Unpaid Work #1

by Alex
in Uncategorized
posted September 29, 2014

Hey all,

The following articles were written by me and are not authorized for use elsewhere. If they are found on another site, consider them stolen intellectual property.They were done for a client who disappeared without payment (after a considerable amount of work was done).

If any of these articles are work that you or someone you work with contracted out, please contact me and we can make arrangements regarding its use.

See the full story: http://www.alex-maness.com/unpaid-work-scams-perils-of-freelance/

10 Reasons to Buy Nitto Terra Grappler Tires

Nitto Terra Grappler

The Terra Grappler by Nitto is an all-terrain tire meant for year round performance. It is also functional in all weather. Rated number one by many consumer magazines, the Terra Grappler is known for the balance between dry and wet performance. It offers a comfortable ride regardless of terrain and it works extremely well at the minimization of road noise when driving. The tire itself has many voids and sipes through which water is channeled away from the tire, eliminating weather as a significant factor in your driving.

These tires are perfect for problematic weather. Especially offroad. They cut through water and they are great for driving on snow or ice. Not to mention the fact that they look good. It comes as no surprise that they are consistently rated highly by both consumers and by industry insiders as being one of the top all-terrain tires available on the market. Whether you are hauling loads, pulling trailers, or simply having fun, these tires will not hinder your performance and, more often than not, they will prove to be a boon which improves the abilities of your vehicle in many ways.

Reasons to Buy

Resistance to hydroplaning as a result of the high-density siping that is included standard with the tires.
Straight line traction in wet conditions is a breeze because of the circumferential grooves in the tread of the tire.
All-terrain tires are perfect for off-road situations and will work on jeeps, SUVs, and pickup trucks.
Shoulder lugs are staggered which help increase performance levels in all-terrain scenarios.
You cannot beat the price for all-terrain tires.
They look good. These tires look like solid build monsters and they will improve the aesthetic quality of anything they are attached to.
Minimal loss of miles-per-gallon. When compared with road tires, off-road tires always suffer a bit and cause an increased use of gasoline when driving.
Less slippage. Rocks, dirt, sand, you name it, and this tire can cut through it like butter. Don’t worry about getting stuck in sticky situations.
They can withstand a lot of weight as well. The maximum PSI you can put on these tires is plenty to haul some heavy loads without having to worry about a loss of structural integrity.
Strong sidewalls. The sidewalls on these tires can withstand the rigors of all-terrain driving with ease.

All-terrain tires are meant for two things: Durability and utility. With that being said, Nitto has a winner here. These tires offer an unmatched level of durability and function exactly how they are expected to in all-weather situations. The search for a good off-road tire is over. These are the top of the line. They may not be the best for “mudding”, but if you are looking for a tire that will function perfectly and will have all the utility that you need, this is the one you should be looking at.

A Brief Guide to Understanding Financial Statements

What is a Financial Statement?

A financial statement is meant to be a record of the financial activities of either an individual or a group (like a company or a government entity). Typically, a financial statement will include three things: a balance sheet, a statement of cash flow, and an income statement. The balance sheet typically includes information about liabilities, assets, and ownership in the case of a company. For an individual ownership and equity information is, obviously, going to be left out. The income statement is also going to be a profit and loss statement. It contains all of the information needed to determine where the money is coming in from (profit) and where it is going (loss). The statement of cash flows is typically a brief determination of how a company is operating and the financing and investing activities they are undertaking.

Financial statements are meant to be simple and fast ways to determine a financial situation. With that being said, the information that they contain within them can be used for myriad of reasons and the amount of data that can be analyzed is extremely in depth. For a small business, financial statements are the lifeblood that keeps the lights on. Without a clear look at what the financial statements of a business look like, business decisions and goals are very difficult, if not impossible, to make.

Understanding a Balance Sheet

A balance sheet is relatively simple to understand once you know what you are looking for. It is comprised of three parts: Assets, equity, and liabilities.

Assets – These are things that you own that have value. It could be a home, a car, or jewelry. Anything that is in your possession that is worth something is an asset.
Equity – Equity are funds that are funds coming in from shareholders or retained earnings that owners are risking to, with any luck, get a good return on their initial investment.
Liabilities – Liabilities are the obligations that are owed. This usually comes the form of things like a mortgage or a credit card balance.

Generally, one equation is used on a balance sheet to express this relationship:

Assets = Liabilities + Equity

The balance sheet can typically either be horizontally arranged or vertically arranged. In either case, the dates listed with entries are extremely important in maintaining a clear picture of the financial position of the company.

The Next Step

Now that you understand how to read basic financial statements and you understand what a balance sheet is and what comprises a balance sheet, you may be a bit lost as to where to go next. If you are opting to use a program for your accounting or your personal finances, you might want to try QuickBooks Pro. The program itself is one of the best finance programs on the market and, with the help of a qualified advising company like QuickBooks Pro Advisers, you can be sure to get maximize the functionality of your program.

Advantages of Using a Vacation Rental Cleaning Service

What is a Vacation Rental Cleaning Service?

Vacation rental services are businesses which offer cleaning services between rentals for people who own and rent out their vacation homes throughout the year. It is extremely important that any area which is going to be rented out is clean. Normal use of any living space is going to result in dirt and grime accumulating. One of the problems with a rental is that the tenants often do not take as much time and effort to keep the place clean as they would in their own place.

What are the Advantages?

There are a number of advantages to utilizing a vacation rental cleaning service including the following:

Time – One of the largest advantages that this type of service offers is with regard to time. Most people are too busy to spend their time cleaning an extra house on a regular basis. This is especially true when you consider the fact that multiple people may be renting the house out. A team can handle this much more quickly.
Thorough – A professional cleaning service will likely be more thorough than most people would be if they were doing it on their own. This means that they will likely be doing everything from cleaning and sanitizing the restrooms and kitchen to looking under furniture and within cushions to find any extra grime that may have been missed.
Scheduling – Scheduling is exceptionally easy with a professional service. The schedule can be worked out in advance and it can vary depending on how frequently the home needs to be cleaned. If you are renting out your home by the day this could mean daily cleanings. If you are doing it by the week or month then the frequency could be smaller.
Professionalism – Having a house cleaned professionally is simply…more professional. And it shows. It is also a talking point which you could use when pitching your rental to prospective tenants. It is a point of pride to have a clean home and having one that is being cleaned by a professional service shows that you are taking your job as a landlord seriously.

Recommendations

When looking for a vacation cleaning service you want to do a few things. First you should ask for reviews, references, or recommendations from the company that you are considering. This is extremely important. Take a look at their regular cleaning checklist and find out what kind of things they are offering to determine what their service includes. Inquire about discounts for regular cleaning services as well. If you intend to have your space cleaned multiple times a week it will probably be less expensive than opting for a more infrequent service that occurs once a month.

Opting to use a cleaning service for your rental home can increase the quality of life of the tenants, make your life easier, and potentially increase the revenue that you are able to bring in from your property. It is well worth the time to look into a professional cleaning service.

Advantages of Xbox Live Gold Membership

Xbox Live Gold

Xbox Live Gold is the premium subscription version of the standard service that comes with Microsoft consoles. The service expands the basic services at the cost of fifty dollars a year. Though the Xbox Live service stands fine on its own, there are many advantages to the addition of the expanded capabilities that come with the Gold subscription. These include a myriad of multimedia technologies including cloud service and the use of Xbox Live multiplayer for games. The Gold service also comes with a number of unique features which can be utilized by the players who are subscribing to the service. The service is no longer available on the original Xbox, but it is available on both the Xbox One and the Xbox 360.

Advantages of Subscription

There are a ton of reasons why purchasing Xbox Live is a good idea. Here are just a few of them:

Games with Gold – This is a program through which Microsoft and the publishers that work with them release one (or more) free games every month through Xbox Live. Considering the purchase price of most of these games started out at sixty dollars and Xbox Live Gold memberships are typically fifty for the entire year, this makes the purchase price worth it by itself.
Online multiplayer – The free version of Xbox Live does not include the ability to play games in a multiplayer platform. Gold opens this ability up, along with the ability to use video with the Kinect, party chat with other members of your part, and the ability to take part in the online leaderboards for many games.
Social media – Gold subscriptions expand the social media aspect of the service by allowing use of Twitter and Facebook in addition to allowing access to the Xbox Live cloud service.
Discounts – Discounts are available to Gold members on the games located in the Xbox store. These discounts can be anywhere from fifty to seventy-five percent off of the retail price.
Matchmaking capabilities – Xbox Live Gold expands the matchmaking capabilities of the native games within the platform and allows for players of all skill levels to be matched with the best players they can be to maximize the enjoyment of the multiplayer experience.
Streaming – One of the newest additions to the capabilities of Xbox Live Gold is the ability to stream live games you are playing onto the Twitch streaming platform in real time to an audience of your peers or followers.

Gold can be purchased or obtained for free (in some situations). Purchase can be done through the Microsoft website or the Xbox website. It can also be done by using credit card processing services either over the phone with a Microsoft representative or through the Xbox console itself. Gold typically will be offered for one month free with the purchase of any new game, meaning you can expand the capability of your system simply by buying games and utilizing the free content codes that come along with them.

Benefits of the Karatbars VIP Package

Karatbars Affiliation

Karatbars International is a company that is trying to help people save money. Through their programs, they have over a hundred thousand affiliate members and customers (not even counting the business partners that they work with) who they have helped become both happier and more financially free through the services and programs that they offer. Their products come in the form of small gold bars and other gold trinkets which can be sold through affiliate programs directly to customers.

Being an affiliate with Karatbars and joining the team will provide you with a level of financial freedom that you probably didn’t think was possible. Karatbars has built a stellar reputation for both itself and for the business partners and affiliates who it works with over the four years since its founding. This has resulted in a high quality reputation which only works to bolster the income of the successful business owners that work with it.

The Karatbars VIP Package

So what is included in this package and why is it worth the 1595 Euro price tag? For one thing, the total amount of money that the constituent parts of the package are worth is higher than the total cost. You are effectively gaining money just by purchasing this package to begin with. The package includes three grams of gold, twenty-100 Euro Bonus cards, and ten three percent discount cards for a total value of 1938 Euro.

Here are some of the benefits of the purchase of this package:

No monthly fees or subscriptions – This package is perfect for people who want to get a quick, one-time product that they can use to launch their business.
Marketing pack – The marketing pack included with this program comes with everything that you and your team need to start selling today. Order forms and forms for client information are included and make the signup process
Team building information – Information contained within this package will give you everything that you need to build your own team and start making money with your cycles today. The ideal method is to form two teams underneath you which cycle their efforts in order to maximize the income for your business.
Commission – The commission for your sales through the VIP package are twenty percent. That is a high yield.
Pay per cycle – The pay per cycle for the VIP package is eighty Euro. This is significant considering the possibility of doing multiple cycles per day. Considering a team would be able to build the number of cycles that they can complete over time, the possibilities are endless.
No targets – You set your own sales goals. There are no monthly targets for you to reach in the Karatbars system. The VIP package is the perfect way to start your business today.

Visit the Karatbars affiliate page to get started with your own VIP package and take control of your financial future. You, like many before you, can be financially free with the help of Karatbars International.

Car Diagnostic Services and Check Engine Light Inspection

The Importance of Regular Maintenance

The importance of regular car maintenance cannot be overstated. Especially true with newer cars, all of the systems of a vehicle tend to be integrated in such a way that they are dependent on each other to properly function. This is somewhat opposed to the modular way that cars in the past were created. With this added complexity comes a myriad of regular tasks that must be undertaken by the vehicle owner in order to ensure the proper functioning of the vehicle and the extension of the life of the vehicle.

In order to maintain a high level of both safety and utility, all of the constituent parts of the vehicle must work in unison to protect the driver. This includes small things such as headlight bulbs and seats to larger issues such as failing airbags, brakes, or engine problems. Regular maintenance and check-ups ensures that everything both retains the ability to function as designed and provides a stress free ride for the users.

Beyond the functionality and safety concerns involved in regular maintenance, you also have to keep in mind the costs. Regular maintenance will prevent most catastrophic issues with your vehicle which could wind up costing you thousands of dollars. It will also help to keep your insurance premiums at a minimum.

Diagnostic Services

One of the major benefits of the complex electrical systems present on modern cars is the fact that the vehicle is able to alert you to issues that may be present. This is done through the series of lights in the dashboard console. With that being said, it can be difficult to understand what the images mean. Even if you understand the signal you are receiving from your car, it often takes an expert eye to understand exactly what the problem is and to come up with the proper solution that can be put in place to fix it.

Common diagnostic services include a few simple things. Checking the tire pressure and checking the fuel pressure. This could also be looking for compression in the engine, checking to make sure that the fuel and the oil system are functioning properly, or maintaining safety features like the airbags. When a light comes on, the meaning of it is typically going to be indicative of the general problem area but it will only provide information that is useful to someone who knows what they should be looking for. This is the reason why taking the vehicle to a trained mechanic is the best option for diagnostic services.

The Check Engine Light

The check engine light will come on in your vehicle any time there is a fault in the emissions system of the vehicle. This includes a range of issues that could encompass everything from a complex engine malfunction to a loose gas cap. Most people who see a check engine light will opt to ignore it unless it is clearly an issue which is immediately impacting their ability to drive their vehicle. This attitude is the wrong attitude to have.

Having the check engine light inspected when it first comes on can prevent a “domino effect” from taking place in your vehicle. If a small part fails (such as a sensor) it could result in damage to other systems which can eventually end up creating costly repair bills down the road. Typically the check engine light will come on for something relatively simply and will not require long to check and take care of.

Here are some of the most common reasons for a check engine light to come on:

Loose gas cap – The gas cap is what helps to seal the fuel system and to keep pressure in the fuel tank itself. Having a loose or missing cap is a common issue which could cause you to lose fuel pressure or to lose fuel through evaporation.
Catalytic converter – The light could be an indication that the catalytic convertor needs replacing. This usually occurs because of regular maintenance being neglected. This issue could result in poor performance, increased fuel use, and a failure to pass emission tests.
Oxygen sensor – Could be an indication that the oxygen sensor needs to be replaced. If this is the case then the engine is likely burning too much fuel and could result in damage to the catalytic convertor and the spark plugs.
Spark plugs or spark plug wires – Could indicate these need replacing. If the engine is knocking or seems to be having reduced power and fuel economy, plugs or wires are probably the cause of this. This can also result in damage to oxygen sensors and ignition coils.
Mass airflow sensor – May need to be replaced. Damaged mass airflow sensors can cause reduced performance and can damage the spark plugs, the oxygen sensors, or the catalytic convertor.

Recommendations

Waiting to make repairs is one of the worst things that you can do with your vehicle. Problems that result from very small and minute issues can multiply and quickly cause large problems in your vehicle if they are not taken care of. When a light comes on in the vehicle, it is coming on for a reason. Having the light checked out is the next step that should be taken. Generally, checking to find out the cause of a light or to run a simple diagnostic test is extremely easy and is not time consuming at all. Even so, it could be the difference between having to buy a new vehicle or make an expensive repair and simply tightening a gas cap or replacing a filter.

PDXMechanic is able to both diagnose your issue and recommend expert solutions to you in order to rectify any issues with your vehicle and to ensure the proper function of all of the parts of your vehicle. Allowing diagnostic testing the check engine light inspection from a qualified mechanic is the best way to ensure that the problem with your vehicle is taken care of in a quick and professional way.

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