SECRETS FROM THE EXPERTS _ Some of best tips from Consumer Reports magazine.
• It’s perfectly fine to leave your laptop connected to its charger at home. The smart charger will prevent over-charging, and the laptop’s processor will run faster when it’s connected.
• If you’re serious about buying a car, ask the dealer to let you borrow or rent a model overnight. Or consider renting one for a few days; you and your family will get more of a feel for the car than you would with a 15-minute test drive.
• Bigger or smaller TV? Go bigger.
• Smart phones need a fresh (re)start. They’re actually full-fledged computers and need to be restarted every few days to purge memory reserved by apps no longer running and to fix glitches that can hinder performance.
• Laptop or tablet? Here’s one way to tell what you need: Tablets are mostly good for consuming media. Computers and laptops are good for creating it. And tablets come with hidden costs — should you decide to add a keyboard or stylus/pencil, you’re adding hundreds of dollars.
• Don’t bother using nitrogen in your tires to keep up tire pressure. It’s a waste of money.
• Buy the cheapest TV cables and connectors you can find. Don’t overspend on those accessories.
• Measure your laundry detergent with the provided cap. Use too much, which many people do, and you could get residue on your clothes. Remember that today’s washers use much less water than older machines.
• Don’t wait until the vacuum bag is full to replace it. By then, it will have lost significant suction power.
BENEFITS OF MOST DIETS DISAPPEAR AFTER A YEAR _ No matter what fad diet you may be trying out at the moment, within a year’s time its effects will have largely disappeared. That’s the somewhat disappointing conclusion of an international study that included scientists from around the globe. Researchers from China, America, Switzerland, and Canada collaborated on the project. They found that most diets usually result in roughly the same amount amount of weight loss and cardiovascular improvements over a period of about six months. A year later, though, the majority of those benefits will be long gone. The study’s authors said that dieters should simply choose the weight loss plan they enjoy the most.
WHAT IS YOUR DEEP (OR NOT SO DEEP) LIFE ADVICE? _ Very soon millions of high school and college seniors will be going out into the real world. What’s your deep — or not so deep — life advice?
• Always encourage, never criticize.
• Listen twice as much as you talk.
• Stay away from crazy people.
• Everybody you meet knows something you don’t.
• Never trust a fart.
• Don’t be unnecessarily difficult.
• It’s OK to disagree. Just don’t be disagreeable.
• Holding on to hate, anger and resentment is like drinking poison and expecting it to hurt someone else.
