Tips to Fight SPAM

SPAM is email that is unsolicited (email that you didn't ask for). This mail is commonly trying to sell you something. Typically it is just irritating, however SPAM could also include malware like a virus, or connect you to phishing websites that attempt to steal your private information. It is not possible to stop all spam, but the following are some methods to hold spam to a minimum.

You can be protected from malicious spam with antivirus software. Make sure that your computer has antivirus software installed. (There is antivirus software that has tools to filter out spam after it is downloaded to your computer). However, you might try to spot an email that has a dangerous attachment without opening it up; an email than includes a picture or is written with a Word document might be loaded with a virus -- be careful. Don't give your email address to people that are untrustworthy. If you have to give your email address to get something from a website, it is best to set up an email address just for the purpose of receiving junk. Hotmail or Gmail web mail is very good for this. Don't reply to any email unless you have asked for that email. A lot of spam messages include directions at the end of the message requesting that you answer the message if you desire to be taken off their mailing list. Don't do it, since this will only ensure them that this is a real email address, and you will probably receive more spam. For the same reason, you shouldn't give your address for opting-out or removing it from a list. Preview all your emails by reading their subject lines prior to opening the email. When you get emails that ask for money or help from someone you don't know, do not forward the message. It is most likely a hoax, and this is a great way for spammers to acquire more email addresses. A lot of emails warning about viruses are hoaxes too. You should do your homework about virus warnings before you warn your friends about it so that you don't spread the hoax on to them. If you pass along emails to multiple parties, address them through the BCC field, which safeguards their address by keeping it hidden. Ask people to send you emails in this manner as well. Just like item #2, above, don't give your address for placement on mailing lists in chat rooms or to newsgroups. You should have a 'throwaway' address to use for this and another address for friends and family. If you put your email address on your website, tell your web designer to encrypt it so that people who send spam can't see what it is. One effective encryption program is 'enkoder'. It is free of cost. You can do a Google search for Enkoder. You could register a complaint via email to the administrator of the server that hosts the spammer's website. The majority of servers provide an email address to notify of abuses in the WHOIS part of the IP address. It is possible to check the email's header to locate the source of the message and conduct a WHOIS lookup. There should be an abuse email address. http://whois.domaintools.com offers a free IP WHOIS lookup. Configuring Your Exchange Server to Filter Spam   Secret Techniques to Stop Spam That Work Every Time   Email Spam, Forum Spam, and Online Conduct   Did You Host Your Website to Receive Junk Mail?   

Got Spam? You're Not Alone!

A recent report showed that over 82% of all US email is spam. With about 980 million email accounts around the world, it would be interesting to see what the world wide spam percentage is. Spam is becoming more and more insistent and with spammers teaming up with virus writers, the situation is growing increasingly malicious. And for 114,000 new iPad owners, they may now find unwanted solicitations in their emails, because AT&T accidentally released email address of the iPad owners. On the list were notable people such as Rahm Emanuel, Diane Sawyer and a few other worldwide known personalities.

Software technicians work non-stop to block, combat and inform the public of new spam tactics. One such tactic is the "Literary and Poetry" spam. People open their emails to find entire chapters of books or entire poems in the email body. This has left quite a few people scratching their heads. The reason why spammers are now using this approach is it allows them to bypass spam filters.

Spammers never use their own email address, but will typical have thousands if not millions of disposable accounts. They can send spam out to millions upon millions of emails within minutes. The use of open proxies are often used to hide the spammer's location or the will take control of a host computer (a victim's computer filled with the right malware, viruses and worms) and send out mass spam. All the while, it remains completely undetected. With such a hit and run technique is can be very difficult to track down spammers. When they are found fines and/or jail time is common punishment.

There are numerous tricks that people can use that can off-set the amount of spam they receive. Most if not all email providers have their own encryption and security software to minimize spam. Then of course there are spam filters as well as white and black lists that individuals can use to decrease spam. Anti-virus software usually has spam guard features that can assist. Some anti-spam methods work better than others, so it's always best to research to find the best one that works for your needs.

Spam is not just annoying adult related ads or unreadable gibberish. Some spam is extremely dangerous and people have had their banking accounts wipe out, credit cards maxed out and have suffered identify theft. Identify theft is one of the hardest thing to get rid of. It can be almost impossible to regain your identity. A spammer only needs a little bit of information about you to receive all of your records. One dangerous type of spam is phishing. A phishing spam will look just like the original website, like PayPal. It will ask you to login to verify information, as soon as you login; the sender of the email now has access to your PayPal and bank account. Then there is the Nigerian type spam, to where the sender will use a convincing sad story over the course of time to get you to send or donate money.

There are millions of heartbreaking stories of people who have been victims of spam. The best way to avoid being a victim is never click a link of someone you don't know. Also make sure your spam exchange provider has a good spam filter and get a good anti-spam blocker from a reputable Anti-virus company. Plus stay on top of all the new spam trends. These spammers are becoming more sophisticated and now that they have partnered up with virus writers; spam is may just get a brand new face. Don't be caught unaware.

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Tips For Dealing With Your Spam Problems

There are plenty of spam advertisements that are trying to sell you prescription medication, home refinance deals, and emails trying to get you to sign up for online casinos - these are just plain annoying. But there are many other e-mail scams whose main purpose is to take your money - all of it if they can.

The Nigerian bank scam is one famous example of this. The sender, who says that they are related to a government official or they are a former dictator from Nigeria, tells a story in the e-mail of how millions of dollars are sitting in the bank and are inaccessible. They're willing to share the jackpot with you, if you're willing to help them. Your help, however, requires the transfer of several thousand dollars from your own bank account. While it seems that most of us would be too smart to fall for this scam, the reality is many people fall for it every year. An older Czech man who put up his life savings through this scam shot the Nigerian consul in one highly publicized example of how this scam can be devastating.

Some of the most common Internet scams offer you almost unbelievable investment schemes with paybacks that are too good to believe, and too good to be true. Usually these investment schemes claim to be without any risk but once you turn over your money it's highly unlikely you'll see any payback. One common scam targets people with bad credit. This one asks you to send money for processing fees and a security deposit and you'll get a credit card. You will get nothing in return for your money and by the time you start getting help or an investigation, the scammer is long gone.

Another common scam involves multilevel marketing schemes (commonly known as MLMs). These emails will suggest you buy huge quantities of some hot product. You're told you can resell the product for an easy and lucrative profit. You'll receive a commission on each sale you make and the sales others make who work under you. Once you've bought the merchandise, though, your distributor will disappear, and will usually not even deliver the goods.

It's important to remember that legitimate businesses don't advertise this way. Usually they will e-mail select groups, people who have previously purchased product from them or who have signed up and given their e-mail address to them. Often these e-mails will address you personally rather than in a generic mass e-mail kind of way. Any other offers should be ignored and you can simply delete the e-mails or click "junk e-mail" in your e-mail client so the server knows these are coming from a spammer.

One lesson that people need to learn is to never reply to a spammer. Even if you reply with "stop e-mailing me", that e-mail won't be read and instead you'll simply get more e-mail. Don't even click on the link that says "click here to remove your e-mail from our e-mail list" -- you won't be removed from the e-mail list and you will be added back into their database.

Finally, never give out any personal bank account information, private data, or your credit card number to anyone over the Internet you do not know. Banks, PayPal and other credible businesses will never send you an email asking for passwords or other personal information.

It's another common scam for you to get an email from a "bank" asking for your password or other personal information. You'll be told that the information is necessary to confirm your account. Don't click on these e-mails. If you wonder if they're for real, you can always call the bank directly.

Most of these scams are obvious. And you can know by looking at them that their spam or certainly not on the up and up, but if you aren't sure always look at who the sender is. If you don't recognize the name of the sender name, it's likely the e-mail is spam.

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List of All Hoax Emails

Email has changed the way people communicate and has made it easier to send all types of correspondence, from personal notes to business memos. This acquired convenience however, comes with a price: security. Virtually anybody can create an email account and it is this anonymity that has given rise to a number of email hoaxes that continue to plague the World Wide Web.

The first in the list of all hoax Emails is the popular Chain Mail. Chain Mails are more annoying than they are dangerous and they are easy to create. They start with either a story or a quote, and end with a warning that if the user does not pass the mail to a number of friends, bad luck will befall them. Some chain mail comes with supposedly true accounts of what happened to people who did not heed the warning. Fortunately, other than it being a waste of time and inbox space, chain mail doesn't pose a serious threat to a user's security.

Virus Hoaxes also appear in people's inboxes quite often. The subject line for this type of hoax is usually deceiving, and once you open the mail, it will warn you that you have opened a virus, which will erase your files, take your personal information and crash your computer. Though some emails do have viruses in them in the form of attachments, viruses cannot enter a person's computer system by merely opening a message.

The first two in the list of email hoaxes merely employ scare tactics but the third, the Phising Scams, should be taken seriously. Hackers use Phising scams to obtain personal information like bank accounts and credit card numbers. Some scammers even create phony websites that resemble legitimate online sites, complete with real-looking images, menus and logos. An email sent to the intended victim contains a link that when clicked, leads to a page on the fake site, where they must share sensitive information in order to register or to update their accounts.

Lottery scams, though easily detected by mail filters, do end up in people's inboxes every now and then. The subject line is always catchy: the user has won a prize and must claim it immediately. Scammers claim that the user's email address has been entered in a lottery draw and they can claim their prize by contacting the authorized representative assigned to the raffle. This scam is harmless until the user replies, wherein the scammers then try to slowly draw as much personal information as they can by pretending they need documents as proof of identity.

The list of all hoax emails goes on, and new scams come out every day. From the bothersome spam mail, to the deceiving charity request email, spammers and scammers alike find new ways to take advantage of the unsuspecting public. While some hoaxes are practical jokes, others put people in danger of identity theft and robbery. To protect themselves, people must remain vigilant in the contents of their inboxes. They must always exercise caution when opening email attachments, and must always be suspicious of emails promising money with no strings attached. Eradicating email hoaxes may be impossible, but with caution, people can prevent becoming victims of it.

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Beware - A New Strategy Came Up on the Internet - And a Free Online Solution For Your Protection

I suppose that everybody knows the old ones, with the poor Russian family, with the lottery prize and with the relatives of dead generals or ministers from countries like Senegal, Nigeria and, more recent, Iraq. The common thing to all these attempts is that they are coming as SPAM emails. Do not trust anyone which send you an unsolicited email, no matter what you read inside.

The usual one, with the lottery prize had made a lot of victims until now. You are announced that you are the lucky winner of a great prize of hundreds of thousands of dollars from some lottery based on email addresses and they ask you to give some personal information to cash your prize. The purpose is to get your personal dates and to practice the so called "Identity theft". Every lottery from every country has a web page, if you look in Google Search you will find it, and all of them make very clear their program and their procedures. Maybe there are few differences from case to case, but there is one rule which is universally available. YOU CAN NOT WIN IN ANY LOTTERY IF YOU DON'T PLAY.

The poor Russian family with bank accounts of million dollars from dead relatives and the descendants of generals and ex-presidents of African countries are proposing you to help them to recover their fortune and, in exchange, they will share it with you. There is no place in this world where you can just go and say: "Hey, I am John Doe and I am the legal descendant of the ex-president Madomba!" You will just be fooled to pay some fees to fictive legal counselors or government taxes, and you will never see your money back.

Whenever you are buying something online, do it through well known payments systems. I imagine that everyone knows about PayPal and ClickBank, companies with tradition and solid reputation. These companies gives the possibility to any merchant to open an account with them and to sell their stuff through their system, and gives you the insurance that they will track every transaction which you are making through them, offering you an excellent support. There are rumours that PayPal is tough with the merchants and shut down accounts very easy, but I am glad hearing that. It means that they keep an eye on every transaction and when they find something unclear, they are in action. I had once the occasion to be scammed by someone on PayPal, and they solved it in three days. I trust them more than myself.

The new strategy I was talking about is that you receive an email from some bank with common name, (I received until now emails from "Liberty Reserve" and from "CitiBank"), where you are announced that your account is blocked and you need to reset your information in order to open it, or that someone has accessed illegally your account and you need to reset your information. No serious bank in this world would ask you private information on the Internet as long as you don't have an account with them. Do not answer to these emails, and, if you have the opportunity and the time, report them as spam.

The solution I was talking about is a free online plug-in from Mozilla Firefox. It is called WOT, (Worth Of Trust), and every time when you are accessing a web page or you are hovering a link in your browser, it gives you a trustiness degree of that web page. When you are accessing a web page with bad reputation you are warned very clear about the reputation of that site. I am using it for some time and I have convinced myself that it is very useful. The Firefox browser is free to download, very easy to install and you may install the WOT plug-in in the very same moment you have installed the Browser.

If you want to find out more information about Internet issues, visit my site. Until the next time, I wish you good luck and may the Google be with you!

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Email Overwhelm - Overcome it in 5 Steps

Are you drowning in email? Got dozens or hundreds of messages in your inbox waiting for you to sort through and respond to them? Do you feel overwhelmed just thinking about clicking the "check mail" button? Don't panic! You can overcome that flood of email!

1) Use a Good Spam Filter

Check with your website host to find out what spam filtering options are available. I don't recommend the challenge response type that forces anyone sending an email to you to request approval before their email can reach you - this option can often frustrate potential clients or customers and they'll look elsewhere. Instead try an option like Spam Assassin(tm) or Mailwasher(tm). If you prefer using webmail, consider setting up GMail to use your email address with it so GMail can filter your mail.

2) Report Spam to Teach Your Filters

Once you have a spam filter setup take time to read about it so know how the filters work. Many learn by watching what you report as spam or rescue from the filter.

3) Unsubscribe Ruthlessly

I'd venture a guess that most of us are subscribed to far too many newsletters and other lists. Start using that unsubscribe link. You may find that you can follow your favorite stores, mentors, or friends better with a blog RSS reader or on social networks like Twitter or Facebook.

4) Recruit Help

What types of email do you receive that you don't need to handle personally? Talk with your virtual assistant about what you can outsource such as customer service issues or pre-sales type questions.

5) Automate & Template

Technology allows us to automate many aspects of email handling from auto-filing mail into the proper folders or labels, to sending an auto-reply to messages with certain requests or topics. Create templates for your most common replies so they're ready to use and you don't have to type the same information over and over again. Learn to use the time-saving options available in your email program. It may take an hour or two initially to become familiar with all the options but it will save you time.

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Methods to Avoid Spam - In Fact, Kill Spam in 10 Minutes Or Less For Free

Can you avoid spam altogether? Is this at all possible? I've made this mistake in the past when setting up a web-site or blog and as a consequence received large amounts of spam, which completely got out of hand, forcing me to invest in expensive anti-spam software and more importantly took time away from my working day.

Now I thought I was doing something great for customers, placing my email on my website making it easily accessible and easy to contact me by giving them a clickable email link. This is achieved by adding mailto:your@emailaddress.com which conveniently opens an email client and sets up a new mail to send, leaving your prospect to just fill in the body copy and possibly headline. Unfortunately spammers, as they tend to do, have exploited this, so don't do it! Did I learn my lesson! It was a field day for the spam bots, which look for the mailto: or @ and then harvest your address, which laid me open to pedlars of Nigerian Swiss watches on Viagra.

I found this solution on someones website, when I tried to click on their link and realised that this wasn't a clickable link but a graphic. It was a bit annoying at the time but it dawned on me why they had implemented this technique. Here's what you can do to emulate this, create your email address, take a screenshot of it your @emailaddress.com crop it tight now you can leave this as is basically you have advertised your email to human prospects but made it unreadable to the evil spam bots.

You could take this a step further and add a link in this graphic. Please though, don't undo this anti-spam solution by adding a mailto: in your code, just use a standard link to your contact page thereby giving your prospect the ability to contact you without having to one finger type your email address into their email client. Also make sure that your email address is not contained in the contact form script or code, most don't but I believe some do.

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3 Simple Ways to Reduce Spam

For all the time, research, and energy that's been invested into resolving this problem, we still have spam. The simple fact is that there isn't really any way to fix the problem; we'll always have to deal with unwanted mail. It doesn't matter how many hours or how much money is invested into fixing the problem, there is always going to be unwanted messages in your inbox. Think of your inbox much like your home mailbox. Is there any way to ensure that you'll never receive a piece of junk mail... not really.

However, with all that said, there are a few ways you can reduce the amount of junk mail you receive. One way is by limiting to whom and where you give your e-mail address. Much like when you give out your home address, the more you use your e-mail address to register with sites, stores, etc. the more likely you are to get unwanted e-mail.

Below are several things you can do to try and limit the amount of spam you receive.

Create a separate e-mail for ordering and registering. Most websites require that you enter an e-mail when registering and most companies request an e-mail address when placing an order. I personally have several different e-mails. One for when I register on w websites, another for on-line ordering, and another address that is used for friends. By having separate addresses, I ensure that my primary e-mail, the address where I do most of my correspondence, doesn't get tagged or sold to junk mailers.

Be cognizant of who sent the e-mail before clicking the "Click Here" to remove your name option of an e-mail. Unless the e-mail is from a reputable company, it's likely that clicking the remove button won't actually remove you, but in effect inform the spammer that your e-mail address is in fact valid.

Change e-mail addresses. If you're getting so much spam that it's impossible to sort through what's spam and what's not, you might want to consider getting a new e-mail address (Then, only give that new address out to people you need to correspond with). I'm a big fan of Gmail. They have a fantastic built-in spam filter and their e-mail service is free.

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Auto Detailing - Proper Machine Buffing With Compound

It is recommended that you use a variable rotary buffer/polisher. Four ply buffing pads from Buff and Shine or 3M Company are the easiest to use in corner and angled surfaces. You may also use foam pads if you find those preferable and easier to use for yourself. After the boat has been thoroughly washed, properly tape off with a very high quality masking tape, the striping, the rub strip that runs along the hull of the boat, and any areas you feel may get hit by the polisher and make a blemish or mark. It actually saves time and you'll be happy that you did it. It takes a few extra minutes but it is the proper way to buff a boat.

To begin the buffing on a cool clean surface, lay down a strip of compound and run buffer at a fairly high rate of speed between (1800 to 2500 rpm) to break the abrasives down and get a brilliant shine. As you finish the section that you are buffing, back off on the pressure as you start to see the compound disappear. You'll get a higher gloss when you perform this properly. Imagine a grid pattern as you buff the hull, side to side, then top to bottom. This helps to ensure you don't miss a spot. To get the product to work a little longer you can mist, distilled water only, on the product itself as you're buffing. It will work a little bit longer and you can actually a little more gloss out of it. It will make the abrasives in it work just a touch longer. You can get some really nice results by doing this.

Be very careful when working near exposed antennas, lines, horns, and as mentioned before, especially striping. Slow the speed down when buffing on stripes and use less pressure on the buffer. Remove as much of the product as possible, then wipe residual by hand. It is also recommended that you tape off areas, tops, exposed seats, etc. that may be in the path of flying compound. You can do this using towels, old sheets. There are also different areas you may want to cover up like the dash if it's an exposed top boat. It just saves time on cleanup later.

Optional Second Step

If you follow the buffing step with Blue Magnum Carnuba from Monsters, you will achieve a brilliant reflective shine and long lasting protection. In the buffing process an optional second step is to add Meguiar's #45 polish by hand or orbital polisher to the area just buffed. This will help feed the pores of the gel coat and add an additional amount of gloss to the surface. With this you have to use the product as directed and do one section at a time. It does not work well as a wax to just let it sit on there, haze, and then try to remove it. It's something that you put on and remove almost immediately. As mentioned, it is an optional step to use in this process. This also is a product that you'll want to keep away from the anti-skid portions of the boat, usually the side railings or the top deck where the anti-skid is mostly found. It just does not work well with anti-skid.

Auto Detailing - Proper Machine Buffing With Compound

It is recommended that you use a variable rotary buffer/polisher. Four ply buffing pads from Buff and Shine or 3M Company are the easiest to use in corner and angled surfaces. You may also use foam pads if you find those preferable and easier to use for yourself. After the boat has been thoroughly washed, properly tape off with a very high quality masking tape, the striping, the rub strip that runs along the hull of the boat, and any areas you feel may get hit by the polisher and make a blemish or mark. It actually saves time and you'll be happy that you did it. It takes a few extra minutes but it is the proper way to buff a boat.

To begin the buffing on a cool clean surface, lay down a strip of compound and run buffer at a fairly high rate of speed between (1800 to 2500 rpm) to break the abrasives down and get a brilliant shine. As you finish the section that you are buffing, back off on the pressure as you start to see the compound disappear. You'll get a higher gloss when you perform this properly. Imagine a grid pattern as you buff the hull, side to side, then top to bottom. This helps to ensure you don't miss a spot. To get the product to work a little longer you can mist, distilled water only, on the product itself as you're buffing. It will work a little bit longer and you can actually a little more gloss out of it. It will make the abrasives in it work just a touch longer. You can get some really nice results by doing this.

Be very careful when working near exposed antennas, lines, horns, and as mentioned before, especially striping. Slow the speed down when buffing on stripes and use less pressure on the buffer. Remove as much of the product as possible, then wipe residual by hand. It is also recommended that you tape off areas, tops, exposed seats, etc. that may be in the path of flying compound. You can do this using towels, old sheets. There are also different areas you may want to cover up like the dash if it's an exposed top boat. It just saves time on cleanup later.

Optional Second Step

If you follow the buffing step with Blue Magnum Carnuba from Monsters, you will achieve a brilliant reflective shine and long lasting protection. In the buffing process an optional second step is to add Meguiar's #45 polish by hand or orbital polisher to the area just buffed. This will help feed the pores of the gel coat and add an additional amount of gloss to the surface. With this you have to use the product as directed and do one section at a time. It does not work well as a wax to just let it sit on there, haze, and then try to remove it. It's something that you put on and remove almost immediately. As mentioned, it is an optional step to use in this process. This also is a product that you'll want to keep away from the anti-skid portions of the boat, usually the side railings or the top deck where the anti-skid is mostly found. It just does not work well with anti-skid.

Auto Detailing - Choosing the Correct Buffing Pads for the Job

It is important to have the correct backing plate and buffer pad. You should find a durable Velcro backing plate and Velcro foam pads and wool pads. Look for a backing plate with holes in it to redistribute heat from the surface of the paint. Another cool design is the three leaf clover design which has great gripping power and cooling capabilities.

Make sure to buy foam pads that correspond to the holes on the backing plates. Look for a backing plate with a harder outer ring that is slightly beveled. This feature strengthens the plate and allows flexibility when buffing on the exterior step ribs of the hull.

You will find that air circulation is much better on these types of pads than on 'waffle' type pads which tend to fling more product. This is wasteful and also makes a mess causing extra taping, clean-up and a slight environmental situation if working on a boat in a slip. These pads have a very 'tight' hook and loop system which can grab the Velcro on the back of the pad too tightly. If you are not careful, you will completely rip the felt back off the pad. This is why we recommend a backing plate that uses a looser or more spread out design.

Unlike cars, which have a 1 to 3 micron thick clear coat, a gel coat on a boat is 10 to 15 times thicker and on more expensive boats as much as twenty times thicker than the clear coat on cars. For this reason a wool pad is preferable unless you are doing such light oxidation removal that you are simply trying to save hand motion. Double sided wool and synthetic fiber pads work great as well. They allow speedy change when you are on top of the boat and want to save time getting off the boat to change the pad. Just flip it over and go. They also have the right flex to allow proper buffing technique. S.M. Arnold is a place to get them.

Now there are a variety of wool pads to choose from. The jobs they perform best range from heavy cutting and compounding to light cutting, polishing and finishing. When finishing you may wish to switch to a foam pad. But if you feel comfortable with it stay with the wool. The wool pad may be made of 100% wool or a blend of synthetic and wool or natural lamb's wool for finishing purposes. The colors of the wool pads tend to vary from company to company, so disregard the color of the pad since it's only a dye. The features that make a wool pad appropriate for different types of jobs are:

Ply - Wool pads can be single ply, four ply, whatever. Ply is the number of twists per strand of yarn. The more twists the stronger and more aggressive the pad becomes. Pile Height - This refers to how tall the yarn is. It can range from 1 1/4" to 2". The shorter the height the less it gives and the more aggressive it becomes.

Description - Ply and pile height are important factors to determine how aggressive a pad will be but also the make-up of the type of wool is a significant factor. As you get away from 100% wool to synthetic and from four ply to one ply and increase height, the pad becomes softer and better for producing a finer finish.

Take good care of your finishing wool pads. Keep them clean and use a spur tool to clean them not a screwdriver. If you have synthetic wool pads you can wash them, but 100% wool pads will knot up and shrink. Four plys are the worst for this. Whenever possible or practical replace the pads. Save old pads for the tug boats and things that are rough and might ruin a good pad. With foam pads, you can easily tell their aggressive nature by density. The more dense the more aggressive. Also, they have ratings. Parts per inch (PPI). Most range from 40 to 100 PP. The higher the number the softer they are. 40 to 50 PPI is for swirls in clear coats of cars and light cuts. Foam pads tend to stick and grip more than wool pads and can heat up quicker. At 1700 rpm's foam pads tend to max out in temperature unless they have heat holes. Cleaning foam pads is simple. Use warm soapy water, spur tool, tooth brush and wring them out to dry. Do not use real hot water because it delaminates the glue on the Velcro.

Catalog for Pads

S. M. Arnold Inc.

1-314-544-4103

Auto Detailing - Choosing the Correct Buffing Pads for the Job

It is important to have the correct backing plate and buffer pad. You should find a durable Velcro backing plate and Velcro foam pads and wool pads. Look for a backing plate with holes in it to redistribute heat from the surface of the paint. Another cool design is the three leaf clover design which has great gripping power and cooling capabilities.

Make sure to buy foam pads that correspond to the holes on the backing plates. Look for a backing plate with a harder outer ring that is slightly beveled. This feature strengthens the plate and allows flexibility when buffing on the exterior step ribs of the hull.

You will find that air circulation is much better on these types of pads than on 'waffle' type pads which tend to fling more product. This is wasteful and also makes a mess causing extra taping, clean-up and a slight environmental situation if working on a boat in a slip. These pads have a very 'tight' hook and loop system which can grab the Velcro on the back of the pad too tightly. If you are not careful, you will completely rip the felt back off the pad. This is why we recommend a backing plate that uses a looser or more spread out design.

Unlike cars, which have a 1 to 3 micron thick clear coat, a gel coat on a boat is 10 to 15 times thicker and on more expensive boats as much as twenty times thicker than the clear coat on cars. For this reason a wool pad is preferable unless you are doing such light oxidation removal that you are simply trying to save hand motion. Double sided wool and synthetic fiber pads work great as well. They allow speedy change when you are on top of the boat and want to save time getting off the boat to change the pad. Just flip it over and go. They also have the right flex to allow proper buffing technique. S.M. Arnold is a place to get them.

Now there are a variety of wool pads to choose from. The jobs they perform best range from heavy cutting and compounding to light cutting, polishing and finishing. When finishing you may wish to switch to a foam pad. But if you feel comfortable with it stay with the wool. The wool pad may be made of 100% wool or a blend of synthetic and wool or natural lamb's wool for finishing purposes. The colors of the wool pads tend to vary from company to company, so disregard the color of the pad since it's only a dye. The features that make a wool pad appropriate for different types of jobs are:

Ply - Wool pads can be single ply, four ply, whatever. Ply is the number of twists per strand of yarn. The more twists the stronger and more aggressive the pad becomes. Pile Height - This refers to how tall the yarn is. It can range from 1 1/4" to 2". The shorter the height the less it gives and the more aggressive it becomes.

Description - Ply and pile height are important factors to determine how aggressive a pad will be but also the make-up of the type of wool is a significant factor. As you get away from 100% wool to synthetic and from four ply to one ply and increase height, the pad becomes softer and better for producing a finer finish.

Take good care of your finishing wool pads. Keep them clean and use a spur tool to clean them not a screwdriver. If you have synthetic wool pads you can wash them, but 100% wool pads will knot up and shrink. Four plys are the worst for this. Whenever possible or practical replace the pads. Save old pads for the tug boats and things that are rough and might ruin a good pad. With foam pads, you can easily tell their aggressive nature by density. The more dense the more aggressive. Also, they have ratings. Parts per inch (PPI). Most range from 40 to 100 PP. The higher the number the softer they are. 40 to 50 PPI is for swirls in clear coats of cars and light cuts. Foam pads tend to stick and grip more than wool pads and can heat up quicker. At 1700 rpm's foam pads tend to max out in temperature unless they have heat holes. Cleaning foam pads is simple. Use warm soapy water, spur tool, tooth brush and wring them out to dry. Do not use real hot water because it delaminates the glue on the Velcro.

Catalog for Pads

S. M. Arnold Inc.

1-314-544-4103

Auto Detailing - Choosing the Correct Buffing Pads for the Job

It is important to have the correct backing plate and buffer pad. You should find a durable Velcro backing plate and Velcro foam pads and wool pads. Look for a backing plate with holes in it to redistribute heat from the surface of the paint. Another cool design is the three leaf clover design which has great gripping power and cooling capabilities.

Make sure to buy foam pads that correspond to the holes on the backing plates. Look for a backing plate with a harder outer ring that is slightly beveled. This feature strengthens the plate and allows flexibility when buffing on the exterior step ribs of the hull.

You will find that air circulation is much better on these types of pads than on 'waffle' type pads which tend to fling more product. This is wasteful and also makes a mess causing extra taping, clean-up and a slight environmental situation if working on a boat in a slip. These pads have a very 'tight' hook and loop system which can grab the Velcro on the back of the pad too tightly. If you are not careful, you will completely rip the felt back off the pad. This is why we recommend a backing plate that uses a looser or more spread out design.

Unlike cars, which have a 1 to 3 micron thick clear coat, a gel coat on a boat is 10 to 15 times thicker and on more expensive boats as much as twenty times thicker than the clear coat on cars. For this reason a wool pad is preferable unless you are doing such light oxidation removal that you are simply trying to save hand motion. Double sided wool and synthetic fiber pads work great as well. They allow speedy change when you are on top of the boat and want to save time getting off the boat to change the pad. Just flip it over and go. They also have the right flex to allow proper buffing technique. S.M. Arnold is a place to get them.

Now there are a variety of wool pads to choose from. The jobs they perform best range from heavy cutting and compounding to light cutting, polishing and finishing. When finishing you may wish to switch to a foam pad. But if you feel comfortable with it stay with the wool. The wool pad may be made of 100% wool or a blend of synthetic and wool or natural lamb's wool for finishing purposes. The colors of the wool pads tend to vary from company to company, so disregard the color of the pad since it's only a dye. The features that make a wool pad appropriate for different types of jobs are:

Ply - Wool pads can be single ply, four ply, whatever. Ply is the number of twists per strand of yarn. The more twists the stronger and more aggressive the pad becomes. Pile Height - This refers to how tall the yarn is. It can range from 1 1/4" to 2". The shorter the height the less it gives and the more aggressive it becomes.

Description - Ply and pile height are important factors to determine how aggressive a pad will be but also the make-up of the type of wool is a significant factor. As you get away from 100% wool to synthetic and from four ply to one ply and increase height, the pad becomes softer and better for producing a finer finish.

Take good care of your finishing wool pads. Keep them clean and use a spur tool to clean them not a screwdriver. If you have synthetic wool pads you can wash them, but 100% wool pads will knot up and shrink. Four plys are the worst for this. Whenever possible or practical replace the pads. Save old pads for the tug boats and things that are rough and might ruin a good pad. With foam pads, you can easily tell their aggressive nature by density. The more dense the more aggressive. Also, they have ratings. Parts per inch (PPI). Most range from 40 to 100 PP. The higher the number the softer they are. 40 to 50 PPI is for swirls in clear coats of cars and light cuts. Foam pads tend to stick and grip more than wool pads and can heat up quicker. At 1700 rpm's foam pads tend to max out in temperature unless they have heat holes. Cleaning foam pads is simple. Use warm soapy water, spur tool, tooth brush and wring them out to dry. Do not use real hot water because it delaminates the glue on the Velcro.

Catalog for Pads

S. M. Arnold Inc.

1-314-544-4103

All About Hawaii Five-O

Some of us are old enough to remember Steve McGarrett and his sidekick Danno in the long running TV series Hawaii Five-O.

For those that are old enough - and for those you may not be but are just curious - here are my top five Five-O factlets!

1. The show was based (and filmed almost exclusively) in Hawaii. Since this was the 50th U.S. state, it was given the name Hawaii Five-O. The show's producer, Leonard Freeman, originally planned to call it "The Man"

2. The series is based around the activities of a special police agency headed by Steve McGarrett who reports directly to the state governor. In reality no such organization exists.

3. Five-O started in 1968 and finished - after 278 episodes spanning 12 series - in 1980.

4. The series stars Jack Lord. He was offered the part of Captain Kirk in Star Trek but turned it down. Lord was born in 1920 in Brooklyn. He died in Hawaii in 1998. He became the Executive Producer of the show after Leonard Freeman died. He was known to have an autocratic style of leadership and was very particular about having things his way.

5. The show was a runaway success from the start. If this wasn't enough, it also had one of the most famous theme tunes in TV. The Hawaii Five-O theme was composed by Morton Stevens who also penned many other TV themes such as "Police Woman". Morton was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1929 and died in Encino, California in 1991. In the year 2000, twenty years after the series ended, a poll in the UK rated the Five-O music as the most catchiest of all TV themes. Stevens won two Emmy awards for music in "Hookman" and "A Thousand Pardons, You're Dead." I am the proud owner of a vocal version of the Five-O theme tune, sung by Sammy Davies Jr. The words are truly awful but the brilliant tune still wins through!

Movies - Watch What You Want, When You Want   

Movies - Watch What You Want, When You Want

Movies are a tremendous source of entertainment for most people. The reason? It's probably because even people who have little in common can find a movie to enjoy together.

The moviemakers apparently understood the need to create films that appeal to a wide audience. Otherwise, the good guy wouldn't take time out in his pursuit of the bad guys to kiss the girl. The girl wouldn't get herself in a wreck that required a heroic rescue before she got her guy. And - perhaps the most obvious example of all - the cartoons wouldn't have such great humor that appeals to the adults almost as much as the children.

Technology has played an important role in broadening the appeal of most movies to encompass a wider audience. Consider the movies of a half-century ago. There were spacemen on Earth and earthlings in space, but the scenes were usually very plain and the almost everything was left to the imagination of the view. Today, the vistas are bigger than life, futuristic scenes are more incredible than the average imagination could have conjured on its own and the stunts are unbelievable - because they are humanly impossible.

But even when we're watching a stunt that can't possibly have happened in real life, we're awed and amazed and can't wait to see it again. And again. And that's the beauty of the movie experience today. Not only are there thousands upon thousands of movies to watch, many are available to buy, rent or download onto your PC. You can watch them as often as you want, shelve them for awhile and watch them again.

While technology is playing an important role in the movie-making process, it's also important for movie watching. The fact that many movies are now digital files on DVD allows moviemakers to apply a myriad of special features into the movie file itself. Surround sound is one of those special features and if you have a home theater set up with surround sound, you'll be able to hear the special effects just like you do at a commercial theater. Ever wonder how it is that a door squeaks to your right, while a woman screams to your left? The answer is surround sound technology and a DVD has ample space to store those kinds of programming features.

You and your spouse will probably never agree on every single movie. But with the many movie titles available for you to rent or own either on DVD or to download to your computer, it's likely that you'll find something that you both want to watch tonight. And maybe even something that you both want to watch again. And again.

© Copyright 2005 by Rickia Sanders. All rights reserved.

Movies - Watch What You Want, When You Want