Binary

Hi!
Today I am going to talk about binary. Binary is written as a series of ones and zeros. The highest number that can be represented by one byte is 255. A byte is eight bits, and four bits is called a nibble. Whoever came up with those names must have had food on the brain! That number in binary form is 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 . If you wanted to write 14 in binary, it would look something like this:

128   64   32   16   8    4    2    1
 0        0     0     0    1    1    1    0

So 14 in binary is 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0.
If you wanted to write 97 in binary, it would look like this:

128   64   32   16   8    4    2    1
   0      1     1     0    0    0    0    1

So 97 in binary is 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1!

If you were wondering what the 128,  64,   32,  16,   8,    4,    2,    1, is, they are the place values of each number. 128   64   32   16   8    4    2    1 are the place values of each number, so if you go through the numbers one by one, you can figure out how many times that number is represented in the number you are turning into binary. But remember, you can only use each number once, and if you do not need a number to translate the total number into binary, you have to write a zero or the computer will think you are writing a smaller or bigger number than what you really are.

This morning, my Dad and I were working on binary! Here is a picture of what we did!

That is all for now!

Over & Out,
Elise

For Loops

A for loop is a loop that you can get out of/it will eventually end. It consists of three parts, initializing, conditional test, and iteration. Initializing assigns the variable with a known value. The conditional test checks if the current value of the variable is either greater then, less then, or equal to a number, and iteration is something done each time when the loop is complete.

A example is:
For(int z = 5 ; z <= 7 ; z++)
{
// do something here
}

In the above example, the variable z is being assigned to the value of 5, and it will loop through 3 times, because z++ is adding 1 to the value of z each time, so after 3 loops. the value of z will be 8, which is greater then 7, so the conditional test will turn out false, stopping the loop.

Also, below is a picture of what I wrote in my notebook!

Over & Out!
Elise

Interview Q's & A's

Hello!
Yesterday I interviewed Elecia White. It ws fun and very interesting to learn more about her and her job. Below are the questions and their answers.

Questions for interview.
1. What do you do? Do you have any other jobs? If so, what are they?
She is an embedded software engineer, and has worked on toys, race cars, and is an author. She also has a podcast.

2. In what way did this type of work interest you and how did you get started? 
 She went to small engineering science college. Her 2 favorite subjects were computer science and math. Being a system engineer made her happy because when she first made a motor move because she told it to, she said it felt magical.

3. Who would you say has been the most help in your career? How did they help you? 
Her husband, because he works in a similar job, so being able to talk to about problems makes them easier to solve.

4. What kinds of problems do you deal with?
Puzzles,because some of them are fun, and when frustrating puzzles are solved it feels good. People and puzzles are her main problems.

5. Do you find your job exciting or boring? Why?
25% exciting, 10% boring, and 65% interesting.

6. Is multitasking a skill that is required for this job?
Computers multi task, and they switch back and forth so fast people cannot tell. People can switch like computers, but when doing a hard problem they need compete focus on the task at hand.

7. What projects have you worked on that have been particularly interesting? 
Dna scanners, leapfrog toys, fitbit are all things she has worked on. She has also worked on the shotspotter, which detects gunshots in city and is very accurate when it tells the police exactly where it is. She likes knowing that it saves lives. She also made a ring that shows strange words when she taps it because she likes strange words.

8. What is a typical day like?
She plays with computer, tests outside, and think about what will do tomorrow. She also has lunch with friends.

10. What are your hobbies?
She likes to read all types of stories, has a podcast, writes a blog,

11. Did you have any other career choices?
She wanted to be a marine biologist, or journalist, has been manager, wrote a book but writing is hard work so Elecia said that she is glad she did not become a journalist. 

12. How does a person progress in your field? What is a typical career path in this field or organization?
A typical career path is to go to college, become a tech assistant, then become the person who tells the tech assistants what to do and helps them do it, and finally, a manager. 

13. What is the best way to enter this occupation?
College, robotics clubs, and other robotic groups and activities.

14. How would you describe the working atmosphere and the people with whom you work?
Sometimes quiet, because everybody is all focused so they can go home and do other things, and it sometimes noisy and playful. She likes to work with happy people.

She made a really big difference in my project, and I would like to say THANK YOU! Overall, she helped me see that even if you face problems in your job, when it is finished or solved then you feel good. Also, even if you face problems sometimes, your job can always be fun.

Over & Out

Elise

Thank you!!!!!!

I just wanted to say thank you to Elecia White, because she has agreed to be interviewed! I wanted to thank her for giving up some of her time to help me, because it will make a big difference in my project!  Thank You Elecia!!!

Over & Out!
Elise

Elecia White

Hi!

Today I sent an email to Elecia White, author of Making Embedded Systems. A link to her book is http://www.amazon.com/Making-Embedded-Systems-Patterns-Software/dp/1449302149/. I hope she agrees to be interviewed!

Over & Out
Elise

LCD Display

Today I worked on a display. I made it say messages, and I also could type a message and it would send to the display. It was kind of weird, because when the first line ran out of space, it would move on to the third line! And when the second line ran out of space, it would move to the fourth line! It was pretty confusing, so I had to keep the messages short and sweet. 

I will use the display to display whether or not any of the sensors are sensing. I will also use it to show if the system is armed or disarmed. Here are some photos!

I am sure it will also do other things too, let me know what you think!

Over & Out,
 Agent Elise

Book Information

Hello! I have begun step 1 of Operation Arduino Alarm. The research. I skimmed these books and with the title/author is what I think about the book.

Beginning Arduino, by Michael McRoberts, has lots of info about sensors, display boards and robots. I even own the robot on the cover!! Cool right?!

Learn Electronics with Arduino, by Don Wilcher, is mostly projects but could be kind of helpful.

Arduino, by Terence O'Neill and Josh Williams, explains many different versions of Arduino boards and has lots of functions and what they do.

Arduino Adventures, by James Floyd Kelly and Harold Timmis, explains Arduino, has projects, tells about functions, etc., all while making it fun!

Arduino Workshop, by John Boxall, has lots of projects and full color pictures, making it easier to understand!! (After all, I'm only 10!)

Arduino Cookbook, by Michael Margolis, is uber complicated, but with some help from my Dad, it has some good info.

Programming Arduino: Getting Started with Sketches, by Simon Monk, is, thus the name, about sketches, functions, sensors, and all sorts of projects, including one featuring Morse code!

Programming Arduino: Going Further with Sketches , also by Simon Monk, builds onto the book prior to this one, only with much more complicated stuff!

Arduino for Beginners, by John Baichtal, (what is it with Johns and writing Arduino books?!), is about every single little thing you need for a few projects. (Well, maybe not everything, but still pretty close!)

Getting Started with Arduino, by Massimo Banzi, co-founder of Arduino, explains 99.9% of every thing Arduino in excruciating detail. There is even a chapter called "Arduino is not for Quitters!" AHHH! Wait did I say he was the co-founder Arduino?! Then I take that all back!

Whew! That was a-lot! I  hope I did not confuse you beyond explaining with all those words! That's al for now!

Over & Out!!
Elise

Topics

Hi! Here is a list of the topics I will be researching for this years project.

• Arduino-Parts/Pieces, what is an Arduino, what can it do, purpose, etc.
• History-Arduino's history, how it was made, how has it evolved, etc.
• Binary- What is binary, how it works, how to translate, etc.
• Input/Output
• Sketches-What are sketches, what do they do, how are they important for an Arduino program (hint: they basically make-up the program!)
• Functions/Loops-What are functions and loops, what some can do, why are they important, etc.
• Sensors-What they do, some examples, etc.
• Shields/Other boards-What are shields, what are some of the other boards compatible with the Arduino UNO, etc.

That's all for now!

Over&Out
Elise