DJ Trava

Archive for September, 2009

There are many things that make replacing one’s tires for their vehicle a bit confusing for some.  Which size is right?  What do things like carrying capacity and speed ratio mean?  Is bigger, better?  Well one way to answer these questions, is to simply go to one’s mechanic.  There are codes listed on all tires that a mechanic can explain, and where one chooses to buy new tires is important.

It is common for some people to return to the dealership wherein they originally purchased their vehicle, but this is an expensive, and often times, unnecessary maneuver.  While they will ensure that the original factory tires will be installed, this is, again, unnecessary.  There are many tire companies, and even local mechanics on the corner, that will replace the worn tires with ones that are appropriate for one’s vehicle.  And these places really are the best places to go.  The prices are often times very reasonable, and the service technicians are knowledgeable about the differences in the tires.

It is wise to always shop around a bit, as the prices will vary from store to store.  One option that has become widely used nowadays, is to buy tires at an extreme discount online. The trouble with this however, is that the tires will be shipped to one’s house, but obviously they will not be installed.  And unless one is a mechanic themselves, they will still need to find a facility to mount and balance them.  This can also be quite expensive.

However more recently, these discount companies will team up with local shops and offer discounts in the mounting of the tires.  For some, wanting to find speciality or exclusive tires, this becomes their only choice.  Hand down though, for the regular consumer that just wants a fair price and reputable customer service, the local options are often times the best options when replacing the tires for one’s vehicle.

The myth of the wild west is still strong in Arizona.  There are still vast areas of beautiful desert, and horizons that seem to go on forever.  Even in the city, the skyline is low enough that there is a sense of expansiveness extending to every corner of the world.  It’s in the middle of the southwest, and close enough to México that it has a strong cultural influence coming and going in both directions.  History here is very deep, and very complicated, but fascinating for visitors who are wanting to know more about the region.  Phoenix is one of the largest cities in the U.S., and offers an amazing array of attractions for visitors, and it’s also within driving distance of some of the most beautiful areas on the planet.  For visitors looking for a splendid time in splendid luxury hotels, Arizona has something special to offer.

We’ve carefully selected our hotels for their excellence in service and style, offering a warm local hospitality with the panache of global sensibility.  After a lovely night and a fantastic meal, it’s the perfect time to see what Arizona has to offer you.  For those who are curious about the history here, an excellent place to begin is the Heard Museum.  Now with three locations, in Phoenix, Surprise, and Scottsdale, this is one of the most famous museums in the world with a focus on Native American art.  With a splendid permanent collection, as well as a constant flow of new exhibitions by some of the most important artists working in the world today, it is well worth a visit.

There are also some other extraordinary events here, apart from its art collections.  There are annual events, such as Hoop Dance competitions, Native markets, and exhibitions that invite public participation, as well as occasional new attractions that make it a fantastic place to bring children.  It has one of the best bookstores for Native arts in the Southwest, the U.S., and the Americas, with a range of art books and criticism focusing on postcolonial art movements.  There are also lectures and special events, sponsored by such groups as the American Indian Policy Institute, and even at times some edgier programming, bringing in iconoclast artists like Guillermo Gomez-Peña to give performances that explore themes of postmodernity and digital culture.

Summer has come to and end once again, well not officially but being after Labor Day holiday weekend it is the unofficial end of summer fun and beginning of the fall season of focus. Getting back into the swing of the fall routine with school and the kids and all is really the biggest marker of the changing of the season. Relaxed summer bed times are now replaced with more structure. Structure placed around everything from planning meals, weekends and time off. It is a double edged sword the structure provide a frame work to focus our time and accomplish what we need to get done. The other side is how nice the relaxed scheduling and unplanned day have a nice side to them as well. Lazy time to read, eat when you want and not really have too many plans for the days ahead, simply taking them as they come along. Once again we have passed that time away lazily enjoying our days and nights. Now days are reserved for working and learning and the nights will be for much needed sleep. Having signed on Transglobe Property Management to watch the rental this summer was really a good idea, nice not to have those interruptions. Going in to the heavy work season I will continue to be grateful for the services of Transglobe Property Management as I can focus on more important things than some of the more mundane issues that come up when managing property. The kids are getting older and needing more time for activities and friends which requires the assistance of someone to drive them around. So this is how it will be as they get older until they manage to gain a drivers licence and drive themselves and become independent.

“Did you know Ibiza is eighty kilometers off the coast of Valencia, Spain?” I asked Alma. She was drying her hair in a big white hotels Ibiza towel, then tied on top of her head like a turban. I could never figure out how she did that. “No, I didn’t, Professor,” she said back. I love travel trivia. On car trips, I write down beginning mileage, mileage at fill ups so I can calculate gas mileage, time started and ended, average time, average mileage, well, everything. Alma did not get it. Is it a guy thing? “That is correct,” I said. “Now, would you care hear the average rainfall, temperature, altitude…?” “That’s okay, how about we just get breakfast and go from there.” Alma is a great sport, and fun to travel with. She is practical where I have too many things I want to see. I present her with a portfolio of things to do, like, say in Ibiza where we are going next, and she will right away come up with a practical way to see the best of them. That’s how we roll, I tell her. We were planning to go to Playa d’en Bossa, the biggest beach in Ibiza, so they say, a mild to Ibiza beach scene that Alma said would be good starting point, and that we would decide if we wanted to sample the wilder beaches elsewhere on the island. On the boat ride across the Mediterranean Sea we had a picnic, and we sat on the top deck in the shade of a canopy and had salads and ham and opened a bottle of wine. the wide blue sea stretched out before us and eventually we nodded off and before we knew it were awakened by the ship’s horn, which seemed to be right behind our heads which gave us such a scare hearing it we about jumped out of our skin. It was a surprise, much a the island of Ibiza would turn out to be.

Sleep deprivation is no fun. Having been up working late, traveling and so much on my mind I just have a hard time getting to sleep. I have been pushing on completing projects for weeks and meeting with client all over the place there was simply no time for me and it was time to get some. I had been in Singapore and decided to extend my stay at the boutique hotel in Singapore and booked an entire day in the spa for much need rest and relaxation. The morning began with soaking in a whirlpool and sweating it out in the sauna. What a great start to a day of relaxation and catching up on much needed rest. Following this I had an hour and a half hot stone message. That hour and a half went very quickly, before i knew it the time was up and I wanted more. But there were more treatment schedules and then a late lunch in the dining room. After all that I was ready to melt into best and get a deep sleep! When I got back to my room I turned on the TV and laid down. Before I knew it I was asleep and sleeping deeply and sound catching up on that much need rest I had been missing for weeks now. I ended up sleeping the afternoon and evening away waking briefly at 10 PM then back to sleep till dawn. The difference between the sleep deprived mornings and today are dramatic. Only need the contrast to experience and see the difference. My thinking is faster and clearer. I am confident with my knowledge of my schedule instead of needing to check and re check when booking appointments. The next step is to figure out how to gain better control over my time and getting opportunities to take another spa day for relaxation and rejuvenation

What is a corrective action?  It is a solution to an existing problem – system weakness or product default that is has been highlighted by non-conformance issues, customer complaints or by adverse trends.  Corrective actions are an integral part good manufacturing practice.

Corrective actions and all the information relating to them can be stored within a corrective action database.  Using this type of database can help you store and identify all of the actions, and any reoccurrences relating to the corrective action.  This can help to identify and address the root cause of the problem.

Upon determining the root cause then other areas which are related to it can be identified and then countermeasures can be taken to find ultimate solutions.  This can result in new products or services having these countermeasures built into them.  Corrective actions along with preventive actions are at the core of quality management.  Corrective action software is often used to manage corrective actions.

I booked a room at a hotel in Udaipur where I had the best vacation. On one of my day excursion, I headed to the arid Aravalli Hills, surrounded by aromatic eucalyptus trees just to take a bath in a single slab of emerald Udaipur marble. This was at a well known resort. The only way I got to do this, is last night, when I was out on the town having a great dinner, the man sitting next to me was telling his companion about the room he was staying in at this resort just in the hill of Udaipur. He told his friend about this marvellous tub. But, the reason he picked this resort is because is was ‘green’. He said the resort sweeps with brooms made from the local grass and fallen palms. They also use recycled tea, rice and flour sacks as trash receptacles. What ever food scraps are left over from the dinner guest, gets donated as scraps to the local pig farmers. The resort is on five acres of pesticide-free grounds, which supply most of the food, including free range chickens for all of the guests. He went on about how the spa is Ayuvedic and focuses on holistic healing and works with intentional healing to balance one within . He just got a Reiki treatment just this morning as has never felt better in his whole life. His dinner companion asked him if they do massages, and he said yes, for instance, they offer an Ayurvedic massage that releases deep seated toxins for elimination through the body’s natural processes. He said he had one of those the previous morning.

I couldn’t help but interrupt their conversation and ask him where this delicious resort is, he smiled and told me he’d be glad to invite me up for the day so I can experience it first hand. He said, not to worry, he’s married and his wife is staying with him, but that she couldn’t join he and his dinner companion tonight because she’s having her body painted with henna, and he plans to do the very same thing tomorrow, because they couldn’t fit he and his wife in at the same time. I gladly took him up on his offer.

So, has I soaked in his emerald Udaipur marble tub, I couldn’t help but wonder and be amazed at how India is doing it’s best to become a sustainable viable country and how this resort is an excellent start.

Singapore is an incredibly vibrant and continually growing urban center. The arts scene has a focus on a both traditional heritage and cultural aspects, as well as demonstrating a progressive contemporary theme. Major touring shows from around the world can be found on the Singapore stages, as well as can be some of the latest cutting edge experimental works. Tourists staying in one of the Singapore luxury hotels will often be able to gain information on the various performances and arts venues from the hotel lobby or concierge. Information on other major city landmarks and cultural attractions are also easily accessed from the top resorts.

One of the common entertainment factors that appeals to many of the tourists who are visiting Singapore is a performance by one of its Cantonese Opera companies. This traditionally Chinese form of performance dates back centuries and has played a major role in social significance since its earliest beginnings. Also, this form of theatre represents much more than the performance itself. Most of the opera costuming and music are heavily symbolic and as important as the actual opera. This however, does not mitigate the talent and skill of the performers who spend years perfecting their craft and are specially trained for this career.

The themes of the operas vary from comedy to the more patriotic oriented dramatic styles. There are archetypal characters, which is extremely common to most forms of theatre and performance, though there is no strict code of character content or behavior. Some of the more prominent Cantonese Opera Companies in Singapore include the well known Chinese Theatre Circle, the Kong Chow Wui Kun Cantonese Opera Troupe and the Tung On Wui Kun Cantonese Opera Troupe. And while each of these companies is based on the Cantonese opera genre they and others are unique in their own presentations and company missions. They are certainly an important aspect in experiencing Singaporean culture during a vacation.

I took a vacation, but I noticed that sometimes a vacation can take me. Like I haven’t written anything for the past 3 weeks in my blog. The first two weeks of my vacation was spent in New York where I stayed at one of the NY hotels and had a wonderful time. But, my last week was in Mexico where I frolicked on a lovely beach, but in the last part of the week I experienced a series of health and technology challenges.

I think it was more about me not wanting to come back home from a beautiful vacation. Where I live, I became acclimated to the social atmosphere and it was so subtle that I didn’t notice it. Like, my view of Mexico from here is one of rampant violence and druglord lawlessness and currently the swine flu. But, being in Mexico, I experience a completely different story. A very delightful story at that. The social atmosphere of the United States, on the other hand, is…well, quite depressing. All over the world, I’ve come to understand, there are people who have lived their whole lives without any abundance. When tragedy strikes, they dig deeper, build again and continue to be innovative. As Americans, we seem to have lost that ability in the current recession. As a nation, we have considered ourselves as the victims of Hurricane Katrina waiting for some one to save us instead of coming together, community by community, like how New York City did when attacked on 9/11. They saved themselves.

So, when I came back to the United States, it has taken me a bit of time to recover. As for the U.S., I feel like we’re Dorothy in the ‘Wizard of Oz’ trying to cross the poppy fields. Our first response seems to be to fall asleep and not wake up until it’s all over. There’s not fight within us to overcome that challenges with which we are currently facing. There’s no digging in deeper, no ‘let’s build again’, no innovations. I think we become a nation of passive complainers.

When it comes to boutique hotels, New York has a stunning variety to choose from.  Our hotels are extremely distinctive, following in the boutique tradition of emphasizing uniqueness.  We offer a splendid alternative to the chain hotel, with an array of choices that will suit every style and sensibility.  All of our hotels meet the highest standards of the industry, offering lodging that is contemporary and still traditional, where the best of the old and the best of the new come together.  There is always an impeccable sense of design here that would impress even the most seasoned New Yorker.  Comfort and luxury are our specialties, and we hold firm to the local standards of service, which are perhaps the highest in the world.

You’ll love the sense of rejuvenation you’ll feel after one night here, and you’ll find yourself ready to go off and have your own New York adventure.  New York is what it’s cracked up to be, having been a magnet for the best minds in the world for generations.  It attracts people from all walks of life, and all cultures, languages, and sensibilities.  It’s the kind of place that’s not like any other kind of place in the world, and fosters innovative and courageous talents like The Strokes.  Headed by charismatic, and slightly insane, lead singer Julian Casablancas, the Strokes began here in 1999, as part of the garage band revival.  Casablancas and the band’s guitarist, Albert Hammond, Jr., met at a boarding school in Switzerland, where they were sent for bad behavior as young teens.

They met again in New York City, when Hammond was attending Tisch, and shared an apartment.  They joined forces with Nick Valensi, Nikolai Fraiture, and Fabrizio Moretti, to form one of the most successful bands in rock history.  The climb, in retrospect, seems very quick and easy.  The Strokes rose very quickly to the top of the charts, after the band had already made a huge impression on London audiences.  For their hometown friends in New York City, catching on took a few months longer, but just as sure.  The Strokes sound is undeniably contagious, with skillful and stylishly sloppy playing accompanying vocals that are positively retro.  In the post-ironic musical present, the Strokes are a wonderfully self-conscious yet passionate band of romantic muses, singing the same songs of love and loss that we always already grew up on.