Live Smart Daily | A Smart Take on Daily Life

Finally, a wearable wool blanket with arms for warmth and comfort!

[Blanket With Arms]

Buying a hybrid car is a big decision–even more so nowadays because there are many more hybrid cars and hybrid trucks to choose from. Having more choices is both a good and bad thing. Not only do you have to decide which company to buy from, but you also have to decide between getting a hybrid car or a hybrid truck or even a hybrid SUV. The decision can be simplified by knowing why you’re buying the hybrid. Is the issue saving on gas mileage? Or are you just getting a hybrid vehicle in order to say you are driving a hybrid?
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You know to turn the lights off when not in use and switch your regular bulbs for those squiggly ones. But here are several other ways to cut that monthly sticker shock of you electric bill.
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When you’re talking, writing, or texting between friends, you can misuse and misspell words, or use the wrong punctuation. As long as your friends get your point, it’s usually ok. But if it’s going to be read by someone who’s not a close friend, you and your point of view are going to be judged on how you write. It’s the only reference strangers have. Most, if not all, writing and email programs have spellcheckers built in. Use them.

OTHER USEFUL REFERENCES
This is a really fast online dictionary. Down and dirty, and very handy. Put this in your browser’s Toolbar.

Dictionary, thesaurus, translation, medical terms, and much more. MW also has a Word of the Day (online and via email), Learner’s Word of the Day (to learn English), and many other features. Cool feature – it has audio files, so it will pronounce the word for you. Dictionary, thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Word of the Day (online and via email), Spanish Word of the Day, and much more.

Great site. They claim to have the largest collection of Internet acronyms and text messaging shorthand, in addition to thousands of definitions of words used in business, technology, and communication. Also Word of the Day (online and via email), Acronym of the Day. Cool feature – all content can be purchased as a book and a downloadable PDF.

Online dictionary of synonyms and antonyms.

This could be helpful, if it worked better. Enter a word, phrase, or concept, and it will try to give you the right word.

COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS
If you’ve been online, you’ve seen them all:

1. It’s and its
It’s – a contraction, meaning it is or it has. “It’s all the same to me.” (“It is all the same to me”). “It’s been a lousy day.” (“It has been…”). This is a simple rule. You only use the apostrophe when it is a contraction for it is or it has.

TIP: If you’re wondering whether or not to use the apostrophe, substitute it is. If the sentence comes out, “The dog got it is tail caught in the door,” take out the apostrophe.

Its – a personal pronoun, which shows possession. “The dog got its tail caught in the door.” Personal pronouns (hers, his, its, mine, ours, theirs, whose, yours) do not need apostrophes.

Its’ – there is no such word.

2. You’re and your
You’re – a contraction, meaning you are. “You’re going to take the trash out, right?” (You are going to take the trash out). Another simple rule: only use the apostrophe when it’s a contraction for you are.

TIP: If you’re wondering whether or not to use the apostrophe, substitute you are. If the sentence comes out, “Get you are feet off my desk,” take out the apostrophe, and use your instead.

Your – a possessive pronoun. “Get your feet off my desk!”

3. They’re, their, there
They’re – a contraction, meaning they are. “They’re going on a cruise.”

Their – a possessive pronoun. Jocks on the news always say the only way to win the Super Bowl is by playing their game.

There – a location. “Put that junk over there.”

4. Who’s and whose
Who’s – a contraction, meaning who is. “Who’s going to the game?”

TIP: If you’re wondering whether or not to use the apostrophe, substitute who is. If the sentence comes out, “Who is money is this?”, take out the apostrophe (and add the letter e).

Whose – a possessive pronoun. “Whose headphones are these?”

5. Loose and lose
Loose – not a tight fit. For many people, loose pants are the fashion.

Lose – to not have. Lose time, lose the race, lose your mind.

6. Affect and effect
Affect – these are a little trickier, because each of these words can be a verb or a noun. But in normal usage, affect means to change, and it often involves an emotional response. “Everyone was worried how her brother’s accident would affect Marianne.”
Effect – the result of that action. “It was easy to see the effect it had on Bob.”

TIP: As mentioned, there are other ways to use both words, but if you have to use them those ways, you probably already know how to do so. They tend to involve psychiatric, governmental, and legal writing (though not exclusively).

7. Sell and sale – I don’t know whether it’s just where I live, or it’s a function of people who use Craigslist and eBay, but I see these two words confused often, and I don’t know why.
Sell – a verb, meaning to offer something in exchange for money. “I need to sell fifty chickens in a hurry.”
Sale – a noun, meaning the act of offering things for sale. “We’re having a sale this Thursday on used Barbie parts.”

You may actually be interested in sports you only get to see every 4 or 8 years, such as the 20Km walk, or Greco-Roman wrestling. Or you may not care that Hrjck Oienia from Freelandia just did the 900 meter Potato Crawl in world record time. But the Olympics are much more than just a sporting event – if you’ve never seen 2000 drummers playing ancient Chinese drums, the world’s largest LCD screen (with people walking on it), or cutting edge architecture applied to sports venues, you might want to spend some time at the official Olympic site. Or ponder what inspired the architecture. Even if you don’t care about who won the most medals. Who wouldn’t like the Olympics in LEGO? 

AQUA SAUSAGE TEEN HEROES There’s usually little in the way of fashion to cover at any sporting event  – unless you’re looking in the stands at a NASCAR event, but at the Beijing Olympics it’s impossible not to notice that most of the swimmers are squeezed into some type of full body garment that looks like your great grandfather’s Apollo landing suit. Many of us wouldn’t have the guts – or perhaps we have a surplus – to try one on, but one intrepid reporter did. And if you still think you have the body (and the need for speed), the LZR will be available soon.

Also for those of you that would like to watch the Olympics online check out the full online coverage below.

1. The Official Beijing Olympics site is available in English, French, Spanish, and more.

2. You may subscribe to official 2008 Beijing Olympics videos here that include the Opening Ceremony, History of the games, Interviews and much more.

3. Many video and Sports sites have an array of channels and videos of various Beijing Olympics footage. Some great sites are: The Beijing Olympics Youtube channel, ESPN, EuroSport, and also Metacafe search results providing a great source for many Beijing Olympics sport events and more.

4. Other great options for great 2008 Beijing Olympics including stories, videos, interviews and recaps are the official NBC Olympics, BBC, and Yahoo.

If you are simply looking for additional information on the 2008 Beijing Olympics besides their official site, you can find plenty at Wikipedia and also simply jump to the official results based on Overall Medal standings, including Athletes & Teams, and also Schedule and Results.

The ColaLife Campaign started as one man’s idea; to tap into the hugely powerful distribution muscles of multi-nationals such as Coca-Cola, and ask them to distribute medicines to dying children in developing countries. Through a simple group on Facebook, ColaLife Campaign founder Simon Berry has gained international support and is now in conversations with Coca-Cola! The power of social networking is truly alive! To support the campaign, please join the Facebook Group.