Freedom isn't free...so charge some for yourself

I once had a conversation with a guy at a party who programmed data mining programs for credit card companies. Interestingly, it’s not a warning sign to banks when you spend wildly. Instead, they start to get concerned when you stop buying junk and start buying necessities. I guess if you charge a gold watch, you can probably cover it, but if you suddenly stop spending and have to charge gas and food they get worried. (maybe you even quit and went to grad school, the horror)

I only mention this because there are all kinds of programs out there silently analyzing our behavior and one of them may or may not come across the donation I made today when I joined the ACLU. I can only imagine what massive corporate credit entities think of the ACLU... Anyway, since I already know they'll be appraised of my spending, I thought I might as well share the decision with you.

Here’s where you go. If a poor graduate student can afford it, you probably can too. And if you need to ask why, you need to pay more attention.