CHEAT SHEET FOR WORD USAGE - thanks to John Potter

Usage

affect/effect: Affect is a verb that means "to influence": Counsel's explanation did not affect the hearing officer's decision. The noun effect means "a result": The effect of her decision was financially devastating. As a verb, effect means "to cause to come into being": The new chief thought he could effect a needed change in morale.

among/between: Among is used for three or more entities: Many local runners are among those training for this weekend's race. Between is used when two entities are involved: There is an intense rivalry between the two schools.

fewer/less: Fewer refers to people or objects that can be counted; less refers to general amounts: Fewer technicians means less work will be done today.

its/it's: Its is the possessive form: The board forwarded its recommendations. It's is a contraction of it is: It's time for a party.

lead/led: As a noun, lead is a kind of metal. As a verb, lead means "to conduct." A guide will lead a tour of the ruins. Led is the past tense of the verb "to lead": He led the firm for twenty years.

loose/lose: Lose is a verb whose past tense is lost: Did you lose your elevator card, again? Loose is generally an adjective for "not tight": I have a few loose screws.

maybe/may be: Maybe is an adverb: Maybe the negotiators will succeed this time. May and be are verbs: The rumor may be true.

passed/past: Passed is the past tense of the verb to pass: Everyone passed the test. Past means "beyond a time or location": The band marched past the bleachers.

principal/principle: As a noun, principal means "chief person" or "main or original amount": The principal of Waldorf's Feline Academy prefers titled cats. We paid only the interest on the principal. The adjective principle means "a basic truth": The parties have reached an agreement in principle.

who/whom: Who is used as a subject or subject complement: Who is the new guy in administration? Call Jennifer, who I know has the answer [who is the subject of the verb phrase "has the answer"]. Whom is used as an object: Bill, whom we all know, has just retired [whom is the object of the phrase "we all know"].

SEATTLE Weekend - It Was Wonderful

We went to Seattle for a family wedding. Saw family, made new friends - it was all wonderful.

Crossing the river from Oregon to Washington, the Columbia was filled with boats - it must be fishing season.



In Seattle, we went down on the waterfront to get coffee at the first Starbucks.


We walked through Pike Place Market, forgot it was the beginning of Spring Break - WOW - was it ever crowded.



Played a few impromptu games of bball at my cousin's house.



Jake was playing in flip-flops but boy-oh-boy can those boys jump.

It's not always easy to please six people, but we all had a good time.

Writing Links to Help New Writers

There are so many numerous FREE sites where new and experienced writers can find very valuable information. I thought I would share some of those sites with you.

LINKS FOR MAGAZINE GUIDELINES:

Pockets Guidelines

Guide Magazine

Skipping Stones

Imagination Cafe

Stories for Children

HAPPY WRITING!

LIGHT BOX FOR ILLUSTRATORS - How to Make

Both my sons love art. They work together on an on-line webcomic. Jake got a degree in Multi-media design. And, they have all kinds of high-tech tools. But Jake was determined to have a light box to illustrate on. He went to the art store and they were $300-$400, which was way out of his budget. So he asked his Dad if he could help him make one.

"No problem," Lars said.

My husband is very handy and can build just about anything. So together my two guys built a light box.

The light is just a regular kitchen florescent light fixture bought for about $20.00 at Home Depot. The opeque white plastic cover was bought at Tap Plastics and you can get it any plastics store and it was about $20.00 as well. The light switch is about $3.00 at Home Depot. The electronic light switch enclosure was about $2.00 and the cord (loose end wiring) was about $9.99. You just wire it like a normal light fixture in your kitchen and you're good to go.






Jake's light box turned out so well that his friend Aaron asked him if he'd make one for him. So Jake and Aaron made another one. Now that they have the system down, they think they can build these boxes for about $60 in materials for 17 X 19 (which Jake wanted for professional comic book size pages), cheaper if they wanted to make them smaller. Pretty cool.

ANSWER TO THOUGHT FOR THURSDAY AND EARTH-FRIENDLY FRIDAY

ANSWER: Dutch.

Now, for

EARTH-FRIENDLY FRIDAY:

Here, in Portland, Oregon, someone had the idea of starting a bike registration fee. You can read all about it here.

I am absolutely opposed to a bike registration fee. I think we should encourage alternative forms of transportation, not make it more difficult for those people willing to reduce gas emissions, and pollution by powering their own energy by pedaling to work.

What do you think?

THOUGHT FOR THURSDAY AND A MYSTERY

THOUGHT FOR THURSDAY: If the French speak French and the Danes speak Danish, what do the people speak in the Netherlands?

Take a guess and don't forget to come back tomorrow to find out the answer.

Plus, I just thought I'd share:

I love to read—duh—so I’m in a book club at work. And this is a mystery that was recommended by Kama:

Life Sentences: Digging Deep Into the Secrets of Life

Holly said, “I think Laura Lippmann's books are really good -complex character development and a great sense of place to them. Non-mystery people should enjoy them as well. Read the Review A Day here:

ANSWER TO WORD FOR WEDNESDAY

ANSWER: On my favorite Urban Dictionary, it says to be inundated with emails.

This one made me smile.

:)