Assignment #13

I think my essay has changed into a better one from peer review because once i got someone reading it other than me, i got very informative feedback and even more topics i can write about and expand my essay on. The process also gave me some difficulties on my thesis. I know it can easily be turned into a thesis that can have well over 12 pages wrtten on it, i just need help making a clear one. This is something that i was not surprised at because i always have difficulty making a clear thesis. Also, i was not surprised at feedback saying to make it longer. The problem i have with that is that i feel as if i could already explain everything with what i have. When i am revising it, i plan to find more sources. Hopefully some that go against my thesis, but so far i have yet to find any. Some questions i had in mind were on how i was going to expand it my essay because i am having trouble with that. Also, how would i be able to make a better thesis. That is probably what i am having the most problems with. And i also have questions on how to word my essay the right way to make sure it has a proper flow and doesnt seem like it starts things from random.

Assignment #14

I guess for this topic i could talk about how i ordered Axis pedals for my drum set. I am pretty damn excited for these since I've been playing some crappy pedals i got off ebay for $100 for almost 3 years... these are a huge step up from those POS. Unlike my old ones, these are longboards and have a direct drive. For those of you who have no knowledge of this, normal pedals have a pedal that ends with a small, flat board at the end for heel support. Axis longboards are just one long pedal with no board at the bottom which is ideal for the heel-toe technique. Also, the Axis pedals have a direct drive instead of a chain drive like most other pedals do. This in turn results as super quick and smooth response with no lag at all. Smooth as silk! These pedals are probably the lightest and cleanest pedals out there. Many metal drummers,such as George Kollias, are known for being endorsed by them because of that. Normally these pedals go for 600 bucks, give or take. But being the cheap polish man i am, i found a sweet deal for only 300 bucks off ebay! Hopefully ebay wont screw me over on these... otherwise I'm gonna be super pissed. But if anything, ill put them back on ebay and invest in brand new ones. There is only one way to find out if i made the right choice, but for now all i can do is wait. Once they come in and they actually work like they are supposed to, ill be melting every ones face off with my 250 bpm double bass. And of course, with triggers so i can get that machine gun sound!

Assignment #12

I think the most difficult part in my research process is creating a thesis. I know it is simple for some, but for some reason i just have trouble with it. While researching my question, i was not surprised that most of my results turned out the same. Most reviews that i have read about the Google policy say that it is a bad thing. Specifically that the people that have reviewed it all agree that it has gone too far. They now take their services else where. For example, instead of using Google to research things, they use search engines such as duckduckgo.com and blekko.com. Both engines are completely private. They leave no history or cookies such as Google. The users feel as if these search engines are more secure since they pretty much leave no traces. The most difficult part of my research is finding an example of how someones personal information was used for wrong doing. I have yet to find it, but that is probably because i have specifically looked for an example from Google. I would probably have better luck if i searched for an example that has happened from any web browser or any search engine. If i find any example of such a case, i can then just compare it easily to how Google has to power to do the same.

Assignment #11

I think one of my errors in writing is not making a clear thesis. Most of the time i kinda just skip it and continue writing my paper without one. Not really sure why i do this, but its most likely out of laziness. Another mistake i tend to make is that i don't exactly clarify my points/views. I tend to just mention it and don't explain why. Also, I've noticed that I use "I" a lot. Sometimes it becomes too repetitive and all the reader notices is "I believe", or,  "I strongly agree" and that's all that the reader can think of.

Research Question

My main research question that i have chosen is "Has the new Google privacy policy gone too far?" Where is the line drawn from basic information to personal information? As for the double entries, it didn't help that much on this specific topic, but it did give me a few good ideas on what i would consider writing about. I have not come up with a thesis on the topic yet. The only issues i can think of on this topic is trying to get the right information and trying to make it simplified and short. As for my "search terms" i could just find all of the info i need by reading Googles new privacy statement. I dont think i really need to do any more research since i would be able to read the whole statement through google itself. Unless there is certain words or phrases i do not understand, i will do further research into those. Other than that, i think i could get all the info i need just by reading the statement and breaking it down.

Reflection

Looking back at when i started this class, i personally had a goal of actually doing the work on time and getting things done. But then i started to get lazy and started to let things go. As far as my skills of a writer, i think i could actually show improvement if i put time into writing the drafts and doing the papers. I do think some things in class have helped me as a writer. For example, taking the notes/bullet points for the three articles made it a lot easier to summarize them for the paper. For my writing process, it hasn't changed much. I feel as if mine works for me, i just need to put more time into it. The only part of this class that i didnt like was these blogs..... they suck! Personally, they really dont help me much.

Assignment #6

The significant points in two of the three articles ("Too many people coming to college?" & "A Lifetime Student Debt?") is that students should not go to college, just for the sake of going to college. While going to college is a good investment, the person going should be aware of what they want to do. Otherwise they are just wasting their money for nothing. They have to find a specific field to go into so they don't waste their time either. Another big point is that students mainly get in high debt because they want to go to their dream colleges no matter what. On the other hand, in "The New Liberal Arts", the main point i would say is that a liberal arts degree is a good investment. According to the article, more that three quarters of employers recommend that college students pursue a liberal arts degree.