The art of of making anything out of nothing: an ELI on SolidWorks 2013

Hello readers, this is Sam Stevens. I am a senior at MHS in Ms. Wissner’s 5th period ELI. I am doing an ELI on SolidWorks. For those of you who don’t know what this computer program is, It is a modeling software used to create 3D images of almost anything you want. It is mostly used by graphic designers, engineers, and computer animators. It is a very useful way to visualize ideas.

Why care about My ELI?

SolidWorks and similar 3D CAD programs help reduce mishaps in consumer products. SolidWorks was designed mostly to keep engineers all on the same page and informed. Most languages are not sufficient for conceptualizing objects.  Their purpose is to convey ideas rather than elaborate structural detail.  Imagine trying to describe an airplane to someone who has never seen one before; it’s pretty darn hard. The main result is miscommunication, which in the context of an airplane means that the plane will fall apart and people will die. Another example is smart phones; they would not have evolved this far if the engineers had not been on the same page, resulting in lots of miscommunication, and we might still have flip phones. Another application for SolidWorks is animation. The software can be used to model motion, which allows animators to create moving animations. The bottom line is that SolidWorks and other 3D CAD programs are making this world a better place to live in, and they create quite cool images.  

What have I been doing thus far and how am I using SolidWorks?

I am member of the Moscow High School Robotics and Electronics Club. We are competing against the rest of Idaho in a competition where we have to build a robot that works with other robots to accomplish a hard task. This year’s task is to put wiffle balls into really tall beakers to earn points. This might not seem that difficult, but for a robot, this a challenging task. I was on the team last year. We didn’t devote enough time to making our robot, and as result we did not compete last year. I found out last year that another team had used SolidWorks to record the evolution of their robot, which I thought was a great idea.  In an effort to not repeat last year, this year I decided to do an ELI on SolidWorks and create the team’s engineering notebook to keep everyone on the same page and reduce confusion.

This year I have been learning the basic syntax involved in using solidworks.

This an example of one assembly I have modeled using my new skills.  

This is an example of a part which is quite hard to draw and explain, but thanks to SolidWorks, we could 3D print this part.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this piece.

~Sam

Creating Cosplay: Creative or Creepy?

For the past 6 weeks I have been working on learning about and integrating myself into a more recent culture that has developed around the world. That culture is Cosplay. In the past 6 weeks, I have focused on learning the most basic steps in joining the world of Cosplay. My main focus, and something that has taken up more than 2 of the 6 weeks, is creating costumes. I have already created my first one, which is a full body Carnage costume. The following pictures are of the process and end result of having created Carnage. I started with a basic completely red spandex suit. From there, I made nails for the hands, and then painted the pattern onto it with a substance called Puffy Paint. After that had dried, I made the two eyes using a white cloth, and made the mouth using black hot glue and craft foam. After the eye and mouth were attached, I made the spine using two elastic strips, velcro, craft foam, and black hot glue. On October 30th I performed a stress test on the suit to see how it would hold up in a crowded environment. It did well, and I only had to reinforce 2 or 3 areas when I got home.

While walking around in the suit in public, I received many responses. From compliments, to questions, to outcries of confusion. The most common question was who I was, this did not surprise me that much as Carnage has not shown up in popular culture as of yet, but if Sony does not drop the movie, he will appear in a film before 2020. I cosplay for many reasons. One reason is that I enjoy creating the costume, the effort and art that is involved with making a costume is very fun and the end result is very rewarding. Another reason I cosplay is for the reactions, the pride that fills me when I am recognized far outweighs the odd looks and rude comments from those who dislike my creation for being abnormal and possibly awkward. My next couple of  projects have a medieval theme and their production starts late November early December. I hope I will enjoy the creation as well as the reactions as much as I did with Carnage.~Parker

¡Mi Aventura En La Lengua Española!

Quisiera decirles “Hola a todos!” Thank you for coming and reading my blog about my ELI and the process of learning the Spanish language from the ground up. So far we are over a third of the way through the semester, and that is kind of terrifying. Having learned French already, I know that to have a confident grasp in a language takes a lot of time, and I am very worried that I won’t be able to accomplish as much as I want to in this ELI. I always knew I would have to continue to study the language after this semester is over, but I wanted to be able to at least hold conversations. I still have 11 weeks to practice, but a lot of that time will be spent compiling my portfolio.

Despite these complications, I have truly enjoyed studying the Spanish Language. I have just met with my mentor, Irina Kappler-Crookston, with whom I spent ten days in another country and got to know well. She told me to officially rank myself on my level of Spanish in each of the four facets of language (reading, writing, speaking, listening) according to the ACTFL guidelines. This will be useful so that both of us are aware of where I truly am and how far I can reasonably advance. I’m excited to have an actual measurement of my progress. It is kind of unfortunate, however, that I did not have this at the very beginning of the semester. I know I have become a lot better since then already, and so we won’t be able to get a really accurate sample from start to finish.

Thanks to a suggestion from Mrs. Mullin, I have decided to start finding out about the different cultures and language aspects within a lot of different Spanish-speaking countries. I never really thought about it, but it is really amazing that the influence the Spanish from hundreds of years ago had spread throughout almost all of the Western Hemisphere. Because Spanish is so spread out, it is not surprising that there are lots of differences throughout the world. There are different accents, pronunciations, and meanings of certain words. Irina enlightened me on how confusing a conversation can become between two people from different countries. I will have to choose a certain accent, or regional dialect, to base my comprehension of Spanish on, because it would be too difficult to learn everything all at once. I have heard that Ecuadoran and Bolivian Spanish is the clearest and most standardized, so I am going to be sure to look more into those.

French was the language that really inspired me to want to learn languages for the rest of my life. I knew it would be a logical succession to go from French to Spanish, as those two are the most related languages and I have the most resources to learn the two of them. The thing I like to keep in mind when I am studying languages is how many more people I will eventually be able to communicate, and after a while, connect with. The more adept you are at speaking another person’s language, the better you will be able to connect with them. Because there are so many people who speak Spanish, and most of them live in places I want to go to, I can’t wait until I will be able to call myself advanced.

Gracias por leer mi blog! Espero que entienda por qué estudio el español.

~Ethan

Higher Dimensions

Astral Projection, a controlled out-of-body experience (OBE), is one of the single most enlightening and intriguing actions that the mighty human consciousness may perform. These experiences, although only recently prevalent again in modern times, have been described and recounted in times dating back to as early as ancient Egypt, and refutably even earlier. The concept of Astral Projection is widely unknown and would seem far-fetched to most; however, the fundamentals of Astral Projection and Lucid Dreaming are drastically parallel, with the only difference being that in Lucid Dreaming, one wakes his or her consciousness within the dream state; whereas, in Astral Projection, the individual's consciousness is controllably separated from the body by way of careful meditation and various astral techniques.

With recent scientific studies, some of which were conducted as early as 1980s when Stephen LaBerge first published an experiment which later resulted in the founding of the Lucidity Institute at Stanford University, validating the existence and reality of Lucid Dreaming, it can only be said that in that same thought, Astral Projection is also legitimised through a scholarly light. Primarily used throughout the world as a means to spiritual enlightenment and understanding, Astral Projection can yield a myriad of benefits that include but are not limited to: an increased thirst for knowledge and understanding; a new-found zest for life; a greater connection with your inner self; and, arguably the most prevalent and important, an understanding of life after death. Some say that the whole separation of conscious spirit from physical vessel yields a profound understanding of the persistence of one's being after the shell has long since decayed. Additionally, exploration of the astral realm can lead to communion with higher dimensional beings, who most commonly impart worldly knowledge and comprehension of humanity as a species in the universe.

~Michael

Trees of Life

Phylogenetics is the study of evolutionary changes and the search for answers to different evolutionary questions such as how a speciation event occurred, and why.  I am super excited about this topic and the things that I have been doing in the lab and that I have been reading, and hope this blog will be interesting for everyone else to read.

Fig. 1: Paralogy vs. Orthology

So, basically, over the year, I have been given several articles to read and two books that explain phylogenetic methods and important concepts. One of the main things that I kept bumping into when I was reading the articles about the lupine research (which are the hardest things to understand; you literally have to break the whole article into thousands of pieces and define every third word) are the paralogy, orthology, and coalescence theories. These three describe different approaches to analyzing a phylogenetic tree. Paralogy is not favored when creating a phylogenetic tree, since it is the creation of a phylogenetic tree solely by analyzing gene sequences. Though under first thought, this may seem more accurate, it actually isn’t: analyzing only gene sequences may lead the observer to indiscernible gene duplication events because we cannot find out if the gene duplication event occurred or not, or gene shutdown events, which may dramatically alter the observed phylogenetic tree for the specific species from the theoretical true phylogenetic tree (Fig. 1) However, this does not mean that we should completely throw away gene sequencing from phylogenetic analysis; this would be unproductive in terms of the advances in phylogenetics in the last century.

Fig. 2: Speciation vs. Gene duplication event

Orthology, on the other hand, observes the speciation events instead of solely the genetic events  when creating a phylogenetic tree. This method is much more favored by systematists than paralogy, since it decreases the probability of errors that could be made compared to the theoretical phylogenetic tree of the species. A speciation event does not look at genetical changes in the sequences of different species in the same genus; rather it looks at different biogeographical events, fossil evidence, etc. in addition to gene sequences to make sure that the conclusions are more accurate (Fig. 2).

Coalescence theory, to be frank, is quite difficult to grasp; I still have difficulties understanding the concept when reading articles and books. In general, it is a way to trace back speciation lineages through time (by the “trunk” of the tree) to the present time to see how closely or just how different species are related. When coalescence theory is depicted in books and articles, it is usually shown as an inverted tree, which allows the reader to trace back in time instead from the past to the future, as a normal tree allows one to do (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3: Upside down tree depicting coalescence theory

Another topic that keeps popping up in my reading is ladder thinking versus tree thinking; Lamarck vs Darwin. Many people long ago believed that evolution occurs in a ladder model; this was also the preference of Lamarck, a biologist who believed that, for instance, if a giraffe wanted to reach some food on a tall branch, all it had to do was stretch really hard, and its neck would become longer, and that when it would reproduce, this trait would simply be passed on to its offspring. Darwin, on the other hand, after his trip to the Galapagos, differed. He believed that evolution occurred in a tree model.

The main difference between a ladder model and a tree model is the fact that a ladder model allows the observer to compare two living species as one being the ancestor of the other, when really it is not possible for us to develop from currently living species. We are not related to monkeys; we are related to now extinct apes that  lived long ago, speciated at some time into neanderthals, which became extinct but speciated into homo-sapiens. That is the true model of evolution.

Currently, I’ve been spending nearly two hours per week in the lab working on my lupine samples from Peru. The original plan was that I would quickly sequence the plants, upload the information into genbank, and be done and ready to continue on to “real” research. Unfortunately, lab science is not that easy. We had to redo the PCR reaction (polymerase chain reaction) three times before it finally worked (by changing the buffer type and allowing closer primers to be together). Only this week were we finally able to purify the DNA, and next week we will sequence them and be able to see if they really are related (really, all of this is just an exercise; nothing extraordinary or new). Afterwards, Dr. Tank has found a project that he would like me to work on; plants from the Galapagos that may have a similar evolutionary pattern to that of the Galapagos finches that Darwin found. (Though nobody believed that plants are interesting, no one has really looked into that hypothesis yet). I am super excited to do this project, and can’t wait to find out about the results. Lab work is a lot more fun for me than most people may think; yes, it can be a bit monotonous when I am doing the same protocol over and over, but I think that it is a great opportunity to be able to explore real science in the lab.

So… this is what I have been doing lately. Hope this was interesting!

~Valeria

Exploration of the Subconscious Mind

“I am skateboarding through a city with a crew of friends. We skate down a boardwalk. Suddenly, I am wrenched from the world I was just inhabiting and revisit the world of reality, where I am lying in bed. But my body hasn’t fully switched states of consciousness and my awareness is sent back down into my dream world and I land back on my skateboard. Now that I am lucid and aware of the absence of reality of this existence, I am limitless. I leap off of my board and rocket into the sky, barrel-rolling up into the atmosphere. I soar back down towards the city and fly amongst the skyscrapers. Seeing the ocean sprawled out at the edge of the city, I plummet towards its surface and plunge into the sea, sinking deep underwater. In this world, I can breathe as if I were back on the boardwalk, I can summon any tool or toy that it may please me to use, and I can converse with characters of my subconscious. These characteristics of this particular state of consciousness are a few of the endless possibilities presented by the world of lucid dreaming.”

“Lucid dreamers (during their dreams) report being able to freely remember the circumstances of waking life, to think clearly, and to act deliberately upon reflection, all while experiencing a dream world that seems vividly real.” Stephen LaBerge, one of the most prominent oneironaughts (lucid dreamers) of the age, has conducted extensive research on the phenomenon of cross-state fluidity at Stanford University (LaBerge). Lucidity is a rapidly expanding field of study, as new research emerges and our understanding of our subconscious mind increases.

Ever since the discovery of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep by Aserinsky and

Kleitman in 1953, scientists have been discovering, exploring, and exceeding the boundaries of lucid dreaming (LaBerge). Due to the extensive amounts of doubt and distrust from those who have not experienced lucidity, researchers have searched for methods with which to prove its existence. In 1981, Dr. LaBerge conducted an experiment in the sleep lab of Stanford in which his subjects signaled the onset of lucidity, the moment in which a dreamer comes to the realization that they are indeed dreaming. In dreams, when the dreamer moves his or her eyes in specific patterns, their real eyes attached to their sleeping body back in reality also move (LaBerge). LaBerge managed to pinpoint the moment in which an oneironaught became lucid by recording the observance of a pre-arranged pattern of eye movement. This study was not only groundbreaking in the confirmation of lucidity’s existence, but its results also indicated that lucidity occurs primarily during periods of REM sleep.

Evidence from this experiment and from others in sleep labs prove the existence of lucidity and open to doors to worldwide understanding and use of lucid dreaming. My ELI aims to delve into the realms of this phenomenon. I want to learn as much as possible about the potential of lucid dreaming and how people have used it throughout history. Having already experienced lucidity, I have glimpsed the wonders of this alternate state of consciousness; I intend to perfect my ability to lucid dream and record my experimentation in the dream world.

~Katie

References

LaBerge, Stephen. "Psychophysiology of Lucid Dreaming." Lucidity.com. American Psychological Association, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.

Sports Medicine: Prevention and Healing

The human body is a complex and extensive subject. Athletic trainers must know, in most instances, the skeletal, muscular, neurological, musculoskeletal, and neuromuscular systems. Athletic trainers should be experienced and knowledgeable to help you with most problems you may have, ranging from a discomfort in a body movement, to a skeletal fracture or break. Athletic trainers must know all these systems, and they must also know the relations between all of them.

My initial intentions of taking this ELI was to learn about the field of sports medicine and athletic training, but it has evolved to much more than that. I have learned that some techniques come from the eastern hemisphere and their culture, which require a different thought process and level of understanding. In some instances, the healing process uses techniques that are not sensible to explain logically, but more on that in later posts. Some, on the other hand, processes can be easily explained with simple techniques and strategies.

The first half of this study is over the prevention of injuries, which is the most important part of athletic training. The hope is to prevent injuries before they happen, which is only possible by taking a screening test. This is not a typical test you would expect. The trainer will ask the patient to perform a multitude of tests to analyze their body movement patterns, which is important to discover if there are any dysfunctional or painful body movements that the patient may or may not have. If the patient is either dysfunctional or painful, then they have a much higher chance of becoming injured. This has to do with compensation from surrounding body parts, usually muscle injuries.This is how one may be injured but does not know it.  Compensation works when the body uses two main anatomical functions, Muscular Spindle Fibers and Golgi Tendon Organs. The Muscular Spindle Fibers determine how far a muscle will elongate and monitors the speed, rate of movement, tension, and length of a muscle. The Golgi Tendon Organs determine the amount of force being applied to the muscle, i.e. how tense or relaxed a muscle will be. If a muscle is injured, then it the spindle fibers will protect the injured muscle by using a connected muscle to perform the movements of the injured muscle as well as its own functions, and the tendon organs will relax the injured muscle and not allow it to perform. The muscle that is overworked is the one that will feel injured when, in actuality it is the muscle that was originally injured. This is why athletic trainers are so important. Without these sports medicine professionals, in most cases, the inexperienced healer would be treating the overcompensating muscle, which will keep feeling injured because the healer is not treating the root of the problem, but rather trying to fix something that will not become fixed, or will but only for a small period of time.

~Tyler

More Than Just Palm Trees

Where can you find an island paradise with a rich history of kings, queens, luaus, hula, and flower leis -- and even some political drama? The middle of the Pacific, of course. I chose to study the Hawaiian language and culture because the Islands have a vibrant history and present culture that is unknown to many modern people. In order to understand this culture, one must learn the language. Many Hawaiians today are embracing their heritage and formally studying the language to feel closer to their ancestors. It is important to recognize the significance of the Hawaiian language, even if it is used only on some small islands in the middle of the ocean. It connects Hawaiians and anyone else willing to learn with the history of the past and the progress of the present (“All About Hawaii Culture”). Though I personally have no connection to ancient Hawaii, I was fascinated by the culture and language during my visits and decided to learn more. As in learning any language or culture, this will show me a broader view of the world and expand my horizons, so to speak.

In ancient Hawaii, the art of hula was taught in specific school. When the Islands were colonized and the missionaries wanted natives to learn English, these new schools were modeled after the hula method of instruction (Wyles, 2012). A modern-day Hawaiian immersion school uses these techniques. The program ‘Aha Punana Leo is now all over the Islands, helping the young children to learn the language as they are becoming more comfortable with English. This is a direct result of the Hawaiian Renaissance in the 1970’s, when many native people decided to overturn the ban on their language being taught in schools from 1896 and embrace their ancient culture and tongue (Kimura et al., 2003).

Not very many resources to learn Hawaiian are available, nor do many sources exist to learn about Hawaii’s history, especially not on a high school student’s budget. However, I am slowly but surely finding new and better sources to use in this Extended Learning Internship, such as a teacher’s YouTube channel and an online forum to discuss the grammar of the language, both of which have helped me immensely so far.

I have found that while the spelling of words can be complex and many words are very long, the grammar is relatively simple. Verbs are rarely used in simple sentences. This makes my process much faster, because the grammar is consistent and easier to learn. I hope to learn more words and be able to create more complicated sentences in Hawaiian, as well as explore more about the ancient culture. I have found a book that will likely help me with the study of Hawaii’s history, called Dismembering Lahui. I am excited to read this book and learn more about Hawaii before modern times (Osorio, 2002).

Though my struggling to find helpful sources has been a bit more drawn-out than I would have liked, I feel that I am now off to a stable start. This project will allow me to learn more about the world I live in. I plan to revisit the Islands someday, and will surely have a much richer store of knowledge to draw from when I do.

~Meghan

Works Cited

“All About Hawaii Culture.” All about Hawaii Culture. Waimea.com, 2009. Web. 23 Sept.

2014.

Kimura, Larry et. al. “Hawaiian: Back from Brink of Extinction.” The Honolulu Advertiser.

24 April 2003. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.

Osorio, Jon Kamakawiwo’ole. Dismembering Lahui. 2002. University of Hawaii Press. Print.

Wyels, Joyce Gregory. "Preserving The Language Of Aloha." Americas 64.3 (2012): 32-38.

Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

Prepping Parents

All my life I have struggled to decide “what I want to be when I grow up”. First a princess, then a veterinarian, next a professional basketball player, or maybe a preschool teacher. Now I am very close to being “grown up”, and still I am unsure of what exactly I want to be. All I know is that I have two passions: athletics, and working with young children. So this semester I have decided to look into work as an infant teacher/caregiver through taking an ELI.

At first I wanted to look into the development of the five senses in infants, what they can perceive, and how their brain develops. I quickly discovered that infant senses are almost entirely developed at birth. This led me to look into general infant development. My focus was changed to infant development in four categories: social, language, large motor, and small motor. I decided that communication and learning went hand in hand with development, and incorporated those into my research. This is an important area of study because so many people take part in raising children, and the first year of life is such a crucial time in development, so people need to know how infants are supposed to develop.

My mom is an owner and executive director of a daycare. Time and time again as I walk through stores and down streets with her, I notice her looking concerned as she witnesses acts of poor parenting going on all around her. She sees parents chasing three-year-olds when children of this age ought to follow simple orders such as “come here”. She watches crazed mothers yell at two-year-olds who need to be soothed, not punished. Through my ELI I hope to give parents(present and future) the ability to better understand their children by knowing what their children know and are capable of.

My research so far has included reading two books on learning and development, and observing in an infant classroom at a local daycare.

A vast majority of people become parents as adults (in fact this is the one thing that I know I want to be when I grow up). But do all of these parents know what their children should be able to do at any given age? Do parents understand just how crucial the first year of a child’s life is? I do not believe that they do. Those who attend my ELI presentation or read my portfolio will be enlightened in the area of infant development. I hope that any future parents who are exposed to my ELI will one day look back and remember at what age infants are able to understand words or follow orders. It is important for parents to know these things so that they are able to understand their children, effectively communicate with children, and catch developmental setbacks that their children might be having. The earlier developmental issues are discovered, the better so that parents can start working to improve development in areas of concern, and get children back on track as soon as possible. My long term goal for my project is that it will help future parents understand the development of their children.

The topic of infant development is important for all parents to know, and even more important to infants whose parents know or do not know anything about what children are capable of. This project will also help me discover new professions that might interest me. Already I have discovered developmental screening and interesting professions that branch off of that. I look forward to learning more about infants and infant related professions this semester.

What do I want to be when I grow up? I have no idea. I do know, however, that I want to help people, and my ELI this semester will help people understand infant development, and be more prepared for, or effective in parenthood.

~Rachel

The works I have read are:

Galinsky, Ellen. Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2010.

Needham, Amy; Woodward, Amanda. Learning and the infant mind. New York, Oxford University Press, 2009.

Astral Projection

Astral Projection, a controlled out-of-body experience (OBE), is one of the single most enlightening and intriguing actions that the mighty human consciousness may perform. These experiences, although only recently prevalent again in modern times, have been described and recounted in times dating back to as early as ancient Egypt, and refutably even earlier. The concept of Astral Projection is widely unknown and would seem far-fetched to most; however, the fundamentals of Astral Projection and Lucid Dreaming are drastically parallel, with the only difference being that in Lucid Dreaming, one wakes his or her consciousness within the dream state; whereas, in Astral Projection, the individual's consciousness is controllably separated from the body by way of careful meditation and various astral techniques.

With recent scientific studies, some of which were conducted as early as 1980s when Stephen LaBerge first published an experiment which later resulted in the founding of the Lucidity Institute at Stanford University, validating the existence and reality of Lucid Dreaming, it can only be said that in that same thought, Astral Projection is also legitimised through a scholarly light. Primarily used throughout the world as a means to spiritual enlightenment and understanding, Astral Projection can yield a myriad of benefits that include but are not limited to: an increased thirst for knowledge and understanding; a new-found zest for life; a greater connection with your inner self; and, arguably the most prevalent and important, an understanding of life after death. Some say that the whole separation of conscious spirit from physical vessel yields a profound understanding of the persistence of one's being after the shell has long since decayed. Additionally, exploration of the astral realm can lead to communion with higher dimensional beings, who most commonly impart worldly knowledge and comprehension of humanity as a species in the universe.

~Michael

My Robotic Blog

After reading the literature on robotics, I have learned some facts about how robots help mankind. For instance, robotics are a part of science and technology, which can lead us to the future. We have factory robots that can build cars, and robots that perform tasks and carry information. In addition, engineers built robots that can adapt to their environment. More importantly, robots can explore places that are too dangerous or difficult for people to explore.

A true working robot must be controlled by a programmable computer.  It must be able to acquire information about the outside world.  And finally, based on its computer program, it must make decisions and take actions based on that information.

There are several reasons for studying robotics. Robots and their related technologies promise to have a huge impact on our economy and society. It will be easier for us to make important future decisions if we have some knowledge of these technologies and can assess their influence on our lives.

A consensus is growing among robot and computer experts that we are on the brink of a new era in which robots and intelligent computers will play an enormous part in our lives. Robots in the factories will soon become more sophisticated and spawn robots in the office, on the farm, in the classroom, and in the home. New generations of young people will have to master new skills and attitudes in order to manage, repair, maintain, and improve these robots.

Most robots are designed to work on their own, without human help. Once a human has shown a factory what to do (for example, moving its arm in a certain way), it can usually carry on without us-but only for a time. All robots have particular needs and rely on supplies from us.

There are several ways to give a working robot instructions. One way is to use a computer to program its movements.

Robots, like other machines and devices, are the result of years of work. From first designs, they are tested, redesigned, and tested again, gradually improving all the time. Developing a new robot might take as long as five years.

~Craig

On A Roll: My Experience with Scruggs Style Banjo

When you hear the word “Banjo”, what comes to mind? To most people, they just think of all of the jokes told about the crazy people who play the wretched instrument.

• What’s the difference between a banjo and a chainsaw? A chainsaw has a dynamic range.
• How can you tell if a stage is level? When the banjo player drools from both sides of his mouth.
• What’s perfect pitch on the banjo? Throwing it into a dumpster without hitting the sides.
• What’s the fastest way to tune a banjo? With wire cutters.

The list just goes on and on, so why would I ever pick up this monster? For the love of music! I have always loved music and I’ve wanted to always play it. I’ve tried guitar, drums, bass, and more, but none of these instruments liked me and I didn’t like them. When I picked up the banjo for the first time, it stuck with me. It had that nice twang and a percussive feeling to the playing style. Besides that, it just looked freaking awesome. I knew that I had met my new lover.

Music is life for me. It’s kept me going when I’m feeling good, and it brings me back up when I’m feeling down. I just really wanted to be connected to that musical part of me. I’d gawk at all of my musical friends out of jealousy when they’d bust out a groovin’ song. I wanted, no, needed, that connection to the expression that I loved most. Let’s take it back a little bit though.

My dad has taken me to bluegrass festivals since I was little. Before playing banjo, I viewed bluegrass festivals as just a bunch of hillbillies getting together to play their hobo music. Now, I see these festivals as expression, friendliness, creativity, precision, and so many more traits that cannot be expressed. I have met the nicest people in the world at these festivals. All that anyone wants to do is to play music, and that’s what we do. Bluegrass festivals, for me, have become a way of life. Who doesn’t love a bunch of people in large groups, who are dirty from camping, but play the best darn music that you’ve ever heard?

So what does this really lead to? A career? A hobby? I would obviously love to get really good at the banjo and go professional in a band, but I don’t see that happening realistically. I think that banjo will just be that outlet for me to express myself. I want to go to jams and just play my heart out, and that’s what bluegrass music is about, a group of people doing what they love.

~Jordan L.

What is Leukemia?

Leukemia is a form of cancer, cancer of the blood forming systems and immune systems to be precise. Cancer of these systems can be especially dangerous because blood cells it affects run all throughout your body. Cancer in general is bad. Leukemia can be really bad.  So, you may ask, why research and focus on something so terrible? The answer is simple - because it is interesting and worth learning about. What if you were diagnosed with leukemia? Would you know what it is exactly, what type you have, or maybe what kind of treatment you are looking at? These are the reasons behind looking at cancer as a topic of study.

Some people believe that they know all there is to know about leukemia. The general public perception of leukemia is that it is a cancer of the spine and/or the bone marrow, and as we all know, whenever doctors need bone marrow, they tap the spine so obviously it’s there. You aren’t wrong with any of that. Leukemia does affect the bone marrow, and yes, you can get bone marrow from your spine, specifically, from the vertebrae.  You can’t pull bone marrow from the nerves that actually make up your spine. However, that’s not the whole story. There are two main types of leukemia that are categorized by what they affect. One type is myeloid, which damages your myeloid cells, the blood forming cells that are found in your bone marrow. There is a second kind, but this one affects your lymph system, which is important in aiding your immune system.

So, there are two types of leukemias.  That’s one more than most people recognize, but if you think you are done with the splitting of terms, you are sorely mistaken. These two types can be broken down further into two more categories, acute and chronic. The differences here are pretty substantial and are based on how fast the cancer does its work. Acute works like it has a hot date and does its work in the time span of months or even weeks.  If you find out you have an acute form of leukemia, you need to start treatment immediately. The chronic form, on the other hand, gives you time to consider your options.

All of this information is only scratching the surface of the iceberg, however.  There is so much to learn about leukemia, so for the purpose of my study, I will focus on one type of leukemia, Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). AML can develop from the use of chemotherapy. That’s right.  If you had a different type of cancer that you treated and beat with chemotherapy, then there is the chance that your bone marrow could become cancerous. “But wait,” you might say, “what if I had radiation and not chemo?” Well, in that case, you may be absolutely fine.  It is currently being debated by oncologists whether or not radiation treatment actually has any influence in the development of AML.  Common indications that a person has AML are as follows: they are anemic (too few healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen), are easily stricken ill, look pale and sickly because of anemia.  An accurate diagnosis needs to be completed by a medical professional.

While my research has led me to realize how much more there is to know, I have found the subject intriguing and am anxious to learn more.

~Nick

Japanese Internment

In the United States during World War II, nearly 120,000 American citizens were incarcerated in prison camps. The U.S. government took away the constitutional rights of the Japanese Americans, justifying it  “on the grounds of military necessity” (Daniels). This act has been considered one of the United States’ worst mistakes. It is important not to forget this time in our history. If we forget, then we could repeat our past mistakes and imprison more Americans. Even now, there is prejudice against immigrants. With the prejudices against the Muslims and the Hispanic immigrants, we are starting down a path that will only lead to injustice. In a way, we are already repeating history.

All this prejudice, hatred and anti-sentiment against the Japanese Americans started in 1853. Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into the Tokyo Harbor and forced the then isolationist nation of Japan to open its doors. Japan had been in a state of isolation for 214 years. After Perry’s arrival, Japan underwent extensive social transformation. In 1863, only ten years after Perry’s arrival, there was social upheaval and a decline in agriculture due to rapid urbanization and industrialization. This marked the start of Japanese Immigration to the United States.

However, before this, thousands of Chinese men came over to America during the California Gold Rush. The Chinese were not well received in America. There was often competition with the Irish immigrants over railroad labor. Many Irish immigrants started a slogan: “The Chinese Must Go!” The aim was to end Chinese immigration. In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, barring Chinese immigrants from coming to the U.S. It was after Chinese immigration was halted that Japanese immigration started.

Pretty much as soon as Japanese immigrants landed in the United States, sentiment towards them began to arise. Which so much hate towards the Chinese, this prejudice was passed on to the Japanese and other Asiatic immigrants.

We can still see anti-sentiment towards immigrants today. It may not be as harsh as it was in the 1800s and the 1900s but, people are still affected by this. Many people come up to America from Mexico and take jobs that we, Americans, would not take. Politicians on are fighting over immigration reform, much like how they how they fought over the Chinese Exclusion Act. Again, we are taking steps towards repeating the injustice that happened to the Japanese Americans.      

We came very near to repeating history after 9/11. There were many innocent Muslims (most were American citizens) who were targeted by the U.S. government due to their religion and their ethnicity. Some where even placed in prison for weeks until they were proven not to be a threat. Many of them didn’t even know why they were being targeted. Just like the Japanese Americans, these American citizens’ rights were stripped.

This is why it is important to remember what we did in the past. If we do, we could repeat the injustices that happened in our country. We are already taking steps towards repeat our past mistakes, but this time to the Hispanics and the Muslims.

~Bridget

   

Works Cited

Daniels, Roger. Prisoners without Trial: Japanese Americans in World War II. New York: Hill and Wang, 1993. Print.

"Immigration... Japanese." Library of Congress. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.