Week 6

I exercised at the gym two times this week. In my gym class we did group workouts. My group had dumbbells and we led the group exercise to present our workout. I learned a lot of new exercises including last those that use the individual's body as weight. I went running on the weekend for half an hour. I want to see where I am for this 10k run I will soon be facing. I have a little over two weeks to train and I should get serious about it. That means I should run more than six miles and see what my time is.
Next week I am going to run two times. I am going to implement techniques I learned from the online running training program. It is speed training,  so I would jog for a mile then run fast for 3 minutes and slow for three minutes. You repeat running fast and slow three times and then cool down with another mile. I am really happy I learned this technique for my training because it will challenge me and build up my stamina.

Reflection 2-6

This week I have focused a lot of my attention on implementation. Using the affixes I've learned, I've began to integrate it into actual conversations instead of just reciprocating phrases. By doing this, I am beginning to grasp a better of understanding of why certain phrases in Tagalog have these long words instead of just remembering it in that one phrase. Hopefully, this will help me expand my vocabulary, and I will be better equipped in knowing when to use this certain root word and what affixes to attach it with.

Reflection 2.6

This week, I found even better tutorials on YouTube. These tutorials actually walk you through the process of building an app on Xcode. Plus, it teaches you the language of Swift as you go along.

reflection 2-6

This week was unfortunately not as productive as previous weeks. I have been on vacation since Friday morning, and have not been able to get to a gym since. I have, however, been more careful with my diet to help me get in the routine of eating more protein and more vegetables. I will not be able to get into a gym I assume until I get back on Sunday, so I'll continue with my eating habits and be able to get into the gym next week.

Reflection #2-6

This week I focused on interviewing my coaches and editing some other interviews with my teammates. I only interviewed one of the coaches however, because none of the other three coaches came in to practice on Tuesday. (I also missed my Thursday practice because I left to go to Florida.) I interviewed our head coach, Cookie aka Carol. She has the most experience out of everyone on our team because she's been involved in the sport for over 60 years, whether it be as a swimmer, coach, or judge. I asked her what synchro was like when she was a swimmer and what it feels like to be a coach now. Besides interviewing my coach I did a little more editing on my video with my music and transitions. Next week I hope to finish all of my interviews.

Reflection 2-6

This week,  I was able to organize my thoughts for the film. Now that I have my research, I want to set the ball in motion. With spring break coming up, I am planning to shoot the introduction and edit it. I am happy with my progress this week and hope to be productive!

Reflection 2-6

This week I continued working on the MadLibs app, but also started a side project in making a calculator. Here you can see a picture of the calculator and some of the code to go along with it in Xcode. I started ding this with the help of a Youtube tutorial in order to get extra practice. In the coming week I hope to finish the MadLib app and start something even bigger.

Reflection 2-6

I spent hours with the Rubik’s cube this week which was a huge step in solving it. I am now on the stage of the yellow cross, which I am close to memorizing. I memorized how to solve the middle layers which was a long step through the procedure so that was an achievement. I began by practicing the first sections over and over again, and studied every movement to understand how it works and moves different parts which helped to memorize it. I am satisfied due to my progress and the success of my process and am moving forward using such steps to memorize solving the yellow cross.

http://lghttp.38568.nexcesscdn.net/8013252/pdf/uploads/general_content/Rubiks_cube_3x3_solution-en.pdf  

Reflection 2 - 6

This week wasn't really special in terms of my cooking because I got a little lazy and simply made eggs for breakfast with some fresh fruits, but they were pretty delicious so I'll say I think I am improving.

Reflection 2-5

This week, I continued to look at the Swift tutorial and continued building the Madlibs app the tutorial is helping me create. Although it is a small project/app, it's a very good way for me to continue learning about the features of Xcode while practicing writing Strings and Variables. As of right now, my progress has been rather slow due to the amount of detail there is to cover, but I'm confident I'll be able to speed up the process in the next coming weeks, especially with spring break coming up.

Reflection 2-4

This week, I continued to look at the Swift tutorial that Alex found for me. I built off from where I left off and continued to learn about the features of Xcode while learning about Strings and Variables. I’m beginning to find some similarities between the JavaScript and Swift languages already. Variables serve the same function but with Xcode, they can be utilized in a whole new way. I’m now starting to build one of the apps that the tutorial is helping me make.  I tried my best to get as much done before going to my tournament, but without being at home with my Mac and Xcode program, I haven’t been able to practice coding too much, but I think the rest of the week was rather productive.

Reflection 2-5

This week I continue my weight lifting journey in good fashion. I went to the fitness center 3 times over the course of the school week, each time getting a good workout in. I worked arms Monday and Friday, and legs on Wednesday. Over the weekend, I wanted to do something, but was unable to because of a soccer game and being in New York all of Saturday. I have been eating more protein lately, which hopefully will improve my overall health.

Reflection

This week I found a wonderful resource and a new possible short term goal.  It is the Micras Micronation Map. My new short term goal is to become recognized by this map.  I also hope to have at least 10 citizens by the end of this week.

Reflection 2 - 5

This week I decided to make some crepes for breakfast. I first started out by combining 2 large eggs, 3/4 cups of milk, 1/2 cup of water, 1 cup of flour, and 3 tablespoons of melted butter in a blender and pulsing it for about 10 seconds. Then I placed it in the frig for 1 hour. After that hour, I heated up a non stick pan and added butter to coat the pan. i poured a small amount of batter in the center of the pan and swired the pan to evenly spread on the pan. I cooked each side for 30 seconds, then for another 10 seconds, and placed them on a cutting board to cool. Then i cut up some fresh fruit and placed it inside and rolled the crepe for cover it.
When doing this, I learned that if I hadn't placed the batter in the frig, they would have come out crumbled and not whole. Placing them in the frig allowed for the bubbles in the batter to subside so that they didn't tear during the cooking process.

Reflection 2.5

Not much to say this week other than my voice pack is pretty much done. I'm just finishing up putting the files in the game and testing. Lets hope it gets some recognition on the workshop.

Week 5

I am going to give a quick run down of my week by first, eliminating Monday's workout. I was not feeling well and could not exercise. On Wednesday I went for a three mile run in about 35 minutes. I remember from my last project, that is about the same time I started with. Sadly, my time decreased. On Friday I raised my squat amount to 30 pounds but it was too much. I stuck with 25 pounds and did 2 sets of 15. I could barely do ten push-ups. Weird but, I am going to keep trying. That means doing 2 sets of 18 next week. Maybe try 20 pushups.I did some decline crunches as well.
In about 3 weeks I am going to run a 10k with my parents. During my 20% time I researched about 10k training run programs and found one for four weeks. I am going to have to really work hard. I hopefully can 6 miles in 2 weeks. I am certain I can endure the run but not sure if my time is any good. Either way it is a good experience.
Next, I will just go for long runs and have certain days to do workouts like I did this week.

Reflection 2-5

This week consisted of more of the same.  However, I tried out a new bench press workout.  It consists of doing ten sets of 3 reps.  As opposed to 5 sets of 5 reps, this workout is catered to increasing strength instead of size.  I plan on incorporating this into my routine as I am confident that it will provide me with great results.

Reflection #2-5

This week I focused less on making my video and focused more on learning to edit. Turns out that dedicating a single week to learning how to edit is just not enough. A lot of the sites I looked at were for the old version of iMovie so I had to find some more updated sites. I learned how to add sound effects and trim videos with the Precision Editor. I put these tools to the test on the beginning of my video, which I have almost completed, and the transitions between the clips are a lot smoother now and go better with the music I have playing in the background. I also practiced using effects such as slow motion to make some of my clips a little longer and more dramatic.
Next week I want to interview my coaches and ask them about their experiences as swimmers so that my teammates can learn more about them when they watch the finished product.

Reflection 2-5

This was a very hectic week. With spring break looming around the corner, teachers are trying to pack in as many grades as possible. With that said, I had very little time to focus on my climate change movie. However, I did research the topic thoroughly so that I can fully understand the problem. Climate change is real, and it threatens our Earth. Our own doing can lead to our end! I hope to make more progress during spring break.

Reflection 2.5

In my fifth week of learning swift, I mainly just continued to read and watch tutorials. I am continuing to learn the basics of the language, and I am starting to learn how to create the framework of an app.

Reflection 2-5

I wasn’t able to work much this week though I am satisfied with all my progress. Learning the Rubik’s is a challenge, but I am doing well in understanding the steps. I am on a quick pace compared with what I originally expected. The cube is mostly solved but memorization still is a point of struggle to me. Therefore, I could still use a bit of practice. To attain it, I would have to spend more time on the project generally, in order to not get behind on the parts I’ve learned moving forward with it, but overall I’m sticking with with my process as I’m feeling it’s very productive.

http://lghttp.38568.nexcesscdn.net/8013252/pdf/uploads/general_content/Rubiks_cube_3x3_solution-en.pdf

Reflection 2.5

This week, I focused a lot of my time on finding the ultimate online source. While studying for another subject on quizlet, I realized just the amount of study guides that the website had. I knew they were bound to have a good quizlet for Tagalog phrases, and I was lucky enough to find more then 10 that I put into a folder and plan to study in my free time. I find that, when theres no one there to help me, quizlet is a good way to study when on the bus or just whenever I have free time. I am focusing less on vocabulary and more on translating. I've come to the point where I know most of the common words but am not too great at joining them together. So translating sentences from English to Tagalog has certainly helped a lot. Again, I am experiencing issues with my translation because I end up mixing two Filipino languages together. Hopefully, this practice will help me better differentiate between the two languages.

Late For last week.

Last week I worked on building the website and I got it about half way done.  I found this cool little globe that shows all of your sight visitors and where they are on the globe.  I haven't launched the website yet because I really want it to be perfect.  Now I only have some framework to add and then the content before I can launch.

Reflection 2.4

Wow! This has really been a productive week. I have gotten through a lot of the workbook that I was working with to learn some more of Tagalog. It has been particularly helpful with something that I have been struggling to understand for a long time which are affixes, roots, and suffixes. In Tagalog, there is typically a root word that you would attach certain affixes such as "an" to to change it's meaning. This is not unlike the English language, but there are so much more variations to the affixes in the Filipino language that it makes it twice as hard. Not only that, but you can combine more then one, and sometimes certain affixes do not apply to certain words. So, although the work book is helping quite a lot, I feel like I would learn a lot more if I start applying it. So I will definitely review a little bit more, and then try my best to apply it with my family! :)

Reflection 2-4

This week was a very productive one in my strength training journey.  I was able to get to the gym five times after school.  With tennis season beginning again it is going to be hard to balance all of these things with my schoolwork, but I have to make sure that I continue doing what I am doing. Bin regards to the workouts, this week consisted of more of the same.

Saverio Reflection 2-4

This week I took the time needed to focus on securing the permits I need to run my concessions company. I scheduled the safe food handling class I have to take for early April of this year. I ran into an issue with operating in Mountainside so I might have to look into operating in Westfield.

Week 4

I reached my goal this week by working out specific muscles on certain todays. An example of the goal I reached is the workout I planned to do this week. Monday was the day I focused on arm, chest, shoulder exercises and running. I pushed myself to do 20 reps. of 2 sets of push-ups. It was hard and I did them until failure and then continued to reach 20 push-ups. Later when I got home, I was able to do 15 push-ups in a row which is an improvement from 10 push-ups. I did two new exercises using weights. I am no going to incorporate frontal tricep lifts and
I managed the hour I have to workout in class pretty well. I had time to run a mile. I ran it in 11 minutes. My time increased from last week and I am starting to think about spending and hour just running next week. My goal for nest week is to manage the three days of gym class I have and schedule time for a run.
Thursday, I planned to focus on squats and abs, along with a thorough stretch. I used my white board during this week to plan out the exercises for Tuesday and Thursday. This gave me a clear direction. Later, I wrote the workouts in my exercise journal so i could take it to the gym with me.
Next week I will go on an hour run and continue to raise my weights on my squats, increase the sets and reps of pushups and declined crunched. I am at 15 push ups right now and 30 decline crunches.

Reflection 2.4

I have my model in the mod tools and all i have to do now is just make some adjustments such as ammo count and damage. I am going to put that off for a week because I found a new character to do a voice pack on and I don't want anyone stealing it this time. All of my energy is going to that voice pack from now until I finish.

Reflection 2-4

This week was another productive one in my strength training journey. I went to the gym 3 times at school, as well as once over the weekend. I felt like all four trips were productive and successful. I have upped my calorie intake a bit, which will hopefully increase the results from weight training. Next week, I plan to do more of the same.

Reflection #2-4

This week I did a lot of work for my 20% project. First, I did a ton of filming. This weekend (Friday to Sunday) was our first competition of the year, and one of the most important ones. I filmed short clips of my teammates throughout the entire weekend. I filmed from our trip to Buffalo to our trip back to Newark Airport. Apart from this, I started to put together some of the first parts of my film. I opened with a fast run-through of all teammates and some interviews with a few of them.
My plan for next week is to finish the first part of my video and film more of my training during practice.

Reflection 2-4

This week, I utilized my time by planning out the major topics I want to talk about with climate change. I really want this film to be meaningful and powerful. With this said, I am testing out shots and film techniques to try and convey my message. I am also educating myself with the topic by reading articles online. Hope to make more progress this week!

Reflection 2.4

 In my fourth week of learning the programming language Swift, and trying to create an app, I went more into the basics. I am trying to create a strong base of the language so that I can go more in-depth without the fear of confusing myself easily.  I feel that creating a strong base will be the best course of action going forward. I look forward, and I am eager to learn some more complicated aspects of Swift.

Reflection 2-4

I succeeded with stage four in putting the pieces in the correct places but having it memorized is something I am working on. The sequences for the fourth stage were longer in comparison to the others but this is the most involved stage. It solves the cube’s middle layer. The third stage is where the “T’s” were incorporated, so those sides, by this stage have identical colors to the pieces creating that side’s “T.” It was not as complicated as I concluded just by seeing it. It just took practice for getting it right. The next step solves the yellow face which is the opposite side of the white.  

http://lghttp.38568.nexcesscdn.net/8013252/pdf/uploads/general_content/Rubiks_cube_3x3_solution-en.pdf

Reflection 2 - 4

I didn't get to cook much this week because my mom usually cooks for the whole family on the first Sunday of every month so I wasn't really able to do much this week.

2-3

This week, I made changes to my diet to reflect my goals in the future.  I added 300 calories to my daily intake as I want to gain 10 pounds through this bulking process.  When I am finished, I will then reduce my daily intake by 300 calories to ensure that the weight I had gained was purely muscle.    In regards to my workouts, they remained entirely the same.  I have been doing the same exercises and find that they work well, so I am going to stick with them.

Saverio 20 Time 2-3

This past week I focused on laying the proper groundwork which I will need to be successful in the concessions business. I contacted my local health inspector and told her what I wanted to do. She was kind enough to give me the forms I have to fill out, locations of the food handling class I have to take, and the requirements of the inspection I have to pass. This next week I plan to contact my municipal government to find out where I can place my cart.

Reflection 2-3

This week, I continued the Swift programming tutorial and finally got the chance to get familiar with the interface and how to navigate around Xcode. It is a rather intimidating program because there are so many things you can do on it but for now, Im just learning the basics. I learned about adding buttons and linking them up with actual Swift code. This coming week I will be away at a tournament starting Thursday so I won't get too much done but I will do my best to continue watching the tutorial.

Reflection 2.3

This week I didn't work on my project as much as I wanted to but I am getting closers to implementing a customelting model into the game. I found a programs called 3ds max that many other modders use and it is rated highest out of any other modeling program. So I am going to use that to finalize my model and put it in

Reflection #2-3

This week was pretty successful. I had a level testing today and I was able to film some of my interviews between the breaks. When I asked some of my teammates the questions some of them stumbled a lot, or there were too many noises in the background, so I may have to redo those. Apart from that I worked on the outline of my film. I planned out what I want the beginning of it to look like. The opening of my video is going to be a quick runthrough of who is on the team and how long they've been on it, after this I want to film my coaches talking about their experiences as synchronized swimmers, then I'm going to put in the interviews of my swimmers. This is going to be the entire first part.
Next week I have my first competition of the season, so my plan is to get some really good shots of my teammates and I. My plan is to record our routines, feelings, and best moments.

Reflection 2-3

This week was unfortunately less productive than my previous weeks. I was sick Monday, so I was not able to go to the gym then, but I went Tuesday and Wednesday. On Saturday, I worked out in my basement using a few free weights for around an hour, which I felt was a great workout. I hope to increase the length of my workouts next week, which I will be able to do fairly easily.

Reflection 2-3

This week I decided to try my hand at making lasagna. I started by taking ground beef and cooking it in a skillet, adding some salt and pepper, until it crumbled and wasn't pink any longer. I drained it and stirred in the tomato pasta sauce. Then I spread 1/3 of meat sauce in a lightly greased baking dish and layered it with 3 noodles and ricotta and mozzarella cheese. I repeated the process until it almost filled the dish. Then i poured 1/4 cup of water into the edges of the dish covered it with heavy duty aluminum foil. I baked it on 350 degree heat for about 45 minutes, took off the aluminum cover and baked for an additional 10 minutes and took it out of the oven. I let it sit for 10 minutes then served.

Reflection 2-3

This was a very productive week for me as I was able to start filming. I took some test footage and it turned out pretty well. I am currently planning out the outline for the film. Baseball has started, meaning that I will not have as much time to work on this project. Hopefully I can stay on task and make a significant amount of progress. Overall very happy with my progress.

Reflection 2-3

I continued using the PDF tutorial. I completed solving the third stage. The cube now consists of a solved top layer, and “T’s” for four other sections. The third stage is specifically about solving the white corner areas, as stage two is the cross. It was particularly simple to learn. Stage two was more difficult. I practiced stage three with stage two so I would get some practice for both sections and not to forget anything. The moves were not difficult for memorizing in the stage. The next phase seems complicated, so it might be more difficult for memorizing, and it could take longer to get achieved. http://lghttp.38568.nexcesscdn.net/8013252/pdf/uploads/general_content/Rubiks_cube_3x3_solution-en.pdf

Reflection 2.3

In my third week of learning Swift, I finally got all the text editor stuff sorted out. Other than that, I found a really good  set a video tutorials for us to use. Actually seeing somebody using the language in Xcode is really helpful. Also I am reading the guide given on the Apple website. I am starting to write basic lines of code, and I am starting to get acquainted with the language.

Week 3

During my 20% time I researched strength training. I found a couple articles that said stressing your  muscles is the only way to build muscle and strength. They mentioned tips like: increasing the weights by five lbs. every week and increasing the repetitions. It said that it is a good idea to work on a  specific muscle group every workout day. I created a schedule on Friday for next week. I am going to work on arms, squats, and abs next week. Each on a different day.

This week I worked out 3 times. I worked on arms, squats, and abs on the same day. I increased my push-ups to 15 reps of 2 sets. I had trouble doing fifteen without stopping but that is how I will get strong. In the articles I read, "failure", meaning you can not finish a repetition should be the goal of every exercise. I increased to 25 reps in the exercise ball squats. On Friday, I increased the weight to 20 pounds. I maxed out at 50 decline crunches on Wednesday. I was able to attend a yoga class this week and it was an Ashtanga Inspired class. It is an athletic class and it was challenging because it was more advanced. I am learning that it is important to be uncomfortable and to be challenged in order for my muscles to break down and re-build. Next week I will continue to increase in weights and repetitions and do planks and exercises on the mat. I am going to get in a three mile run as well. I should spend time on my own at home stretching and doing exercises that do not require weights.

Reflection 2

This week in my 20% time i was working on my mod and I checked the workshop(mod publishing place) to find out that someone had posted a mod exactly what i wanted to make. As of now the voice pack is pushed aside and I have to find a new character to do it on. So I started my other idea which is porting a model into the game to use as a weapon. It is surprisingly hard but I am close to finishing.

Reflection 2

This week, I continued my good progress on my journey to becoming stronger overall, and go to the gym more frequently. I went 4 times his week, working out biceps, triceps, back, shoulders, and legs. I would still like to work oklutnmy legs more often, but that means finding a fifth day a week I can get in to the gym, which can prove problematic. Next week, I hope to continue the consistency I am doing right now.