Friday, April 27, 2007

Business

In economic business is the social science of managing people to systematize and maintain collective productivity toward accomplishing particular imaginative and productive goals, usually to make profit. The etymology of "business" refers to the state of being busy, in the circumstance of the individual as well as the community or society. In other words, to be busy is to be doing commercially viable and profitable work.

The term "business" has at least three usages, depending on the scope — the general usage (above), the particular usage to refer to a particular company or corporation, and the comprehensive usage to refer to a particular market sector, such as "the record business," "the computer business," or "the business community" -- the community of suppliers of goods and services.

The singular "business" can be a legally-recognized entity within an economically free society, wherein individuals systematize based on expertise and skill bring about social and technological expansion.

However, the exact definition of business is disputable as is business philosophy; for example, most Marxist use "means of production" as a rough synonym for "business." Socialist advocates government, public, or worker ownership of most sizable businesses.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Player Pianos

100 Later developments of the reproducing piano contain the use of magnetic tape rather than piano rolls to record and play back the music, and, in the case of one device made by Bösendorfer, computer assisted playback. Almost all modern player pianos use MIDI to interface with computer equipment. Live presentation or computer generated music can be recorded in MIDI file format for accurate reproduction later on such instruments.

At present, in 2005, several player piano conversion kits are available, allowing the owners of normal pianos to convert them into computer controlled instruments. The conversion process usually involves cutting open the bottom of the piano to install mechanical parts under the keyboard. Most modern player pianos come with an electronic device that can record and playback MIDI files on floppy disks and/or CD ROMs, and a MIDI interface that enables computers to drive the piano directly for more advanced operations.


Another company, QRS Inc. of the USA, make the most complicated type of reproducing piano system, called Pianomation, which does not have the restrictions of the other manufacturers products. It can play 80 notes at a time, plus fully orchestrated backing with vocals from original artists from the internal hi-fi system built in. QRS also have the largest software catalogue of 7000 titles.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Magnetic recording

Magnetic recording was established in principle as early as 1898 by Valdemar Poulsen in his telegraphone. Magnetic wire recording, and its successor, magnetic tape recording, involve the use of a magnetizable medium which moves with a constant speed past a recording head. An electrical signal, which is analogous to the sound that is to be recorded, is fed to the recording head, inducing a pattern of magnetization like to the signal. A playback head can then pick up the changes in magnetic field from the tape and convert it into an electrical signal.

Monday, April 09, 2007

Willamette Valley

100 The Willamette Valley is the region in northwest Oregon in the United States that environment the Willamette River as it proceeds northward from its appearance from mountains near Eugene to its confluence with the Columbia River. One of the most creative agricultural areas of the world, the valley was the destination of choice for the emigrants on the Oregon Trail in the 1840s. It has formed the cultural and political heart of Oregon since the days of the Oregon Territory, and is home to nearly 70% of Oregon's population.
Description
The valley may be insecurely defined as the watershed of the Willamette, bounded on the west by the Coast Ranges, on the east by the Cascade Range. It is bounded on the south by the Calapooya Mountains, which separate the headwaters of the Willamette from the Umpqua River valley. Because of the differing cultural and political interests, the Portland metropolitan area, as well as the Tualatin River valley, is often disincluded in the local use of the term. Cities for all time considered part of the Willamette Valley are Eugene, Corvallis, Albany, and Salem.

The agricultural richness of the valley is considered to be in no small measure a result of the Missoula Floods, which inundated the valley just about forty times between 15,000 and 13,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age. The floods were caused by the intervallic rupturing of the ice dam of Glacial Lake Missoula, the waters of which swept down the Columbia and flooded the Willamette Valley as far south as Eugene. The floodwaters carried rich volcanic and glacial soil from Eastern Washington, which was deposited across the valley floor when the waters subsided.
The main agricultural products of the valley include many varieties of berries and vegetables. The valley also produces mainly of the grass seed, Christmas trees and hazelnuts sold in North America. But it is greenhouse and nursery stock that have become the biggest agricultural commodity in the valley.
In current decades, the valley has also become a major wine producer, with multiple American Viticultural Areas of its own. With a cooler climate than California, the gently rolling hills surrounding the Willamette are home to some of the best pinot noir in the New World, as well as a high-quality pinot gris.

Monday, April 02, 2007

Sarus Crane

The Sarus Crane is a occupant propagation bird in northern India, Nepal, Southeast Asia and Queensland, Australia. It used to be found on accasion in pakistan, but has not been found silence the late 1980's. It is the world's tallest flying bird.

This is a very huge crane, 156cm in length, which is found in freshwater marshes and plains. It nests on the ground laying two to three eggs in a bulky nest. Unlike many cranes that make long migrations the sarus crane does not, meaning it cans expent the energy to raise both chicks. Both the male and female take turns sitting on the nest, and the male is the main guardian.

Adults are grey with a nude red head and white crown and a long dark pointed bill. In flight, the long neck is reserved straight, unlike herons, and the black wing tips can be seen; their long red or pink legs trail at the back them.

Sexes are similar, but young flora and fauna are duller and browner. The Indian, Southeast Asian and Australian species differ mainly in plumage shade. There are some slight size differences, but on average the male is larger then the female, and the birds are six feet tall with an eight foot wingspan.

These extroverted birds forage while walking in thin water or in fields, sometimes probing with their long bills. They are omnivorous, eating insects, marine plants and animals, crustaceans, seeds and berries, small vertebrates, and invertebrates.