May 15, 2008 AsktheBuilder News
What's in This Issue
HOT ATTICS
TIPS FROM A BUDDY
4-WAY SWITCH VIDEO
US SENATOR JON KYL
Hot Attics!
Soaring temperatures are just around the corner. When your attic gets hot, and I mean hot like 140 F or more, the insulation that is supposed to keep you cool gets hot. You don't believe me? Take an old thermometer and bury it deep in the insulation so it is in contact with your ceiling. Go take a reading at 5:00 p.m. after the attic has been cooking all day. You will be shocked at what the thermometer reading is.
If you want to lower the temperature of your insulation, which in turn causes your air conditioner to run less and use less energy, you may want to install a radiant barrier. Please read this past column of mine about a opens in a new windowRadiant Barrier product I tested. Then read the other columns in my opens in a new windowRadiant-Barrier category to get a pretty clear picture of how they work.
Tips from a Buddy
I belong to a secret group of Internet Entrepreneurs. Over the years, some of the members have become dear and trusted friends. One of them is Chuck Eglinton. Chuck has a passion for electronic gadgets, travel deals, and how to get amazing bargains on top-quality things. Each time he discovers something special, he sends out a quick email to a select group of his friends.
I am on that list, and just last Friday he told me about a $99 deal on a TomTom One GPS unit. I immediately bought one, got it two days ago with the free shipping, and once again Chuck's advice was solid. The unit is now in my youngest daughter's car. It is great security for Kathy and I as our youngest just started driving and I worry about her getting lost, especially at night.
Chuck has given me permission to invite you to his opens in a new windowvery exclusive list. I may regret this in the long run as you may beat me to a deal. You will learn that when you get his email, you better read it and react. The deals he tells us about are never unlimited.
4-Way Switch Video
Would you like to discover a correct way to wire the magical opens in a new window4-Way switch? I just loaded a video about this to my website. These special switches are required when you desire to control a light(s) from three or more switch locations. There are three places in my own home where I have one or more lights controlled by four different switches!
After you opens in a new windowwatch the video, check out the new gadget to the left of the video. This is a new tool at AsktheBuilder that suggests other videos of mine that are related to the one you just watched. It has some incredible technology behind it. Tell me what you think of that gadget, and how it can be improved.
US Senator Jon Kyl
A week or so ago, I promised to tell you a story about a phone call I had with a United States Senator. Now don't think that I am going to get political on you, as this is a Home-Improvement newsletter. You didn't sign up for politics, and I am by no means a political pundit.
The purpose of this story is to be motivational in the event you are upset by anything at all that is impacting your life. Perhaps the cost of gasoline is crushing you. Maybe you are aghast at the cost of food. Do you operate a small business, like I do, and are there things that are holding you back? I think you get the message.
Several years ago, I got a phone call from a reader named Patricia Allen. Patricia lives up in the mountains in eastern Arizona. She read my columns for years in the Arizona Republic and started to write to me with questions. I always answered, and on this particular day she called me with a sense of urgency.
Her husband and their neighbor were about to make some adjustment cuts on laminate tops for the neighbor's kitchen. Patricia felt like they were way out of their comfort zone and said, "Tim, would you help me and talk with my neighbor?" I said, "Sure, what is his number and I will call him."
"You don't have to do that as he is standing right here. His name is Senator Jon Kyl." I said, "State senator or US?" Patricia responded, "US."
Well, I gulped and talked with Senator Kyl. He was very pleasant, apologized for interrupting my day and was very polite. After I told him how to make the cuts and not ruin the tops, he said, "What can I do for you?"
"Well, just call me back and give me a full report," I said.
Forty-five minutes later the phone rang, and at the end of the line was a beaming Senator Kyl. He told me the job was a huge success, and that my advice had saved him $6,000 in new countertops. In an effort to repay me, Senator Kyl offered to take Kathy and I to dinner the next time we were in Phoenix. I said thanks, but that the odds of that were slim.
But I did ask him, "Senator Kyl, I am really interested in the Flat Tax initiative. What does it take to get that into law?" He responded, "Tim, you need to get a grass roots movement started. Many of us in Congress really pay very close attention to messages from a grass roots campaign."
Since that call, I can attest this to be true. I just completed ten years of public service in my own village - eight years on our Planning Commission and two years as an elected Councilman.
In two weeks, I have a meeting with Congressman Steve Chabot, the standing member of the opens in a new windowSmall Business Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. I will be discussing how the Internet and my small business interact. The point is I am trying to make is that we need to reach out and make a difference.
If you are upset about anything, contact the local, state or federal elected officials who can change things. Start a national movement. Get involved. You don't think it is possible to make a difference? Think again. Go read how opens in a new windowMothers Against Drunk Drivers got started. You have what it takes to be the next Candy Lightner.
Index of past newsletters.
