Archive for 2010

Tree Quote, Part 2

Some of you may recall last week’s post about the bid for tree removal.

We were going to have a tree felled because it was

  • dead,
  • leaning over the garage,
  • and almost scraping the power lines

If it fell, it would have crushed one end of the garage (where all my tools are, and storage boxes – no cars are in the garage) and knocked out the power (leaving live power lines on my yard). That’s why we wanted to hire professionals, and that’s why it was going to be a few hundred dollars (what with the bucket truck and all).

Here’s how it looked before (a few years ago, but you get the idea):

picture of the tree leaning over the garage

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Tree Quote

We have a troublesome tree, so I asked some tree service how much it would be to get rid of it.

Here is their bid:

quote for tree removal

What it says is
Take down and put on ground $400” and
Remove tree $300

What they meant to say is that it will be $400 to take it down and then another $300 to remove the debris.

What I think should be written is this:
Take down and put on ground $400” and
Remove felled tree $300

Otherwise, I could say that I don’t want them to put the tree on the ground – just remove it. Then I would pay only $300.

But, unfortunately, I learned earlier this week that mistakes or misunderstandings in quotes and bids are not legally binding.

So I can’t take them up on their offer to remove the tree without taking it down first.

Then you shall strike every fortified city and every choice city, and fell every good tree and stop all springs of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.

2 Kings 3:19

Schoolwork – Sep 2010

I’m a little late with this, but that shouldn’t matter.

Alpha brought home some things he did in school. Because children’s drawings are so fun, I thought I’d share them with you. The first two are from his booklet titled “September Poems”.

Crocodile

drawing by an elementary school-age child of a crocodile

I like this one because the person isn’t just sitting on the crocodile – he’s sitting on a chair on the crocodile.

Jack and Jill

drawing by an elementary school-age child of Jack and Jill

My favorite part of this is the song. Alpha read into what Jack and Jill would be doing while they were on their trip. And, apparently, they like to sing.

Shamrocks

drawing by an elementary school-age child of shamrocks

My favorite part of this drawing is that he was given the picture to color, and he drew the surroundings too.

He knows enough to know that plants don’t just float in the air. You can’t just leave those shamrocks by themselves – they need earth below them. And whoever drew the original staggered them, so Alpha has the ground rise and fall so that each shamrock has what it needs.

This was a counting booklet – the first page had one shamrock, the second had two, etc. In the interest of time and non-redundancy, I omitted the other pages.

Then Israel sang this song:”Spring up, O well! Sing to it!

Numbers 21:17

Sober Drinks

I was enjoying my lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings last week, when my pleasant experience was interrupted by bad English.

No, not the band. Bad English in this case was a poorly-written menu.

picture of part of the Buffalo Wild Wings lunch menu

Look at the phrase “alcoholic free lemonades”. Initially I was going to point out that your lemonade will not contain any drunk guys. And that’s still a valid point. I would prefer the term “alcohol-free lemonades” or “non-alcoholic lemonades”.

But “alcoholic free lemonade”? At least put a hyphen in there and make it “alcoholic-free lemonades”. As it is, it implies that if you are drunk, you get a free lemonade.

And it was at that point, when I was pondering the thought of free drinks for alcoholics, that I noticed there was a charge for the upgrade.

A-ha! The drink isn’t free – it costs you $0.75.

But wait – here’s your bonus section, it’s like two posts in one – it’s not really $0.75. It’s not even 75 cents. It is 0.75¢: 3/4 of a cent.

Noooooo! Menu writers of the world, please learn the difference between dollars and cents!!!

Otherwise, some wiseguy is going to come into your restaurant, give you a penny, and ask for a side salad. And legally, he’s right. You are offering (advertising) a side salad for .99¢

And you must fulfill the terms of your advertisements.

Look, I can substitute Buffalo Chips for half a penny.

I think boycotting BWW would be the wrong action here. I think the right action would be that everyone should go there and take advantage of their offers.

Bring a copy of the Federal Trade Commission Act which states that advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive, just in case they complain that they really meant whole cents not decimal cents.

Go to BWW and demand a side salad for 99/100 of a penny.

And ask for change.

But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

2 Timothy 4:5

Regarding the Mail

We got a Publishers Clearing House mailing today.

photo of Publishers Clearing House envelope

What caught my attention was the “stamp” that said “DO NOT DISREGARD”.

photo of the text DO NOT DISREGARD on an envelope

I will certainly not disregard this mailing, dear Publishers Clearing House.

I will regard it with caution.

I will regard it with suspicion.

And then I will discard it.

But I will not disregard it.

But the king of the sons of Ammon disregarded the message which Jephthah sent him.

Judges 11:28

Sweet Boss Day

Did anyone else notice that Sweetest Day and Boss’ Day (sometimes misspelled as Bosses Day or Boss’s Day) are the same day this year?

Was anyone else amused by that?

Here’s some candy, Sweetie … Happy Boss’ Day!”

Sweetest Day is the third Saturday in October. Boss’ Day is October 16, which is a Saturday (specifically the third Saturday in October of 2010). You have to be a very dedicated employee to celebrate Boss’ Day on a Saturday.

But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to wave over the trees?’

Judges 9:11

Make the Right Choice

We had an urgent ladle situation on Saturday. I drove up to the dollar store and bought some ladles, and one of the ladle labels caught my attention.

picture of the label on a ladle

It listed the characteristics of the ladle. They were

  • Best quality
  • Easy to use
  • Right choice
  • Excellent design

Just think how often that distinction is overlooked. I mean, if you’re comparing two different ladles, and one says it’s the right choice and the other doesn’t say it’s the right choice, then you should go with the one that is the right choice, right?

I think the label should go one step further: add a line to say “The other ladle you’re considering is bad.”

the altar of burnt offering also with all its utensils, and the laver and its stand,

Exodus 31:9