Bicoloured-Python-Rock-Snake 🦬🪐🌲

People often say, “I hate when people paint brick! It ruins it.” But we’ve built some beautiful painted brick buildings at Building Culture. The key is knowing what kind of paint to use. Drop a dry brick into a bucket of water, and it will soak up moisture like a sponge. Brick is porous; it naturally absorbs water and releases it. The problem with typical paint, latex or oil-based, is that it forms a coating that essentially seals the brick. What happens when the brick gets wet? The water can’t get out. It’s trapped. This can ultimately damage the brick, particularly in climates where it freezes, and especially with historic, multi-wythe masonry buildings. The brick needs to breathe. But beyond the masonry's durability, it’s also an aesthetic issue. Peeling paint is ugly. The right answer is a mineral stain, and the three options are limewash, potassium silicate, and sol silicate. Mineral stains don't sit on top of the brick; they penetrate the surface and fuse with it. They are breathable, colored with earth pigments, highly alkaline – making them mold resistant – and, depending on which one you choose, can be far more durable. A well-applied sol silicate can last over 50 years. Limewash, on the other hand, washes away over time. Literally. But it doesn’t look like peeling paint. It looks weathered. It’s actually the look people are often going for, but they try to achieve it with a faux-aged finish. But if you just use the right material and then let time do its thing? You can get a beautiful outcome. See the pictures below. These were built in 2018, so the limewash is now 7+ years old. When first applied, it’s a solid white. But after seven years, the limewash is wearing away – in a natural way. If you want this look, use limewash. If you want a solid paint that will last for decades, use potassium silicate or sol silicate. The Germans actually invented potassium silicate in the 19th century because limewash wouldn’t hold up in their harsh climates. Sol silicate is a newer invention and very impressive. I think the reason people often hate on painted brick in the US is because 95% of the time, it’s the wrong paint. The rubber-like coating from oil-based, latex, and even many “masonry paints” smooths out all the texture of the brick. You lose a lot of character. Mineral stains don’t do this. It still feels like a real brick building. The texture comes through. People don’t go to Europe and hate the painted masonry buildings. They’re beautiful and charming. It’s because they’re using the right paint. One more key (and nerdy) fact for why people love European painted brick, but not US painted brick: mineral stains have a characteristic called “double refraction”. One light wave hits it, and it splits off two. It gives it this soft glow. But NOT glossy. It’s actually a chalky look – but doesn’t look flat (as we think of flat paint in the US, which reflects very little light). It’s chalky AND glows. That’s the double refraction. You simply can’t replicate this with petroleum-based products. It’s a chemical thing. Don’t get me wrong: I love natural brick buildings, and we do a lot of those. But, with the right paint, and for the right project, painted brick can be absolutely stunning. You can check out mineralstains dot com if you are looking for a supplier of quality mineral stains. Have had the owner on the podcast and he's extremely knowledgeable.

Serious question for the men. How often do you replace your wallet?

One thing that depresses young men is the lack of a frontier. There’s no distant shore to sail to, no “Wild West” where fortunes can be made by the enterprising. It’s one big shopping mall now. The ‘van life’ trend was widely mocked, but where else can one feel free?

People are so gullible and dumb. You can get 22 tons of these delivered most anywhere for $700.

Even the price for buying rocks in America has skyrocketed These basic irregular rocks are priced at $175-$229+ per boulder In 2019, these same rocks would be priced at $20-$50. At name brand stores they’d go for around $80-$120 for the medium ones Overall rocks have increased in price about 40% just since 2019 We’re getting ripped off on literally everything in America…. And now rocks too?? Are we really going to accept paying hundreds of dollars for rocks that used to be $20 bucks….

how did people get last names in the first place did everyone just pick their own

the vast majority of babies ever born were raised by parents who would consider live video monitoring of a sleeping baby so excessive they’d be confused by the concept. having a baby is hard in a bunch of ways, but a whole lot of parents are making it much harder than it needs to be. they’re doing their best to shame everyone else into having a harder time than necessary too.

this is what the average 9-5 outside of nyc looks like