Sep 2 10

Tents and Marquees

by Brisbane Honda

marquees-pavillion-3Event Tents, such as wedding tents are for 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 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 different 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 lively 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 astounding, 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 basic
and your budget may be low. Look for cheap tents that offers a waterproof Polyester roof and a solid warranty for under $600.

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

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

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

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

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Aug 23 10

New Zealand’s Top Holiday Cities

by Brisbane Honda

New Zealand has a splendid array of breathtaking landscapes. Like huge mountain ranges, endless coastlines, lush rainforests, deep fiords, snow capped mountains and steaming volcanoes. These picturesque wonders have all made New Zealand an inspired destination for all kinds of holidays.

Awesome travel packages and holiday specials are available on quality accommodation in modern city hotels and luxurious wilderness lodges at slashed prices. Among the top holiday destinations in New Zealand, Queenstown, Christchurch and Auckland would definitely be there. Travel Online is a distinguished online specialist travel operator and provides wonderful tourist services for New Zealand. Travel Online provides an instant quote and booking service for accommodation in cities right across the country.

Queenstown
The international resort town of Queenstown is situated on the shoreline of Wakatipu Lake. This beautiful region is among the most scenic locations on the globe. Throughout the year adventurous and thrilling sports like jet boating, bungy jumping, and white water rafting take place. This town is the epicentre of the entire world’s bungy jumping activities too. With the advent of winter, the town gets transformed to an alpine wonderland with snowboarders and skiers from all corners of the world assembling at the annual Winter Festival.

There is constant request for Queenstown Accommodation all round the year and Travel Online offers a select group of hotels best suited for New Zealand holidays. 1, 2, 3 or 4 bedroom apartments, with modern facilities, gyms, spas and fantastic views are available at various holiday retreats across the city. Larger apartments with more bedrooms, tennis courts, private jetties and fitness centres are also available at a higher price. Luxury complexes with studio rooms in the vicinity of cafes, bars, and restaurants are also found in Travel Online’ Queenstown Accommodation selection.

Christchurch
When choosing a place to stay in Christchurch look for hotels that give views over the beautiful Victoria Square, across the transfixing Avon River or towards the epochal Anglican Cathedral. Situated on New Zealand’s South Island, this cosmopolitan city is always abuzz with fantastic festivals, shopping spots, theaters and art galleries. Hotels overlooking Victoria Square provide visitors with an insight in to the city’s English history.

Individuals accommodated in the vicinity of the Christchurch Cathedral will find hotel rooms with a Manhattan-style feel. Tradition and elegance are everywhere in these hotels along with a keen eye on service excellence. Luxurious bedrooms with full-fledged kitchen facilities are common, along with hi-tech conference facilities, resort-like leisure features like spas, saunas, gyms, and swimming pools. Many of these hotels provided by Travel Online are located in the vicinity of the Technology Park, the International Antarctic Centre, and the airport. Travelers who want to stay away from the hustle and bustle of the cosmopolitan life will find suitable accommodation in the brilliantcountryside surrounding the city.

Auckland
Auckland, also known as the City of Sails, is located in between 2 harbors and has more boats per person than anywhere on the planet. Within minutes a person has the flexibility of sailing away on yachts to isolated nearby islands, living the high life in the casino, surfing at endless beaches or tasting the exotic wines at local vineyards. Hotels come in stylish and comfortable studios, and luxurious executive / marina suites. Travel Online caters to the tastes of corporate and business tourists and can beat any price seen on Auckland accommodation advertised. Auckland harbor is breathtaking, and is seen perfectly from atop Sky City and the surrounding accommodation.

Affordable and comfortable apartments are available for casual tourists, equipped with kitchens, laundries, and balconies to provide a fantastic holidaying experience. Visitors to Auckland adore visiting the Antarctic Encounter, which showcases the only penguins present in the sub-Antarctic region. More adventures include cage-bereft shark dives, scuba expeditions and snorkel safaris. New Zealand is waiting.

Travel Online has a wide range of Queenstown accommodation close to all the snow action and cosmopolitan Christchurch accommodation surrounded by all that theatre and art. For holidays in and around the water, Auckland accommodation is as good as anywhere in the world.

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Aug 18 10

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

by Brisbane Honda

Don’t allow a novice 24 hour carpet cleaner come to repair your carpets with water damage. These are the cautions you need to be watchful of:

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

Using the correct equipment. They sometimes hire equipment from hire businesses for the carpet. This is acceptable, but an established water damage restorer will own all their equipment to enable a faster response and hopefully a better value job.

Proper moisture metre. If they don’t have the right moisture meter, they can’t see if the carpet is repaired. This enhances the potential of future mould. Removal of this would then be required in the future.

They are not Specialised. There are a whole lot of “Carpet Cleaners” in this industry who do water damage repair repairs on the “side.” i.e. they don’t do this type of repair each day. Be aware of it. Drying carpet water damage is an art. Reinstalling carpets on the gripper strips should be completed by a professional, otherwise the carpet can be damaged irrepairably.

You could be thinking, how do I pick a professional Flood Restoration professional? Below I have selected some signifiers to check for when hunting around for a carpet flood damage business:

What size is their Yellow Pages advertisement: This can be an indication as to how much repair work they get already. A full-size Yellow Pages advertisement can cost more than $50 000. If they have paid for a larger ad, you get some indication that they are established.

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

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

Do Insurance companies use them for their water damage jobs? This is a top indicator. If insurance companies source them, the business is probably going to be superb at their job. Insurance companies often use the businesses that give them the best value for their money.

How much Equipment do they have? They should own at least 100 Air movers. If they own this many, this means they have been going for a while. It took our business 8 years to own that many wet carpet drying air movers.

What kind of commitment can you get with them with a phone call? See if you can pin them down to a set rate for water extraction, water removal and initial inspection. If they can’t give you a package for this at the least, you know they are not willing to assist you, so look elsewhere.

Response Time – Our Water Damage Brisbane-based business operates to a 59 minute response time for a water damage emergency. The job needs to be responded to ASAP. Mould can appear in a 24 hour period.

If you follow these tips you are sure to choose a Flood Damage Restoration business 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.

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Aug 13 10

Podiatry as a Career in Australia

by Brisbane Honda

As a practicing podiatrist in Brisbane, Australia, I am often asked by parents 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 opportunity 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 face malpractice suits. The nature of podiatry practice does not lend itself to accidentally harming one’s patients. Also, you never have to give your customers 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 medical practitioner or dentist , the remuneration is generally commensurate with other allied health providers.
  • Instant Gratification: One of the most fulfilling aspects of being a podiatrist is the instant gratification! People come in with pain and leave happy. You will see 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 afford you a lot of opportunity to help relieve the suffering of your fellow human beings.
  • Self – Determination: Podiatry provides 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 example 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 defines 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 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 gain employment in any Commonwealth country and are especially 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, a painful corn, a sporting injury, some back pain and at least a couple of painful heels . The key to being a good podiatrist is to be a great problem solver. Every patient is an individual with a unique complaint 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.

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Aug 7 10

Eight Steps to Great Web Design

by Brisbane Honda

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

1. Knowing your business and how you are currently established in your market.
In order to formulate 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 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 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 construct a good profile and analyze 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 fast 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 acquire the general layout of this concept and then formulate the inner page template. It is this template that will be replicated 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 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 accomplish a summary of what you are trying to infer across in the 1st couple of paragraphs and an image or to. The rest of the paragraphs that get into finer details ARE FOR GOOGLE !

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

6. Testing and training
We work closely with the developers to test your site especially if there are any CMS or special programs that have been made for you. You can guarantee if it is has just been written for you then it will not 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, 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 live 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.

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Aug 6 10

Tips to Creating a New Business Logo

by Brisbane Honda

A logo is a essential step to creating a business. It is the face of your business. And like your face expresses the tone of your business, gestures the service and reveals 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 recreated. This is unnecessary and may cause difficulties when trying to recreate the logo exactly as done originally.

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

Tip 1
First things first - you need to decide if you would like your logo to have an accompanying icon. It is desired that if your service or product name is not in your business name then perhaps an icon will assist in 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 looking for a more illustrative finish without losing recognition.

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

Tip 2
Colour can be an crucial decision as it not only could alter the output costs but can also limit 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 confirm that it includes all the files needed for the different printing formats.

Creative software updates frequently and some programmes become obsolete. Make sure 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
Ensure 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 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 acquire 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.

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Jul 31 10

How to Create a Style Guide

by Brisbane Honda

How many times have you sent business cards to print and collected yet another version of your corporate colour? Ever been fired up to see your advert in the latest newspaper and then caught 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 create a style guide. Not only will a style guide aid you control the reproduction of your logo - it will also help you strengthen 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 : Outline the audience for your Style Guide. Is this for staff to use 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 specify to the business and team.

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

Step 5 : Make sure to include any contributing logos or logos of business that are affiliated with you. It’s also important that you issue 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 : Insure 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 confirmed 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 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.

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Jul 19 10

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

by Brisbane Honda

The most typical question customers ask when looking for a new projector for the home, office, or classroom is: will I purchase an LCD projector or a DLP projector? LCD, short for ‘liquid crystal device’ and DLP, standing for ‘digital light processing’ are the two most common projector imaging technologies. With so many brands and models available, it can be confusing for customers to decide between both technologies. Ultimately LCD projectors give far superior image quality and colour accuracy. The next paragraph explains why DLP projectors struggle with reproducing a comparable grade of image quality.

Imagine 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. Such is exactly how an LCD projector works. Each pixel works like a unique shutter on a set of blinds to either allow light through or to block it. DLP on the other hand is constructed of millions of microscopic mirrors or ‘pixel elements’ as the professionals like to call them. Each pixel element works to either reflect light or block it.

How the light source is processed from the time the projector is turned on to when the picture reaches your screen is vitally significant for image quality, brightness and colour accuracy. LCD projectors shine white light from the lamp by cutting it into red, blue and green components, by three mirrors which send the coloured light to 3 separate LCD panels. The 3 LCD panels cast the elements of the image by switching each pixel on and off. The pixels are then meshed in a glass prism to form the projector image. Something to know about LCD projectors is that all three colours are sent onto your projected surface all at once. The way a DLP projector works is totally different and even the way an image shows up is not the same. With DLP, white light from the lamp is directed through a rotating colour wheel with transparent red, blue and green segments, at speeds up to 11,000 rpm/s. This approach to forming an image forms a sequence of red, blue and green light. The millions of micro mirrors as described above reflect the coloured light on the pixels to create 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 draw each coloured element of the image into the complete image. From LCD projectors, all colours are available all the time to create high brightness and fantastic colour accuracy. In DLP, just one colour is available at a time, and so causing lower colour brightness and accuracy. Some DLP designers have put a white segment into the colour wheel to improve brightness overall, but this further detracts from colour accuracy.

I find in forums all the time that DLP has a higher contrast ratio and therefore must be better. 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 projector is capable of producing. DLP projectors do have high contrast specifications in comparison to the majority of LCD projectors. At one glance, this can seem to be a benefit, however, in the real world, the true black level is determined by the ambient light in the room in which the projector is utilised. Do not be hoodwinked by contrast specifications on websites and in brochures.

When the content you want to view requires moving images, DLP projection technology can also create image imperfections, or ‘artifacts’. The most common 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 between the time red, blue and green colours are projected. LCD projectors do not have this downside because all colours are delivered at the same time. DLP developers have developed 3DLP solutions using 3 chips to solve the colour break up issue, but the price tag of these projectors make them almost impossible for most 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 recall how the different colours of light refract different 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 at different levels. Often with a DLP projector, a spill of yellow colour will appear above and some blue will come through below an image as simple as a straight black line. In manufacturing LCD projectors can be adjusted to minimize these effects on the projected image, because each colour is refracted on its own LCD panels.

The isolated real plus (excluding price) with picking a DLP projector is its smaller overall size and weight. However, this is only relevant with regard to mobility and has to be traded off against the image benefits of LCD projectors. If resulting picture quality is vital to you, then the solution is a no-brainer. Choose an LCD projector! LCD projectors will always produce bright, colourful images with fewer image blips. If you desire to find out more about LCD technology in more detail, check out this spectacular resource website: Explore 3LCD. If you have any further questions, get onto Projector Central and send me an email.

Jonathan King is the sales and marketing manager with Projector Central, Australia’s number one online provider for projectors. Brisbane-based, Projector Central has been serving Australia for 15 years. For data projectors in the Gold Coast and Interactive Whiteboards, contact Projector Central today.

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Jul 16 10

Yachting and Yacht Clubs

by Brisbane Honda

As the Dutch came to preeminence in sea power during the 17th century, the initial yacht became a pleasure craft used mostly by royalty and secondly by the burghers for the canals as well as the protected and unprotected waters of the Low Countries. Racing yachts was incidental, borne from private games. English yachting originated 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 sent him a 20-metre (66-foot) leisure boat with a beam (maximum width) of 5.6 m (18 feet), which he then named Mary. Charles and his brother James, the duke of York (James II, ruled 1685–88), made more yachts and in 1662 raced two of them from the Thames, from Greenwich, to Gravesend, and back, on a £100 punt. Yachting became classy among the affluent and nobility, but after that time the habit did not last.

The first yacht club in the British Isles, the Water Club, was instigated in about 1720 at Cork, Ire., as a cruising and unofficial coast guard association, and had great naval panoply and gravity. The closest thing to a race was the “chase,” when the “fleet” pursued an imaginary enemy. The club endured, mostly as a social club, until 1765, and in 1828, by conglomerating with other societies, it became known as the Cork Yacht Club (later the Royal Cork Yacht Club).

Yacht racing began in some ordered manner on the Thames in the mid-18th century. The duke of Cumberland funded the Cumberland Fleet for Thames racing in 1775. When George IV came to sovereignty in 1820, it was then known as 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 group 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 perpetual setting of British yachting. The association at Cowes became the Royal Yachting Club, likewise at the rise of George IV. Each member was required to own boats of at least 20 tons (20,321 kg). Sailing matches for high stakes were held, and the society life was lovely. Ultimately Royal Yachting Club boats increased in size to more than 350 tons.

In North America, yachting began with the Dutch in New York in the 17th century and continued when the English held power. Sailing was largely for leisure and found its apogee 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 the area from the late 19th century. The first persisting American yacht club, 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 first sailing yachts were within the design of such naval craft as brigantines, schooners, and cutters from the 17th century through the second half of the 19th century. The design of large yachts was initially heavily impacted by the success of America, which was drawn by George Steers for a syndicate started 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. Early yachts were not designed and manufactured in today’s sense, with only a model for an outline. Not until the latter half of the 19th century did what was called naval architecture come into being. Not until the 1920s did the employment of the study of aerodynamics do for the craft of sails and rigging what such science had previously done for hulls.

Because almost all sailboats had been individually manufactured, there came a requirement for handicapping boats as this was before the one-design class boats were designed. Therefore, a rating rule was created, which ended up in the International Rule, accepted in 1906 and revised in 1919. Today, 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 built to standard specifications in length, beam, sail area, and other elements (for an example of a two-person sailboat, see illustration). Racing between those boats can be held on an even playing field with no handicapping required. A perfect example is the standard International America’s Cup Class adopted for racers in the 1992 America’s Cup race.

As long as yachting was done mostly for the royal and the rich, money was no issue, and the size of boats developed, in both length and weight. The ascendancy and popularity of smaller craft happened in the later half of the 19th century in the sailing of the Englishmen R.T. McMullen, a stockbroker, and E.F. Knight, a barrister and journalist. A trip around the world (1895–98) captained single-handedly by the naturalized American captain Joshua Slocum in the 11.3-metre Spray demonstrated the seaworthiness of small boats. Thereafter in the 20th century, for the larger part after World War II, smaller racing and leisure craft 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, during which steam was set to emulate sail power in commercial craft, the steam engine, and later the internal-combustion engine, were employed more and more in leisure boats. Bigger power yachts were developed to a high degree, and long-distance travel turned into a fond pastime of the rich. The first power yachts were paddle-wheel boats; these then made way to boats powered by the completely submerged screw or propeller type of propulsion. As in the case of naval and merchant craft, auxiliaries with both sail and power were the yacht archetype for several years. By the later half of the 20th century, several yachts were still auxiliaries, but the large part 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 bigger steam yachts. Conspicuous among these was the Mayflower (1897) of 2,690 tons, containing triple-expansion engines, twin screws, and a compartmented iron hull, and was sailed by a crew of over 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 gave active service for World War II.

As more sizeable and better quality internal-combustion engines were produced, many large boats started using them for power. The development of the diesel engine, with heavy oil for fuel, advanced during World War I. From the decade after, big power-yacht building blossomed, climaxing in the Orion (1930) at 3,097 tons. From that period the best auxiliary yacht manufactured was the four-masted, steel, barque-rigged Sea Cloud (1931) of 2,323 tons.

The construction of large power yachts declined from 1932, and the fashion after that was toward smaller, less expensive yachts. From World War II, lots of small naval vessels were sold to private owners for conversion to yachts. In the late 20th century, yachting had become a internationally beloved competition enjoyed by thousands of yachtsmen individually manning and keeping their own small recreational boats. The amount of yachts and yachtsmen increased steadily, not only in the traditional places along the sea but also on inland waterways and lakes.

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Jul 8 10

Proportional, Progressive, and Regressive taxes

by Brisbane Honda

Taxes are differentiated by the impact they have on the allocation of income and wealth. A proportional tax is the kind that impinges the same relative burden on all taxpayers—i.e., where tax liability and income grow in relative scale. A progressive tax is characterizable by a higher than proportional rise in the tax liability in regard to the rise in income, and a regressive tax is recognisable by a less than proportional rise in the comparative burden. Ergo, progressive taxes are thought of as taking away inequity in income distribution, whereas regressive taxes may cause an increase in these inequalities.

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

Income measured over a given year may not definitely provide the most appropriate measure of taxpaying status. For example, transitory increases in income may be saved, and during temporary declines in income a taxpayer could elect to pay for consumption by decreasing savings. Ergo, if taxation is held in comparison along with “permanent income,” it would be less regressive (or more progressive) than when compared with annual income.

Sales taxes and excises (save on luxuries) are usually regressive, because the share of personal 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 fixed amount per capita, obviously are regressive.

It is not simple to determine corporate income taxes and taxes on business as progressive, regressive, or proportionate, principally because of the uncertainty about the ability of businesses to shift their tax expenses (see below Shifting and incidence). This difficulty of dictating who bears the tax burden is dependant fundamentally on whether a national or a subnational (that is, provincial or state) tax is being decided.

In assessing the economic effect of taxation, it is relevant to distinguish between differing points of tax rates. The statutory rates will include those dictated in law; usually these are marginal rates, but sometimes they are mean rates. Marginal income tax rates note the fraction of incremental income demanded by taxation when income rises 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 laws often contain graduated marginal rates—i.e., rates that rise as income increases. Structured analysis of marginal tax rates are required to take into account provisions as well as the formal statutory rate structure. If, for example, a particular tax credit (reduction in tax) declines by 20 cents for each one-dollar increase in income, the marginal rate is 20 percentage points more than nominated by the statutory rates. Since marginal rates signify how after-tax income is changed in response to changes in before-tax income, they are the appropriate ones for considering incentive effects of taxation. It is even more difficult to realise the marginal effective tax rate applied to income from business and capital, since it may be dependant on considerations such as the structure of depreciation allowances, the deductibility of interest, and the provisions for inflation adjustment. A basic economic theorem determines that the marginal effective tax rate in income from capital is nothing under a consumption-based tax.

Average income tax rates indicate the portion of total income that is taken 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 grows with income. Average income tax rates commonly increase with income, both because personal allowances are granted for the taxpayer and dependents and because marginal tax rates are graduated; on the flip side, preferential treatment of income received for the most part by high-income households might dampen these effects, producing regressivity, as indicated by average tax rates that fall as income increases.

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