Blog Assignment #6

This class has pushed me to the limits improving my writing skills way more than any other English class that I've taken in the past. At the beginning of this class I didn't have any idea of how to write a memorandum, a technical description or a recommendation report. I didn’t even know what those documents looked like, but now I can thanks to this technical writing class. Not too long ago I was struggling just by writing an essay, but now I can even write a recommendation report with all the kind of documents that make part of it like abstracts, executive summaries, introduction, method procedures, results and recommendation.  This is very important to me since just a few years ago I couldn’t even speak English at all.

Now that we are at the end of the class I can say that it’s been fun to improve this much in such a short time and to learn so many different things like researching for a presentation or an assignment on pages different than google and Wikipedia. Now I can really do a descent research using many other resources and encyclopedias available at our library or through my computer using also the library databases. Also I improved my citations and how to include references on all of my documents to give credit to all those that helped us by publishing the documents and performing the studies or researches.

Its also vital to thank the instructor for making this a very fun class and I loved the idea of using a personal website so simple and easy to use that made our lives easier. Seriously there is nothing to improve to your website or your class professor.

Thanks

Luis Arango

Blog Assignment # 5

Nikon D3200 vs Canon Eos Rebel T3i

According to an article written by Jim Fisher from PC MAG the Nikon D3200 model  is the companies base level camera, but still good enough to call the attention of photographers looking for their first interchangeable lens camera. This camera shoots 24 megapixels pictures works perfectly under low light and auto focus constantly when recording videos for a better experience when capturing the moments that you want to treasure.

The size of its body in inches is  3.8 by 5.0 by 3.1 and its weight is one pound. It comes with a 18-55mm lens and uses pentamirror designs which means that five mirrors capture the light of the lens and sends it to the eye of the photographer. It also has a rear three inch LCD view with a 4:3 display of 941k dots of resolution. A big problem for some people its that the Nikon D3200 was not designed with the idea of focusing manually, which is one of the most fun things on photography, but on the other hand it has programmable modes that help beginners to take full advantage of its new toy.

Nikon D3200 $529.99  Lowest Price Found at 42^nd street photo.

According to Will Greenwald in another article from PC MAG the Cannon Rebel T3i fits perfectly in a midlevel SLR camera. It comes with an 18-55mm lens included when you buy it but one of the most notable features it’s the 3 inch LCD rotational screen with a 1042k dot display. The size of this camera in inches is 3.9 by 5.2 by 3.1 and has a weight of 1.14 pounds. The Cannon Rebel T3i has an 18 megapixel sensor and capable of shooting videos at 1080p at 30 fps. The Rebel T3i its pretty fast when capturing pictures having an average speed of about 2.6 pics per second in normal mode, which means that you can just gun and run with this toy during excursions. The great disadvantage of this camera is the lazy focus when trying to record a video. It takes forever and doesn’t auto focus constantly, with this being said you need to manually focus to have a great quality during video recording. In the other hand this is exactly what some photographers like, to have that direct communication with the machine while operating.

Canon Eos Rebel T3i  $599.00 Lowest price at B&H Photo Video

The Decision is yours.

The reason I picked this topic is because I want to buy a camera for the summer and after the previous review  it can be said that each camera has its advantages over the other. While the Nikon has more resolution that the Cannon with a 24 megapixel compared to the 18 megapixels Cannon has de advantage of offering a more close relation with the camera by being able of manual focusing when operating. In the other hand the Nikon was not designed with that purpose. The size and weight are almost the same with the Nikon being slightly smaller and lighter. Both cameras seem to be a great purchase for a beginner photographer. In my case I think I will chose the Nikon for its 24 megapixel captures which outclasses the Cannon Rebel T3i.

References:

Fisher, Jim. " Nikon D3200 Review & Rating | PCMag.com ." Technology Product Reviews, News,  
             Prices & Downloads | PCMag.com | PC Magazine. PC MAG, n.d. Web. 3 June 2013.
            <http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2405781,00.asp>.

Greenwald, Will. " Canon EOS Rebel T3i Review & Rating | PCMag.com ." Technology Product  
             Reviews, News, Prices & Downloads | PCMag.com | PC Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 June
             2013. <http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2393108,00.asp>.

Blog Assignment # 4

NAO Next Gen : the new robot of Aldebaran Robotics

Robots have been coming out for quite some time already, some of us remember the star wars movie where the first robots appeared. Now we live in a different time where technology has been climbing at an unstoppable pace.

On this video it can be seen the technical description of the robot NAO Next Gen from Aldebaran Robotics. Some of its capabilities like walking, standing, talking, listening and face recognition. Its amazing how it can talk back to a person and even in eight different languages. Some of its hardware components include the CPU processor which is an Intel atom of 1.6 GHz. Some other components that gave him the ability to perform most of its functions are 4 microphones located on the head at different angles, two loud speakers located on its ears and WIFI abilities. The video clearly states that this model is an updated version and better than its predecessor. As time passes every new NAO seems to get closer to human interactions like in this case, the NAO can communicate with a person and even do some moves within its 25 degrees of movement.  25 degrees of movement!!!  I bet it will be more than that in a few years. Something very nice of this little robot it’s that if it falls, it can stand back by itself.

Artificial intelligence commonly known as AI is the study based on trying to simulate through computers things that humans can do.  According to McGraw-Hill (2005) Artificial Intelligence is a subfield of computation related with understanding the nature of intelligence used through computers build capable to use it. It focuses on creating computers more and more sophisticated to help us in our lives by being able of doing things that only humans were able to do. Some of the activities of this computers are problem solving, store information, learning and even planning. The main purpose of AI is to create an intelligent product capable of simulate the acts of humans and even to outclass them in some fields like speed, memory but, still it won’t be able to think!

The video shows some aspects of NAO to be considered Artificial Intelligence. Since it follows the principle of being a humanoid form acting through a computer software programed in a computer and operated by a computer processor inside the robot. Thinks like listening, learning, remembering are the ideas of engineers to create a humanoid robot that will help the human being in the future. In my opinion I think that NAO is the pure example of Artificial Intelligence since it’s the dream of creating an Artificial human.

References:

"NAO Next Gen: the new robot of Aldebaran Robotics - YouTube. "YouTube. AldebaranRobotics,
         n.d. Web. 2 June 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNbj2G3GmAo>.

"Artificial Intelligence." Mcgraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. 5th ed.
          New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2005. 176-177. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web.
          2 June 2013.

Blog Assignment # 3

Fragment of my Memo:

          "The purpose of this memo is to expose the results of an evaluation about traffic safety for students when arriving and leaving the campus. The Committee to improve traffic safety on campus found unsafe and dangerous conditions that the students are facing every day when crossing the streets adjacent to La Guardia Buildings and also has a proposition to address this safety violations. The possibilities of seeing a student being struck by cars are endless considering that there are around 18000 students crossing at least twice a day more than one of these streets and sadly one tragic accident already took the life of a student right across the street in front of the campus".

           I choose the traffic danger scenario because its more related to my major which is civil engineering. Also because  the way that accident happened in front of the campus inspired me to write about what could be a possible solution to improve  the safety of the pedestrians, in this case more than 18000 students plus teachers and staff. In my memorandum one of the solutions was to install more bollards along the Thompson avenue, especially the corner where the minivan jumped the curb killing a young student and also campaigns instructing students to be aware of their environment when walking the streets, that accident could have happened anywhere but also could have been prevented if there was a bollard to stop the car.

          I really enjoyed writing that professional memo, it was the first time that I wrote something giving so much details specifying a purpose a summary and a detailed discussion. this new level of writing has been exciting for me even when my native language is not English and that I haven't been able to practice  more technical writing, but still I think that a memorandum is a concrete piece of  writing with a specific purpose to deliver an important message and thanks to Eng 259 now I am able to write one.

Blog Assignment #2

Oh Goody, a D Plus!

By Fawn Johnson

Correspondent, National Journal

            The American Society of Civil Engineers releases a report card every four years grading America's infrastructure. In march of 2013, it was released again, but showing a GPA of "D plus" for the current state of the Nation's infrastructure. According to Fawn Johnson, "there is some mild good news" since it appears to be a slight improvement compared to the grades from 2009 and 2005 which were a steady " D" at that time. Johnson also states that in order "to get an A under ASCE's framework, the utility under its inspection needs to be "exceptional". Which has never occurred and the best overall grade has been a C in 1988. Still ASCE's made clear that the way of grading 15 years ago was different from today. However a good notice seems to be the increment in the recycling rate which doubled since 1980.

          According to Johnson article's, these mediocre grades have something good after all because it shows the necessity of keep pushing to invest  more fixing or building infrastructure. That message got to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jhon Rockefeller who used the report to create a fund and the Transportation Department also used the report to propose an increase in the Federal gas tax collection.           

          Fawn Johnson is a correspondent of National Journal and in this professional blog she gave us some facts and background about Americas previous grades in infrastructure. I disagree with the mediocre grades given by the ASCE's, being severe and exaggerated but at the same time I can understand them as a way to push for a better infrastructure which would be nice. The main idea of Johnson's blog is the D plus grade received for 2013 report card and ho it slightly improved from the previous one. As a future civil engineer I can't deny that the roads, bridges and tunnels that we use every day are the arteries of our cities and with a better infrastructure comes a better economy and more peace for our citizens.

Refferences:

          Johnson, Fawn, "Oh Goody, a D Plus!. National Journal. Published  March 25, 2013. http://transportation.nationaljournal.com/2013/03/oh-goody-a-d-plus.php. Accessed on April 29, 2013.

     

Welcome to my Blog.

     My name is Luis Arango and I'm a Civil Engineer student. My future plans are to graduate from La Guardia Community College in order to start attending City College of New York. The reason why I chose Civil Engineer its because I believe that the progress and infrastructure of any city is connected with Civil Engineering.
      I have a close relationship with technology since I use it every day either with my cellphone, tablet, laptop, Xbox or even with my car. I like every kind of new technology since It's making our lives easy and its even easier to think that most people feels the same way since we use it every day to connect ourselves to the world to have fun, to study or to work. I don't consider myself to be a writer but I do love to read anything that I find and for that I use my tablet most of the time.


Luis Arango.