Coffee Klatch

I read a really good tip recently on Jeff Sickles’ blog. You know how Windows Updates will take care of getting you the latest patches and updates, but how it will do it on its own time and then keep pushing you to reboot your computer? I’m fine with needing to reboot my computer, but I HATE being forced to unless I click a “wait” button every ten minutes. Sometimes I want to finish what I’m working on first. How about you?

Well, Jeff shared the instructions for turning OFF that auto-restart function. You still should restart the computer at your earliest convenience, but if you don’t want to be forced to right away (or forced to keep clicking “not yet” every ten minutes), here’s what you need to do:

Instructions

1. Open a command prompt window (Start > Run )

2. Type cmd (just the three letters) into the box and click ‘OK’ or hit enter

3. In the black window type the remainder of this line: sc stop wuauserv

This command stops the service which popup the restart dialog. Now you can restart the operating system when you are done with your work. The auto update service will restart next time the computer reboots and will automatically downloads available updates.

There you go.

Almost exactly one year ago I blogged about shaving my head. I’d actually been doing it for a couple of months before that, but didn’t blog about it right away. Recently I received a comment on one of the posts I’ve made in the last year about this topic. The commenter recommended the HeadBlade above all other razors, including the MachIII and Fusion razors. I, too, have preferred the MachIII and have used that almost exclusively for the last year.

I decided to give the HeadBlade a try after visiting their website and looking around a bit. Last week I received my very own HeadBlade and, after a few days of getting used to it, I have to agree that it’s the best. And also that it’s RADICALLY DIFFERENT from other blades! Here are some of differences:

• It’s built totally different, kinda like a snowmobile with a hook on top for your middle finger. The front end has its own suspension and pivots well.
• You use long, smooth strokes instead of multiple short strokes.
• You don’t apply ANY pressure.
• The blades LEAD the razor, rather than follow, so it’s like you’re pushing it rather than pulling it.

If you’re one of those fortunate, handsome guys that has opted to shave his head for whatever reason, I encourage you to try the HeadBlade. It’s a bit cheaper than standard blades, takes Atra blade refills (although I recommend you get the triple-blade kits directly from HeadBlade online), and gets your head smoother more quickly and easily. Although it takes 2-3 uses to adjust to the different way of shaving, the results are great.

They also sell various other headcare products, like some excellent moisturizing lotion (both in original High Gloss and new Matte) and an oil-free HeadShade sunscreen.

Oh, and according to their website, you can buy HeadBlades not only online, but at Walgreens, CVS, RiteAid, WalMart, Meijer, and other places.

And if you’re curious or have some questions about HeadBlade, they’ve got some great HeadBlade 101 videos! (about using the HeadBlade and also about shaving your head in general–GREAT stuff!)

I used to use a salary calculator from HomeFair.com when I wanted to compare cost of living between two cities. It was easy to use–you just entered a dollar amount and pick your origin and destination cities off of lists. Then it gave you the dollar amount you’d need to make in the destination city to be the equivalent of what you’re making in the origin city. But sometime this last year they merged with another system and redid things. One of those changes was doing away with this for some reason.

So now if you want to compare the cost of living between two different cities, I recommend the Cost of Living Calculator at http://www.bestplaces.net/col/. It works similarly, but the results are even better. They tell you what you would need to make to be the equivalent and also give you the percentage difference. But then there’s a great chart that compares the two cities’ Cost of Living Indexes for Food, Housing, Utilities, Transportation, Health, Miscellaneous, and Overall. The numbers are based on the U.S. average being 100. This lets you compare the costs of more specific aspects of life. Pretty cool!

I just learned something new about Excel this morning via trial and error. Apparently the chart functions aren’t designed to naturally take two columns and plot one against the other on an X-Y axis. The default charting function for two columns is to display the data from each row side by side.

I had a student in our library computer lab this morning who needed to plot the points on the chart with the first column of data going across the bottom and the second column of data going up the Y-axis. As I think about it, this is more of a GRAPH function as opposed to a CHART function, which is probably why it’s not natural for Excel’s “Chart Wizard.”

Anyway, I did manage to get this to work, but it wasn’t intuitive. I’m writing about it here in case anyone is wanting to learn or is searching the web as I was, trying to find out how to do this.

Step 1: Use the Chart Wizard to create the chart with the chart type being an XY (Scatter).
Step 2: When the chart is completed, right-click on the chart and select Chart Type, changing it to Column. For some reason, this will save the XY treatment of the data while converting the points that were plotted into column bars.

That’s it! It’s not particularly complicated, but it’s not particularly intuitive either. You just have to create the chart as XY chart or “scatter graph,” and then convert it to a bar graph or column graph. That avoids the clustering that Excel wants to do by default.

Voilà!

I think shrimp tastes best with cocktail sauce. At least the popcorn-style shrimp. So what do you do if you want some with the shrimp you got out of the freezer and are cooking? If you don’t eat shrimp that often, you may not want to invest in a whole bottle that will then sit there in your refrigerator.

Solution? Make your own!

I found a very cheap and easy way to make a decent cocktail sauce for when I want some quick with my shrimp (or anything else). Just squirt some ketchup into a small bowl and stir in a couple teaspoons of horseradish. Together they make a cocktail sauce that’s quite passable.

Of course, it means keeping prepared horseradish in your refrigerator instead of cocktail sauce, but I really like horseradish and find it useful on sandwiches, roasts, etc.

So there you go. Ad hoc cocktail sauce!

I was listening to Car Talk this weekend and a caller had a question about getting different gas mileage when she drove the same car on the same city streets than what her fiancé got. So they started talking about driving habits and shifting and all that (it was a manual transmission). Here are some of the conclusions they came to:

• Downshifting when slowing down for a stop (shifting from 4th to 3rd to 2nd to 1st) is unnecessary. In fact, it might save the brakes but it will wear out the transmission faster (which is much more expensive).
• Your gas mileage will change the most (with a stick-shift) based on how fast or slowly you shift.
• The longer you wait to shift, the higher rpm the engine is doing and so the more gas you use.
• For best results, you should upshift as early as possible.

So there you have it. Advice from the experts. If you want to save gas and you drive a manual, don’t wait for the engine to get higher or louder before shifting. Continually upshift as early as you can in the acceleration process. If you think about it, that’s typically what automatics do anyway. By shifting up each time as soon as your engine allows for it, you slow down the rpm and you burn less gas.

For samples and highlights of their radio show, automotive news, crash test scores, buying/selling help, and much more, visit cartalk.com. While you’re there, make sure you visit Time Kill Central.

Well, I got my W-2 forms this weekend and have already filed. Things are so much simpler when you didn’t move to a new state during the year, taking a new job, and then doing some work back in the original state once you’re a resident of the new one. This year, for me, it was ONE W-2 to wait for, no extenuating circumstances like moving or earning income in another state. How cool is THAT?

For the last five years or so I’ve been using TaxACT Online. They offer totally free filing of federal income tax. “Prepare it FREE, print it FREE, E-file FREE, and No Restrictions!” They’re terrific to work with, very easy to use, and they can even fill in the blanks ahead of time with your info from last year, if you remember the password you set up.
Direct deposit is also a great thing. I got my email within 24 hours that the IRS had accepted my filing and my rebate should arrive electronically at my bank on February 9.

I’m not a fan of the current tax system–I totally prefer a national sales tax, which taxes usage, not income–but it sure is nice to get that quick rebate right in your account!

[tags]taxes, IRS, filing, e-file, taxact[/tags]

Here’s the latest cool new thing that Google has come out with. It’s called Google Reader. Overall, it has a VERY nice look. It’s easy to read and pleasant to look at. And of course Google has put lots of functionality into it. The only thing it doesn’t do (yet) that Bloglines does for me is handle email subscriptions. If Google Reader adds that capability, I’m dumping Bloglines like a month-old potato and going Google.

Here are some of the features, if you’re curious.

You can add folders and put the feeds in the folders. You can rename the feeds, so you’re not stuck with the name they have if you don’t want it. You can sort newest or oldest and show all the items or only new ones. You can even add a star to a particular post, just like you do to certain emails in Gmail. Oh, and you can add tags to individual posts also.

There’s also a “Subscribe” button that you can drag onto your web browser’s toolbar, so when you’re on a page that has a feed, one click will show the feed in your Google Reader. If you like it, you click the “+Subscribe” button at the top and you’ve got it.

If you want to add subscriptions to the blogs of friends, using any of the popular bloglike software (e.g., MySpace, LiveJournal, Xanga, Flickr), you can easily add their feed by entering their username and selecting which service they use.

Do you use another feed reader? You can easily import your subscriptions from that reader to Google reader. You just have to export your subscription in OPML (XML) format so it can be imported. Here’s a link to export instructions for a variety of other feed aggregators. If you have organized your feeds into folders, those folders will import also.

If you like, you can even add the Google Reader to your Personalized Google Home Page.

Current music: Impressions of the Season, by the Raleigh Ringers

[tags]google, google reader, rss, feeds, aggregators, technology, Internet[/tags]

If you’re interested in saving a little money around the house without really doing anything, here’s a practical little tip. Find out which costs more, your garbage pickup or your sewer, and use that method of disposal for tissues. During the winter, many people go through lots of tissues. If your garbage pickup is free, make sure you throw them all in the trash rather than flushing them, since sewer charges are usually by volume. If you have cheap sewer rates but have to pay for garbage, you might be better off dropping that tissue in the toilet. Of course, don’t flush things that SHOULDN’T be flushed or you’ll pay for it later. But tissues are usually fine, and if you, like me, use toilet paper for blowing your nose when you’re in the bathroom, then it’s specifically designed for flushing and there are no worries. Here in Indianapolis, though, sewer rates are pretty high while garbage pickup is free, so I make it a point to drop those wads of toilet paper in the garbage instead of the toilet.

Not gonna make you a millionaire overnight or anything, but the pennies add up.

[tags]conservation, waste disposal, saving money[/tags]

While I haven’t been able to document it from any reliable sources yet, here’s a tip I’ve often heard about rubbing your eyes. Don’t do it. But sometimes you just have to, and if that’s the case, you should always rub in an outward direction from the nose to the side of the face, not inward toward the nose. If you rub your eyes inward too much, you’ll develop bags under your eyes more easily.

If you don’t want baggy eyes, don’t rub your eyes much. Especially inwardly.

There you go.