Apostrophe.me Explains When You Really Need Apostrophes [Writing]

Apostrophe.me Explains When You Really Need Apostrophes [Writing]: "

Apostrophes are both over- and under-utilized in the English language. A light-hearted but factual illustration at apostrophe.me makes flowchart-style sense of when to bust out the vertically flipped comma. Update: Apologies for the duplicate post.

From the cracked but clever mind of Matthew Inman and his site The Oatmeal, 'How to Use an Apostrophe' is worth bookmarking, printing, or just remembering as a Google phrase (it currently ranks as the top result for, well, 'How to use an apostrophe'). Next time you're wondering about how to write up a velociraptor known for its cute, playful nature, hit this site.

How To Use An Apostrophe [The Oatmeal]

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Word, Excel, and Office Tutorials

Word, Excel, and Office Tutorials: "

Here are some very good tutorials on Word,
Excel, and MS Office, hosted by University of
Florida. These Word, Excel, and Office tutorials discuss and
demonstrate the important features of Microsoft Word, Excel and Office
that combine together to provide users with a powerful word editing
application and a spreadsheet program. These Office tutorials can be
downloaded (doc and ppt formats) and saved for later reference.






Microsoft
Office: Word and Excel 531 Kb, 22 pages)

This Word and Excel tutorial discusses features such as tables,
toolbars, cell addresses, splitting cells and complex cell manipulation.



 - Word Tables


 - Word Tables and Borders Toolbar


 - Math in Word Tables


 - Math in Excel


 - Order of Operations


 - Cell Addresses


 - Splitting Cells in Microsoft Word


 - Dealing with Complex Cells in Microsoft Word


 - Splitting Cells in Microsoft Excel (Text to
Columns)


 - Dealing with Complex Cells in Microsoft Excel






Microsoft
Office 2003: Word and Excel  (538 Kb, 23 pages)

This Word and Excel tutorial explains features in Microsoft Office
2003, including math functions in Word and Excel, splitting cells,
complex cell manipulation and the creation of tables.



 - Creating Tables


 - Tables and Borders Toolbar


 - Math in Word Tables


 - Math in Excel


 - Functions


 - Splitting Cells in Microsoft Word


 - Dealing with Complex Cells in Microsoft Word


 - Splitting Cells in Microsoft Excel (Text to
Columns)


 - Dealing with Complex Cells in Microsoft Excel






Microsoft
Office: Drawing Toolbar  (372 Kb, 15 pages)

This tutorial discusses the drawing toolbar in Microsoft Office with
its autoshapes, the draw menu, wrapping text around objects and tips
and tricks for drawing objects.



 - Drawing Toolbar


 - AutoShapes


 - The Draw Menu


 - Wrapping Text Around Objects in Word 97


 - Wrapping Text Around Objects in Word 2000


 - Tips and Tricks for Graphics and Drawing Objects






Microsoft
Office Overview  (719 Kb, 23 slides)

This PowerPoint presentation is a handout of the features of Microsoft
Office and its applications.





Microsoft
Office Overview  (2.7 Mb, 23 slides)

This PowerPoint presentation provides an in-depth overview of Microsoft
Office and its applications.



 - Word


 - Excel


 - PowerPoint


 - Access

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Apostrophe.me Ends Your Apostrophe Ponderings [Writing]

Apostrophe.me Ends Your Apostrophe Ponderings [Writing]: "

If you've ever paused mid-stroke and thought 'Does this need an apostrophe?' you'll want to take a peek at the apostrophe-use flowchart at Apostrophe.me for a cartoon-driven refresher.

The flowchart asks simple questions like 'Is it plural?' and 'Are you indicating possession?' to drive the flow through all the potential situations in which you would use an apostrophe. The flowchart ends with a gigantic piece of parting advice: When in doubt don't use an apostrophe. Apparently a lot of us get ourselves into a bit of trouble throwing around extra apostrophes with a little too much abandon. Even if you're a master of the apostrophe (and we suspect many of our attention-to-detail readers are), it could be worth sending on to someone you know who needs a little help from time to time.

Check out the flowchart for a full rundown on apostrophe use—and to take a gander at the kittens riding a goat and the singing dinosaur. Have a favorite site to get your grammar questions answered? Let's hear about it in the comments.

Apostrophe.me [via GeekSugar]

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Disciplanner Makes Tracking and Assessing Your Goals Simple [Habits]

Disciplanner Makes Tracking and Assessing Your Goals Simple [Habits]: "

If you're interested in tracking your goals and habits in the long term, but messing around with tracking schemes and tools isn't your thing, Disciplanner is a simple and easy to grasp tracking tool.

(Click the image above for a closer look.)

Disciplanner allows you to make categories both for positive and negative habits. Want to exercise more and watch television less or spend more time reading and less time playing video games? You can create a category for the positive behavior you want to encourage and the negative behavior you want to extinguish.

Visit Disciplanner once a day to plug in the total time spent on all categories and after a few weeks you'll be able to see patterns emerge in the report tab—seen above.

Disciplanner is a free tool and requires basic registration to enable tracking. Have your own free tool for tracking your goals and extinguishing your bad habits? Let's hear about it in the comments.

Disciplanner

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