Tents and Marquees

2010 September 2
by squadron

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 dataabout the size of Tent you’ll need).

Therefore, the key rule is; know what you are going to use your tent for. The choice of tents is amazing, almost on par with the choice of cars that you can buy.

So if you need a tent for the family BBQ, for example, your needs are fairly rudimentry
and your budget may be tight. 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 be a little more expensive.

In the last 5 years, portable Tents have become important to businesses for their marketing. The essential need for these buyers is a prominent and identical reproduction of their logo. Sign written or printed Tents can be as boring as a website address or they can be a design 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 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 enormous mountain ranges, majestic coastlines, bountiful rainforests, deep fiords, snow capped mountains and steaming volcanoes. These panoramic wonders have all made New Zealand an inspired destination for all kinds of holidays.

Fantastic 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 cities in New Zealand, Queenstown, Christchurch and Auckland would definitely be there. Travel Online is a distinguished online specialist travel operator and provides astounding 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 stimulating 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. 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 mesmerizing Avon River or towards the historic 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. Spacious 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 majesticcountryside 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 choice 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 splendid, 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.

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

2010 August 18
by squadron

Don’t allow an inexperienced 24 hour carpet cleaner show up to repair your carpets damaged by water. These are the signs you must be watchful of:

Overcharging. An unprofessional water restoration carpet cleaner may pack the job up with superfluous steps. E.g. using dehumidification for the damaged carpets unnecessarily.

Not having the correct equipment. They sometimes borrow equipment from hire places for the carpet. This is all right, but an established water damage restorer will possess all their equipment to provide a speedy response and hopefully a better value job.

Does not have a proper moisture metre. If they don’t have the right moisture meter, they can’t tell if the carpet is dry enough. This furthers the problem of future mould growth. Mould removal in future may be required.

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 do not deal with this kind of job each day. Be wary of it. Drying carpets is an art. Reinstalling carpets on the gripper strips should be done by a professional, otherwise they can be damaged beyond repair.

You could be thinking, how do I find a credible Flood Restoration professional? Below I have listed some signifiers to check for when you are calling around for a carpet flood damage business:

How big is their Yellow Pages advertisement: This can signify how much repair work they are getting already. A full-size Yellow Pages ad slot can cost about $50 000. When they have got a larger ad, you have some assurance that they are professionals.

Where do they show in Google? The higher they rate in Google, the more webpage clicks there are for the business.

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

Do Insurance companies hire them for water damage jobs? This is a top indicator. If insurance companies hire them, the business is very likely to be good at their skill. Insurance companies often use the businesses that give them the top value for the fee.

What Equipment do they have? They should own at minimum 100 Air movers. If they own this many, this shows they have been running for a while. We took 8 years to acquire that many wet carpet drying air movers.

What sort of commitment can you get for them on the phone? Ask if you can pin them down to a price for water extraction, water removal and initial inspection. If they can’t give you a package for at least this, you know they are not going to serve you, so go elsewhere.

Response Time – Our Water Damage business in Brisbane operates to a 59 minute response time for a water damage emergency. The business needs to be attended to ASAP. Mould can develop within a 24 hour period.

If you stick to these tips you are sure to locate 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.

Podiatry as a Career in Australia

2010 August 13

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 prospect that is increasingly being denied to other health care providers such as optometrists and even Family Doctors. Big Business controls a lot of health practices. Consider how often you see an independent optometrist these days – can they compete on price with the multinational chains?
  • Legal Issues: In Australia (unlike the USA where things are very different), podiatrists very, very rarely get sued . The nature of podiatry practice does not lend itself to accidentally harming one’s patients. Also, you never have to give your clients the bad news that their condition will be terminal.
  • Working Hours: Emergency call outs are very unlikely. This is 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 dentist or medical practitioner, the remuneration is generally commensurate with other allied health providers.
  • Instant Gratification: One of the best things about working as podiatrist is the instant gratification! People come in with pain and leave happy. You will consult on 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 an abundance of opportunity to help resolve the suffering of your fellow human beings.
  • Self – Determination: Podiatryallows a practitioner the power to determine their own course of action for the benefit of their patients. This is unlike a career in nursing for instance where one acts under the instruction of a doctor.
  • Clear Job roles: The only people who can claim to be a podiatrist are those with a podiatry degree . The clear roles that this demarcates relieves the need to find your ‘niche’ after university – as someone with a more generic Bachelor of Science degree might need to do.
  • Got the urge to travel? There are many places in the world that do not train their own podiatrists including Tasmania, the Northern Territory, all of Asia and all of the Middle East. If you want to see the world, Australian podiatrists can work 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 might be an ingrown toenail or two, an excruciating corn, a sports injury, some sacroiliac pain and at least a couple of painful plantar fascias. The essence of being a good podiatrist is to be an effective problem solver. Each patient is an individual with a unique condition requiring a well considered solution.

How do you qualify as a podiatrist ?

To qualify as a podiatrist means 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

2010 August 7
by squadron

Take control of getting your site produced by a developer and know the process it will save you money and attain you a site that actually works the intended purpose!

1. Understanding 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 examine how you want to explain your business and what it offers in 7 seconds or less. Sounds impossible? Well that is the average time that a user will consider the point “is this site I searched for?”.

2. Budget and estimation
Have a budget in mind and don’t be afraid to let the developers know what it is. In saying this: BE REALISTIC, $500 will never see a great web site created, nor will they be anything left in the bank to market it.

3. The creative process
Be loaded with example sites and more importantly the elements of the site you like so they can attain an understanding of what you would like to see on your site and also what you find frustrating about other sites. This will build a good profile and realise not only what type of site to 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 give them in the beginning the more time you will save everybody in the long run by getting what you want 1st time round. Check with the designers on how many rounds of changes come with the contract, most will allow for a total conceptual redesign only once and 2 rounds of changes after that.

4. Production and Content
After the home page design is created, the developers will more than likely acquire 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 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 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; provide a decent amount of content but provide it in a way that a reader may achieve 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 use and understand the system when your site is complete.

6. Testing and training
We work closely with the developers to test your site especially if there are any CMS or special programs that have been created 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 works and test it as if you were normal website user. If it doesn’t make sense to you, chances are it won’t make sense to your audience. Make sure you test your website on more than just your browser, try to test it on Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari. All of these browsers are 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 finished the above testing step until you are content 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 decisive step to creating a business. It is the face of your business. And like your face conveys the tone of your business, indicates the service and displays the professionalism or lack there of.

People spend a lot of money on the formation 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 redundant and may cause difficulties when trying to replecate 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 difficulties.

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 help in portraying 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 perfect example of this is the well-known and executed Nike logo.

Tip 2
Colour can be an crucial decision as it not only could affect the output costs but can also margin your output use. Think about the end result and what you will be bringing 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 insure 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 difficult to reverse into black and white. Images also have limitations when it comes to size – they can only be reproduced to a certain size before they start pixilation.

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

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

Tip 7
Confirm 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 graphic design Brisbane today for a free two hour consultation.

How to Create a Style Guide

2010 July 31
by squadron

How many times have you dispatched business cards to print and procured 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 not present or your logo has been wrecked.

There is only one way to stop this from happening and that is to create a style guide. Not only will a style guide assist you oversee the reproduction of your logo – it will also help you fortify your brand recognition – which many argue is one of the strongest selling tools.

We have placed the below steps together for you as a starting point.

Step 1 : Define the audience for your Style Guide. Is this for staff to put to work in-house or is this for suppliers and contractors to refer to?

Step 2 : Outline what your output uses are. This is important because you will need different logos and file formats for example, black and white publication adverts in comparison to vehicle graphics.

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

Content rules cover all punctuation rules and how to attribute 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 lies on all the different pieces of collateral that may be reprinted.

Step 5 : Insure to include any contributing logos or logos of business that are linked with you. It’s also important that you send a copy of the layout to these companies to ensure they agree with the layout of their logo as they too may have their own Style Guide and hierarchy layout rules.

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

Step 7 : Make sure that when suppliers are using the Style Guide they understand~know~discern~apprehend} that a proof needs to be dispatched~sent~mailed~commissioned}to you to be approved as correct.

Make your Style Guide completed and as established as possible. Then have it saved in an email friendly file format and have a couple printed. Once this is done we strongly advise a training session – whereby your design studio comes in 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)

2010 July 19

The common question asked when looking for a new projector for the home, office, or classroom is: do 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 top projector imaging technologies. With so many business brands and different types available, it can be overwhelming for consumers to choose between those technologies. The simple fact of the matter is that LCD projectors offer far better image quality and colour accuracy. The next paragraph will tell you why DLP projectors struggle with reproducing the same level of image quality.

Think of a set of blinds in your house over your bedroom window. By twisting a rod you can turn the shutters open or closed, according to whether you want to let light in or not. This is exactly how an LCD projector behaves. Each pixel operates like an individual 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 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 ultimately important in regard to image quality, brightness and colour accuracy. LCD projectors project white light from the lamp by separating it into red, blue and green components, by three mirrors which transfer the coloured light to 3 different LCD panels. The 3 LCD panels form the elements of the image by processing each pixel on and off. The pixels are then projected in a glass prism to create the projector image. An important point to realise about LCD projectors is that all three colours are delivered onto your projected surface at the same time. The way a DLP projector functions is very different and even how an image looks is not the same. With DLP, white light from the lamp is projected through a spinning colour wheel with transparent red, blue and green segments, at speeds up to 11,000 rpm/s. This approach to forming an image creates a sequence of red, blue and green light. The millions of micro mirrors mentioned above reflect the coloured light on the pixels to produce the image elements. The elements of the image are cast in sequence on the screen, one colour at a time. The viewer’s eyes will then combine each coloured element of the image into the total image. From LCD projectors, all colours are available all the time to create the top level of brightness and spectacular colour accuracy. In DLP, just one colour is available at a time, causing lower colour brightness and accuracy. Some designers have included a white segment into the colour wheel to improve brightness overall, but this then damages colour accuracy.

I see in forums all the time that DLP provides 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 technology is capable of. DLP projectors do provide high contrast specifications in comparison to a majority of LCD projectors. Initially, this must be an advantage, however, in reality, the true black level is determined by the ambient light in the room while the projector is being used. Do not be tricked by contrast specifications on websites and in brochures.

When the content you wish to see needs moving images, DLP projection technology can also create image errors, or ‘artifacts’. The most commonplace artifact that a DLP projector forms with moving images is colour break up. Colour break up is incontrovertible in DLP systems because moving images change between the time red, blue and green colours are displayed. LCD projectors do not have this disadvantage because all colours are sent at the same time. DLP manufacturers have created 3DLP solutions using 3 chips to answer the colour break up issue, but the expense of these projectors make them impractical for many businesses and consumers.

Another differentiation between LCD and DLP is how they balance for the refractive qualities of light. Remember back to high school science, and remember when they taught you how different colours of light refract various amounts when passing through the same lens. The disadvantage with DLP projectors is that they have the one same panel with the same lens to project Red, Blue and Green. All 3 colours are different and refract light at different levels. Generally with a DLP projector, some yellow colour will come through above and some extra blue will appear below an image containing something as simple as a single black line. In building LCD projectors can be adapted to take away these effects on the projected image, as each colour is projected on separate LCD panels.

The isolated real benefit (excluding price) with picking a DLP projector is its smaller size and weight. However, this is only relevant for portability and cannot be traded off against the image superiority of LCD projectors. If resulting picture quality is crucial to you, then the answer is a no-brainer. Choose an LCD projector! LCD projectors will constantly create bright, colourful images with fewer image blips. If you need to learn more about LCD technology in more detail, have a look at this tremendous resource website: Explore 3LCD. If you have any further questions, go to Projector Central and send me an email.

Jonathan King is the sales and marketing manager with Projector Central, Australia’s leading online store for projectors. Based in Brisbane, Projector Central has served 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 rose to preeminence in sea power during the 17th century, the early yacht became a leisure craft used initially by royalty and then by the burghers on the canals as well as the protected and unprotected waters of the Low Countries. Racing yachts was incidental, arising as private challenges. English yachting originated with King Charles II of England during his exile in the Low Countries. On his reaffirmation to the English royalty in 1660, the city of Amsterdam sent him a 20-metre (66-foot) pleasure boat with a beam (maximum width) of 5.6 m (18 feet), which he 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 wager. Yachting rose as popular for the rich and aristocracy, but after that point the trend did not last.

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

Yacht racing was first seen in some ordered manner on the Thames around the mid-18th century. The duke of Cumberland founded the Cumberland Fleet for Thames racing in 1775. When George IV ascended to monarchy in 1820, it was then called the Fleet to His Majesty’s Coronation Sailing Society. The Thames Yacht Club seceded after a racing argument, to become the Royal Thames Yacht Club in 1830. The first English yacht society had been started 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 location of British yacht racing. The club at Cowes became the Royal Yachting Club, also at the ascension of George IV. All members were required to possess boats of at least 20 tons (20,321 kg). Sailing tests for large bids were held, and the society life was splendid. Eventually Royal Yachting Club boats grew 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 gained dominance. Sailing was largely for fun and rose to its apogee in George Crowinshield’s Cleopatra’s Barge (1815), which cruised on the Mediterranean Sea and created a standard of luxury and sophistication for the later yachts in those waters from the late 19th century. The first persisting American yacht club, the Detroit Boat Club, was instigated in 1839. In 1844, John C. Stevens founded the New York Yacht Club while on board his schooner Gimcrack.

Kinds of sailboats
The Early sailing yachts were within the style of such naval craft as brigantines, schooners, and cutters from the 17th century through to the second half of the 19th century. The style of sizeable yachts was originally largely affected by the win of America, which was created by George Steers for a club led by John C. Stevens, and it was the boat for which the America’s Cup (q.v.) found its namesake after its success at Cowes in 1851. The first yachts were not designed and manufactured in a contemporary sense, with merely a model being used. Not until the second half of the 19th century did what was called naval architecture come about. Not until the 1920s did the use of the science of aerodynamics do for the design of sails and rigging what such science had already done for hulls.

Because most of all sailboats had been individually custom-built, there came a desire for handicapping boats before the one-design class boats were designed. Hence, a rating rule was created, which ended up in the International Rule, accepted in 1906 and amended 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 manufactured to single requirements in length, beam, sail area, and other elements (for an example of a two-person sailboat, see illustration). Racing these boats can be had on an even par with no handicapping necessary. A great example is the standard International America’s Cup Class adopted for participants in the 1992 America’s Cup race.

So long as yachting was an activity primarily for the nobility and the rich, expense was no object, and the size of boats developed, in both length and weight. The ascendancy and desire of smaller boats came in the latter half of the 19th century from the sailing of the Englishmen R.T. McMullen, a stockbroker, and E.F. Knight, a barrister and journalist. A voyage around the world (1895–98) sailed single-handedly by the naturalized American captain Joshua Slocum in the 11.3-metre Spray proved 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 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, when steam started to take the place of sail power in market vessels, the steam engine, and later the internal-combustion engine, were favoured increasingly in leisure yachts. Large power yachts were developed to a high element, and long-distance cruising became a favoured pastime of the rich. The first power yachts were paddle-wheel boats; these then gave rise to those powered by the wholly submerged screw or propeller type of propulsion. As in the case of naval and merchant vessels, auxiliaries with both sail and power were the yacht fashion for several years. By the second half of the 20th century, several yachts were still auxiliaries, but the majority were solely power yachts with gasoline or diesel engines.

During the last decade of the 19th century there was a rise in the construction of bigger steam yachts. Notably within 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 more than 150. The Mayflower, bought by the United States Navy in 1898, was the official yacht of the president of the United States until 1929 and was used in active service for World War II.

As more sizeable and more dependable internal-combustion engines were produced, many large craft began using them for power. The development of the diesel engine, employing heavy oil for fuel, advanced during World War I. From the decade following that, large power-yacht manufacture flourished, hitting a climax in the Orion (1930) at 3,097 tons. In that time the best auxiliary yacht constructed was the four-masted, steel, barque-rigged Sea Cloud (1931) of 2,323 tons.

The building of bigger power boats declined from 1932, and the trend after that was in preference of smaller, less pricey craft. After World War II, a lot of small naval craft were bought by private owners for conversion to yachts. In the late 20th century, yachting is a globally loved competition enjoyed by thousands of yachtsmen who are actually sailing and upkeeping their own small pleasure boats. The popularity of boats and yachtsmen increased steadily, not only in the traditional places by the seacoasts but also on inland waterways and lakes.

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Proportional, Progressive, and Regressive taxes

2010 July 8

Taxes are categorized by the effect they have on the allocation of income and wealth. A proportional tax is the kind of tax that puts the same relative requirement on all taxpayers—i.e., in the case where tax liability and income grow in equal proportion. A progressive tax is recognisable by a higher than proportional increase in the tax onus in relation to the rise in income, and a regressive tax is recognised by a less than proportional growth in the comparable liability. Hence, progressive taxes are seen as taking away inequity in income distribution, while regressive taxes may have the effect of increasing these inequalities.

The taxes that are generally believed to be progressive include individual income taxes and estate taxes. Income taxes that are declarably progressive, however, may become less so in the upper-income demographic—especially if a taxpayer is able to lower his tax base by nominating deductions or by taking particular income elements from his taxable income. Proportional tax rates which are applied to lower-income demographics would also be more progressive if personal exemptions are declared.

Income measured over a given year does not absolutely offer the most suitable measure of taxpaying ability. For example, transitory increases in income may be saved, and within temporary declines in income a taxpayer could choose to provide for consumption by decreasing savings. Thus, if taxation is compared along with “permanent income,” it can be less regressive (or more progressive) than if it is compared with annual income.

Sales taxes and excises (with the exception of those on luxuries) are mostly regressive, because the portion of personal income consumed or spent on a specific good lowers as the amount of personal income grows. Poll taxes (also termed head taxes), nominated as a fixed amount per capita, patently are regressive.

It is not easy to term corporate income taxes and taxes on business as progressive, regressive, or proportionate, principally because of a lack of certainty about the ability of businesses to shift their tax expenses (see below Shifting and incidence). This difficulty of deciding who bears the tax burden is dependant for the most part on whether a national or a subnational (that is, provincial or state) tax is being debated.

In assessing the economic purpose of taxation, it is relevant to distinguish between varied concepts of tax rates. The statutory rates will be nominated in legislature; generally these are marginal rates, but in some cases they are mean rates. Marginal income tax rates denote the fraction of incremental income that is taken by taxation when income increases by one dollar. Ergo, if tax burden increases by 45 cents when income increases by one dollar, the marginal tax rate is 45 percent. Income tax regulations usually contain graduated marginal rates—i.e., rates that grow as income increases. Careful analysis of marginal tax rates should take into account provisions apart from the formal statutory rate structure. If, for example, a particular tax credit (reduction in tax) lessens by 20 cents for each one-dollar growth in income, the marginal rate is 20 percentage points more than nominated by the statutory rates. Since marginal rates specify how after-tax income changes in response to changes in before-tax income, they are the appropriate ones for appraising incentive effects of taxation. It is even more complicated to know the marginal effective tax rate applied to income from business and capital, because it may be reliant on such factors as the structure of depreciation allowances, the deductibility of interest, and the provisions for inflation adjustment. A basic economic theorem shows that the marginal effective tax rate in income from capital is nil under a consumption-based tax.

Average income tax rates determine the part of total income that is required in taxation. The pattern of average rates is the one that is important for judging the distributional equity of taxation. Under a progressive income tax the average income tax rate increases with income. Average income tax rates usually rise with income, both because personal allowances are provided for the taxpayer and dependents and also because marginal tax rates are graduated; on the other side of things, preferential treatment of income received predominantly by high-income households can dampen these effects, allowing regressivity, as shown by average tax rates that lessen as income increases.

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