Sunday, January 28, 2007

Why Can't You Buy Cashews in a Shell

Cashews: the nut you can't buy in a shell:

Why? It turns out that the cashew shell is toxic. However, that raised the question of what a cashew looks like in its shell. Again, we had no idea. When we found out, we knew more people should see it. Weird looking, isn't it [follow link for photo]? And caustic, too!

Cashews, like many of the culinary nuts listed above, are not true nuts in the botanical sense. True nuts develop a hard wall around the seed (e.g. hazelnuts). Cashews instead have a lining around the seed that is filled with a nasty fluid.

Monday, January 15, 2007

Track Forwarded Links

Forwarding Tree looks like an interesting/fun idea. You can track the address you forward as it propagates around the internet. Here is a test:

http://forwardingtree.com/#engineering.curiouscatblog.net/2

Thursday, January 11, 2007

What does love mean? at 6

What does love mean? to kids 4 to 8 years old:

"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss"
Emily - age 8

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."
Danny - age 7

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."
Mary Ann - age 4

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."
Lauren - age 4

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Working for Myself

Top 10 Reasons Why I Like Working for Myself:

3. No more “9 to 5”. If I want to work at 7am then take a yoga class at 11am, I can. Likewise if I choose to sleep in a little and work late. Plus, I love those afternoon siestas!
...
8. I get to spend more time with my cat.

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

All Is Not So Bad in the State of Denmark

All Is Not So Bad in the State of Denmark

over the past 30 years, the citizens of Denmark have scored higher than any other Western country on measures of life satisfaction, and scientists think they know why.
...
the country’s secret is a culture of low expectations.
...
But on surveys, Danes continually report lower expectations for the year to come, compared with most other nations. And “year after year, they are pleasantly surprised to find that not everything is getting more rotten in the state of Denmark,” the paper concludes.

Friday, January 05, 2007

Back Up Your Gmail

Based on the announcement of gmail data being lost for a small number of users it makes sense to Back Up Your Gmail:

1) Read Google’s Help document on POP access to your Gmail account.

2) Configure an account on your mail client for your gmail account. - IMPORTANT- Build a separate account. If you’re using Outlook, make sure this is a standalone PST file. If you’re using mail.app or Thunderbird, make sure this is a standalone account.


Another description: How to use Outlook to backup your Gmail account