Pickens

Regular brake inspections are an essential part of good automotive maintenance that can save you money and keep your car from wrapping itself around the first tree out of your driveway. Make sure that your brakes and rotors are receiving the proper maintenance by following the steps outlined. Your safety as well as that of your passengers, pedestrians, and other drivers is at stake.

1. Time for a free inspection. Many local brake shops as well as national brake repair chains offer customers free brake inspections at no obligation to you. The inspection typically includes the following steps:

If you are an at home mechanic, you can complete your own inspections and fit your vehicle with top notch replacement parts including brake pads and calipers. You can save on parts by purchasing them from a reputable online wholesaler such as Pit Stop Auto Parts who can offer to you top quality parts at sensible prices, typically much lower than what your dealer or an auto parts store would charge you.

Take care of your vehicle and it will take car of you especially in an emergency situation where a properly working brake system is an absolute must.

Matt Keegan is an auto enthusiast and contributing writer for PitStop Auto Parts, a seller of discount auto accessories including Akebono Brakes and EBC Brakes for your car.

# posted by sochalzqzsuh : 6:11 PM  0 comments

Real Madrid president, Ramon Calderon announced that his newly signed Italian centre-back Fabio Cannavaro had won the prestigious Ballon DOr, or Golden Ball, and was to replace Ronaldinho as the European Footballer of the year. This came to the surprise of many and rose more than a few eyebrows. Not, through the fact that Cannavaro had been the selection, far from it given his dominant displays during the World Cup, but due to the fact that the winner of the much hyped award is not actually announced until 27th November. Surely this means one of two things. The first of these is that France Football, the magazine that actually host the prize, have a mole in the camp and need to seriously bolster their security, alternatively Senor Calderon is living up to the traditions of the Madridistas and filling newspaper columns with self gratifying propaganda.

If it was a media frenzy that Calderon wanted, then he will be a happy man. Italian newspapers were not slow in announcing: Cannavaro, it's all true. (Gazzetta dello Sport) and: Golden Ball to Cannavaro. (Corriere della Sera). Despite the excitable nature of the Italian media, it would appear that the issue is done and dusted. Which would change the purpose of this article from a preview of the front-runners, to a selection of the nearly men. However, the famous trophy is not yet causing the Italian skipper feng shui difficulties at chez Cannavaro and so I will continue with my initial intentions.

The Ballon DOr was created in 1956 by France Football magazine. At a time when Europe had begun to come out from the hangover of World War II a decade earlier, and football was enjoying its progression as a worldwide game. The inaugural European Cup (now known as the UEFA Champions League) was played out in the same year, and Stanley Matthews, the Blackpool winger was pronounced as Europes first Player of the Year. In the years that followed, the awards were dominated by the all conquering Madrid side, their forward Alfredo di Stefano claiming the title twice. The very idea of the award showed that football was now a sport that could bring people of different countries together, such an important factor when we consider that much of the continent had been a battlefield little over a decade before. Despite being held by Frances leading football publication, the award is based upon the considered opinion of journalists Europe-wide.

The award has been pretty evenly distributed around the leading lights of European club football over the years, Juventus lead the way with a total of eight winners (a total that could well have been further extended had the Calciopoli match fixing scandal not intervened), AC Milan (seven), Barcelona (six), Real Madrid (five) and Bayern Munich (five) all follow. Of course we must take into consideration that the award ceremony is traditionally held in November of every year, so many victorious players may well have been at new clubs at the time of the award, having earned the plaudits that lead to the prize at another side (both Luis Figo and Ronaldo are examples of this, having only moved to Madrid a few months prior to the presentation). The only major change in the award since it began came in 1995 when it was decreed that the winner need not be European in nationality himself, merely have his contract held by a club that comes under UEFAs jurisdiction (much to the delight of the Liberian forward George Weah who took full advantage of the rule change in 1995).

An obvious start point for such an award would be to begin where we left off last year. The Brazilian Ronaldinho, who won last years award (to sit proudly on the mantelpiece next to his World Player of the Year award) to reconfirm him as being regarded as the planets finest player. The Barcelona man, by his very high standards, had a disappointing year. Despite adding the Champions League to his collection of medals, he was relatively below par in the World Cup (a competition that usually can be considered the deciding factor for the award) as his Brazilian side (and pre-tournament favourites) limped out in the quarter finals having been widely tipped to take a sixth title. Of his compatriots, only really Kaka shone in Germany and unfortunately the AC Milan forward ended the season medal-less despite enhancing his growing reputation as a force to be reckoned with in world football, and possible future winner of the award.

As we have previously examined, major tournaments often have a large impact on who is to be the recipient of the award. Take, for example, Ronaldos Ballon DOr of 2002. Following yet another injury plagued season in Italy with Internazionale, el phenominon (as he is known by his adoring fans) turned it on in the Far East to help Brazil claim a fifth World Cup, scoring an incredible eight goals along the way and exorcised the some of the demons of his breakdown in the 1998 competition. Although many commented that surely seven games does not make a season, Ronaldo, who had since joined the Galacticos of Madrid, took the coveted prize.

From this theory, we can assume that this years victor will most likely hail from Italy. As previously mentioned, all of this talk is fairly irrelevant as Fabio Cannavaro has been, although as yet unconfirmed, declared by his clubs president as the winner. In reality, should this be the case, few could argue. The Italian captain was a lion in the heart of the formidable Italian defence that provoked headlines of campione del mondo (champions of the world) across the Mediterranean peninsula. However, the 33 year old former Juventus man is himself not getting as excited as his President (at least not before the famous fat lady has had her moment). Cannavaro has said: "Of course I would like to win it. It would be wonderful and very gratifying on a personal level."

As well as the Madrid man, Italy can boast strong claims for the award through both midfielder Andrea Pirlo and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Pirlo, during the previous season with Milan, and the World Cup with his nation, enhanced the reputation that he had, in his early career at least, threatened without ever achieving. Some superb displays in the heart of the Azzuris midfield raised Pirlos profile to be rated amongst the continents finest in his position, although lack of success on the domestic front may have cost him. More interesting though, is the calls for the award to be given to Gigi Buffon. The Juventus and Italy stopper has long been regarded as the finest in the World in his position. In Germany, Buffon further embellished this claim. Some heroic performances, most notably in the semi final against the hosts and his penalty saving performance to claim the trophy in the final, gave credence to him becoming only the second goalkeeper to win the award. In claiming the Ballon DOr he would truly claim a place amongst the greats as the only other number one to have won the award was the Russian Lev Yashin in 1963. He also has the support of Italy legend, and former European Footballer of the Year, Gianni Rivera. Upon hearing of Cannavaros premature victory, Rivera proclaimed: "I would have chosen Italy keeper Gianluigi Buffon but if it is true that Fabio is to win it, I'm happy anyway."

If the Golden Ball is to head to Italy, it will be the countrys forth winner after Rivera himself (1969), Paolo Rossi (1982) and Roberto Baggio (1993).

However, not all are in agreement that the award should be given to an Italian. Upon hearing Ramon Calderons claims, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger reacted in typically defiant fashion: "Congratulations to Cannavaro if that's the case," Wenger said Friday. "But for me there's only one candidate this year, it's Thierry Henry. He just deserves it.

In retrospect, this is a fair argument. Henry appeared in both of the showpiece events in world football during 2006, and despite being on the losing side in both the World Cup and Champions League finals, getting to both is a testament to the man. Henry is widely regarded to have been the best striker in world football of the past few seasons. Consistently the English Premierships leading marksman and considered amongst the finest ever to have graced these shores, so perhaps, for once, Mr Wenger has seen something, he went onto say: "What does he have to do? Just to keep going. Sometimes you get rewarded at the moment where you expect it the least. That's as well the sign of a superchamp."

Other possible contenders are pretty thin on the ground. Samuel Etoo of Barcelona was at his explosive best helping propel his side to titles in both La Liga and the Champions League, although not appearing in the summers festival of football due to Cameroons failure to qualify did not help his cause, as neither did the long term knee injury that will keep the striker out of action until the new year. The Portuguese midfielder Deco is another who has been mentioned in relation to the award. The diminutive string puller was considered to have been as, if not more, vital than Ronaldinho to Barcelonas success last term. Another option, and one for the romantics, would be if the award was to go to Zinedine Zidane. The mercurial Frenchman finally hung up his golden boots during the summer after dragging his nation to the final. Some imposing performances from the one di Stefano dubbed the maestro won Zizou the World Cup Golden Ball for being the tournaments most outstanding player. However, we all know how it ended and, head-butts aside, the play-maker had a relatively poor season with Real Madrid.

With all considered, I feel I am largely discussing the competitors in a race already won. From a personal perspective I find this somewhat disappointing as it appears to be the closest competition for the award for some time. Not that I do not perceive Cannavaro a worthy winner, we have to go all the way back to Franz Beckenbauer in 1976 to find our last defender to have won the prize in a roll-of-honour dominated by players more accustomed to creating and scoring goals rather than stopping them. In this similar vein it would appear that given our three perceived favourites of Cannavaro, Buffon and Henry, only one is a striker. Perhaps a reflection upon the changing face of football? Perhaps merely a reflection of an Italian World Cup win? Either way, for me it is sad that such a prestigious award may not be announced with all of the pomp and ceremony that the eventual winner would undoubtedly deserve.

The author is David Hardy who writes for http://www.football-rumours.com , a large, frequently updated football / soccer website dealing with all facets of the game.

# posted by sochalzqzsuh : 7:16 AM  0 comments

We all know how essential creativity and creative thinking is to business success. Being creative is not always coming up with new or niche ideas it is also about positioning old ideas in a new way, or finding a solution to a problem that makes you faster, better, cheaper.

This mlh global hr consulting strategies for success article proposes 9 ways you can be more creative

1.Avoid self imposed barriers. These can be imposed on ourselves consciously or unconsciously. They are particularly difficult to recognise but relatively easy to correct. Try asking yourself what would be an out of the box solution; what would xx do? Try brainstorming different ideas follow the brainstorming rules nothing is too outrageous to go on the list. Talk to others, particularly people who you think are creative, and get insights into how they think though problems.

2.Try thinking of more than one answer to everything. When you select your preferred solution check this against personal norms was it predictable that you would choose this solution?

3.Avoid Conformity. Try thinking what would be totally outrageous to my collaborators, my customers, my suppliers, my network, my friends? If you do come up with a radical or different idea think carefully about how you introduce it using good process, stakeholder identification and different influencing techniques mean that you can ease in a solution that might otherwise be rejected.

4.Challenge the obvious. It can be tempting to find and use the most obvious answer as there is a lot of effort required to challenging the obvious solution.

5.Try to consciously think broadly and long term even if you use analytical thinking to do this. Practice with mind maps and other visual tools that encourage non linear thinking. Try the paradigm question: What is impossible to do right now but if you could do it would fundamentally change your business etc?

6.Avoid making up your mind too quickly which can eliminate possible solutions or areas of thought at too early. If your inclination is to say this wont work try instead to say this will work if we do xx or what would be the benefit if it did work.

7.Experiment with people you trust and are comfortable with. Tell some collaborators that you are consciously trying to be more creative and so will be making more out there suggestions. If you prepare your environment it feels safer and you are more likely to take risks.

8.Avoid cynicism and negativity. This will prevent people wanting or trying to put new ideas forward. Not only will this curb your own creative thinking but that of everyone around you. If you find you have tendencies in this way try disciplining yourself to always think of one good thing about an idea BEFORE voicing any critique. Humour can also often unwittingly appear cynical or negative, or intimidate others think about how you use yours; and from time to time adjust it according to the needs of the people you are with.

9.Try using phrases such as:
That sounds interesting, tell me more
That sounds interesting, lets try it
I have never thought of it like that, thanks
It sounds off the wall, but I wonder how we can make it work

Lisette Howlett, Managing Consultant/Director mlh global hr consulting, has a unique range and breadth in HR and a track record of achievement spanning 15 years with global Human Resources in blue chip companies and 5 years in local government and the public sector. This includes extensive global HR project and content leadership and internal/external HR consulting covering UK, U.S., Switzerland, Europe, and Asia. She writes and presents on HR and recruitment matters with particular emphasis on recruitment, recruitment effectiveness, integrated talent management, the people and organisation side of M&A and business transformation, the role of HR, strategic HR and global HR.

Additionally Lisette is founder of HireScores.com a website which provides independent information and real life feedback on all aspects of recruitment serving the needs of candidates, recruiters and hiring companies.

# posted by sochalzqzsuh : 1:50 AM  0 comments

Grilled pineapple is a perfect dessert for your barbecue. It is tasty, easy to do, great looking, and your guests will love it. Grilling brings out an intense flavor that is delicious.

Make sure to get a ripe pineapple. Look for one that has a nice smell and has crisp green leaves. Prepare the pineapple by cutting off the top and outer skin and coring. Cut into inch rings or slice into quarters lengthwise (top to bottom) and slice each quarter into four pieces to create wedges.

Make a glaze to be used on the pineapple. You can put it on prior to cooking or use it as a glaze after cooking. If using prior to cooking, brush each side of each pineapple piece with the glaze (you can also marinate overnight in a zip-lock bag). Here are some suggestions for glazes:

1. 3 tablespoons honey, 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
2. 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1/8 teaspoon ginger
3. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, cup honey, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, 1 teaspoon soy sauce.
4. 4 tablespoons molasses, 4 tablespoons melted butter, 2 tablespoon lime juice
5. cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon lime juice, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, teaspoon cinnamon
6. 1 can coconut milk, 1 cups sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon

A variation on the glaze method is to dip the pineapple rings in a mixture of melted butter and lime juice and then into a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon. Shake off the excess sugar and they are ready to go on the grill.

Spray the grill with non-stick cooking spray. Put the pineapple on the grill and cook for about 4 minutes on each side. Cook only until the outside starts to turn brown and grill marks appear. Don't overcook or it will turn mushy. Remove from the grill and brush with glaze one last time. Serve as is or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or fruit sorbet. It doesn't get much better than this!

Scott Carey has many hobbies and interests, including outdoor cooking. See http://www.outdoorcookingmagic.com for more outdoor cooking tips. Get a Free Dutch Oven Recipes eBook.

# posted by sochalzqzsuh : 12:33 AM  0 comments