Instead of jumping right in with what happened since my previous entry, I will now, as I seem to do a lot, go on to the less anticipated random subject that's on my mind right now. That subject today is benefits.

There are so many damn free things and discounts are out there, just waiting to be claimed. And no, I didn't buy that book from the infomercial with the eccentric weirdo. I'm talking about the things most people have already enrolled in or signed up for: library cards, credit cards, frequent buyer cards for stores and restaurants, fan clubs, being a student in a college, health plans, being employed in certain companies, lodges, other national organizations...so many of these offer bonus goodies that are hardly taken.

The only real catch here is that you have to make the effort to look up this information yourself. It's rarely given out on its own, because it's not something they necessarily want you to be fully aware of. And they know damn well that most people are too lazy or inhibited to go after these things, let alone remember them.

I was about to pay $24 for two Museum of Science passes for this weekend. But it turns out that with my library card and a phone call, I can get a pass for up to 4 people for only $2 a head. I didn't pay anything for my library card. Hell, it's not even the one for town I live in now. I probably got it in high school when I had to do an assigned research paper. I also made a donation to public television earlier this year, making me a member. I just wanted to get the DVD set they were selling, but damn, they have shitloads of benefits I keep forgetting about. I get some offered through Mensa too. My college gives 10MB of free web space to alumni. Then there's the whole free Sky Miles and other stuff from my credit card.

Yes, "membership has its privileges." You just have to get off your ass and grab them.

In other quick news, I've been indulging in an old love of mine: those all-text adventure games from the now Activision-bought company, Infocom. More specifically I've been playing Bureaucracy, a game whose story was written by Douglas Adams. It's one that I never played but was always curious about. There are still quite a few Infocom games I haven't played, let alone won. It's funny that these games used to go for $45 when brand new, but a few years back I got a CD compilation of 30 games (plus all the booklets in PDF format) for something like $19.95. Go figure.