Dallas Stars Podcast - Dallas Fort Worth DFW

From our friends at The Costume Closet, based in the Dallas area:
It’s that time of year again! Every dance director, studio owner, performer, and parent is starting to stress over the preparation for their annual spring show or recital. Sleep is lost, tears are shed, and blood pressure rises. Health is compromised over the perfection of one monumental performance.
I have seen the good, the bad, and the downright ugly when it comes to shows and recitals. As one who has performed in, choreographed, and directed shows since the age of four, I have a plethora of insight from not only myself but from parents, friends, significant others, and everyone else in between. There are certain elements that make your show more entertaining for your audience, which I may remind you are the reason why we even have reason to put on these performances!  (That means your average audience member is probably not going to fully appreciate a twenty minute long motionless interpretation of statues…)
So what makes a great show? Theme, variation, flow, transitions, and timing all greatly affect the enjoyableness of your show and take your fabulous routines from being one-liners to collectively telling a story. Some of this requires planning in advance as you are preparing your pieces for the year. Audiences enjoy shows more if they can grasp a common theme and see variation within that theme. Having an entertaining emcee or video clips between performances allows your performers to enter and exit the stage without the audience sitting in the dark for two minutes. And finally, timing can make or break your show! Keep your show under 2 and thirty minutes WITH an intermission. Trying to cram in every routine into a show many times means your audience members leave disgruntled and needing a trip to the chiropractor!
Budgeting is also a huge factor when planning your show. Know in advance how much money you have available to spend. From there, itemize a budget for specific items and leave a little extra for wiggle room. Costuming always takes up the bulk of the budget. In a perfect world, we would all have beautiful custom garments for every one of our pieces, but for 90% of the dance world, this is just not possible. Fortunately, there are now resources to allow you to have a different set of beautiful costumes for every piece at even more beautiful prices. Costume rental is an awesome way to use costumes for the month of your show without the high priced obligation of buying a costume to wear once or twice. One such company that specializes in costume rental and consignment is The Costume Closet. They have a very large amount of inventory to choose from and ensure that every customer has a personalized experience with lightning fast turn-around.
So avoid the stress this show season…Ha! I know that there is virtually no way to make the entire show experience stress free but if you plan your show according with these tips in mind, you may avoid popping out the Prozac this spring!

This is a guest post from http://www.sellmyjunkcardallas.com/ in regards to selling junk cars in Dallas and what to look for in a junk car.

Replacing a junk cars distributor cap and rotor:

The distributor and rotor send nigh-voltage current to the spark plugs. Both should be checked periodically for wear or damage. Remove the rubber or plastic protective cover over the distributor cap with your fingers, or if it has fasteners, use a screwdriver. Release the cap from the distributor with a screwdriver or a nut driver; the screws will remain in the cap. Or, if two spring clips hold the cap in place, push them outward to free the cap. 

Turn over the distributor cap and inspect it. Check for signs of deterioration: burns or pits on the metal contacts, and carbon tracks on the cap. Next, twist the cable boots off their towers one at a time and look for carbon tracks and cracks or other damage to the cap. If the cap is in good condition, clean it inside and out with a dry rag. If the cap is faulty, replace both the cap and the rotor.

With the new cap installed, hold the old cap and cables beside it. Remove the boost of one cable at a time from the old cap and fit it snugly onto the corresponding tower on the new cap.

The rotor receives high voltage from the coil at the center post of the distributor cap and distributes the power to the spark plug cables as it rotates. Grasp the rotor as shown and lift it straight off the distributor shaft. Inspect the rotor for pits, carbon tracks or other visible damage. If the rotor is faulty, replace both the rotor and the distributor cap. Place the new rotor on the distributor post, rotate it until they are aligned and gently slide the rotor down. Some rotors have retaining screws; remove the screws, position the new rotor and screw it in place.

More repair tips 

As the Stars celebrate 20 years in Texas, it's time to look back on one of the greatest Dallas Stars players of all time: The Eagle.

Looking back, it's tough to articulate just how much Eddie Belfour meant to DFW in the latter part of the 1990's.

Andy Moog had long been a fan favorite, the only starting goaltender the Stars had known since the North Stars moved, but after his departure in the spring of 1997 it became clear the team needed to make an aggressive move to become the contender they were building themselves up to become.

Belfour came with plenty of drama and baggage. He'd developed a reputation as a crazed goaltender who wasn't friendly with the media and who had clashed with two of his backups -- including Dominik Hasek. Perhaps a bit more concerning was Belfour's reputation as a goaltender who folded in the clutch and who was unable to lead his team in the postseason.  Plenty of risks, and upside, were apparent with Belfour from the start.

Yet Belfour was exactly what the Dallas Stars needed to complete the vision that Mr. Gainey had for the championship-caliber team he wanted to build. The goaltender fit perfectly into Coach's vision as a fearless and speed-driven offensive minded hockey team.  Cheers to The Eagle.