NorthStarNerd.Org

Aviation History ... Through Pictures!

Warning! If you enjoy browsing old aviation photographs, this site eats up tons of time! The magazine Aviation News is 100 years old, and every article ... every photograph ... every airplane cutaway drawing is available online for free viewing. While the search engine is a bit slow, browsing the photo archives was fast and a treat. Access everything via their archive: (click to expand either image)

• Photo Archives
• Pre-1914
• 1930s (civil)
• 1930s (military)
• 1939-1945
• Post World War II

He Shoots! He Scores! ... Not!

During the process of trying to innovate, we are often challenged to think outside the box ... or in this case should I say ... outside the goalie crease. Via the Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog, I learned about a high school ice hockey goalie who redesigned his protective pads to blend into the goal net behind him. This was the young man's idea (quoted from the Boston Globe):

• "When the shooter comes down and only has a split second to shoot the puck, they're looking for net," said Leahy, a senior from Hampton, N.H., who grew up in Byfield. "If you put the net on the pad, they'll shoot at the pad instead of the goal."

Neat idea ... will it work? Who knows, but this kids is thinking outside the box!
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Push Your Brain! Institute for Human and Machine Cognition

IHMC (Institute for Human and Machine Cognition) is the same great academic organization which provides the mind / process mapping tool for which I recently provided a tutorial. Even if you don't want to use the software, attend one of their free IHMC lectures via the web. Here are some recent offerings:

• Dr. Dan Arvizu, Director of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL): The Role of R&D in the Age of Renewable Energy
• Fraser Stoddart: Mingling Art with Science
• Mike Griffin, NASA Administrator: What the Hubble Space Telescope Teaches Us About Ourselves PDF of Talk

I will definitely add this content to my engineering seminar search engine and wiki.
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One Armed Skier Builds Dorm in China!

My first of three "Kilometers for Kids" cross-country ski races start this Sunday with the City of the Lakes Loppet. Due to a recent ski injury that saw me break my thumb and tear a ligament, I will compete minus one ski pole (i.e. I can't hold anything with my left hand). Although this will slow me down significantly, and cause me problems going uphill ... I can't let the kids down. Contributions to the China Tomorrow Education Foundation are tax deductible in the USA (full report).

Donate via PayPal ... even a $10 donation helps!

Here are two photos of me ... cast and all. In addition, you may wish to watch this YouTube Video Report of last year's Loppet. After all ... have you ever seen skijouring (dogs pulling cross-country skiers ... another much shorter event)
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Mind Mapping / Process Mapping Tutorial

If you work in a technical field, or manage projects this resource is FANTASTIC, and it's free (courtesy of a DARPA research grant). Earlier today while participating in the project / chartering definition phase of a project at work, I watched a colleague use a neat tool for visually defining and linking the parts of a project. Not only did the software seem easy to use, but the visualization really encouraged all the team members to participate.

After the meeting, I linked to the software site (IHMC Cmap), downloaded the software, did an install ... and in almost no time at all found I could use the mind mapping / process mapping software. The user interface was very intuitive.

I've linked two items below ... one is a Powerpoint file which gives annotated screenshots of the IHMC CMap user interface. The other link is to my example (i.e. a completed process map):

• Northstar Nerd Mind Map Tutorial
  
• Process Map Example

Here is one screenshot of the user interface (click to expand):
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