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Inside Stephen Hutyra's pub, which he built in his backyard.Stephen HutyraStephen Hutyra built a pub complete with a bar, air conditioning, and more in his backyard.He created the space with the help of family members and a contractor over the course of five years.Now, he hosts friends and family at the $61,000 pub for holiday gatherings and other events.Stephen Hutyra was scrolling Facebook in November 2020 when a post caught his attention.It showed a couple in England who'd built a small pub in their backyard. Their design was simple, but inspiring.The 42-year-old program analyst, who lives in the small town of West, Texas, immediately started imagining what it'd be like to have his own."We have a saying that everything is bigger and better in Texas," he told Business Insider. "So I wanted our pub to be bigger and better than the one I saw in the picture."Hutyra asked his wife if she'd be on board, and as soon as she said yes, he began buying furniture on Facebook Marketplace — despite not having a structure yet.He later took out a bank loan, enlisted a contractor, and spent months perfecting his dream space. Now, Hutyra is the proud owner of The Thirsty Goat, a private pub built right in his backyard.Here's what it's like inside.Stephen Hutyra spent three years in England and grew to love its pub culture.Stephen HutyraHutyra told Business Insider that he'd joined the Navy right after high school and was first stationed in England. He lived in the seaside town of Newquay, where he'd frequent its various nightlife spots."I fell in love with all the pubs, and walking down the street to hang out with both Navy and local friends I'd made," he said. "I'd really missed that part of my life."So when he saw a Facebook post about a UK couple building a small pub in their backyard, a lightbulb went off: Hutyra could create his own in his Texas backyard.In 2020, he decided to build a personal pub in an open section of his backyard.Stephen HutyraFor years, the grassy area had been Hutyra's space to store wood and let the family dogs play.As soon as he envisioned a backyard pub, though, he knew the open land was the perfect spot."I almost immediately started making floor plans, buying tables and chairs off Facebook Marketplace, decor off Amazon, and bar items on eBay," he said.Hutyra also started to virtually design the future pub. He spent hours on Facebook, Pinterest, and Google, where he found inspiration and added ideas to a PowerPoint presentation.Hutyra's plan was kicked into motion three years later in July 2023.Stephen Hutyra's backyard as construction began.Stephen Hutyra"My wife and I were driving back from a vacation in Port Aransas on the Texas coastline, and I said we had to make a pit stop at a bank to sign some loan papers," Hutyra said. "She asked what for, and I said, 'The pub. You gave me your blessing a long time ago.'"She laughed, Hutyra entered the bank, and the couple later left with a $44,320 loan. They also got a permit to build the structure.A month later, in August 2023, the Hutyras had a contractor on-site who broke ground and began building.A construction team got the project started.Stephen Hutyra as he started to build his backyard pub.Stephen HutyraHutyra had never taken on a project of this size, so hiring a contractor was crucial.He first paid them $600 to draw actual building construction plans, inspired by the PowerPoint presentation Hutyra had put together.From there, the team helped run vital water and electricity lines, create the pub's concrete base, and craft its shell, framing, and roof. They also added foam insulation.Four months later, it was Hutyra's turn to take over.Stephen Hutyra's pub during construction.Stephen HutyraContractors worked until November 2023, at which point the pub was turned over to Hutyra.He got to work with the help of his son and father,…

The author and his new partner moved in together in London.Tirachard/Getty ImagesWhen I met my girlfriend, we instantly connected, and we decided to move in together in London.We had only been dating for a short time, so I worried living together would ruin the excitement.But our living arrangement has only deepened our connection with each other.I met an incredible woman on a random outing to London while I was living life in slow motion, alone in a quiet English seaside town.I fell in love in a way that surprised me, both in its speed and its certainty. I knew it was her. The relationship unfolded across train rides, weekends, and the growing realization that what I thought was a temporary chapter in my life was quietly becoming its center.After a few months together, a practical question emerged. Our rent contracts were ending. Suddenly, there was an opportunity to do something that felt both thrilling and reckless: move in together and move back to London after years in a small town.It felt risky, especially after years of living alone and so soon after meeting. But it also felt like an invitation to fully embrace a new chapter abroad, without half-measures.I wasn't sure I knew how to share my space with a partnerMy fear wasn't about commitment in the abstract. It was far more mundane and, in some ways, more unsettling: I didn't know if I actually knew how to live with someone.I had lived with my parents and sisters in Mexico, and I also had roommates during my student exchange in Spain, but that was a long time ago. Ever since leaving my country to see what life had to offer, I had lived entirely on my own.Living alone abroad had sharpened my sense of independence. I had my routines, my rhythms, and my silence. Sharing a space meant renegotiating all of that in a city as intense as London — while also being a foreigner still figuring out where I belonged, and doing it with someone I was still getting to know.I worried about losing the version of myself I had worked hard to build over the past two years. I worried about friction, mismatched habits, and what happens when two people bring different expectations into the same kitchen, the same mornings, and the same tired evenings.Staying separate felt equally wrong, though. At some point, I had to give it a real chance.I was also afraid we'd lose the magicOnce we made the decision, another fear surfaced, one I hadn't said out loud at first. I worried that moving in together would flatten the magic of the relationship.Dating, especially in the early stages, allows for a certain level of curation. You see each other rested, excited, and intentional. Living together removes that buffer almost immediately. There are no intermissions, no reset between interactions.I worried the romance would dissolve into logistics. That excitement would be replaced by grocery lists, chores, and bad habits. What if the softness of the early months would harden under the weight of constant proximity?It felt like skipping too far ahead in the story. I wondered if we were rushing something that deserved more time to breathe. What if she realized I wasn't what she hoped for? What if our energies didn't align? What if it was simply too much?But I learned that the honeymoon phase doesn't end because of shared space. It ends when curiosity stops. Living together, as it turned out, demanded more curiosity, not less.Moving transformed the relationshipThe shift was immediate, but not in the way I expected. Living together didn't make things smaller. It made them deeper.We learned from each other in unglamorous but essential ways: how we start our mornings, how we decompress after long days, and how we navigate stress without turning it into conflict. The relationship became less performative and more real.Living with my girlfriend allowed me to truly know her, not just the version of her that appears on dates. I saw her patience, her habits, her quiet moments, and…

L'OL, qui pleure encore en voyant le montant déboursé pour le faire signer, souhaite se défaire d'Orel Mangala cet hiver. Seul un prêt est possible vue la forme du joueur, suivi par deux clubs italiens. Merci John Textor. Propriétaire de l’Olympique Lyonnais depuis 2022, l’Américain a joué avec le...

Google cofounded Sergey Brin and Larry Page attended the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in 2007.Billy Farrell/Patrick McMullan via Getty ImagesThis post originally appeared in the BI Today newsletter.You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.No more California dreamingCalifornia's billionaires are at a crossroads.One of the biggest business stories kicking off the year is the proposed wealth tax in California. The state's rich and powerful, worth more than $1 billion, would face a one-time 5% tax on their assets if the plan gets approved.The proposal, which aims to address a projected multibillion-dollar state budget deficit, has prompted plenty of grumbling among the California elite.As Business Insider first reported, some have already taken action, including Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.Page converted his secretive family office out of California in late December and incorporated it in Delaware, according to my colleague Hugh Langley's exclusive reporting. Page also recently incorporated other entities in Delaware, including a vehicle used to fund influenza research and another used for his flying car ventures. He lists principal office addresses outside of California for those entities.Separately, an entity tied to both Brin and Page moved out of California at the end of 2025.The timing of these moves is crucial. If the ballot measure is approved in November, it would take effect retroactively for residents living in California as of January 1, 2026. Hence, the rush to move assets before the end of the year.Brin and Page are two of the richest people on the planet, with a combined net worth north of half a trillion dollars, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang struck a very different tone. He said he's "perfectly fine" with the tax and gave no indication he plans to leave Silicon Valley, even if it costs him.Others are more pessimistic. LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman called the proposal "horrendous" for innovation, warning that poorly designed wealth taxes don't raise reliable revenue — they push money and talent elsewhere.Alex Spiro, the celebrity lawyer who represents several billionaires, sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom last month warning that the tax would drive capital and innovation out of California.Earlier this month, White House AI Czar David Sacks predicted Austin would overtake San Francisco as the American tech hub. His social media post ricocheted throughout tech and venture circles, drawing cheers from anti-coastal contrarians and sharp pushback from traditionalists.Where do you stand on the proposed billionaire's tax in California? Let me know what you think at srussolillo@businessinsider.com.Read the original article on Business Insider

La mégalomanie de Trump : une analyse historique La figure de Donald Trump représente l’un des exemples les plus frappants de mégalomanie dans l’histoire politique contemporaine. Chaque jour, il énonce des faits rocambolesques : selon lui, il a mis fin à plusieurs guerres, généré une prospérité sans précédent, et il se présente comme le sauveur […] L’article La chronique de Philippe Besson : Plongée dans la mégalomanie de Trump est apparu en premier sur Les dernières News.