Five years ago, I was living in Casablanca, Morocco. A British friend of mine called and started babbling about how the twin towers were hit and there were planes blowing up and it was like a movie but it was real. I had no idea what she was talking about, and since she was always a bit high-strung, I didn’t pay her too much mind. In addition, I lived down the street from a pair of 30-story office buildings call the “Twin Center,” so when I glanced out the window and saw that they were fine, I was even more confused. So I logged on to the internet and, well, you know the rest.

Where were you and how did you find out?

Is it totally narcissistic to post that on my blog?

I recently opened an online savings account which is linked to my “brick and mortar” checking account. After my initial deposit, I got a $25 bonus, which was nice, but even better is the interest rate, which at 4.35% is higher than many CDs. Money is easily transferred between my regular checking and the online account, and the interest really adds up. If you’re interested in learning more about an account like this (not to mention the free $25), respond to this post or email me at lklawless AT hotmail and I’ll send you an invitation.

I’ve been reading about electric cars lately, and it’s fascinating. I haven’t seen “Who Killed the Electric Car?” yet, but I plan to. Apparently we are stuck paying these outrageous prices for gas and destroying the environment not only because of oil company lobbyists, but also because electric cars have very few moving parts, and the market for auto parts is also a huge and influential. Crazy stuff.

While researching something else entirely, I came across several completely unrelated tidbits that I’d like to share with you.

• The shortest war in history, called the Anglo-Zanzibar War, lasted 45 minutes.
• In 1928, war was outlawed by the Kellogg-Briand Pact.
• The world’s first successful oil well was found in, of all places, Titusville, Pennsylvania.
• On average, right-handed people live nine years longer than left-handed people.