Pete & Jay's Tip O Da "Day"

Need an interesting way to exfoliate your hands and make them smooth as a baby's behind, while being extremely productive at the same time? Prepare a ham for baking. The salt, brown sugar, and other seasonings that you rub on the ham will create the "satin hands" effect. And whaddya know? You'll have a perfectly seasoned ham to put in the oven once you're done.

When scheduling your GRE test beware of overestimating your abilities. For example, if you look at your calander and notice that for four days you will be on a charter bus with 150 seventh graders seeing every possible sight there is to see in Chicago , consider that this might hinder your ability to test well for at least 2-3 days. It would be best then, if you return late Saturday night to schedule the GRE for sometime after Tuesday or Wednesday , not Monday morning. Even with loads of sleep, you probably still aren't yourself after 36 hours and therefore will find that you do not react or think at your normal speed. This of course can hurt your GRE performance since it is a timed test. The bottom line...a month in advance you think you can do anything, but remember that you will be the same person with the same limitations in 30, 60, or even 100 days. Of course another great GRE tip--enroll in a program that doesn't require the GRE!!!

This tip is important, especially for those of us who's gender prohibits us from wearing a purse . It seem like everyone these days is caring around more gadgets and other accessories. Unfortantly, the clothes that we carry them in need to be washed. When it comes time for this dreaded chore, be sure to check all your pockets first. The second to last thing you would want to happen is to leave gum in your pocket. Realizing it after the wash is over, and being very thankful that is looks like none of it got stuck to any clothing. Only to then realize when you're trying to put on your new jacket that your arm is stuck on an inpentatrable shield that once was half a stick of gum. Thank goodness for Goo Gone , the stuff actually works! At least it wasn't a gum pack shaped iPod .

With the help of my friends Ked and Emily from the Admissions Office at Asbury College , I discovered a GREAT game to play while on the road, bored, or just feeling silly. And lucky for you, there are multiple variants on the game. I call it, "The Hot-tub Game." It's simple. You ask your friends, "Who would you rather be in a hot-tub ALONE with for an HOUR with NO BUBBLES!" And then you proceed to give the the options of the most heinously awkward, hairy, or concerning people you all know. You may ask, "what's the deal with the bubbles?" Excellent question. By not having bubbles or jets turned on, there is nothing but awkward silence, and visible bikini lines. AWKWARD. As a variant, try additives like, "the hot tub is filled with mashed potatoes and the jets squirt gravy" or whatever else you can fathom. When choosing your hot-tub partner, be sure to consider not just appearances, but levels of awkwardity. First and foremost, the person...

Have you ever heard the saying that you usually feel worse before you get any better? Well, I think that is true. Even if you feel like you are getting a little sick and want to take care of it early, just don't. Avoid the doctor. Even if you know what you have and you've already tried Jay's tip of drinking water and that didn't help, just don't even try the doctor. Usually he'll prescribe medicine to get rid of whatever funk you have and you go on your merry way thinking you'll be 100% the next day but that is where you are mistaken..... This is just the beginning of the battle of "the funk." It has a life of it's own and when it feels like it is being threatened by Antibiotics Man it will fight until finally overpowered. While that battle rages on, you're body is being used as the battle ground causing you to be of very little use. Of course, if you let Funk Man do his funky dance in your body maybe he'll eventually get bored ...

So you've all seen the Pepsi's with the yellow caps that promise a free iTunes song to a lucky one-out-of-three Pepsi drinking consumers. And well, of course some of us on staff here at Tip o Da Day, really like Coca-Cola , but like free iTunes songs even better. So we're very willing to switch loyalties for a couple months . As long as we can score a free MxPx song or something. Ok, 20oz Pepsi bottles are running at $1.19 universally right now. So that means if you could win a 99¢ song everytime you open the cap you're only paying 20¢ for 20oz of Pepsi (pretty much what it's actually worth). But that all depends on if you can win everytime. And surprisingly that's not as hard as it sounds. You can actually grab a Pepsi bottle at Cluckers or your convience store of choice. Hold the bottle up, tilt it on its side just enough so you have a fairly unobstructed view to the underside of the cap. You might have to wipe of some condensation, or twist the bottle ...

I find it frustrating that dressing up for men innately involves wearing a tie. (I won't complain too loudly because I'd much rather wear a tie than a bra.) But, nonetheless, why can't we express ourselves, wear something more interesting for dressing up? I think that to answer this question, many men have made some egregious mistakes in their neckwear choices. Generally these men work in Information Services, for Helpdesks around the world, or in a computer field in general. Basically, you should know that it is almost NEVER appropriate to wear novelty ties. Novelty ties include, but are not limited to the following contents: harps, piano keyboards, computers, computers with rats that are supposed to be metaphors for a "mouse" on a computer, Veggie Tales, Disney characters, scantily-clad women, Star Wars/Star Trek, paisley patterns, polka dots and the like. These ties should be put through your shredder at work. (If you're afraid of breaking the shredder, don...

Okay, so we all know that there are those of us who LOVE to flirt . In fact, I am one of them. However, flirting should sometimes be taken into very serious consideration. I've learned that there is a time and a place. Mainly, beware of who you flirt with. If you are sitting around doing nothing with some time to kill, there is nothing wrong with picking up your phone and engaging in some flirtatious texting and perhaps even a phone call. However, this can be very dangerous. You know that you are bored, looking for something to do, and interested in talking to the friend or friends that you choose to call. But, on the other end of the phone, they may seriously get the wrong impression. You may be thinking, "Oh, what a nice chat. Will have to do that again sometime in the future ." In your mind future does not mean later that day or the next day or maybe even that week. So when you find yourself somewhat bombarded by calls and texts, you realize that now you have to be mea...

Looking for a fun slumber party game? Look no further. Once "lights out" has been declared, you can rest assured, the fun is only beginning. Wait until it's VERY dark, and everyone's eyes have adjusted to it. Make sure people are still awake, with their eyes open, and get yourself into a funny pose, complete with a strange face gesture. Then in less than a milli-second, flash the lights on and off. Your crazy image will be permanently ingrained on their retinas! It's scary for them, hilarious for you!

Wish Julie, our cutest contributor to the Tip O da Day site, a very Happy Birthday! Please take our advice. We'd hate to say what might happen if you don't.

When traveling, be sure to research what time zone you'll be going in and out of. In an iffy spot like Indianapolis, you could run the risk of either 1.) oversleeping and missing something important, or far worse, 2.) missing an hour of sleep! The other advice I'd offer is that in some cities, like Indianapolis, they may be Eastern Standard Time, but sometimes they spontaneously decide to NOT adopt Daylight Savings Time! So, sometimes they'll be an hour different, other times not. Whoever devised that system obviously never left their home city for fear of utter confusion. The final tidbit of advice on timezones is to be wary of what the hotel alarm clock reads. Don't take it for face value! Typically your cellphone will be accurate as you "time travel," so consult it first, but always verify local time with a hotel employee. I once had to be at an airport VERY early, but to make matters worse, my alarm clock was set to be an hour late, so I lost ANOTHER hour ...

A few weeks ago I found a cure for a rare, but nonetheless annoying occurence when I run. For inexplicable reasons, sometimes I will slowly lose feeling in one of my feet. Not sure what causes this lack of circulation, but I find myself moving my toes around with almost every stride in an attempt to get the blood flowing again - all to no avail. It doesn't hurt, and it doesn't really effect my running, but it is annoying and it just plain feels weird. Last time this happened, I was on mile four of a six mile run and my left foot had long been numb. I thought I'd just have to suck it up for the last few miles. Then I reached a hill. Now, I've found that running shorter, quicker steps up on the balls of my feet is an easier way to get up hills. So I went up on the balls of my feet, and what do you know, I immediately felt the blood flow back into my numb foot. By the time the hill was over, it was back to normal. After a few minutes of running "normal"...

Periodically check the bottoms of your flip-flops for thumbtacks or nails, when you're not wearing them. Or, let me rephrase this... before standing on one foot while dressing in the locker room at the Y, check the bottoms of you flip-flops for thumbtacks or nails. You're much more likely to be impaled with such sharp objects when you have all of your weight on one foot, and thus are balanced directly over said thumbtack. Remember all that stuff about weight on a small vs. a large surface area? ...Yeah, weight distribution is a beautiful thing.

I recently made chili for a luncheon here at work and I wanted to try out Steph’s award-winning recipe. This requires chopping up many kinds of peppers--hot, mild, all kinds. Steph warned me to make sure I wore latex gloves when handling the peppers. I don’t know whether I thought she was wimpy or I wanted to try to be macho, but I scoffed at the rubber gloves and went on chopping the peppers, handling them only with the tips of my fingers. So it appears that I did take note of the warning, at least enough to take care in not smearing the pepper oil all over my hands. All went well and was successful, no burning hands afterward. I felt no ill effects from the peppers until the next morning, when I put my contacts in and experienced the worst burning in my life. I could barely pry my eyes open to get my contacts out of my watery, red eyes. My only reasoning regarding the burn was pepper oil. So again, I learn the hard way and tell you all--use gloves when chopping peppers…if your hands...

So you might be wondering how St. Patrick's day got elevated above and beyond so many other Saint's days. Like who knew there was a Saint David's Day ? Well how do you create your own day ? Well you already have your birthday, so that's a start. If you want an actual national holiday, the first thing you need to do is contact your local congress person . Get them to buy in on it, hopefully they'll be able to get it on the congressional agenda in a couple years and if you're lucky wait a couple more years and you may get something. The other option is, just kind of make up a holiday, to make it official looking get it trademarked. Then you could write a book, just so people know they need to color pumpkins pastel colors , drink red soda , kiss llamas or whatever it might take to properly celebrate your holiday, and you'll be all set. Happy Campfire Founder's Day and Submarine Day to you all!

Some say "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." I say, "water that's drunk means don't get the funk!" On several occasions when I have felt sickness creeping in, I've drowned my sorrows with large quantities of water. When you notice the first symptom, begin drinking as much water as you can hold. I'm talking like a gallon or more in one day--and I know it seems a little absurd, but it seriously works better than anything else I've tried. You may say, "but won't I be in the bathroom all day?" In actuality, because your body is fighting disease, you'll use a lot of it, and be surprised at how little you'll have to piddle. If you feel like your symptoms are subsiding, spend at least one more day drinking lots of water. You'll probably be able to stay healthy through many of these annoying little bugs that are passed around. Who needs a flu shot anyway?

If you enjoy random days off work where you get to sleep late, watch movies, and enjoy a non-work-filled day, become a teacher. However, you need to make sure you do not become a teacher in Fayette County . In fact, you should do your best to get a teaching job in the most rural and remote part of a northern state. The more rural your school district the more often you will miss school due to those beautiful country roads being covered in snow and ice and therefore impassable by those big yellow school buses. If you want to work on days when every one else is at home sleeping in and watching movies--then Fayette County is the place for you. -Rach

For an attractive alternative to the Dawn® or Palmolive® bottle to set by your sink, put your dish soap in a bottle with a dispenser that typically would be used for olive oil . It is a lot less messy, is trendy-looking, seems to conserve soap (you tend to use less since you can't squeeze the bottle), and it creates fewer undesirable sound effects than the retail dishsoap bottle. If you have a creative friend with glass paint, have them paint a design on it. Note: When guests are at your sink, it might take them a minute to figure out where the dish soap is.

Sometimes the most natural place to set your beverage or food item at a party is on the floor. You'll think to yourself, "I'll remember it's there, I won't kick it over," which may be true, however, keep in mind that at a party, there are several (hopefully) other people there who did not see you set down your soda, milk, or stew, that did not think "I'll remember it's there, I won't kick it over, or sit in it, or mash it into a blanket." The result? You have about a quarter of your slop remaining because your eyes are definitely bigger than your stomach, and who wants to get up for seconds in the middle of a movie? Then, an unsuspecting party-goer flops down a husband-pillow or blanket RIGHT into stew, panics, thinks it's vomit, and ends up doing laundry! So, just set your stuff on the nearest coffee table, end table, or the like. You'll be spill-free and not wearing any of your food or beverage. But also, look out for people who...

If you ever catch on fire, try to avoid looking in the mirror, cause then you'll really freak out. Thanks to Jack Handy and Lalah for today's tip

We all know that sweet tea from Chick-Fil-A is the best on the planet. Just be careful when consuming it in the car. Before placing your cup o' tea in the cup holder, do a quick sweep to make sure no pointed objects are in the cup holder, say for example, a pen or pencil. If so, you'll come to a stop-light, go to take a refreshing swig, and think at first, "hmm, this feels light--have I seriously drunk this much sweetea?" After you pull the cup up and feel it "piddling" on you, you'll realize, "OH SHIZZLE, we've sprung a leak." And trust me, it's not fun cleaning sweetea out of a cupholder. :-(

Thanks to our friends Sydney and Jack Bristow from Alias for this tip. If you ever decide to extract someone who poses a TREMENDOUS threat to national security for WHATEVER purpose, don't under any circumstance handcuff him or her to a nearby railing while you go kill people. Chances are, he'll figure a way out and you shouldn't assume he'll be right where you left him. Just a thought. It may end up being something you regret for a long while. So, good luck with that. Come to think of it, don't extract someone like this ANYWAY!

Say for example you're still in high school. You don't want to be in class for any longer then you really need to be. I remember when I was back in high school however long they gave me for lunch was not enough. So, to get out of, say your fourth hour, class right before lunch. Cooperate with your teacher and let her get through the material quickly. You never know she might just let you go a couple minutes early and get a break on the rest of the lunch crowd. The same also applies to those of us who get stuck in 11:00 meetings. Just agree with everyone's ideas and you'll be on your way to an early lunch!

Hopefully one day you will have the opportunity to chaperone some type of trip with students. If you are so lucky, this trip will include middle school students and be overnight. If this is the case for you, one of the most important items you can bring is a roll of tape. Yes, tape. Did you know that tape is an overnight field trip miracle? You see, when tape is attached to the door and the wall next to it, and the door is opened, the tape cannot be reattached. Therefore, it insures that if a student escapes during the night...you will find out about it! This is very important if you, the chaperone, want to sleep and not worry about where your students are in the middle of the night. So, next trip you go on, don't forget the tape!

If you're ever "on tour," or just on the road for business, keep in mind you're operating on a "per diem" for food and lodging. Of course, this means you're not paying for your own food! If you were back home, you'd be paying at least for some of that food and if you're like many of us in my circle of friends, we dine out very frequently. So, you can either come back home with a large chunk of money that you saved (which would be SMART) or you could use that money to buy cool stuff in the places you're visiting! You can also rationalize larger purchases if, for example, you live alone. You could turn off your heat while you're gone and save a chunk of money on your heat bill! Don't forget gas--we all know that not driving for a week will save you plenty! So, all in all the per diem is worth far more than the amount you're allotted. It's sort of like double money!

Sometimes we must take this whole free country bit a tad too lightly. Turns out, in countries that don't have this whole freedom-of-speech-thing, you can't complain about the government. Turns out a dude in Iran got thrown in jail for 14 years for insulting the country's leaders. That natural tip from this is: If don't don't live in a country with feedom of speech, don't pretend that you do.

If you think of something during the day that you have to do, but you're in the middle of eight different tasks, on the phone, and late for a meeting, do this: Open an e-mail window in Outlook or whatever e-mail client you have and type the thing you need to remember in the subject line or body. Then, later in the day when you are closing windows or shutting down your window, you will be prompted to do something with that message window and thus be reminded to do the dire task. -Christy (StephChurch's roommate)

Many of you know I have been putting in long hours at the house recently and have felt the side effects in terms of tiredness. I will take this opportunity to apologize to everyone who has had to deal with me the last month. Well, this fatigue, lack of energy and muscle weakness have not subsided, even with 14 hours of sleep on Tuesday. I was getting quite concerned with this lingering problem, when Peter made a brilliant connection…paint fumes and me sleeping at my house. I moved in and painted three rooms (large ones at that) over the same weekend and have been inhaling the aroma ever since Saturday night. Well, I come to find out that side effects of inhalants are…fatigue, lack of energy and muscle weakness along with other things that I am lucky enough not to experience. So I do feel there is a connection here and my tip for all those out there is don’t hang out in a newly painted house and definitely don’t sleep there until well aired out. It will get to you – trust me! -Jen

If you are a tallish woman and you are forever looking for long-enough yoga/workout pants and/or you spend two minutes before each workout stretching your yoga pants down over your running shoes (so they will stay long enough for at least the hour that you're working out), have I got a tip for you! Cropped exercise pants are less expensive and give you basically the same look that you get when you're attempting full-length yoga pants--only somehow, it looks a lot more acceptable. I thought they might look and feel weird, but I actually felt less encumbered by them (nothing flapping about my ankles during my run), and they actually felt "cute!" (Typically my clothes feel functional and borderline frumpy at the gym.) I might be behind the workout fashion curve here, but in case there's someone else lagging behind with me, this has been the biggest find I've had in awhile. And you won't have to endure any more strange looks in the locker room as you go throug...

While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with you right hand. Your foot will change direction - - and there's nothing you can do about it. Thanks to Chad for today's tip.

Have you ever thought that life is too complicated? Do you often get caught up in the details that just drive you insane on a daily basis? Well, in my experiences over the past month at the United States Navy's Officer Candidate School, my classmates and I have learned to embrace these details. During our inspections, we are required to have our names stenciled perfectly on every article of clothing that we own. Our underwear and t-shirts are to be folded into a 6" square as well as our socks to be folded 6" in length. The list goes on and on and on, but I will spare you the details. Military life is very regimented and quite frustrating at times; however, it's not that bad. There are little things that are very simple and quite hilarious to keep us occupied. The one detail in particular that I would like to highlight and even challenge everyone to try is a part of our 'chow hall' procedures. From day one at OCS until the end of the show, we eat 3 squa...