Lego reminders... days after VirtCamp has ended

Legos are still haunting me. To think that VirtCamp is over and the lego process was complete...

But then, right before my very eyes as I am walking down the frozen food aisle of Ralphs grocery store, my attention is directed to none other than..........lego waffles. That's right folks.

At two bucks a pop, these very tasty (yet haunting) treats can be yours at a neighborhood Ralphs near you.

VirtCamp day #5, last day!!

Dinner with one of my roommates and other cadre mates (above)

In the "process" of learning lego systems

I am currently sitting here in the Grad building at Pepperdine amazed at the progress. We are about to unveil our final products and talk about how the processes were. It was such a cool experience to be with a motivated and bright group of students who assisted each other and treated these projects like their own...

The smaller group cadre (above)

I am currently sitting here in the Grad building at Pepperdine amazed at the progress. We are about to unveil our final products and talk about how the processes were. It was such a cool experience to be with a motivated and bright group of students who assisted each other and treated these projects like their own...

I might not be making as much sense as usual under the tired state (we all) are in. I am very excited to see the final products from everyone. Our Cadre website can be viewed here:

www.myomet.com/00x

The final product will be taped and posted later... lots of learning was going on here!!! :)

VirtCamp day #4, very late night...okay Day #5 Morning

Alright... not much time here to "reflect."

The processes we worked through today were amazing. I am still surprised at our progress. Within a matter of 12 hours (of course we didn't actually get started until mid afternoon Friday), we have a hilarious and excellent video, cadre website, group website, individual websites, and a functioning lego machine. Woah.

Time for bed.

peace.

VirtCamp day #3.5, late night

Well, I just sat at my computer for a couple hours trying to maneuver Dreamweaver. Out of all the programs and information we've been introduced to so far, it is by far the most frustrating for me. I feel more confident programming legos! I really want to learn the tools and eventually the code (hopefully...one step at a time) that would allow me to understand this seemingly not-so-difficult machine. I feel like I figured out a few things on Dreamweaver tonight although I am having difficulty with a few things:

1. making sure the page fits within the traditional layout size for the average computer (currently it's too big and I can't figure out how to shrink everything down)
2. how to upload the site onto my web space that pepperdine provides http://students.pepperdine.edu/blfoster/ (I guess you can check back and see if I have figured it out soon... currently it's blank page)
3. how to organize my content better (site map) within creating my website.

Anyway, I will post pictures later... I really need a connector that is easier than my camera port. I think I'll be looking into that really soon.

Oh, and I guess I should sleep. We all went out to Paradise Cove for dinner... sooo good and then off to Moonshadows for drinks with a couple GA's from Cadre 9. They are so amazing and helpful. We are so appreciative of their work (for us!). Tomorrow morning, we have to be at the Dean's house at 8:00 a.m. for breakfast followed by class at 9:00 until whenever we finish:

-our cadre website
-our group link site detailing our experiences with "lego mission"
-our group video, fully edited with 20 second voice-overs (VO back from my broadcasting days) for each person in our group and lots of b-roll shots
-oh... and getting our lego machine completely built and properly functioning (multi-faceted)

Yep, I'm tired. Goodnight.

VirtCamp day #3, Nerd Rope Reflection

Well...

today was awesome. We had a chance to work on our lego project and work closer with our larger cadre group to think of a theme for our overall website. We also had the opportunity to learn more about moodle, blackboard, and the library system that Pepperdine offers.

My favorite part today: lego assembling and programming. My team and I worked very hard to completely revamp our lego layout and work work work to get that moving. The coolest part was watching the machine run by programming it from my laptop, ehm... a PC.

There was a lot of sweat and intense faces and concentration that led us where we are today. Although not done, we are certainly feeling positive about our progress and we can see the glint of light at the end of the tunnel. Of course we still have to create personal websites, a larger cadre website and a smaller group website... yep... in addition to finishing our wonderful lego machine completely functional with sorting capabilities and a working drop shoot and conveyor belt.

At the end of our class time today (as I'm writing this), we were given a Nerd Rope candy. Each one of us was asked to think and discuss how this nerd rope (relative to the loose nerds in the box ---so old school) worked as a metaphor to tie into the OMET program. Well, I certainly believe that in two point five short days... we have grown as a group from complete strangers who just knew each other by a picture (real, or not) from the Internet. Now, we have faces to go with the wide variety of personalities that exist within us and will for the next year and beyond.

Back on subject, the metaphor I see so clearly here relating the Nerd Rope to our lives is that the rope itself represents our common goals and students. We all love to learn and that strengthens our rope. We all have underlying common goals that we bring to the table, but ultimately, we are all here to be challenged and to learn from each other and our professors. During the program, our rope might change colors (flavors), but in the grand scheme of things, it is still just as strong.

About our larger cadre group theme: Agency 00X --more information to come!

We are off to have dinner at a great restaurant in Malibu tonight... so excited!

Goodbye for now.