Rabu, 31 Agustus 2011

12 Ways to stay organized

Organisation is a great tool that is taught by businesses, professional organisers and the like. The reason for this is because of its effectiveness.

When getting down to the root of what being organised is, is that it is really an instrument for improving time-management and lifting morale.

When disorganisation and clutter becomes a normal obstacle that you have to put up with daily, it can affect your emotions. 

Frustration, stress and mild depression, can be triggered or made worse from total disorganisation.
All you need though, is to have the right guidelines and rules in place for beating this common horror.

1. De-clutter 

Clutter is one of the #1 reasons why it seems like an impossibility to become organized.
It's very easy to convince yourself that you need to keep a useless item, when in fact you wouldn't think about it twice if it were gone. 

Go through one area at a time, and completely remove all unnecessary clutter. You will need to be really strict with yourself, and will be glad because of it afterwards.

2. Make Decisions 

Not making decisions straight away, or not coming back to them, can result in clutter. For example: a t-shirt that should have been put away; a letter that should have been posted; documents that needed to be shredded. It all mounts up, leaving you in a very big hole to climb out of.

3. Plan 

Planning ahead is something that will take a few minutes or more (depending on the scale of the plan), but can save you hours later on. Having the foresight to be able to know what possible difficulties may arise and knowing how to handle them is brilliant for organization.

It could be in the form of a schedule, a planner, a list, a calendar, or of something similar.

4. Allocate items to places 

Now you have to decide which things go where. Put things where they are easily accessible, for example: Washing liquid/powder next to the washing machine; cooking pots and pans next to stove/oven; trainers and shoes by the door; stationary on your desk etc.

This may seem like common sense, but is not the habit for everyone.
Another thing I do, is to put items that I use often, all in one place.
The placement of your items is up to you.

5. Create systems 

Being organized doesn't just mean being tidy, it also means to catalogue and to categorise. So lay out a logical system (in different areas) that enables you to find and/or research something with ease.

For example: Organising books from the largest to smallest, or into alphabetical order; file documents into categories or names, or alphabetically like the books.

Start with the organisation of the most important things, and then work you way around until every area is completed. Your most important, could be files on your computer and your least important, could be your garden. For other people however, this could be completely the opposite.

6. Spare space 

Designate an area that has some spare space (a table for example), for items that you need to put away. This will mean that misplacement will decrease, as you're not forcing yourself to quickly find a spot to put something when you're busy. 

You can come back to it and sort it out when you have spare time. (Rule #12 is a good thing to use).

7. Layout 

Not all things are in your best interest to tuck away, so that you have to spend a couple of minutes just getting to it. 

Some things will need to be laid out (such as stationary on your desk). This is not an excuse however, to allow things to get messy. You can still be tidy and organized when things are laid out, they're purpose is for convenience only.

8. Get productive 

Improve your productivity, allowing you to get more done in a shorter amount of time. If you want to read more on this, then I encourage you to check out two previous posts of mine: 21 Ways to boost productivity and What is time-boxing.

9. Follow-through 

What's the point of having a schedule; planner or to-do list, if you're not going to follow through with them? Remove distractions and obstacles, and get yourself committed to completing your goals.

10. Be conscious of the time 

I talked about this in my last post (15 Steps to improve punctuality), encouraging the awareness of the time. 

Having a knowledge of the time will tell you if you're on schedule, or if you're wasting time. Try placing clocks in areas you are likely to acknowledge them and if you have more than one, set them all to the same time.

11. Replacement 

Once you're organized, a very easy but often a put off thing to do, is to place things back where you got them. Do not let yourself say "it's only one thing, it won't hurt". This attitude will send you back to square one. All these one-off's will mount up and you will be in a big hole for the second time. 

If you do have to leave something out, for you to put away later, then use rule #6.  

12. Maintenance 

One day every week, set aside a period of time in which you can re-establish your organisation. When people are organized, a habit that tends to develop, is letting themselves get back into old habits. I suppose old habits die hard.

This is why having a session every week will help you stay on top of it and not it on top of you. Deal with it while it's a small problem before it becomes an even bigger one.

Selasa, 30 Agustus 2011

More than a web site...a web PRESENCE

While visiting with Victor Guerra of LaMuneca Cattle Company recently, we discussed how today businesses need more than just a web site, they need a WEB PRESENCE.

The days of just putting up a web site and then forgetting about it are over. With the trend towards more viral, constantly updated online material, it's time to really take a good look at your web presence and bump things up a level. And as always, RHD is here to help our customers.

First, yes, definitely you need a web site. That's a must. With the affordability, speed, and ease of getting a new web site going, this is a no brainer. Having a web site costs very little, especially when compared to print advertising. Your web site cost for one year will usually be at or less than what you pay for one full page color ad. Web sites are instantly updated, allow for unlimited photos, and unlimited updates.

In addition to just having a web site, the top marketers will use a total online presence, of which a web site is just one component. Besides a web site, here are some other tools to use for your online marketing efforts:

  • A blog - These are currently the "cool" thing to add to a web site. Everyone has a blog! The best blogs out there are the ones that are very frequently updated. While a blog usually won't replace the need for a web site, it gives a lot of advantages. One, blogs are a lot more casual. You can post things on a blog that you would probably never post on your web site...like funny photos, quotes, text messages, pictures taken on your camera phone, videos taken on your phone, etc. Most people can also update their own blogs through the easy to use web-based blog software. You can actually even update your blog from your cell phone. Blog sites like http://www.blogger.com/ (the one we use) are free, and easy to set up. RHD can help you in this area by designing matching blog graphics to go hand in hand with your web site. We can even do the initial set up of your blog, have it all ready to go, then just turn you loose with it.

  • A Facebook page - I swear any day now I figure that even my dad will get a facebook account. Everyone has them. Businesses should create a facebook page where friends and fans can like and share with your business. This is also free. Through your facebook page, you can also use facebook advertising, which is also extremely affordable and extremely targetted. For example, you can place a facebook ad to target everyone who lists "showing cattle" as a hobby. You can also target by states. So to take it even further, you could place a facebook ad that only appears to people from Texas, age 18 and under, who list showing cattle as a hobby. Again, while these pages are very easy to set up and maintain, sometimes you just don't have the time to do it, or have other priorities. This is where we can help once again. RHD can set up your facebook page for you, design custom graphics, then turn it over to you to handle the updates. And, if you don't even want to do the updates, we can do that for you too!

  • A Twitter account - Twitter and Facebook are different, and it's important to understand that. To me, twitter is more news, information, and discussions with people that you most likely don't know, and never will know. For example, last week I re-tweeted a twitter post by Adam Levine of Maroon 5. Pretty sure if I asked to "friend" him I'd get a big IGNORE. But with twitter, you can follow, or be followed by, just about anyone in the world. For me, Facebook is more for connections with my friends that I actually know. Like know well enough to go to lunch together. My personal rule for accepting friends is that you have to be someone I know well enough to know to have a real live conversation in public. For my stock show friend invitations, my rule is that I would at least say "hi" to if we were standing in line together at the Louisville Freedom Hall concession stand.

  • Patricipation in the online community - It's all about social interaction! So get involved! Don't be afraid to hit that "like" button in facebook, or to re-tweet something. Or better yet, post comments on some of your favorite blogs and join in on discussions on message boards. These are great ways to interact with others in the online comunity. Remember that comments should be relevant, useful, polite (even if you disagree with the posts), and not self-promotion.

Now of course, we're all strapped for time. And these four tools are just a few of the thousands of ways you can build your online presence. We recommend trying one or two out, until you feel comfortable with them, then maybe try adding more. As we always say, if you're going to put yourself out there on the web, you have to stay involved and stay current. Nothing is worse than a blog that hasn't been updated in a year. So, make the commitment, and give it a try. And remember, we're here to help along the way!

Senin, 29 Agustus 2011

10 Vital Questions to Ask in a Job Interview

If you're lucky enough to be invited to a job interview, you know that you must have been one of the few that have stood out. Now you have fewer people to contend with, but a higher standard to rise to.

Job interviews are highly competitive, with only the best of the candidates getting there. Your job now is to impress the prospective employer more than anyone else does - this can be tough and so research is needed.

For this post however, I will be focusing mainly on the latter part of the interview - the questions. In whatever job you manage to get an interview for, the chance for you to inquire further, is normally always offered.

Not everyone asks questions because they can't think of one there and then on the spot, and this is what (a lot of employers say) can ruin the chance of getting the job.
A bit of preparation on your part however, can go a long way and will be made manifest during the interview.(Hopefully).

Update: I have now wrote a post about '15 Mistakes to avoid in an interview'.

1. "What exactly would my responsibilities be?" 

Before you accept any job, you should be clear of your responsibilities and roles, as well as the tasks that you would be required to take on.

It is very easy to pick up a false view of what the job is going to be like, so asking about it will either confirm or re-evaluate your assumptions. It also allows you and the interviewer to have a mutual understanding.
If you're still not sure, or they give a vague answer, politely follow up with a few more questions.

2. "What would be your ideal candidate?" 

This will reveal important information to know what is expected. Unlike question #1 though, this will give more of a guideline for the quality of the work and the characteristics of the employee.

A similar question to ask instead of or as well as this one is: "What are the 3 most important things you're looking for in an employee?"

3. "What possible opportunities are there for advancement?" 

This allows you to get an insight to the skills that you may acquire in the future, but also (more importantly) gives the interviewer the impression that you are looking to stay for the long term and have an aspiration in helping the company.

4. "What do you most enjoy about working here?" 

Remember that your interviewer is not just here to belittle or intimidate you, but is a human-being who will understand what it's like to sit where you are. This person or these people, could be the way the window you need to get your foot in the door of the company.

Getting their views and insights to your possible future work placement, will give you more of a feeling for the company and maybe the team morale.

If you wanted, you could address this question from a different view-point. For example: "What would you, if anything, change about the company?".

5. "What qualities would I need to work well with other team-members?"  

Employers really like to see teamwork because of its necessity in the working atmosphere. Showing that you are thinking about this essential skill is great for the interviewer to recognise. 

Instead of asking point #2, you may feel that this one would be better suited, as you are still getting an insight to what is expected of you. Or it could be a follow-up question to #2 - it's up to you.

6. "Do you think I have any possible weaknesses?" 

It might sound a bit direct, but is a fair question to ask. If they don't, then you could ask: "is there any reservation why I wouldn't be offered the job"?

If they do then say a few points of concern, then you have a chance to put their mind at ease. Talk to them about previous experiences that can prove to them that their fears are unnecessary and that you would be totally committed to the job.

If when asking the original question, they do have some issues, then (like above) just go straight ahead and put their issues to bed. 

7. "Can you describe a typical working day?"  

This question will help you to understand the amount of time you are expected to spend on each task, with the insight to what you're expected to do. (Similar to question #1).

8. "How soon do you expect to make hiring decisions?" 

This should be asked nearer the end of the interview, and gives you a time-period in which you can make any follow-up calls.

It's likely that you'll have other job prospects in mind, so knowing when they're likely to be hiring is important. You can then evaluate other job prospects as appropriate.

9. "What are the most challenging aspects concerning this position?"

Getting a look into what the interviewer sees as potential difficulties (or what he knows from experience) is beneficial. If anything, it shows you are wanting to know all you can about the job, but it also opens the floor for you to reassure them that you are more than capable of handling these laborious tasks. 

10. "Can I contact you if I have any further questions?" 

This is a great way to close the interview, normally leaving a lasting impression.

Along with question #8, you can ask these further questions in the time frame he/she has given you regarding hiring decisions.

It's also a chance to give them your contact details again, psychologically leaving a bit more weight to your name.

New Modern Livestock Merchandising Article

We have a new article available that would make great editorial for upcoming magazines and publications. This article is called "More than a website: A web presence." and it discusses websites, blogs, Facebook, twitter, and participation in the online community.

All of the Modern Livestock Merchandising articles are now available for instant download at http://ranchhousedesigns.mybigcommerce.com/modern-livestock-merchandising-articles/.

The stories are priced starting at $50 and include both a word document as well as a camera ready PDF that is already designed and ready to be placed in your magazine.

Minggu, 28 Agustus 2011

15 Steps to improve punctuality

Arriving consistently late all the time or on a regular basis, can cause tension among family, friends, work colleagues and bosses. (Which can get you fired in some cases).

You convince yourself that you have no time to do anything and are always trying to cram as much as you can into your schedule. I know what you feel like, at one point, our family was late nearly everywhere. I can remember one case clearly, when we were meeting up with some friends, and they had been waiting about an hour before we arrived. 

Now we seem to be doing okay and are managing to get to places on time or early.


Normally it will start out as being late by a couple of minutes one or two times, and as time goes on, slowly transforming into a monstrous habit that has you trapped and unable to escape!

That may be going slightly over the top, but the point I'm trying to make is that once you develop this bad habit - it can be hard to get out of. Luckily there are some easy steps and guidelines that you can use to get your time-keeping back on track.

1. Schedule 

I've stressed the benefits of having a good solid schedule in place before, so I'll refer you to a previous post of mine which explains it better than I think I'll end up writing here. :)

2. Analysis 

As you carry out your day-to-day life, keep a record of all the things you do. If possible, it would be even better if you could keep a note of time lengths in representation of the different things you do. 

Record for 7 days, and then have a look over them afterwards. This is where you get an insight to what you really spend your time doing.

You can decide which things are not needed or are lower down in priority, as well as looking to see if you can shorter the time you waste.

3. Deadlines 

Deadlines are horrible, in this case however, they aren't so bad. When you know that you have an appointment to get to or a planned arrangement, set yourself a deadline in which everything is to have stopped by then.

This could be something like 15 minutes before you have to leave, allowing yourself a chance to get ready.

If you don't want to set yourself a timed deadline, just stop at an appropriate time a bit before when you should be leaving. Be strict with yourself!

4. Aim to be early 

When you have somewhere to be, instead of leaving on the last minute or later, try leaving earlier. Leaving earlier will compensate for unforeseen obstacles such as traffic or diversions.

If it's to do with work, showing up early can leave a lasting impression (a good one).

It can also allow you to sometimes start sooner on arrival of your destination. For example: If you're meeting with other parties and you arrive early, and they arrive early, you can get things running sooner....unless if they have a problem with punctuality.

5. The value of time 

Learning to value and understand the time you have will lead to natural better time-keeping. You will be able to realise the importance of the time you have each day, making use of time that would otherwise be wasted.

With this new understanding, you can plan around appointments with much more ease, naturally allowing yourself to get to places on time.

6. Commute time 

Prior to the finalisation of the designated time that you need to leave by, estimate the approximate commute time. If it is an unfamiliar route, leave yourself more time. Also keep in mind possible hold-ups along the way, so point #3 will maybe tie in here.

The ability to be able to place a time value on a journey will develop as time is manifested (long term wise), building upon the foundations of  step #5. 

7. Plan before-hand 

If you're not a fan of schedules, then just incorporate a list of things you have to do before leaving for the prepared meeting. 

Normally I find that planning the night before is the most effective, making use of down time you are likely to have. Or you could write a quick plan in the mornings, though this isn't something I'm a fan of, as I like to get started as soon as I get up and already have a plan set in place.

Being prepared is a key element in upgrading personal punctuality.

8. Early Riser 

If you're late because of the huge amount of things you have to get done, then try getting up earlier. Like with the schedule in point #1, I've also done a post showing the benefits of being an early riser.

9. Forward the clocks 

I know this sounds strange, but forwarding all of your clocks by five or ten minutes can help in getting to places on time.

The main clock that we run by in my house is about 7 minutes fast, and makes a surprising amount of difference to our punctuality. Although the tendency can be to then say to ourselves: "We don't have to go just yet, we still have another five minutes or so".

10. Minor jobs the night before 

Similar to point #7, but instead of planning out your whole day, do minor tasks for the day. For example: Make lunches if going somewhere, pack bags and clothes, get the clothes you are going to wear ready etc.

11. Wear the other shoes 

If you are meeting up with someone, try to position yourself in their shoes. Try to understand what it must feel like to have to wait around bored out of your mind. Having this empathy will cause you to speed up.

If you're consistently late, some people may reduce or stop making arrangements with you because of the fact they may need to get on with other things which could be done instead of waiting for you!

12. Time conscious 

Although it's great to use all of these other techniques, if you're not conscious of the time, you can (and most probably will) overrun the time and end up being late. 

Set all of your clocks to the same time, get a watch (even just a £1 one, it still keeps the time), set an alarm signalling the final ten minutes to go. Make sure you're always conscious of the time.

The amount of times I've been getting ready to go somewhere, looking at the time and realising that I have only 5 minutes left - I would rather forget. :(

13. Avoid the T.V  

If you have things to do, do not allow yourself to watch the t.v. T.V is one of the biggest time wasters in our modern lives, and is extremely easy to get sucked in for an hour or more. So whatever you do - avoid the t.v.   

14. Read and wait 

It can be really boring getting somewhere early and having to wait, so arriving early may be put off. If you have something to do however (like read a book), then you'll find that these periods of time will go much quicker.

15. Organisation 

A main reason for jobs and tasks to be done slower than expected, is disorganisation. 

Not being organised and having things all over the place, can lead to huge delays, e.g you can't find your car keys or that important document.

Keep major items in allocated places, so that when you need them there and then, you can whizz straight over and get them.

Sabtu, 27 Agustus 2011

Cara Membuat Menu Horizontal Tabs Sederhana di Blogger


Tips Trik Blogger: Buka Rahasia Blogspot kembali lagi dengan persembahan Menu Horizontal untuk Blogger/Blogspot. Seperti menu-menu horizontal sebelumnya, menu horizontal ini masih berkutat dengan CSS dan HTML tanpa Javascript/Jquery, bahkan tanpa menggunakan gambar, berbasis tab individual, dan tidak menggunakan list (HTML unordered list). Posting menu horizontal ini juga dibuat untuk memenuhi

Jumat, 26 Agustus 2011

Top 10 most Common Fears and Phobias

Fears and phobias come in all forms, varying in extremity. From ishicascadiggaphobia (fear of elbows), to taphophobia (fear of being buried alive), fears bring misery and/or anxiety to the people who suffer from them.

A definitive number of the amount of phobias is something that we cannot do, simply because of the huge number of fears that there are, not to mention all the new ones that are coming out each year. For example nomophobia - the fear of being out of mobile phone contact.

10. Necrophobia 

This is the fear of death, as well as things that are associated to it, for example: coffins; corpses; tombstones etc.

Normally caused from a past experience such as: a near-death experience; knowing someone who has died; seen or have had contact with dead things (working as a funeral director for example). Basically an experience that has resulted in much emotional trauma.

9. Brontophobia 

Brontophobia, also known as astraphobia, astrapophobia, is the fear of thunder and lightning. In most cases the fear of thunder and lightning will affect the person wherever they may be, but in some instances, only affects the person if they're outside.

If a person who is a sufferer of brontophobia, is to be outside, they will feel tremendous anxiety and it is not uncommon for them to try and find shelter. If a sufferer is inside, hiding under beds; inside closets; under tables and the like, can be of common practice.

8. Nyctophobia 

Nyctophobia is branded as severe fear of the dark, sparked from the brains blemished perception of what could happen when in a dark environment.

Common among children and tends to pass in adolescence. Nyctophobia for adults can be horrible. Most people keep a little bit of fear of the dark throughout their life, and is the reason why dark environments and surroundings are typically used in scary films or stories.

7. Emetophobia 

Emetophobia is the severe fear of vomiting. Although it sounds weird, it is a very common fear that many people from around the globe experience.

Women are more prone to it than men, with an estimated 6-7% of females having the fear, compared to an estimated 1.5-3.15% of males.

The fear can be sub-categorised into different phobias, for example: fear of vomiting in public; fear of choking on vomit; fear of seeing vomit; fear of vomiting on somebody else; fear of vomiting if someone else vomits. 

6. Claustrophobia 

Heard of by most people, claustrophobia is the fear of enclosed spaces, or somewhere which is inescapable.

Defined as an anxiety disorder, claustrophobia is known to cause panic attacks and people who have this, will go out of there way to avoid these circumstances from arising. These could be an avoidance of: telephone boxes; tunnels; crowded escalators; lifts; small confined rooms; helmets; diving suits; revolving doors; MRI scanners; caves; public toilets etc... 
However avoidance may only make things worse. 

Claustrophobia is said to affect 10% of people in their lifetime.

5. Aerophobia 

Aerophobia, sometimes referred to as aviatophobia, aviophobia or pteromechanophobia, is the fear of flying. The fear may be a direct terror of flying or it may be associated with other phobias. (E.g. claustrophobia or acrophobia (number 3 in the list)).

Aerophobia is estimated to affect as many as 25%. It receives quite a lot of attention because of its difficulty for many people to avoid and because of its widespread nature.

4. Social Phobia 

Social phobia is an unusual, yet common distress in our society. The fear constitutes of: socialising; certain social situations arising; being evaluated and summed-up by others and/or public speaking.

For a lot of people the fear is just mild, and doesn't really have a huge impact on our lives, producing worry or stress instead.

In more extreme cases, high levels of anxiety can come from talking with others or being in there company, can be seriously uncomfortable and unpleasant. Even talking to others can be painful.

3. Acrophobia 

Another commonly heard of phobia, acrophobia is the excessive and irrational fear of heights.
Generally found among adults, with twice as many women having it than men.

Depending on the level of anxiety, people may feel it only when incredibly high up, while others may feel it a few steps up a ladder. 

2. Agoraphobia 

Agoraphobia is the morbid fear used to describe not only one, but many phobias. These include and are not restricted to: wide open spaces; leaving home; being in shops; being in crowded places; travelling alone on public transport; uncontrollable social conditions.

Avoidance of the particular phobia is commonly seen among subjects. For example: Only going out with other people; ordering groceries online; only travelling among routes that have little or no wide open spaces.

1. Arachnophobia 

Probably the most well know phobia of them all, arachnophobia is the overwhelming phobia of spiders and other arachnids. It is a subcategory of zoophobia and is very widespread internationally. 

In more drastic cases, a photo or realistic drawing can strike fear into the heart of the sufferer. Something that feels like an arachnid can also bring about the fear. Even the thought of arachnids is sometimes enough to trigger the immense fear.

The fear isn't made any better when the sufferer sees one of many clips or films depicting giant human eating spiders.

Cara Menambahkan Icon/Gambar di Depan Judul Posting Blogger

Icon/Gambar di depan judul posting blog dapat menambah daya tarik. Icon tersebut juga dapat memberikan kesan tampilan judul posting yang indah dan dapat memberikan perwakilan akan arti penting judul posting tersebut. Di Blogger, kemungkinan untuk menambah dan memodifikasi berbagai macam pernak-pernik sangatlah mungkin. Seperti pernah saya singgung di posting Cara Mengganti "Post a Comment"

Kamis, 25 Agustus 2011

EZ On Vinyl

We are always excited when and new or existing client calls and wants us to build their website. EZ On Vinyl has been no exception!

The EZ ON Vinyl hot wire fence clip is a unique, innovative and revolutionary new product that makes for easy and simple installation, use and safety of with wire electric fencing that is applied to vinyl post and rail horse and livestock fencing. This new patented product targets the specific market of horse and livestock vinyl fencing of both existing and new fencing enclosures.

The inventor of EZ ON Vinyl clips understands the advantage and disadvantage of vinyl fence. Though PVC fence is esthetically pleasing and tends to increases the property’s value, its shortcomings are amplified when livestock lean against or dislodge the rails. EZ ON Vinyl clips used in conjunction with electric wire, light cable or tape eliminates this problem and keep your horses and livestock safe.

EZ ON Vinyl clips are designed specifically for the PVC posts and provide an effective long term solution to the issue of livestock and PVC fencing.

The value proposition served by EZ ON Vinyl fence clips can save the owner both time and expenses. This is attributed to minimal cost both of product acquisition, ease and minimal time required for installation, as well as being able to save on veterinary bills since there is less likelihood of the animal coming into contact with the fence and causing injury.

Click here for more information

Texas Drought Photos

A few days ago, Brandon and I were on a photo assignment from my mom and dad to get some pictures of the ranch's pastures to show some of our northern friends about the drought. She posted several on the V8 Ranch facebook page of the pastures and stuff but while we were doing the ranch photos, we decided to take some pics of Mollie vs. the drought.

When I came up with the idea to take Mollie's picture in the drought conditions, my husband said his typical response of "you are crazy". In fact, he and my granddad have this acronym they use on the ranch for problems that occur due to "W.A.C.".....standing for Women Are Crazy. Ha, that's another blog topic. And, as you can see from her picture, I guess Mollie agreed with her dad. I'm pretty sure she is thinking, "Mom, REALLY? Why are you making me do this?"

But, I insisted on taking these photos. Because years from now, when we tell Mollie that she was born in the worst drought of modern Texas times, we can show her these photos and help her put it into perspective. When I think of drought, I think of these poor helpless pioneers in their dresses and bonnets during the dustbowl.

Then, I am reminded of the fact that our drought is worse than the drought Texans faced in the 1930s. So Mollie is living in the modern day dustbowl. So we thought it would be a good illustration to photograph Mollie standing next to the big cracks in our pasture. To put it in perspective, Mollie is nearly 5 months old and weighs 15 pounds. As you can see, the cracks are bigger than her.





I know it is somewhat hard to see, but here she is standing next to the cracks that we had just put her whole body into in the pictures above.

 And here is one where you can see, her legs and feet fit easily into the cracks.



This picture shows one of our fencelines on the ranch, where the cracks in the pasture are causing the fence posts to lean over and be crooked.

These are at a different spot on the ranch, but you can see these cracks are wider than my hand.


Here is a section of what we call our "springer pasture." I was getting scared to drive across this actually.


More pictures of some smaller cracks on the ranch.


We are located about an hour south of Houston, and I know there are lots of folks out there worse off than us, especially further west. Many of our customers and friends at experiencing weather-related issues due to drought or flooding this summer. While I think we are in a rough situation at V8, every day we continue to be THANKFUL for all the many things we DO have. We are so much more blessed than most, and we try to keep this in mind. We have all of our customers and friends in our thoughts, and continue to be optimistic for the future!

Rabu, 24 Agustus 2011

More Restaurant Work

We've recently become a huge fan of Scheller's Cafe in Glen Flora, Texas. Unless you're from this area, you've probably never even heard of this little gem of a town...population 210. MAYBE.

Well in this great little town you'll find a post office, our youth fairgrounds, a few antique stores, and a great restaurant called Scheller's Cafe. This restaurant is one that I'd match right up there with any restaurant in Texas. It's got a great atmosphere, great food, and hand-dipped Blue Bell. The menu is what you would consider white table cloth, but it's so casual that you can go in your boots, pants with cow-poop on them, and you get treated like you're a "normal" person. ha ha

On some of our recent visits with the owner, we got the opportunity to design some new restaurant information cards / coasters for the cafe. Since they are a small cafe, they had been doing most of their graphic design work at home with Microsoft Word, a home printer, and a pair of scissors. On our visit to treat Megan to her special lunch, we hand delivered the new cards.


See if you can guess which one we designed?

Of course, there's nothing wrong at all with DIY advertising materials. However I think most people would be suprised to find out that getting us to do custom graphic creations and printing like this is much more affordable that you realize. Do you have a project that could use the RHD touch? Let us give you a bid!

Selasa, 23 Agustus 2011

Megan Cullers = Awesome!

This summer we were so honored to have Megan Cullers as our summer intern! And today is her official "last day" (until we can beg her to come back next summer) and so we just wanted to say a special THANK YOU to this wonderful lady! (Megan is the red head in the picture)

Megan started with us in May, when she came back home to Wharton from being at Abilene Christian University, where she is studying to be a nurse. Or actually I think it is something a little more advanced than a nurse, but it's in the health care administration and nursing field. Trust me, she is SMART.
Megan immediately became such a big part of our team here. She brightened all of our days with her sweet smile, her kind personality, and her great attitude. She was always coming up with new ideas, fun things to do, and ways that we could do things better here at RHD.

She was a HUGE asset to The Brahman Review. During the summer she helped us ad over 1500 new subscribers to our mailing list! HUGE! She is a one of a kind, go-getter, and we love her!

Last week, we went to a special lunch at Scheller's Cafe in Glen Flora, Texas to celebrate and honor Megan as a way of saying "Thank you" for the great job she did here! We had a great lunch, and each of us treated ourself with a hand-dipped Blue Bell ice cream cone!

Megan, we just want to say THANK YOU for everything! We're going to miss you so much. You have a job here during Christmas Break, Spring Break, Next Summer, or anytime you want :)


Senin, 22 Agustus 2011

Cattle In Motion

Here at RHD, we are so fortunate to work with so many great professionals in the business. From time to time, we like to showcase some of our professional partners and tell others about how RHD and these businesses work hand in hand to give our mutual customers the best possible exposure and service.

Cattle In Motion is one of our preferred partners for online sales, internet auctions, and cattle video.

We work with them on numerous sales throughout the year with clients who are using their online sale service. Cattle In Motion was started in 2002, when they began filming cattle and giving breeders across the country new ways to market their products. CIM Auctions was created later in order to help livestock customers sell online. CIM Auctions gives qualified buyers with broadband access the chance to purchase cattle from anywhere in the world.

Here are some ways we work hand in hand with the CIM team.
  • Integration of your online sale through CIM and your existing web site. In the month of August 2011 alone we are currently working with four of our clients who are having sales with CIM (Heritage, V8, JDH, Schneider Brahmans). When we know you are having a sale with CIM, we can easily link your web site sales page to the special page for your internet sale in one easy step.

  • Integration of your videos to your web site. The CIM Team is so great to work with whenever they film video footage for our mutual clients. Basically they will work with RHD and the client to showcase the video in any format you prefer. Some of our clients like to post their CIM videos on You Tube. We can link or embed from your YouTube video to your web site. Others, like Heritage, prefer to link the video to CIM's video player directly from their web site. Whatever you prefer, we can do.

This year we also worked with CIM on a partnership broadcast of the Kickoff Classic Brahman Show. We paid for the broadcast service, and CIM did the rest. They also provided us with highlights videos to post on our web site. We got so many compliments from this service that we plan on doing it again throughout the years at different shows.

We've worked with CIM since they opened their doors in 2002. On every occassion we have been so pleased at their professionalism, high quality product, and the fast service they provide. Never once have we had a client sitting waiting around to get their videos from the CIM team.

We are honored to work with many professionals in the business, like Cattle in Motion. We invite you to check out their web site at http://www.cattleinmotion.com/ or call (888) 554-VIDS, to send your auction around the world.

.

Minggu, 21 Agustus 2011

Cara Mengganti "Post a Comment" Blogger Dengan Teks Lain/Gambar


Teks "Post a Comment" atau "Tambahkan Komentar" yang muncul sebelum/di bagian atas kotak komentar mungkin nampak kurang elegan. Pertanyaannya, apakah bisa mengganti teks "Post a Comment / Tambahkan Komentar" seperti yg terlihat di kotak komentar di bawah ini?

Setelah sekian waktu mengeksplor template XML Blogger, saya menemukan bahwa ada banyak tag yang merupakan perintah kepada host (dalam hal

Jumat, 19 Agustus 2011

1st Birthday Party Invitations

These little boogers were so cute we just couldn't resist posting them! Here is our latest creation from Ranch House Invitations. These are custom party invitations for special little girls' 1st birthday party.


For this project, Lyndsey's mom came in to our office with her idea for the movie star theme, the cute wordig for the cards, and the pictures of her darling little Lyndsey to go on the card. We sat down together and created this custom design that is simply stunning!

To make the invitations extra special, Lindsey's mom chose a special shape, and added a "shimmer" finish to give the card a metallic look.

When it was all said and done, these cards cost around $2 each.....making a very affordable way to give your child's party that special unique touch.

Our invitation division handles all kinds of invites and announcements. We can do wedding invitations, party invitations, graduation invitations, and Christmas cards. We can even take your photos for the cards if needed (if you live around here!)

Check out http://www.ranchhouseinvitations.com/ for more of our custom and catalog designs.

Kamis, 18 Agustus 2011

Video: How to book a website with RHD

We've joined the video blogging world! A few weeks ago we worked with Ideal Video Productions on a promo video for RHD (still to come) and then we also worked on a special video blog with Coleman Locke of J.D. Hudgins. After my own little video blog with Ideal made the cattle.com top 25 videos of July (I ranked #17 by the way). OH, and I would like to point out that my video was added on July 25, meaning I only got 5 days in the "July rankings" category. Not too shabby for a video that had been up for 5 days.

Anyway, we got a huge response from our video interview and so we decided to start a video blog as well. Now I have to say, this video blogging is HARD! For someone who is very modest like me, it's very hard to get used to the thought of yourself being on You Tube for the whole world to see.

I would also like to preface this video with the fact that literally 30 minutes before we shot this video, I was at the big V8 Ranch grass fire of 2011. So...so much for a nice hairdo. My first thought was to cancel the video blog since I smelled like smoke, all my makeup had melted of, and the hair was in a pony tail. But then I figured, what the heck, I wear a pony tail 99% of the time anyway and usually don't wear much makeup at all, so this is probably more close to an accurate representation of my normal attire as you can get.

We hope you enjoy these! We're still working on our general corporate wide promo video, and we will continually be adding new short little video tidbits little by little. Thanks for watching! More coming soon!

Cara Membuat Fitur Reply Comment (Balas Komentar) di Blogger

Fitur Reply to Comment (Balas Komentar) sering kita temui di blog-blog Wordpress maupun Blogger. Perbedaannya, WordPress telah menyediakannya sebagai fitur bawaan. Selain itu, fitur reply comment WordPress mengandung threads yang independen. Masing-masing komentar dapat memiliki kesinambungan urutan seperti thread forum atau board. Di Blogger, fitur reply to comment pun dapat ditambahkan, namun

6 Rules for remembering lists

Lists are used, so that we don't have to remember what we need to do, or the things we need to get. 

They are most frequently used in shopping, helping people fly around the shop at twice the speed.
What do you do if you forget your list?, Or don't even write one in the first place?

This is where remembering a list can be useful. Once you get better memorising lists, and take less time to store it in your mind, you wont even need to write a list any more. 

We have the capability to retain a huge amount of information, and still have the space to learn more. How we go about doing that, can largely effect how well we store the information and the ability to recall that information.

There are many different methods for remembering things, though there are only a handful or less that will work for you as an individual. You just need to stick with the one that suits how you think about things.

1. Link story. 

The link story method, is one of the easiest and one of the most well known memory tricks in the book. 

The concept is to make associations from one thing to the next, linking them via a mental story.
Quite often, the weirder and wilder the story, the more likely you are to remember it. 

For example: Say you have three items on a list (small list for example purpose), a banana, some bird feed and a football, and you have to try and link them together. The story I would think of, would be as follows: a person playing football, slips on a banana and lands in some bird feed. Or an even wilder story could be: a person is playing football on a banana boat, which is floating in a sea of bird feed.

Association will help build mental links in your brain, aiding in memorisation.
The length of the list, will depend on how far you are willing to go: 10 items, 20 items, 50 items, 100 items..

2. Number association. 

This is similar to the last technique, but this time you give each of your items a number. After assigning a number to each thing on your list, just try to remember them in order. 

For example #1.Elephant, #2.Lion, #3.Gorilla, #4.pen, #5.Niagara falls etc. 

This technique is harder than the previous one, but is a very simple trick. Repetition is the key.

An alteration of this is the alphabet association, substituting numbers the letters of the alphabet. When you get over 26, 27 will become AA, 28 will become AB, 29 will become AC etc. 

3. Number shapes. 

This is an okay technique, I don't particularly like it because of its frigidity. The technique involves allocating a thing on your list to a number that looks similar to it. Some examples of this would be: 1. candlestick; 2. swan; 3 heart (top bit of the heart); 4...

4. Picture allocation. 

This technique needs preparation, but only needs the main preparation to be done once. This requires you to think of a picture and designate it to a number (ignore your list at the moment). 

Once delegated, that picture will always be that number. For example: You might decide to allocate a tower to #1, a tidal wave to #2, they can be anything you want, but just as long as you can remember them.

Now when going through your list of things, and depending on their number in the list, will depend on which picture you link to. 

For example: Say that your first item was a chess-set, and your second item was some BBQ sauce. Link them to your already predetermined pictures. So you would link a chess-set to a tower (being picture #1) and BBQ sauce to a tidal wave (picture #2).

This is similar to method #1, but you have permanent picture to allocate your things too. It will however take a bit of time to remember the permanent pictures, but after, will be a lot easier to do.

5. Number pegs. 

This system requires you to imagine a coat peg, or any other peg that can hold things up. Once you have a firm image of the coat peg in your mind, look to your list of things. The things at the bottom of your list will be the things on the bottom of your imagery coat peg, and the things at the top of your list, will be at the top of your coat peg.

As you go through your list, imagine your filled coat peg, only being able to get to the next thing by removing the thing in front of it off the peg. Try to then remember putting the things back on the peg, in reverse order to how you took them off - that's tricky to do.

6. Journey method

This is a powerful method and is a variation of #4, but easier to remember depending on your chosen journey.

You will be choosing a journey and assigning each thing on your list to a particular location. It's a good idea to memorise your journey beforehand.
Once done, just link a thing on your list to a certain stage of your journey.

For example: 1. Bedroom - apples, 2. stairs - coffee, 3. front door - fill car with petrol etc..

This example is using a familiar route to me, as I can clearly imagine the route. You can imagine though, the headache you may get if you plan a journey around the whole of the world. So it's best if you use a familiar journey, unless you're up for more of a challenge.

Rabu, 17 Agustus 2011

100 commonly confused words

English is one of the most confusing languages for a person to learn, and many people (including English) have real difficulty in distinguishing between one word and another, that sound the same and look similar. 

I sometimes forget which spelling of a particular word is the right one, so I feel that doing a post on these commonly confused words, would be greatly beneficial. 

1. Accept and except

Accept: to take or receive (something offered); receive with approval or favour; or to agree on something.
Except: With the exclusion of, not including.

2. Adverse and averse

Adverse: Unfavourable or harmful in purpose or effect. Or to go in opposition of ones interests and desires.
Averse: Opposed to and strongly disliked.

3. Advice and advise

Advice: An opinion or recommendation about what should be done.
Advise: To offer an opinion or recommendation, as a guide and assistance. 

4. Affect and effect

Affect: To act upon, make change to, or cause an effect.
Effect: Something that is produced from cause and is a result of.

5. Aid and aide

Aid: To provide support or help.
Aide: An assistant or helper.

6. Aisle and isle

Aisle: A longitudinal division or passage way of an interior area.
Isle: An island.

7. All together and altogether

All together: All at the same time or all at once, in one place.
Altogether: Completely; entirely; on a whole.

8. Allusion and illusion

Allusion: A casual reference to; an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication.
Illusion: Something that tricks/deceives by production of a misleading or false impression of reality.  

9. Along and a long

Along: Parallel to the length or direction of, from one end to the other.
A long: Referring to something of great length.

10. A lot  and allot

A lot: A great multitude of.
Allot: The division or distribution of something by sharing or portioning out.

11. Aloud and allowed

Aloud: Something that is out loud and is audible.
Allowed: With permission.

12. All right and alright

All right: "Yes okay", "all right, I'll go with you".
Alright: A spelling alteration of all right. 

13. Allude and elude

Allude: To refer to something casually or indirectly, to male an allusion.
Elude: To avoid and escape through cleverness, trickery or speed. To evade something. 

14. Altar and alter

Altar: An elevated place or structure, as a mound or platform, in which religious acts are performed.
Alter: To change or make different, as style, size, smell, decision etc.
 
15. Amoral and immoral

Amoral: Something that is neither moral or immoral.
Immoral: Something that is a violation of moral principles and not performing to the pattern of conduct that is acceptable, and established.

16. Appraise and apprise

Appraise: To evaluate or estimate the monetary value. Or to estimate the quality, nature and importance of.
Apprise: To inform; advise; give notice to. E.g. To be apprised of the time and date.

17. Assent and ascent

Assent: To agree or to be in concurrence with.
Ascent: Upward moving, an act of ascending; a rising movement.

18. Aural and oral

Aural: Of or pertaining to an aura.
Oral: Something that is uttered by the mouth, a spoken testimony.

19. Balmy and barmy

Balmy: Mild and refreshing; soft and soothing: The music is balmy.
Barmy: Containing or resembling barm: frothy. 

20. Bare and bear

Bare: Without the covering or clothing of something; nakedness, bare legs.
Bear: To hold up, support; to bear the weight of the roof. To bear something; the bearer of bad news; to bear a child.
It is also an animal: Black bear; polar bear; panda bear etc.

21. Bated and baited

Bated: To moderate or to restrain.
Baited: Something that is used as a lure, in assisting and aiding in the capture, trapping of.

22. Bazaar and bizarre

Bazaar: A market place or shopping quarter, or the sale of miscellaneous contributed articles to benefit some kind of charity. 
Bizarre: Something that is marked unusual, or stands out. Often referred to the appearance, style and characteristics of something.

23. Berth and birth

Berth: A sort of shelflike sleeping place, as on a ship, airplane, or railroad car. Or the position, rank of a job.
Birth: The act of being born. He was born yesterday.

24. Beside and besides

Beside: At the or by the side of. Pull the car up beside the lamppost.
Besides: Furthermore; also; as-well; moreover.  

25. Bloc and block

Bloc: A group of people, businesses or of the like, sharing common interests; working in unison for a particular reason, cause.
Block: A solid mass of stone, wood etc., normally with one or more relatively flat surfaces.

26. Born and borne

Born: Brought by the cause of birth.
Borne: A past participle of bear.

27. Bough and bow

Bough: A branch of a tree, particularly one of the larger or main branches.
Bow: To bend the the knee or body, to incline the head, as in reverence, submission, acknowledgement.

28. Brake and break

Brake: A tool or device used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle or mechanism, or living thing.
Break: To destroy, smash or split something violently.

29. Breach and breech

Breach: The act of breaking, rupturing. A violation, as of a law, trust, faith etc.
Breech: The hinder or lower part of anything. The lower rear part of the body.

30. Broach and brooch

Broach: A elongated, tapered, serrated cutting tool for fabricating and enlarging holes. 
Brooch: A ornament or something of the like, having a pin at the back, designed for passing through clothing and a catch for securing the point of the pin.

31. Canvas and canvass

Canvas: A closely woven, cloth of cotton, linen or hemp and used for sails and tents etc. It is also a piece of similar material in which paintings are drawn on.
Canvass: to petition or solicit votes, opinions, subscriptions and the like.

32. Career, carrier and courier

Career: Someone's occupation or profession.
Carrier: An employee, person or something else that carries.
Courier: A messenger, bearer of pressing news. Normally travelling in haste. 

33. Ceiling and sealing

Ceiling: An overhead interior surface of a room.
Sealing: An embossed emblem, symbol, figure, word etc. Used as attestation or proof of authenticity. Or it is a type of adhesive substance.  

34. Censure and censor

Censure: A strong or forceful expression of disapproval.
Censor: An official who examines plays, motion pictures, books, radio and television programs, letters etc. For the purpose of concealing parts deemed objectionable on morale, political, military or other grounds.

35. Cereal and serial

Cereal: Some edible preparation of any plant in the grass family, yielding an edible grain as wheat, rye, oats etc, especially a breakfast food.
Serial: A publishing or broadcasting etc., in short instalments and intervals. Or effecting or producing a series. 

36. Chord and cord

Chord: An emotion. His words struck a chord of sadness in the audiences heart.
Cord: A thin rope, string or something of that nature; made of several strands, which are braided, twisted, or woven together.
 
37. Climactic and climatic

Climactic: Pertaining to or building up to a climax
Climatic: Of or pertaining to climate.

38. Coarse and course

Coarse: Rough in texture.
Course: A directive or route to be taken.

39. Complacent and complaisant

Complacent: Pleasant and pleased, especially with ones own merits and credentials, often unaware of potential danger.
Complaisant: Inclined or disposed to please; willing to please and compliant.

40. Complement and compliment

Complement: Something that completes; goes hand-in-hand with.
Compliment: An expression of praise or admiration towards another.

41. Council and counsel

Council: An assembly of people/persons summoned or convened for consultation, deliberation or advice.  
Counsel: Advice; guidance; instruction or opinion in directing the conduct of another.

42. Cue and queue

Cue: Anything said or done, on or off stage, that is followed by a specific line action
Queue: A line or file, especially of people; or a braid of hair worn hanging down behind.

43. Curb and kerb

Curb: Border or rim, especially of joined stones of concrete; forming the edge of a pavement.
Kerb: The British version of curb.

44. Currant and current

Currant: A small seedless raisin.
Current: The passing of time, belonging to the time passing; right at this moment.

45. Decent and descent

Decent: Accommodating to the recognised standard of propriety, modesty etc.
Descent: The act or procedure of moving from a higher to lower position.

46. Defuse and diffuse

Defuse: To make less dangerous; to calm down; to lessen the tension of certain circumstances. Or to defuse a bomb or some other explosive device. 
Diffuse: To spread and pour out; as a fluid. To spread out or to scatter out.

47. Desert and dessert

Desert: An arid region with little rainfall, and is home to few types of vegetation, sparsely spread out, if any at all.
Dessert: A form of pudding: cake, pie, fruit, ice-cream etc. Served as the final course of a meal.

48. Discreet and discrete

Discreet: Thoughtful in one's conduct or speech, certainly with regards to respecting privacy and delicate matters.
Discrete: Separate or detached from others.

49. Disinterested and uninterested

Disinterested: Not influenced by personal motives, unbiased by personal interest or advantage.
Uninterested: Having or showing no interest at all; indifference.

50. Dose and doze

Dose: A quantity of medicine prescribed to be taken.
Doze: A state of light sleep, to fall into unintentionally.

51. Draught and draft

Draught: The British game of checkers.
Draft: A rough drawing, sketch or design. Or a current of air moving in an upward or downward direction. 

52. Draw and drawer

Draw: Cause to move in a certain direction by or as if by a pulling force; pull; drag. Or to sketch in lines or words.
Drawer: A sliding, lidless compartment, as in a piece of furniture.

53. Dual and duel

Dual: Of pertaining to, or noting to.
Duel: An prearranged combat between two people.

54. Elicit and illicit

Elicit: To draw out, or bring forth; evoke: To elicit a response.
Illicit: Not of legal permission or authorisation.

55. Enquire and inquire

Enquire: Is a verb and is a variant of inquire.
Inquire: To scout information via questioning.

56. Ensure and insure

Ensure: To make certain of, to guarantee.
Insure: A guarantee against loss; harm or damage.

57. Envelop and envelope

Envelop: To cover, to wrap up in; to consume or surround entirely.
Envelope: A flat paper package, usually used to store letters inside, and normally has a gummed flap for closure.

58. Exercise and exorcise

Exercise: Physical or mental activity, particularly for the purpose of training or improvement of health.
Exorcise: To seek to expel an evil spirit, by adjuration or solemn ceremonies.

59. Expand and expend

Expand: To increase in extent, size, scope etc.
Expend: To use up. Or to pay up or dispurse.

60. Fawn and faun

Fawn: A young deer , particularly an unweaned one.
Faun: One of many mythical creature; depicted as men with horns, ears, tail and later also the hind legs of a goat.

61. Flaunt and flout

Flaunt: To display or proclaim oneself boldly, conspicuously or arrogantly.
Flout: To treat with scorn, derision or contempt; scoff at; mock; jeer.

62. Flounder and founder

Flounder: To struggle clumsily, stumbling about helplessly.
Founder: A person who establishes or initiates. Bill Gates and Paul Allen are the founders of Microsoft.

63. Forbear and forebear

Forbear: To refrain or abstain from.
Forebear: Usually, forebears, as is ancestors, forefathers, predecessors. 

64. Freeze and frieze

Freeze: Change from a liquid to a solid state, due to loss of heat, to become hardened into ice or a solid body. E.g. water to ice.
Frieze: A decorative band at the top or beneath the cornice or interior wall. Or is the wider central part entablature and may be bland in the lonic or doric order.

65. Grisly and grizzly

Grisly: To cause or causing a feeling of shudder or horror. Or formidable; grim.
Grizzly: Slightly grey; greyish, grizzly haired. Or the noun for grizzly bear.

66. Heroin and heroine

Heroin: A white, crystalline, calming powder. C 21, H 23, NO 5.
Heroine:A women of perceived courage, boldness, admired for her hero-like qualities.  

67. Hoard and horde

Hoard: To accumulate for preservation. Hidden in a well guarded location.
Horde: A large group of multitude, number etc. A horde of insects ate my crops.

68. Hole and whole

Hole: An opening; gap in something. Or the excavated habitation of an animals burrow.
Whole: The full quantity: amount; number etc. Light travel around the whole world in a second, seven times.

69. Imply and infer

Imply: To suggest or indicate, without being clearly stated.
Infer: To derive by reasoning; conclude from premises of evidence. Or to guess and speculate. 

70. Later and latter

Later: Coming, occurring, appearing after the usual or proper time.
Latter: Being the second or later mentioned of the two. Near or comparatively near to the end. 

71. Lead and led

Lead: To show the way; direct the way; escort. To lead the way.
Led: The past tense of lead.

72. Lie and lay

Lie: A false statement with the deliberate intent to mislead and deceive. 
Lay: To put or place in a position of rest. To set down in a particular area.


73. Loath and loathe

Loath: To be reluctant; evasive; unwilling.
Loathe: A feeling of disgust or severe dislike. I loathe

74. Loose and lose

Loose: Free from bondage or restraint, or free and released from fastenings or attachments.
Something that is to big, not fitting well. My trousers kept descending because they were too loose. 
Lose: Come to be without (once in possession of) due to misplacement, accident, theft etc.

75. Massage and message

Massage: Treating the body through rubbing, kneading, patting, prodding etc., to increase circulation and relieve tension.
Message: The containment of information, news, advice, response, question, request etc., coming about by television, letter, e-mail, radio, spoken word, text or of the like

76. Meter and metre


Meter: A unit of length/measurement. The equivalent of 100cm.
Metre: The British meter.

77. Militate and mitigate

Militate: To have a substantial or considerable effect, heavily weighted. His job record militated against him.
Mitigate:To lighten or lessen in force or intensity.

78. Moral and morale

Moral: to pertaining to, or keeping in line with the principalities of right and wrong; according to the Bible.
Morale: To help or build up, the emotional or mental condition with regards to confidence, mood, zeal, temperament etc. 

79.  Morning and mourning

Morning: The First part or period of the day. Morning-midday-afternoon-evening-night.
Mourning: The act of a person in grief; sorrow. The conventional manifestation of sorrow for a person's death.

80. Palate and palette

Palate: Regarding anatomy: the roof of the mouth. Or regarding the sense of taste. The food was palatable.
Palette: A thin board or tablet with a hole at one end, used by painters for holding and mixing colours.

81. Passed and past

Passed: Completed the act of passing.
Past: Something that has flown by or elapsed in time. Having lived in; having occurred in previous time; the past tense.

82. Pedal and peddle

Pedal: A lever operated by the foot, used for remaining in control of a certain mechanism. Such as cars and bikes; regarding musical instruments: piano, harp, organ.
Peddle: To carry items and goods from place to place, for sale at retail.

83. Personal and personnel 


Personal: Of, pertaining to, or regarding to a particular person; individual,  a sometimes sensitive area of subject. 
Personnel: A body or horde of persons, employed in an organisation or location of work.

84. Pole and poll

Pole: A cylindrical, long piece of material. Most commonly made out of wood or some sort of metal. 
Poll: A survey or collection of opinions on a chosen subject.

85. Pour and pore

Pour: A liquid, fluid or something in loose particles, that is flowing or falling, in a downward direction, as pouring milk into cereal.
Pore: To read or study with steady attention and concentration.

86. Practice and practise

Practice: Something of the norm or habit, or customary procedure. Or a condition arrived at through repeated performance or exercise, for the purpose of acquiring a skill or technique. Jenny was good at the piano because of lots of practice. 
Practise: The British version of practice.

87. Prescribe and proscribe

Prescribe: To lay down a course of action or rule to be followed. Or to designate or order the use of.
Proscribe: To brand or condemn a thing as dangerous or harmful; prohibit.

88. Principal and principle

Principle: An accepted or agreed rule of action or conduct.
Principal: The first or highest in rank, importance; chief. 

89. Sceptic and septic

Sceptic: A person who questions or inquires about the validity or authenticity of something reporting to be true. 
Septic: Concerning or of the nature of sepsis.

90. Sight, site and cite

Sight: The ability of vision and the perception of objects by use of the eyes.
Site: The position and/or location of a town, building, construction premises etc.
Cite: To quote ( a passage, book ,person etc.), especially as an authority.

91. Stationary and stationery

Stationary: Having a fixed position; standing still; not moving.
Stationery: Writing paper, or writing materials, such as: pens; pencils etc.

92. Storey and story

Storey: A floor or level of a building.
Story: A narrative, either fictional or non-fictional. Designed to interest, amuse or instruct the hearer or reader.

93. There, their and they're

There: At or in a place. There he is now.
Their: A form of possession, used as an attributive adjective, before a noun: their home; their dog etc.
They're: Contraction of they are: they're over there.

94. Through, threw, thorough, though and thru

Through: To go in at one end, side, surface and to come out of the other. Through a tunnel.
Threw: The past tense of throw.
Thorough: Executed with carefulness and precision, without negligence or omissions.
Though: Used in introducing a subordinate clause, often marked with ellipses.
Thru: An informal spelling of through. Mc Donald's drive thru.

95. Titillate and titivate

Titillate: To excite or to stimulate arousal agreeably.
Titivate: To make smart; classify or spruce.

96. To, too and two

To: Used for expressing motion or direction to a point; expressing limit of movement or expression; expressing contact or contiguity; expressing a point in limit of time.
Too: In addition, more over, as-well, furthermore; to an excessive extent or degree; more, as specified, as should be; extremely, very. 
Two: The number of 1+1, the symbol of the number being: 2 or ii.

97. Tortuous and torturous

Tortuous: Full of bends, corners, twists, turns, winding. A tortuous road. Or something that is not direct or straightforward.
Torturous: Involving, or causing torture or suffering.

98. Warn and worn

Warn: To give notice of impeding danger, peril, harm or anything else unfavourable.
Worn: The past participle of wear.

99. Who and whom

Who: What person or persons?, the person that or any person that.
Whom: The objective case of who: Whom am I speaking to?; of whom may I ask are you?

100. Wreath and wreathe

Wreath: A circular band of flowers, foliage, or any ornamental work.
Wreathe: To encircle or adorn with or as with a wreath.