I pay all my bills online through US Bank’s free Bill pay feature. You can pay everything from Ameren bills, water bills, credit cards, and everyone else that comes calling every month. US Bank prints the check and physically sends it to the payee for free. You can set it up to pay all your bills automatically every week, 2 weeks, month, etc. If you have the means, I highly recommend signing up with your bank.
Archive for October, 2007
If you eat lunch in your truck, drive short distances in the country, or refuse to wear your seatbelt, you probably hate the annoying seatbelt reminder in newer vehicles that dings forever. Sure, you probably figured out how to disable it temporarily, or remove the fuse, but don’t you want to disable it the right way? You can find the answer in your owner’s manual like I did, or you could google it. To disable the reminder, you need a car, car keys, hands, time, and patience.
For example, in a Ford F-150, you have to turn the key to ‘on’ without starting the engine. Then you have to put the seatbelt on and take it off thrice. Next, you turn the headlights on and then off. Now you do the seatbelt thing thrice again. Finally, you have to wait for the seatbelt light to go off after a minute and then put the seatbelt on and then take it off once within 7 seconds. The seatbelt light will start flashing if you did everything right. The process must be followed exactly, much like entering 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42, and execute on the computer every 108 minutes.
The Proctor and Gamble CEO does not give his profits to the church of satan. Liz Claiborne is not a satanist. All of Bill Clinton’s friends and acquaintances have NOT mysteriously died. Oliver North did not warn Congress about Osama back in the 80s. Mars is not going to be as big as the moon. This post does not contain a virus that will destroy your house and everything in it. Those coupons you received for Outback Steakhouse from Bill Gates are not real. Your cell phone will not be inundated with telemarketing calls 31 days from now. Most importantly, nothing bad will happen to you if you do not forward this post to 10 people.
As you have noticed above, I have included links to the proof that those hoaxes and myths are false. So, from now on, if you find yourself in a panic about the formaldehyde in those Magic Erasers you just bought (not true), go to snopes.com and verify the authenticity of that email you just forwarded to 73 of your closest friends and family members.
If you spread chain letters, please put the email address in the ‘Bcc:’ (blind carbon copy) section instead of the ‘To:’ section. This prevents all the people that read your chain letter from seeing everyone else’s email address.
From Wikipedia: “The series centers around Dan Vasser, a normal man who, for an unknown reason, begins jumping back in time. He soon learns that each series of jumps follows the life of a person whose destiny he seems meant to change, although it doesn’t always turn out for the better. While in the past, Dan reconnects with Livia Beale, his ex-fiancée, whom he lost in a plane crash. And Dan may find that Livia has a secret life of her own.”
Journeyman is basically a mix between any of the good dramas out right now and the classic sci-fi show, Quantum Leap. It has action, drama, comedic timing, great acting, excellent writing, and the mysterious ‘what does it all mean’ element. When he shifts through time, the props and sets are very nostalgic, and the show is suitable for family viewing. Journeyman is on Mondays at 9pm after the popular Heroes.
If you missed the first few episodes thus far, don’t worry, you can watch this season’s episodes online at NBC.com or download them using this tutorial.
I deleted Vista and installed XP because Vista was slower, less capable of connecting to wireless networks (including my home network), and I had numerous program compatibility issues. I have installed XP countless times, so it made since to use my faithful XP Pro installation CD and leave Vista behind. If you choose to do the same, here’s what to do:
- Admit you have a problem (with Vista) and choose to leave Vista (for now).
- Backup any files you need on your computer (pictures, email, favorites, settings, etc.) to a USB flash drive, CD or DVD, or external hard drive.
- Download the XP drivers for your made-for-Vista machine. For example, my laptop is a HP dv2415nr, so I went to HP’s website and found drivers for the HP dv2000z that work with my laptop. I think this is just a catch-all model for any dv2xxx machine. I found these drivers by googling “hp dv2415nr xp drivers” and by visiting HP’s support forums. I finally hit gold when someone on a forum had the same model as myself wanting to do the same thing. It took me a couple hours of research to find the correct drivers. Save all the drivers you can find for your model to a USB flash drive or CD. The most important drivers are your network card and/or wireless card drivers. Once you can access the internets on your freshly installed XP machine, you can download the rest of your drivers.
- Put your XP installation disk in your machine, follow the prompts to delete the Vista partition (c:), create a new partition in the unpartitioned space, format with NTFS, and follow the remaining prompts to complete the installation . Note: I don’t encourage people to delete the recovery partition if you have one for obvious reasons.
- Start installing your drivers in the following order if applicable (restart if prompted to): chipset, video or graphics, network, wireless, audio, and then any other.
- Re-install programs that you use. I recommend these.
- Enjoy computing again.
If you like the looks of Vista like I do, download a Vista skin for XP. It looks very much like the real thing.
I have spent countless hours researching and testing software programs. I have narrowed my research down to the following programs:
- Avast! (anti-virus)
- Windows Defender (anti-spyware)
- Firefox (web browser)
- Open Office (contains clones of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)
- Foobar (audio player)
- Media Player Classic (installs with the next program below)
- K-Lite Codec Pack (essential codecs that lets you play any media file)
- Image Resizer (simple right-click on a picture program to resize images)
- 7-zip file compression (use this instead of winzip)
- Soulseek (file-sharing program with NO spyware)
- uTorrent (torrent downloading program)
- Karen’s Relicator (file backup program)
- TweakUI (make safe tweaks to Windows)
- InfraRecorder (CD and DVD burning software)
- Everest (tells you all the information about your rig, e.g. RAM, video card, processor, etc.)
- Network Stumbler (detects and lists wireless networks in your vicinity)
- Eraser (permanently deletes files- use this because I can find files you emptied from your recycle bin years ago)
So, you bought yourself a shiny new HP laptop. Here are the accessories I recommend:
- Laptop case (I use a military messenger bag with padded dividers in the middle for my rig). - $24
- Wireless mouse - $20
- Mobile surge protector - $12
- Personal computer endorsement for your homeowner’s insurance for computer coverage (my insurer, USAA, covers any computer damage, accidental or hardware failure, up to $2000 minus a $100 deductible - $18/year
- If you can’t get the insurance coverage, carefully consider the accidental damage warranty from the retailer you purchased from.
- Backup disk of your operating system and a disk of your necessary program setup files. - $1
- A usb flash drive for backing up your files. - $25
So, you don’t use Windows Messenger and you think you stopped it from starting up by unchecking that box in the Messenger options page (because you have found it impossible to uninstall it)… but you really didn’t. It is still running in the background. I have researched this for you and have a solution.
Click on start, then run. In the run box, copy and paste or type the following:
RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%\inf\msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove
Hit OK and restart your computer. Congratulations, you have removed Windows Messenger.
If you have completed the ‘Speed up your computer‘ tutorial and you still need a faster rig, it is time to add more RAM. RAM (random access memory) is the short-term memory in your computer that allows your computer to go from ‘light speed’ to ‘ludicrous speed’. It will also allow your computer to go to ‘eleven’ (which is one faster).
- Google your computer’s make and model to find out what kind of RAM your computer uses. This is pretty easy as there are only a couple of sizes now available. If you buy faster speed RAM, it will clock down to match the speed your computer runs at. (Note: If you have a custom built computer and can’t find what kind of RAM you need, download and install a program called Everest, run Everest, and go to the memory information section for your answer.)
- Once you know what kind of RAM you need, click here to order it. Go with Kingston Value RAM (KVR). Get the largest capacity your computer supports and that you can afford. The more RAM you have, the faster your rig.
- Once the fedex guy brings your package, you need to install that RAM. First, unplug the power cord from the wall or from the back of your case. Then, remove the side of the case so you can see the guts of your rig. Look for 2, 3, or 4 long slots with some of them already filled with RAM. Remove any old RAM to make room for the new RAM by flicking outward any restraining clips. There are notches in the RAM that only allow you to install the RAM one way. Make sure it fully seats and replace the clips by flicking them inward.
- While your computer case is open, blow out all the dust with air duster or an air compressor. Be sure to pay close attention to all fans and the power supply fan on the back of the case. Be thorough because cleaning your case will extend the life of your computer. Replace the cover and power cord and start up your rig and prepare for ‘ludicrous speed.’
RAM installation on laptops is easier because you just have to unscrew one small panel on the bottom of the case. Make sure the tabs fit the snugly in the RAM slots. Good luck.
- Empty your recycle bin.
- Go to your control panel and then internet options. On that options page, delete your history, cookies, and temporary internet files (cache).
- Run disk cleanup (usually in start, programs, accessories system tools, disk cleanup).
- Run a defrag by going to start and run. In the run box, type in the following (only the stuff in bold): defrag c: -f. You can also defrag by selecting it from the aforementioned system tools directory.
- Remove spyware by running a spyware scan with Windows Defender, Spybot, or many others listed on filehippo.com.
- Remove unnecessary startup programs by going to start and run and typing msconfig in the run box. Once in msconfig, go to the startup options and uncheck any programs you don’t want to automatically startup (anti-virus and anti-spyware programs should be enabled). If you don’t know what something is, simply google it. Hit OK or accept or yes.
- Restart.
A Minnesota woman was fined $220,000 for ‘illegally’ downloading 24 songs. The article says …”She turned down an offer to pay a few thousands dollars in fines and instead took the case to court.” This is ridiculous. Full article here.
Due to the recent drop in price for 1, 2, 4, or 8 gig cavernous usb flash drives (aka thumb drive, usb drive, jump drive, flash drive, etc.), there is no reason to keep using floppies. Many computers do not even come with floppy readers anymore, but every computer comes with at least 2 usb ports.
My suggestion is to throw away your floppies and your copies of Windows 95, 98, and ME. Next, click here and order you one or more usb flash drives. On your computer, you access usb flash drives the same as any other drive on your computer by double-clicking on ‘My Computer’ or by ‘exploring Windows’.
- Get high-speed internets or go to someone’s house/business that has high-speed internets.
- Download and install a torrent file-sharing program. I use uTorrent.
- Download and install a video codec pack using default installation settings. I use K-Lite codec pack. This is necessary because Windows by default will not play this compressed avi video format, usually DivX or XviD, that these high-quality videos are in.
- Explore all the options, settings, and/or preferences in your torrent program. Remember or change where your downloaded files will be stored.
- Go to a website that shares TV show video torrents and download a torrent file. I use tvtorrents.com. You can also go to other sites that I will not mention here. If your torrent program doesn’t automatically perk up when you download the torrent file, open the torrent directly from your torrent program.
- Once the torrent file reaches 100% downloaded, share it (more specifically called seeding it) for a little while. Common etiquette is if you download a typical 350 meg show, let it seed for 350 megs.
- Browse to and open the downloaded video with your favorite media player. I use the Media Player Classic program that was installed in step 3 with the codec pack. If the video doesn’t play or if you just hear audio, you screwed up step 3 and must redo step 3.
Super optional bonus step: Go to your local store that is not wal-mart and purchase a DVD player that also plays DivX and XviD. Here is one from K-Mart. Here is one from Overstock. Once you own this player, burn your video(s) to DVD and play it on your console TV much like the one pictured above. If you must go to wal-mart, here’s what you do: find something that you still own, don’t use, and still have the box for. Box it up and take it back to wal-mart. They might take it back even without the receipt. Just don’t lie about it.