Random Thoughts: Smoke Detectors

So, I was wondering... Why is it that smoke detector batteries start to die during the early A.M. hours? If you do what "they" say, you won't ever have the problem because you will replace the batteries before they ever get weak. That said, most people only go far enough to install batteries and replace them when they get woken up.

You might think that I am telling you a story about my smoke detector waking us all up. If you thought that, you would be wrong. In this case, my neighbor seems to have a smoke detector in their garage. Due to the extreme heat, I had all the windows open. I jumped out of bed at 1:40 a.m. to kill the beeping before it woke Laura. After standing in the hallway for a couple minutes, I didn't hear anything so I chalked it up to a bad annoying dream. Thirty seconds after climbing back into bed, I hear the beep again. I watch the clock to time how long it is between beeps. Figuring out that it is a one-minute cycle, I walk downstairs and listen and watch the detectors. After three minutes, nothing happens so I again go back upstairs and climb into bed. Another thirty seconds later I hear another beep. After I kill the fan (which had been on low speed), I realize that it is coming from outside and it can't be heard in Laura's room. I clicked the fan back on, this time to medium speed and went back to sleep.

All told, I lost about twenty minutes of sleep to my neighbors. Of course, that isn't the worst "neighbor's smoke detector woke me up" story I have, but it is certainly the most current. I guess, much like their barking dogs, they only care about things that adversely affect them. With the windows shut and the A/C turned on, I'm sure they were snug and cozy in their beds. Must be nice, jerks.