Thursday, November 1, 2007
Grammar Girl: Run on Sentences
Run on sentences can be a nuisance when writing a paper. They can make your thoughts you relay on paper sound different from what you intended; a lot of the times making you sound dumb. However Grammar girl feels that you should not over think what you write, sometimes people get to caught up in it and it “inhibit your creativity.” The best way to combat run on sentences is to first find out what kind of tone you want to have with the reader or listener. Then you use your conventional skills accordingly to set the tone, for example GG uses the sentence, “I am a woman. I am a truck driver.” This has a strong tone, if you did not want to come across that way, one might instead say “I am a woman; nevertheless, I am a truck driver. It basically comes down to what kind of tone you are tying to set, and then using your conventional skills to make it happen; there is no set rule, more of just a feeling that one gets better with over years of writing.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Final Draft Cause and Affect Essay: Performance Enhancing Drugs
Sports today are becoming increasingly competitive. Some athletes will do whatever it takes to move up the ranks. Although athletes’ today use performance enhancing drugs to gain a competitive advantage, it is not a smart idea in the long run because of the long term effects on the body, possible sanctions from sport organizations, criminal charges, and the negative image shined on the athlete’s sport.
Athlete’s today use performance enhancing drugs to both recover faster from injuries sustained while playing the sport, and also to help muscles recover faster after they have been fatigued (weight lifting). Anabolic steroids are one of the most common drugs used to help build muscle and by increasing the levels of testosterone in the body. Steroids can have serious side effects including; heart and kidney problems, serious mood swings leading to depression, testicular shrinkage in men, and sterility. One of the most famous users of steroids to publicly disclose his drug abuse was Lyle Alzado, an all-pro NFL defensive lineman. He played on various teams throughout the 1970-80s and when he finished, admitted to using anabolic steroids. While he was using, he said he encountered giant mood swings, which led to various off the field incidents. He also blamed the brain tumor that took his life on his use of steroids.
Another type of performance enhancing product is Ephedra, a weight loss drug. It is a drug that athletes use to cut down on weight. Most athletes stay in phenomenal shape, with low body fat percentages, but for some athletes loosing weight can be difficult. Ephedra provides a quick and easy way to shed weight; however it can be potentially deadly. The side effects include; heart attacks, strokes, and seizures. Steve Belcher, a pitching prospect for the Baltimore Orioles used Ephedra. After his death during 2003 spring training from heat stroke the coroner stated the cause of death was extreme dehydration caused by high body temperature and the use of the weight loss drug.
The world of sports has begun to aggressively test for performance enhancing drugs and have suspended, revoked, and sometimes banned athletes from continued participation. The NFL, NHL, and NBA have all created strict random testing in hopes of deterring the usage of performance enhancing drugs. MLB was the last major sport in the United States to start testing their players, after harsh criticism from the media. All four leagues have the same basic three strike policy; first time offenders get suspended without pay for a period of time or number of games, second offenders receive a lengthier suspension without pay and fine, and the third time offenders receive a lifetime ban from the sport. Although athletes are still testing positive, they are doing so at a lower rate than before the policies were initiated. Most sports do not have guaranteed contracts so if a player tests positive a team may release them without question, leaving the athlete without a paycheck or job. . The commissioners throughout the United States believe they are cleaning up their prospective sports and creating an even the playing field for true competition.
The negative press the sport of cycling has received in recent years is saddening. Over the last 10 years cycling has been swept up in controversy by another form of performance enhancer, blood doping and the use of EPA. The Tour de France is the sports biggest event, the super bowl of cycling. In the summer of 2006, the year after the immortal Lance Armstrong retired (won 7 consecutive tours), another American racer, Floyd Landis, won the event. After the race it was discovered that his “B” sample confirmed a positive doping test and the presence of synthetic testosterone. He was stripped of his title and banned from entering the event in the future. Various other world class cyclists have been caught using various performance enhancing drugs, giving the sport a black eye and leading many critics in the media to question if anyone is clean in the sport. Even Lance Armstrong has been accused by the regulatory body of doping in earlier races. This crisis in the sport of cycling has led many sporting organizations such as the Olympic Committee and numerous other athletic regulatory bodies to take a look at their current standards in hopes of combating this growing problem facing the world’s athletes.
In the highly competitive world of professional sports, athletes search for any opportunity to increase their performance. Even with the knowledge of the long term negative physical effects, possible criminal charges and banishment from the sports they love, athletes still continue to use performance enhancing drugs. The reasons most given by athletes to justify their use of these drugs, is to get an edge on the competition or to maintain their competitiveness if their colleagues are also using performance enhancing drugs. Until testing identifies all drug users and the penalty outweighs the gain some athletes will continue to risk both their health careers to improve their short term performance. Improved, real time, testing technology is probably the future solution to the problem.
Athlete’s today use performance enhancing drugs to both recover faster from injuries sustained while playing the sport, and also to help muscles recover faster after they have been fatigued (weight lifting). Anabolic steroids are one of the most common drugs used to help build muscle and by increasing the levels of testosterone in the body. Steroids can have serious side effects including; heart and kidney problems, serious mood swings leading to depression, testicular shrinkage in men, and sterility. One of the most famous users of steroids to publicly disclose his drug abuse was Lyle Alzado, an all-pro NFL defensive lineman. He played on various teams throughout the 1970-80s and when he finished, admitted to using anabolic steroids. While he was using, he said he encountered giant mood swings, which led to various off the field incidents. He also blamed the brain tumor that took his life on his use of steroids.
Another type of performance enhancing product is Ephedra, a weight loss drug. It is a drug that athletes use to cut down on weight. Most athletes stay in phenomenal shape, with low body fat percentages, but for some athletes loosing weight can be difficult. Ephedra provides a quick and easy way to shed weight; however it can be potentially deadly. The side effects include; heart attacks, strokes, and seizures. Steve Belcher, a pitching prospect for the Baltimore Orioles used Ephedra. After his death during 2003 spring training from heat stroke the coroner stated the cause of death was extreme dehydration caused by high body temperature and the use of the weight loss drug.
The world of sports has begun to aggressively test for performance enhancing drugs and have suspended, revoked, and sometimes banned athletes from continued participation. The NFL, NHL, and NBA have all created strict random testing in hopes of deterring the usage of performance enhancing drugs. MLB was the last major sport in the United States to start testing their players, after harsh criticism from the media. All four leagues have the same basic three strike policy; first time offenders get suspended without pay for a period of time or number of games, second offenders receive a lengthier suspension without pay and fine, and the third time offenders receive a lifetime ban from the sport. Although athletes are still testing positive, they are doing so at a lower rate than before the policies were initiated. Most sports do not have guaranteed contracts so if a player tests positive a team may release them without question, leaving the athlete without a paycheck or job. . The commissioners throughout the United States believe they are cleaning up their prospective sports and creating an even the playing field for true competition.
The negative press the sport of cycling has received in recent years is saddening. Over the last 10 years cycling has been swept up in controversy by another form of performance enhancer, blood doping and the use of EPA. The Tour de France is the sports biggest event, the super bowl of cycling. In the summer of 2006, the year after the immortal Lance Armstrong retired (won 7 consecutive tours), another American racer, Floyd Landis, won the event. After the race it was discovered that his “B” sample confirmed a positive doping test and the presence of synthetic testosterone. He was stripped of his title and banned from entering the event in the future. Various other world class cyclists have been caught using various performance enhancing drugs, giving the sport a black eye and leading many critics in the media to question if anyone is clean in the sport. Even Lance Armstrong has been accused by the regulatory body of doping in earlier races. This crisis in the sport of cycling has led many sporting organizations such as the Olympic Committee and numerous other athletic regulatory bodies to take a look at their current standards in hopes of combating this growing problem facing the world’s athletes.
In the highly competitive world of professional sports, athletes search for any opportunity to increase their performance. Even with the knowledge of the long term negative physical effects, possible criminal charges and banishment from the sports they love, athletes still continue to use performance enhancing drugs. The reasons most given by athletes to justify their use of these drugs, is to get an edge on the competition or to maintain their competitiveness if their colleagues are also using performance enhancing drugs. Until testing identifies all drug users and the penalty outweighs the gain some athletes will continue to risk both their health careers to improve their short term performance. Improved, real time, testing technology is probably the future solution to the problem.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a touchy subject these days. There are no set rules for it. Obviously a person can’t copy someone or something word for word and take credit for it, which is a huge no no. But even changing some words around from a book is still plagiarism. It seems like people use the same excuse over and over again, “I didn’t know how to cite the source” etc. Get educated on how to cite sources or use quotation. My 10th grade English teacher really helped me combat plagiarism. A good technique I learned was, when in doubt give credit to the person you are taking the information from. That way you are in the clear, regardless of how much of the information you might or might not have used. Plagiarism sometimes is harmless and the person might not even thought about it, but most of the time it is due to laziness. So don’t be lazy, do your own work and you will never have to deal with teachers accusing you of plagiarism.
Ann Coulter
First of all Ann Coulter is one of the most polarizing people in today’s political society. Anything that comes out of her mouth has the possibility to be taken as racist, sexist, or just plain condescending. Now don’t get me wrong I am in no way defending Coulter, I just feel that in today’s society, the media does a good job of twisting and paraphrasing comments made by people, in order to turn their so called comments into stories.
During this interview, the host of this show, Donny Deutsch does a great job of winding Ann Coulter up, asking general questions about politics. She rambles on until she stumbles upon religion specifically that all people in the United States should be Christians. This struck a nerve with the host because he stated he was a Jew. She goes on to say that Christianity is a progression of Judaism, a “FedEx” version.
To the everyday viewer, I don’t believe that her comments would have much effect on. However all sorts of pro Judaism groups I’m sure were outraged. These type of groups wait for people to slip up in the media and then attack the person. Overall I don’t think this particular interview will have much effect on Ann Coulter, if anything it will make her even more popular to her constituents. Most people regardless of political leaning expect Coulter to say things like this, because at the end of the day that is why she is getting paid large amounts of money to do.
During this interview, the host of this show, Donny Deutsch does a great job of winding Ann Coulter up, asking general questions about politics. She rambles on until she stumbles upon religion specifically that all people in the United States should be Christians. This struck a nerve with the host because he stated he was a Jew. She goes on to say that Christianity is a progression of Judaism, a “FedEx” version.
To the everyday viewer, I don’t believe that her comments would have much effect on. However all sorts of pro Judaism groups I’m sure were outraged. These type of groups wait for people to slip up in the media and then attack the person. Overall I don’t think this particular interview will have much effect on Ann Coulter, if anything it will make her even more popular to her constituents. Most people regardless of political leaning expect Coulter to say things like this, because at the end of the day that is why she is getting paid large amounts of money to do.
PostSecret
This website is very interesting. I believe some of the content to be true and original, but some of the humorous ones just seem to be fake. These postcards are from various people around the country, and were all put into a book. I can’t imagine why someone would send in a funny postcard that wasn’t theirs just for kicks, because this would take effort and time. So therefore I am inclined to think that all the postcards are original in that someone had to sit down and at the very least stamp and mail the postcard. Now some of the phrases might be stolen from another postcard, but the intent of the sender was there.
For some people this might be a way for them to air their deepest secrets. Some people are incapable of telling other people information, and using this method, there is still that anonymity that the sender might want. However if I were posting a deep secret of mine, I would want people to know who it was from, because sometimes that is the best part of telling secrets; trusting someone enough to let them in on a very personal piece of information.
The postcard that struck me was the black and white photo with a young girl holding a black cat in front of an old car. The card reads, “I don’t miss you any more daddy, I miss the daddy you could have been.” Black and white photos always draw people’s immediate attention, as it did mine. The picture of the young girl just standing there looking out speaks volumes; not even looking at the writing I was able to tell that this little girl was in some way hurt. The sender of this postcard might have been someone that never had a father in her life, and she is finally at peace with that, just sad of “what her daddy could have been.’
For some people this might be a way for them to air their deepest secrets. Some people are incapable of telling other people information, and using this method, there is still that anonymity that the sender might want. However if I were posting a deep secret of mine, I would want people to know who it was from, because sometimes that is the best part of telling secrets; trusting someone enough to let them in on a very personal piece of information.
The postcard that struck me was the black and white photo with a young girl holding a black cat in front of an old car. The card reads, “I don’t miss you any more daddy, I miss the daddy you could have been.” Black and white photos always draw people’s immediate attention, as it did mine. The picture of the young girl just standing there looking out speaks volumes; not even looking at the writing I was able to tell that this little girl was in some way hurt. The sender of this postcard might have been someone that never had a father in her life, and she is finally at peace with that, just sad of “what her daddy could have been.’
Friday, October 12, 2007
Position Essay
Professional Sports Contracts:
Pro sports today are a growing form of entertainment, and therefore the athletes should get paid accordingly, just like Hollywood movie stars. Movies stars also provide a form of entertainment, and get paid quite well for it. Although many media critics believe that pro athletes make to much money, they are not justified in their reasoning because of the multi billion dollar TV contracts, endorsements and sponsorships, and 24 hour media coverage.
Sponsorships and endorsements are a large reason for high paychecks for athletes. It helps individual sport athletes more than athletes on team sports. For the individual players, the endorsements are the bulk of their income. Tiger Woods for example made $12 million in winnings and $75 million in endorsements. Other sports like tennis and auto racing also rely on sponsorships because they don’t know when their next payday is going to come. If you consistently finish in the lower half of the field, you are not going to survive in the industry very long. Sponsorships that can be seen on cars or what type of clothes you where can keep you in the game for an extended period of time.
The expanding media coverage of pro sports can be directly correlated with the rise in player salaries. The three major channels (NBC, CBS, ABC) have invested billions of dollars in various sports, ranging from golf to baseball to hockey. Cable TV is another big reason for the media coverage. ESPN is a huge reason why. ESPN was the first all sports network. It covers the widest variety of sports, which helps smaller sports come to the national forefront. A person can be caught up with the day in sports by watching it for as little as 5 minutes.
TV contracts tie in with pro sports contracts because the larger the TV contract, the more money and owner will receive from the league, using a system called profit sharing. This allows the owners and general managers to pay players a higher amount of money.
Professional athletes should get paid the amount they do because as long as people are willing to support for it, why not? The media gets on their case for making too much money; however if you turned it around and the media received the same amount there would be no complaints. Athletes are just another target of jealous citizens who instead of doing something constructive; complain about the successful. Some people just seem to have enough time on their hands to attack anything they don’t like, and that is quite saddening.
Overall, pro contracts are on the rise. Despite what the critics think, they will probably continue to do so, because of both the hardcore fans support thru attendance and also the unknowingly supportive fan who might not attend the games, but support pro sports by purchasing advertised items and watching TV on a daily basis.
Pro sports today are a growing form of entertainment, and therefore the athletes should get paid accordingly, just like Hollywood movie stars. Movies stars also provide a form of entertainment, and get paid quite well for it. Although many media critics believe that pro athletes make to much money, they are not justified in their reasoning because of the multi billion dollar TV contracts, endorsements and sponsorships, and 24 hour media coverage.
Sponsorships and endorsements are a large reason for high paychecks for athletes. It helps individual sport athletes more than athletes on team sports. For the individual players, the endorsements are the bulk of their income. Tiger Woods for example made $12 million in winnings and $75 million in endorsements. Other sports like tennis and auto racing also rely on sponsorships because they don’t know when their next payday is going to come. If you consistently finish in the lower half of the field, you are not going to survive in the industry very long. Sponsorships that can be seen on cars or what type of clothes you where can keep you in the game for an extended period of time.
The expanding media coverage of pro sports can be directly correlated with the rise in player salaries. The three major channels (NBC, CBS, ABC) have invested billions of dollars in various sports, ranging from golf to baseball to hockey. Cable TV is another big reason for the media coverage. ESPN is a huge reason why. ESPN was the first all sports network. It covers the widest variety of sports, which helps smaller sports come to the national forefront. A person can be caught up with the day in sports by watching it for as little as 5 minutes.
TV contracts tie in with pro sports contracts because the larger the TV contract, the more money and owner will receive from the league, using a system called profit sharing. This allows the owners and general managers to pay players a higher amount of money.
Professional athletes should get paid the amount they do because as long as people are willing to support for it, why not? The media gets on their case for making too much money; however if you turned it around and the media received the same amount there would be no complaints. Athletes are just another target of jealous citizens who instead of doing something constructive; complain about the successful. Some people just seem to have enough time on their hands to attack anything they don’t like, and that is quite saddening.
Overall, pro contracts are on the rise. Despite what the critics think, they will probably continue to do so, because of both the hardcore fans support thru attendance and also the unknowingly supportive fan who might not attend the games, but support pro sports by purchasing advertised items and watching TV on a daily basis.
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