2008 Latest Edition - Did You Know 3.0 - From Meeting in Rome this Year

Ready to blow your mind?

This video is awesome. Who says the machines won't take over the world?

This is a really cool video full of all sorts of interesting facts that may just blow your mind away about what the future holds. There will be so much, much more, and it will all be different. Although based on statistics to form predictions, stats have long been used for this and is used in business all the time. Sure there may be a little give here and there, but even then the message is still astounding.

Beware of the Doghouse- Hilarious!

This is a great video, and comes to rescue us men just in time for the holidays... avoid the dog house at all costs! But check out this video!

What Syd's Eastside Dugg

http://digg.com/users/AutomotiveParts
If you are writing articles to promote your business, create awareness for your cause or to establish your own professional expertise, you will probably want to add Digg to your publishing resource toolbox.

Even if you are not an article writer, Digg.com seems to have caught on because it allows users to list, promote & view each others news, images & videos found anywhere on the net. So it would also come in handy for photographers, graphic artists, videographers and podcasters, as well.

And being able to recommend not only your own works, but the stuff on the internet that you find and want to share with your friends is really what social networks are all about, anyway. And because of its broad range of coverage, Digg is easily a great tool that is intertwined as a news, photo, art and video promotion service by the online community as a whole.

See what Syd's Eastside has Dugg on Digg:
http://digg.com/users/AutomotiveParts

Our Page on SearchWarp

http://searchwarp.com/Author69559.htm
SearchWarp is also a great place to use for article distribution. But please note that we don't simply write an article and upload it for redistribution on other websites, we usually hold onto them for a period of time before we allow them to be redistributed, thus establishing that our website is the original source for such duplicated content.

Our own article directory can be found in our own Syd's Eastside Auto Parts website Articles section. By keeping an archive of our articles here for some time before redistribution, Googlebot will have scanned our website articles and had any particular article available through search long before it shows up on any article site. This can usually be verified by using the WayBackMachine.

Finally, after a period of time on our own website, we may release any articles we have written through article directories such as SearchWarp.

SearchWarp is a unique website though, because it is more than an article directory. It is also a writer community and offers assistance to those who want to learn how to write, or to learn how to write better. This is why SearchWarp is also identified, to me, as a social networking site, because of the existing community and the effects a membership can have on that community. Plus little contests are run for writing articles on certain subjects as are appropriate and relevant to the time.

Our Page on SearchWarp:
http://searchwarp.com/Author69559.htm

Squidoo

http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/SydsEastside
Squidoo offers great Social Networking Site Integration and Easy Article (Lens) Publishing.

Squidoo offers a great place for those who are interested in articles on any particular subject. Squidoo actually refers to each article as a lens, and their writers as lensmasters. They claim they are doing it just to be difficult, but I gather it has something to do with good old fashioned marketing. It is interesting, though, how they are a popular social networking site without relying so heavily on generic keywords.

Although I found the article editor hard to use because of the lack of good instruction while using it the first time, after posting the lens (article) I easily was able to realize my first time mistakes and will probably get it right the next time. However, if you are using Squidoo to distribute previously written articles, it seems that it might be a little harder to use as simply another distribution outlet because you shouldn't simply copy the article and paste it in as on most article distribution websites such as one of our favorites, SearchWarp.

Our Page on Squidoo:
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/SydsEastside

On Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/people/Rork_Feimer/1625856528
Facebook is actually quite a lot more interesting than I thought it was. It also can act like a homepage for the not-so-geeky oriented who like an easy way to setup a homepage, much like Blogster or CarSpace, but it goes yet further by incorporating many of your other social networking services, too. Its easy to setup groups, as well. It's also easy to upload & share photos and video. Your default public profile page acts as a "wall" that you write on and you can easily communicate with your friends this way.

I suppose some may say that I had cheated, as I had put-up a profile to represent and promote my employer. The name RorK Feimer I used is actually derived from the owners of Syd's Eastside Auto Salvage, Ron & Kathy Feimer. And this may be so, but you have to remember that I am employed to promote the Syd's Eastside Auto Parts website, and not to promote my own websites and business interests. In the same manner, I still want a profile on Facebook that reflects me and my own interests, both personal and business related. On top of that, the business and my opinion may differ on a variety of things.

That said, if I am cheating, so are a great deal of other businesses which are doing the same thing on Facebook. All we are looking for is a profile that we can promote as an employee, while maintaing a separate personal profile for ourselves outside of work.

So, I'm actually not worried about it. Heck, this blog entry will appear on Facebook, anyway. Because Facebook is configured to post my blog entries that I post here on that site, as well. So by adding blog entries here, I am also updating Facebook.

Facebook also supports a variety of other social networking websites. Twitter is one, Digg is another. As these services are updated, so is Facebook.

The Syd's Eastside Auto Parts Page on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/people/Rork_Feimer/1625856528

Twitter

http://twitter.com/AutomotiveParts
Twitter is a microblogging system where users can give shout-outs in 140 character chunks. Although I would honestly recommend allowing up to 255 per post myself (and am often ticked off that it isn't), it is an interesting concept that allows some interactivity between friends. Plus, there are a variety of tools for it that I haven't even explored, yet.

Despite its micro limited posting format, Twitter seems to be not only a decent way to communicate, but also to promote your business, your websites, your blog, your portfolio, your groups and even your causes.

In the long run, Twitter works. But I do think 140 characters is too tightly wound and someone else will probably come along and offer the same idea with a more generous 255 character limit. Perhaps someone already does, and I am yet to find it.

But Twitter has also embedded itself into the social networking scene because a few of the social websites actually display your latest Twitter posts within your public profile page (once you have set it up with your username on Twitter). The result is that by using this one service, you could potentially update several other websites, including your own.

Our Page On Twitter:
http://twitter.com/AutomotiveParts

Edmund's CarSpace

http://www.carspace.com/blogs/autoparts/
Edmunds sponsors a great automotive community website. Both individuals and businesses are welcome to sign-up for free. Each account has a blog available and automotive community groups are easy to start.

Sure, CarSpace is a way to get you into the Edmunds branded websites and further promote their brand. But if you look around their really isn't anything like this for the automotive community that I have found. There really aren't too many niche sites available that are dedicated to the automotive industries for automotive businesses, car clubs, or racing & auto enthusiasts.

I am just starting at CarSpace, but I'm not going to be giving up our blog here and shifting over to their blog, either. For now that will just compliment this one. So for now I'll kind of post there as I discover the website and figure out how we might best make use of its services. Because there is a whole community of like-minded people and a ready established market there to tap into if you know how to do it. Perhaps Syd's Eastside will eventually take that page over if it becomes important for us.

My Page at CarSpace:
http://www.carspace.com/blogs/autoparts/

Delicious

http://delicious.com/SydsEastside
One of the first social networking sites I signed-up a very long time ago was del.icio.us, a worldwide web bookmark (or shortcut) sharing site. Here I have been trying to keep track of all of our own websites, their pages and our pages on other sites that we belong to, though I now see that I have to update it quite a bit with these new listings for the social networking websites I have been joining.

Google also offers a bookmarking service, so that you can access your bookmarks anywhere. But Delicious goes a little further by allowing you to share your bookmarks with the rest of the world.

This is service is actually a fantastic idea and I think it will go far in the future as it has all sorts of possibilities for expansion. Some are already copying the idea (and even the format).

OUR PAGE:
http://delicious.com/SydsEastside

Social Networking Resources

I have honestly been having a bit of fun checking out some of the Social Networking websites and resources that have been appearing in the past couple years. In fact, I've actually been so impressed that I thought that I should post something to the blog about them.

However, I have actually been working on this post for quite a few days, already. There are so many social net websites out there that I was trying to include in this one post that I realized that the only way around this was to split this blog entry into a bunch of little posts that will tell a bit about each site. That way, I don't have to have every single social website pegged in one big post.

Heck, there are still a bunch of these social networking groups out there that I want to check out. Some of these actually have optional tools developed specifically for them, so there are actually little cottage support resource sites for some, built to support them, allowing extra plug-ins or software tools to make them more convenient to use.

What, you may ask, does this have to do with the automotive industry? Well, the truth is that these are often great places for auto enthusiasts, car clubs, as well as neat places to promote auto shops or trade parts. Most allow easy setup, and may support blogging. Some even offer a great place to post news and articles and would be a great way to distribute them to an already large pool of social networking users. Others offer a great place to promote your (auto related) website by allowing the sharing and promotion of bookmarks. Users of these sites that are logged in can sometimes also vote on the materials of the resource(s) in question, making them even more popular or notorious.

One of the very first new trends was the blog and some of these services even allow you to incorporate your current blog.

Remember that as the trends move in the online industry, the automotive industry must adapt, adopt them, and move with them in order to maintain a high profile to the masses or regions that they are targetting as customers and clientel.

So, eat this stuff up guys, because social networking websites utilities, and software applications are not only fun to participate in, but actually strengthen the market and provide new interest.

To most this will be understood, others will have to check it out. But as a webmaster I understand that the security of a managed and constantly updated network is much better than the vulnerability of an open source software based website that is usually chock full of security holes.

And if the security is not an issue, there are other things that should be, like the fact that these social sites already have an established user base, like the fact that your firends and community are probably already online using them.

If nothing else, these are great opportunities to promote your existing website. Yet, they really are so much more.

Anyway, in order to share this information as quickly as possible, I will be spotlighting these social networking websites and tools. Each site or resource will be discussed individually, showcased in their own blog entry. This will also allow me to update them individually, should I need to. And I will always identify each service by through our membership so that you can join us and have a friend on the site.

Look for a bunch of blog entries to follow very shortly.

-Syd's Eastside Auto Parts webmaster

New Used Equipment Section now Online at Diesel Rebuild Parts

I have finally finished putting all the Used Equipment online at our Diesel Rebuild Parts website. This has been a big chore and I am very happy to have it listed in my Mission Accomplished column, now.

If you are interested in any of the heavy equipment, utility trucks or construction vehicles there, we would be glad to help you out with it. Just click on a photo (that isn't marked as sold) in the main Equipment Catalog Index page and you will be presented with more photos and info concerning that item. Our contact information follows the detail page description.

Let me know if you see any spelling errors, or anything that looks strange. I did address a few problems before making that whole section public. But as you know, I'm not perfect.

This section actually comes from a corresponding section on the Syd's Eastside Auto Parts website. We thought that since establishing the Diesel Rebuild Parts website back in June of 2007, that we should move this section to that website where the information is more on-topic and relevant to the website content material, since it is already geared at supporting equipment and truck overhauls.

So, now that this has finally been accomplished, I can go back to promoting our websites as my primary webmaster duty for a little bit (until the next big website project comes along).

LINK:
Used Equipment For Sale Catalog Index

SydsEastside Now Sharing Photos at flickr.com/motorcars/

Syd's Eastside has joined up with flickr and setup a small photo stream sharing resource at http://www.flickr.com/motorcars/.

Since the practice of showing off our used cars and trucks catalog online requires that we take some photographs of the vehicles, we have decided that instead of Copyrighting these photos and then keeping them all to ourselves, we will share them with the world. At first we were looking for our own web application to do this from one of our own websites, but preliminary trials on some of the applications available showed that most of the freeware and registered shareware open source software applications that are supposed to perform these duties are purely incapable of doing so. Almost every application we installed failed miserably (even the registered shareware we paid for a license for).

In our hunt for a manageable online photo album application, we found flickr.com, and so far it is offering us the most reliability. However, we are continuing to investigate other possible web application solutions that we can host ourselves so that we can utilize our photography to more fully promote our brands.

Although we are currently only just getting started at flickr, which is currently a Yahoo! property, I think I was able to upload a nice little assortment of cars that we have had listed for sale in our Used Autos: Cars & Trucks For Sale section of the website.

While we are still looking for a more configurable solution that we can control more fully as a web application on one of our online properties, it certainly is good to have this option available from flickr. Unfortunately, flickr.com also stifles its user creativity by limiting its membership to only 3 sets (albums) of photos each. This drastically limits the free membership's ability to categorize photos accurately. I suppose they have to do something to get members to the paid membership program, though.

I'm not sure if it will work here, but one nice feature of flickr is the ability to easily create a slideshow of your photos that you can share from your other websites. Let's see if Google will support it...



It appears to work, although I am seeing an error from the Adobe FlashPlayer 9. Perhaps there is some incompatibility issues here on the Blogger pages? For now, I'll just leave it up. If anyone has a fix for this, be sure to let me know, I would appreciate it. If the error gets too anoying I'll just put it on some other page and point a link on the blog to where I put it. ;)

Thanks!

-Syd's Eastside

Classic Restoration Project Vehicles For Sale on eBay!

We have added a couple of vehicles that would be absolute choice classic car/truck restoration projects to eBay auctions... a 1950 Chevrolet 4100 split-windshield dump truck capable of hauling over 5 tons, and a 1969 Ford Thunderbird with a 429 Thunder Jet engine and a Positrack 9 inch rear end!

Both vehicles can be seen at the shop and are available online for bidding at eBay.

Or click on the photos of either classic to see its eBay listing:

1950 Chevrolet 4100 split-windshield 5.5 ton gravel dump truck with turn signal accessory kit and floor start pedal switch. I (Doug, the webmaster) was actually hoping to nab this for myself, but the owner has decided to put it up for auction. The cab body, doors, fenders, grill and front bumber assembly all seems to be in very good shape with only minor dents to bang out. Unfortunately, there is no title, though we might be able to get one as it had been abandoned for over 3 years.


1969 Ford Thunderbird with a 429 Thunder Jet engine and PosiTrack 9 inch rear end. This classic coupe is a rare find with what I view as considerably straight body lines. Most of the chrome trim appears to be there, including some of the more rare chrome trim parts. Although there is some rust, I honestly think that it is minimal for such a find. The trunk floor seems to be rotted out, but the rest of the body parts look restorable with a little muss and fuss. Plus, it has a clean title. It even starts (although we have no key), runs, drives and stops!

Looking For A Good Home...
Hopefully, these units will find a good home. We could have parted them out ourselves, but we are hopeful that someone will want to invest the time and money required in making them real show-stoppers, again. However, we have no restrictions on thier sale, as we know there are many Ford racers who might want that 429 Thunder Jet engine and 9 inch rear end, as well.

Other Vehicles For Sale:
Syd's Eastside Auto Parts always has a selection of used vehicles listed for sale online in the Used Cars & Trucks For Sale section of the website, if you aren't interested in investing a ton of money and time to restore an older classic car or truck, but would like to find a good running vehicle.

UPDATE (April 4th, 2008):
Although neither vehicle sold last week, there was quite a bit of interest in both of them. We might be selling the Thunderbird to a private party soon, and we are looking into getting a title for the abandoned Chevrolet 4100 dump truck.

Thanks to all who expressed an interest in these vehicles or even just checked them out!

-Syd's Eastside

New Line of Remanufactured Automotive & Diesel Components Now Available Through Syd's Eastside & DRP

JASPER Remanufactured (Reman) Engines, Transmissions, Differentials, Marine & Electric Motors are Now Availabile at Syd's Eastside Auto and Diesel Rebuild Parts

Syd's Eastside Auto Parts is pleased to announce that we have acquired the sales rights for the nation's largest remanufacturer of gas and diesel engines, transmissions, differentials, marine products, performance products, alternate fuel engines and electric motors; JASPER Engines & Transmissions®. As JASPER covers both passenger automotive and heavy truck drivetrain applications as well as marine and electric motors, JASPER remanufactured (reman) engines, transmissions and differentials will be available through both of our websites at SydsAutoParts.com and DieselRebuildParts.com. We are currently updating the content on these two websites to reflect our new capabilities to offer the JASPER remanufactured parts line which was finalized last December, 2007.

JASPER offers remanufactured products that provide quality second to none. Their product line includes remanufactured gas engines, diesel engines, transmissions, differentials, marine components, electric motors and more. JASPER has even taken the lead in alternative fuels as an aggressive remanufactured engines converter for LP, CNG and Flex Fuel. JASPER has been an industry leader delivering superior quality remanufactured (reman) automotive products since 1942.

The following is an incomplete list of products in the JASPER Engines & Transmissions remanufactured product line:

LIGHT DUTY
• Gasoline Engines for passenger cars, light duty trucks, harsh duty trucks, industrial (non-automotive) applications, marine and high performance.
• Alternate Fuel Applications (LP, CNG & Flex Fuel) installation kits.
• Radiators
• Commercial Duty Engines such as for fire trucks, ambulance, recreational vehicles, towing, limousines and passenger cars.
• Marine Components include gas engines, stern drives, outboard motor units and velvet drives.
• Transmissions - front & rear wheel drive, domestic or asian, and automatic, standard or performance. And transfer cases, too.
• Commercial Duty Transmissions for recreational vehicles, towing and passenger cars.
• Differentials - Front & Rear in cars and trucks, Dana/Spicer, for Chrysler, Dodge, Ford and GM.

HEAVY DUTY
• Diesel Engines, both domestic and import, from midrange truck to industrial applications.
• Transmissions for transit or industrial/non-automotive applications as well as Highway Allisons.
• Differentials for trucks as well as industrial/non-automotive applications.

ELECTRIC MOTORS
• New Motors in Stock (AC & DC) fractional to 400 hp: Baldor, Marathon, Weg.
• Generators (Bus)
• Submersible Pumps

ALTERNATE FUEL
• Engines - LP, CNG and Flex Fuel.
• Parts
• Small Gas Engine Conversion Kits

PERFORMANCE ENGINES
• Through JASPER's Close Association with Penske:
• Class II Street rods, restored muscle cars & trucks, four wheel drive vehicles, recreational vehicles, towing & marine applications.
• Class III Racing

PERFORMANCE TRANSMISSIONS
• Class II Street rods, restored muscle cars & trucks, four wheel drive vehicles, recreational vehicles, towing & marine applications.
• Class III Racing

JASPER Authentic Custom Drivetrains
• Custom-built drivetrains
• Restored muscle cars and trucks
• Performance upgrades.

...and this is only a partial list.
Please call us for your individual needs.
1-800-505-5119


JASPER remanufactured products are built to industry specifications that are equal to or more exact than those used by the original equipment manufacturer. Every JASPER remanufactured product is thoroughly tested and/or inspected for quality assurance. And JASPER remanufactured products are backed by nationwide warranties - up to 3 years or 10,000 miles.

Why Reman?
The Remanufactured Difference Is...
The terms rebuilt and remanufactured are technically different:

Rebuilt

To rebuild is to recondition by cleaning, inspecting and replacing severely worn or broken parts. Serviceable parts which are found to be within the manufacturer's acceptable wear limits are reused.

Remanufactured

To remanufacture is to make as close to new as possible. The restoration of a component to the manufacturer's original performance and dimensional specifications, with updates as applicable. Most wearable parts are automatically replaced without regard to condition. All core material is closely inspected and checked against original equipment specifications for correct dimensional tolerances. Replacement parts are new and made in the same production process as the original equipment. Testing is performed to manufacturer specifications and original production standards.

Remanufactured products from JASPER provide a better value for your money, cost less and offer a substantial alternative to purchasing used vehicles of unknown performance or a new vehicle at great cost which depreciates immediately.

The bottom line is value, and JASPER remanufactured products provide more bang per buck in terms of longevity, durability and performance... what else is there? Give us a call for your best prices on JASPER remanufactured automotive products! 1-800-505-5119

Links:
Syd's Eastside Auto Parts
Diesel Rebuild Parts