Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Wiss culture
Wissahickon includes a diverse group of students, with different friends and interests. This makes it difficult to say precisely what the culture is here. Each grade has a fairly large number of students. Unlike smaller school that need all students to do activities after school, there are a lot of people that are part of the 2:35 club, including me, that do nothing after school. There are also several different races, ethnic groups and religions present. Most people are in a "group" of friends, and usually stay within it. There is not much that unifies as a whole, besides the fact that we go to the same school. In my opinion, most people do not have much school spirit either.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Very Rough Draft
He was hardly visible in his well thought out hiding spot. No one could ever see him, unless they knew he was there. The American Embassy was located about 100 yards away. Amir was armed with a sniper rifle, but the point of this mission was to gather intelligence. The Americans had captured an important leader connected with Al – Qaeda a few days ago. This prisoner knew too many important secrets and either had to be broken out or killed. Amir was considered to be the best at providing reconnaissance for the fundamentalist group. He was also the best sniper in the group. He was known for hardly ever missing his targets. The prisoner was not of vital importance to their operation, and his life could be taken if necessary. The American embassy was well guarded. The captive would not be held there for much longer, as the Americans would likely move him to a more secure military base. This was Amir’s best chance to get to him. Once he left the building, the prisoner would be nearly impossible to get. After about an hour of hiding, Amir saw the front doors of the facility open and out come a heavily guarded prisoner, wearing an all orange, baggy jail suit. His face was covered, but this was definitely the guy he wanted. Amir would have no option but to take him out. His position was ideal for snipping. He was waiting for a clear shot. There was a slight opening, and Amir was aimed and ready to take the shot. All of a sudden, he felt a prick in the back of his neck, and everything went dark.
Jerrold Lanford had accomplished his mission, which was a rather difficult one. He had nailed the Al Qaeda sniper with a tranquillizer dart, instantly knocking him out. Even though it would have been much easier to kill him, he was needed alive. Jerrold, an international agent working for United States intelligence, was assigned to watch over the building. They had received intelligence that a rescue operation could occur, and Jerrold was immediately assigned to the task. He was one of the best agents the government had. He was tall, about 6 feet, 3 inches and very well built, with huge muscles. Even though he was rather silent, he had an intimidating presence when he entered a room. He had a scar on his upper forehead, and had short black hair with a tattoo on the back of his neck. Everyone he had worked for valued his special set of skills, including his deadly accuracy. In fact, Jerrold had never missed a target.
Amir, as well as the original Al- Qaeda prisoner, were transported to a nearby American military base. Jerrold joined them, as he needed to get his next assignment from the base. It would be a two-hour drive to the nearest base. Three large, black Ford Explorers with tinted windows carried the various passengers. The next challenge would be to get the captives to expose their information.
After three long, hot days of waiting around, the commander of the air base called for Jerrold. The American military thought they had the location of where terrorists were planning an attack that needed to be stopped immediately. The agent would go in ahead of the rest of the US force, to see what was actually taking place. Jerrold knew that this would be a risky mission since he would have to go undercover and especially since the military wasn’t 100% sure if the intelligence was correct.
The location of the meeting spot was in the middle of the dessert, which would be a difficult spot to approach without being noticed. Jerrold was disguised, and resembled a new man. His short hair was covered with a wig, and he was dressed from head to toe. The plan would be that his car broke down, and he needed shelter until it could be fixed. With all of his skills, Jerrold had not gone undercover before. He would have to be very convincing when talking to the likely terrorist group that he would run into. Just as he planned, his car ran out of gas about a mile away from the supposed meeting spot . As he approached, Jerrold saw the building, but it looked deserted. He entered the seemingly empty building, but he felt a strike in the back of his head. His natural reaction was to fight back, instead of staying true to his undercover role. He took out the man behind him, with a solid, square punch to the face. Before he could do anything else, he was surrounded. It was a set up. The two prisoners had provided false information to their interrogators about the potential terrorist plot.. Jerrold was unable to call for backup, and was taken hostage. As skilled as he was, Jerrold would not be able to fight off all these men that guarded him.
The next thing he knew, Jerrold was in an empty room, chained to a chair. He was quite uncomfortable in this unpleasant space. He began to wonder how long he had been kept here as a hostage. The leader of the men controlling him entered the room. Jerrold immediately identified him as a leader of the fundamentalist group. All he said was “Were going to trade you for our men. If not, you’ll be killed”. The special agent knew that the trade would never happen, so he needed to break out. This would be especially difficult, since Jerrold had no idea where he was in the building, or where the other men were located. The scenario was also very difficult because he was in a windowless room. After pondering several different ways of breaking out, Jerrold knew he would have to get his captives to move him to another room in the building and make his escape attempt then. He started screaming, louder then he ever had before. The men lifted him up, and untied his legs, but his arms remained chained. There were two men in the room trying to handle them. All of a sudden, he kicked the guard in the gut, and elbowed the one behind him. With both guards scrambling frantically on the ground, Jerrold made a bolt for the hall outside the room. He saw the light from outside and ran faster then a coyote in pursuit of its prey for the door.
Jerrold Lanford had accomplished his mission, which was a rather difficult one. He had nailed the Al Qaeda sniper with a tranquillizer dart, instantly knocking him out. Even though it would have been much easier to kill him, he was needed alive. Jerrold, an international agent working for United States intelligence, was assigned to watch over the building. They had received intelligence that a rescue operation could occur, and Jerrold was immediately assigned to the task. He was one of the best agents the government had. He was tall, about 6 feet, 3 inches and very well built, with huge muscles. Even though he was rather silent, he had an intimidating presence when he entered a room. He had a scar on his upper forehead, and had short black hair with a tattoo on the back of his neck. Everyone he had worked for valued his special set of skills, including his deadly accuracy. In fact, Jerrold had never missed a target.
Amir, as well as the original Al- Qaeda prisoner, were transported to a nearby American military base. Jerrold joined them, as he needed to get his next assignment from the base. It would be a two-hour drive to the nearest base. Three large, black Ford Explorers with tinted windows carried the various passengers. The next challenge would be to get the captives to expose their information.
After three long, hot days of waiting around, the commander of the air base called for Jerrold. The American military thought they had the location of where terrorists were planning an attack that needed to be stopped immediately. The agent would go in ahead of the rest of the US force, to see what was actually taking place. Jerrold knew that this would be a risky mission since he would have to go undercover and especially since the military wasn’t 100% sure if the intelligence was correct.
The location of the meeting spot was in the middle of the dessert, which would be a difficult spot to approach without being noticed. Jerrold was disguised, and resembled a new man. His short hair was covered with a wig, and he was dressed from head to toe. The plan would be that his car broke down, and he needed shelter until it could be fixed. With all of his skills, Jerrold had not gone undercover before. He would have to be very convincing when talking to the likely terrorist group that he would run into. Just as he planned, his car ran out of gas about a mile away from the supposed meeting spot . As he approached, Jerrold saw the building, but it looked deserted. He entered the seemingly empty building, but he felt a strike in the back of his head. His natural reaction was to fight back, instead of staying true to his undercover role. He took out the man behind him, with a solid, square punch to the face. Before he could do anything else, he was surrounded. It was a set up. The two prisoners had provided false information to their interrogators about the potential terrorist plot.. Jerrold was unable to call for backup, and was taken hostage. As skilled as he was, Jerrold would not be able to fight off all these men that guarded him.
The next thing he knew, Jerrold was in an empty room, chained to a chair. He was quite uncomfortable in this unpleasant space. He began to wonder how long he had been kept here as a hostage. The leader of the men controlling him entered the room. Jerrold immediately identified him as a leader of the fundamentalist group. All he said was “Were going to trade you for our men. If not, you’ll be killed”. The special agent knew that the trade would never happen, so he needed to break out. This would be especially difficult, since Jerrold had no idea where he was in the building, or where the other men were located. The scenario was also very difficult because he was in a windowless room. After pondering several different ways of breaking out, Jerrold knew he would have to get his captives to move him to another room in the building and make his escape attempt then. He started screaming, louder then he ever had before. The men lifted him up, and untied his legs, but his arms remained chained. There were two men in the room trying to handle them. All of a sudden, he kicked the guard in the gut, and elbowed the one behind him. With both guards scrambling frantically on the ground, Jerrold made a bolt for the hall outside the room. He saw the light from outside and ran faster then a coyote in pursuit of its prey for the door.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Mrs. Das Point of View (60-65)
After another long drive, they finally arrived at their second destination. It was obvious Mrs. Das was not thrilled to be here, as she didn’t want to get out of the car to view the hills at Udayagiri and Khandagiri. While her legs did hurt, she was much more comfortable in the car, especially since Mr. Kapassi was still there. She also did not want to be in the pictures, and watched her children and husband move off in the distance. She didn’t no why, but she thought about confiding in Mr. Kapasi with her problems. She trusted him and was sure that his ability to interpret would help him solve her problems. Her thoughts were interrupted when Mr. Kapasi said he was going outside to join Mr. Das. Not wanting to feel alone, she said “No. Stay a minute” (62). Mr. Kapasi said “A brave little boy” (62), referring to Bobby. Without thinking, she revealed the truth she had been holding in for eight year, that Bobby was not her husband’s son. He was quite surprised and unsure of what to say. Now that she told him that, Mrs. Das had to tell him the full story. She started with how young she was when she got married and over the next few minutes, everything had come out. She felt relieved that someone had finally heard her story that she had held in for so long. She was very disappointed when he asked why she had told him this. She responded by saying “I told you because of your talents”(65). She kept asking if he had anything to say, but he was silent. The only reason she told him was because he was an interpreter. However, he had nothing to say.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Theme Final Draft and Reflection
Tiger
It is well known that Tiger Woods is one of the best golfers of all time. However, most people do not understand how exceptional he is at golf. Never has someone dominated a sport as Tiger has in golf. In his young career, he has broken almost all records on his way to the top. As famous as he is, most people do not even know if Tiger is his real name.
Eldrick Tont Woods was born on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, California. He is the only child of Earl (African-American) and Kultilda (Thai). His father was a Vietnam War veteran. He got the nickname Tiger from his father’s friend that he had served with in Vietnam, who had the same nickname. Tiger’s father taught him to golf and continued to be a significant influence. He was a child prodigy that started golfing at the age of two. When he was just three, he shot a 48 through nine holes (just to put that in perspective, most avid golfers do not break 50 until they have been playing for a few years) at the Navy Golf Club. This was around the same time he gained national recognition for his golfing ability. He defeated the comedian Bob Hope, who was also an avid golfer, in a putting competition on a talk show. At the age of five, he was featured on a popular tv show That’s Incredible and in the magazine Golf Digest.
A key part of being successful in golf is being able to remain focused and maintain your composure. To teach him this, his father would make loud noises and create distractions. His mother passed on her religion of Buddhism to Tiger, to make sure that golf would not ruin his happiness. Woods was just fifteen years old when he won the US Amateur Golf Championship, the youngest ever to accomplish such a feat. He won that event three straight years, the only time a player had won multiple times. He won a multitude of awards between 1990 and 1992 (he was 15-17 during this time) including Golf Digest Amateur Player of the Year Award.
In 1994, Tiger Woods received a full golf scholarship to Stanford University. That same year, he was the youngest ever to win the US Amateur Championship. At the age of 20, he qualified for the Masters (one of the four major championships in golf). He tied for 41st, as he was the only amateur to make the cut. In 1996, he became the first golfer to win three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles and won the NCAA individual golf championship. Two years of college was enough for Tiger. In August of 1996, he dropped out to pursue his professional career. When he turned 21, he changed his legal name to Tiger, as everyone had called him this for most of his life.
That same August, he became a professional golfer. He was rewarded shortly after, when he received a $40 million endorsement from Nike and a $20 million endorsement from Titleist. He won two events in his first three months. Tiger was named Sports Illustrated’s 1996 Sportsman of the Year and also the PGA (Professional Golf Association) Tour Rookie of the Year. His career took off from there. At the age of 21, he won The Masters, the youngest ever to do so. He won by an unbelievable margin of twelve strokes. Besides being the youngest ever to win the event, he was the first person of African or Asian descent to win. Tiger won the event in dramatic fashion, breaking 20 records at The Masters. That year, he won three other championships. In less then a year as a professional, he was rated the number one golfer in the world. Tiger was by far, the youngest ever to do this. The previous youngest was 29 years old. Tiger was named PGA Player of the Year, the only player to accomplish this following their rookie season. Even though he was at the top, Tiger’s dominance continued. His best golf was yet to come.
In June of 1999, Tiger began one of the greatest winning streaks of all time when he won the Memorial Tournament. That year he won eight events, something that had not been done in over 25 years. He won his last four consecutive outings, including the PGA Championship. Once again, he was voted the PGA Tour Player of the Year. He also was voted the Male Athlete of the Year by Associated Press. After everything Tiger accomplished in 1999, 2000 was a year for the ages. The year started off with his 5th consecutive win. In his next event, a comeback would be necessary to keep the streak alive. Tiger was down seven strokes with seven holes left. That was not enough of a lead, as Tiger made a historic comeback winning the event by two strokes. This means that he shot nine strokes better than his opponent in just seven holes. Later that year, in the United States Open Championship (the second of the four major championships), Tiger dominated the field. Sports Illustrated called it "the greatest performance in golf history." Tiger won three major championships that year as he was named the 2000 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year. He is the only person to ever receive that award twice. The 2001 season started off with a bang. Tiger won the Masters, making him the only person in golf history to be the holder off all four major championship titles at the same time.
In November 2003, Woods became engaged to Elin Nordegren, a Swedish model. During the 2003 and 2004 season, he remained competitive, but did not dominate as in the past. That ended in 2005 when Tiger was in top form again. On May 3, 2006, Tiger’s father passed away due to prostate cancer. In late July of 2006 at the US Open, Tiger won in a dominant way, dedicating the victory to his father. He continued to play at the highest level until 2008, when he began to suffer with knee problems.
In April, he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. Another more serious surgery was also needed. However, since he wanted compete in the 2008 US Open, Tiger postponed surgery to repair his torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL). Doing this would require him to play with a torn ACL. Tiger got off to a slow start at the Open, but remained a few strokes behind after the first three rounds. On the 18th hole on the final day, Tiger sunk a birdie (one under par) putt to tie him for the lead. This forced a playoff the following day with Rocco Mediate. Eighteen holes were not enough to break the tie, so a tiebreaker hole was played. Tiger won the playoff hole in an epic victory. Days after winning, he announced that surgery would be necessary to repair his torn ACL. He had been playing for at least ten months with the torn ligament. He also had a double stress fracture in his tibia (shin bone).
Throughout his career, Tiger Woods has had one of the best careers out of all athletes in the world. He is 33 years old now and has two children. He was the highest paid professional athlete in 2008. It’s estimated that he earned $110 million between winnings and endorsements. His career winnings total close to $100 million, a PGA record, from his 88 tournament victories. Jack Nicklaus (one of the greatest golfers of all time) said, “ There isn’t a flaw in his golf or his makeup. He will win more majors than Arnold Palmer and me combined. Somebody is going to dust my records. It might as well be Tiger because he’s such a great kid. He has the finest, fundamentally sound golf swing I’ve ever seen”. Besides everything Tiger has done on the golf course, he has also done a substantial amount of charity work. Someday, he will undoubtedly be the greatest golfer of all time.
Reflection:
Originally, I felt like I had written a good paper. However, there were some changes that needed to be made. There was not much to change for focus, especially since mine was like a biography. I stayed on the same topic throughout, as people commented last week, so there was not any change needed. Every detail was relevant and remained on topic.
There also was not much change needed for content. The paper provided several details about Tiger, so not much content was lacking. However, in a few places, I added more details to help the reader understand it better, since not many people are too familiar with golf. I also added a few more details about his life and accomplishments.
Of all of the FCA’s, I probably worked on my structure the most. I did a lot to reorganize my paper. After I read through it, I felt like some paragraphs were out of place, and that the paragraphs should each represent a phase of his life. To do this, I added, combined or split paragraphs up. I also made sure that the beginning and end were clearer.
I felt like my paper was pretty strong stylistically. A few changes were needed. I changed some of the words and added stronger, more meaningful vocabulary. Also, I found some sentences that sounded awkward. There were a few sentences like this that I had to change. I also found a few places where I needed to change the words I used because it didn’t make sense.
Unlike usual, conventions were not much of a problem for me. Almost everything was spelled right. I had to add a few apostrophes and commas in places, but nothing major.
It is well known that Tiger Woods is one of the best golfers of all time. However, most people do not understand how exceptional he is at golf. Never has someone dominated a sport as Tiger has in golf. In his young career, he has broken almost all records on his way to the top. As famous as he is, most people do not even know if Tiger is his real name.
Eldrick Tont Woods was born on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, California. He is the only child of Earl (African-American) and Kultilda (Thai). His father was a Vietnam War veteran. He got the nickname Tiger from his father’s friend that he had served with in Vietnam, who had the same nickname. Tiger’s father taught him to golf and continued to be a significant influence. He was a child prodigy that started golfing at the age of two. When he was just three, he shot a 48 through nine holes (just to put that in perspective, most avid golfers do not break 50 until they have been playing for a few years) at the Navy Golf Club. This was around the same time he gained national recognition for his golfing ability. He defeated the comedian Bob Hope, who was also an avid golfer, in a putting competition on a talk show. At the age of five, he was featured on a popular tv show That’s Incredible and in the magazine Golf Digest.
A key part of being successful in golf is being able to remain focused and maintain your composure. To teach him this, his father would make loud noises and create distractions. His mother passed on her religion of Buddhism to Tiger, to make sure that golf would not ruin his happiness. Woods was just fifteen years old when he won the US Amateur Golf Championship, the youngest ever to accomplish such a feat. He won that event three straight years, the only time a player had won multiple times. He won a multitude of awards between 1990 and 1992 (he was 15-17 during this time) including Golf Digest Amateur Player of the Year Award.
In 1994, Tiger Woods received a full golf scholarship to Stanford University. That same year, he was the youngest ever to win the US Amateur Championship. At the age of 20, he qualified for the Masters (one of the four major championships in golf). He tied for 41st, as he was the only amateur to make the cut. In 1996, he became the first golfer to win three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles and won the NCAA individual golf championship. Two years of college was enough for Tiger. In August of 1996, he dropped out to pursue his professional career. When he turned 21, he changed his legal name to Tiger, as everyone had called him this for most of his life.
That same August, he became a professional golfer. He was rewarded shortly after, when he received a $40 million endorsement from Nike and a $20 million endorsement from Titleist. He won two events in his first three months. Tiger was named Sports Illustrated’s 1996 Sportsman of the Year and also the PGA (Professional Golf Association) Tour Rookie of the Year. His career took off from there. At the age of 21, he won The Masters, the youngest ever to do so. He won by an unbelievable margin of twelve strokes. Besides being the youngest ever to win the event, he was the first person of African or Asian descent to win. Tiger won the event in dramatic fashion, breaking 20 records at The Masters. That year, he won three other championships. In less then a year as a professional, he was rated the number one golfer in the world. Tiger was by far, the youngest ever to do this. The previous youngest was 29 years old. Tiger was named PGA Player of the Year, the only player to accomplish this following their rookie season. Even though he was at the top, Tiger’s dominance continued. His best golf was yet to come.
In June of 1999, Tiger began one of the greatest winning streaks of all time when he won the Memorial Tournament. That year he won eight events, something that had not been done in over 25 years. He won his last four consecutive outings, including the PGA Championship. Once again, he was voted the PGA Tour Player of the Year. He also was voted the Male Athlete of the Year by Associated Press. After everything Tiger accomplished in 1999, 2000 was a year for the ages. The year started off with his 5th consecutive win. In his next event, a comeback would be necessary to keep the streak alive. Tiger was down seven strokes with seven holes left. That was not enough of a lead, as Tiger made a historic comeback winning the event by two strokes. This means that he shot nine strokes better than his opponent in just seven holes. Later that year, in the United States Open Championship (the second of the four major championships), Tiger dominated the field. Sports Illustrated called it "the greatest performance in golf history." Tiger won three major championships that year as he was named the 2000 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year. He is the only person to ever receive that award twice. The 2001 season started off with a bang. Tiger won the Masters, making him the only person in golf history to be the holder off all four major championship titles at the same time.
In November 2003, Woods became engaged to Elin Nordegren, a Swedish model. During the 2003 and 2004 season, he remained competitive, but did not dominate as in the past. That ended in 2005 when Tiger was in top form again. On May 3, 2006, Tiger’s father passed away due to prostate cancer. In late July of 2006 at the US Open, Tiger won in a dominant way, dedicating the victory to his father. He continued to play at the highest level until 2008, when he began to suffer with knee problems.
In April, he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. Another more serious surgery was also needed. However, since he wanted compete in the 2008 US Open, Tiger postponed surgery to repair his torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL). Doing this would require him to play with a torn ACL. Tiger got off to a slow start at the Open, but remained a few strokes behind after the first three rounds. On the 18th hole on the final day, Tiger sunk a birdie (one under par) putt to tie him for the lead. This forced a playoff the following day with Rocco Mediate. Eighteen holes were not enough to break the tie, so a tiebreaker hole was played. Tiger won the playoff hole in an epic victory. Days after winning, he announced that surgery would be necessary to repair his torn ACL. He had been playing for at least ten months with the torn ligament. He also had a double stress fracture in his tibia (shin bone).
Throughout his career, Tiger Woods has had one of the best careers out of all athletes in the world. He is 33 years old now and has two children. He was the highest paid professional athlete in 2008. It’s estimated that he earned $110 million between winnings and endorsements. His career winnings total close to $100 million, a PGA record, from his 88 tournament victories. Jack Nicklaus (one of the greatest golfers of all time) said, “ There isn’t a flaw in his golf or his makeup. He will win more majors than Arnold Palmer and me combined. Somebody is going to dust my records. It might as well be Tiger because he’s such a great kid. He has the finest, fundamentally sound golf swing I’ve ever seen”. Besides everything Tiger has done on the golf course, he has also done a substantial amount of charity work. Someday, he will undoubtedly be the greatest golfer of all time.
Reflection:
Originally, I felt like I had written a good paper. However, there were some changes that needed to be made. There was not much to change for focus, especially since mine was like a biography. I stayed on the same topic throughout, as people commented last week, so there was not any change needed. Every detail was relevant and remained on topic.
There also was not much change needed for content. The paper provided several details about Tiger, so not much content was lacking. However, in a few places, I added more details to help the reader understand it better, since not many people are too familiar with golf. I also added a few more details about his life and accomplishments.
Of all of the FCA’s, I probably worked on my structure the most. I did a lot to reorganize my paper. After I read through it, I felt like some paragraphs were out of place, and that the paragraphs should each represent a phase of his life. To do this, I added, combined or split paragraphs up. I also made sure that the beginning and end were clearer.
I felt like my paper was pretty strong stylistically. A few changes were needed. I changed some of the words and added stronger, more meaningful vocabulary. Also, I found some sentences that sounded awkward. There were a few sentences like this that I had to change. I also found a few places where I needed to change the words I used because it didn’t make sense.
Unlike usual, conventions were not much of a problem for me. Almost everything was spelled right. I had to add a few apostrophes and commas in places, but nothing major.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
TIGER
It is well known that Tiger Woods is one of the best golfers of all time. However, most people do not understand how good he is at golf. Never has someone dominated a sport as Tiger has in golf. In his young career, he has broken almost all records on his way to the top. As famous as he is, most people do not even know if Tiger is his real name.
Eldrick Tont Woods was born on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, California. He is the only child of a Earl (African-American) and Kultilda (Thai). His father was a Vietnam war veteran. He got the nickname Tiger from his father’s friend he had served with in Vietnam, who his father had given the nickname to. Tiger’s father taught him to golf and continued to be a significant influence. He was a child prodigy that started golfing at the age of two. When he was just three, he shot a 48 through nine holes (just to put that in perspective, most avid golfers do not break 50 until they have been playing for a few years) at the Navy Golf Club. This was around the same time he gained national recognition for his golfing ability. He defeated the comedian Bob Hope, who was also an avid golfer, in a putting competition on a talk show. At the age of five, he was featured on a popular tv show That’s Incredible and in the magazine Golf Digest.
A key part of being successful in golf is being able to remain focused and maintain your composure. To teach him this, his father would make loud noises and create distractions. His mother passed on her religion of Buddhism to Tiger, to make sure that golf would not ruin his happiness. Woods was just fifteen years old when he won the US Amateur Golf Championship, the youngest ever to accomplish such a feat. He won that event three straight years, the only time a player had won multiple times. He won a slur of awards between 1990 and 1992 (he was 15-17 during this time) including Golf Digest Amateur Player of the Year Award.
In 1994, Tiger Woods received a full golf scholarship to Stanford University. That same year, he was the youngest ever to win the US Amateur Championship. In 1995, at the age of 20, he qualified for the Masters (one of the four major championships in golf). He tied for 41st, as he was the only amateur to make the cut. In 1996, he became the first golfer to win three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles and won the NCAA individual golf championship. Two years of college was enough for Tiger. In August of 1996, he dropped out to pursue his professional career. When he turned 21, he changed his legal name to Tiger, as everyone had called him this for most of his life.
That same August, he became a professional golfer. He was rewarded shortly after, when he received $40 million endorsement from Nike and $20 million endorsement from Titleist. He won two events in his first three months. Tiger was named Sports Illustrated’s 1996 Sportsman of the Year and also the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. His career took off from there. At the age of 21, he won The Masters, the youngest ever to do so. He won by an unbelievable margin of twelve strokes. Besides being the youngest ever to win the event, he was the first person of African or Asian descent to win. Tiger won the event in dramatic fashion, breaking 20 records at The Masters.
That year, he won three other championships. In less then a year as a professional, he was rated the number one golfer in the world. Tiger was by far, the youngest ever to do this. The previous youngest was 29 years old. Tiger was named PGA Player of the Year, the only player to accomplish this following their rookie season. Even though he was at the top, Tigers dominance continued. His best golf was yet to come.
In June of 1999, Tiger began one of the greatest winning streaks of all time when he won the Memorial Tournament. He won eight events that year, something that had not been done in over 25 years. He won his last four consecutive outings, including the PGA Championship. Once again, he was voted the PGA Tour Player of the Year. He also was voted the Male Athlete of the Year by Associated Press. After everything Tiger accomplished in 1999, 2000 was a year for the ages. He started off the year with his 5th consecutive win. In his next event, a comeback would be necessary to keep the streak alive. Tiger was down seven strokes with seven holes left. That was not enough of a lead, as Tiger won the event by two strokes, making a historic come from behind win. Later that year, in the United States Open Championship (the second of the four major championships), Tiger dominated the field. Sports Illustrated called it "the greatest performance in golf history." Tiger won three major championships that year as he was named the 2000 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year. He is the only person to ever receive that award twice.
Tiger started the 2001 season off with a bang. He won the Masters, making him the only person in golf history to be the holder off all four major championship titles at the same time.
In November 2003, Woods became engaged to Elin Nordegren, a Swedish model. During the 2003 and 2004 season, he remained competitive, but did not dominate as he used to. That ended in 2005 when Tiger was in top form again. On May 3, 2006, Tiger’s father passed away due to prostate cancer. In late July of 2006 at the US Open, Tiger won in a dominant way, dedicating the victory to his father. He continued to play at the highest level until 2008, when he had arthroscopic knee surgery in April. However, he wanted to compete in the 2008 US Open. Doing this would require him to play with a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL). Tiger would put off the ACL surgery until after the Open in early June.
Tiger got off to a slow start, but remained a few strokes behind after the first three rounds. On the 18th hole on the final day, Tiger sunk a birdie (one under par) putt to tie him for the lead. This forced a playoff the following day with Rocco Mediate. Eighteen holes were not enough to break the tie, so a tiebreaker hole was played. Tiger won the playoff hole in an Epic victory. Days after winning, he announced that surgery would be necessary to repair his torn ACL. He had been playing for at least ten months with the torn ligament. He also had a double stress fracture in his tibia (shin bone).
Throughout his career, Tiger Woods has had one of the best careers out of all athletes in the world. He is 33 years old now and has two children. He was the highest paid professional athlete in 2008. It’s estimated that he earned $110 million between winnings and endorsements. His career winnings total close to $100 million, a PGA record, from his 88 tournament victories. Jack Nicklaus (one of the greatest golfers of all time) said, “ There isn’t a flaw in his golf or his makeup. He will win more majors than Arnold Palmer and me combined. Somebody is going to dust my records. It might as well be Tiger because he’s such a great kid. He has the finest, fundamentally sound golf swing I’ve ever seen”. Besides everything Tiger has done on the golf course, he has also done a substantial amount of charity work. Someday, he will undoubtedly be the greatest golfer of all time.
Eldrick Tont Woods was born on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, California. He is the only child of a Earl (African-American) and Kultilda (Thai). His father was a Vietnam war veteran. He got the nickname Tiger from his father’s friend he had served with in Vietnam, who his father had given the nickname to. Tiger’s father taught him to golf and continued to be a significant influence. He was a child prodigy that started golfing at the age of two. When he was just three, he shot a 48 through nine holes (just to put that in perspective, most avid golfers do not break 50 until they have been playing for a few years) at the Navy Golf Club. This was around the same time he gained national recognition for his golfing ability. He defeated the comedian Bob Hope, who was also an avid golfer, in a putting competition on a talk show. At the age of five, he was featured on a popular tv show That’s Incredible and in the magazine Golf Digest.
A key part of being successful in golf is being able to remain focused and maintain your composure. To teach him this, his father would make loud noises and create distractions. His mother passed on her religion of Buddhism to Tiger, to make sure that golf would not ruin his happiness. Woods was just fifteen years old when he won the US Amateur Golf Championship, the youngest ever to accomplish such a feat. He won that event three straight years, the only time a player had won multiple times. He won a slur of awards between 1990 and 1992 (he was 15-17 during this time) including Golf Digest Amateur Player of the Year Award.
In 1994, Tiger Woods received a full golf scholarship to Stanford University. That same year, he was the youngest ever to win the US Amateur Championship. In 1995, at the age of 20, he qualified for the Masters (one of the four major championships in golf). He tied for 41st, as he was the only amateur to make the cut. In 1996, he became the first golfer to win three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles and won the NCAA individual golf championship. Two years of college was enough for Tiger. In August of 1996, he dropped out to pursue his professional career. When he turned 21, he changed his legal name to Tiger, as everyone had called him this for most of his life.
That same August, he became a professional golfer. He was rewarded shortly after, when he received $40 million endorsement from Nike and $20 million endorsement from Titleist. He won two events in his first three months. Tiger was named Sports Illustrated’s 1996 Sportsman of the Year and also the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. His career took off from there. At the age of 21, he won The Masters, the youngest ever to do so. He won by an unbelievable margin of twelve strokes. Besides being the youngest ever to win the event, he was the first person of African or Asian descent to win. Tiger won the event in dramatic fashion, breaking 20 records at The Masters.
That year, he won three other championships. In less then a year as a professional, he was rated the number one golfer in the world. Tiger was by far, the youngest ever to do this. The previous youngest was 29 years old. Tiger was named PGA Player of the Year, the only player to accomplish this following their rookie season. Even though he was at the top, Tigers dominance continued. His best golf was yet to come.
In June of 1999, Tiger began one of the greatest winning streaks of all time when he won the Memorial Tournament. He won eight events that year, something that had not been done in over 25 years. He won his last four consecutive outings, including the PGA Championship. Once again, he was voted the PGA Tour Player of the Year. He also was voted the Male Athlete of the Year by Associated Press. After everything Tiger accomplished in 1999, 2000 was a year for the ages. He started off the year with his 5th consecutive win. In his next event, a comeback would be necessary to keep the streak alive. Tiger was down seven strokes with seven holes left. That was not enough of a lead, as Tiger won the event by two strokes, making a historic come from behind win. Later that year, in the United States Open Championship (the second of the four major championships), Tiger dominated the field. Sports Illustrated called it "the greatest performance in golf history." Tiger won three major championships that year as he was named the 2000 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year. He is the only person to ever receive that award twice.
Tiger started the 2001 season off with a bang. He won the Masters, making him the only person in golf history to be the holder off all four major championship titles at the same time.
In November 2003, Woods became engaged to Elin Nordegren, a Swedish model. During the 2003 and 2004 season, he remained competitive, but did not dominate as he used to. That ended in 2005 when Tiger was in top form again. On May 3, 2006, Tiger’s father passed away due to prostate cancer. In late July of 2006 at the US Open, Tiger won in a dominant way, dedicating the victory to his father. He continued to play at the highest level until 2008, when he had arthroscopic knee surgery in April. However, he wanted to compete in the 2008 US Open. Doing this would require him to play with a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL). Tiger would put off the ACL surgery until after the Open in early June.
Tiger got off to a slow start, but remained a few strokes behind after the first three rounds. On the 18th hole on the final day, Tiger sunk a birdie (one under par) putt to tie him for the lead. This forced a playoff the following day with Rocco Mediate. Eighteen holes were not enough to break the tie, so a tiebreaker hole was played. Tiger won the playoff hole in an Epic victory. Days after winning, he announced that surgery would be necessary to repair his torn ACL. He had been playing for at least ten months with the torn ligament. He also had a double stress fracture in his tibia (shin bone).
Throughout his career, Tiger Woods has had one of the best careers out of all athletes in the world. He is 33 years old now and has two children. He was the highest paid professional athlete in 2008. It’s estimated that he earned $110 million between winnings and endorsements. His career winnings total close to $100 million, a PGA record, from his 88 tournament victories. Jack Nicklaus (one of the greatest golfers of all time) said, “ There isn’t a flaw in his golf or his makeup. He will win more majors than Arnold Palmer and me combined. Somebody is going to dust my records. It might as well be Tiger because he’s such a great kid. He has the finest, fundamentally sound golf swing I’ve ever seen”. Besides everything Tiger has done on the golf course, he has also done a substantial amount of charity work. Someday, he will undoubtedly be the greatest golfer of all time.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
How to Drive
How to Drive
I thought this would be appropriate since I got my license today even though I am no expert at it. Almost everywhere you go, you will drive to get there. It is a necessary skill to get between places. Lets say you want to get a bite to eat at Wawa. How do you get there in the shortest amount of time? Or lets say you want to go on vacation. How do you get to the airport? The point is that you will drive to most of the places you go. Driving is a skill that is easy to learn, but it takes years to get good at.
The first thing you need to drive is a car that is insured. If you do not have a driver’s license, you need a learner’s permit, which is obtainable from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), and a person with a license over the age of 18 in the car with you (only if you want to drive legally). It also helps to be familiar with the rules of the road and the signs. Once you’re in the car, turn the car on by putting the key into the ignition, which is usually located just to the right of the steering wheel. Before driving, it also helps to be familiar with the controls of the car, which vary by different car types. Before starting, you need to make sure your mirrors are properly adjusted. You want to be able to see the entire back window from your rearview mirror.
Now that you are ready to drive, place your right foot on the brake. This lesson is only for cars with automatic transmission. Pull the lever, (usually located between the two front seats) from park (P) to drive (D). The brake needs to be pressed for this to be able to occur. Place both hands on the steering wheel. Imagine if a clock was the steering wheel. Grip the wheel where 10 and 2 would be on the clock. Slowly release the brake and the car should start to move. If your going straight, pivot your right foot to the gas pedal (on the right side), and slowly push it, or your car will take off. An important thing to remember is to move the steering wheel, not your hands (unless making a hand over hand turn, which will be discussed later). Another good habit is to constantly check your mirrors. The next thing you need to learn is to turn. Before you make a turn, you need to turn on your signal, which is located behind the steering wheel sticking out on the left side. Push it up to indicate a right turn and down for a left turn. Almost every turn you make will require using the hand over hand technique. If your making a right turn, start turning the wheel toward your right hand. At the same time, your right hand will release from the wheel and cross over your left hand. Re-grip the wheel with your right hand and continue turning. Once you make the turn, you need to recover (get the wheel straight), by doing the reverse of what you did while turning.
Safe lane maneuvering is also necessary for successful driving. If you are driving on a multi lane road, switching lanes may be necessary to pass a slow driver, or to get in the proper lane to make a turn. If you wanted to move to the right hand lane, first it is necessary to put your right turn signal on. Next look into your rearview mirror to see if there is someone driving behind you in that lane. If it is clear, look over your right shoulder to double check no one is there and then turn the wheel right and let the car drift into the lane. However, when switching lanes, you should not slow down.
This is just a brief guide on the basics of driving. Always remember to follow the rules of the road, stop at red lights and stop signs and always pay attention to your surroundings.
I thought this would be appropriate since I got my license today even though I am no expert at it. Almost everywhere you go, you will drive to get there. It is a necessary skill to get between places. Lets say you want to get a bite to eat at Wawa. How do you get there in the shortest amount of time? Or lets say you want to go on vacation. How do you get to the airport? The point is that you will drive to most of the places you go. Driving is a skill that is easy to learn, but it takes years to get good at.
The first thing you need to drive is a car that is insured. If you do not have a driver’s license, you need a learner’s permit, which is obtainable from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), and a person with a license over the age of 18 in the car with you (only if you want to drive legally). It also helps to be familiar with the rules of the road and the signs. Once you’re in the car, turn the car on by putting the key into the ignition, which is usually located just to the right of the steering wheel. Before driving, it also helps to be familiar with the controls of the car, which vary by different car types. Before starting, you need to make sure your mirrors are properly adjusted. You want to be able to see the entire back window from your rearview mirror.
Now that you are ready to drive, place your right foot on the brake. This lesson is only for cars with automatic transmission. Pull the lever, (usually located between the two front seats) from park (P) to drive (D). The brake needs to be pressed for this to be able to occur. Place both hands on the steering wheel. Imagine if a clock was the steering wheel. Grip the wheel where 10 and 2 would be on the clock. Slowly release the brake and the car should start to move. If your going straight, pivot your right foot to the gas pedal (on the right side), and slowly push it, or your car will take off. An important thing to remember is to move the steering wheel, not your hands (unless making a hand over hand turn, which will be discussed later). Another good habit is to constantly check your mirrors. The next thing you need to learn is to turn. Before you make a turn, you need to turn on your signal, which is located behind the steering wheel sticking out on the left side. Push it up to indicate a right turn and down for a left turn. Almost every turn you make will require using the hand over hand technique. If your making a right turn, start turning the wheel toward your right hand. At the same time, your right hand will release from the wheel and cross over your left hand. Re-grip the wheel with your right hand and continue turning. Once you make the turn, you need to recover (get the wheel straight), by doing the reverse of what you did while turning.
Safe lane maneuvering is also necessary for successful driving. If you are driving on a multi lane road, switching lanes may be necessary to pass a slow driver, or to get in the proper lane to make a turn. If you wanted to move to the right hand lane, first it is necessary to put your right turn signal on. Next look into your rearview mirror to see if there is someone driving behind you in that lane. If it is clear, look over your right shoulder to double check no one is there and then turn the wheel right and let the car drift into the lane. However, when switching lanes, you should not slow down.
This is just a brief guide on the basics of driving. Always remember to follow the rules of the road, stop at red lights and stop signs and always pay attention to your surroundings.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Trials Upcoming for only Surviving Pirate
Trials Upcoming for only Surviving Pirate
On April 8, 2009, four Somalia pirates attempted to hijack a United States ship named the MV Maersk Alabama, which was headed for Mombasa, Kenya. The ship’s crew fought back against the four pirates. During the skirmish, the 53-year-old captain of the ship, Richard Phillips, surrendered himself to ensure the safety of his crew. The ship’s crew had also captured one of the pirates. They offered to make a trade to get their captain back. However, the pirates did not honor the deal and took off in one of the ship’s lifeboats.
On April 9th, a standoff began between the USS Bainbridge, the destroyer ship sent to the scene, and the lifeboat the pirates were using. Communication was established between the ships, but negotiations failed. On April 10, Phillips jumped off the lifeboat in an attempt to escape, but stopped when shots were fired and he was recaptured.
It is thought that the pirate’s strategy was to meet up with other ships, which were also holding hostages, and then go back to Somalia. However, the captain was successfully rescued on April 12 after his life was considered in danger. Snipers killed three of the four pirates. The remaining pirate, Abduhl Wal-i-Musi, was aboard the USS Bainbridge trying to negotiate. He was taken back to New York for trial. However, there were problems determining his age. His parents said he is 16, but he has said he is as old as 26. It was determined by US officials that he was at least 18.
He was brought to New York because there is an FBI office there that has handled similar cases in the past. Abduhl Wal-i-Musi is being charged with several things, including piracy and hostage taking and could receive a life sentence.
On April 8, 2009, four Somalia pirates attempted to hijack a United States ship named the MV Maersk Alabama, which was headed for Mombasa, Kenya. The ship’s crew fought back against the four pirates. During the skirmish, the 53-year-old captain of the ship, Richard Phillips, surrendered himself to ensure the safety of his crew. The ship’s crew had also captured one of the pirates. They offered to make a trade to get their captain back. However, the pirates did not honor the deal and took off in one of the ship’s lifeboats.
On April 9th, a standoff began between the USS Bainbridge, the destroyer ship sent to the scene, and the lifeboat the pirates were using. Communication was established between the ships, but negotiations failed. On April 10, Phillips jumped off the lifeboat in an attempt to escape, but stopped when shots were fired and he was recaptured.
It is thought that the pirate’s strategy was to meet up with other ships, which were also holding hostages, and then go back to Somalia. However, the captain was successfully rescued on April 12 after his life was considered in danger. Snipers killed three of the four pirates. The remaining pirate, Abduhl Wal-i-Musi, was aboard the USS Bainbridge trying to negotiate. He was taken back to New York for trial. However, there were problems determining his age. His parents said he is 16, but he has said he is as old as 26. It was determined by US officials that he was at least 18.
He was brought to New York because there is an FBI office there that has handled similar cases in the past. Abduhl Wal-i-Musi is being charged with several things, including piracy and hostage taking and could receive a life sentence.
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