Interview with Rushang Shah, Founder of Gramlee

Interview with Rushang Shah, Founder of Gramlee Interview with Rushang Shah, Founder of Gramlee Interview with Rushang Shah, Founder of Gramlee By Daniel Scocco If you have not noticed yet, Gramlee is one of the newest sponsors of Daily Writing Tips. When they contacted me a while ago I was glad to accept them aboard, mainly because I think that they provide a useful service for both individuals and companies that want to make sure their text pieces are grammatically sound and clearly written. A while ago I was exchanging some emails with Rushang, the founder of the service, and we thought about running an interview to explain what they do, and to talk about general writing tips. He agreed to, and below you will find it. 1. What is Gramlee, and why should people use it? Gramlee is a web-based editing and grammar check service that everyone can use. It’s like having a personal copy editor who can magically make your writing technically accurate and professional. Anyone with an Internet connection can tap into the expertise offered by professional editors. Our editors revise documents to better match the specific prose, style, and flow that the writer is trying to portray. We check for grammar, spelling, punctuation, structure, brevity, and overall readability and professionalism. 2. Can you give us examples of who uses Gramlee and how they’ve benefited from the service? Bloggers are avid Gramlee users.   Many people have amazing ideas that they want spread through their blogs, but they fear that their writing skills aren’t professional enough to show to the world.   Small business owners also rely on Gramlee. They use it to edit everything from marketing, sales, and business documents to internal emails and memos. Job hunters who want to get an edge over other applicants use Gramlee to guarantee their cover letters and resumes are grammatically sound and professional. Having a professional and accurate resume is critical in today’s economic environment where each job can have an overwhelming number of applicants. We also have many users from non-English-speaking countries. They depend on Gramlee to make their writing professional so their businesses can compete. These are just a few of the people who use Gramlee. Short stories, business plans, manuscripts, presentations – we edit them all. Our motto is: if it’s written, we can edit it. 3. Can you share some of the interesting (or funny) Gramlee pieces you’ve received from customers? What types of things do you typically see? Since people use Gramlee for both personal and business writing, we get pieces that span the entire spectrum from serious to outright hilarious. In fact, we just launched a Twitter feed about some of the more interesting topics we get: twitter.com/gramlee One of the most inspiring Gramlees I’ve read was a letter written by a girl to her boyfriend. She was breaking up their relationship because she felt her boyfriend didn’t understand or value the meaning of love. In her letter, she explained what love meant to her and the value it carries in the scheme of life. The letter was so heartfelt and honest that we asked the customer if we could share it with fellow editors as inspiration. Recently, we received a Gramlee where a student was writing a college application letter for medical school. The student was raised in a rural area in a foreign country. He explained how his family found an abandoned baby in a wooden box floating in the river. His family adopted the baby. The student explained how this experience marked the beginning of his passion of attending to the needs of others. 4. Can you give our readers a Top 5 list of the most common grammatical and writing errors that you’ve seen? 1. Punctuation is one of the most misunderstood elements of writing. You’d be surprised how many people are completely in the dark about when to use commas and where to place them. 2. Apostrophes. (It’s vs. its; they’re vs. their vs. there) 3. i.e. in place of e.g. (The abbreviation â€Å"i.e.† officially means â€Å"that is.† The abbreviation â€Å"e.g.† means â€Å"for example.†) 4. Of in place of have. (â€Å"Could of† should be written as â€Å"could have†) 5. Tense confusion. People inadvertently switch from present tense to past tense throughout their writing. Keeping things consistent seems to be a challenge for many. 5. Why do computers fail miserably at proofreading and copy editing? Computers lack the â€Å"human element.† The human element to the editing process involves understanding who the audience is, what tone or purpose the writing serves, and how to best frame and structure the writing. A software-based editing solution just can’t provide this. For example: 1. He come form the kitchen. 2. He came from the kitchen. Try typing Sentence 1 into Microsoft Word and run the spell / grammar check. It fails to find the mistakes. A real editor, however, will instantly catch this error. Now, let’s say you’re writing a horror story. Let’s take the same example and see how a real editor would edit your writing. Original: He came from the kitchen. Revised: He entered quietly through the kitchen. The revised sentence establishes a more descriptive visual for the audience based on the context of the document – in this case, a fictional horror story. 6. How has the conversational style of writing that takes place in social media environments like Twitter and Facebook impacted the overall quality of writing? People rely more on abbreviations and shorthand instead of professional prose. This isn’t really anyone’s fault; today’s digital medium is built around quick and seamless exchange. My only concern is that people are becoming illiterate in the art of writing. Acronyms and emoticons can never replace the impact a well crafted message leaves. 7. What’s the single most important writing tip that you can give people? Two tips: proofread using drafts, and space out the time between your drafts. Never produce just one draft that you submit as a final version. Even the best writers make mistakes. This is because our minds are not really wired to multi-task. We can only accurately do one thing at a time. The first draft of any piece of writing involves getting thoughts and ideas on paper, not ensuring that grammar rules are followed or the writing is completely professional. Make sure to take a break between each draft you work on. The time away from the document will help your mind â€Å"purge and reset.† Once you have a clear mind, you’ll be able to approach your content with an entirely new perspective. You will also find mistakes that you previously overlooked, or come up with better ways to write something. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to Capitalize Animal and Plant Names15 Types of DocumentsHow Long Should a Synopsis Be?

The Meaning and Origin of Morales

The Meaning and Origin of Morales Surnames can tell us a lot about our family and where they came from. In some languages, surnames reference families occupations or kinship with other families. Sometimes surnames can even point to the particular town or region of a country that a family hails from. Finding out what your name means and where it originates from can be a fun start to exploring your genealogy. You can start here with the name Morales which is a very common among Hispanic people. The common Hispanic Morales surname has several possible derivations: A topographical surname was given to someone who lived near a mulberry or blackberry bush, from mora,  meaning mulberry or blackberry. The es ending indicates a patronymic surname, so more specifically the name Morales means son of Moral, or son of someone who lived near a mulberry or blackberry tree.A name used to indicate someone from Morales, the name of several Spanish towns. While Morales is the 94th most common surname in the United States and the 16th most common Hispanic surname. The name originates from Spanish but is also common in Portuguese as well.   Alternate surname spellings of this common name are Moralez, Moral, Moreira, Mora, and Morais. Where Do People With the Morales Surname Live? According to WorldNames publicprofiler, individuals with the Morales surname are most commonly found living in Spain and Argentina. In Spain, the surname is most prevalent in the Canary Islands. In Argentina, the surname is most common in the Cuyo region. However, people with this surname can live anywhere in the world.   Famous People with the Surname Morales Erik Morales - professional American boxerEsai Morales - American TV and film starLeo Morales - holds the world record for  deep-diving  with a disabilityEvo Morales -  Bolivias first Indian president Genealogy Resources for the Surname Morales 100 Most Common U.S. Surnames Their MeaningsSmith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown... Are you one of the millions of Americans sporting one of these top 100 common last names from the 2000 census? Morales Family DNA ProjectThe Morales Family Project currently has 38 members working together to find common heritage through sharing of genealogical information and DNA testing. Anyone with a variant spelling of the Morales surname is also welcome to join. Morales Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Morales surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Morales query. FamilySearch - MORALES GenealogyExplore over 3.4 million historical records and lineage-linked family trees for individuals with the Morales surname and its variations, including census records, vital records, military records, church records, and more. MORALES Surname Family Mailing ListsRootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the Morales surname. Search the archives  or post a question about your own Morales family research. DistantCousin.com - MORALES Genealogy Family HistoryExplore a variety of free databases and genealogy links for the last name Morales.

On Maximising Profits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

On Maximising Profits - Essay Example The desire to maximise profits does not form a clear and unique behaviour prescription. Enke (1965, p.54) adds that consequently, the economist cannot make individual-firm predictions in the short run.1 When the future outcomes of present decisions are uncertain, motivation does not constitute a criterion for each entrepreneur. To clarify motivation and criterion, Enke (1965, p.53) provides the following extreme gambling example. Suppose that one gambler might be given a hundred dollars and is told to make a single bet at a roulette table and "maximise profits" whereas another player might similarly be given one hundred dollars but then to "maximise losses." If they are obedient, both gamblers will play a number than a colour because, if they are ever to secure the maximum profits and maximum losses that they respectively seek, the longest odds provide profits or losses at the highest rate; if they both played a colour, they would be acting that is inconsistent with their instructions. Unless people have beliefs concerning the likelihood of certain future events occurring, a specific motivation cannot provide them with criterion for selecting one alternative from one another. The economist cannot predict how an entrepreneur will act if the economist does not know the entrepreneur's assessments of future pr obabilities (Enke 1965, p.55). Baumol (1961, p.193) also provides an example as to why the profit-maximising assumption does not hold for all firms. A small firm that is run by its owner may seek to maximise the proprietor's free time subject to the constraint that his earnings exceed some minimum level, and, indeed, there have been cases of overworked businessmen who, on medical advice, have turned down profitable business ventures. According to Anthony (1965, p.61), if a firm is to maximise its profits, the businessman must set a price such that the marginal revenue equals the marginal cost. This means that as a minimum he must be able top estimate the demand at all prices and the marginal cost at all volumes, and he must further estimate the extent to which demand is interdependent with cost because of advertising and other order-getting expenditures. In practice, states Anthony, is a "fantastically" [emphasis mine] difficult task, so difficult that is rarely attempted in practice. In Anthony's words: "who can accurately estimate the demand for a product at even one price" Another critic of the profit maximising firm is the "denigration" of the importance of managerial activity or to imply that it is without significant difficulties. Baumol (1993, p.3) defines the manager as the individual who oversees the ongoing efficiency of the continuing processes. In its generic and simplest form, the theoretical firm must choose among alternative values for a small number of rather well-defined variables: price, output, perhaps advertising outlay, and occasionally, a few others. The firm is then to perform a mathematical calculation which yields the optimal (profit maximising) values for all of its decision variables that the theory declares the firm's vector of decisions. Until there is such a shift in one of the relationships that define the problem, the firm is taken to replicate

( No topic ) Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

( No topic ) - Lab Report Example Automata can be described as whimsical themed or mechanical device that is constructed to act as if by its own power. Sometimes they are referred to as mechanical toys or kinetic art. Automata are marvelous machines that use most of the mechanical processes which can be found in almost every modern machine. They are powered through the use of a hand crank that turns a drive shaft which may include cranks, cams, cam followers, ratchets, levers, linkages, pushrods or gears. These mechanical systems are used in power transmission to transmit the input of rotary motion into outputs of linear, rotary, reciprocal or oscillatory motion. All these combined inputs and outputs lead to a cause and effect relationship that is used to make the automaton to move. In modern times, the design and creation of automata is related to the same principle mechanics involved with the design of robotics. The relationships in the input and output motions is critical to the designer. The automata, as researched and done by Paul Spooner and as displayed in the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre, shows that from as early as 1960s, the idea of automata has been in existence and has been improved since then. The period 1860 to 1910 is known as the golden age of automata. During this period many small family based companies of Automata makers thrived. Contemporary automata continue in the footsteps of the earlier inventors rather than technological sophistication. These contemporary automata are represented by the works of the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre in U.K, Dug North and Chomick in the U.S. some mechanized toys developed during the 18th and 19th centuries are automata made with paper. Despite the relative simplicity of material. Paper automata require a high degree of technical

Dell Goes Back to its PC Roots Essay Example for Free

Dell Goes Back to its PC Roots Essay Dell is a computer company that made its name by first selling personal computers directly to customers through their website, catalogs, and over the phone. As time passed, Dell expanded into related product lines while battling aggressive rivals such as Hewlett Packard and Apple, striving to be the number one consumer brand in the United States. Despite considerable research and marketing investment, Dell’s strategy to expand into other related product lines did not succeed, and the company was forced to regain its focus on PC sales. This case includes the steps taken by Dell to uphold its legendary PC roots. Key Marketing Issues †¢Brand – A name, term, design, symbol, or other feature that identifies one marketer’s product as distinct from those of other marketers. Dell is shining up its brand by improving customer service, which is especially important as PC sales grow more slowly throughout the industry and competitors dig in to defend market share. †¢Early Adopters – People who adopt new products early, choose new products carefully, and are viewed as â€Å"the people to check with† by later adopters. Dell is not looking to pioneer revolutionary new lines for early adopters, but has gone back to their PC roots, emphasizing related home office products. †¢Innovators – First adopters of new products. †¢Line Extensions – Development of a product that is closely related to existing products in the line but is designed specifically to meet different customer needs. Over the years, Dell has expanded into related product lines while battling rivals, hoping to obtain larger revenues. †¢Product Line – A group of closely related product items viewed as a unit because of marketing, technical, or end-use considerations. Over the years, Dell has expanded into related product lines while battling aggressive rivals, hoping to derive an ever-larger portion of revenues and profits from a wider mix of products for use beyond the home office. †¢Product Mix – The composite, or total, group of products that an organization makes available to customers. Dell has returned to its PC roots, emphasizing computers and laptops, inkjet and laser printers, networking equipment, and related products for home office use, after the failure of their consumer electronics strategy. †¢Product Life Cycle – The progression of a product through four stages: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. Dell introduced the Dell Digital Jukebox and Dell Music Store to compete with Apple’s iPods and iTunes store. However, Apple had so much momentum that Dell was forced to discontinue its own brand of music players. Personal Case Analysis I learned that Dell first made is name selling personal computers directly to customers through its website, catalogs, and phone orders. With a long history of marketing technology-based products, Dell has become a well-known U.S. brand. Despite considerable research, Dell’s attempt to enter the lucrative $100 billion world of consumer electronics did not succeed. Although Dell faces intense competition from other consumer electronics companies, they never stop looking for new ways to shine up its brand by improving customer service, an especially important step as PC sales grow more slowly throughout the industry and competitors dig in to defend market share. Case Questions 1-Why would Dell not pioneer revolutionary new products for innovators and early adaptors the way its competitor Apple does? According to wsu.edu, an early adaptor is a person who quickly adopts something new-usually a technological innovation. Our text defines innovators as first adopters of new products. Today Dell has gone back to its PC roots, emphasizing computers and laptops, inkjet and laser printers, networking equipment, and related products for home and office use. Because of its’ failed attempts to launch new products, the company is not looking to pioneer revolutionary new lines for innovators or early adopters. Instead it adds new features to products with a proven market, finds ways to make production more cost effective, and seeks to distribute both Dell and non-Dell products as efficiently as possible. 2-In what stage of the product life cycle do personal computers appear to be? How does this explain Dell’s attempt to expand into consumer electronics? According to answers.ask.com, a product’s life cycle describes the stages products experience when introduced to the market. There are four general stages including: introductory stage, when marketers raise awareness of the product; growth stage, when increase in market share is sought; mature stage, when producers of the product have maximized market share and minimized costs and the decline stage, when competitors entering the market erode market share and profits begin to decline (anwers.ask.com). The stage that Dell’s personal computers appear to be in is the maturity stage. With a long history of marketing technology-based products, Dell has become a well-known U.S. brand. Their management saw the brand as a strength to exploit in marketing new flat-screen televisions, tiny digital music players, and other non-computer products. Dell launched its consumer electronics items just as major technological developments were roiling the industry and changing how consumers buy and use such products. Dell was caught in the crossfire of intense competition. At the start of the consumer electronics initiative, the company introduced the Dell Digital Jukebox and the Dell Music Store, putting it on a competitive collision course with Apple’s popular iPods and iTunes store. Dell discontinued its brand and has been reselling products made by Samsung and other manufacturers. This allows Dell to satisfy customer demand for certain for consumer electronics without incurring the high cost of research and development. 3-How far can Dell widen its product mix without hurting the company’s credibility? For example, what might be the impact of new products such as Dell motorcycles or Dell frozen pastries? According to enotes.com, the product mix of a company, which is generally defined as the total composite of products offered by a particular organization, consists of both product and individual products. A product line is a group of products within the product mix that are closely related, either because they function in a similar manner, are sold to the same customer groups are marketed through the same types of outlets, or fall within given price ranges. Over the years, Dell has become a popular U.S. brand, which was viewed as a strength to emerge into the market of new flat screen televisions, digital music players, and other products. Although Dell did a considerable amount of research and development to make these products a success, the strategy did not succeed. For this reason, Dell should not attempt to widen its product mix, because it has been proven that doing so will hurt the company’s creditability. Dell motorcycles or Dell frozen pastries would definitely hurt the company’s creditability, because they are known as a number one computer company. Dell should continue to develop and emphasize computers, printers, and other home office related products to maintain its creditability. Conclusions For Dell to continue to successfully market to its consumers and uphold its legendary PC roots and name brand, they must develop the optimal product line by understanding buyers’ goals. The product life cycle is also an important concept to make sure the introduction, alteration, and termination of a product are timed and executed properly, helping to better maintain profitable products and drop unprofitable ones. Although Dell does not pioneer revolutionary new products for innovators and early adopters the way its competitors does, they stand strong in the PC market. Line extensions, however, are used to successfully take market share from competitors.

Thesis on a Tale of Two Cities :: essays research papers

Charles Dickens’s voice varies from being sympathetic with the revolutionaries, to a feeling of discord with their method of revolting. A Tale of Two Cities revolves around the French revolution and the tension in England. Dickens gives the tale of a family caught in the conflict between the French aristocracy and radicals. In the course of the book, the family handles extreme difficulty and obscurity. Dickens’s neutrality, though sometimes wavering from side to side, is apparent throughout each book in the novel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the book, Dickens portrays his objectivity between the classes through a series of graphic descriptions. For example, the horrid events that occur when the Marquis murders the child is a time when Dickens most definitely favors the rebels. Dickens’s attitude when Jacques kills the Marquis is that justice has been supplied. There is a definite tone of approval in his voice after these actions. On the other hand, Dickens’s attitude towards the mutineers is not always one of endorsement. When the activists nearly kill Gabelle and burn the Chateau, Dickens’s attitude changes from one of approval to one of disbelief. His disposition is almost one of sorrow for all the beauty being carelessly destroyed. As the reader can see, Dickens’s opinion varies greatly in accordance to the portion of the story the person is reading.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Possibly, to find the clearest image of Dickens’s neutrality, the reader needs to gain a larger view of the tale.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As the reader sees a broader picture, a pattern emerges. Dickens, in each book, gives the tale in favor of the different parties, showing his indifference to the outcome of each party. Thus while the reader may form feelings towards the revolutionaries, Dickens stays unmoved by both causes and relates the story accordingly. This way of showing Dickens’s apathy once again proves that Dickens is only partial to either side in certain portions of the book.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Perhaps the clearest illustration of Dickens’s neutrality is located in the very first sentence of the novel. He shows his neutrality through the description â€Å"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . .(7).† This unusually comparative sentence single-handedly starts the book with a feeling of un-bias. In the final chapter of the book, six carriages carry â€Å"the days wine† (people) to La Guillotine to be be-headed (374). In this passage, Dickens shows his remorse for what is done. He gives hint that the common-folk were once a good people who are perverted by the aristocracy, and given the same conditions will be perverted again.

Why I do it

It was a freezing cold morning in Farnham. I thought to myself ‘Why am I out of bed at this time on a Saturday morning?' My question was answered merely two minutes later as I managed the trick which I have been trying for the last week, a ‘topside sunny day.' ‘Nice man, nice,' was the call from the bench as I looked over at my friend Mark who was giving me the thumbs-up as I came swiftly out of the trick. I skated over to the bench lazily and took a seat next to Sam, Mark and Henri. ‘What time is the comp tomorrow?' I asked them. ‘Nine am bright and early,' replied Sam whilst getting up to skate over to the grindbox and attempt another amazing trick. ‘I know I need practice for the competition but skating at eight o'clock on a Saturday morning in the freezing cold is a bit too much,' I moaned as I put on another jumper. ‘You wanna go street for a bit?' asked Mark as he took off his skate and started fiddling with the laces. ‘Where are we gonna go? The sixth form college is too far, we're not allowed in Lidls and Redgrave rail is still wet from that rain during the night,' I complained. As I said this I was mostly thinking of my stomach, as I hadn't any breakfast yet. ‘You fancy going to Wimpy?' ‘I'm still banned,' said Sam almost proudly as he glided back to the bench having just done a perfect ‘topsoul.' Henri was being strangely quiet and he suddenly stood up, picked up his bag and said ‘well you can wait outside then.' Mark stood up sharply ‘as long as I can get some hot food I'm not bothered where it is.' On the way to Wimpy I thought constantly of the upcoming competition that was getting ever closer. As I imagined what it would be like to have about thirty or forty people stare at me for ten minutes butterflies suddenly came to my stomach and made me feel nervous and uncomfortable. I gripped my bag a little tighter with my freezing fingers and wished I had had the sense to bring the gloves I bought the day before. As I entered Wimpy I could feel the warmth of the deep-fat fryers and hear the voices of the Turkish men who worked there. We took a seat in the smoking section and looked at the menu. ‘Man I hate being able to see pictures of the food on the menu. It just makes it look pathetic when it arrives because it never looks the same,' said Mark miserably. ‘Just decide what you want and order I'm starving,' I told him as I had already decided on a large Wimpy breakfast consisting of sausage, bacon, eggs, tomatoes, beans and toast. ‘Can you add a toasted teacake to that?' I asked the waiter as I gave my order. I wolfed down the breakfast, even though I don't like tomatoes, and lit a cigarette. ‘Is anyone else nervous about the competition tomorrow?' I asked trying to hide the fact that I still had butterflies in my stomach despite having finished my breakfast. ‘No it's not big deal just think of it as another game of IYMTA. It's only really us, Ben, Carl and James that are entering anyway so there's not a lot of competition.' As Mark said this he was lazily puffing on a cigarette and leaning back on his chair. IMYTA is a game that we play where we skate against each other. It stands for I Match Your Trick Association. It is an annual competition involving professional skaters from around the world where one person does a trick and then everyone else has to do the same trick or they are given a letter. When you have all five letters you are out of the game. We played this regularly and hearing Mark put it like that I felt more relaxed about the competition. ‘Yeah I guess,' I replied as I leant back on my chair feeling relaxed for the first time since I heard about the competition. ‘I' m off home to get some sleep, I might come out later on,' I said as I left the restaurant. I skated to the bus stop feeling good and made it just in time to catch the 9:40 bus. When I arrived home I went straight upstairs, undressed and fell into bed. I fell asleep almost instantly as I hadn't had any sleep the previous night and was still tired from school on Friday. I dreamt of the competition. It was a warm, sunny day and it had just started. I smiled as I dropped in on the big ramp to go for my first big trick. I jumped, and as I was flying through the air I grabbed my feet and pulled them behind me then released them and landed perfectly to go up the other ramp and do a perfect 540 degree spin. The crowd was cheering and the judges were going wild. I skated round the entire park and did a 900-degree spin on the biggest ramp. I was about 9 feet in the air and I leant forward too much. My front wheels hit the ramp and I landed on my face. It hurt so much. I heard an ambulance somewhere in the distance but it was distorted somehow. It sounded more and more like a phone ringing. ‘Ian. Ian wake up you have a phone call!' I woke with a start. My heart leapt. It was a dream I realized. I stood up and put on my dressing gown trying to tell myself it was just a dream and that that wouldn't happen. My stomach had butterflies again. I took the phone from my mum. ‘Hello?' I said groggily. ‘What are you still doing in bed? The competition is half an hour away!' said Mark urgently. ‘What?! It's tomorrow stop joking around,' I said as I checked my watch. 3Sun it said. Oh my God I thought. I slept right through. ‘I will be there don't worry,' I mumbled quickly and hung up. I ran upstairs, threw my clothes on and picked my bag up. I half-fell down the stairs in my haste and put my skates on. As I flew down the hill towards Farnham skatepark I had the feeling I had forgotten something important. It was as cold as the previous day but I had no time to be cold. I skated faster. I arrived at the skatepark five minutes later out of breath and threw my bag down. ‘Where have you been?' asked Sam. ‘In bed,' I answered quickly and I went straight to the biggest ramp and started warming up. I was skating quite well, I managed to spin a 540 and land but then I tried to ‘Truespin topside pornstar' and my feet missed the right spot and before I knew what happened I was lying on the floor. I got straight back up and thought to myself ‘this is not going to beat me.' I skated hard for another 15 minutes before the announcer had finished setting up his equipment and announced that the competition was about to start. It was the BMX'S category first so I had a twenty-minute break before I had to skate again. I rolled lazily over to the bench where my friends were sitting, sat down and lit a cigarette. ‘Why do they have to have a BMXers competition anyway?' asked Mark indignantly. ‘There's only five of them.' ‘Because it gives us something to laugh at,' retorted Henri. I couldn't join in their jokes and laughter. I was too busy thinking about the trick I had been working on for two weeks. A bio flip. To do it I had to do sort of a front flip but instead of going over my head and landing forwards, I had to throw myself over my right shoulder and land backwards. I had only tried it twice and never landed it. None of the others knew I had been trying it or that I even planned to attempt it. The BMX competition was cut short because of an injury and the announcer told all the rollerbladers to make their way to the ramps. I hastily threw my cigarette to the floor and skated up the ramp. As I stood at the top of the ramp I looked around at the people in the crowd. There were so many. ‘You have 15 minutes,' came the voice over the speaker. ‘Go!' I jumped into the ramp and immediately went into a four foot high ‘mute grab' over the funbox and neatly stalled on the other ramp. My heart jumped as I went back down the ramp backwards and did a 360 spin over the funbox. I was skating better than I had skated in a long time and I had a moment where my butterflies and doubts had gone and I was just confident. This was it. I dropped in on the smaller ramp and did a 180 spin over the funbox so I could go backwards into the trick. I could see a photographer in the front of the crowd aim his camera at me. I went up the ramp backwards and threw myself as hard as I could over my shoulder. For a second it was like time stood still. I had pulled my legs in so that I was like a ball in the air. I brought my legs back round so I could land near the bottom of the ramp. Suddenly it felt like I was going to spin too much and land on my knees. But somehow I managed to lean back a tiny bit and land on my feet and roll away. The crowd were shouting and the photographer was going mad. I could hear the announcer shouting ‘He's done it, he's done it.' Mark and the others had stopped skating to watch my bio flip but Mark had come over and shook my hand and said ‘nice one.' The others were standing with their mouths open as if they had never seen a bio flip before. Henri skated up to me and said ‘I never thought you would do that.' It suddenly occurred to me as the speakers told me that I had come first that this is why I do it.