Robotics Trip

Yesterday was a fun trip even though most of the time we spent on the road. The robotics competition in Newark sponsored by Panasonic was interesting to see. There were numerous schools that were admitted into the final round of the competition, but only one team was going to become the winner. When we arrived we immediately began observing the teams practice on the course. Some robots seemed to be exceptionally built and tested for the competition while other teams appeared to have spent no time practicing for the competition. After lunch a few of us went up stairs to view the competition from the balcony level. From there we saw two teams that were doing extremely well on the course, however, only one actually finished. Another cool thing that made the trip a little more interesting was that Dr. Ranelli went to the competition too.

8th Sponsor Meeting

Yesterday was an interesting visit to see Charlie. The route to his office that I usually take was blocked because the recording guys I met last week were doing some work on the street I usually travel on. I had to detour around his office and park three blocks away at another office building owned by Remington and Vernick. After I finally met with Charlie he gave me a few things that would help me on my research paper and a set of plans that dealt with the product I'm supposed to create for the end of the year presentation. Anyway, from his office we went to go see the camera guys down the street. One was prepping to clean the water line while Charlie, Joe, the other camera guy, and I opened a manhole to see if there were any problems. When the water went through the line, water splashed everywhere. This one woman stopped to take a picture which I thought was weird, but it's not my place to judge. From there we went to deal with a problem to see if the county or the town owns a road in Haddonfield and which one is responsible for repairing it. We took measurements which took an hour to finish, but it seemed a lot longer. Before I left, Charlie told me to look at the plans and study them to see what other ideas can be used that the property.

The Start of My Research Paper

I started my research paper today by writing my introduction during the very first few minutes of class. Before I knew it I was down to the bottom of the page. Its weird because I just flew through it like it was nothing. Right now I have stopped because I need to ask my sponsor something to incorporate in my essay so I at a standstill until tomorrow. I hope to write a page a day so I can knock this thing out by the weekend. I'm meeting with Charlie tomorrow so I'm sure he'll have some bright ideas to contribute to my paper. I going to fly through this paper without a problem.

Spanish Trip

During our Spanish Trip today, I actually noticed how older streets and alleys that were made out of cobblestones and bricks have modern manholes and storm drains. When we visited this tee-shirt store on a back alley way I noticed this. I actually thought about this for a while trying to figure how a modern type of sewer and water management was inserted in a old street with having to dig up the street. Its weird because the street appeared to have nothing done to. I want to know how that manhole got there because that must of been a difficult job to do, but interesting on how the engineer approached the problem.

Depressed

I'm feeling a little depressed right now because Coach Snyder told us that we were all losing focus in this class. This kind of ruined my mood because I was happy, but his comments made me feel a little bit upset. Now I'm a little frustrated because a few of the articles I found really don't help me as much as I thought they would. Now I'm scrambling to find some more articles before I start writing my essay this weekend. Time isn't on my side right now, but I know I can pull through, I always do. Besides the paper schoolwork in my other classes is becoming somewhat overwhelming because we are finishing up the curriculum. Within the next few weeks I going to have to review for all my AP tests while trying to play baseball, do work in this class and attempting to have some fun. Life is tough, but it's only as fun when it's enjoyed to the fullest extent.

7th Sponsor Meeting

This week Charlie took me back out in the field to actually meet the people who video tape sewer lines to check for problems. I actually got to see the crawlers that are sent into the sewer. Some of them were small whereas others were like a remote control car size. In the truck the two guys drive, there is a workshop and a recording studio where all the footage is recorded and saved. After we met them, we began opening up manholes to check the flow of water down this particular street. The first few we opened were a shallow depth under ground, but one of them was a huge drop beneath the ground. One of the crewman actually climbed down the manhole to see where the flow of water was heading. I thought he was crazy, but then I soon realized that he probably used to doing that. This week wasn't really exciting ,but I did enjoy opening up manholes to see how far the storm drain can be underground one block and how it can change one block down the street.

The Beginning of the End of My Research Paper

Today I will attempt to start my research paper. I believe that I have more than enough articles to actually complete the paper. The only fear I have is that I'll run short of ideas before I reach the six page mark. Anyways, I have to remember how to cite my sources, but before I do that I have to read them all first. I've read the majority of them, but I need to reread in order to extract the information. Now that I think of it, I should highlight the important stuff in the articles before I even think about writing the paper. I should also revamp my outline prior to writing my essay. My goal is to start writing my paper this weekend and finishing it by the end of next week or sooner.

Articles for My Research Paper

Ever since I changed my thesis I've been scramblng to find new articles that deal with all types of conservation. The three main types of conservatopn that I'm trying to focus on are water, enviromental, and energy. Hopefully I can find an excess of articles to use for my paper. I also hope to add other ways of conservation just in case my ideas run short and my paper isn't long enough. I'm sure, however, I'll have enough information to not let that happen because I know how to explain and drag things out while still making the topic interesting. The deadline is approaching quickly so I have to start writing my research paper ASAP.

New Direction for my Thesis

After several days of attempting to find articles for my research paper, I came to find out that my thesis was too narrow of a topic. Water conservation did not have enough articles to support what I wanted to prove. So I changed my thesis to how Civil Engineering has done much to protect the environment. Under this thesis I'm able to venture out and talk about water conservation, energy conservation, pollution, and environmental conservation, such as trees, wildlife, and the ozone. Hopefully, I'll be able to find a lot more articles and sources that will benefit me when I begin writing my paper.

6th Sponsor Meetings

Yesterday, I visited Charlie and I believe that this visit was actually my favorite out of all my visits. This week Charlie took me out to actually do some field work. First we examined this one property where the owner owns two housing lots. The town wants to buy the second lot and construct a house on it. Charlies told me that the client has already done a subdivision of the land and has already altered the property line. Anyways, when we examined the property, Charlie told me what to look for when out in the field. I actually found something that he missed. It was only a gas valve, but he didn't see only because grass was growing over it. After that, Charlie took me to another site where the street is going to be repaved. He let me survey the area in order to determine the area to be paved. I found this visit very insightful and fun. I hope next week will be as fun and interesting as this one.

Time Management

Ever since the Senior Project started, I had to adjust my time management skills. I have spent a tremendous amount of time working for this class and my Chemistry class. These two classes are my most difficult and require a lot of work. Now that baseball is starting I'm not sure what I will have to do to keep my grades up and be able to do everything i want to do. I felt overwhelmed a few times already this year with homework for every class and still trying to meet deadlines for this class and doing community service. I hate that feeling because I get so nervous that I can hardly focus on the current task. I believe that I'll have to sacrifice more of my social life time and relax time to accomplish more so i don't feel that way. I'll also have to deal with the drama my mom starts with me when I snap due to the stress. In the end however, it will all be worth it.

Engineering Software

When I went to visit Charlie this week we discussed what product I want to create from this experience. We actually began the process , but not at a fast pace. He also told me that I need to become familiar with the software program AUTOCADD. This software is the foundation for creating all engineering projects. He told me I can use the program whenever I see him, but Charlie believes I will not have enough time working on that alone. Right now I am trying to find someway to acquire the program because I do not want to spend over a hundred dollars for some software that I may not be able to understand completely. Hopefully, I can find someway to use AUTOCADD, either at home or in school.

An Inspirational Quote

" The best investment my dad ever made was education." Ivan Piñeiro

Over the weekend my father and I spoke a lot about my future during our drive to New York. At one point in the conversation, my dad said the quote stated above referring to his father. This really impacted my attitude and respect towards my father. It made me respect him and appreciate him a lot more because he is investing in me to better my life. I never thought about education being an investment. I know my father is investing a lot in my education because he knows that I can handle anything and that I am worth it. I won't throw that opportunity to better my life by getting an education.

Fifth Sponsor Meeting

This week Charlie and I began discussing ideas for a Senior Project product that I will need to create from this experience. He told me that a subdivision of the school, a set of plans that show every layer and detail of the school, would be a lot to accomplish in the one week meeting. We soon achieved an alternate solution. Instead of the school, Charlie suggested a subdivision of a land plot that is nearby where construction has not started. I told him about the construction project off of Chews Landing Road and Old Black Horse Road. We used Google Earth to get a satellite view of the land and a website to get the zoning code of the area. It turned out that the county bought that property and it is registered as public and recreation land so no building can be built on that property. We eventually decided to use that land, but change the zoning code. This off course cannot be used for any legal documentation because the subdivision is not for the proper zoning code. Next week Charlie hopes to actually begin the process of what a Civil Engineer actually does when given a piece of land and what has to be done before any work can be done.

Trip to New York

Yesterday my father and I drove up to New York to see his cousin who is sick in the hospital. We also went to pick up my uncles and my grandfather and spend some time with them. Anyway, the trip up there was very interesting. I saw many different types of roadways, overpasses, and bridges. On our way into the city we crossed the George Washington Bridge. It was my first time actually crossing that bridge and I was amazed on how it was built. The sections of roadways after the bridge were interconnected by stunning spirals of roadway and ramps. I found this connection of roadway is an amazing feat of civil engineering. The whole length of time I spent in New York I attempted to search for other places where civil engineering created an incredible system of pavement linking various place together.