The Model Info Center

Back during the late nineties, a conversation at a swank Auburn Hills, Michigan, French bistro turned heated when the talk shifted from personal pleasantries to discussing the ending of one of the most storied names in the automotive world: Oldsmobile. Gathered together in a separate room, the eight men and one woman were tasked with the responsibility of plotting multi-brand strategy for General Motors as well as to discuss concept cars that would make it off of design team drawing boards and onto production lines.

Suddenly, a red faced, balding middle aged man got up and left the group, and walked at a clipped pace through the crowded restaurant and out onto the front sidewalk. The remaining group was stunned, but the silence was soon broken by the leading EVP who announced what everyone already knew: the Oldsmobile name would be abandoned and Saturn would take its place in the GM line up.

This scenario is, of course, fiction but it is representative of some of the behind the scenes jockeying that took place leading up to the decision for General Motors to lay the venerable Oldsmobile name to rest. Dealer buy outs, model shifting, and brand reassessment were all to dominate GM meetings for several years until the deed was finally completed.

In 1897, the Olds Motor Vehicle Company was formed in Lansing, Michigan by Ransom Eli Olds, a manufacturer of gasoline engine and Frank Clark, the son of a small carriage shop operator. From that point forward through the time that the company became part of General Motors and until the final car was shipped in 2004, the “Olds” represented American motor history like no other. It was that sense of history, nostalgia, and purpose that brought about the turmoil and anguish experienced by those affected by the brand’s demise.

GM’s decision to go with Saturn was not an easy one, but it was predicated on two things: the dealer network and brand potential. Saturn’s biggest plus has always been its “no haggle, no hassle” price policy. The sticker price on the car was the sticker price consumers paid. No need to enter into protracted and uncomfortable negotiations when purchasing a car, instead the atmosphere in a Saturn showroom was unlike any in the business: cordial, folksy, and friendly. Olds dealers, although given an opportunity to adopt the Saturn sales strategy, never could quite incorporate the Saturn way of thinking.

As far as brand potential, some felt that Oldsmobile had the better chance since Olds was a 100 year old name and Saturn barely 10 years old. Perhaps a generation ago that would have held true, but with the onslaught of new, foreign brands in the US market, customer loyalty for Olds had been eroding for quite some time. Not since the Cutlass dominated the line up in the late 1970s and early 1980s had a model captured the amount of sales that the Cutlass had. Indeed, a steep and steady drop in sales over the years exposed Olds’ weaknesses while Saturn was perceived by some as having the best chance of the two divisions of not only succeeding, but thriving.

Could Oldsmobile ever be resurrected? Never say “never”, but the logistics behind bringing Olds back make the possibility of that happening remote. As it stands right now, GM is looking at possibly cutting additional brands, such as Pontiac and Buick, each of which are considered to be at risk. Quite frankly, changing tastes and market conditions warrant a reduction in car lines, not an increase.

For Olds fans all of this is sad news. However, much like the retired Packard moniker, Oldsmobile will likely live on for a generation or more in the form of existing models on the road and in car clubs dedicated to the Olds name [they are legion]. Olds’ loss is Saturn’s gain and the division’s demise ultimately benefits General Motors as well as consumers.

Matt Keegan is an independent writer and contributing essayist for the Auto Parts Warehouse [APW]. At APW, we furnish premium
Oldsmobile accessories for your Delta 88, Cutlass, Intrigue, Alero or other awesome Olds.

Just make fun of other people.I mean,the concept of making fun of someone is taken too serious.I saw some fat bitch who was shoved into a lot of mud.Did I laugh?Of course,I laughed my ass off the whole time she was down there.Did I help her?Hell no,it wouldn’t have been so damned funny if I would have helped someone out.That’s a crock of shit,someone that likes her should help out the bitch,not me.Very few people have enough respect from me to get help in a situation such as that one.

Also,why should people not make fun of fat people?Hell,if you’re fat than it’s not as if you can’t help that.It’s not as if you don’t have a way to control your fattness.Therefore you should be easy to joke with.Usually people expect the fat kids to be easy to joke with.

Another example of laughing at others,I saw some kid today with a really tiny head.Not just a tiny head,but the kind of head you see on a really young kid.Now with stuff like this how can you not laugh?I mean the guy looks like Beetle Juice.You just have to laugh about that kind of shit.I bet if you’re a panzy you’re probably thinking of e-mailing me and asking me how I would feel if I were fat or if I had a small head.To stop any e-mails let me answer this one,may answer would be a little bit like this.

Personally I don’t think it’s all that big of a deal.If I were fat and someone called me fat I wouldn’t wine and moan about how it’s not my fault.I would hit my fatass to the gym.If I had a small head I would probably just use it for the better you know?I would be a comedian,the single look at my small head and large body would bring laughing for hours.Who cares if my jokes suck?I have a small head and that’s funny no matter who you are.If you can’t laugh at stupid bitches than how do you expect to entertained?

Yep,that answer is just about a good summary of why it’s always good to make fun of others.It gives them encouragement to go out and do stuff.Hell,if no one gave you encouraging you’d end up sitting on your ass playing EverQuest all the time.What a waste,people made fun of Jared for being such an overweight peice of shit and where did he end up?He ended up with a fake set of teeth and on just about every fucking SubWay commercial in the world.Then you have my friend Bob Smith who was never made fun of.Oh,you never heard of him?That’s right because he didn’t do shit with his life.See my point?Making fun of others isn’t a big deal and shouldn’t be frowned upon.Maybe that bitch will invent mud-proof pants or something.Either that or lose weight,either would be awesome.

If you would like to use this article for your own personal use please give a link to theepiczone.com and send me an e-mail.

About the Author

The Epic is the owner of a personal web page called The Epic Zone.Many articles like the one shown can be found on the site.If you’d like to contact the Epic about using this article or anything else,please contact him at theepic@theepiczone.com

When owning a domain name the owner is required to submit certain data about himself to complete the registration. Name and address information as well as a phone number and an email address are required to be on file. If these pieces of information are not provided the registration can either not be completed or is not valid and the domain name could be taken away.

Often people forget to keep this information updated. This is not a dramatic issue until the domain name expires and needs to be renewed. If the owner keeps track of the names it is no problem, but too often people tend to forget. Email reminders are usually send out by all domain registries. But what happens if the email addresses associated with the domain name are no longer in use? The domain name expiration notification cannot be delivered and the name expires.

What happens when a domain expires?

When a domain expires it will remain in this status for approximately 30 days. During that time the DNS servers of the expired domain will be reset to the domain name registry and the website behind that domain name is down. If the domain name does not get renewed during 30 day time frame, it will be deleted from the domain registry database and at that time the domain will go into Redemption status at the Registry level. The domain name is still recoverable, but only for a significant amount of money. After around 40 days the domain name gets deleted and released and is available for a new registration. Domain Grabbers pick up these expired names and sell them with a profit to whoever pays the most money. If an owner happens to lose a domain name by forgetting about renewing the name and by not acting fast enough when the name is expired, it can mean that the name cannot be recovered by him and that the name belongs to somebody else now.

Therefore it is highly critical to always maintain correct WHOIS data for a domain name and to keep track of expiration dates to renew domain names in an appropriate time frame.

About the Author

Christoph Puetz is a successful entrepreneur and international book author. Websites of Christoph Puetz can be found at Pregnancy Announcements and at Highlands Ranch Colorado.

Now then, the wonders of quagmires are a treat I have never encountered. I had the uncanny ability, as a youth, to attend Europe’s premier music festival twice, and both times I stumbled upon a West Country heat wave.

Yes, it’s true; yours truly enjoyed the warmth of the sun and the cider tent on both occasions whilst at Glastonbury.

For the purpose of what I have to say here, I am going to concentrate on just the one specific event that happened whilst I was there. I was in my early 20s, it was the Saturday of the festival and everything was just hunky dory … no, totally, it was so hunky dory as to warrant my starting a new religion, so I went back to the cider tent to calm down.

I imbibed several more pints of diesel, earthed myself, and as the sun began its descent, I smacked my chops, thanked the staff and wandered over to the main stage for what promised to be an enjoyable evening.

Yes, The Orb were playing, and their oft heard song Little Fluffy Clouds was sure to be a lovely ending to a quite lovely day.

So I trundled over to the said main stage, the colours of the sunset now taking shape and positioned myself so as to get a good view of the stage.

Sure, two blokes and a load of synthesisers isn’t the most spectacular stage show, but, well, I felt sure they’d put on a good light show to make up for the lack of stage presence.

I was pretty early, I don’t think they were due on ’til about half nine or something, and in the meantime, a bloke beside me nudged me, and when I looked round, he pointed behind me. He was grinning. I turned round to see what he was on about, and there, in the adjacent field, a firework display was just starting off. I smiled, thanked him, and got into the display.

It was a good one; it warranted me getting my pipe out of my back pocket, stoking it with draw and cranking my brain. Whoosh! That did the trick. The display was quite beautiful and I gave it my undivided attention, the rockets and their explosions every bit as important as my close shave with the new religion I mentioned earlier.

The display continued for quite sometime, the colours of the sunset now in full flow, it was nearly enough to make the poor boy cry with joy, but, I held on. Eventually, the display ended, and, it was time to settle down to enjoy the main event. Yes, The Orb.

There was just one wee problem. Whilst I had been enjoying the fireworks, the crowd had swollen. From craning my neck upwards to enjoy the fireworks for the last half hour, upon looking straight ahead again, I couldn’t see the stage at all. Now, I’m not the tallest boy, so, it was a case of standing on tip toes, but to no avail. Nothing. Not a jot. The ruddy stage had disappeared!

The Orb had taken to the stage, this much was patently obvious, as the crowd were roaring their approval, and if I looked up into the sky, the laser show was happening, but, Jesus, I couldn’t see a thing. Not to worry, Little Fluffy Clouds was being played and it sounded fantastic, so I didn’t care too much. What was important was the music, I kept telling myself.

Seemed odd though, ‘cos the bloke right in front of me was loving it. I could tell. He was facing me and he had a huge grin plastered all over his face. So was his girlfriend. She was by his side, also facing me, and, like him, was grinning broadly …

Well, eventually, all good things must come to an end. The set had been well over an hour long, my calves were aching from all the tip toeing, so I was kind of relieved, to be honest.

The Orb finished their set, and the crowd gradually began to disperse. I hung around for a bit, just relaxing, enjoying the night air, a bit knackered, but happy.

Finally, I decided it was about time I got back to my tent, whilst I could still remember what it looked like, and that was when it happened. I turned round, to head back, and there, only 20 yards or so away, was the fucking main stage.

I’d got so out of it, so into the firework display that I’d forgotten to turn back round after. No wonder that bloke and his girlfriend had been facing me, enjoying The Orb.

They’d been facing the stage.

© Copyright Holmes Charnley mmiv. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Freelance Journalist based in Devon-UK. For more examples of my work, please visit http://www.articles.me.uk. The two most recent pieces have been published in The Guardian (UK broadsheet.) Pieces also accepted by Jack magazine.

Spam. Those annoying, time-consuming emails that clog your Inbox and ruin your day. You wonder: How did it ever get so bad? While it’s not possible to completely eliminate spam, there are quite a few things you CAN do about the problem to reduce your burden.

Spam is defined as an unsolicited email trying to get you to buy something. In addition, it’s email that tries to get you to give up something: your credit card number, social security number, login ID, etc., by pretending to be a legitimate email. Here are some tips for stopping the current spam you’re getting, and avoiding getting on new spam lists.

1. Maintain two email addresses: a Personal Email Address (that you give to family, friends and business associates), and a Safe Email Address (one you use whenever you’re ordering something online, signing up for an email newsletter, or creating a profile on a website).

For instance, I use a Hotmail account for my Safe Email Address. If a spammer were to get a hold of that address, fine. All the spam will go into my Hotmail account, which I only look at once a week. Hotmail has a great anti-spam filter built in, so it’s easy to see what’s spam and what’s not. This practice leaves my personal email account relatively spam-free (maybe I get two spam emails a day to my personal account). Some free email services include Hotmail, Yahoo and GMail (Google’s new email service).

2. Use your Safe Email Address to send emails to companies who might be harvesting email addresses from incoming emails. For example, say you want to write to a company to ask them about their products. Some companies will harvest your email address from the email you send to them, and put you on their mailing list. By using your Safe Email Address, you can avoid seeing messages from these companies come to your personal email address.

3. Stop giving your email address to everyone who wants it. Does your local bank really need your email address? Does your grocery store need it? Just because someone asks for it doesn’t mean you have to give it to them. If it’s a non-local company, or you are signing up for a mailing list, then they probably do need it. But it’s okay to leave the email address blank when filling out forms. Always ask yourself, Do I want to be contacted by this company via email? (Speaking of mailing lists, make sure the companies you subscribe to have a public, posted Privacy Statement on their website.)

4. Do not put your Personal Email Address on your website. Instead, use a form so that your email address is hidden. However, some spammers use special software that looks at the HTML code hidden in the form to steal your email address, so using a form by itself isn’t always the safest route. Better yet, use a free Form Processor so that your email address is never even in the HTML coding on your pages.

The service I use is Bravenet’s Form processor (www.bravenet.com). You can see ours in action here: http://www.passionforbusiness.com/send-email.htm

5. Never buy anything that’s sent through a spam email. First, it just encourages them to continue to spam. Second, it tells them that your email address is accurate, and they can then sell that address to someone else.

6. Never reply to spam and ask to be unsubscribed. They’ll just ignore it anyway, and it tells them that your email address is accurate, which just keeps you on the list. Note: many legitimate emails newsletters and mailing lists use automated unsubscribe links at the bottom of their emails, and you CAN use these to get off of mailing lists.

7. Use anti-spam software, like Norton Internet Security, on your own PC to filter spam as it comes into your email system. You still receive the spam, but it gets filtered to a Junk Mail or Bulk Mail folder, and segregates the spam from the legitimate email. Most anti-spam filters need to be trained, however, so you’ll have to occasionally tell the filter that something is NOT spam that it inadvertently put into the Junk Mail folder. Many of these anti-spam filters work on the principle of White Lists (legitimate email addresses that you DO want to receive email from) and Black Lists (spammer email addresses that you do NOT want to receive email from). Learn how to train your anti-spam software and it will work wonders for you.

8. Check to see if your ISP or hosting company has anti- spam technology in place, to catch spam before it even hits your Inbox. Be careful, though, because sometimes these filters are over-zealous and you have to train it to accept emails from mailing lists that you have subscribed to.

9. Do not use a catch-all email address. A catch-all email address is set up if you have your own website, and it is intended to catch all of the incoming emails sent to your domain even if there is no legitimate mailbox by that name. For example, your email address might be mary@mydomain.com. If that mailbox is set up as a catch all, and someone sends an email to marie@mydomain.com (with a spelling mistake in the email name), it will be forwarded to mary@mydomain.com. However, spammers know about catch-all email addresses, and will take your domain name mydomain.com and add common prefixes to it, like info@ or admin@. If you have a catch- all, then those spamming emails will come to you, even if you don’t have a legitimate mailbox of info@mydomain.com or admin@mydomain.com set up with your hosting company. See how easy it is for spammers to get to you?

10. Finally, if spam is really bad, create a new personal email address for yourself, tell everyone about the new address (give them several reminders that you are changing email addresses), then delete the old personal email address. This may seem a little drastic, but if you receive 200 spam emails a day, it might be time to time this final step to eradicate it.

You are not powerless against spam. But you do have to take action to fight back. Don’t let them bully you into accepting hundreds of unwanted emails a day! Take action now to reclaim your Inbox!

About The Author

Karyn Greenstreet is a Self Employment expert and small business coach. She shares tips, techniques and strategies with self-employed people to boost clarity and focus, create sustainable motivation, and increase sales and profits. Visit her website at www.PassionForBusiness.com

Many people these days take antioxidants to counter the detrimental effect of free radicals. Antioxidants mopped up free radicals and convert them into harmless substances. Free radicals are known to cause body cell decomposition and therefore are the main culprit in our aging process. Free radicals are linked to aging diseases such as cancer and heart problems besides making us age more quickly. Since free radicals cause our cells to decompose, then free radicals will also degenerate our muscle cells.

Staying clear of situations that cause a surge of free radicals to surge is one way of prevention and taking antioxidants as a supplementation is another. There are many situations that will increase free radical activities such as sun burn, stress, smoking, alcohol consumption, pollution, exercise workout amongst others. Yes, we get a surge of free radicals when we exercise especially intensive exercises because we are putting our bodies under tremendous stress when we exercise. These muscle destroying activities will continue for hours and even days depending how intensive your exercises are.

This is where antioxidants supplementing comes in. Since antioxidants neutralize free radicals, it helps your muscles to recover faster and stop the ravaging effects of free radicals on your muscle and thus allowing better muscle growth.

So if you want your muscles to recover faster and want to grow bigger muscles after your workouts, supplementation with antioxidants may help. There are many antioxidants supplements in the market. Vitamin A, C and E are perhaps the better known free radical fighters out there. Some other excellent free radical scavengers are Green Tea extract, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Beta Carotene etc

So our mums although may not have known about antioxidants and its effect of free radicals on our body was right when they insisted that we take our vitamins. Do protect your muscles and general health with antioxidants.

Chris Chew is fitness personal trainer of fashion models, actors and male pageant winners. More of his free health and fitness articles here :- Fitness Tips Personal trainer certification