Light or dark brown leather is the most common and traditional boat shoe material. Brown boat shoes are a great choice because they pair well with a variety of outfits—such as jeans and a T-shirt or a button-up and shorts. Plus, this color shows the least amount of stains. Navy blue shoes are another good option for boat shoes because they are also fairly diverse. They especially pair well with a nautical beachy look—like a striped shirt and white pants. Or, you could wear them with a sundress for a more feminine look. White boat shoes are also an option for a nautical look, but they are harder to keep clean than navy blue shoes. Boat shoes come in all kinds of different colors and designs. You could choose brightly colored choose as a way to accent your outfit, or as a way to be comfortable, yet unconventional. For example, match red boat shoes with a pair of jeans and a white or red polo. You can also wear boat shoes that have a pattern, such as polka dots or stripes. Boat shoes are meant to be comfortable, so it is important that they fit correctly. When you stand, there should be a .5 inches (1.3 cm) of space between your big toe and the tip of the shoe. The ball of your foot should fit comfortably and securely into the middle portion of the shoe.

Summary: Choose brown leather for a diverse and classic look. Try navy blue shoes for a nautical look. Go for brightly colored shoes for an unconventional look. Pick a shoe that fits comfortably.


YouTube has a new “Shared Videos” feature, which allows users of the mobile app to share videos and chat with YouTube Contacts. Android Police reports that this feature is not yet available to all users, but may appear “spontaneously” in your app. If you see an icon that looks like a chat bubble with an arrow pointing to the right, you can use this method. You’ll need to add your friend as a YouTube Contact before you can chat with (and send videos to) your friends on YouTube. This list of YouTube users is built from your Google contacts and other people you communicate with online. The icon is a plus sign next to the silhouette of a person’s head, and appears below the contact’s name.  This person will need to approve your contact request before you can start sharing. They’ll only be able to approve your invitation if they also have the YouTube app installed on their device. The invitation will expire after 72 hours. If the person with whom you want to share is not listed in “You May Know,” create an invitation that can be shared with anyone. When the URL appears, click “Send Invitation,” then choose an app with which you’ll share the link. Once you’ve added contacts (and they’ve approved your invitations), you can view their YouTube channels by navigating to the Shared tab and then selecting “Contacts”. To share a video with your contacts, tap the “Share” link below the YouTube video of your choice, then select one of your YouTube contacts.

Summary: Open the YouTube app on your mobile device. Tap the Share bubble icon. Tap “Contacts”. Browse the “You May Know” section. Tap the Invite icon to invite a friend. Tap “+Add more contacts” to find other friends. View your contacts’ channels.


Smart Reply isn't available for all emails; only emails to which Google can determine a sufficient response will qualify. Tap the Gmail app, which resembles a red "M" on a white background, to do so. This will open your Gmail inbox if you're logged in. If you aren't logged in, you'll need to enter your email address and password when prompted to sign in. Find an email to which you want to reply using Smart Reply, then tap the email. The email must have been sent to you. You cannot use Smart Reply to reply to your own emails. If Smart Reply is available for your selected email, you'll see several blue boxes at the bottom of the screen with various responses. Tap the option you want to use to reply to the email. Selecting a Smart Reply answer won't automatically send your email, so you can add text to the message if you like. It's a paper plane-shaped icon in the top-right corner of the screen. Doing so will send your canned response to the recipient.

Summary: Understand which emails qualify for canned responses. Open Gmail. Open an email. Look for Smart Reply options. Select a Smart Reply option. Add any extra text you want to use. Tap the "Send"  icon.


Place one end of the ruler flat on the floor and position it so it's pressed vertically against the wall. Mark the top end of the ruler with a pencil. Then, move the ruler up so the bottom aligns with that pencil mark and mark the new top edge.  Repeat this process until you’ve reached the mark for your height. It may be easiest to keep track of each individual measurement on a separate sheet of paper so you can easily add them all together at the end. This is the simplest and most accurate way to measure your height without a measuring tape. There are a number of 12 in (30 cm) ruler templates that you can download online and print. Then, use the printed ruler just like a wooden or plastic ruler to measure the distance from the floor to your marked height.  Other than an actual ruler, this will provide the most accurate measurement of your height. There are also ruler apps that you can download to your phone if you don’t have a printer accessible. A dollar bill in the United States is 6.14 inches (15.6 cm) long and 2.61 inches (6.6 cm) tall. Press the bill flat against the wall and slide it down so one short edge of the bill is flat against the floor. Mark the top edge of the bill on the wall with a pencil. Move the bill up so the bottom edge is now flush with your original mark, then mark the new height.  Continue until you’ve reached the mark you made recording your height. You may need to use the height of the bill—2.61 inches (6.6 cm)—to measure the final few inches of your height. You can also fold the dollar bill in half to measure approximately 3 inches (7.6 cm), or in quarters for 1.5 inches (3.8 cm). A standard sheet of letter paper is 8.5 inches (22 cm) wide and 11 inches (28 cm) long. Use this sheet of paper to measure the distance between the ground and the mark you made by the crown of your head. Fold the paper in half or in quarters to create more precise measurements, which you can mark with a pencil to create a makeshift ruler. Make sure you’re using a standard sheet of printer paper. Other sizes of paper have different dimensions. If you know your shoe size, you can roughly translate that number into a measurement. Look up a sizing chart online to estimate the length of your foot based on your shoe size. Then, place your foot on a sheet of paper and mark the distance. Use this to measure the wall between the floor and your marked height.  For example, with European shoe sizing, size 35 is roughly 9 inches (23 cm) and 40 is 10 inches (25 cm). You could also cut a piece of string the size of your foot, then use the string to measure the distance from floor to marking.
Summary: Measure the distance from the floor to the mark with a ruler. Print out a ruler for a more accurate makeshift measuring tool. Use an American dollar bill to measure the distance to the mark. Create a makeshift measuring tool with a piece of printer paper. Translate your shoe size into inches or centimeters.