Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Color Or Black And White Photography

Earlier people only offer for color photography as it is very easy to produce and also cheap. However there are many traditionalists who still like the black and white photograph. These days many photographers prefer the black and white photography. Photographers are discovering the power and magic of black and white images. People are now coming back to black and white photography as one can sense the reality that could be lost in the colored photos.
The revival of black and white photography was usual as it is simply beautiful. Print advertising revived the interest in the black and white photos. It is even popular with the brides who would like to add the classical and historical touch to their wedding photos. Photography classes are also using the techniques of black and white photography to teach the students about how the light affects the film.
In the earlier days people had no option available to them, so they simply ended up using the black and white. But now people can actually make a choice about their photographs. Most of the times, the choice of opting black and white or color depends on the personal choice. But we should keep
in mind that there are certain subjects that could be taken
good only in black and white and some can only be taken in colored. There are times where color can actually help to portray the beauty of your subject. For example capturing flowers, colorful butterflies etc.
You can use the black and white theme for the subjects where you find the color might become the distraction for the viewer. For example accident or war scenes would look more persuasive, compelling and quite less violent, as it would not show the color of the blood. By this way, black and white photographs communicate more emotion without making people disturbed. A black and white photograph has an emotional power. There is actually an emotional appeal which is difficult to express in words. Thus, it instantly gives an artistic look. So, if you want to develop the artistic photography portfolio and style, then include some black and white photos, which would help you to improve your work.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Homeless Shelters Get Solar Power

The newly constructed Loudoun County Homeless Services Center in Leesburg, Virginia, destined to become a Silver-certified LEED building, recently began generating part of its electricity needs for the facility with a 9.5-kilowatt solar photovoltaic array, which in Virginia's relatively sunny climate can be expected to deliver about 13,000 kilowatt-hours per year, or enough to power a large American home.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the international paradigm for building efficiency and environmental awareness, and certifications are awarded in three categories: Silver, Gold and Platinum. Administered as third-party certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, or USGBC, the designations recognize cutting-edge implementation of technology in five specific areas: energy savings, water conservation, carbon dioxide emissions reduction, enhanced indoor environmental quality, and conservation of resources with an eye to a system's impacts.

The Loudon system, installed by Gaithersburg, Maryland-based Standard Solar, will also prevent about 9.3 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year from being generated by Dominion Virginia Power, which generates more than 40 percent of electricity from coal. The carbon dioxide prevented by Loudon's solar system is also the equivalent of taking about 2 compact cars off the road, or planting 239 trees.
Standard Solar is a design-build solar firm operating in the public and private sector serving more than 400 solar-system owners in the Mid-Atlantic Region, and has created more than 50 'green' jobs since the summer of 2008, in spite of the recession.
The Loudon County Homeless Services Center, opened in September of 2009, was designed by Architecture, Inc., of Reston, Virginia, a LEED-certified design company, and offers transitional housing, a 24-bed short-term facility, and Emergency Cold Weather and Daytime Drop-in Centers for persons at risk. The center also features passive solar lighting and energy-efficient appliances.

The Loudon solar system is comprised of 44 panels at 216 watts each, manufactured by Memphis, Tennessee-based Sharp USA and funded via the Federal Community Development Block Grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, 2009), which mandates that equipment be made in America.

A Good Way To Find Out What You Want To Know

There's no part of society these days that technology isn't a part of including the area
of preserving knowledge. Man always had a zest for preserving knowledge. Over
countless centuries, knowledge has grown to be a vital element in the change of
society and the development of the human race. Quest for knowledge, frequently linked to books and reading, holds a special place in history to the extent that even the very annals of man's struggle for survival are written in books. The only difficulty is the way to preserve these composed data.

Knowledge became more easily available when using the advent of writing. They could now share what they knew through the written pages. In modern-day society, books
are step by step being swapped out ( or supplemented) by electronic versions of the texts or even more normally referred to as ebooks.

Today, ebooks are an great example of how what we know can be preserved in a technical format. Aside from, these kinds of references are easily accessible as there are downloadable ebooks. These kinds of electronic digital versions of the classic
books enable readers to carry on reading even and never having to purchase the hard copy of the piece of literature, one that is both cheaper and beneficial to our environment. Textbooks make full use of paper and as we all know, paper originates from trees. Preservation of knowledge doesn't have to be an environmental risk. Ebooks are retrieveable from an ebook directory, of which the world wide web has a lot.

Usually, downloadable ebooks are PLR ebooks meaning numerous people can own it or at least hold the right to spread it. PLR ebooks are effortlessly edited which is a plus when adding your own personal personal details. Nonetheless, PLR ebooks will still have particular restrictions to them despite being freely editable. Depending on the
restriction, a PLR ebook can have shared authorship to only a lot of claimants. Reselling can also be restricted as PLR documents or products may have distribution rights that go with them. Resellers may choose to adjust the content of these online electronic books and use their names as creators but the PLR producer may limit this distribution to a few number of authors in spite of the goal of profiting from the ebook.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

The Benefits of Pull Down Attic Stairs

When there is not enough space or money to install a staircase, pull down attic stairs provide a cheaper and easier alternative that can also enhance the interior. As the name suggests, the pull down stairs are designed to give access to an attic or loft space, then to be folded away when not in use. Whilst conventional step-ladders can be used, they are not as safe, comfortable and appealing as a well-made set of pull down attic stairs. The in-built system means the stairs can be folded into the ceiling itself.

Most systems can be accessed by pulling on a handle or string switch. When access to an attic is needed, the stairs unfold out providing an access route which reaches all the way down to the floor, like in the picture. Many can be installed within 24 hours depending on the manufacturer of the unit and the competency of those who install the pull-down attic stairs. With the right design, the unit can become an attractive and complimentary addition to a bedroom or landing.

Pull down attic stairs come in various shapes and sizes. Some are steeper than others whilst a few look more like ladders than traditional staircases. Others come with a wide range of safety features such as handrails, floor grips and special weights. These are installed to provide stability when heavy items are being transferred to the attic. Seeing as more people than not use the roof space as a storage area, this is particularly apt.

Pull down attic stairs can be seen in a variety of materials. Most however are made from metal, wood or special plastics. Depending on the use the stairs will fulfil and who will be using the unit most, the material will be an important factor to consider. Heavy wooden stairs that will need a stronger tug than say an aluminum staircase, might not be suitable for the elderly or children, for example. Some attic spaces are converted into children’s play rooms or bedrooms and so a light-weight system, whether metal, wood or plastic, might be needed in these cases.

How to Track (Y)our Projects

It’s a tough challenge; juggling people, equipment, time, money and materials to complete your project on time. To do it successfully, you need to keep an eye on 5 key areas of your project...

1. Time and Cost
Put an hour aside every week to determine if you are likely to complete the project on time. To do this, identify any tasks that are running late and determine whether they are likely to delay the overall project. Then look for ways that you can save time by; finishing tasks earlier, delaying non-critical tasks to after the project has been completed, or gaining approval from your Sponsor to remove tasks altogether.

You also need to review the total spend of the project to date against the original budget set. Identify ways to reduce costs by allocating cheaper resource, reducing the project scope, or boosting the efficiency of your team.

2. Resource Allocation
You need to keep a constant watch on the percentage of time that your team are allocated to tasks. If you have one person allocated to tasks 50% of their time and another 150% of their time, then you may not be working efficiently. Instead, balance workload fairly so that your team are kept busy 80-100% of their time, without being overloaded. If you intend to overload resource, then only do it for a short period of time, to avoid "burnout".

As you reallocate work among your resources, keep an eye on the overall resource level. It may be that everyone is under-allocated and you can take a person off the project, saving on cost. On the other hand, if everyone is over-allocated then you may need to quickly allocate more resources to the project as soon as possible.

3. Progress and Efficiency
You also need to track the progress and efficiency of your team. ‘Progress’ means the percentage of tasks completed to date. ‘Efficiency’ means the number of tasks completed on time. You need to track these items to ensure that you are progressing according to plan and that your team are working efficiently in completing tasks assigned to them.

4. Risks, Changes, Issues
Every project encounters risks, changes and issues at some point. It’s often impossible to prevent them from occurring, so the trick is to resolve them as quickly as possible when they do come up. Throughout the project life cycle, you need to watch them closely. For each item raised, set a ‘target resolution date’ and track these dates carefully to make sure that they are adhered to.

5. Project Health
In addition to tracking the project at the micro level, you also need to stand back and take a look at the project from a helicopter level. You need to gain a clear view of the overall project health. You’ve already done most of the work by assessing the time, cost, resources, progress and efficiency of the project. By also taking a summarized view of the project each week, you can lead the project team towards success.

Phone Interview Tips - How to Prepare for a Phone Interview Video

Friday, April 30, 2010

S. J. V. Chelvanayakam

Samuel James Veluppillai Chelvanayakam (March 31, 1898 - April 27, 1977) was a SriLnkan politician and leader of the Tamil community.
Early life Chelvanayakam was born in Ipoh, Malaysia, but returned to Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) at the age of four. He studied at Union College, Tellippalai, and St. Thomas' College. At age 19, he had a bachelor's degree, and by 25, was called to the bar. He married Emily Grace Barr Kumuarakulasinghe two years later.
Political career Chelvanayakam became active in the All Ceylon Tamil Congress during the drive for independence, becoming the party's deputy leader. He was elected to Parliament in the 1947 elections.
The ACTC was torn between Chelvanayakam and G.G. Ponnambalam, who pushed for greater cooperation with the United National Party government. Chelvanayakam broke with Ponnambalam in protest over the latter's support for the denial of citizenship to the estate Tamils in 1949. He went on to found a new, more aggressive party, the Federal Party.
In the 1956 election, the Federal Party emerged as the leading party in the Tamil regions, but the new prime minister, Solomon Bandaranaike, pushed through the Sinhala Only Act, which met with stiff opposition from the Tamils.
Chelvanayakam led a satyagraha protest against the new law. The campaign succeeded at first in swaying the government, which negotiated the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam Pact which agreed to provide government services in Tamil and devolve powers to a set of provincial councils. Bandaranaike abandoned the pact after stiff opposition from Buddhist monks.
After his fruitless experience dealing with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party governments of 1956-65, Chelvanayakam turned to the UNP. After that party's victory in the 1965 election, the Federal Party joined the government of Dudly Senanayake. He signed the Senanayake-Chelvanayakam Pact which also provided for Tamil services and district councils.
Senanayake's regime failed to implement the Pact and as a result, Chelvanayakam and the FP left the government in 1968.
By the 1970s, Chelvanayakam had grown bitter over his failure to win any meaningful concessions from the Sinhalese, and became sympathetic to the cause of Tamil separatism. The FP and other parties merged into the Tamil United Liberation Front towards that end, with Chelvanayakam as their leader.
Death His health was increasingly poor; he had suffered from Parkinson's disease and growing deafness since the 1950s. In 1961, Chelva underwent surgery in Edinburgh to relieve the stress from Parkinson disease at the hands of a neurosurgeon, Francis John Gillingham and the operation "proved successful." Despite the success of this operation, he died in 1977 at his home and was buried in Jaffna.
Profile
Leader of the Tamil United Liberation Front In office1972–1977
Leader of the Federal Party In office1949–1972
Deputy Leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress In office1944–1949
Member of the Sri Lanka Parliamentfor Kankesanthurai In office1947–1952 Succeeded by Subaiya Nadesan, UNP
In office1956–1977 Preceded by Subaiya Nadesan, UNP
Born March 31, 1898(1898-03-31)Ipoh, Malaysia
Died April 27, 1977 (aged 79)Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Profession Lawyer