Chris Martin's Blog, page 16

Being an Artist – Why It’s Not About the Money

By Tricia Deed  |   Submitted On March 09, 2020

What is an artist, the fine artist, artisan, and a craftsman?

Artist-is an individual who creates products for commercial businesses. Two examples are graphic designers and book illustrators.

Fine Artist-An inherited talent to create original, visual, and beautiful objects of art for aesthetic values. Examples include oil paintings and hand sculptures.

Artisan-independent craftsmen who create projects for both beauty and utility. Two examples are glass blowers or a carpet maker.

Craftsman-Replicates utilitarian objects as a tradesman or craftsman. Examples: carpenters build houses and tradesmen build furniture.

Often people use these words as they choose and not by definition. Misuse of these words cause confusion.

Most important for any artist or artisan is gainful employment. Fine artists have gainful employment during prosperous economies. Their creations are original or one-of-a-kind and the price will be high. People with disposable incomes purchase nonessential works of art.

Craftsman replicates utilitarian type art and work year-round regardless of the economy. People need houses, clothing, shoes, tools, vehicles, furniture, and more compared to owning original jewelry, a statue, or an oil painting.

Artists and artisans need to be entrepreneurs and function as solo business owners or contract employment. Craftsmen or tradesmen work for salaries in larger companies.

Why are artists and artisans struggling to make money?

They do not talk about money because it is impolite, or it is not important.There is a lack of money sense, interest, status, or money management.Money is thought to be the root of all evil.The creation of art or craft work is more important.Money is not important because love, saving the planet, and world peace are more important.Families and communities make them feel uneasy as artists. They appear to be playing and lack no work value.Money is not important, and they never seem to have money to understand its value.A lack of money or financial knowledge and understanding of how money works. Feeling of a sense of worthlessness or shame for not making money.Fear of having money.People consider artists as being poor and struggling; those who believe this are.Feelings of uneasiness asking for money.No knowledge of how to price am object or how to sell it.Lack of self-confidence and not knowing our worth.Too critical of our work as we see flaws in our workmanship. We cannot see or understand that buyers see the beauty or the personal use of the product; not its flaws.Not comfortable selling a piece of our creativity, which makes us feel that we have put a price on our self and sold our souls to the devil.Under charging the price of an article to not look greedy.Poor negotiation skills with potential customers.Dislike or hate preparing paperwork associated with recording our profits and expenditures, income tax forms, and other matters of financial business.

5 Reasons Why T20 Is So Popular

By Shalini M  |   Submitted On November 29, 2018

The Twenty20 cricket has been greatly successful. The tournaments attract the attention of cricket lovers from across the globe. If you are on this page, chances are that you want to find out why this sport has become so popular. Read on to know the reasons.

Time Duration

This is the era of technology, and technology has allowed us all to do things at a much faster speed. As a result, we can’t wait for things to get done. We just don’t have time to waste. And this is one of the biggest reasons that T20 has gained so much popularity. The game lasts around 3.5 hours. The typical cricket match has 100 overs, which takes much more time to complete. So, this is what makes T20 an ideal sport.

If you don’t have enough time to watch the 100-over game, you can try this one.

Fast Pace

The T20 game has a fast pace, and each inning consists of 20 overs. Each over brings a lot of twists and turns. So, you won’t get bored. The batsmen try to make a high score whether it’s the first over or the final. This is what makes the sport so much exciting. This nature of the game appeals to a lot of youngsters. In fact, adults also enjoy it a lot.

Fours and Sixes

Cricket is a game that revolves around batsmen. Followers want to see a lot of 4s and 6s during a game. And this is what they can get from a T20 game. Mostly, the game is played on pro-batting wickets. Batsmen make big shots and receive a lot of love from the crowd watching.

Entertainment and Glamour

T20 is a combo of sport and entertainment. Often, you can see this combo on the ground as well. You can enjoy songs during the breaks. Also, cheerleaders spur on the players and presenters. Presenters telecast the whole thing on the TV. All of this helps keep the audience entertained.

Athleticism and Passion

Nowadays, T20 gets plenty of respect from both players and audiences. This game has been innovated and taken to new levels. Now, this is an enhanced game.

As a matter of fact, this format has set new standards for the game. Nowadays, players make amazing catches and saves during the game. On the other hand, we couldn’t even imagine this type of performances twenty years back. It won’t be wrong to say that the athleticism of the players has improved a lot due to the T20 format.

The Future of T20

The passion of the players has lead to the present level of popularity of this cricket game. Without an iota of doubt, T20 will be there for a long time. If it keeps getting popular, it may get on the list of games in the Olympics. Only time will tell. For now, this format is quite popular, and every cricket lovers do enjoy it a lot.

If you are into cricket, we suggest that you do watch a T20 cricket match. We bet you will love it.

Economic Meltdown

By Dr. Tim G Williams  |   Submitted On March 13, 2020

It was in 2001 when the World Trade Center came crashing down along with the other terrorist attack in Washington initiated a response that sent the world and the United States into a recession. Businesses across the spectrum hit the panic button and started laying off thousands all across the United States. It took a little over a year to recoup from all the economic fallout of those terrorists attacks. The thousands of lives lost and the billions of dollars wiped out of our economy was a direct result of what happened on 9/11.

Today, with the coronavirus virus that has turned into a pandemic which has swept around the world will hit the global economy harder than 9/11. We have already seen businesses shutting their doors, Athletic venues being canceled or postponed, college campuses and public schools closing while others are taking extraordinary measures in trying to curb the spread of this very infectious virus.

In rapid response through these actions and our government implementing travel bans have unleashed repercussions that are almost exactly what the businesses community did following 9/11. A global recession is already underway. There are steps governments can take to stem the effects of this recession. And, if we don’t we could very well cause a world wide Depression unlike anything we have seen.

The first thing government should do is establish a Universal Income of $1000 per month for each American over 21. Other countries should implement a similar proposal. Secondly, we should make available known remedies as soon as possible including the many herbal remedies that are not tied to the pharmaceutical industries. Like Colloidal Silver and the Bupleurum Chinese plant that are known combatants to this Coronavirus and others. We cannot wait for the Pharmaceutical industry, the FDA and the AMA to concoct a costly vaccine. To wait any longer without this vital information more people will succumb to this virus and we all will continue to suffer not only economically but our safety will still be in jeopardy.

The third step we should undertake is to provide local, regional, state, and national crisis centers where people can receive identical information in each center on the steps to protect themselves from becoming infected not only from this particular virus but when future epidemics occur. And, they will. These clinics will provide free meds, herbal remedies, vitamins and other essentials that protect the health and safety of all.

The fourth step involves setting up transport for those that are still in quarantine, those that are home bound and too sick to travel, and those who wish to remain isolated to protect themselves and avoid the spread of any type of illness. Only in this way can the spread of any illness whether it is this Cononavirus or not will soon decease. And finally have the CDC uniformly coordinate all efforts for every crisis center in reporting any medical threat such as this Coronavirus.

We all should be reminded about what caused this epidemic to reach a pandemic stage and understand why the cause occurred in the first place. One of the most obvious ones is the fact that global warming and the abrupt climate change we are experiencing is one of the largest contributors to why this virus has reach pandemic levels. And until we understand this and take corrective measures now to negate the effects that man continues to do to our environment we will continue to suffer the deadly consequences of our inaction.

Ferrari Over the Years

By Dellia Teo  |   Submitted On September 20, 2017

In 1994, Ferrari’s long term loyal customer Giampiero Moretti, FOUNDER OF MOMO was one of the few who convinced Maranello to return to sports car racing, making them understand how important it was for the company to return to this category of motorsport in their largest market that was North America. By this time, it had been almost 23-years since Ferrari last partook in the IMSA World Sports Car Championship with the Ferrari 312 PB in 1971 and hence needed a completely new car to compete.

A big part of the Ferrari F40’s appeal is just how raw and unadulterated it looks. It was built as a race car for the road and it’s proud of that. There’s no gimmick here. This is a race car first and a road car second. The headlights and taillights are just an afterthought to make it road-compliant. The cabin is small, the seating position cramp and awkward, the suspension is hard and there’s a ton of lag from the twin-turbo V8 engine… but none of that matters.

The Ferrari F40 is an experience because there’s nothing quite like it. You can’t just go out and buy something similar, even if you have all the money in the world. The only thing that comes close to an F40 is another F40. It was the last car signed off by Enzo Ferrari himself. On average, it is still considered to be the greatest Ferrari ever built.

The 250 was a turning point for Ferrari. It further kickstarted the company and cemented its place as a legendary car manufacturer. Classified as a sports car, the Ferrari 250 SWB was just as easily a decent GT car at heart, depending on the model. Ferrari built several different variants, but they were all called the 250. Succeeded by the 275 and the 330, it’s still held in high regards by most people, considered as possibly the greatest Ferrari road car of all time.

Officially, the Ferrari 250 SWB was offered in long wheelbase, short wheelbase and Europa. The Europa was the GT of the lineup, with a lengthy 2,800 mm wheelbase. The LWB came in at 2,600 mm, and the SWB at just 2,400 mm. The SWB was the nimblest and agile of the three, but a lot of them were convertibles. All three carried a 3.0-Litre naturally-aspirated V12 with 300 horsepower. As much as I love Ferrari’s current V12s, they don’t even come close to a small-capacity V12 such as the one found in the 250. It sounds mechanical and alive, if that’s the exact phrasing I’m looking for. Nothing was synthetically made back then. Everything you hear comes from the engine, it comes from metal parts rubbing against one another.

How to Make Great Sightseeing Tour in Oslo, Norway

By Mokhamed Kononenko  |   Submitted On July 02, 2018

When visiting Norway, most of the tourists like to go at first to Visit the capital Oslo, by the way, it is beautiful city and from there they can find a several and different touring ways available to them, in the center of Oslo can find train terminal station and from there can start a tour out Oslo to other near or far cities.

If you changed your mind for going in a tour out the capital by bus, easily can move from the train station to bus terminal by small bridge conducts between each other, really when I saw that I liked the designs idea, why? because you do not lose much time, do not spend much money and can find everything beside, for sure transportations system inner and outer Oslo is planned by great and unique way I like it much, if you decided to make strolling around the city will have two choice one it is free, other will cost a little money, the free way it is strolling by foot and it needs only strong pair of shoes and cheap meal, during your walking in the center of Oslo will wonder when you notice most of those people walk beside you not all of them Norwegian as you imagine also they are a big number of tourists, will know that when come to your ear a different and strange languages, but be sure you will be happy because you feel as you walk between a wide international tourist groups, other way for make strolling around districts of Oslo it will be by bus, subway and tram of course to get them it needs to pay for a ticket, also we must not forget a double duck bus that it is available for tourists only in summer. So you can get this bus to make a tour at the famous places in the center of Oslo. All of these great nets of transportations can find it in 150 square meters no more. Can you imagine this system of transportations? really make a tourist moves from one place to another and find his destinations even without a map wow! also if a tourist lost his way can find help from Norwegian people that they are so cultured and hospitality, do you know? Norwegians dial with all nationalities by good way and from their habits must meet people with smiling face also what it makes dealing with them so simple and easy that they can speak English fluently because the English language is the second language in Norway after Norwegian language, so even if you asked a child about something by English you will get answer and help at once. When I visited Norway I liked a lot of things there and soon I will go again to Norway not only for visiting but also for living in this beautiful country.

How to Choose the Best Mattress for Back Pain?

By Shalini M  |   Submitted On March 17, 2020

Back pain has become a big problem for people of all ages and the condition can worsen if you don’t get a good amount of rest. It’s not just about the quantity of the rest, but the quality of it, here sleeping mattresses come into play as the bad mattress could worsen it.

A bad mattress is one of the major reasons why people develop back pain. To maintain a good posture during sleep, a good mattress provides support and when it doesn’t provide ample support it leads to straining of muscles that keep the spine aligned which consequently results in the pain.

So it becomes very important to choose the right mattress. There are so many mattresses available in the market, it becomes very difficult to choose the one that you need.

Here are some guidelines that can help you figure out the best mattress for back pain in India:

What mattress is best is determined by personal preference.

There is no specific mattress for back pain or one that will work for every person. Therefore, a mattress that can help you with sleeping without pain or any discomfort is the one for you. People suffering from back pain must choose a mattress that provides them with the right amount of stiffness and comfort without causing any pain and also the one that provides them with a sound sleep.

2. The physical components of the mattress matter a lot

The spring and coils that are present inside the mattress are the ones that provide support. One mattress differs from another through the arrangement and number of coils present. Also, the padding in the mattress varies in its thickness.

So a person should make sure that they choose a mattress according to their preference.

3. Look for a mattress with a good back support

The natural alignment of your spine and its curves should be supported by a good mattress. Muscle soreness and pain can be avoided by choosing a mattress that provides comfortable sleep.

There is some speculation to the optimum firmness of a mattress, but the general opinion is that medium-firm one provides better support than a firm mattress for back pain.

4. Find the right balance between comfort and back support.

Even though the back support is important, you should also consider the overall comfort provided by the mattress.

While too firm mattresses can be a cause of pain and ache, a medium-firm would not be too firm or too hard to cause any pain.

Also, people with back pain can choose a firm mattress but with thick padding to provide more comfort.

The above guideline can be used to get the Back Support Mattress in India. A good Firm Mattress for Lower Back Pain will support your back as well as provide you with comfort that will result in better sleep. Although mattresses matter a lot, it’s also necessary that you get a good amount of sleep as sleep helps the body to heal.

Should Bitcoin Replace Currency of Central Banks?

By P Mathivanan  |   Submitted On January 13, 2020

Distinction between Bitcoin and Currency of Central Banks

What is the difference between central bank authorized currency and Bitcoin? The bearer of central bank authorized currency can merely tender it for exchange of goods and services. The holder of Bitcoins cannot tender it because it’s a virtual currency not authorized by a central bank. However, Bitcoin holders may be able to transfer Bitcoins to another account of a Bitcoin member in exchange of goods and services and even central bank authorized currencies.

Inflation will bring down the real value of bank currency. Short term fluctuation in demand and supply of bank currency in money markets effects change in borrowing cost. However, the face value remains the same. In case of Bitcoin, its face value and real value both changes. We have recently witnessed the split of Bitcoin. This is something like split of share in the stock market. Companies sometimes split a stock into two or five or ten depending upon the market value. This will increase the volume of transactions. Therefore, while the intrinsic value of a currency decreases over a period of time, the intrinsic value of Bitcoin increases as demand for the coins increases. Consequently, hoarding of Bitcoins automatically enables a person to make a profit. Besides, the initial holders of Bitcoins will have a huge advantage over other Bitcoin holders who entered the market later. In that sense, Bitcoin behaves like an asset whose value increases and decreases as is evidenced by its price volatility.

When the original producers including the miners sell Bitcoin to the public, money supply is reduced in the market. However, this money is not going to the central banks. Instead, it goes to a few individuals who can act like a central bank. In fact, companies are allowed to raise capital from the market. However, they are regulated transactions. This means as the total value of Bitcoins increases, the Bitcoin system will have the strength to interfere with central banks’ monetary policy.

Bitcoin is highly speculative

How do you buy a Bitcoin? Naturally, somebody has to sell it, sell it for a value, a value decided by Bitcoin market and probably by the sellers themselves. If there are more buyers than sellers, then the price goes up. It means Bitcoin acts like a virtual commodity. You can hoard and sell them later for a profit. What if the price of Bitcoin comes down? Of course, you will lose your money just like the way you lose money in stock market. There is also another way of acquiring Bitcoin through mining. Bitcoin mining is the process by which transactions are verified and added to the public ledger, known as the black chain, and also the means through which new Bitcoins are released.

How liquid is the Bitcoin? It depends upon the volume of transactions. In stock market, the liquidity of a stock depends upon factors such as value of the company, free float, demand and supply, etc. In case of Bitcoin, it seems free float and demand are the factors that determine its price. The high volatility of Bitcoin price is due to less free float and more demand. The value of the virtual company depends upon their members’ experiences with Bitcoin transactions. We might get some useful feedback from its members.

What could be one big problem with this system of transaction? No members can sell Bitcoin if they don’t have one. It means you have to first acquire it by tendering something valuable you possess or through Bitcoin mining. A large chunk of these valuable things ultimately goes to a person who is the original seller of Bitcoin. Of course, some amount as profit will certainly go to other members who are not the original producer of Bitcoins. Some members will also lose their valuables. As demand for Bitcoin increases, the original seller can produce more Bitcoins as is being done by central banks. As the price of Bitcoin increases in their market, the original producers can slowly release their bitcoins into the system and make a huge profit.

Bitcoin is a private virtual financial instrument that is not regulated

Bitcoin is a virtual financial instrument, though it does not qualify to be a full-fledged currency, nor does it have legal sanctity. If Bitcoin holders set up private tribunal to settle their issues arising out of Bitcoin transactions then they might not worry about legal sanctity. Thus, it is a private virtual financial instrument for an exclusive set of people. People who have Bitcoins will be able to buy huge quantities of goods and services in the public domain, which can destabilize the normal market. This will be a challenge to the regulators. The inaction of regulators can create another financial crisis as it had happened during the financial crisis of 2007-08. As usual, we cannot judge the tip of the iceberg. We will not be able to predict the damage it can produce. It’s only at the last stage that we see the whole thing, when we are incapable of doing anything except an emergency exit to survive the crisis. This, we have been experiencing since we started experimenting on things which we wanted to have control over. We succeeded in some and failed in many though not without sacrifice and loss. Should we wait till we see the whole thing?

Food Contamination and Adulteration: Back to Basics

By Shalini M  |   Submitted On March 17, 2020

The contamination of products you can eat may be either intentional or accidental. This problem is part of the whole food supply chain and may be affected by a lot of factors. It’s important to keep in mind that the standards of quality may offer a safety net for these type of issues in the manufacturing processes. Let’s find out more.

Difference between contamination and adulteration

Both adulteration and contamination indicates that the product has an unintended substance in it. The difference between the two types is that contamination is usually unintentional. For instance, food may get contaminated due to natural causes, such as heavy metals in the soil or the inclusion of pesticides in the soil.

Often, these types of scenarios are not avoidable. Also, contamination can occur because of a bad quality control system or a shortcoming. Mostly, contamination is predictable because we can detect the presence of a high amount of pesticide in soil. Therefore, we can take the right steps in order to prevent the problem from getting worse.

On the other hand, adulteration refers to the activity of mixing wrong ingredients in a product. For instance, if you mix water in milk in order to increase the amount of milk, you are involved in a type of adulteration. Typically, the material used to do adulteration is cheaper than the actual ingredients.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that not all types of adulteration may result in serious side effects. For instance, mixing clean water in milk won’t make you fall sick if you drink the solution. It will just reduce the benefits you will get from drinking the milk.

However, if a company or manufacturer engages in this type of adulteration, it will have a negative impact on their image. Plus, it’s unethical. Going against ethics is not a good idea either.

Adulteration of other types will always cause unknown hazards. For instance, many products are made with hundreds of ingredients and chemicals. Commoners can’t check what the product was made of. In other words, they can’t identify the ingredients used in the product without using special equipment.

In this case, the safety of food, the image of the brand and the safety of consumer is at the mercy of the dishonest adulterator. In many cases, adulteration can take the lives of consumers. Therefore, steps should be taken in order to prevent this type of activities in the production units.

At times, adulterators mix harmless ingredients in the food products. Although they can be devastating, it is not good to expect the presence of these ingredients in the products. These ingredients are not detectable by the detection system either. Therefore, the routine testing system is unable to detect the adulteration.

In short, if you want to make sure that the food you eat is free of any contamination and adulteration, we suggest that you invest in a good food adulteration testing kit. For this purpose, you should contact a good food adulteration kit supplier.

All PS4 Accessories Under One Roof Just for You

By Shalini M | Submitted On December 27, 2019

Introduction

PlayStation is soon going to hit the stores and send you on yet another run for all your money. Yes, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro are soon going to be old and obsolete. Yet, these two are the best possible gaming consoles that you can possess. Hence, it is better to deck up on all the accessories for either of them or even both of them. There are a number of accessories for PlayStation 4 that you can buy for a good deal. These accessories will work for you if you possess the newest PlayStation 4 or even the older versions.

We have collected a number of accessories that will make you as well as your gaming console extremely happy. These accessories are pretty great and you will be able to play both online and offline. You can voice chat with your friends while playing and level up in God of War at the same time.

The number one accessory has to be the PowerA DualShock 4 charging Station which is both cheap and dependable. It will make sure that your console or even the controllers are never out of charge.The next one is the HyperX Cloud Stinger Gaming Headset. It is cheap and makes the gaming experience even more enjoyable as compared to other headsets. It is pretty versatile and even connects to other devices.The next in the list is the PDP Ps4 Bluetooth Remote. It is a far improved version of all the models that have been previously been sold. It makes navigation through any game very easy.The Sony PlayStation VR Headset is another must-have Accessory that is bound to take your gaming experience to the next level. It works with any version of the PlayStation hence, proving its versatility.The Seagate two Terabyte Game Drive is also a must-have due to the space limitations on the main PlayStation 4. It is easy to use and comes extremely handy in cases of any software backfire in the main console.The Scuf Vantage Customizable Controller is meant for you if you want to participate in gaming competitions and require a lot of skills for the same. This controller helps you learn new tips and tricks faster and in a more efficient way. The controller is a little pricey, but it is durable and every single piece of equipment on the controller is replaceable.

There are some more pieces of equipment that can be bought online and will help you improve your gaming skills.

Something noteworthy in this discussion is that there is no legal way known to download free mods for Microsoft Minecraft when played on Xbox One due to numerous copyright issues. However, there is a mod shop for Xbox One which can be used to access mods explicitly for your Xbox One.

We hope that this article was pretty informative and helped you known more about the accessories for PlayStation 4 4 and the importance of each accessory in honing your gaming skills.

The Benefits of Stainless Steel Roller Chains

by Shalini M  |   Submitted On March 11, 2020

Typically, roller chains can be found in a lot of mechanically powered systems. For instance, you can find them in a number of environments like automotive industries and agriculture systems. Examples of automotive industries they are used in are bicycles and motorcycles. In this article, we are going to take a closer look at some of the common benefits of roller chains made of stainless steel. Read on to find out more.

Rollers chains are also commonly used in conveyor belts and many other industrial assembly environments. Aside from this, you can find these systems in many other environments too.

Advantages of Stainless Steel Roller Chains

Although these products are made of other metals as well, stainless steel is the most common one. This is because this metal offers a lot of benefits. Some of them are listed below. Please note that this list doesn’t talk about all the benefits the unit offers.

Food Applications

Stainless steel roller chains are quite popular in the food industry for many reasons. One of the main reasons is that the steel offers immense strength unlike other metal types you can find and use.

Therefore, products made of this metal can withstand even extreme conditions. Another good thing is that it’s much easier to clean. For instance, in an environment where food packaging, processing and handling is done, you may need to clean the chain more frequently. This is what makes these roller chains a great choice.

Temperature Resistance

Another great thing about these roller chains is that they can work fine even if you place them in an environment where temperature exceeds 400 Celsius. In the same way, they won’t stop working even if you use them in a place where temperature drops below -20 Celsius. This is what makes it an ideal choice in environments that are not good for other metals.

Corrosion Resistance

They are also corrosion resistant even if used in acidic or alkaline environments. In many industries, these roller chains are used either in alkaline or acidic settings. This is why they are preferred in a lot of industries. Aside from this, it offers quite low magnetic permeability. Therefore, we suggest that you opt for them instead of other options out there.

Heat-Treated

Another good thing about these chains is that they are heat treated for a lot better temperature resistance. Plus, they are put under a lot of stress for testing purposes to reduce the chances of stretching issues or premature leakage. So, as far as safety is concerned, this is the best choice you can take. They can save you a lot of money due to their long lifespan.

Long story short, these are some of the most common reasons why these roller chains are quite popular these days. Although they can’t be the best option for all types of applications, they can work well in many environments. Therefore, if you want to opt for them, we suggest that you give them a go. You won’t regret your choice.

Are you looking for a good stainless steel roller chain? If so, we suggest that check out GidiChain for a collection of great products.