Welcome to North American Text Challenge

As one of the most promising platforms to have come about at the turn of the century, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was at first greeted with widespread derision as a Johnny-Come-Lately to the nine billion-dollar videogaming marketplace (which is today worth many multiples of billions more every year). Today the Xbox is considered cutting-edge and competes right with Sony’s equally notable Playstation, but recently the stakes were elevated with Microsoft’s introduction of its Kinect technology that claims to do away with game controllers entirely, using the player’s own body movements to direct all onscreen actions. The highly leading-edge motion-detection technology makes it possible to scan even facial gestures!

Are you currently an eBay shopper? in that case, you perhaps have considered buying a used Macbook there. But before you shop for your next Macbook on eBay here are some good tips.

Take your time before shopping:

There is no need to rush into anything. This is a substantial purchase and you should take the time to analyze your used or refurbished Macbook deal. You will want to make sure you are actually getting a deal and that it is just what you are looking for and please don’t forget to calculate in the shipping costs.

Looking for the right seller:

Look for sellers with a whole lot of positive feedback. Be very careful of sellers with negative, low, or no feedback.

Take a look at the description:

Read the description very meticulously. Make sure all the components that you will need, such as the power cord, are listed.

Ask questions:

If you are hesitant about anything at all, ask questions. Be sure to ask any questions previous to bidding on the item. Remember once you bid you are bound to the offer.

Head pain? Squinting? It may possibly be signs and symptoms of declining eyesight. So what do you do next? You go to see an eye dr . (of course) and it may be that you will need eyeglasses or contact lenses. Now there is always the option of laser surgery but this posting will not talk about that.

Go for the glass? Specs have been around for many years – think Benjamin Franklin, an iconic wearer of eye glasses. Eyeglasses are either created from plastic or glass. The frames for them also come in a wide variety of materials. And, if you are nervous about not finding the proper frames, don’t be concerned they now have frameless models. And if you are one of those folks who can’t even contemplate putting their finger in their eye and cringe at the notion of it, glasses may be your best plan.

However contact lenses offer you some advantages over eye glasses. One advantage, the rain, I think you know what happens. Two, fog, eye glasses tend to fog up. Three, slipping down your nose anytime you perspire, etc.

Whichever you pick, the most critical issue is the fact that you see clearly.

The other day, I saw a commercial regarding using your cell phone while driving. Only a few years ago, cell phones were practically non-existent, only being utilized by corporate executives and people who had the resources to have “car phones”. However, now, cell phones have gotten out of control. First, there were people getting into accidents because they were talking on their cell phones too much and not paying attention to the road. Now the problem isn’t so much that people are talking on their cell phones. Rather, the problem is stemming from people using their cell phones to send and receive text messages while they are driving.

On a recent talk show, Dr. Phil had a young lady and her mother on to talk about her problem with driving while using her cell phone. As it turned out, this young lady had been involved in several near-accidents and had received numerous citations from police officers because of her reckless driving. So, what was the cause of all of this? Text messaging.

While there are plenty of adults or people over the age of 18 who use the text messaging capability on their cell phones, the main demographic for those who abuse the text messaging while driving are those who fall in between the ages of 16 and 25 years of age. This is even more dangerous because the very people who are text messaging while driving are those who have the least experience driving. The last thing that anyone should be doing when they are driving is using their cell phone in any capacity. In fact, when you are driving, you should turn your cell phone to silent or turn it off all together and store it out of sight so that you are not tempted to look at or use it.

In the state of New York, there are now billboards that warn against using your cell phone to send text messages right alongside billboards that remind drivers to use hands-free devices when they talk on their cell phones. And as for the police officers, the police are taking it very seriously. On my way to Long Island from North Carolina, I was driving on the Southern State Parkway and saw a police officer pull a person over who had just been using their cell phone. Additionally, my own father was pulled over three times in the course of one year and was issued a citation for talking on his cell phone without a hands-free device- my own father who should have known better!

When I asked my father what happened regarding being pulled over for talking on his cell phone, he claimed that he had his cell phone on speaker and asked the officer for a break because he was using the speaker option. However, the cop wouldn’t let him off because despite the fact that he had his cell phone on speaker, he still had the phone in one of his hands, which meant that he didn’t have both hands on the wheel.

Many people claim that they want to write. Most won’t because of a giant monster called FEAR. It looms over individuals and paralyzes them. “What if I’m no good?” “ What if I’m wasting my time?” “What if…” “What if…” “What if…” Fear creates these never-ending questions, but fortunately the beast can be conquered. It’s conquered every day. Here are ten ways to get over fear and start writing:

1) Handwrite. There’s something informal about writing longhand. Just grab a piece of paper and jot notes down. They do not have to be anything brilliant. What you write could be something as simple as “I wish I had an idea about…” Don’t worry what your handwriting looks like, just fill the page with free thought.

2) Send yourself an email. An email isn’t “real writing” so use this format to jot a story down. You can write about an imaginary day or a neighborhood event. This is a great exercise to get in the storytelling mode and you don’t have to worry about the recipient – it’s you!

3) Commit before you’re ready. Tell someone you’re a writer and let them give you an assignment. Anything from writing a menu to a libretto. There’s no grading involved and to encourage yourself to accept the challenge promise yourself that you get a prize when you start.

4) Write out the fears. I know it can be scary to face them, but you can’t defeat what you don’t acknowledge. List all your fears. After you’ve finished writing them down, come up with ways to get rid of them. For example if you wrote, “I’m afraid I’m no good.” You could counter this statement with “I don’t have to be. It’s only a rough draft.” Counter “My ideas are stupid.” with “No, I’m trying to be perfect and I don’t have to be.”

5) Pretend to be someone else. Write in a different style, say an 18th century writer or one of your favorite bestselling authors. Mimic their rhythms and patterns. It’s not for you to compare, just to experiment. Write your article as Mark Twain would. Or start a short story about a kitten, first in the style of a horror writer then as a literary one. As children most of us didn’t have a problem with make-believe, it works for us a adults too!

6) Find a postcard. Look at the image on the front and jot down ideas about it on the back. You don’t have to fill up the entire space, this exercise is about getting ideas flowing.

7) Come up with a mantra that allows bad writing. “I will succeed as long as I write.” “Bad stories can be rewritten. A blank page can’t.” Keep these mantras (you can have as many as you want) close by and say it/them out loud when fear raises its ugly head.

Remember you’re reading the finished product. When you’re reading a published book or article you’re rarely (if ever) reading someone’s first draft. The book or article has gone through who knows how many revisions, editorial review, copyedits, etc… Once your work is finished, it will go through the same process before it’s shared with the public. So relax, you don’t have to be perfect.

9) Fear means you care. Far too often a writer may become too egotistical and ignore the benefit of being fearful. Not to the extent of being paralyzed, but using fear as a guide. By caring about your work and being concerned that your readers like or accept it will help you make sure your work is the best that it can be.

10) Procrastinate. You can always worry later. Write now.

Dara Girard is an award-winning author of romance and nonfiction who provides support and information for beginning and experienced writers, to help them keep going when things get tough, or when nothing seems to be happening. Visit http://www.daragirard.com/