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Showing posts from 2006

Backup Tip of the Weekend

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.

701st Tip of the Day

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

700th Tip of the Day

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®:

Bathing Tip of the Day

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!

Kitty Tip of the Day

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.

Mistletoe Tip of the Day

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Pizza Tip of the Day

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!"

Moisture Tip of the Day

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

Wedding Tip of the Day

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

Shakin' Tip of the Day

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.

Gift Idea of the Day

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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

Preventive Tip of the Day

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".

Sewer (But I hardly know 'er) Tip of the Day III

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!"

Travel Tip of the Day 3

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.

Sewer (But I hardly know 'er) Tip of the Day II

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!

Egg Tip of the Day

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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:

Sewer (But I hardly know 'er) Tip of the Day

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.

VGA Tip of the Weekend

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

Hypochondriac Tip of the Day

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 .

Bug Tip of the Day

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.

Travel Tip of the Day 2

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.

Shopping Tip of the Day

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.

Measuring Spoon Tip of The Day

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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.

Unrecognized Tip of the Weekend

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!

Sitting Tip of the Day

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.

Strollers Tip of the Day

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.

Customer Support Tip of the Day

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"

Travel Tip of the Day 1

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!

Smoothie Tip of the Day

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.

Color Tip of the Weekend

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.

Card Tip of the Day

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.

Apple Tip of the Day

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.

Breathing in a Plastic Bag Tip of the Day

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Tonic Tip of the Day

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.

Worthless Service Tip of the Day

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

Bad Advice of the Weekend

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

Free Tip of the Day

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

Marathon Tip of the Day

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!

Hobo Tip of the Day

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 .

Grammar Tip of the Day

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.

Wine Tip of the Day

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.

Signature Tip of the Weekend

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.

Without Tip of the Day

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

Nut Tip of the Day

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 .

Ignore-Tax-Advice Tip of the Day

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...

Voting Tip of the Day

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

Dream Snack Tip of the Day

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

Stroke Tip of the Weekend

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.

Success Tip of the Day

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.

IRS Tip of the Day

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.

Food List of the Day

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

Trick or Treat Tip of the Halloween

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.

Thrifty Tip of Da Day

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!

Halloween Tip of the Weekend

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

Right Turn Tip of the Day

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.

Drive Tip of the Day

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.

Shakin' Tip of the Day

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

Endowment Tip of the Day

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?

Boyscout Tip of the Day

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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:

Safari Tip of the Weekend

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.

Narcissism Tip of the Day

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.

Barf Tip of the Day

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.

Parallel Parking Tip of the Day

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.

Headband Tip of the Day

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.

Final Cut Tip of the Weekend

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.

Follow up Tip O Da Day

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?

Flour Tip of the Day

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.

Shoe Tip of the Day

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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

Timing Chip of the Day

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.

Ringtone Tip of the Weekend

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

Pet Tip of the Day

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.

Addict Tip of the Day

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.

Name-That-Toy Tip of the Day

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.

UnderDog Tip of the Day

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.

Dollar Tip of the Day

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.

URL Tip of the Weekend

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.

Post-Run Tip of the Day

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.

Party-Starting Tip of the Day

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

DMV Tip of the Day

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!

Let's NOT Wait in Line Tip O Da Day

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!

Spider Tip of the Day

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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, &q

Screenshot Tip of the Weekend

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.

Happy! Tip of the Day

"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.

Understanding Tip of the Day

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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

Pee Tip of the Day

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."

Pirate Tip o' t' Day

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.

Name Change Tip of the Day Part 5

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!

Name Change Tip of the Day Part 4

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.

Name Change Tip of the Day Part 3

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!

Tri Tip of the Day

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!

Name Change Tip of the Day Part 2

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.

Furniture Tip of the Day

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.

Hair Tip of the Day

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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.

Moving Tip of the Day

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. :-)

Name Change Tip of the Day Part 1

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.

Acolyte List of the Week IV

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.

Acolyte Tip of the Week III

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.

Acolyte Tip of the Week II

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.

Acolyte List of the Week

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.

Labor Tip of the Day

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™.

Airport Tip of the Day

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.

Tip O Da Day Tip O Da Day

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.

Illuminating Tip of the Day Week

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 .

Energy Conservation Tip of the Day

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.

Nickname Tip of the Day

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.

Cat Tip of the Day

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

Bahamas Tip of the Day

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.

Lightning Tip of the Day

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.

Finger Replacement Tip of the Day

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

Perspective Tip of the Day

Have you been at someone's house for dinner, and the host serves something particularly unappetizing? The polite course of action is to eat up (and maybe even ask for seconds), secure in the knowledge that things could be much, much worse . Unless your host actually serves fried sea slugs. It doesn't get much worse than that...

Fish Tip of the Day

If you've verbally manipulated like 8 people into swimming in the 60-degree New Jersey ocean, it's generally NOT a good idea to loudly announce that you've seen the hugest fish known to mankind swimming right past your feet, screaming like a school girl and flailing your arms and legs like a cotton-headed-ninny-muggins. I can almost assure you that most people coaxed into such a swimming venture will promptly exit the frigid water, especially if they are of the fairer sex, yet not brutes, gothtards or have cankles.

Vomit Tip of the Day

Dog vomit is slightly different than human vomit. While it still looks mealy and half-digested, did you know dog vomit comes out and is COLD? It's also easier to scrape off of your car seat if it's dried a little bit. I recommend a solution of non-bleaching disinfecting cleaner with warm water and an old rag .

Road Rash Tip of the Day

If you have a heinous case of road rash on your left elbow, remind yourself not to lock your door with your arm like you might normally do.

Gas Tip of the Day

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If you need some gas, looks like pump #5 is having its own little sale on the corner of Liberty and New Circle: P.S. Don't forget to unplug before driving off! Thanks Jen

eBay Tip of the Day

If you're selling a computer on eBay, there are a few practical things you can (and should) do before you ship the computer to the buyer. Here are a few. Turn off the computer prior to shipping. Erase your pornographic photos that constantly fade in and out on your desktop. If you have said photos on your computer, do the buyer a favor and Lysol™ the computer off first. Gross. Delete sensitive documents off the computer. Heck, delete your whole user, and all of your personal files off of the computer. Make sure you've made sure you're sending the right computer. If your eBay ad says iBook, 800MHz G4 with 640MB of RAM, make sure you don't "accidentally" send a computer that's a G3 with only 128 MB of RAM. Tool.

Private Island Tip of the Day

You want a private island? But don't know where to look. (Those free Housing guides just don't have a large island section) How about a Lighthouse? Well thanks to the US Government, and the relatively unknown "Office of Property Disposal" You can pick up an atoll that used to be a military based and chemical and nuclear storage area "Property Disposal" just kind of makes it sounds like trash, but I guess in this case the atoll is filled with nuclear waste.

Driving Tip of the Day X

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Jen & Pete actually saw this happen before our very eyes: To avoid being rude, I didn't take a picture of the driver with it still stuck in her car, but this is what it looks like: Oh, and as a side tip, the safety breakaway, breaks off nice and clean but it doesn't snap back in to place. I think its mainly to make sure the offender is humiliated, there is no covering your tracks here, hoping no one noticed.

Driving Tip of the Day IX

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Yes, her helmet is on backwards.

Driving Tip of the Day VIII

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Driving Tip of the Day VII

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Driving Tip of the Day VI

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Similar to Tuesday's Tip, but definitely falls along the lines of "how did you manage to do that?

MP3 Tip of the Day

Every once in a while, or twice in a while if this type of thing is included in your job description, you may have an audio file that needs to be distributed. The question is always raised, what setting should I use? How good is good enough? (I think my spelling works that way). A big trick is, for spoken word, it is almost never mixed in stereo and it has a much smaller dynamic range then music, so you can make it a mono track at a good small bit rate. Music is a little bit more complex (especially in the dynamic range department) and alot of times it takes advantage of the left and right channels that stereo offers. So the quick breakdown is: For Spoken Word: 32 kbps mono For Music: 128 kbps Stereo (64 kbps per channel)

Son List of the Day

We'll take a break from our driving tips for the weekend to give you another one of those silly emails that gets passed around the internet. And since we we can, we threw in a little extra TodD spice: Things you will learn when you have sons (or spend alot of time around Jay): A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep. If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite. A 3-year old Boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant. If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound Boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. However, just throwing underwear at Ceiling fans can be a load of fun Furthermore, you should not throw baseballs at the ceiling fan. The glass in windows doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan. When you hear the toilet flush and the words "uh oh", it's already too late. Brake fluid mixe

Driving Tip of the Day V

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Driving Tip of the Day IV

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Driving Tip of the Day III

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Driving Tip of the Day II

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Driving Tip of the Day I

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This week, we bring you a very special series: "What Not To Do On the Road." It's represented entirely visually; these photos should speak for themselves. So, the following 10 tips will show you another's misfortune, in hopes that you'll avoid this. In tenth place: [Ed Note: These are from one of those silly emails that gets passed around.]

Shopping Tip of the Day II

Additionally, should you pass ANOTHER outlet mall that's only 30 miles from home and think, "I wonder if they have the store I'm looking for," and then say, "Surely not..." you should probably do yourself a favor and pull off and check. Because you'll find that the closest Van Heusen outlet isn't 100 miles away; it's just 30™.

Shopping Tip of the Day

If you're venturing nearly 100 miles for a shopping trip because it will potentially save you money from buying the product at a department store, it's a good idea to check what time the store closes. I know, most retail stores are open at least until 9:00, especially on a Friday night. But, Van Heusen, you may find, closes at 8:00. Which means, you could have made a 100-mile trip to the outlets only to eat at Wendy's. :-(

Morning Tip of the Day

Zzzzzz, beep-beep-beep-beep, beep-beep-beep-beep. Ok, ok I'm awake. But still moving at glacial speed. I've got to get moving, cause it really shouldn't take me 30 minutes to take a shower first thing in the morning, ok ok, 25 if I'm trying to go fast but its just so hard since I'm only awake enough to stand up. So what I've started to do to get going is a couple push-up and sittups and now my blood is flowing and I can get out the door a couple minutes earlier, or even better, set the alarm for a couple minutes later!

Credit Tip of the Day

I have always heard that if you are denied credit when someone checks your credit report, you're entitled to a free copy of the report. But did you know that you're entitled to a free copy your credit report each year? And, one from each of the three credit bureaus? The Federal Trade Commission has mandated that since sensitive data is being maintained on you, you have the right to know what's in there without being charged for it. But, if you go to the credit bureaus sites, they'll stop at nothing to charge you for your free report. So, if you'd like a free copy of your report, visit the FTC's site here and follow the links for obtaining your free copy. I did it yesterday and it took about 5 minutes. Since you're entitled to a copy from each of the three bureaus, you can actually get a free credit report quarterly if you choose only one at a time!

Casino Tip of the Day

Apparently, the state of New Jersey enjoys creating casinos that my beautiful girlfriend refers to as "Chuckie Cheese for Adults." Rather than gamble your money away with the hopes of cold hard cash, you crank away at the nickel slots for the chance to redeem your tokens for kitchy, overpriced nick-nacks like a 3 million token $80 boom box, or a 450,000 token Steelers towel. So, if you're in one of these heinously seizure-inducing places with a Grandma whose won nearly 9,000 tokens, you may think you'll get a great prize. But, you'll probably only have a prize with about an $8 value. So, do what my brother did and say this: "I'll take the at-home casino game, and give me the rest in dog poop." You'll leave with about 3 pieces of fake poo, each worth 450 points!

Papercut Tip of the Day

A couple of things that really hurt and you wouldn't expect to ever get paper-cutted by: Large cardboard boxes, Yogurt Containers, Blister-sealed packages. Ouch.

Cookie Tip of the Day

Cookies are soo yummy hot from the oven, but their are many instances you don't have access to an oven at any given minute. But more often than not you have access the sun. Stick your cookie out in the sun as you each your lunch in the shade and you will have have a gooy warm cookie to cap off your lunch or other eating occasion. The time of the year when you can do this, is hereby referred to "Cookies at Lunch season"

Fragrance Tip of the Day

Trying to sell your home or cover up the obnoxious odour of your smelly pet, roommates' socks or under-refrigerator funk? Well, take some advice from my dear mother, Cathy. One of the quickest way to freshen up your home and have it smelling like it belongs to Martha Stewart pre-incarceration, is to follow these simple steps. First, fill a medium saucepan 1/8 full with water. (Approximately two cups). Then, shake as much cinnamon as you can shake a stick at into the water. Allow the concoction to simmer on the stovetop. The result? A fragrant southern-smelling home. One side note--the mixture looks quite foul whilst brewing. Just try to make sure people don't look at it and think it was your best attempt at soup-making.

-e Tip of the Day

We already know that an -e can make the difference in the meaning of a French word, such as fiancé, male, or fiancée, female . But it makes a big difference in other things as well, such as whether you are talking about Peter Cook , the wonderful boy about to be married who began the tip-o-the day. Or, if you are talking about the man who allegedly cheated on Christie Brinkley and who was busted for selling drugs at age 23. Editor's note: Though the article link for Peter Cooke doesn't use an -e at the end of his name, but some articles do.

Vacation Tip of the Day

Everyone loves a trip to the beach, especially if it's with Jay's Family. But if you're booking a beach-getaway with the Parmers and their entire 12-person clan, you might want to double-check the square footage of the "house" you're renting. It could get a little awkward if 12 people are crammed into approximately 900 square feet. It might require Jason, his brother, his mom, his dad and his girlfriend all to spoon in one room at night. Especially bad when one person has a migraine, two have gas, two snore and the mattresses are less than two inches thick.

Nap Tip of the Day

Another tip from Wired: Get this, drink a cup of coffee or high caffeine substance. It takes a few minutes before the caffeine actually starts to take effect. We call this time, "nap time" "Close your eyes and releax, even if you only doze,you'll get what's know as effective microsleep, or momentary lapses of wakefulness." Limit your nap to 15 (or 20) minutes. "A half hour can lead to sleep inertia, or the spinning down of the brain's preforntal cortex which handles funcitons like judgment." You should feel ready to go afterwords, which a caffeine jolt to boost!

Gift Tip of the Day

Looking for a great gift for a pet-loving friend, especially a pet-loving friend who lives in a tragic locale that won't allow pets? Well, look no more. Wait until mid-summer, when the thermometer is rising, then strategically brush your own fluffy feline or canine friend. Collect the fluff from the brush, package it in a Ziploc bag and write your pet's name on the bag with a Sharpie. Tell the gift recipient that it's like they get to keep a piece of your furry, four-legged friend forever, minus the feeding, pooping and tearing up furniture. It's all the good things about a pet, minus all the bad! Or something.

Voicemail Tip of the Day

Wired Magazine Recently ran a section of "How To's" We'll be posting a few of them in the next week. Here's our first. Leave the Perfect Voicemail Every (business) voicemail message should include these 7 elements: Your name and company name. Never assume anyone will know who you are Your Phone number. Slowly people, no one wants to have to replay the message 3 times. The date and time and throw in the time zone in there if its appropriate. A summary of what you're even calling Whether they actually need to call you back or if this is just an FYI phone call. When would be a good time for them to call you back You're phone number again, (remember no rewinding) and even your email address if you want to be real thoroughly And that's it. I believe these rules can be stretched if leaving a voicemail for your girl/boyfriend/fiancé(e)/spouse.

Baking Soda Tip of the Day

Many of us know baking soda is good for a variety of things, namely, eating, making Rasbury Asbury Bars, soaking feet, healing chicken pox, bee stings and carbuncles, and an overall good time. But what you may not know is ye ole soda can come in handy for washing your car. Ever notice how nothing seems to get those dead bug carcasses off of your grill? Well, a simple solution of baking soda and warm water will power wash them right off! Simply combine a few tablespoons of baking soda with a few cups of hot water from your tap in a large bowl or bucket. Then, grab an old washcloth, dip it in the solution and wash the bugs off with ease! Note: you may want to do this as your first step in car washing. Baking soda residue will leave a milky film on your car until rinsed off with water.

Printer Tip of the Day

If you're using a friend's printer and you realize you need to cancel the print job because you're printing an 11x17 full-color map and don't want to waste their ink, make sure you delete the print job, not the printer itself. Otherwise, you may render their printer completely useless and forget to tell them and give your friend a lot of painstaking agony.

Business Card Tip of the Day

If you're running your own business, keep a spare stash of business cards everywhere you can think of so when you need them you won't be left high and dry . Keep them in your wallet, your car, your underwear, etc.

Kleptomaniac Tip of the Day

If you live in Pelham, N.Y., and you realize you're missing a gardening glove by summer or a dirty sock by winter, chances are you've had a visit from Willy, the cat . Don't worry. Chances are, you can get it back.

Shakira Tip of the Day

If you're Shakira, stop making music. Sure, shake those hips all you want and give the girl who wrote the "Milkshake Song" a run for her money, but please, for the love of all things, don't open your mouth. Especially when it sounds like this.

Tool Tip of the Day

If you're from Ocean City, New Jersey, it's highly likely that you're a tool. But if you're the president of a condo-owning association, do yourself, and the world, a favor and try to get somewhat of a clue. Try to not be a total wanker by telling people with service dogs in training that they're not allowed to have pets in the condo. Then, when you realize you are completely incapable of rational thought and discover service animals ARE in fact allowed, don't be even more of a tool and try telling the trainer that "service dogs are not pets" because chances are, they already knew that, and that's why they knew they could bring the service dogs to the condo.

Knowing Tip of the Day

If you're about to meet a bunch of people you don't know, but you know that you are going to met all these people and if you know someone who knows all these people you don't. Have them dig up some pictures and play a little game of "people you don't know" flash cards. It will give you a head start getting to know people you don't yet know.

Time Tip of the Day

Don't let your staff travel into the future without doing a little work for you while they're there. Cause you never know when you may get a couple days behind on stuff, and then you'll have to travel back in time to make up the work you missed.

Root Tip of the Day

Did you know you can get a keg of Root Beer for $70? How big is keg? 15.5 gallons. That's equavilant to 165 12oz cans. -Thanks Fowler

Dog Tip of the Day

If you're about to leave your dog for a week and he / she / it kind of needs a bath before the trip. Do the person who's dog sitting for you a favor. Give em one. Cause by the end of that week the chances that he/she/it will need a bath will be increased. And the dog may be downright smelly.

Tree Tip of the Day

Hopefully, we all know that it's a bad thing when trees get in the way of electrical wires. The kind people at KU (Central Kentucky's utility company) are particularly aware of this. If you have a tree that's getting in the way of these wires, KU will come to "cut the tree down." The tip is simply to cut the branches yourself. If you leave it up to KU, their job is actually to cut it down to the point where it is no longer in the way of the wires, and if the rest of the tree needs to be cut down, then it is up to the customer . When they come to cut down the branches, they will cut the tree to the point where it will die , but they won't finish the job. However, if you do call them and complain, they will reluctantly come and take care of the rest of it for you.

Ring Tip of the Day

Lately, we've had quite the rash of sparkly new diamond rings. Problem is, over time the sparkle begins to fade. An easy way to bring it back is simply to walk into any local jewelry store. They'll shine it right up for you fast and for free! Bonus tip: If your ring happens to be white gold, you need to get it touched up approximately every 6 months to keep it from yellowing. The cost of this is around $30, so if you're being charged more, then you're paying too much, and if you're paying less, let us know!

OREO Tip of the Day

Oreo's have a bad rep health wise, but thanks to the government regulation (I can't believe I'm thanking a government regulation) that said that you had to start listing Trans Fat on food, we can now see that Oreo has changed their formula (but not their taste as this expert can tell) to include absolutely 0g of trans fat! On top of that, Saturated Fat has fallen through the floor and is down to 2.5g (13%) for every two double stuff cookie. Now if that's not reason to celebrate I don't know what is. So now instead of being a very bad for you snack Oreos are now practically health food! -Thanks Suzanne In the spirit of journalistic integrity (what?) we will point out that there is partially hydrogenated oil in Oreos. Which is a big tip off that there is actually trans fat in the product but thanks to a loophole in the labeling reqirements if you have less then 0.5g of anything you can round it down to 0g. Anyway, who knows how little they really have, but dang, its a

Dog Training Tip of the Day

Whilst training your new puppy pal, it's important to get them to like their crate, for them to feel like it's a safe haven of fun, love, happiness and political correctness . It's a veritable utopia in there. So, I've found that it's not a good idea to put your pooch in the crate, then proceed to pick the crate up, shake it vehemently and put it back down. It doesn't help to create that euphoric zen-like atmosphere. Kinda messes with the feng shui.

Counterfeit Tip of the Day

We at the Tip Center Headquarters don't endorse counterfeiting anything. Especially money. But, we recently got to thinking. If you were going to counterfeit money, don't do bills over $20, because people in retail stores are often required to use one of those sweet markers that reveals counterfeit money, but only on bills $20 or larger. So, go ahead and counterfeit $1 or $5 bills and I'm sure you'll find yourself less likely to get into trouble. Only problem is, there's a good chance you'd end up spending more that a few bucks per sheet on ink, specialty paper, a printing press, and years of therapy over the guilt and remorse you feel. But, just wanted to give you the heads up.

Lowes Tip of the Day

Everyone (almost) loves to get Gift Cards. It might take some a year and a half to use them. Or it may already have a shopping list built. But to make your Gift Card even more valuable, keep an eye out for any coupons that are also being offered. With a little cre8tivity you can get out of Lowes with $61.25 worth of home improvement materials for a mere $1.25 in change.

DRM Free Tip of the Day

Do you like buying music on iTunes but wish you could play it on more than 5 computers? Or do you just want to get an MP3 Player that doesn't start with a lower case "i"? Well there is this really cool place Audio Lunchbox that you can buy nice, clean DRM free MP3s legally from independent labels. One of the biggest names on there is Nickel Creek.

Badonkadonk Tip of the Day

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Maybe you want to cruise the desert in style , or maybe you need to escape from Jabba's palace , or maybe you just want a vehicle with some character for your next safari ... no matter what, you can't go wrong with the JL421 Badonkadonk Land Cruiser/Tank . With room for five people, a 40 mph top speed, ground effects , and protected against small-arms fire , this chick magnet is a steal at only $20,000.

Challenge Tip of the Day

We at P&J Enterprises have a challenge for you today! It's really fun if you use excited marks at the end of every sentence for an entire day! Every email! Every written word! Even every spoken word! Even for questions! Doesn't that sound like fun! It makes it sound like you're the happiest, most exuberant person in the world! Try using it for a.) boring or b.) slightly mean or un-fun comments as well, such as these: "I'm in my car right now!" "I'm watching paint dry!" "I'm just checking my email!" "I wish you weren't such a wanker!" "Your bill is 30 days past due!" "You missed your deadline!" It's just a bucket o' fun!

Excited Tip of the Day

This one is from our good friends Emily and Rachel Jarrard, from at least a few years ago. Looking for some quick fun? Just refer to an exclamation point (!) as an "excited mark." Sure to get a few laughs!

Cherry Tip of the Day

Now is not a good time to buy cherries. If you see what looks like yummy cherries at the supermarket, you may be in a hurry, go to U-Scan, enter in the produce code and see that you owe over $11 for the cherries, tell the U-Scan attendant that there's been a mistake, hear him tell you cherries actually cost that much, and then have him void your U-Scan session. Not fun.

NYC Tip of the Day

When you go the city, specifically New York City, you must never ever look down. Or close your eyes. Because if you do either of these things you are bound to miss something such as someone famous walking next to you, beside you, around you, or in front of you. Always have your eyes pealed because you never know who you might see. You might see the Broadway star of the show you saw the night before (aka Sutton Foster of The Drowsy Chaperone). Or you might see a well known soap star going to the 5000th performance of Beauty and the Beast (aka Susan Lucci of All My Children). Or you might see the the crazy, freaky, murderer guy from Desperate House Wives walking around town with his family. You just never know. Other than keeping your eyes open and aware, it also helps to have a Broadway/famous person guru for a sister who keeps you informed on all the people you miss because you walk with your eyes down way too often. Now I cannot guarentee a star-sighting, but just to be safe a

iTunes Tip of the Day

Its seems like everyone is starting to get into the buy-just-one-song-you-want-online phenomena. But for the most part, you have to be a proud owner of a credit/check card to make any purchases. But what if you don't have a credit card, for whatever reason (Not Old Enough, No Credit, or Don't want to be whipping boy to " The Man "). Well, just go to the store and pick yourself up an iTunes , Napster , Rhapsody Gift Card, more and more stores are carrying lots of gifts cards recently. So you can just wonder on down to Kroger, Wal-Mart, Target or even Coinstar and pay for a gift card with Cold Hard Cash™ and purchase music online to your hearts delight. Thanks Becca