GeekTeach

2012-01-24T22:01:00.000-05:00

Wordle of the State of the Union - January 24, 2012

Environmental Architectural Design..

2010-11-23T23:08:00.003-05:00

With some foresight and courage, architectural design can promote good basic health...

All power to Dr. Richard Jackson and his life's pursuit.

Profile here....

additionally, here is a YouTube preview of the PBS series:

KNO What is Happening..

2010-09-29T19:24:00.004-04:00

Here is a short video on the KNO... double or single screen notebook that might give the iPad a run for its money if it comes to market.

The video has disappeared from VIMEO, so that's not helpful..

2010-07-29T21:45:00.004-04:00

Here is a Colbert interview with Michio Kaku...
This is a name you should know if you are serious about science and our technology future. He is a good top scientist, but his role as communicator is broadening and knowledge of him is good to have in your back pocket as he makes the public rounds.

Michio Kaku

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

2010 Election

Fox News

His 'official' website is here, yet there is always more...

2010-05-30T16:46:00.004-04:00

Most Excellent Stop Action Video:

See how it is made at http://www.sorry-im-late.com

Make your own stop action animated videos using free version of SAM Animation..
http://www.samanimation.com/

2010-05-24T21:25:00.004-04:00

Martin Gardner died at 95 over the past weekend. I am certain it was just another trick.

The Nature of Things / Martin Gardner from Wagner Brenner on Vimeo.

2010-03-11T21:55:00.003-05:00

Go OK

2010-03-08T22:05:00.005-05:00

Using a webcam and laptop, here is feedback from a digital source. Different parameters: rotation, refresh rate, color filtering, pixel size.. and more, affect the geometric patterns, image blurring and chaotic appearance and sometimes pulsation of the video motion.

This is a very simple first try. With some time and work, artistic patterns can emerge. I remember playing with this phenomenon a decade ago after seeing studies in analog video systems, but am happy to see it work in digital format.

James Crutchfield wrote an article on analog video feedback in systems more than a decade ago, and it was just great. Here is his site on other dynamic systems analysis and more.
http://cse.ucdavis.edu/~chaos/chaos/pubs.htm

Experiment carefully so you do not cause a burn out of any equipment.

Vacation in the Pool

2010-03-06T09:14:00.001-05:00

So, I didn't see the sign.

Web Based "WiFinder"..

2010-02-14T22:18:00.006-05:00

Here is a JAVA based wireless internet access finder. It seems to work fairly well, although I haven't tested it in too many locations...

http://meraki.com/tools/stumbler/

Of course, I am now a proponent of trying out another Open Mesh network system, and may just have to buy a couple of these to try them out on campus. The components look 'cheap' at around $50 each.

There are some hard to reach spots that would benefit from Open Mesh, but I am not sure how it will mix with Netgear, and Linksys of different types. The outdoor and indoor housings have appeal for efficiency.

http://www.open-mesh.com/store/

~Richard.

2009-11-30T22:13:00.001-05:00

58 words

Typing Test

LaTeX equation editor online

2009-07-14T19:03:00.007-04:00

Here is an online LaTeX equation editor. It creates a little gif [or other format, html, etc.] that you can copy and paste. Its response is pretty quick..

http://www.codecogs.com/components/equationeditor/equationeditor.php?lang=en-en

Working at the Internet Cafe

2009-06-26T13:49:00.005-04:00

I hope that I can get some exercise soon so I don't look quite as crumpety as in this photo..

I am working at my personal Internet Cafe. Government of China can't see me or monitor me here, but the bugs on my computer laptop are indeed real bugs. Weather is perfect and it finally feels like summer.

Pondering all sorts of things:
switch all school email to Google's free service for non-profits?
accumulate school websites to a new account?
start Ruby on Rails with a new Linux site?
how to display photo streams for the website?
more, more, so much more..

~Richard.

2009-06-06T16:49:00.003-04:00

This is too amazing to be overlooked. At Sant Bani School "All School Capture the Flag" this little fawn was in the woods....

very new. very small.. as small as Kent's cap.. he took the photo with his Blackberry :)

Cheering Leap

2009-05-28T21:17:00.003-04:00

Here is Dr. Ethan Cheering at the Run to Remember: I feel like the guy with the bike in the background looking on...

What is Friendship Anyway?

2009-05-17T23:26:00.003-04:00

Well, off to a rough start in the friend department :)

I guess I'll go out and play in the mud.

~Geekteach.

Bad Google Push Design

2009-04-18T11:35:00.003-04:00

Google loses the design award on this one. Squeeze the width of the Google.com homepage and the graphics push ad for 'Chrome' destroys the rest of the top of the page. I can do that for a web page I write - but not one that millions see..

This is definitely in the 'too much spare time' category for me - but really.

der Mathematik-Pens, dass Licht

2009-03-21T20:44:00.003-04:00

der Mathematik-Pens, dass Licht

Here are Jon Powell's NH State Math Meet award pen [right] and my NH State Math Meet award pen. It's easy to see that his is still brighter which may infer that he is writing less.

I picked it up by mistake while working on the network at the Lower Building, now I must remember to return it.

~Richard.

Pi Day

2009-03-15T00:00:00.001-04:00

3.1415926............. ounces of cookie dough:

Thanks Ethan for the photo....

Tufts E-News: Flights of Fancy

2009-03-09T16:42:00.005-04:00

Using sensors with LabView to feeback into Google. The big screen must certainly help.
It seems there should be a fan for wind-blown hair and some occasional bird noises.

Tufts E-News: Flights of Fancy

Posted using ShareThis

Mission Beach Physics Waves

2009-03-03T21:50:00.005-05:00

We went to San Diego's Mission Beach area and to Belmont Park. There is a water ride to simulate surfing. Here is a short video of a couple of the takers. I had seen it before in short video, but it is great to see it in person.

Obama Logo

2009-03-03T21:45:00.006-05:00

Interesting site lets me make the above Obama type logo.

http://logobama.com/

thanks to Substance

Snapper in the Yard

2008-06-30T15:41:00.009-04:00

Last Saturday morning I woke up to see some digging in the front yard the likes of which confounded me on close inspection. There were seven or eight places a foot square or more scoured out of the soil and each a few inches deep. There were no hoof prints, and it didn't look like some skunk or fox after ants, so my first thought was that aliens had briefly landed then took quickly off again. Darn those aliens - I really wanted to catch one. The light bulb in the photo is for size..

Since school has ended, I have the additional luxury of reading the daily paper - as thin and as horribly informed as it presents itself - and lo - on this day, a short article with a photo of two elderly gentlemen and a large elderly turtle all grinning toward the camera. The article went on to cite a returning snapping turtle to lay eggs in the sandy front yard of a Gilford home.

http://www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080628/GJNEWS02/643110723

I was so excited I ran out and looked more closely at the holes and saw small claw marks and the telltale scrape of what appears to be a tail. One of the holes was covered back in, and there I suspect are the nested reptile eggs. I actually called the household in Gilford and confirmed their siting... and spoke with a very nice lady about all sorts of animal activities in her yard. I think her school has been out for a long time.

I found an easily readable website that tells me to wait 90-120 days to witness the quarter size snappers to leave their nest and parade to the nearest water.

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/snappers.htm

Now here is the karmic return part of the story. When I was young, my brother and I had a turtle from Woolworths store in Framingham, Mass. Actually, we may each have had one. The horribly airless pet section of those stores would sell out small animals under the auspices that children would take care of them and learn something. It's all quite a silly enterprise since we lived in a beautiful woodsy town of New England with more sticks and animals to shake a stick, or animal, at. I remember my turtle in its clear plastic container complete with plastic island and little green palm tree, although I don't recall its name. We of course overfed and over watered it for a few days or as long as a week. But there are more fun things than a sluggy turtle for kids with a short attention span as we had and besides, the plastic container started to smell.

Soon, somehow the turtle was gone. Escaped? Did we take it out to play and forget to put it back? More likely. High and low, no turtle was to be found until a month or two later when I saw the poor dust covered carcass of a dry little turtle under the bed. I think we put it into our small animal graveyard near the stone wall to final rest with the other creatures of our 'caretaking' including many dead birds, frogs, reptiles that we found. No doubt they were all Christian creatures, since a series of little crosses marked their spots.

So if I can keep these little turtle eggs from being ravaged by the local cat, skunk, or fox [I think I'll cover the nest with a small section of chicken wire mesh] and watch them safely toward water when they do hatch, perhaps I'll pay back the debt from years ago. I still cringe when I picture the tiny, dry, wisp of a little turtle head frozen in time looking up at its worldly caretaker. Thanks, Woolworths.

Hail to the Chief

2008-06-22T13:42:00.004-04:00

Here is a short video of a hailstorm that rolled its way through the Newfound Lake neighborhood. The hail was 'pea-sized' approx. one centimeter is size :)

A tornado warning for the region was also posted and the wind, lightning, thunder, and torrents of rain were awesome indeed. I wonder about the safety of the thousand of bikers here for the weekend, and also the newbie boaters who have little clue about their risks out on the lakes when a storm like this rolls through.

~Richard

Zhanar Presentation

2008-05-19T20:31:00.001-04:00

Thursday is dedicated to Zhanar giving us her work in lecture form. I still can't believe she is headed out - and we will all miss her.

Her efforts to get C++ interfaced successfully with MSAccess have been noble and we will get to hear the details of this tough task.

~Richard.

PHUN! Where 2D Physics Meets Computing

2008-05-19T20:23:00.003-04:00

2D Fun with objects.

http://www.phun.at/

Not required, just a fun resource.
This is an applet that simulates a 2D world. You create objects, give them properties and then watch them do things when you turn them loose. If you have used "SODA" in the past, this is a more graphical version, similar in concept.
I may have to put it on some school computers. Developed in Sweden. Free.
I will post a good screenshot when I find one. There are many links from the site.

~Richard.

DC Motor for Physics

2008-05-12T14:48:00.006-04:00

In class, students are using their design/build skills to create a simple motor. The default version is this design that I think is the clearest to build:

http://lees.mit.edu/lees/leeb-s.htm is the designer
and a full .pdf of instructions and the mini-lab is posted at

http://web.mit.edu/cmse/educational/motor_lp_kristy.pdf

Here is the design photo:

Here is a short video of a team of successful students basking in glory of being the first to get a working model during class:

2008-05-05T21:59:00.005-04:00

This is a short video post of one of the air turbines moving in the wind today. Ethan Lawrence is the photographer using the small SONY. This air turbine is from the Team at http://windmillbeneathmywings.blogspot.com/

I am also posting this to test the video upload.

Success with the video posting, so here is a second showing the Four Physics Class entries and Max Hardcastle's renegade entry that is INDEED turning and turning smoothly.

~Richard

Change in mounting apparatus for your Air Energy Devices:

2008-04-28T13:23:00.005-04:00

Change in mounting apparatus for your Air Energy Devices:

Each team will have a square 1-1/2" metal post that is 28" long to mount your Air Energy Device onto. It cab be bolted or screwed to the post - either end works and there are places to thread bolts, and then I will attach this to the standing metal post. This way you can mount your device and test it for balance in the classroom. Your device will still end up being be about 10' off the ground.

Here is a photo of the end of the metal post. There are two locations where you can bolt to the corner w 3/8" threaded rod or connector:

Here is the other end of the post showing where you can bolt to the center:

And a third showing the bracket that is also available. The bracket has multiple holes for attaching:

~Richard.

Max Joins as a Renegade Wind Designer!

2008-04-16T20:54:00.001-04:00

Max Hardcastle said...
Here's my blog:

http://renegadewind.blogspot.com/

I'm a blog addict now! It really is a good place to keep notes, etc.Data logger is really cool! It has some sort of GNU/Linux OS and it's now set to German. I hope everyone knows German because I can't figure out how to set it back!... I'm kidding!

....... show us how it's done Max!.... Richard.

Wind to Energy Using Computer Class as Well

2008-04-15T17:37:00.007-04:00

Since most of the computer class is in the Wind Energy Project, here is a copy of a recent email as a post. If anyone in the computer class wants to use the time for learning the electrical logging software, graphic design of your wind energy, or other computer related activity even organizational - jump right in- I see it as totally valid since there are several teams represented - [a coincidence :) ] . Log your activities on your groups Wind Energy Blog and/or link it to your computer work.

Example:
Zhanar: gets software that can read/generate .dwg design files.
Ethan: uses his graphics 3D program to model the team's design
etc.

Here is my plea to stick with the project and work hard on it:

"Please stick with the project. It will be immensely great for all of us to have some working wind machines on Earth Day and thereafter.", pleaded Richard.

I am now thinking that we should collectively choose the best one (the sturdiest, best potential for the job, etc.) and it should be mounted up on the roof of the Middle Building after the contest of 24 hour measuring. This is a new twist to the project - and perhaps some modifications could be suggested by all of us and then made to this one - since it has to be at least somewhat safe from crashing down if the wind is too strong..

The four BLOG sites are as follows:

http://windmillbeneathmywings.blogspot.com/

http://teamvoltron.blogspot.com/

http://windenergyproject.blogspot.com/

http://teamtwister.blogspot.com/

Each has RSS feeds enabled if you want to use them; I am.
Post all your ideas and photos early and often, please.
The Vernier electrical data logging equipment that was donated for the project is scheduled to arrive late this afternoon, so we can test that out along the way, and you can learn to use it to test the output of your generators and experiments as well.

~Richard.

Show and Tell Finally Scheduled

2008-04-08T10:03:00.002-04:00

Thursday and possibly into Friday during 2nd period will be Show and Tell. Each student will think in terms of 10 minutes, but won't you always go longer? I hope so - but not too much longer.

Plan on showing:
Your work for this past quarter - programs and results.
Telling us your goals for the upcoming final quarter.
Walk us through some of your programming methods.
Teach us ONE clear thing about your programming.

~Richard.

Microsoft Dreamspark.. ??

2008-03-17T09:25:00.001-04:00

Microsoft in their back-dated wisdom is release an 'open' method of programming.. as open as Miscrosoft can let themselves get.

It appears at first read that students can have free versions of some development software; so here is yet another avenue for programming.

https://downloads.channel8.msdn.com/

~Richard.

Showtime...

2008-03-16T21:25:00.003-04:00

Note to all:

It is coming time for demonstrations of where your work is going, and to assess direction for the next quarter if there are any major changes. These have to happen over the next two weeks and it would be optimal to see them all at once in a double or tri-period.

Ideally we would all watch the presentations, so I will see what I can arrange with your teachers. Zhanar's should be easy with calculus and JP; the others - I may have to negotiate.

I also have a long standing promise to fulfill to you in having Bill Bryer, SBS parent, who works with JAVA for the State of NH come in to show us some ideas and inspire.

In general, it looks like programming work is happening.

Note to some:

A couple of computer library books went out.. one to Ethan on JAVA and one more to Zhanar on Access Database.. I need to get your 'library cards' on these.

~Richard.

Library Cards

2008-02-13T15:10:00.011-05:00

POSKAR!!

Above is my system of Library Cards:

~Richard

Mysteries are Being Solved; Awesome Things in Progress

2008-02-13T14:06:00.004-05:00

All Five Student BLOGS are getting filled, and that is a great sign. It is a habit that won't hurt and I am finding it a great help.

Update:
Alec:
He has latched on the the MAC XCode road and started to write his first application. Darn that Mac for making some of the most complex things simple as drag and drop! :) Also, his Blog is getting more specific and written very clearly, so I won't have to be a nag.

Max and Ethan:
They're working towards writing a complex game of some sort that will breach the Kamchatka Penninsula - no doubt some students in Kamchatka are currently writing a game that will breach the shores of mysterious Winnipesaukee. The C coding will be as complex as the spelling of the location names in the game. Max has been practicing writing and storing data to a .txt file. An encrypted database may be better in the long run, but this is a great start - and a successful one.
Ethan is practicing with writing and debugging blocks of code - I suspect some of the work to run the direction of the game from the user's input.

Zhanar:
Working to understand the Windows environment - a cryptic labyrinth of handlers, WinProc, and kernel calls.

Nate:
Feeling the call of other worlds, Nate is thinking of moving out of the JAVA book. After chapters of work, he is finishing the Paint program and heading out to greener, more tasty JAVA worlds.

~Richard.

Windows Port... a hole in every boat.

2008-02-12T09:33:00.000-05:00

Zhanar is looking to port her program into the Windows environment. Here is a link that may provide some suggestions:

http://www.cprogramming.com/tutorial/opengl_first_windows_app.html

It is easier to read than several of the others I found.

Richard.

The Zhanar Show on Monday

2008-02-01T18:43:00.001-05:00

To: Students Learning C and C++ variations..

I asked Zhanar to give us a show on Monday during the second half of the double - walking us through her C program to solve Sudoku problems. Her calculus class with Jon will take precedence BUT maybe we can hook him to sit in as well!

The code is posted on her BLOG

This seems like a great way to learn about some variables, includes, nested loops, and other dandy fine topics - particularly since we know the author...

The Zhanar Show will be brought to you courtesy of Hot Chocolate.

~Richard.

BLOG Your Work-.. make up missed time

2008-01-28T10:54:00.000-05:00

Two important reminders:

UNO:
Be sure to BLOG your work each workday. Make it a habit and keep it going. Be specific about what you are doing.

Part B:
If you miss a class because of skiing, illness, or whatever.. make up the equivalent time and BLOG your time and work.

~Richard.

2008-01-24T11:24:00.000-05:00

Here is a list of the address of all the Independent Comptuer Study blogs..
This is sent in an email to you as well.
Good luck to us all.

Richard -
http://geekteach.blogspot.com/
Alec -
http://alecp.blogspot.com/
Ethan -
http://geekteachindy-study08.blogspot.com/
Max -
http://indyc.blogspot.com/
Nate -
http://natesprogrammingblog.blogspot.com/
Zhanar -
http://zorbax.blogspot.com/

I have created Feeds to them all, and consider doing the same.
Students new to keeping a Blog [Alec, Nate, Zhanar] - check out the Max and Ethan Blogs to see sample content. It is for keeping notes, informing us, and matching ideas and sharing sites as well as generally letting me know what the heck you students are up to.
Be aware that I have showed some of these sites to other staff at teacher meetings to encourage them to use Blogging as a good way to document what is going on.

I have five cartons of books in the computer lab. If you take any of them out of the room I need to know, so I can track them down if necessary.

Thanks in advance for a good semester,
~Richard.

My Blog

2008-01-24T10:37:00.000-05:00

my new blog address is http://natesprogrammingblog.blogspot.com

Uploading files (pictures or text) into a Database with PHP

2008-01-09T23:39:00.000-05:00

Here is an article with some code allowing users to upload files. Assuming the data is there, I wonder if there are speed issues with getting the info back out in time to write the webpage with the graphics from the database.

Uploading files into a MySQL database using PHP

Richard.

Missing Class for Skiing or Other

2008-01-05T13:44:00.000-05:00

Since Alec and Nate are missing class on a regular basis for skiing meets, here is a general policy that would apply for all missed classes:

Make up the missed class time by spending a block of equal time on your ongoing work within three days of your absence or missed day.

Post to this blog specifically how you spent the time. Take a minute and be specific - for instance - "I worked on the website" is not specific enough - tell what you specifically did with links if appropriate. "Worked on JAVA" is not enough also - tell what the current work involves and what commands or specific item you are investigating.

Richard.

WYSIWYG text editor for News and Projects users

2007-11-19T08:48:00.001-05:00

A couple of follow-ups:

1. Text Editing
I found a WYSIWYG text editor that we might be able to use for the users posting material to the site as News and Projects.

It has several functions - it does not have the ability to download pictures. I would love to have this 'richeditorframe' function that this Google Blog uses! That would be perfect - but I don't see that it's available. Maybe it is with some more digging - even if it uses Google's site and another API somehow for access similar to the Google Maps work Alec is trying.

The HTML that it generates is a bit cumbersome, but it looks basic and straightforward.
I am checking that the code is legitimate - and doesn't have some buried redirects.

Here is the site [with a demo and the code with tutorial] that hosts the free editor:
http://koivi.com/WYSIWYG-Editor/

There also may be other links from the PHP site and related forum:
http://www.php.net/
A commercial version called "editize" gets some good reviews, but their half price for non-profits is $75 for a domain site's use.

2. Charting Data Online:
Also, here is a site that has some links to investigate java applets that create graphs for web viewing:
http://www.appletcollection.com/java/graph.html
Some of the links from this site are free software and some 'for purchase'. There are often deals available for non-profits, but take some digging and/or writing to the companies to see what their policy is.

Richard.

Meeting with The Energy Fellowship/Earth Support

2007-11-10T08:18:00.000-05:00

Thanks for attending the lunch time meeting with Earth Support and Energy Fellowship. There were lots of great ideas that came out of it. Here is an outline of those ideas for the website and PLEASE add those that I may have forgotten:

1. The forum is a great idea but needs tweaking to make sure it works. Max H. went to sign up but it did not work for new additions. [rjd - I think Zhanar was thinking about looking into this? ] We couldn't demonstrate it fully at the presentation.

2. Barry suggested having a data section with graphs that are generated by that data. This idea had lots of enthusiasm and some data suggestions were:

ongoing oil [B20 and regular oil] / electricity / propane usage by the school including the entire carbon footprint - ZachB
water usage by the school
recycling data
cars in the parking lot
please write with others I may have missed here [?]

To be effective the data and graphs need to be dynamic. We need to find/write scripts to do this.

Richard suggested an electric eye road near the entry to get automated data input for cars on the school road - [ now there's a whole project: make a solar powered data taking device for storing and sending that data, but there are lots of opportunities for automatic data entry, too including temperature and power usage for some areas or devices]

Jen wondered how we would get information on the site and Zhanar started to demonstrate how news, projects, and links data can be added by many individuals that have login privileges to do so. The last 5 articles that show on top, but others can be stored and available for showing. Articles and links can both be in the Forum and as part of the News and Projects sections of the site.

The overall question of the day was to see if there is enthusiasm to make the development of this website worth pursuing. I want the class to work towards something that has meaning and appreciation. The fact that there were a dozen people showing up with short notice for a lunch meeting shows that we are on a good project and should continue.

In attendance were: Robert, Jen, Todd[[?], Dave, Barry, Zhanar, Alec, ZachB, Richard, Jon P., Nate H., Max H., and .. [I think I missed a couple - help here please??]

EnergyFellowship.org Email Addresses and Mail System

2007-11-05T09:56:00.000-05:00

The email system password is changed - see a private email to you.

The following have admin privileges to set up emails, add aliases, and manage accounts. It may be a good hook for users to have an energyfellowship.org email address to use.

The link to the email is:

http://mail.energyfellowship.org

perhaps a link to that can be on the site as well. We could offer users:

"Do you want to have an energyfellowship.org email address?"

and use the following to set up an alias.

IMHO, I think it should not as automated as the Forum, but on case by case - but maybe I'm too conservative here.

info required:

Real Name

Current email to forward all mail

Affiliation - what school, what organization, etc.

Brief use agreement - simple.. Agree Disagree statement

Richard.

Some Site Ideas and Fixes

2007-11-04T15:27:00.000-05:00

Add return link to http://www.santbani.org/ from the Energy Fellowship site
Show that the Energy Fellowship is part of/connected with the Sant Bani School
Admin setup pages
perhaps a "view" button to see the results of additions while the user is still logged in.
ability to add simple text editing to news and projects
ability to add pictures to news and projects (limiting graphic size)
Forum:
redo graphic at heading of Forum so that text is not pixelated
have Forum open in a new page so that the user still has the original energyfellowship.org open
link back to energyfellowship.org from Forum
link to http://www.santbani.org/ from Forum
Add RSS feed so that users can sign up for any News and Project changes/additions

Richard

Others?

invitation to Energy Fellowship Group to view and comment on site.

2007-11-01T16:13:00.000-04:00

Here is the text from Zhanar with some changes - of an invitation to the Energy Fellowship Group to see the website and give some more ideas - hopefully to write and include articles.
Is it strong enough about joining the forum?
Richard.
*********************************

[how about inserting graphic letterhead.. from the site]

November 1, 2007

Dear Colleagues,

We really appreciate your common interest in Energy Fellowship and offer you a great opportunity to exchange your thoughts and ideas with each other and people interested in sustainable life using the electronic network.

We invite you to visit your website http://www.energyfellowship.org/and share your projects or new ideas. You can also sign up for the Energy Fellowship forum and take part in discussions on different topics. You may also invite anyone interested in the Energy Fellowship to join our community.

Let’s meet on Wednesday, November 7 at lunch in the Reading Room at Sant Bani School where we will show you the website development so far. It will be a great chance to make your suggestions about the project and start to share ideas for the site.

We would be tremendously appreciative of any help or reply.
Cordially,

Sant Bani School Computer class
Zhanar Seitmagzimova Sant Bani ’08, zhanars@santbani.org
Alec Peters Sant Bani ’09, alecp@santbani.org
Nate Houran Sant Bani ’09, nateh@santbani.org
Richard Danahy Sant Bani Staff, richard@santbani.org

Forum

2007-10-24T18:27:00.000-04:00

The forum is installed and working so Nate and Richard can register and then I will make you administrators. If we want we can use it to discuss the website development further.

Strategy for Zhanar and Energy Fellowship

2007-10-19T15:03:00.000-04:00

Hey,

I am suggesting to Zhanar that she take a template from the PHP Bulletin Board site and start from scratch to create the Forum on the Energy Fellowship website. She may get started and after some familiarity then consult with Alec on debugging it.

We have the ability to create sub-domains, so the forum should perhaps reside in
http://forum.energyfellowship.org
which will give it a separate file system area.

One strategy is to have a separate database for the Forum, its users and content. The users of the site's main content section would be a more limited number, but it would be good to have the Forum be open as I think we were intending.

Hopefully Alec will also get some great inspiration from the Bioneers Conference - and maybe think about a target date to meet with a larger group to get excitement about content. articles, and links.

Post your thoughts, please.

Richard.

Alec has the Energy Fellowship Database working!

2007-10-19T11:02:00.000-04:00

News
Database Working - October 18, 2007, 9:01 amThe database is working fully now. The projects menu just displays the five most recent projects entered into the projects table that I made.
Test - October 15, 2007, 8:59 amTest of the database.

http://www.energyfellowship.org

styles

2007-10-19T10:36:00.000-04:00

hi
what do you think about these styles for the forum:
http://www.stsoftware.biz/phpbb3/index.php?style=etech_green

http://demo.phpbb3styles.net/styles.php?style_id=82&lang=en

http://demo.phpbb3styles.net/styles.php?style_id=148

http://demo.phpbb3styles.net/styles.php?style_id=197

Energy Fellowship Site

2007-10-14T22:32:00.000-04:00

We own it and it is starting to run:
http://www.energyfellowship.org

Hopefully you checked your emails to note that HOSTEK has made PHP5 available for the site. Evidently they have PHP4 by default and add the better PHP5 when asked.

There is some info on the HOSTEK FAQ page regarding PHP as well as MYSQL database setup:
http://hostek.com/faq/kb

The MYSQL editor that Alec was using looks pretty darn good as well.

Also, here is a site on the PHP5 language for some background:
info: http://www.php.net/
tutorial: http://www.php.net/tut.php
manual: http://www.php.net/manual/en/index.php [an easy read - ouch!!]

If you find any texts on it that you wish the school to purchase, please let me know.

Richard.

2007-10-01T09:52:00.001-04:00

what do you think about this?

http://www.reinspire.net/blog/2006/03/25/ie_transparent_pngs/

Showing png files in IE6

2007-10-01T09:24:00.001-04:00

Here is the workaround that I found on the net...
Norway is a nice country, so I'm sure this is legitimate.

http://bjorkoy.com/past/2007/4/8/the_easiest_way_to_png/

which references the author of the workaround.

http://www.twinhelix.com/css/iepngfix/

This is all pretty exciting if it works.

Forum

2007-09-24T09:27:00.000-04:00

The test forum is at http://www.gscdirectory.org/phpBB3/ and you can login with:

User: [removed -rjd]
Password: [removed-rjd]

Test is an administrative account so if you click on the ACP link at the bottom of the page, you can go to the Administration page and see how we can configure the forum.

about the topic itself

2007-09-19T20:59:00.000-04:00

Nate, Alec and Richard,

I've found some stuff about alternative energy systems as I think it is the main idea of the energy fellowship. Here are some links to websites on this topic:

http://www.aesc-inc.com/
http://www.suntrekenergy.com/
http://www.climatesolutions.org/

We can really put a lot of stuff on our website if we do some research work. I guess it's not going to be easy, but it's a really worth thing to do.

Zhanar

Thoughts on setting up a site

2007-09-17T10:35:00.001-04:00

Zhanar, Alec, Nate,

Some notes from today.

We reviewed Zhanar's very thoughtful questions regarding an Energy Fellowship [ EF ] site.
One outstanding idea is to have a Farmer's Market be a subset of the EF site and may validate the work.

Two students who were in the room participate in local Farmers Markets to sell their goods. One has an online profile.
We discussed some computer language issues and did a very rough map of ideas.

Some ideas [not in order of importance] are:

Using Maps - Google. Maps specifically for some of the functions; directions, locations of farms and Farmer's Market [ FM ]sites; EF individuals that sign in; locations of energy product items, etc.

A PhP forum is worth setting up regardless, and Alec has the know-how to do this. Hopefully he will teach us this. He advocates PHP and HTML for website language.

Rating system and comment system on Farmers' sites

Sales of items may be a real draw. Google Checkout accounts is a clean interface that would work for $ sales.

We need to get more information from the EF to understand the use and vision of a site. Richard will go Wednesday to the lunch meeting and others are welcome if they have the time to go, too, to hear ideas and get a sense of it.

Having one site that is more interactive may help unite goals of the different groups at school that are trying to promote awareness of Climate Change, energy efficiency, and other matters that relate to the social aspects of saving energy.

Here is some background on information about Farmers Markets presence on the web.

A further search for domain names showed the following:

The domain farmersmarketne.org is available. thinking ne is for New England

The domain farmersmarketnh.org is available. nh for New Hampshire

The domain marketnh.org is available

The domain farmersnh.org is available

The domain farmersne.org is available.

farmersharvest.org is available

Sites and information that is relevant:

http://lanetavern.org/sfm.htm Local Sanbornton Farmers Market

http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/States/State06.pdf/New%20Hampshire.pdf US Dept. of Agriculture list of NH Farmers Markets

State of NH Farmers Market Representative
Gail McWilliam
New Hampshire Department of Agriculture
P.O. Box 2042
Concord, NH 03302
(603) 271-3788

Here are some sites that have web presence in NH on their markets:
www.mainstreet.wilton.nh.us
http://www.wilmotfarmers.com
http://www.wakefieldmarketplace.homestead.com
http://www.sanbornton.org/ORGS/sfm
http://www.seacoastgrowers.org
http://www.organic-growers.com
http://www.littletonmainstreet.org
http://www.northernnhfarmersmarket.com
http://www.seacoastgrowers.org
http://www.hennikerfarmersmarket.us
http://www.seacoastgrowers.org
http://www.geocities.com/claremontmarket

http://www.nhfairs.com/ Listing of State Fairs and State Fair websites

Richard.

FW: Energy Fellowship website

2007-09-16T02:06:00.001-04:00

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Danahy [mailto:richard@santbani.org]
Sent: Friday, September 14, 2007 11:05 AM
To: *Richard Danahy; Alec Peters; Nate Houran; Zhanar Seitmagzimova
Subject: Energy Fellowship website

Zhanar, Nate, Alec,

Here is an idea which is emerging that I think will be appreciated and we can hopefully all get behind.

The three programmers of this course will work as a team to create the Website for EnergyFellowship.org

I have reserved the domain name, and now have to activate the site for our use. The cost for a year is $59.70 for non-profits, and the school can cover that cost - both from tech dept. funds as a resource for the class.

Start to visualize what would be possible for this site. I see the front and back end support for the following:

A graphical presentation that matches the goals of the Energy Fellowship

A moderated online forum for members to contribute and discuss ideas by topic.

Links and material relating to the Energy Fellowship

The database of information behind the structure of the website.

We should strive to use the JAVA language that we are studying for some of the presentation material, as well as use PHP and Flash for some of the content.

If successful, the ongoing project and code should be well documented so the 'torch' may be passed to other students and/or members to monitor and use.

Please review the three different possible backend systems to see which will be best to sign up for. It can be switched later, but often problematic to do so. In other words, if we start off with a LINUX environment, there would be many code changes to support the material in Windows.

Here is the link to the company we are using and info about the Silver Plan for $59.70 that we would use. This link lists the languages that are supported and some other bandwidth info. I THINK they will let us use a LINUX site for the same price, but not 100% if that has changed.

http://npwebhosting.com/non-profit-web-hosting.asp

http://hostek.com/web-hosting-plans-linux.asp

Here is a current link to the Energy Fellowship page... it presents some things but nowhere near the possibilities....

http://www.santbani.k12.nh.us/biodiesel/index.htm

Richard.

RE: Energy Fellowship website

2007-09-16T02:03:00.001-04:00

-----Original Message-----
From: Zhanar Seitmagzimova [mailto:zhanars@santbani.org]
Sent: Saturday, September 15, 2007 8:45 PM
To: richard@santbani.org
Subject: re: Energy Fellowship website

Hi Richard!

I like the idea of creating a site for Energy Fellowship as well as the site for farmers to distribute their goods. But my question is "what's the purpose of the project?" I mean like real purpose? something global? or just a website for energy fellowship's fun? Is there any kind of thing that could keep the project actual? There're many websites that just contain information about something and it's useful only in terms of information, but nothing else. I'd like our website to be something more than a source of information about Energy Fellowship and forum for people interested in it. Could it be something that would really keep people visiting the website? Just like the idea about farmers? The farmers need to distribute their products and people need to buy them - that's a good idea. But talking about Energy Fellowship - I wonder if there is something like that in that idea?

Maybe I didn't get everything, because I'm not really familiar with Energy Fellowship and stuff like that. I think we could discuss it more thoroughly in our class on monday. I'd like to figure out some details if it's possible.

What about the platforms it's a pretty tough question. I looked through some statistics and look what I've found on the linux website:

(Percent of projects)

However this graph is pretty different on the microsoft website... :)
Do you think it's possible to figure it out in such a way that it could do with both environments?

And the last question. What do you think we could start from? I think we should make some kind of plan of the project. And by the way how much time is it supposed to take? What time limits do we have? Like one semester?

And one more question. (sorry that wasn't the last one :)) How is our website supposed to differ from the www.wiserearth.org or other websites like this. Isn't our project supposed to be new?

We could discuss all these things together on monday and maybe Nate and Alec will have some fresh ideas...

Thanks,
Zhanar

***************************
Zhanar Seitmagzimova, Class of 2008
Sant Bani School
Sanbornton, NH 03269

Fall 2007 Computer Class

2007-09-09T16:44:00.001-04:00

This class contains Alec, Zhanar, and Nate as the three students. All three are welcome to contribute to the content of this Blog with ideas, photos and screenshots, and to comment on the class and specific work.

~ off we go.. Richard.

Gear Up for the End of the Year Presentations

2005-05-25T11:49:00.000-04:00

FINAL PRESENTATION:

They will happen on Wednesday June 15, 2005 from 9-11 AM during that final test block, and therefore may be the last academic item for you this year.

You will be passing in organized electronic folders of all your work as well, as well as any prepared parts of your presentation.

Showtime is 15 minutes/per person Ethan and Max will combine the time for 30 minutes for the two. There is no way you can show all your work, so talk fast, be prepared, and don’t wait for us – jam the knowledge out there.

Jon Powell and Robert will be joining us as faculty evaluators - and their written/verbal opinions will count on your behalf.

I would like to announce that other interested students would be welcome to listen, if you are all right with that.

In general, plan on being precise and prepared, with only a few minutes for questions each.

Order will be by random draw, but you will know in advance by the Friday June 10 at class

GUIDELINES:
PREPARED sequence of material that you are showing us, hand out an outline, or refer to a simple Powerpoint of what you are presenting.
SUMMARIZE for us, your goals for the semester, and your strategy for meeting the goals you did. [did you use textbook lessons, online material, guess and test only, did you change your methods or adjust your goals…. ,etc?? ]
WALK US THROUGH an overview of the software program(s) that you used, describing the functions and potential of the programs, and then limitations of those programs, installation or computer issues, and talk about the correlation with the text(s) that you chose.
SHOW US YOUR WORK and what you accomplished. There is no way you can show us all the particulars, so give an overview, and then choose ONE or TWO examples of what you learned – walk us through a lesson that you have prepared and practiced to show us.

IN GENERAL:
Be ready, we don’t want to see you fumbling with the software or menus. Be practiced and professional with what you are showing. Stick to the topics. Some of the short presentations were good during this semester, but the better ones were the presentations with very little fumbling with the menus and software.

New Quarter

2005-04-15T23:13:00.000-04:00

A new quarter, the final quarter of high school for some of you, has started. Please take careful stock of your personal intentions. The purpose of the course was and is to give you time to work on the project of your choice. You will reap the benefits of the work and concentration you sow.

You may spend time comparing yourself to others in the class, but the bottom line is a personal evaluation of how you are growing as a student, and reaching goals in the world of computers. The course, as your whole school career, is either passing time, or a deep and satisfying experience. Always your choice, and always a new choice each day.

Review your original proposals and see where you stand to determine if you want to change the direction of your focus. I will assume you are all staying with your outline of work unless I hear otherwise very soon.

~GeekTeach

End of the Quarter Approaching

2005-04-03T18:00:00.000-04:00

The end of the quarter is approaching, and a few of you, I'm sorry to note, have been slack on the outside of class time (minumum 2 hours/week). Those students should expect a consequence on the quarter grade for that choice.

This week you will need to review your class week by week plan, and see how you have done. The plans were realistic, so if you are not making the schedule, consider how you can move faster through the material - more efficient time; add resources; more outside time, etc.

A coming Wednesday will be the best day for us to have a presentation of your quarter's work - but we are starting the season of fragmented class time. There may have to be presentations without the full class present.

~Richard aka GeekTeach

Keeping it Academic

2005-03-14T14:59:00.000-05:00

Gentlemen,

Now that we are back in full class schedule, please keep plugging and keep the work academic. Remember the two extra hours per week outside of class are necessary and your commitment, and you need to document them or, as far as I know, they didn't happen. Somehow identify those hours in your BLOG as outside of class hours. As with any other class, if you are sick or out, make up the work, by making up the time. It's time to get obsessed with learning your topic.

Wednesday, I am on a field trip so Todd will be sitting in with the class. He has Photoshop experience, so that may be useful for even more than Eli. We will meet during all six class periods together this week, and you may log 45 minutes of that as extra time, but after missing two snow days last week, there should be a strong individual push by each of us.

Friday, some students will be ready for progress presentations - others may wish to delay until early next week - all need to present. These should be informative, with some demonstration, and question/answer time, but it's certainly not necessary to over prepare - we just want to know what you are learning. Later, before the end of the quarter, you will be doing a more complete presentation for outside faculty and students - and outside faculty assessments of these will be part of your grade.

~Richard aka GTeach.

Two Week Break

2005-02-17T13:49:00.000-05:00

To All the Class,

Have a good two week break. If you do work on your project during that time, be sure to Blog your hours (include day and amount of real time spent). For instance, checking out books at Borders is great research time. (but no, the travel time to get there isn't, Josh.)

I assume you will return motivated to continue. The stretch after Projects Period is often the longest continuous class time we will have, so plan to make a lot of progress during those weeks. By then Photoshop CS, Studio MX, and all the books will be in.

As books arrive, I will send you an email, and leave them at the front desk, if any of you would like to make the trip in to school to pick them up.

I am thinking the next presentation should have an audience - I will invite any students and staff who are free sixth period, in particular Ann S., because of Eli's art connection, and see if Craig can get free as well - and this should happen about two weeks after we get back.

Thanks,
Richard.

HTML and other language tutorials

2005-01-26T15:29:00.000-05:00

All the class,

Here is a link to one of the best online HTML (and other languages) tutorial sites.
There are examples, snippets of code to swipe, and windows in which you may write code and immediately see the results and changes.
Put a link to it on your computers, and those learning HTML should go through the lessons.

The references are clear and clean. I may show it on the overhead in class.

http://www.w3schools.com/default.asp

for Carl, the ADO and SQL are going to apply

Richard

Start the Independent Computer Course Off Right...

2005-01-23T20:47:00.000-05:00

This is a method that may satisfy both our interests..
I need you to document:

what you are learning every school period
what you are learning every homework time
your sources - exact internet links, exact titles and authors of books
what software and hardware resources you are using
pose questions that I may be able to answer, or others may be able to answer
what you are planning next

Your blog will contain daily timed entries of your work. I can review it and make specific comments, and suggestions that you will follow. You may point me towards computers with folders of your ongoing work as needed.

Students in the class will have a chance to view the blogs and documents, and make appropriate academic suggestions for you as well, and I expect that you will be contributing to each others' success this way.

Although it is a blog - I want real words, sentence structures, and words capitalized appropriately.

Richard alias 'GeekTeach'

geekteach@santbani.k12.nh.us will get to me by email.