Gear Up for Winter Driving This Holiday Season

The weather outside may be frightful, but your commute doesn’t have to be — that is, if you take the proper steps to prepare your vehicle for winter weather. Be prepared with Firestone Complete Auto Care’s winter driving safety tips to help make sure you arrive home safely for the holidays.

•    Be proactive! Winter only magnifies existing problems like pings, hard starts, sluggish performance or rough idling. Make sure your vehicle is mechanically sound before the temperature dips and the streets get icy.

•    Make certain the engine is in peak condition. Also, check the cooling system. Coolant should be replaced per the vehicle manufacturer’s maintenance schedule.

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How to Spend Less on Gas and More on Holiday Gift-Giving

It’s easy to get caught up in the holiday hustle and bustle when you’re constantly looking for the perfect gift. The holidays can get expensive, but there are ways to save , and your vehicle doesn’t have to add to that huge dent in your wallet.

Firestone Complete Auto Care offers the following tips to help you save money at the gas pump so you can focus on the season of giving.

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Decorating to Make Your Holidays Sparkle

Five words or less(NewsUSA) – We all have a neighbor who goes overboard with the novelty outdoor lights around the holidays, but what if you want a more subtle, sophisticated approach to herald the season? The American Lighting Association (ALA) offers some proven tips for holiday decorating with refined style, inside and out.
First of all, consider a grand entrance. Adding a few easy-to-install landscape uplights to highlight trees and shrubs, or path lighting to illuminate a sidewalk or driveway, will immediately add a sense of elegance and sophistication.
Once your company comes inside, it’s really time to shine. Little touches can inspire a cheery mood and make guests feel comfortable and merry.
“Decorating for the holidays doesn’t always have to be sparkles and glitz,” says Bruce Hathaway, national sales manager for the Vermont-based lighting manufacturer Hubbardton Forge. “Sometimes a little understatement goes a long way.
“Entertaining in your home involves managing the flow of a room, so be careful not to over-clutter the space -; especially when you’re hosting a group of people,” says Hathaway. “Recessed lighting should be dimmed, and accent and cove lighting should be used to create highlights and drama. And don’t forget that portable table and floor lamps help set the perfect stage.”
Focus attention on a tree and other holiday decorations with portable spotlights. These small, inexpensive fixtures are available at most ALA-member showrooms and can usually accommodate a tabletop dimmer. Create pretty silhouettes by placing a spotlight beneath a Christmas tree so that it shines up through the branches. For an especially warm and intimate feel, shine a spotlight toward framed photos of family members and past holiday gatherings, and fill a corner with a basket of children’s holiday books.
One easy and quick change that will have maximum impact is to switch out a few lampshades. Replacing a neutral lampshade with one that is red or gold will soften the light and create a holiday atmosphere. Try adding a few shade charms, available at many craft stores, to add some sparkle and fun. You can even buy an inexpensive plain shade and decorate it with whatever suits your style and particular occasion.
Visit your local ALA-member lighting showroom to discover all the items and expertise you need to make simple, low-cost changes to make your home beautiful and inviting. For more information about all aspects of home lighting, go to www.AmericanLightingAssociation.com.

Don’t Let Pests Chew Away Your Holidays

Five words or less(NewsUSA) – For those who look forward to dusting off their Christmas decorations and unpacking strand after strand of twinkling lights, discovering a nest of mice or other creatures can be alarming.
“Rodents, spiders and other pests can find their way into homes and nest in boxes of holiday decorations that have been stored in attics, basements and garages since last season,” says Missy Henriksen, vice president of public affairs for the National Pest Management Association (NPMA).
Holiday decorations that sit in boxes, undisturbed for long periods of time in the attic, basement or closet, provide the perfect hiding spots for pests. The usual culprits are beetles, mice, spiders and weevils. Mice will make nests out of cozy stockings, spiders will spin webs into your wreaths and weevils will burrow into your potpourri.
In order to keep your decorations free of pests and prevent nasty surprises this December, NPMA recommends these prevention tips:
* Avoid storing decorations in cardboard boxes. Cardboard boxes can barely keep out dust, let alone hungry pests. Instead, keep wrapping paper and ornaments in large plastic totes and containers. The containers should have tightly sealed lids to keep the contents dry and secure.
* Keep cloth or wool items in sealed plastic bags. All stockings, tree skirts and other cloth decorations should be washed and sealed in plastic bags. Damp or dirty table linens can be a pest haven and also harbor germs and bacteria. Plastic bags will help keep items fresh and safe from insects.
* Inspect decorations each year for mold or damage. Not all decorations are meant to last forever, and some should be thrown out after one season. Remember to go through your collection and check for moldy or damaged articles. Since mold and moisture can attract more pests, it’s best to discard those items.
If you’re faced with a real infestation, consult a pest management professional to figure out the best course of action. To find more preventive tips or locate a pest expert in your area, go to www.pestworld.org.

Don’t Tread Lightly On Winter Tire Safety

Five words or less(NewsUSA) – With winter upon us, tire safety in cold weather is something every car owner should be familiar with. Most drivers concentrate on tire safety in hot weather to avoid blowouts, but the same precautions should be exercised in the winter. One of the most effective ways to be safe on the road is to use a winter tire specially designed for cold weather.
Common all-season tires contain a tread compound that gradually hardens when temperatures dip below 45 degrees, resulting in a decrease in traction. These tires also tend to collect winter road debris, like snow and ice, which can impact a vehicle’s performance on wintry roads.
Mark Ballard, spokesman for Discount Tire Company, America’s largest independent tire and wheel retailer, advises motorists to replace all four tires with winter tires if they can expect to encounter snow and ice during the winter months. “It’s best to use winter tires, especially if you live in an area with extreme weather conditions where temperatures are below 45 degrees on a consistent basis,” he explains. “Relying on an all-season tire to do the work of a winter tire can be dangerous to you and other motorists.”
In recent years, the Rubber Manufacturers Association (www.rma.org) developed new standards for winter traction, which led to technological advancements in the manufacture of winter tires. For example, a newer tread compound featuring a higher sillica content retains tire flexibility even in freezing temperatures, allowing the tread to maintain its grip with the highway.
Also, tread block design has been greatly improved with the addition of thousands of “sipes,” small cuts in the tread block that provide extra biting edges for more traction.
“Every aspect of today’s winter tire has been engineered to provide better traction and greater ability to quickly expel water, slush and snow, provide a quieter ride and allow for longer tread life,” says Ballard.
Winter tires tend to be slightly more expensive than all-season ones. But like all tires, winter tires perform optimally when properly inflated. Remember that a significant drop in temperature can lower air pressure. Typically, a 10-degree drop will cause tires to lose a pound of pressure.
To learn more about winter tire safety, visit www.tires.com.

Valve and Sensing Technology: Performance From the Inside Out

Five words or less(NewsUSA) – “Innovation” is a term companies use quite often. While many companies are quick to brand themselves as inventive, very few have the legacy and pioneering spirit to be truly innovative. But occasionally, a few great companies manage to prove their claims of innovation by successfully extending core technologies into new fields and applications.
You may be grasping at air when you try to explain valve and sensing technologies to a friend. While many don’t see or interact with these technologies on a daily basis, they are utilized in applications that many customers and end-users use each and every day -; and the roles these technologies play in your everyday safety and comfort shouldn’t go unnoticed. One such valve and sensing technology manufacturer, Schrader, takes innovation seriously.
“Since 1891, our valve and sensing technology has played a critical safety role within global automotive applications. We invented the first pneumatic tire valve, the very same valve used on every vehicle in the world today. More recently, we pioneered tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS), now required on all new vehicles in North America, and growing in European and Asian-Pacific countries,” says Paul Wise, director of marketing at Schrader. “However, what differentiates Schrader is our ability to extend these foundational technologies to new markets and applications.”
For example, Schrader has been successful in adapting its sensor technology to monitor power transmission belts and industrial hoses, which are found in diverse applications for factory equipment, construction, agriculture, robotics and other markets as well.
“Many of these applications are considered ‘capital equipment,’ meaning when the piece of equipment is down because of a broken belt or a burst hose, it translates to a real operational cost to owners,” said Enda McCloskey, vice president of technology, Schrader. “Our new belt and hose monitoring systems remove the guess work about when to perform critical maintenance.”
Schrader valve and sensing technology within automotive applications helps to save lives, reduce fuel costs, and reduce environmental impact via TPMS. Additionally, Schrader’s continued history of innovation has resulted in an all-electric way to better measure fuel levels in gas tanks as well as new flex fuel sensors for hybrid vehicles — its technology has even expanded to the medical field, including oxygen monitoring for hospital and patient environments.
For more information, visit www.schraderinternational.com.

TPMS Industry Leaders Collaborate for Customer-Inspired Breakthrough

The customer-focused partnership between Schrader, a global leader in valve and sensing technology, and Bartec, the market leader in handheld tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) scan/programming tools, alleviates complexities and makes servicing TPMS-enabled vehicles that much easier for the aftermarket industry. With over 65 million TPMS-enabled vehicles already on the road, and more daily, the demand for scalable and easy-to-use TPMS repair solutions is at an all-time high. Created through the premier alliance of the two companies, Schrader’s EZ-sensorTM is a joint development success that delivered the first and only patented and programmable replacement sensor that functions across diverse car makes and models.

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Innovation Reigns When Times Get Tough

Five words or less(NewsUSA) – When people see closed storefronts in the neighborhoods where they live and work, they’re reminded that the toll this economy has taken on businesses affects their own lives. And yet some companies — faced with the same adverse headwinds — seem to rise to the challenge and go on to prosper as never before.
Why is that? And could there even be a lesson to be learned here if you’re thinking of starting your own business as a result of either being unemployed or just plain fed up with your current job?
The “i-word” keeps popping up among experts as the answer to that question. “The whole engine that drives any economy is innovation,” says Stephen Gnass, executive director of the National Congress of Inventor Organizations, a non-profit for inventors and inventor groups.
Take IBM, for example. It practically reinvented itself years ago — going from a stodgy seller of large, pricey computers to a global software and consulting giant — and just recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. And then there’s the more under-the-radar case of New Jersey-based GAF.
North America’s largest roofing and ventilation manufacturer is celebrating its own anniversary this year — 25 years longer in business than IBM, but who’s counting? — and one way it got there is by coming up with unique answers to consumers’ and businesses’ desires to go green. In fact, it made quite a splash last summer when it teamed up with New York City’s Department of Buildings to paint 1 million square feet of roofs white — GAF supplied the reflective paint for one of the many projects of the initiative, as well as materials and labor — as a way of cutting the city’s energy costs.
To GAF’s CEO, Bob Tafaro, that kind of nimbleness is key. “When you put customers first by ensuring that they get quality products and service, and when you keep your employees focused on innovation, you’ve got the formula for surviving long term and throughout even the toughest economic times.”
The company’s commitment to service and innovation has actually produced a number of “firsts,” including: the first ready-to-lay asphalt roofing, the first to use color granules in roofing materials, and the first to offer a lifetime shingle warranty. And, oh yes, for those concerned about the outsourcing of American jobs, everything’s made in America. For more information, visit www.GAF.com.

Smooth Sailing With Proper Tire Safety

(NewsUSA) – Don’t wait until there’s nothing left between you and the rain-slick pavement to check your tires. The likelihood of accidents skyrockets when combining wet, seasonal weather and poor tire maintenance.Proper tire and pressure maintenance can prevent all kinds of road accidents, but drivers must be aware of the warning signs and ongoing maintenance needs to ensure driving safety. For example, an underinflated tire might not "look" flat to the eye. A tire can lose up to 50 percent of its air before it begins to show visually. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), tire pressure literally changes the way the rubber meets the road, affecting traction, handling, steering, stability and braking. Similarly, NHTSA estimates that nearly 250,000 accidents occur in the U.S. per year due to low tire pressure.Statistics like these remind drivers how quickly collisions occur under preventable circumstances. Schrader, a global manufacturer of sensing and valve solutions that protect and perform, recommends the following advice to keep your tires road-ready in all conditions:* Check your tire pressure regularly, especially before any long trips. Inflation pressure changes depending on the temperature. Tire pressure drops about 1 psi for every 10 degrees F drop in ambient temperature. Additionally, tires can lose as much as 1.5 psi per month as air escapes the tire and rim naturally. It’s best to check tire pressure when the car is off and tires are coolest.* Heed the TPMS warning symbol. All passenger vehicles and light trucks sold in the U.S. from 2008 onward have a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) system installed. If the TPMS warning symbol lights up on your dashboard, one or more of your tires is 25 percent or more underinflated — a significant loss in pressure. Take caution, and do not ignore the TPMS warning symbol.* Find a safe place to pull out of traffic to stop and check your tires. If you are not having a blowout, use a tire gauge to check the pressure of each tire against your vehicle manufacturer’s recommended pressure level. Inflate tires to correct pressure at the nearest service station or repair facility. The recommended pressure level can be found on the tire placard, a label located just inside the driver’s side door.* Don’t forget the spare. Before long drives, always check your spare for any injuries or punctures.For more tips on how TPMS ensures driver safety, please visit www.TPMSMadeSimple.com.

Is Water the Next Oil?

Five words or less(NewsUSA) – Water is an essential natural resource — and it’s only becoming more valuable.
Despite 70 percent of the planet’s surface being covered by water, a mere 3 percent can be considered suitable drinking water. As pollution spreads and populations rise, fresh water supplies in highly populated areas are dwindling. Since 1950, the global population has nearly doubled, and water use has tripled.
“Much like oil, the growing demand for fresh drinking water is making it an increasingly valuable resource,” says Joel Sens, president of Seawright Holdings. “Water is the driving force behind life on this planet. As water use continues to climb, more regions find themselves facing a critical dilemma.”
More extreme cases of dwindling water supplies can be found in the hotter climate zones within the U.S. In fact, Texas is experiencing the worst single-year drought on record — now strengthened into a lethal rash of wildfires. In addition to Texas, the Great Lakes are shrinking, upstate New York reservoirs have sunk to record lows, and the west coast is riddled with water restrictions. Experts predict that at least 36 states will face water shortages within the next five years because of a combination of drought, population growth, waste and excess.
“The future of the global water supply is scarily dark,” says Sens. “At Seawright Holdings, we just happen to be in a good position to profit on the inevitable scarcity of water.”
Seawright Holdings is a small, overlooked public company whose stock currently trades well below $1 per share. As owner of one of the largest and oldest fresh water springs in the U.S., its spring is unaffected by drought and protected by 145 acres of land. Located 120 miles west of Washington, DC in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, Seawright Springs produces over 1 million gallons of natural, FDA-approved water per day. Not to mention, the spring is ideally located within a day’s drive of two-thirds of the American population, which makes the water even more valuable due to its close proximity to so much of the U.S. population.
As the value of water continues to rise, Seawright Holdings remains an interesting investment opportunity. The company trades under the symbol (OTCQB: SWRI). To find more information about the spring and stock-related details, go to www.swristock.com.

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