"Those buttplug looking things on the monitor are old glass insulators they used to use on telegraph and telephone lines. I'm assured they also are quite valuable."

Yeah, they're valuable as buttplugs

BTW: there is nothing insane about being a packrat. It's just a combination of being cheap, greedy and lazy.
_________________________
I hit her with the hammer on top of the head. She made a lot of noise and kept on making noise, so I hit her again.