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 highly trained expert who has experience in planning, designing and the construction of buildings and the management of construction projects.

Also, one is not considered an architect until he or she has properly passed all the necessary courses 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 property. 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 business, then an architect can ensure that those visions 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 costing of 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 hire an architect, you will not have to be confused by by all the small but important technical details. All you have to be concerned about is if whether or not the building is coming along according to the plans originally established 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 endeavor.

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, tendering 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 expert to take carriage of planning and designing the building or dwelling as well as provide the necessary feedback and support throughout the entire project.

Hiring 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 problems of a particular strategy.

These are just some of the many important benefits and key reasons why you should hire 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 fabulous 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 spectacular
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 dataabout 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 rudimentry
and your budget may be low. Look for cheap tents that offers a waterproof Polyester roof and a good warranty for under $600.

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

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

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 allow a novice 24 hour carpet cleaner show up to repair your water damaged carpets. These are the cautions you should be careful of:

Overcharging. An unprofessional water restoration restorer may fill the job up with extra steps. E.g. using dehumidification to dry the flooded carpets may not be needed.

Not using the correct equipment. They may hire equipment from hire places to dry the carpet. This is permissible, but an experienced water damage cleaner will possess all their equipment so they provide a quicker response and hopefully a better value job.

The right moisture metre. If they don’t have the choice moisture meter, they can’t know whether the carpet is fixed. This increases the danger of mould growth in the future. Removal of the mould would then be required.

They are not Specialised. There are a lot of “Carpet Cleaners” in this industry who do water damage repair work on the “side.” i.e. they aren’t those who complete this sort of task often. Be wary of it. Drying a carpet is an art. Reinstalling carpets on the gripper strips needs to be done by a professional, otherwise the carpet can be damaged irrepairably.

You might be pondering, how do I find a good Flood Restoration techinician? Below I have set out some things to check for when you hunt around for a carpet flood damage business:

What size is their Yellow Pages ad: This can be a sign of how much business they are doing already. A full-size Yellow Pages advertisement can cost about $50 000. So if they have paid for a large ad, you can have some indication that they are established.

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

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

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

What kind of Equipment do they have? They should own at least 100 Air movers. If they own this many, this indicates they have been established for a while. Our business took 8 years to build up that many wet carpet drying air movers.

What sort of commitment can you get out of them through a phone call? Ask if you can pin them down to a rate for water extraction, water removal and initial inspection. If they wouldn’t give you a fee for this only, you know they are not willing to serve you, so move on.

Response Time – Our Water Damage business based in Brisbane is committed to a 59 minute response time to water damage emergency. The job needs to be completed ASAP. Mould can appear during a 24 hour period.

If you stick to these tips you are sure to choose a Flood Damage Restoration company who can do the job right.

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 often asked by patients if podiatry would be a good career for a school leaver to consider . There are many things to recommend a career in podiatry including:

  • You can be self employed: This is a choice 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 salary is generally commensurate with other allied health providers.
  • Instant Gratification: One of the best aspects of a career as a podiatrist is the instant gratification! People come in with pain and leave happy. You will experience 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 rewarding when people leave you smiling.
  • Philanthropy: Podiatry will provide you plenty of opportunity to help resolve the suffering of your fellow human beings.
  • Self – Determination: Podiatry provides a practitioner 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 degree . The clear roles that this demarcates relieves the need to find your ‘niche’ after university – as someone with a more generic Bachelor of Science degree might need to do.
  • Feel the need to travel? There are many places around 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 around the 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 back pain and at least a couple of painful arches . 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 become 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 charge of getting your site produced by a developer and know the process it will save you money and attain you a site that actually works the intended purpose!

1. Comprehending your business and how you are currently established in your market.
In order to create a site that truly meets your requirements; you first need to have a full understanding of your business including your products, and/or services and more importantly their market position. You then have to examine 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 accomplish an understanding of what you would like to see on your site and also what you find frustrating about other sites. This will build a good profile and realise not only what type of site to build for you but your tolerance to colours, animations, layouts etc. for your requirements which will allow for effective development. The more interaction and information you confer them in the beginning the more time you will save everybody in the long run by achieving 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 take 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.
Submit your content in a pre-proofed word processed document; don’t get too creative with the document fonts etc. as these will not be kept 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 very important 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 attain a summary of what you are trying to present 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 operate on another site they have developed or an example site they may have. You need to know that you can use and understand 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 operate 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, chances 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 avialable on the internet for free!

7. Launch – going live
When the developers are ready to bring your site live make sure you have completed the above testing step until you are happy 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 discussed 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 conveys the tone of your business, indicates the service and displays the professionalism or lack there of.

People spend a lot of money on the creation of their logo and walk away with no artwork files. Then a couple months down the track when they need to put signage on their new building they cannot track the design studio down that formulated the original logo for them and so incur costs to have it redone. This is needless and may cause complications when trying to replecate the logo exactly as completed 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 obstacles.

Tip 1
First things first – you need to decide if you would like your logo to have an accompanying icon. It is hinted that if your service or product name is not in your business name then perhaps an icon will help in conveying 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 searching 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 essential decision as it not only could affect the output costs but can also hinder your output use. Consider the end result and what you will be putting your branding onto in the future. Make sure your designer is aware of this as they should design accordingly.

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

Creative software updates frequently and some programmes become obsolete. Confirm 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 arrange. 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
Insure 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
Ensure 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 dispatched business cards to print and procured yet another version of your corporate colour? Ever been fired up to see your advert in the latest newspaper and then observed that the crucial tag line is nowhere to be found or your logo has been wrecked.

There is only one way to prevent this from happening and that is to use a style guide. Not only will a style guide help you conduct the reproduction of your logo – it will also help you fortify 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 : Mark 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 require 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 refer to the business and team.

Step 4 : Assure 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 : Make certain to include any contributing logos or logos of business that are linked with you. It’s also important that you issue 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 : Insure that grammar, spelling and contact details are correct.

Step 7 : Ensure 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 validated 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 advocate a training session – whereby your design studio arrives 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 that is asked when purchasing a new projector for the home, office, or classroom is: should I purchase an LCD projector or a DLP projector? LCD, which stands for ‘liquid crystal device’ and DLP, which stands for ‘digital light processing’ are the two most popular projector imaging technologies. With so many different brands and different types available, it can be confusing for consumers to make a choice between both technologies. The fact is that LCD projectors give far better image quality and colour accuracy. The next part of this article will tell you why DLP projectors struggle with bringing up a similar standard of image quality.

Visualise a set of blinds in your home for your bedroom window. By twisting a rod you can turn the shutters open or closed, according to whether you want to let light in or not. This is exactly how an LCD projector behaves. Each pixel operates like a single shutter on a set of blinds to either send light through or to block it. DLP on the other hand is made up of millions of microscopic mirrors or ‘pixel elements’ as pros like to call them. Each pixel element operates to either reflect light or block it.

How the light source is processed from when the projector turns on to when the image reaches your screen is extremely important with regard to image quality, brightness and colour accuracy. LCD projectors process white light from the lamp by splitting it into red, blue and green components, by three mirrors which direct the coloured light to 3 separate LCD panels. The 3 LCD panels form the elements of the image by shining each pixel on and off. The pixels are then meshed in a glass prism to send the projector image. Something to understad about LCD projectors is that all three colours are sent onto your projected surface at the same time. The way a DLP projector functions is very different and even how an image appears is not the same. With DLP, white light from the lamp is processed through a spinning colour wheel with transparent red, blue and green segments, at speeds up to 11,000 rpm/s. This way of creating 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 displayed 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 complete image. From LCD projectors, all colours are available all the time to form the highest brightness and great colour accuracy. In DLP, only one colour is available at any given time, causing lower colour brightness and accuracy. Some designers have placed a white segment into the colour wheel to improve brightness overall, but this then lessens colour accuracy.

I find in forums all the time that DLP provides a higher contrast ratio and therefore must be better quality. For those unaware, 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 system is able to produce. DLP projectors do possess high contrast specifications compared to most LCD projectors. At a glance, this must be a plus, however, in real life, the true black level is determined by the ambient light in the room while the projector is used. Do not be tricked by contrast specifications on websites and in brochures.

When the content you wish to project needs moving images, DLP projection technology also has image imperfections, or ‘artifacts’. The most often seen artifact that a DLP projector creates with moving images is colour break up. Colour break up is unavoidable in DLP systems because moving images change position between the time red, blue and green colours are displayed. LCD projectors do not have this disadvantage because all colours are projected at once. DLP builders have created 3DLP solutions using 3 chips to solve the colour break up issue, but the cost of these projectors make them almost impossible for the majority of businesses and consumers.

Another difference between LCD and DLP is how they make up for the refractive qualities of light. Take yourself back to high school science, and remember how the various colours of light refract various amounts when directed through the same lens. The downfall with DLP projectors is that they take the one same panel for the same lens to project Red, Blue and Green. All 3 colours are obviously not the same and refract light differently. Usually with a DLP projector, some yellow colour will show above and a spill of blue will appear below an image of something as simple as a lone black line. While being built LCD projectors can be adjusted to take away these effects on the projected image, as each colour is directed on separate LCD panels.

The only true plus (excluding price) with deciding on a DLP projector is its smaller size and weight. However, this is only relevant with regard to mobility and must be traded off against the image superiority of LCD projectors. If resulting picture quality is important to you, then the decision is easy. Take an LCD projector! LCD projectors will consistently produce bright, colourful images with fewer image errors. If you want to learn more about LCD technology in more detail, have a look at this fantastic resource website: Explore 3LCD. If you have any more questions, go to Projector Central and send me an email.

Jonathan King is the sales and marketing manager with Projector Central, Australia’s premier online store for projectors. Brisbane based, Projector Central has been servicing Australia for 15 years. For data projectors in Brisbane 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 found dominance in sea power during the 17th century, the initial yacht was a pleasure craft used initially by royalty and then by the burghers for the canals and the protected and unprotected waters of the Low Countries. Yacht racing was incidental, coming out of private matches. English yachting started with King Charles II of England during his exile in the Low Countries. On his restoration to the English throne 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 named Mary. Charles and his brother James, the duke of York (James II, reigned 1685–88), ordered for additional yachts and in 1662 raced two of them from the Thames, from Greenwich, to Gravesend, and returning, on a £100 wager. Yachting was found to be classy among the rich and aristocracy, but after that time the fashion did not last.

The first yacht association in the British Isles, the Water Club, was started around about 1720 at Cork, Ire., as a cruising and unofficial coast guard organization, and held much naval panoply and rigour. The closest thing to a race was the “chase,” when the “fleet” pursued an imaginary enemy. The club persisted, largely as a social club, until 1765, and in 1828, by conglomerating with other groups, it became known as the Cork Yacht Club (later the Royal Cork Yacht Club).

Yacht racing was seen in some ordered method on the Thames in the mid-18th century. The duke of Cumberland founded the Cumberland Fleet for Thames racing in 1775. When George IV came to sovereignty in 1820, it was then named the Fleet to His Majesty’s Coronation Sailing Society. The Thames Yacht Club seceded with a racing fight, to become the Royal Thames Yacht Club in 1830. The first English yacht organisation had been started at Cowes on the Isle of Wight in 1815, and royal funding made the Solent – the strait between the mainland and the Isle of Wight – the continued site of British racing. The club at Cowes became the Royal Yachting Club, again at the accession of George IV. All members were required to have boats of at least 20 tons (20,321 kg). Sailing matches for large bids were held, and the club life was lovely. It came to be that the Royal Yachting Club boats were raised in size to more than 350 tons.

In North America, yachting began with the Dutch in New York in the 17th century and persisted when the English had power. Sailing was largely for fun and reached its apogee in George Crowinshield’s Cleopatra’s Barge (1815), which traveled on the Mediterranean Sea and established a minimum of luxury and sophistication for the later yachts in those waters from the late 19th century. The first enduring American yacht organisation, the Detroit Boat Club, was formed in 1839. In 1844, John C. Stevens instigated the New York Yacht Club while on board his schooner Gimcrack.

Kinds of sailboats
The Early sailing yachts were within the style of such naval craft as brigantines, schooners, and cutters from the 17th century through to the later half of the 19th century. The design of sizeable yachts was originally heavily put upon by the victory of America, which was created by George Steers for a group 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. The first yachts were not designed and manufactured in the modern sense, with only a model being used. Not until the second half of the 19th century did what was called naval architecture come about. Not until the 1920s did the employment of the study of aerodynamics do for the design of sails and rigging what such science had earlier done for hulls.

Because nearly all sailboats had to be individually manufactured, there was a requirement for handicapping boats before the one-design class boats were made. Therefore, a rating rule was created, which is found in the International Rule, adopted in 1906 and amended in 1919. In the present day, one of the fastest blossoming areas in the sailing industry is that of one-design class boats. All boats in a one-design class are built to the same dimensions in length, beam, sail area, and other elements (for an example of a two-person sailboat, see illustration). Racing for such boats can be held on an even basis with no handicapping necessary. A prime example is the standard International America’s Cup Class taken on for yachts in the 1992 America’s Cup race.

For the time that yachting was done largely for the nobility and the wealthy, expense was no problem, and the size of boats grew, in both length and weight. The rise and preference of smaller yachts came in the later half of the 19th century out of 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) captained single-handedly by the naturalized American captain Joshua Slocum in the 11.3-metre Spray demonstrated the value of small boats. Following this in the 20th century, for the larger part after World War II, smaller racing and leisure boats became more popular, down to the dinghy, a popular training boat, of 3.7 m. In the late 20th century, yachts of less than 3 m were setting sail single-handedly across the Atlantic Ocean.

Kinds of power yachts
After the decade 1840–50, at which point steam was set to take the place of sail power in public craft, the steam engine, and later the internal-combustion engine, were favoured increasingly in leisure boats. Large power yachts were progressed to a high degree, and long-distance sailing was a fond occupation of the affluent. The first power yachts were paddle-wheel boats; these then gave way to yachts powered by the fully submerged screw or propeller type of propulsion. As well as naval and merchant yachts, auxiliaries possessing both sail and power were the yacht archetype for a number of years. By the latter half of the 20th century, many yachts were still auxiliaries, but the large part were exclusively power yachts that had gasoline or diesel engines.

From the last decade of the 19th century there was a boom in the construction of more sizeable steam yachts. Notably of these was the Mayflower (1897) of 2,690 tons, containing triple-expansion engines, twin screws, and a compartmented iron hull, and was manned by a crew of over 150. The Mayflower, bought by the United States Navy in 1898, was the official yacht of the president of the United States until 1929 and gave active service for World War II.

As larger and more reliable internal-combustion engines were produced, many large boats were using them for power. The creation of the diesel engine, employing heavy oil for fuel, progressed in World War I. In the decade that followed, large power-yacht building flourished, hitting a climax in the Orion (1930) at 3,097 tons. In that time the biggest auxiliary yacht constructed was the four-masted, steel, barque-rigged Sea Cloud (1931) of 2,323 tons.

The construction of big power yachts declined in 1932, and the style after that was in preference of smaller, less pricey boats. Following World War II, a lot of small naval vessels were bought by private owners for conversion to yachts. At the late 20th century, yachting is a internationally beloved sport enjoyed by thousands of yachtsmen personally sailing and maintaining their own small pleasure yachts. The amount of craft and sailors increased steadily, not only in the traditional areas on the seacoasts but also on inland waterways and lakes.

Looking for boat detailing Sunshine Coast ? Talk to Elite Yacht Services. We do great work at competitive prices.


Proportional, Progressive, and Regressive taxes

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

Taxes can be differentiated by the effect they have on the allocation of income and wealth. A proportional tax is a kind that places the same relative liability on all taxpayers—i.e., in the case where tax liability and income increase in the same levels. A progressive tax is characterizable by a larger than proportional rise in the tax liability relative to the growth in income, and a regressive tax is recognisable by a less than proportional growth in the comparative burden. Hence, progressive taxes are seen as taking away the lack of equality in income distribution, whereas regressive taxes are found to have the effect of an increase in these inequalities.

The taxes that are often believed to be progressive include individual income taxes and estate taxes. Income taxes that are declarably progressive, however, can become less so for the upper-income categories—particularly if a taxpayer is allowed to lessen his tax base by declaring deductions or by leaving out particular income elements from his taxable income. Proportional tax rates when applied to lower-income demographics can also be more progressive if exemptions of a personal nature are declared.

Income measured over a given year may not definitely provide the most suitable measure of taxpaying requirement. For example, transitory rises in income might be saved, and within temporary declines in income a taxpayer might select to provide for consumption by decreasing savings. Thus, if taxation is made comparable with “permanent income,” it will be less regressive (or more progressive) than when compared with annual income.

Sales taxes and excises (save on luxuries) are generally regressive, because the dissemination of personal income consumed or spent on specific goods declines as the rate of personal income is raised. Poll taxes (also called head taxes), levied as a standard amount per capita, clearly are regressive.

It is complicated to determine corporate income taxes and taxes on business as progressive, regressive, or proportionate, because of the lack of certainty around the ability of businesses to shift their tax expenses (see below Shifting and incidence). This difficulty of dictating who bears the tax burden rests fundamentally on whether a national or a subnational (that is, provincial or state) tax is being considered.

In considering the economic effects of taxation, it is necessary to differentiate between differing points of tax rates. The statutory rates will be specified in legislature; generally speaking these are marginal rates, but occasionally they are average rates. Marginal income tax rates note the fraction of incremental income that is taken by taxation when income is increased by one dollar. Ergo, if tax liability grows by 45 cents when income grows by one dollar, the marginal tax rate is 45 percent. Income tax regulations commonly contain graduated marginal rates—i.e., rates that increase as income increases. Heavy analysis of marginal tax rates must review provisions as well as the formal statutory rate structure. If, for example, a particular tax credit (reduction in tax) decreases by 20 cents for each one-dollar rise in income, the marginal rate is 20 percentage points greater than indicated in the statutory rates. Since marginal rates display how after-tax income is changed in response to changes in before-tax income, they are the relevant ones for assessing incentive effects of taxation. It is even more complicated to know the marginal effective tax rate to apply to income from business and capital, because it may be dependant on factors including the structure of depreciation allowances, the deductibility of interest, and the provisions for inflation adjustment. A basic economic theorem shows that the marginal effective tax rate in income from capital is nil under a consumption-based tax.

Average income tax rates indicate the portion of total income that is paid in taxation. The pattern of average rates is the one that is important for appraising the distributional equity of taxation. Under a progressive income tax the average income tax rate rises with income. Average income tax rates commonly rise with income, both because personal allowances are granted for the taxpayer and dependents and also due to that marginal tax rates are graduated; on the other hand, preferential treatment of income received predominantly by high-income households can dwarf these effects, allowing regressivity, as shown by average tax rates that decrease as income increases.

For MYOB Brisbane expert advice, contact Stone Consulting today. Stone Consulting also runs MYOB training in Brisbane.