Saving Money - Then and Now.

Thinking about how saved money in childhood in semi-rural Nova Scotia.
- burned wood (from wood lot).
- raised chickens (fed bread and leftovers).
- drove old car.
- gardened (potatoes, peas, tomatoes, strawberries).
- harvested field mushrooms.
- made maple syrup.
- passive solar (window warmth).
- insulated (straw, fiberglass, fabric window coverings and wall hangings).
- used old machinery for snow removal and yard care.
- used library.
- frugal with clothes and entertainment.

But spent money on lights, TV and telephone without much worry.

Today many things still apply in suburban environment, but it is different...
Save money by:
- efficient lighting (like LEDs)
- [burning wood is frowned upon due to smoke and CO2].
- wind/solar self sufficiency.
- insulate.
- drive new car and get new appliances which are more efficient and take less maintenance.
- use Internet (and still library!).
- take train and boats (mass transit).
- garden.
- raise small livestock, if ordinances and neighbours allow.
- manually mow lawn and remove snow for exercise (or at least use electric).
- frugal with entertainment and clothes.

But spend money on lights, Internet, TV and telephone without much worry.

Property/school taxes, water/trash bills and mortgage are significant costs in suburban home life.

Lost Knowledge at Alexandria

Found inscribed on the bottom of a reused limestone block at the Q'am Mosque in Cairo, "If you enjoyed our stelae on the great works of Pharaoh Khufu, then see our scroll 'How its made - the Pyramids' now in the library at Alexandria".

This is an ironic story, fictional at many levels, all in one sentence...
Sometimes the disclaimer takes the bite out, and has to be read as carefully as the material, so imagine you had not read the above disclaimer line.

I thought such a one sentence construct would be an accepted form of story/literature, but I could find no reference to such a form? What is a one sentence story called? Ultra short story?http://www.onesentence.org/stories/popular/
The above one sentence entities are based on reality.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_story
Short stories, though short, are typically longer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anecdote
Anecdotes are typically based on reality.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable
Parables have an instructive moral.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fable
Fables involve anaimals or supernatural aspects.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joke
Jokes are meant to evoke laughter or humour.

The one sentence fictional story above is meant to provoke thought through thoughtful (not humourous) irony.

Book Collecting and Bookstores

Always in favour of libraries, except that increasingly they seem to not be in the business of "books" anymore. Seems egregious to me that a library would throw away a book that it took the time to acquire and catalog. But space and money are not infinite for such things. And libraries do the best they can. Where education in school stops, the library begins.

So where one demands continuity and loves a subject, to the best of ones ability - time, space and finance-wise, one collects http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_collecting

I am lucky to live in Boston Metro and can take the MBTA to http://www.brattlebookshop.com/
You may have seen Ken Gloss on Antiques Roadshow. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiques_Roadshow
I used to work nextdoor to Brattle Books, but at that time the book bug had not bitten me.

And there are, of course, places worldwide.

London http://www.visitlondon.com/attractions/shopping/book-shops

Japan http://web-japan.org/nipponia/nipponia24/en/travel/index.html
Kanda, Jimbocho, Yasikuni Ave.(and interestingly enough even if you are not fluent in Japanese Japan has some of the best technical and picture books in the world).

Moscow http://www.waytorussia.net/Moscow/Shopping/Books.html