Pete & Jay's Tip O Da "Day"

Did you lose everything and everyone you once held dear to Hurricane Katrina? If so, Uncle Sam has decided you may be eligible for some tax relief ! That's right, according to the IRS , anyone from the governor of Mississippi to the New Orleans Saints could be eligible. If you lived or worked in the disaster area, spent time as a relief worker, or provided food and clothing for those displaced by Katrina, find out if you can get some of your hard-earned dough back in April! Since the IRS is essentially a bank with 0% interest that's really hard to withdraw from, make the most of it while you can... (And maybe consider donating your return to charity !)

Who said that filing your taxes has to be hard and/or expensive? Word on the street is that TaxACT is the way to go. It asks you everything you need to know and you just need to plug in the numbers--it finds the deductions you didn't know you could even get. And it submits it right over the web, which means you get your return even faster. If you find your taxes are going to be more challenging this year that ever--maybe you bought a house, had a kid, or went freelance--then you might want to give this a try. Ranging in price from absolutely free to $19.95, you choose which level is right for you. Good luck and many happy returns.

We've all been there. We're looking at a site and keep refreshing to see if what we're looking for has been updated. But, often times our browsers will cache items on the page (especially images and Flash™ documents.) This enables faster page loads, and less data transfer, which is actually nice. However, if you're a web developer, or someone who checks the tips site a lot for comments, you want to know that the information you're viewing is perfectly accurate. And, you don't want to empty your cache every time you look at a site. So, here's what you do. To get a page to refresh, and not draw from a cache, simply put a good old-fashioned question mark (?) at the end of your URL, and hit "Enter."

For those of us not rich enough to get Apple's Mighty Mouse , you can still scroll like a PRO. Did you know that when using your boring old scrollable mouse, you can double your scrolling potential with one key stroke ? That's right. Simply hold down the shift key while using your scroller and it will scroll from left to right instead of up and down. Helpful when browsing those pesky wide windows.

One of two things are true. Either teeny-boppers have invaded the iTunes Music Store™ or Disney has a really big hit on their hands. I was just looking at the top ten most downloaded tunes on the music store, and seriously, six of them were from a Disney movie called "High School Musical." Now, the music wasn't THAT bad, if you're in middle school , yet I am completely at a loss for how all of them got so popular. My conclusion, and tip, is that this movie must be pretty good. So, I guess go see it or something so we can substantiate this tip.

This is a tip for our friends who either live or work in the Wilmore area. If you hurry, Clucker's Corner is running a special where if you purchase any store item, including fuel, you can get a free small popcorn! It's that yummy popcorn that movie theaters make. So, grab yourself a refreshing fountain drink, or "The Mother Cluck" breakfast special, and tickle your tastebuds with the buttery goodness that is Clucker's popcorn.

Do you want fun pens? Sure, we all do. Well, look no further than the "Staedtler Triplus" series. That's right, for one low price, you get a brilliant rainbow of thin, felt-tipped pen goodness. And, I love that there's an online store called "dickblick.com." Hilarious!

So you are driving down the road and all of the sudden you see an extra light on the dashboard…darn, it’s the check engine light. Now what? A trip to the dealer is a $100 loss when you pull into the parking lot and that is not on the top of my list of things to do. So, how about a trip to the nearest Advance Auto Parts or Auto Zone? These places have the diagnostic computers compatible with most cars and, get this - they will do it for free! Yep, you walk out of there with the secret little code to tell a mechanic so they know the problem area. Nice huh?

If you're like me, you like to get a little reward now and then from the places where you regularly make purchases. One thing we all have to buy but wish we didn't is GAS. So, why not get a few "Speedy Rewards" for your fuel up? That's right, stop by Speedway on your way home from work and inquire about the "Speedy Rewards Card." You'll earn fuel-up points toward a free fuel-up and other great parting gifts. And if you're someone who likes a fountain drink on a regular basis, you get every 7th coffee or fountain drink free. It just doesn't get any better than that! Also, I think if you spend over $3,000 you get a free meal at Applebee's or something.

Did you know that in Photoshop, if you want to change the visibility of multiple layers at one time, you can simply click on one "eyeball" next to the layer and just drag down that column until you reach the bottom? So if you click layer 1's eyeball and drag all the way to the last layer, it'll make them all visible or vice versa. Yeah, pretty geeky, but also pretty nice.

Looking for some fun new music? Check out Sufjan Stephens .

If you work for a popular eating establishment, it's probably not a good idea to drive the company vehicle through another eating establishment's drive-thru, especially if said vehicle is very recognizable. Frisch's drive-thru, last week. Photos courtesy Robert Bolson.

If you're bored at work because an IS employee is installing Tiger on your computer all day and it's unusable, here's a tip for you. Whatever you do, resist the urge to watch your girlfriend's "SNL: Best of Will Ferrell" DVD on your office TV. Why? Because if you do, inevitably it will attract a small crowd , and boisterous laughter will ensue, at which point your boss may call you to find out why the entire office is giggling instead of working.

Classic mousetraps can be messy and the "disarming" of them can render even Ms. Independent into a squeamish girly-girl; Glue/sticky tape traps can mean a slow death, possibly asphyxiation for the mouse; Rat/mouse poisons can mean a) that your pets might have access to a dead, poison-filled mouse at some point, and b) that you might have a critter die in your wall, which can cause an unpleasant smell and leave you with the haunting reminder that there's a mummifed mouse carcass in your wall forever. Here are solutions : The Rat Zapper , and its beefed-up version, The Rat Zapper Ultra . One of my coworkers says it works, it leaves no mess to touch, and no smell of electrocuted mouse fur (this is the only negative image I could conjure up).

Let's say you're a guy and you're somewhat interested in keeping in touch with a girl you had one date with months ago, and you find out the girl needs firewood, just like you do. "Aha, sharing firewood is a good idea!" The girl thinks it could work too--having combustible material for her fireplace at a more reasonable cost and more manageable amount is great! (Girl has said she's not interested in dating said guy, but girl made unwise decision in instant messaging to be nice and playing the "just friends" card.) Let's say you call said girl on New Year's Eve to set up firewood plans and she is convalescencing with The 36-Hour Stomach Bug. This tip is two-fold: Do not ever go on endlessly about a recent relationship while having a conversation with a girl you hardly know that is writhing in pain and only keeping down crackers and ginger ale, even if she's given you the "just friends" card. In fact, this is a good tip for any p...

When starting a new company, often people get hung up on naming it, and typically resort to using their last name. This is generally just fine. As long as your name's not TOM RAPER. Our buddy Tom runs probably the most successful RV biz in all of Indiana, in spite of his name, yet we think he was a little short-sighted. He probably never imagined that every 5 miles on the interstate would be a sign displaying "Tom Raper RVs." Don't name something with your name if it has any borderline connotation. That's the tip right there. Because people can, and will, make up all kinds of slogans for your company. Now, I love how Tom Raper's slogan is "Where Fun Begins." Come ON people. Seriously. I'm not making this stuff up.

Are you a Penguin? Have you been ravaged by oil spills or other not-so-natural environmental disasters? Are you cold at night? Well there is hope for you. A group of well meaning humans have offered to make sweaters for you. Its cold out there, so it would be best to bundle up. So grab a hot chocolate, a fish and cuddle up with your new sweater and get comfy. Migration will be here soon.

So with the new iTunes that came out on Tuesday (6.0.2) there is a new "feature" . What it is, is a MiniStore that shows up at the bottom of your screen when you click on your song. I don't have that much screen realestate and so I don't want it showing. Well it took me a minute to figure out how to hide it, but its actually not hard at all, thanks to Apple's basic instructions . Also note that it of course has to send that song's title and other playlist info to Apple's servers in order to do this, which might aggravate some, but if you turn off the feature, it won't connect to Apple's server.

Today , Pete & Jay's Tip O Da Day is officially one year old! We have learned many things over the year. One is that Marriageability tips might actually be working . The Tip O Da Day Labs only research the most important issues . Watch out for office gnomes . Stay away from the phrase " angry eyes ". Many words not to call women. Grease can be used to beautify and power your car. Pirate terms and kissing might not work together. There is actually a use for the term "buffeting fluff" . Flowers and cats, don't mix, but there are solutions . Running out of gas can create a whole week of tips . If Julie wants to run up your comment count, she can . Vander and Andy are consistently funny commenters. And it would clearly be impossible to run Tip O Da Day without our ten contributers. (This site should really be called "Pete, Jay, Steph, Jules, RNutt, JMo, Lala, K-ris, Vander and Keiser's Tip O Da Day") So today, use the search , check the ...

Everyone loves to lick the insides of Oreos, but some times its just too hard for those of us with weak tongues. If you are heating something up in the oven, or just have the oven on as an inefficient space heater. Stick your box of Oreos on top. (Don't put them in the oven, that could be bad, in so many ways.) After just a few minutes, the heat will soften those creamy centers up just enough to make them commercial licken good!

Say you're a valet parker at some swanky restaurant. Not only do you have a job that all the other boys in homeroom want, but you get do drive some "sweet cars dude"! You are so "stoked" because you get to drive nice cars, but tisk-tisk-tisk, don't forget most of your income in based on tips. So as you hop in your ride for the next 30 seconds, remember that the person who's car it is, and the potential tipper is still there, watching you. If you "peal out", or otherwise drive there vehicle like your on the newest ride at King's Island, they might actually want to give you any cash. Yep, you might be sitting there the rest of the night complaining about people not tipping all because you're a freaking dumb [as silly it might sound, Pete & Jay's Tip of the Day is a family friendly site, thus some things have been edited for content, "in order to fit your TV"]

With Valentine's Day JUST around the corner, you may want to start planning a romantic evening of charm and grace. If such an evening involves succulent fondue, please, heed this guy's advice and wear your contacts or glasses.

While it is generally considered poor taste to hit up relatives for dates, it is increasingly evident that, if one is interested in matrimony, Uncle Sam is currently the one to call. (Screw e-Harmony! Where's the army recruiter?) Any thoughts, Kris?

While you may love your aunt Ruth , you might not love that Christmas Tree Sweater that she gave you during the recent holiday season. When you do make back $1.42 for selling it on eBay , be careful when you are setting up your selling options, it could turn out that the $6 you were hoping to charge for shipping, turns out to look more like $4.95.

So you got a new iPod video or nano for Christmas, and music just aint enough for ya? Are you too lazy to buy a working printer? Well then just stick your Yahoo! Map on your iPod, thanks to iWay . Yes, now you too can get lost with crappy maps and run off the road trying to read them on an 1.5" screen!

No matter how bad a situation is, it's always possible to find the greater good in the situation. And, the humor. In what seemed like an abysmal, nay, catastrophic event, we were able to glean 5 tips . I'd say it was all worth it.

If you run out of gas alongside the road and call to have someone bring some fuel by for you in the dark hours of the night, you may be a little on edge, and rightfully so. But, don't be too alarmed if it's a mere car, even a Geo Metro, that pulls up behind you. See, you'd think a towing place would ALWAYS send a tow truck, but to save a few bucks, they'll pull out the ole Metro from time to time. This is OK. Still, to be sure, have someone, like your beautiful girlfriend, on the cell when they pull up. Just so if they kill you at least someone will know. Now, good luck trying to get someone to find you. Especially if all they know is the mile marker.

We at Pete and Jay's tested out this tip JUST for you. It had nothing to do with anyone on the crack-writing team's stupidity. If, as in the previous tips, you find yourself stranded (in this case due to running out of fuel) you may be a little nerve-wracked and unsure of what to do, and who to call. But, because of my recent insurance changes, I was quite aware of the specifics of what was covered on my policy. It just so happened I had "Roadside Assistance" on my policy. I thought about cancelling it, but it would only "save me a buck or two" so I decided to keep it. Lucky me, because in the above situation (again, just to test it out for our tip readers) ole' State Farm pulled through for me, and said they'd reimburse my emergency fuel expense. So, I'd advise this. Check with your insurance provider to see if they have roadside assistance. If they do, it's likely very cheap (much cheaper than AAA). So, you can cancel AAA and save some mone...

It's a routine day. You've just run out gas on a 600-mile trip home to PA "over the river and through the woods," if you know what I mean, and you're sitting there along the road, minding your own. If you're a little unsure of where you are, you would think that giving someone a mile-marker would help them to know where you are. Not so. In fact, towing companies will be quite unhelpful. It's like they enjoy knowing you're stranded and don't know specifically which podunque (that's my original French origin spelling there) town you're in. So, my tip would be this. If you find yourself stopped directly in front of milemarker 15, call the state police. (Generally *SP, or 911). They will be slightly torqued that you called without an emergency, and will get a bit snippy, but they can tell you that you're probably in Clear Springs, MD, so when you call your motoring plan who for some reason can't figure out where you are based on a mile-...

If you've been driving your new car for a few months now and have made the observation that no matter how long you go with the gas light on, you still can't put the full 14.5 gallons into your car, this tip's for you. You're putzing around Lexington, or wherever, and realize that you can go 40 miles with the light on before gassing up and STILL only put in 13 gallons! Well, the tip is, don't use a 600-mile road trip, mostly through rural West Virginia, to test the limits of your tank. That's right, you might end up running out of fuel, stranded alongside the road, and spending nearly 30 minutes just trying to figure out where you are and how to tell someone to get to you.

So, you have people strewn across your house, staying the night this New Years day? Well the first thing you don't want to start off the new year with is a bunch of angry house guess. Which could easily happen around 1pm when people start wanting to take showers, and they found out later that you could have made 20 gallons of hot tea in your shower. Taking an hour long shower at a brisk 120° isn't exactly what we call polite. So, as you are taking a shower remember your hot water heater has its work cut out for it. So take a shower that is just warm enough to be comfortable, not so hot that it could burn the skin off a lava beetle. I don't care if you like it that way, it's just rude, cause everyone behind you is going to have to take a polar bear swim especially with it being the middle of winter. Also, if your shower has this option, don't turn the water on full blast, that just uses more water faster. Turn it on enough to get that soap washed off quickly. That wa...