Thanks for the link to the photos, John.

My husband works with engineers, and we often joke about them - their ordinariness, their dull conversation, their lack of imagination. Yet my husband also pointed out that in 85 mph winds, no skyscrapers collapsed, and except for the crane at 57th street, none of the many towers, tanks and other structures atop tall buildings endangered anyone. No bridges came down, either. You've got to give the engineers and contractors credit for doing things right.

Two other thoughts - it many not be as romantic, but build your house on high ground, not on the shore.

And trees may be beautiful, but they have to be watched. Let them get big, old and weak, and they can kill you.

The two strongest trees are the oak and the crabapple.