Tuesday, December 6, 2016

When my writing was at its best by Josh Salyers

I believe my writing was at its best in my personal reflection paper on essay 1. I used very descriptive language, dialogue, inner monologue, reflection, and anecdotes to highlight my story about my not so pleasant run ins with my high school chemistry teacher. In that paper, a good example of my writing would be, "She would often come out of her lecture into the hall to grab carelessly loud freshman who did not know to quiet down when they passed the dreaded room 137, and drag them to Cavello's office by the collar. Many people, even Mr. Lohre, complemented me on bits of writing such as this, which is why I feel that that personal narrative was one of the best pieces I have ever written.
Another place where I felt my English abilities really stood out was my presentation on Al Capone. I felt my research really coincided with accurate information that I had written on Al. That lead to an A on my presentation. My favorite blog post was my post on the Tet Offensive for the Vietnam research.


"The Tet Offensive was one of the largest military campaigns in the Vietnam War. It was launched on January 30, 1968, by the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong against the South Vietnamese Army, the United States, and their allies. This military campaign was a series of surprise and guerrilla attacks against military and civilian centers throughout South Vietnam. The name of the military offensive come from the Tet holiday, the Vietnamese new year, when the first major attacks occured.
While the initial wave of NVA attacks took major cities from the U.S. and inflicted heavy casualties, the U.S regrouped and fought back, inflicting heavy casualties on the North Vietnamese. Major battles include the Battle of Khe Sanh, Saigon and the Battle of Hue, in which the NVA took control of the city, and executed thousands during their occupation. The U.S eventually destroyed the city to reclaim it. In Saigon and other cities, small teams of Viet Cong would go out and attack embassies and bases, killing civil servants, military personnel, and anyone who was allied against them, then large and numerous battalions would attack large U.S and South Vietnamese military bases. 
Whilst considered a military defeat for the North Vietnamese, who were dejected and utterly defeated by the offensive due to heavy loses, its effects on the U.S were profound. The American public was led to believe by political and military leaders that the Viet Cong were incapable of carrying out such a large, precise, and coordinated attack. After seeing that they were being lied too, the U.S public support for the war declined. This eventually led the U.S to seek peace negotiations in Vietnam."
 
I provided clear and accurate information based on what I had researched prior to writing.
 
  

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Amanda and Regan: Andy Warhol

For your comments on Presentations:

First, write about something well done.  What did you learn from this group?  What part of the Presentation seemed the best?  Be specific, and use a specific example from the Presentation and your notes.

Second, offer constructive criticism that would help this group. What might have been more clear?  What part of the Presentation seemed the least polished?  Be specific.

Paige and Matt: Jimi Hendrix

For your comments on Presentations:

First, write about something well done.  What did you learn from this group?  What part of the Presentation seemed the best?  Be specific, and use a specific example from the Presentation and your notes.

Second, offer constructive criticism that would help this group. What might have been more clear?  What part of the Presentation seemed the least polished?  Be specific.

Travis and Phillip: Iwo Jima Flag Raising

For your comments on Presentations:

First, write about something well done.  What did you learn from this group?  What part of the Presentation seemed the best?  Be specific, and use a specific example from the Presentation and your notes.

Second, offer constructive criticism that would help this group. What might have been more clear?  What part of the Presentation seemed the least polished?  Be specific.

Lauren and Nick: D-Day Normandy

For your comments on Presentations:

First, write about something well done.  What did you learn from this group?  What part of the Presentation seemed the best?  Be specific, and use a specific example from the Presentation and your notes.

Second, offer constructive criticism that would help this group. What might have been more clear?  What part of the Presentation seemed the least polished?  Be specific.

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Tia and Desiree: The L.A. Riots

For your comments on Presentations:

First, write about something well done.  What did you learn from this group?  What part of the Presentation seemed the best?  Be specific, and use a specific example from the Presentation and your notes.

Second, offer constructive criticism that would help this group. What might have been more clear?  What part of the Presentation seemed the least polished?  Be specific.

Hunter and Naomi: Marilyn Monroe

For your comments on Presentations:

First, write about something well done.  What did you learn from this group?  What part of the Presentation seemed the best?  Be specific, and use a specific example from the Presentation and your notes.

Second, offer constructive criticism that would help this group. What might have been more clear?  What part of the Presentation seemed the least polished?  Be specific.

Grant and Joe: Twin Towers in New York City

For your comments on Presentations:

First, write about something well done.  What did you learn from this group?  What part of the Presentation seemed the best?  Be specific, and use a specific example from the Presentation and your notes.

Second, offer constructive criticism that would help this group. What might have been more clear?  What part of the Presentation seemed the least polished?  Be specific.

Gabby and Matt: Miracle on Ice

For your comments on Presentations:

First, write about something well done.  What did you learn from this group?  What part of the Presentation seemed the best?  Be specific, and use a specific example from the Presentation and your notes.

Second, offer constructive criticism that would help this group. What might have been more clear?  What part of the Presentation seemed the least polished?  Be specific.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Review of MMM's "How to be Happy, Rich, and Save the world" by Gabby Biliran


In “How to be Happy, Rich, and Save the World,” Mr. Money Mustache starts off by mentioning how he thought that after 5.5 years of retiring, the blog would get boring for him and his posts would slow down. His desire for learning and keeping his project going overwhelms what could be boring, and is essentially what keeps him going. 

In this post, Mr. Mustache talks about how the project entailed involves convening people of the world’s rich countries to separate the idea of lifetime happiness and “buying expensive shit with which to pamper yourself.” According to him, combining the two is a human psychology problem as much as a financial, technical, or political one. Part of the project, according to him, includes reaching new groups of people. 90% of his traffic comes from the US, which is 5% of the countries population. To reach the other portion of the world’s population, he gave a presentation at the World Domination Summit. 


The best part of the blog post lies within the fact that instead of just mentioning or summarizing the presentation he gave, he went as far as to include the video of him speaking, as well as the power point presentation and the notes he used. With this, he makes it easier for other people to advocate in his project with their network. Because of this, he makes it an easy and enjoyable read, and does not give an overwhelming amount of information.

John and Josh: Al Capone

For your comments on Presentations:

First, write about something well done.  What did you learn from this group?  What part of the Presentation seemed the best?  Be specific, and use a specific example from the Presentation and your notes.

Second, offer constructive criticism that would help this group. What might have been more clear?  What part of the Presentation seemed the least polished?  Be specific.

JD adn Vic: Jesse Owens

For your comments on Presentations:

First, write about something well done.  What did you learn from this group?  What part of the Presentation seemed the best?  Be specific, and use a specific example from the Presentation and your notes.

Second, offer constructive criticism that would help this group. What might have been more clear?  What part of the Presentation seemed the least polished?  Be specific.

Austin and Dathan: Manhatten Project

For your comments on Presentations:

First, write about something well done.  What did you learn from this group?  What part of the Presentation seemed the best?  Be specific, and use a specific example from the Presentation and your notes.

Second, offer constructive criticism that would help this group. What might have been more clear?  What part of the Presentation seemed the least polished?  Be specific.

Comments for Pauleina and Kirsten: Black Friday

For your comments on Presentations:

First, write about something well done.  What did you learn from this group?  What part of the Presentation seemed the best?  Be specific, and use a specific example from the Presentation and your notes.

Second, offer constructive criticism that would help this group. What might have been more clear?  What part of the Presentation seemed the least polished?  Be specific.



Regan Ross Mr. Money Mustache Review

"If You're Not Getting Rich in your 20's, You're Doing it Wrong"

     This article is referring to another article written by a writer for Elite Daily. The article he is referring to is called "If You Have Savings in your 20's, You're Doing it Wrong." This popular Daily Mail article explains that having fun and marketing yourself through being social in your 20's is more important than saving your money for the future. Mr. Money Mustache agrees with some of the ideas in the article but primarily disagrees.
     Mustache's ideas on the article are very clear in his writing. He agrees that marketing is important, but he does think that somewhat saving your money is a good idea. He claims that your 20's are the time for you to build your career so you can secure a better future for yourself in the long run. He explains that if you work hard, you will make more money, making you able to save more money. He claims that if you don't spend your money like an idiot, you will do fine. Mustache advises people in their 20's to work hard and use the majority of your time to work and make yourself better professionally, he says this will leave you satisfied and make you more money later in life because you will most likely move up in the workforce.
     "But all these younger people seem to just want to sit around and network and have cocktails. All the hard workers already run their own company. When you find that rare eligible workhorse, you grab her and shower her with money and opportunity, hoping she will accept. You need to be that lone workhorse, getting stuff done while everyone else is out late and living off of credit cards and parental subsidies. This is where money comes from."
     The article is very strong and gives many valid points. His ideas on how someone should behave in their 20's are actually very smart and realistic. His advice is not out of reach for anyone in the workforce during their 20's. The advice is real and success driven.
     I found this article very helpful and motivating. He explains that hard work after college does pay off. It pays off during your 20's and well after. I really enjoyed the article because it gave me a realistic perspective on how your 20's should be to ensure a better future. The advice does not at all leave out having fun, it just explains that work should be at the forefront for your life at that point in time, having fun can come after.

Review Writing Assignment from Austin Craig

"1400 Miles of Non-Driving in a Tesla" is Mister Money Mustache giving a story of his love-hate relationship with cars. He loves the experience of driving a car, but does not like what the cars do for the environment, including humans in the environment. Changing the subject again, he continues to tell readers about the projected future and the automaton for a car.

What I get from the article is contradiction. Money Mustache first spoke of the harmful effects of cars in the world, but goes on to praise the Tesla for its efficiency, lack of engine noise due to not having an engine, no gas tank, and it is very spacious. It is an electric brand of vehicles, but it still has effects on the roads. Also, how long will it be until we lose the ability to mass produce energy for an increasing number of recharge stations? How are we creating this energy? That factor is not explained in the article. Is our future destined to be driven by our electric cars anywhere we go? The autopilot feature of the Tesla brand is another method to making Americans the stereotype from which we wish to deviate. Americans do not want to be seen as obese and lazy, which is another contradiction to the author's desire to ride a bicycle around the small town in which he lives.

Review Writing Exercise- Hunter Bayer

Mr. Money Mustache's Own Story


This blog post is about Mr. Money Mustache's story of where he began in his life and summarized how he got to the point where it is today. He begins with his early childhood and how his family never bought a lot growing up. He talks about his first job as a paper boy and how he realized that the money hes making with job wont get him any where. He mentions how people who worked at Wal-Mart makes more than he did at the time. He then discusses his plan of staying home with his parents while attending at local college to save up as much as he can. He then discusses his life after college and how he spent his money and why he was able to retire at such an early part of his life.

This blog post is strong relating to most people who would read these blogs. Mr. MM's story is very believable and creates a strong connection between the blogger and reader. The chronological factor in the post helps give it flow and creates a story that makes his story seem real. Near the end it does raise the question as to how did he fully make it possible to retire early. Over all, the story has good pacing and makes it relate-able.

I can honestly say that Mr. MM's story is nearly identical to how my life experience has gone. He had a low paying job that didn't allow him to go too far in his life, he stayed home with his parents and went to a local college to earn an easy degree that would allow him to get a well paying. His plan is just like mine and I can completely relate to him. The only difference is that he has got past his college portion of his plan. His story makes me feel more comfortable with the way I'm saving money and approaching college.

mr. money mustache review - Lauren Cobb

The article "If I Ran the School, Things Would Be Different" describes Mr. Money Mustache's opposition of the ways that traditional schools inhibit a child's ability to learn and how that opposition   resulted in the decision to homeschool his own child, who was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. The article makes a good case for the virtues of homeschooling by first calling out the public school system for repressing a child's natural desire to learn by enforcing strict rules and structure that are ultimately unproductive. He uses his first hand experiences and observations as well as research to convincingly demonstrate the areas in which public schools are lacking. He then follows this up using the same method to describe the positive benefits of homeschooling his son and refuting common concerns parents have when considering taking their kids out of public school. While the argument is largely effective, his extreme viewpoints, in my opinion, could be off-putting to more traditional readers. I believe the article could be more effective had he proposed more realistic and conservative changes be made to the school system. The end result of this article is an effective and honest review of public schooling that brings to light many of it's flaws  that should be seriously considered, as well as making an argument for untraditional schooling. While I am not fully convinced home schooling is the best option for most students, I fully agree with his analysis of the public schools as someone who has experienced their flaws first-hand.

Nick Sansone tesla type-s

this money mustache was an informational article about the futuristic electric car and how tesla has been able to produce a fast, luxurious, user friendly car that is about 20 years ahead of its time. It explained how easy it is to "fill up" at its solar powered recharging stations that are free and open 24 hours a day. even though the price is up there, it is money well spent seeing how you never have to buy gas, it can drive itself, and it is a luxury sports car. it explained how much the car is, where you can recharge the battery, and if it really does drive itself. (it does actually, it uses censors placed all around the car to read a react to your surroundings)  as he states in this article, the tesla puts out a surprising 120,000 watts of recharge power and can completely recharge in about 30 minutes after 350 miles of usage. he explains that even though you have to stop more frequently to "fill up" than in a gas car, it actually makes traveling much more swift. after a few hours you get to get out, stretch, and even take some time to sit down and have a meal or snack while your car is recharging.

this article does a great job of making the sales pitch to me. it tells me just how awesome and futuristic a tesla is. its broken into sections to really let you take in all the information at one time. although, I was really looking forward to hearing more about the self driving and the trip they took which it provided little incite to. Although it did a fantastic job of explaining how the system works and that even more improvement are being made in the self driving car market. This entire article is just a huge sales pitch for tesla and how absolutely awesome it is

seeing as how our country has a serious problem with climate change it would be a perfect solution if we could all switch to electric cars. we would almost stop the release of toxic gasses into our atmosphere, stop the use of gas stations and use solar energy to help charge the car, and you get a nice, high class sports car that is fun and good for the environment

Mr.Money Mustache Lesson Learned From Having My Bike Stolen From Naomi

In this article the purpose that Mr.Money Mustache is trying to make is to be aware of your surroundings. He goes on talking about how some people can be too obsessive with security. Mr. Money talk about a man who has a bundle of keys for all of his personal items. He’s afraid that someone may steal this precious items which is why he keeps a lock on everything he owns. Mr.Money describes the man as, “overly fearful in other ways,” which I though was kind of funny. If this man is on vacation he would spend most of his time locking and unlocking boats, barbecues and sporting equipment

Mr.Money doesn't just talk about the obsessive man he also talks about another man who doesn’t put locks on anything. This man lives a life of theft free. This man never locked his house when he’s home and he keeps his car open along with his bike casually spends the nigh outside. He keeps his personal things unlock because he feels that is a safe environment. One quote that I thought was a strength was what the man with no keys said. He goes on saying, I savor this safe environment and use it to live a freer life. After all, higher levels of trust between people leads directly to higher wealth. One thing that I though was weak was the passion from the “man with no keys.” This man doesn’t use keys, anyone can easily walk off with his possessions. Mr.Money also talked to another man about actually getting his bike stolen. When his bike got stolen he didn’t know how to react. “it is always a shocking, violating feeling when you realize somebody unknown has stolen something from you,” he says. How could someone be so bold, walking to the property of someone and then just take something that’s not there’s?


I love to lock my doors at home because I’m personally afraid of getting robed. I’m from Cincinnati so we have to lock our doors, I mean the neighborhood I lived in wasn’t dangerous but you can never be too safe. I’m not obsessive with locking everything nor obsessive with not locking anything at all. This article didn’t impact me because I have no experience with getting robed nor do I want to experience it.(knock on wood)


Review Writing Exercise: Amanda Gifford


In the article “It’s Winter…Get out and Enjoy it!”, Mr. Money Mustache describes as the season changes how peoples’ outdoor habits change as well. As It changes from a pleasant fall to a colder bone chilling winter people tend to stick to warmer past times and modes of transportation.  Most people trade their outside activities for a cozy spot on the couch to binge watch tv and keep warm. Mr. Money Mustache looks at the colder weather as a more challenging but rewarding adventure. The feeling of being active and productive while enjoying the season changes.
 A weakness of the article is when he talks about his wife driving to the grocery store that is 1.5 miles away. Typically people run out to get a few items most of the time a few more items are picked up as well. As with snow black ice and ice in general can be a hazard to the common pedestrian. So, walking on a potentially ice covered sidewalk trying to juggle an armful of groceries in the cold for nearly 2 miles is unrealistic. That expedition would end with broken eggs and split milk with a possibly sprained ankle. Alongside the weakness is a strength as he describes staying active is beneficial. “The real benefit is just the fact that you are outside, walking, moving, and working on things as you are meant to be doing. And as it turns out, all of these things are possible in any weather, and they are even more rewarding in adverse conditions.” That keeping active and productive is as important as keeping warm and adapting to the drastic changes that comes with winter.

This article made me realize the importance of staying active outdoors through the colder seasons. Most people stick to conveniences and are too glued to their screens to get through the colder months. Also by keeping active helps reduce life’s stressors and feels like a renewal to the mind and body. This changed my perspective of looking at the winter season as being stuck indoors but to explore nature and the endless wonders it offers.  

Mr. Money Mustache - High Cost of Living- It's a state of mind from Desiree

In this article, Mr. Money Mustache talks about how affordable it can be living in an higher cost area (Hawaii). He went on vacation to Hawaii and only spent $37 because of his money saving tips. One piece of advice he gave was to "Consume less of what is expensive, and replace it with what is cheap and plentiful locally."  Heat, air conditioning, and other utilities might be a thing of the past. He says that in Hawaii, you are always outdoors, even if you are indoors. The windows were always open, and it was a comfortable temperature for him. He eliminated the use for heat and air conditioning which is huge in Hawaii because electricity can be about three times more expensive there compared to the mainland. He also talked about how expensive groceries can be and how you can save. For example, Costco sets its price the same no matter where the store is, so people in Hawaii and Ohio are paying the same price for the same product. Mr. Money Mustache also says that biking is also a great way to save on transportation. Sometimes living simple is better than living high class.

This was a helpful article because it shows readers how you can live in a high cost area without paying the price. It also shows the readers how to save money on things that are not really needed such as heat, air conditioning, transportation, and groceries. He also talks about using the land and local areas to our advantage because people could use those areas for farming to save on groceries and other products. He gives the reader the idea of the value of a dollar. One day I want to be able to live in LA where things can get really expensive, so this article was very helpful to me because I will know how to save money in a high cost area. 

Mr Money Mustache exercise: Travis Baum High Efficiency real estate investing

This money mustache article is an educational article to inform the public on the topic of how real estate investing has opened up into huge new opportunities. Mr Money Mustache does an excellent job of explaining how to master the real estate industry and lead yourself into an early retirement. His main rule he goes by is to "learn enough to invest my own money first" i strongly agree with this, people need to be smart with their money before going and blowing it all on something as risky as real estate. do your research and make sure it will be a profitable investment.

    Mr Money Mustache does a great job of finding creditable people who can back up the techniques he teaches us and gives us personal examples on how those techniques helped them acquire a great investment in a up and coming house. Another thing I like that he does in this article is he gives us step-by-step routine of how to inform and educate yourself on smart investing plans. Mr Money Mustache realizes that the majority of people using his website isn't too informed with how to handle money well so he explains: how real estate investing works, how and why he chose peerstreet. This is all a great technique for him to use to make this website helpful to everyone due to its simplicity, most of the general audience will easily understand what to do and how to invest.
   This article did not impact me much because I am not looking to go into real estate, however since I am not sure if I want to switch my major or not I am keeping my options open so educating myself on this topic from this article will be only beneficial. I believe it is beneficial to everyone no matter what your job or financial status is.







Mr. Money Mustache Review from Dathan

     As a society we are constantly consuming and fear parting with something that we invested time or money into if it is not within a price range that we see as being profitable. Mr. Money Mustache speaks to this way of thinking in his article entitled "If You Wouldn't Buy it, You Should Probably Sell it."

     After attempting to sell his house unsuccessfully, as he did not want to lower his asking price any more, he looked to renting it out as a way to squeeze as much money out of what he invested in. After subtracting the long term expenses, HOA payments and repair bills, he nearly increased his investment by half. However, if he had sold the house for lower than his asking price and placed that money into an index fund he would have more then doubled his money in the same time span.
   
     When you are trying to sell something to someone, a house for example, and you are asking for what you think is a fair price, the author of this blog suggests putting yourself in the shoes of the one looking to buy. More often then not, you would view that price as unfair. It is a bit of a gamble, seeing as how you could find someone who is looking to buy it for what you originally asked, but Mr. Mustache suggests selling it for less, so that it will be a drain on your resources no longer.

     When looking at gains and losses, you can't forget to look at everything. If you are looking to move closer to your work and all of your worry is focused on the cost of moving into, and buying, the house you will miss the details. What you would gain by moving closer is a lower gas bill, which, depending how much you commute, over time could save you money.

     "Don't let the boat anchor of you past mistakes drag you forever into your future." The main point that this article talks about is getting rid of something that you own and would not think about buying if you didn't already own it, as it just sitting there is a drain on your potential gains.  The long term effects of what you do, and we forget this sometimes, is often more important than the short term effects.

Monday, November 14, 2016

MMM: An interview with mother earth on climate change by Josh Salyers


In this article, Mr. Money Moustache has an 'interview' with Mother Nature. In this interview, Moustache asks the questions about climate change and its effect, origins, and outcome on Earth's climate. Moustache brings up and asks the most asked questions in today's society concerning climate change to Mother Earth, and Mother Earth responds to these questions and claims.

This blog post is geniusly created, because Money Moustache is both asking the questions and answering them. He plays the role as the interviewer, where he asks climate change questions, concepts, and public conceptions, and then in turn responds to them in a way that would both make the common reader understand and also care about the topic. He starts by asking about the effects of carbon dioxide, both analyzing it's role in climate change and presenting misconceptions about it. He then provides examples of how the earth is changing very very quickly and unnaturally. After he presents examples of extreme weather, he explains the possible effects of climate change to different parts of the world, and how it would wipe out cities and displace millions. He makes the reader care about climate change, then he shows the reader that there is solutions we as a society can pursue. He says that "Our Environment is our Economy", and that Earth provides for our bountiful way of life.

Mr. Money Moustache's strength of this blog posting lies in its format. He presents clear questions, with clear and easy to understand answers. He makes the reader understand that climate change is real, why it is happening, and how it effects society, both short and long term. With its simple explanations and question-answer format, this blog is both easy to understand and enjoyable to read   

Review Writing Exercise ~ Matthew Johnson

In Happiness is the Only Logical Pursuit  Mr. Money Mustache talks about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Mustache talks about how we all have a desire to be happy and that Maslow's conceptual triangle shows in what order we achieve this happiness, because happiness can be achieved in an array of activity to cater to an array of emotions. Maslow's triangle is as follows: Physiological, Safety+Security, Love+Belonging, Esteem, and Self Actualization, from most primal to least, respectively. Mustache explains that consumer items cause us to actually lose happiness in the two most pivotal needs in Maslow's Hierarchy: Physiological and Safety + Security needs. We look for things that take away from a physically healthy life-style, and for things that inadvertently cause our financial security to suffer.Mustache points towards the fact that happiness is about outlook -- making a conscious decision to devote your time, money, and effort towards things that don't depreciate the value of your overall happiness.

This article, though not explicitly stating so, is talking about the philosophy of utilitarian -- the good action is the one that produces the most pleasure, in concern to measuring by way of Physical, Moral, and Intellectual pain and pleasures. Which purchase or choice gives myself and others the most amount of happiness, direct or otherwise by way of appealing to the maximizing of pleasure and minimizing pain.

When concerned with finance, however, we can substitute Physical, Moral, and intellectual pain and pleasure with the measurement of how much we are gaining needs within Maslow's Hierarchy. Mustache conveys his concerns with consumerism in this manner by saying  "What about novelty, like you buying an Apple watch or me buying a Nissan Leaf? We can justify it under the guise of “learning” or “streamlining our lives with efficient new apps”, but once again, it helps to check if we are really fixing anything in the pyramid."

Mustache realizes that it is hard to gauge whether something truly will make you happy now or down the road. But, by using Maslow's law, you can assess whether that thing can help satisfy a need. And by satisfying needs, you grant yourself happiness. And, in the end, Happiness is the only thing worth pursuing.

Review Writing Exercise by Phillip Wolf

This article begins with a surprise for someone who has read Mr. Money Mustache articles in the past, as he states that he has taken a full 180 from his past belief that spending frugally is the way to go. He says he has leased not only one brand new Tesla, but two, for both him and his wife, at the price of $1400 a month. He also says he and his family have moved into a $1.8 million dollar house, with a mortgage payment of $8,500 a month. He then goes on to say that his family's spending has risen more than $225,000 from 2014 to 2015, from $25,000 in 2014 to $256,000 in 2015. However, he quickly follows this by saying "April Fools". His family's actual spending in 2015 was $23,941, with a spreadsheet to lay out how much was spent on various different things. He uses this article to say that even if you have the money, you don't have to spend excessively, and if you don't have the money, there's a way to spend that will allow you to save more.

The strength of this article is the transparency he provides. The spreadsheet he gives shows all of the spending his family does, and what they spent it on, even specific items. This transparency leads the reader to really trust what he is saying in his writing, and take the things he says and the tips he gives to heart. Another strength of this article is that he gives you his methods of tracking his spending. He provides the readers with the apps he uses to organize his spending into specific groups. This is great as his blog is most definitely a thing that many people apply to their own financials. A weakness in this article is the beginning, when he claims to have gone back on one of his principle teachings and has started spending recklessly. Obviously, you learn later in the article that this is all a joke, but for a dedicated follower of his blog this may have caused a lot of stress, or to cease reading this article, or his writings altogether thinking he'd gone off the deep-end.

This is a great piece of writing for the average person. The author is obviously a wealthy man, but shows that he spends very little each year. It's a great change from the common practice of Americans to "Keep up with the Joneses", or spend money they don't have to impress other people. Mr Money Mustache has the money to spend, but chooses not to, because he is sensible and knows the important things in life. The story he writes at the beginning of the piece could easily be true, with him spending nearly $2800 a month on cars and $8,500 a month on his house, because he has the income to spend that much, but in reality, his family doesn't pay a mortgage or a car payment.

Mr. Money Mustache Review By Joe Campanella

     The article "Three Investments with an Instant Guaranteed Return" gives valuable insight into a few life tips that will improve your life financially, helping you to live a more comfortable lifestyle. Mr. Money Mustache is a man who retired at 30 years old, who gives financial advice for common people to succeed in their finances. He claims that his blog focuses not only on financial tips, but life improvement as well. The article focuses on three main keys to success: Focus, Festivity, and Flow. Focus helps you concentrate on the little things in life that are worth appreciating. Festivity is the importance of gathering with friends and family, to celebrate the wonderful things life has to offer. Music is very important to festivity as well, because of the emotional connections,that certain songs bring to you. Flow deals with procrastination and time management. The author, Mr. Money Mustache uses the example of cellular devices, and their distraction to our already busy lives, getting in the way of the important things that need to be done. Mr. Money Mustache demonstrates the upmost importance in time management, and it's impact in peoples daily lives'.
     Mr. Money Mustache's "Three Investments with an Instant Guaranteed Return" is a valuable article on financial success, with clear points of evidence and support to back his claim. The article is an easy read, with a strong thesis to give to the audience. Where I though the article was best, was in his ability to draw attention to his readers. He does a very good job at connecting personal experience with his teachings and advice to the audience. The one thing I would change in this article, would be a clearer emphasis, on the theme of the article in the introduction. This would eliminate readers, from asking where the article was moving towards. The article is a very good example of a informal blog, giving life improvement and financial advice to the common public.
     "Three Investment with an Instant Guaranteed Return" is important to anyone needing financial advice, on how to make millions of dollars. Eating healthy, full meals, getting plenty of sleep, being active, and treating yourself are all important ingredients to success. They are just as important as working hard and staying focused, to succeed in your career and in your life. This article gives it's audience clear factual information and key points to help you on your journey, to becoming a millionaire. Overall, Mr. Money Mustache establishes credibility to his readers, conveying valuable insight into financial success, and doing it in an enjoyable way.
    
    

Review Writing Exercise: Kirsten Osbon

The article I read was How to Make Money Buy Happiness. The main purpose of this article was to show people that they aren't really buying things for any other reason than to make themselves happy. He talks about how you would not buy a 4,500 a square foot dream house for the purpose of a family gathering or big parties. You would buy that house because you wanted it and you thought it would make you feel happy. He says, "when we buy anything beyond the most basic ingredients for life, we are just buying feelings". He also talks about how he is downgrading by 1000 feet to a smaller house even though he has more money because he finds it makes him more happy to save his money rather than to spend it. At the end of his article he says that the solution is keeping your money instead of spending it on unnecessary things in search of happiness.

This was a very good article that I found fun and interesting to read. One strength were definitely the way he wrote, it was relatable and easy to comprehend. I also found that he had very good, real-life examples and could easily relate with the reader. Some weaknesses of the article would be that he doesn't really explain how to make money buy happiness in very much detail. He really only says at the end of his article that you should save your money instead of spending it. But he doesn't convince me completely that I should do so. Personally I would rather spend my money and he did not completely talk me into saving rather than spending.


I find this topic to be very important in today's culture. You see people buying things they don't need all the time and you must think that they are only doing it because they think it will make them happy. Our generation also needs to understand that buying materialistic things or unnecessary things are not what makes us happy. This article makes that clear and it represent a concept 'of only buying necessary' things that many people still have yet to understand. I would definitely recommend this article for anyone in my age group or anyone who would actually like to be happy instead of buying un-needed objects and spending all their money.

Triple M Review: Misleading Title leads to an interesting article that is not as dire or tragic as it sounds - Matthew George

Enter Mr. Money Mustache, a writer whose blogs range from how to retire early all the way to tips to cut out the fat that is excess spending. In this specific blog post: "Reader Case Study: Young Man Saved from Jeep-Suicide" Triple M analyses a post sent by a reader of his blog looking for advice, Triple M details the exchange between him and his reader "Justin" in addition to sharing with the world his advice for this person's life circumstances.

Triple M begins his blog post with a modified version of the letter sent to him and his analysis of Justin's life choices-with an emphasis on focusing on the positives of Justin's life. Only a single line into his response and already we can see that Triple M has a significant grasp on how to critique people. By utilizing this method Triple M delivers positive reinforcement to Justin as a reader and the choices he has made through the advice previously given by Triple M. Given the toxicity of the internet and how interaction to critique can often be cold and lifeless it is compelling to see and individual who still understands how to motivate someone efficiently.

Following his positive reinforcement Triple M proceeds to step by step detail and describe the actions his reader should take while providing insight to his readers who may also fall into a similar circumstance. The attention to detail here is to be noted as Triple M explains his reasoning for each and every choice. Detail to choices made and explaining them is important, an example is if someone says "Jump off this bridge, it's only 2 feet above the water and there is a fire consuming the bridge" instead of "Jump off this bridge". The added detail changes so much about whats being talked about. Speaking about death-metaphors now would perhaps be an accurate time to talk about the title: "Young Man Saved from Jeep-Suicide", no an individual did not attempt to commit suicide, rather a more accurate title would be "Young Man gets rid of a Jeep that is inefficient and not worthwhile", yet the simple act of calling it Jeep-Suicide sounds more interesting and is more likely to get clicks, click-baiting, if you will.

going back to the topic before that, Analyzing Justin's living condition, location, transportation of choice, and job, Triple M focuses on the primary issue of Justin's woes: in inefficient vehicle and how to correct the issue. From how he goes about analyzing and responding it is clear that he understands as a writer how to critique others. By focusing of the positives and what small tweaks need to be made, instead of focusing solely on the negatives, Triple M avoids the hassle of instigating aggression in his reader, keeping the dialogue very peaceful and respectable.

Arguably the best written segment in this post comes after the analysis-where Mr. Money Mustache acts as a makeshift financial adviser. All throughout this second half the reason of why people listen-and trust-this person is made clear: he knows what he's talking about.

As I see it there are two segments that weren't written as greatly as they could of been. The first is the title itself-despite being unique I feel more people are going to assume the term Jeep-Suicide is more associated with trying to kill yourself while in a jeep (driving off a cliff, going full speed into a pole, etc.) Rather than harming your finances by owning a jeep. The misleading title devalues-in my opinion-the rest of the piece as click bait, despite the fact that the article itself is very well written and enjoyable to read. The second is that despite looking into housing, I can't help but feel he's missing one very crucial aspect of housebuying/renting: Knowing what the house itself looks like and where it's located. It's entirely possible he also did research on this aspect as well but if he did he unfortunately left it out of his piece. After all a cheaper house may not be the best option if it's in the bad part of town, putting him in greater risk.

Overall I am amazed by Triple M's talent as a writer, how he formed his response to his reader and the level of advice he gave out and can safely say that so long as he is here to stay there will be a crowd of people happy to read what he puts out.

Review Writing Exercise: Mr. Money By Pauleina May

"The Man Who Gets His Cars for Free"

"You can be the Master, and thoughtfully use cars as a tool as needed to reach your goals. Or you can be a Slave to the auto – worshiping it, allowing it to steal your money, your physical fitness, and your sense of control over your life."  This was said by Mr. Money, he believes that a car is something that is a luxury to have. He feels that way about his because today in the automotive world people take advantage and spend most of there income on a new car. Mr. Money talks about how much he saves through the year with his car. For Mr. Money Mustache he spends a "hundred or two bucks of fuel, $400 of insurance and registration, and under $1000 of combined depreciation and maintenance per year." The way Mr. Money uses his money on his car through out the years he would save 104K every 10 years. 

Mr. Money thought he was using the automotive sales right but this was changed when he met Ben. Ben is not the person who limits his losses, he makes money off of buying cars. He has owned and sold over 50+ cars and has made a profit off of each one. Ben works on cars and fixes them up, and this helps him with his process. He talks about how he does it with great detail, but he gives 5 main topics on how to do it. 1. Buy low, 2. Look for neglected cars, 3. research as much as you can, 4. Do as much work as you can yourself, 5. Sell quickly and set a modest price. Ben makes a point that anyone can do this, your outcome could be high or it could be low, just trying it might surprise you in the long run. 

This article was an eye opener for me. I've only had one car and I have drove it for about 5 years now. I've had to fix a lot of  breaks since my car is very old but just reading this and knowing how much you can save with buying used cars is crazy! I think Mr. Money and Ben created a writing that is very informational and it is easy to understand the issues with owning and buying a car. They give a lot of detail on how driving is a right and to own a car is a privilege because some people can not afford a car. I enjoy this reading and if anyone struggles with deciding on what kind of car or how to do buy a car, read this article. 

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Review Writing Exercise: Mr. Money Mustache by Paige Riebel

Get Rich With: Your Own Urban Tribe


This article explains what exactly Mr. Money Mustache means when he refers to "your own urban tribe." His definition of this term is explained as simply establishing your own group of people dedicated to saving and living extravagant frugality like yourself. Through your tribe, you can seek encouragement and support as you live life as the "odd-ball" of society. your tribe becomes your heart family. You work hard with your tribe, have cookouts with your tribe, make music and play games with your tribe, but most of all, your tribe always has your back. Your tribe is your community and Mr. Money Mustache states that through your tribe community you begin to see that  "leisure and work tend to blur together." 

I think this article does a really good job at relating to the emotion aspects of having a tribe. The author ties in many personal stories of his experiences with his close-knit tribe. The author also does a fine job of encouraging the reader to establish a tribe in unexpected places. The fifth section of this article is titled, Great Friends are Hiding Among Your Neighbors. I think this is one of the sections where the article was most strong. The author makes an excellent and rational point of writing, "Why focus your energy on traveling to meet friends who live several cities away, while ignoring those right next door who you haven’t even met yet?" He explains that, yea, your tribe can be made up of people from different cities and states, but their very nature of a tribal community is locality, so by finding a tribe in your area, the community aspect will be stronger.

I think the weakest section of this article is the third section named Lessons in Tribalism from my Summer Vacation. I think this section made the article have a nice personal feel to it, but it was more of just a story-telling section and not so much an applicable advice/ interaction section - like the rest of the article was posed to be. The purpose of Mr. Money Mustache and his blog is to educate and convince others to follow his living of purpose driven frugality and I did not feel like this section was very effective in relating this to his readers. I am not saying that personal experiences and stories should not be involved in convincing someone to turn their ways, but I am saying that I think an overwhelming emphasis of personal story-telling can seem feeble when used in the way Mr. Money Mustache has used it in this section. I also feel as though the specific stories he shared, were not very relevant or compelling compared to the rest of the information he shared in this article. 

Having grown up in a big family that practices frugality and simple, holistic living, I personally do find the emphasis on a tribe to be very crucial. Over the years, my family has developed a strong community of those who have the same values and mindsets as we do. I find this community to be just as Mr. Money Mustache has explained it to be - encouraging and reassuring. I feel like as a society everyone just does what everyone else is doing and I before my like-minded community or "tribe", it was hard to stick with my different approach to living. So, in conclusion, I do strongly agree with this article and all it has presented. I believe everyone should find their tribe. I believe everyone should surround themselves with people who are going to continue lighting their passions, boosting their positivity, and igniting their dreams and aspirations! 

Brainstorming Topics from small groups for Essay Three

Students, post the essay ideas you created in the small groups here, so we can see all the possible ideas for Prompt Choice #1 for Essay Three.  Use the Comments feature to post your ideas.

All best,

Mike

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Financial Literacy Review Exercise Choices. From Mike.

You'll find Mr. Money Mustache link to list of all posts, so you can pick one, here.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/all-the-posts-since-the-beginning-of-time/

Mr. Money Mustache.  Really.

Skim, surf, browse through some titles and find one you really want to read and review.  They are all short so, if you are feeling lazy, don't spend too much time trying to find the shortest.  Ha ha.  Once you find one, claim it by telling us you want it and writing the full title of that post in the Comments section here.

Here also are links to the other sites I showed you, just in case you are interested in them and find them helpful.

Have fun, and really use your writing to explore ideas.  We''ll all learn more!

Mike 

Scotty Kilmer channel
https://youtu.be/tbhHcxscu4Q

Houston mechanic Scotty Kilmer
Veritasium and Derek Muller
https://youtu.be/2KZb2_vcNTg

Derek Muller, founder of this channel and someone who is thinking about how to make science engaging, on YouTube.

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Groups and Slots for Presentations. From Mike

Tuesday, Nov. 15

John and Josh: Al Capone

JD and Vic: Jesse Owens

Austin and Dathan: The Manhatten Project

Pauleina and Kirsten: Black Friday


Thursday, Nov. 17

Desiree and Tia: L.A. Riots

Hunter and Naomi: Marilyn Monroe

Grant and Joe: Twin Towers in NYC

Gabby and Matt: The Miracle on Ice


Tuesday, Nov. 22

Nick and Lauren: D-Day

Phillip and Travis: Flag Raised at Iwo Jima

Paige and Matt: Jimi Hendrix

Amanda and Regan: Andy Warhohl

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Exploration 5 by Travis Baum

 The movie "Fresh" is a film revolved around farmers and activists who are involved in the re-inventing of the food system. This film shows the good, the bad, and the ugly but leaves you with a sense of hopefulness that things can get better. Some of the most important issues discussed in the film include food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity.


As the touching film shows, there are a lot of pesticides in our food which are not healthy or beneficial for anyone. Farmers have gone organic in order to fix this issue. However, people think farming organically is expensive but in order to stay healthy it is needed. “Cheap food is an illusion; you always end up paying for it whether it be your health or the land you farm”. This quote means that you either pay for a healthier life style or pay to be unhealthy. The USDA requires organic farmers and food handlers to meet a uniform organic standard.  What really makes me believe that America is on the right track to correct these problems is Diana Edicott. Diana Edicott is the founder of The Good Nature Family Farms which is an all natural alliance of 75 combined farms selling organic products to stores. This is important because most of America is not too educated on what they are actually eating. Will Allen said "We as citizens don't pay attention as how we get our food. just as long as we do" Will is trying to say that we are not looking into what is going on behind the scenes of industrial food system. Good Nature Family Farmers can allow us Americans to not study the ins and outs of how our food's upbringing.


http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/natural-resources-environment/organic-agriculture/organic-certification/


Image result for organic farming