Gas vs. Electric Handheld Blower (Paper #4, ENGL 1101)

Lawn mowers can mulch leaves into the lawn, but they leave behind messy swathes. Rakes pick up almost every leaf, but they are painstaking and pain making. Electric blowers are simple in function, but they are not very efficient on larger lawns. Gas blowers require the most maintenance, but they have far larger power capacities. When I began removing leaves from lawns as part of my handyman business, I realized that I had to make a choice between these options. I narrowed it down to electric and gas handheld blower models. After starting out with a used Weed-Eater brand electric blower, I determined that it was prudent to invest in an Echo brand gas blower. In an attempt to explain why I made the switch, I would like to compare several categories of strengths and weaknesses in each; they are usability, ergonomics, sound, and effectiveness.

The Weed-Eater electric blower I started out with was very easy to operate. In order to start moving leaves, all I needed was an outlet, an extension cord, and the blower. As simple as that sounds, it did pose difficulties. With power supplies located only on our porches and in our garage, it was an uphill battle trying to reach the extremities of our property. I had to link multiple extension cords together in order to span the 300-400 ft “back forty.” I ended up having to tie the extension cords together because the plugs pulled apart every time I got close to the end of the cord reach. Storing the extension cords was also a disaster. Unraveling the pile of spaghetti every time I needed to clean up some leaves tried my patience sorely. There was no easy way to manage the power cords.

Persepolis (Ethics of Leadership Reflective Paper)

Since the first English publication in 2003, Persepolis has stood almost as an invention among books. The first of its kind, a comic novel, it is itself a novelty. Marjane Satrapi exposes the story of her childhood, beginning in 1979 when she was ten, and moves forward to her eventual departure for America at age fourteen. During the intervening four years, wars and revolts revolutionized her world. Many factors came into play and forced her to deal with reality beyond her years. Hers was a culture and a circumstance far different from our own. I would like to examine an important difference and two similarities between Iran of the past and America of today: social classes, views of education, and religious natures.

Early on in the book, Marji’s maid, Mehri, comes to her for help. Mehri has a suitor, the next door neighbor’s son Hossein, and she wishes to write letters to him. However, she cannot write, and so she convinces Marji to transcribe letters for her as she pretends to be Marji’s sister. Word gets around and eventually comes back to Marji’s father, Ebi, who does not like the idea at all. Ebi immediately walks next door and confronts Hossein with the truth that Mehri is only pretending to be his daughter but is in reality his maid. Hossein rejects Mehri, surrenders all correspondence, and terminates the relationship.