Author Archives: John Walker

Color of the Year 2019

8 Shades of Gray.  Not 50.  That is how many test strips of paint colors I have in my office at home.  The same number that I had in the Living Room before “Barren Gray” was chosen and painted on the walls.  It is a much more modern approach.

Still, others asked why I used test strips at all and simply didn’t pick Metropolitan Gray, it is apparently, well…

 

The color of the year for 2019.

So the year has started off correctly.

In the realm of paint, I will point out that our local store pushed heavily to tint the white trim paint with some version of yellowing to make the paint last longer as over the first 10 years white paint begins to yellow in any event. And while they are right to some degree, it loses the pop of the white color from the beginning, so why bother.

Now, the even more interesting trick is to use the new (only 8-10 years old) Benjamin Moore waterborne alkyd paint which requires that one pays attention to directions and specifications. I have just begun and am getting great results. True, I am not in the first generation of the paint; however, I also read the instructions thoroughly and the forums with an eye to what year the post was on and how correctly the individual followed the instructions/process. As a result, mine is going on fine, self leveling, drying appropriately and looking amazing.

How the Use of Home Siding Materials Has Changed Over 40 Years

Fixr

The video above was created using the results from the census on exterior finishes of single-family homes. It looks at the historical use of wood, brick, stucco, vinyl, fiber and ‘other’ options starting in 1977 and ending in 2017. The census accounts for up to 1.6 million houses each year and includes homes across the U.S.A., so provides a broad look at how finishes have risen and fallen in popularity over the full period. These changes in popularity not only account for aesthetic fashionability but also availability, cost and practicality. From a trend perspective, each finish dominated a specific decade, in terms of houses completed in that finish. Brick dominated the 70s, wood dominated the 80s, vinyl, which only became available in the 90s, dominated that decade, and stucco and fiber cement dominated the 2000s. ‘Other’ materials also saw their highest use during the late 80s and 90s.

Reviewing eLearning Books

This spring I reviewed the Packt publishing book Moodle 3 E-Learning Course Development – Fourth Edition

Within a week after it being published I had already recommended it for a teacher/consultant to use it to setup there online training course in support of their book/program. Take a look it is pretty great.

I have just finished reviewing another Moodle book for Packt which should be officially published soon.