How to use Technorati Tags?

What is Technorati?

Technorati is an almost in real time search engine focused primarily on blogs, but really it picks up anything with an RSS feed that has been "claimed" in Technorati.

How do I claim my blog in Technorati?

It's a very simple process; in fact, I've claimed two blogs now with nary a fuss. Just go to the Technorati Claim Your Blog page and follow the directions. Technorati will give a claim token just like this, ZMMRTQ8W4TMU and post it in the body of your post or feed.

How does Technorati benefit me?

If you own a blog or website, and would like other people to find you, Technorati is an excellent resource to drive targeted traffic. First, you'll need to understand a little bit about Technorati Tags.

What are Technorati Tags?

Tags are basically just a way to categorize something. You can tag your blog postings, images, links, etc. with any tag you want. When other people search for something within Technorati, say "cheese", all the posts, images, links, etc. that have been tagged with the word "cheese" will show up.

Now, there is a bit of coding involved with this, but it's very non-scary. Go to the Technorati Tags page to get the code format that you'll need to use for your tags, or, you can check out a few of the Technorati Tools to automate the tagging process.

How does all this Technorati stuff fit together?

Okay! Here's what it all looks like:

• Sign up for a Technorati account.
• Once you sign up, you'll be asked if you have a blog to claim. Go ahead and complete this process.
• Now that you're all claimed and good to go, you can start tagging your posts (see above for more discussion on tagging).
• If you've claimed your blog and there's no problems (knock on wood), it should automatically update to Technorati without much help from you. However, if you'd like more of a say in the process, check out Technorati's developer center. More on this at About.com
  

The Blog & Ping Trick

As a new webmaster, you might have waited and waited for your website to be indexed by the search engines. Maybe Google or Yahoo's spider came by your website once or twice, indexed your main page but never did a "deep crawl", which means visiting and indexing the rest of your website's pages. Believe it or not, this is what usually happens to websites within the first month of being online.

What if you had hundreds of fresh content pages just lying around on your website, all linked properly through your top-down menu structure, and had a picture perfect site map, but you still had to wait for the search engine spiders to find your website important enough to fully index your entire website.

What if I told you that there is a new technique that could literally force the Yahoo spider to index your new pages, and even your whole website, almost immediately? Folks, we're talking in less than 2 hours!

This is something that many people in the Internet Marketing and Search Engine crowd have been talking about as of late, and it's called the "blog and ping technique"

Blogging, like I told you in an earlier issue, has become an important tool for new businesses looking to get their websites indexed quickly in search engines. You can easily use your blog as a content management tool and benefit from the added importance that search engines give to blogs.

But now, you can flip that around and use your blog to drive search engine spiders to your website at will!

What is the Blog and Ping technique?

Here's how the whole “blog and ping” routine works:

First, let's say you've just added some new content to your website (created a new web page) OR you've created an entirely new website that hasn't been indexed by the search engines yet.

Now, in order for the search engines to rank your new web page or website, you need them to visit your new page. How do you do this? Well, you could go out and get other websites to link directly to this page. Depending on the Page Rank of your website, you could wait a few days and hope that the search engines would eventually crawl your site and end up at your new page... OR you could use the blog and ping technique to get your new page crawled in a few hours!

Ok, in order to use the blog and ping technique, you need to create a blog, as I taught you in an earlier lesson . It's free and only takes a few minutes to do.

Search engine spiders love blog content – it's fresh, regularly updated and is the best online community tool around.

Since the “blog and ping” technique involves the Yahoo search engine spider, let's look at how you can alert the Yahoo spider to come visit your blog.

The easiest way to attract the Yahoo spider to your blog is to:

1. Create a My Yahoo account
2. Add your blog as content on your personalized Yahoo page (don't worry, I'll explain all this later on). In simple terms, this means that there is a link within the My Yahoo website (on your personalized page) which you will point to your blog.

Once you've done this, Yahoo gives you the option to notify them that you've added new content to your blog. This is called "pinging". When you "ping" Yahoo, they will quickly visit your blog and follow all links from your blog page. Thus indexing whatever pages you have a link pointing to!

Now that you can bring the Yahoo search engine spider to your blog at will, it's time to take this technique a bit further and use your blog as a launching pad for the Yahoo spider to index your website or any pages that you want.

All you need to do is to post new entries in your blogs containing links to the pages that you want indexed into your blog. That way, when the Yahoo spider reaches your blog and sees the new post, it will automatically follow the links in that post, and index any page that you want it to index!

Steps to daily indexing

1. Start a blog
2. Create a Yahoo account
3. Add your blog's RSS feed into your My Yahoo account
4. Make a few posts in your blog
5. Ping Yahoo
6. Repeat

This is from Brad Callen
Professional SEO
SEO Elite: SEO Software

Tips On How To Make Animated GIF in Photoshop

1. Create a document with each frame of the animation on a different layer.

2. Select the layers to be used in the animation from the layers palette

• Note1: To select a group of layers, select the layer at the top of the group. Then hold the shift key and click on the bottom layer and this will highlight every layer in #
  

  
  
  Open the animation palette by choosing window from the menu bar and selecting “Animation“.

3. When the animation palette opens, it should look like this. If it doesn’t that means it opened in the timeline view.

4. Change to frame animation view by clicking on the flyout menu in the upper right hand corner of the animation palette and selecting “Convert to Frame Animation”.

5. Change every layer showing on one frame to every layer showing on its own frame, by clicking the flyout menu on the animation palette and choosing “Make frames from layers”

Note: All layer don’t have to be selected, to select a few layers use the copy layer button at the bottom right of the animation palette to add layers.

6. Modify each frame by selecting the frame on the animation window and changing it as desired in the main photoshop window.

• Note: To add or remove a graphic from another layer to any frame r, select the frame and in the layers palette, click the “eye” to toggle on or off the visibility for that layer.

7. Under each frame is an arrow head pointing downward. Click on the arrow head to display timing menu and select the display time for each frame.

8. From the file menu select export to export the document as a movie or under the save as option save the file as a gif. Be sure to select Save for Web and Devices (.gif under this option).

9. NOTE: If you want to loop your animation continuously you can select that option in window that pops up after you have chosen "Save For Web & Devices". Under the color table that shows up is "Looping options", just select "forever" and save it. You can also pick "others" and select the amount of times you want your animation to loop.

Thanks to WikiHow

Tricks in Writing and Using Technorati Tags in a Blog

Technorati is a popular web directory service that indexes blogs, ranks them according to popularity, allows people to create bookmarked blog lists and allows people to do a search based on categories, called Technorati tags. If you use tags in your blog and ping Technorati when you write new entries, you will likely see an increase in your blog traffic and your ranking.

Instructions

Step 1

Join Technorati via its website by registering and claiming your blog. The act of claiming the blog creates a link from your user name to Technorati. The blog claim process is very simple and offered via a variety of easy-to-follow directions that might depend on the blog platform that you are using. Kodus to E-How.com


Step 2

Write Technorati tags into your blog. Do this by either adding relevant text words that relate to your blog or that categorize your blog or by integrating tag links into your text. Some people add a section at the end of the blog called tags and simply list several links. Others integrate tags into their blogs, which can look more streamlined and result in a cleaner looking blog entry.


Step 3

Choose popular and relevant tags to bring visitors to your blog. You can check a tag's popularity on the Technorati home page to see what today's popular tags as well as today's popular searches. Either click on them to see blogs categorized in that category or write your own blog with a tag listed in order to later find your blog entry under the directory for that specific tag.


Step 4

Ping your blog when you finish writing a new entry with tags. Your homepage at Technorati has a tool that will allow a ping, which means that it will notify the directory that you have a new blog entry. It will classify your blog under your associated tags and notify those who have "Favorited" you via that user's homepage.

Facebook 101: 25 Tips and Tricks

Now you want your Facebook page to excel from others on the web. Here are 25 tips and tricks!


1. Use a current profile picture

While Facebook allows you to post as many pictures as you like, and tag yourself in pictures that your friends have taken, the Web site only allows you one profile picture, so make it count. You may very well have some potential suitors on the Web site, so be sure to portray yourself as accurately as possible. A clear, well-lit picture of you will help you to put your best foot forward, particularly if it's a portrait or captures you in the midst of one of your favorite activities. And you might ought to refrain from using one of the pictures from that New Year's Eve party, as your profile picture is accessible to everybody on Facebook, even with the privacy settings engaged.

2. Don't overdo your 'Interests'

With your 'Interests' section, you really have two routes lying before you. Taking the first route would be to fill this space with some kind of witticism, since asking somebody to sum up what most interests him or her in life on a Facebook profile is slightly ridiculous. A decent example would be to respond, "Facebook," for instance. The snarkier, the better, really. The second route would be to list the interests that best differentiate you; it's understood that you enjoy "chillin' with friends" and "reading a good book," so get more descriptive. Instead of "chillin' with friends, say, for example, "eating fried chicken livers while watching football with the boys." Instead of "reading a good book," respond with, "Victorian British literature."

3. Don't underestimate the importance of your 'Favorite Music' section

As any self-respecting music geek knows, one's musical taste says a lot about somebody, so be judicious in listing your favorite bands in your profile's 'Favorite Music' section. A thorough music section, mentioning your appreciation of Gene Vincent, might make the difference in whether or not that cute rockabilly girl (or guy) responds to your message. Don't be yet another one of those people that says, "I like pretty much everything." Get specific, giving artist names (and, if you're up to it, album titles). One tactic that seems to be popular is to sort your iTunes according to the "Play Count" or "Last Played" tabs, and then copy down what you find. These tips – save the last one of course – also apply to your Favorite Movies and Books sections.

4. Invite All of Your Actual Friends (and Family)

For those of us who grew up in the pre-Facebook era, it's sometimes tough to reach out to old friends and say (in a smarmy voice) "will you be my Facebook friend?" But it's something we should all get over, because the flurry of social-networking only starts getting good when you have a size able community of folks you know and like that are also out there making new friends and contacts. it just means you'll get more cool stuff in your in-box, and also means you're more likely to hear from some random person you went to grade-school with (or maybe an old flame), which, to be honest, is kind of the most moving thing about social-networking (reconnecting with long-lost folks, that is). This writer is even getting to know far flung members of his family that he wouldn't otherwise have much rapport with if it were not for Facebook.


5. Don't add random friends

We have a hard time understanding the mindset of wanting to send friend requests to perfect strangers in faraway places, but plenty of people do it. If it happens that you stumble across somebody on the Web site whose profile piques your interest, it is best to send that person an introductory message. You wouldn't ask a stranger to lunch without speaking with them first, would you? Thanks to Lee Bains. Continue here

Ten Fast Breastfeeding Tips

Here are a collection of tips from breastfeeding gurus, moms, health care practitioners, and others who care about breastfeeding moms and babies.

1) An uncomplicated birth makes breastfeeding less complicated because mom and baby are way more alert and awake, getting breastfeeding off to the best start. If at all possible , plan for a natural birth.

2) Insist on no unnatural nipples. Alert infirmary staff in writing and verbally that you are going to be breastfeeding and make them aware you donot desire your child to get any kind of synthetic nipple.

3) Find a Pediatrician and OB or Midwife who supports breastfeeding. Some give lip service to the “breast is best” mantra, but counsel weaning to formula at the first sign of difficulty. Find a real breastfeeding advocate who will help you overcome challenges if they come up.

4) hear the baby. Babies nurse for a wide selection of reasons, some of which have zilch to do with hunger. Nursing frequently guarantees youcan bring in a healthy milk supply to meet your infant’s wants. It is also relaxing to him and eases his transition into the planet.

5) Wear your baby. Wearing baby in a sling makes nursing easier because baby is close to you. Wearing him helps to organize his movements and help him target nursing. It also makes nursing in public much more at ease. Dr. William sears related about this : “Probably one of the most wonderful aspects of a sling or carrier is that it permits breastfeeding on the go. Busy mums can nurture their babies with the best nutrition, yet still continue their active lifestyles.”

6) Talk to your infant’s dad and your family. Be certain to communicate to your folks how strongly you are feeling about nursing. Sell them on the advantages so they’ll support you.

7) Learn to nurse in public. Breastfeeding writer Amy Spangler announces : “I encourage younger girls, if they have got a comfort level doing so to please breastfeed their babies wherever they’re because till we get that critical mass of girls doing just that, weare not going to change the angles of the general public.” Practice latching baby on in front of a mirror so you can learn how to do so discreetly.

Don’t compare your baby with others. Healthy, well fed breastfed babies come in all sizes and shapes. Your baby will grow in a particular pattern generally due to genetics.

9) Get your latch right. Learning to latch your baby onto the breast is one of the most, if not the most important thing you can do to avoid agony and guarantee satisfactory draining of the breast ( which leads to an abounding milk supply ). Fetch help if you and your baby are having trouble.

10) Try cosleeping. Sharing sleep with baby makes breastfeeding easier. Babies who sleep with their mums take in more milk and excite mom’s breastfeeding hormones. And everybody usually gets more sleep. Thanks to Halds

Seven ways for replacing a firewall

Hardware firewalls are no different from other implements of technology. They have limited lifetimes, and sooner or later they have to be replaced. Making the transition from one firewall to another is at the least a nuisance and at worst a security risk.

For the small to medium-sized business, firewall management is just one of the many hats worn by the “network” or “systems” administrator. As a result, a technician is less likely to be intimately familiar with a firewall’s internals. Typically a firewall receives intermittent use — for example, when a new application comes online or a new server is added to the farm. This occasional use is fine for day-to-day operations, but it doesn’t provide the comfort zone for intensive work, such as switching from one vendor’s firewall to another or upgrading from a vendor’s low-end model to something more sophisticated.

The issues involved in upgrading a firewall range from the straightforward to the complex, but they are potentially numerous.

Figure A

For instance, the manual for the Cisco ASA 5505, shown in Figure A, is 114 pages. It’s not just Cisco. An Amazon reviewer of Welch-Abernathy’s 656-page tome Essential Checkpoint Firewall (2004) explained that it was “great for a novice admin.” Nonetheless, firewall upgrade duty is likely to fall to us ordinary mortals.

After a recent upgrade conducted by a small technology firm, I interviewed the firm’s system administrator, Rich Gallo. He provided a lengthy list of concerns, shown grouped into seven categories in Figure B.

Figure B

1. Gallo was able to overcome them, but challenges included quirky handling of previously unused external IP addresses by ISP Verizon and coordination with a remote office subnet. Having two technicians working through the issues undoubtedly reduced the chance for errors in manually moving firewall rules for CheckPoint to Cisco.
2. Each set of applications had associated ports, IP addresses, and user lists. Where necessary, program managers were contacted to verify current requirements. Where possible, schedules were coordinated with periods of low utilization.
3. The firewall upgrade can be an opportunity to rearrange cables routes, move switches, readjust bandwidth handling, or reorganize server cabinets.
4. A good test plan is a nontrivial affair, involving testing of not only connectivity but applications. For instance, public-facing applications must be tested from both inside the network and from outside the network using external tools where necessary. It’s also prudent to review failover plans and recovery plans — just in case.
5. VPNs are a special case that may affect firewall rules. In Gallo’s firm, there were site-to-site VPN requirements that needed special attention. There were also client-specific issues, since support was needed for both x32 and x64 clients, Mac, Windows and Linux platforms, and a mix of user familiarity in setting up a VPN. For instance, it was discovered that there was a known issue with Snow Leopard that didn’t permit AnyConnect split tunnels to work properly. Administrators will do well to collect details for inside and outside DNS records and shared keys well in advance of the moment of reckoning.
6. Firewall rules are the heart of the appliance’s capabilities, but they may be represented very differently in the old firewall when compared to the new. This is a good time to document those rules, remove unused rules, and run the new set of rules by application managers. For instance, one new rule may lock down the firewall itself — which is by definition a new rule. And rules should be provided in both a machine-readable, firewall-specific format and a transparently understandable format. One or the other may be needed for recovery after a major incident.
7. A new firewall will affect logging and alert processes. Plan to update alerts and log readers to respond to new alerts in ways that can be used by the security analyst (who may be the same person who’s performing the upgrade) and others familiar with nominal behavior of supported applications.

There’s more — lots more — to the process of upgrading a firewall. There may be firewall licensing issues in supporting DMZs, special considerations for handling e-mail servers, or additional logistics in supporting remote offices. This list may stimulate your thinking about the issues you may face. Thanks to Mark Underwood.

What is Rheumatic Heart Disease and Tips To Control The Disease

Rheumatic heart disease in simple layman’s terms is a condition that is a result of rheumatic fever. Severe cases of, or untreated, rheumatic fever damage the heart valves. Rheumatic fever may develop from an untreated strep (streptococcus) throat infection that travels to the joints and heart, bringing about joint and muscle pains and fever. Other symptoms are possible nosebleeds and abdominal pain. The term ‘rheumatic’ comes from the joint pain caused by the infection, the main symptom of rheumatic fever.

Rheumatic fever primarily affects children between ages 6 and 15 years and occurs approximately 20 days after strep throat or scarlet fever. In up to a third of cases, the underlying strep infection may not have caused any symptoms.

Rheumatic heart disease develops in about 3% of untreated strep throat infections in the United States according to the National Institute of Health. Children are most likely to get strep infection and so more likely to be stricken with rheumatic heart disease.

It’s unlikely that people in the western hemisphere will develop rheumatic fever through a strep infection. The infection is treated effectively with antibiotics. Still, if raised temperature, irregular heartbeat, nodes under the skin, abdominal pain and other symptoms develop after a strep infection, your doctor needs to have lab tests done to check for rheumatic fever.

In Australia from 2004 to 2006 there was a baffling jump in the amount of rheumatic fever cases among the Australian Aborigines. Alarmed doctors launched the world’s most advanced study of rheumatic heart disease. Those doctors are working with the Australian National Heart Foundation to develop a vaccine to end rheumatic fever.

Rheumatic fever is a problem among some populations in New Zealand, and the treatment there is monthly penicillin shots ten years. A famous rugby player who had developed rheumatic heart disease as a child, admitted to stopping his monthly shots. The symptoms of the disease returned to him as an adult. Fortunately, he knew what the problem was and how to get treatment. Others, people that have little or no access to health care, simply endure the fever attacks and become victims to heart valve failure.

Rheumatic fever is a disease born of poverty, according to the World Heart Federation in Geneva, Switzerland. Even though rheumatic fever is easily averted with antibiotics, many young people do not have access to the health care that would keep their heart valves healthy and extend their lives free of rheumatic fever.

Though there is no cure for rheumatic heart disease, penicillin will treat rheumatic heart disease symptoms. It also treats the contraction of the heart, which may damage heart valves. The incurable disease requires patients to continue with the penicillin injections. Some doctors say this treatment will have to continue for the rest of the patient’s life rather than the ten year treatment used in New Zealand. Untreated rheumatic fever will cause pain and permanent heart valve damage. Surgery may be necessary to prevent fatal heart failure. More research is necessary to find more and more effective treatments for rheumatic heart disease.

Tips

1. Step 1

   Take all medications prescribed by your physician. If your doctor prescribes antibiotics, take all the doses prescribed to avoid any complications.

2. Step 2

   Give your physician a complete medical history including all recent illness. This enables your physician to choose a treatment plan which works best for you.

3. Step 3

   Find out what exercises and over-the-counter medications can help to control symptoms resulting from rheumatic heart disease.

4. Step 4

   Purchase over-the-counter aspirin tablets to help with the joint inflammation that may occur. You must check with your doctor prior to taking these pills to ascertain that there are no contraindications in taking these medications.

5. Step 5

   Be aware that your doctor my prescribe antibiotics and steroids during the infection's acute stages. Once this stage has dissipated, you may need to continue on antibiotics to prevent any reoccurrences of this disease.

6. Step 6

   Prepare for possible surgery if your heart valves have been damaged to a point where they have impaired function. Sometimes a leaking valve can be repaired, but often the entire valve needs to be replaced to remedy the problem.

7. Step 7

   Find a support group of others with rheumatic heart disease. By doing so, you receive emotional support from others in a similar situation and can share and increase your own knowledge base about coping with rheumatic heart disease.

The Secrets of Poker

Have you been in a magic show? Do you feel the desire to be one of those people who can do magic and can impress a lot of people? Do you know what it takes to be one of the famous players who can do some tricks while playing their favorite game poker? Do you want to know what the basics in learning some poker tricks are? This section will help you explore and unveil the secrets of poker tricks.

Poker tricks are common attractions in casinos and gambling facilities that cater actual games of poker. Many professional poker players are eager to learn poker tricks to impress or create new image with their co-players. Learning some of these tricks will also make the experience of players in Texas Hold 'em poker more exciting and more memorable. In addition, being expert in poker tricks also allow players to enjoy the spare time that they usually spend while waiting for the next set of cards to be distributed.

There are different kinds of tricks that poker players can make. These are the chip tricks, card stunts, shuffles and flourishes. Players will enjoy learning these tricks with the help of Web sites that provide instructions and videos about how the tricks will be employed. The videos will teach players the steps involved in performing some of the most popular poker tricks.

The most basic factor that players should consider is to know the materials that they will need to successfully perform the trick. When performing chip tricks, players are advised to have two set of chips that have different colors. Having two sets of chips will help them determine whether they have successfully performed the trick or not.

Another important thing that they should consider is the length of time that they have allotted to practice or master their skill in conducting a particular chip trick. Learning how to perform the trick is easy but mastering it is the hard part. Players are advised to continue practicing the trick before they perform it to be sure that they will not be humiliated in front of other gamblers.

Once again, those who are really eager to learn how to perform the different poker tricks should surf the Internet for there are sites that contain comprehensive instructions that would help them successfully conduct the tricks. Performing poker tricks are helpful to avoid boredom during dull moments in actual poker games. Hence, being knowledgeable about these tricks will also make a player more popular to other poker gamblers.

Maintenance Tips for your Motorcycle

Bearings Maintenance
by: Seamus Dolly

Since Murphy or whoever it was, took credit for the round wheel, rolling technology has changed somewhat.

Today, friction whether static or dynamic, is reliant on bearings to reduce motor or engine load. What is sometimes overlooked is the inherent features and design of a bearings to reduce temperature where it is not necessary.

The basic requirement is to reduce contacting surface areas.

More extreme requirements are to reduce vibration, reduce allotted space required to house such a bearing, and extend their life.

Needle roller bearings are used where the load is spread length ways, and a typical or common application would be the “big end” bearings of motorcycles.

Plain bearings are still used in the big ends, of cars and most other crankshaft scenarios. The principle behind a plain bearing is that the thinner a material is, the harder it is to compress or displace it.

Plain bearings, often called bushings, can be “steel backed” with a relatively thin coating of white metal applied to the bearing contact surface. This would be the common type in the automotive big end applications, and should a piece of offensive hard material contaminate the oil, it can be safely embedded within the white metal. Should it be small enough then it is not an issue.

More plain bearings can be of a bronze base with impurities cast or sintered into them. The purpose is to absorb oil or lubricant before application, and become “self-lubricating, for a limited time anyway.

Many years before the industrial revolution, bearings were made from anything available that was considered appropriate. Timber, sometimes from apple trees but not in any way exclusive to them, have been used in windmills and water mills.

Indeed, stone bushings were not unusual.

You’ve heard of the more expensive watches been said to contain “X number of Jewels”? The purpose of such jewels was to reduce friction and associated loads. This would be a loose example of metal to stone contact.

Thrust bearings are designed to work through a different axis, and may be ball-type, cylindrical roller type or a combination of both. Taper roller bearings are an example.

High temperature bearings have in-built allowance for expansion, or to put it another way; they have more clearance.

High-speed bearings often have “cages” made from non-metallic materials. Typically, this material is tufnol or plastic.

Incidentally, in low-speed, combustion-risk situations, the cages can be made from brass as well. This is to help reduce any incidence of “sparking” between the balls/rollers and the cage itself. The reason for a cage in the first place, is to maintain distance between rollers/balls, because it is only in the cases of high low to space ratios, where no space is needed that cages are unnecessary and these are low speed applications.

Other low speed bearing/plain bushings are also “steel backed” with a coating of P.T.F.E. or other plastic on them. Again, this is to give some self lubrication properties, as well as to reduce friction.

P.T.F.E. happens to be excellent, as it has a low coefficient of friction.

Bearing failure is primarily due to misalignment and contamination. Of course, there are many variables, such as instances where undue load/other mechanical failure happens to be the case.

A common cause of failure in the case of automotives, is lack of oil or insufficient oil pressure.

Absence of proper cooling, generally, will bring excessive loads.

Bearing failure is all too often due to improper installation or fitting practices. Indeed, bearings can be “on the way out” almost immediately.

Induction coil heaters are readily available from manufacturers to ease the fitting operation, and spare the bearings undue trauma.

Mechanical shock from abuse with a hammer has destroyed many new bearings and they are destined to fail, as little actual work will verify. Indeed, I’ve seen a case where a six-year old machine was overdue some maintenance, and got new bearing fitted six times in six months. It would have been best to leave it overdue; such was the fitting skill of the men involved.

Even without the hammer, contamination while fitting, poses massive problems. Allowing foreign bodies to migrate into the bearing will have a detrimental effect.

Once fitted even, contaminants from its oil/grease/air supply can make running conditions unbearable. Clean lubricants and environments are the answer, and in the specific case of oil; clean filters, lines and the oil itself, will provide an up-time saving.


Cleaning and Lubricating Motorcycle Chain
By Yogesh Sarkar

Chain is an essential part of a motorcycle and keeping it clean and lubricated ensures that you have a trouble free smooth ride, at the same time it helps increase the life of the chain as well.

Cleaning the Chain

While there are various ways of cleaning your motorcycles chain as well lubricating it, I prefer to use the good old kerosene (if not available then petrol) to clean the chain. A small brush dipped in kerosene cleans out most of the sludge. Although it is a bit time consuming, but it usually does the trick and leaves a thoroughly cleaned chain.

However if you wish to clean the chain even more thoroughly then the best option is to remove the chain, dip it in a pot filled with kerosene and then clean it with the help of a brush. After the chain is cleaned, wipe it with a clean lint free cloth and let it hang for half an hour to dry up properly.

Lubricating the Chain

For lubricating the chain I prefer to use 90w gear oil, it is thick enough to stick to the chain properly and usually is good enough to keep the chain lubricated for roughly 1500-2000kms if the chain cover is on.

Once again the best way to lubricate the chain is to remove the chain and dip it in a pot filled with 90w oil, this way the oil penetrates all the parts of the chain. Let the chain remain inside the oil filled pot for 10minutes and then hang it for half an hour to ensure excess oil drips out (put a pot under it else the you will be left with a lubricated floor). After the excess oil has dripped out, put the chain back on and ensure you put chain lock back on properly.

If you do not wish to go in to the trouble of lubricating the chain in the above mentioned manner, then you can simply apply the oil to the chain with the help of a brush. While applying oil ensure you put a coat of oil on each side of the chain to lubricate the chain thoroughly and ensure rusting doesn’t take place.

2 stroke oil: You can also use 2t oil to lubricate the chain in the event you are unable to find 90w gear oil. However the 2t oil is only good enough for 400-500kms if the chain cover is on.

WD 40: WD 40 can also be used to clean as well as lubricate the chain; it is usually easier then above mentioned option. However it is an expensive affair and requires quite a lot of WD 40 spray to clean and lubricate the entire chain.

Chain lubes: There are chain cleaner cum chain lube spray available in the market from Motul and cleans and lubricates the chain at the same time, also it is quite easy to apply since it is only a spray. However it is quite expensive to use it on a regular basis.

Chain Cover: Removing chain cover reduces the life of the chain drastically especially in monsoon months. If you have removed the chain cover then inspect the chain on regular intervals for signs of dirt and also keep on the look out for the chain noise as a hint that chain needs to be adjusted and/or cleaned.


How to Change a Spark Plug

By David Demetre

As befits one of the most vital parts of your vehicle's engine, your spark plugs require replacement every 24 months or 30,000 miles to maintain optimal fuel economy and engine performance. You can save some money by doing it yourself.

The interval varies depending on your vehicle’s make and model. A vehicle equipped with the newer platinum-tipped spark plugs can go as far as 100,000 miles before plugs require replacement. Replacing your own spark plugs is relatively easy, as you’ll see from the instructions listed below.

The first thing you’ll want to do is gather all the tools you'll need. Of course, you’ll start with a set of new spark plugs. Add a 3/8” drive spark plug socket, extension and ratchet driver, a spark plug gap gauge, and a brush or rag and set aside some time.

Now we’re all ready to gap your spark plugs. Correct spark plug gaps can be found on the engine specifications decal underneath the hood. It’s a good practice to stick with the brand of plugs originally installed in your car at the factory. For Ford products they are Motorcraft, in General Motors products they are AC Delco; Chrysler products use Champion. Refer to a parts guide to find the correct spark plugs, or ask the salesperson in your local auto parts store.

Okay, let's get to work.

Never change your spark plugs without the engine being cold. Wait two hours after driving to let it cool off. Grasp the plug wire by the boot, give the wire a twist and cautiously pull the spark plug wire out of the end of the spark plug. Don’t pull the wires themselves or you may damage them. TIP: changing the plugs one helps avoid mixing up the spark plug wires.

Use either a bicycle tire pump or an air compressor and pump a few bursts of air to rid the spark plug area of dirt, dust or gravel. Alternatively, clean off the old plug and the area around it with a rag or small brush. These steps help prevent any foreign material from falling down into the cylinder when the plug is removed.

Remove the plug by turning it counterclockwise with a spark plug socket and ratchet. Spark plug sockets have rubber linings that prevent damaging the plug’s ceramic case. Crack it loose, spin it out until it’s off the threads, and take it out by hand.

OK, time to set the gap of the new plug with a spark plug gap gauge (Remember the proper gap is specified on the engine specs decal underside of the hood). You can buy a gap gauge at your auto parts store. Slide the correct thickness wire or feeler between the inner and outer electrodes at the tip of the plug. The feeler will slide between the electrodes with a slight drag when the plugs are properly gapped. If the gap isn’t right, slightly bend the outer electrode until you achieve the right gap. Ensure the outer electrode is inline over the inner electrode.

Next, have a look at the cylinder head threads. Are they in good condition, clean, and free of dirt? New spark plug should freely screw into the cylinder head by hand. Any binding of the plug is an indication of debris or damage in the thread. TIP: lube the plug threads with a little grease or spray lubricant before you install them, this will make for an easier removal at your next spark plug change.

Insert the new plug into the spark plug hole by hand and turn it clockwise until it's snug. After finger tightening the plug, firmly torque it with your spark plug wrench/socket. Be careful not to over-tighten the plugs.

Reattach the correct plug wire to the new plug with a twist on the boot until it's firmly seated on top of the plug. You should feel and hear a click as the wire positively clamps onto the spark plug.

Repeat all the steps for the other plugs. Even taking your time this job will probably take you less than an hour. And that’s it for another two years or 30,000 miles!