Henry's Web Log

Saturday we hosted the 2nd Roanoke Roboparade at the Science Museum of Western Virginia as part of the outreach for STEM in the Roanoke Blacksburg Technology Council.

In this video you get a good feel for the event. We had about 70 folks attend, with a respectable amount of casual foot traffic stopping to see the parade. The Roanoke Robotics Club had several entries, and took some GREAT photos.

The video also shows my family at various points: Lisa is helping with workshops, Ethan appears in his panda hat, and Eric was featured as a Team 401 member with their basketball robot. I'm mostly with my back to the camera, helping build some robots in the workshops and announcing the parade.

Note the commentary at the end: Kalista's remarks about penguins eating you in your sleep brought the cameraman/interviewer to a halt!
Backstory: we were helping two sisters, ages 5 & 9, build a robot in the parade. Their mom told us that they had made a family decision to delay moving today in order to build a robot, which has been a dream of their daughters. As it turns out, their dad was so impressed with the activity that he drove in to work and got his camera gear- he's on the staff of Fox 21/27 news!

Eric and Ethan square off at our local BestBuy.

Actually, it's pretty amazing that Kinect can focus in on two people at the same time, in a busy store, and translate their actions quickly to to the onscreen avitars.
First Person Shooters in the future?

I was smitten with the new features Apple announced for the new iPad. I have an iPad2, and it has replaced many notebooks, laptops and clutter in my life. The rumored features of the new iPad (Quad processor, 4x resolution with retina display, and possibly, dare we dream, 4G network?) all came true. Plus, an unexpected new feature, time travel. Take a look at my iTunes screen capture below.

.
Mine arrived this weekend. I backed my old one up, then noticed that my PC's date was off: it was set a day forward. I fixed that, then connected the new iPad to restore.
Thus, the very interesting message above, "Last Backed Up: Tommorrow, 11:14AM." Now THAT would be a cool feature. Take a look at tomorrow's closing stock prices today, and stop myself from writing that damaging email before I even send it out. Well worth the price!

In 2006, ACI started working with Howard Sadler and his development team on a great concept: software to organize your life.

That’s only stretching it a little bit: Record Tree is an expertly designed tool to collect all the important things in your life, so that if you become seriously ill, someone can manage your affairs. This has immense appeal to those of us who have served in the military for any long deployment, anyone in healthcare who has seen the impact a sudden illness has on a family, and anyone who wants to be proactive for the benefit of loved ones.

We built an extensive inventory of important documents, and the key details about those documents, but we do not try to duplicate or store those documents. That wouldn’t be admissible in court, and might not be the latest version. But, knowing where every document is, and who the important contacts are, from your attorney to your lawn care, is essential in carrying on.

In 2006, our software was built around a SQL-Express database and enterprise-level tools. We made a robust application when what we really needed was a light, single-client application. Now, in March 2012, we have our new product! Thanks to the persistence of Howard, tireless work by Jason, and valuable input from many enthusiastic customers, we have a java-based version. The premise is the same: a standalone application that needs no Internet connection, and allows up to six family members to store every document and detail, then print reports from a handy wallet-card, to what we call the refrigerator report*, to an entire inventory.

Record Tree has a clean, new website, and is now compatible with all Windows platforms, and Macintosh systems above 10.6. Six years later, the vital documents and research is still just as relevant. Keeping this information private, until it needs to be shared with the right person, is still just as important.

Record Tree has a website, hosted and maintained at ACI.

*Refrigerator Report: a one to two page report you hang on your fridge. Emergency Response personnel often check this location for quick info on medications, emergency contacts, preferred physicians, allergies and medical alert conditions.

In the last two weeks, our family has been delighted to participate in two exciting state-level robot competitions!
March 3rd & 4th was the FIRST Tech Challange State competition. Ethan and the Tuxedo Pandas got their first look at this competition, and were delighted to finish 14th out out 24 in their division, plus be picked early for an alliance run-off team. Team 4924 is made of 5 Seventh graders, and 1 Eighth grader, competing against High-School teams from acrosss the state.
Here's a 14-minute video of our ALL DAY experience. Well, more like all year, since team 4924 is officially 1 year old today!



Then, last weekend, Eric participated with Team 401 in the FIRST Robotics Challenge Virginia regional competition, finishing 17th among 59 entries, and had the 4th highest hybrid-period score. This 2:15 minute clip briefly shows some of the field-level action. Team 401 is the tall robot you see in the clip still-frame below.




So what's next? Well, there's always something! Eric is going to the North Carolina FRC tournament in a few weeks, and Ethan's team is preparing for the Roanoke Robot Parade.
Roanoke Robot Parade: May 12th, 2012