Ignite Talk

Slide 1: Throughout this semester we have done a lot of reflecting.  Almost every day we begin class with a writing into the day assignment which usually is a quick write reflecting on something we have just read.  The purpose of this writing is not to come up with a definitive answer on whether or not something is right, but to formulate an opinion.

Slide 2: This is all very confusing sometimes, especially when it comes to literature.  There are so many metaphors to analyze with several different ways to interpret them.  It seems like there are never any right answers. 

Slide 3: The worst part about all this: we get graded on our answers.  During school, teachers force us to think the same way, without any deviation.  Teacher pick apart our analysis of a piece of literature and tell us whether or not we are right or not. But this carries on to other aspects of life. Who is to say what is right and wrong, or good and bad?

Slide 4: I've spent nearly $8000 on this car right here.  It has been spray painted, no carpet, no stereo, and no front bumper. I've spent hours on end working on this car to get it to where it is in this picture, and it still looks pretty bad.

Slide 5: Some people might argue that there are much better ways to spend all of that time and money.  As of right now, I do not have a lot to show for it all other than this old spray bombed beater.  In my opinion there is no monetary value for the experience.

Slide 6: Was this the right thing to do? I think so. I have learned a lot and this is a great accomplishment for me. When my project is complete and I will finally get to go drive my car on the track and enjoy all the hard work I put in.  Just like this guy in the photo.  He has probably dedicated much more time and money to his car, but he looks like he is having a blast right now. 

Slide 7: But there are always haters.  I'm sure some people still think it is a waste of time and money.  They would rather spend money on fancy clothes or big screen tvs.  It is true that the car will never be worth as much as I put into it.  I would probably get half of what it's worth in parts. 

Slide 8: Does this mean what I have done is wrong?  Maybe, maybe not.  Like I said before, who is to be the judge of what is really right and wrong when it comes to this sort of thing.  People can always give advice on what they think is best, but nobody can tell you that what you did is the definite right or wrong thing to do.

Slide 9: Let's take this as another example.  These people are waiting outside of the apple store, camping out for several days, for what? They are so eager to get the newest iPhone that they are willing to sacrifice taking days off work, time from their families, and a big chunk of money on the latest smart phone made by Apple. 

Slide 10: These people think that this iPhone 5 will be the best thing that has ever been in their pocket.  They hold the value of this phone much higher than the things they are sacrificing in order to obtain it.  For what ever reason, they think that having this phone will make their lives so much better that it is worth it.

Slide 11: When in reality, it is just an updated version of the phone they probably already have.  The differences between the iPhone 5 and it's predecessor are things we are all able to live without.  In the end, they both make phone call, run various applications, and can even access the Internet from virtually anywhere.

Slide 12: In my opinion, this is all a waste of time and money.  My current phone can do all of the basic functions of any other smart phone just as well as the almighty iPhone 5.  I think there is an illusion created by the manufactures that all predecessors are obsolete immediately after the newest product is released. 

Slide 13: But this brings up the same question as before. Who is right? There is no definite answers as to whether or not buying the latest and greatest smart phone is worth the monetary cost and the time sacrificed waiting in line to obtain such phone.  While I can share my opinion that I think the predecessor will achieve anything I need it to, some people's thoughts may differ.

Slide 14: Now I would like to discuss something that people may have stronger opinions about.  The use, distribution, and production of drugs.  The government has made up our minds for us by making all of this illegal, but is that really the right thing to do?  While drugs may be bad for your health, does this mean that nobody should have the right to partake in any process involved in using them?

Slide 15: Almost anybody that wants to make a good influence on you will tell you that drugs are bad.  Anybody from teachers, to parents will tell you that using drugs can only result in bad things.  The establishment of D.A.R.E. in school is a prime example of people who are against the use of drugs. 

Slide 16: However, what they all fail to show you is the success of rappers for example.  Juicy J is a good example of success through drugs.  This guy always raps about how much drugs he uses and how much money he has.  He makes his life out to be this constant vacation where he has zero responsibility  and has access to anything money can buy. 

Slide 17: Once again, does this mean Juicy J's life style and drug use is proper?  If the government had not declared it illegal, it would seem he has no worries other than what he should eat for lunch.  To me it seems that he is living a pretty easy life.  But there is always the presence of negative effects on health and various other aspects of life.  There are always people who argue that these drugs will destroy your brain.

Slide 18: Fortunately for some, the government has stepped in and declared drug abuse illegal.  This is probably beneficial to the majority of society.  They have developed a hierarchy of how dangerous and illegal certain drugs are.  They have also allow the use of certain drugs they declare beneficial or not too harmful. 

Slide 19: Now as it pertains to this class, let's consider string games.  Does it make sense that I analyzed string games in a way to compare it's complexity to the complexity in literature?  Or am I completely off and string games are just a fun and easy way for a teacher and students to acclimate to the environment of the class?  It could be both and it could be neither.

Slide 20: Finally, we are left with a the question: Did I do my project right?  It shows I have learned something, but does it really pertain to the course?  This can be left up to the discretion of anybody reading my blog, an english teacher, or and english class.  There is no singular person that should make the decision whether I am correct or completely off topic.

Final Blog

Throughout this semester I have been interested in the positive effects of interest driven learning.  After reviewing the HOMAGO outline by Mimi Ito, I was able to narrow down the process of interest driven learning into specific steps. I have really been able to dissect my car projects to asses them based of the HOMAGO process.  Not until I unveiled this interest driven learning that I realized I followed the process described by Mimi Ito throughout the duration of my interest in cars. 

I have reiterated this many times in all of my mini projects, but I would like to emphasize the positive effects.  Since I began my interest in cars I have progressed from learning simple maintenance on a car to being able to mechanically adapt a chassis and modify it's wiring harness to accept an engine that was never intended to fit.  I have taken every nut and bolt off of my car and reassemble it piece by piece.  I have obtained my knowledge almost solely based on self-driven research.  I have had very little formal education in automobile mechanics.  This shows a perfect example of how someone can retain much more information and learn much more advanced topics when the level of interest is at it's peak.

Hanging Out was the time period that I began to explore automobile modification via video games or street racing movies.  Like I've stated in my previous mini project, this portion of HOMAGO involves low risk activities which do not require a lot of commitment  (Ito).  The Messing Around occurred for me when I purchased my own car and began to explore beneficial modification.  Here is where I was required to put in some commitment towards learning about automobiles.  Eventually I began Geeking Out.  This is when I started modifying  my car for drifting.  I was fully committed to learning about how to make a car go fast.  Now at this point, I decided there is a need for a fourth stage.  I call it Hauling Ass.  This name is more appropriate for my domain, but the idea is the same for almost anybody else.  When I get to the Hauling Ass stage, I get to enjoy all of my hard work and just drive my car to the limits.  As shown below, this stage is obviously the most fun for me.

Itō, M. Hanging out, messing around, and geeking out, kids living and learning with new media.                  The MIT Press, 2010. Print.

2012. Photograph. LENSFUELWeb. 21 Apr 2013.

HOMAGO Project

This is the third installment of my experience and interpretation of HOMAGO learning.  This post will focus on what HOMAGO is.  My previous posts concentrated on my own experience with HOMAGO style of learning how to swap a limited slip differential into my car. 

HOMAGO is an acronym that stands for Hanging Out, Messing Around, Geeking Out.  Each is a different level of interest driven learning experienced, as described by Mimi Ito
.

Hanging Out:
This is the beginning of the process that usually involves a low risk and non-judgemental environment. This allows an individual to explore a subject freely without losing too much if they become uninterested or fail.  Typically the boundaries here are flexible, which promote somebody to pursue their interest. This stage began at the same time I gained interest in modifying cars.  I started exploring which car would be reasonable to own and modify.

Messing Around:
After a person becomes interested in learning about a certain subject, the "messing around" begins.  This is the point where someone begins to delve into whatever they are curious about and start the interest driven activities.  The activities that occur during this stage can vary from research to any sort of entry level activities.  For me, I began to "mess around" when I became curious as to how I could spin two rear tires, instead of one.  This is where I explored the function and purpose of a limited slip differential.

Geeking Out:
This is where the fun begins.  Geeking Out is the stage where a person's interest is at its peak and all learning is driven by their own thirst for knowledge.  At this point, you are neck deep in your interest and you love every minute of it.  I began the "geeking out" stage when I discovered how to fit an Infiniti J30 limited slip unit into my 240sx housing.  After doing all the necessary research, I took a trip to the junkyard and started pulling things apart.

This process of learning is described by Mimi Ito via video format.  While these three stages are the basic essentials to interest driven learning, I think there should be one more section. In my case, one could call that section "Hauling Ass."  While this may not be practical for most others, the idea is the same.

Hauling Ass:
This is the stage where all your hard work pays off and you get to take full advantage of what you learned.  This is the end result of all of that learning you did.  For me, this is when I could go out and slide through a corner with the confidence that the back end of the car will not go rogue half way through the turn and change directions on me. I finally get to drive my with that limited slip installed and show off all of my hard work.

Expansion of Previous Post

The purpose of this post is to expand on my previous post to provide more detail about the HOMAGO style of learning I experienced throughout my differential swap process. 

To get a basis for all of the knowledge required to complete this swap, I access several different forums specific to modifying the 240sx chassis.  Conveniently named, 240sxforums.com is where I found a lot of answers to the questions I had.  However, it is hard to find a good build thread on this topic, which would give a step-by-step process of how to perform the swap.  This forced me to rely on searching any questions I had and formulate an answer based on information I obtained from many different sources. 

Specifically, one of the most complicated parts of the swap was shimming or lining up the differential inside the housing.  It is crucial that the ring gear is lined up precisely with the pinion gear to prevent shearing off the teeth of both gears.  After searching 240sxforums.com for answers, I could not find a specific enough answer that I was comfortable enough to draw a conclusion from.  Now I am left with starting my own thread and specifically state my question.  Unfortunately this thread no longer exist, or I would share a link to it.  I was graced with the knowledge of one of the gurus on the forum and eventually got the answer I was looking for. 

The entire process of searching for the proper way to shim the differential took about four hours of searching and several post back and forth on my own thread to get the answer I was looking for.  In all honesty, I have never once sat down to do a school project with the same determination and curiousity.  This interest driven learning allowed me to do several hours of research without questioning the value of what I am learning. 

 

 

To clarify what I am talking about, the shims are the metal rings in the top left and bottom right of the picture.  They vary in thickness and in number for each side of the differential. The accuracy of the thickness of the shims is down to the thousandth of a inch.

mini project 1

For my first mini project I am going to explore the advantages of learning something that is of high interest to me.  This is supposed to parallel the HOMAGO idea that a person retains much more information and will work hard to obtain the information if they are driven by their own interest.

 

After reading through some car forums, I realized how much interest driven research is done during a build thread.  For my mini project I decided to document a recent project of mine and take note of how I am letting my interest drive me to learn.

 

The purpose of this project was to swap a limited slip differential into my Nissan 240sx. For those of you who do not know what that is, simply put: I spin two tires instead of one = more traction.  Below is a picture of the open differential (spins one tire) that comes stock in my car.

 

 

 

Below is the limited slip differential I pulled of an Infiniti J30 that was in a junkyard. Since Infiniti is owned by Nissan, a lot of the cars share similar parts. Notice some similarities: the number of bolt holes around the perimeter of the housing, output shafts have the same bolt pattern, and the outer bearings are the same size.

 

 

Here is where the differences in the differentials start to turn up.  The housing on the left is out of the J30 and the housing on the right is out of my 240sx.  Notice that the J30 differential has two bolts instead of four.  Some people choose to swap these covers and bolt the J30 differential on to their 240sx's. However, this is not the best option for me.

 



Below, the 240sx differential is on the left and the J30 is on the right.  Here is where it becomes obvious that I can not simply bolt the J30 differential in. Notice the wire coming of the "snout" of the J30 differential.  This is a speed sensor that monitors how fast the driveshaft is spinning. This is used for anti-lock braking systems (ABS). This sensor adds about an inch of length on the differential; which would not allow proper driveshaft fitment. 



 

So now I have to take the internals out of the J30 unit and install them into my 240sx housing.  Below is a picture with both internals pulled out. Left is J30, right is 240sx. To maintain proper fitment items like the ring gear and shims (used to center the differential inside the housing) from 240sx differential had to be swapped onto the J30 limited slip unit.

Lastly, after everything is swapped over and installed properly, it is time to install the axle output shafts.  Since the internals of my differential have changed, so must my output shafts.  Below is a picture of one of the output shafts that mated up with the J30 differential. With these installed, I bolt everything back together and go for a test drive and burn some tires!

 

 While this post may go way of some people's heads, I would like to point out that this was once way over my own head.  The information in the post is not something one can learn in school.  One must search for the information.  Through my own determination, I did hours of research to find out what parts fit where along with the proper way to do it. 

 

3/24/2013

This past wednesday, as you all know, we met with the Forest View High School kids.  Most of our conversation was about preparation for college.  Unfortunately I do not have a photo of the pictures we drew that represented what various parties thought college readiness is.  After viewing what other people had also drawn, I noticed most people depicted the textbook companies as money hungry and greedy.  As for the other parties, most of the ideas were similar however the textbook companies seem to stick out to me the most.

3/17/2013

Please excuse the inconvenien orientation, but this week I chose to post my poem from class.  If someone was to read this poem without knowing what the assignment was, they would probably be very confused.  It is interesting how phrases found on flyers and such can all be brought together to create a piece of literature.