Ok, so a while back I bought a new Android-based Cell Phone, which is kind of like a iPhone but better for programming apps. (Stay with me, this story has a point.) It was my first ever device with a touchscreen, and thus also my first experience with those clear plastic screen protectors they use. Unfortunately my screen protector had an irritating bubble caused by a speck lodged underneath it. I finally got fed up with the bubble and peeled back the screen protector to try to flick the pesky speck away. Big mistake. When I tried to restick it I found that I'd introduced hundreds more specks, and now my touchscreen looked like a bad eczema rash.

So I went off to Fry's to buy a new screen protector, but when I got there I was shocked to find that, for a 3-inch piece of tacky cellophane, they wanted ten dollars. Now, ten dollars is no issue for me to waste, but I have a problem spending money on such a monumental rip-off. I began walking around Fry's in despair, thinking maybe I could find some other solution.

Lo and behold my eye fell upon a screen protector for a 12-inch computer monitor. This was at least 20 times as large as the screen protector for my cell phone. I could just buy one of them and cut it up; my cell phone's screen would be safe for years. Guess how much it cost. Yep, ten dollars. A screen protector 12-inch monitor costs the same as a 3-inch protector for a cell phone touchscreen. Sheesh.

The only thing I was afraid of was that a monitor screen protector might adversely affect the touchscreen performance of my cell phone. So, it was a risk to buy it. I could be throwing ten dollars down the drain if it doesn't work right.

So what do you think I did?

I bought it of course. Yes, I risked wasting ten dollars if it didn't work. But if it did work, then I would have demonstrated, once again, what a superior specimen of human being I am, because I'm not one of those suckers who spends ten dollars for a three-inch piece of cellophane.

So there you go: I balk at spending ten dollars for an overpriced but assured solution, but I'm happy to risk losing ten dollars for the opportunity to be superior.

And that pretty much sums me up.

By the way, it worked perfectly.