Bridge Building @ Notre Dame

Next week, here in Notre Dame Regional Secondary the physics classes will be building bridges. They will also be having a contest to compete with eachother. For which bridge(s) are strong, stable and have followed the restrictions. Each bridge will be measured by how heavy the bridge can hold the weight. At the end, the competitors will be getting prizes based on their bridge. The 2000 Winner and current record holder is Matthew Sullivan; 209. 4 kg. Not only have there been records but there are also bridges with disasters. Sponsors for the bridge building contest are Collings Johnston Inc., British Columbia Institute of Technology, Bridge Ink and many others.

Vancouver is the city of many interesting bridges, here's my favorite:
The Skytrain Bridge, New Westminster-Surrey BC. Built at 1986 for Skytrain transit.

Here are two links: Contest Page, Past Photos

One interesting site is Bridges of Paris, this is found at the homepage near the bottom in the list of additional links.

eBay & kijiji

Web Form

Multi-Form Project

By using Visual Basics, the whole entire class including me have each created our own multi-form project. Each multi-form project is different for it has a different theme. In each multi-form project you would find different applications/forms that we have worked on from the past with different styles; buttons, color and different layouts!! For my project, my theme was graffiti and I added the forms; Rocket, Calculator, Guesser, Acronym, Paint, and the Time. Each form works correctly. For my project, I added an easter egg. My easter egg, has simple notes about graffiti and a few of the famous graffiti artists!!Overall, this project, I quite enjoyed it and found out new techniques/ways that I never knew before!

OLPC Project Opinions

This website contains both positive and negative opinions based on the OLPC XO Laptop. It is also recently posted. As you click this website you will find many opinions that may be happening with your own OLPC Laptop. The website is:http://www.olpcnews.com/laptops/xo1/xo_laptop_peace_corps_volunteer.html. .

Recieved the OLPC XO Laptop

April 1st, we've received the OLPC laptop and so far two of our classmates have or are testing it out. So far there are just minor issues that were spotted by Eliza with the OLPC XO Laptop. Yet the solution is being researched on! From time to time everyone will be able to get an opportunity to use and or try the OLPC XO Laptop.

Java

As we are finishing up with C++, we are beginning to use Java and have started the program "Hello World". So far Java is pretty much different compared to C++. For it uses different coding. So far we will be continuing with Java for this year.

Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition

As the 1st semester is about to end, we have been finishing up with Python, and Visual Basics we have been told that each and every one in class will be using a new program. Which is called Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition. This program has many features. As the 2nd semester begins we will be continuing by using this program more often. We've also worked on hello world.

OLPC Update

This is a message that we recieved from OLPC regarding the delay:

Please accept my apologies for the delay in receiving your XO laptop. Give One Get One was such a phenomenal success that we over-taxed our order processing and payment systems. Demand exceeded supply. Additional XO laptops are being built now and will be delivered in 45 to 60 days. If you wish to reconsider your contribution in the face of this delay, we will issue a refund to you. We have set up a dedicated phone line for these requests. The number is 1-800-883-8102. In the meanwhile, please know that laptops are in the process of going to Mongolia, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Rwanda and Haiti as part of the "give one" side of the equation. Fortunately, OLPC's mission of getting laptops to the children in these countries has not been delayed. In Mongolia, the children are already enjoying themselves and learning new things with their XO laptops. Please see: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Ulaanbaatar. Eliminating poverty through learning is gaining wider acceptance thanks to support like yours.

Sincerely,
Nicholas Negroponte
Chairman
OLPC Foundation

Unexpected Demand?

Here is an updated website which has further information about an article that talks about some of the delivery problems the corporation is experiencing, due to the unexpected demand.

http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9859546-37.html?tag=nefd.top

Computer Disassembly Project

The purpose of this project was to dissemble the computer by locating each of the components one by one by unscrewing the screws or pulling them out. As you can see with this picture it isn’t disassembled yet however at the top all the components of the computer are labeled and are apart. Each component is strictly necessary for the computer to run. Each component also needs to be assembled at the right place for the whole computer to run and or work perfectly. Just the slightest incorrect re- assembled component won’t make the computer run properly. My partner and I disassembled this computer together in a follow up routine. First we took off the cover/panel, and then started off with the power & Data connectors by unplugging them, then the CD-Rom, floppy drive and power drive by unscrewing with the screws. After came the motherboard with all its components such as the speaker, video card, sound card, rams, network card, battery backup, CPU and CPU Cooling Fin and a few others. (These were disassembled by unscrewing the screws, pulling them out properly or by unplugging some things.) After re-assembling the components back the computer was back to normal. Overall this was an exciting project that I’ve done and have fun.