Reflection

I chose my topic about the parking issue on campus because I see this as a problem that needs to be dealt with before the university ends up expanding like it is expected to. I feel pretty confident with the paper that I have written and the topic I have chosen. I have chosen this topic because it is something as a student at University of Southern Indiana deals with and that is where we are at. I found this paper easy to write because I come up with solutions to problems every day. I am a problem solver because that what engineers do. I feel pretty strong as a writer now. This class has helped me understand how to write. Not to follow all the guidelines that were set back in grade school. I believe that is why I was struggling in English classes before, because there were so many rules that I had to follow. I see a lot of improvements in my writing now from when I started. I can now set myself up for success. I will now be able to succeed in English because I will not be held back from all the guidelines. I felt it difficult to kick the guidelines to the curb but I feel a lot better since I have. That is one burden that is off my shoulders now. I struggled with the fact that we were unable to meet for class for like a month. I was unable to get myself motivated to do my work for the class. I just put it off for awhile even though I should not have. Now that we are back in normal class I will be able to focus on my work for this class. I feel pretty confident with heading in to my next English class because I have been able to think outside of the box in this class. This class has opened new doors for my English writing.

Proposal rough draft

There is one problem that I see is emit at the University of Southern Indiana. I would say that the problem is not having enough parking. I believe that the University should explore other options of parking. In 2007 the University grow about fifty-one percent and is prospected to keep growing (USI.edu). With this information the university will need more parking very soon. There are several ways to fix this problem. Although not everyone sees this as an issue I do and there are viable ways to fix the problem, by building parking garages, and by putting more restrictions on parking.
 We all have run into the problem of driving around the parking lots on campus to find a parking spot. Everyone is fighting to get a spot around campus. I drive around some days to find a spot that is closer to my classes, but I can not find a spot. On those days that I can not I walk about a half a mile to get to my class. University of Southern Indiana has about eleven thousand students enrolled (USI.edu). Of those students only three thousand live on campus. That leaves eight thousand students fighting for a spot. Then the staff have to find spots as well. Although the parking is split between resident hall and non resident hall parking there is not enough for the students that commute daily. I am a student that drives thirty miles one-way everyday for class.
 One solution to this daunting problem is to build parking garages. Parking garages take more time to build then a normal parking lot and cost more money this option has worked for other colleges and universities in the state. Parking garages is a viable option in that because the university could build them as tall as they wanted by using the same amount of space that the current parking lots are on. I understand that this would cut down on parking for a little while when building the garages, but it could be done during the summer while there are not as many classes being held. Although this is a viable option that should be considered there is also another option that should be considered.
 The second solution for the issue would be to set more restrictions on parking. What I mean is to section off the parking lots even more then what is already in-place. The university could section the parking lots they already have into staff, resident hall, non-resident, and commuters over twenty miles. This is the more viable option for the growing university. This option uses the existing parking lots and cost less then building a new structure. Although this solution does not fix the whole problem it would be a good start. New lots would still need to be built because of the growth the university.
 Both of these solutions should be explored for the students sake. Although this may not be an issue that everyone drives to school it is a problem that I have run into on many occasions.

Proposal paper

I feel very insecure about my paper so far. I feel this way because I don't have my wonderful teacher to help guide me through what I need to do. I rather have someone tell me what to do then just read out of a book. This writing is challanging because I don't have a clue what to write about I just have all these ideas running through my head. None of my ideas make any since of what I want to talk about. I need help to determine what are good ideas and what are not. I would greatly need a good idea to talk about. Because all of the things that I jotted down are not that great.

Fastwritting for Proposal pg156

1. How does this problem make me feel?
 The problem of theft. This makes me feel sick to my stomach. People work hard for their money, so should the people stealing from them. There are many meanings to the word theft. I would like to talk about the fortune five hundred companies that talked our government into loaning them money. Such as the company that asked for 5 billion dollars at the start of this resetion. That particular company did not need the money. This company used the money to give all the higher-ups in the company a Christmas bonus. 


2. I think that one of the ways to deal with auto accidents is to take the license from a driver, if that driver has caused more than three (3) accidents. This would cut down on the amount of reckless people on the road. I would say to take it from them for at least two (2) years. I myself have been in two accidents in the past two months. Both of which were not my fault. Another possible solution to this problem would be to have every licensed driver take another written and behind the wheel test. I would say every five years a person should have to do this. This would make logical since to me. This way if the person fails either part they are not allowed to drive until they pass both parts. I believe this would cut down on accidents. I was always told it was a privilege to be able to drive, then why are people not getting punished for negligence? This would make peoples insurance on their vehicles go down to maybe not even needing insurance at all.  We could only hope.

Favorite Childhood Book

My favorite childhood book would have to be "Pink Panther and Sons, Fun at the Picnic." There was not really any meaning to the book, besides be a good kid and get rewarded for doing what you are told to . I like this book because my dad and my mom would both read it to me when I went bed. To be honest I would just look at the pictures. But now when I go back and read this book it remindes me a lot about my life. I would have to take care of my older half sister, but in the book the older panther was taking care of the younger one.

Green Eggs and Ham

A time that I was convinced to do something and was glad would have to be, when I was set up on my blind date. It took my friend along time to convince me that I would like this girl that she was a friend with. I was skeptical, it takes awhile for anyone to convince me of doing anything. I was glad that my friend had kept bugging me about going. I was glad that I had a chance to meet this wonderful girl on a blind date.

My Review

Affordable Sports Car Review

When someone says sports car a lot of things run through my mind. There are lots of different manufacturers of them. But what comes to my mind is an affordable one. The Honda Civic Si Sedan is what I think of for an affordable one. When thinking sports cars people rule out sedans. I did until I drove this car. The Honda Civic Si Sedan is an affordable sports car that has  a good pairing of components, good exterior styling, and good interior styling.

A good affordable sports car must have an engine that is capable of a good amount of horsepower. The Honda Civic only has two liter straight four, but it has one hundred and ninety-seven horsepower. As a baseline I will compare it to a 1979 Datsun 280ZX also known as the “Japanese Corvette.” The Datsun came equipped with a 2.8 liter straight six engine. The engine pushes out one hundred and eighty horsepower. When you punch the gas, it is a must, that the car pushes you back into your seat. Which both of these cars are very capable of doing. To be a good sports car the engine must be paired with a good transmission. What I mean when I say good transmission I mean a manual transmission. Both the Honda and the Datsun have five speed manual transmissions. The reverse gear is in the far right bottom corner of the gear box. A good transmission is key so that horsepower can get to the rear wheels. How close the car sits to the ground is important also. The Honda and the Datsun both sit close to the ground so I am unable to tell exactly how close they sit. A good sports car must have a low drag coefficient to keep the wind resistance down. The Honda Civic’s drag coefficient is 0.31. The Datsun’s drag coefficient is 0.385. These wind resistance’s are about average for a sports car. The weight of the car also controls how well the car can perform. The balance of light weight metal, such as aluminum, and carbon fiber is key to keep the weight low. The weight of a stock Honda is two thousand nine hundred and forty-five pounds. The weight of a stock 280ZX was two thousand eight hundred and twenty-four pounds. The weight of the car is kept lower for faster acceleration. The way the medal and carbon fiber are used gives the body of the car a unique style.

Styling of a car also determines wether it is just another car or a sports car. If a car does not have good styling it is cannot be claimed to be a sports car. The Honda sits low to the ground, has a rear spoiler, and has fender flares. This gives the Civic an aggressive stance. The Datsun has a closed hood scoop, sits even lower than the Honda, and has the same fender flares. The headlight shape and the brightness is also brought into question when determining a sports car. The Honda’s headlights set even with the front of the car and wrap around the side. The lights on the Si are Xenon lights. This means that the lights are brighter, due to the lights burning at a brightness of about fifty five hundred Kelvin. The Datsun has circular headlights that are set back into the body of the car. The headlights are about average brightness. Engine placement is also important to keep in mind. The placement of the engine determines balance of the car. Both the Honda and the Datsun’s engines are placed in front. The Civic’s weight distribution is sixty forty with brings the front end down to keep the drag down. The Datsun had a fifty fifty split for the distribution. The car must have good rubber and rims. Size does matter when talking about sports tires. The Honda has two hundred and fifteen width tires that are also low profile tires at the same time. The 280ZX has a one hundred and ninety-five width tire with a higher profile. It is also important for the car to be recognizable to anyone that is a car fan. If the car is not very recognizable then it would just blend in with all the other cars. I would not call a car a sports car if I could not tell what it is. The styling must also continue into the interior.

Interior styling is also key for a sports car. No sports car should be like exactly like the next. This is why there are options for every car that is built. Both the Honda and the Datsun a buyer was able to choice colors, for the interior and exterior. They could choose to delete the sunroof in the Honda or choose to have T-Tops on the Datsun. The Honda came stock with a spoiler but on the Datsun it was an option that the buyer could choose. Another option that both cars have was the use of side graphs. There are too many options combinations that are possible for both cars to list all of them. Another interior option that is a must for a sports car is to have a killer stock sound system. The Honda came stock with a seven speaker three hundred and fifty watt audio system. This is what I would consider a killer system. The Datsun came stock with a cassette tape player with four speakers. This was decent for the time but not up to today’s standards. A good sports car must have comfortable seats for all the passengers. The Honda has bucket seats that grab the driver and the passengers to hold them in-place. The Datsun has bucket seats also but they do not grab they are just seats. So I would say that the Datsun is lacking in the sense of seating. The stitching in the seats must be a different color then the material of the seats. The Honda has swaid and mesh fabric seats, with red stitching to contracts. The Datsun has fabric seats with stitching to match. So once again the Datsun is lacking on interior styling. To be a good sports car it must come equipped with a tack-o-meter. Both of the cars have this installed. The tack-o-meter is important for manual transmission cars, so the driver can know when to shift. So the interior styling of both cars are very different but they are both sports cars none the less.

To even be considered a sports car it must have all of the things that I pointed out. A good sports car has all of these things and more. Both the Honda and the Datsun originated in Japan. The Honda was built in Brazil. The Datsun was built in Japan. I would rate the Honda a nine out of ten. Although the Datsun is an older sports car it was a car before its time.These sports cars would be considered an affordable sports car. A good sports car must have an engine paired with a manual transmission, has a crisp exterior styling to it, and all the interior options possible.