Why You Should Hire an Architect

2010 September 8
by squadron

An architect is a well qualified professional 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 education and accredited programs to procure a license in order to practice architecture. When practicing architecture, the architect can have free reign to design the building or group of buildings, as well as the space around it that still counts as part of the property. These ideas form the planning stage of the project and can take months to finalise.

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

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

The architect that you hire will be involved in all of the aspects of your project. Essentially, you are hiring an architect because you require a trained professional to take charge 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 problems of a particular strategy.

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

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

Tents and Marquees

2010 September 2
by squadron

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

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

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

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

You may know you want to use a standard Tent for your event, or your event planner may already have in mind to use a Tent. You have options! There are lots of other stunning
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 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 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 good warranty for under $600.

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

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 quality reproduction of their logo. Sign written or printed Tents can be as dull as a website address or they can be a design masterpiece.

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

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

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

New Zealand’s Top Holiday Cities

2010 August 23

New Zealand has a magnificent array of breathtaking landscapes. Like huge mountain ranges, endless coastlines, dense 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 discounted prices. Among the top holiday cities in New Zealand, Queenstown, Christchurch and Auckland would definitely be there. Travel Online is a celebrated online specialist travel operator and provides fantastic 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 picturesque locations on the globe. Throughout the year adventurous and exciting 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 cutting-edge facilities, gyms, spas and fantastic views are available at various holiday retreats across the city. Bigger 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 astounding Victoria Square, across the mesmerizing Avon River or towards the historic Anglican Cathedral. Situated on New Zealand’s South Island, this cosmopolitan city is always abuzz with colourful 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. Huge 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 wonderfulcountryside surrounding the city.

Auckland
Auckland, also known as the City of Sails, is situated 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 lots of 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 majestic, 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 love 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.

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

2010 August 18
by squadron

Don’t permit an inexperienced 24 hour carpet cleaner attempt to repair your carpets damaged by water. These are the cautions you should be watchful of:

Overcharging. An unprofessional water restoration restorer may load the job up with extra extras. E.g. using dehumidification on the water damaged carpets unnecessarily.

Having the correct equipment. They might use equipment from hire companies for the carpet. This is permissible, but an established water damage professional will have all their equipment to provide a faster response and hopefully a better value job.

Proper moisture metre. If they don’t have the choice moisture meter, they cannot see when the carpet is dry. This furthers the problem of mould growth in the future. Removal of this in future may be required.

If they aren’t 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 deal with this sort of work each day. Be wary of them. Drying a carpet is an art. Removing and repairing and reinstalling the carpet is best to be taken on by a professional, otherwise they can be damaged irrepairably.

You could be thinking, how do I choose a credible Flood Restoration professional? Below I have set out some pointers to look out for when you are calling around for a carpet flood damage business:

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

Where do they come up in Google? The higher their rank in Google, the more “online votes” there has been for the business.

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

Do Insurance companies use them for their carpet water damage jobs? This is a very good indicator. If insurance companies hire them, the business is likely to be excellent at their work. Insurance companies tend to use the providers that offer them the best value for the fee.

How much Equipment do they have? They should own at least 100 Air movers. If they own this many, this could show they have been running for a good time. Our business took 8 years to build up 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 fee for water extraction, water removal and initial inspection. If they wouldn’t give you a rate for this in the least, you know they are not willing to serve you, so keep looking.

Response Time – Our Water Damage Brisbane business is committed to a 59 minute response time for water damage emergency. The business needs to be completed ASAP. Mould can come inside a 24 hour period.

If you follow these tips you are sure to come up with a Flood Damage Restoration company who knows how to 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.

Eight Steps to Great Web Design

2010 August 7
by squadron

Take charge of getting your site established by a developer and know the process it will save you money and attain 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 comprehension 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 loaded with example sites and more importantly the elements of the site you like so they can acquire 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 actualize for you but your tolerance to colours, animations, layouts etc. for your requirements which will allow for effective development. The more interaction and information you give them in the beginning the more time you will save everybody in the long run by becoming what you want 1st time round. Check with the designers on how many rounds of changes come with the contract, most will allow for a total conceptual redesign only once and 2 rounds of changes after that.

4. Production and Content
After the home page design is made, the developers will more than likely collect the general layout of this concept and then construct 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 get too creative with the document fonts etc. as these will not be kept when the content is copied into the code of the site. It is 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 interacting with the reader but for Search Engine Optimisation.
One last tip for content; formulate a decent amount of content but provide it in a way that a reader may get a summary of what you are trying to get across in the 1st couple of paragraphs and an image or to. The rest of the paragraphs that get into finer details ARE FOR GOOGLE !

5. Development Programming and CMS
If your website contains Content Managed Areas (CMS) or has any other dynamic sections the developers will wrap your design around a content management program such as Joomla or Drupal or they may have a custom built system. Make sure that you get to see how the CMS system operate on another site they have developed or an example site they may have. You need to know that you can use and 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 made for you. You can guarantee if it is has just been written for you then it will not work 100% first time round. This is a where things can get ugly in the process you must understand the way the program 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 avialable 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 happy that this website is the best representation of your business / product it can be. Remember even though you can change things after going live it is still a poor reflection on your business if there are spelling mistakes or broken images when you launch.

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

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

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

Tips to Creating a New Business Logo

2010 August 6

A logo is a very important step to forming a business. It is the face of your business. And like your face represents the tone of your business, gestures the service and demonstrates 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 require to put signage on their new building they cannot track the design studio down that created the original logo for them and so incur costs to have it recreated. This is unnecessary and may cause obstacles when trying to replecate the logo exactly as 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 difficulties.

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

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

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

Tip 2
Colour can be an essential decision as it not only could alter the output costs but can also margin 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
Make certain 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. 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 regulate. For example it is troublesome to reverse into black and white. Images also have limitations when it comes to size – they can only be reproduced to a certain size before they start pixilation.

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

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

Tip 7
Assure that you receive 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 Bydaughters today for a free two hour consultation.

How to Create a Style Guide

2010 July 31
by squadron

How many times have you mailed business cards to print and obtained yet another version of your corporate colour? Ever been enthusiastic to see your advert in the latest newspaper and then recognized that the crucial tag line is not present or your logo has been ruined.

There is only one way to thwart this from happening and that is to create a style guide. Not only will a style guide help you control the reproduction of your logo – it will also help you bolster 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 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 want different logos and file formats for example, black and white publication adverts in comparison to vehicle graphics.

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

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

Step 4 : Assure 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 repeated.

Step 5 : Confirm to insert any contributing logos or logos of business that are linked with you. It’s also important that you deliver a copy of the layout to these companies to ensure they approve 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 : Confirm that when suppliers are using the Style Guide they understand~know~discern~apprehend} that a proof needs to be dispatched~sent~mailed~commissioned}to you to be affirmed as correct.

Get your Style Guide finished 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)

2010 July 19

The common question that is asked when looking for a new projector for the home, office, or classroom is: should I purchase an LCD projector or a DLP projector? LCD, short for ‘liquid crystal device’ and DLP, short for ‘digital light processing’ are the two commonplace projector imaging technologies. With so many business brands and different models available, it can be challenging for clients to make a decision between these technologies. Ultimately LCD projectors provide far better image quality and colour accuracy. The next part of this article tells you why DLP projectors struggle with creating a comparable standard of image quality.

Think of a set of blinds in your room for your bedroom window. By a twist of a rod you can have the shutters open or closed, according to if you want to let light in or not. And this is exactly how an LCD projector operates. Each pixel works like an individual shutter on a set of blinds to either pass light through or to block it. DLP on the other hand is created of millions of microscopic mirrors or ‘pixel elements’ as the pros 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 turns on to when the picture reaches your screen is vitally important for image quality, brightness and colour accuracy. LCD projectors direct white light from the lamp by splitting it into red, blue and green components, by three mirrors which project the coloured light to 3 stand alone LCD panels. The 3 LCD panels cast the elements of the image by processing each pixel on and off. The pixels are then combined in a glass prism to send the projector image. Something to know about LCD projectors is that all three colours are projected onto your screen all at the same time. The way a DLP projector functions is vastly different and even how an image looks is not the same. With DLP, white light from the lamp is projected through a turning colour wheel with transparent red, blue and green segments, at speeds up to 11,000 rpm/s. This way of projecting an image forms a sequence of red, blue and green light. The millions of micro mirrors described above reflect the coloured light on the pixels to construct the image elements. The elements of the image are sent in sequence on the screen, one colour at a time. The viewer’s vision will then combine each coloured element of the image into the full image. Using LCD projectors, all colours are available all the time to offer the best brightness and fantastic colour accuracy. In DLP, only one colour is available at a time, and so causing lower colour brightness and accuracy. Some DLP manufacturers have added a white segment for the colour wheel to improve brightness overall, but this goes and detracts from colour accuracy.

I hear in forums all the time that DLP has a higher contrast ratio and thus must be better quality. For those unsure, 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 as compared to the majority of LCD projectors. At one glance, this appears to be a benefit, however, in reality, the true black level is determined by the ambient light in the room where the projector is used. Do not be duped by contrast specifications on websites and in brochures.

When the content you want to bring to life has moving images, DLP projection technology also creates image marks, or ‘artifacts’. The most commonplace 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 all colours are sent at the same time. DLP developers have come up with 3DLP solutions using 3 chips to answer the colour break up artifacts, but the expense of these projectors make them impractical for many businesses and consumers.

Another variance between LCD and DLP is how they compensate for the refractive qualities of light. Think back to high school science, and remember how various colours of light refract different amounts when shone through the same lens. The disadvantage with DLP projectors is that they utilise the one same panel for the same lens to project Red, Blue and Green. All 3 colours are obviously different and refract light in different ways. Generally with a DLP projector, some yellow colour will come through above and a spill of blue will come through below something as simple as a single black line. In building LCD projectors can be set to take away these effects on the projected image, because each colour is projected on a separate LCD panels.

The one actual buy point (excluding price) with picking a DLP projector is its overall smaller size and weight. However, this is only relevant in regard to transporting the device and needs to be traded off against the image superiority of LCD projectors. If resulting picture quality is vital to you, then the answer is a no-brainer. Go with an LCD projector! LCD projectors will definitely show bright, colourful images with fewer image errors. If you want to know more about LCD technology in more detail, check out this fabulous resource website: Explore 3LCD. If you have any additional questions, go to Projector Central and send me an email.

Jonathan King is the sales and marketing manager of Projector Central, Australia’s premier online retailer for projectors. Brisbane-based, Projector Central has serviced Australia for 15 years. For data projectors in the Gold Coast and Interactive Whiteboards, contact Projector Central today.

Yachting and Yacht Clubs

2010 July 16

As the Dutch came to preeminence in sea power during the 17th century, the first yacht had been a pleasure craft used first by royalty and secondly by the burghers for the canals and the protected and unprotected waters of the Low Countries. Racing yachts was incidental, coming out of private matches. English yachting originated with King Charles II of England during his exile in the Low Countries. On his restoration to the English monarchy in 1660, the city of Amsterdam presented him with a 20-metre (66-foot) pleasure 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 other yachts and in 1662 raced two of them from the Thames, from Greenwich, to Gravesend, and returning, on a £100 punt. Yachting rose as fashionable among the rich and nobility, but after that time the trend did not last.

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

Yacht racing was first seen in some organized method on the Thames in the mid-18th century. The duke of Cumberland founded the Cumberland Fleet for Thames racing in 1775. When George IV came to sovereignty in 1820, it was known as 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 society had been formed at Cowes on the Isle of Wight in 1815, and royal sponsorship made the Solent – the strait between the mainland and the Isle of Wight – the perpetual site of British racing. The society at Cowes became the Royal Yachting Club, again at the ascension of George IV. Each member was required to have 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 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 had dominance. Sailing was for the most part for fun and reached its high point in George Crowinshield’s Cleopatra’s Barge (1815), which sailed on the Mediterranean Sea and established a benchmark of luxury and elegance for the later yachts in the area from the late 19th century. The first persisting American yacht association, the Detroit Boat Club, was started in 1839. In 1844, John C. Stevens founded the New York Yacht Club while 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 craft of sizeable yachts was initially heavily affected by the win of America, which was created by George Steers for a syndicate led by John C. Stevens, and it was the boat for which the America’s Cup (q.v.) found its namesake after its victory at Cowes in 1851. Earlier yachts were not designed and manufactured in today’s sense, with just a model for an outline. Not until the second half of the 19th century did what was called naval architecture come into being. Not until the 1920s did the application of the science of aerodynamics do for the craft of sails and rigging what it had earlier done for hulls.

Because almost all sailboats had been individually built, there came a requirement for handicapping boats before the one-design class boats were made. Therefore, a rating rule was created, which is found in the International Rule, taken on in 1906 and amended in 1919. Today, one of the fastest blossoming areas in the field of sailing is that of one-design class boats. All boats in a one-design class are built to standard requirements in length, beam, sail area, and other areas (for an example of a two-person sailboat, see illustration). Racing between those boats can be had on an even keel with no handicapping necessary. A prime example is the uniform International America’s Cup Class taken on board for participants in the 1992 America’s Cup race.

For the time that yachting belonged mostly for the nobility and the affluent, money was no problem, and the size of boats developed, in both length and weight. The ascendancy and desire of smaller craft came in the later half of the 19th century out of the sailing of the Englishmen R.T. McMullen, a stockbroker, and E.F. Knight, a barrister and journalist. A trip around the world (1895–98) captained single-handedly by the naturalized American captain Joshua Slocum in the 11.3-metre Spray proved the value of smaller yachts. Following this in the 20th century, particularly after World War II, smaller racing and leisure yachts became more common, down to the dinghy, a favoured training boat, of 3.7 m. In the late 20th century, yachts 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 started to emulate sail power in commercial craft, the steam engine, and later the internal-combustion engine, were increasingly favoured in leisure vessels. Sizeable power yachts were developed to a high degree, and long-distance cruising became a preferred pastime of the wealthy. The early power yachts were paddle-wheel boats; these then made way to those powered by the wholly submerged screw or propeller sort of propulsion. As well as naval and merchant yachts, auxiliaries with both sail and power were the yacht archetype for several years. By the second half of the 20th century, a lot of yachts were still auxiliaries, but the larger part were solely power yachts that had gasoline or diesel engines.

During the last decade of the 19th century there was a rise in the design of bigger 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 operated by a crew of more than 150. The Mayflower, purchased by the United States Navy in 1898, was the official yacht of the president of the United States until 1929 and saw active service during World War II.

As bigger and more reliable internal-combustion engines were created, many large boats started using them for power. The development of the diesel engine, employing heavy oil for fuel, was furthered from World War I. During the decade after, large power-yacht creation blossomed, climaxing in the Orion (1930) at 3,097 tons. During that period the best auxiliary yacht manufactured was the four-masted, steel, barque-rigged Sea Cloud (1931) of 2,323 tons.

The building of big power yachts lessened in 1932, and the trend thereafter was for smaller, less expensive yachts. From World War II, lots of small naval boats were bought by private owners for conversion to yachts. In the late 20th century, yachting has become a globally loved activity enjoyed by thousands of yachtsmen who are actually sailing and maintaining their own small recreational boats. The number of yachts and sailors has increased steadily, not only in the traditional locations by the beach but also on inland waterways and lakes.

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Proportional, Progressive, and Regressive taxes

2010 July 8

Taxes are distinguished by the effect they have on the distribution of income and wealth. A proportional tax is a tax that impinges the same relative requirement on all the taxpayers—i.e., when tax liability and income grow in equal proportion. A progressive tax is characterized by a higher than proportional growth in the tax burden in relation to the growth in income, and a regressive tax is recognisable by a less than proportional increase in the comparable burden. Ergo, progressive taxes are viewed as taking away the lack of equality in income distribution, whereas regressive taxes can have the effect of an increase in these inequalities.

The taxes that are normally considered progressive include individual income taxes and estate taxes. Income taxes that are declarably progressive, however, may become less so within the upper-income demographic—particularly if a taxpayer is able to lessen his tax base by nominating deductions or by removing certain income parts from his taxable income. Proportional tax rates when applied to lower-income demographics will also be more progressive if exemptions of a personal nature are made.

Income measured over the course of a given year does not absolutely provide the most suitable measure of taxpaying requirement. For example, transitory rises in income may be saved, and during temporary declines in income a taxpayer may select to provide for consumption by taking from savings. Therefore, if taxation is compared with “permanent income,” it will be less regressive (or more progressive) than if compared with annual income.

Sales taxes and excises (save those on luxuries) are mostly regressive, because the dissemination of personal income consumed or spent on specific goods lowers as the level of personal income is raised. Poll taxes (also termed head taxes), nominated as a flat amount per capita, obviously are regressive.

It is hard to determine corporate income taxes and taxes on business as progressive, regressive, or proportionate, principally because of uncertainty surrounding the ability of businesses to shift their tax expenses (see below Shifting and incidence). This difficulty of determining who bears the tax burden depends fundamentally on whether a national or a subnational (that is, provincial or state) tax is being considered.

In analysing the economic purpose of taxation, it is essential to distinguish between several ideas of tax rates. The statutory rates include those specified in law; generally speaking these are marginal rates, but in 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 rises by one dollar, the marginal tax rate is 45 percent. Income tax statutes often contain graduated marginal rates—i.e., rates that grow as income grows. Careful analysis of marginal tax rates must consider provisions other than the formal statutory rate structure. If, for example, a particular tax credit (reduction in tax) lowers by 20 cents for each one-dollar rise in income, the marginal rate is 20 percentage points higher than nominated in the statutory rates. Since marginal rates specify how after-tax income is changed in response to changes in before-tax income, they are the relevant ones for considering incentive effects of taxation. It is even more complicated to understand the marginal effective tax rate to apply to income from business and capital, since it may be reliant on factors 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 indicate the percentage of total income that is required in taxation. The pattern of average rates is the one that is necessary for assessing the distributional equity of taxation. Under a progressive income tax the average income tax rate rises with income. Average income tax rates generally grow with income, both because personal allowances are permitted for the taxpayer and dependents and due to that marginal tax rates are graduated; conversely, preferential treatment of income received fundamentally by high-income households may dampen these effects, forcing regressivity, as indicated by average tax rates that decrease as income increases.

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