What era was that building built?

Fascinating European real estate eye candy.

One of my favorite hobbies is traveling to new cities all over the world.  The only way I can really take a break from business is to just get out of town. 

While Im taking this so-called “break” from real estate, I have a little ocd habit I can’t shake.  I obsessively try to guess the age of the building Im looking at.  I like to determine what the age of a building is based on its windows, “style” and feel it gives off.   Its so much easier to figure out the age of buildings in the US than in Europe, but the buildings in Europe have so many different features leading you to be unsure of your guess.

Can you tell when these buildings were built? Do you play the same game with your self when you see buildings in a new city?

The countries these buildings are from (starting left to right);

1 Amsterdam, Netherlands

The unique asymmetrical shape reminded me of abstract art in the early late 1970’s/1980’s.

2 Koln, Germany

This beauty was so colorful and the colors were also ombre so shades closed in one direction the colors went from dark to light. This screamed 1970’s to me.

3 Breda Netherlands

The round roofed building is a newer addition, the submarine feel made me think of the 1950’s.

4 Small town between Paris and Breda, Netherlands

Although the style looks sixteenth century the modern cinder blocks give away this building was built in the last 200 years.

5 Breda Netherlands

The size and condition of the windows made me think 1970’s.  In a relatively modern part of the city, but the spires threw me for a loop.  They gave the building a very gothic touch.

6 Breda Netherlands

This restaurant had a huge fireplace in the center of the dining room.  The depth of the walls at the windows looked more than two feet deep. I thought this building seemed turn of the seventeenth century.

What era was that building built?

The other MLS: Reducing our exposure to toxic chemicals in laundry detergents

These days I have been more and more interested in the abundance of unusual chemicals used in our everyday life and have been making a concerted effort to try to reduce my exposure to chemicals.  There is so much information out there in alternative news sources that it’s a challenge to decide which to believe.  But in many cases I’d say I would rather be safe than sorry. 

One thing that has been made clear is that, we can’t determine what’s best to use by getting only information from the main stream media.  Personally I stopped buying tomato products and other canned goods for the BPA (Biphenol A) leaching into the food.  I would never heat food in plastic containers and I worry about certain take out containers made out of plastic. When my pets try to get into my cleaning product cabinet, I don’t worry because they only run into vinegar, baking soda and hydrogen peroxide.  So far, I have only been using regular laundry detergent, but some interesting studies have convinced me to reconsider this norm we all follow.

The Sierra club did a very interesting study which they provided to the EPA, imploring them to restrict use of nonylphenol ethoxylates (NP) in public and commercial cleaners. Their study showed 61% of streams in the US carries contaminants with these chemicals from cleaners and the fish have shown effects of endocrine disruption.  Nonylphenol detergents have been banned in Europe and Canada.

When it comes to personal care products, using the best and most natural ingredients has been a focus for me for much longer. I recently saw this video about laundry detergents that makes me want to stop using them completely. The alternative is 2 magnets in the washer (MLS) which may work as well or better than laundry soap.  I haven’t tried this product but this video from Water Liberty intrigues me to try this new method to reduce chemicals in the environment. Also to reduce my skins exposure to dangerous chemicals that could have negative consequences. The other bonus besides being gentler to the environment is the huge cost savings of never buying laundry detergents and softeners again.  Im definitely going to have to try this myself and I will post my results.

http://www.waterliberty.com/detergent/video.php

Update:

I received my magnets in a tiny inconspicuous box.  The first load I washed white napkins covered with coffee stains, grape juice. The napkins came out completely clean as if I had used laundry soap. I did add some baking soda to the water as an additional water softener since it felt so unnatural to start a wash without adding anything to it.

The only issue is that the texture of towels seems very different, and a bit more coarse. But the wash is clean without the use of laundry detergents with unknown ingredients.  

Whats in your family's drinking water?

I cant help being political in social media

There have been many discussions over the years in Activerain about maintaining a neutral position in political issues so as to not alienate any potential business.  Ive been in the business for 12 years and always felt that perhaps that it was best to remain apolitical and leave those discussions to have only with social friends.

Can we really say that politics has no bearing on real estate and community?  Based on the experiences of our AR friends, Andrea Swindler “Denials and Discrimination With a Bank of America Short Sale” , or Gail Robinson “Today I Was Told by BOA My Home is Going into Foreclosure” , I’d say that politics and the economy are intrinsic to real estate.

Over the last few years I have acquired more and more friends on my facebook account, and more realtors and professionals I do business with.  This is probably where my lines first started to blur about mixing politics with real estate.

As our post-post modern world becomes more chaotic, I really find I cant hold myself back from expressing my opinions on the issues that matter the most to me.  One of those issues is the fluoridation of water.

This is a very informative video about fluoride from an attorney who represents Fluoride Alert Network fluoridealert.org

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX0s-4AyWfI

I signed this Petition to remove fluoride from Connecticut Drinking water.  Many communities across the US have also joined in petitioning to remove this additive from public water, some successfully like Dallas.  If we see something in our communities we don’t agree with, its imperative to be take some action to make our world a better place.  If we try to remain impartial or neutral, then we are not really participating members of our community.