29 thoughts on “February 18, 2017: You Know What’s Not Boring?”

  2. Our former dentist had a thing for Sinatra that went beyond appreciation to something else entirely. I like Sinatra fine, stuff like In the Wee Small Hours and the second record with Count Basie, and especially September of My Years. That did not prepare me for a dentist who played the Sinatra-only satellite radio station in every room in his office. Having a wisdom tooth extracted while listening to some Sinatra deep cuts from a B- live gig in the Seventies was quite the experience. Not boring, for sure.

  3. so, insurance adjuster is here. Nice guy, but is basically telling us that we are fucked. Our insurance is a pretty standard policy, and it (I am now learning) expressly excludes things like

    defect, weakness, inadequacy, fault or unsoundness
    in:
    (1) planning, zoning, development, surveying, siting;
    (2) design, specifications, workmanship, construction,
    grading, compaction;
    (3) materials used in construction or repair;...

    stucco failure that is not due to a tree falling on our house or wind damage in a major storm or some such is Too Fucking Bad. Our policy (like most) also excludes a variety of hidden damage problems that could be discovered during repair, such as mold or dry rot.

    Our policy DOES cover interior damage as a result of water incursions, I guess. So maybe we will get some interior repairs covered. Once our $2,600 deductible is spent. And God only knows what this claim will end up doing to our rates.

    There goes vacations for the next 4-5 years. We are going to have to pay out of pocket to do significant reconstruction on the exterior of our house, including replacing almost all of our windows for the and repairing stucco (possibly including replacing our entire south wall) out of pocket. Because we are well past the statute of limitations for going after the builders.

    Tell me why we all buy home owners insurance again?

      1. it's an effing racket.

        Lesson learned. Read your policies. Talk to your agent BEFORE you buy a house to understand what you are and aren't covered for.

        1. 5. We do not insure for loss described in paragraphs 2., 3.
          and 4. immediately above regardless of whether one or
          more of the following: (a) directly or indirectly cause,
          contribute to or aggravate the loss; or (b) occur before,
          at the same time, or after the loss or any other cause of
          the loss:
          a. conduct, act, failure to act, or decision of any person,
          group, organization or governmental body whether
          intentional, wrongful, negligent, or without fault;
          b. defect, weakness, inadequacy, fault or unsoundness
          in:
          (1) planning, zoning, development, surveying, siting;
          (2) design, specifications, workmanship, construction,
          grading, compaction;
          (3) materials used in construction or repair; or
          (4) maintenance;
          of any property (including land, structures, or improvements
          of any kind) whether on or off the residence
          premises; or
          c. weather conditions.
          However, we do insure for any resulting loss from items
          a., b. and c. unless the resulting loss is itself a Loss Not
          Insured by this Section.

    2. If the defects wouldn't have been obvious you might be able to revisit that statute of limitations. I don't know that particular area of law with any depth, and obviously not California law at all, but it might be worth looking into that instead of just assuming otherwise. But, as with any statute of limitations question, you probably want to figure out your answer sooner rather than later.

      1. California passed a bill in 2002 that specifically addressed statutes of limitations for building defects that had not yet resulted in visible damage.

        Unfortunately, we were not aware that our house had the same design flaws that were covered in several class action suits against builders in the late 1990s, nor was any of that disclosed by any of the parties an ordinary buyer might have been expected to rely on (realtor, inspector, seller, insurer).

        So, because we did not figure this problem out until well after the ten-year statute of limitations on suing the builders, we are screwed.

          1. Ayyup.

            adjuster-man says interior damage and mitigation of moisture (opening up more walls if necessary to dry things out, then the interior repairs) are covered. Not a thing outside the house, most likely. We need to replace most of our windows, the entire south wall needs to be re-stuccoed, and we will probably just patch stucco around windows on our eastern and western sides. "just"

            1. I'm no licensed contractor, but I can certainly lay up some stucco. It'll cost you more in the long run as you'll have to hire someone to redo the work I do eventually, but it'll be a good time.

              1. It would definitely be a good time. But I can't afford the pork and the booze. (and the pigments for your fresco work) 🙂

  4. I just learned that the Emeritus's kid is shilling Caramel DeLites.

    SHAME! SHAME!

    #bringbacksamoas #theonetruecookie

  5. Cilantro juggernaut keeps going...

    Tom Kha Gai soup

    boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into pieces
    lemon grass, cut into 4" sections
    grated ginger
    kaffir lime leaves (or lime zest, what i had)
    lime juice
    shittake mushrooms
    chix broth
    pepper flakes
    cilantro
    peanuts
    coconut milk
    rice stick noodles

    In a pan, sear lemon grass, lime juice/zest, ginger, and chix broth. Add chicken, mushrooms, and after a while the coconut milk and pepper flakes. Remove the ginger and lemon grass.

    When you feel it's almost done, add cilantro, and some rice stick. Garnish with chopped peanuts.

    Awesome.

Comments are closed.