u/fnybtch

I live in a condo that is a duplex. I share a common wall with my Nextdoor neighbor. Several years ago they had an old telephone line access box on the exterior wall of their house that was not sealed off and rats got into the walls of our condos. That issue resolved when the box was removed and the wall sealed. Now they are having water damage from a window leak worked on and the exterior walls are opened up. This has me worried that rats will get into the walls again, especially because construction has been paused for 2 weeks while they deal with getting a structural engineer consultation per the city’s requirement.
Is there anything that can be done to keep rats from entering the walls from the outside? Is there something that contractors use for this?

I am 54 and a home health nurse by profession. My parents are 85 (dad) and 84(mom). They live independently in their home, drive, pay all bills, cook, clean, and even travel a few times a year. They are starting to slow down and get a little forgetful. My father has opened links from suspicious phishing emails several times. Each time he tells me or my brother about it and we have both advised him to call one of us if he gets an email that seems phishy. He agrees to do that but then a few months later we hear of another one. So far I don’t know of any negative consequences, but he is likely to try to hide it out of fear of being exposed as not making good decisions.
I am not super technologically savvy but can learn new skills as needed. Does anyone know of a way to filter email so that he doesn’t get these Phishing expedition emails?

Update: My brother just texted me to tell me that he has been having my dad send him the emails in question and apparently my brother opened one and clicked on the link and now thinks his phone has been hacked. My brother likes to smoke weed and makes some pretty stupid moves when high. I feel like I have 3 mentally compromised family members that I have to manage. So fun!😵‍💫

I have subscribed to The Sun Magazine out of Chapel Hill NC for years and always enjoy it! It is a monthly subscription and contains wonderful fiction short stories, essays, 1 article on a current societal or environmental topic, a section of readers write short essays (my favorite part), excellent black and white photographs, and some other surprises. I have started looking up authors whose stories I particularly enjoy and ordering their books! I consider it to be a treasure trove of small escapes from my day to day reality. I highly recommend if you are someone who enjoys NPR podcasts, The Moth, This American Life…I just read a short story by Joe Wilkins called The Empty Room Inside Each Of Us. It left me wanting more of each character and to find out who the heroes (two young boys) grow up to be.