Never Say Never

A couple of days ago, I posted some wild theories about Lost. Yesterday, I consolidated my geekiness as much as I thought was humanly possible by eating my lunch -- alone, of course, as befits the truly geeky -- whilst simultaneously listening to a Doctor Who podcast and reading a Star Wars novel. I could never get more geeky than that, right?

Never say never.

I arrived home and the wife had set aside my mail, which included my new Xbox LIVE Diamond card. I have accepted now that I am a bottomless well of geekiness.

Well then, I say it's in for a penny, in for a pound. Or is that in for a ¢, in for a £? Here are a few financial tips I was pleased to find this morning, courtesy of the Wise Bread blog, by way of The Consumerist -- nine ways Star Wars can inspire you to save money. It's a good list overall, but I do have a few quibbles here and there, as with this tip -- to save money by building things yourself:

Anakin built his own droid and pod racer from scratch. Luke made his own lightsaber; probably because he couldn’t pop down to Jedi-Mart for an off-the-shelf number, but still, it’s a good lesson. My dad would build things for our home instead of buying them; we were never short of a coffee-table or shelf-system. It’s not ideal for everyone, but if you’re handy, get busy. You’ll save lots of cash.

Technically speaking, Luke didn't build his first lightsaber; it was Anakin Skywalker's and was recovered by Obi-Wan Kenobi and given to Luke in Episode IV. Moreover, his subsequent lightsabers (as well as those used by other Jedi in the novels following Return of the Jedi) were built by those Jedi not for reasons of expediency or frugality but as a necessary component of their Jedi training. It's a good list overall, but c'mon -- let's keep our Star Wars trivia straight here, people!