And then AI comes down to three
I'm hoping it will be a night with full of explosive performances, but I guess it's asking for the moon right now. Read more...
American Idolatry, May 20, 10:17am
It's sad. Tim Urban leaves AI with his shirt on.
After showing potential the past couple of weeks, viewers and fans of Tim Urban didn't find his Goo Goo Dolls cover very inspiring. Read more...
American Idolatry, May 19, 10:33pm
The 7 Idol Hopefuls give back
Mentor Alicia Keys said that "Music is so amazing, the way it goes along with how people feel." She hopes to help the contestants bring out those feelings. "I really want to help the find what they're made of, and what their character is." Read more...
American Idolatry, May 18, 10:18pm
Free or Almost-Free Tylenol
This one is short and sweet. Head on over to Tylenol.com and select "Download Coupon" and you can get a $5 off coupon for Tylenol, Immodium, Motrin, etc. Unfortunately, they use special software to print it so you literally can only print one (unless you delete find a way to fool the coupon printing program). The bright side is that since most of these items are under $5 anyway, it will end up being free. Read more...
Always Useful, May 15, 10:21am
You probably shouldn't use high-octane and here's why
A long time ago I was listening to Car Talk on NPR and got an education on high-octane gasoline and when you should and shouldn't use it. The bottom line is that the vast majority of people don't need high-octane gas in their vehicles. I've tried telling this to everyone I know who buys so-called "premium" gasoline and now DoItYourself.com explains it better than I do. Here's a small snippet: Read more...
Always Useful, May 15, 10:21am
Google Updates Street View with 5 New Cities
Google is the undisputed King of Internet Maps. I could go on and on about how many different ways they blow away the competition (Microsoft's Bird's Eye View being the only exception), but their actions speak louder than any of my words. The uber-cool Street View has just been updated with 5 new cities. While it irks me that none of these cities are Atlanta (and the same goes for Google Transit, hint hint), every new city is a welcome addition. Read more...
Always Useful, May 15, 10:21am
5 Things I like about Windows Vista
Search - In Vista, almost every dialog box where you can select a program or a file, you can just type what you're looking for in the search box and Vista will find it for you. You get very used to that feature very quickly and will miss it if you have to go back to XP or 2000. Aero - Dismiss it all you want with "it's just eye candy" but it doesn't change the fact that it simply looks better and makes for a more enjoyable experience. Start/Program Menu - Clicking on a folder... Read more...
Always Useful, May 15, 10:21am
Clean Your House as You Go (with an added burst)
I have 9 kids, with 5 still at home. I know a little something about how difficult it is to keep your home (reasonably) clean with all that is going on. We've tried systems, lists, cards, you name it. I recently came upon a more simple, yet elegant way of going about it. Some is obvious, some is not. Read more...
Always Useful, May 15, 10:21am
Blogger Play. Like it or lump it!
Google/Blogger recently introduced a mashup called "Blogger Play" which basically takes photos that people have uploaded to their blogs and displays them completely out of context in a slide show (like it was Flickr or something) Read more...
Always Useful, May 15, 10:21am
Customized Kleenex
Yes, you read that correctly. Kimberly-Clark has come up with a rather, um, interesting gift idea. For just $4.99 + shipping, you can have a customized box of Kleenex sent to whomever you want. As the photo shows, you can use backgrounds, colors, and photos in a variety of ways. Read more...
Always Useful, May 15, 10:21am
Free Web Stream Recorder (Expired)
Our friends at Giveaway of the Day appears to have returned to offering programs that are useful and worth having. Let's hope that all the screen savers and time wasting gamelets are history. Read more...
Always Useful, May 15, 10:21am
National Do Not Call Registry is Expiring
It's been five years since the national "Do Not Call Registry" went into effect. Not coincidentally, when you put your number in the registry, it only lasts for 5 years. Read more...
Always Useful, May 15, 10:21am
New York Times to Stop Charging
The New York Times will stop charging for access to parts of its Web site, effective at midnight Tuesday night. The move comes two years to the day after The Times began the subscription program, TimesSelect, which has charged $49.95 a year, or $7.95 a month, for online access to the work of its columnists and to the newspaper’s archives. TimesSelect has been free to print subscribers to The Times and to some students and educators. In addition to opening the entire site to all readers, The Times will also make available its archives from 1987 to the present without charge, as well as those from 1851 to 1922, which are in the public domain. There will be charges for some material from the period 1923 to 1986, and some will be free. If you do research or know anyone who does, you know he annoyance of finding exactly what you want but only to have it be hidden behind the Times' pay site. Now that is no longer a problem.... Read more...
Always Useful, May 15, 10:21am
Coupons!
Yeah, I hate using coupons too. But believe it or not, they really do save you money. There have been literally hundreds of dollars saved with coupons I've found online. And where do I find them? Read more...
Always Useful, May 15, 10:21am
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and as one who lost his grandmother to the disease, I feel that more people still need to be made aware of this disease of epidemic proportions. AIDS gets a lot of attention and so do a lot of other diseases and issues, but breast cancer kills more women (and some men) than any other natural cause except for heart disease. Read more...
Always Useful, May 15, 10:21am
5 Do's and 5 Don'ts When Pulled Over by Police
If you've driven a car for any amount of time, you've probably been pulled over for one reason or another. I know I have. I also grew up with a police veteran so I regularly got to hear the other side of the stories as well as get some clues on what you should and shouldn't do if you get stopped. Read more...
Always Useful, May 15, 10:21am
Photoshop: Make your brush look like what it's drawing
I've used Photoshop since version 4.0 years ago. On and off, I've had this annoying phantom + sign as the cursor. When I click a round brush, I want the cursor to look like it! Read more...
Always Useful, May 15, 10:21am
10 Dos and Don'ts of Trick or Treating
Halloween as it's celebrated here in the States (as opposed to the pagan celebration of Samhain from which Halloween has its roots) is a fun time for kids (and some adults) do dress up in cute or scary costumes and go door-to-door to extort candy from willing neighbors. I say "extort" because when you think about it, that's what they're doing when they say "Trick or Treat" they are in effect telling you that if you don't give them something as a treat, they will play a trick on you, typically hitting your house with an egg, as the "tradition" often goes. But I digress. Trick or Treat is a fun time in a child's life but it also has the potential for danger, disappointment, or injury. Here are some things you should know before going with the kiddies tonight. Read more...
Always Useful, May 15, 10:21am
Do Not Call is Now Permanent
A while back, I did a post telling everyone that they needed to renew their entry on the federal government's Do Not Call Registry. Read more...
Always Useful, May 15, 10:21am
K-B Toys Gift Cards Expire Sunday 1/11/09
If you have given or received any K-B Toys gift cards, you better move fast and use them because after tomorrow you won’t be able to and they will literally be worthless. Read more...
Always Useful, May 15, 10:21am
Where there is a will, there's a way - Protect yourself
I realize that I'm not offering any concrete advice aside from "be careful" but it's still useful to know that a false sense of security is just that. Be careful with your debit cards, folks! Read more...
Always Useful, May 15, 10:21am
Google Gets Its Act Together
Finally! After at least 6 different attempts, Blogger finally listened to me and realized that this is not a "spam blog". Read more...
Always Useful, May 15, 10:21am
Amazon thinks very highly of me!
When I went to amazon.com's homepage I saw the following. Read more...
The Christopher Estep Experience, May 15, 10:21am
Wikipedia from a Mormon Perspective
My Gospel Doctrine teacher used Wikipedia as a reference today (not for anything spiritual, just regarding an analogy he was using) and I couldn't help but think of the following, which I doubt they'd use as an advertisement. Read more...
Zion's Cramp, May 15, 10:21am
Steve Jobs the Fascist
I hope you don't want 3 iPhones or (dare I say it) plan on using cash. Apple has categorically stated that you can only buy two iPhones (ostensibly to thwart hacking) and they won't accept cash or Apple gift cards either (also supposedly to thwart hacking). Read more...
The Christopher Estep Experience, May 15, 10:21am
Music Review: Carrie Underwood's Carnival Ride
The new CD called Carnival Ride by Read more...
The Christopher Estep Experience, May 15, 10:21am
Hiatus
I've decided to take a hiatus from this blog for a couple of reasons. Read more...
Always Useful, May 15, 10:21am
Music Review: Carrie Underwood's Carnival Ride
The new CD called Carnival Ride by Read more...
Always Useful, May 15, 10:21am
We're moving!
Not the website or blog (though I did move my political blog to The Whole Bird, check it out!), but Julie and I and the whole family are moving by the end of the month. Our ongoing ordeal with Satan our scumbag landlord is nearing an end. There are a few posts I'll make on that after we actually move, as well as the unethical (and in my opinion, corrupt) behavior of one judge Read more...
The Christopher Estep Experience, May 15, 10:21am
Microsoft says "Oops! My Bad" and Reverts
I've tried hard to like IE7, but I just can't. Unfortunately there are times I have no choice but to use it. For instance, if I want to use the Birds Eye feature of Live Local maps, it won't work unless I use IE. I also have to use it at work. Read more...
The Christopher Estep Experience, May 15, 10:21am
Happy Birthday Mary Rose!!!
Mary Rose Estep turns 1 year old today. It has been probably the fastest year of my life! Read more...
The Christopher Estep Experience, May 15, 10:21am
Blog This in Windows Live Writer :: Firefox Add-ons
If you’re a blogger, there’s a good chance that you’re using Microsoft’s very excellent Windows Live Writer for writing your posts. If you aren’t and you haven’t given it a try (and you’re using Windows) you really should check it out. It’s an offline blog composer that has really made a difference in my ability to blog, especially since I have some blogs on different platforms and I can use the same tool to write those entries. Read more...
Always Useful, May 15, 10:21am
Crysis is not that great and here's 10 reasons why
I bought Crysis on the day it shipped. In spite of mediocre placement by Wal-Mart, I happened to see it there and grabbed a copy of what everyone has said is the greatest first person shooter and play it for myself. Sadly, I've been very disappointed. Not because it's a bad game. It's not a bad game at all. In fact I like it a lot, I just liked it more when I played it the first time and it was called Half Life 2. Read more...
The Christopher Estep Experience, May 15, 10:21am
Hotlanta my Butt!!!
It's colder than a witch's t** in a brass bra down here!!! It would freeze the b**** off a brass monkey! Read more...
The Christopher Estep Experience, May 15, 10:21am
In praise and irritation at Steam
I love Steam. It has made my gaming so much more manageable. For instance, Julie bought me Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for Christmas. It's a really great game. But like most disorganized people, DVD's or CD's and I don't really get along. By that I mean that if I buy a game, I'll probably end up either losing or damaging the medium on which I purchased it thereby making my gaming impossible or at the minimum, very inconvenient. Read more...
The Christopher Estep Experience, May 15, 10:21am
Word of Wisdom Strikes Again!
I just love this headline: Read more...
The Christopher Estep Experience, May 15, 10:21am
Sleepy
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The Christopher Estep Experience, May 15, 10:21am
Obligatory First Presidency Prediction
Since President Hinckley died, there needs to be a new first presidency in the Church. That will be announced in just over a half hour. Since we Mormons just love to speculate on such things, I'm going to give my own "predictions" here. Read more...
The Christopher Estep Experience, May 15, 10:21am
One out of Two isn't bad.
I was right on President Eyring but the second counselor is Dieter F. Uchtdorf, which is much harder to pronounce, though fortunately his English has gotten better over the past few years, even though he'd spoken English his entire adult life (a requirement to be an airline pilot, even in Germany). Read more...
The Christopher Estep Experience, May 15, 10:21am
Mitch Albom Shoots One Between The Pipes
9 times out of 10, I cannot stand Mitch Albom. I think he's generally an overrated hack who's actually built a literary career writing books like Tuesdays with Morrie, et. al. that are tantamount to the Simpsons episode which spoofed human interest broadcasting, ending each news story with "and this...is one of Bart's People. I'm Bart Simpson." His writing is often so sugary it's like he writes every story while drinking a maple syrup smoothie at Waffle House. (For you yankees, that's a southern version of Tim Ho's with ugly waitresses and food that truckers have to think hard before eating and not think about again if they want to keep it down) Read more...
The Christopher Estep Experience, May 15, 10:21am
Like Daddy, Like Daughter
It’s in the genes, no question. :) Read more...
The Christopher Estep Experience, May 15, 10:21am
Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup Progress Chart has Moved
It can now be found at my new Detroit Red Wings blog, with other information and articles. Read more...
The Christopher Estep Experience, May 15, 10:21am
New Drug for Autism Approved
The FDA has approved Risperdal, an antipsychotic drug, for use in autistic patients. Read more...
Autism and Beautiful Flowers, May 15, 10:21am