Another Missed Sponsor Meeting

This week was kind of a bummer because I wasn't able to see Charlie again, but this time he was sick. I managed to find out that he was home sick before I left for his office. His wife who works at the school managed to find me and tell me that Charlie was unavailable. The news was somewhat bitter sweet because I didn't see Charlie, but I then could go to the baseball game that I would of missed. Unfortunately, we lost the game. Anyway, I did begin the designing process of my project today and I hope to add more detail and formulate a better layout than I pictured in my head.

My Weekend

My weekend went as I had planned , but there were a few things that happened that were unexpected. For instance, my step-brother snuck out the house Saturday and was caught which was funny, but I knew about it and I lied to my dad so I wouldn't get in trouble. I felt bad, but I really didn't fell like getting in trouble. I my dad found out, he would lose his trust in me. That bothered me for awhile, but time heals all wounds. Anyway, I had work to do. I managed to finish the feasibility study by my accounts and I also completed the cliff notes that I was assigned to do for chemistry. Overall, my weekend was filled with work to do as well as some excitement.

Product Process

I believe that I have completed my feasibility study even though I'm not exactly how one is suppose to look. I basically did what Charlie told me, I researched each aspect of the zoning code, permits that are allowed, parking regulations, front footage, building restrictions and coverage. All of that I researched, but the exact formatting that the feasibility study is suppose to have is something that I'm not aware of or that I need to know right away. If so, I can have Charlie help me because I have no idea whatsoever. Tomorrow I hope to actually plan out what the park is going to look like in my drafting class. With that start I plan to show that layout to Charlie and get some feedback from him in order to progress further.

Baseball

Yesterday kicked off our need for wins. Coach Shannon told the team that we need to have eight more wins before May 8th in order to make it to the playoffs. This is serious because we need wins, we want to make the playoffs this year. Next week we have six games in five days. We have a game every day next week and a double header on Monday. Hopefully we secure at least two or three games of that week.

11th Sponsor Meeting

I believe that this sponsor meeting was my most productive yet. I set the basis and foundation of what I need to do for the presentation later on. I first have to complete a feasibility study which I was told is the most difficult part of the construction process. Fortunately for me, my project falls within the zoning code of the property and the permits that apply to that zoning code incorporate accessories that I can use for my project. The second part is actually designing my project which will be a small park which will be located in a largely congested neighborhood. The third and final step to the process is actually creating a scale model of the park. I feel that the audience will respond more to a visual model than to a plain drawing. This is a lot of work that I have planned to do, but I hope to complete it all in time.

Vicks's Meeting

The Senior Project meeting on Tuesday with Vick and Paul was insightful, but it was so boring. The activities were annoying and in my opinion a little stupid, but they did provide a lot of information that everyone will need for their presentations. The idea to create an outline to help formulate an organize ideas and ways to keep the audiences attention. Paul's explanation of how the actual evaluation of the presenter was interesting because students and teachers as well as a community person critique the presentation. I wrote at least three or four pages of notes alone just on the evaluation and ways to capture the audiences attention. I have a lot of ideas for my presentation and I feel that this meeting allowed me to formulate how the presentation will go. The most important fact that I learned that day is to just have fun when I'm presenting.

Missed Sponsor Meeting

This week I had to postpone my meeting with Charlie due to my oral surgery yesterday. I had to have my wisdom teeth removed, all four of the them at once. Needless to say, I have no energy in me. I could barely walk straight yesterday and today I feel like I run out of energy quickly. My jaw feels better than what it did yesterday, but overall of feel about 50% better. On top of that I still have 3 baseball games this week that I have to go to, but I rather would stay in bed and rest. I hope I feel better quickly so I can go and watch my teammates play, finish my homework and enjoy what is left of my spring break.

Easter Weekend

My Easter Weekend was nothing special this year. I had hoped it would have been a bit more exciting, but not everything goes as planned. I was bored the whole entire weekend, had nothing to do, didn't go anywhere, not even to spend time with family or friends. I guess that's I should of expected since I was going to my dad's. It wasn't all bad though, Easter Sunday I spent some time with my mom and my sister which I enjoyed until yesterday when I had to undergo surgery, but that is for another day.

Letter to Mrs. Caroll

I am delighted to have had a chance to partake in this experience. The field I am studying in this program is Civil Engineering. Civil Engineers provide a lot of aid and support to communities and the environment. As a result, I want to produce some sort of plans that can benefit the community in some way, shape, or form. The project I wish to create is a simple subdivision of a piece of property that is in the area. I hope to design a small playground because the property for which I was given lies in a suburban area that has no recreational facility. In addition, I also plan to make a scale model of the project once all the research and planning has been completed. I feel that this project will allow me to give something back to the community and portray the main purpose of what civil engineers do. The overall project will be the process in which a developing project, such as the one I plan to do, begins and how it is altered once problems arise.

I believe that I will learn a great deal of problem-solving skills. Adapting to problems and finding logical solutions has become easy to accomplish. I also learned a great deal about the programs used by drafters, the equipment used by surveyors, and the adept thinking of civil engineers. All of these I have learned by simply spending time with each individual. By soaking up their knowledge I’ve been able to actually grasp the concepts that are spoken between civil engineers, drafters, and surveyors. My project will require a lot of research that ranges from mulch and metals for the playground to asphalt and elevation. My sponsor will solely be the aid for my project, however, the aid of others maybe enlisted if my sponsor is unavailable. The only obstacle I anticipate is time. Time is a huge factor because now it is April and the project is due by June and there is still a lot to be done.

10th Sponsor Meeting

This visit was a one to remember. As soon as I met up with Charlie we left his office to go and consult with the surveyors that were recording data on the streets that surround a elementary school. The roads were badly beat up since they were over 50 years old and the curbing almost seemed to be just a pile of rocks along the side of the streets. I actually learned something useful yesterday because most people don not really use a lot of math outside high school and college, but in surveying it really is important to know. The equipment surveyors use all relate to geometric shaping using various angles and distances. The main unit fires a beam to a receiver point held by someone else at whatever distance they maybe and reflects the beam back to the initial position. The from the amount of time it took the beam to travel and come back, an analyzer can analytically decipher how far it traveled, the angle at which it traveled, the elevation at that point. After watching the surveyors work for awhile we finally went back to the office to discuss the product portion again. There, I saw how engineers begin a rough draft on how major projects begin and how small details prove to be huge problems in the long run.

Product Process

Now that the research part is over, I can finally begin the product I spoke about at the Senior Project meeting a few months ago. Then I spoke about creating a subdivision of the high school or devising a simple sewer system. That idea has changed slightly, but incorporates many more elements and aspects to Civil Engineering. After conversing with Charlie for a long time about what exactly to do a throwing ideas at him and having Charlie bounce feedback back to me allowed me to formulate a specific plan. So far I have a piece of land that needs to be subdivided. I plan to devise some sort of recreational park for kids since the piece of land lies within a community. After looking at an aerial view of the area area the property, a small park seems logical, because the previous houses that were planned to be built on the property were denied. This project will allow me to give back to a community while experimenting on what can be built in a restricted region while dealing with regional problems.

9th Sponsor Meeting

Yesterday was interesting in a way that seemed boring and yet fun. When I met up with Charlie he again had to address an emergency issue which always occur when I go to see him. While had dealt with the problem over the phone and by email, Charlie had me finish a flow chart he began. I basically used simply calculations to determine the total number of gallons per day of waste water per block. For each block I had to highlight which lots had access to a certain connection. From there, the total number of houses would be multiplied by 300 in order to the number of gallons per day that flowed through that street. Charlie told me that this flow chart would enable him to see whether or not certain pipes are undersized or over sized. He also informed me of another project that will begin soon, hopefully. There is an intersection in Haddonfield that needs to be redone. The drafters have come up with a solution, but not everyone likes the proposal. In addition, part of the street that needs to be redone lies on the property of a liquor store at one of the streets. The intersection entirely looks like two streets connecting on each side with a strip of pavement that connects the two sides. Charlie hopes to finish this project, but he fears the traffic it will cause due to the number of cars that pass through that intersection.