Interesting Stuff is a weekly listing of short takes and links to web items that have caught my attention; some related to aging and some not, some useful and others just for fun.

You are all encouraged to submit items for inclusion. Just click “Contact” in the upper left corner of any Time Goes By page to send them. I'm sorry that I probably won't have time to acknowledge receipt and there is no guarantee of publication. But when I do include them, you will be credited and I will link to your blog if you have one.

THE SNOW FIZZLE
Beginning last Monday, the weathermen here were in a tizzy about an expected snowstorm in Portland and its surrounds. It finally arrived on Thursday and this is the worst it got anywhere near me and in most of the rest of the Willamette Valley.

One of the best things about leaving Maine is that I'm not digging out my car once or twice a week anymore. And even if we ever do have a gigantic storm in this part of Oregon, I have a carport now, so I'll never see my little red car like this as I did one morning last winter.

BERNIE'S BOOK
After his nine-hour filibuster on the Senate floor in December, Bernie Sanders asked his constituents to send him their stories of struggling through the recession.

Now he has published those letters in an online booklet titled, Struggling Through the Recession: Stories From Vermont. Here is just one from an 89-year-old woman:

“The current depression is much worse than that of the 1930s. As to the effect on my life, living on Social Security, the lack of cost of living increase which is very real, makes it hard to make ends meet. I have a very good health program...but the cost goes up and up. Property taxes are extremely high in Dorset. I must sell my property.”

Imagine being 89 and needing to sell your house in this real estate market. You can read the entire booklet here [pdf] and it's worth your time.

LOST AND FOUND
Forty years ago Rudy Resta, now 77, lost his wallet. All these years later, he's got it back again. Watch:

How often does that happen. You can read the accompanying story here.

ONLINE PRICE HELP
I buy a lot of stuff I need online and for the past two or three months, I have been using a small browser add-on called InvisibleHand, Most of the time, it sits quietly as a little green arrow at the bottom of the screen.

But if there is a better price when I'm shopping, a bright yellow strip appears at the top of the screen with the cheaper price of the product I'm looking at and a link to the page where I can get it.

It is a terrific service. I haven't kept track of how much I've saved so far but in many cases, the amount has been substantial. It works with Firefox 3.5+, Safari, Chrome and Internet Explorer. You can find out more about it and download it for free here.

SHORT INTERESTING STUFF THIS WEEK
There was a lot of news to keep up with and research to do this week so my collection of items for this Saturday post got lost in the shuffle and it doesn't even have a weekly cat video.

Sorry about that. You can help by sending your suggestions for next week. Here's today's final item.

THE LAST RIDE
Thanks to TGB reader Sharry Sullivan, we have this fantastic video of five Taiwanese elders – old friends in their 80s, all sick with cancer, heart disease and other conditions who take off on a cross-country motorcycle trip together. I promise – you'll love it.