But being that we amuse ourselves so much, we decided to change it up. So now, if you have a question for Gus, send it his way. Have you been looking for a resource or a publication or a database and don’t know where to find it? Or do you need better search syntax ideas? We’ll publish the answers on our blog and, if they’re interesting enough, we’ll feature them in an upcoming issue of our bi-weekly newsletter. So give it your best shot.

We know exactly where to send you.

Google continues to hold us captive – but we’re not complaining. We suggest you pay a visit to Google’s specialized U.S. Government Search, which searches sites of organizations including the FDA, NIH and others. And to further focus your results, choose “advanced search” and limit the file type to .pdf documents. (Or if you’re brave, just add this to the end of your search: filetype:pdf and it will limit the search to pdf documents. Want to see if there are any PowerPoints? change pdf to ppt. It’s fun, try it!)

You won’t be disappointed. Good luck!

RESPECT!

Check it out.

Not only is the message important, but it’s very cool to see how they incorporated some groovy tools. See them also on Facebook, YouTube, Flicker, Team Sugar.

If you’re so inclined, spread the word!

Dear reader, we’re not laughing. Not much, anyway.

We found an amazing food site! Practically Edible.

If you drill down through the Cuisines section, you’ll find Scottish food and you’ll see this:

Scots get tired of their food being summarized as haggis, whiskey, deep-fried Mars bars, and shortbread in tartan tins.

Yet there is something to it. Haggis is oatmeal and offal, both of which the Scots both eat a lot. Scots are very pround of their whiskey. And as for shortbread, Scots really do have a sweet tooth.

In general, Scottish food is seen as being very heavy. There are many jokes of it all being “artery clogging”. Not even a vegetable such as cabbage is a major player in the Scottish diet.

And you’ll also see this:

Comfort foods in Scotland are soups, casseroles and steamed puddings. In November 2003, the “Food Trust of Scotland” surveyed 6,000 Scots to determine what their top ten Scottish foods were. The results were as follows, in order from the most popular down:

1. Cranachan
2. Aberdeen Angus beef
3. Smoked salmon
4. Scotch broth
5. Venison casserole
6. Haggis with neeps and tatties
7. Farmhouse cheese and oatcakes
8. Roast lamb
9. Clootie dumplings
10. Baked salmon

And on this wonderful site (our new favorite? I don’t know - we like so many!), you’ll also find extensive information in these categories:

• encyclopaedia
• recipes
• biographies
• foodcalendar (now this has some funny stuff!)
• tips
• conversions

Check it out. Gotta run. Getting hungry.

I liked what I read, and since Chris asked that if I did I’d consider blogging a link back to this post so that people know where to get the ebook.

You probably know a lot of this stuff. But it’s worth a read. Don’t we all get around to our own branding and promotion last?

Note: the illustration is from Chris’ site.

So, I went to check it out. It’s pretty neat and provides free patent searching, free PDF downloading, allows annotating documents and sharing them, and free alerts for new documents.

I love that James wrote to tell us about it. And I had to share.

Truth be told, I’m on my 12th mystery this summer. Of course I don’t abandon the business reading, but poolside? I’ll take a Laura Lippman book anytime.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Wendy

Ever wonder what foods the Vikings ate when they set off to explore the new world? How Thomas Jefferson made his ice cream? What the pioneers cooked along the Oregon Trail? Who invented the potato chip,and why?

You will find a plethora of popular lore and contradictory facts. Timeline? Well, it’s not perfect since foods evolve over time, but this is a very fun and interesting research site.

We had to share.

For a Big Mac, we’ll tell you. (If you us get some fries, too, we’ll tell you even more.)

A new study by Research International “Fast Food Nation 2008: A Consumer Perspective on the Fast Food Industry” provides an understanding of consumers’ views on fast food.

“With the average American spending $500 a year on fast food, the industry clearly plays a major part in the country’s economy and we felt that our clients would benefit from gaining an in-depth understanding of this segment which is a large part of consumers’ lives,” said Alexander Kleijngeld, Research International, vice president-client services.

Some of the major findings from the study include:

• Over half of the population eats fast food once a week with 20 percent eating fast food at least every other day.
• Fourteen percent of the population accounts for almost half of all fast food sales. These high frequency users tend to be male, below middle-age and employed with high incomes.
• High-frequency users have an average income of $67,575 which is 15 percent higher than the sample group’s average household income of $58,875.
• Despite their above-average incomes, high frequency users are more likely to increase fast food consumption because of economic pressure and are attracted to “value” dining options.
• Subway earned the highest Brand Energy score which measures how strong a brand is the minds of consumers. This score is a composite of four dimensions: Status and Momentum: strong brands not only perform well today (Status) but are also seen as continuously evolving and improving/innovating (Momentum); Affinity and Performance: strong brands not only offer a great experience functionally (Performance) but consumers also have an emotional bond with them (Affinity).
• Frequent users are attracted to restaurants that have new menu options or promotions and react positively to healthy food choices that are in tune with a restaurant’s efforts to improve the healthiness of their menu.
• More than half the country (57 percent) has been to McDonald’s in the past month followed by Subway (37 percent), Burger King (36 percent), Taco Bell (33 percent), Wendy’s (32 percent) and KFC (27 percent).
• Convenience is the main reason consumers choose a fast-food dining option.

Did that say $500 a year? Per person? Yikes.

AND

Over half of all Americans eat fast food at least once a week (20 percent eat it every other day) and nearly 60 percent of us went to a McDonald’s in the past month.

We also learned that (as is common in most businesses) a small percentage of customers account for most of the sales. Almost 50 percent of all fast food sales come from 14 percent of consumers. And these aren’t who you’d expect. They have an average income of $68,000 and, though young-ish, they aren’t teens and college kids.

What markets are consuming the most fast food? According to MRI’s Market-by-Market study:

1.Lafayette, Ind. (Hi Kathy B.!)
2.Rochester, Minn./Mason City, Iowa (think it’s because of Mayo Clinic?)
3.Cedar Rapids/Waterloo/Iowa City/Dubuque, Iowa
4.Detroit
5.St. Joseph, Mo.
6.Omaha, Neb. (Hello WG and Sara and Kevin and…)
7.Champaign/Springfield/Decatur, Ill. (Lori - you there?)
8.South Bend/Elkhart, Ind.
9.Columbus, Ohio
10.Cleveland/Akron (Canton), Ohio (Hey EK!)

Another interesting finding. People actually turn more frequently to fast food when the economy is less than optimal. So yay to all you in the biz!