Monthly Archives: July 2015

asphalt Brisbane

What are roads made from?

Asphalt is used in the construction of modern roads.
Asphalt is used in the construction of modern roads.

Here in Brisbane, asphalt is the most common material used for roads and large carparks. This is the black, rocky substance that you will probably see as soon as you step onto your street.

You may have heard that roads are made from bitumen. This is not strictly true, although it is close enough for a layperson’s understanding. Bitumen is a by-product of refining oil, and is not used alone in paving roads. Rather, it is mixed with other substances to create asphalt. The other substances in the mixture are usually pebbles and sand. This results in a bumpier surface than using bitumen alone, creating more friction for vehicles that drive across the road.

Friction is generally thought of as bad by drivers, as a surface with friction requires more force to travel across, therefore increasing use of fuel. However, friction is essential to road surfaces. With absolutely no friction, a car would not even be able to move across a flat road surface at all. As you add more friction, the stopping distance of a car in motion decreases. Therefore a surface providing plenty of friction is safest for road users, who are able to stop quickly as many potentially dangerous situations require. While friction is good, excess bumps are not. An unexpected pothole on the road can damage the vehicle travelling over it, and may cause the car to move in a direction not anticipated by the driver. It is also uncomfortable for passengers to travel over an excessively bumpy road. For these reasons, it is important that any cracks or faults in asphalt are repaired before they develop into holes.

There you have it,  a quick overview of asphalt roads and asphalt car parks, Brisbane was used as an example here however this information is true of many cities throughout the world.

dog walking Melbourne

Do dogs need to be social?

Attending a group dog walk is an ideal way for the dog to socialise and exercise at the same time.
Attending a group dog walk is an ideal way for the dog to socialise and exercise at the same time.

Most dog owners have only one dog, so the pet’s opportunities for socialisation with other dogs are limited. To increase the dog’s social time, some owners opt for hiring a dog walking service, Melbourne dogs who are generally confined inside the home and alone can seriously benefit from this interaction.

Socialisation is extremely important to dogs, though the extent largely depends on the temperament of the dog. Some breeds prefer to interact with just the human they are bonded too, while others are enthusiastic to meet living creatures of any kind. As a general rule, dogs enjoy playing with other dogs and it is especially important for younger dogs to learn how to interact with their peers.

For a single dog, it is beneficial to ensure social interaction with other dogs on a regular basis. Time poor dog owners should consider engaging with a dog walking service offering group walks. Your dog will enjoy walking with its peers and may even be taken to a dog park where it can interact with new dogs.

If you have plenty of time to devote to dog care, you could take your dog to dog parks at busy times, or organise regular play dates with another dog. This may seem excessive, but consider that proper dog care is strikingly similar to raising a child.

There are some dogs who do not get along well with other dogs. This is usually due to poor socialisation from a young age or other behavioural problems. As dogs get older, they can also become crankier and less inclined to seek the company of other animals. This is similar to how elderly humans are often misanthropic. Despite these exceptions, dogs do generally enjoy the company of other dogs.

Dogs benefit from social interaction, and how to facilitate this by organising play dates or by sending your dog on a group walk with a reputable Melbourne dog walker.

aluminium ladders

Why are ladders made from aluminium?

Ladders tend to be made from aluminium for a combination of strength and lightness.
Ladders tend to be made from aluminium for a combination of strength and lightness.

You may have wondered why aluminium ladders are regarded as superior to other alternatives such as wood.

Firstly, let’s think about how ladders are used. Ladders are essentially portable stairs, which a person may alight to reach objects at a height that they could not achieve unaided. Each step provides more height, so a person may climb to anything from approximately thirty centimetres to over one metre. This makes ladders ideal for reaching light bulbs and smoke alarms, and to assist with indoor decoration. It is desirable that the ladder can be moved; if access to a height was required on a regular basis, a more permanent solution such as stairs should be in place.

The ladder needs to fulfil two needs: it is required to support the weight of a person, and it also must be portable. This means that metals such as steel, which is quite dense and therefore heavy for an object the size of a ladder, are not suitable to be used in making a ladder. Aluminium is chosen as a material because it strikes a balance between these two needs. As a lightweight metal, it can be picked up and moved with relative ease; the main problem is actually how cumbersome the ladder is rather than how heavy. This is because aluminium is not dense compared to other metals, that is, there is more empty space between each particle. Despite being fairly light, aluminium is also quite strong. It is used thinly to make aluminium cans which can be easily deformed, but when a thick piece of aluminium is used, it becomes difficult to deform and break the metal. Aluminium is often used in combination with other metals to ensure a strong structure that remains at a small mass.

It is more than mere custom, ladders are made from aluminium because it provides strength while being lightweight enough for portability.

antennas Melbourne

What does a TV antenna do?

In Melbourne, antennas are used to pick up a strong signal for your TV,
In Melbourne, antennas are used to pick up a strong signal for your TV,

You may have noticed a metal stick protruding from your roof. The suburban roof is home to many weird objects such as chimneys and possum deterrent devices, but nothing is so ubiquitous as the humble TV antenna in Melbourne. The spindly structures are responsible for catching the signals sent out by the broadcasters, pumping video and audio directly into your living room.

To find out what an antenna does, let’s do a thought experiment. Imagine your antenna was snapped off your roof, perhaps by hooligans or a vicious thunderstorm. You switch your TV on, and a picture may still arrive. However, it will be extremely unclear. Watching a TV show becomes much less enjoyable when you can hardly tell the characters apart. You may notice black and white fuzz appearing on your screen. Now you know that an antenna is necessary for the TV to do its job effectively, but at the moment it is something of a black box as far as you are concerned. It just works, and you have no idea why. Rather than leave you in suspense, let’s discover a little about the basics of how the TV antenna works for analogue television.

Broadcasters send video to you as electromagnetic radiation. Think of this as a wave, where the distance spanning a single peak and trough is on the scale of metres. Different channels use waves of different lengths. For a strong signal, the receiver needs to be a multiple of the length of the wave. The different metal bars across the antenna each correspond to one channel.

Now you know what your television antenna is for, and a little about how it works. While you are not yet an antenna specialist, Melbourne suburbs are great for exploring to spot the different kinds of antennas in use.

funeral directors

What is a funeral director?

A funeral director may have to organise for receipt of flowers.
A funeral director may have to organise for receipt of flowers.

The services of a funeral director are popular among those seeking funeral services in Perth. Also known as an undertaker or a mortician, a funeral director is the go-to person who helps a family organise a funeral.

As funerals are a time when tensions run high among families, a funeral director must have an even temperament. A funeral director’s tasks are many and varied, and depend on what the family requires as well as what services are provided by the funeral home.

Tasks may include arranging for transport of bodies, organising viewings for the family, assisting with religious services, conducting the funeral and taking care of legal requirements such as obtaining a certificate of death. There are many small details to take care of when it comes to funerals, which families do not wish to organise while in mourning. Someone whose loved ones have passed is unlikely to have the patience to ensure flowers are sent to the correct location and stored well.

As funeral directors are required to accommodate a range of requests and must always express an appropriate level of sympathy, many years of training and experience are required before a funeral director is allowed to practice unsupervised.

It is common for funeral homes to be a family business, with the funeral director usually being a trusted member of the family who has been there for many years.

Usually, one funeral director will be the point of contact for a bereaved family, and they will liaise with other service providers as necessary. Giving continuity to the bereaved is important for their well being at a difficult time. Hopefully this has helped you know all about funeral directors in Perth and the many tasks their jobs require them to do.

app design courses

How do you become an app developer?

You may have dabbled in fortran, but you still need to go to app development school to maximise your chances of success.
You may have dabbled in fortran, but you still need to go to app development school to maximise your chances of success.

App building can be a profitable enterprise, and is attractive to many even with no tech experience. Whether you are a beginner to the world of apps or have dabbled before, you will want to enrol in a reputable app design course, Melbourne being a hub of activity for aspiring app developers.

Firstly, what does an app developer actually do? An app developer writes programs, usually for particular operating systems such as that used by the iPhone. You may be thinking of games when it comes to apps, but mobile gaming is only the tip of the iceberg. There are apps for just about anything you can think of, from time management tools, to guided meditations, to language learning apps.

Because people with smartphones use apps every day, they may think that it is easy to write an app. It is not hard to think of an idea for an app, but programming requires technical knowledge that your average smartphone user does not possess.

Attending app development school is easier than teaching yourself programming, with the curriculum covering areas that are crucial but you may not think to learn about.

There is more to becoming an app developer than simply writing the code. Attending a targeted course will equip you with practical knowledge such as how to sell your app.

Attending an app design course also has networking benefits. Developing apps with your peers is a way to build professional connections that will benefit you throughout your entire programming career.

App development is, by its nature, a cutting-edge industry. A good app developer will keep up to date with latest developments in the field. You will also need access to a number of devices to assist you in building your app; these can be accessed through app development academies. That should give you a good start on how to become a successful app developer, courses are the first thing you should look at.

sustainable homes

What is a sustainable home?

An eco friendly home is a chic way to alleviate your impact on the environment.
An eco friendly home is a chic way to alleviate your impact on the environment.

Sustainable homes are typically family homes with minimal environmental impact. There is a growing demand for eco friendly homes in Melbourne, as people are becoming increasingly sensitive to their impact on the environment.

Not all sustainable homes have the same features. Companies that design sustainable homes may use recycled building materials, and include features that reduce the environmental impact of the home in its regular use. For example, the house may have solar panels to generate electricity, and double glazed windows to prevent heat transfer and save on heating and cooling.

An advantage of green homes is lower utility bills. Because the house will be designed to use a minimum of water and electricity from the grid, occupants will enjoy lower than usual costs over the lifetime of the house.

You do not need to be building a new home in order to make it more sustainable. If you are seeking to reduce the environmental footprint of your existing home, a green home building company can help you find solutions to reduce your home’s energy use.

Ideally a sustainable home will have a minimal environmental impact at every step of the way, from design to building to maintenance. The home will be designed to maximise energy efficiency. Electricity can be saved on lighting through use of energy-efficient LEDs and use of natural light. Appliances such as the oven and dishwasher should have a five star energy rating. A water tank may be installed to collect rainwater, and recycled grey water may be put to use for the garden. The builder may use recycled timber and materials with a low energy cost.

Eco friendly homes tend to be quite trendy and are a point of pride for many occupants.

Now you know all about green homes, Melbourne dwellers looking to build should find this information useful.