Shed of the class

Own a backyard shed, deck box, hose cart, snow shovel, or garage cabinet? Chances are it’s made by Suncast, a Batavia, Illinois-based company that has revolutionized the outdoor storage and home and garden space since its founding in 1984.

For 40 years, Suncast’s secret weapon has been high-density resin, a synthetic compound in granular form that’s lighter, more durable, and easier to maintain than wood or metal. It arrives via rail cars and is stored in the company’s 20 silos (each of which holds 200,000 lbs. of pellets), then is pumped as needed through pipes to specialized state-of-the-art machines. These powerful transformers heat the resin into liquified form, then mold it into a finished piece—such as a roof panel or wall section for an outdoor shed. Proprietary resin casting techniques also enable Suncast to fashion attractive textures, patterns, and hues, mimicking the look and aesthetics of more costly materials.

Learn more about Suncast and the secret behind its success by reading my latest article, which happens to be the cover story for the April issue of The Costco Connection, available here.

Why do car insurance rates keep climbing?

Car insurance rates continue to climb as inflation, changing driver habits, labor shortages and issues with the supply chain all influence premiums. A report by S&P Global found that the 10 largest insurers in the nation hiked their premiums by nearly 9% year over year in 2023. It is predicted that car insurance rates will continue to rise.

A rate increase can be an unwelcome surprise, particularly if you are already struggling to cover the cost of your car insurance. Learn why car insurance costs are increasing, what you can do to prepare for a rate increase and how to keep your car insurance affordable by reading my newest story for Carinsurance.com, available here.

For those tough cleaning jobs, make it a pressure washer

A garden hose just won’t cut it for most outdoor jobs. When you want cleaning on steroids, you’ll need a pressure washer: a powerhouse appliance that uses pressurized water to remove dirt, grime, grease, stains, mold, paint, and other unwanted elements from surfaces. Connected to your outdoor spigot, this handy device uses a motor-driven pump to create a flow with high-pressure resistance. You control the water jet via a trigger on a spray gun; change the pressure and spray pattern by swapping out the nozzle on the end of the wand.

Learn how to choose the right pressure washer for your needs by reading my newest article on this topic, published by The Costco Connection magazine, available here.

Cineversary podcast celebrates 50th anniversary of Monty Python and the Holy Grail

In Cineversary podcast episode #80, host ⁠Erik Martin⁠ lifts a golden chalice to toast the golden anniversary of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, directed by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones. Joining him on this quest is Darl Larsen, a film and animation professor at Brigham Young University and author of A Book About the Film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Together, they collect several nice and inexpensive shrubberies, decipher obscure Swedish subtitles, and try to convince listeners that they’re not quite dead as they explore why this film still matters 50 years later.

Darl Larsen

To listen to this episode, click here or click the "play" button on the embedded streaming player below. Or, you can stream, download, or subscribe to Cineversary wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Learn more about the Cineversary podcast at www.cineversary.com and email show comments or suggestions to cineversarypodcast@gmail.com.

What happened to the metaverse?

Neil Stephenson introduced the metaverse as a concept in his 1992 novel Snow Crash, where he depicted it as a digital realm where users, represented by avatars, engage in a simulated reality. Fast-forward more than 30 years, and the concept is often associated with platforms like Roblox, Fortnite, Meta’s Horizon Worlds, and the Sandbox. However, these typically represent individual, proprietary experiences rather than the unified virtual world that was originally envisioned.

The metaverse and its related technology have surely evolved, but why has it not quite lived up to the hope many had placed in it? This is the topic I explore in my latest article for Destination CRM, available here.

Why affordable housing is important

With inflation taking its toll over the past few years, everybody is yearning to pay less for anything nowadays – from groceries and gas to tuition and health care. The same can be said of real estate, especially considering that the median home price is approximately $416,700, per the National Association of Realtors.

Where can affordable housing be found? And how is “affordable housing” defined? For answers, read my newest article for The Post and Courier, available here.