One of the earliest stories that made my question my religion.

When I was young, I was a voracious reader. Particularly science fiction and fantasy, but pretty much anything I could get my hands on. I read the Dragonlance Trilogy . . . the whole thing . . . on the way to Florida in the car. I loved the Thomas Covenant series, among others. But science fiction writers really just took a blender to my imagination. I read Bradbury, Clarke, Asimov, and I loved in particular anthologies and collections of short stories. The medium of the short story, and the skill of particularly adept authors–to take a single idea and turn it into a powerful communication of that single idea within just a few pages–always amazed me.

Asimov was by far my favorite science fiction short story author. I have a tattered old copy of a collection of his short stories in my basement that is practically falling apart from use. In that specific and particular book is my favorite short story of all time, The Last Question. It challenged my preconceptions of religion, about what could be. And it does it in a way that is framed, in retrospect, subtly against the backdrop of everything you learn growing up. That is, in part, the genius of it, its introduction of minute dischord. Make it too foreign to your culture, to your frame of reference, and an idea will slide off like water off the back of a duck.

So many things, as we age, turn out to be not as good as we remember them. This short story has always to me bucked that trend. It could be because of the personal value I attach to it, but I read it today and the last lines still make my arm hairs raise on end.

So, if you have the opportunity, I recommend taking a quick read of The Last Question. I am not naive enough to think that it will in any way change the perspective of an adult, entrenched in their thinking–either it will be preaching to the choir, or beating on the brick wall–but you may just enjoy it for what it is, a short story of excellent quality by one of the best writers of the 21st century.

You want financial responsibility in a nutshell?

Air Force Officer Nick breaks it down for you.

Nick’s blog is worth a thorough read.  He’s got a good head on his shoulders (volunteering for a tour in Iraq notwithstanding), and writes in easy-to-digest entries.  And while it is true that not everyone is in a position to do what he did in order to reduce his debt load–reduce his expenses significantly and simultaneously increase his income, his fortitude should serve as an example to all of us still in the rat race.

I got to Nick through Mint.com’s blog, which I got to through Lifehack.org (I also recommend lifehacker.com, where I usually find something useful at least once a week).  It’s amazing what you find when you click through a few pages and see where you end up–and I recommend all of the above.  Make sure to give Nick an encouraging word when you get a chance.