Saturday morning roundup

Some states are playing politics with people's livelihoods. Of course, there is a small part of me that I am not entirely proud of that has little sympathy or at least much annoyance for people on cholesterol medication (including my parents). Stop eating animals and see if you'll still need that medication. Yes, yes, I know high cholesterol can be genetic and also unrelated to dietary cholesterol, but seriously: stop eating animal products. See where that gets you.

The rash of Navy firings over unprofessional behavior made me think of my former roommate.

Another consequence of cheap food is food waste on an epic scale.

Mint has dinged me for exceeding my "arts" budget this month, mostly because it's the time of year to renew theater subscriptions. But it got me thinking whether I was "overspending" on theater and ballet, whatever that means. Without comparing my own spending to anyone else's, I answered 'no,' not only because "arts" is one of the best things to spend on/an investment in my soul/support for arts institutions, etc. Which are the most important reasons. But also for the very basic arithmetical fact that if I weren't out at a play, I'd probably be out shopping, spending the same amount of money on crap (clothes, household goods, etc.). Furthermore, since Mint made this handy video, I see that I spend on two plays what the average Mint user spends on a month of fast food. And my monthly arts spending is less than half--maybe a third--of what people spend in bars and restaurants.