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Clark Howard's Top 5 Phone and Utilities Tips
Tip 1 Using residential fake grass to conserve water

August 15, 2008

Clark is excited by the idea of installing fake grass for the purpose of conserving water. Today's fake grass is a far cry from the AstroTurf of yesteryear. In fact, you can't tell today's fake grass isn't the real deal; manufacturers even weave in some decoy weeds!

In Las Vegas, homeowners are actually paid to dig up their yards and convert them to desertscape. The stunner is that the Las Vegas Strip only uses 3% of the city's water. That's because casino owners are good capitalists and have used every possible water-saving technique in their buildings.

CLARK'S TIP TOPICS

Find more consumer advice in Clark Howard's book, "Get Clark Smart"

The Los Angeles Times now reports that California is offering a similar deal. Golden State homeowners are being encouraged to convert to landscaping that requires less water. But some local municipalities are fining homeowners when they make the switch. Talk about state and local governments working at cross purposes!

Tip 2 Save up to $60/year on your computer's energy expenses

August 13, 2008

One of the easiest ways to lower your electric bill is to reduce the power your computer uses when not in use. In fact, "Dracula" or vampire electronics account for some 5 cents of every $1 you pay for electricity.

Here's the good news: You can reduce consumption by 95% by going through a simple series of tweaks at ClimateSaversComputing.org. This move can save you up to $60/year!

Tip 3 Offshore drilling only one part of overall energy solution

August 12, 2008

There's good news and bad news on the energy price front. On one hand, the price of crude oil continues to drop. On the other hand, Americans have relatively short memories! ... More

Tip 4 Prepare for increased winter heating costs

August 5, 2008

This winter heating season is set to be an ugly one for your wallet. Those who use oil to heat their homes will be hardest hit. Oil customers are looking at prices that could be 80% higher than last year! To compound the problem, many folks who use oil are located in the Northeast -- where winters typically last longer. ... More

Tip 5 T-Mobile launches HotSpot @ Home service

June 27, 2008

As the nation's fourth largest carrier, T-Mobile tries to one-up its competitors by being innovative and cheap. ... More

More recent Phone & Utilities Tips from Clark:
Complete list of Clark's Phone & Utilities Tips

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An Excuse to Celebrate

National Hunger Awareness Month

Nachos

November is Hunger Awareness Month. Ways to curb hunger in America: 1. Volunteer your time or money to charities that feed the hungry. 2. Eat some good food so that you are no longer hungry. We can help you do both!
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Best of Dayton

You Decide What's the Best

Best Barbecue Restaurant [poll]

Best Dayton Ohio Barbecue Restaurant

Here's where you get to tell the world what you think. Every week you get to vote on the best that the Dayton area has to offer in entertainment, restaurants, recreation & and a few other bizarro categories.

Voting in this category ends on Nov. 24.

We have REVISED our official rules »

Things to Do

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Kenny G and ice, what could be better? [things to do]

Kenny G

What would Brian Boitano do? If he lived in the Miami Valley, he'd check out "Skate for the Heart" featuring saxophonist Kenny G. and Olympic and World Champion figure skaters at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Nov. 19, at the Nutter Center. Boitano won't be there, unfortunately, but here's who will: Ekaterina Gordeeva, Irina Slutskaya, Viktor Petrenko, Jeffrey Buttle, US Pairs Champions Rockne Brubaker and Keauna McLaughlin, Shae-Lynn Bourne, Caryn Kadavy, Jozef Sabovcik and Steven Cousins. Tickets are $42 to $100. More »

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Movies

Movies & Showtimes

'Quantum of Solace'[movies]

Men have curious ways of getting over a romantic betrayal. Some try avoidance. Some go on the rebound. James Bond's method, as seen in "Quantum of Solace," involves shooting, ducking, running, bleeding, locking dudes in car trunks and the massive destruction of parts of Italy and Bolivia. Obviously Daniel Craig is back as the shoot first, drink cocktails later version of 007 in the follow-up to 2006's "Casino Royale". More »

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Restaurants

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Food & More

Local Dining

Amelia's Bistro, Bellbrook, restaurant review [review]

Call it comfort food, gourmet style. From crab raviolis with vanilla lobster sauce, to a hand-cut and brined pork chop served with a fig jam, to a simply "Big-Ass Cake" that's a chocolate lover's dream, Amelia's has the potential to become a destination restaurant — worth the drive to Bellbrook. More »