Driving (Slightly) Off-Course

When people say “driving songs”, it is always associated with heavy drum or smooth piano and bass rhythms. It often strikes the listeners as the songs fit you behind the wheels. Like the songs of the funk-rock band such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Diana Krall’s and Norah Jones’ slow jazz tunes.

One of my favorite bands of all time is the Irish sibling quartet, The Corrs. Their style is pop-rock sound with rhythmic beats. Their music is light rock sound, poppy and striking. The lyrics are easily relate-able. These characteristics of their music help propel their songs to the top.

The most important characteristics that also play an integral role in the music of the quartet is the band’s ethnic root. Celtic music was employed into their songwriting that is known to common Irish artists. Most of the Sharon’s violin solos are of celtic influence. That means giving a jig beat or a river dance feel to the song. Aside from this, Andrea, the lead vocalist has a hard Irish accent combined with equally prominent backup vocals by the other girls in the band.

Who will forget the sound that gave them the hits as “All the love in the world”, “Give me a reason” “What can I do”, to name a few. And also I will not forget in my list their debut song “Breathless” with a signature of their poppy and bouncy style of music. Lyrics of the songs of The Corrs reveal stories of different situations involving women or female figures. This can’t be hidden since the The Corrs is predominantly composed of women.

Their album “Borrowed Heaven” that was released in 2004 was an exception to the stereotypes.

Just like the song “Summer Sunshine” where it provides a beach party ambience. The steady measures and drumbeats provide a feeling of driving on a long highway. The song gives a relatively louder, heavier musical instruments effect and heavier distortion.

Their song, “Long Night” is one of the best examples of driving song that takes on a cruising. The song is all about a couple that recently broke up. It has a melancholic lyrics and a piano melody with sentimental feel. The song is a typical story of real life breakup where a woman is driving on a long highway as she leaves the man she loved. It is like in the movie, where the scene is supported by the heavy-hearted vibe that the violin of Sharon brings to the scene. It clearly depicts a woman who is heartbroken driving away.

For their song “Silver Strand” is a slight off-road veering along the same course. The lack of vocals of this song didn’t change the overall impact. This is with a perfect cruising-beat percussions.

Music of The Corrs are not for those maniacs on the road who driven off-road and crashed onto a big tree on the dirt. Their song is a perfect balance where on wheel is side off and the other one on the pave. This is for you who wish to travel far.

Merry Christmas and a Happy Cruising New Year to All!

Riding a bike is like expressing my youthful yearning for freedom and identity.

My father gave me a Ducati 160cc Junior Monza on my 17th birthday that fell short of the Ducati 851 Strada that I wished for. Actually, I knew little about motorcycle, much less about the venerable name that this bike quietly bore on its tank and its style. Anyway, it gave me mobility at minimal expense. When not in use, the bike languished in the garage like an unwanted pet.

As time goes on, I began to see this bike not so much as a means of transport but as a work of art. I became a bike enthusiast. There is now pleasure that I draw from it. Actually, I parked my Ducati in my living room as part of the furniture.

I never stopped dreaming of one day getting myself a powerful bike. Speed is my fantasy. With an unrelieved thirst for speed and adventure, at 19 I bought my dream Ducati 851 Strada, with a bright red tank, bullet black wheels and a trellis frame. I bought this bike not for sheer utilitarian reasons but for the thrill of living dangerously. The pleasures that I draws from it comes not so much from its utility but the ride.

Be safe! Improve your vehicle’s handling, improve fuel efficiency and give long life to your tires. Inflate your tires with Nitrogen.

Let us review our Chemistry. Nitrogen has an atomic symbol of N and has an atomic number of 7. Nitrogen has boiling point of -195.79˚C and with a melting point of -210.0˚C. Nitrogen gas can be obtained by liquefaction and fractional distillation. Nitrogen makes up 78.1% of the Earth’s air, by volume. The air we breathe is actually 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% small amounts of gases.

Nitrogen is now the popular replacement for standard air. There are so many advantages of inflating your tire with nitrogen instead of oxygen or standard air.

• Nitrogen for Longer Pressure Retention. Nitrogen maintains longer tire pressure. It reduces the chance of a blowout. Thus, improves vehicle’s handling that you can react quickly and decisively in ever changing road conditions and situations.

• Nitrogen Improves Fuel Efficiency. With correct tire pressure brought about by Nitrogen in your tires, it lessens the rolling resistance thus maximize fuel efficiency.

• Nitrogen Extends Tire life. Ordinary air or oxygen causes oxidation. It makes rubber brittle and causes loss of tensile strength. Oxygen reacts and damages the inner tire liners. Unlike oxygen, nitrogen reacts to high temperatures and pressures.

• Nitrogen keeps you Safer on the Road. In a recent study, under-inflated tires cause 90% of blowouts. Because of the large size of molecules of Nitrogen, it stays in your tire longer because it is least permeable. It provides reliable pressure in your tires thus reduce blowout potential. Nitrogen has a cooler running tire temperature.

• Nitrogen Increases Rim Life Too. Nitrogen is completely dry. The rust on your rims is caused by condensation from water vapor and other gas that is caught in valves.

Even commercial airlines uses nitrogen in aircraft tires because it reduces the potential for water vapor freezing at high altitudes. The U.S. military and the NASA use nitrogen too, for the same reasons that commercial airlines have.

Proper tire maintenance is a big deal. Maintain your tire pressure with Nitrogen. Protect your self. Be safe.

Steroids for you. Want to build muscle up and fast? Want to be one of those “Body beautifuls”? Is it really good for you? Will it actually make you big and strong? Hold on to your seats and let’s dig up the dirt on steroids.

Basics first. What are steroids? Steroids are any class of chemical compounds that can occur naturally or are made commercially. Cholesterol, adrenal hormones, bile acids, sex hormones, and poisons from certain toads are examples of steroids.  Naturally, they are produced by both plants and animals and are important in biology and medicine.

There are three types of steroids, namely:

• Corticosteroids. It controls key functions of the body, such as carbohydrate and protein metabolism, the cardiovascular system, kidneys, and other organs, among other functions.

• Estrogens and progesterones. These are active female sex hormones that are the active ingredients in birth control pills.

• Androgen. Also known as anabolic steroids, are used to treat female breast cancer, weight gain, red blood cell production, and are also used to help patients recover from surgery. 

The dirt. When used only for short periods over the course of a year, you might experience mood swings and increase in appetite. This will results in weight gain, not increase in body mass, like the target of bodybuilders. You may have lower resistance to chicken pox.

Long term use is another matter. Patients’ faces may become bloated, their appetites will increase, will become overactive and experience difficulty in sleeping, have mood swings, get heartburn and indigestion, and be at risk of cataracts. On top of these, they will also bruise easily, develop brittle bones, have a tendency to become diabetic, and become at risk for a more serious case of chicken pox.

Non-medical use of this steroid is banned. Steroids are controlled substances. And there is very good reason for it. To increase strength and body weight, athletes use anabolic steroids. Studies show that the use of anabolic steroids can have internal, physical, and psychological side effects. Those that can occur in both male and female are: liver cancer, heart attacks, elevated cholesterol levels, risk of contracting and transmitting HIV, clotting disorder, weakened tendons, weight gain, among others.

Steroids also stop the lengthening of the bones, which results in stunned growth for adolescents. Male abusers could experience “feminization”, develop breasts, severe cases of acne, reduced sperm count, impotence and shrinking of the testicles. Females, on the other hand, could experience the opposite, “masculinization”, develop facial hair, breast reductions, deepened voice, and menstrual cycle changes.

What is High Octane Gas? Does your car need High Octane Gas?

First thing first. The octane rating is a measure of the auto-ignition resistance of gasoline (petrol) and other fuels used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines. It is a measure of anti-detonation of a gasoline or fuel, where the engine compresses a cylinder-full of air and gas into a much smaller volume before igniting it with a spark plug. Amount of compression is called the compression ratio of the engine and a typical engine might have a compression ratio of 8-to-1.

Knocking can damage an engine. The octane rating of gasoline tells you how much the fuel can be compressed before it spontaneously ignites. When gas ignites by compression rather than because of the spark from the spark plug, it causes knocking in the engine and it is not something you want to have happening. Lower-octane gas, like “regular” 87-octane gasoline, can handle the least amount of compression before igniting. Octane ratings measure a gasoline’s ability to resist engine knock, a rattling or pinging sound that results from premature ignition of the compressed fuel-air mixture in one or more cylinders.

Switch to a higher octane level only if your car engine knocks when you use the recommended fuel. Unless your engine is knocking, buying higher octane gasoline is a waste of money.

Benefits of using High Octane gas. Using a higher octane gasoline than your owner’s manual recommends offers absolutely no benefit. It won’t make your car perform better, go faster, get better mileage or run cleaner. The octane rating of gasoline is not consistent across the country, one state may require a minimum octane rating of 92 for all premium gasoline, while another may allow 90 octane to be called premium. To make sure you know what you’re buying, check the octane rating on the yellow sticker on the gas pump.

Listen to your owner’s manual. Determine the right octane level for your car by checking your owner’s manual.  Some cars with high compression engines, like sports cars need mid-grade or premium gasoline to prevent knock. In general, regular octane is recommended for most cars. There is no reason to use and pay for expensive high octane gas, unless your car was designed for such gas. It will not improve gas mileage and not improve power output as well.

Conclusion. If your car is explicitly designed for high octane gas, use it. If your car has engine knocking problems and your car manual says it’s okay, use it. Basically, where you buy your gas than which grade you purchase, the quality of gasoline and the additive package usually affect the rate of engine wear more than the octane rating.

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Car racers! The crash-free car is just for you. The crash-free car can predict a possible collision and react to prevent it.

The crash-free car will be equipped with V2V or vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Advanced GPS technology will track down the car’s location, speed and direction and relay the data to computers. The problem is how to communicate the data to ongoing cars that are in the path of the crash-free car.

Actually, the crash-free car is still in the experimental stage. Different auto manufacturers are currently developing all sorts of technology that will make this car available in the future.

Volkswagen, General Motors and Honda are the leading contenders in the search for crash-free car technology. General Motors has already developed a Cadillac CTS with an enhanced stability control system that can tell if the car is about to collide with the car in front of it that has suddenly stopped without warning. The car’s computer automatically activates the brakes, independent of the driver.

It will take some time for these companies to perfect the technology for the crash-free car. Once it is available, however, car collisions on the road will definitely go down.

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