Safe summer road trips depend on the right tires

Lots of motorists will take road trips to their summer vacations out-of-town, and that extra long drive on unfamiliar terrain calls for checking your tires now more than ever. Prevent unwanted car problems and terrible accidents, by making sure you still have the right air pressure, tread depth and good condition for those tires. Below are other signs if tires need to be switched out, right in time for this season.

When your tire has a puncture.This is the most urgent time to change your tires. Punctured tires can immediately be spotted as this kind of damage causes the tire pressure to drop rapidly. This is quite dangerous when you are on the move and tires should be changed as soon as possible. If you're on the road, park the car on the side of the road in a safe place and change your tire with your spare. There is no compromise on this.

Worn Tire Treads.Tire treads provide the traction between the car and the road which helps prevent the vehicles from slipping out of control. Tire treads are also a good indicator of when you should change your tires. If your tire treads are worn, they should be changed immediately. Or else you stand the chance of careening on the highway, especially if the road is wet.

Sidewall Damage.The sidewall, as the name implies, is the side of the car tires -- the part of the tire you see when you're looking at your car from the side. Sidewall damage usually happens when you hit a curb during a turn, or when your tire hits a hard solid or sharp object that can damage the sidewall. When the sidewall is damaged, lumps can develop on your tires which may eventually lead to a tire blowout if they don't get changed right away. So heed the first sign of trouble, which is a less than perfect sidewall.

Abnormal Wear.Sometimes tires get worn out, seemingly without any obvious reason. Some tires wear out faster than the other tires in the car. This is most likely caused by improper wheel alignment. Improperly aligned wheels can cause abnormal, uneven wear on tires because pressure is not evenly distributed on the wheels. This condition is a good indicator of when you should get your tires fixed. As future preventive measure, always check the alignment to prevent abnormal wear from happening again.

Aging.Just like everything, tires will eventually age and deteriorate. Even if no major damage like punctures or uneven wear is visible on your tire, they still need to be replaced due to regular wear and tear. Look at your tires and see if the tire treads are still visible. If your tire looks smoother and resembles a life saver, that tire is definitely crying out to be changed. Some tires may also age faster, surprisingly due to heat from overuse and heat from a tropical climate, so be sure to look out for those signs of damage as well.

Selecting the right tire.Knowing the right type, size, season, and even function of the tire will let your car’s tires last their longest. It canlet you save on gas and ultimately prevent life-threatening accidents. One way to find the correct size and tire type for your vehicle is to look at the car manual. You can also check out the MICHELIN Tire Selector online that can recommend durable, top-quality tires based on the tire size, and even match it to the year of the car’s manufacture.Visit www.michelin.com.ph for more information.

Michelin, the leading tire company, is dedicated to sustainably improving the mobility of goods and peopleby manufacturing and marketing tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles/motorcycles, earthmovers, farm equipment and trucks.It also offers electronic mobility support services on ViaMichelin.com and publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases.Headquartered in Clermont-Ferrand, France, Michelin is present in more than 170 countries, has 113,400 employees and operates 69 production plants in 18 different countries.The Group has a Technology Center in charge of research, development and process engineering, with operations in Europe, North America and Asia.(www.michelin.com)

Are you ready to travel?

I dreamed of traveling to Australia when I was young, or settle for good, in a place they call the "land down under", but fate did not allow me to do that. I guess I was destined to live somewhere else. I am still hoping someday I can visit there, even if it's just for a short vacation.

A vacation is an instant bonding moment for me and my family, and those precious moments brings us closer together. I always look forward for a vacation once the school year ends and summer time begins. Sometimes it becomes a big hassle when I don't have any idea where to book our vacation, or have zero knowledge about the place we want to visit. I just rely on word of mouth from my friends and relatives, and take a peek at their photos. The problem is, photos are sometimes deceiving. I really need a travel expert like http://eyton.com.au/ to make sure that everything is perfectly planned. Traveling has become much easier now, unlike before when I would buy a travel guide book or check a magazine stand for one that featured places, promos and tips. What I need to do now is just visit the site for Eyton, and all the information that I need will be provided in just one click! Amazing, isn't it? This is what I love about the generation now.

When you travel, do you want to go alone, with family or friends? Not all people want to travel with a group. However you want it, always make it the best moment of your life. So here's leaving you a quote from Mark Twain..

 “”Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.

So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

And here are a few tips when you travel:

When you travel, it is best to always travel light. Pack only things that are really needed. Before you travel, whether local or international, learn at least a word or two of their language, like "Thank You, Welcome, Good Morning" and other greetings. It will make the locals more comfortable with you. Bring a snack or drinks in light packs like coffee and tea. It will save a lot of expense. Do a little research about the place that you are going to visit so you are able to do some story telling to your kids while you're at the site. And last but not least, always smile whether you get lost or you missed a plane. It will not help you when you frown and worry will not take you anywhere anyway!

Get the best Michelin Pilot Experience this 2013

Motorsport aficionados, rejoice! Michelin Tires Philippines is giving away a chance to watch and test drive premium racing vehicles at the Michelin Pilot Experience in Sepang Circuit, Malaysia this coming August.

A single-receipt purchase of any two Michelin Pilot Tires, like the Pilot Sport, Pilot Preceda and Pilot Sport Cup from March 1 to June 30, 2013 entitles a buyer to one raffle entry. Drop accomplished forms at designated drop boxes of participating Michelin dealers nationwide.

Five lucky winners from Luzon and five from Visayas and Mindanao will be selected on the draw date of July 12, 2013. The ten winners will get free airfare, hotel accommodation and other treats on a trip to Sepang Circuit, Malaysia plus full-on participation in the seminars and test drives of the unique Michelin Pilot Experience. This promotion is covered by DTI-NCR Permit No. 0889, Series of 2013. For more details about the promo, customers may consult the promo posters, visit any of the participating dealers or log on to www.michelin.com.ph.

The City of Freedom, San Francisco

They say that San Francisco is a city of amazing diversity and stunning beauty. Well, I guess it is, even if I haven't been to there yet. Someday fate allows me to go, I would want to visit the city where freedom and openness are common words used to describe it. I want to see the famous Golden Gate Bridge and other spots that I have only seen in movies. I could describe the place as awesome. I know what the place looks like by seeing photos and taking a virtual visit.

When you plan for a trip to San Francisco, do you include your transportation plan and other related business? Getting trusted transportation is such a hard thing to do because you only want a trusted transportation company that will make you feel secure while you're there. There are plenty of choices in transportation, and when you search online you will see a lot of options that offer different rates, but you should only pick the ones that you really trust like San Francisco Airport Shuttle Service.

If you are planning to travel to San Francisco , you should get an airport shuttle sfo so you won't feel lost. There are some companies that only offers the exact route like shuttle to sfo, but you should specify what's included in your contract so you won't get lost and you know up front the fees you are being charged. If you want to check it out, see products here and compare the big differences. After all, it is security and comfort that you want, so don't book with a company that you are in doubt of. Riding public transportation can be dangerous sometimes because you may have to deal with various consequences. Public transportation picks up other passengers that will eat up a lot of your time, thus the chance of missing a scheduled flight could happen some of the time.

If you want the best rates, check it out and see why others chose shuttle to sfo service rather than take a cab or using public transportation services.

Madness

My two girls keep playing this song and the rhythm and lyrics caught me and I thought it's one of the 80s songs. I can already hum along with the song like my favorite 80s songs. When I googled it, I was right.. it sounds like Queen's or Prince of  80s.  Em right, but it's  the Madness by  Muse,  the English alternative rock band.


According to NME, "Madness" draws influences from Queen's "I Want to Break Free", George Michael's "Faith" and some instrumental elements of his other hit "I Want Your Sex".  During a preview on French site Jeuxactu, the song was said to resemble Depeche Mode and described as 'calm, languid and sweet'.   (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)


I... I can't get this memories out of my mind.
And some kind of Madness,
Has started to evolve, mmn.

And I...
I tried so hard to let you go.
But some kind of Madness,
Is swallowing me whole, yeh.

I have finally seen the light.
And I...
have finally realized.
What you mean...
And now,
I need to know if it's real love.
Or is it just Madness,
Keeping us afloat, mmm.

And when I look back,
at all the crazy fights we have,
Like some kind of M-m-madness,
Was taking control, yeh.
And now I have finally seen the light,
And I... have finally realized,
What you need, mmm.
And now I have finally seen the end,
(I have seen the end)
And I'm... I'm expecting you to care,
(Expecting you to care)
And I... have finally seen the light,
(Have finally seen the light)
And I... have finally realized, (Realized)

(I NEED TO LOVE) x2

Capture me,
Trust in your dream,
Come on and rescue me.
Yes, I know,
I can't move on,
Baby, you're too head-strong.
Our love is...

I SUITES HOTEL FINALLY OPENS ITS DOORS IN CUBAO

Chic, modern, and no-frills. These are the qualities of the new iSuites Hotel, a 33-room, 5-story boutique hotel located on Imperial St. in Cubao. But if it were up to its chief executive officer, Mikaela Singson Mendoza, she would rather use the description: “personalized and original.” In the original blueprint, the hotel building was initially constructed as an apartment. At the time, the idea of a business that would bring in monthly income sounded more appealing and lucrative to Mikaela’s family. It was Mikaela’s mom, Sheila Singson, who thought of converting the apartment building into a hotel.

“My mom thought that I would be a right fit for this job,” narrates Mika. “I am studying Hotel and Restaurant Management at Treston International College. My dream was to be an F&B director of a big hotel. Never thought that I would be actually opening up a hotel of my own.” That sudden change of plans, consequently, brought forth big changes in the design and layout of the building.



“That’s why it took us three or four years to finish the whole thing because this was supposed to be an apartment. We had to knock down walls, re-do the floor layout, and other stuff,” Mikaela says. Deciding what theme to apply to the hotel interiors came easy. Mika and her mom just took a cue from the building’s location.

“This hotel is located on Imperial St. When you say Imperial, parang it sounds Japanese. So we thought of using Imperial Suites, but since there’s already an Imperial Suites in Quezon City, we just thought of using iSuites, and as we were building the hotel we unearthed bullets” explains Mikaela.

iSuites, still according to Mikaela, sounds younger, fresher, and up-to-date. Mikaela says that this is really how they want their hotel to be perceived by the public: a vibrant, modern hotel that knows the real needs of travelers.

“We just made the ‘i’ in the logo look more Asian, Oriental or Japanese, so that people when they see the logo, they would immediately think that the hotel is Asian-inspired,” she adds.

In keeping with the Japanese theme, Mika decided to assign certain terms that are associated with the Japanese culture to the hotel rooms instead of numbers.

“We didn’t use numbers. We call our rooms Kimono, Mikado, Sakura, Zen, Taka, Geisha, Shinden, Haiku, Emeperor, Shogun, Sake, and Geta,” explains Mikaela.

The Kimono rooms, the simplest of all the room types, have a double-sized bed, a false veranda and LCD TV with HD channels. Rates for this room start from P1,500. Mikaela says the Kimono room is for the no-frills type of guests, who just want a good bed to sleep in.

“It’s really simple. But of course, we wanted it to look good,” she adds. “Our rooms are personalized, they’re really designed with the needs of the guests in mind,” she says.

Guests staying in premium rooms (Sakura, Zen, Taka, Geisha, Shinden, Haiku, Emeperor, Shogun, Sake, and Geta) and the Mikado room, have safety boxes where they can keep their valuables. The Geta rooms and Sake rooms, whose rates start from P4, 900, are actually two-level units. They are equipped with their own living room, kitchenette, dining, mini bar, HD TV, double-sized beds and single beds and toilet and bathrooms.

 

 

All rooms come with free Wi-Fi access and with complimentary breakfast meals at the hotel’s restaurant, Tatami. At Tatami, guests can partake of Japanese food fare and other Asian dishes. “On weekdays, we have a lunch buffet serving home-cooked dishes, priced around P60 to P90 per dish. So it’s very affordable,” says Mika. “We also want to tap the officeworkers, because we’re very near the Araneta center, where there are lots of banks, call centers, and other offices.”

Good old Vigan favourites have also found their way into the Tatami menu. Mika, who hails from Ilocos Sur, says that the restaurant also offers bagnet, Vigan longganisa, and pakbet. “It’s nice when you have these dishes. There’s variety!” adds Mika.

iSuites also offers extended stays and long-term monthly rental accommodations. Rooms for this type of rental come with their own electric meters, so guests can monitor and take charge of their expenses on utilities. “What’s good about it is that guests can enjoy the same in-room services: housekeeping, cleaning, and all. We clean your room, we replenish your towels, we make your bed. So it’s like you’re living in a serviced apartment,” adds Mikaela. “Plus, we have huge discounts if they choose to stay longer than six months. After their sixth month, we’d give them a discount of up to forty percent.” Discount starts on the first month.

But the best selling point of iSuites, still according to Mika, is not seen. It is felt.

Mikaela believes that it’s their personalized service that would set them apart. “I want everything to be personalized. I am very hands-on. Even if I am still studying, I would take care of the little details. I would teach the housekeeping, the front office, tell my staff what to do and how to do things right,” says Mika. “That’s how we really want it. Personalized service.” For inquiries, bookings, and reservations, call 376 4750 or visit www.isuites.com.ph.

2012 Norton Study: Consumer Cybercrime Estimated at $110 Billion Annually

Norton by Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC) today released the findings of its annual Norton Cybercrime Report, one of the world’s largest consumer cybercrime studies. The study is aimed at understanding how cybercrime affects consumers, and how the adoption and evolution of new technologies impacts people’s security. With findings based on self-reported experiences of more than 13,000 adults across 24 countries, the 2012 edition of the Norton Cybercrime Report calculates the direct costs associated with global consumer cybercrime at US $110 billion over the past twelve months.

Every second, 18 adults become a victim of cybercrime , resulting in more than one-and-a-half million cybercrime victims each day on a global level. With losses totaling an average of US $197 per victim across the world in direct financial costs , cybercrime costs consumers more than a week’s worth of nutritious food necessities for a family of four . In the past twelve months, an estimated 556 million adults across the world experienced cybercrime, more than the entire population of the European Union. This figure represents 46 percent of online adults who have been victims of cybercrime in the past twelve months, on par with the findings from 2011 (45 percent).

Changing Face of Cybercrime
This year’s survey shows an increase in “new” forms of cybercrime compared to last year, such as those found on social networks or mobile devices - a sign that cybercriminals are starting to focus their efforts on these increasingly popular platforms. One in five online adults (21 percent) has been a victim of either social or mobile cybercrime, and 39 percent of social network users have been victims of social cybercrime, specifically:

• 15 percent of social network users reported someone had hacked into their profile and pretended to be them.
• 1 in 10 social network users said they’d fallen victim to a scam or fake link on social network platforms. 
• While 75 percent believe that cybercriminals are setting their sights on social networks, less than half (44 percent) actually use a security solution which protects them from social network threats and only 49 percent use the privacy settings to control what information they share, and with whom. 
• Nearly one-third (31 percent) of mobile users received a text message from someone they didn’t know requesting that they click on an embedded link or dial an unknown number to retrieve a “voicemail”.

“Cybercriminals are changing their tactics to target fast growing mobile platforms and social networks where consumers are less aware of security risks,” says Jason Mok, Country Sales Manager, Philippines, Norton by Symantec. “This mirrors what we saw in this year’s Symantec Internet Security Threat Report which reported nearly twice the mobile vulnerabilities in 2011from the year before.”

The 2012 Norton Cybercrime Report also reveals that most Internet users take the basic steps to protect themselves and their personal information - such as deleting suspicious emails and being careful with their personal details online. However, other core precautions are being ignored: 40 percent don’t use complex passwords or change their passwords frequently and more than a third do not check for the padlock symbol in the browser before entering sensitive personal information, such as banking details, online.

In addition, this year’s report also indicates that many online adults are unaware as to how some of the most common forms of cybercrime have evolved over the years and thus have a difficult time recognizing how malware, such as viruses, act on their computer. In fact, 40 percent of adults do not know that malware can operate in a discreet fashion, making it hard to know if a computer has been compromised, and more than half (55 percent) are not certain that their computer is currently clean and free of viruses.

“Malware and viruses used to wreak obvious havoc on your computer,” Mok continues. “You’d get a blue screen, or your computer would crash, alerting you to an infection. But cybercriminals’ methods have evolved; they want to avoid detection as long as possible. This year’s results show that nearly half of Internet users believe that unless their computer crashes or malfunctions, they’re not 100 percent sure they’ve fallen victim to such an attack.”

Strong Email Passwords Still Key More than a quarter (27 percent) of online adults report having been notified to change their password for a compromised email account. With people sending, receiving, and storing everything from personal photos (50 percent) to work-related correspondence and documents (42 percent) to bank statements (22 percent) and passwords for other online accounts (17 percent), those email accounts can be a potential gateway for criminals looking for personal and corporate information.

“Personal email accounts often contain the keys to your online kingdom. Not only can criminals gain access to everything in your inbox, they can also reset your passwords for any other online site you may use by clicking the ‘forgot your password’ link, intercepting those emails and effectively locking you out of your own accounts,” Mok. “Protect your email accordingly by using complex passwords and changing them regularly.”

For more findings from the Norton Cybercrime Report globally and by country, please visit: http://www.norton.com/2012cybercrimereport

About Norton Norton protects the Stuff that matters to consumers, across all aspects of their digital lives. Norton provides a range of security solutions including technologies for PCs and mobile devices, live tech support services and online backup. Like Norton on Facebook.

About Symantec Symantec is a global leader in providing security, storage and systems management solutions to help consumers and organizations secure and manage their information-driven world. Our software and services protect against more risks at more points, more completely and efficiently, enabling confidence wherever information is used or stored. More information is available at www.symantec.com.

Plan Ahead, Buy Your Tickets Now!

If you're planning for a spectacular weekend,  plan ahead and get  la cage aux folles tickets   available online.  It will save time and effort. Long lines at the counter  can be very  irritating. 

Want to  spend a special holiday or weekend with family and friends?  Why don't you surprise them and buy them west side story tickets.  Another quality and bonding together  when you feel you need bonding time together or you feel  a musical night, then check memphis the musical tickets.  You don't need to wait, you just need to click and place your reservations now. So Easy, right?