Extra #5

I cant believe the semester is almost over.  I decided for my persuasive report that I am going to do a newspaper article for students on campus instead of a powerpoint/video.  Since my audience is going to be college students, I decided a newspaper article would be the best choice to reach my audience.

Extra #4

I'm really excited about the final paper/project and deciding what type I'm going to do for it. There are a lot of different options that I have to choose from as well as what parts to focus on.  I think I will do either a powerpoint video or a paper and I hope to make it very persuasive and would really want to influence someone to want to try out or but the shake weight.

Extra #3

What we have been doing in class to prepare us for our immersion story has really helped me to get some concrete ideas out that I want to include in my story.  It has really helped me to not wait until the last minute like i like to do to get a paper done.  Even though it is not due yet, I have began drafting for it and have almost finished half of my immersion story.

RR#9

     Michael Pollan’s “The Modern-Day Hunterer-Gatherer" talks all about hunting and the experiences you receive when you go hunting for the first time.  He had six different sections from when they first get to where they are hunting to when he kills his first pig and how it makes such a great meal.  Michael Pollan's story is very interesting to read about and has a lot of good details to make you feel as if your hunting in the woods with him.  He goes through the experience of really being taught how to hunt and gather food like the people used to do before they had restaurants and grocery stores everywhere.
     I think that this story really got to me.  My dad goes hunting all the time and I have gone a few times as well.  When you go hunting out in the woods, you get this really relaxing feeling because you don't have to worry about anything.  You also go back to your roots when all everyone did was hunt and gather their foods.  I think that this story will help me to really put a lot of detail in my writing and to make people feel as if they were with me in my scenes.

Day 30

my last day of doing my immersion and my shake weight kicked my butt again. it wasnt quite as hard as when i first started but it was still a good workout. when i lifted today my max outs stayed the same and i benched 260, curled 60 lb and extended 85lb.  my arms both measured out as 16.55 in and my chest measured out to 42.15 in.

RR#8

     Chapter 11 mostly focuses on the proper ways to share your results after you have completed all your research.  It talks about the proper ways to arrange your arguments and common argument and presentational patterns you can use to help you improve your sharing of results.  Chapter 11 shows you how to create a proper introduction and conclusion by using techniques like attention grabbers and motivating your audience for action.  Last of all it shows you how to put all your info together and some effective ways of delivery.
     Chapter 11 will really help me make better introductions and conclusions.  I've never been great at it and it will help me to grab the audience's attention and keep it throughout the whole paper.  I also didn't know there were so many different ways to make argument or presentational patterns.  I learned about how to properly make cause and effect, comparison and contrast, and proposals for argument patterns.

day 29

tomorrow is the last day for using the shake weight. i think i did a good job getting down the results and performing the exercises each and every day. tomorrow i will do the shake weight one last time and will also do measurements and my final set of max outs.

day 28

only two days left now. i have used the shake weight for 28 days in a row and there was a big difference between the first day i started and how its a lot easier now.

day 27

have continued to use the shake weight and feel like it has worked well.  its funny to watch other people try to use the shake weight cuz its a lot harder than they actually think. went home to a family bday party and many family members tried to do it but barely could.

day 26

almost done with my immersion. I think the shake weight has worked pretty well and a lot better than i though it would. A couple people have commented on how i look bigger and i feel like im more defined as well.

day 25

completed the shake weight and the lifting today.  I felt stronger and went up in all my max outs. 260 lb bench press, 85 lb tricep extension, and 60 lb biceps curl.  Really feel like the shake weight has worked for me pretty well.

day 24

completed my six minute workout with the shake weight. still tough to do and gives me a good workout, but it has gotten a lot easier to finish in the six minutes without being super tired.

RR#7

     In chapter 9 in Wadsworth, it talks mostly about how to construct an effective argument for your research.  It shows the difference between reporting and arguing and how you want to use a mixture of both when writing a research paper.  Arguing is important though because you will be bringing up new facts and interpreting and analyzing things instead of summarizing and paraphrasing the things already known.  Chapter 9 also shows what the rhetorical situation is and how to respond to the research question by making a cluster map and crossing out possibilities that you dont like.  How to write an effective thesis statement and how to support an argument by using pathos(emotions), ethos(credibility), and logos(logic) are also in chapter 9.  Chapter 10 focuses on research as well, but more on selecting and integrating evidence.  It shows you how to develop project specific evaluation criteria that will help bring in the audience and the main purpose of the research.  It shows you how to consider multiple options of your audience and the correct ways to present your purpose to them.  It also informs you on other criteria like timeliness, relevance, and other criteria that needs to be taken in to consideration in your research.  Last of all it shows how to use resources as your evidence and how to match reasons with evidence.
     Chapter 9 really helps me to understand the meanings of pathos, ethos, and logos.  I've been somewhat taught What they mean but this chapter helped me to visualize what they really mean and have good solid examples for them.  I've also never been very good at making an effective thesis or not one that I really like.  It showed me that I need an effective statement and a precise claim instead of a statement of fact or observation.  Chapter 10 will help me to really evaluate resources and how to categorize them and answer questions to see if they will really work or not.  Chapter 10 will help me to really understand how to effectively reach out to my audience and how to present my purpose to them.  It will help me to decide what argument to use for my audience.

day 23

ive done th shake wight for 23 days now and i fel like ive had pretty good results. only a week left for the immersion and i feel as if ive found some good info based on my findings from using the shake weight.  its been tough to just use the shake weight and not go workout or anything else.  it gives you a good workout but because it is only a six minute workout, i have a lot more time during the day that i would sometimes use to go to the gym

day 22

completed my 6 minute workout with the shake weight today.  heres the commercial with all the claims that the shake weight has : 

day 21

i did the shake weight again for the day. it will be easier to blog now and be able to do the shake weight because of going back to school. hard to do it when i was working and hard to find time for stuff. i feel like the shake weight is working to an extent so far.

day 20

I did measurements and max's to measure whether the shake weight has had the results that it claims to do.  My bench press went up to 250 from 245 the last time.  Bicep curls stayed the same at 55 lb for one rep, and tricep curls stayed the same as well. Measurements for chest went up to 42 in and arms were bigger too and went to 16.5 in.

day 19

did the shake weight like normal. still kind of difficult but a lot easier than it was at first. i kinda believe that whether you see results is based on how you perform the shake weight and also on genetics. i feel like ive had results, but its mainly toned my body instead of making me bigger like it claims.

day 18

There is not a lot of scholarly sources that I have found on the shake weight because it is a new product and I feel like it is very difficult to really see if it works for everyone. I believe that some of it depends on your genetics as well as other certain factors. On the reviews for the product, they are very mixed about whether they believe it works or not

day 17

Still not used to how difficult it is to do the shake weight.  It's gotten a little easier but still not simple. I feel sore every once and awhile after i do my workout. It only takes 6 minutes a day so it is quick and dosnt take lots of time like going to the gym.

day 16

I continue to use the shake weight each and every day. I can slowly see results as I begin to feel as if I'm getting bigger/ more defined. My dad didn't believe me at first about the shake weight and then tried it and didnt believe how hard it was to do

day 15

lifted weights again today. still around the same max's that i had after lifting on the tenth day. it went up from the 5th but there was no more weight that could be lifted from the last time. 245 lb bench, 55 dumbbell curl, and 80 lb tricep extension. i feel like i look a little bigger, dad commented on how my shoulders and chest looked bigger than when i was home February 21st.

Day 14

found an interesting article/study that was done between a shake weight and a normal dumbbell. looks pretty credible and had some good information on it. 

http://www.worldofdiets.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Fitness-IQ-Report_MALE_With-Table.pdf
It was made in december of 2009 and is about: 
This report details the analysis preformed using LifeMOD to compare muscular reactions for the Shake Weight and a normal dumbbell curl exercise.

day 13

day 13 has been a lot like the rest of them. its kind of hard not to go work out while im at home all the time like i did in the summer at our gym membership place.  only six minutes a day is good in some ways but bad in others cuz there are times when im pretty bored

day 12

the shake weight continues to be alot harder than i thought it would be.  i feel bigger than i did before and my veins pop out of my arms more than they used to

day 11

shake weight continues to be a good workout and hard to do.  mixed up the way i perform the shake weight so that its not always the same. done different orders instead of the same old ones.

day 10

Today I did a full body workout which allowed me to workout the body parts i havent used for a while.  My max for bench press went up from 235 once to 245 once as well.  for bicep curls, I lifted 55 pound dumbbells instead of the 50. For triceps extension I went from 75lb dumbbells to 80 once.  Within the first ten days, my chest is now 41.25 in from 40 in. my left and right arm both measured at 16.25 in. So there was some growth and I could lift heavier than before

day 9

there are three different ways to using the shake weight. In front of the body which uses two hands and works your chest, behind the head with you arms bent with two hands, and with one arm using your right and left arm separately. you want to make the motion as steady as possible without moving your arms too much. you do the shake weight for 30 seconds and do a stretch for 15 and then do the exercise for another 30 seconds. you do this for all three parts of the exercise.

day 8

a lot like all the other days. still feeling results after every time i use the shake weight. feel as if im getting a little bigger

Day 7

a little sore today. did the shake weight for six minutes like said. did it without the video this time. arms and upper body were throbbing as i finished

Day 6

mostly the same as the other days. it was still very difficult too finish the workout with out stopping. arms were still sore today and were swoll after using shake weight.

Day 5

day five was a little different than the other days. i was pretty sore and it was harder to finish the workout with the shake weight. after i did the shake weight workout I also lifted at the gym to see if any of my max's went up. it has only been five days so i didnt expect much, and there was no real change in the amount of weight i could lift for bench press, bicep curls, and tricep extensions.

Day 4

Day 4 was a pretty good workout. After doing the shake weight my arms and chest feel like ive went through an upper body workout.  Even though you only do it for 6 minutes, its still tough and difficult to finish without being out of breath or being a little sore

Day 3

Day 3 was the same as day 1 and 2, it was still pretty tough to do the workout the whole time without stopping.  Arms sore and veins popping out.

Day 2

Once again the shake weight killed me like it did the first day. It's alot harder than i ever thought it would be.  I also could see immediate results in my arms and chest as they looked and felt bigger

Day 1

I performed the shake weight for six minutes today and was very surprised that it was as difficult as it was.  I figured it would be somewhat easy, but it was hard and i felt the results right away.  I lost my breath and realized quickly that it wasn't easy like i thought.  Measurements on my right arm = 16 in, left arm = 16 in as well. chest measurement = 40 in.

RR#6

            The last part of Nickel and Dimed is the evaluation.  Barbara Ehrenreich grades herself and says that she was average because even though she used a lot of concentration and skills that she didn't know she would use, she recieved very little encouragement or compliments from her coworkers.  She says that the unskilled jobs are both mentally and physically challenging.  Ehrenreich finds that the markets are becoming extremely competitive.  She realizes that the pay that hourly workers are making isn't enough and the rise of rent is taking away the opportunities for lower income families to have places to live.  Low income homes in cities are disappearing forcing families to live in small hotels or apartments.  Employers do whatever they can to keep from having to give raises in wages.  She just felt as if the people in the lower 20% of the economy were treated so poorly that they flt as if they couldn't ever find a better job.
            Overall I thought this book had its good moments as well as its bad moments.  Mostly I feel like it just wasn't realistic enough because Barbara had a car as well as a savings account where she could get money out if she needed too.  Also with having a car, she had way more possibilities for her to get around then most poor people because they have problems with transportation.  I do think that some of the information she found about the low wage jobs helped me to really understand how hard it would be if I had to live like that.  It was also interesting to see how bad the jobs really were and all the hidden costs that can come with having a low wage job.

Extra #2

I am very glad that we did peer reviews today in class.  I believe this will help me to better my paper and make it the best possible.  Last semester, my teacher didn't let us do peer reviews because he said it was a waste of time.  I think that really hurt the overall grade and job that I did on my papers in English 103.  From the peer reviews, I learned what some of the good parts of my paper were and also how to improve it and fix some mistakes I didn't notice until I read it out loud to them.

RR#5

      Chapter six focuses on reading resources rhetorically.  It talks about rhetorical reading and how to read with a purpose or purposeful reading which is reading to learn and gather info.  It also talks about considering context and annotating resources.  Resources need to provide evidence to support and also reasons that support their claim.  It gives the inappropriate and appropriate ways to paraphrase the notes on resources.  It also talks about summarizing and the right ways to write a summary.  Chapter seven focuses on tracking and evaluating data.  It shows you how to verify, copy, respond, and fill gaps to see if you have collected useful and valid data.  It shows you how to evaluate validity by looking for the internal structure as well as the external comparison.
       After reading these two chapters, I now have a better understanding about finding and validating whether resources are good or bad.  It also shows me how I can paraphrase resources that are used for my notes.  I now know how to evaluate validity by looking at the internal structure and whether the argument follows coherent lines of reasoning.  External comparison also helps to evaluate validity by looking at the info and comparing it to other.

RR#4

          The author, Barbara Ehrenreich, does a research about whether single mothers that are living in America right now can survive solely on what they make in their minimum wage jobs.  Because of the Welfare reform going on, she decides to survive on minimum wage in three different cities in America.  First she lives in Key West where she works at two different restaurants and a housekeeper at the same time.  She lives in a trailer and an efficiency, and there learns that there are hidden costs to being poor.  She learns that if you can't afford a security deposit for an apartment, then you will have to live in a hotel which is very costly.  She also learns that if you have only one room, you can't save money on cheap or healthier foods.  If you have no health insurance, health bills can be very costly and significant.  
          The next town that she moves to is in Maine because it has an almost all white minimum wage work force.  She works at a nursing home on the weekends and also works for a cleaning service during the week while she was living in a cottage.  In Maine, she learns that almost nobody is willing to give assistance to the poor no matter how much she tries, rude people give her no help and ignore her.
          The last place that Ehrenreich moves to is in Minnesota where she believes that the rent and wages will be better there.  She decides to work at Wal-Mart while living in Minnesota.  Housing is extremely hard to find and she eventually moves into a hotel, but that is also super hard for her budget, but the safest place for her to live.  She applies to several stores and learns how long and hard it is as well as the worries of drug testing and application process.
          My reaction to the book is that it really is crazy to see how bad some people live life and how hard it is to get a job and be able to take care of a family.  It is even harder for single mothers because some jobs are more sexist and won't hire some women.  It gives me a real look into how hard life is for the less fortunate and that I really want to finish college and schooling so that I can get a good job.

RR#3

     The reading for the reading response #3 was over chapter four and five.  Chapter four was mostly about finding resources through secondary research.  We look at conducting research and looking for the different information that you need to find as well as finding resources and where you should find reliable resources at.  It also gives you the three types of resources, which are static, syndicated, and dynamic resources.  Static is like books, web sites, and audio and video files.  Syndicated resources are periodicals, podcasts, and blogs.  Dynamic resources are email lists, social networks, and other online communities.  Last of all chapter four talks about developing a research plan.  Chapter five focuses more on conducting primary research.  Primary research is research you receive from observations, interviews, and surveys where you mostly collect information to find out your answer to your research.  Chapter five also talks about the ethical considerations and the interpretation of data when collecting your research.
     The reading really helped me to see what primary and secondary research were and what they focused on.  I learned a little about it in English 103, but we did not focus on it much or really get into it.  The reading showed me how to perform primary research and the different ways of conducting interviews, observations, and surveys.  This will help with the research I use for my immersion learning project and finding information for my project.  The reading will also help me to find reliable resources that are believable and very true.

Extra #1

I thought class was very interesting today. I enjoyed hearing about everyone's topics and some that were very interesting.  The video we watched also really got to me and I thought about how hard it would be to actually be in a wheel chair for thirty days.  I mean Ray Crockett was a beast at football when he played and i thought it would be so easy for him to be able to make it the thirty days without any problems.  It was really cool to see how some of those people have gone through so much pain yet most of them are more happy with their lives then those that don't have any disabilities.  I know personally that I don't think that I would be able to make it a month in a wheelchair and not being able to do all the things that I am so used to.  I feel like I would just be in everyone's way and that I wouldn't get to be as independent.  Overall I thought the video was great and it really showed me that people with disabilities are just the same as everyone else.

RR#2

       Chapter two focuses on research and the writing process.  It talks about the different types of writing processes like invention, researching, editing, publishing, and proofreading are a few. It also describes different types of research processes like identifying your topic, assessing what you know, locate and documenting resources, analyzing resources, and presenting the answer to your research.  It also gives disciplinary approaches to your research.  Chapter three focuses mainly on identifying a topic for your research paper.  It talks about analyzing the writing situation, exploring different types of topics that you can choose from, and other ideas with topic finding.  It also talks about the starting of a research proposal and the features and some examples of research proposals.

      After reading the chapter two and three from Wadsworth, I got a better feeling of what the research process would like like in English 104.  The reading helps me to really understand how the research process should go and that it is not just a straight line of lists to do.  I usually just do a set list for research but this helped me to realize that there are many different ways and that it will help me to better my research.  It also helped me to really find a way to pick a topic and not think about what topic I might want or worry about it for too long.

Post #1 1/11/11

    A time that I really got into and enjoyed doing some research was when I was looking into what kind of job I wanted for my future.  I was looking at both athletic trainer and physical therapist as possible job opportunities.  I enjoy sports and also enjoy helping people, so it was a tough decision to choose which one I really wanted to do.  I researched the pros and cons of both jobs and realized that they both would be something that I would enjoy doing.  The jobs are very similar, but athletic trainers work with athletes only, while physical therapists work with anyone who has been seriously injured.  Physical Therapists also can start their own practices and the future outlook for them is very high because of the Baby Boomer Era getting older and many of them will need therapy for different things.  PT's also make about twice as much as most athletic trainers make and have a wider variety of jobs available.  The reason that this research was so interesting to me is because it gave me a look at a couple of jobs that I'm very interest in.  I also learned new information about the two job prospects that I was interested in and found out which job i prefer over the other.