Spend No Evil

…a doctrine of financial freedom.

Once I was young and foolish. Now I’m old and foolish. Well, older, but I have learned a few things.

Time was, I spent quite a lot. My excitement was for gadgets and technology, the shinier, the better. Pretty toys, how might they change my life?

Well, they did make me poorer. Oddly enough, buying a nice camera didn’t make me interested in becoming a photographer. I’m not sure what bizarre plan I had for walkie-talkies, back when those were half the size of a phone book and a fraction as useful. Remember phone books? Hmm.

Speaking of lamps…

There has been much to-do, recently, over various Government plans to make incandescent bulbs illegal. If you check out their Constitutions, or reasons for being… frankly, the laws themselves are outright illegal, but that never stopped a government before.

What’s the difference between the Government and the Mafia? …heh, heh. No, I don’t know, either. Except I’m pretty sure we’re in less danger from the Mafia.

There are many useful questions to ask, aside from the natural “wtf is wrong with you people?”. One of them might be, is there actually any point in such a law?

The daily randoms

Another guild loss, quite likely due to other recent leavings. Having officers leave does tend to garble guild functions for a bit. New people coming in, new promotions. Life goes on. But I’ll miss me boyos. And girlos.

Garnered seeds or nuts, or store-bought flour? Storing it in the freezer for three days will kill any bugs and their eggs. Simple way to purify before it goes into the pantry.

Dad’s complaining that I’m out of touch. A bit odd, considering that we’ve never really been that much in touch, but he may have a point. S’pose I’ve been with him once last year, and wrote a few times? Perhaps not appropriate for a man his age, even if we don’t really have anything to say to each other. He may not be there next week. Or I may not, for that matter, you never know.

Relatively cold inside

It must have been about three weeks since my air conditioner broke down. I could have gotten it fixed sooner but, I don’t know, it just didn’t seem worth the trouble. Anyway, it’s working again, today.

I had been setting the temperature to 80F (27C), as I got distinctly uncomfortable when the temperature rose above that. After these weeks of temperatures around 90F (32C), though, 85 is perfectly pleasant. 80 seems somewhat chilly. So, I’ll adjust the thermostat upward a bit. It’ll save me a fair amount of money and help me get ready for the brutal Phoenix summer.

Liquid soap: we’re for it

Safeway clear antibacterial hand soap, refill: I don’t know how old it is, but it’s nearly half full, and has an expiration date of 9/08. And, honestly, I don’t believe the expiration date. Who’s ever gotten sick from expired soap? I’m more concerned about the “with light moisturizers”. Like I need that weirdness in a soap.

Garbage soup. Excuse me, garbáge soup.

And, if you’re running XP, you want Character Map from All Programs / Accessories / System Tools, of all insane things. Microsoft!!!

Grandmother was my Dad’s mom. She was… an interesting woman. I think I’d have liked to have known her better but, I’m not sure of it. She did have a genius when it came to living well inexpensively, however. She tried to pass it on. It didn’t really take, at the time, but I remember and use a few of those lessons, now.

One of her brilliant ideas was garbáge soup, as she called it. She wasn’t a good cook. I was an unkind teenager, and called it garbage soup. She’d be so smug to see me making it today. Thank you, dear.

Sardines! The little prince of the sea

A good sardine is a fine thing. Small, delicate, soaked (with any luck) in pesto sauce or an excellent salsa. The King Oscar varieties are nonpariel. Sadly, I can’t find those in Arizona, except for the occasional plain version. For the price, I really prefer ‘em in an interesting sauce.

Tonight’s menu features El Mexicana brand sardines. These are also seen under other brand names, and are not really sardines, as I see it. Moderately large fish, perhaps young mackerel, in tomato sauce– very fishy tasting, and not really appealing unless you make some sort of fish salad out of them. They do provide a fair amount of calcium, if you don’t mind eating the bones. Those are soft, but a bit gritty. At the price, it’s a bargain but, of course, there’s a reason it’s not expensive. They take some preparation to make tasty.

Onions and cilantro, that’s my take on cheap fish. Parsley, if you don’t have cilantro, and a bit of jalapeño won’t hurt.

You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em

And the score for drinking and smoking no more is… well, the home team is losing, but putting up a good fight. Drinking less, smoking about the same. I suppose I’m going to have to just cut them both off. Don’t want to, of course, which is the whole of the problem. They’re fun. I just don’t expect they’re healthful.

Tried to get my car running, again, today. No go, despite my handy-dandy portable jump-starter. The battery is stone dead. I thought, being a solid cell, that it might not object to being wholly discharged. That seems not to be the case. So… call a cab to the local Wal-Mart, I suppose. Bother.

The planes in Spain get hijacked to Bahrain

Thunderstorms in Phoenix, tonight. Unusual. I hope they help bring the temperature back down. Too soon for air conditioning, too soon!

Tomorrow, perhaps, we talk about sprouts.  It’s wonderful what you can grow in no more than a week, using simple equipment. Sprouting tends to greatly improve the food value of various seeds, grains and beans, while reducing (or eliminating) cooking time and increasing the volume. Sprouts go to eleven.

Robinson Caruso

Enrico’s island neighbor, I believe. Taste-test this:

http://www.janesoceania.com/suvarov_tom_neale/index.htm