From here on out the blogging is totally optional. I don't know how I feel about this blogging thing. It's a very efficient way to get students writing a few times a week and it as well opens up a community of writing and communication. However, I feel blogging is pointless without an audience. Every so often my friends will read my blog, but I don't think this is significant enough to keep going. I will do a few more posts before the semester is over, just for the hell of it, but after class I think I will delete my blog. Thoughts? Opins'?

So the weather official suck. It's nearing the middle of April and there has been a constant precipitation. This is normal except for the snow. I was really looking forwards to getting outside with the ultimate Frisbee club. Even if it's a decent day outside the fields are still going to be soaked. Most likely it wont be till summer semester that we can go outside and have fun. It needs to hurry up because I am sick of playing indoors.

Easter was a blast. The weekend started off right with all my friends coming home for the weekend. Erica's parents were out of town and she was told to watch over the house. Friday and Saturday we all went over there and had a good time. I got to dye Easter eggs twice with my girlfriend, once at Erica's and the other at home on Sunday. I don't particularly enjoy this activity but it makes her happy. As well my Jewish friends took a turn at coloring the eggs. They had a blast. It's funny because I have always thought of this technique as second nature, probably because I have done them since i was little. They struggled, especially Josh, but he had a blast and everyone was happy. Family came over on Sunday and we had a good time. It was nice seeing my cousins, except Kelly, she goes to Ohio State. Just kidding, she was sick and we all felt bad for her because she was unable to enjoy in our feast. Ham and pasta seems to be the theme every year. This year we had stuffed shells which are a personal favorite. Over all a great day. No complaints

Looks like I will not get my abrasive draft peer reviewed. I came into class with it done and emailed to my account, but the printer was not working. This is concerning because this part of the writing process is normally very helpful to me. My paper needs a lot of work. I have good arguments, but they need structure and some elaboration. I was considering adding photos to my essay because it would help to explain a few key points. These points being conflict points in an intersection and the difference between classic and modern roundabouts. I will just get it reviewed outside of class, no worries...

Catholic School Closings

Over all i thought the author had a very good paper. Not only was the topic relevant to his local area, but he had a good amount of invested interest. I thought his thesis could have been a little stronger. "I believe that the Archdiocese of Detroit has not given enough thought to the overall negative impact these school closings are having on the students who are being displaced." The simple removal of (I believe that) would make his argument seem stronger; it creates an assertive claim instead of a personal opinion. Over all his paper is supported well and he pushes his audience to emphases with the students.

As far as sources are concerned I thought they were a little weak. The interviews were good, but the articles were out of news sources not professional publications. To his credit I can imagine it to be difficult to find extremely credible sources on such a local issue. The interviews of people who dealt with similar experiences gives a realistic look into the situation and added a lot to the paper. Overall it was a decent read and gave me some concepts I want to work with on my final paper.

My Sources

• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10576672&dopt=Citation
• http://www.dmv.org/mi-michigan/department-motor-vehicles.php
• http://www.roundaboutsusa.com/design.html
• http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=13623190
• http://ntlsearch.bts.gov/tris/record/ntl/7921.html

Thesis For Final Paper

Thesis

The addition of roundabouts in the Farminton-West Bloomfield area will cause more problems than solutions.

• The thesis seems rather focused.
• Not too informative and states an argument.
• Not too obvious, they are building them.

Outline

1. Intro (Thesis)
2. Against Roundabouts (Costs, Time, Confusion, Other issues)
3. For Roundabouts (Traffic Facts, etc.)
4. Conclusion (Sum it all up)

Sources -Need 8

• Traffic Reports (Roundabout & Lights).
• Studies on traffic control (Cost/Benefits).
• Reports on driving in unusual situations.