January 8, 2009 AsktheBuilder News and Tips
What’s in This Issue!
BEATLES CALENDAR
TWITTER
ICE CLEAT UPDATE
BOSTON HOME SHOW
BEATLES CALENDAR AVAILABLE!
UPDATE: All the calendars have been sold.
If you're a brand-new subscriber, this newsletter will seem odd. It's a short one, because I just sent one out a few days ago. Please understand I don't often write about famous musical groups!
There will be a huge demand for the 2009 spiral-bound Beatles calendar. This calendar is indeed a one-of-a-kind. It contains photos taken by a professional photographer who was working for the afternoon newspaper in Cincinnati the days of the concert. I say *days* because the concert itself was rare. The Beatles were supposed to play the night of August 20, 1966 on a stage constructed on the infield of Crosley Field. That was the historic ball field of the Cincinnati Reds.
But Mother Nature intervened with a massive rainstorm that drenched the screaming crowd. The rain made it unsafe for the John, Paul and George to play the electric guitars. The promoters scrambled and announced that the concert would be held the next day at Noon. But the Beatles had to scurry out of the stadium after the last song to catch a plane. They had to play that night, August 21st, in St. Louis! You can see there is a bit of history attached to the rare photos in this calendar.
This item will only be for sale through me for the next TEN days. You better order now if you or a friend wants one. If you think other friends or relatives want one, you better contact them immediately. I'm doing this as a favor to the photographer, and I don't have time to administer this for any longer than the next two weeks. It's a slow time for Ellen, so I can have her fill these orders for the photographer.
I've held the calendar in my hands and seen the photos. The quality is amazing. You can clearly see the untrimmed strings on John and Paul's guitars. They all wore the same suits, a very wide pin stripe. The Beatles look like babies in these photos they were so young! I was 14 at the time and clearly remember them coming to town. I didn't attend the concert, but know people who did. I believe the person responsible for getting them to come was a local disc jockey who worked at the top rock radio station of the time, WSAI. His name was Dusty Rhodes. He is now the Hamilton County auditor.
Anyway, enough Beatles stuff. I beg you to order now. I can already tell you that I'll get requests for these in two weeks, and I will have to deliver bad news that they are all gone. The calendar is $20 with a $5.95 shipping and handling fee. They will ship out the week of January 19th. So be patient!!!
Months ago, I had a little mention in the newsletter asking if you had a Twitter account. Very few people responded. As best as I can describe it, Twitter is micro-blogging. It's a text-message platform that allows you to tell people what you're doing *and* to be alerted to what certain people are doing or thinking at a specific point in time. In other words, you can be connected to people you want to learn more about. Think of it as a data feed like a news wire or the stock-market ticker tape. You ONLY follow those you're interested in. The messages you receive are short, very short. Twitter limits them to no more than 140 characters, and a space between words is a character!
I've been on Twitter for nearly nine months. On a typical day, I may send out several messages like this:
Some houses are built on bad soil. Check this out: http://tinyurl.com/9rg8h3
This message points you to a recent column I had written about a house that was built on really bad soil. In the column I told the woman how to test for bad soil.
Twitter is going mainstream. It's going to be huge. Many famous celebrities are now using it so their fans can see what their doing and thinking each day. Is this a good thing? Who knows. Can Twitter be a time sink? You bet. But you can also get quick tips from people like me that may save you huge amounts of time and money.
I bring this up ONLY because getting your Twitter name is like getting a website address. If you want to lock up your name or a funny name you currently use in email, you better act quickly.
If you sign up, you can then *follow* me to see what Twitter is like. You can Unfollow anyone at any time. I do share things about what's going on in Twitter that I don't put in this newsletter.
This may be of no interest to you, but I'm predicting that Twitter *may* become as important in your life as email. You have nothing to lose getting an account. It's totally free.
ICE CLEAT UPDATE
Last issue, I talked about how I needed ice cleats up in New Hampshire. I reached out to you in case you had more experience. As usual, I got enormous amounts of feedback both from subscribers who had great recommendations and many from those who wanted to know what those recommendations were! It appears many are unhappy with the brand I had bought.
I got this great email from Cathy:
"I'm a USPS letter carrier from Northeast Pennsylvania. Due to the number of slips, trips, and falls in the past, the Postal Service decided to provide us with ice cleats. Our office and all the others in our district were given different pairs to try and evaluate. The winner is called Get a Grip. They have been providing them to us for quite a few years and the number of injuries has declined significantly. I won't leave the office without them even if there is only hard crusty snow to deal with. The only drawback to these is becoming too sure of yourself, if there is ice and it is melting you can step on it and still fall when it gives way from steps, sidewalks, etc. I'm sure you won't be affected by the fatigue they can cause to your feet since you won't be walking 10 miles a day in them."
I also got many great recommendations about Stabilicers. I've decided to test both of them.
BOSTON HOME SHOW ! ! !
Do you live in or near Boston? If you want to hang out with me for an afternoon, I'll be at the Boston Home Show on January 24th from 2 until 4 p.m. I'll be at the Kraft Power booth. While there, I'll be sharing stories about the horrific ice storm of last month and how my Kohler standby generator saved the day!
We can talk about anything you want, including any issue with your home. I'm also open to having lunch before the show or having an early dinner with you before I drive back up I-93 to my place in New Hampshire.
Email me soon so we can coordinate where to meet. I'd love to see you, sit back and relax over a soda or a beer. Remember, we don't have to talk about generators! If you want to talk Internet stuff, how I got started, new construction, etc., this is a rare chance to pin me down.
Discover more about the Home Show, so you know where it is and what it costs to get in.
Click here to read past copies of my newsletters.
Tim Carter
Founder - AsktheBuilder.com
Do it Right, not Over