Tech Camp, Last day

The very last day of Tech Camp, seems like longer than five days since this started. Maybe a week.

Today we get to build TREBUCHETS! Those are like catapults, for those of you who don't know. This should be a fun one.



The website for the National Cryptologic Museum is www.nsa.gov/about/cryptologic_heritage/museum.

"The Road to Heaven" and "Twilight Forest"

West Point Bridge Designer design

Darn! It won't come up! Anyway, I made it for $183,201.64.

Tech Camp, Day 4, cont.

After we got back from the Museum, we did the Cryptogram Game (teppo.tv/cryptogram). Then our instructor introduced us to the West Point Bridge Designer . Apparently, West Point (the Military Academy, or USMA) made this program and there are contests to see who could make the least expensive, strongest bridge they can (bridgecontest.usma.edu). I made a bridge for under $200,000 that could support a truck. I'll post that next.

National Cryptologic Musuem Pictures

Tech Camp, Day 4

Pretty much all of today was a field trip. We went to the National Cryptologic Museum, which is near Ft. Meade. Interesting place, they have Enigma machines (what the Germans used in WW2) that you can actually use. They talk about American Codes and Codebreaking from the Civil War on, at least if there was an area for the Revolution I couldn't find it. They have code interception satellites, supercomputers, and voice-scrambled telephones on display. Unfortunately I didn't get to take many pictures, even though I've got a memory card now. Those will be next post.

Tech Camp, about Yesterday

ALL of yesterday was about Alice. Using Alice, programming Alice, all that stuff. I recommend you try it.
Remember: www.alice.org.
And I was wrong Carnegie Mellon University developed it, and Randy Pausch (who died of cancer sometime not so long ago) was an important contirbutor to the project. He wrote a book, 'The Last Lecture'.

Tech Camp, Day 3

Got in a little late today, so not entirely sure what we're going to be doing today. But its Wednesday now, so our instructors are changing. This afternoon I'm pretty sure we're going to be using Alice, which is a programming, uh, program. You can download it from the internet, I'm pretty sure its an MIT thing.
ADDITION: Yep, it's at www.alice.org.

Here's a new photo

Day 2, Photo manipulation cont.

Here's my other dog, and my take on fixing red eye. The bigger the picture, the more he looks like he's possessed. Unfortunatly, the picture isn't big enough here for anyone to really see it.

Day 2, Photo manipulation

Here are the girls, in there photo revisions.

Yesterday...

Yesterday I tried out the camera a bit to get used to it. All I really had around were my dogs; so here they are.

(There was one more, but you'll see his picture later)

Day 2, Pictures of the campus

Here are some pictures I took of the campus where I'm taking this camp. Isn't it pretty?

I don't know why this is down here...

Tech Camp, Day 2, cont.

So, I know how to work my camera and now know I need a "memory card". Hopefully I can get the pictures I took up here.

Tech Camp, Day 2

Today we're going to do digital cameras! We had one, but no one could figure out how to use it. So we went and got a new one. I haven't really done anything with it yet, so today will be a learning experience.

Tech Camp, yesterday

Yesterday we did work with Google SketchUp, which is a 3-D imaging program. These are some I did. How do you like them?

You can download Google SketchUp for free at www.sketchup.com.

Day 1, cont.

So the camp teacher wants us to stick a "voki" a sort of avatar for the blog. To do or not to do? Going to make this as small as possible, because I don't think it looks very good:


Get a Voki now!

Tech Camp, Day 1 or Introduction

So, my first post on my first blog. This whole thing was started as part of the Tech Camp for Girls program, of which today is my first day. So far, its been fun. We learned a bit of basics about computers and the Internet, played around a bit, and started this blog. Later on I think we'll be using Google SketchUp. We had that at our school, but I didn't get any instruction in it because our Applied Tech teachers kept leaving or being replaced every few weeks. It was not very productive, and I had more fun in the classes I was taking before.
I turned up at this thing, which is held at the local community college, and guess what: there was someone I knew from school. Sat next to her, talked a bit, and my math teacher showed up with her two daughters. Awkward. Lots of people from out of town, its amazing how people will travel for some of these things.