In Class: Open Free Write

So this morning I decided to go on a bike ride because my Tuesdays are pretty crammed class-wise.  I woke up at 8 a.m. and checked the temperature on my phone and it said it feels like 32 degrees Fahrenheit  outside.  I knew it would be cold but not that cold.  Now I have a pretty good arrangement of winter cycling clothes but what I do lack is a good pair of gloves to keep my fingers warm.  Rolling out of my driveway it was chilly but I thought I was going to be alright.  After my warm up I started to pick up the pace to around 20mph and that's when my fingers started to hurt they were so cold.  I biked a good amount in the winter in Austin last year but for some reason today felt ridiculously cold.  About an hour into it my hands went completely numb.  Hey at least they didnt hurt anymore.  I finished my ride with a nice hot cup of coffee at starbucks, YUMMM!!

Unit 3 Proposal

The issue that we have chosen for this project is publishing unnecessary and inappropriate details about one’s personal life through facebook. Overuse of facebook has many negative effects on incoming college freshman which include being a distraction to academics among other things. Regarding this topic, we think that incoming freshman to TCU should be advised to limit what they share publicly on their facebook. Additionally, they need to be made aware that information they believed to be private can be seen by anyone, including their future professors and employers.

Our target audience for this particular issue is incoming TCU freshman, with facebook accounts, that have just graduated from high school. Our audience will be made up of both males and females ranging in age from seventeen to eighteen. Focusing in on TCU freshman, most of the audience members will be from middle to upper class families.

Our first medium will be an article in the Skiff discussing the dangers of facebook to incoming freshman and advice from more experienced, older students. Second, we are going to create a flier which would be handed out during new student orientation. The flier will include a general example of what an inappropriate facebook page looks like for incoming freshman. For our final medium for this argument, we decided to have a short video that could be shown to incoming freshmen during orientation as a warning about overusing Facebook.

In Class: Visual Arguments

The reading last night was on visual arguments and how they can be used to make a claim.  The two scenarios I really found powerful were the Kennedy/Nixon debate and the use of statistics through graphs.  The Kennedy/Nixon debate was the first televised presidential debate and the way each person appeared on tv is believed to have a great impact on the number of people that voted for them.  Just by Nixon looking clammy and sickly gave him a bad image.  The importance of visual arguments to make a claim will be used in my project of facebook.  Through a facebook page I believe we will be able to create strong images.

What did I learn from the reading material last night?

I learned that by not checking the syllabus and not doing the assigned reading that I will not be prepared for class.  It is always important to keep up to date with your classes because each professor put a great amount of time and effort into each class and doing the same is very respectful.  The assigned readings almost always have something to do with the upcoming class, so by not doing the reading makes me just that much further behind.

Unit 2 Proposal

     The topic/event I have chosen for Unit 2 is Arizona's controversial immigration law.  I think this is going to be a good topic because it affects a wide variety and number of people so I don't think I will have a hard time finding good well spoken arguments for or against the law.  Immigration is also a pressing issue in the United States, so im looking forward to finding many examples of peoples opinions.  It will be interesting because I believe I will find some great arguments from people either strongly for or strongly against it.  When people have a strong opinion towards something they often make strong arguments to back up their side of the story, which is perfect for Unit 2. 
     I hope to search for primary sources through the online databases the library has to offer, along with any newspaper and magazine articles I can find.  The internet is also a endless source for information so i expect to find many reports and positions there. 

In Class: First Paragraph

There's a place in a local shopping center, a not so ordinary place called the Apple store.  From outside the store it looks pretty simple but surprisingly appealing.  All the windows and doors are solid glass.  Above that is a massive piece of brushed aluminum with a faintly lit Apple logo right in the center.  Once inside the the theme of simplicity yet elegance continues.  The floors are made of long thin panels of wood, probably pine or some other light wood.  Large tables displaying neatly arranged products are made of the same wood.

In Class: Group Editing

For the most part, the experiences I've had with the peer editing group thing have gone fairly well.  The way I see it it's always good to get a couple different perspectives on your work.  I can be pretty funky with my wording sometimes so I guess I find it helpful.  I guess the only thing that gets on my nerves is when someone tries to rearrange like a whole sentence or a paragraph because its not the way they would have done it.  And I'm not taking about confusing wording or grammatical errors... I mean Its my paper and that's how I want it.  Kinda harsh I know but I hope you can see where I'm coming from.