Below are the 4 most recent journal entries recorded in spokanewa17's InsaneJournal:

Thursday, April 19th, 2012
8:10 am	Racing and the Street- A Deadly Combination Street Racing seems like the most affordable way to get the automotive adrenaline rush all us enthusiasts crave. What member of America's youth doesnt get off to hot girls, fast cars, and free rides? What seems like fun and games to some, hoewever, is serious business to others. Not only is racing on public streets illegal in all 50 states, it is the most dangerous and selfish act the youth of today is getting involved in. Taking off after WWII when the youth returning from war had extra money and a need for speed to go with their new mechanical know-how, street racing quickly evolved into one of America's top killers in today's society. Inspired and revived by the Fast and the Furious movies, street racing has contributed to a frightening level of fatal crashes. Fatal crashes related to street racing has increased by more than 85% every year for the past 6 years. From 1999 to 2000, San Diego, CA has seen an increase of 97% of fatal crashes caused by street racing. Still sound like fun and games? In the state of Florida, pedestrian injuries related to street racing has increased by 222% from 1999 to 2001. The leading cause of death for people ages 16-20 is automobile accidents. National averages show that for every 1000 street racers, there are 49 innocent by-standers who are injured or killed. So why do kids street race? In the state of Florida, pedestrian injuries related to street racing has increased by 222% from 1999 to 2001. The leading cause of death for people ages 16-20 is automobile accidents. National averages show that for every 1000 street racers, there are 49 innocent by-standers who are injured or killed. So why do kids street race? The average consequences for street racing are: You will be arrested and have your car impounded for 30 days. You will be arrested and have your car (or your parent’s car!) permanently confiscated. You can be imprisoned for up to three months and fined up to $1,000. Your driver's license will be revoked. Your car insurance rates will increase or you can be cancelled. So America's youth still thinks drag racing is a more simple way to get the automotive high? All you need to race on an NHRA track is: Valid driver’s license Valid vehicle registration and insurance DOT-approved street legal tires Seat belts Muffler You need this stuff to ride on the street too! So the hard-ass, ignorant street racers out there need to save up 20 bucks and enjoy the legal and exciting atmosphere at their local drag strip. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 25th, 2012
9:27 am	Finding Pottery Online There are many ways to find great pottery. While it is often best to see the pieces in living color, the Internet offers opportunities for those who do not have ready or easy access to great artisans in their town or who prefer a type of pottery that typically isn't carried locally to find the pieces they desire to add to their collections without traveling extensively in order to do so. There are a few drawbacks to ordering pottery online and one of those would be the fact that you are only seeing a very flat representation of the finished product. In other words, it is very difficult for a picture to recreate the drama that a certain piece of pottery may have. The colors cannot be relied upon as accurate because of the differences in cameras, monitors, and picture quality. This means that if you are getting what you think is one color, that will match a certain feature in your room, you may actually be getting another color all together (blue and purple are often difficult to differentiate among other colors). This means that seeing the piece in person is definitely the best way to go if you have the opportunity. If not, be certain that the dealer from which you purchase the piece has a good standing with the BBB and a liberal return policy. Another reason you should display caution when purchasing pottery online is that you can't really gauge the quality of the workmanship through a photograph either. This means you may be getting flawed pieces and yet paying the price you would expect to pay for a perfect piece of pottery by said artist. Unfortunately we cannot trust everyone to be completely honest. It is a sad truth but one that should definitely be considered. Many flaws will not show up on camera, particularly if there is only one view of the piece. Pottery, even when flawed can still be beautiful but no one wants to pay more than a piece of pottery is worth, especially those that are collecting as an investment. If those reasons aren't enough there is the fact that it is always a good idea to support local talent whenever possible. If there is a good deal of support for local artists, chances are that more artists will begin to migrate to the area. Artists tend to build communities of like minded artists for some reason. Communities that support them often draw in more new artists, which means your choices and the local selection will improve with support and over time. Also, any money going into the local community is a good thing for everyone in the community. Jobs, spending and housing are all signs of a flourishing community. A community that supports the arts is another sign of a community that is growing. Last but not least, when purchasing online make sure that you take every precaution to protect your investment and know the company you are dealing with. Good business happens online every day. There are many more honest people doing business online than dishonest people but it never hurts to be careful and protect your money and your purchase. Buying pottery online can be quite convenient if you have the need but it is certainly not the only way to go. (Comment on this)
9:26 am	What Are The Security Ratings For Paper Shredders? Since paper shredders are the main defense against identity theft, a way to measure their effectiveness was determined. Strip cutting shredders have produced waste that could be reassembled by motivated thieves and investigators. Security is of utmost importance in protecting waste from thieve so security ratings have been devised to measure the effectiveness of shredder security. Let's look at these ratings as they will be helpful in having a secure paper shredding program for any home or business user. When setting up a shredding program consider the sensitivity and importance of the documents you will dispose of. Although any personal information such as name, address, phone numbers, social security number, and date of birth are basic identity information and would be need to be fully safe guarded. The guidelines set up by FACTA requires the disposal of documents with any personal information of any individuals be destroyed properly and in a reasonable way. One of the ways considered reasonable is by proper shredding. One of the methods of grading shredder security is the Deutsche Industrial Norm (DIN) This method that originated in Europe sets forth six levels of security. The DIN security level descriptions are as follows: Level 1. general to low - general records Level 2. low to medium - internal documents Level 3. confidential to medium - documents containing personal and confidential information Level 4. sensitive to medium to high - confidential documents Level 5. classified to high to maximum Level 6. top secret - the highest level security available The type of shredder you choose should be based on the level of security demanded by your job. First of all strip cutting shredders present the lowest lever of security. Information thieves have successfully reassembled these documents and retrieved valuable information. The confetti or cross cutting shredders offer the next level security which is adequate for many projects. These shredders are popular among home and small office users and does cross cutt to get the confetti type shreds as waste. As you shop for a shredder notice the security level designation in the description. Other items such as CD's, floppy disks, cardboard goods and other items may need to be shred also. The sales description should give you a clue as to what items your shredder is capable of shredding. If additional horsepower is needed make the adjustment. Many companies store confidential data as well as computer backups on computer disks so your shredder should be able to shred these items with ease. The FACTA ruling has certainly increased the responsibilities of individuals and small and large businesses in responsibly handling personal information. By failing to shred properly and you are negligent the victim can recover damages from you of up to $1,000 per incident. State and local offenses could incur fines of up to $2,500 per incident. So responsible shredding could be pretty simple as long as you are aware of the security level you will be held responsible for. Some offices have multiple shredders to handle the different security levels in different departments. By complying with the shredding laws you will not only be protecting your clients, employees and business associates from identity theft. In today's climate of identity theft shredding today just makes good sense. (Comment on this)
9:24 am	The Pros and Cons of Outsourcing There is a great chance that you own a computer or any other piece of electronic equipment. There is also a great chance that you ran into some problems with these devices and called the manufacturer for technical support. There is a good chance that the technical support you called is located thousands of miles away from the company in another country. This is called outsourcing. Companies today are now considering outsourcing their jobs in other countries, such as the Philippines, Mexico, India, and China because of cheap labor. The reason why outsourcing is very popular among companies today is because of cheap labor, quality services and it allows the company to focus more on important factors involved in letting the company grow. Help desks, and technical support services aren’t the only outsourced jobs today. Now, companies are also outsourcing their payrolls, their business process, data entries, human resources and a lot more. Because of the growing competitiveness of other countries in the information technology, outsourcing companies are now widely available. Here are some of the advantages of outsourcing services and the reason why companies are considering outsourcing their jobs: • Lower personnel costs • Allow the company to focus on more important factors • Free up space in the company building for other important uses • Increase productivity • Effectively manage the jobs of a company • Reduce cash flow • Free up management time • Increased company efficiency However, with all the advantages of outsourcing, there are also disadvantages that you should consider. Here are some of the disadvantages that outsourcing will have: • Loss of local jobs, particularly jobs related to customer service and technical fields • The company losses direct control over the management • Quality problems • Slow response time, which can lead to frustration and anger of some of the customers • Foreign agents sometimes have different accent that may be hard for local consumers to understand • Slow resolution times • Reduction of product sales because of frustrated customers or people who boycott a company’s products because they outsource These are some of the disadvantages of outsourcing. However, if your target is cheap labor, you can definitely consider outsourcing. But you have to make sure that the quality of the services of an outsourcing company should be at par with your standards. For example, if you need a call center to be outsourced, you have to make sure that the employees of the call center company should be competent and qualified to get the job done. You should also consider the fact that they should be able to speak fluent English with an accent that is easy to understand. Outsourcing has a lot of benefits that your company can take advantage of. However, before you outsource, you should first weigh the advantages and disadvantages and know whether outsourcing is for you. If you want to provide jobs for your countrymen, then you shouldn’t consider outsourcing or you should consider outsourcing your company’s jobs to local outsourcing companies. These are some of the things you should consider when you plan on outsourcing. You have to keep in mind that there are a lot of advantages as well as disadvantages in outsourcing. You have to be able to weigh it in order to arrive at a good decision in whether you want to outsource or not. (Comment on this)