Rent（出租） a room

    Spare room? Not only will a lodger（房客）earn you an income, but also, thanks to the government-backed “rent a room” program, you won't have to pay any tax on the first ￡4500 you make per year. Try advertising your room on Roomspare or Roommateeasy.

Make money during special events

    Don't want a full-time lodger? Then rent on a short-term basis. If you live in the capital, renting a room out during the Olympics or other big events could bring in money. Grashpadder can advertise your space.

    Live on set

    Renting your home out as a “film set” could earn you hundreds of pounds a day, depending on the film production company and how long your home is needed. A quick search on the Internet will bring up dozens of online companies that allow you to register your home for free—but you will be charged if your home gets picked.

    Use your roof

    You need the right kind of roof, but some energy companies pay the cost of fixing solar equipment (around ￡14,000), and let you use the energy produced for nothing. In return, they get paid for unused energy fed back into the National Grid. However, you have to sign a 25-year agreement with the supplier, which could prevent you from changing the roof.

UK 5 Days

Today:

    A chilly (寒冷的) and frosty start for many this morning, followed by a day of sunshine and local showers. The showers will be slow moving and heavy at times, particularly in the east with a risk of thunder.

Tonight:

    Showers will ease this evening and clear spells (一段时间) will develop, causing a widespread frost. However, rain will push into the northwest during the early hours, turning heavy at times.

Friday:

    Rain, locally heavy, will continue southwestwards through the day with strong winds. Elsewhere, it will be bright with some sunshine.

UK outlook for Saturday to Monday:

    Rain across central parts on Saturday will ease and move northwards. Largely dry elsewhere with some misty sunshine. A mixture of sunshine and showers on Sunday and Monday, turning warmer.

    Updated at 04:04 on Thur. 31 Mar.

UK 6-30 days

UK outlook for Tuesday 5 Apr. to Wednesday 13 Apr.:

    A generally unsettled picture is likely next week, with showers or longer spells of rain affecting the majority of the UK, but with some drier and sunnier interludes (间歇). Temperatures will probably be around normal for most, but central and southeastern areas may see some warmer air moving up from the continent at times. The week after next will probably continue to be changeable with showers or longer spells of rain crossing the UK, but with some brighter and drier interludes in between. Temperatures may become rather low across the north and northwest later next week.

    Updated at 12:36 on Wed. 30 Mar.

UK outlook for Thursday 14 Apr. to Saturday 30 Apr.:

    It is likely to be changeable with a mixture of sunny spells and showers. However, some longer drier spells are also likely, particularly in northwestern areas. Overall temperatures will remain around normal for the time of year but with some warmer spells developing at times.

    Updated at 12:37 on Wed.30 Mar.

    Life can be so wonderful, full of adventure and joy. It can also be full of challenges, setbacks and heartbreaks. Whatever our circumstances, we generally still have dreams, hopes and desires—that little something more we want for ourselves and our loved ones. Yet knowing we can have more can also create a problem, because when we go to change the way we do things, up come the old patterns and pitfalls  that stopped us from seeking what we wanted in the first place.

    This tension between what we feel we can have and "what were seemingly able to have is the niggling  suffering, the anxiety we feel. This is where we usually think it's easier to just give up. But we're never meant to let go of the part of us that knows we can have more. The intelligence behind that knowing is us—the real us. It's the part that believes in life and its possibilities. If you drop that, you begin to feel a little "dead" inside because you're dropping "you".

    So, if we have this capability but somehow life seems to keep us stuck, how do we break these patterns?

    Decide on a new course and make one decision at a time. This is good advice for a new adventure or just getting through today's challenges.

While, deep down, we know we can do it, our mind—or the minds of those close to us—usually says we can't.

    That isn't a reason to stop, it's just the mind, that little man or woman on your shoulder, trying to talk you out of something again. It has done it many times before. It's all about starting simple and doing it now.

    Decide and act before overthinking. When you do this you may feel a little, or large, release from the jail of your mind and you'll be on your way.

                                        Do dogs understand us?

    Be careful what you say around your dog. It might understand more than you think.

    A border collie named Rico recognizes the names of about 200 objects, say researchers in Germany. The dog also appears to be able to learn new words as easily as a 3-year-old child. Its word-learning skills are as good as those of a parrot or chimpanzee(黑猩猩).

    In one experiment, the researchers took all 200 items that Rico is supposed to know and divided them into 20 groups of 10 objects. Then the owner told the dog to go and fetch one of the items and bring it back. In four tests, Rico got 37 out of 40 commands right. As the dog couldn't see anyone to get clues, the scientists believe Rico must understand the meanings of certain words.

    In another experiment, the scientists took one toy that Rico had never seen before and put it in a room with seven toys whose names the dog already knew. The owner then told Rico to fetch the object, using a word the dog had never heard before.

    The correct object was chosen in seven out of l0 tests, suggesting that the dog had worked out the answer by process of elimination(排除法). A month later, Rico remembered half of the new names, which is even more impressive.

    Rico is thought to be smarter than the average dog. For one thing, Rico is a border collie, a breed (品种)known for its mental abilities. In addition, the 9-year-old dog has been trained to fetch toys by their names since the age of nine months.

    It's hard to know if all dogs understand at least some of the words we say. Even if they do, they can't talk back. Still, it wouldn't hurt to sweet-talk your dog every now and then. You might just get a big, wet kiss in return!

    I'm a reporter. Last month I was in Stockholm, Sweden. Now I'm in Frankfurt, Germany. Next month, who knows?

    You certainly won't believe that I can call you from my laptop, which is what I'm often doing these days using something called Skype.

    Skype lets me call any phone number anywhere in the world for about 2 cents a minute, a little more to some places, such as the Middle East and Asia. My computer does the dialing, and the processing of incoming and outgoing voices. All you need is a broadband connection (宽带接头). With the basic version of Skype, all anyone needs to make or receive a call is to install the program on his or her computer (and that includes personal digital assistants). All calls from PC to PC are free.

    You don't even need a pair of headphones, though headphones can be a good idea if you wish to be discreet. I use my laptop's built-in microphone.

    The paid service for calling regular telephones is called SkypeOut. The quality is completely clear, provided that there's not too much traffic on the Internet. If there's an echo, hang up and try again, and it usually gets better. There is one warning: on some computers, especially those running older versions of Windows, it doesn't always work, or can sound like a confusing conversation. You can't hear a thing.

    Skype was invented chiefly by a Swede named Niklas Zennstrom along with a group of programmers in Estonia.

    An “adulting conference” (AC)this week allowed Kentucky high school seniors the chance to learn how to change a tire, how to cook and other basic life skills—things that they may not have learned at home or in classes. A series of photos posted by Bullitt Central High School on social media shows students taking “adulting conference” are learning about personal finances, resumes and other essential skills at the event, which has been widely reported on the local and national news outlets.

    “I saw a Facebook post that parents passed around saying they needed a class in high school on taxes and cooking,” AC organizer Hardin told Louisville's WAVE 3 News. Those skills are taught at school theoretically, she said, but the event gave students a chance to fill in gaps in their knowledge.

    Students could choose to attend three workshops out of 11 total options, the school says. The workshops were held in cooperation with numerous community partners.

    Some young people have left home and graduated school without having those gaps filled, according to a report this week from CBS New York, which documented a trend of young people seeking outclasses to learn basic life skills.

    While attending a cooking class, 29-year-old Elena Toumaras told the station she's struggling with “simple things.”

    “I was so used to, when living at home, my mom always cooking,” she told the station.

    An“Adulting School” in Portland, Maine, aims to use a new online format to teach the youths skills like conflict resolution, sewing and appreciation for all, the station says.

    Students' financial literacy has been of particular concern to some experts, as financial education in schools has stagnated(停滞)in the U.S., with only 17 states requiring students to take classes in personal finance—a number that hasn't risen in years.

    “The majority of U.S. states are failing our students by declining to offer these fundamental courses which are critical to their financial stability and security later in life. And this will be changed.” Nan J. Morrison, president and CEO of the Council for Economic Education, told CNBC.