The Diamond in the Rough

Our Diamond in the Rough

Today our group finally began construction of our laptop bag. We began to outline, and cut out our fabric into pieces that would be sewn together. Mr. Blake provided our group with our yoga mat, which we are very thankful for. Although we had many confusing, and controversial moments where I, Darin,  wanted to drop everything and walk out of the class. We were able to pull together as a group and tried to cooperate. We were able to begin our prototype, but it is far from completion, We still have to figure out how exactly the bag will be sewn together, which effects how thick, and how long we will cut out strips of yoga mat. Which also effects how large we cut out our sheets of material, which also effects how snug the computer will fit into the bag. And if any of these factors is not considered, our group will be left with a possible broken bag, or a broken computer during the testing phase. All our group can do is hope for the best, and do whatever we need necessary. I think our group is possibly going to be screwed if we don't try to get out prototype finished by next week monday.

Another Useless Day

We didn't do anything today. I think our group needs to collaborate more so that we can work together out side of class. If there is any downfall to our group, it's going to be the lack of time and communication we have. I brought my materials today hoping that we might be able to work on something, but we didn't. I'm really hoping that Tyler and Darin bring their materials tomorrow for class so we can have a productive work day. If we do get all the materials, we will be on a good start for our bags. We still don't know exactly how were putting the bag together yet; so we're hoping it will work out the first time. I don't know if the material i bought is what they want... but its the most durable material i could find. And that's what my group asked for.

"Everyone makes mistakes"

Today we did nothing! We discussed our idea but have yet to actually do anything. Tyler was supposed to get the elastic but he forgot. Darin bought the plastic but it is in his room on the floor next to his fan. Tyler and I think he is lying but he seems adamant about leaving it at home. Darin even offered to have his mother take a picture of plastic on the floor. We are still questioning him though. Matt Carr is missing in action with the fabric and zippers which is a crucial part of the bag. I was supposed to post this weekend but I wasn't informed that I was the one that was supposed to post. We also found out that Tanielle has Merrie Monarch this week. We decided that I (christina) or Darin will sew the bag. As Tyler sings Miley Cyrus's hit song "Everyone makes mistakes", the average audience member can see that our group is special. I know that we can do finish this project. With Darin and Tyler designing the bag and me writing the blog and making our corrections to our proposal, we are still doing things that are relevant to our project. Hopefully tomorrow we will have the supplies while we are in class and not at home near the fan on the floor in our bedroom and have our mom take pictures of it. :) We love you Darin!!

Gathering

Today, we discussed, who would be buying what. We figured out that Matt would be buying the fabric from a store near him. Tyler would be getting the elastic from Ben Franklin. And the other group would be getting the plastic sheets. This is good because we can get our materials early and not have to wait for Mr. B. But This is also good because our group is taking responsibility for themselves and doing it on their own. After we gather our materials we have found someone to help us with the very complicated, sewing. This will be a big part of our project because if the sewing is not good then the whole case will come out ugly.

http://www.instructables.com/image/FHUHFM7FWYHVO8X/Gathering-Materials.jpg

Differences

Today in class, we finally got specifics down. We have to redo our schedule because it was too brief and general. When we change the plan, we will have to be more accountable and it will definitely keep our group on track. Today in class I realized that everyone in our group isn't the same. Things that I might be good at, others in my group might find it challenging. For example, I realized that while I can explain things using my words, other group members are really great with coming up with different designs for the laptop bag. Its different working in a group. I want to work with my group members in a way that brings out their strengths but also distributes the work evenly. There is a fine line between the two. Im excited to see how the design come out. This picture is from http://www.makhijagroup.com/manpower.php

Progression Under Pressure

Our group seems to be having the most issues with trying to find the exact materials needed to begin our prototype solution. Our group barely turned our descriptive proposal in on time due to our lack of collaboration, and execution. This is mostly my fault because our whole group needs to contribute to to be successful. But we used our time wisely today in class, and were able come together and work out the specifics to who, what, where, when, and how our group is going to prepare, build and execute our prototype laptop bag/sleeve. After an entire period of "intense research" our group decided that we could find and possibly buy our own materials to save time, instead of having to wait for funding and our materials. Also our group knows exactly what materials we want, and it would be harder to have to describe, and explain what we want. Instead we will take the initiative and do as much work on our own as possible to save precious time. Also Darin has worked out a meeting with Tanielle Lau, to help our group sew, and assemble our prototype laptop bag/sleeve. Below is our planned schedule for our project:

April 20 - Finalize the Design and Materials and Work on Peer Editing
Darin: Blog
April 22 - 25 - Group members will purchase the materials needed
Christina: Post
April 26- Peer Evaluation Due

Matt and Christina: Cut fabric into the dimensions. Cut straps.

Finalize a day to sew with Tanielle Lau.

Darin: Shaping plastic

Tyler: Blog and whatever else we need

April 27: Matt: Post
April 28- Whole group will work on the padding.

After school, we would meet with Tanielle to help us sew our bag.

Darren: Blog

April 29: Tyler: Blog
April 30 - May 1: If Tanielle can not sew, Christina’s aunt will sew the bags.
Christina: Post
May 2- Finalize the Design. Test out durability.
Matt: Post
May 3: Darin: Blog
May 4- Put into use
Matt: Blog
May 5 and 6: Check on the status of the bag and make observations. Darin test the laptop bag.
Darrin: Blog about the bag
May 7 and 8: Work on changes during the weekend
Christina: Blog
May 9: Make adjusments to the design of the bag.
Tyler: Blog
May 9 - 11: Working on presentation
Testing the New bag
May 11: Final project implemented

New ideas

We were also thinking about using a wetsuit material. We would cut up an oldneoprene wetsuit and sew it to fit the laptop. This would be a great material because this would allow it to stretch and it would make it waterproof. We could also put cotton and other materials to make it as soft and cushiony to protect the laptop, if it may fall. This would be great but we would have a hard time finding a wetsuit that we could cut up seeing as they are so expensive. But this is a great idea for a case and we are still making the final decisions on the materials and how we are going to make the case exactly.

http://www.dghugo.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/v1-wetsuit.jpg

Materials

What seems like it's going to be our greatest challenge right now, is finding the right materials. We've been talking about it as a group but its still hard to know whats going to work, and whats not going to work. Here's a list of some of the materials we're thinking about using: durable fabric, zippers, velcro, elastic, a sewing machine, thread, stuffing cotton, tempurpedic, and old pillows. Some of these materials like cotton and elastic should be easy to get and affordable. While others like tempurpedic foam and a sewing machine will be hard to get, and not so affordable. I think that before we put too much thought into the materials, we should make a detailed sketch drawing so that we can see what were working with.

http://www.stockphotopro.com/photo-thumbs-2/AEC5KN.jpg

New and Improved

We are thinking about how we can make a bag that provides all the security of our current bag, but omits the harms. So basically, the problem with our bag right now, is that students forget to strap and zip their bags. So when they pick the case up, the bag opens and the laptop falls to its death. So we are thinking about a pouch kind of case that still has a compartment for our charger. The idea, is that if we eliminate the bag opening then the laptop won't fall out. So we are currently brainstorming ideas to create this and how we are going to create it. This image came from http://cdn.menwithpens.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Broken-Laptop.jpg. This is the problem we hope to solve.

Communication is key and we are locked out!!

So the next step is the detailed plan of what we are going to do. As a group, we are kind of disorganized. Before leaving class, we did not discuss this or what we are going to do. It seems that communication can be a problem for our group. If it isn't mentioned by the end of the class period, it's like we are all on our own. We have made our proposal on time but I don't know exactly how we are making the bags. We as a group need to figure out a plan. Hopefully in time to turn in for our detailed plan :) This cartoon was taken from http://www.nilkanth.com/page/3/. Hopefully we wont end up like this :)

So today we made our proposal in front of the class. I feel like it went pretty well. We proposed to make a new laptop bag to better fit the students. We would like to make the new bags weigh less and also be protective of our laptops. This is all related to physics because we have to learn how to make the bags safe for the laptops. The best way to do this is by trial and error. Were going to use some results from our previous egg drop experiment. We concluded that to keep the laptops safe when dropped, we need to increase the impact time. That will help to spread the force among then entire bag and laptop so that one part will not be damaged. I hope we can make this work.

A Change In Plans

I think we can all agree that today was a wake up call for our group. We were all excited about Matt's idea of fixing the walkway at school. As we started to research what we would need to do, different things started to stack up against us. We need administration approval. We would also need a lot of supplies that would be way over our budget. We changed our idea at the last minute to the laptop bags. It just seems like we are going around in circles in our group. We need to do our proposals tonight, and I am worried. Because we made the decision to switch at the last minute, I am worried that my group will not be cohesive in understanding what we are trying to do. We hardly discussed this idea, but at least we have an idea. Hopefully everything works out. Only tomorrow will tell.

This picture was taken from: http://www.etftrends.com/2010/08/powershares-changes-index-high-yield-etf/

MAMA FUJ

In our interview with Mama Fuj, we discovered her thoughts about the library. She says that we are coming more advanced with technology and she sees the library shrinking in the next few years. This is because most of the books will be transferred to the computer so the students can access and online dictionary. So she proposed that we come up with a plan to reorganize the library so that there is more room for students to collaborate without distracting others. And also more activities, the students could do and use the library space effectively. This is a current picture of our Midkiff Library. This photo can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/liltree/408568481/.

Not too sure

So I already made a post about what I wanted to do. But I don't think were going to be able to do it. Its too iffy because thats not even supposed to be a real walk way. We could some how try to convince administration or whoever doesn't want to let us put it there to make it. We could try to say that no matter what, people are going to use the dirt pathway; so we might as well make it a safer walk way. If we are unable to do this, I'm not too sure what were going to do for our project. Our deadline is coming up very quickly and my group isn't being very organized about this whole project.

Interview #2: PRC

While searching the school for problems and potential administration/teachers/anyone to interview, we came across a little room in the middle of nowhere called the PRC, where we found two helpful IT guys. Our interview went a little something like this:

Student: Do you guys have any Physics related problems that we could solve?

PRC: Yes! Can you please explain why there are so many cracked screens? If you guys could use Physics to figure out why when people wake up, all of a sudden their screens are cracked? That would be helpful.

Students: Laughing

PRC: I think a big problem that we have with the PRC is that many of the students don't know where it is. We want more students in the PRC. They can come here and do their homework or play music. It is another place to hang out that I think most students don't know about Is there somethings we can do to make this place more inviting to students?. When the internet shut down, a lot of people came in.

Student: I think that is true. This place is off in the middle of nowhere.

Tyler: You guys should get some food! Food attracts teenagers and they will come if you guys bring food! You guys should also have a TV or something!

Student: Are there any other problems?

PRC: If you guys could figure out a way, so that when someone drops their computer, then it won't break or the screen would crack. That would be really helpful!

Students: Thank you PRC guys!

This interview made me realize that the PRC is a place that most students don't even know exist, much less where it is located. It seems that students only need the PRC when their computer screens magically crack in the middle of the night (I would blame it on the menehune) or when the internet isn't working. A problem that I think we could solve is the damage done when someone drops their computer. A lot of the times students don't use their bags because it is inconvenient. It is heavy, bulky, and another bag we have to lug around on top of our after schools activity bag and our heavy book bag. I think if we could design a less bulky bag that can constantly stay on the computer, we could solve this problem. It would relate to Physics because it would resemble the egg drop. We would have to make a light bag that would increase the impact time. We could also design a bag that fits in a majority of our backpacks, but still provides a safe place for our laptops.

Idea :D

Today I was walking from home room, and I walked down this dangerous grass/dirt slope. I realized that we could some how fix it. I know we couldn't pave a side walk or anything; but we could some how dig it out a little, and possibly put bricks on it or something. This would help a lot of people because I always see people walking down the dirt. We could possible incorporate physics by talking about friction or something. I'm not too sure yet, but i know that we could find something if my group decides to do this. I was looking for pictures related to this, but I couldn't find anything. So I have a picture of some bricks we could possibly use.

http://imgs.tootoo.com/46/96/46960ac21494ac2aad6447b5828421e1.jpg

Thinking

Today I started thinking about what Aunty Debbie told me; and i realized that everything she mentioned to me isn't really possible. I'm having a really hard time finding something small to do that will still help people out. Everything that I'm thinking of is too big. I think in order to find more things, I need to go out and talk to my friends about it. I need to find someone that has a lot of problems needing to be solved. But maybe it would be better if my group got together and discussed some of these issues. Tomorrows a new day.

Problems About The Bug List

A problem that we are having with our bug list is that the problems are too big. As Mr. Blake said "Its like we are trying to change the world", but with the budget, time and other circumstances, we can change the world just yet. Our project needs a problem that is manageable for time allotted. Once we find a problem that is specific and solve-able, our group will be on the right track. We are planning on interviewing Mr. Fujioka and Ms. Debbie. The administration and teacher insight will hopefully give us a problem to solve. The image was found at http://retro-trut.blogspot.com/2009_10_01_archive.html.

Interview #1: Aunty Debbie

Today I did my first interview. I interviewed Aunty Debbie who works in the office. I asked her a few questions regarding problems around campus; and she didn't have much feed back. One of the issues that that bug her around campus is the Ka'ahumanu parking lot. She says it just doesn't make sense how they have the stalls painted. She also doesn't understand why the entrance and and exit to the parking lot are the same road. Although we probably can not fix this problem, it was nice to hear some feed back from administration about their concerns were.

Solving problems

Our bug list will bug us until we solve the problem. Some of our problems I'm going to address are the stairs, the smell by the boys bathroom, and running out of food at lunch. One way to solve the problem of stairs is to put elevators. This sounds sort of unrealistic, but anything could be possible. A way to make the smell by the boys bathroom better would be to put some sort of air freshener into the bathroom. Running out of food at lunch is a big problem as well. We could possibly solve this by informing Akahi how many students are planning on eating lunch that day. That way they would know wether to make more or less lunch. This could also reduce the waste of food during lunch.