Crunching Public Data new Online Course

Code Lesson: Crunching Public Data

This course is available for pre-enrollment at Code Lesson.

The course Description:

Go beyond the spreadsheet! Crunching Public Data is an introductory programming course intended specifically for public- and private-sector knowledge workers who want to make sense of data stored in tabular format, then analyze and visualize it in meaningful ways. In the course we make use of actual data from the US government site data.gov to give students real-world experience with data analysis, particularly with data sets in the megabyte to gigabyte range that are larger than spreadsheets can typically handle.

This has a lot of promise for the CS Principles Data Portfolio - cant wait to see what they cover. The plan is to use Python to do the processing.

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Spam video new symbol keys new seating chart

Reminder:  vocab definitions for vocab list #6 are due tonight!  Here is how many definitions still need to be completed:  1st hour - 4; 2nd hour - 6; 3rd hour - 6; 5th hour - 10; 6th hour - 8. After watching todays video we will again be learning more symbols on the keyboard.  Normally what we learned yesterday would take 2 days to go through, but since weve fallen behind a little I wanted to try and catch up a little by doubling up on the symbols.  So, well review what we learned yesterday and then continue with the new keys today.

The new keys we will be learning will be the # (right shift + L2), & (left shift + R1), + (left shift + R4), @ (right shift + L3), (  (right shift + R3), and )   (left shift + R4).

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New symbol keys

WARMUP:
P. 41, 17D lines 1-6 once

NEW KEYS:
P. 42, 18B, lines 1-3 twice (# = right shift key + L2)
P. 42, 18B, lines 4-6 twice (& = left shift key + R1)
P. 42, 18B, lines 7-9 twice (+ = left shift key + R4)

Well see where we are at when we get done with these as to what we do next.

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Vocabulary technique and new keys

With the long layoff, we have several things we need to cover.

1. Vocabulary - we will still have our regularly scheduled vocab quiz this Friday.  In order to keep things on track we have to stay with our original schedule for quizzes.  However, I will add an additional day for those who still have not posted their definitions.  This means that for those of you who have not completed this it MUST! get done by tonight.
2. Technique - we will have a technique grade again this week, even though it is a short week.  One thing regarding technique grades - if you miss the majority of a week when we have technique I will take the next technique grade we have and double it.
3. Our main priority continues to be to learn the keyboard.  We will add in some other things as we go, but until we learn all of the keys learning and practicing will be the major emphasis of things in class.

Today we will review the keys we have learned and add in the U (R1) and the C (L2).

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Learn new symbols

THIS WEEK:

*Formatting Activity 3 & 4
*Learn new keys:  symbols
*Technique grade

At this point Im sure were all tired of learning the keyboard, but rest assured that youre making great progress!  We really are nearing the end of learning the keys...my goal is to get these done as soon as we can so we can move on to bigger and better things in class.

So, with that in mind, we are going to try to get through the rest of the symbols this week (which should be easy to do).  We dont have a vocab quiz this week which will also help.

Warmup:  P. 40, 17B, lines 1-9 once

P. 41:
17C lines 1-3 twice (% = right shift key + L1)
17C lines 4-6 twice (< = left shift key + R2)
17C lines 7-9 twice (> = left shift key + R3)

P. 42:
18B lines 1-3 twice (# = right shift key + L2)
18B lines 4-6 twice (& = left shift key + R1)
18B lines 7-9 twice (+ = left shift key + R4)

Additionally, there are only 2 weeks left in the first quarter, which ends on October 10th.  We get out an hour early this Friday for Homecoming, and then have all next week.  Next week there will be a vocab quiz (#5 - Internet #1), which we will take on Friday, which is the last day of the first quarter.  BE PREPARED!!

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Vocabulary Google reminders new seating chart Learn Left Shift Key and period

At the beginning of the hour we will move to our new seats.

Once at your new seats you can log into your Google account.  We are going to look at how the vocabulary for class works.  This involves using information that is on the class blog and setting up reminders in your Google account (Ill show you how to do this today).  We have our first vocab quiz next week, so some of you will need to get definitions right away.  The only thing we wont be able to go over today is how to use Wikispaces, the website we will use to post definitions on.  We will cover how to do that tomorrow.

After going through the vocabulary information we will learn 2 new keys; however, todays keys are not letters.  Instead we will learn the Left Shift key (L4) and the period (R3).

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Finish FA3 new symbols

REMINDERS:
Crossword puzzle 1-4 is due tomorrow
Vocab definitions for week 5 vocab list are due next Tuesday

TODAY:
Finish FA3 - it should be emailed (make sure to complete your email correctly)

Once you are done with FA3 you need to open your book to page 43 and type lines 1-9 twice on 18D.  @ = right shift key + L3
( = left shift key + R3
) = left shift key + R4

When you get done with these raise your hand so I can see that you are done, and then you can go to the practice websites.  Tomorrow we are going to begin a speed test tournament (we wont get it all done in one day), and you should see the brackets posted on the walls.  This is simply for fun!!  I will explain that in greater detail tomorrow.

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1st full week learning new keys

THIS WEEK:

Learn the following keys on the keyboard - H, E, I, R, O, T
Google - Add a signature and add a contact
Technique grade sheet

TODAY:
We will spend the beginning of the hour reviewing the home row.  After reviewing we will then add 2 new keys - the H and the E. 

What we are using is called a QWERTY keyboard (you should be able to find where QWERTY is on the keyboard); there is another keyboard called the DVORAK keyboard, but it is very uncommon (designed in the early 1900s; see image below).  The QWERTY keyboard has been in existence since 1870, but didnt become really popular until about 15 years later.  Ever since that time, however, it has been the standard for keyboard layouts.

The purpose of the QWERTY keyboards layout is to avoid having keys stick together as they were being typed - the idea was to have a layout in which you alternated using your hands often while typing - this helped to eliminate having the typewriter arms get stuck.  The DVORAK keyboards purpose was to have the most commonly used keys on the home row - thus your fingers moved less while typing, but the problem was that the keys got stuck more often.
 

Just a few things to keep in mind as you are keying:

1. When keying your forearms should not be resting on your thighs.  Remember that your fingers are the only "things" touching anything - everything else on your lower arm should not be touching the keyboard, countertop, or anything else.
2. If you keep your keyboard at the edge of the countertop you will avoid having issues with #1 above.  This will also be a benefit when it comes to the technique sheet and grading.
3. The speed skins will move slightly as you are typing - I understand your frustration in this regard, but do the best that you can.
4. In order to be able to key at a proficient level you need to fight through the urge to constantly look at your keyboard (thats part of why we have the speed skins).  This will probably be a "weird sensation" - you are used to using your visual senses to help you accomplish what you do on a daily basis.  However, we want to get to a point where looking at your keyboard is not necessary.

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Keypad practice and new keys

We will review the keys that we learned yesterday on the key pad.  Once we are done with the review we will learn the other numbers on the keypad.

And then...we will be completely done with learning keys on the keyboard!

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New Fab 42 from Intel

On Friday, February 18, Intel announced that they will be constructing a brand new $5 billion fab in Arizona. The fab will be used for the manufacturing of chips using a 14-nm manufacturing process and leading edge 300-mm wafers.

In the statement that Intel released on Friday, it was said that the new fab would be called Fab 42. Construction of the facility will begin sometime in the middle of 2011. Intel is saying that Fab 42 will be "the most advanced, high-volume manufacturing facility in the world." It should be finished in 2013.

The announcement about Intel’s latest investment was made on the same day that President Obama toured an Intel facility in Hillsboro, Oregon. While at the facility, Obama decided to go ahead and name Intel’s chief executive Paul Otellini as a member of the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. Going along with this, it is definitely not coincidental that the new fab that Intel is constructing will create "thousands of construction and permanent manufacturing jobs" that go right along with Otellini’s new position.

One of the biggest advantages that Intel has had in the past has been its strong manufacturing line. They have constructed several different fabs around the world. These fabs have really helped to keep Intel in competition with their rival AMD, who has been trying to undermine Intel by designing more efficient chips.

The new 14-nm fab that is being constructed by Intel will be considered one of the most advanced semiconductor fabs compared to any in its category. According to PCmag, the fabs will be “putting out chips that will incorporate linewidths that are twice as fine as Intels current ‘Sandy Bridge’ processors, which use a 32-nm process.” As of right now, a comparison cannot be made between the chips that Intel is putting out currently and those that will be made with the new process, but we can say that the new chips will most likely use less power or run much faster than the versions that Intel is currently releasing.

"The investment positions our manufacturing network for future growth," said Brian Krzanich, senior vice president and general manager for Intels manufacturing and supply chain operations, in a statement. "This fab will begin operations on a process that will allow us to create transistors with a minimum feature size of 14 nanometers. For Intel, manufacturing serves as the underpinning for our business and allows us to provide customers and consumers with leading-edge products in high volume. The unmatched scope and scale of our investments in manufacturing help Intel maintain industry leadership and drives innovation."

In the past few weeks, Intel has been dealing with a small roadblock that the company discovered concerning a support chip that is associated with the Sandy Bridge chip processor.

At the end of January, Intel found what is now being called the “Cougar Point” flaw and were forced to recall the chip. Shipping resumed about a week after the problem was discovered, but it was under the condition that Intel and OED could both assure one hundred percent that the flaw would not manifest.

Due to the temporary roadblock that Intel was forced to deal with, its rival AMD went ahead and launched an ad campaign on Friday in an attempt to pull in customers. We’ll have to see if Intel can jump right back into the race.

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Two Good Articles on Whats new in AutoCAD 2013 from Cadalyst Magazine

Cadalyst Magazine has posted two great articles discussing whats new in AutoCAD 2013.

One is "AutoCAD 2013 from the CAD Manager’s Chair" by CAD Manager Robert Green.

The other is from Cadalyst Labs Reviews "AutoCAD 2013" by Bill Fane.

Robert Green gives a good review of the new version of AutoCAD from the perspective of a CAD Manager.  He highlights the main issues a manager needs to be aware of.

Bill Fane details out the new features, updates, and changes to AutoCAD 2013.

Check them out.  They are good articles.

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