October 2016
I know people...
Jay McHugh| 617-699-7442
You Could Print Your Next Home
In my work, I’m connected to service people of all kinds. If you need a painter, gardener, plumber, handyman, etc., I’d love to refer you to someone who’s great at what they do! Pull out your phone and let me know what you need.
617-699-7442 JMcHugh@laerrealty.com
Corny Halloween Humor A musician is passing Vienna's Zentralfriedhof graveyard on October 31st. Suddenly he hears music. No one is around, so he starts searching for the source. He finally locates the origin coming from under the ground in a grave. The headstone on the grave reads: Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827. The musician listens for a while. He knows its symphony music, but he’s puzzled. Then he cries out, “I’ve got it! It’s Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, but it’s being played backwards!” He runs to the caretaker’s house, wakes him, and frantically describes the strange backward music coming from Beethoven’s grave. The caretaker says, “Oh, that’s nothing to worry about. He’s just decomposing.”
We're all familiar with the typical "wood studs and plywood" construction of homes. But homes of the future will take advantage of innovations in materials and construction approaches to provide greener, faster, cheaper, and more flexible options. Concrete, long considered a gray, inflexible substance is being used in exciting ways. For instance, according to the company Sollars Home, their homes are cast from concrete on site, using a patented concrete forming system. The benefits of concrete include being termite-proof, fire-proof, tornado and hurricane resistant, and energyefficient. But some companies are going even further. Architects around the globe have begun to print homes using 3D
printers. Construction processes are still being experimented with, but many examples can now be found of homes printed mostly or in small part by 3D construction processes. For example, in Amsterdam, a team of architects constructed a home they call the 3D Print Canal House, using bio-based, renewable materials. The site is both a construction site and a museum. At USC in California, Professor Behrokh Khoshnevis is pushing the fabrication process of what he calls "contour crafting." He hopes to develop a gigantic 3D printer, able to print a whole house in a single run, from its structure to its electrical and plumbing conduits. While some experts are skeptical of some processes, the 3D construction movement seems to be here to stay.
How Much Is Your Home Worth Today? Home prices have been rising steadily. If you haven’t checked lately, you might be surprised at what your home is worth today. Email or text your address to me at Jmchugh@laerrealty.com or 617-699-7442, and I’ll send you a speedy estimate.
The Roar Report
Story: Maestro in the Metro
Jay McHugh / 617-699-7442 most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before he had sold out at a theater in Boston.
A man stood in a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was that time, around 1,100 people went through the station. organized by the Washington Post as part of a social After the first three minutes went by, a middle aged man experiment about perception, taste, and priorities. The outlines were: In a commonplace environment at noticed the playing. He stopped for a few seconds, and an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we then hurried to meet his schedule. A minute later, the stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the box without stopping. A few minutes later, unexpected context? someone leaned against the wall to listen, but then One possible conclusion: If we can’t hear one of the looked at his watch and walked away. best musicians in the world playing the best music A 3 year old boy wanted to listen, but his mother dragged ever written when it’s in the wrong context, what other amazing things are we missing because we him away while the child kept looking back. This action refuse to acknowledge their greatness out of context? was repeated by several other children. All the parents forced the children to move on. In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. He collected $32. When he finished playing, no one noticed. No one knew that the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the
October Quiz Question
October refers to what number in Latin?
Sherwin-Williams 2017 Paint Color of the Year Announcing a new color of the year...are you ready for it? "Poised Taupe." Taupe, that 1970's in-between color is "poised" for a comeback as SherwinWilliams paint color of the year for 2017. Sherwin-Williams describes the color as "Earthen brown combines with conservative grey and the result is a weathered, woodsy and complex neutral that celebrates the imperfections and authenticity of a well-lived life." Elle Décor says it's "like gray and brown had a baby." Sherwin-Williams used a Danish word, "hygge," which they say "loosely translates as creating a sense of coziness and warmth. The soft glow of candle-light, a toasty drink, and the company of family and friends is hygge, but this feeling comes from creating the right atmosphere." The color is a neutral, but in a richer hue that plays well with everything from light blue to deep red to white, black, yellow, and navy.
Pause Your Garlic Here’s a healthy tip. The next time you’re using garlic in a recipe, after you’ve chopped or crushed it, let it sit for 15 minutes before cooking with it. The cancer-fighting properties, allyl sulfide compounds, are produced when the garlic cloves are chopped or crushed. However, heating the garlic just after it is chopped or crushed stops the chemical reaction that needs to take place to produce the sulfides. So pause and give your garlic time to produce those anticancer properties!
October 2016
Jay McHugh/ 617-699-7442
You Can Win a $10 Coffee Card
Thank You! Welcome new clients and Thank You to friends who’ve trusted me to work with you, your friends, family and coworkers. Special thanks to... Mike McVay John Elliott Tom Gorman
It’s easy! Answer the quiz question on page 2. Each month, all correct entries have a chance of winning a FREE $10 coffee card. Put the word QUIZ in the subject line and send it to: JMchugh@laerrealty.com Last month’s question: Why did the phlebotomist go to art school? Answer: To learn to draw blood!
I hope you will feel comfortable introducing me to the people you care about, too!
Last month’s winner: Michelle Bastinelli
The Strange History of Bagels
cheese on your bagel. "Just a schmear" means no, I'd like less than a quarter inch slab of cream cheese.
According to the Einstein Bros. Bagel chain, the first bagel was created in 1863 by a Jewish baker in Vienna, Austria. As a way to thank the king of Poland for protecting Austria from Turkish invaders, the baker created a hard roll in the shape of a riding stirrup to honor the king's prowess as a horseman. "Stirrup" is "bugel" in German.
Bagels originally, and many still today, are made with lye. Yes the lye that burns and was once used to make soap. Why it is sometimes added to bagels? Lye is sodium hydroxide, which is very alkali, corrosive and toxic on its own.
Bagels became popular in Poland, where they were often given as gifts to new mothers for use as baby teething rings. Bagels made their way to Russia, where they were called "bubliki," and in the 1880s, when waves of Eastern European immigrants came to America, bagels did too. Here are a few more bagel facts: For the uninitiated, "just a schmear" is what you tell your bagel guy when he's about to slap a half pound of cream
When a bagel or pretzel dipped in lye solution goes into the oven, the lye reacts with the carbon dioxide given off by steam from the dough and forms a benign carbonate, which makes the bagel safe to eat. The lye browns the dough, giving a distinctive color and flavor, especially noticeable in pretzels. Many bagel makers substitute baking soda for lye, but purists say it’s not the same.
Vitality Makes Life Easier
FREE REPORT
What to Ask Your Home Inspector Before You Buy When you make an offer on a home, the home inspection happens quickly. It’s easy to forget to ask about something important and then suddenly it’s over and too late! This report will help you get the most out of that critical inspection so you’re not caught offguard wishing you had learned more. Jmchugh@laerrealty.com
617-699-7442
Want to improve the quality of your life? Increase your vitality. When you feel vital, it’s easier to get things done. You’re full of life and energy. You jump to do things that you avoid when you feel lethargic, bored or distracted. Vital people seem to be able to do more, feel more, and give more back. But how do you go about increasing your vitality, exactly? Here are some suggestions. You have probably noticed you feel more vital after a good night’s sleep. And after eating light, you have more energy than when you eat heavy. After laughing you feel more alive. After exercising, you feel springier. After being spiritually connected, you feel more loving.
Jay McHugh LAER Realty Partners 173 Chelmsford Street Chelmsford, MA 01824
Would This Help Get My Offer Accepted? In a market where there are bidding wars that often leave first time home buyers out in the cold, will it do any good to write a personal letter to the sellers and include it with your offer? My answer is that it can't hurt. It might help. Some sellers are motivated to have someone live in their house who will love it as much as they did. Most home sellers will ultimately default to the best offer, but if there are multiple best offers, the one that includes a letter could win the day. In the letter, you’d want to describe how you see yourself living in the home. Your kids will swing on the tire swing. You will cook magical cakes in the cozy kitchen. You’ll love the neighbors, and so on. So a letter can’t hurt, and there are other things that you can also do to improve your offer’s odds. Don’t worry…when we find your perfect home, I'll help you do all the little things that give your offer a better chance of being accepted.
Jay McHugh | 617-699-7442 JMcHugh@laerrealty.com
This newsletter is for entertainment purposes only. Credit is given to the authors of articles that are reprinted when the original author is known. This information is solely for entertainment, and should not be substituted for medical, legal, financial or tax advice. Do not hold us responsible for actions you take without proper medical, financial, legal or tax advice. This is not intended as a solicitation of listed property.