Alternative fuels including wind, solar, geo-thermal, ethanol, coal seam gas and natural gas.

Why You Should Hire an Architect

Posted: September 8th, 2010 | Author: squadron | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: | No Comments »

An architect is a well trained professional who has experience in planning, designing and the construction of buildings and the oversight of construction jobs.

Also, one is not considered an architect until he or she has properly passed all the necessary education and accredited programs to procure a license in order to practice architecture. When practicing architecture, the architect can have freedom to design the building or group of buildings, as well as the space around it that still counts as part of the project. These ideas form the planning stage of the project and can take months to finalise.

The reason why architects are so crucial to the success of any building plan is simple: they can put your ideas into a feasible and concrete reality. If you have great ambitions for your home or place of business, then an architect can make sure that those dreams will come true.

But aside from the actual design of the building, there are so many other complex factors (beyond the scope of inexperienced people) that need to be considered, and these are also covered in the responsibilities of the architect.

For example, there are some architectural firms that not only design the building for you, but they also prepare the bid documents for the pricing of the entire project, and are the ones that most commonly talk to the contractors, stakeholders and any third parties involved in the assignment.

When you engage an architect, you will not have to be bogged down by all the small technical details. All you have to be concerned about is if whether or not the building is coming along according to your plans originally devised with the help of the architect.

The architect is also very helpful before the actual construction. If you do not have an actual plan but do have an idea on what you want your structure to look like, then that is where the professional can help you on the project.

All you have to do is to present them with some ideas and they can be the ones to take care of site analysis, the assistance you may need in zoning and planning, any environmental impact studies you may need, bidding and contract negotiation with the contractor and his men, and so much more.

The architect that you hire will be involved in all of the aspects of your project. Essentially, you are hiring an architect because you require a trained professional to take carriage of planning and designing the building or dwelling as well as provide the necessary feedback and support throughout the entire project.

Engaging an architect is like taking on a business partner for your project, one who is knowledgeable, knows the risk areas around the project and knows how to minimize those risks, has the necessary people skills to work with contractors in order to hire additional resources within budget.

A good architect will treat the project as though it is his or her own and will devise creative ideas and plans to the manager, and discuss in great detail the advantages, disadvantages, any hindrances of a particular strategy.

These are just some of the many important benefits and key reasons why you should use an architect. There are so many more reasons that really prove that any project worth going through with has to be under the supervision of a highly qualified architect. In the end, it all boils down to the fact that you have a dream construction project, and your architect is the person to make all these dreams become reality.

Looking for Brisbane architects? For renovation architects Brisbane, contact Dion Seminara Architecture. They are leading home improvement architects. Brisbane office is located in Morningside.


Tents and Marquees

Posted: September 2nd, 2010 | Author: squadron | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | No Comments »

marquees-pavillion-3Event Tents, such as wedding tents are used when you want to make a daring outdoor scene. They are generally structures installed at a location for a period of time.

Why A Tent?
Commercial Tents are used as protection from the sun, rain or a gathering place. They can make a stunning and creative atmosphere for any event.

Tent Rentals
Tents can be rented or leased for a day, a weekend, weeks, months, etc. For one or two day events, the Tents are usually installed a few days before the event, depending on scheduling and weather, and remain until a few days after the event. Many rentals are quoted for the entire week, allowing for time to set up and design the interior and exterior. Some Tents are built for exceedingly long-term events and have been installed and remain installed for years.

What Kind of Tent Should I Rent?
Tent rental companies come in all sizes – from small-sized companies with just a few Tents to exceedingly large-sized companies – carrying dozens of several sizes and styles of Tents. Some general rental companies rent from tent rental companies to accommodate their client’s needs.

You may know you want to use a standard Tent for your event, or your event planner may already have in mind to use a Tent. You have options! There are lots of other fabulous
structures and Tent styles out there. Some are unique and make a statement of their own. Ask the rental company you’re working with for a list of the type styles they have on hand.

Usually, the varying types of Tents available in most companies are (the names vary depending of the company):

Folding Tents Easy and fast to use and always in demand. Very popular, because usually is the less expensive tent. Fast, flexible, cost effective and long lasting.

They are used by:

  • Corporate brands across most industries
  • Government & Council buyers
  • SME business marketers
  • Franchisees
  • Agricultural exhibitors
  • Emergency services & community groups
  • Folding Tents create brand exposure opportunities.
  • You can reach your audience at the right time, in the right place with the right message.

Inflatable Tents An exciting and fun alternative Tent. Easy & fast to set up. Be sure they have removable printed roof because in that way you can share the investment with other licences.

What Size Tent Will I Need?

The size of Tent depends on a few factors:

1. The number of guests you expect
2. Layout or seating arrangements or the style of event:

* Reception with what type of tables?
* Speaker engagement with what type of seating?
* Will you need a dance floor?
* Will you need display areas for your products?

If you are interested in a Tent, you can expect to need about 2,000 – 2,500 square feet for 200-seated guests. That could mean a 40 x 60 size Tent (Always ask the Tent rental vendor directly and they’ll give you the best informationabout the size of Tent you’ll need).

Therefore, the key rule is; know what you are going to use your tent for. The choice of tents is amazing, almost on par with the choice of cars that you can buy.

So if you need a tent for the family BBQ, for example, your needs are fairly fundamental
and your budget may be low. Look for cheap tents that offers a waterproof Polyester roof and a solid warranty for under $600.

If you need a tent for a school or sports club you will need a range of sizes, and colours. Most plain colour Tents s range between $995- $2900. If you are keen to promote yourself, you can have your names printed for around $150-$300. Printing logos usually cost a little more.

In the last 5 years, portable Tents have become important to businesses for their marketing. The key need for these buyers is a prominent and quality reproduction of their logo. Sign written or printed Tents can be as dull as a website address or they can be a design extravaganza.

Remember, if it is for commercial purposes, the aim is to build awareness of your company with your printed Tent. Printed corporate Tents range in price from $1500- $4000. Good ones will really catch your eye.

Once you have decided on what sort of buyer you are and how you are going to use your Tents, a good Tents company will offer you a choice of frames, a warranty of between 3-5 years and help with designing the printing-if you need it.

For more information about tents, contact Extreme Marquees. We have a range of cheap tents, for all sorts of home and business applications.


Repairing Flooded Carpet: A cheap job is a good job right? Wrong….

Posted: August 18th, 2010 | Author: squadron | Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

Don’t let a novice 24 hour carpet cleaner try to repair your water damaged carpets. These are the things you need to be wary of:

Overcharging. An unprofessional water restoration technician may fill the job up with unnecessary inclusions. E.g. using dehumidification for drying the flooded carpets when it is not needed.

Using the correct equipment. They might use equipment from hire places for drying the carpet. This is ok to do, but an established water damage cleaner will possess all their equipment to provide a quicker response and hopefully a better value job.

Moisture metre. If they don’t have the proper moisture meter, they can’t know when the carpet is repaired. This enhances the risk of future mould growth. Mould removal in future may be required.

If they aren’t specialised. There are many “Carpet Cleaners” in this industry who do water damage repair jobs on the “side.” i.e. they do not take on this type of task often. Be careful of them. Fixing a carpet is an art. Reinstalling carpets on the gripper strips needs to be completed by a professional, otherwise carpets can be damaged irrepairably.

You might be pondering, how do I locate a good Flood Restoration professional? Below I have listed some signifiers to look for when you are calling around for a carpet flood damage business:

The size of their Yellow Pages ad: This can be an indication as to how much business they get already. A full-size Yellow Pages ad can cost more than $50 000. So if they have paid for a bigger ad, you have some assurance that they are established.

Where do they show in Google? The higher the rate in Google, the more “online votes” there have been for that business.

What Qualifications do they have? The fundamental qualification needed is a IICRC qualification of Applied Structural Drying and Water Damage Restoration.

Do Insurance companies hire them for their water damage jobs? This is a better indicator. If insurance companies hire them, the business is very likely to be superb at their job. Insurance companies will use the providers that give them the best value for the fee.

What Equipment do they have? They should at least own 100 Air movers. If they possess this many, this could show they have been established for a good time. It took our business 8 years to build up that many wet carpet drying air movers.

What type of commitment can you get from them through a phone call? See if you can pin them down to a set rate for water extraction, water removal and initial inspection. If they won’t give you a fee for at least this, you know they are not going to serve you, so move on.

Response Time – Our Water Damage Brisbane-based business works to a 59 minute response time for a water damage emergency. The restoration needs to be attended to ASAP. Mould can develop in a 24 hour period.

If you stick to these tips you are sure to locate a Flood Damage Restoration business who knows what they are doing.

If you have carpet water damage Brisbane, call us for flooded wet carpet drying. Brisbane storm season is approaching and you may need storm damage carpet cleaning. Brisbane and surrounding areas serviced.


Podiatry as a Career in Australia

Posted: August 13th, 2010 | Author: squadron | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | No Comments »

As a practicing podiatrist in Brisbane, Australia, I am frequently asked by clients if podiatry would be a good career for a school leaver to enter. There are many things to recommend a career in podiatry including:

  • You can be self employed: This is a option that is increasingly being denied to other health care providers such as optometrists and even Family Doctors. Big Business controls a lot of health practices. Consider how often you see an independent optometrist these days – can they compete on price with the multinational chains?
  • Legal Issues: In Australia (unlike the USA where things are very different), podiatrists very, very rarely face litigation . The nature of podiatry practice does not lend itself to accidentally harming one’s patients. Also, you never have to give your clients the bad news that their condition will be terminal.
  • Working Hours: Emergency call outs are very unlikely. This is great news for those among us who like their sleep uninterrupted.
  • Financial Reward: Whilst it is true that podiatry doesn’t pay as well as being a doctor or dentist , the remuneration is generally commensurate with other allied health providers.
  • Instant Gratification: One of the best aspects of working as podiatrist is the instant gratification! People come in with pain and leave happy. You will consult on a plethora of bite-sized jobs each day, many with a cure you can provide immediately. From someone that has worked with unanimously grumpy customers in a past career, believe me when I tell you, it makes the day much more pleasant when people leave you smiling.
  • Philanthropy: Podiatry will provide you a lot of opportunity to help relieve the suffering of your fellow human beings.
  • Self – Determination: Podiatry provides a professional the power to determine their own course of action for the benefit of their patients. This is unlike a career in nursing for instance where one works under the instruction of a doctor.
  • Clear Job roles: The only people who can work as a podiatrist are those with a podiatry qualification. The clear roles that this defines relieves the need to find your ‘niche’ after university – as someone with a more generic Bachelor of Science degree might need to do.
  • Do you like to travel? There are many places across the world that do not make their own podiatrists including Tasmania, the Northern Territory, all of Asia and all of the Middle East. If you want to work your way around the world, Australian podiatrists can work in any Commonwealth country and are particularly in demand in Singapore, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and other far flung fields.
  • Variety: In any given day, a podiatrist will see a large range of complaints. There might be an ingrown toenail or two, an excruciating corn, a sporting injury, some lower back pain and at least a couple of painful heels . The primary skill required in being a good podiatrist is to bea good problem solver. Every patient is an individual with a unique problem requiring a well considered solution.

How do you train as a podiatrist ?

To qualify as a podiatrist provided by six Australian Universities:

  • Curtin University
  • La Trobe University
  • Charles Sturt University
  • Queensland University of Technology
  • University of South Australia
  • University of Western Sydney.

Last year, the entry score for the QUT was OP 8.

Stephanie Cosgrove graduated as a podiatrist from QUT in 1990 and with a Master’s degree in Applied Science (Podiatry) in 1996. Since 1991, she has worked in private practice as a Podiatrist Brisbane. She received three university prizes during her studies, including the award for excellence in design and manufacture of orthotics. Brisbane has been the site of her private practice since 1991 which has grown to four locations and eleven staff. If you want to Walk Without Pain consider a visit to Brisbane’s most innovative podiatry practice today. Call for an appointment now on 1300 A1 Feet.


Eight Steps to Great Web Design

Posted: August 7th, 2010 | Author: squadron | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , | No Comments »

Take control of getting your site actualized by a developer and comprehend the process it will save you money and aquire you a site that actually works the intended purpose!

1. Knowing your business and how you are currently positioned in your market.
In order to create a site that truly meets your requirements; you first need to have a full knowledge of your business including your products, and/or services and more importantly their market position. You then have to acknowledge how you want to explain your business and what it offers in 7 seconds or less. Sounds impossible? Well that is the average time that a user will consider the point “is this site I searched for?”.

2. Budget and estimation
Have a budget in mind and don’t be afraid to let the developers know what it is. In saying this: BE REALISTIC, $500 will never see a great web site created, nor will they be anything left in the bank to market it.

3. The creative process
Be furnished with example sites and more importantly the elements of the site you like so they can attain an understanding of what you would like to see on your site and also what you find frustrating about other sites. This will construct a good profile and realise not only what type of site to actualize for you but your tolerance to colours, animations, layouts etc. for your requirements which will allow for efficient development. The more interaction and information you bestow them in the beginning the more time you will save everybody in the long run by becoming what you want 1st time round. Check with the designers on how many rounds of changes come with the contract, most will allow for a total conceptual redesign only once and 2 rounds of changes after that.

4. Production and Content
After the home page design is created, the developers will more than likely acquire the general layout of this concept and then formulate the inner page template. It is this template that will be duplicated for most of your pages for your site.
Provide your content in a pre-proofed word processed document; don’t become too creative with the document fonts etc. as these will not be preserved when the content is copied into the code of the site. It is suggested that you do use bolding, underlining, headings and sub heading though ,as these highlights are transferred into the site and are essential later on in not only getting the point across to the reader but for Search Engine Optimisation.
One last tip for content; provide a decent amount of content but present it in a way that a reader may accomplish a summary of what you are trying to infer across in the 1st couple of paragraphs and an image or to. The rest of the paragraphs that get into finer details ARE FOR GOOGLE !

5. Development Programming and CMS
If your website contains Content Managed Areas (CMS) or has any other dynamic sections the developers will wrap your design around a content management program such as Joomla or Drupal or they may have a custom built system. Make sure that you get to see how the CMS system works on another site they have developed or an example site they may have. it is essential that you know that you can utilize and know the system when your site is complete.

6. Testing and training
We work closely with the developers to test your site especially if there are any CMS or special programs that have been made for you. You can guarantee if it is has just been written for you then it will not work 100% first time round. This is a where things can get ugly in the process you must understand the way the program works and test it as if you were normal website user. If it doesn’t make sense to you, odds are it won’t make sense to your audience. Make sure you test your website on more than just your browser, try to test it on Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari. All of these browsers are available to download on the internet for free!

7. Launch – going live
When the developers are ready to put your site onlive make sure you have completed the above testing step until you are content that this website is the best representation of your business / product it can be. Remember even though you can change things after going live it is still a poor reflection on your business if there are spelling mistakes or broken images when you launch.

8. Marketing
There is little point in having a website if nobody visits it, make sure as part of you contract you have considered search engine optimisation and or search engine marketing as part of your website build. This is the absolute most important factor of the whole process. If you are the only one looking at your site then you are in trouble.

Remember Search Engine Optimisation is about 30% Onsite (getting your site correct for Search Engine to index correctly) and 70% Promotion. Any developer who tells you otherwise hasn’t been in the industry too long.

For more information about web design Brisbane, contact Web Site Blue. Our web designers understand marketing as well as design.


Tips to Creating a New Business Logo

Posted: August 6th, 2010 | Author: squadron | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , | No Comments »

A logo is a essential step to creating a business. It is the face of your business. And like your face expresses the tone of your business, indicates the service and demonstrates the professionalism or lack there of.

People spend a lot of money on the formation of their logo and walk away with no artwork files. Then a couple months down the track when they require to put signage on their new building they cannot track the design studio down that created the original logo for them and so incur costs to have it recreated. This is unnecessary and may cause obstacles when trying to replecate the logo exactly as done originally.

We have created some basic tips you for to think about when creating a logo. Hopefully these will help you from experiencing any future difficulties.

Tip 1
First things first – you need to decide if you would like your logo to have an accompanying icon. It is desired that if your service or product name is not in your business name then perhaps an icon will assist in portraying a clear message across to your target audience.

An icon can add an extra element to your branding in that you could use the icon on its own on collateral where perhaps you are sighting for a more illustrative finish without losing recognition.

A excellent example of this is the well-known and executed Fedex logo.

Tip 2
Colour can be an crucial decision as it not only could influence the output costs but can also margin your output use. Consider the end result and what you will be commiting your branding onto in the future. Make sure your designer is aware of this as they should design accordingly.

Tip 3
Make certain you get a back up disk of your logo as a master file and ensure that it includes all the files needed for the different printing formats.

Creative software updates frequently and some programmes become obsolete. Assure you have a copy of your logo as a PDF – with the text converted to curves.

Tip 4
Using images in your logo is not very easy to regulate. For example it is troublesome to reverse into black and white. Images also have limitations when it comes to size – they can only be reproduced to a certain size before they start pixilation.

Tip 5
Using gradients in your logo is not recommended. This too can have limitations when it comes to output for ie: gradients are hard to reproduce when embroidering fabrics.

Tip 6
Assure sure the font is legible. Some logos need to be reproduced on small pieces of collateral ie: post stamps. It is important that in this case the text is
legible.

Tip 7
Assure that you get a copy of your logo in CMYK high resolution 300 dpi (for printing use) and RGB 72 dpi(for web use).

Tip 8
It is important to have a style guide of your logo. It will clearly show you how to use your logo so it looks exactly the same every time it is reproduced. This allows you to keep your corporate image consistent.

Tip 9
Make sure that you get a letter from the design studio declaring that you own the copyright to your logo.

If you follow these tips then not only will you accept a well-designed logo but you will also own the artwork. And when it comes to reproducing your collateral you will be doing it the most cost effective way.

For logo design Brisbane and web design Brisbane, contact graphic design Brisbane today for a free two hour consultation.


How to Create a Style Guide

Posted: July 31st, 2010 | Author: squadron | Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

How many times have you sent business cards to print and obtained yet another version of your corporate colour? Ever been fired up to see your advert in the latest newspaper and then noticed that the crucial tag line is gone or your logo has been ruined.

There is only one way to stop this from happening and that is to create a style guide. Not only will a style guide assist you conduct the reproduction of your logo – it will also help you sustain your brand recognition – which many argue is one of the strongest selling tools.

We have placed the below steps together for you as a starting point.

Step 1 : Define the audience for your Style Guide. Is this for staff to utilize in-house or is this for suppliers and contractors to refer to?

Step 2 : Define what your output uses are. This is important because you will want different logos and file formats for example, black and white publication adverts in comparison to vehicle graphics.

Step 3 : Define the tone for the copy and content required. For example you may needcopy rules for printed content and then copy rules for website content.

Content rules cover all punctuation rules and how to attribute to the business and team.

Step 4 : Make certain you layout all the design templates so it is clear how and where the logo and branding lies on all the different pieces of collateral that may be repeated.

Step 5 : Confirm to take into account any contributing logos or logos of business that are correlated with you. It’s also important that you mail a copy of the layout to these companies to insure they accept the layout of their logo as they too may have their own Style Guide and hierarchy layout rules.

Step 6 : Make certain that grammar, spelling and contact details are correct.

Step 7 : Confirm that when suppliers are using the Style Guide they understand~know~discern~apprehend} that a proof needs to be dispatched~sent~mailed~commissioned}to you to be approved as correct.

Make your Style Guide finished and as secure as possible. Then have it saved in an email friendly file format and have a couple printed. Once this is done we strongly suggest a training session – whereby your design studio comes in and trains your staff on how to work the Style Guide and most importantly your brand.

For graphic design Brisbane, logo design Brisbane and web design Brisbane, contact Bydaughters today. We help your brand build business.


Projectors: LCD Verses DLP (The downfall of DLP technology)

Posted: July 19th, 2010 | Author: squadron | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , | No Comments »

The typical question heard when buying a new projector for the home, office, or classroom is: should I get an LCD projector or a DLP projector? LCD, short for ‘liquid crystal device’ and DLP, short for ‘digital light processing’ are the two most common projector imaging technologies. With so many brands and types available, it can be confusing for customers to make a choice between these technologies. Ultimately LCD projectors provide superior image quality and colour accuracy. The next part of this article explains why DLP projectors struggle with bringing up a comparable level of image quality.

It’s like a set of blinds in your house over your bedroom window. By pulling on a rod you can turn the shutters open or closed, depending on if you want to let light in or not. And such is exactly how an LCD projector operates. Each pixel operates like a unique shutter on a set of blinds to either allow light through or to block it. DLP on the other hand is constructed of millions of microscopic mirrors or ‘pixel elements’ as experts like to call them. Each pixel element functions to either reflect light or block it.

How the light source is processed from the time the projector is turned on to when the content reaches your screen is ultimately significant for image quality, brightness and colour accuracy. LCD projectors process white light from the lamp by separating it into red, blue and green components, by three mirrors which project the coloured light to 3 different LCD panels. The 3 LCD panels form the elements of the image by switching each pixel on and off. The pixels are then meshed in a glass prism to create the projector image. Something important to remember about LCD projectors is that all three colours are delivered onto your wall simultaneously. The way a DLP projector operates is vastly different and even the final product of how an image comes out is not the same. With DLP, white light from the lamp is directed through a rotating colour wheel with transparent red, blue and green segments, at speeds up to 11,000 rpm/s. This method of projecting an image requires a sequence of red, blue and green light. The millions of micro mirrors as mentioned above reflect the coloured light on the pixels to produce the image elements. The elements of the image are projected in sequence on the screen, one colour at a time. The viewer’s eye will then draw each coloured element of the image into the total image. From LCD projectors, all colours are available all the time to form top brightness and fantastic colour accuracy. In DLP, only one colour is available at any given time, and so causing lower colour brightness and accuracy. Some developers have placed a white segment for the colour wheel to improve all over brightness, but this also damages colour accuracy.

I read in forums all the time that DLP offers a higher contrast ratio and ergo must be better quality. For those who don’t know, the contrast ratio is a measure of a display system defined as the ratio of the luminance of the brightest white to that of the darkest black that the projector is capable of producing. DLP projectors do possess high contrast specifications when compared to most LCD projectors. At one glance, this seems to be an advantage, however, in truth, the true black level is determined by the ambient light in the room when the projector is in use. Do not be duped by contrast specifications on websites and in brochures.

When the content you are trying to see requires moving images, DLP projection technology also has image errors, or ‘artifacts’. The most often seen artifact that a DLP projector shows with moving images is colour break up. Colour break up is to be expected in DLP systems because moving images change up between the time red, blue and green colours are pulled up. LCD projectors do not have this downside because all colours are processed at the same time. DLP builders have created 3DLP solutions using 3 chips to solve the colour break up error, but the expense of these projectors make them hardly practical for the majority of businesses and consumers.

Another point of difference between LCD and DLP is how they compensate for the refractive qualities of light. Jump back to high school science, and recall how various colours of light refract different amounts when projected through the same lens. The problem with DLP projectors is that they use the one same panel and the same lens to project Red, Blue and Green. All 3 colours are not the same and refract light in different ways. Often with a DLP projector, a spill of yellow colour will show above and some blue will show below something as simple as a lone black line. In building LCD projectors can be adapted to reduce these effects on the projected image, as each colour is processed on a separate LCD panels.

The only true advantage (excluding price) with choosing a DLP projector is its smaller size and weight. However, this is only relevant with regard to transport and cannot be traded off against the image benefits of LCD projectors. If resulting picture quality is crucial to you, then the decision is no-brainer. Go with an LCD projector! LCD projectors will constantly produce bright, colourful images with fewer image mistakes. If you wish to know more about LCD technology in more detail, check out this tremendous resource website: Explore 3LCD. If you have any more questions, get onto Projector Central and send me an email.

Jonathan King is the sales and marketing manager with Projector Central, Australia’s top online shop for projectors. Brisbane based, Projector Central has served Australia for 15 years. For data projectors in the Gold Coast and Interactive Whiteboards, contact Projector Central today.


Yachting and Yacht Clubs

Posted: July 16th, 2010 | Author: squadron | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , | No Comments »

As the Dutch rose to dominance in sea power during the 17th century, the initial yacht had been a pleasure craft used first by royalty and secondly by the burghers for the canals as well as the protected and unprotected waters of the Low Countries. Yacht racing was incidental, coming out of private games. English yachting began with King Charles II of England during his exile in the Low Countries. On his return to the English royalty in 1660, the city of Amsterdam sent him a 20-metre (66-foot) pleasure boat with a beam (maximum width) of 5.6 m (18 feet), which he called Mary. Charles and his brother James, the duke of York (James II, reigned 1685–88), built more yachts and in 1662 raced two of them from the Thames, from Greenwich, to Gravesend, and returning, on a £100 bet. Yachting was found to be fashionable among the wealthy and nobility, but after that point the habit did not last.

The first yacht group in the British Isles, the Water Club, was instigated in about 1720 at Cork, Ire., as a cruising and unofficial coast guard organization, with much naval panoply and rigour. The closest thing to racing boats was the “chase,” in which the “fleet” pursued an imagined enemy. The club went on, largely as a social club, until 1765, and in 1828, when merging with other groups, it was known as the Cork Yacht Club (later the Royal Cork Yacht Club).

Yacht racing began in some stipulated fashion on the Thames in the mid-18th century. The duke of Cumberland funded the Cumberland Fleet for Thames racing in 1775. When George IV came to sovereignty in 1820, it was known as the Fleet to His Majesty’s Coronation Sailing Society. The Thames Yacht Club seceded after a racing argument, to become the Royal Thames Yacht Club in 1830. The first English yacht organisation had been initiated at Cowes on the Isle of Wight in 1815, and royal patronage made the Solent – the strait between the mainland and the Isle of Wight – the continuing location of British racing. The organisation at Cowes became the Royal Yachting Club, also at the rise of George IV. Each member was required to have boats of at least 20 tons (20,321 kg). Sailing matches for high stakes were held, and the social life was lovely. Ultimately Royal Yachting Club boats grew in size to more than 350 tons.

In North America, yachting started with the Dutch in New York in the 17th century and continued when the English took control. Sailing was largely for pleasure and reached its epitome in George Crowinshield’s Cleopatra’s Barge (1815), which sailed on the Mediterranean Sea and set a standard of luxury and sophistication for the later yachts in that area from the late 19th century. The first continuing American yacht society, the Detroit Boat Club, was instigated in 1839. In 1844, John C. Stevens founded the New York Yacht Club while on board his schooner Gimcrack.

Kinds of sailboats
The first sailing yachts were within the design of such naval craft as brigantines, schooners, and cutters from the 17th century until the second half of the 19th century. The design of large yachts was first largely put upon by the win of America, which was drawn by George Steers for a association led by John C. Stevens, and it was the boat for which the America’s Cup (q.v.) was named after its success at Cowes in 1851. Earlier yachts were not designed and built in the modern sense, with merely a model being used. Not until the later half of the 19th century did what was labeled naval architecture come about. Not until the 1920s did the application of the research of aerodynamics do for the design of sails and rigging what it had done earlier for hulls.

Because most of all sailboats had to be individually manufactured, there was a need for handicapping boats before the one-design class boats were made. Hence, a rating rule came into being, which is found in the International Rule, accepted in 1906 and revised in 1919. In the present day, one of the fastest growing areas in the field of sailing is that of one-design class boats. All boats in a one-design class are manufactured to single specifications in length, beam, sail area, and other elements (for an example of a two-person sailboat, see illustration). Racing between these boats can be done on an even keel with no handicapping necessary. A prime example is the uniform International America’s Cup Class adopted for racers in the 1992 America’s Cup race.

As long as yachting belonged mostly for the nobility and the wealthy, cost was no issue, and the size of boats grew, in both length and weight. The ascendancy and desire of smaller boats came in the latter half of the 19th century from the sailing of the Englishmen R.T. McMullen, a stockbroker, and E.F. Knight, a barrister and journalist. A journey around the world (1895–98) sailed single-handedly by the naturalized American captain Joshua Slocum in the 11.3-metre Spray demonstrated the hardiness of smaller yachts. Later in the 20th century, notably after World War II, smaller racing and pleasure craft became more popular, down to the dinghy, a preferred training boat, of 3.7 m. In the late 20th century, boats of less than 3 m were setting sail single-handedly across the Atlantic Ocean.

Kinds of power yachts
After the decade 1840–50, when steam began to take the place of sail power in market craft, the steam engine, and later the internal-combustion engine, were favoured increasingly in personal craft. Sizeable power yachts were developed to a high degree, and long-distance sailing became a favourite occupation of the affluent. The first power yachts were paddle-wheel boats; they then gave way to those powered by the fully submerged screw or propeller sort of propulsion. As well as naval and merchant boats, auxiliaries possessing both sail and power were the yacht standard for several years. By the latter half of the 20th century, several yachts were still auxiliaries, but the larger part were only power yachts containing gasoline or diesel engines.

In the last decade of the 19th century there was a push in the construction of more sizeable steam yachts. Conspicuous among these was the Mayflower (1897) of 2,690 tons, with triple-expansion engines, twin screws, and a compartmented iron hull, and was operated by a crew of at least 150. The Mayflower, commissioned by the United States Navy in 1898, was the official yacht of the president of the United States until 1929 and was used in active service for World War II.

As more sizeable and better quality internal-combustion engines were created, many large yachts were using them for power. The creation of the diesel engine, employing heavy oil for fuel, was furthered in World War I. From the decade following that, large power-yacht building flourished, hitting a climax in the Orion (1930) at 3,097 tons. In that point the biggest auxiliary yacht manufactured was the four-masted, steel, barque-rigged Sea Cloud (1931) of 2,323 tons.

The construction of larger power yachts fell away after 1932, and the trend from then was toward smaller, less pricey yachts. After World War II, a lot of small naval boats were traded by private owners for conversion to yachts. In the late 20th century, yachting is a widespread popular sport enjoyed by thousands of yachtsmen individually owning and keeping their own small leisure craft. The number of boats and sailors increased steadily, not only in the traditional areas by the seacoasts but also on inland waterways and lakes.

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Proportional, Progressive, and Regressive taxes

Posted: July 8th, 2010 | Author: squadron | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , | No Comments »

Taxes are distinguished by the impact they have on the allocation of income and wealth. A proportional tax is the kind that places the same relative requirement on each taxpayer—i.e., where tax liability and income move in relative levels. A progressive tax is recognised by a greater than proportional increase in the tax liability in relation to the increase in income, and a regressive tax is recognised by a less than proportional rise in the comparable liability. Ergo, progressive taxes are seen as removing inequalities in income distribution, but regressive taxes are found to have the effect of an increase in these inequalities.

The taxes that are often regarded as progressive include individual income taxes and estate taxes. Income taxes that are declarably progressive, however, might become less so for the upper-income demographic—especially if a taxpayer is able to lessen his tax base by nominating deductions or by taking particular income components from his taxable income. Proportional tax rates that are applied to lower-income groups could also be more progressive if exemptions of a personal nature are claimed.

Income measured over the course of a given year may not absolutely come up with the most suitable measure of taxpaying requirement. For example, transitory growth in income could be saved, and in temporary declines in income a taxpayer might choose to finance consumption by decreasing savings. Thus, if taxation is made comparable along with “permanent income,” it can be less regressive (or more progressive) than if compared with annual income.

Sales taxes and excises (except those on luxuries) are mostly regressive, because the share of one’s income consumed or spent for specific goods decreases as the rate of personal income rises. Poll taxes (aka head taxes), nominated as a fixed amount per capita, patently are regressive.

It is difficult to classify corporate income taxes and taxes on business as progressive, regressive, or proportionate, because of uncertainty surrounding the ability of businesses to shift their tax expenses (see below Shifting and incidence). This difficulty of nominating who bears the tax burden is dependant for the most part on whether a national or a subnational (that is, provincial or state) tax is being determined.

In considering the economic effect of taxation, it is necessary to differentiate between varied points of tax rates. The statutory rates will include those dictated in the law; generally speaking these are marginal rates, but occasionally they are median rates. Marginal income tax rates note the fraction of incremental income taken by taxation when income grows by one dollar. Therefore, if tax liability increases by 45 cents when income grows by one dollar, the marginal tax rate is 45 percent. Income tax laws generally contain graduated marginal rates—i.e., rates that rise as income rises. Heavy analysis of marginal tax rates should regard provisions as well as the formal statutory rate structure. If, for example, a particular tax credit (reduction in tax) lowers by 20 cents for each one-dollar growth in income, the marginal rate is 20 percentage points more than specified in the statutory rates. Since marginal rates specify how after-tax income moves in response to changes in before-tax income, they are the appropriate ones for regarding incentive effects of taxation. It is even more complicated to know the marginal effective tax rate applied to income from business and capital, because it may rely on factors including the structure of depreciation allowances, the deductibility of interest, and the provisions for inflation adjustment. A basic economic theorem determines that the marginal effective tax rate in income from capital is nothing under a consumption-based tax.

Average income tax rates show the part of total income that is required in taxation. The pattern of average rates is the one that is important for judging the distributional equity of taxation. Under a progressive income tax the average income tax rate grows with income. Average income tax rates commonly grow with income, both because personal allowances are permitted for the taxpayer and dependents and also because marginal tax rates are graduated; on the flip side, preferential treatment of income received predominantly by high-income households can dampen these effects, forcing regressivity, as indicated by average tax rates that lower as income grows.

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