Desktop Dynamo

...I nearly made the guy at Comcast cry.

Let me back up.

Long before most folks in America started "cutting back" on their spending, I was already scrambling to make the "outgo" less then the the "income." Without going into gory details, let me just say that amongst the many lessons I've learned over the past five years or so, perhaps the most important one was: Never trust a contractor with immaculate footwear. If the workboots aren't dirty and dinged, it's a red flag, folks.

For the past year or two, I've been looking for ways to save money. When the dollars dwindle, it gets easier and easier to figure out what goes over the side, and what stays.

I started with the newspaper. I loved my local paper, but I realized I could get most of what I needed online. If I really needed to look at the paper itself, I could read one of the copies floating around the lunchroom at work.

Newspaper: Gone. Over the side.

Next came the revamping of this site. I was paying way too much for hosting each month. I moved my hosting and saved a ton. The only "downside"...which turned out to be a blessing...was having to learn enough coding to put up the site you see today.

Expensive hosting: Gone. Over the side.

In bits and pieces, I've been cutting things back or putting off purchases. Case in point: The dead oven I posted about previously. Because the cooktop functions and we have a microwave, the oven will be replaced with a cash purchase from the tax refund check. When other things have broken, my son and I have tried to figure out how to fix them ourselves before just tossing them. I've even taken apart my dead flatbed scanner in an attempt to fix it. (Nope...it's dead...and I'm working around it).

I've discovered the joys of free software.

Norton Internet Security? Gone. Over the side. Replaced with freeware.

Microsoft office...or Windows, for that matter...for my second PC? Nope. A free operating system (Ubuntu) and free Open Office. Microsoft FrontPage for the website? Over the side long ago...replaced by Coffee Cup's free HTML editor. I also have their free FTP program. I'm enamored with free, dependable software.

With gas prices going up and no end in sight, I take the bus after work most days. I either meet my son in town to hitch a ride, or get off the bus a few miles from home and walk. The bus is cheap. It's never crowded. It's dependable. I can use the time to read (which I never have time for otherwise). And the increased walking keeps me healthy, which will pay off somewhere down the pike.

But back to the guy I almost made cry at Comcast...

Several months ago, I decided to scale back on high-speed Internet. I subscribed to Verizon's high speed DSL. I didn't pull the plug on Comcast immediately, because I needed to be sure I could depend on the DSL service. I have not had any issues whatsoever.

Last night, I returned my cable modem to Comcast. Adding to Comcast's pain, I cancelled HBO. It was an easy call: Tony Soprano has been most likely whacked, Rome is ancient history, and Deadwood is...um...dead. HBO has become a barren wasteland.

When I cut my cable bill in half, I swear I saw tears in the eyes of the guy from Comcast. Sorry buddy...but you can't eat broadband, or heat your house with HBO. Over the side.

Before I left, I turned and asked him if there's been an increase in people slashing their services. He nodded. But I also saw something else in his eyes...the wheels were turning. He was most likely thinking: If this keeps up, what will happen to my job?

He was probably also thinking about cutting back on things, just in case Comcast decides they need to cut back...and they throw him over the side.

...And that, my friends, is the type of thinking more and more Americans are doing. While Wall Street keeps nudging upward at every sliver of silver lining in the angry clouds of a gathering, terrible storm, we Americans are returning cable modems, cutting back on our driving, looking for second jobs (if there are any to be had), buying store brands over name brands, staying home instead of dining out...millions of us, folks, all throttling down the greatest economy in world history...the Great Bling Economy...and trying to figure out how to make that "outgo" less then the "income."

For many Americans, folks, I am convinced this simply will not be possible. There's a world of hurt coming. On that note, I am signing off for the day. I'm going to try and figure out how to spend my stimulus check when it comes: Medical bills, credit card bills, or a couple tanks of gas.

...and sorry, Mr. President and Members of Congress...but not one dime on bling.