Life hacks

2023-02

Instant tomato puree

What you need:

Tomatoes, freezer, grater

Method:

Freeze the tomatoes you plan to use as puree. (They can be used for several months, depending on the freezer).

Once frozen, when you want to make puree, take it out and run it under warm/lukewarm water. The peel will come off easily just by pulling it off.

Use grater to grate the frozen tomato. Instant puree!

Bonus tip:

It can be put straight into the cooking dish from the grater - you don't have to wait for it to melt.

Please give feedback.

2011-08-19

Shy? Make friends easily

For shy geeks out there who want to make new friends, I've noticed two occasions when other people are more likely to notice you or say hello:

1. When a camera crew is following you around. But camera crews are probably expensive to rent, so consider:

2. Carrying around a large stuffed Panda bear. +Danny Sullivan sent me home from a search conference with a big Panda bear, and both men and women struck up a lot of conversations with me. Some of the comments I got:

"He looks alive!"

"Is that your best friend?" (From a jealous guy.)

"Awesome."

"Cool bear!"

"Is he yours?"

I also met a nice search engine optimizer from Kansas City who was walking by; she said she might not have said hello except she saw the Panda bear.

The moral of the story is: when you want to meet new people, carry a large stuffed animal around with you that day.