Archives for November 2021

Restoring old places is a rewarding and exciting project for anyone with the resources to do it properly.

Some really great spaces have been created through this type of initiative. A two hundred year old flour mill can become a restaurant offering artisanal sourdough breads and craft beers. An abandoned train station can be transformed into an art gallery, attracting international guests and promoting local talent.

Farmhouses, long bereft of roof and floor, can once again become a home to a family of laughing children, filled with the aromas of wood smoke, baked cookies and turkey dinners. It is all possible, with vision and just enough money.

In fact, with the recognition of urban decay and regeneration projects, it is happening all over the world. New is replacing old. You might think this is a simple process of knocking down some walls, building up some others, adding roofing, flooring fittings and a coat of paint.

In some cases, this might be all that is required. In others, you might need to bring in water pipe locating equipment, or specialists to evaluate the foundations. It can get complicated pretty quickly if the building is protected, and cannot be altered in certain ways. There are other factors to consider, too.

Historical Value

Old buildings sometimes have a particular significance to a community. To a new owner, the place might look shabby, run-down, ugly or worthless. To longstanding members of a town, who have grown up with that building as part of the backdrop of their lives, they may take your intention to refurbish it as an open act of hostility.

It may seem backwards to a city-dweller, who lives in the concrete jungle of ever-changing and upgrading spaces, and which is too big to foster a genuine sense of shared history and community. The smaller the town, the deeper the roots, and this should not be dismissed, if you have plans for a place in one.

If you have bought, or are intending to buy, an old building to repurpose it and use it for a dwelling, business or event venue, you should first look up the state laws on this kind of activity. States such as New Hampshire have taken an active interest in their old buildings, and how they are used or altered by new owners.

There are laws which govern how an old building may be changed, and they are aimed at preserving the state’s cultural heritage, in the face of massive socio-economic development, spreading outwards from commercial hubs.

Social Value

Your new and improved building should add value to the society in which you plan to operate. Try, therefore, to find out more about the social norms and values of the community before creating your business plan, instead of expecting it to fit in with you.

For example, you might not have much success if you rejuvenated a two hundred year old barn to open a new age shop selling crystals and tarot readings in Enon, Arkansas. If you tried to open a Starbucks, you also might fail. But, if you opened a Christian bookshop, or a small farming co-op, the community would probably welcome you with open arms, and you would receive their support.

This is not to say that a good old fashioned plucky, “can-do” attitude and lots of money won’t win out in the end, but outside of Hollywood, it really does take a group effort to make small town enterprises work. For this reason, your business concept should align with the prevalent norms, and contribute to the community’s shared aims, in some way.

Also take note of the relevant permit requirements. Each large city should have a similar set of forms and information for all aspects of building and trading. This is to ensure that if you are doing work on an old house with no drawings on record, the authorities can make you aware of any utility pipelines or other government infrastructure running through the property that may be damaged or destroyed by contractors.

Material Value

And that brings us back round to the actual work involved in bringing an old building back to life. Historical buildings, or even just the really old buildings, were not built with today’s quick-fix mentality. The materials were real and honest, and the work was done with pride. To do an old building justice, you can’t skimp on materials or finishes or fittings, or cut corners with safety aspects or health and safety codes.

Do it properly, using, if at all possible, the same grade and quality of materials as were used to build it the first time round. For example, ff there were stained glass windows, find an artist to restore them, don’t just replace them with clear plate glass and aluminum frames.

The term “progress” is sometimes used to justify the destruction of history and tradition because it is easier to make new, simple, cheap buildings than to restore the cumbersomely beautiful and intricate designs of the bygone ages. Being able to return an historical piece of architecture to its former glory is an undervalued legacy that will be missed only when it is too late.

Social media and the internet have completely changed not just the ways we socialize, shop and do business, but also academia and even the ways we write essays. It used to be the case that a fast-approaching deadline was a cause of great stress among students. To be fair, fast-approaching deadlines still cause stress, but now, thanks to online options, there’s a lot more support to be found, and it’s easier to find solutions, meaning less stress and better results.

One of the most popular and helpful sites, when people are looking for help with their writing, is Reddit, but what is so special about this online destination, and how is it of value to aspiring academics?

Why is Reddit Useful?

A key thing about Reddit that differentiates it from other social media, is its communities. The site is divided very clearly into groups and sub-groups, each gathered around their own particular topic, and in general, it’s required that members of a community stick to discussing the topic at hand, and follow the guidelines.

This means when you join a writing community, it’s exactly that: all about writing. And when you’re looking for the best essay writing service Reddit, it can help you to join groups that are specifically dedicated to essay writing and nothing else. Additionally, this means that not only will you find useful services, but you’ll be part of a community that can provide tips, advice and general support, all relating directly to the problem you’re trying to solve.

Reddit serves as a vibrant, ever-changing hub, that is organized logically and efficiently to help you zone in precisely on what you need. But what about essay writing providers themselves, what are the benefits of using these services?

Save Time and Reduce Stress

These are two of the most common reasons that students seek out essay writing support. The reality is that most of us are extremely busy with multiple demands on our time. You can go to class, understand the subject matter in great detail, and have a full comprehension of your academic specialty, but nonetheless, putting that understanding down on paper is a major time commitment.

Simply put, many of us don’t have the luxury of being able to free up that kind of time, in which case, utilizing a professional essay writer is an invaluable option. And with your schedule now freed up, you’ll be able to commit fully to any other responsibilities that require your attention.

Additionally, there is the stress factor. When you’re under pressure, running out of time, and constrained by deadlines, it can take a real toll on your mental and physical health. What’s worse, this is a vicious circle. If you’re stressed because you don’t have time, then you neglect things like healthy eating and exercise, further impacting your mental condition, and so on.

By using social media to find an essay writing service, that stress is gone, and you can recalibrate, take the time to look after yourself, and become healthier and more productive.

Professional, Expert Content

Understanding your field, and being able to utilize your knowledge in a practical way, are not the same as being able to organize what you know into a clear and coherent written form. Basically, you can be an expert in your area of specialization, but not especially proficient at writing essays. And the opposite is also true: the people who craft the best written presentations of their ideas don’t necessarily have the strongest knowledge within their field.

What an essay writing service does is allow you to play to your strengths, by taking care of the areas in which you don’t excel. When you use a professional writer, you can expect quality content, written by people who are experienced in their niche. And with the writing taken care of, you can get on with the rest of your studies.

Affordability and Support

There are now more essay writing services than ever before, and this competition is great for both clients and providers. A bustling online marketplace results in wider choice and better deals, and now you can get very high quality content at prices that are accessible to everyone. Furthermore, if you have particular needs, or want assistance in a specific niche, you’ll very likely find someone who can cater to your particular circumstances.

What this also means, is that you’ll usually get better all round service overall, not just in terms of price. Through social media and the internet, we now expect and receive full customer support, often around the clock, along with the ability to track the progress of our orders.

The internet and social media have made it very easy to find support and solutions for all kinds of everyday problems. The challenge now is simply in making sure that you take full advantage of the options available.

That time of the year is coming again. That special time where we dust off the Christmas decorations and rack our brains on what to gift to the people that we love. The last two years have been challenging for the younger members of our family, to say the least. Confined at home and deprived of the opportunity to play with their classmates at school, then threatened by the spread of the Covid-19 Delta variant, our children deserve to have a brilliant festive season. Here are some unique gifts that will delight kids and bring wonder back to their lives.

Building Blocks

A great gift for children should not only be fun, but also enriching. As children do puzzles, build towers, and work with their hands, they activate their brains and learn to think and solve problems in ways that are smarter and more creative. Because of this, blocks have been a perennial favorite in the gift repertoire of parents. However, the blocks these days are way more advanced and versatile than the ones from our time. Lego has Harry Potter, Minecraft, and Star Wars sets that can allow our kids to create their very own piece of their favorite fantasies.

If there is something that children like more than dinosaurs, it would probably be robots. By themselves, robots are incredibly cool. But, a robot that can be built from blocks takes the cake! There are now robot block building kits where children between the ages of 7 and 12 can build their very own robots from scratch and program them to move using basic coding. As science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) becomes increasingly important in our modern education system, robot building kits are a great way to introduce our kids to programming languages.

Let’s Play Together

For parents who would like their children to get off the couch or computer and move around more, there are many gifts that will entice kids to get active. An example of a ball game that is easy for children to pick up is spikeball, a two-on-two sports game that can be played in your living room or backyard. It is basically a game of mini volleyball where you take turns to spike the ball into a round net. The nets are small and collapsible, which means that you can pack them up and take them with you to the beach or park. By playing simple ball games, your kids will learn hand-eye coordination, communication, and teamwork.

If your kids are up for more challenging activities, capture the flag kits are fantastic for an awesome outdoor team activity. You can even get capture the flag kits that glow in the dark for playing in the evenings. Similarly, fans of obstacle course game shows such as Ninja Warrior would love outdoor obstacle course kits for kids. With slacklines, rope ladders, gymnastic rings, and more, setting up an outdoor obstacle course can help your children to train their balance, coordination, strength, and confidence. For the ultimate treat, pair the gift with a ninja outfit as well!

Back to the Future

While we try to discourage our children from spending too much time on screens, not all technology is bad. In fact, certain hi-tech toys can be absolutely thrilling. For example, a kid’s hoverboard would elevate your child into the coolest kid on the block. Before you get too worried, it is worth noting that hoverboards for children do not actually fly. They are merely fancy, hands-free electric scooters with a futuristic look. Many of them even come with LED lights and Bluetooth speakers to guarantee that your child will turn heads. Hoverboards are a good way for your children to practice their balance, and can be a fun way to get them to and from school.

Virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) toys are another excellent tech option for kids. View-Master has come a long way since the thin cardboard reels of our childhood. The modern View-Master VR headsets come with headphone connectors and provide 360-degree interactive VR experiences that include National Geographic wildlife and Discovery underwater worlds. If VR feels slightly overwhelming, parents can instead opt for AR toys where children can use apps to bring anything from coloring books to rotating world maps to life. By providing an immersive experience, VR and AR can assist our children in learning and retaining information about various topics.

Christmas is an important time of year where we can release all the tension from the earlier months and celebrate our mutual appreciation and love. For our children, Christmas is a magical time where they can put aside the pressures of school and return to their natural wonder and curiosity. By thinking of out of the box, parents can make sure that what they put in the box for their kids will be much more than just another present.

Don’t be fooled by all the expensive-looking bells and whistles you see at your local coffee shop. You can put together a delicious cup of coffee using only the tools available in the average kitchen. Here’s how you can take your home-brew coffee to the next level.

1 – Choose the right beans

Have you heard of coffee cupping? If you start looking into specialty coffee beans, you’ll see the SCAA cupping protocol mentioned all the time. It refers to a method used by professional coffee tasters to give coffee beans an objective score based on different attributes.

Trying to dissect the ins and outs of the coffee cupping procedure can get complicated fast. But all you need to know as a consumer is that the higher the cup score of a coffee bean, the more delicious they are. On top of that, the cupping scale is logarithmic. This means the gap between 90 and 95 is many times bigger than the gap between 80 and 90 on the scale.

All of this means that if you are used to just getting cheap ground coffee from your local market, you can immediately make your coffee many times better by buying ground coffee with a cup score of 80 or above from a specialty shop.

2 – Grind your own beans

Coffee tastes better when it’s freshly ground, and grinding your own beans isn’t difficult. You can do it with a coffee grinder, or in a pinch, you can use a regular blender. Grinding your own coffee also allows you to control how finely ground you want the coffee to be.

The final size of the beans affects how fast water will pass through them, which in turn affects the final taste of the coffee. You can experiment with different grind sizes to figure out the best choice for your brewing method.

3 – Try different additives

The simplest and easiest way to change the flavor of your coffee is to add stuff to it. There is a lot to love about a purist’s coffee, one where not even sugar is added. But if you want to spice things up, you can try adding different types of milk, sweeteners, creamers, and more.

Some people even add a dash of salt to neutralize the bitterness of a strong coffee, and there are even special flavored syrups made specially to match with specific types of coffee and create unique flavors.

4 – Lookup coffee shop recipes

Those fancy tools found at your local coffee shop aren’t there just for show. There are indeed types of coffee that are hard to make without special equipment. But you will be surprised at how many recipes you can get done with just a regular stove and the right ingredients.

Look up DIY recipes for your favorite coffee shop drinks — there’s a good chance you have the ingredients and tools needed to make at least one of them, if not several.