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Demystifying luxury vinyl flooring

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Feel like the flooring options for your home have gotten confusing? There are so many different types and brands now that keeping up with everything can seem overwhelming. Most people don’t buy new flooring that often, so when you start looking for options, it may feel a bit out of your league. One type of flooring that we hope to explain in this article is luxury vinyl.

In addition to carpet, hardwood, and laminate, vinyl is a popular choice for flooring in your home or business. Vinyl itself comes in various forms. There are vinyl sheets, which are glued directly to the subfloor. Laminated vinyl has come a long way with a realistic tile, wood and stone look. The other option for vinyl is called deluxe vinyl, which comes in tile or plank.

Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) looks like stone or ceramic tile. With natural colors and surface texture, these tiles look and feel like real stone or ceramic. Luxury Vinyl Planks (LVP) offer the look of wood planks in various species and colors. Surface textures can even include scraping or stamping to enhance the realism.

Whether you choose vinyl, LVT, or LVP sheet, you get a sturdy floor, known for its warmth and comfort underfoot. However, its true claim to fame is its resistance to moisture, which makes it the best choice for a bathroom or kitchen. It is also much less expensive than real ceramic or wood.

So maybe you’ve decided that luxury vinyl is the way to go for your new bathroom installation, now all you need to do is decide on style and color, right? Not quite, there are still a lot more things to consider and this is where it can get confusing.

First, you can choose how you want to install the luxury vinyl flooring. There are still a few that you can paste, while other options include floating click and loose placement. With a floating click, the planks or tiles are brought together to form an airtight seal. Loose floors allow you to simply position each piece to cover the floor. This type of flooring is easy to repair as you can easily remove a piece in the middle of the room and replace it.

You will also have options about the thickness of the tile or boards. The core of the board may have an additional cushion to dampen sound and provide more comfort underfoot. Other types can be stiffer, allowing them to hold up better in heavy foot traffic.

There are a few other acronyms used to describe the core of luxury vinyl: WPC and SPC. Depending on the manufacturer, these mean different things. For example, WPC can mean wood plastic composite, waterproof polymer core, or wood polymer core. Similarly, SPC can stand for Stone Polymer Composite, Solid Polymer Core, and other variations. So you can see where the confusion could settle!

If you are looking for a new flooring and decide to research luxury vinyl, you may be frustrated with all the different terms and lack of consistency. All manufacturers tend to have their own name for things, which makes it difficult for the consumer to know what is what. With just a few internet searches, you will soon realize that there is a lot more to luxury vinyl flooring than you originally thought.

This is where your local flooring store may be your best option for expert flooring advice. They will know the differences between manufacturers and the type of products they make so you can better compare. Plus, you can simply explain to a flooring store expert what kind of look you want, where in the house it will be used, and what kind of traffic it is likely to receive. They can then offer suggestions and help you clean up the flooring jungle to find the best luxury vinyl option for your needs.

Auto

History of Jeep

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Jeep is a subsidiary car brand belonging to the Chrysler group. Because it is the oldest and best-known manufacturer of SUVs and SUVs on the planet, the word “Jeep” has become a common term describing sport utility and off-road vehicles.

The first Jeep and praying for the US military who needed a rugged and reliable car that could drive on all terrains and in all weather conditions. They needed an off-roader that could simply be transported around the globe and was easy to maintain, so the early Jeep models were the perfect solution to the wishes of the military. The first large-scale Jeep was the M715 model that was used primarily in the Vietnam War.

The civilian models were derived from the army cars produced by Jeep in the 1950s and 1960s, thus maintaining their wonderful off-road capabilities. In truth, for several years, enthusiasts around the world who wanted a car to reach the highest peaks bought the only recalled cars ready to deliver such intense performance. Jeep currently sells several SUV models, the best known of which are the Wrangler, Commander, Compass and Patriot.

The model that brought Jeep world fame as it appeared to be a small, compact, simple, and fun-to-drive vehicle, it was ready to hit areas other cars could only wish for. Jeep began production of the Wrangle in 1987 and because it resembles the military Jeeps of the 1960s and 1970s, the world fell in love with this car.

The models produced between 1987 and 1995, the YJ series, offered great comfort for a pure off-road vehicle and was also available as a convertible model. Over the years, Jeep added more sophisticated features to its Wrangler models, including a roll cage that protects all cars, antilock brakes, and power steering.

The second generation Wrangler was produced between 1996 and 2006 and was more refined, offered more comfort and better road handling than the previous model.

The current generation Wrangler is larger than its forebears and offers stronger, more economical engines and is the most comfortable Wrangler yet. The Grand Cherokee is another Jeep hit, as it was the company’s best-selling midsize SUV over the years.

Jeep wanted a bigger model to hold more people and could offer more comfort than the Wrangler and in 1993 they released the first Grand Cherokee model. The Grand Cherokee is today in its third generation and, along with the Patriot and Commander models, offers the world’s most advanced 4×4 drive system (also known as).

To expand its car models, Jeep has launched two other car families, the Patriot and the Compass. Both the Jeep Patriot and Compass models were launched in 2007 and are delegates of the company’s intention to offer greener and more reliable cars. Jeep dealers have to face stiff competition in the SUV segment and with these new models they need to reposition themselves as the most successful SUV manufacturer on the planet.

Digital Marketing

Creating a truly unique money-making asset: the art of personal branding

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Today, people seek to have more control over their lives. Creating a truly unique asset that can be branded and traded becomes essential. What we are here to discuss and decode is how this ability is unlocked. It is through a process called personal branding, first defined by Tom Peters in his article “The Brand Called You” in 1997. We will unveil some of that mystery in the next article. Remember, this is a framework and a starting point, each individual is different. There is no magic formula that allows for duplication. As you read, keep in mind that what each individual draws from this article is unique to them. If this is something that sparks interest, join us on the journey as we define what personal branding means and then lay out the initial steps to begin the process.

The definition of personal brand

Personal branding can be defined in many different ways. The reason for this is that even among experts there is really no one-size-fits-all definition. So looking at the definition requires more than a simple word search. Googling the personal brand will take you to the definition on Wikipedia. According to him and those who edit it, personal branding is defined as “the process by which people and their careers are marked as marks. It has been observed that although previous self-management techniquesgets better, the concept of personal branding suggests, instead, that success comes frompackaging. “Another way that people have defined personal branding is to see it as an extension of the social media fad, making it technology-based and treating it like internet marketing. However, both definitions have shortcomings based on the fact that they ignore aspects of the process that are key to personal branding. First, they ignore the fact that personal branding is more than just “self-packaging,” and discard the “self-improvement” part. Second, personal branding It did not start with the advent of the Internet. There is a strong personal branding story in which people like JC Penny, Sears and Roebuck or Deloitte and Touché used personal branding to launch vast empires. Therefore, I offer my personal branding definition of as follows:

“The creation of an asset that belongs to a particular person or individual; this includes, but is not limited to, the body, clothing, appearance and knowledge it contains, resulting in an indelible impression that is uniquely distinguished “.

This definition allows each individual to have the opportunity to develop and create their own personal brand, without believing that the packaging alone or the presentation only makes the mark. Of course, defining personal branding is just a starting point, as once the term has been defined, there should be steps that can be taken to start the process.

Steps to get started with your personal brand

Step 1: Get to know yourself.

This step is the foundation of everything. As many have said, if you are “not sure of yourself, how can you be sure of something”? Trying to start a personal brand before you are sure who they are is practically impossible. Therefore, a careful examination of the individual’s wishes and dreams is tantamount to launching a successful personal brand. There is a key reason for this. The person who marks himself must decide what he loves. By getting to know themselves, they find out what topic, hobby, or area they like the most. This directly impacts the next step.

Step 2: become an expert in what you love.

Does this mean that there is only one expert in that topic or area? Most likely not. That really makes one work harder to improve. This also means research and a deeper understanding of this topic or area. It will mean keeping up with the changes, so a continuing education in this topic or area as well. This is where one should focus on changing behaviors and modifying the way they act to accommodate this new part of life. Remember that keeping the brand fresh is an important key to making the brand desirable. That can only be done if the brand continually publishes new information and a desirable message.

Step 3: Find out who benefits the most from this brand.

This is not an easy step, and the fact remains that some of the biggest and most well-known brands have made horrible blunders in this area (see example 1 below). Knowing the brand’s market base allows the brand to craft a strong message that specifically targets that market. When working with companies, marketing companies typically do thousands and sometimes millions of dollars of research to find a market. However, with each of the personal brands mentioned above they started with a simple message, because there was only one person to create, mold and execute the message. However, this step should not be taken lightly, as inconsistency with the message can cost credibility with a new brand and significantly set back an established brand.

Step 4: find the best way to get your message across.

This is the area that people confuse with internet marketing. It is the most misunderstood area of ​​personal branding. Covering information all over the place is not an effective way to get a message across. That will cost the brand control of the message and make it more difficult to improve and maximize it. Keep in mind that the rules exist in all areas and that they are there for a reason. Many people will tell you how to bend the rules, change the rules, and even in some cases break them, but unfortunately, as with everything, when the rules are broken, the effect can be devastating. As you observe this step, it is imperative that a plan be established and a schedule is followed that allows one person to fully control your message. The last thing any brand wants is for someone else to control what others see with their brand. (See example 2).

Step 5: Make the message consistent at all times.

When I finish the last step, I start with the truest example of why execution is so vital. The brand message must be consistent. This means that the management of the brand message must become habitual and constant. It’s not enough to do the first four steps and put something out there to establish a personal brand and then forget about it. There are many people who do just that and are not establishing a personal brand, they are just posting information. Establishing a personal brand means that one is observing not only what is published, but also what people are looking at and observing when it comes to that brand. There are free tools available to help one achieve that, and when creating the brand, researching which tools will be the most effective for that brand is part of the plan and program that needs to be devised.

As you can see, establishing a personal brand is not something that is done in a few minutes on the computer while connected to the Internet. In fact, of the five steps above, only one has to do with the Internet, and that is not the case if you choose to use traditional media as the best way to spread your message.

By following these steps and keeping the definition above in mind, any individual can begin the process of creating a personal brand. The fact that it is not as easy as it might sound should not be a barrier to someone if this is what they really want to do. In fact, the fact that it’s harder than it sounds should make everyone a little more convinced that this is something worth doing. Remember that the only barrier to creating an effective personal brand around anyone is the limitations they place on your own individuality. So take pride in your individuality, discover what makes you unique and start your journey to a personal brand.

Example 1: The New Cocaine Incident

“In April 1985, The Coca-Cola Company management announced its decision to change the taste of the company’s flagship brand. This decision was made based on the fact that Pepsi consumer research found in evidence of taste blindly that most consumers preferred the taste of Pepsi to that of Coca-Cola. The “Pepsi Challenge” campaign made this public knowledge and Coca-Cola executives moved quickly to change the main United States brand. United. New Coke arrived in a new can, with updated red and silver graphics replacing the traditional red and white styling. Although New Coke taste tests had shown that the majority of people tasted preferred the new product, these tests failed to measure the emotional appeal of “old” Coca-Cola. In other words, consumers want their cake and eat it too. The public outcry occurred during the 1980s. days when the old Coke was no longer on the shelves. Coca-Cola quickly reintroduced the “old” Coca-Cola when they realized their market share was falling and dubbed it Classic Coke. “

This article is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Coke

Example 2: The Michael Phelps Incident

This example was developed in public with a well-known public figure who, if necessary, could have had someone work with him to prevent something like this from happening. In early 2009, a story broke out in Britain published in the News of the World. They had in their possession an image showing the new American hero Michael Phelps using a bong. This according to the Wikipedia article and the News of the World websites, linked at the end of the example. An occurrence like this is an example of what can happen when someone else is controlling a personal brand message. Michael Phelps, his winning attitude and down-to-earth personality have made him an incredible spokesperson for numerous products. All of this was backed up by their internet sites and the fan sites that were on the internet. However, all it took was one image to provide a major setback and ultimately lead to US Swimming suspensions for 3 months and Kellogg’s did not renew their endorsement deals.

Reference sources: http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/.

Gaming

Laptop cooling pads for everyone

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Do you have a laptop? Where do you use it the most? On your lap, in the car, while traveling, in bed, while watching TV, actually anywhere as you can grab it and go.

I find that I use my laptop the most on my lap, in bed, or in my favorite chair. After all, that’s why they call it a laptop, right? Do you notice when you use the laptop, whether it’s for gaming (which can take hours) or just to write articles (which could also take many hours) that the laptop starts to get very hot on your legs? Have you ever put your laptop on the bed, I mean, just for a while? So you remember where it is and you try to pick it up and it’s really hot? My son called me the other day and his laptop accidentally turned on in his backpack; did not notice for three hours. He said it was so hot that he could barely touch it. What can you do to prevent your laptop from getting so hot?

There are three main options that you can see. This is the Belkin Laptop Cooling Pad, the Belkin AC Adapter, or the Vantec Lapcool. All three are worth it, but they all have their little quirks, so read on to find the one that best suits your needs.

The Belkin Laptop Cooling Pad cools your computer very well. You can buy one that ranges from $ 19.95 to $ 29.95. They have a one-year warranty, gentle slope to avoid wrist strain or to help those with carpal tunnel syndrome, raises the screen to help reduce neck strain, fits in your laptop bag, too Contains a convenient compartment for USB cables and grip pads to prevent your laptop from slipping off your lap.

If you’re writing on a table, the cooling pad has a built-in stand that folds out to allow air to circulate. There are no big bulky adapters to deal with, just a small USB cable that connects to your laptop. With all these features, it was hard for me to believe it was so cheap.

Belkin has another product called the Belkin Ac Adapter Stand. This is also a very good Belkin product, although it is not as good as the Belkin cooling stand. When you place this stand on the table, you need to reach back and lift a plate on the back of the stand. If you’re not careful and just reach back blindly to flip the plate over, you can risk touching the fan. Now this isn’t that bad, you won’t cry, but it’s an irritating design flaw.

Vantec Lapcool is another great laptop cooler. It comes with a 12-month parts and labor warranty. The most important feature was a variable fan speed that the other two did not have. It also has four additional USB ports, which if you have an older or cheaper laptop, you may only have one USB port. This is useful if you have flash drives and other extras that require a USB port. It also has an eight-in-one memory card reader. Now this almost makes this product a must buy.

How many people have a digital camera? I do this and found that my computer does not support the memory card that came with the camera. So, I had to constantly connect the camera to the USB port to download my photos or videos. This was just an annoyance and almost freaked out because the digital camera was not worth the effort. But with the eight-in-one memory card reader, my camera’s memory card fits and I can download images in an instant. It costs a bit more (about $ 47), but if you have a problem with memory cards, this may be worth it.

Another laptop cooling solution is the Vizo Xena Mini Laptop Cooler. This is a miniature refrigerator that can fit in the laptop cabinet and is easy to carry. Does not require an external power connection; It comes with a USB connection and is powered directly from the USB port. And finally, another great feature is that it has adjustable feet so that you can control the angle of the cold air flow in the cabinet.

In the long run, having a laptop cooling pad just makes sense. Your laptop stays cooler, so while you are working it does not heat it up and prolongs the life of your computer.

Health Fitness

Lose Belly Fat and Get a Flat Stomach with Laser Liposuction

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We all want to lose belly fat and have a flat stomach, but the amount of exercise and diet required to have strong abs is beyond what most of us can reasonably achieve. As we age, past 30, our body metabolism slows down and it becomes much more difficult to lose belly fat. Those of us who do sedentary jobs that do not involve vigorous physical activity experience laxity in our abdominal muscles that normally hold our stomach contents tight to create a flat stomach. As we gain weight and our muscles relax, we develop a protruding abdomen or belly.

Women who have had babies find it very difficult to lose belly fat and have a flat stomach. I have seen hundreds of very fit, health conscious and physically active women in my office who have done everything right and just can’t lose the belly fat caused by pregnancy. The tummy tuck or mini tummy tuck has helped many people to have a flat stomach, but many do not want the surgery and scars associated with surgery.

The new laser liposuction technology allows me to offer patients who want to lose abdominal fat and have a flat abdomen an effective and minimally invasive procedure that in many cases is as effective as a tummy tuck.

What Causes Belly Fat and Stomach Fat?

There are several components that cause fat in the stomach, tummy or tummy. Laser liposuction can remove abdominal fat from under the skin and achieve skin tightening of the sagging skin on the abdomen. However, laser liposuction cannot tighten the stomach muscles or the abdominal muscles. To tighten your stomach muscles, you will need to do stomach or abdominal exercises.

Laser liposuction also cannot remove fat from inside the abdomen, intra-abdominal fat, called mesenteric fat, which wraps around the intestine. If you are very overweight or obese, only a meaningful diet will help you lose the belly fat that is inside your abdomen.

The various causes of abdominal fat or a fat belly or tummy are:

– Intra-abdominal fat-Fat has a very important survival function. Fat stores energy to provide nutrition during periods when we do not have adequate food intake. Therefore, fat is a survival mechanism during periods of starvation. Fat is stored within the abdomen in a structure called the mesentery. The mesentery envelops our intestines and supports the intestines. There can be large amounts of fat in the mesentery when we are overweight or obese. When there is excess intra-abdominal fat in the mesentery, the fat actually pushes and stretches the muscles of our abdominal wall and creates a plump belly. Only diet or calorie restriction can cause intra-abdominal fat to be used for energy production and disappear.

– Laxity of the abdominal wall-The abdominal muscles (abdominal wall), called abdominals, support our intestines and the abdominal contents in the abdomen. These muscles can stretch and loosen after extensive weight gain, pregnancy, and inactivity. When the abdominal muscles, or abdominal wall, lose tone, are stretched or relaxed, the contents of the interior of the abdomen push the abdominal wall forward and create a thick belly or paunch. Tightening of the abdominal wall, which is restoring the tone of the abdominal or abdomen muscles, can only be achieved with abdominal exercises and conditioning of the abdominal muscles or with abdominoplasty or tummy tuck.

– Subcutaneous fat under the skin of the belly– The fat directly under the skin of the abdomen also stores fat. This fat is called subcutaneous fat (under the skin) and is normally about 1/2 inch thick in most people. When we gain weight and have excess fat, this layer of subcutaneous fat becomes thicker, sometimes up to 4 or 5 inches thick. Laser liposuction is a very effective technique to remove subcutaneous fat. The heat from the laser melts the fat into a thin liquid that is easily removed by suction through very small tubes called cannulas.

– Loose belly skin-Multiple pregnancies and repeated weight gain stretch the abdominal skin and create sagging skin on the belly or tummy. The biggest advancement in laser liposuction is the laser’s ability to tighten the skin on the stomach. Previous liposuction techniques removed fat, but left the skin loose on the abdomen or tummy after fat removal. With laser liposuction, the heat from the laser tightens the skin during the laser fat dissolving process.

Laser liposuction to lose abdominal fat and flatten the stomach

Because fiber laser liposuction dissolves fat into a fine liquid, fat removal is much easier. This allows the surgeon to use very small tubes or cannulas to suction the fat from the skin of the abdomen. As a result, all that is needed are very small holes, usually placed inside the belly button. This means very small, almost invisible scars. Also, in my experience, after laser liposuction, skin is smooth without the bumps, bumps, and contour deformities often seen with traditional liposuction.

Skin tightening using this new technique has been really remarkable in my experience. In patients who are fit and not overweight, I have been able to laser body sculpting to truly reveal the contour of the abdominal muscles after healing. In the words of one of my patients, “I got my six pack back.”

My patients seem to recover more quickly after this new procedure. Many say they felt fine the day after the procedure. However, I ask my patients not to return to vigorous or strenuous activities or training for at least two weeks.

If you are not obese or very overweight and want to improve the contour of your abdomen, then these new techniques may be what you are looking for.