The Paw Print

The men’s USA basketball team begins their quest to be world champions in FIBA basketball on August 12th 2010. Their first game is at Madison Square Garden where they play the international team of Turkey, which NBA power forward Derrick Nowitizki from the Dallas Mavericks plays for.

The mens USA basketball teams begins their quest to be world champions in FIBA basketball on August 12th 2010. Their first game is at Madison square garden on august 12th in which they play the international team of turkey which NBA power forward Derrick Nowitizki from the Dallas Mavericks plays for. The new USA basketball team is following in the footprints of the redeem team who won the gold in FIBA basketball in 2008. The 2008 team consist of NBA greats such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Derron Williams Dwayne Wade and Dwight Howard creating an all around powerhouse in every position which made the team unstoppable. This years team has great NBA players but none of the big names from the redeem team, for the 2010 roster you have players like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Rudy Gay, Chauncey Billups, Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose, and Lamar Odom who all have a great I.Q. for the game and experience in playing at high levels. Many people feel that the 2010 team will not advance far, but having three of the top point guards in the league, a few of the top scorers in the game and strong and dominate big men, once the USA team constructs a chemistry the will be unstoppable. Having a mentor such as Jason Kidd future hall of famer and college champion coach Mike Krzyzewski that’s tons of basketball knowledge that will only make the team better. All the USA team has to do is play smart and cohesive basketball and they will do just fine in the 2010 FIBA competition.

What’s the point of the iPad? Sure it may seem cool but does it really bring something new to the table? As always, Apple’s newest product was well received by everybody and praised. To me, it just seems like a big, clunky, awkward version of the iPod touch. When testing it out in the Apple store, I found that it looked sleek and great, but to me it felt very awkward to touch and type on. While I realize that my age group may be not be Apple’s main target with this product, I don’t see how it adds much to business people’s busy lives. Most people have Blackberries or iPhones and they use them for most of their business needs. If they already have these devices, what more can the iPad offer to them, besides a bigger screen?

Maybe there is something I just don’t understand because it seems that these devices are selling like crazy. At the end of June, 3.27 million iPads had been sold, after just being released in April. Apple has one of the best marketing strategies for all their products, so many people buy them because they are the “next big things” and they see so much hype about them. But what happens when the hype fades and users have had several months to explore their devices?

Many people are very happy with their purchases, a few people I know claim they can’t live without them. However, there are many others who are experiencing buyer’s remorse. Some people are complaining it is too big of a product with not enough features. They are seeing it as an “oversized cell phone” and saying an actual computer can do so much more for the same price, or less.

So, when the dust from Apple’s marketing hype settles, what is left? A product that looks cool but doesn’t do much. Usually, I am completely smitten with Apple’s products, so what went wrong? The fact of the matter is the iPad has a long way to go.

Being the quiet one has its bad and good sides.

Being quiet causes you not to be broadcasted, and most of the time in order to get what you want, you have to broadcast yourself, so people can know exactly what you are about.

You are often not heard about.

If you know that you’re not the type to broadcast yourself, then you may not be as popular as the people who do put themselves out there. This can cause someone to feel not as important as everyone else, and this can also cause loneliness in others.

Then, being quiet can cause you to get into less trouble as a person who does broadcast themselves does.

Say, there was a quiet person and an outspoken person in a classroom. When the teacher turns around, the quiet one can call a teacher a bat face lady, and the teacher will automatically assume that it was the outspoken person. She will believe that the quiet one won’t say such a thing (although there are two different voices, it was just an example.)

The quiet one can use their quietness as a way to get themselves out of trouble, although they know what they did, they just felt the need to get the outspoken one in trouble and out of the way since they are already too popular.

Quiet ones will try to get them in trouble enough so they could gain a little victory to be heard of, maybe even noticed.

But, for some reason, it never really works, because the one person that you have been in class with for 3 and a half years still didn’t know that you were in the same school with them with a population of 250 students, and with classrooms of only 13 students.

Sucks, right? (Not relating to me)

High speed internet not only allows users to access websites quicker, but it opens up a door to online television. In matter of fact, to individual citizens it’s a prize, to movie makers and actors/actresses it’s a threat.

Before Fios, before cable, and before dsl there was something called “dialup”. Individuals like myself that can recall how frustrating we were daily when trying to access to the web, would care more about opening the webpage, not one of us would think about online television.

With high speed internets such as Fios, cable, and dsl, I am able to access multiple websites including youtube to watch dramas, movies, and shows.

This is an alternative to individuals who cannot afford to purchase DVDs, go to movies every time something new comes out, or are just too lazy to go outside.

Like I have always asked myself, why would I purchase movies or go to a movie theater for random movies when I can watch it in my room for free?

It’s not like the online dramas, movies, or shows are in poor video quality, in matter of fact depending on which site you use, everything is in High Definition.

To directors, I am sorry. I respect all your inputs in making a drama or movie, but they are for us to enjoy and should be accessible to anyone in any economic status.

In addition, online television is extremely great because it’s there. Every episode of Gossip Girl that anyone has missed is online. Personally, being a teenager who always gets home past 6 or 8, it’s hard for me to catch up on all the hit American televisions. Online television saves me from dialogue isolation when interacting with my peers.

Online television comes in three different forms. First is like youtube where people can stream dramas online when someone uploads it to the website. Second is downloading it from a link that someone else uploaded the drama to. And third is in television programs such as the Chinese PPTV and PP Live where similar to the first one you can stream the drama, but in addition you can tune in any channel (PPTV and PP Live streams Chinese channels).

As people notice how rapidly the online television market is growing, there are companies that wants to make profit out of it. They might try to charge online fees, monthly fees, episode fees, and any other fees they come up in the future.

My wish is for the online television to stay free.

Being an on child in a Caribbean family means that you have to grow up quickly. For me, being an only child meant that I had to be a man young. In my household, an young man should be thinking on his own, only feel the need to ask questions when its necessary, and should always be looking out for the others around him. I felt that the tribulation of being an only child can be lonely. Not having siblings to replace that loneliness can drive a person crazy. Some only children don’t have the problem of being alone because they either have friends, family siblings, and something to keep them occupied.

Usually it is rare for there to be an only child in a Guyanese household as mind, because Guyanese people make about 3 or more children. However, when children is not a favor for your parents you have the huge amount of siblings in the family. For me that the total opposite, most of my family is in Guyana. For me being a only child is a must because I love it and sometimes disagree with it. When you get everything you want, it’s a joy. But in a Guyanese house that’s a lie, for my case that is. I have to always do chores, never have rest. Some of my other friends that are only kids don’t do anything. I get so mad sometimes that I have to do work.

I guess being an only child shows in my family that it prepares you for the life ahead and being a guy means you got to be a man on your own terms. When you’re an only child you have to pass the barriers of knowledge. I mean that you have to gain more knowledge as a child that has siblings. There are things that an only child can’t learn on their own and there are things he or she must learn from family and friends. Having the ownership of being an only child gives you the chance to learn a lot more of this world.

Is anyone’s birthday coming up? It’s always a headache when thinking about what he/she would want as a present and how to celebrate his/her birthday. It may seem easy; just buy a card and buy a present- jewelry or clothing. Done! Well, that is not thinking out of the box! Birthday is a special day where it is supposed to be remarkable and mesmerizing. Buying a card is not creative at all. To show love and care, why not make a personalized card. It’s fun to make and it only takes up a few minutes. Find pretty papers (of course no loose leafs or white paper) and there are many ways to make cards special without spending a lot of money and time when shopping. One example is to cut out the person’s first alphabet letter of the name or shapes. Make frames, draw doodles around it, glue pictures, or do anything out of the ordinary. After the card is done, write a note inside. Sometimes it’s hard to think of what to write but there is internet so use it. Search up “card notes” and zillions of references will pop out. Look at it and start coming up with new ideas on what to write. Afterwards, it’s time to think about the present. What is the best present for him/her? What is suggested is to buy the present a week or a few weeks before his/her birthday. If you are planning to buy a present at the last minute, it’s going to be a rush. Buy a present a week or few weeks before is an advantage. Start noticing what the person don’t have or need and it shows that you notice him/her. Go to cool websites and buy cute or cool gifts. Suggested website includes www.atseoul.com. This website has variety of Japan and Korean gifts that are way too cool and cute especially for girls/women. Try finding something that is useful but cool at the same time. Finally, the last thing is celebrating his/her birthday! Don’t just buy a cake and eat it together. Plan a surprise party and invite his/her friends along. Take him/her out to a beautiful restaurant or decorate the house with “creativeness”. Buy a pack of glow in the dark “putty” or “paint” and make a pathway of glowing footsteps he/she could follow into the house to surprise him/her. He/she would probably be astonished with the creativeness and it is fun! Or maybe buy ingredients and cook him/her some delicious food. There are probably many cool ideas out there for celebrating one’s birthday to make one’s birthday a memorable and fun birthday.

As the recession continues, the furloughs that were given out are now being replaced by a new strategy: cuts in pay. Local and state governments as well as some companies are now trying to make people work the same hours while reducing the actual pay that people get. This attempt is to try to prevent laying off people. When the recession first started, the average hourly pay was still higher than what it is now. As the actual pay is being cut, it brings worries that the economy has weakened even more and that we might even go into a deflation. Deflation is when the prices of products decrease and people still continue to save and wait for the prices to decrease even more. These pay cuts are appearing more and more often within business because of the budget pressure. As their budgets keep getting cut, they have to find a way to maintain themselves financially, and that way is to cut actual pay instead of laying off people. The governor of New York, David A. Paterson, has sought a 4 percent cut off the wage of state employees. Although these cuts will have a huge effect on the income of many people, it’s better than getting laid off. Companies are trying to find an alternate way of maintaining themselves while avoiding the option of laying off people. Making less money is better than not making any money at all, especially in the current economic state that we are in. Although these cuts in the payment of people’s wages will save many people from getting laid off, I believe that the cuts should not be too drastic to the point where the people are making less money than they actually need to survive.

It was my first match. Even though it was only a practice, I was still really nervous. It was as if at that moment I was frightened and excited at the same time. My coach asked if I still wanted to brawl in the ring, so I simply replied, “Hell yeah, you bet!”

Have you ever had oily hair before?  Do you ever wonder how it happens? Oily hair is a common problem of the scalp when it has an overactive oil gland due to high levels of hormones. Oily hair is my biggest mess because oily hair often make your hair looks flat and greasy. 

Thoroughly washing will remove excess oil, dust, and dirt which would make your hair dull and lifeless.  People, like me, who have straighter hair tend to have oilier hair.  Oily hair is a pain because it looks disgusting when there are clumps of hair stuck together.  But, despite looking bad and disgusting, oily hair actually benefits you.