Paper #1

1. I'm relatively happy with my first paper. There are a few grammatical errors that I found after re-reading it a couple times that I will need to fix.
2. I was able to pull a little information on how my essay should be written from looking at some of the other papers in the class.
3. At this point, to help make my writing better, I think it would be helpful to have others read my paper and point out areas where I was either to vague or the information just didn't make sense.
4.The educational experience I chose to write about was coming to an understanding that I, in general, just have control over myself.
5.I wanted the reader to come away with an understanding of what issues protruded in my life before the learning of the lesson and how my life was altered afterwards.

Educational Experience

An educational experience that had significance in my life, is the lesson of learning how to ride a bike. This was an important moment of my life because it not only did I learn an important skill used daily by many people throughout the world, but I was able to familiarize myself with the idea that many obstacles in life may not come easy at first. I learned this little by little each time I fell until I was finally able to stay upright on my own. I initially had thought the only thing I had just done was become efficient at being mobile on two wheels. As time has went on I've understood that the very simple skills I'd be utilizing while learning to ride a bike are skills that have been used and needed in almost every difficult situation life has faced me with.

Malcolm X / Mike Rose

The two narrative essays by both Malcolm X and Mike Rose have many similarities and differences. Both Malcolm X and Mike Rose explain a situation where they seemed to have been failed by the education system, but both found a way around their undesirable learning environment to learn, not only basic knowledge needed to play a part in society, but go onto being exceptional thinkers.
The two stories differ greatly in how they were able to come upon such knowledge. Malcolm X was able to apply his "articulate hustle" to his writing when he was locked away as a convicted robber. Mike Rose seemed to have been able to get more out of school when he became very interested in a topic in his sophomore year of high school.

The first writing assignment seems like an interesting enough topic. I think focusing on an educational experience from my life, will not only allow me to look back on something that enlightened me, one way or another, but why the experience did so. The idea of looking back on a positive experience and dissecting it seems very positive and useful.

Feross Aboukhadiejeh computer programming

I liked Feross Aboukhadiejeh's explanation on how he got interested in computer programming, what he suggests, as well as the experiences he offers of other computer programmers. He seemed very knowledgeable on the topic, not unlike Joshua Romeros explanation, but with a very clear message on how to be successful. He sums it up very simply, that you  need to practice to be efficient, and to make the task easier, be interested in the topic.

Group blog

Today we gathered in groups to discuss why it was we came to choose the templates we did for our Google blog pages. The group, consisting of Dan, Casey, Omar, and Travis all took a few moments in setting up our individual sites to our preferred specifications. While Dan created his page to "pop" with a background that "jumps from the screen", Omar chose his theme because he enjoys travel, it looked nice and was simple. Casey, who chose his background to include a blurred image of a highway landed on the picture because it looked sunny and "nice". Travis, choosing the template with a black and white of a small bridge, picked that image in particular because it looked peaceful and was a quick click away from starting on the next part of the assignment.

First blog

First blog