Check Mate!!!

This is the second project for my mat course called Rapid prototyping. The purpose of this project was to design a chess piece and make that chess piece using clay then out of cardboard using 123Dmake and 3-D print it. Everyone was given a partner and and chess piece that they had to work on. We then did a test run as a class and decided that we should make the theme of the entire piece based on the top piece, Ex. if I had the pawn i would make the entire piece using circles. Our group was given the bishop and I feel that we did a pretty good job on it. I learned a lot about how a 3-D printer and how the whole process can be a bit tedious and difficult. I am very proud of the piece my partner and I made because it is very simple but still cool. Learn more about my project in the slideshow below. ENJOY!

Overcoming the Wave

This is the second action project of Walls, an art and history class. for this project we were assigned groups and we had to all take elements of out sketches for the first action project and decide how we would make a collaborative art piece. The purpose of the project was to figure out what sketches/elements from unit 1 we would like to see put into a final piece that would eventually be painted in the new building. In this unit we learned a lot about different materials and also different mediums, so we each chose to do one material and use it to color in the sketch and see which medium we would use in the final mural. I am very proud of the piece we made because even though all of our sketches were different and the meanings behind them did not relate at all we still gathered elements from most of the unit 1 sketches to make a great mural with a lot of meaning behind it.

BKJ
Overcoming The Wave
12/2015
12x3 and 12x5
coarse pumice, soft gel semi-gloss, Acrylic paint, spray paint.
The sketch that my group and I decided to created is a representation of GCE and what we are as a school and a community. The wave is meant to represent other schools such as public and other private schools and basically the “traditional” way of education. The boat represents GCE, a school overcoming and fighting the traditional school system and shaping schools for the future. We also made the boat a banner so we could write “overcoming the wave” which represents that we are overcoming the idea of normal schools and creating our own method of schooling. The people in the boat represents the students and staff and how we would not be able to make the idea of GCE happen without those people. As we were drafting our image we took into consideration everyone's drawing created in the previous unit and tried to find some symbolic element in each one to incorporate into our final image. We all liked the idea of the wave as a symbol of a force to overcome so we took that image. Then we decided to write something symbolic so we took the banner from my original image and turned it into a boat to symbolize us overcoming the wave.

Overcoming the wave, NA, (2015)

The medium I chose to complete my swatches was spray paint because I have a lot of experience using spray paint and it is very easy to manipulate. When using spray paint it is very easy to get clean and crisp lines but you could also take advantage of spray paint being in mist form to do very nice shading. I thought that it would be good to use spray paint for the boat because I visualize the boat as being very clean and well structured such as GCE. After doing my swatch, I was somewhat satisfied but I am used to working large scale so if I had a bigger space to work with then the swatch would be so much better. As a group, we decided that using spray paint for the boat and the people will be effective because it is easy to manipulate

Spray paint swatches, LL, (2015)

 When we got together as a group we decided to incorporate everyone's medium because they all seemed effective to convey one at least one element of the final image. We decided to use the soft gel semi-gloss to do the bottom part of the wave because it has a very wavy texture and it just makes it look like flowing water. we used normal acrylic paint to make the sky because it is very smooth and clean. We decided to make the boat and people spray paint to make very clean and concise lines and also to get good shading in the boat. Lastly we decided to use the coarse pumice to make the foamy part of the wave because it gives it a very good texture and makes it look realistic. I feel like everything would work very well and I don’t really think I would change anything except more colors and details but that’s our part, the materials are perfect for each effect.

Overcoming the wave, LL, (2015)

Overcoming the wave, LL, (2015)

Handmade VS. Computer Made

This is the first action project for my Rapid Prototyping class. This course is all about learning about the new machines that we can use to do crafts and different things. It is also about learning how we can take technology to the next level and what new things we can do with the cutting tools. I learned a ton of math so far and I also learned how to use the cutting machines. This action project is all about the cutting tools and what they can do and comparing them to what we can do by hand so that we can see which one is better and more efficient. I am very proud of the letters I made because at first I was skeptical about the machine and didn't know if I would be able to understand how it works and also cutting with an x-acto knife is not really my specialty so I am proud of the turnout.

Tribute to Logan Square

This is the first Action Project for my "If These Walls Could Talk" art course. The purpose of this project was to select a neighborhood and identify a specific need and address it by creating a mural solving that problem. I chose to do Logan Square and the need that I personally found was that the culture of the graffiti in that neighborhood was being overthrown by more organized murals and installations. I learned a lot about the history of Logan Square and how graffiti has shaped Logan Square as a neighborhood. I am very proud of my image because I feel that I went out of my "normal" art expertise and I still made an illustration that I am very proud of.  I am really proud of the art piece that I created for this Action Project because it will most likely go on my art portfolio for college.

BKJ

Tribute to Logan Square

11/18/2015

11” x 14”

Bristol paper

I chose to do my illustration about Logan Square because I saw a need that lies with the people that go unknown everyday, graffiti artists. In the 80's and 90's, graffiti was a big part of the culture in Logan Square and the neighborhood was filled with graffiti artists. Today, Logan Square is a graffiti desert and is overrun with organized art such as murals and installations.

When graffiti first started it was more integrated into gangs than it is today. Chicago’s gangs began in the 1920s with Al Capone, and by the ‘70s, they grew to include minorities with 600 gang factions with 70,000 gang members. ABC crew was one of the first graffiti crews to start in Logan Square. In 1983, a movie called “Style Wars” showed the graffiti elements broken down. The movie also emphasized the movement created around hip-hop, which included the 5 elements: graffiti, breakdancing, music, DJing, MCing, and Knowledge.

. Perez and a man named Berto became ABC: the “Angel and Berto Crew.” Later, a man named Chris joined, so it was “Angel, Berto and Chris.” This grew to be the “Atomic Bombing Crew,” and, finally in 1985, it was the “ Artistic Bombing Crew.” Flash ABC, a graffiti artist from Logan, said that people created their tags because they were tired of gangs. ABC crew was one of the first graffiti crews to spawn out of Logan and today, members are still respected as legends. Graffiti was first done on the Mega Mall in Logan and became the practicing wall for graffiti writers. As styles grew so did their range of spots. They started spanning all over public transit and soon, ABC crew had 22 spots spanned all over the blue line.

The purpose of my mural is to pay tribute to the old graffiti artist that grew up in Logan Square and to the new-era graffiti artists that still thrive there today. The image is also a revolt against organized art and pushing artists to create at like they used to, which is on the streets and for the most part illegally. I did this by sketching The Eagle statue in Logan Square is the focus of my image because in the 80’s up until today, it has been deemed “The Writers’ Bench.” In the late 80’s until now, the eagle in Logan square has been a meeting point for many writers. Back in the day the eagle was where all the graffiti artists would hang out, sketch, share photos, talk smack and just have a good time. This, in my opinion, is one of the most significant locations, to graffiti artists and that is why I chose it to be the center of attention. To show the importance of the eagle I mimicked the gilding technique used by artists during the Renaissance. The technique is used to show importance and to emphasize the subject  To further emphasize the importance of the Eagle, I’ve added light yellow spots on the eagle to symbolize the sun shining on it showing a bright future. there are cracks on the base of the statue to show that the past is falling apart. Finally,  the banner that spans across the page reads, “Take it back to the streets” because I feel that we need to create art like we used to and move away from more organized art such as murals and installations.

My Investments

This is the second and last action project of our Economics course. The purpose of this project was to make goals that we wanted to achieve in a certain amount of time and then make at least 2 different investments to reach those goals. I learned a lot about how stocks work and how to work the stock market and to actually make money. Another thing I learned was the definition of ROI, asset allocation, P/E. I am proud of my investments because I achieved my goals.

I believe in looking for trends in the market and also look for things that are new within a company that have the opportunity to grow. Also invest on small companies that have the opportunity to grow. watch the stocks everyday and if they are growing enough I will ride it out and if not I will just sell the share and invest in something else. I also believe in investing in companies that have a good reputation in the market and really have not seen big drops in stocks.

According to the Rutgers University’s Risk Tolerance Quiz. I have an above-average tolerance for risk. I am more likely to get into risky situations if my chance of success is greater than my chance of failure but enough money can tempt me into taking a big risk for a big cash reward.

I feel like all of my goals are pretty flexible but my long term goals are a lot more important to me than my short term goals. I will definitely allow for there to be shifts in my short and long term goals if necessary but as for paying of my student loans, that is my main priority. Below are my three financial goals I chose to look at for this project. 

• 1-year goal: Buy a car ($8000)

• 5-year goal: get an apartment $1,850 * 12 = $22,200 for a year -- be able to pay rent for 2 years  - $44,200 

• 25-year goal: buy a Maserati - $182,009

When choosing what to invest in, I had to reflect on my personal investment philosophies to find what companies would be best for me to invest my money in. I believe that the impact I make with my investments can ultimately shape the future and I want to make sure I make the right decisions with my money. If I were to invest in a company I want them to strive to make money cause if they make a good profit then I make a good profit. I also want them to have worker equality because if they are on the news for worker inequality then some people might shy away from shopping/working there and they may lose money. I also want my company to stay up with trends and not lose it relevance (Kodak)

I have chose to invest in Walt Disney Co, and Alphabet (Google) because they are both very successful companies and are innovative and continue to improve on themselves as a company. Even though there industries (entertainment and technology) are very different they have shown to be the lead in terms of the most innovative ideas and products. I feel like these are the companies of the future because Disney shapes the minds of the young and Alphabet (Google) is in my opinion the most innovative company out there as of today. Let me tell you more about my chosen companies.

Walt Disney Co. - Walt Disney Co is unmatched when it comes to the scope of entertainment, with shares in animation, television, film, theme park, and merchandising industries and is guaranteed to grow. Disney also has a P/E ratio of 22.4 compared to an entertainment average of over 100. They do offer dividends, recently $0.66/share. Also Disney is releasing 6+ Star Wars movies. I feel that Disney will do great with this movie just as they have done for many other movies and they will make a huge profit over the years and will hopefully continue to make profit.

I see Alphabet (Google) as one of the most innovative and up to date internet company out there today. I feel like Google is not only staying up to date with what's going on today but they are crafting the future. Google’s parent corporation, Alphabet, has an P/E of 34.86, compared to the industry average of 20.41, Which is not very good at the moment. I feel that Google has many more better years ahead and I am willing to stick with it. Google does not pay dividends to its shareholders.

Portfolio I - 1 year goal

invest 10,000-> ROI of $3,000
Google - ROI 21.9% - $1,980.20 - 2.82 stocks
Disney - ROI 32.1% - $8,019.80 - 70.92 stocks

Portfolio II - 5 year goal

Invest $22,100 --> ROI of $44,200 - ROI of 200%
Google - ROI 57.1% - $1267.44 - 1.8 stocks
Disney - ROI 208.7 - $20,832.56 - 184.23 stocks 

Portfolio III - 25 year goal

Invest $18,456.08 --> ROI $182,009 -->ROI 986%
Google - ROI 858.9% - $18,368.07 - 26.1 stocks
Disney - ROI 27,965.7% - $88.01 - .78 stocks

Stock sector is the industry that a corporation is in such as entertainment, internet, healthcare, energy, utilities and telecommunications. Walt Disney Co is in the entertainment business which means they deal with movies shows and making people entertained. Alphabet (Google) is in the Internet sector and basically that means anything that is online. I have invested in the two industries that I know will constantly be in demand.

The reason I chose to invest in two different stock sectors is because if one year the stocks aren't doing good in the internet sectors then I will still have the entertainment sector to fall back on till the internet rises again.

some assumptions I have made for the purposes of this project were.

1. One assumption I made is that Disney’s P/E will go up due to the 6+ Star Wars movies that are coming out.
2. Google is not doing very well right now but I have high expectations that their stocks will rise.
3. I also overall we have assumed that our plans for the future will stay the same and everything will work out exactly how we want it to

Citations

"Google." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.

"Maserati." Maserati. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.

Investopedia Staff. "Stocks Basics: Different Types Of Stocks."Investopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.

"Google." Google. Google Finance - Yahoo Finance - MSN Money, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.

For the Love of Skateboarding

This is the last Action Project for my Journalism course. The purpose of this project is to write a spot story about an event that you attended. For my spot story, I chose to go to the largest skate park in Chicago - Grant Skate Park. I chose to go there to create my spot story because skating is a very important part of my life and the sport get a bad reputation. I just want to show people the average day of a skateboarder and help get rid of the stereotypes about who we are. While completing this project I also learned a lot about my friend; we never really talk about him as a skater and why he skates. We kinda just skate and go with the flow. Now, since I got to interview him, I know and respect him more after learning his reasons for skating and what skating has done for him. I am proud of the video I made to accompany my spot story, which shows us skating at the park. it was a very fun day and the video of my friend and I skating is pretty cool in my opinion and I hope whoever views it feels the same.

BKJ, Grant clips (2015)

For The Love Of Skateboarding

by BKJ, GCE Chicago 10/24/15

“I don't get up everyday and skate to get known or be professional; I don't really care about that. I do it for the love of the sport and because it keeps me away from bad influences in my life.” These are the words of my friend, Rafael P., who believes that skating is life. As a fellow skater myself, I agree with him and feel that this is how people should view skaters. In reality, we are not all bad people. Rafael first started to skate as a kid in the Philippines because he had a boogie board and thought that skating was the same thing but on land. So he got his first skateboard and from then on he grew to be the kid he is today - one that doesn't go a day without wanting to skate.

On Monday, October 19 at around 3:30 pm, I walked the 8 blocks to Rafael’s house so we could go to the skate park.  Together, we skated to the brown line, which we took to Belmont. Then, we transferred to the red line and took it to Roosevelt. We skated for a block and a half to Grant Skate Park. The ride to the park was for the most part silent (other than the rough sound of skateboard wheels) because we were thinking of tricks that we wanted to get on film and make the best of the day.

The park is almost a full block long and has many obstacles for Chicago skaters to navigate such as the 8 stairs, the 6 stairs, various ramps, rails, rock gaps, marble benches, etc.. Grant is basically all gray besides the orange edges on the ledges and ramps. At the entrance of Grant along the right side there is an artsy stone formation with many colors that extends along the whole wall.

When we arrived at the park, it was rather unusual to hear Rafael say, “damn Grant is surprisingly empty today.” Grant opened Monday, December 8, 2014, and from that day until this one, the park attracts hundreds of people a day. Not only do skaters love going to Grant, but a usual day there will see scooters, bikers and skaters, and even a few people who just want to enjoy and maybe take photographs of the beautiful park. That day, Rafael and I only saw around 50 people, and so, yes, to us this made it feel "empty".

We spent our afternoon at the park casually skating around and when we had thought of something we wanted to film we would take turns filming each other.We eve saw something  unusual thing that happened at the park on that day was that there was a guy who had a pitbull on a leash pulling him around the park for almost 2 hours. I had a great time that afternoon. I felt very accomplished at the end of the day because we got a lot of footage and we landed most of the tricks that we came there for.

On a normal Monday, Rafael and I wouldn't have gone to Grant, but I did not have school since I’d broken my arm playing basketball and had to go to the hospital to get it checked out. Ironic, eh? Still, even though my arm was broken and I was mad that I had to keep the cast on for another 2 weeks, I was still relieved that I could enjoy skating with Rafael.

Rafael had another reason to visit the park that day. He had gotten an IPhone 5s and wanted to film with it using the slow motion feature, so we went to get footage for our skating YouTube channel. What better place to do that than the best skate park in Chicago?

Skaters have always been thought of as dirty, scumbag, potheads that don't go to school and only do bad things and that is not true for all skaters. One of my friends named Henry is a straight A student and he said that skating is fun but the one thing that he hates is that everyone looks at him bad and thinks down about him just because he is on a board.

More people should know about skating. Nowadays people like to assume they know everything about something without really knowing much about it at all, and this leads to all kinds of misconceptions and stereotypes. Not everyone knows about skating, but when people see a skater, they often think of someone who is dirty, has no life, doesn’t go to school, does drugs and other illegal things, and just is an all-around bad person. assumptions like these make me feel like I am being judged every time someone looks at me.

In my personal opinion and experience, skaters are some of the most dedicated, passionate and biggest dream chasers there are in the world of athletics. For a skater to get up from falling down 8 stairs, rolling an ankle and getting bruised and scraped up and have enough willpower and mental strength to get up and try again and again no matter how many times he or she fails obviously shows the greatest levels of dedication and passion for the sport.

For some kids like my friend Rafael, skating is an escape, one that helps to keep him strong, motivated, and free. Rafael "stopped smoking and stealing and hanging out with people that will distract me from following my dreams”. He made the value and importance of skating very clear, and I know this is true and real for many people, not just my friend and I. Skating has given me an escape from problems; when on a skateboard I feel invincible to any negativity. Skating has done so much for me and my friend. I don’t know where i would be in life without skating but I know it would be a bad place.

The Perfect Voice

This is the second Action project for my journalism course. For this project we had to choose a voice that speaks to us and do a podcast explaining why we think this voice is important and what makes it important. I chose to do Morgan Freeman because I feel that his voice is amazing and is one of the best voices out there today. I learned a lot about Morgan Freeman that I never knew like how he was enlisted in the United states Air Force. I am proud of my podcast and all the research I have done about Morgan Freeman. Please enjoy!

Brick Layer

For the first action project of my economics course we were asked to make a plan for our lives after high school. The purpose of this project was to choose two different career paths and see which one worked out. I feel like this project really helped me to figure out what I want to do after high school. Before this action project I had no real idea what i wanted to do after high school  but now I feel like I do. I learned a lot more about the cost of college from this class and also how I will be making a living. I am proud of the work that I did because I made it my own and I wrote about something that I can realistically do in the future.

        



            

A Photo Says 829 Words

This is the first project for my journalism class. The purpose of this project was to act as if we were journalists and go interview someone on the meaning of life and do a 800-1000 word essay including a picture on their responses. I also feel that the main purpose of the project was the picture because the project is “a photo says 1000 words.” I learned a lot about different skills when taking photos and I also learned a lot of things about my mom that I never knew and feel like I’ve gotten closer to her now that I realize how much she has sacrificed for me to make sure I live a good life. One of the most difficult part of this project was the writing because I was brain dead for almost 2 days and had no idea what to write.

BKJ, Praying box. (2015)

My mother, Mrs. L. Johnston, was born in Havana, Cuba during the 1960s, but was brought with her sisters to Chicago on May 5th 1966. She was raised in Chicago in uptown. Growing up, she says was awesome because it was different growing up in Chicago and she said that's all she knew because she went through grammar and high school in Chicago. She said she had a great childhood because they were always outside having fun and everything was great. She has good memories of holidays and long summers mostly the summer days when they would open the fire hydrants and they would all play and all the neighbors knew each other and were like family and there were a lot of other kids on her block. Mrs. L. Johnston also recalled some of the not-so-good things about Chicago at the time including the winter weather because she came from a tropical island and in 1966 it was her first winter and there was almost 23in of snow. Eventually, though, she adjusted and we now survive the Chicago cold together; we’re all used to it.

What I have learned from my mom in the past few years is that she is a very strong and caring woman who still finds the light in everything, even when hard times arise. In her own life, she’s experienced some hardships and continues to face certain challenges, especially with her health, but my mom does so without complaining. Despite having her own problems to deal with, including a serious illness, she finds the strength and patience to take care of her children and grandchildren and always has. My mom has spent over three decades taking care of her family and sacrificing her time and health to make sure that her children are clothed, fed, schooled and taken care of. Even though all of her kids are almost fully grown she is now going out of her way to care for her grandchildren.

Clearly, my mom values family more than almost anything. I asked my mom what the meaning of life was and at first she just said “life is to be born and continue living” but then I made her think more in depth and she thought the meaning of life is knowledge because you start learning from birth and never stop learning until you die. My mom has lived a long and hard life and I have witnessed some of the struggles she has gone through. I asked my mom if her meaning of life has changed and she said that it happened when she had her kids because it taught her compassions and to care for others not just herself. My mom said all her life she did not care about anyone else but herself. She told me that she would see bad things happen and even homeless people and wouldn’t pay much attention and basically only cared about herself but when she had her kids it showed her that life is not always just about yourself, sometimes you have to care for others and show love and compassion to others. she said that sometimes happiness comes from making the people you love happy.

At one point during the interview, we both began laughing hysterically, showing how funny being with my mom can be. Out of nowhere, while responding to one of my questions my pet chicken makes a loud continuous squawk that last for about 20 seconds and me and my mom then look at each other and burst out laughing, the laughing continued for about 2 minutes before we both gathered ourselves and continued the interview. Moments like these show my mom's true personality. She is a fun loving person and a strict but caring mom.
 

I took a picture of the buddhist praying box because it is something that my mom values a lot and practicing Buddhism has, in her words, made her a better person. My mom said that when she started to practice Buddhism her life became better and she started to find light in even the worst situation. My mom said something in the interview that made me think. My mom said “I feel like the purpose of me living is to be a guide, teacher, and mother/grandmother because she can guide the next generation of kids in the right directions and be a role model and mother figure for her kid.” When I chose to take my picture I chose to take a picture of one of the things that changed my mom’s life (buddhism). I chose to make it darker to show the bad times of her life and chose to take a picture of the book and buddhist prayer box to show the life change she went through. I feel that my photograph would be a lot better if I had a better camera but in general it gets to the point and shows exactly what I want it to.

Overturned the Death Penalty

This was my last Action Projects of my Policy course and the last project of my junior year at GCE. The purpose of this project was to choose a case from a list that was given to us and make a Prezi Presentation about the case that basically sums up the history of the case. I chose the 2005 Roper v. Simmons case. The case was about a 17 year old boy that was charged with a very serious crime (read more in my Prezi). I chose this case because I was interested in seeing the outcome of a case of a minor and I'm very interested in how the use of the death penalty has changed. I learned a lot about how this one case changed the history of how america views the death penalty. I am very proud of the Prezi I made and the research I did because I feel that I got the most crucial information from my case. I feel that my Prezi was successful because I took a real interest to the case. Please enjoy My Prezi below and if you have any comments please feel free to leave one in the comment box.

The Alley With a Street Sign

This project was for my math and science course named Urban Planning. I learned a lot about what urban planners do and also how they make places look better. I also learned about what makes certain urban planning decisions good and what makes some decisions bad. I also learned how to rethink how a space is laid out and how you can make it better. The purpose of this project was to choose a city block/blocks and redesign them to make them better. We were asked to change 5 things about the current space and try to make the space the best it can be, thinking about what cities around the world have done to make their streets better. I am proud of the changes I made to my space because now I feel it is at its best and is actually more efficient.

The current space I am redesigning is on Strong street and Pulaski to Strong and Avers in Albany Park. This is meant to be a side street but it is currently used as an alley because it has the feel and look of an alley and has no real use. Nobody ever uses the street and it is close to my house so I use it as a shortcut but it doesn't have a real good use to other people other than me. One of the worse things about this space is it has the look and feel of an alley, it has potholes, it's narrow and has a rusted broken fence. First thing I would do to make this space better is Make it wider, take the fence away, make it feel like an actual street, repave the street to cover the potholes.

My space is a rectangle that is 200 meters by 84 meters and the total area is 16,800 meters^2

The volume of the pyramid on top of the first house is 2,666 and the volume of the rectangular prism under it has a volume of 4,800 the total volume of the house is 7,466. Another one of my houses has the same volume for the rectangular prism (4,800) and the volume of the pyramid on top of the other house is 3,373 and the total volume is 8,173.

A few things that  would do to make the space a little bit better is

1.Take away the garden space on the side of the school

2.Take the ugly dangerous fence and make it a concrete barrier or a brick wall
3.Expand the street
4.Add a sidewalk so the kids still have a walkway next to the school
5.Take Springfield street and make it go through the useless parking lot so it doesn't just stop and start and have the parking lot on one side of the street and the school on the other so kids have less risk of car accidents and don't have to worry while they play.

BKJ, School Sketch (2015)

One thing that inspired me was the alley directly next to Aspira Haugan middle school because currently it is a pretty nice alley that is paved and still bigger than Strong street. London inspired me to change the width of my street because over there the streets are very narrow and I don't think that's a good thing in a place like Chicago.

One way me redesign will make transportation easier is that it adds an extra side street for people to drive through and since I extend Springfield you wouldn't have to go around to get to the next intersection of Springfield so it would be easier to get places using that route. I don't feel that my design would directly effect the houses in the area but it will extend the street which may make it easier to drive on that block because as of now it is a dead end. it will also cut part of the side of the school making the side of the school a bit smaller. I affected the infrastructure of the space by making one road more noticeable and connected an already exciting one.

some of the problems i encountered is that I wanted to expand the street but I didn't know how to cut into the school in one place and make it up by giving back in another place. Then, I realized that the school has a useless garden space directly next to Strong Street that they don't use so I ended up taking that space to extend the street. Along the way I realized that I have to make sacrifices to make things better in the end. If I has to do this project again I would pick a space that has more opportunities for change and can be easily manipulated

The Circuit for the New World

This was the second action project of the Urban Planning course and this unit was all about circuits and electricity. I learned a lot about how a circuit works and what the different components of a circuit are. I also learned about AC and DC currents and which one works better in certain situations. Another thing we learned about is resistors, conductors and insulators. The project is basically asking you to make a full functional circuit with 5 resistors. I am most proud of the speaker and the light because they are both functional and the speaker actually sounds pretty cool and can make different sounds when you press the parallel switch.

MV, Circuit board. (2015) 

The photo above depicts our circuit board with all the wires attached and the photo below shows the circuit diagram my group made.

AG, Circuit Diagram. (2015) 

Lamp: an average bulb takes up 20 watts of energy whereas our bulbs take up 70-90% less energy.
Radio: A radio takes up about 4 watts an hour whereas our hand cranked radio uses 0 watts of energy
Washer: our washing machines use 25% less energy and 40% less water than a regular washer
Dryer: an average dryer would use 3,300 watts and the cost of that load would be $0.36 but hang drying would save $1.08 ever 6 and a half minutes and if repeated about nine times it would save $9.96
Generator/solar panel: on average installing a solar panel instead of a normal generator could cut your energy bill anywhere from 50%-90%

BKJ, Circuit Cover. (2015)

6 batteries each battery is 1.5 volts 9 volts in total. Ohm's law states that voltage = amps x resistance. If we had a resistor of 4.5 ohms the current would be
9 = amps x 4.5
Amps = 2

AC is alternating current which means that it can go multiple paths and each resistor is independent. DC current is direct current and means that it flows in one constant motion and in only one path. Our circuit is direct current because it runs in one path and if you were to disconnect one of the wires then none of the resistors would work. Another thing we learned about direct current is that it always runs on a battery. 

So at first we knew that we absolutely needed 5 resistors and 2 switches so when we got the kit we immediately just started connecting wires and tried to see what worked. After playing around for a bit we eventually got the LED bulb to work and from then on we started to get the kit and the process became easier. After the LED bulb was working we then tried to make the speaker work. In my opinion the speaker was one of the most difficult parts to make work because we had no idea what to connect it to to make it work. After a while we eventually got it to work and connected it to the main and parallel switch so it successfully worked with both. The purpose of the resistors in our design are to stop some of the flow of electricity so the power won't be so strong and blow out the bulb or burn out the speaker. Some of the connections were unsuccessful at first because when we would try to connect two wire to the same circuit sometimes it would create a spark and that basically meant we had to find a new place to put that wire.

CITATIONS

Hamm, Trent. "How Much Do You Really Save By Air-Drying Your Clothes? - The Simple Dollar." The Simple Dollar How Much Do You Really Save By AirDrying Your Clothes Comments. The Simple Dollar, 23 Apr. 2010. Web. 15 May 2015.

"Clothes Washers." Clothes Washers. EnergyStar, n.d. Web. 15 May 2015.

Evans, Tara. "How Much Do Household Gadgets Cost to Run? 16% of Electricity Bills Wasted by Appliances Left on Standby." This Is Money. This Is Money, 26 June 2012. Web. 15 May 2015.

"Light Bulbs." Light Bulbs. EnergyStar, n.d. Web. 15 May 2015.

Hamm, Trent. "Turn Off the Lights to Save Money...But How Much? - The Simple Dollar." The Simple Dollar Turn Off the Lights to Save MoneyBut How Much Comments. The Simple Dollar, 18 Nov. 2007. Web. 15 May 2015.

Americas Policy to Police

This project was for my humanities course called Policy. In this unit we learned about the executive branch and how the president uses his power to make policies. Something I found interesting that we learned was the difference between an executive order and an executive action. The purpose of this project was to choose a war and decide based on facts and events that occurred if the war was a just or unjust war. Then we had to give our reasoning for what we said and what events let you know it was a just or unjust war. I learned a lot about the Vietnam war and all the shady things that the U.S was doing at the time and why we ACTUALLY got involved in the war not just the reasons they told us. I am pretty proud of the research I did and I am also proud of my reasoning for America being wrong in this situation.

National Archives (1966). Long Khanh Fallen. Wikipedia

The Vietnam War was a controversial, long-drawn out war that took place primarily in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos from November 1, 1955 through April 30, 1975. The first U.S troops were deployed to vietnam on January 30 1968. The people involved in this war was North Vietnam And their allies Vietcong versus South Vietnam and their allies the United States. Some of the key strategies used in this war was guerrilla tactics and the Cu Chi Tunnels. The immediate reason this war was fought was because the U.S was afraid that there would be a domino theory and communism would spread. Then there was the underlying reason which was the fake Gulf of Tonkin incident. I feel that this war should not have been fought by the U.S because it was not our problem in the first place. The U.S has no right to tell another country that they cannot be communist if they want to. The U.S always tries to interfere with other countries because I feel that we are scared that if other countries get too powerful then we will no longer be the "best" country anymore.

There were 5 presidential terms during the time of the Vietnam War. The U.S President as the war was starting was Dwight Eisenhower, who got us involved in the war. After the Geneva Accords were signed and Vietnam split into North and South, Eisenhower decided to create the South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) with the intention of stopping Communist influence in Southeast Asia. SEATO, however, was basically used as a cover-up for Eisenhower to build a new nation in the South to fight its Communist neighbors in the North. The U.S Congress also played a big role in the Vietnam War by passing a joint resolution to take military action against the Viet Cong on August 7, 1964 by a vote of 88-2 in the Senate and 416-0 in the House.

One of the most important policies related to the U.S’ involvement in the Vietnam War was created two decades before our country entered the war--the Truman Doctrine. President Harry S. Truman created this policy after the U.S fought in two world wars and basically authorized millions of dollars in military aid and grants to train foreign armies, and the allocation of U.S. military advisors to countries facing Communist threats such as Greece, Turkey, and later Vietnam. This policy was created when the British government announced that it would no longer provide military and economic assistance to the Greek and president Truman asked congress to help Greek against the communists. At that point in time the U.S also had the Neutrality Act which basically meant we won't join wars that don't directly affect us. With Communism on the rise, though, we felt the need to stop it in its tracks before it basically took over the world and we didn't want to be the country that just stood there and did nothing. During the time of the Vietnam War, U.S presidents were very concerned about the domino effect. U.S foreign policy after the Truman Doctrine is still based on this idea that America's job is to act like the number one police nation and if we feel that a country is being controlled or is starting to be controlled by a dictatorship, then it is our duty to go fight against them.

In conclusion, the U.S involvement in the Vietnam War was unjust. Specifically, the Truman Doctrine was a good idea, but as a foreign policy for this many years it has turned out to be a bad idea because even now America feels that it has to invade or fight every time that we feel something wrong is going on in another country. While I can understand why America wants to stop Communism, but I just don’t get what is so bad about the idea of that political system in general. If it’s the right thing to do for other countries, what makes us feel like it’s our duty to go to those places and stop it? We don’t have to choose Communism for ourselves, and should let other countries make their own political decisions. The U.S should spend its time cleaning up its own country--we’re not perfect, but we pose as if we are. So, instead of trying to make other countries more like us, we should practice what we preach.   

Works Cited

Nichols, Christopher M. "Consequences of the Truman Doctrine." OUPblog. OUPblog, 22 May 2014. Web. 13 May 2015.

"The Truman Doctrine, 1947 - 1945–1952 - Milestones - Office of the Historian." The Truman Doctrine, 1947 - 1945–1952 - Milestones - Office of the Historian. Office of the Historian, n.d. Web. 13 May 2015.

Shmoop Editorial Team. "Politics in The Vietnam War." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 13 May 2015.

Allison, Carolyn. "What Role Did the U.S.. Congress Play in the Vietnam War?" What Role Did the U.S.. Congress Play in the Vietnam War? ChaCha, 2012. Web. 13 May 2015.

Rexy. "Who Were U.S Presidents during the Vietnam War? - The Vietnam War." The Vietnam War. The Vietnam War, 26 Nov. 2012. Web. 13 May 2015.

Stop Gun Violence

This is the first action project for the Politics class. The purpose of this project was to pick a current policy or a policy that we want to see incorporated. After we have picked a policy we are to write to a political person and tell them about our view and what we want to happen. I learned a lot about the current gun policy in Chicago and also how many people get killed every year. I am proud of the way my letter turned out and I am really hoping that my letter will make an impact and I will see less people dying around my neighborhood.

Brandon Johnston

GCE Lab School

1535 N. Dayton

Chicago, IL 60625

April 22, 2015

The Honorable Mayor Rahm Emanuel

121 N LaSalle St.

Chicago City Hall 4th Floor

Chicago, IL 60602

Dear Mayor Emanuel:

I understand that you are a very busy person and have a lot of things on your plate seeing as that you the Mayor of Chicago. But, I have a problem that needs immediate attention: gun violence in Chicago. One day, while driving along the south side of Chicago, I saw a man with a gun in his pants (out in plain view). When police asked him if he had a permit, he turned and responded, "Am I being detained?" The police told him "no", so he said, "Then, have a nice day", and proceeded to walk away. It surprises me and scares me a little that basically anyone can carry a gun and if they know their rights, they will not get in trouble for it.

My name is Brandon Johnston and I am a junior at GCE Lab School here in Chicago, IL. I am writing you this letter because I believe that the gun violence issue in Chicago has become so bad that that is what Chicago is most known for. I find it sad that when a Chicagoan comes up to someone who is not from here, the first topics that come up are guns, gangs, drugs and killings. Gun violence has become such a common issue that it is starting to go on ignored and is basically becoming a part of the norm for Chicago. Every summer it gets worse, as the weather gets hotter more and more of my childhood friends get gunned down by some idiot who was trigger happy, I see nothing happening to remedy this constantly growing issue.

I applaud your efforts to address gun violence in our city, and agree that it’s Chicago’s “most urgent problem”. I support your current proposal, which does the following:

• all gun sales would be videotaped
• gun buyers can only buy one gun a month
• gun shops not allowed in 500 feet of schools and parks
• increased police presence
• background checks and training to spot gun traffickers for employees in gun shops
• inventory audits for gun stores to track gun thefts
• 72-hour waiting period to buy handguns and 24-hour waiting period to buy rifles and shotguns

But, I also want you to change some of these conditions because I still feel that they are being too lenient. Just because you video tape someone buying the gun that does not mean that they won't resell it after the transaction. Instead of just videotaping them I also feel like there should be a monthly checking with a police officer at that person's house to see if they are still in possession of  the gun. How many guns does one person need? I feel like one gun a month is still way too much because honestly nobody should need twelve guns a year and I feel like that condition should at least be changed to two guns a year. I do agree that gun shops should not be allowed within 500 feet of schools and parks but, the only flaw I see in that is that people have cars and they can travel and you can't always tell who is carrying a gun and who isn't so it would be hard to detect someone with a gun. The only condition that I believe in 100% is more police presence. With more police patrolling I feel like gun violence will go down because most people don't have permits and do not want to get caught so they will probably be less shootings. Background checks are a great way to cut down on violence also but I do not understand how anybody can positively spot a gun trafficker. Checking inventory is always a smart decision especially when people want the product for illegal use. To cut down on stealing guns make a harsh punishment of caught and people will be less likely to steal them.

Bridge Breaking

In this unit we talked about forces, load, and triangles. The purpose of this project is to make a bridge only using 50 popsicles sticks and white glue. The requirements are that the bridge will have to have a length of at least 1 foot and support a weight of at least 5 pounds. I learned about triangles and how they are the best for most structures because they distribute weight equally. I also learned a lot about the different types of bridges and when a certain type of bridge is used.

At first my partner and I were thinking about making an arch bridge, but it turned out that we didn't have enough time to make the material bend. So we decided that we would look up more basic designs and found that the truss bridge is used for short distances because of its stability. A few sketches later we had found our design that is based on the Bridge L-158 design.

Our sketch to model ratio 1cm. : 1inch.

Our bridge is 18 inches long and about 3.5 inches tall. For angles we mostly used 90 degrees, but for the truss itself we used 60 degree angles. Out of the 50 Popsicle sticks that we were given we used all of them. 

At first we were going to design an arch bridge, but then we had to think of easier bridges that didn't require that much time and material, yet were just as strong as an arch bridge. So that's when we decided to do a truss bridge. At first we had a general design that we were going to stick to, but we had to pay attention to the most vital parts of the bridge. For example the base of it had to be pretty sturdy to keep the truss system in place. For the base we started with two layers of sticks, but it could still snap too easily, so we added one more layer to re-enforce it. Also when it came to building the truss system I had to make little notches at the base so that they would stay in place while the glue dried.

My main issue was the fact they all we had to work with was Elmer’s white glue, which takes a really long time to dry. So what happened was that I just needed to plan wisely and hope for the best that it wouldn't fall apart overnight. Another issue was that when we made measurements for the bridge and had plans, some of the parts of the bridge didn't match up like we planned so we had to improvise. What I learned from both of these issues is that you always have to expect the unexpected.

Citations

"Bridge L-158." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Jan. 2015. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

"Parts of a Roof Truss." Roof Truss. QuinStreet, 2015. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.