Dr. Horrible

I just watched the Dr. Horrible DVD yesterday, and I am happy to report it's definitely worth it. One traditional commentary, which was entertaining, and "Commentary: The Musical" which was hilarious. I haven't even gotten to the extras yet, but I'd recommend the DVD for anyone who liked Dr. Horrible to begin with.

Library Report

Despite the fact that I had to dig through to-be-shelved carts for two of the three books I was looking for, this trip to the library was a success. I still need to get through the third volume of the FDR history, but I have a few treats waiting for me afterwards :)

I picked up The Shock Doctrine: the Rise of Disaster Capitalism, Taking On the System (about the way the internet is affecting politics) and a Suze Orman book just to find out why some people hate her. Plus I came across a novel I was waiting for in paperback - that was a nice surprise.

It's really sort of funny - I never read nonfiction unless I'm in one of my go-to-the-library phases, but when I do, I read a ton of stuff on a whole variety of topics, and it's probably good for me. I just don't like actually buying them, I guess.

Rosemary Kitty

Part of getting my budget in shape is cutting down on the truly absurd amount of money I spend on food, and that means actually *gasp* cooking for myself. Last night's project was beef stew, based on a random recipe off the internet that matched what I had on hand. It came together just fine but was a touch bland, so I decided to throw in some rosemary. That worked perfectly.

It also received the intense interest and apparent approval of my oldest cat, who ADORES rosemary (and likes beef just fine, too.) This is the one who, at a prior residence, used to dart out the back at every opportunity to hide behind the rosemary bush and graze. Ever watched a cat try to graze? They're really not designed for it, and it's adorable. I gave her a smidge of broth and a bite of beef and she was content, but I suspect I'm going to have to fend her off every time I open a container of this stuff. She's an odd one.

Mint.com

Last night in a fit of responsibility I paid a couple bills and realized that I need to get my budget under a tight rein until I have a new income stream locked down. I used to use Microsoft Money and liked it very well, until my installation CD... um, disappeared, and one of my many hard drive disasters killed it. I bought Quicken last year but never really liked it, so I didn't really want to bother reinstalling it. So I hopped over to one of my favorite financial sites and saw a new partnership with Mint.com. I generally trust the Fool, so I checked it out - and I love it.

My financial situation isn't all that complicated, really - checking, savings, credit card, car loan, mortgage, two 401ks, employee stock account... well, ok, it is sort of complicated. What Mint.com does that I REALLY like is it pulls directly from all of my online accounts - including the investment accounts - and presents the results in an eminently simple and readable one-sheet. (The downside: this meant that I had to look at my investment accounts... ouch.) It has a very basic categorizing system and budgeting tool, and does some simple pie charts to help track spending. All I needed, really - plus it's online, so I don't have to worry about my next hard drive failure.

It's not perfect - it doesn't have access to my car loan or my nearly-forgotten gas card yet, and if it has bill notifications, I haven't found them - but I like it a lot better than Quicken, plus it's free. I'll stick with it for a month or so and see how it works out.