Reflection 5

          I feel like this was the most productive week I have ever had with 20% Time. I had extra time at home, so I learned all but one category on the ASL website. I know over 100 signs! I also created flashcards during class. These will help me to not only practice without a computer, but I can also mix them up to make sure that I truly memorize the word and not just the order in which they were presented.
          I feel truly accomplished this week, and i'm positive that I will be able to form proper sentences by the end of November, since I have much of the necessary vocabulary memorized. By the end of next week, however, I plan to master all the vocabulary offered on the ASL website and also any other words I can find elsewhere. I want to be able to properly convey my thoughts, not only talk about the weather. After next week, I will begin forming sentences and speaking to other people with sign language. Wish me luck!

Reflection Number 5

Okay can we just pause for a second. This is the fifth reflection. That's how many weeks that has gone by????? wow I just, it never registered until now.......
ANYWAY back to business. So i finally decided upon what chords I would work on, and those chords are A minor, C, F, and G. Those are probably four of the easiest chords that I can actually manage to play so far to be perfectly honest! Its going fairly well; I was able to play the song Hallelujah with hardly any breaks in between! So thats a good thing!!! Considering this is my first time really playing this instrument ever ( i had attempted to once before when I chose guitar so some of it was a bit of a refresher) I'm think I'm doing well! I'm completing my goal of playing without hesitation, at least with this song, so that's a major plus!!!!!. I might post a video of me playing, it all depends (i'd made one now but I'm in a costume and that would look silly!). Who knows what I'll do next week! Wish me luck anyway!!!!

For the second week I spent my time trying to figure out what programs will help me animate in the form of animation that I was trying to do. There is one Youtube channel name Slamcow or Slamcow creations that releases videos to how he creates the videos he makes. In these video's he explains what programs he uses and what kind of things he had difficulty with. He explains what kind of problems he faced in making the things he wanted to happen work, and how he solved the problem using the program in the video. I will be referencing his youtube videos for help in my attemps to use this program as well as in editing my own videos to come. Hopefully the programs that he uses will also work for my own computer at home and will be able to handle all the processing that it takes to make these videos.

Reflection 4

After laying in bed after completing a college application, I realized that the marking period would soon be ending. Looking back, I don't really see much that I have accomplished other than scraping through different classes (mainly English which I am a complete lost cause in) and doing adequately in multiple tests. But when I look at this class, I can say that I am learning a skill that will actually follow me in life that is being graded as a project. So as these last weeks of the marking period come to a close, I will be proud to say that I will be able to finally be able to create my mother's apple caramel "cake" (I don't know whether to call it a cake or pie). Wish me luck with this one guys!

Reflection #4

My newfound interest in sewing has made me the household seamstress. This past week, I've been tasked with repairing some of my dad's work shirts. I'm begining to find sewing more relaxing than stressful, but that, of course, is only for simple tasks. More daunting jobs (like sewing in a zipper or hemming a skirt---which I have yet to do) still have the tendeny to be frustrating. That's partially why I'm putting off finishing the skater skirt I started making a week or two ago. I'm just afraid I'll ruin the work I've already done on it. I researched techniques for hemming a circle skirt and how to sew in a zipper last Thursday's class. It gave me a little more confidence, but I'm still worried about messing up. I know making mistakes is part of the learning process, but I'd rather not. I sincerely plan on finishing (or at least attempting to finish) the skirt this weekend, though.

Reflection #4

It has been rather uneventful for the past week. I had shown Mrs. Linnet my proposal, and she gave me insight on what I should improve on it. I had unfortunately not been able to do too much work because of some pretty long rehearsals for my local high school marching band. Fortunately, the season will be over by November 9th, which will allow me to get more work done for my 20% Time. I don't have much else to say at the moment, but I will have news on the situation by next week. In the mean time, Alex out.

Week 4 Reflection

   Please excuse the tardiness of this assignment; due to confusion and debate over the project, I was unsure of what to write for quite a while.

   As stated in the previous update on my story, I was having trouble tying the characters together through the plot of the story itself; as such, I have begun work on some of the settings in the story. An overgrown, long-abandoned building (possibly deserted before the cataclysm) in deep within the veritable phalanx of trees, thorns, and creatures unknown of the old forest is where our story shall begin, each character guided by luck, insanity, and the Carrion Man itself. The story will progress from the woodlands into a twisted and long abandoned city, now home to cultists and practitioners of forbidden arts, filled with layer upon layer of people infected with strange diseases or even raised from the dead by the necromancers in the alleyways. The Carrion Man watches from a distance, dragging away the bodies of the characters as each one dies to their own flaws (flaws that, of course, are romanticized and slightly exaggerated, but common amongst much of humanity).

   This week, I plan to keep developing the plot, as well as writing the beginning of the story. I am hoping that beginning the writing of the story itself will jumpstart or spark some ideas that will get the rest of the story moving.

Week 4: reflection

During the past week I started updating my blog. I have yet to post recipes because I'm trying to college a lot before I do. I also went out looking for organic snacks that I can eat during school and at work. I did good most of the week but I went to Fridays and it is so hard not ordering what I always get. Substitution is a great way to stay on track but it can be very difficult. Breaking habits like my Fridays routine takes a lot of patients and completely takes me out of my comfort zone so I started researching how others do it and what restaurants I can go to. I mean I can't eat at home all the time!

Reflection IV

This week, I've decided to look into another important component of a computer, and that is RAM, short for Random Access Memory. Simply put, RAM is the computers short term memory. With RAM, computers can read/write information incredibly quickly, and this allows programs to run with out latency. There are different types of RAM, but the most common are 240 pin DDR3 and DDR4. The DDR4 RAM sticks may have the same amount of memory as a DDR3, but have faster and more direct access to it

reflection. 4

     So recently, Tyler and I have made very good progress with the movie. During the week, we edited our script and developed additional scenes that really are cool. We also have been developing new characters and have really made a pretty cool plot.
     I really want to describe it but I don't want to give away any spoilers, but it is based off school hall monitors and their adventures. We also started adding more comedic elements.
      Additionally we also performed a practice film shot of the first few scenes. It was incredibly fun to participate in and now we know which parts we can put in and edit in and others we can leave out.
    Next week we plan to really develop the script even more and do some more practice shots.

Reflection Week 4

This week, I did not get as much accomplished as I would have liked. I was, however, able to read a little more about fencing in my book, and it's really interesting.  I also went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Saturday with a friend, where I saw the Arms and Armor section and looked at all the historical swords there. The collection was big, and many of the weapons and armor were very beautiful. I was able to distinguish what I would expect to be early forms of what would become sabre, foil, and epee swords. One of them had nicks in the blade, which my friend explained would be useful to a soldier because he would able to parry an attack, get the opponent's blade stuck in one of the nicks, and have an opportunity to break the opponent's sword. I am trying to think of ways I can incorporate what I've learned into a final project. So far, I'm planning on sticking to my original idea but maybe have more history than I had originally expected.

Reflection 4

This week I have learned and practiced basic CSS and inline CSS. CSS is definitely more complex than HTML but they are similar in various ways. This week has been pretty tight for me because I haven't had much time at my disposal. However, this weekend although I was able to learn the barebone basics of CSS, such as coloring text and editing text styles, the borders of objects, the positioning of objects and texts. Also, I practiced a bit more of HTML. The website is not close to even being started, but progress is being made. Hopefully this week I can learn more

Reflection 4

This week I've been drawing a lot of cats. I started with simple sketches and then I started using techniques I’ve learned from Mark Crilley’s videos (shading, texture, detail, etc.). I’ll attach some photos to my next reflection. I’ve also been practicing eyes—starting with cats’ and then shifting over to humans’. The whole purpose of me choosing to learn to draw realistically was to improve my human drawings, so I’m selecting animals to practice and then taking a feature of theirs that is similar to a human’s and just focusing on that (that’s what I did with the eyes). It’s making humans seem less intimidating.

I’m looking forward to posting my sketches!!

Reflection 4

This week Sailesh and I made great progress.  We wrote the scripts for two scenes in our movie. Now we are starting to roll with it.  We even did a practice scene to get a feel for what the movie will be like.  So far we are happy with what we are doing.  Next week hopefully we get another scene done and start choosing who should be our actors.  If we continue with it at this pace we should be able to get the movie done within a few months.

Reflection 4

So, this week, I finally finished up the meta tags for my theme (yay!) and have started on the CSS portion of my code. I began by adding headers to each section I plan to code, for instance, the body, sidebar, posts, links, etc. I've only been able to add to the body, scrollbar, links, and misc sections but hopefully I'll get the chance to finish up the rest. Once I finish up the CSS, I want to move on and add the HTML section so that I can apply the code to a sideblog of mine to see what it looks like and if I'm actually making progress.

From there, I will tweak the code wherever necessary until it starts to look like an actual theme. I'm gonna continue planning out what I want to code first so I can avoid making too many errors that might go unnoticed. Besides that, I think the code is coming along nicely and seems promising. :)  

Reflection #4

This week I have just been sketching a lot. Mostly faces from the same angle as my previous drawing because now it has become easy for me to draw faces in that perspective. My drawing of Miranda Kerr is in the process of being shaded and will definitely be finished by reflection #5 and while it is not perfect or completely realistic, I am proud of it and think it is a good start. My next drawing will be a really nice photo of the profile of the old time movie star, Catherine Deneuve. I am excited to draw this one because it is a new angle and I will most likely add color to this one. 

Reflection #4

This week, my partner and I weren't able to meet up and actually prepare the dish. Instead, my mother made a paleo dish for dinner and I assisted her in making it. For dinner, we made paleo organic chicken breasts in white wine with onions and portabello mushrooms. We used organic chicken breasts which made it paleo. The recipe was pretty straightforward because it involved baking chicken with mushrooms, sauteeing onions, and pouring it white wine. This is the first time I made an actual meal for this project. Other weeks, we made small desserts but this time I used chicken. A difficulty that I experienced while making this dish was that I wasn't sure how to prepare the chicken before putting it in the oven. A thing that surprised me  was that the paleo diet insists to not put a lot of spices or salt on dishes. That was the most surprising thing that i learned while preparing this dish. Overall, the chicken came out pretty well. The only thing that i would change was that it was a little bit too raw. It should have been a little softer. It tasted good and it was healthy so it was a win-win situation.  

reflection 4

This week for 20% time I decided to draw two different drawings instead of just one like I had been doing. First, In class I drew a penguin using a picture. To be more specific it was an emperor penguin, my favorite type of penguin. It honestly did not come out as well as I had thought it would so I had given up on it early because, I had drawn it in pen so I couldn't erase anything to fix it. The second drawing was also a penguin (I really want to learn how to draw a penguin) but, this time I used a YouTube video and pencil. It came out much better than the other one, and was definitely a large step in the right direction. So, for next week I will continue to use videos (but this time not a penguin) and this time I will actually upload pictures in the week 5 reflection.

reflection 4

I went to three parties this week and I keep telling myself that as long as I burn off all the calories I take in I'll be okay. So this weekend I started working out like crazy. Huge mistake. I guess since my body isn't use to it things took a bad turn. My whole body is so sore. I haven't been feeling well and I have the meanest headache that will not go away. I learned from this mistake that I have to pace myself and adjust my body to my new routines. Also, that I should not be overworking my body.

Reflection 4

This week, Mickey and I were unable to collaborate on a cooking project, but each of our moms made a dinner that was paleo, so we both helped them.

My mom made her own baked hot wings using Frank's Hot Sauce, onion powder, and garlic powder, and salt and pepper. We simply put the chicken in a big metal bowl, poured in the hot sauce, added the dry ingredients, and made sure every piece was well coated. Next, we put the pieces on roasting racks on top of cookie sheets and stuck them in the oven to bake. When they came out, they were steamy and spicy and crispy! Needless to say, they were good and good for you! 

I always thought my mom's delicious cooking (paleo or not) was concocted from some complex recipe. Today I was pleased to find out that even crispy hot wings can be easily prepared in less than five minutes! Maybe cooking entrées isn't as daunting a task as it seems. I can't wait to eventually make a full meal-- with Mickey and hopefully my mom's expert assistance!

Reflection 4

I've found a way for the main character to attack! Originally, I wanted her to attack in close range, like a sword. But I decided on making her attack enemies using magic. If you notice, I added a new stat called "MP," which is the Magic Points. She just can't use magic forever, so I gave a limit to how many times she can use magic. I also added a way to charge MP back. Without going into technical detail, I did most of these by myself! I only watched one tutorial video to set the timing and the effects of attacking with magic (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkZUl7e-ZS8).

However, there are some drawbacks from when I was coding by myself. For instance, there is an error that pops up when I use magic with no enemies around, since it was coded to target enemies. Next week, I want to make that cameo NPC that I mentioned last time, and to make some kind of spawner for enemies (in order to get rid of that error).

Here is the magic in effect. Press 'X' to shoot and press 'C' to recharge.

Reflection 4

Now I'm getting somewhere! This weekend has been very productive for me regarding this project (not so much for anything else considering I just found out an hour ago that I have a Tech Test tomorrow). I took the measurements of an everyday large wolf and proportionally made a drawing of such at half-scale, or at least somewhere around half-scale. I have already cut out and made a foam slit for the center for the torso of the wolf just to get an actual visual to relate the size for every other part. Instead of a simple wooden skeleton, I am using an light wood air frame design because it would provide more support for the weight of the PCduino, servo motors, foam and fur. In truth, I've been depending heavily on my father to help me write the coding on the PCduino because it is so advanced. I can spend more than a year on my busy schedule trying to teach myself the entire language, but I cannot afford it. Therefore, I've asked my father to take it slow with me and try to explain all that he wants me to do. So far, I have learned the "dumbed-down" basics of electronics. Conductors are anything that permit the flow of energy. Resistors serve the function of taking a large flow of energy and restricting it to a smaller flow, in doing so releasing some energy in the form of light or heat. Capacitors uses two plates separating to fields of electrons at a certain distance, using the attraction to store a large amount of energy that when released can be used to kick start something like a motor. An inductor is basically a wire wrapped around a coil. Around all flowing energy is a small magnetic field. In the coils or "chokes", the magnetic fields are placed atop one another to regulate the current, to slow it down. All these are passive devices. The only active device I learned about today is a transistor. It is an electrical switch that I believe follows a resistor. When the switch is open (stopping current flow), the potential energy or amount of voltage being imputed is the same as it is before and after the resistor. However when the switch is closed by adding a very slight amount of voltage that eventually will join the flow forward, the current flows directly to ground again. When the current is once again in motion, the resistor does its job and transfers some of the voltage to heat of light. This basic explanation of a transistor explains a simple mini light switch.
Anyway, my father and I have been having trouble with the motor board because it is going unrecognized by the PCduino. Even when we first placed an I/O expander shield in between, the Duino acknowledges the motor board's existence, but we cannot communicate with it. The theory I have is that in sautering the pins to the motor board, my dad may have possibly damaged something with the heat. Hopefully, we will get over this issue soon.

Reflection 4

This week I made sure to practice a lot on the technique itself of the knuckle ball. Now, I can usually shoot the ball without having it spin. I still have to record a few kicks so that I can see what else I can do to make my shot more difficult to be blocked by a goalkeeper. Once I can perform the regular knuckle ball better I can start working on getting it to have top spin. With top spin the ball can then suddenly dip and surprise any goalkeeper as it shoots into the net. Hopefully, I can start working on the knuckle ball with top spin the week after.

reflection 4

I have the tendency to push things off and do them last minute. I'm glad that so far I have been consistent with my effort and that I can see a lot of progress. This week I went to the gym 3 times, and I found that it  boosted my energy levels. On those days, I felt much more motivated to do what I had to do. Now I know this will definitely contribute to the progress and final outcome of my project. I learned the foot stall this week and from there I started to learn the rainbow, which is more difficult and requires a lot of patience to finally get right. With a few more practices, I know I'll be able to get it and go on to the next trick. I'm excited to see how far I get with this project, since there are a lot more complicated tricks out there.

Reflection 4

This is my second project for my Photoshop portfolio. It is not complete and this is only one week's worth of progress. I am confident that by the end of this week it will be complete and look amazing. Photoshop is difficult to work with, but I am glad that I chose to work with it. I am extremely happy with the results that I have achieved so far and can't wait to continue this project.

Reflection 4

I have a tendency to break things. Stored in my mind are very vivid memories of little kid me dropping bowls + ripping socks, teenage me cracking phone screens + breaking shoes, and this tendency was bound to catch up with my if I was to be handling a fragile violin. It was simply inevitable.

It's true, I broke my violin. 

But just one string. 

As I said last week, while I attempted to play Disney princess songs, the notes sounded not in tune. After an impulse decision to tune the D string myself (without any experience in tuning instruments), the string snapped from the overwhelming tension that I applied. At first very, very, very anxious as to what I'd do for the rest of the semester/tell my friend who gave me the violin/tell my parents who'd scold me for breaking something else, I began searching up replacement strings. To my relief, they only costed an inexpensive $4! I was saved! No one would have to find out what I did! 

So on Friday afternoon, my cousin and I took a short detour to the Sam Ash Music Store on Route 22.Entering the store, I was immediately overwhelmed with an atmosphere that I've only seen in the movies: cool, laidback, talented, diverse? Those are all the words that come to mind. The decor of the place was much more intricate than I previously believed to be: a warehouse floor, lined with rugs, covered head-to-toe in music. On the left, a long expansion of electric guitars on the walls, amps elevated on a stage, piano keyboards cascading down the aisles. On the right, orange and yellow trumpets free for the taking, infinite amounts of sheet music, a recording studio, trumpet mutes, violin rosin, obscure instruments I've never heard before.

I was greeted with incredibly helpful employees and a notice that all the strings on the violin were extremely worn out. Luckily for me, the employee at the counter changed and tuned all my strings for free, with the only payment that I pay for the new set of strings. While I waited with my cousin, another employee strolled through the aisles playing the flute to whatever in the world played over the loudspeaker- which was not, in the slightest, mainstream music (a banjo version of "Superstition"?). I'm always one to go to new environments and experience different atmospheres, which is why I'm thankful I broke one of my strings. I got to visit an extremely chill place. I even showed off a littke bit of piano in the center of the store! I'm definitely going back there for my musical needs.

In addition, I've started recognizing the notes easier and playing them. If I feel comfortable enough during twenty percent time this week, I will bring my Disney princess book and practice some songs! I'll talk more about that next week. See yaaaa!

Reflection 4

On Friday, I read a blog post on actortips.com called "Going from Good Acting to Great." In it, the author focused on "letting go" of yourself and completely becoming a character. This was by far the most influential thing I've read in my research thus far. The author not only discussed letting go, but why people don't let go. 

"Holding back has many other causes: fear, lack of imagination, lack of respect for acting as an art, laziness, cowardice, not knowing that there is such a thing as “letting go,” willingness to “settle” for good or mediocre or competent or embarrassing rather than demand the totality of your talent. "

Wow. In my last blog post alone I demonstrated my fear of letting go! I was afraid to try acting in my accent because I worried that I wouldn't be good enough! This article not only taught me that letting go is something I need to work on, but techniques on how to go about doing that. The steps in letting go will be my next goal to reach.

Reflection #4

This week I continued to practice my chords and even began to learn a song!!! Having a good enough knowledge of certain chords allowed me to start playing the song "Stand by Me" by Ben E. King. The chords needed to play this song are G major, E minor, C major, and D major - I became very comfortable with those chords this week. The important thing about starting to play a song is that it gives me confidence in my guitar-playing abilities. Just a little more than a month ago, I had exactly no idea how to play the guitar; now, I am playing a song!! This confidence will enable me to learn even more songs and push myself even further. I will constantly use the ability to play songs in the future, seeing as playing a perfect full-length song is my goal (so I will absolutely need to learn and practice more songs as I progress). The one pattern I noticed was that the more I played the song, the easier it was for me to transition between chords. While my transitions weren't perfect, they improved dramatically the more I practiced "Stand by Me". I did very well this week and I am very proud of myself, even though I know there is plenty more to do. This represents a great start. Next week I will be practicing the song and chords even more, so I can begin to play new songs. Until next week.

Reflection 4

       Two weeks ago I set a goal that by today I will have 100 ASL words learned and memorized. I realize now that while attainable, time pressures of this week did not allow me to complete my goal. However, I came very close to reaching my target. While learning new words is very important in advancing with this project, remembering them is equally as important. I spent my class time reviewing every word I have learned, while learning more words in the clothing, food, health, and feelings categories. I have added another week for me to complete my original goal, and by then I will definitely have completed the ASL course. I will then spend another week reviewing everything and finding more words to sign. Hopefully, by the end of November I will start having proper conversations with other people who speak sign language.

Weekly Journal 4

October 25, 2014

This week on October 23, 2014, I reviewed the words I learned on October 17th. On top of reviewing those set of words, I learned the following: “with,” “solidarity,” “day,” “night,” “every night,” “goodnight,” “week,” “month,” “past month,” “past,” and “year”. I did not focus on taking on a lot of words this week because I find that learning these words and memorizing them is a task that I must take my time with. I also find that most words are a little difficult to memorize because of the similar hand gestures between them. However, I do believe that I have done well this past week. It is important to learn these words due to the fact that they are very common and they would, without a doubt, come up in a conversation with a deaf mute at some point. I can use the above-mentioned words while talking about time, or simply saying “goodnight”. Patterns involved will always be that of the alphabet always being part of communicating a word and memorizing everything I have learned so far. Next, I will continue to learn basic words to expand my ASL dictionary!

Reflection 4

Progress is pretty slow, so I think my goal of a knitting a sweater by the end of this semester is pretty much not going to happen. Although I enjoy knitting so far, it does hurt my fingers a little bit when I knit for long periods of time. I usually knit when I have time after I've done my school work at night so I don't get much done because I'm so tired by that time. I'm expecting to work on knitting a lot when we have that four day weekend, so maybe I'll get a lot done and will be able to move on to something else. I'm still pretty proud of myself for the work I've done even though I was hoping to have finished by now because when I tired knitting for the first time two years ago, I failed pretty badly. All there is left to do now is finish the scarf and move on the socks, which look pretty complicated...

Reflection 4

This week I continued working on the basic alphabet to perfect it further. I can recognize seventy percent of the alphabets, but I still need to work on it more. I started learning the complex alphabet, but I did not practice it much this week. I still have to continue learning the complex alphabet until I fully understand how the pattern works.

Reflection 4

This week I did not have a chance to a work on my twenty percent project due to the influx of projects I received. All of the time I would usually spend on twenty percent was spent on work for other classes. There was one positive if any of this week. During my leisure time in fitness I attempt to see if I can reach above the rim and to my surprise I was able to get a few finger tips above the rim. This tells me that the routine I am doing indeed works and to get better results I must stick to it.

Reflection 4

I was out of school this whole week so I had a lot of free time to practice my 20% project. Also, this week I've started a two ball juggle with one hand and actually have improved it. It helps with more hand eye coordination and is pretty easy. However once again I am still trying to get the three ball juggle down. If that doesn't work soon then I can try to start new techniques of juggling. I am doing the normal underhand method but some other variations might be easier. I feel that I need to practice a little more than I already am if I am going to master juggling. It is a pretty daunting task I'd say but I am just going to keep practicing and eventually it'll come to me.

Reflection #4

This week I drew a few different things and I bought more pencils to work with different lines and shading. This picture is suppose to show depth perception and it was really interesting working on this. I used a black charcoal pencil for the whole picture to get the correct dark colors but it was harder to get the light shading using this pencil. I want to start working on using color because I'm beginning to get comfortable with black and white. 

Reflection 4

"The Charge" (Again)

         

Focusing on one move really paid off this week. Previously, doing the windshield wiper with my left hand felt awkward and hard to control. Now, it’s significantly better. I’ll definitely start devoting one move to every week now instead of learning them all at once. I chose the charge again but the animation is new. I just found an mp4 to gif converter online so I can actually show the moves (as per request). In general, things are going smoothly. There haven’t been any setbacks this past week. I’m moving on to transfers for next week, specifically the true palm pass (which I pretty much already have down).

Reflection 3

This week I have been continuing to practice the three ball juggling and have actually caught it a few times. The thing is that it isn't easy to redo the cycle and keep the three balls up. However getting the rotation isn't that bad anymore and I think ill get that down in a couple of weeks. When I first researched juggling they said it can take anywhere from two weeks to two years to learn. I hope that I am closer to the two weeks than two months. I'll just keep practicing and I feel that I am getting closer. Also I am starting a two hand juggle with one hand to help hand eye coordination and even with other juggles.

Reflection 4

I can't think of a witty greeting right now so just HELLO! HI! HOW IS EVERYONE!!! Um, so this week marks the beginning of my trek of learning how to play the ukulele!!! I'm not gonna say I started with any specific chords, because I didn't like, at all. I sorta just picked songs that I felt like playing and looked up the chords and played that. Mostly I used the C chords, because there are a bunch in that category, but I also used F and G and D. Honestly that probably isn't the best method of learning but I felt it would be interesting to start off as. This whole first week is important because it's my jumping off point. It's a sort of idea of how the rest of this shall play out. As it was with guitar, these chords are exceptionally common in many songs, plus are fairly easy to play so I can always use them again. I did fairly well with it all considering it was my first time around! I could play it so that it's semi recognizable so I consider that success!!!!! Honestly I'm not sure what I'm going to do next week but I guess we shall cross that bridge when I get there!!!

Reflection 3 and a Twist!

Goodmoooorrrrnnnnniiiinnnngggggggg UCVTS Humanities (it's a reference to a movie....)!!!!! Time for another wonderful reflection on my progress for my twenty percent project of playing la Guitarra! This week I didn't really try to teach myself anything new. I really worked on refining the skills I had, because at this point it's most important to make sure I have the basics down to a T before I even attempt anything new. I've done fairly well. I can play these chords in different combinations smoothly, and only found myself hiccuping whenever I forgot the lyrics. Overall I think I got a better handle on the chords I've learned and can now expand into more difficult ones.

However, that won't be happening. I have decided to change my twenty percent project. I am no longer going to be learning to play the guitar, but am instead going to play the ukulele. Originally, it was the instrument I wanted to learn how to play for this project, and we did have one at home, we just couldn't find it. So instead I changed to the guitar, as I have that instrument at hand as well. Recently though, we found my ukulele. Now that I have it again, I want to change to this instrument. Its honestly easier to play than the guitar, though has the same basic style of playing. It's also alot easier to carry around and bring places. Therefore, my twenty percent project shall now center around that instrument!

Reflection 2

Edit: Sorry I wrote this but forgot to publish it! oops!

Hello Boys and Girls! So for this weeks twenty percent project, I learned how to play the C and the F chord. I figured these would be the best to learn next as they are the next fairly basic chords to learn that are pretty easy for a bigger to do. It went fairly well. The F chord is rather difficult, because one finger needs to cover 2 strings, and if not done right it produces a tense, unpleasant sound. However, after practicing a while, I was able to get it down. I find myself though constantly putting my finger on the wrong fret, but after a quick notice I can fix it. It just makes playing fluidly rather difficult. These chords are rather common in music, so it gives me a broader wing-span to play. I've got them down fairly well, and could probably play them almost smoothly in a song. Not sure what I'm doing next week but wish me luck anyway!!!!

Reflection 3

I thought this project would be very boring and tedious. But after a while, this project started to grow on me. I actually found myself liking the task of searching and learning new recipes and actually I would enjoy my mother's help as well. Much like now, I had trouble finding a cupcake recipe this week and my mother knew about my project and looked up a nice recipe for fudge that she wants to make with me. Also I would occasionally find myself talking to my mom and asking her about different recipes that she knows and asking how difficult they are and I enjoy being able to converse with her about something else other than how messy my room is. Maybe this project isn't as bad as I thought it would be.

reflection 3

This week I finally started using pictures as a guide instead of just from memory.  The drawings are starting to get much better and more accurate to what it's suppose to be.  However, despite the increased accuracy of the drawing, I think videos would be a better approach. So, this coming week I intend to start using videos as a my guide to drawing.  As far as what I accomplished in week 3, I finished the strange bird drawing from week 1 and added much more top it (it looks even stranger than week 1) and I did another drawing of a penguin this time with a picture. As far as time, it took me a combined hour probably to complete the first bird drawing. The penguin took about thirty minutes. Still, it hasn't coat anything except the paper that I already had. That's about all for week 3.

Reflection 3

This week I made the best deviled eggs I've ever tasted. This is a childhood favorite. My family always made this dish for family parties. We threw my cousin a birthday gathering and this time I made the deviled eggs. First I boiled the eggs. Then I put them under cold water, rinsed, and peeled the eggs. I cut them in half and removed the yoke. Mixing the yoke was my favorite part. I used my cousins recipe, mayo, sugar, relish, and lemon juice. This weeks mix was a success.

Reflection 3

I've been reading articles on bow control, which is a very integral part about playing the violin. Before practicing, it was a suggestion to just hold your bow for several minutes, without even doing anything, that was I would be more in control as I play. Also, I found a really good website with violin music, reintroducing me to many lullabies of my childhood. In addition, I've had a Disney princess piano book for several years now and I tried playing some of the melodies on the violin. It didn't sound too right, but I just have to keep practicing! I'm starting to recognize notes easier as I look at them too! Progress!! It's all practicing and repetition.

Reflection #3

Getting frustrated with my inability to sew pleats, I decided to abandon that skill for a while and learn something simpler. I used my class time on Friday to learn how to construct a circle skirt. It requires minimal sewing, and a pattern is not needed. I began making one on Sunday. I think it's coming along well, but I still have to sew in the zipper and hem it, which are apparently the most difficult parts. It's not perfect. though; it's just a starting point to familiarize myself with the process of making a piece of clothing.

Reflection 3

This week, I worked more on adding more to the base of my theme, such as adding more meta tags and setting up the outline of the CSS and the HTML portions of the code. This time, I took my own advice and started listing the features I wanted to include in a separate document to keep track of what I put into the code and what more I wanted to add. It was very helpful and will use it more in the future. For now, I'm just going to keep working on filling out each section and then fixing it up later.

Reflection 3

Due to class being shortened and smaller week, progress has been slow. Tyler had joined and we are in the process of writing the rest of the script based on the show COPS. The casting has been tough for people have to devote time for filming out of their own time.

Additionally, my hope for filming the trailer did not work out. There was just not enough time during co this week to film. My new plan is just to film very basic clips this week and turn that into a teaser trailer.

Reflelction III

         These past few weeks, I have been hard focused on the Arduino project, I have even ordered parts, however, the order didn't go through. Also, since the work is beginning to pile up, both in school and out of it, I'm starting to have less time to work on the Arduino. To cope, I've decided to put a hold on to this project, since I would not be able to complete it in time. Instead, I've decided to go with a  different project that I've also been wanting to do for a while.
          I've decided to build a PC. I know a couple of my friends have done this, and i have a  rough understanding of how computers work. In this project, I aim to learn more in depth about how computers work, and how we interact with them. To start off, I began with learning about the processor. Arguably the most important part of  a computer, it interprets the tasks that you give it, and carries them out. They come in three varieties, 32, 64, and 86 bits. In personal computing, 64, then 32, bits versions are the most popular, as they have the most programs available for them. 86 bit chips are used more in consoles and such, as their programs need to be adapted for them. The most popular manufacturers of processors would be Intel and AMD. As t which processor I'll use, I haven't decided.

Reflection 3

This week I continued to work on my sketch of Miranda Kerr. I think it really helped me take time to perfect features such as the nose and lips, which I have had trouble with in the past. I held the drawing against the photo to the light to trace major outlines, but the photo is only a portion of the face. I decided to extend into a full face as seen below. I think it has really come out nicely, and the more I continue to work on the details, the more realistic it becomes. I will try to finalize it in the next week, by finishing the shading, hair and lips. 

Reflection 3

       This week I have been really busy and could not get much done, especially since class was shortened. However, I do have some good news to report. Durimg class I have mastered all of the food signs on the ASL website, and every single one before that. I have been practicing whenever I am reminded or get the chance, and I feel as if I am really improving. I also talked to my friend, and he has agreed to help me whenever i need to know something that I cannot understand or cannot find online. This next week I plan on getting back into routine and learning the rest of the signs on the ASL website. My goal is that by the end of the month I will know all 100 basic signs and be able to test them on a native speaker.

Reflection 3

This week Sailesh and I have discussed more about the movie.  We want to do a parody of the t.v show COPS, but with hall monitors.  It will be about the hall monitors patrolling the halls and fighting "school crime".  The movie will be comical and not too serious.  We are currently writing the script and are deciding who should be our cast.  Sailesh is also in the process of creating costumes.  Most importantly our script needs to be written first before we film anything.  Hopefully writing the script won't take too long, but if we need to take the time to perfect it, we will.

Reflection 3

Today I had a chocolate craving due to my indulgence in sweets this week. I was in need of a recipe that would satisfy my craving and also be quick and simple. I found one for fudge balls calling for only walnuts, unsweetened cocoa powder, vanilla extract, dates (for sweetener), and a pinch of salt. I had the idea of using hazelnuts in leu of walnuts for a better flavor. This made them taste like Nutella (one of my favorite things I earth). I did not have enough dates, so I used raw honey to compensate. I also added cinnamon to complement the chocolate.

After finely chopping the hazlenuts in a blender and mixing it with the rest of the infredients, the only thing left to do was to form them into balls. I might consider adding butter or coconut oil if I make them again just to hold them together a little more--or even egg.

We brought these to Mickey's house for dessert, and they were a hit (gobbled up before I could even get a picture!). This is by far the easiest recipe for a brownie-like dessert I've ever used!

Reflection 3

Even though 20% time this week was shortened, I feel like I was able to get more done. Since we had less time in class, I pushed myself at home to get up more often and actually practice. I started learning the basics of a few tricks and then my brother started doing them with me. I found it easier working with someone by my side, especially my brother, since there was that sense of competition involved. I'm going to incorporate some fitness into my 20% percent project because soccer isn't only about doing tricks. I'm going to start going to the gym again and run 20+ minutes a day to increase my speed and endurance. In addition, I'm going to also start eating clean to be fit for the next soccer season. I believe that incorporating all of this into my 20% project  will benefit me more in many ways.

week 3 reflection

This week I started working on my meal plan. I actually ate breakfast everyday. Also, I made my parents cut down on protein and integrate more vegetables. I need to work on the amount of sleep I get everyday though. On weekdays I only sleep for five hours which is not enough. The weather is starting to get cooler so when I work out it's not as uncomfortable.In addition, my sister started to work out with me and I think that's helping me a lot because we keep each other in check and it is not as boring.

Reflection #3

Although i was absent in class on THursday my partner did a wonderful job of spilling me the info on what she managed to accomplish during class. To be quite honest, we didnt have much time this weekend so we decided to do a quick an easy dish. My partner was planning on coming over my house for dinner tonight therefore ahead of time we decided to make a dessert. We made paleo hazelnut cocoa balls. They were both healthy and delicious! They reminded me of nutella except healthy! A challenge that we faced was trying to make it sweeter without adding sugar. Instead, we substituted it with honey and cinamon: a perfect combo! The recipe called for hazelnuts, vanilla, coco, honey, and dates. We crushed the hazelnuts in a mixer and then added all of the other ingredients. It was quick and easy! Although it may seem like i neglected this weeks dish i actually learned something valuable. Many ingredients can be replaced with others to make it more appealing for the person eating it. You dont have to add sugar to make it sweeter. THERE ARE MANY ALTERNATIVES. COOKING IS A PUZZLE AND YOU HAVE TO FIND THE RIGHT PIECES TO MATCH.

Reflection 3

This week, I have been learning more in depth text formatting in HTML, such as how to create lists, tables, line breaks and tags in a HTML file. These formatting commands are all pretty easy to learn, but the issue is memorizing all the languages. It is like learning another language, albeit HTML is a very simple language and JavaScript and Python are much more complex. I will begin to spend more time practicing if I want to make a website by the time the project is due. This upcoming week I will try to take any free time that I have to continue to learn coding languages. I have underestimated the complexity of coding, I guess.

Reflection 3

The proposal has been written. It's pretty rough, and I plan on showing Mrs. Linnet the proposal and see what she thinks of it. She was the one who offered the idea of getting the piano repaired. She mentioned it a few times last year, but I didn't take the opportunity. A bit of a shame, but i'm glad I caught on to the idea now. She is somewhat of a guide for me, offering suggestions on what I should do in order to ensure that the project can be done efficiently. During last week, I've been taking a look at different types of pianos, from up-right to grand pianos. One of the most interesting was an Otto Altenburg grand piano that my local high school uses for Chorus. A sleek black piano with a strong, melodic sound. I played, listened carefully, and inspected the insides. Several steps above the condition of the baby grand in Magnet. The strings were in good condition, tuned well and in good care. When I looked at the Otto, I felt that the project had more potential. I now look at it as though that, besides the pedals, the piano wasn't necessarily broken. It was actually mostly intact. Through-out this project, I felt really uneasy. I was focused on the price and the time. Would it be too much? Would I be able to finish it? Is it really worthwhile? Am I too worried about an old baby grand piano that has been sitting in a school lobby for god knows how long? I do see a light in this, and I plan to hand in my proposal this week. In the mean time, Alex out.

Week 3: Reflection

This week I finally created my blog! Obviously I've been working on coming up with and writing down a bunch of new recipes that I thought were pretty cool. Unfortunately I also have some recipes I hated and decided to write those down too just incase someone out there is also thinking about trying these awful things. My goal is to add these recipes to my new blog and also add cool tricks and tips I've learned along the way. Lately I started noticing how much more organized my food journal has become and how much easier eating clean is getting. However, again, weekends are soooo hard for me to keep up because I work and go out with my friends. I'm making it a priority to find solutions to this problem.

Reflection #3

This week I was pressed for time, but managed to memorize two chords: C major and G major. I also learned how to transition from one chord to the other. The importance of my accomplishments this week is that I established crucial muscle memory of two key chords; learning how to transition between the two is critical because the specific transition is used often in guitar playing. I will constantly use the transition from C major to G major in both practice and songs, so I will need to be very comfortable with the transition. I learned the two chords by playing the chord once, taking my hands off the guitar for 30 seconds, and playing the chord again. Repeating this process multiple times allowed me to fully memorize the chords. I also realized that by practicing the chord transition, then playing the chords individually, allowed me to better memorize what I was doing. I believe I was relatively successful in learning these two chords, but more practice as I learn more chords will absolutely be needed. Next, I will try to learn another pair of similar chords and the transition between the two, as well as practicing my already acquired knowledge. Until next week.

Reflection 3

I find that time management is my weakest point. I have every component I need to complete my project, not including the airbrush yet since that is a detail, and know how to put them together. However, the next test, quiz, homework, and project due dates always back me up on my 20% Time since they become my top priorities. Not to mention, my weekends are filled with the occasional family spat and restocking and preparing for the next week. Friday was turbulent for me to say the least. Saturday was filled with running errands. Today, I had an appointment at Princeton University which took hours. In conclusion, all I have managed to accomplish in regards to 20% is advance a little further in my Codeacademy lessons for Java programming, sauter the motor control shield onto my PCduino board, and plug in the motors. I believe I must revert back to my original schedule that was written in my proposal to be more effective in making progress. I will be learning how to code during the week, and I will begin to build my physical wolf model weekends.

Reflection 3

I finally finished my first creation of the dolphin machine combination. It was a lot of fun to make and I am caught up with the some of the new features of this version of Photoshop. Personally I would give it a 7.5/10 as a score. I've begun work on my second creation involving the shattering and manipulation of a model. I'm really looking forward to work on this one and hopefully it'll be better than the one before.

Twenty Percent Reflection 3

On Thursday, I watched YouTube videos of how to do different accents. In my proposal, something I said would be easy about this project is the fact that practicing in class means I have an audience. What I failed to realize is that it is not practical for me to actually rehearse my skills in class because it is nerve racking to perform in front of people without having rehearsed it beforehand, especially as I am breaking out of my comfort zone and trying theater techniques with which I am not very familiar. So I silently practiced my accents in class, noting what the instructors in the videos said, and went home to rehearse for real. I think my British accent is coming along nicely, but my Scottish accent is horrible. I am still just trying to learn to speak in these accents, and then being a character in these accents will come next. Since I have spent time working on my accents at home, I am hoping that by next class I will be able to act in them, rather than just speak in them. This is trickier than it sounds because my mind will have to focus not only on giving a convincing performance but also, speaking in a way that is unnatural to me.

Reflection 3

This week I continued writing the basic alphabet over and over again, until I perfected it. I also began learning to write the complex alphabet, which is the same first alphabet of each of the five sets of alphabets. It looked easy at first when my mom taught me, but when I started writing it myself, I noticed that many of the letters looked the same. After going through it slowly, I started to recognize the pattern, but I still need to work on that.