FXI. The worlds smallest computer matters.

 I haven't posted anything in a while.  I plan on post a lot more about da Vinci kind of soon.  Also some lectures that I was blessed to hear while at college last month... simply amazing.

Here is a new product that was at CES this year and is now available for pre-sale.  It is literally a thumb drive computer!  Powered by android, it is a little computer that plugs into any screen.  Check it out!
fxitech.com/products/

 

Kindle e-reader

I am a college student.  This semester I have four different text books, all rather heavy.  Now electronics can hold much more than a book and do so in a smaller and light space.  Here comes the world of e-readers.  Arguably the most popular e-reader is the Amazon Kindle.  As an engineering student, there are not very many text books that are available for the Kindle, but for a friend of mine, who is an English major, it is perfect!  Still I really like the new Kindle Touch that comes out the day before my birthday.

Reading old classics (which are usually free), the new best seller, or the scriptures, it is a great devise to have for even the occasional reader.  And with the available 3G with and experimental Web Browser, you have the internet everywhere. 

The exciting point of discussion is the new Kindle Fire tablet.  There is virtually no user information as it comes out the same time as the Kindle Touch, but it may prove to be the best foe to the iPad thus far.  The Kindle Fire still has some growing up to do to fill the expectations of the masses who want a cheaper, effective, user friendly tablet.  The future is rich with possibilities.

jetlev.com: One Amazing toy

I found a new toy that I will get when I become rich an famous!  It is a Jetlev water jet pack!  It uses water to push a person up into the air.  There are some limitations... only 30 or so feet in the air, there is a little boat connected to you by a long tube.  But here is the thing, that boat does all of the work of pumping the water and you can fly around for about 3 hours before you run out of gas.

Now why must I wait until I am rich and famous?  Because the MSRP on this thing is $99,500.

Rocky Mountain Conference 2011

I recently made a movie highlighting my and my team's experience at the Air Force Academy during a student Civil Engineering competition.  It was a lot of fun while I was there and it was a lot of fun making the video.  I made it with windows movie maker, which sucks but it was the only thing I have.  iMovie is a lot better.
Hope you enjoy!

Leonardo da Vinci (Part I: His Education)

Da Vinci has always been one of my idols as a kid and as an adult.  He was and is the epitome of a Renaissance Man.  He was an artist, anatomist, scientist, engineer, innovator, inventor, and centuries before his own time.  Many have asked how da Vinci flourished in an environment that almost mandated the best schooling of the time?  Part of the answer to this question lies in the answer as to why da Vinci flourished.

Born as a bastard child in 15 April, 1452 to a peasant woman and a notary, he was not really entitled to a formal education.  He instead was informally tutored in Latin, geometry, and mathematics.  At this young age Leonardo started to show his curiosity.  His lost education would have put him on a course like many students today   thinking that all subjects have to be separate and categorized.

Because of his father and young talent, he was educated as a painter under Verrocchio.  While in Verrocchio's workshop Leonardo would have learn theory and technical skills in many areas relating to art: drafting, chemistry, metallurgy, metal working, plaster casting, leather working, mechanics, carpentry, drawing, painting, sculpting and modelling.

Da Vinci's schooling was unorthodox, yet it enabled him to remain curious and thus creative.  For him there really weren't any subjects; there was just knowledge.  He made connections between fields.  For example, da Vinci became a renowned anatomist (which was very rare during his time because of the Catholic Church's ban on dissecting bodies) in order to be a better painter.  He believed that he could paint something accurately only if he knew what happens under the facade.  This applies mostly to humans but he also developed basic theories about plat tectonics.
To help explain my point, da Vinci is recorded to have said, "The Human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art."

Space Shuttle Atlantis

While on a spring break band trip my junior year of high school to New Orleans and Orlando, we took our last day of the week long trip to make a short three hour visit to Kennedy Space Center.  I say short because it was not nearly long enough to see everything... and I wanted to see everything!

The three things I remember the most are the Space Shuttle replica that sits by the main entrance, a Saturn V rocket, and the gift shop.  The Saturn V rocket was used in the Apollo missions and is absolutely enormous; much bigger than the space shuttle.  There is one hanger that has the rocket in sections on its side an one engine nozzle is probably 40 ft in diameter.  Now the gift shop may seem odd but i wanted to remember my time there and get a book that had more information so i could take a virtual tour if you will.  My favorite souvenir is a full size Apollo 13 mission patch.  In fact it is hanging up in its packaging in my cubicle at work.  On the back I wrote the mission motto: Failure is not an option.  Go and take a look at my Pick Me Up's! page, it's toward the top.

This is a monumental end to a great American era of space flight.  I hope we continue to endeavor into space flight.  It would be very cool to someday go up there my self.


To see more pictures of the last mission, LA Times as a good selection.

How was your fluids weekend?

   As a civil engineering student and the son of a professional civil engineer, I found this sport science clip from ESPN rather inspiring in a sense.  While I am not longer in my Fluid Mechanics class with Dr. Hotchkiss, this would definitely be part of my fluids weekend! 

(Every Monday morning at the beginning of class he would ask how everyone's fluids weekend was)

Fluids was, by far, my favorite class that semester and has set me on course to declare my engineering emphasis of Water Resources.  I still have one more year left until I graduate with my Bachelor's degree and after that I plan on obtaining a Master's degree.

Now during that little tangent you might have asked what my true intention was to post this.  First, I thought the video was cool.  Second (and the real reason), this is a shout out to Dr. Hotchkiss about my fluids weekend!