September 26, 2021 AsktheBuilder Newsletter
I was born at night, but not last night for goodness sake. I see why you're huddled with Mac, Christine, Noah, Bristol, Eric, Sonia, and Cathy. You're a brand-new subscriber in the past week! You get top billing each week in the newsletter. Thanks for subscribing and I appreciate your trust.
That said, you might have subscribed years ago. This newsletter is about twenty-five years old. Sadly, I didn't do the right thing by keeping track of issue numbers. Otherwise we'd both know how far back we go.
But many moons ago, I wrote a column that's still relevant today. Look at this photo:
You might not realize what you're really looking at.
But CLICK or TAP HERE and you'll discover something I'll bet you didn't know. You absolutely need to check out the column if you're building a new home or putting a big room addition on your home.
Searching PRO TIP
Let's say you're on Google, or any other search engine such as DuckDuckGo (quack!). You decide to search for help with ceramic tile.
But, your inner voice says, "Hey, I just want to see all the ceramic tile columns and videos Tim Carter, the Ask the Builder dude, has written. I don't want to see any bogus information from other bozos."
Did you know it's really easy to do this? You'd just see my content and no one else's in the results! Here's how it's done:
Type this first into the search bar with NO SPACES:
site:askthebuilder.com
Then add a space and what you want to search for. Let's say it is ceramic tile. Here's what your search request would look like:
site:askthebuilder.com ceramic tile
Go ahead and try this and have some fun. Think of all the topics you want to know about. Here's a short list:
- roof leaks
- clean a deck
- best house paint
- pvc
- air conditioning
I think you'll be blown away by the amount of content I've created in the past 28 years!
While on the subject of search engines, I think there's something you should know.
You might think that the top three or five results you see when you search on Google are the pages that have the BEST INFORMATION for what you're looking for.
Not so. Those pages are the ones that directly or indirectly make the most amount of MONEY for Google. STOP trusting Google for goodness sake! If you feel Google is looking out for your best interests, you're sadly mistaken.
Do a test. Search for something on Google. Look at the results. Then type the exact same search query into DuckDuckGo.com.
Look at the difference in QUALITY of the content of the top three to five pages that get returned to you using DuckDuckGo.com. My guess is you'll soon start using DuckDuckGo as your search engine.
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AstroCrete Follow-Up
You may have been one of my subscribers that got back to me about making concrete on Mars using astronaut pee. CLICK or TAP HERE to see what I was talking about.
I was making fun of how inaccurate the news article was and warning you to stop believing everything you read.
I decided to do some additional math. You should too. I challenge you to calculate how much pee six astronauts generate in two years. Go ahead, do it.
STOP trusting all you read online for goodness sake! That AstroCrete column I read was even MORE INACCURATE than I originally thought!
Is This Wrong?
Look at this photo:
Is there something wrong with these pipes? If so, what is it?
CLICK or TAP HERE to see if you were right or wrong. I guarantee you're going to discover something that will BLOW YOU AWAY.
Bumfuzzled
Earlier in the week, I was absolutely bumfuzzled. I received a press release from a PR person about a product that had won an Innovation Award from some website.
I decided to check into it because one might think that if you're going to announce to the world that this or that product is really innovative, that you'd have to at least try using the product, right?
Not so it turns out!!!!
This website charges hundreds of dollars for the manufacturers to SUBMIT their product to be considered for the award.
The website then does no testing. I guess they just look at the product website, photos, product label, etc. and make a decision.
This is all buried deep in the pages of the website. But you, the unsuspecting consumer, probably ASSUME the website is doing the right thing thinking about YOU and doing testing to ensure the product is great.
Well, the trouble is, it's a shell game. You may not know the actual definition of the word INNOVATION! Here it is:
"a new idea, device, or method"
The product was new so it does fit the definition. Thus, the products just get this fancy award because they're NEW not because they're GREAT products. Sigh!
But don't you feel it's a slight-of-hand? I know I did.
Oh well, as the Romans figured this out so very long ago:
Caveat Emptor
That's plenty for a Sunday. This weekend, I started my five-week gig as the telegraph operator inside the historic Ashland NH RR station. Live nearby, come visit and watch me use a traditional straight key to send Morse code.
Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
GET CLEAN - www.StainSolve.com
Sleeve Socks! - www.W3ATB.com
Do It Right, Not Over!
P.S. Did you know you can use regular 16d SINKER nails to attach wood to concrete floors and wall? CLICK or TAP HERE to see it done!