AsktheBuilder.com News - November 27, 2022

Issue #1209 (I think...)

Dear ,

Did you know I was a train conductor for two years? Go here to see the photo for proof! Such fun! With that said, "All Abooooard". 

Now you know why at least once a week I synchronize my LL Bean Field watch at time.gov. The watch is so accurate it usually only gains about one second per week.

The Past Week

There's never a dull moment around the Ask the Builder world headquarters.

Early in the week I had a back-n-forth email exchange with my dear friend Beth who lives just south of San Francisco. She appreciated me sharing a new word in last Sunday's newsletter. The word was nugatory.

And in the spirit of playing poker like my mom and dad did with their friends sitting around a special poker table in our dining room all those years ago, Beth saw my word and raised me one. Here it is in use:

I find that when I inveigle with the deepest sincerity, magic happens. But I do believe not everyone possesses the skills to inveigle!

Then we had an incident of bank fraud. This is why you need to check your accounts every other day. A scammer somehow obtained the account number and routing number of one of our personal accounts and skimmed $500 from it.

We called the bank's 800# and dealt with a very nice young woman who initiated a fraud claim. It was resolved within four days.

To top it all off, Kathy and I got a new dog. A big dog. A big sweet dog that is bred to look like a Dire wolf. They're called American Alsatian / Dirus - "a lamb in wolf's clothing." And I must say, she's a lamb.

Who doesn't want a toddler underfoot? That's what a puppy is. As you know, you must watch a toddler all the time or suffer the consequences. The biggest issue is making sure the puppy is safe from getting into trouble around your previously non-puppy-proofed house!

As you can imagine, the routine at the Carter house has flipped just like the north and south magnetic poles do every 200,000 to 300,000 years.

The cage in the above photo is used to contain her at night. We leave the door open during the day and she loves to rest in it when she's not in her other lair behind the living room couch.

In the morning I always have to create a barrier with chairs and stools to keep her out of the living room. If you don't watch her like a hawk does a mouse, within minutes she's munching on a book, a plant, or any other object that's within reach of her mouth.

Yes, I know all about chew toys, chew sticks, blah blah blah. Just as I love watermelon and Kathy abhors it, even the aroma, this dog seems to prefer chewing on books rather than a Kong Wubba.

My guess is within a few months she'll have trained me quite well. I know, you're wondering what her name is. It's Willow.

Kathy and I purchased this placid beauty from Jennifer and Jay. Jennifer is a subscriber to this newsletter. You can get your own lamb with huge paws and see countless STUNNING photos by going to their website - Direwolfdogs.com

Diplomatic Nightmare

Check out the following photo. Tell me how you'd break the news to the person that doesn't know how to clean a tile floor.

Go here to read the story about Sarah and another unnamed woman who would have bitten my head off had we been in the same room.

Two Tips

Tip 1: Establish a good relationship with your local bank branch manager. You do this by going inside to do your banking. Strike up conversations with the tellers and assistant managers. You might even schedule a short meeting to introduce yourself to the bank manager.

The fact I've always done this paid off in spades this past week with our fraud claim. Michelle, my branch manager, treated me like I was family and reached out to me everyday to give me an update.

Tip 2: Create electronic calendar reminders to complete important tasks that WILL save you money. The key is to combine tasks into groups such that you treat them like a dentist or doctor's appointment where you dedicate at least TWO HOURS to working on them. Do this at least four times a year.

Examples:

• replace smoke/CO detector batteries
• vacuum hair/dust from refrigerator coil
• change filter in whole-house water purifier
• change air filter and oil in your lawn mower
• start and run all small engines every 3 months

PETA Stops Reindeer Use

It's been reported that the People that Eat Tasty Animals (PETA) has issued a proclamation that Santa NOT use reindeer to deliver prizes, peace, and goodwill this Christmas. Instead, they DEMAND the use of propane. Go here to see this NONSENSE!

Tim Carter

Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com

500+ Contacts in 14 Days - www.W3ATB.com

Do It Right, Not Over! 

P.S. I received a fair amount of email about Brian winning the MISS Greater Derry NH beauty pageant. I covered this in the last issue.

Just about everyone who reached out wanted to know how to solve this insanity. As you might suspect, I had formulated an answer to this question. It took the form as a letter to the editor I sent to the Weirs Times months ago. Here is but one simple solution to all this transgender poppycock: