The myths that masquerade as facts

The myth: The Width of the Space Shuttle's Fuel Tank is based on a History that Extends Back to the Roman Chariots!

Summary of the eRumor:

This story is a "We've always done it that way" tale.

It claims that the width of the Space Shuttle's fuel tank is only four-feet, eight-and-a-half inches and the NASA engineers could not make them any wider no matter how hard they tried!

Why?

Because the fuel tanks are transported by railroads and the standard distance between railroad rails in the U.S. is four-feet, eight-and-a-half inches.

Why?

Because that's what it was in England.

Why?

Because that's the gauge the tramways used before the railroads.

Why?

Because the tramways were built using the same tools as wagon-builders and that's how wide the wagon wheels were spaced.

Why?

Because the old roads in England had ruts that the wheels needed to accommodate.

Why?

Because the ruts were made by Imperial Roman chariots.

The Truth:

There is no evidence that we could find that this is true.

THE POINT: Everything you read or hear on the Internet is not true. Verify first. Believe later.

Use Google Calendar to Remember Birthdays, Anniversaries and Important Dates

I'm blessed with many family members and friends that I love and care for.

The downside is, I can't remember all their birthdays, especially when my extended family grows each year with the arrival of new beautiful babies.

So here is what I do: I enter all those dates into Google Calendar by clicking the Create Event link which displays the following dialog-box page:



In that screen I select and enter the date, hour, name, place, description etc. of the reminder.

I can also select whether this is a yearly, weekly, etc. or a one-time only event.

Google actually allows me to save as many reminders as I like.

So, the "absent-minded professor" that I am, I usually enter 3 reminders for each event: One e-mail reminder a week before the event; another e-mail reminder a day before the event; and a pop-up reminder just minutes before the event.

Google even let's me decide whether to keep the event as a private affair or make it public, in case I'd like to share it with others. You can share your reminder with others by entering their names and e-mail addresses in a field that is not shown in the above screen-shot.

Google is one smart company that makes my life easier and more productive. I'm not paid to say that but that's the truth and I don't mind saying it for free.

Google Gmail Rolls Out Skin Themes

THEMES tab in the Gmail Settings window.

Goodbye to good'old lain-vanilla blue-and-white Gmail!

Now you can select one of the 30 (and counting!) available skins for your Gmail page.



(Screenshot courtesy of Nirmal)

However, at this writing Themes are not available for every Gmail account. For example, I have it on one of my Gmail accounts but not on the other. If you cannot see the THEMES tab inside your SETTINGS window, be patient. It'll be there soon enough.