How to Clean White Gold: Step One

The first step to cleaning any type of jewelry or precious metal is to give it a thorough, close examination. You will want to keep an eye out for any damaged prongs, loose stones, and other similar issues. If you find any problems, then it is advised that you take the white gold to a professional jeweler, as an unprofessional performing the cleaning process on a damaged jewelry can cause even more damage to it.

How to Clean White Gold: Step Two

Make your cleaning solution. You may find white gold cleaning solutions in your local stores. However, it is usually unnecessary to buy a cleaning solution, as making one yourself is extremely simple. To make a cleaning solution: mix one qt. of warm water with one tsp. of dish soap in a bowl. Mix until you start to see bubbles. Once the solution is properly mixed, place the white gold into the bowl filled with the cleaning solution and let it sit for around 15 minutes.

How to Clean White Gold: Step Three

The third step involves removing the dirt on the white gold with an old and soft bristled toothbrush. You can use water and baking soda to get into the fine lines and crevices. You can also utilize plain baking soda toothpaste. Be careful when you are using a toothbrush, as you can create scratches on the white gold if you brush it too hard.

How to Clean White Gold: Step Four

Rinse the white gold with warm water. It is advised to rinse the white gold thoroughly so all the baking soda and detergent is removed. Any soap or soda left on the white gold can make it look dull. Furthermore, it is advised to use a plastic strainer with small holes to wash your white gold, especially if you are worried about dropping your white gold.

How to Clean White Gold: Step Five

The final step involves drying and polishing the white gold. Use a soft towel and gently dry the white gold. Once it is properly dried, use a jewelry cloth to polish the white gold. You can use an alternative to the jewelry cloth, which is a lint-free cloth that is also safe to use on electronics. This type of cloth is specifically designed to not scratch fine surfaces. However, it is still recommended to not rub too hard, as even lint-free cloth can create scratches on white gold.

Cleaning your white gold is rewarding, as it will make the white gold look a good deal more attractive. If your cleaning results do not satisfy you, then try buying an expensive jewelry cleaning solution. However, if it your white gold still looks dirty even after you used expensive cleaning solutions, then you may want to take your jewelry to a professional jeweler.

Matt blogs for Dakota Financial on a wide variety of topics including cash for gold and gold handling tips. Matt also blogs for other pawn shops around Oklahoma City on a wide variety of topics to help OKC residents before they make mistakes. Check out Dakota Financial’s site for tons of helpful info on gold buying and selling topics as well as important things to remember.

Though I have listened and occasionally still listen to all those awful pop songs, I believe myself to be a pretty good judge as far as taste in music goes. I suppose you could disagree with me if you happen to really enjoy those bubbly pop songs that are all overplayed on the radio, and that’s fine. I’m just offering up my view of the complex pie that is music.

In giving critiques, discussions, and comparisons of two bands, I hope to lead you to choose the bands that will sit nicely on your musical palette and steer you away from those that would leave you with a foul taste in your mouth

So, here we go.

Metric

I have to admit that I might be a little biased about this band simply because I like it so much. I was first introduced to Metric when they popped up on my Pandora station one day with their song “Help I’m alive.” Their similarity to Shiny Toy Guns, who did put out some good songs, piqued my interest.

The electric guitar coupled with the consistent drumming gave me everything I wanted in a rock song and even threw in some really interesting lyrics. One of favorite lines in that song is “hard to be soft, tough to be tender.” The echoing vocals also add a nice touch.

Upon listening to Metric’s other albums, I was further impressed. I am partial to the album Grow Up and Blow Away, especially for its song “Torture Me” and “White Gold” for their inclusion of the piano. The deep tones really resonate while you’re listening to those songs.

The most recently released single from the album Synthetica, “Youth Without Youth,” has a slightly more monotonous accompaniment than I would have liked, though I did like the spacey sounds that are played are different intervals throughout the song. The lyrics are wonderful, and I have all the faith in the world that the soon-to-be-released album will deliver just as big of a punch as her previous albums.

Plus, it’s not as if Metric hasn’t pulled off monotony before. Her song “Hustle Rose” begins with the most monotonous accompaniment and lyrics I have ever heard, and yet it was one of favorite songs for a long time.

Maybe it’s because Metric has continuously put out good music, but I somehow feel that they can get away with all kinds of characteristically bad musical techniques because, quite frankly, I think they pull them off.

Jason Mraz

I very much enjoyed Jason Mraz’s first album Waiting for My Rocket to Come for its funk influences. It was different than anything else I had ever heard before, and I love that kind of thing. Anything original and weird is right up my alley.

Jason Mraz’s laid-back attitude really attracted me in the beginning as well. His lyrics were interesting and gave me the feeling that there was no need to worry about anything, which is the same feeling I get from Jack Johnson. It was a beautifully carefree album, even if “The Remedy” did end up on the radio.

His fast-paced lyrics also drew me in immediately, especially in his song “Curbside Prophet.” I still remember times when my sister and I would try as hard as we could to keep up with his hip-hopping lyrics. Ah, good memories.

Mraz’s second album was really when he hit his funk peak. His fast-paced lyrics culminated into my favorite song on the album, “Geek in the Pink.” Plus, no one can forget his song, “Wordplay,” where Mraz really shows his stuff and proves that he was more than a one-hit wonder. That one got ruined by the radio too, but it was a worthy pinnacle for him.

The album, Mr. A-Z, was also the beginning of Mraz’s desire to branch out and experiment with all kinds of musical genres. His song, “Mr. Curiosity,” even includes a brief stint of opera and is somehow perfect for the tone of the song. And, even in one of the most cliché songs of the album, “Life is Wonderful,” he manages to add interesting vocal techniques to spruce up the otherwise redundant material.

That album was, unfortunately, the last time I would ever give him so many exceptions to the rules. He certainly earned the ones he got, but his next two albums left much to be desired. I’ll give credit to the songs “Love for a Child” and “If It Kills Me” for their brilliant lyrics and satisfactory accompaniment, but most of the other songs on the album was either horribly overplayed, cliché, or less than mediocre.

We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. branched off from Mraz’s characteristic funk style into lyrics that were more sensual than usual. It was an interesting change, and I think that he pulled it off in “Butterfly.” Other than that, I think he could have left the rest of it at home. It was like he threw a bunch of cardboard boxes next to the wall and expected them to turn into gun safes. It doesn’t work like that.

The newest release, Love is a Four Letter Word, seems like it’s more of the same disappointment. It has a few gems, I’ll admit. I love the lyrics in “Everything is Sound” where I see the Jason Mraz I used to know and love. The rest of the album veers too far away from the niche that he built for himself, though his laid-back attitude is more apparent in this album than in the last.

To be honest, I haven’t quite listened to the entire album yet, but I’ve picked out everything that seems worthwhile. Maybe some of the songs I haven’t listened to all the way through will surprise me, but I’m pretty sure he’s not impressing many people anymore. I’ll leave the decision up to you from there.

In Conclusion

Music is critical for my life, and I hope that you feel the same. To offer some advice before I go, I would say that it is best to broaden your musical horizons and mix up the things you listen to. And that’s about it. Good luck with your musical exploration.

-Kassandra Konecny

solar power panels

However, despite the growing popularity of solar power it is not without detractors. One of the charges leveled against solar power by its detractors is that is it not as clean and safe as it is claimed to be. And there is some truth in that. Manufacturing of solar cells involves several stages: silica sand mining, which is upgraded to metallurgical grade silicon, which is upgraded to poly-silicon wafers, which are sawed into solar cells, which are joined together in modules, which are assembled to make solar panels. During these processes, harmful substance like silica dust, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, chlorosilanes, hydrogen chloride and silicon tetrachloride are produced as byproducts. Hazardous chemicals like nitric acid, sodium hydroxide and hydrofluoric acid are also used in the processes. However, all of these processes are done in highly controlled and confined environments, and cause very negligible damages to the earth’s ecosystem.

Another charge leveled again solar power is that it is too expensive for the average household, even in affluent countries. This is also true to some extent, though prices have been dropping steadily in recent years. Still, solar panels and batteries do cost a lot; and add to that the cost of installation and most people will be left shaking their head. But if you look at the long term, the money you can save on electric bills will amount to far more than the initial cost of installation by the time the useful life the solar panels ends, which is more than 25 years. If your area has a feed-in tariff program, you may even be able to earn money by selling the excess electricity generated to the power company. And, of course, to help even more, federal and state governments often provide grants and subsidies, and if you are one of the lucky ones your installation cost may be more than halved.

If you are handy, you may also consider looking into DIY solar, which can save thousands of dollars – but keep in mind that DIY solar panels are generally not as efficient as professionally produced panels. Still, if you don’t have the money to install solar panels up front otherwise, a DIY job will still save you money on your power bills, and reduce your carbon footprint.

The third charge leveled against solar power is that solar panels do not work on cloudy days. This is untrue. Solar panels work very well on most days. In fact, they work best when there is sunlight but it is not too hot. One thing about most machines is that is that when they are too hot, they become less efficient. Solar power systems are no different. They lose their efficiency and produce less electricity under the glare of direct sunlight on a hot summer’s day. However, shade is bad for solar panels. If they are under direct shade most panels will not produce electricity. They will also have very low efficiency on a particularly dark and gloomy day. But in most places, solar panels can in fact generate free electricity throughout the year.