Andrew Halef's Webpage


(8/8/16-8/12/16)
Over the course of week 1 in Priciples of Engineering Class, we learned the basics of how the class operates and its curriculum. We were, at seperate times, introduced to the Tech Room by Mr. Miller, who showed us and articulated to us the different parts of the Tech Room and a variety of tools used in the room. On Wednesday, Mr. Neat helped us begin the Spaghetti Bridge Project and showed us how we would be graded based on our calculated results. We then continued working on the project on Thursday. Lastly, on Friday, we learned how to create our own websites, which we will continuously work on.

Spaghetti Challenge Document

(8/16/16)
Today in Principles of Engineering Class, we finished learning the basics of how to maintain our websites. After learning the basics, Mr. Neat instructed us to write about what we did over the course of the first week in his class. He then showed us how to view our webpage and how to save and reload the page whenever we needed to. After working on the entry, we shut down the computers and left for Period 6.

(8/17/2016)
Today in Priciples of Engineering Class, because it was Wednesday, we worked on the Wednesday Spaghetti Bridge Challenge. My group, named Group, and I worked on gluing the final parts of the bridge, which took us approximately 15 minutes. We then safely put the bridge away and waited for the bell to ring for Period 6.

(8/18/2016)
Today in Priciples of Engneering Class, we updated our websites and learned more about how to maintain them. Now that Mr. Neat has showed us more about how to maintain our websites, I find it slightly easier to update my website, but there is still more to learn about it.

(8/19/2016)
Today in Principes of Engineering Class, we worked on constructing the final parts of our Spaghetti-Bridge Project by gluing the triangular pieces together to form a triangular-prism type of bridge. We realized that we were making great progress and that this was probably going to be one of the strongest spaghetti bridges because, based on the design, it would take probably twice as much weight to topple our bridge than a flat one.

(8/22/2016)
Today, all we did was update our websites and learn the very basics of the SketchUp application. Mr. Neat showed us how to use two viewing tools in the application as well.

(8/23/2016)
Today, all we did was update our websites, but doing this repeatedly has now made it easy for me to perform these updates. However, we still have more to lean about working on our websites, which will probably get more complicated.

(8/24/2016)
Today in Priciples of Engineering Class, because it was Wednesday, we worked on our spaghetti bridge projects. Since we are nearly done with our project, my group just glued the very final pieces of the bridge together, and we will let it dry and see if it is completely ready for testing. Our bridge seems very strong, so I am expecting us to get one of the highest scores in the class on it.

(8/25/16)
Today, Mr. Neat instructed us on how to copy links from his website and from the SketchUp website. However, my computer was not working properly because it was not loading onto the homepage. Although, it was frustrating, luckily, it wasn't crucial for me to be able to use the computer that specific day.

(8/26/16)
Today, the "veterans" instructed us on how the JPL Invention Challenge. However, I didn't listen to all of it because Jacob told me to come, and he helped me make my website go live, which was a success.

(8/27/16-8/28/16)
On Saturday, I went to the La Crescenta Library to complete my homework while my younger brother and younger sister completed what they were instructed by my parents to do at home. After that, my dad picked me up and also picked up my brother from his friend's house and drove us home where I was allowed to invite my friend Jonathan to come over for a few hours. On Sunday, my family, as we do every Sunday, went to our Orthodox Christian Church, St. Ephraim. After we came home, we watched some television and waited for Monday for school to start.

(8/29/16)
Today, all we did was work on getting everyone to be able to use FileZilla. Additionally, Mr. Neat made sure that everyone was up to date on how to be able to properly use the website, and I was able to get up to date successfully.

(8/30/16-9/1/16)
On Tuesday, we worked on our spaghetti bridges. My group and I are already done building the bridge, and all we did was see if there was anything we could do to improve it, but it seemed to have been complete, except we removed a puny, unnecessary piece from it. On Wednesday, I did not really do much except update my website. Since my group and I are finished constructing our bridge, we are just waiting for it to completely dry for testing. On Thursday, the class tested their bridges, and my team's bridge seemed to be one of the best ones in the entire class.

(9/2/16-9/5/16)
I enjoyed this 4-day weekend because it gave me a break from school and because I was able to visit my relatives and my friend. On Thursday, my siblings and I slept over at our aunt's house. On Saturday, I completed my homework. On Sunday, my family and I went to Church. Finally, on Monday, I went to my friend Jonathan's house for a few hours.

(9/6/16)
Today, Mr. Miller gave us the scores on the Spaghetti Bridge Challenge. I knew my team's score would turn out to be one of the highest ones in the entire class, and we turned out to be third place. Our exact score was 11.36, which is a great score to get.

(9/7/16)
Today, Mr. Neat gave us a Wednesday Challenge problem: how would you make a machine/robot be able to detect the difference between a cat and a dog. My group and I decided that, for this to work properly, we would place a dog and a cat in seperate piles of mud-like dirt, later remove them, and then allow their paw prints to dry out. Then the machine/robot would scan the seperate paw prints and say either "Dog" or "Cat".

(9/9/16) Today, for the entire period, the veterans talked about their progress for the Goldfish Invention Challenge, and their progress is good. They, in addition, showed us a detailed model of what the challenge looked like on the Sketch-Up application.

(9/10/16-9/11/16)
On this weekend, I didn't really do much. On Saturday, I completed all my homework, which took about 3 hours. On Sunday, my family and I went to Church.

(9/12/16)

Today, we worked on the Sketch-Up application and learned how to construct "buildings".

(9/13/16)
Today, Mr. Neat taught us how to perform another task on the SketchUp application, which was to be able to build a jenga block, andf it wasn't successful for me.

(9/14/16)
Today, Mr. Miller assigned us a Wednesday Challenge to be able to cut down a wooden block to make it precisely two inches long. To do this, we measured the block to two inches, then went into the Tech Shop, used a hand-saw to cut it down to the required length, and then sanded it down a little to make it precisely two inches. However, we were a little off when we did it the first time, so we had to do it again.

Block of Wood Wednesday Challenge

(9/16/16)
Today, the veterans presented to us their different ideas on how they would perform the JPL Invention Challenge. Each group seemed to have great ideas, but the one that I thought would be the most efficient was the vacuum idea of sucking up the fish, using a vacuum machine, through a small system of tubes to land it in the cup.

(9/17/16-9/18/16)
I didn't do much on the weekend except finish my homework on Saturday at the La Crescenta Public Library and go to Church with my family on Sunday.

(9/21/16)
Today, we performed another Wednesday Challenge that involved half of the class (#1s) trying to move a marble through a system of open tubes without touching each other to drop a marble in a bag at the end of the line, and the other half (#2s) did the exact same thing. Our team (#1s) got more marbles in the bag, but, in Mr. Neat's opinion, the other team won because of better teamwork.

Marble Challenge Document

(9/22/16)
Today, Alex taught the class how to insert a video into our website. Additionally, Mr. Neat articulated to us that he would be grading our websites over the weekend, so I am hoping that mine will recive an A.

(9/24/16-9/25/16)
Over the weekend, I finished all my homework on Saturday, and my family and I went to Church on Sunday. Additionally, I studied for my Spanish quiz after Church.

(9/26/16)
Today, Mr. Neat showed the class the scores he gave the websites over the weekend. He also told us about the way he graded the websites, and he told us that if we got a better score the next time he graded the websites, the first score would be erased. However, if we got a worse score, he said that he would average out the two scores.

(9/28-29/16)
On Wednesday, Mr. Neat presented to the class another Wednesday Challenge. The challenge is to construct an arch bridge out of only one material that has to stand without the use of any type of adhesive. Additionally, the material cannot be connected together (Legos). We have not come up with any permanent ideas for this project. However, on Thursday, we decided that making an arch bridge out of pieces of cardboard would work as an option. We still are not 100 percent sure, though.

(9/30/16)
Today, the veterans presented to us their improved ideas on the JPL Invention Challenge. The two ideas that I thought were the most accurate was the "Kevin Arm" and the vacuum idea. I liked the Kevin Arm specifically because it looked like it had a high chance of winning the challenge.


Link to Mr. Wilton's Website


(10/1-2/16)
Over the weekend, I went to the La Crescenta Public Library to complete my homework, which took about 5 hours. My brother came along with me and was able to finish his homework in a shorter amount of time. On Sunday, my family and I went to Church.

(10/3-6/16)
Almost this entire week, my group and I worked on our bridge. We decided that it would be best for us to construct it out of dense foam, so my dad brought a large piece of it from his work and helped me cut out the pieces. My first model of the bridge was not sufficient for the competition and did not follow all of the rules. My second model was sufficient, yet I realized that the score would probably not be that high. My last model involved the pieces being smaller and cut at an angle so that the pieces could be built off of each other and held in between each other, with a center piece of course, allowing the score to be higher than the other models. The competition was held on Thursday, and we received a score of 7.2.

Arch Bridge Link

(10/7/16)
Today, Mr. Neat presented to the class the Arch Bridge Scores, and, to my team's disappointment, we came in 2nd place. Garen's group won with a score of 9.1, and their model was shaped the exact same way my group's bridge was. However, instead of using dense foam as my team did, they cut out and used cube-shaped pieces of erasers, making their bridge much smaller than ours, but their score was higher than us. Additionally, the JPL Invention Challenge group modified and presented to the class, and Mr. Wilton, their ideas on the Goldfish Challenge.

(10/8-9/16)
Over the weekend, I completed my homework at the La Crescenta Public Library, but my brother didn't come with me. Afterwards, my dad took our family to Sakura for dinner, and the sushi was awesome. On Sunday, my family and I went to Church.

(10/10/16)
Today, Dr. Neat taught us about making components in the SketchUp Application. He instructed us to make a jenga block, make a component, and repeatedly copy the figure so that we would be able to make a staircase, and my staircase turned out to be successful.



(10/11/16)
Today, Mr. Neat instructed us to work more on SketchUp and repeated to us the concept of making components and staircases. Additionally, he taught us the basics of rounding the edges of the squares we make, which is still confusing to me.

(10/12/16)
Today, Mr. Miller presented to the class another Wednesday Challenge: make a tower of cards as tall as you can. My team received a score of 6.5 inches, and the winning team, Artur's, received a score of 13.5 inches.

Card House WC

(10/13/16)
Today, Mr. Neat instructed us to work more on the SketchUp application with the same concepts of making components and rounding square edges.

(10/14/16)
Today, the JPL Invention Challenge Group presented to the class their modified machines for the Goldfish Challenge, and my favorite one is still the Kevin Arm because I believe it is the most accurate machine and, in my opinion, it looks the coolest.

(10/15-16/16)
Over the weekend, after going to the La Canada Library and completing my homework there, I watched "Lone Survivor" with my younger brother at home around 10:00 o'clock, which was a great movie. On Sunday, my family and I went to Church. Additionally, after going to Church, my family and I ate a great chicken and rice lunch.

(10/17/16)
Today, I was able to catch up on the SketchUp tasks by completing my model of a card with rounded edges. After Mr. Neat articulated to me how to be able to measure the actual card's rounded edges and how to round the edges on SketchUp, I was able to perform the task successfully.



(10/18/16)
Today, I went into the computer area of the Tech Shop with Mr. Miller and several other people, where we worked on the Safety Course. I had trouble logging in, however, because I forgot my password, so Mr. Miller instructed me to use the Forgot Password Link, which also didn't seem to work. Eventually, after typing "passwords" that I thought would work, I eventually typed in the right one and became logged into the Safety Course where an assignment was waiting for me to complete, which I completed at home.

(10/19/16)
Today, the class was assigned another Wednesday Challenge: using three straws, create a right triangle with a PERFECT 90 DEGREE ANGLE. Additionally, we were allowed to create our own groups, and, after people came up with the idea, Mr. Miller even allowed the entire class to be one group, meaning everyone could possibly receive an A for the challenge. Furthermore, I came back to the class after school to complete my website and turn it in on FileZilla so that Mr. Neat could great it, and I am aiming for a perfect score. Below is an image of the pencil I created on Sketch-Up for an assignment Dr. Neat assigned, and I did this after school as well.



(10/20/16)
Today, we continued to work on the Wednesday Challenge.

(10/21-23/16) I enjoyed my 3 day weekend. My brother and I were at my aunt and uncle's house until 3:45 while my sister was at Disneyland with our aunt, cousin, and our mom. I was able to complete my math homwework at my aunt and uncle's house as well. On Saturday, I went to the La Canada Library and completed most of the rest of my homework there. On Sunday, after my family and I went to Church, I completed the rest of my homework.

(10/24/16)
Today, Dr. Neat presented to the class the scores from the previous Wednesday Challenge, and my team did not win. We had decided to join the Mega Team, which did not turn out to be such a good idea because I am almost positive that a few people in our Mega Team did nothing to help with the Wednesday Challenge. The winning team were "The Dodgers", which only consisted of several people.

Straw-Angle WC Form

(10/25/16)
Today, I was about to work on my Wednesday Challenge Form for the Right Angle Wednesday Challenge, but Mr. Miller called me with several other students into the Tech Shop to work on the Safety Course, but Mason and me already completed the assignment he wanted us to do on the Safety Course, so Mr. Miller told us that we were each going to be cutting a one-inch metal piece from a large piece of metal and we were trying to get the piece to exactly one inch. He articulated to me, Mason, and two other students who were going to be cutting metal as well on different types of saws in the Tech Shop and what material they are used to cut. After explaining what saw we were going to use to cut the metal pieces, the two other students were assigned to each cut their own one-inch metal piece before us, and, because Mason and me had too little time to cut our piece after the two students were done cutting their pieces, we had to finish the assignment another day.

(10/26/16)
Today, Dr. Neat assigned to us another Wednesday Challenge: using 10 candy corns and a blank piece of printer paper, figure out how many candy corns, all of them standing up from base to tip and standing touching each other, can cover the entire blank piece of paper. My team and I, using math, first came up with over 700 candy corns. This number seemed too high for just one piece of paper, and we calculated this using centimeters, so we decided to calculate the number of candy corns using inches instead. We measured the length of the paper and received 11 inches, and we measured the width and received 8.5 inches. We then did the same with one individual candy corn, paired up the width of the candy corn to the width of the paper and the length to the length of the paper, divided that, multiplied the two numbers and received 493 candy corns, which we thought was a reasonable number. However, Maddie's team won with the number of 496 candy corns, and the actual number was 497 candy corns. My team was off by 4 candy corns.

Candy Corn Document

(10/27/16)
Today, Mr. Miller called me and Mason to the Tech Shop to complete our one inch cutting of the metal piece. Mason cut his piece before me, meaning I cut my piece after him. Then Mr. Miller measured Mason's piece before mine, and, while measuring my piece, one of the sides was only one-thousandth of an inch off, which was the closest measurement he got so far. I was really glad about that.

(10/28/16)
Today, the JPL Invention Challenge Group presented their modified machines for the Goldfish Challenge, but I still believe that the Kevin Arm is the most accurate machine. However, Cole's machine also seems to work very well. His machine involves a quick pulling motion that pulls the bucket containing the goldfish, flips it downward, and pours the goldfish into the target.

(10/29-30/16)
On the 30th was my younger sister's birthday. After going to Church on Sunday, my aunt and my cousin came over to my house to celebrate my sister's birthday with my parents and my brother.

(10/31/16)
Today, Dr. Neat presented to us a project that will soon be assigned to us: the Bridge Project. The purpose of the project is to research one of the bridges on the list of bridges Dr. Neat has, or a bridge that a student may know about, and produce a powerpoint about it.

(11/1/16)
Today, all I did was update my website for Dr. Neat's class.

(11/2/16)
Today, Dr. Neat presented to the class another Wednesday Challenge: design, using the SketchUp application, design the letter "E". However, after creating the "E", your design will be presented to another group, who will try to manually construct the letter from corrugated cardboard. The winning teams will be the ones with either the best SketchUp design or the best manual construction of the letter.

(11/3/16)
Today, my team and I continued to work on the Wednesday Challenge. We received our corrugated cardboard, and we were able to cut out our letter "E", and I beleive we actually have a good chance of winning the Wednesday Challenge.

(11/4/16)
Today, Mr. Wilton came and the JPL Invention Challenge group presented their modified machines.

(11/7/16)
Today, Dr. Neat presented to the class the current grades the students had so far as of the second quarter. After articulating about the grading, Dr. Neat instructed us to get into groups with the people we constructed our letter "E" from, and, at our table, we decided that my team's letter "E" manual construction was better than the other team's.





E Wednesday Challenge

(11/8/16)
Today, all we did was update our websites.

(11/9/16)
Today, Dr. Neat assigned us another Wednesday Challenge: estimate the ratio between the weights of objects that are written to be 1 kilogram each. We did this, and we estimated 3-1. However, when we actually weighed the objects using the scale, we received 4.58-1.

KG Wednesday Challenge

(11/10/16)
Today, the JPL Invention Challenge Group showed the final examples of what their machines will look like.

(11/11-13/16)
Over this 3-day weekend, I completed part of my homework on Friday, and I finished the rest of it on Saturday. Additionally, on Saturday, my friend Jonathan came over and we watched "Jurassic World".

(11/14/16)
Today, all we did was update our websites.

(11/16/16)
Today, Mr. Miller assigned the class another Wednesday Challenge: be able to put together two small metal pieces using the presented Superglue or the presented types of tape. The winning team will be the one with the connected pieces that is able to hold the most weight or maximum amount of weight possible.

Sheer Force WC

(11/17-18/16)
These two days, all we did was update our websites.



(11/28/16)
Today, Mr. Miller called me, Max, Mason, and John to the Tech Shop and assigned us a task: decide an object of our choice that we will build and weld out of the material we desire. My group and I decided to build a simple, tiny house, and the material we chose was steel, not very thick steel, because, after Mr. Miller talked about the different materials we could use to build our small house, we decided steel was probably the most efficient to weld.

(11/29/16)
Today, the JPL Invention Challenge Group showed how their machines worked at the area where the challenge occurred. Not one of them won or even got into the Finals. The Kevin Arm worked, yet received a penalty, and received a final score of over 18. Cole's pulling machine failed completely.

(11/30/16)
Today, Dr. Neat and Mr. Miller presented to the class another Wednesday Challenge: using graham crackers, pretzel sticks, and marshmallows, be able to design the tallest structure your team can build on Sketch Up. Your team's model will then be given to another team's to construct manually, and you will receive another team's model to build manually as well. The winning teams will be either the one with the closest manual construction to Sketch Up design or the team with the tallest manual construction.

(12/1/16)
Today, we finished our Wednesday Challenge by successfully manually constructing another team's Sketch Up model, which was actually easy.

Graham Cracker Tower Wednesday Challenge

(12/2/16)
Today, all we did in class was update our websites.

(12/5/16)
Today, Dr. Neat presented to the class the task that will be our final. The objective is to perform the same task as the JPL Invention Challenge Group. However, instead of moving the cup with the water and the goldfish and dumping it into the other cup over a distance of two meters, we will be doing this over a distance of one meter. The winning team(s) will be the one(s) with a time that beat the Kevin Arm's final time, which was about 18 seconds. After Dr. Neat placed us in our groups, my group and I decided that we would most likely use an NXT Lego Robot to move the cup with the contents into the other cup. We think we will do this using a lego arm we will build and attach to the robot, but the difficult part will be dumping the contents into the cup.

(12/6/16)
Today, we continued to work on the Final Project. Additionally, Dr. Neat made additional rules, but because of the way we are performing the task, I don't think they will apply to us.

(12/7/16)
Today, we continued to work on the Final Project, but we didn't do much at all because the person bringing the NXT Robot was absent.

(12/8/16)
Today, Rohin, the person bringing the NXT Robot in our group, brought the robot, and we were able to construct the arm that is going to carry the cup and pour the contents into the funnel. However, we had to this several times to get it right.

(12/9/16)
Today, we worked even more on the Final. Rohin modified the arm for the NXT Bot, and we realized that it would be better to drive the bot backwards to dump the contents from the cup into the funnel more accurately.