You can take advantage of Bank of America's Museums on Us program with any Bank of America ATM, debit or credit card at participating institutions across the country --- not just these two in Maryland. 

Just bring it to the museum along with a photo ID to gain free admission during the first weekend of any month, which includes Nov. 7 and 8. 

Check the free museum admission site for more freebie weekends.

Then, if you need a pick-me-up after absorbing all that culture ... 

A McCafe van will be offering free samples of McCafe drinks from noon to 3 p.m. on Friday, and children 12 and under will also receive free ice cream cones all weekend.

The address of the new McDonald's is 7415 Governor Ritchie Highway, Glen Burnie. 

Eileen Ambrose already told us about the Your Money Bus events scheduled in Baltimore on Thursday, but in case you missed it, here's a recap:

From 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today, bring your financial questions to Baltimore's City Hall to get answers from financial advisers.

But if you're already booked or can't get downtown, there's still a chance to meet with these folks Friday ... 

From 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. Friday, they'll be offering tips at the Center for Urban Families, 2201 N. Monroe Street, Baltimore.

Then, they'll head north for a free financial advice event at the Hunt Valley Towne Centre (118 Shawan Road, Hunt Valley) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

They will take walk-ins, but if you plan to attend, you might consider clicking this link to make an appointment ahead of time. 

The events are sponsored by companies like TD Ameritrade and Kiplinger's Personal Finance, as well as FiLife.com and the National Association of Personal Finance Advisors.

I've been researching some kitchen purchases lately, and I've spent a lot of time cross-referencing equipment recommendations from Alton Brown with tests by Consumer Reports and reviews by Cook's Illustrated.

There were some roadblocks, however, when AB recommended some product that CR had not tested or if the Cook's Illustrated best bet was no longer in stores.

If you are confronted by just such a conundrum, here's another site to add to the list: Cheapism.com, our Consumer Web Site of the Week.

Pluses about the site: They remain editorially independent, refusing any payment from companies. And they also point out features that make products too pricey, as well as which bargain-basement products are a waste of money.

They also compile great links to stories about living the frugal life. 

As the CEO of Boston Market I must admit right off that I am biased. Let me tell you about the $1 promotion from our perspective, since everyone is entitled to an opinion.

When KFC released their press release on Thursday, Oct. 22 that they were going to repeat their 1 piece of chicken giveaway on Monday, Oct. 26 we decided this time to not let it go unchallenged. By late Thursday we had decided on our offer: $1 for 1/4 of a white meat chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn bread. A real meal, not a piece of chicken.

Our biggest challenge was in deciding whether our stores would have enough food, since they would not have time to place an order for more food before the promotion would begin. We decided that we were safe with up to a tripling of our normal business and would not be advertising or publicizing the promotion.

We e-mailed our 400,000 VIP Club members, included a "Forward to a friend" button, and sent out the e-mails on Sunday night. We expected the promotion to be picked up on the many "deal" websites and were okay with that.

Our mistake was in thinking that we were making things better by having the promotion run for a week, instead of 2-3 days. We never would have done a 1 day promo like KFC since it makes your guests jump through too many hoops to take advantage of it.

However, by the third day it was clear that instead of making the situation better from a guest standpoint, it make it worse. It allowed the coupon to take on viral properties and spread throughout the country. It gave time for people to come back a second, third, and fourth time, which we were okay with, but it made the lines longer, not shorter.

Our biggest difficulty is that ...

We had to start with the food that we had, and then replenish during mid-week. We did fine until the fifth day, when about 5% of our restaurants ran low (mostly in the midwest), then out of food. Our offer was for chicken and mashed potatoes. When we ran out of those we started offering all of our meats and all of our sides. Cost was never an issue. Not disappointing was always on our minds.

However, when demand outstripped supplies, and restocking was at least a day a way, we had to temporarily close stores that were one day away from receiving more food. When this happened we had our staff inside the store greet guests in the parking lot and give them an apology letter and explanation from me, and a raincheck for the following week for the same deal.

I have read a lot of comments on the internet saying that we should have known better than to offer such a good deal during these tough times with a coupon that could be copied and forwarded. We did know better, we just underestimated the popularity of our food when combined with a $1 offer. We served 1.7 million meals last week for $1 each. It was as if the city of Phoenix decided to show up at our all of our restaurants and ask to be fed for $1 for one week. And we did. We never had more than 8% of our stores without food at any time, and we always gave rainchecks when it happened. If we served frozen food it would have been so easy!

We did this promotion for two reasons, one selfish and one altruistic. We have learned from our Two Kids Eat Free promotion, which runs on the weekends through Jan. 31, that times are tough on families right now. Our $1 meal deal was, first, to fight back against KFC, and second, to give a true deal to people in true need of a good meal.

I am so proud of our people. They showed up every day, for seven days, faced long lines and served food with smiling faces. They were proud of what we serve and the true meaning of what we were trying to do. Do we hope that we will be well thought of in the future and that we will get some full-paying business? Of course. Even charities have to break even or they go out of business and can't help anyone.

Thank you to those of you who supported us by voting "yes" on this poll. I am glad that you "got it". To those of you who voted "no", please give us another chance at full-price sometime in the future. I think that you will agree that it is worth it.

I can tell you from the hundreds of phone calls and e-mails that we have received that times are tough for a lot of people. We know that and are proud of making our contribution to help. We look for others in our industry to respond in the same way.

Lane, thanks for weighing in. Right now the poll results on the Boston Market promotion indicate that many Consuming Interests readers were pleased with the promotion. Several said that this coupon came at a pretty tough time for them financially.

This was the first time I'd heard that rainchecks were distributed, however. Folks, if you received a raincheck from a Boston Market location that closed early, please let us know!

In other Boston Market news, on Friday, Boston Market extended its Two Kids Eat Free promotion through January 30, 2010, giving families another chance to try their food at a lower price.

*UPDATED: Don't miss KFC's response to Boston Market's statement about its chicken.

(photo: Boston Market)