Narrative Essay

Everyone has an event or time that changes there life. One time that changed my life was when my parents started taking me to the temple. It was a wonderful and life changing experience. It taught me many things and I am grateful that my parents took me to the temple to learn everything.

It all started in the summer of 1999. It was a warm and nice Sunday in Chicago. The time was around eight PM and my dad was like we are going to the temple because a priest from India was coming. I was like you guys can go I don’t want to go, it is going to be boring and all we are going to do is sit in the lecture hall and listen to someone speak. Also, I don’t even understand what they are saying since it is in advanced Guajarati. My dad didn’t buy it and I had to go anyway. We got there are twelve o’clock and as I reached there I was so amazed at the structure of the temple and at how many people there were here. As we went into the temple there was a magnificent setting with pictures and wood and marble carvings. After entering the temple we went to pray and then we had to go into the lecture hall.

As we entered the lecture hall the priest, Prumkh Swami Maharaj was speaking. Prumkh Swami Maharaj was the priest that came from India. The room was filled with so many people was there was no where to sit. So after fifteen minutes of sitting there I was so bored and I couldn’t go anywhere because I didn’t know my way around the temple and I was afraid of getting lost. So, after two hours it was finally over and we went to downstairs to have dinner. After that we met up with my one of my uncles that told us to come to the temple that day and he took us to meet Prumkh Swami Maharaj. After meeting him it was already ten o’clock so my parents and I decided to go home.

As the next week came around my dad was like let’s go to the temple. I was like why are we going again the priest already left to India. My dad said, “Stop asking questions and let’s go.” So, we started going to the temple every Sunday, I didn’t enjoy it until one Sunday when I started to make friends. Then, I was happy to go to the temple everyday. After that I started going to the Sunday classes at the temple every Sunday. Then after listening to all the story and real life examples I started learning many things that could help me in life. Soon, after many Sundays of going to the temple it made me change my life in a positive way. I started respecting everyone, even people that weren’t nice to me. Then, I started thinking twice before doing something that was bad or something that could hurt someone’s feelings. Since I knew about karma and that the same thing can happen to me. Finally, going to temple every Sunday thought me to be thankful for whatever I have because there are many people in the world that don’t have the necessary accessories to live.

One time that changed my life was when my parents started taking me to the temple. I am thankful that my parents forced me to go there because if they didn’t then I wouldn’t have had this life changing experience.

Definition Essay

Definition of Success

You hear the word success a lot in school. Your teachers always say that they want you to succeed. Success doesn’t have just a single meaning. It is not just a feeling however it can be it is when you accomplish a goal. Success comes from everything you do; doesn’t matter if it is getting an “A” on a spelling test or getting a thirty-six on the ACTs. Success simply means accomplishment or progress. I learned the meaning of success when I earned a “B” in geometry. Success to me means the accomplishments of one of my goals that mean a lot to me.

The first time I learned the meaning of success was after I took Geometry for Juniors. Like many classes I knew it was going to be hard but little did I know that it wasn’t just hard but frustrating as well. I did all the homework and paid attention in class everyday; however I wasn’t doing as well as I expected. Sometimes I knew how to solve all the problems on the homework and then when it came for the test I had no idea on what to do. Soon after the tests of proofs and geometric figures, when I checked my grade it was a low C and I knew I had to get better. The proofs in geometry were my toughest lesson, I tried so hard but I didn’t understand it. Then, I decided to go to the MRC everyday in my free periods and try to learn the concepts of proofs and other lessons that I was getting incorrect. My grade started getting better however I was still getting a lot wrong. The next step I took in my mission to earn a “B” in geometry was to come home everyday after school and spend an hour just reviewing everything we learned that day and trying to understand what was going on in the lesson and ask my friends for help. Finally, I started seeing improvements; I went from a low C to a solid C.

The teacher offered the class some extra credit if we did a review packet, so I decided to do it. Then the next day she gave it back after she graded and I and earned an “A”. So, the packet boosted my grade from a 75% to a 77%. I was so amazed when I saw that the “B” was so close. Now, it came time for the finals, if I received a good grade on the final I would receive a “B” and if I didn’t do so well then I would receive a “C.” As determined as I was to earn a “B”, I started studying for the final exam two week before. The day came for the final and I did the best that I could, hoping that I would get a good grade and receive a “B” in the class. The next day I went to check my grade which was posted outside the classroom. As I was looking for my ID number I was so scared that my hands were shaking. So, after I found my ID number and looked at what I received I was so amazed that I received a “B”. At that moment after all the hard work I put in and seeing my grade go from a C to a B was when I learned that success was the accomplishment of one of my goals that I worked very hard accomplish.

Description Essay

Surat

One of the most heavily populated places I stayed at when I went to India was a city called Surat. Surat is located around six hours North of Bombay. Surat has an urban-like setting and temperatures can reach well above one hundred degrees.

Walking through Surat you will notice that it is very loud. It is as loud as Wall Street in America. The streets of Surat are very small with only one lane in most places and are packed with yellow and black taxis called rikshas. The houses are small in area, very close together, and are assembled in a line. Also, most houses are made of wood and concrete and consist of two floors. The buildings are tall and many are skyscrapers that get over one hundred feet off the ground.

Just as you step outside the house in Surat there are many stores and stands that you can do all your grocery and clothing shopping at bargain prices. Since cars are very rare and expensive, people in Surat ride their bikes, walk, use a riksha, or travel in scooters to get around town. Almost everything in Surat is walking distance away so many citizens don’t have vehicles at their home.

Surat has many factories and rikshas that produce a lot of pollution. This means that the air in this city is not very clean and is polluted from the burning of diesel by rikshas and smoke from factories. As rikshas drive by, you are able to see the large cloud of smoke that they leave behind and smell the odor of diesel.

Electric Car Essay

Ever since the first automobile was invented they have been running on gasoline and polluting the environment. In the beginning, the EV1 was the first trial for General Motors to find an alternative to combustible engines and make the air cleaner. The EV1 was first launched as lease only in 1996. They were only available in California and Arizona and GM had a great demand for it. The EV1 was powered by a lead acid battery at first and later GM transitioned to the nickel-metal hydride battery. The car had to be charged for about six hours and had a limited range of 60-70 miles per charge. In the later models however the cars had better miles per charge and shorter charging time. Then, GM’s EV1 failed for many reasons and had to be crushed. The oil companies, government, and the California Air Resource Board were at fault for the destruction of the EV1s.

The oil companies played a vital role in the destructions of the EV1s. According to Paine’s documentary, “The oil companies were one of the suspects that pushed the hardest to get rid of the EV1s.” This was because the oil industries knew that once the consumers started buying EV1s they will lose business. Since the EV1 was an all-electric car it would end the need to buy gas. In fear of electric vehicles being the number one type of car bought by consumers the oil companies supported all efforts to bring down California’s Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate. According to wikipedia, “The oil companies bought patents to prevent modern NiMH batteries from being used in the electric vehicles.” Finally, oil companies like Exxon- Mobil set out to criticize the electric cars by using full page national newspaper ads.

The Federal Government was also a factor in the cause of the death of the electric car. First, they were doing good as they were trying to protect the environment by passing the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate. Then as many companies started going against the electric car they decided to kill the mandate. This wasn’t fair to GM because it put all their hard work to waste. The government had the power the keep the mandate going and save the electric car and reduce pollution, however it went along with the other companies and destroyed the cars. According to Sony Pictures Classics, “The Bush administration joined the lawsuit to kill the ZEV mandate.” As a result of the mandate going down it caused the electric cars to go down with it.

The final suspect that caused this situation was the California Air Resources Board, headed by Alan Lloyd. The CARB was the last suspect that was guilty of killing the electric cars. Alan Lloyd had a great chance to steer the ZEV mandate to success. However, he did not, he let the oil industries and politics make his decisions for him. According to Sony Picture Classics, “CARB ultimately helped the oil industries by eliminating electric car production of the mandate.” As a result of the CARB going with the oil industry and repealing the ZEV mandate caused the slaughtering of the EV1s.

Many people thought that the batteries of the electric car caused the failure of the EV1s because they had a limited range of sixty to seventy miles per charge. This is incorrect because the new models of the EV1s had a better battery that doubled the miles per charge to 110-160 miles. Another suspect in this tragic story was the consumers. They were the ones that really liked the car and did everything in their power to save the cars. According to the documentary, “the consumers protested outside GM to get their cars back and some even got arrested.” So the consumers weren’t guilty for the disappearance of the EV1s.

Another suspect that was wrongfully accused was the hydrogen fuel cell. The hydrogen fuel cells were distractions used by companies for profits and to buy time. The fuel cells couldn’t have killed the car because the cells would use more electricity than the electric cars. According to the documentary and wikipedia, “A fuel cell car powered by hydrogen made with electricity uses 3 to 4 times more energy than a car powered by batteries.”

The finally, suspect that was incorrectly accused of killing the electric car was the car companies. Some people thought it was their fault because they never put the cars up for sale, had bad marketing skills and couldn’t supply the demands of consumers. This was held untrue because GM put so much hard work and money into this project. According the Sony Picture Classics, “GM spent $1 billion to market and develop the EV1. So, it wouldn’t be their fault because why would someone that spent a fortune on a project try to cause it to fail.

After the failure of the EV1s, there seemed to be no future for electric cars. However, now another company, called Tesla Motors is coming out with an electric car called the Tesla Roadster. This is exactly like the EV1 that GM made however much better in performance and more reliable. This shows that there will always be a future for electric cars in the market and with the record high gas prices everyone is going to start supporting electric cars.

Review of Dead Girls Dont Write Letters

I am not much of a reader; actually I try to avoid reading books as much as possible. I started reading this book called Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters by Gail Giles and I got interested in the book from the first chapter. There are two main characters in this book. The two characters are Sunny and Jazz, they are both sisters, Sunny is the younger one and Jazz is the older one. Sunny didn’t really like Jazz because she was perfect in school and popular with everyone. So, one day Jazz ran away to get an apartment in New York and Sunny became happy because her sister was no longer home.

Then couple days later there is a fire at Jazz’s apartment in New York and the family gets word that their daughter is dead however the body was never found. Everyone in the family is saddened by the news of Jazz’s death causing Sunny’s dad to increase his drinking and mom becomes very depressed. Sunny on the other hand is all alone and doesn’t have anyone to talk to about the death of her sister. Then one day when Sunny was going through the mail she finds a letter from Jazz. She opens it up and it was from Jazz and it said that she was coming home. How is that possible Jazz is dead how did she write a letter after she was dead?

This book is very suspenseful and keeps the reader guessing what’s going to happen next. I recommend this book to everyone especially anyone that like a suspenseful book. I personally loved this book and couldn’t put it down until the book ended. Also, this is a great book to read at night before you go to sleep.

Review of the Class

After first semester of College Career Literacy I had to take Senior Composition. When I heard that I was taking Senior Composition I wasn’t so happy because I knew that all we would be doing in the class is writing essays. However, a couple weeks into the class I started liking the class because the teacher, Mr. Hessert was awesome and half the time we were messing around, learning, and having a good time.

At the beginning of the semester we first worked on four papers. They were hard and very time consuming. Even though I thought at first that the papers were pointless, when I finished all of them and learned about all the different kinds of writings. For example, I learned how to describe a place with the utmost detail and write a great analysis of Who Killed the Electric Car.

The Newsweek and independent reading time were honestly pretty boring. It wasn’t very effective because most of time I was just staring a page and waiting for the class to be over. Then, the Evergreen book was helpful in learning some concepts like how to write definition essays but we could have learned that without the book as well. So the Evergreen wasn’t very effective.

Blogging was by far the best class activity we did in Senior Composition. It taught me many things like what a blog actually is and since I did a technology blog I learned about new technology advancements. After the first two blogs is became very easy to write them and it was very fun. The lab time and class time was also very effective in getting most of the work done in school so we wouldn’t have to worry about it at home.

Over all the class activities we did everything worked out for me except the Newsweek, independent reading and the Evergreen book. The most important thing I learned in the class was writing papers that colleges would approve and writing essays with a lot of details.

The Revolution Desk

Is your computer table taking up too much of your space? Do you need a table for the computer and a separate table for working? Now there’s a simple solution to all this drama, it is the Revolution Desk. The design of this desk incorporates a rotating panel surface that allows for an unobtrusive forward view when using the computer. However, when the computer is not in use this makes it possible to completely make the computer disappear. The Revolution Desk works by making the computer disappear when you push the keyboard in and make it reappear when you pull the keyboard out. This desk comes in three different sizes which include: 48, 60, 72 inches and many different colors. There’s is just one restriction to the desk and that is that the size of the monitor can’t be bigger then 19 inches. The price range for the Revolution Desk is ranges from $500 to $700 dollars. Personally, I think it is a great invention and I recommend buying one because it is a two in one, a workstation and a computer table.

Playstation 3 is the third home video gaming console in the playstation series. The playstation 3 surpassed its predecessors in its unified online play. The features that it composes of were its multimedia capabilities, its ability to connect with the playstation portable and a blue ray disc player. It was launch in Japan and North America in November of 2006 and in Europe in March of 2007. It has three models that are the 20GB model, 60GB model and the 80GB model. The play station 3 consoles consist of a wireless play station controller, wires, the console itself and sometimes even a game. The PS3 has a lot of memory that lets you save pictures and videos. Also, you are capable of watching high-definition movies, playing high definition games, and storing many songs. The graphics of the PS3 are very realistic; it makes you feel like you are right there in the action.

One of my cousins has a Playstation 3 and I played it and it was unbelievable. The graphics on that console was so amazing I thought I was there. The other great thing about it was that the controller were wireless so I could play the game from a distance. Then, the PS3 console has a built in blue-ray disc player. This means that I can watch all the high-definition movies at my house without buying a separate blue-ray disc player. I would really recommend this console rather than the others. The cost a 40GB PS3 is $400 and could be bought at stores like Best Buy and Circuit City.

Link:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8588584&productCategoryId=abcat0703001&type=product&tab=1&id=1190677842792#productdetail

Virtual Bluetooth Laser Keyboard

The virtual Bluetooth laser keyboard is the newest innovation in computer-tech. This new innovation is a small laser device (a little larger then a matchbox) that projects a keyboard on a flat surface. It can be used for your computer, PDA, and Smartphone. The keyboard consists of 63 keys and it has a 295 X 95mm keyboard layout. The laser keyboard has to be projected on an opaque, non-reflective surface flat surface. This new invention has a 3.6 V lithium-ion battery that lasts 120 minutes of typing per charge. The compatibility of the laser keyboard is it supports PalmOS , PocketPC 2003, Windows Smartphone, Symbian OS, and Windows 2000/XP. Also, it can be used for many PDAs and Smartphones including: many Nokias, Motorolas, HPs and many other handheld devices.

The laser keyboard helps people without keyboards on their phone to type and text faster then ever before. It deletes the need for a keyboard and the laser keyboard can be used anywhere there is a flat surface. The price for this keyboard is around $360. Also, this wonderful invention can be bought at an electronic store.

Links:
http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/

Movie Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH8CUTimTvY

Segway PT

Segway PT is the first Segway scooter that was produced by Segway. It is a two-wheeled, self-balancing electric vehicle that was invented by a man named Dean Kamen and later produced by Segway. In December 2001 it was finally released in the market. The Segway is a battery-powered vehicle that can be charged from a household current. The rider is able to accelerate by leaning forward and decelerate by leaning backward. The Segway PT is able to balance with the help of two computers that are running software, five gyroscopes and two tilt sensors. This vehicle is built to stay balanced in one place. The Segway PT features a governor mechanism which automatically tilts the vehicle slightly backward once the maximum speed allowed by the software is reached.

The Segway PT is designed to be used in the outdoors like sidewalks, bicycle lanes, and some city streets. Other uses for this vehicle include increasing the mobility for people that are disabled, used in theme parks by security, and it has been used as a platform for movie camera tracking shots in movies. The maximum speed of this vehicle reaches up to 12.5mph and it ranges from 15-25 miles over a charge. The Segway PT can be activated using one of three keys that include: Black Key, Yellow Key, and Red Key depending on the rider’s skill and how fast he/she wants to go. This vehicle is excellent for people above the age of fifteen. Also, with the gas prices sky rocketing the Segway PT is great for traveling short distances since it runs on electricity. The price for the Segway ranges from $5146-$6180. It can only be purchased from an authorized dealer of Segway.

Link:
http://www.segway.com/includes/dealer-locator.php
Movie Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euzHxyIRJhA

GPS Navigation

If you are tired of going on map quest to find directions to places or scared of getting lost in the middle of no where then you should get a GPS. GPS stands for Global Positioning System and is used to find directions to a destination. GPS is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of twenty-four satellites which allows the GPS receiver to determine the location, speed, time, and direction of an object. The GPS satellite was put into orbit by the U.S. Department of defense for military purposes. In 1980 the GPS could be used by civilians without any subscriptions or fee.

GPS satellites orbit the earth twice a day giving off microwave signals. GPS satellites take this information and use triangulation to calculate the user’s exact location. The GPS satellite needs to be locked to signals of at least three satellites to calculate a 2D position and track motion. Also, with four satellites in view a 3D position can be calculated.

GPS are wonderful when you don’t know how to get to a destination because it gives you a step-by-step direction. The GPS will tell you exactly on what street to turn left or right. It is very useful for the average traveling citizen. GPS can be bought at your local electronic store like Best Buy or Radio Shack. The price for this equipment varies from$100 to around $1000 depending on the brand.

Links:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&id=pcat17071&type=page&st=navigation&sc=Global&cp=1&nrp=15&sp=&qp=&list=n&iht=y&usc=All+Categories&ks=960

http://www.gps.gov/