How to Pass the ICC Structural Masonry Plan Examination

A Structural Masonry Special Inspector is a member of the construction project team who ensures that the masonry segment is constructed based on the approved structural plan and specifications. Special inspection of masonry is being conducted due to the requirements of the building code and also to report the safety and reliability of the building structure. Anyone interested in being a special inspector can be part of the inspection team provided that he or she complies with the requirements mandated by the International Code Council ( ICC ). One of the requirements of ICC is for the interested individual to pass the ICC Structural Masonry Examination. Successful candidates are expected to secure the integrity of the building code and uphold the provisions of the 'Code of Ethics.'

Ways to Pass the ICC Structural Masonry Plan Examination

The passing score of ICC Structural Masonry Plan Exam can be easily achieved if you come prepared for the exam. If you think your knowledge on the subject is not yet enough to successfully pass the test, you can increase your chances of getting your target passing score with the following tips:

• The exam is conducted at a third party testing area. Read the 'Candidate Bulletin' and comprehend the information stated therein. The bulletin will tell you important details regarding the exam including the things you need to do before and after taking the ICC Masonry Plan Exam.
• A Structural Masonry Special Inspector has a number of duties and one of them is to ensure that the contractor strictly implements the approved materials, such as the reinforcement being placed as per the plans properly. A candidate should be familiar with the tools and steps that will be found in any set of plans and also used not only in the field but at this important time, during the examination.
• In relation to that, the exam is an open book type so examinees can take pertinent materials with them such as the 2009 International Building Code and the 2009 Masonry Codes and Specification Compilation. Familiarize yourself with these references along with other prescribed reference materials to build navigational skills.
• A special inspector is also expected to understand important terminology related to the masonry construction industry. Therefore, a candidate must improve his or her memory ability and learn how to interpret and decide which the proper use is. By doing this small step it will increase your chances of passing the exam.
• Part of the exam is to identify symbols and abbreviations found on building plans so candidates must know these symbols to get the passing scores.
• You would also need instruments such as a calculator and a magnifying glass to help you figure the required bed joint size and also read the plans to answer the questions more competently.

In closing, learn how to manage your time. Examinees are given 3 h hours to complete the exam. 2 hours should be attributed to answer questions related to building plans. If you find yourself in need of guidance to make sure you are able to do this often overlooked step.

Best of luck on the examination ...

Daily Bible Readings - How To Get Invested Into Reading The Bible Everyday

Christians should be reading the Bible. It is not a rule set in stone, nor do you have to read the Bible in its entity. But it goes without saying that as a Christian, as a believer of Christ and his sacrices, Christians should at least care enough to read bits and parts of the Bible on their free time. You do not have to specifically set aside time for it. You just have to sit down and pick up the Bible on your spare time, at least once a week.

But I know, it's hard to get concentrated on the Bible these days. It's hard to put your focus on some of these old stories, when they tell about seas being divided in half and bread falling from the sky. But let me tell you this: it's only in the beginning. Once you begin to understand and appreciate the stories of the Bible for what they are, you'll grow to become a better Christian.

Here are some tips on a how to get better connected with the Bible:

For males:

Men love stories of heroism. Men like to listen to - or read - stories one incredibly person rising up from the ground to conquer evil. Which is why Christian males should be reading the Bible in the first place - the Bible is filled with wonderful stories of heroes and trials and great sacrifices.

For example, there's the story of Abraham, an ordinary man God used as an instrument in order to do extraordinary things. God showed His plan to Abraham and through extreme acts of faith Abraham was able to fulfill all the tasks God had given him.

The story of Abraham shows us that if we trust God and appreciate him, we'll be rewarded for all our work in this life.

For females:

Women like to read about stories they can refer to. For example, there are a great many stories in the Bible that can guide a woman in her work, life and relationships. For God, every woman is unique and serves a great purpose in helping a man discover his destiny. As a Christian woman, you should take time to look for guidance in the Bible.

Whether you're a Christian man or woman, you should always find time-if you can not find time, make time! -To read the Bible every time in a while. It will definitely help enrich your relationship with God.

Choosing a Web Designer

Many small business owners struggle with deciding on how to make the right choice for designing their website. They search the web for help with their website and find that the choice is harder than they thought. Currently there are (literally) millions of websites who claim to be professional web designers. However, one must be careful in choosing the right person or people in which to trust their company image. In this article, I will attempt to categorize web designers into manageable groups, and teach the reader the difference between the types.

Web designers fall into four general categories: freelance amateur, freelance professional, Web Design Company, Web Development Firm.

Freelance Amateur

The majority of web designers you will come across, especially searching the Internet, are freelancers. That is, individuals who do web design but are not employed by a web design company. Some are self-employed professionals but most of these freelancers are amateur-hobbyist types. They find a copy of FrontPage™ came with their MS Office™ Suite. They discovered how fun it could be to make web pages so they started telling their friends that they could "design" web pages.

The "pros" of using an amateur is that they are very cheap. The "cons" are too numerous to mention, but I'll point out a few. They have no training; they have little knowledge of what makes a good website work; they do not understand HTML code or CSS but only FrontPage point and click; they do not understand general design and layout concepts and they have little real experience. The biggest reason they should be avoided for the serious businessperson, is that their work looks amateurish, which makes your company look amateurish. Who wants that?

Freelance Professional

A professional is often defined by simply being paid. People think that if you are paid for something, then you are professional. Maybe that's true in the Olympics, but for the business services world, you are not a professional until you are established and respected as one by your clients and peers. Freelancer professional web designers are a giant leap from the amateur in that they have established a portfolio of respectable work. They have some sort of qualified training and experience and they have credentials that can be verified by contacting references. They have a good reputation with their clients and other professionals. In general, a good freelance professional web designer can be good person to have doing your site. But they are hard to distinguish from the amateur when you are just searching the web.

The upside is, if you find a good one they are significantly cheaper than a web design company. But that is usually the only upside. If the budget limits you, then a freelancer will do for a small project. But anything seriously important should be left to a professional company.

Some downsides to using a freelance pro are that they are usually part-time, meaning they are limited in how much time they can devote to your project. They are also limited in what they can do for you. Most freelancers are specialists in one area and generalists in everything else. Some have no skills in anything except their one specialty and often you will have to find others to fill roles. In addition, freelancers are not always cheap although many of them are aspiring to create their own company; some are highly sought after and charge $100 per hour or more for their work. My advice here is, if you have that much to spend, go with a company that has a team of professionals to get the job done in a timelier manner.

Web Design Company

This is the next step beyond a freelance professional. The web design company offers the "whole show". They provide real project management and have pulled together a team of web experts to get a wider range of jobs done. A company can provide a much higher level of expertise in web design, programming, content development and more.

Such a company is usually very small, yet large enough to handle larger scale projects. Compared to the most highly qualified freelancer, a company has a diversity of talent and collaboration working for them. The end-result is usually a much higher quality product.

The only real drawbacks are on the one hand, the web design company is more expensive than a freelancer because there are many more people on the job. However, you get what you pay for rings true. On the other hand, for very large projects or long term development, web design companies may be too small and usually do not have the human recourses to accommodate that $500,000 contract. In the end, for serious business people looking for quality and professionalism and who can't afford the big firm, this is the way to go.

Web Development Firm

As the title implies, a web development firm is like any traditional company. They have a staff of office workers, they have owners and officers, and they have a team of talented professionals who are paid a good salary for their work. They often have a sales force that do inside and outside sales. The quality of their work goes without saying, as you could not be so well-established by doing shoddy work. These firms offer teams of very talented professionals who work on your project and get the job done in a timely and extremely efficient manner. Additionally, they usually cover all aspects of website development including marketing and advertising. They may have teams of specialists that they can deploy to your location and work in-house under a temporary contract. The possibilities are endless.

If price is not an issue and the highest quality work is necessary, then this is who you want to do the job. For smaller budget businesses, a quote from an established web development firm might knock you off your chair, but know that companies who have project requirements that reach hundreds of thousands of dollars know the score. Thus, the only real drawback for a web development firm is that they are usually very expensive. Then again, cost is relative and bigger companies like to work with bigger companies.

In summary, the choice is yours. I would recommend for the serious businessperson, that you budget a decent amount of dollars to properly design and execute a professional website. I would avoid the amateur and outsource to an individual or company with good experience and reasonable rates to create my web presence. If money were no object, then I would only deal with established firms and pay the big bucks to get the job done right and done well.

Money Making Equation

There are 4 sides to my money making equation.

Let's break them down like this ...

A = You.

Without you there would be no business. You have to decide to start the business. You have to decide what you want the business to be. You have to decide all the details. (Ads, hosting, design, content, your initial investment) Many products will tell you that you do not have to be involved. They will set it up, run it, advertise it, and supply the entire product you need. All you have to do is pay this "investment fee" and you will be reaping all the benefits in no time.

Have you ever seen any profits from those programs? I never have and I have tried plenty!

Who is making the money in this situation? NOT YOU!

B = Time

Many of us not only want, but willingly need to make money fairly quickly. Unfortunately, unless you are that one in a million business owner who just happens to have the right product at the right time being marketed to the right people, you are not going to be flooded with more money than you know what to do with. There are programs that promise you will have money flooding your account automatically overnight. These are usually the same programs that claim you do not have to do anything but sit back and check your bank account. Once again the money is not being made by YOU. It takes time and knowledge to grow your own money tree.

C = Your Plan

Before you sit down at the computer to build your first business you need a game plan. Part of knowing what you need to accomplish your goal of success and profits comes from taking the time to get knowledge and information about what it is going to take. You need to know all those details like:

o Where to host your site?

o How much will it cost?

o Do I want to start off with a free host or pay for hosting? (I suggest paid hosting. There are many affordable hosting companies who will also help you to some degree selecting and paying for your domain name and the design / setup of your pages.)

o Where will I advertise?

o How will I advertise?

o Am I providing the product / s?

o Am I reselling, providing a service?

o Am I referring-otherwise known as affiliate or network marketing?

There are probably many other questions that you can think of. Some of those questions will need to be answered before you start. Others you will not even think of until you have gotten started and run into a glitch in the plan.

The point is: Do not start a business before you know what you are going to do. You will spend more money than you want trying to make is successful.

D = Success!

Do I really have to explain that one?

A + B + C = D

Without all parts of the equation working together you will never reach your goal.

Do not worry if you have already started your business. Put it on hold while you step back to refocus your plan or make one if you did not have a plan to start out. Make decisions and learn, learn, learn! All the problems you've been experiencing have a solution. You need to determine the best solution for your business.

"Wait! How will I make money if I put my business on hold?"

Have you made any yet? No? Then you are not missing anything.

You have to change your current path to change your destination.

The Right Carpet Cleaning Method Can Help You Save Money and Avoid Replacing Your Carpet

Carpet cleaning methods are not all the same. In fact, there are many different ways to clean various types of carpet. What many people do not understand is that carpet fibers are not all made the same, so certain types of carpet will require a different type of cleaning method. Certain cleansers may also be harmful for some carpet fibers while they work wonders for other types. It is important to complete preliminary research before having just any carpet cleaning company come to a home and clean the carpet with whatever method they feel like using without regard to what is best for the carpet.

Having a carpet professionally cleaned is by far the best way to clean it. However, if the cleaning method utilized is detrimental to the lifespan of the carpet, then it basically serves no purpose. This type of mistake can cost you a lot of money and maybe might even require you to replace your own carpet.

To keep informed, it is probably a good idea to learn about a few of the different carpet cleaning methods and how they work. Here are a few different carpet cleaning methods:

1. Shampooing a Carpet - Typically this looks to be the least effective method on any carpet. What occurs during a carpet shampooing is that formulated detergents are applied directly to the carpet and then the professional carpet cleaners will use a machine that agitates the cleanser. Then they will use a vacuum to extract the cleanser and make the carpet look very clean. The detergents used are formulated to make the carpet seem bright and smell nice. However, it does little more any caked on dirt deep down in the pad of the carpet. So if the main purpose of a carpet cleaning for a home is to make it look nice, maybe for a special occasion where a lot of people will be walking around so the carpet will need to be cleaned again anyway, shampooing can be the right choice . However, for health and wellness reasons, it is typically not the top choice.

2. Dry Carpet Cleaning - Most people recommend the dry cleaning method over any other. It is certainly helpful since there is little to no down time since the carpet will not need to dry for a long period of time as is necessary with other methods. Most of the time, using a special cleaning powder completes the process. It is sprinkled all over the carpet and it will automatically start appealing dirt. After it has stayed on the carpet an appropriate amount of time to absorb, it is then sucked up by a vacuum, leaving the carpet almost as good as new. A few carpet cleaning companies have made modifications to this method with different cleansers, such as an oxygenated cleanser. This method works well too, because although it may make the carpet wet just briefly, the oxygenated bubbles help lift dirt out of the base of the carpet, allowing it to be cleaned up even more effectively.

3. Foam Carpet Cleaning - This method is also very useful. It basically takes a little bit of the shampoo method and then combines it with the dry cleaning method. A cleansing foam and a small amount of water are applied to the carpet. The cleansing foam is also designed to attract dirt dust and harmful fibers like the powder in a dry cleaning method does. It works its way through the carpet and then the foam, along with all the dirt and dust particles it has collected are extracted from the carpet. This method works best of tougher carpet due to the nature of the foam as well as the vacuum.

4. Steam Carpet Cleaning - Steam carpet cleaning is probably one of the most well known cleaning methods and is also used often. It does have its disadvantages because because it uses an awful lot of water. When the water soaks deep down into the pad of the carpet, it can damage it so severely that the carpet may need to be replaced. However, if steam cleaning is done properly, and not too frequently, it can be effective. It is also known as "Hot water extraction" and basically it works by having a very powerful machine put a hot water and cleanser solution deep down into the carpet. Then the machine will extract the cleanser with a powerful suction. All of this will most likely get the most dirt out of the carpet, however, it may cause the carpet damage over time. It also means the carpet will be wet for a while, so do not use this method as a quick fix, since there is nothing quick about it.

5. Bonnet Carpet Cleaning - This method is mostly used for commercial buildings due to the amount of carpet inside of them. It is not meant to be incredibly effective, since commercial buildings experience so much traffic anyway. Basically this method will keep the carpets looking fresh and clean, even though some dirt and dust may still be lurking under the surface. A chemical detergent is applied to the carpet and then a rotary machine is equipped with an absorbent pad and then worked across the carpet.

So it is clear that not all carpet cleaning methods are the same. Now that the different methods are clearly outlined, it's time to figure out which one will work best in your own home. Choose wisely, as different methods will affect different types of carpet in various ways.

Cake Decorating Tools Offer a Great Look to the Cakes

On earth the beautiful looking and delicious tasting cakes are associated with the celebration of special occasions where fun, enjoyment and happiness is expressed. Make a wish and the wish will only be true if the cake tastes good and decorated at its best. Cake preparation from its ingredients, pattern, structure and flavor is a matter which is taken into great consideration. Today the cake is as important as the event and cake decorating is the key factor that makes it delicious looking. Decorating a cake is skill that is mastered by a very few including our house owners, which are the women of the house.

I always imagine how it is done and wanted to know the secret behind this art. Well! Its not a secret now as decorating a cake can be easily done through some very important and easily available cake decorating tools. But it's very important to possess the right decorating tool, as the perfect toll will surely make a lot of difference in the overall cake presentation. With various cake decorating techniques like icing a cake to creating borders and icing decorations this is a work which requires a lot of expertise and hard-work. One interested in decorating a cake can easily learn this art as there are many cake decoration classes available that offers both professional instructions and hands-on practice.

For doing this job perfectly one has to understand each and every tool, equipments and accessories that is used in decorating cakes. Here is some of the tool which is frequently used in cake decoration:

Spatulas: This is one of the most used tool which is used to ice cakes. For icing cake tops the best type of spatulas which are used is the angled spatula. This cake decorating accessory is especially helpful and easier to use than a flat spatula for icing cake tops.

Plastic Decorating Combs or Triangles: When icing is done second step is to texture the icing, this is done by plastic decorating combs or triangles. These accessories apply perfect texture to the icing on the sides of a cake.

Decorating Bags: The decorating bags with lightweight polyester or disposable plastic materials are used here to decorate the cakes icing. Another important option of parchment paper triangles can also be used. The sizes of the decorating bags will vary and these are chosen based on the amount of icing the decorating job requires.

Decorating Tips: These are open ended metal tips specially shaped and designed to form different icing designs. Once you find a many designs of tips in the market which include drop flower, leaf, petal, round, ribbon, star, and star-cut. With wide-ranging availability of these tips one can even go for the special purpose tips that are larger or form particular shapes.

Decorator Brushes: These are small brushes used in painting details on the icing. One can also use these decorator brushes to add color in decorating bags to get certain multi-color effects.

Rollers or Rolling Pins: This is one cake decorating accessory which is used to roll out the icing, like pie crust. The icing may then be smoothed over the cake with a smoothing tool. All kinds of other tools are used to emboss designs and cut shapes for leaves and flowers.

Couplers: These are two-part units which are commonly used with decorating tips. Couplers are designed so that different tips can be used interchangeably with the same bag of icing. The base part is placed in the bag, the tip is put on the outside of the bag, and the outside ring is screwed onto the base.

Flower Nails: These are the revolving platforms which are used to turn in between your fingers and help making the icing flowers. The flower nails are available is various sizes, from 3 inches for large petaled flowers down to 1 1/4 inch for smaller flowers. To form curved cup-shaped flowers one can use the lily flower nails as well.

With the above cake decorating tools and accessories it's easy to even decorate the cake at home and one can create cakes for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, and other special family occasions with a lot of ease.

Printed Circuit Boards Manufacturing

If you are wondering what exactly Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) are and how they are manufactured, then you are not alone. Many people have a vague understanding of "Circuit Boards", but really are not experts when it comes to being able to explain what a Printed Circuit Board is. PCBs are typically used to support and electronically connect the connected electronic components to the board. Some examples of electronic components for PCB's are capacitors and resistors. These and other various electronic components are connected through conductive pathways, tracks or signal passages that are etched from sheets of copper that are laminated onto non conductive substrate. When the board has these conductive and nonductive conductways, the boards are sometimes then referred to as Printed Wiring Board (PWB). Once the board has the wiring and electronic components connected, the Printed Circuit Board is now called a Circuit Circuit Assembly (PCA) or Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA).

Printed Circuit Boards are most of the time inexpensive, but are still extremely reliable. The initial cost is high because the layout effort requires a lot of time and resources, but PCBs are still a more cost effective and faster to manufacture for high volume production. Many of the industry's PCB Design, quality control, and assembly standards are set by the Association Connecting Electronics Industries (IPC) organization.

When manufacturing PCBs, the majority of printed circuits are produced by bonding a copper layer over the substrate, sometimes on both of the sides, which creates a blank PCB. Then, the unwanted copper is removed after the temporary mask has been applied by etching. This only leaves the copper passages that were desired to remain on the PCB. Depending on if the volume of production is for Sample / Prototype quantities or production volume, there is a process of multiple electroplating, which is a complex process that adds traces or a thin copper layer of substrate onto the bare substrate.

There are various ways to methods for subtractive (or the removal of unwanted copper on the board) during production of the PCBs. The main commercial method of production volume quantities is silk screen printing and photographic methods (Usually used when the line widths are fine). When the production volume is of small quantities, the main methods of used are laser printed resist, print onto transparent film, laser resist ablation, and using a CNC-mill. The most common methods are silk screen printing, photoengraving, and milling. However, there is a common process that also exists that is commonly used for multilayer circuit boards because it facilitates the plating-through of the holes, which is called "Addictive" or "Semi-Addictive".