|
News
carpet cleaning the best in town
Posted by jfallon on Thursday, June 12, 2008 (00:10:18) (95 reads)
carpet cleaning
The Beverly Hills carpet cleaners" have been the premier carpet cleaning service in Los Angeles for the past few years. Winning awards like the best of City Search two years in a row and most recently the Santa Monica Sustainable Quality Workds award for being a "green" practicing company.
Rug Cleaning is also a service they provide, as well as odor removal, and stain removal. A helpful hint if a spot keeps coming back juts means that the stain has goneinto the padding of the carpet, and when that happens it is truly a stained floor. To avoid this, always clean up any spilled messes right away and soak with water to keep the stain moist. This way the carpet cleaner can come to your house and get the stain out before it happens.
comments? |   | Score: 0
|
Spa And Swimming Pool Heating
Posted by jfallon on Wednesday, June 11, 2008 (21:12:35) (93 reads)
Spa And Swimming Pool Heating
In this section, I will discuss three main types of spa and swimming pool heating : solar, electric heat exchangers, and gas heaters. Solar heating panels have changed over the last few years. They are more flexible, and come in a variety of colors that blend in so well to your roofline you could even put them on the roof facing your frontyard without distracting from the looks of your property.
Electric heat exchangers are generally more efficient than gas heaters depending on your average temperature and kilowatt costs, but have one disadvantage over gas heaters- if you also have a spa on the same system, you may still have to use a gas heater to raise spa temperature in a reasonable time.
Gas heaters have also dramatically changed over the last few years as you will see in my photos. At the bottom of this page is a link to common pool heater problems and easy solutions!
Most people keep their swimming pool temperature around 80 to 85 degrees F. An average spa temperature would be 100 to 102 degrees F.
Well lets start with whats new:
Two speed/multi speed pumps:they save electricity by running longer at reduced RPM's and are very quiet so can be run at night/early morning when its cooler. Also,some utilities are giving out hefty rebates on these items!
Salt Chlorine generators have been around for years,but now automatic digital pool controls not only tell you when to add salt,but let you control the amount of chlorine produced and/or automatically add chlorine only when its needed and adjust the PH automatically too
Triple warranties:some manufacturers offer 3 year warranties if you purchase 3 pieces of equipment at once...automatic controls and a salt chlorinator count as 2.
Attic pool exchanger...this item goes in your home's attic to remove heat and put that heat into your pool water...they claim you can heat your pool for 15 dollars a month! swimming pool spa hot tub 2 speed pump pool heater swimming pool equipment replaster pebbletec fiberglass resurfacing chlorine generator jandy hayward pentair sta rite jacuzzi solar pool cover tile plumbing
comments? | | Score: 0
|
swimming pool service hiring
Posted by jfallon on Wednesday, June 11, 2008 (21:11:21) (88 reads)
What To Look For When Hiring a Swimming Pool Service Technician
A good swimming pool technician will,at least ocasionally completely disassemble the filter and clean it even if you have a backwash valve. If you have a sand filter,it may be years before it needs to be taken apart,and a cartridge filter HAS to be taken apart to clean. But a D.E. filter can be backwashed 2 or 3 times but should be fully disassembled every third or forth time. Many service techs charge a fee for this and simply take it apart EVERY time. Also,if D.E. powder is accumulating in your equipment area,a good pool technician will offer to lengthen the backwash plumbing and/or install some type of hose to backwash D.E. away from your swimming pool equipment area. I have seen D.E. accumulate to the point where a relatively new(2-3 years old)heater has to be replaced because the bottom of the heater and the burner tray disintegrated from corrosion. In this case,the homeowner had a home warranty policy but they would not cover it because of improper drainage. A replacement heater was over 2,000.00!...Same goes for dirt or plants like ivy growing over your equipment....a good service tech will at least alert you to this.
Besides checking the OTO and PH levels,a good pool service technician will also check your alkalinity. A high alkalinity over time can corrode metal such as copper plumbing...even if you do not have copper plumbing in your swimming pool,don't forget the heater!The heat exchanger is made of copper..expect to pay from 400.00 to 1000.00 to replace a leaking heat exchanger depending on model and size of heater.
If the pool tech or service company you hire is reputable,they will alert you to any change in personnel....you should NEVER have to walk into your backyard to find a stranger urinating in your equipment area!
A good swimming pool service technician will know of the latest trends in equipment and make you aware of new products that may benefit you and also things like rebates from the manufacturer or another source such as your utility company. For example,in 2007 SCE(Southern California Edison) was offering 400.00 rebates for customers who installed 2 speed or multi speed pumps.If your motor went out,or your pump was due to be replaced,would'nt you want to know that you could get 400 bucks free spending money towards a new pump AND save a few hundred a year in electricity costs?
A good swimming pool service technician will also have a few tools in the truck. At least a few scewdrivers,some wrenches,and a rag and some lubricant for o-rings. A REALLY good tech,(like myself)will also have things like a CO2 bottle to blow out plumbing lines,a monometer to measure your gas pressure,basic PVC and copper pipe fittings,extra o-rings,pump seals,some heater and remote control manuals,and a few specialized tools like a motor shaft wrench and a backwash valve puller...of course,most poolmen do not have the room for these tools in their truck because of all the chemicals and cleaning equipment they must carry.
A good swimming pool service technician should also have general liability insurance or at least a bond. One thing I would like to add:depending on your day of service,there can be 5 months out of the year with five service days that month instead of four...so if you are paying by the month,try not to get too upset if your service tech takes a day off once in a while....remember the other months when you got a week for free!
comments? | | Score: 0
|
What's an appraisal?
Posted by jfallon on Thursday, June 05, 2008 (20:55:57) (99 reads)
Real estate appraisal, property valuation or land valuation is the practice of developing an opinion of the value of real property, usually its Market Value. The need for appraisals arises from the heterogenous nature of property as an investment class: no two properties are identical, and all properties differ from each other in their location - which is the most important determinant of their value. So there cannot exist a centralised Walrasian auction setting for the trading of property assets, as there exists for trade in corporate stock. The absence of a market-based pricing mechanism determines the need for an expert appraisal/valuation of real estate/property.
A real estate appraisal is performed by a licensed or certified appraiser (in many countries known as a property valuer or land valuer and in British English as a surveyor). If the appraiser's opinion is based on Market Value, then it must also be based on the Highest and Best Use of the real property. For mortgage valuations of improved residential property in the US, the appraisal is most often reported on a standardized form, such as the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report. Appraisals of more complex property (e.g. -- income producing, raw land) are usually reported in a narrative appraisal report.
There are several types and definitions of value sought by a real estate appraisal. Some of the most common are:
Market Value – The price at which an asset would trade in a competitive Walrasian auction setting. Market Value is usually interchangeable with Open Market Value or Fair Value. International Valuation Standards (IVS) define Market Value as:
Market Value is the estimated amount for which a property should exchange on the date of valuation between a willing buyer and a willing seller in an arms-length transaction after proper marketing wherein the parties had each acted knowledgably, prudently, and without compulsion.[
Value-in-use – The net present value (NPV) of a cash flow that an asset generates for a specific owner under a specific use. Value-in-use is the value to one particular user, and is usually below the market value of a property.
Investment value - is the value to one particular investor, and is usually higher than the market value of a property.
Insurable value - is the value of real property covered by an insurance policy. Generally it does not include the site value.
Liquidation value -- may be analyzed as either a forced liquidation or an orderly liquidation and is a commonly sought standard of value in bankruptcy proceedings. It assumes a seller who is compelled to sell after an exposure period which is less than the market-normal timeframe.
comments? | | Score: 0
|
. LARepair Finder Press Release
Posted by jfallon on Thursday, June 05, 2008 (00:20:41) (100 reads)
We are your favorite online resource for Los Angeles based service companies. Whether you need home repairs, auto repairs, appliance repairs, landscaping, handyman, real estate services or more… we have a wide array of quality repair companies for you to choose from. Finding a quality [url=[url=Auto repairs, home upgrades, computer repairs, and more great services all on LArepairfinder.com ]Auto repairs[/url], home upgrades, computer repairs, and more great services all on LArepairfinder.com ]repair [/url]company can turn into a real headache, so we have done the work for you.
LA Repairfinder is for you if...
1. You have no clue how to repair something but need it working ASAP!
2. Your car [url=Auto repairs, home upgrades, computer repairs, and more great services all on LArepairfinder.com ]muffler[/url] sounds like a bike with a can stuck on its wheel.
3. Your toilet is overflowed and the smell is unbearable.
4. You haven’t done spring [url=Auto repairs, home upgrades, computer repairs, and more great services all on LArepairfinder.com ]cleaning[/url] in 5 years and it’s time!
5. Your grass is taller than you.
6. Your 80’s leather jacket was torn in a club and you can’t live without it.
7. Your computer has a virus and is taunting you
8. Your house is begging to be remodeled.
9. You can't touch your pool water without getting a plague.
10. The kids and dog use the carpet as their personal garbage can.
And check out our latest Press Release by clicking on any of the links above or here.
comments? | | Score: 0
|
Do I need a firewall for my computer?
Posted by jfallon on Monday, June 02, 2008 (23:40:11) (88 reads)
What is a firewall (and why you need one)?
A firewall is protective barrier between you and the rest of the computers you are connected to. When you go on to the internet you are visible to the outside world. (If you weren't, then there would be no way to get a web page to your browser!) You are visible through something called a port. A port is service available to you. There are many thousands of these ports (services), and each is given a number. The three ports (services) you use most often are the world wide web (port 80), Incoming email (typically port 110), and outgoing email (usually port 25). The idea of a firewall is to close off the ports (services) you're not using. If you don't, then your open ports are an invitation to others to raid your computer! If you only have one piece of security software on your computer then it has to be a firewall. Unless your computer is not connected to the outside world, this is a must-have.
What kind of things can happen if I don't have a firewall?
If you do a fresh install of Windows XP, and leave it unpatched, your computer will be attacked within minutes. You'll be attacked through your open ports, and bombarded with popup messages; Trojans, viruses and worms will be loaded behind your back; Spyware and Malware will clog up your browser. In fact, PC Format magazine recently (issue 194) ran this very experiment. Their unprotected PC was unusable after about 2 and half hours! Having a firewall in place would have prevented some of these attacks. (But not all - XP should have Service Packs 1 and 2 installed before it's allowed on the internet.)
Even if you have all of XP's service packs and updates, not having a firewall means somebody will eventually find an open port on your computer. If they can install a Trojan on to your PC, they'll be able to control it! (See our Trojan section for more details on this topic.)
How Firewalls help protect you
Most firewalls, like the one built into Windows XP, will alert you about suspicious incoming traffic. Anyone trying to gain access to your PC will hit the firewall first. The firewall deflects the attack, and gives you a warning about it. But a good firewall like ZoneAlarm will also warn you about suspicious outgoing traffic (XP's own firewall doesn't do this). So the best firewalls do both - tell you about incoming and outgoing traffic.
The Types of Firewall
For the general user, you can place firewalls into two simple categories: hardware and software. A hardware firewall can be a router that sits between your computer and the outside world. You can plug more computers into the router, and each will be protected by the firewall that's part of the router.
A software firewall is one like ZoneAlarm. You install it on your PC, and it will hide open ports, deflect incoming attacks, and warn you about suspicious outgoing traffic. For added protection, you can have a software firewall on each computer that sits behind the router. An attacker would have to be very determined to get through your router's firewall and your software firewall!
Which firewall should I get?
If you have something like a wireless router then you'll probably already have a firewall. You should check your router's configuration pages to make sure it's turned on. (Some of them are actually turned OFF by default!) Once your router's firewall is turned on, you can install a software firewall on each PC that's connected to the router, just for added protection.
If you're not behind a router, then you need a software firewall. If you have Internet Security software like Kaspersky then it will probably include a firewall as well. You should check, though. If you haven't got any Internet Security software then we highly recommend the free version of ZoneAlarm. This piece of software has been available from ZoneLabs for some time, and has a very good reputation.
comments? | | Score: 0
|
No one likes SPAM
Posted by jfallon on Monday, June 02, 2008 (23:37:18) (85 reads)
What is Spam?
It's a rare computer user who hasn't been bothered by Spam at some stage. By Spam, we mean unsolicited emails that try to sell you things of a dubious nature that you certainly didn't ask for and, in all probability, don't need. Everybody hates spam. It can clog up your email box, threaten the security of your PC, try to trick you into opening dangerous attachments, and even render the mail box entirely unusable. Here at Home and Learn, we've had to close down many email addresses due to spam. (We've only ever met one person who liked spam. This was a pensioner, new to email, who complained that something was blocking her advertisments. She wanted to know how she could get them back!)
How do the spammers get hold of my email address?
Spam can come from a wide variety of sources, and the spammers have many techniques to get hold of your email address. Here's just a few:
If you have ever posted to an online, public forum, and left your email address on the page, then it will almost certainly end up in the hands of the spammers. If you have your own website, and include your email address in plain text, then that will also get stolen by the spammers. In fact, anywhere on the web where you leave your email address is a source for the spammers. If you can see it, so can they.
The way they get the address is by something called harvesting. This is done with a piece of software called a Spider. The sole job of the Spider is to trawl through website looking for email addresses. Once the spammer has enough addresses, he (they are usally "he's") can sell them to third parties, and other spammers.
From an infected PC.
A lot of viruses these days contain code to trawl through your email address book. These will then be sent to the spammer. If you have sent an email to somebody who is infected, and that person has you in his/her address book, then your address will be sent to the spammer.
From YOUR infected PC
If you have a virus, the chances are that it will contain code to control your email. It will then contact another computer and receive a list of instructions, and email addresses. These instruction say something like, "Send the following email to this list of addresses". Your PC won't be sending out thousands of emails, but just a few. This is because your PC is just one of many thousand that are controlled by the same spammer (called a botnet). If your computer sends out just, say, 100 emails a day, then 100 times 1000 computers that the spammer controls totals 100,000 emails a day. If the spammer controls 10,000 computers then that's a million emails a day he can send out!
Trial and Error
if you have an email address based on your name, and if your name is quite a common one, then the spammer will simply send out email trying to guess the first part. For example, suppose the end of your email address was "smith.co.uk" And you added "John" to the start, your email address would be easy to guess, and you'd have a very busy inbox indeed! If it was "john12_KJ876@smith.co.uk", it's unlikely the spammers could guess the first part.
Worst case scenarios
If your computer is infected, there could be another nasty side-effect - YOU get banned! Because your computer has been indentifed as sending out spam, you may well receive a message from your service provider telling you that your account has been suspended. You then have to go to the trouble of contacting your service provider, telling them that you're not a spammer, and asking what to do to get off their "bad books".
A more likely scenario is that your email gets bounced back to you by someone like SpamCop. The email will identify your IP address, and let you know that you're on a blacklist. SpamCop will keep you on the blacklist until it receives no more spam from your IP address in a 24 hour period. (It may not be your IP address but the address of your email servers. In which case, there's nothing you can do about it but notify your service provider. Your service provider will then totally ignore your call, and heap the blame on you!)
How to Defeat Spam
You can defeat spam (well, most of it). Here's a few ways.
Don't post your email address on a web page, unless you're disguising it in some way. As an example, an email address in this format is very difficult for a Spider to read, but quite easy for a human:
firstBit @ co. uk. homeandlearn (re-arange the ending)
Be wary of giving your email address to websites. Ask yourself, is there a privacy statement anywhere on the site? (Ours is here Privacy Policy) Can you easily opt-out if they send an email or newsletter to you? Do you trust them?
Never reply to a email sent to you by a spammer. If you do, you're telling the spammer that the email address is live and active - the very thing that he was looking for! (Remember: the spammer probably bought his list off someone else, and has no idea whether an address is active or not.)
Careful when opening attachments. Save the attachment to your hard-drive first, scan with your (up-to-date) Anti Virus software, and only then consider opening it. If you weren't expecting an email with an attachment, it's safer to just delete the entire email!
Set your email software to view message as text and NOT as HTML. In Outlook Express you can do this by clicking Tools > Options from them menu bar. From the Options dialogue box, click the Read tab. Put a tick in the box "Read all messages in plain text". The reason you'd want to do this is because HTML emails can be very helpful to spammers. They insert an image that tells them the email has been read, and thus that it's a live email box.
Consider getting some Anti-Spam software. The best of these are very good at detecing spam from the genuine emails. Here's two that Computer Shopper recommended in a recent review. (Dec 2006)
Allume SpamCatcher 4
Cloudmark
These both got 5 stars out of 5 in the review. The second one is only for Outlook or Outlook Express users. (Mcafee anti-spam got 4 stars out of 5, incidentally, and Norton only got 2!)
A good free anti-spam solution is SpamPal. This got 4 out of 5 stars, but Computer Shopper noted that it was a bit "clunky to set up".
But we recommend you start with the free software first, and test it out. If it's not catching at least 90% of spam coming in, then uninstall it and try something else!
comments? | | Score: 0
|
cd-roms and computers
Posted by jfallon on Friday, May 30, 2008 (22:46:22) (89 reads)
CD-ROM
CD-ROM (an abbreviation of "Compact Disc read-only memory") is a Compact Disc that contains data accessible by a computer. While the Compact Disc format was originally designed for music storage and playback, the format was later adapted to hold any form of binary data. CD-ROMs are popularly used to distribute computer software, including games and multimedia applications, though any data can be stored (up to the capacity limit of a disc). Some CDs hold both computer data and audio with the latter capable of being played on a CD player, whilst data (such as software or digital video) is only usable on a computer (such as PC CD-ROMs). These are called Enhanced CDs.
Although many people use lowercase letters in this acronym, proper presentation is in all capital letters with a hyphen between CD and ROM. It was also suggested by some, especially soon after the technology was first released, that CD-ROM was an acronym for "Compact Disc read-only-media", or that it was a more 'correct' definition. This was not the intention of the original team who developed the CD-ROM, and common acceptance of the 'memory' definition is now almost universal. This is probably in no small part due to the widespread use of other 'ROM' acronyms such as Flash-ROMs and EEPROMs where 'memory' is usually the correct term.
CD-ROM discs are identical in appearance to audio CDs, and data is stored and retrieved in a very similar manner (only differing from audio CDs in the standards used to store the data). Discs are made from a 1.2 mm thick disc of polycarbonate plastic, with a thin layer of aluminum to make a reflective surface. The most common size of CD-ROM disc is 120 mm in diameter, though the smaller Mini CD standard with an 80 mm diameter, as well as numerous non-standard sizes and shapes (e.g. business card-sized media) are also available. Data is stored on the disc as a series of microscopic indentations ("pits", with the gaps between them referred to as "lands"). A laser is shone onto the reflective surface of the disc to read the pattern of pits and lands. Because the depth of the pits is approximately one-quarter to one-sixth of the wavelength of the laser light used to read the disc, the reflected beam's phase is shifted in relation to the incoming beam, causing destructive interference and reducing the reflected beam's intensity. This pattern of changing intensity of the reflected beam is converted into binary data.
A CD-ROM sector contains 2352 bytes, divided into 98 24-byte frames. The CD-ROM is, in essence, a data disk, which cannot rely on error concealment, and therefore requires a higher reliability of the retrieved data. In order to achieve improved error correction and detection, a CD-ROM has a third layer of Reed-Solomon error correction.[1] A Mode-1 CD-ROM, which has the full three layers of error correction data, contains a net 2048 bytes of the available 2352 per sector. In a Mode-2 CD-ROM, which is mostly used for video files, there are 2336 user-available bytes per sector. The net byte rate of a Mode-1 CD-ROM, based on comparison to CDDA audio standards, is 44.1k/s×4B×2048/2352 = 153.6 kB/s. The playing time is 74 minutes, or 4440 seconds, so that the net capacity of a Mode-1 CD-ROM is 682 MB.
A 1x speed CD drive reads 75 consecutive sectors per second.
comments? | | Score: 0
|
smog check in Los Angeles
Posted by jfallon on Friday, May 30, 2008 (22:26:08) (87 reads)
What is a smog check?
An emission test cycle, also known as a smog check, is a specified procedure for measuring pollutant emissions of engines. For emission measurements to be comparable for different engines in a category, the measurements are performed under a specific operating pattern, or 'test cycle' of alternating high, medium, and low engine load. The test cycle should ideally reflect a 'normal' usage pattern concerning speed and acceleration. Realistic test cycles are instrumental for the environmental integrity of emission standards. It was recently discovered that engine manufacturers would engage in 'cycle beating' to optimize emission performance to the test cycle against which European vehicle emission standards were tested, with the result that real-life emissions would be much higher than expected, undermining the standards and public health.
In the United States, emissions standards are managed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The state of California has special dispensation to promulgate more stringent vehicle emissions standards, and other states may choose to follow either the national or California standards.
"Tier 1" regulations went into effect starting in 1994, and "Tier 2" standards are being phased in from 2004 to 2009. Automobiles and light trucks (SUVs, pickup trucks, and minivans) are treated differently under certain standards.
California is attempting to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles, but faces a court challenge from the federal government. The states are also attempting to compel the federal EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, which as of 2007 it has declined to do.
The EPA has separate regulations for small engines, such as groundskeeping equipment. The states must also promulgate miscellaneous emissions regulations in order to comply with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
comments? | | Score: 0
|
Is air duct cleaning good for you?
Posted by jfallon on Friday, May 30, 2008 (16:51:53) (101 reads)
What is Air Duct Cleaning?
If you decide to have your heating and cooling system cleaned, it important to make sure the service provider agrees to clean all components of the system and is qualified to do so.
Most people are now aware that indoor air pollution is an issue of growing concern and increased visibility. Many companies are marketing products and services intended to improve the quality of your indoor air. You have probably seen an advertisement, received a coupon in the mail, or been approached directly by a company offering to clean your air ducts as a means of improving your home's indoor air quality. These services typically -- but not always -- range in cost from $450 to $1,000 per heating and cooling system, depending on the services offered, the size of the system to be cleaned, system accessibility, climatic region, and level of contamination.
Duct cleaning generally refers to the cleaning of various heating and cooling system components of forced air systems, including the supply and return air ducts and registers, grilles and diffusers, heat exchangers heating and cooling coils, condensate drain pans (drip pans), fan motor and fan housing, and the air handling unit housing (See diagram).
If not properly installed, maintained, and operated, these components may become contaminated with particles of dust, pollen or other debris. If moisture is present, the potential for microbiological growth (e.g., mold) is increased and spores from such growth may be released into the home's living space. Some of these contaminants may cause allergic reactions or other symptoms in people if they are exposed to them. If you decide to have your heating and cooling system cleaned, it is important to make sure the service provider agrees to clean all components of the system and is qualified to do so. Failure to clean a component of a contaminated system can result in re-contamination of the entire system, thus negating any potential benefits. Methods of duct cleaning vary, although standards have been established by industry associations concerned with air duct cleaning. Typically, a service provider will use specialized tools to dislodge dirt and other debris in ducts, then vacuum them out with a high-powered vacuum cleaner.
In addition, the service provider may propose applying chemical biocides, designed to kill microbiological contaminants, to the inside of the duct work and to other system components. Some service providers may also suggest applying chemical treatments (sealants or other encapsulants) to encapsulate or cover the inside surfaces of the air ducts and equipment housings because they believe it will control mold growth or prevent the release of dirt particles or fibers from ducts. These practices have yet to be fully researched and you should be fully informed before deciding to permit the use of biocides or chemical treatments in your air ducts. They should only be applied, if at all, after the system has been properly cleaned of all visible dust or debris.
comments? | | Score: 0
|
|
