Today started out to be a bluebird day here in central New Hampshire. Blue skies are forecast and temperatures are supposed to scratch their way up to 38 F. But as often happens, gray clouds move in robbing us of the much-needed infrared energy from our friend the sun!

The beginning of December for me means winter is here. Already we've had two pesky snowfalls. The last one was so wet it was impossible for the snowblower to handle it.

The snow was like concrete. It was crazy heavy, yet only 3 inches deep. You could only take a small shovelful, pick it up, and walk with it to the edge of the driveway. I was none too happy out there moving the frozen water from one place to another.

I then started to put my driveway into perspective. The previous two weeks I had been re-reading a book I read about fifteen years ago, Nothing Like it In the World.

This book will blow your mind, if you've had the good fortune to drive out West - especially along Interstate 80 from Omaha, Nebraska to Sacramento, California.

Those railroad tracks and trains you see paralleling the interstate highway are the subject of the book. You're looking at the transcontinental railroad.

Shoveling my driveway, and it's a pretty big one including the apron, allowed me to think about the 30,000 men who used their bare hands to do all the work day after day in just about any weather.

In the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California, the industrious and hard-working Chinese immigrants had to shovel away, by hand, enormous piles of snow from the tracks so the supply trains could move rails, ties, fishplates, bolts, food, and everything else to the crews hard at work in the Great Basin in Nevada. I'm talking 30-foot snow drifts they had to hand shovel.

They didn't have fancy Gore Tex fabric to keep them dry. Can you imagine the quality of the shoes or boots they had?

Cuts through solid rock were done by hand. Tunnels up in the Sierra Nevada mountains were created all by hand at the mind-numbing rate of less than a foot of progress per day on each of four rock faces in the grand summit tunnel. That was even with crews working around the clock.

There were no power tools, no giant machines to cut or drill into rock. Blasted rock and soil were lifted by hand in most cases into wheelbarrows and horse-drawn carts.

There were crude horse-drawn graders that worked in the soft soil of the Great Plains, but hundreds of miles of track was laid on ground where men had to move the material with their hands.

This is a FANTASTIC book that will hold your interest. I guarantee it.

CLICK HERE to order it.

Winter Topics

Two days ago, I received a press release about a newer deicing product. It was a typical press release that extolled all the benefits but, as usual, avoided the "How does this compare in cost to regular deicing salt?" question.

I decided to do the math for you. I BEG YOU to just skim over this very short column. I want it to just be a reminder for you to get out some paper and a pencil when a salesperson is trying to play one or two Jedi mind tricks on you.

CLICK HERE to read about Entry Ice Melt.

Why is My House So COLD Tim?

CLICK HERE to discover a few of the reasons why you might be shivering in your home as winter descends upon you.

Do DeIcing Salts HURT Concrete?

CLICK HERE to discover the truth about deicing salts and concrete.

Why Those Rooms are SO COLD!!!!

CLICK HERE to discover why those rooms in your home are SO COLD when other rooms are just fine.

New Stocking Stuffer!

Okay, I know I promised you that my stocking stuffer ideas would be $15 or less. I went over budget a little bit this week, but believe me it's a great product. Christmas is now just over three weeks away!

Here are the past stocking stuffer ideas if you're a new subscriber:

Super Useful LED Headband Light

Handy Tiny Screwdriver Set

10X Hand Magnifier - Mine's 45 years old!

Life-Saving Fire Starter - You MUST GET THIS ONE

What Happens When the ATM is BROKEN?

Now, for this week's stocking stuffer:

This is a BRAND NEW tape measure. I love it because of the SIZE of the tape.

I GUARANTEE you that whomever you give this to is going to LOVE YOU. Wait until you see how it fits into your hand.

CLICK HERE to see more photos and a video of the tape.

That's enough for a Saturday morning. I need to get ready to go to Skip's Shop with my son. Skip's is in Bristol, NH and is always an adventure. Lots of delicious eye candy there!

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Super Clean Man - www.StainSolver.com
Morse Maniac - www.W3ATB.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

You may be a new subscriber. WOOT! Welcome to the island!

If you're an island inhabitant of record for any period of time, don't try to play any pranks on our new friends!

Christmas is four weeks from today! Holy potato!

It already looks like Christmas here in central New Hampshire as a week ago we got about 6 inches of snow, and overnight we got another 3 inches of wet snow. The photo below shows you what it looked like last week here two days before Thanksgiving.

That drooping thing in the photo is one half of my amateur radio zepp dipole antenna. Just last night I was communicating with a person in Italy using that silly wire!

Don't Get Sent to the Dog House!

I BEG you to watch the following two short videos.

If you're a woman, you'll howl with laughter.

If you're a man, you'll relive a past horror or I may save you from a miserable fate. CLICK HERE for the videos.

Revised Columns

I continue to revise columns at the website for you. It's a fun project because it allows me to see how much extra stuff I've stumbled across in the 25 years I've been doing AsktheBuilder.com.

What's really interesting is to see some of my first columns and compare them to my current writing style. Wow, what a difference!

The three I've got for you today I think you'll find to be most helpful.

The columns all have superb VIDEOS in them that will save you time and sweet moola.

You can click the photo below or the headline to get to them.

I BEG YOU to at least SKIM over each one so if you have the problem in the future, you'll get a reminder from your gray cells that I've got your answer waiting.

Recessed Lights Go On and Off!

Brick Patio Repair - Surprise Answer

Patio Moss Mold - Easy to Remove & Prevent

Shopping at Amazon?

If you're shopping at Amazon, you can help ensure this newsletter continues to end up in your inbox.

Please CLICK HERE and use my affiliate link to do your shopping at Amazon.com. I get a small commission on stuff you order. It helps keep the lights on here at AsktheBuilder.com.

Winter Clothing Test Begins!

I just wanted you to know I'm about to begin a field test of the Dickies Sanded Duck Coverall. I'm also testing the same item but in the bib version.

We had a cold biting day here about ten days ago where I tried them for just a little bit outdoors. They did really well.

The true test is wearing them all day.

You'll know more soon. If you want to discover more in the meantime, CLICK HERE.

That's enough for today.

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Super Clean Man - www.StainSolver.com
Morse Man CW - www.W3ATB.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

You may be perplexed as to how in the world a puff of wind might open a home improvement expert's front door.

Allow me to shed more light on my true story from yesterday.

1. The front door has a deadbolt. It was not engaged.

2. The door's primary latch operated by the lever handle, was not in the keeper. The keeper was installed in such a way that you need to press the door against the weatherstripping with moderate force for the latch to extend into the jamb. This provides for a great seal with minimal air infiltration in howling Nor'easters here in New Hampshire.

3. The door can appear that it's both closed and latched when in fact it's not latched.

4. The last person to bed is responsible for ensuring the security of the castle. I'm always the first person to bed.

5. My house is at the base of a small mountain that has a sheer cliff face caused by the last Continental Glacier back 15,000 years ago. The tall hills and small mountains all around me create downbursts of wind. I can often see it happening on the surface of the lake water.

6. The motion sensor that's part of the Ring doorbell button below solved the mystery.

If you didn't read the Ring review yesterday, you might do it today. CLICK HERE to see the amazing doorbell.

I'll be back next week with more excitement.

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Certified Organic Clean Man - www.StainSolver.com
Morse Code & More Man - www.W3ATB.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

Did you just subscribe? Welcome and let me tell you now this is a pretty strange issue of my newsletter. Hang in there.

Old friend or newer subscriber? You're going to LOVE this issue. If not, reply and tell me why. March through the entire thing as there's great stuff here the day after Thanksgiving.

I'm a little groggy writing this as I didn't get a good night's sleep last night. It's now just after sunrise here on a bitter cold New Hampshire morning. Brilliant sunshine is pouring into my man cave, but it's only 9 F.

Last night just after 2 am, I hear a knuckle rapping on my bedroom door.

"Dad! Dad! Get up!"

My son was talking in a hushed voice and I got up from a deep sleep and was groggy.

Opening the door, "What's going on?"

"Dad, are both cats in the bedroom?"

We have two indoor cats, both of them are pretty special as they're a mix of domestic and wild cats. With a fog swirling inside my head, I couldn't quite figure out why at 2 am in the morning it was important to know that.

Quickly I open the door enough to let light in and I see both cats in the bedroom. I then went out into the hallway as I could see my son was pretty upset. He had an unusual wild-eyed look.

"What's going on?"

"Dad, the front door was wide open!"

Sure enough, the hallway was cold. The floor was damn cold. The choke in my brain had just been pushed in and I was starting to think more clearly.

The previous 24 hours had been windy as an arctic cold front was our Thanksgiving gift. Temperatures were in the single digits overnight and the wind chill was below zero.

But going to bed, I remember the wind had pretty much died down.

Was there a burglar inside? Had my son scared him as he came up the steps?

We decided to go room by room and clear the house. I should have grabbed my Sig 9mm from the bedroom, but didn't. We live in a rural part of New Hampshire and there's a raging opioid epidemic that's causing personal devastation and increased crime. Burglaries and break-ins are now as common as loons on the lakes.

We went into every room, opened every closet, looked behind all the shower curtains. We looked everyplace we could think of where someone might be hiding. Nothing.

I decided to go out the front door to see if there were any footprints in the dusty snow on the driveway. Once again, nothing. I needed to get back in as I had gone out barefoot.

"Dad, could the wind have opened the door? It just doesn't seem possible. Look how tight the weatherstripping is."

I tested the door and it did take moderate effort to get it open once the latch was out of the keeper.

"Anything's possible."

We said goodnight and I went back into the bedroom. But I was wired and awake. Kathy wanted to know what was going on and I told her.

My mind was whirling as I lay in bed.

It's damn possible a burglar did try to get in but got scared off.

Maybe I should go look next door as my neighbors, their house is the first down the driveway, are gone for Thanksgiving and maybe the burglar went first to their house and left footprints in the light snow on their drive.

Then in hit me like a bolt out of the blue.

My Ring app!

The motion sensors on my Ring floodlight cam and the Ring doorbell would have captured the movement of the wretched burglar!

Each time anything moves in front of either device it records video and creates an event on my app.

I sprung up out of bed like I was sitting on a spring and fired up my phone. Here's what I saw:

The timestamp in the red oval says it all. That's where the motion detector saw me go out the front door in my Monty Python PJs, t-shirt, and bad hair with bare feet. If I had clicked that gray arrowhead to the right I could have watched video of myself. I'll spare you that imagery.

The red arrow points to the last time anyone was on the front porch. That was me on Thanksgiving morning going outdoors with my STIHL electric leaf blower to blast off the dusting of snow on the front porch and sidewalk.

I decided to go share this intel with my son and it's a damn good thing I did.

I proceed to walk down the steps to his bedroom and there he was at the bottom of the steps with his loaded AR-15 in his hands. He was ready to take out the intruder.

Little did I know that he was very freaked out thinking that there was still a burglar in the house hiding.

"Guess what? Our RING doorbell camera and motion detector has the proof that no one was here. It was obviously a gust of wind that blew open the door."

He looked at the screenshot and gave out a sigh of relief.

"There was no way I was going to bed. I was going to wait until you got up at sunrise."

"Well, now you can put the safety back on and get some rest."

I'm so glad I have the RING doorbell and floodlight cam.

If you want PEACE OF MIND like I now have, I URGE you to CLICK HERE and skim over my review. Click any of the links in my review to purchase your own RING doorbell or floodlight.

If you're worried about one of your kids or your parents who might live alone, this is a fantastic gift that allows YOU to view what's going on outside their home should you want to make sure they're safe.

$9.99 Stocking Stuffer - Save Your Keister!

While on the topic of saving yourself and having some peace of mind, you're going to LOVE the Christmas stocking stuffer I have for you today.

Remember, I promised to find ones that were $15 or less.

Here's the list of the previous Christmas stocking stuffers in case you missed them. Great photos are at each page:

LED Headband Light - Super Popular

Tiny Screwdriver Set - I Use Mine Each Week

10X Magnifier - Fantastic Quality

Miniature Fire Starter Lighter - CAN SAVE YOU!!!

And now for this issue's idea. It's just $9.99!!

It's the TRUE cash capsule.

You can roll up a $20, $50, or $100 bill and have it on your keychain or in your pocket should you lose your wallet or purse.

CLICK HERE and read the story about the time I HAD TO HAVE CASH with me.

Trust me, one day you're going to need CASH and you'll thank your lucky stars you bought several of the cash capsules.

Shopping on Black Friday?

If you're shopping at Amazon today or this weekend, consider helping me if any advice of mine has helped you over the past year.

When you shop at Amazon.com using my link to get there, I get a tiny part of each purchase. It doesn't increase your price. All that happens is Jeff Bezos gives me part of the profit he was going to keep for himself.

CLICK HERE to get started shopping at Amazon.com. You need to click the link on the page you'll land so I keep Amazon.com happy. They don't like me sending you there directly from the newsletter.

Sue Your Builder or Contractor?

Have you ever filed a lawsuit against your builder or a contractor because he screwed you in any number of ways?

If so, would you be kind enough to HELP ME?

Remember, I only need help from you if you went through the motions of filing a LAWSUIT. I don't care if you settled or went to trial.

PLEASE complete this simple survey and feel free to VENT once more, unless it's too painful.

CLICK HERE to take the survey.

That's quite enough for the Friday after Thanksgiving.

I'll be taking a nap today for sure.

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Certified Organic Cleaner - www.StainSolver.com
Morse Man - www.W3ATB.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

P.S. THANKS SO MUCH for being a subscriber. I thought about you yesterday. Creating this newsletter is one of the things I look forward to each week.