Monday's Stuff on the Way to Other Stuff

It's a gray day. The clouds are glowering over the mountains, wrapping them up in a thick batt. Snow? Maybe. Or just gray skies...unusual for us here in Colorado. I'm used to blue skies and sunshine pouring through the window.
   No matter. I've got things to do. So do you. Let's get on with the Interesting Stuff:

*Get a free box of Quaker Oat Squares. Free is good! It may not last long...so jump on this quickly.

*Or buy your sweetie a Caribou Coffee -- it's BOGO on Feb. 14. 

*Last-minute Valentine crafts here -- five pages worth-- and some strategies, if you'd rather not whip up a paper heart or two.


*Looks like Whitney Houston died from drugs, not drowning. Ya think?!? What an incredibly sad ending to a talented person. Her song, "I Will Always Love You," gives me chills.

*Ruth Madoff's been spotted in New York. Those Who Know think she's probably staying at son Andrew's place. (I couldn't find any direct links on this, only comments from people who had spotted her there.) Ruth was living in Florida for a while...but not at her palatial residence, shared with husband Bernie. That's been sold, to try to pay off some of the billions of dollars owed to people he flimflammed.
    I've been researching Bernie Madoff and his scam for a post I'm writing for my other job, at TightFisted Miser. Publicly, he's been repentant (sort of); privately, he's bragging about billions of dollars he hid away before getting busted. And his best friends are Jonathan Pollard, a convicted spy, and a Mafia don. Go figure.
    The saddest item in this whole sordid story is not Bernie and his family -- but the many people, more than 13,000 of them, whose life savings he stole. Some of those victims are writers...and their books are the subject of my upcoming post. One person's take on the subject is here. After two-plus years, the victims are finally getting paid a little of what they invested...but attorneys' fees and Bernie made most of it disappear.

*Could a Siberian woolly mammoth still exist in Russia? The engineer who taped this says it does:

*Dave of 'Storage Wars' shares his biggest regrets -- and best buys. This series on A&E, about those who bid on storage units (and what they find), is surprisingly entertaining. The concept's a little silly, but the stories are fascinating. Good for research.


*MysteryGuitarMan's latest:

*An interesting new frugal blog. Preserving Pennies covers everything from mortgages to saving on baby food, and does it in an interesting "friend, I'm telling you about this" manner. Well worth reading.

*The Piano Man -- our friend Mark, a bass player, raves about Victor Wainwright's Youtube videos. The filming is crappy, but the music is incredible, especially if you like jazz and the blues. Here's Victor's take on Half-Ton Boogie Woogie:

Enjoy. Hopefully it's sunny, wherever you are.