This has been a ferociously busy semester.
I'm teaching Math 9. This has been a phenominal stretch for me - I took all the Math courses offered at Okanagan University College offered prior to getting into teaching. Pre-Calculus (because I didn't take Algebra 12 in highschool), Calculus I, Calculus II, Calculus for Commerce, Linear Algebra, Finite Mathematics, Statistics, and Physics. All because I refused to take Arts, and I never took Biology or Chemestry in highschool (my brain isn't optimized for memorization), hence the math-heavy focus.
Math has made my days like my first year of teaching, many moons ago - 10 to 12 hour days of prep and marking. Oh what joy.
On the upside, I am rather enjoying the course. It appeals, now, to my problem-solving bent - something that never happened in highschool. It's kind of fun. The funny part is there are a handfull of kids in the class who have decided to hate me (remember, they're in Grade 9) because
- I don't really care about Hockey
- I don't excuse their homework when they are absent (I'll never understand that one)
Quite laughable. How shallow.
I have two blocks of Mechanics. They're going pretty good. I am (continuously) re-writing my notes, as I want to convey the most amount of information in the least amount of notes. Efficiency. Trying to cut the "neat to know" from the "need to know." Kids hate theory, but it's got to be done!
Slipped an abrasive wheel into my SkillSaw, and now the roof is off the Insane Impala. We've shortened the A-pillar 4", tipped the B-pillar forward, and will take a couple pie-cuts out of the C-pillar to finish the roof. 4" chop. Sweet.
Drafting is coming along. This course is also dynamic. The Level 1 course has stayed very similar to last year, With some refinements. I am re-structuring the assignments between term 1 and term 2 to make them suit 2-credit students (I hate 2 credit courses).
Drafting Level 2 is essentially taken from Mount Boucherie Secondary with permission from D. Muir. A few changes. We are also doing some Rhino3D, and may play with the 3D Machining software from eMachineShop.com.
I ordered a 30-day demo of AutoDesk's Inventor 8 to play with, after seeing a presentation of Inventor at our annual Tech Ed Conference. Sweet program! VERY nice! THIS is the program to use! A touch pricey though.
I presented the Midget Kart from last year's metal class. Handed out a hundred booklets on how to build it. You can purchase the booklet on the Midget Kart page with PayPal. Got lots of favourable comments about the project, and a few concerns about liability. Always an issue.
Liability. Everyone seems to have to want to sue someone else for their own stupidity. In my Utopian world, people will accept responsibility for their actions. If you spill coffee on yourself, you learn to be more careful - not to sue the shop that sold it. No - we've "idiot-proofed" the world such that we've protected the inept from life's lessons. Build a tree fort poorly, you learn about gravity - not about suing the guy who sold the nails. Fall off your bike, you learn to keep your balance - not sue the guy who sold it. Fail a test, learn to study - not sue the teacher who tried to teach your lazy "I'm-not-going-to-pay-attention-in-class-because-I'm-not-responsible-for-my-actions" butt. People are so quick to point the finger, but so slow to accept responsibility for themselves.
Kids won't think out their problems, they don't want to be challenged, they want to be spoon-fed. Sad really. Like I say to the kids "Take charge of your life! Don't be dominated by a piece of plastic! Grab that problem by the horns and tell it who's boss! Find a solution! I believe in you!"
Sigh. But I digress.
When my Totalitarian Dictatorship comes to power, by God the world's going to be a different place.
More stuff I've found:
The CACC season ended grandly. I suckered my former F/SS Arch-Nemesis to co-drive the Sinister Sentra as I was in dire need of some real competition. Due to a low turnout, we had six official runs, and my co-driver was able to get within 1 second of my best time. Very cool! He had lots of geat things to say about the car - very impressed with the responsiveness, the balance, the ease of which is could be driven. Want over steer? Here you go. Too much? Reel it in. Easy. Very flattering. Made me feel like I did a good job of the car.
And good thing too, because this was the "G Wellwood Farewell Tour 2004." I'm retiring the Sentra.
But I can't leave it alone - I ordered a set of Whiteline offset caster
bushings. These bushings increase caster, the tilting back of the steering axis as seen from the side. The bushings
Move the rearward pivot of the lower control arm outward, which in turn moves the lower ball joint forward.
The bushings also appear to have added a bit of anti-dive geometry as well.
The advantage of increased caster is improved steering "feel" as well as an increase of negative camber (or rather, a decrease in loss) in both bump and turn in. This should allow me to improve the cornering of the car without resorting to ludicrous negative camber settings (I have been running -3.5° all year - if you think camber doesn't eat tires - you don't drive enough!).
Nobody in North America, to my knowledge, increases caster on their cars. Yet mention that the Sentra has about +2.5° caster from the factory, and most racers are stunned that it's so low. Drive a BMW and you know that they are very easy to drive fast. They also run pretty aggressive caster settings.
The results of this modification are on the Sentra Bushings page.
I also fabricated a lower chassis brace for the Sentra. This was a startlingly phenominal modification. The Strut Tower bar was pretty lame - this was huge! I had to re-learn the car, and change tire pressures to get used to the car - the front stuck so much better! Very nice!
Um.... It's been trailered home for now.....