Heads up to all you parents: If you have kids and are constantly buying diapers (we're on year #7 woo hoo...not) Amazon has a really good deal called "Amazon Mom" where you can get 30% off and free shipping if you subscribe (i.e. get a monthly shipment of diapers) + no tax in CA. You then also qualify for a free membership in Amazon prime which means free 2 day shipping on all your other amazon stuff. And no you don't have to be a mom. It's available to anyone who buys baby stuff. I don't get any kick backs here. I just think it's a great deal.
You can check out their Subscribe and Save items here.
Amazon Mom FAQ
Monday, July 18, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
American Idol 2011 - My Top 7 Picks
OK. It's time. Here's my rundown on how I see the top 7 going down.
It's tough to pick how things are going to play out since the public has been getting it wrong week after week. I stopped voting the last few years because the public has generally gotten it right. This year the votes have been a bit "erratic" shall we say.
So in reverse order here's how I see it playing out
7. Casey Abrams
His growling is getting plain out weird at this point. I love it when he plays the stand-up base, but his performances last week did not appeal to a broad base and he didn't stand out this week, so I think it might be an early exit (again) for Casey. And admit it, J-Lo was afraid of Casey when he approached her, only to later give her a kiss on the cheek. Dude's a little creepy when he performs.
6. Jacob Lusk
I'm surprised Jacob has made it this far. His gospel inspired tunes and indulgent runs grew old on me long ago. I think his style has a narrower base of fans, so I see him leaving before the top 5.
5. Stefano Langone
Stefano has arguably the least amount of talent of those who remain, but he apparently has a loyal legion of female preteens voting for him. He may be able to eek out a couple more weeks on the show, but he's certainly not top 4 material.
4. Scotty McCreery
Scotty is obviously a one-trick pony. As talented as he is, he hasn't shown much growth throughout the season., which I think will hurt his chances of getting into the top 3. His inability to grow outside of his one genre will limit his appeal to a broad base.
3. Lauren Alaina
The youngest singer of the bunch, Lauren has a great voice, but week after week she's a deer in the headlights while on stage. Her inability to let go, may mean she'll be going soon. She fits the prototypical Kelly Clarkson-esque singer, so I think she'll go far despite her lack of confidence. If Scotty goes first, his fans may flock to Lauren and propel her to the final two, but there's no way she can win unless she grows a set of balls. I see her being similar to Kellie Pickler (minus the implants).
2. James Durbin
James has perhaps the best story of anyone on the show ever. You can't help but like the guy for all of the things he's overcomed in life (Tourretts Syndrome, Autism, etc.). I personally am getting tired of his Adam Lambert screams, but the dude can SING when he's not screaming. I see him lasting to the top 2, then not winning, and going on to appear as Roger in a traveling version of Rent.
1. Haley Reinhart
The past couple of years I've picked dark horses to win. This year it's Haley. I absolutely love her gravely yet sultry voice. She's got some pipes, able to belt out some tunes, and is also able to do what Pia was unable to do, harness a little bit of sexuality to add to her performance. Haley also fits the bill as most-improved, which seems to go a long way with voters. So there you have it: Haley Reinhart is my pick as the 2011 American Idol.
On Pia's elimination:
I still havent' gotten over Pia's elimination. She had what I would consider the best pop voice since Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson. The three things that hurt her were:
- Stage presence. She didnt' do too much while on stage. She was very similar to Carrie Underwood at a similar point in the season. I thought she'd last long enough to work on it, but alas, she did not.
- Wardrobe. For being as beautiful as she was, she did not wear clothing that flattered her figure. She had one week where she was wearing some strange pant suit thing which made her look huge. Then the week she was voted off she was wearing some weird Glen Stefani getup. She should have Hayley Scarnoto'd it up a bit and used the wardrobe and her perfect figure to her advantage.
- Song Choice. As perfectly as she sang the ballads, I think she did one too many. She finally mixed it up at the end, but it was too little too late.
| Pia, what's with the pants? |
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Friends don't let friends get hijacked by Facebook spammers
Facebook really needs to do something about all these facebook scams with the fake videos. If you click on them, you automatically "Like" it and it gets posted to your profile. The link takes you to a fake video website and tries to get you to fill out a bunch of surveys which would probably sign you up for more spam.
I would suggest you not click on any external video links in Facebook unless the URL is for youtube.com, ie not tiny.cc, bit.ly or anything else you don't recognize as a legit video website. For people that use the Google
For Chrome browser users I suggest that if you come across something you're not sure of and you can't resist clicking, you can right click on the link and use "Open Link in Incognito Window". It prevents the spammer links from posting to your profile. Upon verifcation that it's not a real video, you should post a comment below your friend's link preventing others from spreading it.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
What Carbonite.com Does NOT Backup by DEFAULT
I've been doing some research online about people's feelings for and against Carbonite.com as an online backup solution. My renewal is due any day now so I wanted to see what people were saying. The biggest complaint I found was that by default it doesn't backup certain file types. This effects me personally, because all my videos of my kids were not being backed up BY DEFAULT!
You can read for yourself from their website at http://carbonite.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1381/kw/file%20types%20not%20backed%20up
but here's a summary that's not in small print.
Carbonite backs up all files except for:
- .EXE
- .DLL files
- Files in known system and temporary folders such as the C:\Windows folder (These files cannot be added to your backup for your protection).
- Files contained in hidden system folders
- Files which are over 4GB in size (however, you can individually add large files to your backup by right-clicking on them and selecting Back this up from the Carbonite menu).
- Video files (but you can add video files to your backup by right-clicking on a video file and selecting Properties. Then under the Carbonite tab select Back up files of this type (within folders selected for backup). This will select all video files under 4GB in size that are currently within folders selected for backup).
- Files on external drives
I understand the reasoning behind this, but I think that everything in the "My Pictures" directory should be backed up by default.
I still plan on renewing for another year, but I've now made sure now that my ENTIRE "My Pictures" folder is being backed up by adding .avi to the list of file types being backed up.
Another thing to note is that you should always have a local copy. I have an external drive that I use for this. For managing that backup, I recommend Microsoft's Sync Toy 2.1 which is a free download at
Friday, March 19, 2010
First 1,000 fans get a $1,000 gift card.....NOT
A friendly Public Service Announcent:
I keep seeing Facebook fan sites like "First 100,000 fans of Target get $1000 gift cards". They're often for popular stores like Target, Best Buy, Ikea, etc. I would suggest you not become a fan. If you read the fine print, they aren't associated with the mentioned stores. You'll also notice that the comments are not real. You can tell because the comments are from first named people only like "Chuck" or "Bob". No last names, and if you click on them, they don't go to an actual Facebook profile page. Most likely you're signing up for spam to come your way.
In case you don't believe me, check out Walmart's statement at
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Tools for Fellow Cheap Bastards.. errr "Thrifty Consumers"
If you're like me, you despise spending more on something than you really have to. I've been using several online tools and websites which have helped me save money on recent purchase...and no they don't pay me, these are just my personal favs.
Websites:
I absolutely love this website. Every day, they list the best deals available on-line. Everything from clothes, to televisions, toys, cables (HDMI, USB, etc.) to restaurant coupons and anything else you can imagine. I've found all sorts of nicknacks through this website. My favorite: I got a Harmony Universal Remote for $25 (normally more than $70).
Dealnews often refers me to this website for cables, adapters, converters and other electronic necessities. HDMI cables for $3 and an HDMI 3 port switch for $13 have been great finds there.
I love myself some woot.com. Perhaps the most popular of the deal-a-day websites, they offer...yep that's right.... one deal every day. What makes them special is their often funny descriptions and off-kilter sense of humor. Approximately once a month they have a "Woot-Off" where they offer more than one deal per day. Each one is available for anywhere from 2 minutes to an hour so you have to act fast if see something you want.
The Invisible Hand add-on for Firefox and Chrome
I learned this one from the "This Week in Windows" podcast which recommended it. It's an extension for your web browser that when you are looking at a product online, it will display a small header in your browser telling you if its the cheapest price available online and if not, where you can find it and at what cost. It only pops up when you're looking at a product listing, so it's pretty unobtrusive.
Bing.com Cashback
If you're going to buy something on walmart.com, dell.com, buy.com, newegg.com, macys.com, sears.com (and some others) do a search on bing.com. It will show a little gold coin next to the listings that offer cashback if you click on the link from bing.com. You have to sign up for their cashback program but the amount can vary anywhere from a couple of percent to 20%. During the holidays some of the websites increased their amounts from day to day so it's worth keeping in mind when purchasing something online.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Installing Windows 7 - Useful Resources
Over the weekend I reformatted my hard drive and installed Windows 7. Here’s the articles I found the most helpful.
Before Reformatting make sure you backup: How to use Microsoft Easy Transfer to copy settings, files, etc to an external drive and then restore to your reformatted drive (highly recommended)
There's no need to spend extra on the full version. You can still do a clean install from the upgrade software: How to do a clean install with upgrade disc
What applications come with Windows 7, and what you need to download from Microsoft for free
Download all your free-software at once with a single click. http://ninite.com/ (highly recommended)
I’m trying out freeoffice.org (seems ok so far) and Thunderbird (Firefox’s email client), thus eliminating the need for Microsoft Office.
One hiccup: to convert my outlook .pst to Thunderbird, I had to install the trial version of Office (also available from ninite.com) then went into Thunderbird and said “Import”. Then I uninstalled Office.
Things you can do in Windows 7
Top 10 Booster apps (I liked the Hulu desktop app, as well as the ninite.com suggestion)
Have fun!
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