Pete & Jay's Tip O Da "Day"

Now that the holidays are almost over, work off some of that holiday weight by backing up your hard drive. One can never predict when a fatal crash will ensue, so please. Back up.

After reaching a milestone like the 700th tip, people are usually annoyed to read a tip as lame as this.

For our 700th tip, we would like to celebrate with our first video tip that happened to have been shot at the party celebrating our 500th tip: When launching a watermelon from a trampoline, it is best to have two jumpers. This provides the all important "double bounce" that will help propel the watermelon farther. As demonstrated by our first ever Video Tip®:

If you do have to give a cat a bath. You should at least take the necessary precautions. First, don't try to do this with your bare hands. Find a mesh bag, I don't know where you get this if you don't have one handy, but some females knew what I was talking about, I think they normally may be used to wash underthings. Stick the cat in the bag, the water and soap can get in, but the claws can hardly get out. Once you get the cat in the bag (heehe, sounds kind of backwards doesn't it) grabs the bag by the top and then dip her in the sink or tub. But standing water can only get your cat so clean, and not matter how tempted you are, don't touch the bag more then you have to. So just stick a little shampoo in the toilet, one or two flushes should clean kitty right up!

It's generally never a good idea to give a cat a bath. If you hadn't heard, cats hate water. In fact, they would rather have you whirl them around by their tails than get within a foot of any body of water. Should you neglect this advice and give the cat a bath, know that your poor choice will likely land you in the ER at 4:00am.

To kick your frozen pizza up a notch or two. Dig around your fridge for other things that might be tasty on a pizza. Spare pepperonis? A couple slices of ham? Extra cheese? Old pancakes? As Emeril would say, "BAM!"

Don't put your fancy camera phone too close to your sweaty Taco Bell cup.

For the 20-90 minutes that your wedding ceremoney is taking place, grooms, you really really, don't need to have your cell phone on you. Because as history has shown, you will have a friend in the audience who will notice it, and send you a text message just to startle you, not to interrupt the whole ceremony because "surly it is on vibrate". Even if it was on vibrate, you clearly can't take the call. Seriously people, there is no excuse for why you would need your cell phone while you've saving your vows. There is no "phone a friend" option. Thanks, kind of, Julie

Oohhh look, the gifts are starting to pile up under the tree. And there are some good ones with your name of in them. Can you wait six more days to find out. Shake shake shake, sounds like Legos. No…wait. Ahh, just can't tell for sure. Do you dare open it early? Not unless you want to spend Christmas in jail. Turns out opening Christmas gifts early is actually illegal, and if you have a hard core parent you may not be so excited about your gifts when the cops show up.

Looking for that gift to really tell them how you feel this year? Well here is one way to do it: The Ex Knife Holder

Computers start to act up every once in a while (yes, even Macs). Its very tempting to just be like "Hum, that was weird" and move on. But if that kind of things happens again, you should really start to look into it. A little problem, like minor hard drive problems (which occurs often), can easily turn in to a major problem where you cann't access any files on your computer. This is also know as "not good".

Finally, once you've been told that you're 1. being billed separately for sewer service and 2. having your sewer usage estimated in the winter months, it's especially fun to play a little prank on the City of Nicholasville's receptionist. Tell her that you'd like to cancel your sewer service, because you have found "alternate means" by which to dispose of your wastewater. If she protests, tell her it's your right as a U.S. citizen. The 18th amendment plainly states, "the right to private wastewater disposal." If she continues to protest, "flush it to the man" by flushing your toilet many more times in the summer than in the winter. With each flush you can laugh maniacally saying, "take THAT, City of Nicholasville!"

If you want to increase your savings and decrease your stress , make sure to pick up a Rick Steves book before traveling overseas. You'll find it gives you the insider tracks, a quality experience, and you're whole time will be less touristy, and more native than you ever thought it could be.

So, once you call to find out what the bill in hieroglyphs is trying to charge you for, and you find out that it is, in fact, for sewer service, the fun is only beginning. What you'll find out is that the City of Nicholasville, in all its glory, estimates your sewer usage based on your water consumption during the winter months. (This is because they're too lazy to monitor your sewer usage, and would rather guesstimate). The receptionist will tell you that the reason they estimate in the winter is because all the water you use is, in theory, going into the sewer, and not watering your lawn or car. So, she'll discreetly tell you to use your water conservatively in the winter to avoid higher costs all year long!

Eggs can be quite fragile and the last thing you want, is to not have any egg nog during the entire holidays season. But the second to last thing you want is to have busted eggs all over the floor and nothing for breakfast. So make it easier on yourself for next time you take the eggs out of the fridge. As you use eggs, use them up evenly, so that your cartoon has a predictable center of gravity. As shown here in our well lit, well exposed digital photograph:

So, if you live in a place like Nicholasville, or some other city where the government is in control of the water supply, don't be alarmed if you receive your water bill, and then promptly receive a second bill, from questionable lineage and undecipherable service codes. It probably, in fact, is a bill in disguise for your SEWER usage, that conveniently was not already billed on your water bill.

This tip is better known as "The Mini-DVI Fiasco of '06." It all started on a cool wintery day in Pittsburgh, PA. Andy was feverishly trying to find a way to get the slideshow he created on Julie's iBook to a projector. I told him all he needed was a handy mini-DVI to VGA converter (a simple adapter made by Apple.) He bought the adapter but was shocked and appalled to find that it didn't fit Julie's iBook. Confused, I tested my iBook. No fit. And Christine's Macbook Pro. No fit. "WTF?" we thought. After much digging, we came to find out that a rogue Apple engineering elf , with an evil demise to sabotage the "Switch to a Mac" campaign, decided to do something highly annoying. He singlehandedly made some Macs with a mini-DVI port (which I thought all the computers had) and some with a mini-VGA port. And, to further sabotage the campaign, he made them so similar in size/shape/function that even an advanced Mac guru couldn't tell ...

Everyone wants to take some sick days each year. But, dang you just don't get the flu most winters. I'm sure there is something wrong with you. Check out the Rare Diseases Index . Maybe you have Agammaglobulinemias or Zellweger Syndrome .

Microwaving a fly, or ant, or other bug, is not a reliable way to kill it . It turns out the foot, which has been a popular way to kill bugs since the stone age when it was a close second behind actual stones, is a much more reliable to kill them and better on the environment.

Before traveling overseas, take a good look at the adapter on your laptop. Most adapters will tell you that they will adapt a voltage anywhere from 100 to 240 volts into the 20 volts that your computer battery requires . This is a nice feature for your laptop as it will be able to go to Europe with you with minimal trouble. All you'll need then is a 99 cent adapter as opposed to the much more expensive $30 converter. It's what they call " dual voltage ", a thing heavily advertised in the on-post stores for those Americans who wish to buy a TV here and have it moved back there.

Google is trying to promote the use of their Checkout thing. Its basically like PayPal , and I don't know why you would normally want to use it instead of using the web store's built in payment system, especially since coupon codes and gift message/wrap doesn't work with it, but they have provided a good temporary reason. $10 off a $30 purchase from most stores that accept Google Checkout. And some stores are offering additional incentives, such as $20 off a $50 purchase from Buy.com . Just in time for the gift buying season.

To avoid having to clean all of your measuring spoons and cups everything you dirty just one of them, put them on a mini carabiner. This can also come in handy if you need to make pancakes while rock climbing.

Nothing is more frustrating than importing a CD into iTunes that's not recognized by CDDB™. Having to manually enter the track information is obnoxious, but there's a little shortcut for those of us like Pete and Jay who like having anally-maintained iTunes libraries. First, type in just the names of the tracks in iTunes. Then under the Advanced menu, click "Submit Track Names to CDDB." It will prompt you to fill out the information for the whole CD, and when you're done, you submit to CDDB so other poor blokes with the same CD will have it be recognized. Plus, iTunes adds that CD information to all the tracks, conveniently. So, you've killed 2 birds with one entry!

Contrary to the trend here at TodD, some of our tips are based on actual science, so here's one for you, and one we can whole heartily endorsed. A recent study stays that reclining is better for your back then sitting up straight, and better than slouching (duh). Here is the short version and long version of the story for you. After all of this research, I think its time for me to find a recliner and relax, it is friday after all.

First they have us picking up their poop. Now, evidently, if your pet is a pretty boy/girl and actually going for a walk is too much physical excursion for him/her. You can pamper spoil push your pet around on your walks in a Pet Strollers . Starting at "just" $70.

Thor was on the phone with Amazon.com rebate support. And he learned this very important lesson: Amazon.com - "Now that we have your information, someone will call you very very shortly". Thor - "by very shortly do you mean a few days or a few minutes?" Amazon.com - "I mean a few weeks"

When traveling by plane , you can check up to 2 bags without penalty ...that is if the bags are under 50 lbs. If the bags go over, 50 lbs, you'll pay a nominal $25 for the overage. However, if you hit 70 lbs, you'll pay a much more hefty fee of $100. Now, this hefty fee is the same as the fee for an extra bag, so, pack up on your bathroom scale until you hit 69 lbs, or just pack three bags and you can get to wherever you're going with as much stuff as you like!

I'm not sure anyone else has discovered this shortcut, but it became a fantastic time and money saver for me this summer when I developed a smoothie addiction: Allow a bunch of bananas get very ripe--read: nearly covered with brown spots. Or sometimes you can get the already-very-ripe bananas on discount at the grocery store. Peel the bananas and divide them up in freezer bags--1 1/2 bananas in each bag. Freeze them, and when you're ready to make your smoothie, deposit the contents of one of the bags into your blender (then add other frozen fruits, juice, and yogurt). This type of banana preparation is also good for banana bread (but you'd want to thaw the bananas first). The goal is never to have to take a peel off a frozen banana, which if you haven't tried, is maddening...if not impossible. I also recycle the freezer bags for the next round of smoothies.

I realized very recently that I had been making a huge mistake which caused me tons of frustration when working between Illustrator and Photoshop. If you've ever noticed alarming color shifts when using documents back and forth between the two programs, you may have been making the same error I have been. Make sure that when using Illustrator and Photoshop that you have the color profiles for both of them the same. For Photoshop, it's under the Photoshop menu > Color Settings... and in Illustrator it's under the Edit menu > Color Settings... Mine had been mis-matched, which meant that in theory, the color resulting from Illustrator was way different than my color from Photoshop. I'm still not exactly sure why and what this does, but it has to do with your computer's interpretation of those colors.

To be protected against fraud, thanks to Visa and MasterCard's policies you have to use your Check Card as a credit card when you are making purchases. They're 0 fraud liability feature only covers transactions made over the Visa network. And naturally since the ATM doesn't use Visa or MasterCard, its not covered. So protect your PIN number, and keep an eye on your statement and you should be good, even in the unfortunate event that your card or number were stolen.

Remember all those times you needed a vibrating apple but didn't really like having to pay out big bucks every time? Well now you can make one yourself . And this one is especially cool, because it only vibrates when someone gets near it. Talk about ways to freak the dog out.

Due to the presence of quinine, Tonic Water glows when under an ultraviolet light. I would test this tip, but I don't know where they sell UV lights. Or, more to the point, tonic water.

Want to get something shipped to you quickly, but the only rush options are the US Postal Service's express mail? Don't waste your time with this worthless service, particularly if they require you to sign for your package. Your mailman makes his rounds when you are off at work and can't sign for your package, so he leaves a friendly memo saying that you can pick it up the next day at the Post Office. However, when you go to the Post Office the following day, they tell you that the mailman took it with him on his rounds again! And of course, by the time you get home, there's a friendly memo in your mailbox telling you to go to the Post Office the next day, where (ideally) you could finally pick up your package. But not so fast, buckaroo! Thinking that even this intrepid employee of the government wouldn't be fiendish enough to take the package on his rounds for a third day, you visit the Post Office only to be informed yet again that he has taken your package...

The following is bad advice. Another one of those things that may look like you skirted the IRS on paper, but as it turns out IRS auditors wear long pants: Maybe you're a freelancer, free agent, moocher, or hobgoblin, but for whatever reason, feel you'll OWE money to the IRS this year for taxes, and the end of the year is close. The only thing nice about having to PAY money to Uncle Sam is knowing that at the last minute, you could possibly enable yourself to buy a fun business toy to write off to help offset the expense. But, maybe you don't have time to do a preliminary tax preparation to see where you stand. If so, it's actually possible to make a purchase after the year that counts toward the current year. On December 30th or so, rip out 2 or 3 checks from your checkbook and set them aside in a safe place. Continue using the rest of the checks from the checkbook. Have your taxes prepared as soon as possible, and when you see where you stand, you can use the previou...

If you go to Chipotle dressed as a burrito, and they give you a free burrito! So break out the Aluminum foil folks! It's burrito time! Tags: burrito Chipotle tip

Have you ever wanted to run in or organize a marathon but you were afraid the weather might turn cold and rainy? Try running your marathon in doors! They have a race in Nuremberg, Germany where the marathoners run the entire race in an office building! In order to keep it safe, they limit the number of runners to 150. Plus, there is no worry about big hills, or even little ones, though they do use the stairs!

We've covered politician's names , pet names , and pet names in the past, but we have vastly under reported tips on what to name yourself if you were a hobo. But luckily John Hodgeman has that topic throughly covered .

If you're trying to blast someone in an online forum for their blatant disregard for grammar, sentence structure and apostrophes, don't lose all credibility for yourself by misspelling a word in that blast when you say, "Brown Sux. Learn Grammer." It's -AR, not -ER. Seriously people.

Even though it's technically illegal , if you hypothetically wanted to ship wine via USPS, FedEx or UPS, you may like to know that the approximate weight of a bottle of wine is 4 pounds.

So the cool new thing is to have a snazzy picture of you, or a scanned in version of your signature, or your cat's paw print, as your "signature" at the end of your email. But the uncool thing to do is to attach it as a file. No one wants 100 8k gifs filling up their email box. So do what the really cool kids do is just link an image into their email signature . Its not attached, and you go and save everyone space.

I used to think that NOT having something was a limitation. Now I've come to see that lacking something, a tool, a program, canned goods, etc. is actually more of an incentive to get creative. For example, as a child, I used to pretend I was a teacher. I loved the idea of overhead projectors, but obviously didn't have one. Rather than see this as a limitation, I decided to get creative and make my own using a series of mirrors and magnifying glasses. It would've been nice to have that projector, but I learned a lot about how stuff works in the process! At any rate, I discovered this tasty treat in the same fashion. I was putting off going to the grocery when I realized I was out of milk for cereal. So, I decided to see what I could fathom. I landed on this tasty treat, just using the few things I did have in the house. Take a few graham crackers and put them on a cookie sheet. Drizzle honey on the graham crackers. Bake the crackers under the broiler for 4-5 minutes (until t...

Before you go on a wild goose chase to find a particular variety of nut to toast for a fancy-schmancy recipe for your friend's birthday , research all of the possible names of said nuts. I didn't know that hazelnuts were also called " filberts ," and they can be found at your friendly Liquor Barn. It's good to purchase an extra bag to prevent further nut emergencies , especially if it's autumn, since some nuts are apparently seasonal .

Yes, this is a tip AGAINST our own site. Ignore any and all tax advice on this site. Turns out, deciding to wait to deposit a check until the next year and claiming it on the following year is pretty much not really legal. And, because first-year business owners are under a good deal of scrutiny, you probably oughta play it safe. So, ignore our tax advice. Everything else is 100% trustworhty...or something...

With voting day upon us, it's important to note a few things when considering a candidate, for any office really. I call this tip, "things learned from Nicholasville politicians' errors." First, if you're running for the office of Chief Deputy, it really doesn't instill public confidence if you include your cutesy little nickname on your campaign posters like genius Allen "Doodle" Peel did. Now, Mr. "Doodle," I realize many people in Nich-Vegas may know you as "Doodle," and that's great. But, HELLLOOO, you are running for CHIEF DEPUTY which means you are responsible for kicking bad guys in the arse, not carrying around your little sister's Kaboobles while combing your "My Little Pony" and playing double-dutch and hop-scotch. If your nickname were Allen "Death to Villains" Peel, I'd vote for you. Good luck to ya. Another lesson learned (and this applies to almost EVERY category in life) is to PROOF R...

This snack will be the snack of your dreams. At least it was for me...literally. OK, so I've been having ridiculously vivid dreams recently. And apparently in my dreams, I'm the next Martha Stewart. Here's why. So, I was having a crazy dream that I was staying at a hotel with a few clients when Christine, Andy, Julie and I decided to leave. But Andy had given me bad directions that caused me to drive on the wrong side of the interstate. By the time I made it back to the hotel's cafe, I was scared, disillusioned and starving. So, in my dream, I happened upon a stash of homemade cookies, to which I helped myself. I grabbed what looked like a chocolate chip cookie, but I realized it was a tasty s'more cookie. I don't think I've ever ACTUALLY heard of this, but it had chocolate chips AND marshmallows making for a scrumptious treat. In my dream, I grabbed another and thoroughly enjoyed. I woke up wishing I could ACTUALLY have one of these cookies. Is this a real ...

I have good news and bad news. You know when you're working in Illustrator, and you want to type along a path, but you want that stroke to remain visible? Yeah, there's apparently no way to do that. (If anyone does figure it out, they deserve a Tip O Da Day medal.) On the other hand, when you're resizing objects that have a stroke on them, for some reason Illustrator's default is to make the stroke stay at the same point width. However, we can all take solace in the fact that Adobe had the foresight to provide a way out, at least in this particular instance. In the General Preferences (probably under the Edit menu, I'm too lazy to look), there is a checkbox to make sure that strokes & effects scale with the object being resized.

Judging by the response Aleksey Vayner got on the AOL Comedy section and YouTube sending out a movie of yourself and a 11 page resume to potential employers will not guarantee you the job. This is probably one of those situations where less is more. He should definitely be on one of those late night weight loss promotions though.

With the end of the year drawing nigh, you may realize that you have plenty of money in your checkbook to survive until the end the year, and a few checks you have yet to deposit. If you deposit these checks without having a business expense to offset them, Uncle Sam will happily tax that income and have his way with it. But if you'd rather have your way with Uncle Sam, you can follow this tip. Take those checks sitting on your desk and wait to deposit them until the new year. That way, you won't pay tax on them for this year, your taxable income goes down, and you can keep that money saved for a rainy day. UPDATE: We try to stay away from it, but we did some actual research into this tip. As many suspected, you can't actually do this. Your income is your income when you make the money, no matter what year you end up getting around to putting it in the bank.

Everybody's saving for something. You know, an iPod, your honeymoon, adding to your plastic pink flamingo collection. One area that is easy to target in your expenses is how much you spend on food. So here are some meal ideas for when you want to eat for under a buck: Tuna Sandwich White Rice from your neighborhood Chinese restaurant 4 Hot Dogs (be sure to steal mustard from White Castle first) Potato 2 Pot Pies (now microwaveable!) a couple Peanut Butter & Honey Sandwiches 1/2 of a 2 lb Banquet Frozen Entree 3 Frozen Burritos 6 Pack of Ramon noodles Spaghetti (and cheap sauce) Spaghetti O's 3 Corn Dogs 3 Bowls of off brand cereal Mac & Cheese A can of chick peas with Italian dressing 2 Cans of Pork & Beans Soup Box of generic Triskets 2lbs of frozen French Fries (TodD strongly suggests you unfreeze them first) 25 Turkey Nuggets Eggs Cheese Ravioli 1lb of Cole Slaw -Thanks Thor

Not sure what to pass out to those little princesses or goblin's tonight? Pick up a big gallon tub of ice cream and dish out one scoop to plop in each munchkin 's basket.

You are noticing the honey bear is emptying fast and it is becoming more time consuming to wait for the honey to drip out of the bear for sweet consumption. A thrifty solution that wastes nothing...boil some water, make some tea and add a bit of water to the bear and shake...then pour into tea. Enjoy knowing you are a savvy saver!

Need some ideas for a truly unique Halloween Costume? Well then have we got the Dashboard Widget for you. OS X users head on over and download the Halloween Costume Generator

So lets say you're driving in downtown Nicholasville, fairly late, attempting to make a left turn. You're sitting at a red light. Minutes whizz past with no sign of the light turning green. In fact, you watch for the Pedestrian crossing to finally change to a stopped hand, but in fact, it changes to a walking man again. Clearly, even moving up or back doesn't register that your car is there. Your temptation? Since there's no cars coming, go ahead and turn. How ever, you get pulled over by an invisible cop. Sound familiar? Well it turns out the cop himself has some advice for this situation. He says, when that happens you should just give up going left, and make a right turn instead (remember downtown Nicholasville has very narrow roads so this is easy). Then go down smaller roads or make right turns till you're turned back around and not subject to any misbehaving green lights.

If you're like me, you'll get caught immediately when you break the law. Like, say you're driving in downtown Nicholasville, fairly late, attempting to make a left turn. You're sitting at a red light. Minutes whizz past with no sign of the light turning green. In fact, you watch for the Pedestrian crossing to finally change to a stopped hand, but in fact, it changes to a walking man again. Clearly, even moving up or back doesn't register that your car is there. Your temptation? Since there's no cars coming, go ahead and turn. Who will see? But if you do, your radar detector might beep revealing a copper catching you RIGHT in the act. He WILL pull you over, and if you kiss butt, he may let you go just by checking your license and insurance.

You can shake up a can of Mountain Dew , open it and it won't explode! Try it. -Tanx Tewi

Wait wait wait, don't skip this tip thinking its like all those emails you get that use the word "Endowment". It has nothing to do with that. Wouldn't it be cool to have your own endowment? Like where you could just live off the interest you already had? Well it turns out the magic number is 8%. If you can live off of 8% of your money, you could be all set. Here's how that works. Its not hard to find Mutual Funds that have track records that average 12% ROI every year. Inflation averages around 4%, so factor all that out and you have 8%. That's a little Dave Ramsey wisdom for ya. And as it turns out, that is your goal for your retirement fund. That way you don't have to count on dying soon. So say you wanted to live on $50,000. You would need $625,000 in good Mutual Funds. That doesn't sound so bad now does it?

So you know to always be prepared. And you are, you are ready for anything. But, if you want to become a Third Degree Eagle Scout, you not only need to be prepared for anything, you need to be prepared for every possible thing. That's right, everything you could possibly need to use a pocket knife for. From, a simple knife, to tweesers, to scissors to a bike chain rivet setter. This knife truly has it all:

I know there has been a time when you really wanted to save the video or MP3 you were watching/listening to on a web site, but they weren't nice enough to provide a "download" link for the file. This tip works for many files on many sites but not all by any means. In Safari, while on the page you want to get the movie from. Then, open up the "Activity" Window from the "Windows" menu. Look for a .mov, .wmv, or .mp3 file that should be downloading. You can Option Double Click on path name, and that should add it to your download manager, and start downloading. Firefox calls it "Page Info" (under the Tool's menu, or Command-i for Mac users) and shows you all the plugins, content and files the page has loaded. Images, video and audio will be under the "Media" tab. It will allow you to click "Save As" if you're on a file. Updated Oct 26th with Firefox Instructions.

Unless you like narcissism, it's generally not a good idea to run shirtless in Nicholasville (especially for the ladies). Why? Simply because you may get a catcall and a honk from two very Nicholasville women in an '82 pickup truck. It may scar you for the rest of your life.

If either or both scenarios play out, stop WHATEVER you are doing and IMMEDIATELY attend to the situation: Your dog's stomach is making gurgling noises, similar to the sound a human stomach makes after eating a Big Mac at McDonald's. Your dog is making the following sounds: "Gag, cough, hack, hack, yaaaaaaaack, splatter, splatter." Oh, and bring a bottle of 409 and some paper towels. Maybe Renee's steam cleaner.

Hate parallel parking? Don't we all. There are now cars in production that will parallel park themselves. Getting your drivers license just became so much easier.

If you're clowning around and trying on your girlfriend's headband, do yourself a favor and take it off as soon as you're done playing. Otherwise, you may think it's your sunglasses, and walk into Blockbuster with it on and have people inexplicably mock and taunt you.

While I realize this tip applies to a very small cross-section of our readership, someone out there may be able to benefit from this tip. If you're like me, when you're editing in Final Cut, no matter how well you label your clips, it's hard to know what's what. So when you're looking for that perfect shot of JimBob drag racing, you end up clicking on 5-7 different clips until you find the right one. My pseudo-solution helps a little bit. I sort my clips and bins by "Media Start," which basically is chronological order on the tape. Because you've already logged and captured the clips, you may have a better idea of how the clips are organized chronologically rather than alphabetically. This has helped me a great deal because I can easily know that I shot that pesky clip of JimBob toward the beginning of the tape, so I scroll to the top and voila. I found it.

When scheming for bright ideas and seasonal fun always consider what PETA might say about your plan. Turns out their not big on fun that involves insects . As an added bonus sub-tip: If you're looking for a way to get in the Guinness Book of World Records but not sure if you have a talent that you are supperior at. Maybe you should give a shot at eating 37 Madagascar hissing cockroaches in a minute?

Do yourself a favor and put the all purpose flour and the self rising flour in separate places in the kitchen. They don't substitute well for one another. I've messed up more than one pound cake using self-rising instead of all purpose, and it's a huge waste of eggs and butter.

If you're black shoes get a little scuffed, just borrow a Sharpie from a co-worker. You can perform a quick touch up and only mice and gnomes would ever notice! -Thanks Thor

So by this time next year, I hope to have convinced at least a few of you to try a triatlon. :-) (Thanks for the tri tip the other week, guys!) This two-fold tip relates to the chip you have Velcroed to your ankle when you start a race. Make sure it works. Apparently they don't always test these things. Make sure you reinforce it with tape. Sometimes when you're treading water with 249 other women in a 36-square-foot corner of a lake--when toenails are clawing (grossss) and arms are bumping--your timing chip band can be loosened. But never fear, they float!Retrieving one is time-consuming and no fun, however, especially when the 49 and up men are about to swim over you. Tape is good insurance, I hear.

As a dear friend of mine once said, "all cellphone companies are out to get you. Once you realize that fact, you won't complain as much." It's true. Regardless of roaming, minutes, mobile-to-mobile, rollover and the like, all cellphone companies will screw you. But one thing that Verizon screws you with in particular is by not letting you use functionality built into your phone. But, we've found a way around that. With their new phones that play MP3s, they've locked them so that you can't simply add your own music to use as ringtones. They want you to BUY ringtones from them at $3 a pop. Here's how Verizon users can get an MP3 onto their phone to use as a ringtone for free, minus the cost of receiving a Pix N' Flix message. (Special thanks to Spunko on the Mobiledia forum site for this tip) First, edit your MP3 of choice into a 30-45 second rendition. Click here to download Audacity, free music editor. Next, export your shortened version as an MP...

One thing I've learned about having a dog. I haven't tested this to the limit yet, but I know I can only be away from the house for so long, before, em…they "explode". Which really cuts down on how late I could work. I see this as a good and bad thing.

Some things are OK to be addicted to. Like this GREAT new game from Google! It's not only fun, it helps make image searching better! Here's the game. You get onto Google Image Labeler , and it will match you up with a partner. You'll be shown a bunch of random photos that you are asked to enter tags for. As soon as you and your partner match, you move onto the next image and get 100 points. It's Google's way of verifying that the photo is what it is. May sound dorky, but you'll be addicted if you play.

If you are naming toys for children, be kind to parents and pick names with kid-pronunciations that won't cause you to laugh when they are throwing the mother of all tantrums in Toys 'R' Us. Many kids don't pronounce "Rs" well. So for sake of every parent trying to keep a straight/non-blushed face at the toy store, don't name the train "Percy." I'm sure there are other examples, but a mom friend of mine has this one as her latest.

Or, more things learned from watching Pablo and Cheddar play. If you're a Pablo-sized dog, meaning you're small and squirly , it may seem you haven't a chance when wrestling a medium sized fluffer-nutter of a dog, a Cheddar. But try not to let your little-man-syndrome get the best of you. You have a fighting chance. One of the best things you can do is hide out under your perpetrator's legs, taking cover under his undercarriage. The result? He won't be able to get you, and you can bite his entire undercarriage with your sharp, needle-like pincers. You're safe, and still inflicting pain.

Apparently if you have a flat on your bike, and there's a visible hole in your tire through which the tube was punctured or ripped, you can extend the life of the tire by folding up a dollar bill and putting it between the tube and the tire when you fix the flat.

This tip is repurposed from a tip on Apple.com's site. Did you know that on your Mac, if you need to email someone a URL, there's a new and improved way to do it? In the old days, you'd highlight the URL, copy, open email, create new message, paste and send. Now, all you have to do is hit Command-Shift-i from the page you're on and Mail will open, a new message will be created with the active URL in the message body. It's a beautiful thing.

This is a tip for those who might run where giant swarms of gnats sometimes loiter by the side of the road. This tip stems from a run on the Mayan Riviera in Mexico, but I've encountered swarms of gnats in Virginia and Kentucky as well. After your run, always stop and look in a mirror before going into public. Otherwise, you might actually complete a transaction at the resort store and greet five people before realizing you have up to 15 gnats stuck to your face and neck.

Occasionally you find yourself in a questionable party situation. For example, let's say there's a decent DJ playing run-of-the-mill Top 40 music, a huge dance floor, plenty of able-bodied people (at least 140 athletes who have just completed a triathlon and are pretty wired about it), but NO ONE one out there dancing. (Believe it or not, not everyone has as much dance floor camaraderie as the ToDd gang!) The solution: Teaching your friends and teammates--most of whom are reluctant dancers--the samba line dance ( Thank you, Amanda!! ). Sell the idea long before the party starts...two days ahead of time will work ("I have to teach you this awesome samba line dance at the celebration party. It's hands-down better than any Electric Slide or the Macarena.") Talk it up until they agree to learn. Confirm that said party is slow. While they are playing something akin to "Wind Beneath My Wings," pull your teammates--the enthusiastic and the skeptical--to th...

The LFUCG Drivers License office appears to be now using the "candid technique" to take your drivers license picture. That advertise that there will be not flash but now before you even know they were thinking about taking your picture they hand you your new license. As an added bonus you can't use your awesome picture from your last license like you used to be able to do. So as soon as you enter the doors to that dark and gloomy place, just think about Elvis and smile!

If you are one of the many people who strategically plan a trip to an amusement park to aviod 2+ hour waits to get on a ride, the planning just got easier... Eat a roach!

With Halloween just around the corner-- (TIME OUT. I just realized Halloween is NOT just around the corner, but Nicholasville residents seem to think it is with the alarming number of hobgoblins, graveyard scenes, etc. in their yards , and they have thusly confused me) --we pretty much have to resign ourselves to the thought that there will be a lot of spiders around. In light of that, here's what to do when confronted with a nasty little jacker you want to dispose of. First, those stupid little bug vacuums from Sharper Image do NOT work on a Florida-sized spider , you know, the ones that look you in the eye, can talk to you, have opposing digits. Here's the next piece of advice, from Peter, in his words: Next, once you do relocate the nasty jacker, it's important to trash talk him. It helps elevate his blood pressure, and causes him get confused, unable to think for himself. He'll get himself backed into a corner and will be sweating profusely. You can say to him, ...

When taking screen shots, on OS X. Like normal you would probably hit Command-Shift-4 To take a shot of just part of the screen, but if you just want one window, tap the space bar and your cursor will change from a crosshair into a little camera. Now you can just click on the window you want to capture, and vola, you have a nice little picture of just that window. And as an added bonus you don't have what used to be behind that window showing through on the rounded corners or anything.

"Alot of the really big things that can happen in your life really don't have that much of an impact on overall happyness", or would we call that joy. Anyway, that's at least what a crazy dude with a web cam says in his show from yesterday. But at least he's referencing some book or something, which is way more science based then anything we usually do around here. So now it appears that there is some sort of measured evidence that getting rich will make you happy.

Sometimes its best to get both sides of the story before rushing to judgement. Its kind of like putting yourself in the other person's shoes but to the extreme, its more of trying to figure out what they were thinking when they picked out those shoes in the morning. Comic © 2006 - Baby Blues Partnership. Distributed by King Features Syndicate

Want to know how to get that unpleasant cat urine smell out of your house? Well, check out this site which is an invaluable asset. Especially helpful are the comments by "fool," "Bruno," "Kitten," and "JoJo."

Arrr, yet again it be "International Talk Like a Pirate Day". So don't look like a land lubber, brush up on your pirate lingo and join in on some pillaging. Who knows by t' end o' t' day you may have an eye patch, a swearin' parrot, a wooden limb and be covered in sea barnicals.

After you've changed over all your bills and identification, don't forget to go into work and change your name as well. All your tax forms, benefits, etc. Will need to be changed over. This can actually be done after you get social security. Your co-workers know who you are, and know you've been married, so they won't ask for ID. The social security just needs to be changed before tax forms are actually filed. I know, not the most glamorous set of tips, but I have a feeling they'll be of some use to some of you!

For those of you marrying military, the deers system is one of the easiest things I've found to do yet. Yes, your new husband must go with you as they need to fingerprint him about 5 times to varify his identification...unless you just want to bring his right and left index fingers, as well as his id with you, but I don't think they'd buy that. All you need for that one is your marriage certificate and social security...don't worry, if you've just gone to change your social security and have been issued a temporary, very unofficial looking print out, they'll take that too! Apparently, while his identity is extremely important, you could be virtually anyone. No picture ID required or anything for you. Additionally, any National Guard or regualr Army personel office will do.

As our social security office has not changed its ways since before my parents got married (1975), some things in their system are a little bit slow. It doesn't matter when you go to change your drivers license if you have your new social security card or not...and it does take about a week to get, which I don't understand because it looks like they could use a typewriter on a piece of paper to do it. What matters is the 24-48 hours that it takes to get you into the system, so all name changing can not be done in the same day. You need to set aside an extra trip to the DMV for that!

Goals in life our good to have. Conveniently goals come in all sorts of shapes and sizes: "Finish college in 3 years", "save enough for a down payment by the end of the year", "eat a whole pizza in one sitting". Some of us have more ambitious goals then others. Mine, for example is to go though an entire meal without spilling tea on my clothes. Others, maybe to run 10k and bike for 26 miles but only after a good mile swimming in a lake in the middle of Texas. Those who have ambitious goals always appreciate support from their friend and fellow tipsters. So if you happen to know someone who is competing in a triathlon this Sunday let them know you're praying and supporting them!

After receiving your marriage certificates in the mail, the first thing you need to do is go to the social security office. This will need to be done in order to be able to change your drivers license. It's not a hard place to find. It's in the office park across Winchester Road from Hamburg and it has a big sign out front. It is usually crowded, so be patient. I'd go as soon as they open, just before 9 in the morning. If you have trouble downloading the forms as I did, don't worry, they have them in there on the right wall after the check-in machine, and you will have time to fill it out. You just need your certificate and drivers license.

Looking for a great deal on furniture in the Lexington area? Look no further. At American Freight Furniture Warehouse , you can find amazing deals on furniture, mainly because you're not paying for the luxorious showroom most furniture places offer. They've got really good stuff, but their location is nothing short of ghetto. If you've ever been afraid of being raped, pillaged or the like, bring a male escort with you.

If you're in a wedding party, it's fun to make fun out of everyday items, such as a wig in the choir loft. There are a lot of fun photos that can result from such a find. Behold.

Official Rule just established today: If you're the last one moving out of the house and crap is left behind by other inhabitants, you are welcome to take whatever you want and keep if for your entire life. It's your right. :-)

As I've been adventuring through changing my name lately, I've discovered a few things worth mentioning to all my unmarried female friends out there, some who will use these tips rather soon. So, the first tip is that while it takes a few days to get the actual marriage certificate in the mail, several things can be changed with the reciept that you recieve from the marriage license. For one, you can use that to change the name on most of the bills you receive. In addition, you may want to add your husband to these bills as well. The bank is tricky though, you have to keep on them to make sure the system took all your changes.

We've all heard the phrase "speak softly but carry a large stick." Well, this applies to acolytion as well, sort of. We'd like to reword it "walk slowly when carrying a large stick." In other words, if you're "lightin' it up" you really need to walk slowly to get to your proverbial candles. Otherwise, your flame will burn out on that walk down the aisle. Then, you'll look like a tool, and have to fake light a bunch of candles ceremoniously. Now THAT is embarrassment.

So you're an acolyte. Awesome. We a TodD are proud of ya. Here's another tip for you. Resist the urge to scratch any part of your body with your poker/lighter/snuffer combo. The gold and shiny nature of said poker will lend itself to a lot of attention. People WILL notice you doing it. Similarly, resist the urge to tap people on the shoulder with it from afar. Aside from that joke being "SOOOO 90s," you also could end up poking an eye out.

Don't use your heinously long lighter/snuffer combo to light up (a fatty) after church. Not only is it difficult, it's also tacky and looks presumptuous. It's basically like waving your hands in the air screaming, "I get to light all the candles!" Poor taste.

Many of you young lads out there probably experienced the bliss of going to an über-traditional church, which probably afforded you the luxury of experiencing the bliss of being an acolyte. Aside from always having a light for anyone who wants to bum a smoke, you also get to play with fire all during the church service. (Which for a kid, at an über-traditional church is probably pretty fun compared to just sitting there.) But there are a few details you should know about before shaking your pyromaniac groove thang. So, we've put this mini-list of the week together. First thing you should remember: Remember that lots of things in churches are flammable. These flammable items include, but are not limited to the following: tulle, draperies, the robe you're probably wearing, your friends' eyebrows, eyelashes and hair, the pews, carpeting, hairspray, Grandma's hair, your pet hamster and hymnals, Bibles and programs.

When it's labor day, you can (and should) take a day off from tip-writing. Slacking. It's what our country was founded on™.

If you're leaving at 4:00 AM after an adrenaline-filled late-night to take someone to an airport that's 1.5 hours away, you have a decision to make. Do you obtain about 2 hours of sleep before making the voyage? Or do you continue to ride out that adrenaline until you make it back? The answer? Listen to your body. (Which reminds me of that song, "Listen to Your Heart" by Tiffany.) Just be sure that regardless of your choice, you chug Mountain Dew by the gallon. (Or, I guess two-liter, or big-gulp.) Make sure to remember that after just a few hours of sleep, you may wake up feeling more groggy and disoriented that if you hadn't slept at all. Either way, bring giggly friends with you to keep you awake.

If you haven't check out our magical site here recently, maybe well cause it went through a silent time, go back and check the days that didn't happen, because sometimes its better to just cover up gaps as opposed to acknowledging they are there. Kind of like wrinkles. So according to anyone, there were tips every day last week, what are you talking about? Just because work was crazy busy and people are busy getting married doesn't mean tips don't reveal themselves to our lives.

Next time one of your light bulbs burn out, consider replacing them with flourescent bulbs (CFLs)? They cost a little bit more, but it's worth it . - They last much longer than regular incandescents (up to 7 or 8 years). - They use much less electricity than an incandescent bulb to produce the same amount of light. (A 20-watt CFL emits more light than a 60-watt incandescent). - They don't get as hot , meaning your A/C doesn't have to work as hard, saving even more electricity. - All this electricity savings means less energy usage, which means less demand and lower prices, not just on electricity but on oil and eventually CFLs themselves. Wal-Mart is working together with GE to push them into the market and the public consciousness. It's basically a win-win situation. You save money, and you save the planet . Without even having to be a filthy hippie .

So apparently, cities are looking for ways to conserve electricity during the worst of the heat wave. Here's some easy ways you can help: 10.) Turning off the lava lamp during the day. 9.) Spending more time driving around in your car with the A/C cranked and less inside on the couch. 8.) Cutting back on foods that require energy to prepare (Ramen, Hot Pockets) and eating more that come ready to eat (Doritos, beef jerky, gummi worms). 7.) Waiting until off-peak hours before charging the anti-grav coils on your flying car. 6.) Only TiVo-ing Gilligan's Island reruns twice a week. 5.) Keeping the dial on your weather machine set to "Typhoon" or lower. 4.) Only leaving the TV on when you are actually in the house. 3.) Disabling the laser array that scans your backyard for intruders. 2.) Turning off your third refrigerator, the one you use to keep your pillows cool. 1.) Watching Sportscenter on mute.

Just because its widely used, don't mean that your Honey will like the nickname you've picked out for him/her. They may have some sort of aversion to it. Other names, like "Pumpkin Pie Face" are not widely used for good reason.

Stuff On My Cat will only accept pictures of stuff on cats, not any other pets. Lobsters , for example.

Citrus juice seems to amplify the effects of the sun on the human body. Put a little lime juice in your hair and go out in the sun to make it lighter (Sun + Hair = Lighter). Or put it on your skin or hands to get a darker tan or a reverse Michael Jackson effect (Sun + Skin = Darker). Thanks for this tip goes out to Diddy and his dermatologist.

If you know it's going to thunder really bad you may want to unplug your computer and all important electronic devices until the storm passes or you may end up with a blown out tv and ethernet card, a monitor with pixel discoloration, a dysfunctional garage door, and a shot intercom system to file on an insurance claim. Those surge protectors are there for a reason. Side note: Although not electrical also worthy of notice was my neighbors blown up chimney that caused the fire department to arrive with spectators.

If you drive like me, a lot of the senseless drivers or slow-pokes anonymous really tend to pi$$ you off. Yet it's generally inappropriate to flip the bird, even if you were cut-off, rear-ended, jack-knifed, mooned or marooned. And the use of the horn is sadly frowned upon in the States. Now, I've always said there's a good reason why I don't have the Christian Ichthus Fish on my car. I don't want all of America to think that Christians are mean drivers like myself. But, as a "bird-alternative," I've developed the patented "Road Rage Hand Signal." It gives you all the satisfaction of flipping someone off, but without the "f" word that's associated with it. Here's how it works. Raise your right hand like you're about to karate chop something in front of you. Clench your teeth. Chop the snot out of that person with one insulting gesture. The result? You'll feel as though you've put them in their place. They will fe...