Benchmarking

Internet Marketing might be something that you dabble in yourself, or even specialise in as a company. If this is the case, then it may well be difficult to persuade people that you need to go along. However, think of a day out at an Internet Marketing training session as an opportunity to go and benchmark. You will be able to see just how efficient your strategies are in comparison not only with those of the company presenting the seminar, but also with other delegates attending the seminar. See just how effective your methods are by measuring them against those being presented to you, and you will no doubt have something new and exciting to take back with you.

Poaching Ideas

As well as being able to measure your techniques against other peoples, a day out at an Internet Marketing training session is bound to raise some new ideas for you that might just complement your existing methods very nicely. It’s always interesting to see how other people do things, and if you attend a seminar with an open mind, it’s amazing what you can learn. Whether it’s some basic hints that can provide you with fantastic shortcuts or ways to make life easier; or even having a complicated element of search marketing that you have forever steered clear of explained to you in layman’s terms, there is always something to be learned from others.

Motivation to Implement

Whilst both you and your boss may see an Internet Marketing training seminar as an excuse to escape the working day, it may well be something that enhances every other working day of the year. There is nothing like learning new things to not only get you motivated when you get back to work, but also to get your creativity sky-rocketing. During the seminar you will be presented with so much food for thought, that once you get back into the office, you simply won’t be able to stop the ideas from flowing. And what’s more, you’ll really have the motivation to implement those ideas and kick yourself back into action.

Networking Opportunities

Finally, Internet Marketing training seminars provide a wonderful platform from which to network and create new business contacts. Whether you only speak to the people sitting on your left and right; you make great friends with the smokers on their cigarette breaks; or you mingle for all your worth during the lunch hour, you never know who’s business cards you will take away with you. These sessions are a great way to meet new contacts, and to get your company’s name heard in a new and different circle; and you never know, you may even take back some hot leads that you can follow up on your return to the office.

So, do you still fancy taking time out to go to an Internet Marketing training session? If so, armed with this list of benefits and bonuses there’s no way your boss will be able to refuse. Look forward to that day away from your desk!

About The Author:

Frank Orman is the Managing Director of LeadGenerators, a full-service Online Marketing agency specialising in Internet Marketing Training in London. LeadGenerators offers online marketing solutions to achieving first-rate sales conversions for your business.

Two-Way Radios and Walkie Talkies.

Today, it’s so easy for haulage companies to contact their drivers when they’re out on the road, however, it hasn’t always been so simple. In the days before mobile phones, people relied on two-way radios and walkie talkies to make contact, and to find out where to go next to pick up their next load. However, this radio contact would only work within a certain radius, meaning that it was only effective if haulage work took place at a distance of about twenty miles or less from the base. So, what happened if the driving took you further afield and outside of radio communication?

Phone Cards

Haulage companies relied as much in days gone by as they do now, on filling lorries with backloads, and pointing drivers in the direction they are to go in next. However, once out of radio range, this became rather difficult. To combat this problem, drivers would be sent on their way with a pre-paid or freephone phone card. Provided they could find a working phone box on the side of the road, this phone card would allow them to make contact with the base to find out whether there were any backloads in the area. The card would also eliminate the necessity to have pockets bulging with loose change for use in phone boxes. However, unfortunately the cards were linked to the phone number of the base only, so a quick natter with the wife was never an option.

Pagers

As time went on and technology developed, the invention of pagers certainly began to make life a little easier for haulage companies. Rather than scouring the towns and countryside for a working phone box each time they made a delivery, drivers could assume that if they did not receive a page, they were free to return to the base. Unfortunately however, if a driver did receive a page, they still had to find a phone box in order to call back and find out where they were to go next. Pagers cut out a lot of the legwork for drivers whilst they were on the road, however they did not rule out use of the traditional phone box entirely.

Maps

This way of working and never being quite sure where you were going to end up next must have wreaked havoc in the days before haulage companies had access to GPS systems and satellite navigation. Drivers would have needed to be kept supplied with up to date road atlases and street maps of every region they were likely to visit, as well as needing to keep a pen and paper in the cab to write down the addresses of their deliveries. It certainly sounds easier now that Google maps and Sat Nav can do the directing.

So, life has certainly got easier for drivers and haulage companies with the introduction of technology. Filling backloads and making extra deliveries is a whole lot less hassle when you don’t have to trawl the side roads for a working phone box.

About The Author:

Norman Dulwich is a Correspondent for Haulage Exchange, the leading online trade network for the road transport industry across the UK and Europe. It provides services for haulage companies companies to buy and sell road transport and freight exchange in the domestic and international markets

Thank you for visiting Travel Articles Directory. Feel free to use any of our travel writing articles for your own website, on the condition that you also take the link we have included in the text. Check back for more travel writing soon; we’re uploading more original travel articles all the time!

This article was provided by LeadGenerators, the smartest SEO agency in London. 

The Roadkill Café located on America’s famous Mother Road has a menu that would make even the most adventurous delivery worker blanch at the gills. For starters, would Sir like the flat cat or the thumper-on-the-bumper, a rabbit dish which claims on the menu to be a Disney favourite? The choices are endless and get worse as the menu goes on. The mains include rigor mortis tortoise and chunk of skunk, while a further section of the menu is devoted entirely to man’s best friend, with dishes including collie-hit-by-a-trolley and German Shepherd Pie. The restaurant’s speciality is named Guess That Mess and diners that successfully guess the species of the flattened animal on their plate will receive their dish for free.

If you catch sight of the cocktail menu, you will be pleased that you’re carrying out delivery work and therefore can’t sample any of these alcoholic concoctions. Bucket Delight contains gravel and if you finish the whole item you’ll receive it for free. The Crank Case Slip is road-killed squirrel mixed with oil and churned with ice.

In case you hadn’t already guessed the name of the café and the menu is a joke. The joint is actually better known for its charbroiled burgers, than for the unidentified road kill which it claims to serve. The diner is now something of an institution and, whereas trades descriptions officers would have a field-day if such a store opened in the UK, patrons are keen to munch on their charbroiled burgers and imagine that they really are chewing on the fillet of a flattened cat.

Delivery workers who are particular about how their steaks and burgers are cooked will love the Roadkill Cafe, as guests are invited into the kitchen to watch the chef cook their meat and then signal when their burger is cooked to their satisfaction. The café is located near to the site of the old OK Saloon, which still holds relics from its Cowboy past. If you have some spare time after carrying out your delivery work then you may want to take a visit to both this venue and the old Arizona Territorial Jail which stands opposite and used to host such notorious outlaws as Four-Finger Frank and Seligman Slim.

If a charbroiled burger and a visit to an old prison just can’t compete with your disappointment at not sampling any real roadkill, then you may want to head to the namesake restaurant in Darwin, Australia. The restaurant serves flattened fauna from the Australian Highway and like its Arizonan counterpart has the slogan ‘You kill it, we grill it’. The chef, Mark, claims that no food is ever wasted and crocodile, emu, camel, wallaby, possum and kangaroo all make an appearance on the menu. The Roadkill Café’s claim to fame is Sheela, a 3.5m saltwater crocodile that was caught in the bay at the adjacent Mindil Beach Markets and who then met her end when her captors took her to the Roadkill Café. Her skull stands on the front of the barbecue grill like a trophy and this incredible catch has yet to be beaten.

Lyall Cresswell is the Managing Director of Haulage Exchange, the leading online trade network for the road transport industry across the UK and Europe. It provides services for delivery work to buy and sell road transport and freight exchange in the domestic and international markets.

The self-proclaimed intergalactic courier company was started by the Professor in order to fund his research. Although the company scrapes by it is always in fierce competition with Moms Friendly Delivery Company, a cornerstone of MomCorp, which although appears to be owned by a sweet, frail old lady is in actual fact owned by a manipulative director, who will stop at no means to make her company succeed. So ruthless are her business strategies that it’s a wonder that the friendly courier workers at Planet Express manage to survive at all, but this they do thanks to their complete disregard for health and safety laws and the minimum wage; the Professor has even be known to accept the occasional bribe. With a company slogan that reads ‘Our crew is expendable, your package isn’t’ you can’t help but feel that the crew of Planet Express would be better off working self-employed courier jobs.

The Professor may be the bane of the courier worker’s lives, yet despite many changes of owner throughout the series, the business always manages to fall back into his capable hands. Cubert and Dwight inherited the courier work business from the Professor during one fateful episode in which he was declared dead. During their management the company was renamed ‘Awesome Express’ and grew to be more even more profitable than Planet Express, until it emerged that the two boys were not carrying out any deliveries during their courier work, but rather depositing all the parcels on a crater on the moon.

Although Planet Express carries out courier work in every corner of the galaxy, the headquarters are based in New York City on the corner of West 57th Street and Henry Hudson Parkway. The building is one of Planet Express’s only three assets, which also include the famous green delivery ship and a servant robot, known simply as 1-X.

The Planet Express headquarters are built upon a green limestone cavern and contain five separate floors, with rooms consisting of the Professor’s laboratory, the main hangar, a kitchen, living room and even a room entitled ‘The Accusing Parlour’, which in used in one episode to solve a murder; not quite the typical courier office that you are most likely accustomed to then!

But whilst Futurama may provide viewers with an entertaining look at work in a courier company it also raises some questions about courier work in the future. After all how long can it be until we swap our trusted white vans for pea-green spaceships and start taking up self-employed courier jobs on the planet Zorg?

Lyall Cresswell is the Managing Director of Courier Exchange, the world’s largest neutral trading hub for the Sameday courier and express freight exchange industry. Over 2,500 transport exchange businesses are networked together through their website, trading courier jobs and capacity in a safe ‘wholesale’ environment.

Google may be a giant…

…but it might be a mistake to think of it as your enemy. If Google is a business, then what is its product? That�s right – your website, along with the millions of others that are on the Internet today. And their customers? The searchers. It may seem as if Google haphazardly throws together search results with little regard for the searcher, or what it is that they are looking for. However, this approach would certainly not be in the best interests of the search engine. Google works on a strict relationship-marketing basis, i.e. it is the relationship with the searchers that is important to them. As such, it is crucial for them to ensure that the search results they provide are as relevant and as specific as they possibly can be. The rules and standards that are in place with regard to optimisation are not there to catch you out; they are there to produce higher quality search results.

Why Wear a White Hat?

It�s all too easy to assume that Google has grown so big and so clever, that it won�t notice a bit of spam here and there, but don�t be so sure. There are many black-hat SEO-ers out there, who attempt to beat the search engine systems using spamming techniques such as keyword stuffing, hidden links, doorway pages, and link farming. However, whilst these somewhat underhand strategies might work temporarily, they will only be successful until the next time your site is indexed, at which point the chances are the search engine spider will pick up on your spam. If this happens, you can expect your site to drop out of the rankings once and for all (or for a very long time). So why wear a white hat? Because Google�s rules and regulations are in place to ensure that they can provide the best possible search results. Better to win yourself good rankings by abiding by the rules, than to risk having no rankings at all.

Working hand in hand

Whatever other pies it may dip its fingers into, Google�s priority remains delivering good search results to its customers. By doing this, they ensure that searchers will return to Google, rather than using another search engine. By putting in place rules and regulations that relate to keyword frequency, title/meta tags, and other aspects of SEO, they can be sure that the highest ranking sites are the most relevant. So, if we keep these guidelines in mind, we are not only helping Google retain customers by providing them with the best possible products to work with, but we are helping ourselves to gain customers by achieving the best possible rankings.

So, whilst it is important not to under-estimate Google, it is important not to be scared of it either. A giant it may be, but in essence a friendly one. Taking a white hat approach to SEO and working hand in hand with Google will not only help them to provide good search results, but your ranking results will reap the benefits. This is important to any industry sector, not just those working towards travel marketing solutions online.

Frank Orman is the Managing Director of LeadGenerators, an SEO marketing agency providing travel marketing solutions online in London. LeadGenerators offers online marketing solutions to achieve first-rate sales conversions for your business.

Bulldogs with Brucellosis

If your unneutered Fido’s been doing it doggy style with a pooch in a park, he may have contracted brucellosis. Bulldogs aren’t the only canine critters to contract brucellosis, but with their low slung anatomy they carry a higher risk rate than some other breeds. Once contracted, brucellosis spreads to the lymph nodes and the spleen. It also affects the prostrate, uterus and placenta making them sterile or severely reducing their fertility. In a pregnant pooch, litters of puppies can be stillborn or die immediately after birth. Male dogs will suffer from swollen testes, which will shrink soon after the initial swelling. Lesions may appear on the testes as a result of over-licking the swollen area. Other symptoms include a dull coat, inflamed eyes and arthritis. If you think your pooch may have contracted brucellosis, your vet can carry out STD testing. However, there is no cure and if Fido is found to be a carrier then he’ll have the disease for life.

Felines with FeLV

If your Fluffy’s been enjoying late night dalliances with the ginger tom from 29B, then you may want to take her to the vet for STD testing. Fluffy may have contracted FeLV, the feline equivalent of the human AIDs virus. FeLV attacks the white blood cells and leaves the cat vulnerable to infection. Lethargy, weight loss and poor appetite are all symptoms, and eight out of ten cats die within three years of catching the infection. If your vet’s STD testing is positive for FeLV then unfortunately there is no cure. Your cat will need to be kept away from other cats as the disease can also be passed from sharing food bowls and close contact with infected cats. All kittens receive vaccines for both FeLV and FIV and it is important that your cat keeps up to date with her boosters to prevent her from catching the virus.

Koalas with Chlamydia

In Queensland, Chlamydia is a huge problem among the resident koala population. In fact, the STD is so prevalent that experts are worried that the koalas could become extinct within 30 years. Chlamydia in koalas can’t be passed on to humans, but in the marsupial common symptoms include blindness and infertility. STD testing isn’t usually needed as a common sign that the koala is infected with the STD is a dirty tail or a wet discoloured patch on their bottom. In both humans and koalas, Chlamydia can be treated with a course of antibiotics but this requires a daily dosage, so is only really possible with an already captive animal. Stress from habitat loss, dogs, and cars all play a part in the increase in incidences of Chlamydia symptoms.

Tim Leach is part of USALabTesting that can provide a confidential, online STD testing at over 2,000 other clinics across the USA. We have a large range of STD tests available and getting peace of mind is discreet, easy and painless.

Thank you for visiting Travel Articles Directory. Feel free to use any of our travel writing articles for your own website, on the condition that you also take the link we have included in the text. Check back for more travel writing soon; we’re uploading more original travel articles all the time!

This article was provided by LeadGenerators, the smartest SEO agency in London

HIV/AIDS

Unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex means that you may be at risk from HIV, which you may not always detect. Sharing needles or syringes will also leave you at risk of contracting the virus. With minor symptoms that pass within a week or a month such as headaches, rashes, fatigue, sore throat and swollen lymph glands, many people who have contracted HIV have put the symptoms down to other illnesses, general tiredness or simply feeling as though they are ‘run down’. Symptoms which are more obvious or persistent may not show themselves for around ten years, in which time you may have passed the virus to others. Although incurable, if untreated you may pass HIV on to other people and are also at risk of it progressing to AIDS, which is a life-threatening disease. By getting an STD panel, you can find out whether you have HIV and be advised and treated accordingly.

Chlamydia

Known as the ’silent disease’, chlamydia often shows no symptoms, especially in women and in the early stages of contracting it. Chlamydia can be passed through unprotected sex, whether it is vaginal, anal or oral. Although it rarely shows any symptoms and is not life-threatening, it is still a disease which, if left untreated, can cause infertility in women. Cured with a simple course of antibiotics, it is better to catch chlamydia with an STD panel sooner rather than later before you pass it on to other partners.

Genital Herpes

Genital herpes sometimes has no symptoms, making it hard to spot. Symptoms that do arise include itching, pain during urination, and open sores, bumps or blisters on the vagina or penis. This disease is incurable and can be passed through vaginal or anal intercourse, and oral sex can result in oral herpes. By finding out whether you have genital herpes by taking an STD panel, you can ensure that you do not pass on this disease to others, and medicine can be given to you in order to lower severity of symptoms if they do arise.

Gonorrhea

Gonorrhea is a disease that can be caught through unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex and can sometimes go undetected, especially in men. It can cause bloody discharge from the penis or vagina, and infertility or increased risk of ectopic pregnancy in women. With up to ten percent of women becoming infertile from gonorrhea, it is important to get an STD panel as soon as possible, since the disease can be cured simply with antibiotics.

Hepatitis B

Around thirty percent of people who have contracted Hepatitis B will have no symptoms whatsoever. This disease causes liver damage in the people that contract it and is incurable. However medicine to help the liver fight the disease is given if you find that you have Hepatitis B. With STD panels able to pick this disease up, it is important that you have one in order to reduce the chance of liver damage.

Spotting the Signs of Infections and Diseases as Soon as Possible

With many of the diseases showing only mild symptoms or none at all, finding out about them sooner rather than later will decrease your chances of longer-lasting problems. In some cases it may even save your life, as well as the lives of others. This is why having an STD panel is very important and you should take one whenever you have a possibility of being at risk.

Tim Leach is part of USALabTesting that can provide a confidential, online STD panel at over 2,000 other clinics across the USA. We have a large range of STD tests available and getting peace of mind is discreet, easy and painless.

Thank you for visiting Travel Articles Directory. Feel free to use any of our travel writing articles for your own website, on the condition that you also take the link we have included in the text. Check back for more travel writing soon; we’re uploading more original travel articles all the time!

This article was provided by LeadGenerators, the smartest SEO agency in London

The Beach

Set on a remote island off the mainland of Thailand, The Beach tells the story of a hidden community of travellers that have separated themselves from civilisation, and enjoy a life of fishing, swimming, and beach cricket.  The secret community can be joined only by those who are handed a map showing them the way to the beach.  The island is owned by drug farmers, who have sown their marijuana seeds far and wide, and who are happy to turn a blind eye to the odd handful of cannabis that makes its way back into the traveller’s camp from their fields.  However, when the map to the island is allowed to fall into too many other hands, the marijuana seeds farmers take matters into their own hands, driving the island-dwellers off the island and forcing them to return to their everyday lives.

Without a Paddle

This comedy is a laugh-a-minute tale about three friends who set off to fulfil a childhood promise to a friend. They have promised to track down the $200,000 that went missing when plane hijacker DB Cooper parachuted to his death over Oregon State.  There follows numerous adventures including canoeing down the Columbia River and risking the rapids; a grizzly mother bear who is determined that one of the group is her cub; and various other hilarious disasters.  Hot on their trail the whole time are two mountain men, whose stash of marijuana they find when they choose their barn as a hiding place.  The farmers chase the three friends across several fields of marijuana seeds, firing at them with ammunition that proceeds to set fire to their crops.  After watching their weed go up in smoke, it’s no wonder these farmers are hot on the trail of the adventurous trio. 

How High

This film looks at the planting of marijuana seeds on a much smaller scale, but is still just as amusing.  Two students who grow their own cannabis decided to use the ashes of a deceased friend as fertiliser to help their marijuana seeds grow.  They didn’t bank on the fact that every time they smoked any cannabis from that plant their friend would reappear as a ghost.  With the help of a spirit, they’re able to procure the answers for tests and exams, which give them the results to walk straight into Harvard.  However, the double act comes unstuck when a friend uses up all but the very dregs of their supply, leaving them to face their finals unaided.        

Whether it is a field of cannabis, or just a plant pot into which a few marijuana seeds have been scattered, there are many films that chronicle the mishaps that can occur when you interfere with those growing marijuana in the movies.

Robert Kane is the web editor of Sensible Seeds. Based in the UK, the company offers you the chance to buy marijuana seeds  online at very competitive prices. They also offer a wealth of other products to browse as well as online articles and forum discussions.

Thank you for visiting Travel Articles Directory. Feel free to use any of our travel writing articles for your own website, on the condition that you also take the link we have included in the text. Check back for more travel writing soon; we’re uploading more original travel articles all the time!

This article was provided by LeadGenerators, the smartest SEO agency in London.

It is estimated that there are 505,000 truckers in the UK, only 4% of which are women. That means that there are 20,200 female truckers in the UK. While the percentage may be low, the figure itself is not too shabby, and serves to remind us that women are an integral part of the trucker community.

Throughout the history of trucking, transport contracts and haulage, famous female truckers pop up every now and then, grabbing the media’s attention. Recently, a British woman has made it into the The Guardian, where she is interviewed about her non-traditional occupation: trucking.

Carrie Greenslade

The Guardian’s featured female trucker was Carrie Greenslade. Carrie has been a trucker for 20 years, loving her career. Described in The Guardian as anything but a stereotypical trucker, Carrie is a small, friendly woman. She loves exercise and the outdoors, and is the proud mother of four children. Everything about Carrie is just about the opposite of a trucking stereotype. In fact, she fits the housewife bill possibly more than the trucking bill. But Carrie is a shining example of a woman who defies a male-dominated industry, and her drive and commitment is admirable.

Carrie first got into trucking when her family’s business needed an additional HGV driver. Her family owned a mini-skip company, so trucking was nothing new to her. Subsequently, she made a career out of trucking, entering into transport contracts of her own. Today, she frequently works 12 hour shifts, delivering all sorts of goods, such as vegetables and other supermarket stock.

But Carrie has also been subject to a fair amount of sexism. She says that it has been minimal, but there is a general consensus that women should not be truckers. When she first went to trucking school, her teacher essentially dismissed the fact that she would want to drive large vehicles, and recommended courses that would restrict her to small vehicles only. But in her own words, Carrie said “Sod that,” and promptly found another school which did not impose such silly and sexist restrictions.

Bitsy Gomez

On the other side of the world, in Los Angeles, you will find another feisty female trucker, Bitsy Gomez. Bitsy is determined to bring about change in the male-dominated trucking industry, where she claims outdated traditions still exist. Bitsy is 33, and the founder of the Coalition of Women Truck Drivers. She has been actively fighting sexism within the industry, recently winning a case where she accused a vineyard of rejecting hertransport contract proposal on the grounds that she is a woman.

Bitsy describes her absolute love of the industry, and even as a child her passion for trucking was clear. She would even go so far as to miss school to watch the truckers unload. She is a single mother, and a headstrong woman that is anything but faint-hearted. She boldly makes the statement, “A good truck is to a woman what a man should be,” summing up this fiery woman’s passion for the industry.

Lyall Cresswell is the Managing Director of Haulage Exchange, the leading online trade network for the road transport industry across the UK and Europe. It can be used in the domestic and international markets to buy and sell road transport services such as transport contracts and freight exchange.

His red van and black cat are images instilled in minds all over the world, and come to the fore whenever we post a letter. But Postman Pat is employed by Royal Mail, so even he might be on strike! Unfortunately, Pat does not have his own self-employed courier job, so he has to abide by the rules of his union and company. So when the mail service goes down, Pat goes down with it.

British Royal Mail has been a hot topic in the news as of late, with an angry public, an angry staff, and undoubtedly angry and flustered management. The standard of the postal service has declined dramatically, with people waiting days for their local mail to arrive. So, the only way to ensure mail gets delivered in a reasonable length of time is to courier it instead. This is, of course can be more costly but when the national mail system fails to deliver, there isn’t much of an option.

For a reliable postman such as Pat Clifton, the decision to strike or deliver a good mail service must be a difficult one. Postal workers need to unite and stand as one if a strike is to have an effect, but equally important is the job that has been entrusted to Pat: delivering the mail. During times such as these, it would have been better for Pat if he had his own self-employed courier job. That way, he would still have been able to deliver the mail on time and reliably, without the worry of his fellow colleagues’ plight.

In fact, Pat must be suffering from the low salary that his colleagues are complaining about, too. And delivering the mail in his famous red van with Jess (his black cat) by his side may not be making ends meet anymore. Pat lives in the small village of Greendale, and has come to know the people whose mail he delivers very well. Imagine if he had to let down Ted Glen, the local handyman, or Alf Robinson, a farmer in the village? Pat would surely be vexed by the mere possibility. So for Pat, self-employed courier jobs are probably looking more appealing.

Pat Clifton, the local postman of Greendale, may be a fictional character conjured up by writer John Cunliffe, but the position he finds himself in during the recession, and the resultant state of British Royal Mail, his employer, are by no means fictional. Post men and women all over the United Kingdom are striking in protest of their salaries. And as a result considerable inconvenience is being caused to the public.

So it really is in the interests of the individual postal employees to consider a change to self-employed courier jobs, where there is the potential to earn a higher income. And until the strike is over, the public will have to rely on couriers to deliver any important mail.

Lyall Cresswell is the Managing Director of Courier Exchange, the world’s largest neutral trading hub for the Sameday courier and express freight exchange industry. Over 2,500 transport exchange businesses are networked together through their website, trading self employed courier jobs and capacity in a safe ‘wholesale’ environment.

Based on the song, Convoy, by C.W. McCall, this 1978 movie features haulage workers who band together to form an unbreakable convoy, in a bid to defeat the county sheriff. The truckers form an impressive mile long convoy, starring Kris Kristofferson and Ali McGraw.

#2 Breaker! Breaker!

This trucking movies feature the one and only Chuck Norris. Chuck stars as J.D. Dawes, a tight jean-wearing haulage worker who embarks on a mission to find his brother. The movie leads the viewers down to Texas, where fighting scenes with crooked cops ensue.

#3 Sorcerer

This 1977 trucking thriller stars Rob Schneider and Bruno Cremer. The plot revolves around workers for an oil drilling operation in South America. During a fire outbreak, the workers find themselves in a situation where they need to drive a return load of unstable dynamite in ancient trucks. Exciting scenes include trucking through jungles and over rickety bridges.

#4 They Drive by Night

This movie deals with the reality of the Depression and the dangerous measures delivery workers need to take in order to support their families. George Raft and Humphrey Bogart star as two haulage workers, engaging in dangerous trucking activities.

#5 Coast to Coast

Dyan Cannon and Robert Blake star in this 1980s film. Madie, the lead character, hitches a ride with a financially struggling haulage worker, Charles Callahan. Madie is a rich and neurotic woman, reeling from the aftermath of a nasty divorce, and an unlikely friendship between her and the trucker forms.

#6 High Ballin’

This 1978 movie deals with issues arising from transport contracts and haulage work. Jerry Reed and Peter Fonda star as two truckers who engage in battle with a thug-run haulage company who want to put independent truckers out of business, hijacking and abusing the innocent victims.

#7 Citizens Band

Paul Le Mat and Candy Clark star in this trucking comedy, revolving about a local radio station. A lead character, Charles Napier, is a delivery worker who becomes the victim of a trucking accident. During his hospitalisation, a series of hilarious consequences unfold.

#8 Duel

Dennis Weaver stars in the Spielberg thriller as a pleasant salesman on the road, who has the unfortunate experience of encountering a rogue trucker. Weaver accidentally enrages this aggressive haulage worker, and a dangerous chase follows.

#9 Steel Cowboy

Clay Pfanner is the trucking star in this movie. Faced with the prospect of losing his truck due to outstanding debts which he cannot pay, his fellow trucker, K.W. offers him a contract transporting cattle. Clay decides to take a chance and hope for the best, and they engage in attempts to haul cattle.

#10 Over the Top

Starring the legendary Sylvester Stallone, this film tells the story of a struggling haulage worker who needs to rebuild his life. Trying to establish a firmer bond with his only son, Lincoln Hawk (played by Stallone) takes part in a national arm wrestling competition taking place in Las Vegas.

Lyall Cresswell is the Managing Director of Haulage Exchange, the leading online trade network for the road transport industry across the UK and Europe. It can be used in the domestic and international markets to buy and sell road transport services such as haulage work and freight exchange.

Inform Any Recent Partners

It can be one of the most difficult things to do when you have received a positive result after going for STD testing. Los Angeles is a big place and finding any recent partners may prove a difficult task, but you should make every effort you can to do so.

It is the best way of preventing the disease from spreading, and you should strongly recommend that they go for an STD test themselves to make sure that they have not been affected. You should also encourage your current partner to get tested because otherwise you could pass the disease between yourselves.

Abstain

Abstaining from sex is very important whilst you are undergoing any treatment following your STD testing. Los Angeles residents have to be aware that the disease can still be passed on even if they are nearing the end of their treatment. Try to resist the temptation until you have completed the treatment, to prevent the further spread of the disease.

Follow the Treatment Through to the End

When people receive a positive result after having gone for STD testing, Los Angeles clinics find that one of the biggest problems is they then fail to complete their treatment program. It is vital that you do this if your test has come back positive, as if you fail to complete your treatment the disease may not be completely cured.

Talk to Someone

Don’t feel ashamed or embarrassed that you have received a positive diagnosis following STD testing. Los Angeles has a lot of options if you are looking for a professional to talk to. It could be a doctor, someone at the clinic, a counselor, or you could even simply talk to someone you trust. This is especially important if you are worried about the result.

Book a Follow-Up Exam

After you have completed your treatment following a positive result after STD testing, Los Angeles clinics strongly recommend that you go back for a follow-up examination to confirm that the disease has been cured completely. This will give you peace of mind as well as helping to stop the disease from spreading further.

Learn from the Experience

Most importantly, learn from the experience. If you have not been practicing safe sex then let this be a good opportunity to start. Try to change any habits that may have led to picking up the STD in the first place and you will be able to reduce the likelihood of having to return to the clinic in the near future.

About The Author:

Tim Leach is part of USALabTesting that can provide confidential, online STD testing Los Angeles and over 2,000 other clinics across the USA. We have a large range of STD testing available and getting peace of mind is discreet, easy and painless.

Thank you for visiting Travel Articles Directory. Feel free to use any of our travel writing articles for your own website, on the condition that you also take the link we have included in the text. Check back for more travel writing soon; we’re uploading more original travel articles all the time!

This article was provided by LeadGenerators, the smartest SEO agency in London. 

PEUGOT PARTNER
For mid size courier work this workhorse has very few downsides. It has a great cab capacity (it actually holds three which is unusual for a van this size) and lots of dash room for those essential extras – drink, pens, A to Z’s, atlases, and lunch! It’s a sturdy little fellow and one of the best things about it is the easy access to the storage area. It has twin asymmetric back doors, and a sliding nearside door that can you save loads of time and awkward load stacking. It comes with a 1.6L diesel engine that really holds its own even on the motorway, and the powerful optional air-conditioning is also a welcome feature. (If you’re test-driving in summer, give it a burst and you’ll be sold! In terms of economy, the Partner gets about 45mpg, which is pretty great news for the owner driver in these times when a bigger van can seem thirstier than you on a Friday afternoon!

MERCEDES BENZ SPRINTER
Just the name Mercedes evokes respect, and driving around in one of these do your reputation wonders! Any owner driver lucky enough to be considering a Sprinter can be pretty well assured it is one of the top of the line vehicles for courier work. It’s one of the larger vans on the road and its four cylinder, five or six speed transmission will get you out and on the along the motorway in record time. It has a huge load capacity, (up to 1400kg) and its hinged rear doors open out to 180 degrees as well as having a sliding left door as well for easy access. It’s a simple matter to load up and head off looking good! There’s loads of stowage in the cabin in the doors, centre console and above the windscreen, and the power steering will have you turning on a sixpence. This is one of the fastest vans on the road, and the 22-30 MPG fuel consumption is not bad for one so nippy. To say she’s a looker would be an understatement – with a streamlined Arctic White exterior, pert little snout, and the iconic Mercedes insignia shining on the bonnet, this is a girl with a whole lot of class. With the huge range available and Mercedes’ renowned reliability this one is ideal for the owner driver – but be warned this much style and class doesn’t come cheap!

CITROEN RELAY
The Relay is a real gem in terms of driving satisfaction, so for courier work it’s a great choice. It is Citroens largest van available and it handles top notch out on the road and on the motorway. The cabin is so quiet you really feel like you’re in a car, and safety features like the standard driver’s airbag and ABS are standard so you can rest easy in the knowledge that the only extra option you’ll need to pay for is your courier insurance! There are various models available (about 30, in different wheel base and load capacities) and all have impressive standard on board features. The Relay is one of our favourites for security too – it’s fitted with an immobilizer and deadlocks, so no ones getting in without your say so! In the cabin, it’s the little extras that will make your day when it comes to your courier work. There’s a handy document clipboard, and the passenger seat folds down to make a great office away from the office without getting yourself in a mess. And talk about looking good! This is one classy ride, and if you choose to buck the white van man standard and opt for the fire-engine red model – you’ll be making a statement for your business that can’t be missed!

FORD COURIER
This is an oldie but a goodie! We thought we’d throw this one in even though they are no longer in production. The last year model was 2003, but if you’re new to the game and considering taking on some courier work, you can still pick yourself up a very reasonably priced second hand one, and this could be a perfect option for you. Although this is quite a basic van, you don’t feel like you’re missing out on too much. The later models have power steering, but the earlier ones still handle exceptionally handle well, and even with a full load you don’t feel like you’re under any strain. It has great leg room in the cabin and a surprisingly large load capacity for such a small looking van. There is also a rear window which helps with parking, and really makes this an ideal transition from driving a car to a van if you’re a first time owner driver. The market in these is still quite strong as they have a well-deserved reputation as a reliable working vehicle. You won’t have any problems with economy in either the petrol or more popular diesel versions, and this little baby still looks good even if she is a little outdated!

RENAULT KANGOO
Yee ha! What a little beauty! We love the Kangoo – it is the perfect zippy little van for your city courier work, and out on the motorway – look out! It comes in a van and a compact body (although for versatility we prefer the van) with up to 800kg load capacity. You’ll get ABS, driver’s airbag, radio/CD, height adjustable steering wheel and loads of other extras standard. If you choose the ML+ model you’ll also get a left loading sliding door in addition to the back openers, for those courier jobs that require a bit of creative load stacking! The Kangoo has a great panoramic windscreen, and you also sit a little higher in the front than other small vans, so it feels really spacious to drive. For a full time owner driver , or just if you want to do a few self employed courier jobs, this good looking, practical little mover will hold its own against any of the more established models on the road.

Lyall Cresswell is the Managing Director of Courier Exchange, the world’s largest neutral trading hub for the Sameday courier and express freight exchange industry. Over 2,500 transport exchange businesses are networked together through their website, trading courier work and capacity in a safe ‘wholesale’ environment.

This song by Mark Wills will inspire any weary trucker on the road doing delivery work. At the start of any trip the amount of driving hours lying ahead can be a little daunting. And the words of Mark Wills empathise with fellow truckers: ‘I’ve got thirteen hours to make my destination.’ So chin up, truckers, you’ll get there in the end.

#9 Roll Truck Roll

Terry Allen writes a song about working for haulage companies, and Roll Truck Roll captures the spirit of trucking. It also has an element of reality, where the lyrics touch on the importance of keeping a job to support a family: I work for a trucking company / And my forearms big as beef / If it wasn’t for the highway / My family’d be on relief.

#8 Six Days on the Road

Steve Earle’s trucking song Six Days on the Road is a little more intense than the others. Featuring a somewhat rebellious haulage worker, the song focuses on getting home after a six day trip, and the trucker can’t be bothered to complete his log book in the process. The trucker driver in question describes his use of drugs to keep awake on long journeys.

#7 Keep on Truckin’

This trucking love song by Eddie Kendricks uses delivery work as a metaphor. The driver in the song seems to be driving to his love, and he is going to ‘Keep on truckin’, diesel-powered straight to you’. The catchy chorus ‘Keep on truckin’ on’ is a good sing-along song for truckers on the road.

#6 Big Ol’ Truck

Another trucking love-song, this time about a female trucker. Toby Keith describes the girl he fancies in his song Big Ol’ Truck, where he describes his trucking heart-throb, singing ‘Yeah I’m in love with the girl in the four-wheel drive.’ It’s an interesting edition to our trucking song list, featuring a female haulage worker this time.

#5 Truck Driving Son of Gun

Red Sovine’s trucker engages in debauchery while on the road for his haulage work. This trucker sings about the fact that he is a ‘kiss stealin’ a wheelin’ deelin’ a truck drivin’ son of a gun. In the song he is on his way home with his return load, and he has six more towns (and six more women) to get through before he reaches his home, where he has his steady girlfriend waiting for him.

#4 Will There be Big Rigs in Heaven?

Buck Owens takes trucking songs to a new level, where he describes a haulage worker’s heaven – ‘no more pot-holes, no more scales / no more smokeys on my tail.’ In the fantasy, haulage work is simple with hot showers for every morning on the road, and angelic waitresses at the roadside cafes.

#3 Trucker Man

John Reach sympathises with truckers all over the world in Trucker Man. Describing a trucker on his way home with his return load, he sings ‘Trying to get home just as fast as he can / Those red-eye runs are taking their toll.’

#2 Looking at the World Through a Windshield

Son Volt gives this trucking song a bitter edge, singing ‘I’m gonna write my name in diesel smoke / And let all those behind me choke.’ But the trucker driver in this song is also given a human element, and the song is about how the world passes a haulage worker by through the windshield, even though he has his wife and children waiting for him at home.

#1 Big Wheels in the Moonlight

At number one, the ultimate trucking song is Dan Seal’s Big Wheels in the Moonlight. This song features a man who wishes he was a trucker, and every night stands on the roadside to watch the delivery workers truck on by. Despite his wife, children and steady job, he dreams of a trucker life; ‘Sometimes I close my eyes / And see big wheels in the moonlight.’

Lyall Cresswell is the Managing Director of Haulage Exchange, the leading online trade network for the road transport industry across the UK and Europe. It can be used in the domestic and international markets to buy and sell road transport services such as haulage work and freight exchange.

So how can you ensure that you’re not embarrassed in the queue at the bakers by a neighbour enquiring about the results of your STD testing? Or avoid a cheery hail from a passing car full of your mates congratulating you on “being clean”? Here are a few tips we’ve come up with to keep this sensitive issue under wraps.

Tell your Mum

We can nearly hear you shrieking from here! “What do you mean, tell my Mum!” You think she’d be the last person you’d want knowing about your imminent STD testing, but actually there is a method to our madness. Once you confess what you’re doing to Mommy dearest, being old-school, she’s going to want to keep this secret so tightly under wraps it won’t be able to poke its nose out! She’ll make quite sure that the neighbours don’t get an inkling, or that the rest of the family don’t suspect a thing, that she’ll actually end up being a great ally. She’ll let you use her address, she’ll keep an eye out for that tell-nothing brown paper wrapper in the mail, and hey, if you’re lucky she may even pay for it. So, if you just can’t keep it to yourself and you have to tell someone – tell your Mum!

Go Online

Nowadays it’s easy to get safe, effective and convenient STD testing without even having to show your face in a clinic. There are many companies which offer STD testing for individual diseases or, if you want to be totally confident in your status, you can take a combined test which covers everything. While there should be no shame in being responsible about regular STD testing, it can still be a lot more comfortable to book and pay online and receive your tests in the mail.

Loose Lips Sink Ships

Of course, the only way you’ll be totally sure that no one finds out about your STD testing is to keep it to yourself (and your Mum if you decided to follow point number one above). That means no drunken admissions to your friends over a couple of beers and no cheeky one-liners on Twitter, text or Facebook. In short, our point is, a ‘secret’ is only a secret if you keep it to yourself; no ifs or buts. If you decide that you do want to keep your STD testing and the subsequent results confidential then do just that; if not, you’ll only have yourself to blame.

Or…Be Loud and Proud

The other option of course is to not keep your STD testing a secret at all. It is becoming less of a ‘dirty little secret’ and more the actions of a responsible adult. Anyone who is sexually active should be ensuring they are having safe sex and, if there is a chance that they may have contracted a disease, to have appropriate STD testing. The more people that come clean about getting tested the better; so why not be a pioneer for the cause and be loud and proud and let your secret run free!

About The Author:

Tim Leach is part of USALabTesting that can provide a confidential, online STD testing at over 2,000 other clinics across the USA. We have a large range of STD tests available and getting peace of mind is discreet, easy and painless.

Electronic Communications Strategies

For centuries, army commanders have relayed orders in one way or another, be it by flag, bugle or walkie-talkie. But today’s armies are able to build up clear pictures of enemy forces and their tactics, which allows them to formulate a much more informed and accurate plan for their own troops. There are a number of different electronic systems that help them to create this unrivalled picture of the battleground.

The BOWMAN Communications System

A new tactical system designed to enable the most intricate levels of communications strategy, the BOWMAN system exploits the latest advances in both computer and radio technology, incorporating elements that will service the army for many years to come. The collection of digital radios that comprise the system is designed to transmit large amounts of data digitally, whilst also providing information on the positioning and location of troops. The development of this advanced system will be implemented in the place of existing manual processes that are currently used for commanding on the battlefield, and will greatly improve the efficiency of the army’s communications strategies.

The Falcon Secure Trunk Communication System

The Falcon System provides modern and secure communications strategy infrastructures for those formations that have already been deployed, and for non-static operating bases. It delivers the information and technology that allows the army to access networks when on the move. Designed to interact and work alongside the army’s existing communication and information systems, the Falcon secure system is also compatible with Nato’s systems, ensuring that the army is connected at all times of deployment, be it via telephone or data distribution.

Personal Role Radios

The personal role radios used by the army ensure that each individual soldier has a communications strategy of their own to fall back on. Using a transmitter-receiver, infantry soldiers have the capacity to communicate over short distances, or even through thick building walls. Every member of an eight-strong infantry sector will have a personal role radio, enabling teams to react quickly and effectively to the various rapidly changing situations, and even at times allowing for communication with the enemy.

The battlefield can be an unpredictable place. With so many changing factors, it is imperative that good communications strategies are in place at all times. Electronic systems such as BOWMAN, Falcon and personal role radios enable commanders to keep themselves and the sections they are commanding alert and informed at all times, dramatically increasing the efficiency of those teams that have been deployed.

Jenny Kettlewell is the Marketing Manager for Multitone Systems, a leading telecommunications strategy company. Multitone has implemented custom, integrated communications strategies for businesses and organisations in the public and private sector for over 75 years.

Thank you for visiting Travel Articles Directory. Feel free to use any of our travel writing articles for your own website, on the condition that you also take the link we have included in the text. Check back for more travel writing soon; we’re uploading more original travel articles all the time!

Edit, Edit, Edit

And then edit again. There’s absolutely no excuse for errors in grammar and spelling. If you aren’t sure of the basics, then do a refresher course or at the very least, buy a book. Nothing looks worse than a careless typo, except perhaps a dodgy sentence structure! Things to look out for are missed words, incorrect punctuation and misspellings of names or places (particularly important when writing travel content). Using the spell check function on your computer is not totally reliable; sometimes the program simply replaces words with another which can completely change the meaning or structure of a sentence. It’s not enough to run a quick eye over the document and assume that if there’s no tell-tale underlining that everything is fine. A good writer must also be a good editor. Read the article several times thoroughly and you may find that in the process it can change quite radically from your first draft. If there are only three things you learn about writing, make it these; edit, edit, edit.

The Yawn Factor

When you’re writing travel content what you’re really doing is painting a picture of a destination and making your reader really, really wish they were there; or at least making plans to get there. Try to find a unique angle or attraction and don’t wheel out the well-known, and well-documented, facts. Make some time to really understand the place you are writing about so you can evoke the character and authenticity of the destination in your article. Remember, you need to stand out from thousands of other articles written about the same country or city, and if your article is not only well-written, but interesting too, then you are half way to winning the battle.

The Facts and Nothing but the Facts

Unless you’re writing about a fantasy destination, one of the most vital things when writing travel content is to check your facts. Don’t try to cut corners and make things up; somewhere along the line, someone WILL pull you up on it. Before you even put dainty fingers to the keyboard, make sure you have researched the major facts and not just in Wikipedia. Be prepared to be able to back up anything you write about with the appropriate data, and never be tempted to add in a Fourth World War or a new geographical landmark just to make things more interesting.

About The Author:

Julietta Henderson is a regular contributor to article directories, and specialises in writing travel content relating to holiday destinations all over the world..

Thank you for visiting Travel Articles Directory. Feel free to use any of our travel writing articles for your own website, on the condition that you also take the link we have included in the text. Check back for more travel writing soon; we’re uploading more original travel articles all the time!

Kelly Osbourne

Kelly Osbourne knows the importance of regular STD testing. As an ambassador for World Contraceptive Day, she stunned reporters by admitting that she has four STD tests a year. However, Kelly’s regular STD testing isn’t down to a reluctance to use contraception, Kelly admits that she always plays safe and gets tested for her own piece of mind. Surprisingly, Kelly’s grown-up approach to contraception could be down to her dad, Ozzy. The Dancing on Ice star admits that the first time she saw a condom was when she was seven years old and that was because they were always given out for free during her father’s concerts.

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga has stated that she wants to make it cool for women to carry condoms. During an interview with a glossy magazine, she told how using a condom could save lives and that, in 2010, women shouldn’t still be worrying about guys not liking them for wanting to use contraception.

Lady Gaga knows how important condoms are, after a look at her unhealthy lifestyle prompted her to get STD testing in February. She told fans how her busy schedule often prevents her from having regular screenings and that, when she arrived back home in New York, she went straight to her gynaecologist for HIV and AIDS tests.

Madonna

Madonna’s love live was recently used in a groundbreaking advert promoting AIDS awareness in Brazil.

The billboard starts with Madonna and reads “Madonna who shagged Guy Ritchie, who shagged Tania Strecker, who shagged Robbie Williams, who shagged Natalie Imbruglia….” and goes down through a massive list of celebrities, before finally ending back at Madonna again via Rufus Sewell. The advert shows just how many people you could be sleeping with by association if you don’t wear a condom. So if all the celebrities on this list had neglected to use a condom, and you have unprotected sex with Madonna then you’re also at risk of catching STDs from Vanilla Ice, Tupac, Paris Hilton and Mick Jagger. In case, this advert isn’t enough to warn you to wear a condom, Madonna has also recorded a safe sex message for MTV warning about the risk of AIDS.

Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne believes in the importance of safe sex and has even penned a song with the lyrics “Safe sex is great sex, so better wear a latex/’cause you don’t want that late text/that “I think I’m late” text/Heh-heh, so wrap it up”. In an interview with Playboy magazine, Lil Wayne shared his safe sex techniques, which sadly are a little too graphic to repeat. However, Wayne has done his part to promote safe sex and regular STD testing by appearing in an advert for Strapped Condoms. The advertisement shows Lil Wayne doing what he does best – getting arrested. Whilst Lil Wayne is being handcuffed to a police car, a selection of his belongings is spread on the hood including a packet of Strapped Condoms.

Jenna Jameson

As a porn star, Jenna knows the importance of regular STD testing. However, the safe sex campaign Jenna is featured in is slightly different to the norm. Jenna posed nude alongside text that reads “Sometimes too Much Sex Can Be a Bad Thing”. But there’s no need to worry, Jenna isn’t promoting abstinence, she’s simply doing her bit to promote safe sex – for cats and dogs. “Until cats and dogs can go on the pill or wear condoms we need to help them promote safe sex”, says Jenna.

Tim Leach is part of USALabTesting that can provide confidential, online STD testing at over 2,000 other clinics across the USA. We have a large range of STD tests available and getting peace of mind is discreet, easy and painless.

Sir Isaac Newton

Following his influential discoveries regarding gravity, Sir Isaac Newton undoubtedly earned the 17th Century equivalent of a celebrity status.  However, he did not choose a particularly glittering way of life, preferring to focus all his energies on his research.  It is said that Newton chose to remain a virgin throughout his life so that he would not get distracted from his work.  Had STD testing been around in his day, he would not have been a suitable candidate.

Sir Cliff Richard

English singer and songwriter Sir Cliff Richard started out his career as a rock star.  However, his music softened as did his lifestyle, when he converted to strict Christianity.    The second of the Sirs in this article who is unlikely to need STD testing, Richard has since openly declared his Christian beliefs and his celibacy to be of great importance to him.

Lisa Kudrow

This star is best known for her role in hit sitcom ‘Friends’, in which she played popular character Phoebe.  The character of Phoebe, who remains unmarried until the final season of the comedy show, regularly tells stories of the various dates she has been on and makes frequent allusions to her sexual escapades. As such, the character could not be more different to Lisa herself, who cherished her virginity until she was happily married.  Whilst it may not have been necessary for Kudrow herself, Phoebe might well have been wise to undertake STD testing.

Jessica Simpson

This young and beautiful star left school at sixteen to pursue a singing career, and was quickly shot into the limelight.  However, rather than letting the fame go to her head and allowing herself to become embroiled in the celebrity lifestyle, she soon settled down with husband Nick Lachey.  She proclaimed herself to be a virgin at the time of marriage, though as Nick professed he couldn’t make the same claim, he may well have gone for STD testing before they were married.  Unfortunately, the couple split just three years later.   

The Jonas Brothers

The youngest of our celibate celebrities, the Jonas Brothers found their fame on the Disney Channel television network.  The band is made up of three brothers, all of whom have taken a vow of celibacy.  The purity pledge they have taken makes the young stars stand out from many of the other bands in the industry, and they are not shy of it – each wearing a metal band to show their commitment.  This young group of guys is guaranteed to cause their female followers quite some heartache, but at least they won’t leave any fans requiring STD testing.    
So, though the tabloids are always telling us about celebrity relationships, affairs and scandals, it seems that there have always been a few of the famous who prefer to lead a chaste life.

Tim Leach is part of USALabTesting that can provide a confidential, onlineSTD testing. With over 2,000 clinics across the USA and a large range of STD Tests available, getting peace of mind is discreet, easy and painless.

Thank you for visiting Travel Articles Directory. Feel free to use any of our travel writing articles for your own website, on the condition that you also take the link we have included in the text. Check back for more travel writing soon; we’re uploading more original travel articles all the time!

For a short time, the actress and top-earning Hollywood star brought the media spotlight onto the social issue of regular STD testing. Los Angeles resident, Johansson told an interviewer that she gets tested for HIV every six months. Furthermore, she stated how she thinks poorly of people who don’t try or care to know about their sexual health, saying that to get a regular STD test “is part of being a decent human”.

Getting tested twice a year might seem exceptionally frequent to some people. Could being motivated to get tested so often indicate that the safe sex practices in Hollywood are otherwise lax or inadequate? Knowing the reputation for fast-and-loose living that Hollywood has, Scarlett was quick to point out that she is far from promiscuous, saying “[people] are mistaken for thinking I’m sexually available in some way.”

Lifestyles and speculation aside, Johansson has raised the profile and reduced the stigma of STD testing in Los Angeles and beyond. The actress’s comments motivated the British press to print statistics from the National AIDS Trust, which stated that there were as many as seven thousand new cases of HIV diagnosed in the UK in 2006. “Diseases will continue to spread unless we stop stigmatizing” said a spokesperson, adding that responsible behavior is the proper use of condoms and getting an STD test whenever you put yourself at risk.

L.A. Charities and Projects

Back on this side of the Atlantic, APLA offers free STD testing in Los Angeles County.
APLA (which stands for Aids Project Los Angeles) is a disease prevention and advocacy service. Their statistics show that there are between 42,400 – 46,600 people living with the knowledge and burden of a positive HIV test in LA.

This alarming figure is taken from the “Program of HIV Epidemiology and STD testing” by Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, an official study conducted two years ago, in 2008. Worryingly, the same study suggests that there is a significant portion of the local population (about 15,000) that does not know that they are carrying the virus.

Both APLA and the UK’s National AIDS Trust agree that the issue of undiagnosed carrier is partly because of the shame, reluctance, apathy and stigma surrounding getting an STD test. In Los Angeles, APLA launched the ‘What you don’t know CAN kill you’ in 1991 to try to encourage testing uptake.

American Testing

Looking further back, a 1985 country-wide poll placed 72% of American in favor of obligatory STD testing, which sounds encouraging. However, the same survey also suggested that half of our nation agree with quarantine for HIV carriers. Still more alarming is that 15 percent of Americans consider it a good idea to tattoo people who have the disease.

Despite the controversies and hearsay, when high-profile celebrities like Scarlett Johansson speak out on the issue, it helps the cause of activists and charities that are battling to raise awareness and stem the spread of HIV and other diseases.

Tim Leach is part of USALabTesting that can provide confidential, online STD testing Los Angeles and over 2,000 other clinics across the USA. We have a large range of STD testing available and getting peace of mind is discreet, easy and painless.

Thank you for visiting Travel Articles Directory. Feel free to use any of our travel writing articles for your own website, on the condition that you also take the link we have included in the text. Check back for more travel writing soon; we’re uploading more original travel articles all the time!

A Quick Refresher – the Basics

The harsh reality is that you can catch a number of diseases if you’re sexually active – and not necessarily only through full sexual intercourse. The good news is that for many such conditions, treatment is often available and full cures may be achieved in many cases. That’s why when it comes to STD testing, Los Angeles is not the only city where it’s is important.

Unfortunately, not all STDs are quite so easily treatable. Some infections are becoming more resistant to standard antibiotics, and some viral infections cannot be cured as such, although they can be treated and hopefully kept in remission. In the case of HIV, if full AIDS subsequently develops then obviously it can be potentially life threatening. Where STDs are concerned, prevention is ALWAYS better than the cure.

STDs – Prevention

You may well know this already and if you’re sexually active, you sure should do! Even so, let’s revisit the principles ‘just in case’.

• Abstinence. OK, fair enough, not an attractive proposition for many. In reality though, it’s the only way to be near 100% sure that you won’t contract an STD.

• Reduce your number of sexual partners. Whatever your sexual orientation, it’s now commonly accepted that the more partners you have and the more ‘casual sex’ you engage in, then the higher your chances are of encountering an infected person. This is not a morality issue – it is just statistics.

• Practice safe sex. The only widely accepted method of protection when engaging in full sexual intercourse is the use of a condom for men or a femidom (female condom, Reality condom) for women. This is not just a form of contraception because, as it reduces or eliminates the exchange of bodily fluids, it also offers significant protection against infection. It’s worth noting though that this is not a 100% foolproof method.

• Pre-sex STD screenings. This form of prevention is often controversial and certainly it’s not something that can be done spontaneously in the heat of passion. Even so, it’s logical enough. The idea is that you don’t engage in sex with your partner until you have both had some form of STD check (for STD testing, Los Angeles services are listed on the Net and elsewhere) that shows you’re both clear. This does, of course, only have meaning if both partners remain entirely ‘monogamous’ from the point the test results are in.

STD testing Los Angeles – Because Life isn’t Risk-free

Few things in life are entirely free of risk. Condoms and femidoms can slip or tear and even a long-term partner can ‘cheat’ and thereby make immediately useless their previously clear test results.
The harsh message is, that unless you want to become entirely and permanently celibate, the risk of contracting an STD will always exist. If you behave responsibly and sensibly you can hugely reduce the risk but you can’t eliminate it altogether. However, this isn’t cause for panic and the fitting of security locks on your bedroom door! What it may suggest is that it might be sensible and practical to keep a close watch on your sexual health.

Unfortunately, assuming you’re fine because you are completely without symptoms isn’t always a safe way to go about things. Some STDs are notoriously ’sneaky’ and can rest dormant and asymptomatic in your body (although you may be infectious and perfectly capable of passing on the condition to others). So, it may make sense to get regular checks at any of the Los Angeles STD testing centers. The testing is typically simple, often involving only some swabs, blood tests and general examinations. If the results are all clear then you’re reassured and if they’re not – well, at least you know the problem is there and can get it dealt with!

Tim Leach is part of USALabTesting that can provide confidential, online STD testing Los Angeles and over 2,000 other clinics across the USA. We have a large range of STD testing available and getting peace of mind is discreet, easy and painless.

Thank you for visiting Travel Articles Directory. Feel free to use any of our travel writing articles for your own website, on the condition that you also take the link we have included in the text. Check back for more travel writing soon; we’re uploading more original travel articles all the time!

Make a Stress Ball

The politics of dating, having sex, and especially of having STD panel tests after you’ve had sex with someone can be very stressful. Help yourself to calm down by making yourself your very own condom stress ball. It’s so easy to do – simply unroll the condom and begin filling it with flour, swinging it from side to side after every couple of spoonfuls in order to compact the flour. When the condom is full, simply tie a knot in the top, then take a marker pen and draw a face on the front of it to give it just a bit more personality. Your stress ball can now be moulded into whatever shape you fancy, and is ready and waiting to help you cope with all that angst.

Finger Puppets

Have you ever been babysitting and found that you’re completely unable to stop the children from crying? You start to root around in your pockets, looking for anything that will entertain them, but all you manage to find is that condom you carry around with you because you don’t want to have to take an STD panel test. But don’t despair! Believe it or not, a condom can save you in this situation. Take the condom out of the wrapper and stretch it out, then take a pen and draw a caricature of some description on the front. Slip the condom onto your finger and there you have it – a simple finger puppet show. If it doesn’t entertain the child, you can be sure it will baffle them into silence.

Water Balloons

You just never know when you’re going to end up caught in a water balloon fight, and there’s every chance you might not have any balloons to hand if you do. If you’ve been caught unawares, your attackers may well suspect that you have no ammunition to retaliate with, but oh how wrong they could be. Condoms can work just as well as water balloons, if not better, as they make bigger weapons; simply fill up the condom with tap water, take aim and fire! It will take your opponents a second to figure out what’s hit them, which gives you time to take cover. But don’t forget to restock the condoms after the water fight, or you’ll need an STD panel test before you know it.

A Lantern

Our final way to make use of a condom requires slightly more planning, as a glow in the dark variety is needed. Next time you go on a camping trip, make sure these are exactly the type of protection that you take with you – that way if your torch batteries run out you won’t be left in the dark. A condom filled with water provides the best results here, but a condom filled with air will also work. It may not provide enough light to guide you through a dark forest, but if you hang it over the door of the tent it will certainly help you find your way back.

So next time you find yourself in a sticky situation, take a second to work out whether a condom can help you or not. But be sure to replace any that you use before you next need them, or you’ll wind up buying an STD panel rather than a new box of condoms.

Tim Leach is part of USALabTesting that can provide a confidential, online STD panel test. With over 2,000 clinics across the USA and a large range of STD testing available, getting peace of mind is discreet, easy and painless.

Go to the Doctor Pre-sex, not Post-sex.

Not using a condom may well see you at the doctor’s for STD testing. But did you know that you can actually go to the doctor’s for your contraception long before it comes to that. The majority of doctor’s surgeries and family planning centres have a huge stash of condoms that they’re happy to dole out left, right and centre. So next time you go to the doctor’s for whatever reason be sure to take a big handbag and stock up. That way, you’ll not only spare yourself the embarrassment of buying them at the drugstore, but you’ll save a fair few dollars at the same time.

Safer than Cyber-sex

These days, you can buy virtually anything on the Internet, and that doesn’t just mean STD testing, but includes condoms as well. There are a number of websites out there branding themselves as ‘condom superstores’ and selling pretty much any make, model or method of contraception the heart could desire. It’s even possible to order your own personalized condoms from some of these sites. If that seems a little too close to home, perhaps just a condom designed for a special occasion such as Valentines or Christmas. Delivered to your door with free delivery, discreet packaging, and often with free samples to boot, these websites take the hassle out of safe sex. But be sure to place your order as soon as you see supplies running low, as you might have to pay extra for next day delivery, and even that might not be soon enough!

Visit a Vending Machine

Once upon a time, all you would find in a vending machine would be soft drinks and candy. However, nowadays washrooms often have a different type of vending machine. You’ll tend to find these machines in bars and nightclubs, in both the male and female toilets, selling a variety of different types of condoms. In some places, you’ll even find a variety of flavours, colours, and shapes and sizes that you might not dream of asking for in a drugstore. So rather than leaving it to chance and having to go for STD testing later on, shell out a couple of dollars next time you go to the toilets; you’ll get hold of a pack of condoms that will last you the night, and certainly until you next get time to pop to the drugstore, or to log onto the Internet.

With so many places to get hold of contraception there really is no reason to leave things to chance. You can use any one of these discreet places to buy condoms – it will not only save you face in the shops, but it will stop you having to queue up in an STD testing center.

Tim Leach is part of USALabTesting that can provide a confidential, online STD testing. With over 2,000 clinics across the USA and a large range of STD panel tests available, getting peace of mind is discreet, easy and painless.

The Best and Worst Transport Contracts

If you are working in the haulage industry, whether you are an owner operator or a salaried employee, you’ll know enough about transport contracts to know that no two jobs are the same. You’ll have had jobs where everything went right, and loads that you simply couldn’t wait to be rid of.

Sometimes it is hard to foresee which one will turn out to be unpleasant until you’ve signed on the dotted line – other times, the signs are there from the outset that there is going to be trouble! Of course, there are also the dream jobs where a company treats you right, pays you well, and you have a straightforward, stress free drive to your destination and back.

But while it may not always be possible to know whether a job will be heaven or hell before you take it, there are a few common characteristics of good and bad transport jobs…

A Good Job Means…

You’ll be working with a decent company that takes care of its drivers, issues professional transport contracts, pays a decent wage and legally complies with all the necessary industry regulations. If they are providing the vehicle, it will be well maintained. They will give you clear instructions, communicate with you in a coherent fashion, and the loading and unloading process will be nice and smooth. There’s nothing worse than wasting time sitting around waiting to load or unload!

On a good job, you’ll have a secure load that isn’t fragile, and that is evenly weighted so that it doesn’t cause problems with your vehicle’s handling. An ideal job will give you plenty of opportunities to pick up backloads for your return journey, and might even have one of these built into the contract. Another final little perk is to be given a scenic route to drive through – spending your whole day on the road is made more enjoyable if you’ve got some decent scenery to look at along the way!

A Bad Job Means…

Above all else, if you’ve got an unpleasant job it is usually because your employer isn’t up to scratch. Their transport contracts will be filled with small print that is seemingly designed to make your life a nightmare. If they provide a vehicle, it’ll be poorly maintained and potentially dangerous to drive. They will be difficult to deal with, and there will be endless delays and huge amounts of paperwork every step of the way.

You’ll be dispatched to the middle of nowhere with unclear instructions and no chance of picking up a backload on your way back, and the load you’ve got will be poorly secured and liable to shift around and break along the way. If you are sent abroad on a nightmare job, you’ll be sent somewhere with overzealous police and complicated regulations to comply with. The entire job will be time consuming hassle from start to finish, and to cap it all off, they will be late paying you once you do finally finish your work!

Every haulage worker will have to deal with good jobs and bad jobs – but if you learn to recognise the signs of good transport contracts, you’ll have a much better chance of picking up the right kind of jobs!

Lyall Cresswell is the Managing Director of Haulage Exchange, the leading online trade network for the road transport industry across the UK and Europe. It provides services and transport contracts to buy and sell road transport and freight exchange in the domestic and international markets.

The Outfits Would Have To Go

Some of the outfits Carrie wears in Sex and the City are quite outlandish. Huge puffball skirts, origami folded jackets and Dolce and Gabbana dresses are all featured on the hit series. Most of these are far too expensive to wear on self-employed courier jobs and a lot of the dresses wouldn’t even fit in the white vans they’re that big. Who can forget Carrie’s stunning ballerina dress that she wore in the final episode of the series? She wouldn’t have even been able to close the van door, let alone made a delivery wearing that. Plus the lads down the local diner would have teased her relentlessly about her outfit choice, which brings me to my next point….

The Fancy Restaurants Would Be Swapped For Motorway Service Stations

The Sex and the City girls are always meeting for lunch in fancy restaurants and this is something that would definitely change if they were couriers. After a long day carrying out self-employed courier jobs, we don’t want to end up at a restaurant that charges us above the odds for a minuscule meal. There’s nothing like stopping off en-route for filling pub grub and a bacon butty. God knows, some of those girls certainly look like they could do with a half decent meal.

Have you ever seen the Girls Drive?

Apart from when Carrie rents a car to take Samantha and her to San Francisco and almost manages to crash it while getting out of the rental office, have you ever seen any of the girls drive? They travel everywhere by taxi and this just isn’t practical for those delivering packages on self-employed courier jobs. New York cabs are expensive and so for that matter are London taxis. Sometimes I can be driving for hours on one courier job and if I were to forgo the van and bill the client for my taxi fare, the cost would be just astronomical.

High Heels Make Self-Employed Courier Jobs Impossible

We all know the real reason the girls take taxis everywhere….their shoes! If Carrie’s high-heels make walking the streets of the Upper-East side impossible then imagine how she would get by driving in them. A recent study in the UK showed that 11.5 million women are putting their lives, and the lives of others, in danger by wearing inappropriate footwear whilst driving. High heels weren’t designed with driving in mind and as we can’t imagine ever seeing Carrie wearing a pair of flat shoes, this rules her out as a potential courier.

Carrie might not make a great courier, but Miranda and Samantha would both fare well with self-employed courier jobs. Miranda’s brusque and efficient manner would allow her to deliver packages in an organised and timely way. Whilst, somehow we all know that Samantha would get around the quickest.

Lyall Cresswell is the Managing Director of Courier Exchange, the world’s largest neutral trading hub for the Sameday courier and express freight exchange industry. Over 2,500 transport exchange businesses are networked together through their website, trading self employed courier jobs and capacity in a safe ‘wholesale’ environment.

Sexual Responsibility Week

Running from the 8th to the 14th of February, Sexual Responsibility Week is held early on in the year in order to kick-start a year-long commitment to increasing awareness of sexual health. The student-friendly campaign focuses on promoting sexual responsibility on-campus with this year’s theme ’sexology 101′ cleverly alluding to the academic. Intending to educate on every topic from relationships to safe sex to STD testing, the week-long campaign is tailored differently for each campus, and is a great way to start the New Year focusing on sexual responsibility.

National Condom Day

February 14th is widely celebrated as being all about Saint Valentine and romance. Each year however, the 14th or a date close to it has become known as National Condom Day. This time of year was chosen as it was believed that a day when people could easily be overcome with passion was a good day to remind them to be careful. Whilst many of the other STD diary dates focus on general sexual health awareness, National Condom Day aims to reach its audience before pregnancy or STD testing is required, urging people to be passionate… about prevention.

National STDs/Family Planning Awareness Month

Far from being an April fools, the National STDs/Family Planning Awareness Month is nationally observed, aiming to encourage people to learn more about the risks of having unprotected sex. Throughout April, paraphernalia related to the event is distributed in workplaces, retail outlets and other businesses in order to spread awareness about the risks of STDs and pregnancy. The campaign also aims to educate people on options such as STD testing that are available to them if they have had unsafe sex.

National HIV Testing Day (NHTD)

Held on the 27th June by the National Association of People with Aids, National HIV Testing Day focuses on encouraging people to go for HIV and STD testing. According to statistics on the NHTD site, someone is infected with HIV every nine and a half minutes in the United States – a terrifying statistic. This annual event is held in order to urge people of any age, gender and sexual orientation to go out and take a test, as it is always better to be safe than sorry.

World Aids Day

Observed on an international scale, World Aids Day is held on the 1st December each year and aims to educate people about HIV, and limit prejudice towards those who have the infection. Run by the National AIDS Trust who aim to transform society’s views towards those carrying HIV, the day sees people the world over sporting red ribbons to show their support.

Whether it is an event that aims to educate society about safe sex and family planning, or a campaign to promote sexual health and STD testing, these are dates that are well worth marking in your diary.

Tim Leach is part of USALabTesting that can provide a confidential, online STD testing. With over 2,000 clinics across the USA and a large range of STD Tests available, getting peace of mind is discreet, easy and painless.

Toads on the Roads

The small town of Forge Dam near Sheffield is an important breeding area for the common garden toad. Whilst carrying out courier jobs in the area, you will see numerous toad crossing signs that dot the Whitely Road, and never is this area more prevalent than from mid-February to March. This is breeding time for these randy reptiles and hundreds of toads cross the road to reach their ancestral breeding ground during this period. The Wildlife Trust has recognised the area as nationally important. Froglife is an organisation that recognises the importance of the area and has placed regular patrols on the Whitely Road. The members all don bright yellow jackets and warn upcoming vehicles to slow down, whilst guiding the toads across the road.

Beware of the Badgers

Those carrying out courier jobs between Inverness and Nairn on the A96 should be prepared to bodge that badger! Badgers account for 25% of all road deaths and this problem seems to be more prominent in certain areas of Scotland. The Scottish Natural Heritage has set up a Think Badger campaign following reports that 24 badgers were killed on a single stretch of road. The majority of these deaths took place in the months of February and August and over half of them took place in the Petty Church area of town. Due to these statistics, drivers are requested to be extra vigilant if travelling this route by night.

Honk for Hedgehogs

Why did the hedgehog cross the road? To see his flat mate! Hedgehogs have long been the butt of jokes concerning road safety, and perhaps it was for this reason that the government choose this cute critter to front its road safety campaign. In many areas, hedgehogs can become an issue on the roads and the British Hedgehog Preservation society has spent many years campaigning for the introduction of hedgehog tunnels and hedgehog bridges. These may have helped reduce the number of hedgehog road deaths in recent years, but areas such as Priors Hardwick in Warwickshire are still campaigning for drivers to reduce their speed the old fashioned way with the introduction of hedgehog crossing signs.

Give Owls at Hoot

Whilst hedgehogs account for 29% of all road deaths, they are closely followed by barn owls at 25%. The Barn Owl Trust is campaigning for 10 foot trees and shrubs to be planted around the side of main roads so that the owls have something to fly over. The number of barn owls has dropped by almost 70% from the same number in the 1930s. Whilst the use of intense farming procedures is partly to blame, over half of all barn owl deaths are thought to be as a consequence of main roads. The problem is so bad that a recent study found that during the nesting period, which runs from March to August, all adult barn owls living within 0.3 kilometres of a main road are certain to be killed. This shocking statistic is a warning for those carrying out courier jobs to be aware of their surroundings and try to avoid using excessive speed in areas where barn owls are present.

Lyall Cresswell is the Managing Director of Courier Exchange, the world’s largest neutral trading hub for the Sameday courier and express freight exchange industry. Over 2,500 transport exchange businesses are networked together through their website, trading courier jobs and capacity in a safe ‘wholesale’ environment.

Everyone who has ever driven a car will have an anecdote describing the idiocy of a fellow road user. It doesn’t take much for the minority of drivers who behave poorly – or dangerously – to draw attention to themselves. Some of them are even caught on camera, and the Internet has now become a resource for people to show off the incidents that they have captured on camera. YouTube is full of car caper clips, from racing calamities to vans on a delivery working hard not to spill their loads at a sharp corner.

There are some kinds of YouTube clips that are so prevalent as to be almost unavoidable. It seems no matter what you type in you’ll get clips of teenagers filming ill-advised stunts such as ruining the family car while their parents are away. There are all sorts of crashes and smashes where the cars suffer damage while some kid tries to do something spectacular the camera, showing off with their friends. One of the funniest I’ve seen is where a lad in a huge 4×4 boasts about the off-road capabilities of ‘his ride,’ only to flip it over backwards onto its roof going up a steep hillock.

Peer Review

What is surprising is that you can also find footage online of lorry drivers driving inappropriately. What’s frightening (and dangerous) is that many of the clips are filmed by other trucker drivers on the road; it seems that to pass the time during their delivery work truckers will film ‘name and shame’ their fellow road users.

Apart from the odd clip where someone in an open top van spills their cargo onto the road, the lorry-related YouTube clips – which mostly come from America – aren’t as dangerous as the teenage car calamities, amounting to a few trucks speeding or overtaking where they shouldn’t. What’s interesting is that it appears drivers are policing themselves to some degree, and you can hear them haranguing each other over the CB radio. It’s usually done in good humour, and you can pick up on the banter, too, if you can decode the regional accents, that is; after all, long-distance delivery work is an international and multicultural business.

Delivery Work Simulator

There are a number of driving schools out there that specialise in lorry driving skills. In America, the newest tool for teaching trucking skills is a simulator similar to the ones used for schooling airplane pilots. In cabins equipped with the same controls as a lorry cab (wheel, pedals, buttons, shifts and levers) trainees can try and fail tests created by their instructors without endangering other vehicles or their own.

The simulator can recreate a huge number of scenarios and hazards, and can even teach skills like shifting gears uphill and driving in the mountains at night. The machine reproduces all the environments a serious lorry driver might encounter while performing his delivery work: different weather and different roads. You can also try driving a variety of vehicles, from a municipal dump truck to a snow plough, something you may not get the opportunity to do in real life.

Lyall Cresswell is the Managing Director of Haulage Exchange, the leading online trade network for the road transport industry across the UK and Europe. It provides services for delivery work companies to buy and sell road transport and freight exchange in the domestic and international markets.

No van is complete without a driver’s mate sitting in the passenger seat, and if you do self employed courier jobs and you have your own van, from time to time you may have a driver’s mate occupying the front seat. Perhaps you want the company, perhaps you need help with some of your work, or maybe you’re doing someone a favour and taking their son out to work.

Whatever the reason, there are some people that are great company to drive with, who will help you navigate and keep the jokes coming thick and fast. Of course, there are plenty of others who are complete nightmares to be in a van with! From fiddling with the radio to littering all over the floor, there are plenty of ways a passenger can get on your nerves. Here are a few driver’s mates to avoid…

Litterbug

If you do self employed courier jobs, your van is more than just a vehicle – it’s your office and workspace as well. A clean office leads to a calm mind, and there’s little more irritating than someone who is constantly making a mess of your personal space. Whether it is scattering crumbs, spilling tea, dropping wrappers or (worst of all!) depositing chewing gum, make sure you kerb that Litterbug before he causes a stain that simply won’t come out!

Back Seat Driver

He may be sitting next to you in the front of the van, but that doesn’t mean he can’t still act like a back seat driver! Whether it’s telling you to hurry up or slow down, suggesting shortcuts that double your journey time, or criticising any other aspect of your driving, a Back Seat Driver is one of the worst people to share a vehicle with. Make sure they know that criticising your driving is a strictly off-limits topic of conversation.

Delayed Reaction Navigator

A good passenger is a good map reader, and the Delayed Reaction Navigator tries hard and wants to help. But their reactions are a little slow – they’ll always seem to tell you which turning to take or junction to get off at just a few seconds after you’ve passed it by. If you find yourself having to turn around and backtrack on every one of the self employed courier jobs that you do, the chances are that you are stuck with this kind of driver’s mate. It’s probably best to just take the map off them and try and do it yourself, or better still, invest in a GPS device.

Radio Fiddler

The rules of the road are pretty simple – everyone knows that the driver is the one with the final say over what music is played, whether it is radio, a CD, or simply blissful silence. But some passengers simply don’t understand this basic rule. While you are occupied with your driving, they’ll take every opportunity to fiddle with the volume, change radio stations, or stick on their favourite rap-metal CD. Don’t stand for this rebellion – your van, your tunes. No exceptions!

Lyall Cresswell is the Managing Director of Courier Exchange, the world’s largest neutral trading hub for the Sameday courier and express freight exchange industry. Over 2,500 transport exchange businesses are networked together through their website, trading self employed courier jobs and capacity in a safe ‘wholesale’ environment.

Anyone with a passing knowledge of STDs will be aware of some of the more common infections – gonorrhoea, chlamydia, genital herpes, and so on. If you go for an STD test, these are amongst the most likely diseases that could be found, but they are by no means the only ones – there are many rare infections that may not occur as often, but can be just as dangerous. Some of them were once common, but have been driven back by improvements in medical knowledge, whereas others used to be rare, but are becoming increasingly common for one reason or another.

Here are five rare STDs that most people know little about…

Chancroid

This STD is still common in Third World countries, but is relatively rare in the developed world. Manifesting as a series of sores on the genitals, Chancroid is painful but not serious, and can be cured with a simple course of antibiotics. An STD test is not usually necessary, as a doctor will be able to recognize the distinct sight of the sores.

Syphilis

Syphilis used to be one of the most common STDs. In his entry for it in his ‘Dictionary of Received Ideas’, 19th century French author Flaubert listed the disease as “Syphilis: Pretty much everyone has it.” It also used to be one of the most feared. It was known as ‘The Great Imitator’ due to how difficult it was to diagnose, with no accurate STD test for it. There was no effective treatment until the 20th century.

Thanks to advances in medicine, especially antibiotics, syphilis is now thankfully very rare. This is something to be grateful for, especially given that the later stages of syphilis, once it had spread to the brain, usually resulted in madness, disfigurement and death!

Molluscum contagiosum

The name sounds intimidating, but if this crops up on an STD test, it’s nothing to worry about! Manifesting as a series of bumps, rashes and lesions, molluscum contagiosum is spread by sexual or skin to skin contact. It’s a trifle unsightly but fairly harmless, and most doctors will let it go away on its own, which usually takes 3 to 6 months.

Lymphogranuloma venereum

Lymphogranuloma venereum (generally shortened to LGV) was rare until recent years, but it is now becoming more common in developed nations. A variant of the chlamydia virus, it causes swelling and enlargement of various glands in the body, sometimes to a dangerous degree. This STD is highly variable in effect – it is usually just painful and uncomfortable, but in rare cases it can be fatal. The disease can usually be easily treated if it is caught early.

Granuloma inguinale

Sometimes mistaken for syphilis or chancroid, granuloma inguinale causes small painless ulcers and warts on the affected areas. These burst, spread and continue to grow as the disease progresses, making it a dangerous infection if it is left untreated. However, just like many of these rare STDs it can be treated with antibiotics, so there is a very low risk of infection in developed countries.

Tim Leach is part of USALabTesting that provide a confidential, online STD test. With over 2,000 clinics across the USA and a large range of STD Tests available, getting peace of mind is discreet, easy and painless.

Talking about STDs can be an awkward business, just ask any sex education teacher! But while it may be awkward, it is also necessary – with many countries experiencing rising rates of STDs, it is important that people are aware of the risks and will go for an STD test if they’ve had unsafe sex.

Increasingly, it isn’t just being left to parents and teachers to educate people about the perils of STDs – governments, condom manufacturers and health organisations are increasingly getting involved. TV adverts promoting safe sex and STD awareness are getting more and more common, but it remains a tricky subject to advertise. How do you effectively convey a message about a taboo subject?

Some are serious, some are funny, but one thing is usually guaranteed – STD adverts are amongst the most inventive and memorable television adverts out there! Here are a few of the most well known ones of recent years…

AIDS is a Mass Murderer

This recent advert caused something of a stir when it first aired in Germany. Showing a couple coming back to a flat and beginning to have sex, it is revealed in the very last frame that the man making love to the woman is in fact Adolf Hitler, followed by the slogan “AIDs is a Mass Murderer”. AIDs charities objected to the stigmatisation of HIV and AIDs sufferers – most other people seemed to think it was just a funny and bizarre twist to an advert. Whether it will make someone go for an STD test is anyone’s guess!

Condom for your Umbrella?

Africa is a continent that has long been troubled by HIV and AIDs, and condom manufacturers have tried to be doubly inventive to promote safe sex. This African advert showed a man meeting a women who is putting away her umbrella, but loses the umbrella cover to the wind. Smiling, the man pulls out a condom, and stretches it the entire length of the umbrella. It was a novel attempt to show that the old excuse (”condoms are too small”) really doesn’t apply unless you are of truly gargantuan proportions, though the fact that a watching crowd burst into applause during the ‘climax’ lent the advert a somewhat surreal air…

Give Me What You’ve Got

This NHS advert ingeniously featured a number of couples undressing with the names of STDs written on their underwear, with a rather catchy tune in the background repeating the line “Give me what you got.” This somewhat raunchy advert ran into the same problems as a lot of STD adverts (it’s quite hard to show people having sex and convince viewers that this is a bad thing!) but it certainly provided some memorable imagery.

Practising safe sex and going for an STD test when necessary are vital steps to maintaining sexual health, but they’ve also given rise to some truly bizarre ad campaigns. Whatever the future holds for STDs, it’s safe to say we’ll be seeing plenty more strange adverts in the years to come.

Tim Leach is part of USALabTesting that can provide a confidential, online STD test. With over 2,000 clinics across the USA and a large range of STD Testing available, getting peace of mind is discreet, easy and painless.

Myth No. 1:
You can tell that somebody has an STD just by looking at them.

Truth:
Many of the most common STDs have very limited symptoms, and some are even symptomless.  As such, there is no way that you could tell somebody had an STD just by looking at them.  In fact, as the majority of STDs are detectable only by STD testing, there are many people who are unaware that they are infected.  The limited and unobvious nature of STD symptoms means that it is very important to ensure that you take a regular STD test.

Myth No. 2:
Being on the contraceptive pill means that I am protected from STDs.

Truth:
This is 100% wishful thinking.  Birth control pills can prevent you from getting pregnant, but they cannot keep you safe from sexually transmitted diseases.  If you’re on the pill, be sure to be doubly safe and use a condom as well.  If you have a long term partner and want to rely only on the pill, be sure that you continue using condoms until you have both taken an STD test.

Myth No. 3:
I can’t get an STD if I’m pregnant.

Truth:
Contrary to popular belief, pregnancy does not offer any protection from STDs.  The chances of contracting an STD are just as high for pregnant women as for anybody else, but the consequences are much more severe.  STDs during pregnancy can lead to complications such as the onset of early labour, and the STDs can affect the baby in some cases.  If you are thinking of trying for a baby, it is advisable to get an STD test before you begin.

Myth No. 4:
You can catch STDs from toilet seats.

Truth:
There have been no proven cases of STDs being transmitted from a toilet seat.  The majority of sexually transmitted diseases can only be caught via sexual activity or via the blood.  The most common exception to this rule is the Herpes virus, however the virus is fragile and will not survive on a surface such as a toilet seat.

Myth No. 5
STDs can make me infertile.

Truth:
Unfortunately this is not a myth.  About ten per cent of women who have contracted either Chlamydia or Gonorrhea will develop Pelvic Inflammatory Disease which can later result in infertility.  Regular STD testing can catch the infections before PID develops.

Myth No. 6
All STDs can be cured.

Truth:
Sadly, not all STDs can be cured.  A course of antibiotics can clear up diseases such as Gonorrhea, Chlamydia and Syphilis relatively quickly.  However there are other STDs that cannot be treated.  The most serious of these is HIV which can later develop into AIDS, which leads to immune deficiency.  However, less severe STDs such as Herpes and Hepatitis are also incurable and will stay with you for life.  Though not all diseases can be cured, it is important that they are identified through STD testing so that they are not spread any further.

With so many rumours afoot about sexually transmitted infections, it is often hard to separate the truth from the myths.  However it is much better to be safe than sorry, undertake STD testing rather than believing everything you read.

Catch a Movie, Not the Clap.
One of the most longstanding and traditional dates you can go on, a trip to the movies, is always a nice way to spend an evening getting to know someone.  There is something very romantic about sitting in a darkened room, surrounded by people but somehow feeling as if you are the only two in the room, as you secretly enjoy watching your date struggle with the internal monologue of “should I put my arm around them? Should I hold their hand?”  Though there is not much opportunity for conversation during the movie, it provides a perfect conversation starter for the journey home.  If, on your date’s insistence, you have to see a film that is not quite to your tastes, watch comfortably in the knowledge that you can choose the second date.  A classic and classy date, a trip to the cinema guarantees old-fashioned fun, with no danger of needing an STD test afterwards.

Dodge That Disease
For a slightly more upbeat evening out, why not go on a date to a funfair? Scare yourself on the ghost train, share some candy floss, and let your date win you a giant cuddly toy on the coconut shy.  Feel the magic of the fair as you cuddle up and watch the world go by on the ferris wheel.  For a bit of extra excitement, challenge your date and go head to head on the dodgems.  Or perhaps you’d rather test your team-working skills, sharing a car and sharing the fun.  You may acquire some bruises on the bumper cars but at least you’ll dodge the drama of an STD test.

Dive In, But Not at the Deep End
One of the more fun dates you can go on, a trip to a water park or swimming pool is a great way to get to know the fun side of someone.  Frolic in the fountains, launch yourself down the flumes, and then lay back and relax on a lilo and make the most of not having to worry about how your hair or make up looks. Some water parks even have disco evenings, so you might get the chance to put your date through their paces on a water-filled dance floor.  A great way to have some good clean fun, there’ll be no STD testing required after a trip to a water park.

Feed Your Appetite, But Not That One…
There’s nothing more romantic than being taken out for a meal.  Whether it’s a candle-lit dinner in a cosy restaurant, an all you can eat buffet, or even a picnic in the park, the way to one’s heart is almost always through their stomach.  Be sure to check whether you are dating a vegetarian before you pick your restaurant, and choose somewhere with a varied menu so that you have plenty to discuss.  Go dutch and share the cost of dinner, rather than the cost of an STD test.

With sexually transmitted diseases becoming more and more common, it’s very important to undertake regular STD testing.  However, there are plenty of ways to have fun with a date, without risking the dangers of STDs; the second date needn’t involve a trip to the STD testing center.