Week 6 Reading Response: Visual Arguments

In Mike Lester’s cartoon, It’s GOT to be the shoes, I think he is saying that the Supreme Court Decision is ridicules. I would agree that some admission practices are very unfair. In Dennis Draughton’s cartoon, Supreme Irony, I don’t really understand it and to be honest, I don’t care to. Mike Thompson’s cartoon, Daniel Lives on Detroit’s Eastside, he is assuming an audience that is familiar with Detroit. We have to assume it’s a ghetto situation. He also seems to say that the only blacks live in the ghettos. I also found out that Calvin College that we wrote about last week is an all black college. Isn’t that reverse discrimination? Signe Wilkinson’s cartoon, Admissions, is an argument, I believe, about money and social status. Money and sports seem to get first choice, and then they fill the minority quota. Everyone else, regardless of grades or intent, or whatever other prerequisite, gets shoved aside. The minority gets blamed because they don’t have anyone to stand up for them. Dean Camp’s “Pricey” seems to argue the money issue as well. I think that Signe Wilkinson’s cartoon is the most effective because the more prestigious colleges in the lower forty eight states operate in this manner. It’s unfortunate but it is reality. It also seems like these same prestigious colleges have very successful sports teams. Why is that? Don’t have to think too hard on that one do we? To me, I think the least successful cartoon is “Supreme Irony” because as I said earlier, I don’t really get it.

Week 5: Reading Response 3

The multiple audiences for the “I am my anti-drug” campaign seem to be all the generations after the people in the ads. The young adults in the ads possibly seem to feel like they are being judged by their looks and age. Another audience could be future employers. They are also addressing their peers. To answer the question of whom the advertisements are addressing directly I would have to say all the older generations. Who are the invoked audiences? I would think it’s the same older generations. To compare the three ads, they all refer to drug users. Two of the three refer to kids and teenagers. All three refer to them playing some type of sport. Two of them allude to possible careers in progress. The only contrast I see is the color of their skin. I really don’t know which one of these ads is more effective. I’ve never seen any of them before. I don’t know if they were television ads or in newspapers or magazines. If they were in television ads it probably would matter what channel and what time the ads were run. It would be the same for magazines. It would depend on the particular audience they were targeting as to what magazine to advertise in or what channel to run the ad on. As far as these ads being effective, I don’t know what they mean by the “I am my anti-drug”. I understand what courage and regret are but, I don’t understand the I am statement.

Week 5: Reading Response 2

The article by John Zwier: An Opportunity for Intelligent Debate really stirred me up. Politics and religion have always been hand in hand, and always will be like it or not, right or wrong. I agree with the buttons statement, but it still alludes to division. There will always be division between Democrats and Republicans. We will always have a comparison of Conservatives to Republican, Liberals to Democrats, Christians to Republican and non Christians to Democrats. To pretend that this division doesn’t exist is infantile. I also agree with John that the opportunity for the president to speak at their college is one that should be taken advantage of. As far as the students who didn’t like the idea they can stay home if they don’t want to hear what he has to say. We all have that choice. We all must show respect for the person and the position regardless of whether we agree with him or not. There will never be a president that can make everyone happy all of the time. I for one am tired of Bush bashing. I find it sad that this school had already judged the man before he even spoke. The last two paragraphs seem to state this. Why do they hope that speaking there would make him nervous? And what makes Calvin College a Christian college? I can read between the lines that they even question his (George W. Bush) Christianity. I highly doubt they could do any better. The current administration certainly won’t. It seems the majority voted for change without knowing what all “change” meant. Buckle up folks; it’s going to be a rough ride.

Week 5: Reading Response 1

To summarize Bositis’s argument for me is difficult. I see a lot of numbers and stats about polls. All I see him doing is complaining that polls aren’t accurate for minority groups. I thought polls were to get information about what the majority wants or sees or needs. If he wants that information about minority groups then minority groups should have a separate poll. I understand that it is more difficult to accurately poll minorities in different parts of the county. I grew up in eastern Washington in an agricultural area. It has a very high percentage of Hispanics. A lot of them are here illegally and will fade into the woodwork when confronted for any questions. Yet these are the same people that will complain through others what they like, dislike or need or want from this country. Also a large percentage doesn’t speak English. I think step one would be to learn English. Step two is to become a citizen, and step three would be to only poll legitimate US citizens. I agree with Bositis that the polls are inaccurate, but they are inaccurate across the board, not just with minorities.

It is an evaluative argument because he is stating a claim and giving probable causes for it. It is a proposal argument because he gives some suggestions on how to help fix the problem. Some suggestions he gives are for certain organizations, including the news operations to go into areas where minorities live and work and find out and understand all the views they do or do not share.

Week 5: LEAD SENTENCES

The lead sentence I found is a summary lead. I liked it because it shows that data can be wrong. www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aIe9swvOgwIY click on enviroment.

Essay #1 Final Draft

LONG LIVE THE TWO STROKE!

Although two stroke boat motors are considered dirty as far as exhaust emissions are concerned, they are excellent motors because they are powerful, reliable, and economical to operate.

Dugald Clerk is credited for inventing the two stroke cycle engine around 1880. Joseph Day and one of his workmen designed the valve-less two strokes in 1889 which is basically what we use today. Ole Evinrude invented the first outboard motor in 1909.

Outboard motors on boats were developed as a self contained unit to power small boats. They are mounted on the back or stern of the boat. It can be pivoted or turned to steer the boat. They can have a propeller or, what is referred to as a jet unit. A jet unit is a type of enclosed propeller that forces a large amount of water through a small nozzle, or jet to propel the boat. Two stroke engines complete the thermodynamic cycle in two strokes of the piston. A two cycle (two stroke) engine uses the beginning of the compression stroke for the intake and the end of the combustion stroke to accomplish the exhaust function. This allows a power stroke every time the piston goes down. A two stroke engine has no camshaft or valves, and no crankcase oil other than what’s mixed with the fuel. Two stroke engines have a high power to weight ratio because they have fewer parts.

There are many different designs of two stroke engines but the most common for outboard motors is the reed valve. The reed valve is a type of one way check valve in the intake port to keep the fuel charge (fuel mixture) in the crankcase. The newest two stroke outboards use direct injection. Oil is injected in the intake port after the reed valve, to lubricate the rotating assembly. The fuel is injected directly into the cylinder. Direct injection gives more power with less fuel consumption and greatly reduced emissions. However there is still controversy over the use of older non-direct injected two stroke motors.

The San Diego Earth Times and the state of California state that according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), non-direct injected two strokes can discharge as much as thirty percent of their fuel and oil unburned into the water. The EPA also states that an older (prior to 1999) seventy horsepower two stroke outboard motor emits as much hydrocarbons as a modern car will in five thousand miles of driving. The San Diego Earth Times estimates that seventy five percent of all motorized boats are powered by two stroke motors. According to Evinrude their new E-TEC two stroke engines are cleaner than most four strokes and currently pass all emissions requirements including California's very strict regulations. Evinrude claims that a fifty horsepower E-TEC will only use two quarts of oil per year in average use.

I currently own an old 1981 Johnson sixty horsepower engine with a jet drive on my flat bottom river boat. The power is adequate for the boat and I can run this combination in about five inches of water. If I were to switch to a four stroke motor I would probably need at least a seventy five horsepower engine to compensate for the weight gain with the four stroke engine. As far as oil consumption is concerned, I mix fifteen ounces of oil per five and a half gallons of fuel. I can run my boat for most of the day on less than ten gallons of gas.

As you can see two stroke motors have been around for a long time. The basic design has not changed much in one hundred years, proving its reliability. A two stroke motor’s power to weight ratio is unmatched. Two stroke motors are economical because they use very little oil, require no oil and filter changes, and minimal maintenance. Current technology has made two stroke outboard motors clean running, powerful, and fuel efficient.

REFERENCES:

http://www.sdearthtimes.com/et0897/et0897s2.html
http://www.outboardcentral.com/content/view/16/1/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-stroke_engine
http://www.dbw.ca.gov/Environmental/TwoStroke/

Week 4 Reading Response- Pictures

In Everything is an Argument, with Readings, by Lunsford, Ruszkiewicz, and Walters a photo essay shows American products being advertised in other countries. This photo essay, titled: “Making a Visual Argument: Exporting America” shows how different aspects of American culture have been exported around the world. When I look at these pictures I see junk. Beer, cigarettes, McDonald's, and sodas, are sold. Self-indulgence, like the picture entitled Mother and Children at Disney Sea, the Disney Theme Park in Japan, 2001, is another aspect. I see Disneyland as a waste of money. The picture, entitled Advertising Budweiser as Capitalism Comes to China (no date) associating beer with sex by a skimpily clad Budweiser girl being ogled by Chinese men. Why would Met Life advertise insurance in Taiwan? We should be exporting items that meet basic needs instead of junk food. The people of our nation are generally not healthy and beer, cigarettes, soda, and McDonald’s encourages other countries to be the same. We should be selling clean water and basic food staples, not extras. I wonder if other countries think that all we do is drink sodas, beers, smoke cigarettes and eat at McDonald's. I know from my trip to Taiwan that there were seven-eleven stores everywhere which sold junk food. I also wonder if some other countries want these things so that they can be like Americans, or if it's forced on them? The countries that it's forced on are probably the ones that don't like us, go figure. As you can probably tell I am very disappointed with the garbage we export.

Week 4 Reading Response Cartoons

In Everything’s an Argument; with Readings, Lunsford, Ruszkiewicz, and Walters present five cartoons from the New Yorker Magazine. The main issue in the cartoons is communication between men and women. The kinds of people targeted by these cartoons appear to be working middle class heterosexual couples who appear to have traditional, possibly conservative values. The readers lives seem to be full of conflict in communication between men and women. Roz Chast’s cartoon shows conflict at home, and William Hamilton’s comic shows conflict at work. The intended audience values effective communication between men and women. Values such as traditional couples appear in two separate cartoons. Peter Steiner’s cartoon shows a traditional marriage in a church with a socio-linguist between the couple as they are getting married. Roz Chast’s cartoon shows a traditional couple, where the woman is the housewife with an apron on. People reading these cartoons are concerned with effective communication with the opposite sex. In Peter Steiner’s cartoon, the audience is expected to know who Debra Tannen is in order to understand the cartoon. They are also expected to know what is happening in Peter Steiner’s cartoon (a religious wedding ceremony). In all the cartoons, the men and woman are not understanding what the opposite sex is saying. Leo Cullum’s cartoon shows fear that man has when a woman says “We need to talk.” According to this cartoon, some men do not want to effectively communicate with women. William Hamilton’s carton shows men getting defensive at the woman’s question about asking directions. In conclusion, the cartoons are all about communication between men and women.

Essay #1 Draft

Although two stroke boat motors are considered dirty as far as exhaust emissions are concerned, they are excellent motors because they are powerful, reliable, and economical to operate. Ole Evinrude invented the first outboard motor in 1909. Dugald Clerk is credited for inventing the two stroke cycle engine around 1880. Two stroke engines complete the thermodynamic cycle in two strokes of the piston instead of four. A four stroke engine uses an intake stroke, compression stroke, power stroke and exhaust stroke. A two cycle engine uses the beginning of the compression stroke for the intake and the end of the combustion stroke to accomplish the exhaust function. this allows a power stroke every time the piston goes down instead of every other stroke. This also allows a two stroke engine to have less moving parts and no crankcase oil other than whats mixed with the fuel. Two stroke engines have a high power to weight ratio because they have fewer parts such as no camshafts or valves. There are many different designs of two stroke engines but the most common for outboard motors is the reed valve. The reed valve is a type of one way check valve in the intake port to keep the fuel charge in the crankcase. The newest outboards use direct injection. Oil is injected in the intake port after the reed valve to lubricate the rotating assembly and fuel is injected directly into the cylinder. Direct injection gives more power with less fuel consumption and greatly reduced emissions.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, non direct injected two strokes can discharge as much as thirty percent of there fuel and oil unburned into the water. The EPA also states that an older seventy horsepower two stroke engine emits as much hydrocarbons as a modern car will in five thousand miles of driving. The San Diego Earth Times estimates that seventy five percent of all motorized boats are powered by two stroke motors. According to Evinrude there new E-TEC two stroke engines are cleaner than most four strokes and currently pass all emissions requirements including California's very strict regulations. Evinrude claims that a fifty horsepower E-TEC will only use two quarts of oil per year in average use.
I currently own an old 1981 Johnson sixty horsepower engine with a jet drive on my flat bottom river boat. The power is adequate for the boat and I can run this combination in about five inches of water. If I were to switch to a four stroke motor I would probably need at least a seventy five horsepower engine to compensate for the weight gain with the four stroke. As far as oil consumption is concerned I mix fifteen ounces of oil per five and a half gallons of fuel. I can run my boat for most of the day on less than ten gallons of gas.
As you can see two stroke motors have been around for a long time and with current technology they are not going away any time soon for the reasons listed above.

Week 3 Response

Lamott’s writing style helps her make her point by convincing us that everyone makes bad first drafts. That it’s ok to make bad first drafts and she uses humor and personal experience to do that. I can relate to her about not being able to write anymore and think about getting her old job back. In paragraph five, she states: “I’m not going to be able to get the magic to work this time. I’m ruined. I’m through. I’m toast. Maybe, I’d think, I can get my old job back as a clerk typist. But probably not. I’d get up and study my teeth in the mirror for a while. Then I’d stop, remember to breathe, make a few phone calls, hit the kitchen and chow down.” However, I find that if I try to leave a writing assignment my tendency is to not come back at all. There are just too many distractions. This is where I can agree with some of her points but not all of them, but that is why we are all different. Some things will work for me but not for you. In paragraph seven she says that sometimes she writes a first draft that is twice as long as it should be. I struggle with wondering how on earth I will be able to come up with enough. Maybe I should go to the kitchen and chow down. It worked for her maybe it will work for me, oops my stomach just growled. It also doesn’t help with her talking about writing food reviews. Her main point is to just start writing and get something, anything down on paper. It’s a start and we all have to start somewhere.

Week 2 response

I think Sea's essay titled "Advertising Sets Double Standard for the Male Gender" portrays his disgust for the way advertising portrays men.  His examples are but a few of the many out there.  His question is valid in which he has to ask how men should act.  Advertising, it seems only show extreme ends of behavior.  He claims that men are portrayed as feminine, idiotic, or as macho man.  

Sea uses two types of claims.  His evaluative claim say's that advertising claims that men should act like men, but they don't say how men should act.  According to advertising, there are two types of men.  Sea lists the unmanly traits as baby talking to small dogs, effeminate swatting, dabbing grease off of pizza, being a bumbling fool, idiots controlled by women, and slightly built effeminate models.  Advertising list manly traits as fearless, muscular, masculine truck drivers.  His causal claim is stated in the following passage, "'metrosexual backlash' which is a return to traditional masculine images in reaction to the recent androgynous portrayal of the male figure."  I agree with Sea that advertising sets a double standard for men as well as women and probably every other group there is.  I think the media enjoys making fun of people in general.  Advertising and the media control us to a certain extent by what we see and perceive as "normal."