No more evolution stickers...

A federal judge on Thursday ordered the removal of stickers placed in high school biology textbooks that call evolution ''a theory, not a fact,'' saying they were an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.

What a shocking lack of pandering to religious pressure. Of course, the fact that they were placed there in the first place was an example of said pandering.

Not a Quiz!

I've been torturing myself lately with househunting. It isn't a practical thing with little to no money in the bank, but it is a goal of mine. The sooner I can begin building equity, the better. Well, I'm not getting there fast financially at this time, I realize. Hell, I'm not even getting enough fun out of my money to partially compensate.

Some of this is entirely out of my control. However, I can live a little leaner on some of the things that have no lasting fun/value and focus more of my time/money on the things that do. It may not help buying a house, but I'll get more fun out of the money I do have... I can go cheap where it doesn't matter (buy books used, not new!) and spend some money where it does (jetshade is building a nice shelving setup for a server for our public area for me, rather than me just scrumming something together out of what I have). I've committed to going through a lot of my old junk (magic cards & comics mostly) and seeing what can be sold for profit that is currently just taking up space. I can stop buying lunch at work all the time to the tune of over twice as costly as bringing lunchmeats! (I've been gradually improving at this over the last couple of months...)

I have an extra paycheck this month...I've already made plans for it. 1/3 goes into savings. 1/3 goes into reducing credit card debt (partially caused by nearly $3,000 in unexpected medical bills last year). 1/3 goes into FUN! What is fun this time around? Glad you asked.

Fun is books. Amazing what I can buy used if I shop carefully. For the price of 1 new book I can get 2-5 used. Okay, that works. And I can also pick up some out of print treasures.
Fun is Pulp Novels. I have managed to find all 325 books of "The Shadow" online as text (they are out of copyright). I could buy a bookbinder of some kind and print/bind them myself for less than buying 50-75 of them, even used. Whee!! And while that project is in progress, I can read them on my computer if necessary. Ohhh...and then to bind any other fun I can find via project gutenberg!
Fun is a Game. I used to have a complete set of the game "Talisman" from Games Workshop. (Stolen many years ago...) It is out of print, but it was a fun and funny game. Something of a goofy board game version of an RPG. I have made it my goal in life to reclaim this game. Ebay is my friend. :)
Fun is tools. When the weather warms up, it is time to start building a decent collection of woodworking tools, especially power tools. I have many projects I've been thinking about for ages...when I reach a critical mass in tools, I'll be able to work on some of them. A lot of them are out of reach of my current level of skill...I have not done much woodworking in well over a decade, as my shelving project last summer reminded me (while it is usable and in use, it is sloppy and not even worth doing a finishing job on). The only way to get that skill back is practice. I know I won't reach jetshade's level of skill at fine finishing work, but I used to be good at sturdy and functional.
Fun is organization. I need to reorganize my physical surroundings every few months...and do so drastically every year or two. Throw out the useless, sort out the useful, rearrange furniture, etc... I can tell it is time to do so when I become nearly completely unable to be productive in my environment. It is time for one of the big ones. The little re-orgs just aren't cutting it anymore. It is time to simplify and clarify. To wit: throw out paperwork, organize bill records, sell items, discard empty boxes, re-evaluate furniture usage. The last, of course, is to do with the participation and opinions of the roommate and the little guy (at 9 it is time for him to be asked and have his opinions added into the mix). I don't really have a grand plan yet...I just have a vague idea of what needs to be done and have started moving towards it (mostly in my own room, currently).

If I can get even a large chunk of the above done, I'll feel better about life. So I'll do it!

As for that big housing goal? Well, the first step is a car, to expand the area in which I can look for a dwelling. I expect a decent sized tax return this year and plan on using it for reducing the credit card debt and purchasing a car. Anything I earn from selling off my packrat tendencies will be split evenly between savings and burning the debt. I'll also be dragging in a little more money each paycheck from a raise...that'll help build savings. Hell, maybe I can actually own a minivan instead of a car again. I'm very fond of minivans. :) I have a lead or three on some work on the side as well. It may result in a messier tax return next year, but the money should be worth it...every little bit counts!

Okay...I've publicly exposed my plans in hope of shaming myself into sticking to them. (And kept my promises to some people to post something that isn't a quiz or a meme.)