authenticated. Used of artworks, antiques, and books.
2. The records or documents authenticating such an object or the history of its ownership.
If you own an expensive piece of art, you will need a written history on the art to, A. prove ownership, B. prove its worth. Provenance is the pedigree of the valuable piece of art.
Everybody knows that if you have all of the paperwork for your classic it is easier to sell. That means Dealer's Sticker, Owner's Manual, any repair and body work receipts, etc, etc, etc.
If you have all of the above paperwork, you are well on your way to establishing Provenance for your Classic. But if you really want to add value to your classic, you should document it and put it in a fancy binder.
One way that I can prove this to you, have you ever heard of the classic category, "Star Cars"? These are classics that belonged to famous people, Elvis, Steve McQueen or John Wayne, just to name a few. This is a category that has a strong following and in order to prove that the car they are selling actually belonged to Elvis Pressley's 7th aunt twice removed, you have to be able to authenticate it. Provenance! Out of the 200 or so cars that Elvis actually gave away, there are probably a thousand floating around out there, so if you are not careful, you can be fooled.
Provenance, how do you go about establishing it?
The easiest way is to start a diary and write down everything, and I mean everything that you do to and know about your classic. Video your classic thoroughly, documenting any repairs if possible. If you do a frame off restoration and strip it down to the metal, video the entire body as proof of no rust or bondo, then keep the CD or DVD with your diary. Pictures are great; if you have enough, make a photo album. The more information you have, the more the Provenance will boost your car's value in the eyes of the would be buyer which will translate into more profit when you sell it. If it is featured in any magazine or on local TV in a parade, keep copies of these with your diary.
One more thing, after you go to all of the trouble building a Provenance for your classic, go to a copy store, and have two copies made and bound buy the pros. That along could add $500 value to your classic! Put the originals and one of the copies in a safe place, just in case your show & tell copy get destroyed or beer spilled on it. Make it just as professional as possible, if you aren’t a computer person, find one who is and pay them to do the typing. Keep all files, photos and anything else you have on your computer about your classic backed up on two CDs, one for each set of Provenance
Provenance will also help establish your classic’s value in the eyes of the insurance guy in case, God forbid, you son should wreck it on his prom date!
Copyright 2008 KL Nichols
American Heritage Dictionary defines Provenance as:
(prŏv'ə-nəns, -näns') *n. Place of origin; derivation.
1. The history of the ownership of an object, especially when documented or authenticated. Used of artworks, antiques, and books.
2. The records or documents authenticating such an object or the history of its ownership.
If you own an expensive piece of art, you will need a written history on the art to, A. prove ownership, B. prove its worth. Provenance is the pedigree of the valuable piece of art.
Everybody knows that if you have all of the paperwork for your classic it is easier to sell. That means Dealer's Sticker, Owner's Manual, any repair and body work receipts, etc, etc, etc.
If you have all of the above paperwork, you are well on your way to establishing Provenance for your Classic. But if you really want to add value to your classic, you should document it and put it in a fancy binder.
One way that I can prove this to you, have you ever heard of the classic category, "Star Cars"? These are classics that belonged to famous people, Elvis, Steve McQueen or John Wayne, just to name a few. This is a category that has a strong following and in order to prove that the car they are selling actually belonged to Elvis Pressley's 7th aunt twice removed, you have to be able to authenticate it. Provenance! Out of the 200 or so cars that Elvis actually gave away, there are probably a thousand floating around out there, so if you are not careful, you can be fooled.
Provenance, how do you go about establishing it?
The easiest way is to start a diary and write down everything, and I mean everything that you do to and know about your classic. Video your classic thoroughly, documenting any repairs if possible. If you do a frame off restoration and strip it down to the metal, video the entire body as proof of no rust or bondo, then keep the CD or DVD with your diary. Pictures are great; if you have enough, make a photo album. The more information you have, the more the Provenance will boost your car's value in the eyes of the would be buyer which will translate into more profit when you sell it. If it is featured in any magazine or on local TV in a parade, keep copies of these with your diary.
One more thing, after you go to all of the trouble building a Provenance for your classic, go to a copy store, and have two copies made and bound buy the pros. That along could add $500 value to your classic! Put the originals and one of the copies in a safe place, just in case your show & tell copy get destroyed or beer spilled on it. Make it just as professional as possible, if you aren’t a computer person, find one who is and pay them to do the typing. Keep all files, photos and anything else you have on your computer about your classic backed up on two CDs, one for each set of Provenance
Provenance will also help establish your classic’s value in the eyes of the insurance guy in case, God forbid, you son should wreck it on his prom date!
Copyright 2008 KL Nichols
Saturday, August 16, 2008
SHOULD YOU TAKE PAYPAL PAYMENT FOR YOUR CAR?
- KL Nichols
A friend called me to say that he had sold his 63 Corvair Spyder. That in itself was nothing new, I hear from a lot of car sellers both before and after the sale. I am involved in the collector vehicle market.
What was different is that he told me that the guy who bought the car paid him by PayPal. Again not to unusual, but in this case he received the full $16k payment by PayPal. Not good!
First, PayPal charges for their service, a hefty charge, as much as 6%, on $16k and that is close to $100.
Second, PayPal protects the buyer, not the seller, at least they protect the buyer a lot more than the seller. What does that mean? PayPal will refund that $16k to the buyer at the drop of a hat, and leave the seller holding the bag! Once the money is refunded, the seller will probably play hell getting his car and title back!! Especially if it is in Alaska (another story for another time), Rhode Island, Hawaii or outside of the US. At best case scenario you will be stuck for return transportation and in this day of high fuel prices, that can be 10% or more of your vehicles worth!
Before I say anything else, I want to say that I love PayPal, but it has it's place. If you need to use PayPal to get an Earnest Deposit, that isn't bad, but be prepared to lose the entire amount if your sale goes south.
PayPal ain't God, but they do sit at his far left hand side, at least where your money is concerned and they are not easy to talk with. I have seen grown men brought to tears with frustration when trying to find an actual person to talk to at PayPal! It has been said that, "God is easier to talk to than eBay or PayPal!".
Did I mention that eBay owns PayPal? So it might follow, that if you piss off one, you may have scored a twofer! Something that might happen if you have spent the money you received thru PayPal for the sale of your vehicle and PayPal wants it back to refund it to the buyer. If that happens, I see lawyers and court time in your future! PayPal has no sense of humor where money is concerned. The reason is that they refund the money to the buyer and then expect the seller pay them back.
Copyright K & L Enterprises 2008
A friend called me to say that he had sold his 63 Corvair Spyder. That in itself was nothing new, I hear from a lot of car sellers both before and after the sale. I am involved in the collector vehicle market.
What was different is that he told me that the guy who bought the car paid him by PayPal. Again not to unusual, but in this case he received the full $16k payment by PayPal. Not good!
First, PayPal charges for their service, a hefty charge, as much as 6%, on $16k and that is close to $100.
Second, PayPal protects the buyer, not the seller, at least they protect the buyer a lot more than the seller. What does that mean? PayPal will refund that $16k to the buyer at the drop of a hat, and leave the seller holding the bag! Once the money is refunded, the seller will probably play hell getting his car and title back!! Especially if it is in Alaska (another story for another time), Rhode Island, Hawaii or outside of the US. At best case scenario you will be stuck for return transportation and in this day of high fuel prices, that can be 10% or more of your vehicles worth!
Before I say anything else, I want to say that I love PayPal, but it has it's place. If you need to use PayPal to get an Earnest Deposit, that isn't bad, but be prepared to lose the entire amount if your sale goes south.
PayPal ain't God, but they do sit at his far left hand side, at least where your money is concerned and they are not easy to talk with. I have seen grown men brought to tears with frustration when trying to find an actual person to talk to at PayPal! It has been said that, "God is easier to talk to than eBay or PayPal!".
Did I mention that eBay owns PayPal? So it might follow, that if you piss off one, you may have scored a twofer! Something that might happen if you have spent the money you received thru PayPal for the sale of your vehicle and PayPal wants it back to refund it to the buyer. If that happens, I see lawyers and court time in your future! PayPal has no sense of humor where money is concerned. The reason is that they refund the money to the buyer and then expect the seller pay them back.
Copyright K & L Enterprises 2008
GUYS ARE ALL THE SAME
BSBrash
It was Saturday and my neighbor Pete, trotted out his absolutely perfect 57 T-Bird, it is Turquoise, has both tops and only 387 actual miles on it. It also has the McCollough/ Paxton supercharged V8 in it and the T-Bird Special F Code. He only gets it out when it is sunny and over 85 degrees and after doing the cosmetic necessities, he lets it set in the sun to dry any errant drop of water left. I would buy it from him, but I am about $150k short of the asking price.
When he does get it out, I generally go stand bird watch, since we don't have a bird problem, we just generally swap lies and BS about cars, local gossip and etc.
This time we got to discussing Gorp, (At least I think that is his name) the teenager across the street, the one with the Nissan with no muffler. He is a discussion with just about every body who goes to bed before 12:00a as his muffler tends to wake up anyone sleeping when he comes home for the late shift down at Burger Haven.
Anyway we were discussing him as drove up with a girl that caught both of our eyes, she had to be 20 (I later found out that she was 16, OMG) and well built, wearing a skirt that would have been cleared the upper edge of her nylons 30 years ago. I don't know about Pete, but my estimation of Gorp when up more than a couple of notches.
Anyway, we were discussing Gorp and how we were just like him when we were young. I had a 50 Merc with straight pipes and steel mufflers that would have put Gorp's pipes to shame. Pete's ride was even noisier. My recollection is that our cars were much louder than Gorp's, maybe to the 10th power? Not to mention tires squealing during a peel-out was a common sound all over town back then! Drag racing at almost every stop light. Funny, once in a while I see peel out makes around the neighborhoods on the streets, but never hear them. The tire marks are mostly in front of a cute girls house, it is a guy's way of telling a girl that she has been noticed!
It was the same back on our day, but we it seems to me that we did it with a little more style. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Copyright BS Brash 2008
It was Saturday and my neighbor Pete, trotted out his absolutely perfect 57 T-Bird, it is Turquoise, has both tops and only 387 actual miles on it. It also has the McCollough/ Paxton supercharged V8 in it and the T-Bird Special F Code. He only gets it out when it is sunny and over 85 degrees and after doing the cosmetic necessities, he lets it set in the sun to dry any errant drop of water left. I would buy it from him, but I am about $150k short of the asking price.
When he does get it out, I generally go stand bird watch, since we don't have a bird problem, we just generally swap lies and BS about cars, local gossip and etc.
This time we got to discussing Gorp, (At least I think that is his name) the teenager across the street, the one with the Nissan with no muffler. He is a discussion with just about every body who goes to bed before 12:00a as his muffler tends to wake up anyone sleeping when he comes home for the late shift down at Burger Haven.
Anyway we were discussing him as drove up with a girl that caught both of our eyes, she had to be 20 (I later found out that she was 16, OMG) and well built, wearing a skirt that would have been cleared the upper edge of her nylons 30 years ago. I don't know about Pete, but my estimation of Gorp when up more than a couple of notches.
Anyway, we were discussing Gorp and how we were just like him when we were young. I had a 50 Merc with straight pipes and steel mufflers that would have put Gorp's pipes to shame. Pete's ride was even noisier. My recollection is that our cars were much louder than Gorp's, maybe to the 10th power? Not to mention tires squealing during a peel-out was a common sound all over town back then! Drag racing at almost every stop light. Funny, once in a while I see peel out makes around the neighborhoods on the streets, but never hear them. The tire marks are mostly in front of a cute girls house, it is a guy's way of telling a girl that she has been noticed!
It was the same back on our day, but we it seems to me that we did it with a little more style. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Copyright BS Brash 2008
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