NorthStarNerd.Org

Woodrow Wilson STEM Teaching Fellowship

As you may have noticed, NorthstarNerd.Org never has a single advertisement. My site has grown popular enough that rarely a week goes by without someone contacting me privately with an offer to cross-link or host advertising with a technical or engineering focus. I turn down all these offers, as I want this blog to remain pure to its ideals.

However, yesterday I received an email about a STEM Fellowship (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics). Given my own dedication to coaching First Lego League over the years (see my kid's corner engineering learning section of this blog), and a belief we need more people who help our children learn to love the sciences, I will make an exception to my policy. Please note I received no payment to host this information.

If it works with your career ... please consider applying!

Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Information

The Fellowship offers a $30,000 stipend; rigorous disciplinary and pedagogical preparation at one of four participating Indiana universities; extensive clinical experience in a high-need urban or rural secondary school; support and mentoring throughout the three year teaching experience; and lifelong membership in a national network of Woodrow Wilson Fellows who are intellectual leaders. 

Fellows from Woodrow Wilson programs have gone on to achieve international recognition as intellectual leaders and top scholars, including 13 Nobel Laureates, 35 MacArthur “genius grant” fellows, and two Fields Medalists in mathematics.

Eligible applicants include current undergraduates, recent college graduates, midcareer professionals, and retirees who have majored in, or had careers in, STEM fields.  For more information, please contact Sylvia Kovac at kovac@woodrow.org or visit http://www.woodrow.org/ApplyIndiana

Become a Woodrow Wilson Indiana Teaching Fellow. APPLY NOW through JANUARY 12, 2010.

Suomi Hills Serenity

Early this Fall I posted a short musical slideshow of the Suomi Hills Region in it's early Autumn beauty. However, my family does not restrict our northwoods visits to the warmer times of the year. We just spent three glorious Winter days at our cabin. You need to understand that in late December the only way to reach "Hoeg Hollow" (our cabin) is on foot. Heat is provided by a wood stove. Thus, when we arrived the temperature in our cabin was 15F. Water is provided by "yours truly" heading down to the lake with a manual ice auger to drill a hole through the ice! Our cabin is definitely off the grid!

Enjoy a few photos from the last few days spent cross-country skiing in the Suomi Hills Wilderness! This morning when I took the first two photos, the temperature was -5F. As the trails are sheltered from the wind, one is always warm! You may also want to watch this brief YouTube video of the bonfire we had out on the ice in the middle of the lake!

Click to expand any image to full size.

 

Academic Earth: From Harvard to UCLA

It's rare that a new learning portal excites me, but Academic Earth has definitely attracted the attention of the Northstar Nerd. After all, how could one not be intrigued about a web service which does NOT have the usual 1,000's of online advertisements and includes courses from these schools:

Universities:

• Berkeley
• Columbia
• Harvard
• Michigan
• MIT
• Princeton
• Stanford
• UCLA
• Yale

While the portal is not limited to engineering courses, given the focus of NorthstarNerd.Org here are the technical subjects: (other examples: History or Political Science)

• Academci Earth: All Subjects
• Academic Earth: Chemistry
• Academic Earth: Computer Science
• Academic Earth: Engineering
• Academic Earth: Mathematics
• Academic Earth: Physics

I hope Academic Earth's experiment in bringing some of the world's top courses online succeeds. The site carries the dot org label, and here is a link to their story:

• Academic Earth: About Us | Investors

Finally, remember to check out the Engineering Learning Section of NorthstarNerd.Org. I've added all the Academic Earth courses to the apprpriate sections. Academic Earth is also now included in the custom Google search engine (focus: engineering courses)
.

Measuring Nordic Skiing Workouts Using the Garmin Forerunner

Vacation means free time, which in my case resulted in a new tutorial:

• Measuring Nordic Skiing Workouts Using the Garmin Forerunner

There are actually three viewing options:

• AVI Format
• PPT Source Format
• YouTube

The Powerpoint version will provide the highest quality images, but take the longest to load via the web.

Please note your workout data loads automatically into the SportTracks software via a USB cable provided with your Garmin Forerunner. Should you wish to measure your own cross-country skiing workouts, here is what you will need:

• Garmin Forerunner (I use the 305 model)
• SportTracks Software (free)

In addition, you may find this blog review of SportTracks and these additional screenshot tutorials useful. Here is one image from my Garmin using the SportTracks software (click to view full sized). Although my examples are oriented towards cross-country skiing, one could measure running and cycling workouts in the same manner.

Please also visit my MinnSki Portal (cross-country skiing in Minnesota). You will find not only these tutorials, but many Garmin measured ski trails, a custom Google search engine which focuses upon cross-country skiing in Minnesota ... and much, much more.

My Aerospace Life ... from the DC-3 to the 787!

Imagine, my Grampa watched barnstorming biplanes over Iowa Cornfields. Today, I just saw the first flight of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner live via the web. Very cool!

I can remember watching the first moon walks of the Apollo missions, and the grainy TV broadcasts from Gemini. My family even has leftover food from a Gemini mission. It shall never be consumed!

My own first airplane flight was in a North Central Airlines DC-3 ... a model of which sits on my office desk. I also have a framed and autographed photo of the first two Space Shuttle astronauts (photo taken at liftoff).

Hats off to Boeing! Here are a few links and photos: (click upon any image to view full sized)

• Boeing First Flight

• Track the first flight in the air
  .
  
• Photographs from today's flight

Rebuilding Disun's School!

I'm thrilled to announce due to a generous grant from the Hegardt Foundation, for the third time in as many years the Northstar Nerd is teaming up with the China Tomorrow Education Foundation (CTEF) to make the world a slightly better place by building another school! It seems appropriate that only eleven days before Christmas, I can announce the funding of this new school. Please take 60 seconds and watch my short slideshow (see below). Most of the world's problems can be solved by providing access to better education.

Details: Disun (the bamboo school) is up in the mountains of southern China near the Vietnamese border. While it does not get cold like Minnesota in Disun, Winter temperatures fall to the low 40's and sleet is not unknown. When you see the present school, you'll know why I am trying to help these kids.

If you would like to help out with school suppliers for the new school, email me your pledge. Any donation to to CTEF is tax deductible in the USA. I'll get back to you with details. Live the Christmas spirit!

As always, Molly and I contribute both financially and with many volunteer hours to all our projects, but given we're not wealthy ... we rely upon your generosity to help with our work. You may wish to read a project report from the rebuilding of our first school in JiaYou, China.

 Slideshow of New School Effort, Disun, China

 

Rebuilding Disun's School on PhotoPeach

MinnSki: Garmin Measured Ski Trail Distances

I've now rolled out the latest addition to MinnSki, Garmin measured cross-country ski trail distances. If you are a serious cross-country skier, please help me with this task. While the organizations which provide trail maps are to be commended, the distance measurements are approximate.

Although the grand opening for MinnSki is planned for early 2010, you'll already find these features focused upon Nordic skiing in Minnesota:

• Garmin Measured Ski Trail Distances
• Google Custom Cross-Country Ski Search Engine
• MinnSki Twitter List

Finally, remember the DNS is active. Just remember http://www.MinnSki.org (or com) and you can always access our content.

Social Networking Collaboration Services Research

Earlier this week, I posted a poll on how (or whether) people utilize LinkedIn status updates. Given the very positive response, that research has been expanded and the results will be posted here by year's end. Please participate and share the link to this page with your network! There are only four multiple choice questions. It swill not take more than two minutes to complete the surveys.

The identical question and answers for each service (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Yammer) are:

Question: How often do you review <insert service name> status updates (either via the web or email)?

Possible Answers:

• More than once per work day
• Once per work day
• A few times per week
• Rarely
• Never

There is also the ability to comment.

Take surveys: (one question per service, opens new window on your computer)

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Yammer (or any other internal microblogging solution)

Finally, click upon the image given below to view full sized. It shows the kind of results that will be returned.

 

LinkedIn Status Update Poll

Do you lurk, but at least read?

This research has been expanded to cover Facebook, Twitter and Yammer in addition to LinkedIn. Please link to the updated post!

Please take ten seconds and answer this one question multiple choice poll (can't be much easier than that). Do you often read LinkedIn status updates via the web or email? LinkedIn has made some significant changes in the past month, but do people still basically just use LinkedIn as a large Rolodex file? I'll blog the results later this month.

http://polls.linkedin.com/p/69650/opiee

If Tiger Woods was a Lutheran!

If only Tiger Woods was a Lutheran, he would not have any problems! Enjoy listening to this short excerpt from this weekend's Prairie Home Companion. The Northstar Nerd is from northern Minnesota ... and well ... ve Minnesota Lutherans could have taught Tiger a few things ... ya know for sure!

If you want to learn more about how to speak and act Lutheran, you need to get Garrison Keillor's latest book, Life Among the Lutherans ... you betcha!