Smile: We're Off to a New Week

Fun...

Flying sure is fun these days.

Start off your week with some fun:  

-- Allstate: Smart kid:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9OF8lhqJXY

-- Capital One;  Stepping stones:  https://www.ispot.tv/ad/Am7I/capital-one-quicksilver-stepping-stones-feat-samuel-l-jackson

-- Kia: Shoe store:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJdM86n0qOs

-- GEICO: Pottery crushed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EeR0TUitgw

-- KPMG: Women's leadership:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXN0RLNdTa0

-- Porsche: Possession: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/APIK/porsche-911-carrera-gts-possession

Photo: Giphy, Pinterest.

Tomorrow on The Allen Report:  

The President's Secret Standby Planes.

Musical Moments: A Wonderful Tan Solo Tu

Maravilloso...

Viva Cinco de Mayo!

Musical Moments features music and artists I've enjoyed over the years.

Here's a special Cinco de Mayo treat: Alejandra Guzman and Franco Da Vita's maravilloso performance of Tan Solo Tu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfOsu6Lvi6A

Photos;  Tumblr, Pinterest.

Tomorrow on The Allen Report:

Smile: We're Off to a New Week.

Darien Sees Spring Housing Market Gains

Weekly update...

Spring glory.

Darien's spring residential real estate market saw further gains in the week ending today.

Results, according to the Darien MLS, were:

-- 22 new listings of property for sale;

-- 16 price changes;

-- Eight accepted offers;

-- One property going under contract, and

-- Seven closings.

For more:

Tomorrow on The Allen Report: 

Musical Moments: A Wonderful Tan Solo Tu.

Cringeworthy Home Inspection Nightmares

Unbelievable...

Watch that first step.

Home inspectors have the eye and experience to catch code violations and household damage before you, the home buyer, get stuck with them, Timothy Dahl reports on  popularmechanics.com.

Some problems, such as dirty filters and termites, need to be addressed but are really just mundane problems that any old house can suffer, he wrote.

Code violations, on the other hand, are disasters waiting to happen. Some are idiotic oversights or corner-cuttings that will accelerate the wear and tear on a home, while others are downright dangerous for anyone living inside, Dahl added.

For a gallery of some unbelievable transgressions: http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/outdoor-projects/how-to/g2409/23-home-inspection-nightmares-that-really-happened/?src=social-email

What? Oh, you wanted water to go in the sink?

What were they thinking?

Photos: Pinterest.

Tomorrow on The Allen Report: 

The latest Darien real estate update.

First "Made in China" Aircraft Carrier Launched

Stepping stone...

China's first homegrown aircraft carrier leaves dry dock.

The first aircraft carrier designed and built in China left dry dock last week.

The new vessel still lags behind its US counterparts technologically, but Sam Roggeveen, a senior fellow at Sydney's Lowy Institute, told CNN it is likely just a "stepping stone" to China's next generation of aircraft carriers, Steve Jiang and Ben Westcott report on cnn.com.

For more, including a video of the new carrier: http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/26/asia/china-second-aircraft-carrier-launch/

Photos: cnn.com

Tomorrow on The Allen Report: 

Cringeworthy Home Inspection Nightmares.

Zillow Unveils New Home-buying Calculator for Millennials

Does that add up?

Which one can I afford is a key question for house hunters.

Zillow is launching a budget-centric website for younger buyers. That won’t solve the shortage of homes they can afford, but it can help with comparisons about the costs of owning and renting Patrick Clark reports on bloomberg.com.

The new site is built around a budget calculator that computes mortgage payments, property taxes, and other carrying costs and crunches them into a single monthly bill, Clark wrote.

The idea is to let users make an easy comparison between the cost of owning and renting a home. The website is built to toggle among English, Spanish, and Mandarin in a nod to the diversity of the millennial generation, he added.

For more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-02/a-homebuying-calculator-for-millennials-does-that-add-up

Photos: Giphy.

Tomorrow on The Allen Report: 

First "Made in China" Aircraft Carrier Launched.

Turning Negative Thinkers Into Positive Ones

New study results...

Pack up your troubles, and let's have some fun.

I lived for half a century with a man who suffered from periodic bouts of depression, so I understand how challenging negativism can be, Jane Brody reports on nytimes.com.

I wish I had known years ago about the work Barbara Fredrickson, a psychologist at the University of North Carolina, has done on fostering positive emotions, in particular her theory that accumulating “micro-moments of positivity,” like my daily interaction with children, can, over time, result in greater overall well-being, Brody wrote.

The research that Dr. Fredrickson and others have done demonstrates that the extent to which we can generate positive emotions from even everyday activities can determine who flourishes and who doesn’t. More than a sudden bonanza of good fortune, repeated brief moments of positive feelings can provide a buffer against stress and depression and foster both physical and mental health, their studies show.

For more: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/03/well/live/turning-negative-thinkers-into-positive-ones.html?smid=nytcore-iphone-share&smprod=nytcore-iphone

Photos: Pinterest, nytimes.com

Tomorrow on The Allen Report: 
Zillow Unveils New Homebuying Calculator for Millenials.