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 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 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 thought out, 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 tender 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 engage an architect, you will not have to be bogged down 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 your 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 expert to take carriage of planning and designing the building or dwelling as well as provide the necessary feedback and support throughout the entire assignment.

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 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 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 splendid
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 entertaining 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 incredible, 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 selection 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 exact 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 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 allow a novice 24 hour carpet cleaner attempt to repair your carpets damaged by water. These are the worries you have to be careful of:

Overcharging. An unprofessional water restoration carpet cleaner may fill the job up with superfluous extras. E.g. using dehumidification to dry the flooded carpets may not be needed.

Not using the correct equipment. They might use equipment from hire companies to dry the carpet. This is permissible, but an experienced water damage technician will possess all their equipment so they can offer a speedy response and hopefully a better value job.

The right moisture metre. If they don’t have the choice moisture meter, they will not be able to know if the carpet is fixed. This increases the danger of future mould growth. Mould removal in future may be required.

If they aren’t specialised. There are a whole lot of “Carpet Cleaners” in this industry who do repair jobs on the “side.” i.e. they do not complete this sort of repair every day. Be aware of them. Drying carpets is an art. Removing and repairing and reinstalling the carpet is best to be completed by a professional, otherwise the carpet can be damaged beyond repair.

You may be wondering, how do I decide on a good Flood Restoration Business? Below I have set out some things to check for when you call around for a carpet flood damage business:

What size is their Yellow Pages ad: This can be a sign of how much repair work they are doing already. A full-size Yellow Pages ad can cost about $50 000. If they have paid for a bigger ad, you get some indication that they will deliver the goods.

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

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

Do Insurance companies hire them for their carpet damage jobs? This is a better indicator. If insurance companies hire them, the business is bound to be efficient at their skill. Insurance companies will use the companies that grant them the top value for money.

How much Equipment do they have? They should own about 100 Air movers. If they own this many, this indicates they have been running for some time. We took 8 years to accumulate that many wet carpet drying air movers.

What type of commitment can you get from them by calling on the phone? See if you can pin them down to a set price for water extraction, water removal and initial inspection. If they don’t give you a price for this only, you know they are not willing to assist you, so go with someone else.

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

If you follow these tips you are sure to locate a Flood Damage Restoration professional who knows how to do the job.

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 regularly asked by patients 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 General Practitioners . 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 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 dentist or doctor , the pay is generally commensurate with other allied health providers.
  • Instant Gratification: One of the most fulfilling facets 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 pleasant when people leave you smiling.
  • Philanthropy: Podiatry will afford you plenty of opportunity to help resolve the suffering of your fellow human beings.
  • Self – Determination: Podiatryallows 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 example where one acts under the instruction of a doctor.
  • Clear Job roles: The only people who can hold themselves out 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 in the world that do not produce 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 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 large range of complaints. There might be an ingrown toenail or two, a debilitating corn, a sports injury, some lower back pain and at least a couple of painful heels . The key to being a good podiatrist is to be an effective problem solver. Every patient is an individual with a unique condition 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 charge of getting your site actualized by a developer and comprehend the process it will save you money and get you a site that actually works the intended purpose!

1. Knowing your business and how you are currently established in your market.
In order to establish 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 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 achieve 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 accord 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 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 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 very important later on in not only getting the point across to the reader but for Search Engine Optimisation.
One last tip for content; formulate a decent amount of content but present it in a way that a reader may get 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 operate on another site they have developed or an example site they may have. You need to know that you can utilize and comprehend 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 created 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, 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 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 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 crucial step to building a business. It is the face of your business. And like your face represents 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 redone. This is unnecessary and may cause obstacles when trying to recreate 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 sighting for a more illustrative finish without losing recognition.

A excellent example of this is the well-known and executed Nike 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. Think about 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. 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 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
Confirm 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
readable

Tip 7
Ensure that you accept 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 get 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 dispatched business cards to print and collected yet another version of your corporate colour? Ever been delighted to see your advert in the latest newspaper and then spotted that the crucial tag line is gone or your logo has been ruined.

There is only one way to prevent this from happening and that is to set up a style guide. Not only will a style guide help you direct 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 : Outline 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 : 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 : Confirm to take into account any contributing logos or logos of business that are affiliated with you. It’s also important that you send a copy of the layout to these companies to ensure they accept the layout of their logo as they too may have their own Style Guide and hierarchy layout rules.

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

Step 7 : Make certain 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.

Have your Style Guide completed and as tight 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 arrives and trains your staff on how to use 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 acquiring a new projector for the home, office, or classroom is: will I buy an LCD projector or a DLP projector? LCD, short for ‘liquid crystal device’ and DLP, an acronym for ‘digital light processing’ are the two most common projector imaging technologies. With so many brands and different models available, it can be overwhelming for clients to choose between both technologies. The simple fact of the matter is that LCD projectors offer far better image quality and colour accuracy. The article below will tell you why DLP projectors struggle with creating the same rate of image quality.

Think of a set of blinds in your household for your bedroom window. By twisting a rod you can have the shutters open or closed, depending on if you want to let light in or not. This is exactly how an LCD projector operates. Each pixel operates like a single shutter on a set of blinds to either allow light through or to block it. DLP on the other hand is created of millions of microscopic mirrors or ‘pixel elements’ as 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 is turned on to when the image reaches your screen is absolutely important in 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 project the coloured light to 3 different LCD panels. The 3 LCD panels make the elements of the image by switching each pixel on and off. The pixels are then simultaneously processed in a glass prism to create the projector image. An important point to know about LCD projectors is that all three colours are delivered onto your screen at once. The way a DLP projector runs is totally different and even the final product of how an image comes out is not the same. With DLP, white light from the lamp is sent through a turning 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 described above reflect the coloured light on the pixels to form the image elements. The elements of the image are cast in sequence on the screen, one colour at a time. The viewer’s eye will then combine each coloured element of the image into a single full image. With LCD projectors, all colours are available all the time to create the best brightness and superb colour accuracy. In DLP, only one colour is available at a time, and so causing lower colour brightness and accuracy. Some DLP developers have added a white segment for the colour wheel to improve brightness generally, but this goes and detracts from colour accuracy.

I find in forums all the time that DLP provides a higher contrast ratio and thus 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 technology is able to produce. DLP projectors do possess high contrast specifications in comparison to many LCD projectors. At a glance, this seems to be a benefit, however, in real life, the true black level is determined by the ambient light in the room where the projector is used. Do not be fooled by contrast specifications on websites and in brochures.

When the content you wish to view has moving images, DLP projection technology can also have image imperfections, or ‘artifacts’. The most common artifact that a DLP projector creates with moving images is colour break up. Colour break up is incontrovertible 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 sent with the others. DLP designers have developed 3DLP solutions using 3 chips to solve the colour break up error, but the cost of these projectors make them impractical for the majority of businesses and consumers.

Another differentiation between LCD and DLP is how they match the balance for the refractive qualities of light. Jump back to high school science, and they taught you how various colours of light refract varied amounts when shone through the same lens. The downside with DLP projectors is that they use the one same panel with the same lens to project Red, Blue and Green. All 3 colours are not the same and refract light in different ways. Most of the time with a DLP projector, some yellow colour will appear above and some blue will appear below an image containing something as simple as a straight black line. In building LCD projectors can be adjusted to reduce these effects on the projected image, because each colour is refracted on a separate LCD panels.

The isolated true buy point (excluding price) with deciding on a DLP projector is its smaller overall size and weight. However, this is only relevant for mobility and must be traded off against the image plusses of LCD projectors. If the outcome of the picture quality is crucial to you, then the solution is simple. Choose an LCD projector! LCD projectors will definitely show bright, colourful images with fewer image blips. If you wish to learn more about LCD technology in more detail, check out this fabulous resource website: Explore 3LCD. If you have any persisting 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 store for projectors. Based in Brisbane, 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 came to preeminence in sea power during the 17th century, the initial yacht was a pleasure craft used initially by royalty and secondly by the burghers on the canals and the protected and unprotected waters of the Low Countries. Racing yachts 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 restoration to the English throne in 1660, the city of Amsterdam sent him a 20-metre (66-foot) leisure 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, ruled 1685–88), ordered for other yachts and in 1662 raced two of them from the Thames, from Greenwich, to Gravesend, and the same way back, on a £100 punt. Yachting was found to be fashionable among the affluent and nobility, but after that period the fashion did not last.

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

Yacht racing began in some stipulated fashion on the Thames around the mid-18th century. The duke of Cumberland funded the Cumberland Fleet for Thames racing in 1775. When George IV rose to the throne in 1820, it was called the Fleet to His Majesty’s Coronation Sailing Society. The Thames Yacht Club seceded following a racing dispute, to become the Royal Thames Yacht Club in 1830. The first English yacht group had been formed 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 perpetual location of British yacht racing. The organisation at Cowes became the Royal Yachting Club, also at the rise of George IV. Every member was required to own boats of at least 20 tons (20,321 kg). Sailing tests for high 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 was first accomplished with the Dutch in New York in the 17th century and persisted when the English gained dominance. Sailing was mostly for pleasure and rose to its high point in George Crowinshield’s Cleopatra’s Barge (1815), which cruised on the Mediterranean Sea and set a standard of luxury and sophistication for the later yachts in those waters from the late 19th century. The first continuing American yacht society, the Detroit Boat Club, was formed in 1839. In 1844, John C. Stevens founded the New York Yacht Club while aboard 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 latter half of the 19th century. The craft of sizeable yachts was first greatly put upon by the success of America, which was created by George Steers for a club started by John C. Stevens, and it was the boat for which the America’s Cup (q.v.) was named after its victory at Cowes in 1851. Early yachts were not designed and manufactured in the modern sense, with merely a model for an outline. Not until the latter half of the 19th century did what was labeled naval architecture come into being. Not until the 1920s did the use of the research of aerodynamics do for the structure of sails and rigging what such science had done earlier for hulls.

Because almost all sailboats were individually manufactured, there came a requirement for handicapping boats before the one-design class boats were designed. Therefore, a rating rule was created, which is found in the International Rule, taken on in 1906 and revised in 1919. Today, one of the fastest flourishing areas in sailing is that of one-design class boats. All boats in a one-design class are built to the same specifications in length, beam, sail area, and other aspects (for an example of a two-person sailboat, see illustration). Racing 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 yachts in the 1992 America’s Cup race.

So long as yachting was an activity primarily for the royal and the wealthy, money was no problem, and the size of boats developed, in both length and weight. The promotion and popularity of smaller boats occurred in the later 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) led single-handedly by the naturalized American captain Joshua Slocum in the 11.3-metre Spray made plain the seaworthiness of small boats. Later in the 20th century, particularly after World War II, smaller racing and pleasure craft became commonplace, down to the dinghy, a preferred training boat, of 3.7 m. In the late 20th century, craft of less than 3 m were sailed single-handedly across the Atlantic Ocean.

Kinds of power yachts
Following the decade 1840–50, in which steam began to emulate sail power in commercial vessels, the steam engine, and later the internal-combustion engine, were increasingly employed in personal boats. Sizeable power yachts were furthered to a high standard, and long-distance travel became a fond activity of the rich. The earliest power yachts were paddle-wheel boats; they then made way to boats powered by the completely submerged screw or propeller type of propulsion. As well as naval and merchant craft, auxiliaries possessing both sail and power were the yacht fashion for many years. By the second half of the 20th century, several yachts were still auxiliaries, but the larger part were solely power yachts with gasoline or diesel engines.

During the last decade of the 19th century there was a push in the manufacture of more sizeable steam yachts. In particular of these was the Mayflower (1897) of 2,690 tons, with triple-expansion engines, twin screws, and a compartmented iron hull, and was manned by a crew of more than 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 saw active service in World War II.

As more sizeable and better quality internal-combustion engines were developed, many bigger craft were using them for power. The establishment of the diesel engine, employing heavy oil for fuel, advanced from World War I. In the decade that followed, large power-yacht building grew, climaxing in the Orion (1930) at 3,097 tons. In that period the largest auxiliary yacht constructed was the four-masted, steel, barque-rigged Sea Cloud (1931) of 2,323 tons.

The building of big power yachts fell away in 1932, and the style thereafter was toward smaller, less costly boats. After World War II, a lot of small naval craft were bought by private owners for conversion to yachts. At the late 20th century, yachting is a internationally popular competition enjoyed by thousands of yachtsmen individually manning and maintaining their own small leisure boats. The amount of yachts and owners is increasing steadily, not only in the traditional areas by 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 can be differentiated by the effect they have on the distribution of income and wealth. A proportional tax is a kind that imposes the same relative onus on all the taxpayers—i.e., in the case where tax liability and income move in equal scale. A progressive tax is recognisable by a higher than proportional rise in the tax liability in regard to the growth in income, and a regressive tax is recognisable by a less than proportional rise in the related onus. Thus, progressive taxes are regarded as taking away inequity in income distribution, while regressive taxes are seen to result in increasing these inequalities.

The taxes that are generally believed to be progressive include individual income taxes and estate taxes. Income taxes that are initially progressive, however, may become less so in the upper-income categories—in particular if a taxpayer is able to lessen his tax base by nominating deductions or by removing some particular income elements from his taxable income. Proportional tax rates when applied to lower-income categories can also be more progressive if personal exemptions are made.

Income measured over the course of a given year does not absolutely come up with the most suitable measure of taxpaying ability. For example, transitory rises in income might be saved, and within temporary declines in income a taxpayer could choose to finance consumption by reducing savings. Ergo, if taxation is held in comparison along with “permanent income,” it would be less regressive (or more progressive) than when it is compared with annual income.

Sales taxes and excises (excepting those on luxuries) are generally regressive, because the share of own income consumed or spent on specific goods declines as the rate of personal income increases. Poll taxes (also called head taxes), calculated as a flat amount per capita, obviously are regressive.

It is difficult to term corporate income taxes and taxes on business as progressive, regressive, or proportionate, principally due to the lack of certainty about 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 determined.

In analysing the economic effect of taxation, it is relevant to differentiate between various ideas of tax rates. The statutory rates will be dictated in law; usually these are marginal rates, but for some cases they are average rates. Marginal income tax rates signify the fraction of incremental income that is demanded by taxation when income increases by one dollar. Thus, if tax liability rises by 45 cents when income increases by one dollar, the marginal tax rate is 45 percent. Income tax legislature usually contain graduated marginal rates—i.e., rates that rise as income grows. Structured analysis of marginal tax rates must review provisions apart from the formal statutory rate structure. If, for example, a particular tax credit (reduction in tax) declines by 20 cents for each one-dollar growth in income, the marginal rate is 20 percentage points higher than specified within the statutory rates. Since marginal rates indicate how after-tax income moves in response to changes in before-tax income, they are the appropriate ones for assessing incentive effects of taxation. It is even more difficult to understand the marginal effective tax rate applicable to income from business and capital, because it may rely on considerations such as the structure of depreciation allowances, the deductibility of interest, and the provisions for inflation adjustment. A basic economic theorem holds that the marginal effective tax rate in income from capital is zero under a consumption-based tax.

Average income tax rates show the portion of total income that is required in taxation. The pattern of average rates is the one that is necessary for appraising the distributional equity of taxation. Under a progressive income tax the average income tax rate increases with income. Average income tax rates generally increase with income, both because personal allowances are allowed for the taxpayer and dependents and due to that marginal tax rates are graduated; on the other side of things, preferential treatment of income received mostly by high-income households can swamp these effects, producing regressivity, as signified by average tax rates that lower as income increases.

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