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One of the keys to getting the most out of your training program is to work outside of your comfort zone.

I can't argue that you're doing something to stay in shape and work on your game. But you're not really pushing yourself, and you shouldn't really expect those types of workouts to pay huge dividends.

Change your approach. Push yourself harder than you normally do, and you'll start to see results. Instead of shooting 30 or 40 random, lazy jump shots, create a plan for yourself. Shoot from 4 or 5 spots on the floor until you've made 30 or 40 shots from each spot (or some number that you set as a goal for yourself). Get in the triple-threat position, head-fake, take a quick dribble to one side or the other, get good lift on your shot (really getting off the ground), and concentrate on your follow-through. Push yourself to move quicker than you normally do, and to jump higher than you normally do.

The Wrong Way to Win › Introduction to The Wrong Way to Win › Why Do Athletes Use Performance-enhancing Drugs? › Masking Pain and Managing Weight and Stress › Detecting Drugs Why Do Athletes Use Performance-enhancing Drugs?

An athlete may want to: Build mass and strength of muscles and/or bones Increase delivery of oxygen to exercising tissues Mask pain Stimulate the body Hide use of other drugs

Many drugs are banned outright in Olympic competitions. However, some drugs, such as cortisone and local anesthetics, are merely restricted because they have legitimate clinical uses. Athletes may also misuse drugs to reduce weight, relax, cope with stress or boost their own confidence. Whatever the reason, doping has many unsafe if not deadly side effects.

Every two years as the Olympic Games begin, we hear about athletes using or at least being tested for performance-enhancing drugs. Every time the Tour de France rolls around, there's talk of possible doping. Sometimes, competitors raise the question when one athlete does particularly well. Other times, tests catch athletes with drugs in their systems. The practice of using artificial substances or methods to enhance athletic performance is called doping. Doping has become such a great concern that the United States formed an Anti-Doping Agency.

Why Some Athletes Use DrugsAthletes face enormous pressure to excel in competition. They also know that winning can reap them more than a gold medal. A star athlete can earn a lot of money and a lot of fame, and athletes only have a short time to do their best work. Athletes know that training is the best path to victory, but they also get the message that some drugs and other practices can boost their efforts and give them a shortcut, even as they risk their health and their athletic careers.

As far back as ancient Greece, athletes have often been willing to take any preparation that would improve their performance. But it appears that drug use increased in the 1960s. One well-publicized incident happened at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 when sprinter Ben Johnson tested positive for anabolic steroids and was stripped of his gold medal. Athletes may also misuse drugs to relax, cope with stress or boost their own confidence. Athletes may have several reasons for using performance-enhancing drugs. An athlete may want to: Build mass and strength of muscles and/or bones Increase delivery of oxygen to exercising tissues Mask pain Stimulate the body Relax Reduce weight Hide use of other drugs

Progress in the treatment of cancer in cats and dogs is likely to benefit humans, scientists said yesterday. Forms of bone cancerinvariably fatal in young men and women are now being successfully treated in animals (Our Science Correspondent writes). The researchers are using an anti-cancer compound, PTMC, which in some cases has enabled dogs, cats and horses suffering from bone tumours to live for up to two years after diagnosis, according to Mr Brian Singleton, director of the Animal Health Trust, which funds the research into the diseases.

As coaches, we expect our players to work in the off-season and make improvements. But what about us as coaches... what are we doing in the off-season to help our team and to improve ourselves as coaches?

Maintain balance in your personal life. Right after the season is over, step back and forget about it for a couple weeks. Take time for your family and friends, relax, enjoy life and your time away from the gym.

We already discussed re-evaluating your system, plays, players, etc. Make the necessary adjustments, if any, that you think will help next season. Think about your goals for the upcoming season. Now is the time to create a master practice plan, if you find that helpful.

The Pilgrims were English Separatists. In the first years of the 17th century, small numbers of English Puritans broke away from the Church of England because they felt that it had not completed the work of the Reformation. They committed themselves to a life based on the Bible. Most of these Separatists were farmers, poorly educated and without social or political standing. One of the Separatist congregations was led by William Brewster and the Rev. Richard Clifton in the village of Scrooby in Nottinghamshire. The Scrooby group emigrated to Amsterdam in 1608 to escape harassment and religious persecution. The next year they moved to Leiden, in Holland where, enjoying full religious freedom, they remained for almost 12 years. In 1617, discouraged by economic difficulties, the pervasive Dutch influence on their children, and their inability to secure civil autonomy, the congregation voted to emigrate to America. Through the Brewster family's friendship with Sir Edwin Sandys, treasurer of the London Company, the congregation secured two patents authorizing them to settle in the northern part of the company's jurisdiction. Unable to finance the costs of the emigration with their own meager resources, they negotiated a financial agreement with Thomas Weston, a prominent London iron merchant. Fewer than half of the group's members elected to leave Leiden. A small ship, the Speedwell, carried them to Southampton, England, where they were to join another group of Separatists and pick up a second ship. After some delays and disputes, the voyagers regrouped at Plymouth aboard the 180-ton Mayflower. It began its historic voyage on Sept. 16, 1620, with about 102 passengers--fewer than half of them from Leiden.

Founding of New England, The by Adams, J. T., (1921; repr. 1963) Bradford, William, Of Plymouth Plantation: 1620-1647, ed. by Samuel E. Morison (1952) Mayflower, The (1974) by Caffrey, Kate Mayflower Pilgrims, The by Colloms, Brenda (1977) Land Ho!--1620 by Nickerson, W. S. (1931). A Little Commonwealth: Family Life in Plymouth Colony by Demos, John (1988) Pilgrims, The by Dillon, Francis (1975) Mayflower Remembered: A History of the Plymouth Pilgrims by Gill, Crispin (1970) Saga of the Pilgrims by Harris, J.(1990) Pilgrim's Own Story, The by Notson, A.W., and R.C., eds., Stepping Stones: (1987) Pilgrim Fathers from a Dutch Point of View by Plooij, D.(1932; repr. 1970) Bradford of Plymouth by Smith, Bradford (1951) Pilgrims and Their History by Usher, R. G. (1918) Pilgrim Reader (1953) and Saints and Strangers: Pilgrim Fathers, The by Willison, G. F. rev. ed. (1965). Pilgrim Colony: A History of New Plymouth, 1620-1691 by Langdon, G. D., Jr. (1966) Story of the Old Colony of New Plymouth, The by Morison, S. E. (1956); Plymouth Colony: Its History and People by Stratton, E.A. (1987)

Way to stereotype people. One of my friends listens to rap, and he doesn't dress, nor sounds like a jock. I listen to metal; 1. I don't skate and 2. I don't have long hair. To the point of this thread: I believe some rap is bad influence, but most of the bad influence comes from media. I was at an appointment, and I see this one kid sitting next to me. He has a toy gun, and he was pointing at some people in front of us. The thing was that he had the toy in his left hand, stuck out his left arm, put the gun sideways onto his left arms wrist. That's how the people in the movies do it, as if they were in a gang. The kid was only 5 years old - what the mother said when she was talking to the clerk. Anyways, I wouldn't think the majority of the kids who listen to music, listen to screamo, emo, etc. because it's quite obvious; it's not music to them. So I wouldn't vote for screamo, emo. The ones who listen to that are mostly, if not always teenagers+.

One unique feature of bats is their modified forelimbs, which support a wing membrane (patagium). The basic elements of the mammalian limb are present in bats, although the relative sizes of most bones and muscles differ from those of nonflying mammals. The most elongated parts of the limb are those of the hand (metacarpal bones) and fingers (phalanges). The primary functions of these bones in bats is to provide support for the patagium and control its movements.

Numerous blood vessels and nerves are present throughout the wing membrane. Bats also have five unique muscles present in the patagium, and use additional muscles in the chest and back to move the wings up and down.

The most obvious difference between bird wings and those of bats is that bird wings are made of feathers, not a skin membrane. Birds have an elongated arm, but do not have elongated fingers like bats. Additionally, the muscles used in both the upstroke and downstroke are found in the chest of birds, while the upstroke muscles are on the back in bats (Fenton, 1983).

Adapted from Dinosaurs: The Very Latest Information and Hands-On Activities From the Museum of the Rockies, by Liza Charlesworth and Bonnie Sachatello-Sawyer. A Scholastic Professional Book. The last dinosaurs died approximately 65 million years ago. Although the cause of their extinction is still a mystery, climatic change, diseases, changing plant communities, and geologic events could all have played a role. Lately, dinosaur extinction theories have been the subject of much debate and controversy. A recent explanation, supported by many scientists, suggests that dinosaurs died out soon after a huge meteorite crashed to Earth near the Gulf of Mexico. A giant meteorite, they reason, could have landed with an impact that kicked up enough dust and debris to block out sunlight for a long time — leading to a deadly chain of events. Without the sun, all the plants died; without the plants, all the plant-eaters died; and without the plant-eaters, all the meat-eaters died. Sounds reasonable. But there is one problem with this theory: Paleontologists have not yet been able to find dinosaur skeletons in rocks dating to the period of impact. Some evidence even seems to indicate that all the dinosaurs had died before the meteorite hit. What is the answer? As paleontologists search for clues to support their theories, they agree to disagree.

An aircraft is a vehicle which is able to fly through the Earth's atmosphere or through any other atmosphere. Rocket vehicles are not aircraft if they are not supported by the surrounding air. All the human activity which surrounds aircraft is called aviation.

Heavier-than-air aircraft must find some way to push air or gas downwards, so that a reaction occurs (by Newton's laws of motion) to push the aircraft upwards. This dynamic movement through the air is the origin of the term aerodyne. There are two ways to produce dynamic upthrust: aerodynamic lift, and powered lift in the form of engine thrust. Aerodynamic lift is the most common, with aeroplanes being kept in the air by the forward movement of wings, and rotorcraft by spinning wing-shaped rotors sometimes called rotary wings. A wing is a flat, horizontal surface, usually shaped in cross-section as an aerofoil. To fly, the wing must move forwards through the air; this movement of air over the aerofoil shape deflects air downward to create an equal and opposite upward force, called lift, according to Newton's third law of motion. A flexible wing is a wing made of fabric or thin sheet material, often stretched over a rigid frame. A kite is tethered to the ground and relies on the speed of the wind over its wings, which may be flexible or rigid, fixed or rotary. With powered lift, the aircraft directs its engine thrust vertically downwards. The initialism VTOL (vertical take off and landing) is applied to aircraft that can take off and land vertically. Most are rotorcraft. Others, such as the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, take off and land vertically using powered lift and transfer to aerodynamic lift in steady flight. Similarly, STOL stands for short take off and landing. Some VTOL aircraft often operate in a short take off/vertical landing regime known as STOVL. A pure rocket is not usually regarded as an aerodyne, because it does not depend on the air for its lift (and can even fly into space), however many aerodynamic lift vehicles have been powered or assisted by rocket motors. Rocket-powered missiles which obtain aerodynamic lift at very high speed due to airflow over their bodies, are a marginal case.

The forerunner of the aeroplane is the kite

Eventhough parachutes seem to have been used in China since the 1100s and that Leonardo da Vinci of Italy had invented devices similar to parachutes nowadays, worldwide skydivers state that the French inventor André-Jacques Garnerin is the one to make the first parachute. In 1797 he jumped from a balloon over Paris using a parachute and kept on making other jumps in France and also in England.

In World War I , that is between 1914 and 1918, the military began using parachutes in their missions

Digital music was a $1.3 billion business in 2007, but it still only comprised 10 percent of consumer music spending

compete with Apple and the future of music CD sales.

“The challenge remains for the industry to find new ways to compete with Apple, who remains the dominant player for portable media devices,”

Whether it's a frisky kitten or a tubby tabby, a cat at home could cut your heart attack risk by almost a third, a new study suggests. The finding, from a 10-year study of more than 4,300 Americans, suggests that the stress relief pets provide humans is heart-healthy.

Cat owners "appeared to have a lower rate of dying from heart attacks" over 10 years of follow-up compared to feline-free folk, Qureshi said.

Cogito ergo sum (I think therefore I am)

reasoning and problem solving

deductive, inductive or abductive

USAThe United States has some of the best snowboarding in the world. With Colorado, Wyoming, California and Utah in the west and Vermont in the east home to great resorts that cater to snowboarders. Resorts famous for their snowboarding include Crested Butte in Colorado, Vail in Colorado and Mammoth Mountain, Squaw Valley and Heavenly Valley in California. California abounds with a vast selection of snowboarding options. Sugar Bowl and Kirkwood are also favorites among California snowboarders.

CanadaSome of the very best snowboarding in the entire world is in Canada, with a great amount of resorts from the east to the west. Whistler/Blackcomb is the premier destination for snowboarders in Canada, but you can't overlook the smaller resorts including Silver Star, Apex, BigWhite, Whitewater and Sunpeaks. You also can't forget Banff, with some of the most beautiful and majestic scenery anywhere and their resorts like Lake Louise.

JapanJapan? Great for snowboarding? Yes. As well as skiing. People forget that Japan has many mountains and cold areas since the country is very long and reaches quite far north. In fact, Japan has over 600 ski and snowboarding resorts! A little ways from Tokyo, you'll find some nice resorts, but they tend to be more crowded and expensive due to their popularity with Tokyo residents. To experience Japanese snowboarding at its best, you'll want to travel away from Tokyo. Around Japan's 600+ resorts, you'll find everything from ultra modern and high tech resorts to traditional resorts to small time, family run resorts. You can't forget Nagano, also not too far from Tokyo and home to the 1998 Winter Olympics.

largest and most productive estuaries in North America.  

However, in 1993 the EVOS Trustee Council funded an additional survey that estimated 7 km of shoreline were still contaminated with subsurface oil.

Because a significant survey of Prince William Sound had not been conducted since 1993 and the cumulative extent of the remaining oil was unknown, concerns were generated by the public and scientific communities about the oil’s possible continuing effects on humans and fauna potentially exposed to the oil directly or indirectly.

Most stories of Thanksgiving history start with the harvest celebration of the pilgrims and the indians that took place in the autumn of 1621. Although they did have a three-day feast in celebration of a good harvest, and the local indians did participate, this "first Thanksgiving" was not a holiday, simply a gathering. There is little evidence that this feast of thanks led directly to our modern Thanksgiving Day holiday. Thanksgiving can, however, be traced back to 1863 when Pres. Lincoln became the first president to proclaim Thanksgiving Day. The holiday has been a fixture of late November ever since. However, since most school children are taught that the first Thanksgiving was held in 1621 with the pilgrims and indians, let us take a closer look at just what took place leading up to that event, and then what happened in the centuries afterward that finally gave us our modern Thanksgiving. The Pilgrims who sailed to this country aboard the Mayflower were originally members of the English Separatist Church (a Puritan sect). They had earlier fled their home in England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to escape religious persecution. There, they enjoyed more religious tolerance, but they eventually became disenchanted with the Dutch way of life, thinking it ungodly. Seeking a better life, the Separatists negotiated with a London stock company to finance a pilgrimage to America. Most of those making the trip aboard the Mayflower were non-Separatists, but were hired to protect the company's interests. Only about one-third of the original colonists were Separatists. window.google_render_ad();

As a celebration steeped in American history, you might expect it to be a day of remembering our forebears and displaying patriotism. However, in modern times, consideration of the first Thanksgiving is generally relegated to schoolchildren. Although that first celebration was a landmark moment in the history of America, beyond giving thanks for freedom and safety, you won't typically find the flag waving of the Fourth of July or Memorial Day. Instead, the holiday remains centered on family, friends, and food. Some see the holiday as a last bastion of non-commercialization. Beyond a few centerpieces and themed party supplies, Thanksgiving doesn't receive the same marketing push as Valentine's Day, Halloween, or especially Christmas. It feels more pure in this regard. However, the time and money required to create a traditional Thanksgiving spread doesn't make the day completely free of pressure. As a national holiday, Thanksgiving means a day free from school and work for most. Even television seems to conspire to bring families closer together, with spectacles such as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, big football games, and themed marathons on numerous cable channels inviting everyone to gather 'round. Although giving thanks for the many blessings of life is easily interpreted as a religious sentiment, there is no particular creed or belief system associated with the holiday. A community might host an ecumenical service in honor of the holiday. Families often say a prayer over the food before beginning dinner. Churches sponsor holiday dinners as outreach to the poor and lonely. However, all of these actions are founded on the basic, secular premise of giving thanks. From preschoolers making handprint turkeys to adults remembering the most important people and moments in their lives, it is easy to answer, "Why do we celebrate Thanksgiving?" Like the Pilgrims did on that long-ago day, we all gather to give thanks for the many bounties life offers.

Chaining up a dog and forcing it to go without food and water in the name of art is a surefire way of making yourself unpopular with animal lovers. The furore created by Damien Hirst's pickled sheep and Tracey Emin's dirty bed pales into insignificance against the international outrage Guillermo 'Habacuc' Vargas has unleashed. The Costa Rican has been called an animal abuser, killer and worse over claims that a stray dog called Natividad died of starvation after he displayed it at an exhibition last year at the Códice Gallery in Managua, Nicaragua. Vargas tethered the animal without food and water under the words 'Eres Lo Que Lees' - 'You Are What You Read' - made out of dog biscuits while he played the Sandinista anthem backwards and set 175 pieces of crack cocaine alight in a massive incense burner. More than a million people have signed an online petition urging organisers of this year's event to stop Vargas taking part. Vargas, 32, said he wanted to test the public's reaction, and insisted none of the exhibition visitors intervened to stop the animal's suffering. He refused to say whether the animal had survived the show, but said he had received dozens of death threats. Juanita Bermúdez, director of the Códice Gallery, insisted Natividad escaped after just one day. She said: 'It was untied all the time except for the three hours the exhibition lasted and it was fed regularly with dog food Habacuc himself brought in.'