5 Everyday Computer Shortcuts

1. Spice up your desktop icons
Bored of the usual boring Windows icons? Well, you have an alternative to spice up your ordinarily "boring" Window icons with snazzy downloads from hundreds of sites online.

One good place to start would be royalty-free ones at iconshock.com First download a pack that you like. Once you have downloaded your desired pack, simply click on the icon you want changed. (For example, the calculator.).. more>>

Easy Ways to Make a Pie from the Store Look like Homemade

Those asked to bring a homemade pie to a family event or potluck meal often do not have time to make and roll out pie crust let alone create the perfect homemade filling. On the other hand, not all people that have the time actually have the talent. Many buy desserts from the store instead. Making a perfect pie crust is an art, and it takes a good recipe and just the right amount of handling to end up with flaky and delicious. Filling is not always easy to make either. Fruit pies can turn out very watery, and meringue sometimes flops. Why not cheat in the kitchen instead of working on homemade pie? Try these easy ways to make a pie from a store look like homemade... more>>

Unusual Uses of Olive Oil

For more than four thousand years, the olive tree has been a symbol of abundance, peace, and longevity. Gifted by a goddess, revered by ancient cultures, and protected by emperors, the olive tree and its precious fruit have played important roles in civilization.

Dubbed "liquid gold" by Homer, olive oil has been used for food, medicine, magic, beauty, and divine rituals. Baseball star Joe DiMaggio is even said to have soaked his bat in olive oil. Restore luster to your sore throat and dry lips . . . replace artery-clogging butter in your favorite dishes with olive oil... more>>

Super Healthy Stuffing

Many people love stuffing but if you are watching your weight stuffing can just be high carbohydrate calorie load. Here is a healthy alternative that will provide a healthy dose of fiber, nutrients, and has a lower amount of fat and calories than your typical stuffing... more>>

Free Printable Recipes: Easy Holoday Desserts

Looking for free printable recipes for holiday desserts can be overwhelming, but it doesn't need to be. Here are some ideas for holiday desserts, complete with links to a free printable version of the recipe... more>>

Baby girl named after car

A Dorset couple have named their new baby daughter Kia - after she had to be delivered on the back seat of a Kia people carrier.

Tony Richardson and Samantha Smyth were heading to Poole Hospital in Sam's mum's Kia when they realised they were not going to make it.

Baby Kia was born at 4.30am in the back of the car - and the couple decided to ditch their original name of 'Tilley' to mark the unusual birth.

And Kia has now offered the couple a new Kia Carens - the same model baby Kia was born in - worth £18,000.

Miss Smyth, 23, said: "Wow! I was not expecting this. We're over the moon. We could do with it. Between me and my partner we have six kids. We can't fit them all in the car."

Michael Cole, managing director of Kia Motors, said: "All of us at Kia are delighted for Tony and Samantha and flattered that they have called their new baby Kia after she was born in granny's Carens.

"We would like to welcome Kia to the Kia family and wish her a wonderful life."

Ananova

Facebook costs her insurance

MONTREAL - FACEBOOK can be a double-edged sword, a Canadian woman learned when an insurance company cut her health benefits, claiming she was healthy after seeing pictures of her smiling in bikini at the beach.

Nathalie Blanchard, 29, took long-term sick leave from her job at IBM in Bromont, Quebec, more than a year ago for severe depression. She was receiving monthly benefits from her insurance company, Manulife.

When Ms Blanchard called Manulife to inquire why the payments dried up, the insurance company said that 'I'm available to work, because of Facebook,' she told CBC television.

She said that Manulife cited several pictures Blanchard had posted on her social networking website page, including some showing her enjoying herself during a male strip-tease show at a Chippendales bar, celebrating her birthday and bathing in the sun.

Based on these postings, the firm claimed Ms Blanchard was no longer depressed.

Ms Manulife declined to comment on the incident but said in a statement that 'we would not deny or terminate a valid claim solely based on information published on websites such as Facebook.' But the company did recognise that it uses such information to learn more about their clients. -- AFP

Source : The Straits Times

Crystal Chronicles' dated for Wii

Square Enix has revealed the release date for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers on the Wii.

The game, which is set 1000 years after the original Crystal Chronicles for the Gamecube, will be released in Europe on February 5, 2010.

The Wii exclusive sees players control a crystal bearing a mercenary called Layle, who comes into contact with a long-forgotten enemy while accompanying a passenger airship on its maiden voyage.

The title, which was announced in 2005, was made available in Japan on November 12.

DS

The Sims 3 Secret - Mysterious Mr. Gnome

If on one of your sim travels and you happen to find a Mysterious Mr. Gnome, DO NOT SELL HIM!!!!! Apart from being a very valuable item, he has some entertaining qualities. When you go to sleep at night he will move... not when you're watching of course but if you kick him and stand him up again he will change positions.

The Sims 3 Secret - Easter Egg: EA Games

When your Sims take a video game break, you can zoom in on the TV and identify various EA games on the tiny screen.

The Sims 3 Cheat: Using the "testingcheatsenabled" Command

The testingcheatsenabled cheat allows you to do several useful things when used properly. First, hold COMMAND+SHIFT+C and enter this code: testingcheatsenabled true

Now, hold SHIFT and click your letterbox. This will provide you with these options:

• Make All Happy
• Force Visitor
• Set Career
• Set level

You may also hold SHIFT and click on Sims to get these options:

• Add Sim to House
• Modify Sim Traits
• Force Aging

In Ground View mode, hold SHIFT and click a spot and your Sim will teleport to it.

You can also click and drag your Sims' need bars to full. SHIFT-click the mailbox and select Make Needs Static to keep the max level until you leave the game. (Note: if you SHIFT-click the mailbox and it says Make Needs Dynamic, select that. SHIFT-Click the mailbox again and it will say Make Needs Static) This must be repeated each time you re-enter the game. But you only have to do it once, as it will work for all of the Sims in the household.

Hold SHIFT and click a Sim's workspace to do the following:

• Force Event
• Force Events
• Force Opportunity

The Sims 3 Secret - Easter Egg: Painting Spore and More

When your Sim finally reaches the top level in painting, they begin to paint masterpieces. Look at the paintings for some nice surprises. One is an image of a Spore creature.

The Sims 3 Secret - Free bookcase skills

Buy a bookcase, then have your sim start to study. Interrupt the action so that the book it placed on the ground, then simply sell the bookcase. The book can then do everything the bookcase could have done for free.

The Sims 3 Secret - Disgusting Faces

There is a glitch in character creation mode where you can make absolutely disgusting faces. The trick is that if you go to the face designing area and you select a face part such as the eyes and max out all the sliders one way or the other, then go to a different face part and select one of the PREDESIGNED parts, and then come back to the eyes, the sliders will have reset in the middle, but the eyes will still look the same. This works for all of the face adjusting tabs. Exploiting this, you can make eyes the size of dinner plates, cheekbones 4 feet long, and a HUMUNGOUS nose, to name a few.

The Sims 3 Secret - Saving Pizza

Have a sim call for pizza. When the pizza delivery guy comes DON'T accept the pizza! The pizza delivery guy will eventually leave the pizza on the front porch, and the pizza will never get stale. You can stack as many pizzas as you want, so if your sims get hungry, just tell them to get a pizza from the front porch.