October 4, 2016 AsktheBuilder Newsletter
I'm back home from a solid week of travel on business.
The first part of last week was the first-ever STIHL Editors Conference. I've attended countless events like this where manufacturers ply their new wares to the media.
I was on the fence about going, but I have to tell you that STIHL was the first chain saw I used. That was 42 years ago almost to the day! Since then I've used many STIHL saws of all types and have never been disappointed.
They're introducing an entire line of new tools and we were the first ones to really see them. The BAD NEWS is there's still a short embargo on what I saw, so I can't share it with you.
Rest assured you'll be WOWED like I was. I'm glad I went. One of the things during the event was a carving workshop where you use a special 12-inch chain saw to carve a log.
Here's a photo of me with Roger Phelps from STIHL. Roger is head of communications and a super nice guy. I decided to carve the logo of their new tool line. So now you have a clue of what's coming!
My New Quizzes
If you're a new subscriber, I've started to include a FUN quiz with each newsletter.
The comments back on the quizzes have all been good.
You may be one that is really enjoying discovering new information this way so you save both time and money.
The latest one was created last week early one morning in the hotel room at Virginia Beach, VA, while I was waiting for the sun to peak over the Atlantic Ocean.
You may be one that's asked me to make the quizzes a tad more challenging. Let me know if I've hit the sweet spot, or if you feel they're too hard.
This latest one has a BONUS question at the end that's NOT REQUIRED to answer. It's worth 3 points!!!!
Good luck. CLICK HERE to take the FUN Quiz.
Dallas TX Meet Up NEWS
I'm going to be in Dallas TX for about twenty hours October 25-26th.
I was able to arrange my travel so I could spend about two hours with you on the afternoon of October 25th.
My flight lands at Love Field at 12:55 pm on Tuesday, October 25th.
I can meet you a few miles away from 2 - 4 p.m. at Dave & Buster’s in Dallas, 9450 N Central Expy, Dallas, TX 75231.
If you want to come to an informal meet up there and have a soda and share lots of stories, then make plans now to be there.
If you want to pick me up at the airport to have some one-on-one time, then speak up now or forever hold your peace. The first person to lock up this opportunity gets it.
I need to know if you'll be at Dave and Buster's. Once I have the list of attendees, I'll email you as a group about my flight details so you can track me to know that I'm going to be on time.
Please REPLY to this telling me if you're coming.
Change the Subject Line to: Tim Dave and Buster.
SUSPICIOUS COMPANY ALERT !!!!
Just before leaving town, I received a three-page letter in the mail from a company in Pawtucket, RI.
They claimed that I had infringed on the copyright of one of their photos at my StainSolver.com website. The truth is I didn't. The photo was purchased legally at istockphoto.com.
The cover letter was well written so as to put the fear of the Lord in you. They also included an invoice to pay a much reduced amount vs. the ceiling limit of $150,000 the Federal Law imposes. That was the first thing that tipped me off that something was unusual.
My SCAM RADAR went off immediately as soon as I read it because it didn't come from an attorney.
I decided to string them along to see what would happen and am going to create a webpage about it to warn others.
Suffice it to say that if you start digging into this company's past history online, you'll discover some most interesting information posted by former employees.
Always do an extensive search online about any company that contacts you wanting money before you do anything. NEVER send them money.
BOTTOM LINE FOR YOU: If you get a SCAM or SUSPICIOUS letter in the mail trying to STRONG ARM you into a FAST and REDUCED settlement about any topic, just take a deep breath and don't worry about it.
Real issues like this are almost always handled by an attorney and she / he sends you a letter that has their name and address in the Super Scary font. You know the one I'm talking about, right?
Whenever you get a letter from an attorney, you can tell it's from a law firm just looking at the font.
Non-Toxic Hack to Clean Hard Water Stains
Here's my latest column that has some GREAT advice for you if you want to STOP using harsh chemicals around your home.
CLICK HERE to be amazed!
That's enough for today. I need to get outside with my new helper to finish the large set of steps going from the new deck down to the grass!
Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Do It Right, Not Over!