Support The Underground Economy

I am a former homeowner and soon to be homeowner again. When leaving my former house I left a lot of stuff behind. As an apartment dweller there's not a great need for things like extension ladders. Now that the renting phase is coming to an end there is a growing need for tools. It would have been inconvenient to have lugged them around, but I don't want to pay full price either. The solution is, of course, to seek out those who are in the position that I was those long years ago and find garage sales.

Besides the natural benefit of paying less for the replacement tools than I would if buying them new is the feeling of helping out those who need to shed some possessions before moving on to the next phase of their life's adventure. There is also the thought of keeping solid waste out of our landfills. And last, and not insignificant, is robbing the taxman of some money. Despite my filthy, degenerate liberalism, I do still try to avoid taxes whenever possible.

Today's haul brought me a miter box and saw, a prybar, hammer, speed square, combo square and mattock to join my previously acquired hacksaw. Not really sure if I will need the mattock but I've got it if I do. Gardening is to be a big part of the next part of my life's adventure. I had a small hammer, screwdrivers, pliers, tape measure and some small stuff. My house-to-be is on the small side and is going to need at least a shed built and I'd like to add a small woodframe greenhouse as well.

OFF POST TOPIC: My office here is having a "contest" to pick the most favorite book. My five nominees (mostly first things that came to mind) were:

1) 1984 - George Orwell
2) Player Piano - Kurt Vonnegut
3) It Can't Happen Here - Sinclair Lewis
and to avoid going all dystopian all the time
4) The Deep Blue Goodbye - John D. MacDonald
5) Single and Single - John LeCarre

The only one I have much hope for is 1984. The others are a little obscure. Could have gone with Slaughterhouse Five, Elmer Gantry and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy or some such. There are brackets and additional voting though.

Regarding MacDonald, anyone who has missed the Travis Magee novels should really give them a try. His is the lifestyle I envy most, though I could never bring myself to live in Florida so will have to keep my derelict self abiding here in the empire state.