Things I like most and least about myself

The thing that I like most about myself is my work ethic. When I begin doing something that I truly have an interest in, I persevere regardless of obstacles and strive to do my best work. This is a quality that has been developed through high school, but in a different way because I was truthfully not interested in the majority of topics studied. In my future academic endeavors I hope that my motivation will rise as I explore areas of interest to me and that are relevant to my own career path.

Though working hard is a valuable quality, over-working is not a good thing. Because I am constantly putting my full effort into what I do, I tend to get caught up in details and spend too much time focusing on small things in attempt to perfect my work rather than making more significant progress in other areas. This is something that I must focus on to maximize my own efficiency in the future.

Second Semester iQuest

As I look forward to this semester, I am considering a change in projects. The hindrances in my current project have proven to be difficult to surmount in a cost efficient way, so there is still more work to be done before the signs can be marketed. I had a two week break from volleyball between my club and high school seasons and I am in the second week of that break right now. With high school season beginning next week, my schedule will become considerably busier. Given my interest in the sport of volleyball already, I must decide whether it is possible for me to create a project out of my participation in the sport. I am already interested in coaching at some level and have gained experience coaching at the lower club levels as an assistant earlier this year, but I would need to find a coaching opportunity during the school season to use as an iQuest project. If I can find a way to learn more about coaching during the school season and continue to work as an assistant coach for my club team in May, I may be able to use volleyball coaching as my project. I have not yet had the chance to sit down and talk with my coach yet, but I will look to do so in the coming days. As the president of a local volleyball club (different from my own club team), he has other teams playing at the same time as our high school team that I may be able to help out in some way to further my own volleyball knowledge and playing strategies. Because of the relatively small number of boys' volleyball players in the area, coaching opportunities for high school boys are not too difficult to find and I believe that I have good connections with club teams to find a position to work with players.

Regardless of the project I pursue, I will certainly continue helping my dad with the sign project at home. If this continues to be my second semester project I will assess the problems we have encountered and create a new schedule. If I change my project to coach volleyball, I will need to find a way to quantify my goal. 

As the semester closes, I will reflect on my progress for iQuest.
I began my year with only the idea of making small road signs to supplement larger signs. I set dimensions of the signs and completed the designs for several different common road signs. I ordered the signs and they currently sit in my garage.
We knew that the most difficult part of the project lay in finding a way to secure the signs to the ground. Because the signs need to be able to withstand most all weather conditions, this would be the most difficult solution. We began looking at epoxy, glue, and other kinds of cement to secure to the ground. The material for the base of the sign was also a big question mark. Initially we had a rubber-plastic compound planned, but it had too much rubber in it to remain a durable piece. The polymer supplier we worked with offered the best solution to this problem: simply add more plastic into the mixture. The result was a very durable material that could both withstand the wear from traffic and the weather conditions.our problem lays in the fact that we cannot find a way to effectively secure the material and sign to the ground with a degree of permanence.
I will not venture into the specifics of some of the solutions we have been considering, as you can find them in my earlier blogs, but we have been experimenting with a new technique involving a base to the rubber-plastic compound that would more easily bond with the ground. Our problem is not finding a solution that will merely bond with the pavement permanently, but rather one that is cost efficient and can be produced on a fairly large scale.
The project has clearly not gone exactly according to plan because of these hindrances, but these have provided me with the greatest lessons. I have seen the persistence required to taste success and now understand the work that must be put in to see an idea to completion. This is a lesson that can only be experienced and, although it is discouraging to me now, I know that I have grown in a way that could never be achieved in a classroom setting. My respect for the class remains very high because of the unique and valuable learning opportunities that have been readily available and truly abundant to me this semester.

January Update

It has been a busy past few weeks. During the winter vacation, I was away for volleyball in Southern California for a week. After that tournament, I was commuting back and forth from San Mateo in another tournament. With club volleyball now over for the winter, I hope to be able to focus on my project. Unfortunately, sickness has also ravaged my house. My dad has had the flu for the past week and, as the engineer of the project, has not been able to continue work and research on adhesives. He is recovering and has returned to work this week, so we will hopefully be able to solve the problems with the project now that we are both able to work on it together. Overall, little progress has been made since my last post because of break and volleyball.

It has been a while since my last blog, but there is not much news. We have been searching for an adhesive that will both withstand weather conditions and regular wear from cars running over the signs.
So far, we have tested several different kinds with little success. This has proven to be a real problem and has been the first true test of our project's ability. Hopefully we will be able to figure out a good solution within the next few weeks.
I have not been able to be as much of a part of this particular process as it is very technical work and requires very specific knowledge. Instead, I have simply contacted suppliers, etc. and asked them about some of the basics regarding their respective products.
Again, not much has been going on the past few weeks unfortunately, but things will hopefully pick up once we can make it past this setback.

A few potential signs...they are each about 6 inches in length

Steve Wozniak Biography

I am reading a biography about Steve Wozniak, the inventor of the Apple computer and co-founder of Apple. Apple is one of the largest companies in the world today, yet it began in a garage in Silicon Valley. In the biography, Wozniak's life is described, but his work and contributions for Apple are highlighted against his early life story.
I am already about halfway through this book and have found it very interesting. Wozniak is clearly a brilliant engineer, but his contributions to the business and operation of the company are sometimes overlooked. Steve Jobs often overshadows Wozniak from the public perspective, but each has made great contributions to the exponential growth of the company.
Just as Apple started in a garage, my own sign company is beginning in my garage. I do not mean to say that my company will anywhere approach the success of Apple, but it is very interesting to see that the founders of Apple encountered some similar problems that I face working with my own project.

Goal for the Year and This Week/ October 16 Update

My goal by the end of the year is to have a patent for the signs and to have signs manufactured already. I will hopefully be in the middle of advertising for sales to potential cities who would be buying the signs. Ideally, the sign would be in the review process to be included in the California Road Signs handbook for the year 2014 (we would be too late to be included in the 2013 handbook).

My goal this week is to begin making a pro/con list of potential designs and attempt to map out flaws in each idea.

I have had a busy last two weeks. My mentor has called sign manufacturers and has made an order of road signs. NOTE: When I say "signs" in this case I only mean literally the stop signs, not the entire sign that goes on the road. The shipment should arrive by Thursday or Friday at the latest. When the shipment arrives, we will be able to experiment with different designs and get a better idea of how the entire road signs will function best. I will be sure to post pictures of this first shipment of signs!

So, the next few steps involve the design process exclusively as we begin making tangible progress on the project. We will be working with the signs themselves and will have the opportunity to construct a prototype soon as we also have shipments of potential fastening devices and basic forms of what will be holding up the sign. Again, I will be sure to include pictures of the project as it begins to take form. It is quite difficult to describe what we are creating because there is still so much to be figured out, and I am sure it is nearly impossible to get a good idea of exactly what I am working on! All of this confusion will be cleared up soon when I can post some pictures!