Letter Generator 4000

The name of this course is "Rapid Prototyping," and don't worry, it's not AS complicated as it sounds. For the first Action Project of my Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) course this Elective Term, we had to use what we have learned the entire course to take advantage of the complex technology available to us (Cameo Cutter) and create a letter that was assigned to us. The other part of the project was to create a handmade version of that same letter. All together, we had to create a total of four letters, one letter on the Cameo and handmade, and another on the Cameo and handmade, and that's four. We did this to observe the very distinct differences between the handmade and machine-made letters. This was NOT easy, but very fun and creative.  It took a great amount of time to make my letters actually look good. On the positive side, I learned a lot about how to use the Cameo Cutter, which was pretty cool.

 

Smoooth Cycling

In the second unit of Design & Engineering, I learned that the customer wants what they want. If they want us to adjust to their needs and wants, then the producer will adjust because they want more sales. We specifically targeted bikes and how we can innovate and change them. This was quite interesting as I never found a problem with bikes before I got into thinking deeply about them. I would say that, despite my great experiences with bikes, I'm surprised and proud that I pushed myself to a point where I could critique them. I especially applaud the design of the bike, simply because they're so useful. This truly helped me understand how to innovate in order to start building my bicycle with my partner! The purpose of building our bicycle is to piece together everything we've learned throughout this course, pertaining to empathizing with our customer and the mechanics of building a bike itself!!

"Smoooth" By DR & MF. Oct 21, 2015.

From researching existing bikes, I've learned that regular bikes are boring and full of flaws. I've also learned that, although those bikes are boring, in order to innovate them, we may have to keep some of the key elements of the original bike, in order for the bike to run properly. "Bikes are so innovative and creative, you can do anything you want with them," Said by a specialist named Micah. I fully agree with this statement to an extent. By saying, "you can do anything you want with them," you are presenting false information because I have had multiple ideas where I stopped and thought about "how?," meaning there are certain components of the bike that you may have to keep in order for the bike to actually move.

For our assignment, my partner and I were asked to create a bike for Christine, a 13 year old girl that commutes to school for 3 miles. She likes a comfortable ride where she can enjoy riding up and down the hills on her way to school, even while it rains. The bike cannot be that heavy, as this young girl must store her bike in her family's storage unit, five steps below ground.

My new bike includes several features such as a new and more comfortable seat where you can sit back, an umbrella port and a waterproof basket for rainy days! This multi-speed bike allows Christine to get to school smooothly, as she crosses over hills and enjoys the scenery on a rainy day. We specifically designed this bike to improve Christine's experience getting to school. Trust our design because it's FOR YOU. It will allow you to cruise down the path as you are protected from rain. It also supports you in storing your bike when you get home from school! Everything you asked for!

"Model of Smoooth" By DR & MF. Oct 22, 2015.

"Model of Smoooth" By DR & MF. Oct 22, 2015.

Calculations:

Our persona’s commute is 3 miles and it will take her about 16 minutes to get to school. Given this information, the average speed of our persona is 11.25 miles per hour, or 5.02 meters per second. The diameter of our wheels is 28 inches. To find the circumference of our wheels, we had to multiply the diameter of our wheels (28) by pi (3.14), and the answer is 87.96 inches. As far as wheel rotations go, 3 miles divided by 87.96 inches is 2,161 rotations!

The scale we used to create our model is: 2.75 inches on model = 28 inches in real life, so 1 inch on our model = 28/2.75 or 10.18 inches in real life.

Our gear ratio is 3:2. Our bike needs gears because our persona needs to travel up and down hills. For every three pedal rotations, the wheel will turn twice. We made sure the big cog is in the front of our bike for smooother riding. The front chainring has 20 teeth and the back cog has 30 teeth.

Since my persona will be riding over hills and such, potential energy is stored while she's at the top of the hill. Kinetic energy is presented everywhere else or specifically when the bike is moving.

When coming up with the design of our bike, there was many problems. One obstacle we had to overcome while creating the bike was the constant pressure of being able to enjoy riding in the rain. We decided to install an umbrella port and basket at the front of the bike that has a waterproof material that flaps over to protect whatever's in the basket. Another obstacle we had to overcome while creating this bike was the fact that our customer wanted more comfort. We thought of the bike seat being an actual seat, where you can rest your back and your butt won't hurt like when you sit on regular bicycle seats.

Is It Because I'm Black?

The last unit for my Rhetoric class, "Unite," had the guiding question: how does rhetoric inspire and mobilize? We discussed how to use rhetoric to inspire others to take action by looking at some early attempts at uniting different groups around a specific cause in America. For our action project, we had to create some form of art that "speaks" on an idea and I chose the medium of literature. I've created a poem, titled, “Is it Because I’m Black”, speaking directly to the issue of racial profiling. Upon creating my piece, I had to dig deeply and remember what I love about my African American heritage! I was reminded, unfortunately, that racial profiling is still a problem, not only originating from policemen, but from African Americans, too. It’s my personal belief that there would be no such thing as racial profiling if some African Americans got their lives together! (I’ll explain exactly what I mean by this in my Artist’s Statement following my poem) Many are scared to say that, though. I must say, it wasn't easy to create my poem or even articulate explanation for my artistic choices, but of course, I feel like the message that I got across was worth it! I really love this poem and I hope you love it, too. It's one of my strongest pieces!

"Malcolm X/MLK." Wikipedia. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.

Is it because I'm black?

Man, I hate that crap

Blacks suspicious like water when it's tap

When you're black, and see a policemen, just assume it's a trap

Is it because I'm black?

I'm not really sure if I understand

Do you think discriminating against blacks makes you the man?

Or... Or is it because I'm black?

Am I supposed to be out on a corner sellin' crack?

Or breakin' my back

Running from police?

This ain't track,

Man, that's whack!

I think it's 'cuz I'm black.

You know, It never made sense to me...

I bet you they would arrest a blind black man...

Like, "why are you cuffing me, I can't even see!?"

It's definitely because I'm black

Or maybe it's because they don't wanna see

Any Productivity

Out the black race

Or... Or maybe they wanna see us eat without saying grace

Or.. Maybe they wanna see all blacks get a lil penitentiary taste

Yea, these are all horrible things,

But do my eyes deceive me?

Are things not what they seem to be?

Or what we see on tv?

Oh, it's DEFINITELY because I'm black

But lemme take you back

Back when everybody was pro-black

When Martin had a dream,

Remember that?

And you could hear Malcolm X scream... "by any means"

Remember that?

They say it's because I'm black

I say compassion's what they lack

I say slavery... is equivalent to "enslaving me"

And as a young black man I just wanna be free.

(Thank you)

This poem was inspired by the discrimination of African Americans around the US. This issue is so important to me because whenever I decide to have children, I don't want to have to worry about them being racially profiled. Why would that even be a concern of mine? It doesn't make sense for me, as a young black man, to fear for my life as a police car rolls by.

I looked up the definition of "police" and what I found online was: “the civil force of a national or local government, responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the maintenance of public order.” When you think the phrases, "public order" and "detection of crime," do you think of policemen or do you think of police brutality? Crazy, right? My artwork's message is to bring more awareness and contribute my own personal perspective on the wrong-doings of some of the policemen in this nation.

I feel like this is important and I'm sure many would agree with me. Those people would also understand the emotional appeal of my topic. Even if you don’t understand or feel the need to care about this issue, you still have to have a heart. I’ve had family members beat in front of me just because something went down in the area and we’re all black. I know you have heard a story or two about a white cop killing or cuffing a black man for no legitimate reason and it concerns me to know that we can't even trust policemen to keep us safe. Look at Trayvon Martin who was killed for simply walking home while wearing a hoodie, because he was black. Look at Walter Lamer Scott who was shot down and then wrongfully accused of stealing a policeman’s stun gun, because he was black.

Some specific reasons why this topic concerns me may just blow your mind. Here are some mind blowing statistics (from Wikipedia):

1. Racial profiling un-officially began in 1693, when Philadelphia's court officials gave police legal authority to stop and detain any "negro" (freed or enslaved) seen wandering around on the streets!
2. June 2003, the Department of Justice issued its Guidance Regarding the Use of Race by Federal Law Enforcement Agencies forbidding racial profiling by federal law enforcement officials.
3. As of 2000, fewer African American men were in college than were in prison.
4. The average black kid is nine times as likely to have one parent in jail than the average white kid.

I chose to express my feelings about this issue through a thoughtful poem. This literary medium requires using a pen, of course, and a piece of paper. The medium of my choosing also requires the mental intelligence of what’s going on in the world. My preferred writing device is my phone, which is where I keep most of my spoken pieces. I feel like talking through my poems is a powerful form of expressing myself to others, and I hope you enjoyed my poem as much as I enjoyed crafting it for you and more importantly, speaking out on the issue of police brutality and profiling!

My poem has quite a lot of strong ethical appeal. I allude to my African American heritage a lot, which ties into my credibility as a writer and speaker on this top. I use Allusion to tie my poem back into the history of African American greatness, such as: Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. I use Hypophora to add pizzazz and present rhetorical questions, such as: “is it because I’m black?” and “but do my eyes deceive me?”. I seem to use Similes and Metaphors as well, such as comparing track to running from police or when I referenced blacks to being suspicious like tap water.

Due to the rhetoric and influence of my poem, I believe that anyone who is concerned about the same things I'm concerned about will help me in abolishing the discrimination against African Americans!

References:

"Racial Profiling." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.

What Every Black Woman Should "Aspire to Be"

In Unit 2, Challenge, we discussed how the use of Rhetoric can inspire or pressure others. One of the guiding questions for this Unit was, "who has used Rhetoric to challenge the status quo?" This goes hand and hand with the video I have chosen below. The purpose of our Action Project is to generally use our brain to find out why a text is effective or not. The video I have chosen is a performance by "Ernestine Johnson," where she glorifies feministic power and redefines what/ or who the "Average Black Girl" is. The moment I found out about Ms. Johnson, I couldn't help but to follow her work. The task at hand (annotating the text) isn't easy, but I HAVE to give credit where it's due. Overall, although the text was hard to annotate, and the message itself was so rigorous, I had an excellent time conducting this project.

Tiller Kicks!

The first STEAM course of my Junior year, Design & Engineering, is about re-evaluating your definition of "design." Unit 1, Stronger, talked about how to use empathy to make a product more effective and useful for its users. The purpose of our Action Project was to change our product to be more elder-friendly. My partner’s and my tool was the "Hand Tiller." It seemed like a very fun tool to research and redesign so we were quick to choose it. The photos below depict our new product, the better and more elder-friendly version of the "Hand Tiller." It was quite hard to come up with ideas but it was fun at the same time. I had an interesting time and I hope you enjoy my project as much as I enjoyed making it for you! Thank you!

"Tiller Kicks" By JV. Sep 24, 2015.

"Tiller Kicks' Storyboard" By JV. Sep 24, 2015.

"The Physics Behind It" By JV. Sep 27th, 2015. 

The purpose of this assignment is to innovate equipment so that it is more effective for people of all ages. The user I am trying to appeal to is someone who has a garden and needs to turn soil. The assignment is focused on older people though. We learned a lot about empathy, which is feeling something for someone else. It relates to this project because we listen to what our elderly have to say, and start re-designing off of that.
I interviewed my grandmother, who is a gardener, and found out some interesting stuff:

• Tools are effective for older people
• Gardening is calming to some
• Your garden is also something to show off to others

Another thing that interested me was a certain quote she had said: “It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just that I can’t do it all the time. Don’t have the strength.” This fit in amazingly with my project since not all old people hate being active and gardening, but it just takes up too much energy and time. I also learned that the tool I chose has never been VERY elder-friendly. I’ve observed that all of these tools lack visual appeal and I have also examined the effectiveness of the tool and want it to stay effective but with less force applied.

Our new tool is "Tiller Kicks." - Jashawn Products. This product will be a strap on shoe, but it will have tines on the bottom to turn and mix the soil. Generally, it does what the original Tiller would do, but it can be worn on your foot. Also it's automatic with a small remote to turn it on. Initially, the tines turn under your feet when you turn them on, and MAKE SURE you take the safety locks off!
I believe this is an improvement because of 3 reasons:

• This can be worn on your foot
• It is automatic
• It is more effective than the original hand tiller

Applying my tool more to science, the tines at the bottom of the shoe serve as wedges, cutting and chopping up dirt and soil.

But, indeed, we encountered many obstacles and here's how we solved them; we discussed how to make the shoe safer. We came up with the idea of toe slip-ins/protectors and/or a firm bottom with a hard, light surface. We also discussed how to make it more effective but with less work. We came up with the idea of the Tiller Kicks Remote so you don't have to bend down to turn them on. More importantly, we discussed how to keep the user steady while they had one foot in their Tiller Kick. We thought about the Tiller only being placed on one foot so you have your other foot for balance and also making the tine at the bottom of the Tiller Kick durable enough to walk on.

For Free?

The first Humanities course of my Junior year, Rhetoric, is about the art of persuasion. In Unit 1, Suppose, we discussed how to use Rhetoric in our speeches and language. We looked into the meaning of "persuasive and effective writing." The purpose of our Action Project is to put these techniques to good use, by creating an effective, attention-grabbing speech about a selected topic. My topic is, "Why should we have to pay to get to and from school?" I have thought about this very frequently and decided to dive deeper into it with this speech. The video below, is of me performing this speech and it was not easy. Along with all the research required to complete my essay, I have learned that this issue may be more of a problem than I even thought before.

For Free? from GCE Student on Vimeo.

Running late for school, but hey, who cares? I’m gonna be late anyway. But man, this old thing? (tosses Ventra) Let me tell you guys something. WHAT IS WRONG WITH CTA, and the government as a whole? Why do STUDENTS have to pay to go to school?? In what universe does this make sense? I wanna be successful like anyone else, but why is it necessary that I, as a child, have to pay? Sure, the government may have its reasons, but why should I have to go through this as a scholar? Instead of focusing on my ACT scores and grades 2015(the things that I've been told since I was even younger that will help me ACHIEVE SUCCESS), I have to scramble to get the necessary currency just to "get to school". WHY SHOULD THIS BE A PROBLEM ON A YOUNG SCHOLAR'S MIND?

I could appeal to you guys logically and tell you all that I spend approximately $294.08 every term or every 4 months just getting to and from school. Or that some CTA conductors aren't even "in the mood" to reduce the fare you have to pay or they give you attitude, when they should be supporting us. But there's a simple way to solve this. Why are we paying in THE FIRST PLACE?

I could cry to you guys about how some days I was stuck trying to find a ride or beg someone with a dollar or two to put me on the train. Or that I couldn't buy my little brother that birthday present that I wanted to get him because saving up is so hard. Or how hard it is for my family to cough up $294 every 4 months just for me to get to school and back home. Not to mention the extra money to put food in my system during my school's off-campus lunch.

However, I could also just say that because I am a student, you have to listen to me. Or...rr that my voice is stronger because of that. Maybe it is, but this doesn't change the fact that this morning I went through a crisis. I had no idea if I had money on my card and I was broke. Walking out of the house, this became a problem because I'm not rich like Bill Gates, I'm broke. This prohibits me from pulling out a couple hundreds and saving the day with my magical money tree’s ability. I bet if you listen closely, you can hear my wallet screeching.

Furthermore, it is almost inevitable that this topic is extremely important. I hope I've inspired others to speak up. Why do us, as students, have to pay to GET TO SCHOOL. We're butterflies trying to flap our wings, but can't because we're caught in a web and the government is the spider. That same spider is the one telling us that if we don't go school, we won't be successful. But that SAME SPIDER makes us pay to get there. Whats wrong with this crazy spider? It's all a bit too much.

But to conclude, why are the adults, we someday look to be as successful as, putting us through unnecessary obstacles that could very well reduce our performance in school? Think on that. I'm DR and I'm out.


References:

"CTA Fare Information." Transit Chicago. CTA, 2013. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.
"Gov. Rauner's Budget Cuts Could Mean CTA Fare Hike; Let the Class War Begin." Chicago Now. 19 Feb. 2015. Web. 19 Sept. 2015.

Doctor To Patient

In the third unit of Cure, we discussed nutrition and diets, and how we can prevent out bodies from catching certain illnesses. We ultimately surrounded our unit around the question of, "How do we prevent, so cure is unnecessary?" Instead of revolving our discussions around how we get rid of certain illnesses or how we suppress the effects of certain illnesses, we instead, discussed how to take precautions to prevent those illnesses from even corrupting us in the first place. This Action Project is a video of dialogue between a doctor and his patient about how the patient can stay away from getting a certain illness. I chose to get a little creative, and made a slideshow hybrid for your enjoyment. I chose Diabetes as the illness for me to research. This was quite fun, I became really fond of editing videos, even though it's time-consuming!