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 qualified 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 project. These ideas form the planning stage of the project and can take months to finalise.

The reason why architects are so important to the success of any building plan is simple: they can put your ideas into a feasible and plausible reality. If you have great ambitions for your home or business, then an architect can ensure that those plans 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 taken into account, 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 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, 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 assignment.

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 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 spectacular 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 remarkable
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 rudimentry
and your budget may be tight. 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 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 identical 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 recognition 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 formulating 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 an inexperienced 24 hour carpet cleaner show up to repair your water damaged carpets. These are the worries you must be watchful of:

Overcharging. An amateur water restoration technician may load the job up with extra inclusions. E.g. using dehumidification for drying the damaged carpets is not needed.

Having the correct equipment. They may use equipment from hire companies for the carpet. This is acceptable, but an experienced water damage technician will possess all their equipment enabling a speedy response and hopefully a better value job.

Moisture metre. If they don’t have the right moisture meter, they will not be able to tell when the carpet is dry enough. This furthers the danger of mould growth in the future. Removal of the mould may be required.

They are not Specialised. There are a whole lot of “Carpet Cleaners” in this industry who do water damage repairs on the “side.” i.e. they don’t do this type of job each day. Be careful of it. Restoring carpets is an art. Removing and repairing and reinstalling the carpet needs to be done by a professional, otherwise they can be permanently damaged.

You could be wondering, how do I locate a proper Flood Restoration professional? Below I have set out some signifiers to look for when you hunt around for a carpet flood damage business:

The size of their Yellow Pages advertisement: This can signify how much work they are getting already. A full-size Yellow Pages ad can cost about $50 000. When they have got a big ad, you have some expectation that they are established.

Where do they rank in Google? The higher their rank in Google, the more click-ins there have been for that business.

What Qualifications do they have? The minimum qualification they require is a IICRC qualification in Applied Structural Drying and Water Damage Restoration.

Do Insurance companies source them for their water damage jobs? This is a very good indicator. If insurance companies use them, the business is very likely to be efficient at their skill. Insurance companies will tend to use the companies that grant them the better value for their money.

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

What kind of commitment can you get with them with a phone call? Ask if you can pin them down to a set price 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 go elsewhere.

Response Time – Our Water Damage business based in Brisbane is premised to a 59 minute response time to water damage emergency. The restoration needs to be responded to ASAP. Mould can grow inside a 24 hour period.

If you stick to these tips you are sure to come up with 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 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 prospect that is increasingly being denied to other health care providers such as optometrists and even GPs . 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 get sued . The nature of podiatry practice does not lend itself to accidentally harming one’s patients. Also, you never have to give your patients the bad news that their condition will be terminal.
  • Working Hours: Emergency call outs are very unlikely. This is good 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 most fulfilling aspects of working as 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 less stressful when people leave you smiling.
  • Philanthropy: Podiatry will give you a great deal of opportunity to help eliminate the suffering of your fellow human beings.
  • Self – Determination: Podiatry gives a clinician 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 claim to be a podiatrist are those with a podiatry degree . The clear roles that this delineates relieves the need to find your ‘niche’ after university – as someone with a more generic Bachelor of Science degree might need to do.
  • Like to travel? There are many places across the world that do not qualify 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 be registered 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 big range of complaints. There may be an ingrown toenail or two, an excruciating corn, a sporting injury, some back pain and at least a couple of painful arches . The essence of 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 qualified as a podiatrist ?

To qualify as a podiatrist requires 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 created by a developer and know the process it will save you money and aquire you a site that actually works the intended purpose!

1. Understanding your business and how you are currently established in your market.
In order to author 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 consider 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 armed 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 build a good profile and realise not only what type of site to construct for you but your tolerance to colours, animations, layouts etc. for your requirements which will allow for fast development. The more interaction and information you give them in the beginning the more time you will save everybody in the long run by getting 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 made, the developers will more than likely take the general layout of this concept and then create the inner page template. It is this template that will be repeated for most of your pages for your site.
Present your content in a pre-proofed word processed document; don’t become 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 preferred that you do use bolding, underlining, headings and sub heading though ,as these highlights are transferred into the site and are crucial later on in not only establishing with the reader but for Search Engine Optimisation.
One last tip for content; provide a decent amount of content but formulate it in a way that a reader may achieve 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 works on another site they have developed or an example site they may have. You need to know that you can utilize 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 operates 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 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 pleased 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 very important step to creating a business. It is the face of your business. And like your face represents the tone of your business, gestures the service and reveals 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 difficulties when trying to recreate the logo exactly as determined 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 assist 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 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 essential decision as it not only could change 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
Ensure you get a back up disk of your logo as a master file and assure that it includes all the files needed for the different printing formats.

Creative software updates frequently and some programmes become obsolete. Ensure 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 manage. For example it is difficult 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
Confirm that you acquire 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 Bydaughters 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 mailed business cards to print and collected yet another version of your corporate colour? Ever been frantic to see your advert in the latest newspaper and then recognized that the crucial tag line is nowhere to be found or your logo has been wrecked.

There is only one way to stop this from happening and that is to set up a style guide. Not only will a style guide aid you steer the reproduction of your logo – it will also help you reinforce 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 put to work 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 need 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 requirecopy rules for printed content and then copy rules for website content.

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

Step 4 : Insure 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 accommodate any contributing logos or logos of business that are affiliated with you. It’s also important that you mail a copy of the layout to these companies to guarantee they accept the layout of their logo as they too may have their own Style Guide and hierarchy layout rules.

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

Step 7 : Make sure 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 completed and as established 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 utilize 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 common question customers ask when purchasing a new projector for the home, office, or classroom is: do I take an LCD projector or a DLP projector? LCD, standing for ‘liquid crystal device’ and DLP, short for ‘digital light processing’ are the two commonplace projector imaging technologies. With so many brands and different models available, it can be difficult for clients to choose between those technologies. It comes down to the fact that LCD projectors offer better image quality and colour accuracy. The following article tells you why DLP projectors struggle with projecting the same rate of image quality.

It’s like a set of blinds in your household on your bedroom window. By twisting a rod you can have the shutters open or closed, according to if you want to let light in or not. And such is exactly how an LCD projector behaves. Each pixel works like a single shutter on a set of blinds to either pass light through or to block it. DLP on the other hand is made up of millions of microscopic mirrors or ‘pixel elements’ as the experts 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 switches on to when the content reaches your screen is ultimately important for image quality, brightness and colour accuracy. LCD projectors process white light from the lamp by dividing it into red, blue and green components, by three mirrors which send the coloured light to 3 stand alone LCD panels. The 3 LCD panels create the elements of the image by processing each pixel on and off. The pixels are then meshed in a glass prism to deliver the projector image. A point to understad about LCD projectors is that all three colours are projected onto your projector screen at the same time. The way a DLP projector works is vastly different and even how an image shows up is not the same. With DLP, white light from the lamp is processed through a turning colour wheel with transparent red, blue and green segments, at speeds up to 11,000 rpm/s. This way of making an image forms a sequence of red, blue and green light. The millions of micro mirrors mentioned above reflect the coloured light on the pixels to form the image elements. The elements of the image are displayed in sequence on the screen, one colour at a time. The viewer’s eyes will then combine each coloured element of the image into the whole image. In LCD projectors, all colours are available all the time to offer top brightness and superb colour accuracy. In DLP, just one colour is available at once, causing lower colour brightness and accuracy. Some designers have placed a white segment for the colour wheel to improve brightness generally, but this also degrades colour accuracy.

I see in forums all the time that DLP provides a higher contrast ratio and thus must be superior quality. For those who are uncertain, 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 machine is capable of producing. DLP projectors do possess high contrast specifications when compared to a majority of LCD projectors. At first glance, this must be a benefit, however, in truth, the true black level is determined by the ambient light in the room while the projector is utilised. Do not be hoodwinked by contrast specifications on websites and in brochures.

When the content you are trying to view has moving images, DLP projection technology can also create image imperfections, or ‘artifacts’. The most typical artifact that a DLP projector forms 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 shone. LCD projectors do not have this downside because the colours are processed simultaneously. DLP designers have created 3DLP solutions using 3 chips to solve the colour break up issue, but the price of these projectors make them not practical for most businesses and consumers.

Another difference between LCD and DLP is how they compensate for the refractive qualities of light. Think back to high school science, and remember when they taught you how the different colours of light refract various amounts when shone through the same lens. The downside 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 not the same and refract light in different ways. Usually with a DLP projector, some yellow colour will show above and some blue will be projected below an image containing something as simple as a lone black line. In manufacturing LCD projectors can be adapted to minimize these effects on the projected image, as each colour is projected on a separate LCD panels.

The one true advantage (excluding price) with choosing a DLP projector is its smaller overall size and weight. However, this is only relevant in regard to portability and has to be traded off against the image advantages of LCD projectors. If resulting picture quality is crucial to you, then the answer is a no-brainer. Choose an LCD projector! LCD projectors will consistently produce bright, colourful images with fewer image mistakes. If you wish to find out more about LCD technology in more detail, see this fabulous resource website: Explore 3LCD. If you have any additional questions, visit Projector Central and send me an email.

Jonathan King is the sales and marketing manager at Projector Central, Australia’s premier online store for projectors. Brisbane-based, Projector Central has serviced 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 first yacht was a pleasure craft used first by royalty and secondly by the burghers in the canals and then in the protected and unprotected waters of the Low Countries. Racing was incidental, coming out of private games. English yachting started with King Charles II of England during his exile in the Low Countries. On his return to the English monarchy in 1660, the city of Amsterdam gave 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), built more yachts and in 1662 raced two of them from the Thames, from Greenwich, to Gravesend, and the same way back, on a £100 bet. Yachting rose as popular among the affluent and aristocracy, but after that time the trend did not last.

The first yacht association in the British Isles, the Water Club, was started in about 1720 at Cork, Ire., as a cruising and unofficial coast guard association, and held great naval panoply and gravity. 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, after joining with other groups, it was known as the Cork Yacht Club (later the Royal Cork Yacht Club).

Yacht racing was first seen in some stipulated manner on the Thames about the mid-18th century. The duke of Cumberland founded the Cumberland Fleet for Thames racing in 1775. When George IV rose to monarchy in 1820, it came to be called the Fleet to His Majesty’s Coronation Sailing Society. The Thames Yacht Club seceded following a racing argument, to become the Royal Thames Yacht Club in 1830. The first English yacht association had been started 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 perpetual setting of British racing. The club at Cowes became the Royal Yachting Club, likewise at the rise of George IV. All members were required to possess boats of at least 20 tons (20,321 kg). Sailing tests for great bids were held, and the club life was wonderful. It came to be that the Royal Yachting Club boats grew in size to bigger than 350 tons.

In North America, yachting started with the Dutch in New York in the 17th century and went on when the English took dominance. Sailing was largely for leisure and reached its high point in George Crowinshield’s Cleopatra’s Barge (1815), which traveled on the Mediterranean Sea and established a standard of luxury and sophistication for the later yachts in those waters from the late 19th century. The first continuing American yacht club, the Detroit Boat Club, was formed in 1839. In 1844, John C. Stevens instigated the New York Yacht Club aboard his schooner Gimcrack.

Kinds of sailboats
Early sailing yachts followed 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 large yachts was initially largely affected by the victory of America, which was designed by George Steers for a syndicate headed by John C. Stevens, and it was the boat for which the America’s Cup (q.v.) found its namesake after its win at Cowes in 1851. Early yachts were not designed and manufactured in today’s sense, with only 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 science of aerodynamics do for the design of sails and rigging what science had already done for hulls.

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

For the time that yachting was done primarily for the aristocracy and the affluent, cost was no issue, and the size of boats grew, in both length and weight. The rise and popularity of smaller yachts happened 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 voyage around the world (1895–98) sailed single-handedly by the naturalized American captain Joshua Slocum in the 11.3-metre Spray made plain the seaworthiness of small yachts. Later 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 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, in which steam was set to replace sail power in market craft, the steam engine, and later the internal-combustion engine, were favoured increasingly in pleasure boats. Bigger power yachts were progressed to a high standard, and long-distance sailing became a fond pastime of the wealthy. The first power yachts were paddle-wheel boats; they then gave rise to boats powered by the fully submerged screw or propeller kind of propulsion. As in the case of naval and merchant vessels, auxiliaries with both sail and power were the yacht standard for a number of years. By the latter half of the 20th century, many yachts were still auxiliaries, but the majority were exclusively power yachts containing gasoline or diesel engines.

In the last decade of the 19th century there was a boom in the construction of more sizeable steam yachts. Conspicuous of these was the Mayflower (1897) of 2,690 tons, that had triple-expansion engines, twin screws, and a compartmented iron hull, and was manned by a crew of more than 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 was used in active service for World War II.

As bigger and more reliable internal-combustion engines were developed, many big boats were using them for power. The creation of the diesel engine, using heavy oil for fuel, progressed during World War I. In the decade following that, large power-yacht building blossomed, climaxing in the Orion (1930) at 3,097 tons. In that time the best auxiliary yacht manufactured was the four-masted, steel, barque-rigged Sea Cloud (1931) of 2,323 tons.

The construction of big power boats declined after 1932, and the style from then was in preference of smaller, less expensive yachts. After World War II, a lot of small naval vessels were sold to private owners for conversion to yachts. By the late 20th century, yachting had become a internationally loved competition enjoyed by thousands of yachtsmen who are actually owning and maintaining their own small leisure craft. The amount of yachts and sailors increased steadily, not only in the traditional places on the beach 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 categorized by the impact they have on the distribution of income and wealth. A proportional tax is the kind of tax that imposes the same relative liability on all taxpayers—i.e., when tax liability and income move in equal proportion. A progressive tax is recognisable by a greater than proportional increase in the tax burden in relation to the rise in income, and a regressive tax is characterized by a less than proportional growth in the related burden. Ergo, progressive taxes are viewed as reducing inequalities in income distribution, whereas regressive taxes might result in increasing these inequalities.

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

Income measured over the course of a given year might not definitely offer the most suitable measure of taxpaying requirement. For example, transitory increases in income might be saved, and during temporary declines in income a taxpayer could elect to finance consumption by taking from savings. Ergo, if taxation is regarded along with “permanent income,” it would be less regressive (or more progressive) than when it is made comparable with annual income.

Sales taxes and excises (excepting those on luxuries) are mostly regressive, because the dissemination of own income consumed or spent for specific goods decreases as the level of personal income grows. Poll taxes (also known as head taxes), levied as a standard amount per capita, patently are regressive.

It is hard to dictate corporate income taxes and taxes on business as progressive, regressive, or proportionate, due to uncertainty around the ability of businesses to shift their tax expenses (see below Shifting and incidence). This difficulty of nominating who bears the tax burden rests essentially on whether a national or a subnational (that is, provincial or state) tax is being considered.

In considering the economic purpose of taxation, it is relevant to distinguish between several ideas of tax rates. The statutory rates are specified in the law; often these are marginal rates, but for some cases they are median rates. Marginal income tax rates signify the fraction of incremental income taken by taxation when income increases by one dollar. Thus, if tax onus rises by 45 cents when income grows by one dollar, the marginal tax rate is 45 percent. Income tax statutes commonly contain graduated marginal rates—i.e., rates that rise as income grows. Heavy analysis of marginal tax rates are required to take into account provisions in addition to 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 more than specified in the statutory rates. Since marginal rates indicate how after-tax income moves in response to changes in before-tax income, they are the important ones for regarding incentive effects of taxation. It is even more complicated to nominate the marginal effective tax rate applicable to income from business and capital, as it may be reliant on such factors as the structure of depreciation allowances, the deductibility of interest, and the provisions for inflation adjustment. A basic economic theorem grants that the marginal effective tax rate in income from capital is nil under a consumption-based tax.

Average income tax rates determine the part of total income that is demanded in taxation. The pattern of average rates is the one that is relevant for assessing the distributional equity of taxation. Under a progressive income tax the average income tax rate rises with income. Average income tax rates commonly grow with income, both because personal allowances are allowed for the taxpayer and dependents and because marginal tax rates are graduated; on the other side of things, preferential treatment of income received fundamentally by high-income households may dwarf these effects, forcing regressivity, as indicated by average tax rates that lessen as income grows.

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