Summer Trip - Dream or Nightmare?

By Dave Trux

Nothing can ruin a summer vacation faster than being on the road and having your vacation cut short or interrupted because of a car repair. This is where preventative maintenance can make the difference between having a dream vacation or a nightmare.

Be sure that your car is ready for an extended road trip by having it thoroughly checked over before you take off. Are all your fluids in good condition or do they need to be flushed or replaced? Are your belts and hoses up to snuff? Do your tires have enough tread left to get back home safely? Are they inflated properly and do they have even wear? These are some of the most basics things to be aware of.

You will want to be proactive as you prepare and look forward to that summer adventure. Again, you don’t want to ruin it with unexpected surprises. Be sure to pay attention to all the things that are affected by heat, like belts, hoses, air conditioning and basic engine fluids. Those are your most common points of failure that can lead to bigger problems. You will want to stay away from having to rent a car to continue the trip while your vehicle is in an unfamiliar shop in the middle of nowhere. Not every shop is reputable, especially when a customer is in a vulnerable position and needs their car back in one piece.

At Valley Motorwerks, we offer a free pre-trip inspection check. We’ll be happy to look at your BMW, Mini, Volkswagen or Audi vehicle to give you greater peace of mind before you leave. We’d prefer to point things out to you before you leave rather than having your car break down and ruin your trip. 

The Dreaded Broken Screen

By Alika Salazar

Of all the repairs we do on mobile phones here at iParts, broken screens are definitely the most common. Is it just me, or are the manufacturers making phone screens more fragile than ever?

The most common cause of a broken screen is when a person drops their phone on the ground. A lot of our customers tell us that they forgot that their phone was on their lap and when they got up out of a chair in their home or a seat in their car. Of course, when the phone falls to the ground and breaks, their memory comes back!

Most people mistakenly believe that if their phone falls on a soft surface, like carpet or grass, it will withstand the impact. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. While it's true that hard surfaces like concrete, asphalt, tile and wood floors will increase the odds of a broken screen, soft surfaces can also cause a screen to break.

Are dropped cell phones the only causes of cracked screens? No, cracked screens can be caused by a variety of other impact related issues. I've worked on phones that were broken by objects being dropped on them, like a weight during a work out. I've even seen screens broken while in the owners pocket! If the owner should fall, hit a sharp corner or smack some other hard object against the phone while it is in their pocket, the screen can break. These situations are more common that you might imagine.

For these reasons, I strongly recommend putting a protective case on your phone as well as a glass screen protector.  We do have protective cases and glass screen protectors in all three of our stores and they are very reasonably priced, especially when you compare it to the cost and inconvenience of a glass screen repair. There are several different types of cases. There’s a silicone case, a TPU case, and a combination of rubber and plastic cases. There is also the three piece cases that are really heavy duty military grade cases for maximum protection against breakage.

Personally, I prefer a really thin case with a glass screen protector over a bulky case. For those reasons, I’m really careful with my hi tech friend, but in case I do break it, at least I have a reliable place to get it fixed!

The Holistic Chiropractor

By Dr. Beth Blakely

My patients often ask me why I became a chiropractor. I’ve had a lifelong interest in taking care of the body naturally. As a kid, my grandmother and father both enjoyed great success with regular visits to a chiropractor in the small town where I grew up. My dad was injured in several auto accidents and his chiropractor was the only person who really helped him. The difference it made in my father was huge. He had vision problems and all kinds of issues that were corrected with an upper cervical chiropractic technique, which is one of the techniques that I do. That’s what really pushed me into chiropractic. Here are a few other frequently asked questions.

Q: How did your interests evolve from chiropractic to also include holistic care?

A: What I’ve seen over the years is an obvious change in our environment. We’re exposed to a lot of toxic chemicals that are really affecting our immune systems and our digestive systems. I realized that for some patients, treating the spine was all they needed but there were always those few people that just didn’t seem to get well. Those were the ones that bothered me and I just felt like I had to figure out why.

Q: Can a toxic environment deplete or destroy a person’s health?

A: Absolutely! We know now that so many health issues are caused by depleted immune systems. Another area of the body I pay close attention to is the digestive system and how it affects our immune system. I saw a huge void in treatment protocol with other doctors. I’ve made that my focus so that I can tailor treatment protocols to patients and their needs.

Q: What happens during the first visit?

A: The initial visit takes about 45 minutes to an hour. I like to sit down and talk to the patient, get to know them and have a thorough understanding of everything that’s going on in their life. I have a thorough questionnaire and I request records from other facilities because most patients have been everywhere else. Unfortunately, I’m the end of the line for some people.

Q: How is your approach different from conventional medicine?

A: Conventional medicine wants to give you pills and perform surgery. I don’t want you to have to do that. I want you to get well and let your body heal on its own. I always do a thorough consultation, examination and x-rays if they’re indicated, along with the health appraisal questionnaire.

Q: What are the main things you look for when you do a holistic evaluation on a new patient?

A: There are four things I look for: 1. Undetected Nerve Damage. 2. Nutritional Deficiencies. 3. Hormonal Imbalances. 4. Toxicity. I’ve treated many people that have undetected nerve damage after they have been injured in automobile accidents. They think they’re okay, but they can suffer years down the road from the degenerative process that started with the accident.

Q: Do you offer specific help for people that are involved in auto accidents and personal injury?

A: Yes. I treat a lot of personal injury cases with great success.

Editor’s notes: Dr. Beth Blakely is a chiropractor that specializes in holistic health care practices. She can be reached at (916) 944-1444.

The Founding Father of Self-Improvement Mrs. Silence Dogood

By Bob Cox

When Orville Redenbacher (born 1907) shared his philosophy on TV about why his popcorn tasted better than his competitors, he proudly stated the virture of doing one thing and doing it better than anyone else. Apparently, one of our nation’s founding fathers failed to see that commercial. Perhaps being born two centuries prior to Redenbacher and the abscence of television had something to do with it.

Nevertheless, Benjamin Frankin (born 1706) might be best remembered as the human incarnation of the swiss army knife. Franklin was an accomplished printer, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, diplomat and author. He was a true jack of all trades and a master of many. At the core of his many interests was a insatiable thirst for knowledge that only a love of reading would quench.

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1706. His father Josiah wanted Ben to attend school with the clergy, but only had enough money to send him to school for two years. Franklin’s formal education ended when he was just ten. This didn’t stop young Ben as he continued to educate himself through voracious reading habits.

Two years later, he became an apprentice to his brother James, who taught Ben the printing trade. When Ben was 15, James founded The New-England Courant, which was the first truly independent newspaper in the colonies. During this time, Ben had developed an interest in writing for the paper; however, his brother rejected his request. Ben conceived a clever way around his brother by improvising the pseudonym of "Mrs. Silence Dogood", a middle-aged widow. Mrs. Dogood's letters instantly became the topic of conversation around town. Neither James nor the Courant's readers were aware of the ruse. When James finally discovered that the middle-aged widow was actually his brother, he was shocked and humiliated!

The following year, Franklin became a staunch advocate of free speech when his brother was jailed for three weeks in 1722 for publishing material unflattering to the governor. Franklin took over the reigns of the paper and proclaimed under the Dogood column: "Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech."

By the time he was old enough to drink (age 21), Franklin, formed a group called the Junto. This was an organization of like minded aspiring individuals that strived to improve themselves and their community. Reading was a great pastime of the Junto, but books were rare and expensive. The members initially created a library that was assembled from their own collection of books. Eventually, Franklin came up with the idea of a subscription library by gathering the funds from all the members to buy books for the entire organization. This was the birth of the Library Company of Philadelphia and its charter was composed by Franklin in 1731. Today, the Library Company is now a world renowned research library with over half a million rare books, pamphlets and manuscripts.

The foundation of Franklin’s brilliance and amazing accomplishments was a relentless pursuit of knowledge and enlightenment. In spite of all the early obstacles, Franklin was like a powerful surge of water rushing down a mountain, bending around every object that stood in his way.

The next time you’re confronted by a problem that looks like an immovable boulder, take a page out of Mrs. Dogood’s library and explore every possible way around it. Be the water upon the mountain of life.