1846 Odd Thoughts

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

We've hit 100 degrees four days in a row now. The heat is supposed to break when a cold front moves in this evening, which means a storm with "large hail and winds capable of taking down trees and power lines".

I mentally cataloged my trees. The black locusts are all sick from some bug and/or virus that has been killing them, and several are leaning toward the driveway and house. I think I'll move the car to the end of the driveway to ensure I can get out, and I caught myself hoping that if any trees fall, they hit the house.

That's not as weird as it sounds. If they fall and don't hit the house, it will cost me well over $500 per tree to have the remains removed. If they do hit the house, the insurance will pay for having the house repaired, AND having the tree removed.

A few years ago a huge locust (which is VERY heavy wood) was gradually falling over, and was guaranteed to eventually take out the roof over the back bedroom. The estimate to have it cut down by a tree service was $1,000. I tried to get the insurance company to pay for at least part of the removal, on the theory that if it were not removed, the cost to them could be much higher. They refused. I think that's silly.

I was tempted to let it go ahead and hit, but it might be years before the tree fell, and I have some very heavy antique beds, dressers, and screens in that room that I didn't want to risk and couldn't move, so I ended up eating the bill.

So maybe the insurance company was not so silly. That's what they do - they place bets.

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There was a notice on the bulletin board in the deli, for an apartment to rent, described as "five minutes to" the college and "seven minutes to" the parkway. I want to know who timed that! And I want them to alert me when they plan to be on the road. No matter what route you take, the college and the parkway are at least 22 minutes apart.

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Later - the worst of the storm is to pass north of us.

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The Man's laptop (Dell Inspiron 9100 - not so much a laptop as a portable desktop - that thing's heavy and loaded! It's twice as thick as my 1501) sputtered, sizzled, and died yesterday. He can't cope without it, so I've spent a good part of today searching for a decent barely alive one for sale that he can cannibalize. They're rare. And even barely alive they're expensive.

On the other hand, I do love searching for deals....
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