Why Am I Still Here?

Of the fifty-some e-mails that came in overnight, two relate to paid writing projects. (After a day as unprofitable as yesterday, I wouldn't have come online today if I hadn't had paid writing projects in the works.) This reading schedule is changing. I may read some e-mail and posts from people who are not paying clients or paid-up subscribers, but my goal for the next few months is to cut back the amount of unpaid online reading I do daily. I'm reluctant to file the whole of Niume or National Review as spam--actually, most of the bacon I receive daily comes from people who have sent useful information at some time or other--but if you want page views, if you want e-mails actually opened rather than moved straight into the bacon folder, start supporting this site now. Three dollars per month will keep me reading a reasonable amount of content that comes from you; about "friends of" e-mail, I make no promises. 

Note that this has nothing to do with whether or not I enjoy reading e-mail--I do. However, my eyes are aging, and I can postpone having to buy extremely expensive custom-made glasses longer if I limit my reading for pleasure to real paper. 

If your money is tight, here are some things to do before whining about it:

1. Cancel your car insurance. Put your car in the garage and take off the tags. If you really need a car for work, let your employer pay for it. If your employer isn't providing a car, walk.

2. Stop eating fast food. If you just want a sandwich, put together a cold one at home. Fill up on raw vegetables instead of fries. If you pay for drinks with your meals, pour your own drinks into your own glass of ice. A quart of coffee, tea, soda pop, etc., prepared at home or in the office, often costs less than a pint in a yucky Styrofoam cup at a fast-food place. In a month you can easily save enough not only to support this blog (and other blogs you read) but also to treat someone special to dinner at a nice sit-down restaurant.

3. Cancel any paid TV service you might have used in the past. If you enjoy watching commercial TV, let the sponsors pay for it. They'd need to pay me to watch their product-supportive shows!