Reduce the Risk of Your Car Being Stolen

Text by Tom Hamilton

Cars and trucks are stolen every day. They are stolen to be stripped for replacement parts or the audiovisual components inside, stolen for joy riding, stolen for resale by chop shops, or for deportation across the border. Many things add to the allure for a car thief but availability and ease to do so is the largest single threat.

Every year, law enforcement agencies list on various sites on the Internet the vehicles stolen most often. Each owner should be aware of the risk of their own vehicle being in demand by automobile thieves. We can take pro-active steps to minimize the likelihood that our vehicle will be stolen. Here are a few basic tips to assist you in this effort.

Make sure that your new car has an alarm system installed when you purchase the vehicle. If your car does not have an alarm, have one installed. The installation, while somewhat costly, will help to prevent theft. If you cannot afford an alarm system, purchase other effective means of theft prevention. One such device is a locked bar that goes across the steering wheel that prevents the car from being driven away.

Expensive wheel covers, fancy paint jobs, elaborate audio sound systems, DVD players, etc. all make for an attractive target to a thief or a teenager who wants to take a joy ride in YOUR car or truck. If you have purchased any or all of these items, you need to be aware that you are adding to the risk of having your vehicle stolen. You must take extra precautions to minimize that threat.

Be careful where you have any aftermarket components installed. Use only known dealers with a solid reputation for professional, quality products and service. Many thieves watch these establishments for potential vehicles to steal.

Another popular means of vehicle theft is car-jacking. Always drive with your doors locked. If someone runs up to your vehicle and points a gun in your face and demands that you unlock the door, step on the gas quickly and speed away. Most of the time the perpetrators will be so surprised he will run. Then call the police immediately. If you are confronted in a parking lot while walking to your car, give up the keys to your car or truck and let the thief or thieves drive away. Your life may be at risk.

Pay close attention to where you park your car or truck. Always park in a well-lighted, public spot. If you are traveling, ensure that the hotel or motel you are staying in has security patrolling the parking lots. Park as close to the front as possible. Do not invite the thief by making it easy. Always make sure your alarm is set when you leave your vehicle. If you have an alarm system installed, have any additional anti-theft options available installed. Many alarm systems will arm themselves if you forget to set them. If the vehicle is entered, an audible alarm (horn blowing) will sound and the headlights will flash on and off quickly. These types of alarms help to deter a thief.

If you own a car or truck that has additional expensive components and/or paint jobs, make pictures of your car and store in a safe place. Record your VIN number, license plate number and registration information so you will be in a position to assist the police in the event your car or truck is stolen. Keep extra keys hidden.

For most of us, our car or truck is the second largest investment we have. We need to protect that investment. On the bright side, many automobile insurance companies will offer discounts on your insurance rates for an anti-theft system.

By Tom Hamilton, CPP

Art/Paintings – Enrich your look

Collecting art can be one of the most enjoyable and fulfilling hobbies. A beautiful work of art can provide a lifetime of visual pleasure. Buying contemporary and original works of art can enrich your life. As John Keats said,” A thing of beauty is joy for ever”.

According to Peter Miller of the Japan-based Kamakura Print Collection,” the best advice I can give the first-time investor in art is to think of it like buying a home. You have to live with it. If you enjoy living with it, then the inevitable swings of the market won’t affect your enjoyment. If the only reason you bought it is to sell it to someone else at a higher price, you’re likely to be disappointed on both counts. So look closely, sort out what you really like from what the broker or dealer says you have to like, and choose accordingly.”

If you are a first-time investor, start going to the exhibitions and visit museums. Take note of what strikes your fancy. There are many sculptors, painters, photographers and graphic artists working in various mediums. The choices are endless. Understand different forms of art by learning the finer points.

Buying original art is a good investment. Paintings and sculptures are far more expensive than photographs or prints. You can also buy limited edition art or reproduction. High quality reprints are another option. The price level for original prints is normally substantially lower than that of unique paintings because they are multiples and on paper. Prints on canvas give the look and feel of an original artwork or painting and canvas transfers last longer than posters and prints. Economical investors might want to concentrate on photographs, antiques, prints and lithographs. Works in these fields tend to cost less than paintings or sculptures.

Once you find artists you like, research them. Find out where they went to school and if they have been reviewed. As a novice to this field, it is better to spend more money and buy an established artist. Later, when you begin to understand the finer points of art, you can become more daring and find lesser known artists.

It is also a good idea to support local artists. Visit the local art gallery, local frame shop, the exhibitions in your library, and the local college gallery. Most of the colleges hold annual shows where you can see and buy the artwork of new graduates. If you do not know much about the art you are buying, be guided by your initial reaction to the piece of work itself. If you were drawn to it initially than you will probably continue to appreciate it through your years of ownership. Showcase your prized possession in your house and enjoy it with your family and friends for generations to come. This is one hobby you won’t regret taking up!

Text By Lily Sokhi

Truth in a Tulip

By A. Barkman

One fall a bright orange sign in a hardware store caught my attention: “Spring Bulbs – 50% off.”

When I got home, friend hubby peeked into the bag. “Since when did that hardware store start selling onions?

“They’re not onions. They’re flower bulbs.”

“Either way, they look lousy.”

He was skeptical, and I can’t say I blame him. Six dried bulbs with papery thin skins rattling around in the bottom of a bag didn’t hold out much promise. Planting them six inches deep in muddy soil and leaving them there over winter just added to his doubts.

Come spring, I was raking the leaves off of the perennial bed. “Come here!” I called to him. “I want to show you something.”

Six green spears of new growth were peeking up through the black soil.

“Well, I’ll be jiggered!” exclaimed friend hubby.

He was even more “jiggered” a few weeks later when six pink tulips burst into bloom.

You say you can’t believe the story of Easter? That the dead don’t rise?

Try mustering up enough faith to plant tulips.

The skeptics will say “Seeing is believing.”

The tulips will tell you “Believing is seeing.”

Swelter Your Tensions Away in a Personal Sauna

Text by Lori Broadfoot

The European tradition of sauna baths began in Finland over 2000 years ago. Today in Finland almost every family will have one because of the benefits of sauna baths for mind, body and soul. The Manitoba climate, with long, cold dry winters, is very similar to that of northern Europe, and the only reason more people don’t own saunas in North America is because they aren’t yet familiar with all the benefits.

A sauna is a simple structure of a wooden room containing a strong heater that can bring the interior temperature to 70 to 90 degrees Celsius. The humidity level is raised by pouring water over rocks set above the heating unit. Although the temperature and humidity level can be varied to suit personal taste, the main purpose of a sauna is to open the pores of your skin and induce sweating, thereby flushing impurities from your body. The high temperatures create an artificial fever state in your body, which stimulates the immune system.

The skin is the largest organ in the body, and by sweating we can release toxins stored just under the surface of the skin. In winter we don’t sweat naturally, because we tend to keep ourselves covered up and the body doesn’t need to get rid of heat. When you raise the temperature around the body, more blood will flow to the surface, and you will feel warmer because your body is burning more energy in an effort to keep cool.

A once-weekly sauna bath is all it takes to feel the health benefits. People with more time on their hands may use a sauna more than once a week and there would be no harm to the body but less than once a week would lessen the health advantages.

A sauna can be built in to a basement, a sunroom, a garage, or even a spare bedroom. All that is required is a space that is dry and has a level floor. The sauna itself is built as an independent unit, and doesn’t use any existing walls as structural components. The moisture that is generated by a sauna is usually welcome, as humidity levels tend to be too low in our homes in winter.

A sauna large enough for a family of four, is 7’x7’ on the inside and requires a space of approximately 80 square feet in total. Surrounding the sauna, you need a place to relax between sessions in the sauna chamber and a nearby place to cleanse your body before and after, either a shower or a ‘plunge tub’. A 9’x9’ sauna would be large enough for up to a dozen sitting bathers but fewer if they wanted to recline.

A sauna kit will contain all of the necessary components: pre-cut wood, heater, stones, water bucket, and thermometer. A 7’x7’ unit can be built in one day.

The wood used to build a sauna should be toxin-free and rot resistant. Woods such as oak or cedar are not suitable because of the toxins they release at high temperatures. Many North American saunas have been built from cedar. Many people who say they don’t enjoy a sauna actually have a negative reaction to the cedar oil, not to the high temperatures. The optimal wood in a sauna is slow grown pine, which comes from regions with shorter growing seasons and longer winters. The wood has a fine grain with the growth rings closer together. The European way of building saunas is with whole log construction.

Most of today’s saunas are heated by electricity, which is convenient and easy to control, but can be wood-fired if located in a place where electricity isn’t available. The firebox heating unit is located inside the sauna and the surrounding walls are fitted with special heat shields. The same precautions must be followed as when using a wood burning stove in a home, keeping the fire a safe distance away from combustible materials. Extra care must be taken to monitor the use of a wood-fueled sauna, as it is essentially a fire in a wooden box. A wood fueled heater is more powerful than electric when it is full burning, but the heat-up time is the same, about 45 minutes from the time the fire is built. Unlike a hot tub, a sauna doesn’t use any power when not in use.

The Finns say ‘anyone who can walk to the sauna can use it’, meaning it eliminates very small children under two years. Young children need to be carefully supervised because there is a hot stove, but children will generally stay on the floor where it is cooler.

Sauna proponents say the mental and physical relaxation you can experience from a sauna bath simply cannot be achieved any other way. People enjoy a sauna the evening before a day off of work, because you won’t believe how deep and rejuvenating a sleep you can have after a sauna bath.

Plumbing Maintenance tips

Text by RMB Plumbing and Heating

Steps to take, to avoid expensive household damages.

Main water valve.
Check for rusted fittings or small water leaks.
This is your main source of defence from major water damage to your house.

Kitchen, bathroom, laundry room sinks.
Check under all sinks. Look for rusted fittings or green calcium build up.
These are signs of a disaster waiting to happen – i.e. water damage to counters or flooring.
Know where all your shutoff valves are located.

Washing machine hoses
Look for any bubbles in rubber hoses, rusted fittings or valves that won’t shut off.
Hoses can burst. Recommendation: Hoses should be changed every 4 years.

Sump pit
Cycle pump 2 or 3x, twice a year, by running a garden hose into the sump pit.
There is no other way of knowing that the pit is not working properly and should there be a large amount of rainfall, you may come home to a flooded basement.

Hot water tank
Drain your hot water tank once a year.
This prevents sediment and minerals from building up inside, which may cause the hot water tank to be less efficient and may cause premature element failure.

Floor drains
Run water in floor drain (garden hose) for 30 minutes, once a year.
This lets you know if the line is clear or plugged with roots or dirt. Should water backup, you may have major floor and household damage.

Outside taps – in winter
Be sure all outside hoses are removed from outside taps before freeze up.
A connected hose, to an outside tap, prevents proper drainage, causing the faucet to freeze and split.