Helpful apps and websites

 Here is a list of some helpful websites and apps

For Mac and Android:

• lucidchart - Helpful for drawing diagrams, flowcharts, family trees
• draw.io now diagrams.net - Helpful for drawing diagrams, flowcharts, family trees
• google drawings - access this through Google Docs and go to “insert > drawing"

Mac

• skitch - helpful for marking up screenshots

I’ll add items as I find them.

FIRST Robotics

 I am volunteering again to help with a FIRST Robotics team. 

This time I’m volunteering as a mentor for American Christian School. This is the same school I teach technology to K through 6th grades once a week. The robotics team is for the high school students and is located at another school building.

Important: I hope to update this blog post as more information becomes available.

First Year Challenges

Because this is the first year for this team, it’s a challenge to figure out where to start and how to plan steps.

Because it’s been difficult to figure out the steps and plan a path, I decided to record some of the steps here so hopefully it will help other people who are new to this program like our team is. 

I’ll cover some of the following points in sections below:

1. Understanding how the program works
2. Reading about the FIRST robotics challenge
3. Steps to assembling the Robot and getting it working
4. Links to information about how our team is doing

1. Understanding how the program works
This page has information giving an oveview of the program.

• Basically a team needs to be formed: application needs to be filed, coach(es), Mentor(s) and students need to be identified and registered.
• Then, on a “reveal” day in January, the challenge for the year is unveiled via online video.
• The teams then start work on assembling the robot (mechanical, electronics, software), adding any customizations, practicing and making adjustments. 
• Then, in March the competitions occur.

2. Reading about the FIRST robotics challenge

Use the link above to explore information about the costs, video animations of the challenge, schedule and more.

1. Scroll way down to expand the "kickoff kit" on the following page. These documents are helpful and important to check that all the parts the team should have are all received. https://www.firstinspires.org/resources/library/frc/kit-of-parts
1. Virtual Kit - Lists various parts that can be ordered along with credits/vouchers and a file with a checklist if the vouchers are exercised by the team
2. Kickoff Kit
1. Season specific Box Checklists
2. Black Tote Checklist
3. Drive base checklist
4. Grey tote checklist
5. Kit bot
1. link to https://www.firstinspires.org/resources/library/frc/kitbot
2. link to the kickoff info: https://www.firstinspires.org/programs/frc/game-and-season#kickoff
3. There are also links to Drive base optout and Black tote optout
4. There is a link to Missing or damaged kickoff kit items
3. First Choice
1. Link to Andymark for optional parts available to teams to use their credits given to all teams
2. The following page mentions the items that need to be purchased that ARE NOT in the kit.  This following page also links to an updated list of tools needed and suggested.  Important note: this following page also stresses the suggestion to buy a 3D printer for future competitions.  https://community.firstinspires.org/2025-kitbot-shopping-list-for-2026
3. This page seems to be a starting point https://www.firstinspires.org/resources/library/frc/season-materials?view=calendar and links to the following pages
1. Kit of Parts https://www.firstinspires.org/resources/library/frc/kit-of-parts - has links to the following
1. Additional game specific assets
1. Kit of Parts: https://www.firstinspires.org/resources/library/frc/kit-of-parts
1. Virtual kit
2. Kickoff kit - this has the Parts lists for the boxes in the kit and links to the following too
1. This page https://www.firstinspires.org/resources/library/frc/kitbot explains the parts of the mechanical and electrical build and has software information. It links to the following among others:
1. This document has links to the various assemblies and focuses on the 2026 mechanism for collecting and tossing “FUEL” (actually FUEL is a ball made of plastic). https://firstfrc.blob.core.windows.net/frc2026/KitBot/2026-kitbot-build-instructions.pdf
2. Page with "CAD, Drawings and software" (see box with this label on the kitbot page above)
3. “Additional Resources”
1. This page has a link to the manu for the robot base unit list of parts and assumbly instructions: https://s3.amazonaws.com/docusync-files/ba4541200a971b9831639ab2d15fd7976e32a7bc67ccb858a5261d40d9ac33e3/am-14U6%20UserGuide%20Jan%2010%202026.pdf
2. Playing field details
3. Kitbot details
2. Team updates
3. Q&A system
4. Translations

Assembly information and Videos

Drive Base information:

https://andymark.com/collections/drive-systems-bases-chassis/products/am14u6-6-wheel-drop-center-robot-drive-base-2025-frc-kit-of-parts-drive-base

Manual:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/docusync-files/ba4541200a971b9831639ab2d15fd7976e32a7bc67ccb858a5261d40d9ac33e3/am-14U6%20UserGuide%20Jan%2010%202026.pdf

Note: there is a section on the drive base page speaking about encoders (to detect the position/turns of the drive mechanism). It reads as follows:

The AM14U6 does not include encoders. The included Toughbox Mini S Gearboxes ship with an output shaft that has holes in the ends for optional included 1/4 in. diameter steel dowels (am-1323) that are compatible with the US Digital E4T Encoder (am-3132) and the REV Through Bore Encoder (am-4650). Teams also have the option of purchasing a magnetic dowel (am-3505) to replace the steel dowel allowing the use of the SRX Magnetic Encoder (am-3445). In order to use this encoder on the Toughbox Mini S, our SRX Magnetic Encoder Mounting Hardware Kit (am-3565) must also be used to mount each encoder.

FIRST AM14U6 assembly video from AndyMark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn--TDs5lt4

FIRST Video for Fuel Mechanism and Intake base

This video "2026 FIRST Robotics Competition KitBot Build” has information for the 2026 Kitbot. It does not show how to build the AM14U drivetrain chasis built in square configuration. It includes a video of the function of the kitbot, the parts included and 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3it7-qxCkg

:20 video of how the kitbot functions

1:20 materials given in black tote

2:47 the list of additional materials needed is listed

They mention that bumper build requires additional materials and to consult (see section 7) https://www.firstinspires.org/kitbot

3:55 how to cut the polycarbonate

5;20 Fuel Mechanism build

7:20 Laucher Hood

8:40 attach motors

12:40 mounting the radio

13:15 intake base

14:40 noodle cut (note: may need replacement during the season)

15:27 Chasis mods

15:55 Battery mount install on chasis

16:28 removal of front wheels to mount the intake baseplate

suggest to build electronics panel and electronics wiring according to section 8 of the kitbot instructions

3. Steps to assembling the Robot and getting it working

Our team had a difficult time figuring out how to find the steps to get started. It may exist, but we were not able to easily find a roadmap that is already laid out to provide the steps. Here’s some rough ones that we found. I might update this as we find more information.

1. Check to make sure all parts were received (compare the physical parts to the parts lists)
2. Decide teams to form
1. Mechanical building
2. Electronics
3. Software Programming  
3. Plan meetings to do build
4. Find materials that need to be ordered and order them
5. Start building with various teams. The following items could be worked on in parallel or series depending on team menbers
1. Kitbot base https://andymark.com/collections/drive-systems-bases-chassis/products/am14u6-6-wheel-drop-center-robot-drive-base-2025-frc-kit-of-parts-drive-base (note: there are links to video and documentation there)
2. Kitbot season specific mechanics
3. Kitbot electronics
4. Kitbot software loading and programming
5. Ordering additional parts needed
6. Using team points to order from Andymark
7. Using the vouchers to order from the various suppliers

Videos

Penn State: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5wbIg3lqTk

How to Learn Python Programming for FREE!

Here are free websites for learning the python computer programming language.

• https://www.python.org/about/gettingstarted/
• https://www.w3schools.com/python/
• https://developers.google.com/edu/python/
• https://futurecoder.io/ - Learn by doing in this 
• https://www.learnpython.org/
• https://www.codecademy.com/pages/learn-python-with-pro
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfscVS0vtbw - Learn Python - Full Course for Beginners [Tutorial] (Freecodecamp)

 

GenAi resources

 Here are some GenAi resources:

Image Generators

• https://www.canva.com/ai-image-generator/ - Canva
• https://perchance.org/ai-text-to-image-generator - no sign-in required
• https://musely.ai/tools/ai-image-generator-no-sign-up - no sign-in required, generates a prompt that then is copied into canvas.ai to generate the image
• LTX studio - requires google or email account. https://ltx.studio/platform/ai-image-generator
• midjourney on discord (requires account) https://discord.com/invite/midjourney
• Google labs (flow generator, moving archive, etc.) https://labs.google/

See also this post:

https://henrywill4.blogspot.com/2021/03/machine-learning-and-ai-for-you-to-learn.html

Coloring pages and other activities for children

 Coloring pages and other activities for children 

I’ll add more here as I find them

• https://www.steviedoodles.com/best-christian-coloring-pages - These are quite intracate with lots of faith based words and sayings. Some are simple too.
• https://creativecolorlab.com/bible-verse-coloring-pages/ - these are good for small children all the way to adults. 
• https://sundayschoolzone.com/resource-type/coloring/page/5/
• Lots of options: https://ministry-to-children.com/bible-coloring-pages/
• Simple to medium complexity https://www.coloringpages.net/
• https://ministryspark.com/52-bible-coloring-pages/
• In groups of pages to download https://kids-bible-lessons.org/bible-coloring-pages/
• Mostly simple to complex https://coloringus.com/bible-coloring-pages
• Some simple, some complex, some with scriptures https://www.homemade-gifts-made-easy.com/bible-coloring-pages.html
• Complex pictures: https://worldofprintables.com/bible-coloring-pages/
• Simple to complex https://encouragingbibleverses.org/bible-coloring-pages/
• 
  

Prayer Resources

 You’ll find prayer in the name of Jesus to be so powerful.

I’ve assembled some prayer resources here and will add to this list as I find out about more.

Websites with prayers that can be prayed for children and grandchildren:

Moms in prayer pages of prayers from scripture. Fill in the blanks with names of children or grandchildren (scroll down to “prayer sheets”) https://momsinprayer.org/group-leaders/ 

Prayer pages to pray for others, children and grandchildren: https://christiangrandparenting.com/free-resources/

books on prayer:

https://jamesbanks.org/

Education resources

 Here are education resources I’ve been made aware of:

Note: most schools will post their education criteria for each grade/class. Look for the organizations website and then look for curricula or curriculum.  Guidelines and assessment information may also be listed.

• Questioning techniques https://www.changingminds.org/techniques/questioning/questioning.htm
• Kathy Schrock was in my high school class and is well known for the education technology information she shares: 
• main page: https://www.kathyschrock.net/
• Guide to everything https://www.schrockguide.net/
• Writings of note: https://www.kathyschrock.net/writings.html
• Blog: https://www.kathyschrock.net/kaffeeklatsch
• Rubrics: https://web.archive.org/web/20120305135122/http://www.ncsu.edu/midlink/rub.mmproj.htm
• Classroom management: 
• https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/classroom-management/
• 
  
• teacher resources:
• https://www.nwea.org/teacher-hub/
• 
  
• https://www.mrsphillipsn5th.com/ - Brittany Phillips has freebies, classroom management and other helps as well as a YouTube channel and teachers pay teachers link.
• Free technology lesson plans and resources
• Free instructional technology unit plans on TPT: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/browse/teacher-tools/unit-plans/science/instructional-technology/free?gad_campaignid=21086793759&wbraid=ClQKCQjw-4XFBhD6ARJDAIop34QYUS4MD1qKIjiqGGUslLQUqexHvYw0y4lO1WfdH_adRzsP-9uAA7qMd6RHxCSwJKX5Smb_8_fSUFVu7km2QRoCzvM
•  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/browse/teacher-tools/unit-plans/science/instructional-technology/free

Example tech curriculum 

• 
  
• https://www.erintegration.com/2020/01/20/technology-curriculum-guides-for-k-12-roundup/
• 
  
• https://www.naeyc.org/resources/topics/technology-and-media/preschoolers-and-kindergartners
• 
  
• https://www.rocktwp.net/page/district-curricula
• 
  
• https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/814342/0K-5_Computer_Literacy.pdf
• 
  
• https://www.btrvs.org/page/curriculum-maps/
• 
  
• https://www.btrvs.org/documents/curriculum/curriculum-maps/715260
• 
  
• https://www.erintegration.com/2020/01/20/technology-curriculum-guides-for-k-12-roundup/
• 
  
• https://www.teachengineering.org/
• 
  
• https://freedomhomeschooling.com/technology/
• 
  

I’ll add more as I can

Resources for Grandparents, Parents and Those Working with Children

I listen to the Legacy Coalition's Grand Monday nights a lot and thought I would capture a bunch of their resources here. They share many. 

legacycoalition.com - free "grand Monday Nights" zoom presentations, podcast, blog, etc. 

bookstore: https://legacy.churchgrowth.org/

Annual Christian grandparenting Summit. Can be attended live or at more than 100 satellite locations 

https://legacycoalition.com/summit/

• 2024-05-06 Beth Guckenberger https://traumafreeworld.org/the-hub/
• Points in presentation: Pay attention to children and others,play, create safety, hydrate
• https://recklessfaith.com/ - Has info about her podcast, books and lots of free resources to help with parenting and grandparenting
• Books: Throw the first punch (about spiritual welfare) and The Heart Who Wanted to be Whole (children's book)
• Comment during presentation from someone: Good Song to sing to children when afraid: Psalm 56:3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you (Steve Green has a song, you can search for it)

Grandparenting ministries 

• https://biblicalparenting.org/grandparenting/
• 
  
• https://christiangrandparenting.com/
• Free prayer cards, devotions, Christmas scavenger hunt, how to read the Bible, grand camp, tips for writing to grandchildren and more: https://christiangrandparenting.com/free-resources/
• Moms in prayer has scripture based prayers here: https://momsinprayer.org/group-leaders/ (scroll down for topic based prayer sheets)
• How to Memorize scripture https://www.navigators.org/resource/how-to-memorize-scripture/

I'll add more resources here as I can.

• Ten minute bible hour https://www.thetmbh.com/
• Activities
• Bible worksheets, puzzles, coloring pages,bible activities, crafts, lessons https://worksheets.biblepuzzles.com/bible-activities/
• Thanksgiving printable coloring sheets https://christianpreschoolprintables.com/holiday-bible-printables/thanksgiving-bible-printables-crafts/
• Thanksgiving place cards https://thepurposefulmom.com/free-printable-thanksgiving-scripture.html
• Thanksgiving free “I’m grateful for… “ printable https://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com/updated-thanksgiving-printable/
• Books for boosting good behavior https://faithfirstparent.com/books-for-boosting-the-best-behavior/
• Atari retro games https://www.aarp.org/lp/games-atari/
• Search here in this blog for the word “coloring” for (or use this link to) coloring pages
• Kirk Cameron resrouces
• Brave Books and Iggy and Mr. Kirk: https://www.youtube.com/@BRAVE_Books
• https://bravebooks.us/pages/the-adventures-with-iggy-and-mr-kirk
• https://www.youtube.com/@KirkCameronOfficial
• Angel Studios
• Free: https://www.angel.com/category/free
• Guild: https://shop.angel.com/pages/guild

For those who grieve

 I've been grieving a big loss, but I have hope.

First, I'll list some help from the bible, then some resources below.

1 Thessalonians 4:13‭-‬18 ESV

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

https://bible.com/bible/59/1th.4.13-18.ESV

And...

Matthew 5:4 ESV

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

https://bible.com/bible/59/mat.5.4.ESV

Here are some resources I've found helpful and others that have suggested.

Griefshare.org - a Christian based ministry offered by many churches.

A few books you might find helpful:

John Eldredge: "All Things New"

Randy Alcorn: "Heaven"

Raymond R. Mitsch and Lynn Brookside: "Grieving the Loss of Someone You Love"

Suggested for Children:

A great book for kids is the invisible string. They actually have a workbook that goes along with it.

There is another book... called the rabbit listened. It's not as much focused on losing the person as it is on how to express your grief. It really helps them know what are helpful and useful ways of expressing their grief to others.

Low Sodium Low Salt Diet Sources

 

Photo by Bru-nO on Pixabay

 

We all could do with less salt/sodium in our diets. We've been collecting a list of places to get low sodium foods and recipes. I am sharing it here to help others. I'll add to this as I find things.

 Places for Low Sodium Foods:

Trader Joes:

• Classic English muffins: 70mg sodium
• Low Sodium Tomato Soup 
  
• low sodium Tuna Fish (“Solid White Albacore Tuna in water” “No Salt Added” Sodium: 70mg per can.

Wegmans:

• Wegmans Sweet Bread & Butter chips No Salt Added (pickles): 0 mg sodium in 1 oz serving (about 6 chips)
• Pomi Tomato sauce and strained tomatos
  
• Wegmans Low Sodium tomato pasta sauce
• Wegmans organic rotisserie chicken
  
• 
  

Uncle Giuseppe's - Morris Plains, NJ

• Sochil chips no salt
• Pomi tomato sauce
  

Shop Rite

• Francesco Rinaldi Original Recipe NO SALT ADDED homemade past sauce recipe: 40mg in 1/2 cup serving

Low Sodium Recipes:

•  American Heart Association
• Example: "Classic Margherita Pizza with Whole-Wheat Pizza Crust" (123mg sodium) you can also try to leave the salt out:
  

Low Sodium Food Sources (eat out):

• Ashley's farm, Flanders NJ - Low Sodium Turkey and cold-cuts
  
• Hink's Turkey Farm Manasquan NJ -  Low Sodium Turkey, sandwiches
  
• 
  

 

Wonderful Christmas links

Ceramic Nativity made by my wife (photo copyright 2021)

 

We've spent some time watching and listening to some wonderful Christmas programs, most of them while wrapping presents.  We'll share them here and keep adding to this list as we find more.

Concerts:

2021 Salvation Army UK and Ireland territories Christmas Concert with the international staff band, scripture readings, carols, and stories.

https://youtu.be/PvdiUSsqAMM

50th Annual Christmas in Chicago Concert from Moody Church

(Full orchestra)

https://youtu.be/leGLFLzCjXo

Hillsong Christmas Carol spectacular

https://youtu.be/yut-LrgilUg

Sing! An Irish Christmas

Also available other places where TBN is available (Roku, etc.)

https://watch.tbn.org/videos/sing-an-irish-christmas

"The Chosen" Christmas Special (streamed live Dec. 13, 2021)

https://youtu.be/T5ftnTK9-3w

Also available at https://thechosen.tv/watch (and on the free chosen.tv app) which are all part of the #1 crowd funded, Free, multi-season show about the Bible.

Chris Tomlin : Emmanuel Christmas Songs of Worship : Klove on demand (requires free sign-in):

https://ondemand.klove.com/live/mainstage/chris_tomlin_emmanuel_full

A friend shared this: Fellowship for performing arts : A Christmas Celebration (theater, song, scripture)

https://fpatheatre.com/ and https://fpatheatre.com/christmas/

Christmas Eve Services:

Christmas Eve is Friday, Dec. 24, 2021 - the times below are Eastern Time Zone

Liquid Church Christmas Eve : 3pm and 5pm live on website and elsewhere, on demand too.

http://www.liquidchurch.com/christmas-eve

(note: we've heard that 5pm is cancelled so maybe the 7pm will be live online?)

North Shore Fellowship: 4pm Live and Online

YouTube Live - https://youtu.be/l-WQOwY88mM 

https://www.facebook.com/northshorenj.org

Hillside Lutheran Brethren Church - 5pm

https://www.facebook.com/hillsidelbc

 Harrison Presbyterian Church -EPC

Christmas Eve Candlelight Services - 5:30 and 7:30 pm

https://www.facebook.com/harrisonpres/

TBN Christmas Eve Specials

https://www.tbn.org/blog/christmas-eve-specials

 4:30, 6, 7, 8 PM (watch on the website or other popular outlets like Android, iOS, Roku, etc.)

Many of their programs are available later on demand.

... more to come...

All the Things About the Internet of Things

 

Image by jeferrb from Pixabay

Well, maybe not "all the things", but at least some of the things :)

I am doing a FREE webinar titled "A Few Things About The Internet of Things (IoT) – An Introduction" on October 12, 2021. You can register in advance here. 

Shortly after the live webinar, you should be able to see it listed with the other webinars and presentations I've done with the GreatIT professional and also later I will list it where I update the list of all webinars I've done with various organizations.

Here's some reference information for the webinar.

disclaimer note: I can't make any representation or recommendation on or about any and all of these links nor whether they are safe or not since they are not my own. Beware and use them at your own risk.

Here are some examples and experiments from some friends

phone app is hosted here:
https://github.com/ibm-watson-iot/html5-phone
Deploy button will set up an instance in IBM Cloud that uses Cloudant and Watson IoT Platform.

SNP/P-Tech student info and code

https://github.com/SixNationsPolytechnic and

https://github.com/markusvankempen

 

Videos

https://www.youtube.com/c/MarkusVankempen/videos

 

here is a good one mapping people gps coordinates ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM44Pzr87gY&t=2s

 

Use the ISS space station as a sensor and do a Mashup up with the weather api 

https://snpweather.xyz/nr00/ui/#!/1?socketid=QAvnnIRFOt4clEORAAAA

 

A cool lab we did for predicting which vegetable to grow on your balcony using weather api AI etc and websockets

https://github.com/markusvankempen/ThinkLab1239

 

A cool lab with students using https://replit.com/@mvk4ibm/2020-May-html-ws-maps#index.html

or

https://github.com/SixNationsPolytechnic/2020-May-html-ws-maps

 

The "Thing" that gives thumbs up or down depending on social media feed:

https://makezine.com/2016/06/02/read-the-room-with-this-social-media-skimming-robotic-arm/

and the final version: https://studio.youtube.com/video/aQUB_kxjwvM/edit

 

IoT network connectivity:

https://www.twilio.com

https://www.twilio.com/go/supersim-iot-sim-card-trial-1

Some experimenter hardware processor boards:

arduino

esp32

raspberry pi

Types of sensors

 https://www.adafruit.com/category/35

humidity, light, sonar, radar, lidar, humidity, acceleration, GPS location, orientation, heartbeat, pressure, flow, positioning, etc.

Experimenting Software:

node red,  

https://cookbook.nodered.org/mqtt/connect-to-broker

http://noderedguide.com/tag/mqtt/

 

data transmission

MQTT,  bluetooth, cellular, wifi, infrared,etc.

Protocol / Network 7 layer stack

https://www.embeddedcomputing.com/application/networking-5g/long-range-wireless-solutions-wireless-technologies-for-iot-networks

https://behrtech.com/blog/6-leading-types-of-iot-wireless-tech-and-their-best-use-cases/

transmission queues

mqlite, mqtt  - MQTT Tutorial 

https://cookbook.nodered.org/mqtt/

https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/forum/t/mqtt-in-node-red-howto/39909

https://www.hivemq.com/public-mqtt-broker/

https://www.hivemq.com/blog/mqtt-client-library-enyclopedia-hivemq-mqtt-client/

https://learn.adafruit.com/mini-smart-home-with-esp8266-huzzah-feather-raspberry-pi-hassio-crickit/node-red

Public APIs

https://www.postman.com/cs-demo/workspace/public-rest-apis/overview

Other Examples and helpful info

Live IoT demo (on youtube): https://dzone.com/articles/iot-live-demo-100000-connected-cars-with-kubernete 

Sensor Node Free – Turn your cell phone into a sensor node

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mscino.sensornode&hl=en_US&gl=US

Project OWLhttps://www.project-owl.com/

Smart buildings and elevators - KONE information

Microsoft Azure IoT Central Demo

This article is about what sensors a smart phone usually has

And, here is a similar article on smart phone sensors

This older YouTube video shows how to see sensors data from your phone

This article says you can use an app to see data from IoT devices near you.

IBM Watson IoT Phone Device Simulator with Tutorial  - Another link to the same

Here's an IBM post that tells how to set up a program to see your phone sensor data

These IBM Tutorials provide insight on AI, Blockchain, and more.   

https://developer.ibm.com/tutorials/iot-mobile-phone-iot-device-bluemix-apps-trs/

Machine Learning and AI for You to Learn

 

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

I am going a webinar/presentation titled "5 Steps to Play With and Learn AI" On March 23, 2021.  The live webinar is free (you can register here) and will be available soon afterward on-demand with other of my webinars.

This is reference information for that presentation.

 The 5 steps to learning:

1. Awareness / Decision / Goal
   
2. Play / Experience / Experiment
   
3. Learn
4. Apply
5. Share
   

1. Awareness: 

The fact that you are here shows that you are aware. Now, you need to decide if you want to pursue it. Then, set a goal.

Forbes "Top 10 Tech Job Skills Predicted To Grow The Fastest In 2021" names AI as a top paying job.

Coursera story: "How Stijn landed his new job after completing the IBM Applied AI Professional Certificate"

Data Science compared to Machine Learning "When Data Science Met Machine Learning" (this includes the Five Vs of data: volume, variety, veracity, value and velocity

Towards Data Science: "Data Science vs. Artificial Intelligence vs. Machine Learning vs. Deep Learning" by Sunny Srinidhi.

UpGrad: "Data Science vs AI: Difference Between Data Science and Artificial Intelligence" by Rohit Sharma Dec 17, 2019

SimpliLearn "AI vs Data Science: Mapping Your Career Path" By Ronald Van Loon Last updated on Feb 5, 2021

Thinkful: "Data Science vs Artificial Intelligence" includes salary information and career track information

New Jersey Institute of Technology: One of the only B.S. degrees in Data Science in the Nation

2. Play and Experiment

Google

https://experiments.withgoogle.com/

https://experiments.withgoogle.com/collection/ai 

Includes: AI and Writing, AI and Learning, AI and Drawing, AI and Music

Google Vision AI

Microsoft

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/group/deep-learning-group/

https://lionbridge.ai/articles/10-craziest-ai-experiments-to-try-online-today/

IBM:

https://www.ibm.org/activities/

TJ BOT: https://www.ibm.org/activities/tjbot

Virtual TJ BOT: https://www.ibm.org/activities/virtual-tjbot

Machine Learning for Kids: https://www.ibm.org/activities/machine-learning-for-kids  

Watson Conversation: https://www.ibm.org/activities/watson-conversation

https://www.research.ibm.com/artificial-intelligence/experiments/learn-and-play/

GAN

This x does not exist

https://thisxdoesnotexist.com/

https://machinelearningmastery.com/impressive-applications-of-generative-adversarial-networks/

https://poloclub.github.io/ganlab/

https://www.producthunt.com/alternatives/this-x-does-not-exist

Generative Engine: https://experiments.runwayml.com/generative_engine/ Write and AI will draw a picture.

Image to Image Demo: upload an image and AI will make a corresponding image: https://affinelayer.com/pixsrv/

3. Learn

A great introductory article as an overview: From IBM "A beginner’s guide to artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cognitive computing"

AI and ML for Kids

https://machinelearningforkids.co.uk/

https://machinelearningforkids.co.uk/#!/links

 https://medium.com/stempedia/ai-for-kids-teach-kids-ai-with-the-best-online-ai-course-26575ab57337

https://thestempedia.com/blog/teaching-ai-kids/

https://thestempedia.com/shop/online-courses/artificial-intelligence-for-kids/

8 AI-driven Creative Apps for You and Your Kids

https://towardsdatascience.com/8-ai-driven-creative-apps-for-you-and-your-kids-5fdd71407dc4

Google Youtube video "AI Adventures: What is Machine Learning"

This tutorial and list of ML algorithms might be helpful to learn from:

 https://data-flair.training/blogs/machine-learning-tutorial/

https://www.newtechdojo.com/list-machine-learning-algorithms/

Google Dialogflow tutorials -Try it free https://cloud.google.com/dialogflow

 Medium "The most impressive Youtube Channels for you to Learn AI, Machine Learning, and Data Science"

Python Profits:  Learn ML, Regression, Classification, DL, Big Data https://www.pythonprofits.com/

IBM Watson

FREE cognitiveclass.ai courses include docker, chatbots, cloud, ML, Python, Node-RED, blockchain, TJBot, Big Data, Hadoop, Data Science, R, Serverless computing, Iot, Data Visualization, DL, Istio, Swift, statistics, Spark, GPU, Tensorflow, SQL, Bitcoin, Scala, NoSQL, MapReduce, YARN, Graphx, Kubernetes K8s, OpenShift, Microservices, Predictive modeling, Kafka, zookeeper, Solr, and more. see https://cognitiveclass.ai/courses

Data Science courses https://community.ibm.com/community/user/datascience/coursera

Design Thinking course https://www.ibm.com/design/thinking/page/courses/Practitioner

AI: Deep Learning Course at NYU CDS (Center for Data Science) accessible to all: https://nyudatascience.medium.com/yann-lecuns-deep-learning-course-at-cds-is-now-fully-online-accessible-to-all-787ddc8bf0af

Microsoft

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/group/deep-learning-group/

 Kaggle

https://www.kaggle.com/learn/intro-to-deep-learning

https://www.kaggle.com/learn/overview

https://jonathan-hui.medium.com/gan-some-cool-applications-of-gans-4c9ecca35900

Learn Python 

Python is considered by many to be the most popular language for AI.

For beginners (and children too), you can learn a bit about Python by using Turtle graphics. This was introduced to me by our local library which sponsored an Hour of Code and provided some of the following links:

https://hourofpython.com/  - Click on the "start learning" button for the free lesson of "Python with Turtles" - This might be fun to do with your friends or family too.

Python Turtle sandbox and documentation on how to use turtle and the beginner's guide to python turtle

If you want to learn python, here are some courses and tutorials

Beginners guide: https://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide/NonProgrammers

https://www.learnpython.org/ 

Python tutorial https://docs.python.org/3.7/tutorial/

"Automate the Boring Stuff" - Python books

 

Learn DL 

https://towardsdatascience.com/probably-the-best-resource-to-learn-deep-learning-in-2020-66d13a8ab1f1

Or you can monitor a class on Coursera or edx.

AI Newsletter: https://thesequence.substack.com/ or https://thesequence.substack.com/p

Ivy League University Online Classes

https://qz.com/1821327/450-free-ivy-league-university-courses-you-can-take-online/

Georgia Tech Course on Machine Learning (need to create a free account):

https://classroom.udacity.com/courses/ud262AI Machine Learning Data Sets:

Data for AI:

Datacatalogs.org

Data.un.org

www.data.gov

europeandataportal.eu/en

Kaggle.com/datasets

Datasetsearch.research.google.com

Community Data License Agreement:

Cdla.io

AWS Data Exchange marketplace

Data Access Exchange: DAX: https://developer.ibm.com/exchanges/data/
Has data notebooks

Model Exchanges
Model zoos:  Pytorch, TensorFlow, Keras, ONYX

MAX – Model Asset Exchange 

https://developer.ibm.com/exchanges/models

When I presented the webinar, there were questions about Project Management and AI. I referred people to my previous webinar on "Project Management and Artificial Intelligence" and my blog post on "Project Management and Artificial Intelligence"

4. Use / Apply

Alexa Skills:  

Alexa has "Skill Blueprints" that can be set up fairly easily. For example, here is the Q&A skill blueprint you can use to have Alexa answer your questions with answers you want. More information in this article by CNBC "How to get Alexa to answer certain questions exactly how you want it to" Updated Thu, Apr 19 2018 by Todd Haselton @robotodd

Learn to program a skill (like an app) for Alexa: "What is the Alexa Skills Kit?"

Compete for good with AI: Kaggle Competitions include some benevolent uses of AI

"How to build a chatbot for your school in less than an hour" by Brooke Gleason on 08 APR 2020

AI Gaming - Competitions at programming bots to win games with bitcoin as the prize https://www.aigaming.com/

 5. Share / Use it for Good / For Benefit

AI for Good organization

Microsoft AI for Good

Google AI for Social Good

DataRobot - AI for Good - For Non-profits - Cohort program open until April 30, 2021 

 https://www.citizenai.nz/

 

DIY Wood Pickup Truck Bank

 

Photo by Henry Will

Someone's birthday was coming up and they wanted a bank. I asked what types of things they like. The answer was dinosaurs, trucks and helicopters. I had an idea! I could make a wood bank that is in the shape of his dad's pickup truck!

So, I asked for a photo and received this:

I had some wood wheels that I wanted to use. I found from my experience with past projects (see other posts here in my blog) that wood wheels are a bit difficult to make, so I just buy them at the craft store.  

Looking at the picture of the pickup, I measured out the proportions of the real truck with respect to the wheels in the photo. I made a stencil out of paper using the same proportions to the wheels that matched the size of the wood wheels I had. I then traced from the paper stencil onto cardboard and cut it out. 

I saw a wood pickup truck online that was made with layers of wood and decided to follow that method so the middle section could hold coins.

I had a nice piece of oak to use to cut out the left and right sides of the truck. I decided to use some scrap 2 X 4 for the middle section.

I had to create a shape for the 2 X 4 to go in the middle of the truck that would allow coins to be put in the top and be stored toward the back. This piece also had to have a spot to drill holes for the axels for the wheels. Here (below) you can see the two shapes.

Part of the way through cutting out the two sides, I ran into an issue with my jig saw. It gave out. As you can see in the picture below, I wasn't quite done. Isn't amazing that even without planning, the two sides fit together like a puzzle so I wasted very little wood? Thank God!

Our nice neighbor, who makes wonderful wooden furniture, let me borrow his amazing scroll saw to finish the cutting of the 2 sides. 

The scroll saw didn't seem to be willing to cut through a 2 X 4 so I used a jig saw. My good neighbor also loaned me his jig saw (Thank you, you know who you are). I cut the 2 X 4 to the shape. The space between the two wheels was very difficult. There was nothing to sit the jig saw on. So, I cut grooves and then broke them out with a screwdriver. You can see that a file was also helpful and I used my protective eye wear even though I also wear glasses (my grandfather was a carpenter and had a mishap with his eye, so I'm careful).

I used some brown finishing nails to nail it together. Because this is hard wood, I had to drill holes first for the nails so I didn't split the wood. Not shown in this picture was the challenge I had on the other side. A finishing nail broke and split the wood. I had to glue it back together and put in a nail nearby.

I carefully cut a piece of oak to fit exactly where the tailgate was and carefully measured holes for a "hinge". I made a little handle and had to bevel the edges of the tailgate so it fit tight when closed, but allowed space to tilt open. I guess there has to be a way to get the coins out, right?  The file and Dremel tool were very helpful tools for this work.

I was looking into acrylic to cover the windshield, back window, and bed. But, after looking into the tools I would need to drill holes and the issues I've had in the past drilling holes in acrylic, I decided to use my wife's good idea. She suggested using the plastic that held some apple cider donuts we bought at a local farm stand!  It worked very well and doesn't scratch as easy as acrylic!  I just bent it to shape, drilled some holes through it and into the wood so the oak didn't split, and used a screw with a washer. 

All in all, I think it came out well.  Solo Deo Gloria! 

I prayed and God helped me with this. I kept reminding God that Jesus was a carpenter and I needed his help.

 

Please like and comment with your thoughts and stories about DIY projects!

7 Proven Ways to Manage Your Time and Tasks

 

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

I'm giving a free webinar on 2021-02-10 titled "7 Proven Ways to Manage  Your Time and Tasks."

In this post I will provide some information related to the subject. Anyone attending the webinar can find more detail here in this post. If you want to attend, register at this link.

The 7 Proven Techniques are:

1. The Pomodoro technique ® – focus and eliminate distractions

2. GTD: getting things done – take big tasks (projects) and break down into pieces. Just start on one piece.
3. Inbox 0 – Manage your email inbox - look at each incoming task once
4. Personal kanban – visualize work, limit work in progress
5. Saying "No"
6. Eisenhower's prioritization technique
7. Margin – Don’t over-commit
8. Bonus: bullet journaling

 You'll find links to more information below:

Here is a very recent article about Time Management:

Fast Company:  02-08-21 SECRETS OF THE MOST PRODUCTIVE PEOPLE
3 time management myths messing with your productivity

 1. Pomodoro Technique ® (Registered Trademark)

• The original Website (gives a good overview and has info about books on the topic) : https://francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-technique
• The Free web app:  https://pomodoro.francescocirillo.com/
• Trello blog: https://blog.trello.com/how-to-pomodoro-your-way-to-productivity
• Forbes "The Pomodoro Technique Explained"
  

2. GTD: getting things done – take big tasks (projects) and break down into pieces. Just start on one piece.

• The book is written by David Allen and available in many places
  
•  Explained at the GTD website: https://gettingthingsdone.com/what-is-gtd/
• Wikipedia GTD : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_Things_Done
•  New Yorker article "The Rise and Fall of Getting Things Done" (this gives a great history of GTD) https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-rise-and-fall-of-getting-things-done
  

3. Inbox 0 – Manage your email inbox - look at each incoming task once

• 43 Folders: Inbox Zero
  
• The Muse "Your Step-by-Step Guide to Reaching Inbox Zero (Even if You Currently Have 1,000+ Unread Emails)"
  
• Whatis Overview and link to Google Talk: https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/inbox-zero
• Lifehack: "What Everyone Is Wrong About Achieving Inbox Zero" 
• FastCompany "The 7-Step Guide To Achieving Inbox Zero—And Staying There—In 2018" and  "The Smart Way to Tame your email in 2021: Embrace a little chaos"
• Medium: "Why Inbox Zero is Ruining Our Lives (Better Email Habits That Will Help You Save Time And Money)"
  
• Read your email only certain times of the day, don't let email determine your priorities
• Think about where your tasks come from. Read "Management Time: Who’s Got the Monkey?" in Harvard Business Review (one of their top read articles over the years)
  

 4. Personal kanban – principles: visualize work, limit work in progress

• Kanban entry in Wikipedia
• A good tool for keeping your own kanban is trello.com 
  
• Personal Kanban website
• YouTube Video "Introduction to Personal Kanban" By Jim Benson (6 minutes, 36 seconds)
• Modus Institute : Blog
  
• Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) Team Kanban

5. Eisenhower's prioritization technique

•  Monday Project "5 old-school strategies for prioritizing urgent tasks you can try right now" (includes other productivity ideas too)
• Medium "The Eisenhower Method For Taking Action (How to Distinguish Between Urgent and Important Tasks)"  (includes some history of the origin)
• You can also see this used in the book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People®" by Stephen R. Covey - it is in Habit 3. See also the Wikipedia entry for this book

6. Saying "No"

• Henry Cloud Book "Boundaries: When to Say Yes; How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life"
  
• Michael Hyatt "5 Reasons You Need to Get Better at Saying No"
  
• Inc. "7 Tips for Saying No Effectively"
• Forbes "Three Reasons You Need To Say 'No' More Often"
• From the Agile Manifesto Principles "Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not done--is essential."
  
• CIO "The art of maximizing work not done"
  

 

7. Margin – Don’t over-commit

• Book "Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives" by Richard Swenson, M.D.
• Sequel book "The Overload Syndrome: Learning to Live Within Your Limits"

8. Bonus: Bullet Journaling (aka BuJo)

• BulletJournal website
• Watch the free tutorial (4 minutes and 11 seconds)
• TED talk "How to declutter your mind -- keep a journal | Ryder Carroll | TEDxYale"
  
• Wikipedia entry
  
• New Yorker article "Can Bullet Journaling Save You?"  
• Good Housekeeping:https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a25940356/what-is-a-bullet-journal/

My past two blog posts on this subject are also helpful:

https://henrywill4.blogspot.com/2020/02/productivity-time-and-task-management-5.html

https://henrywill4.blogspot.com/2018/10/is-it-time-management-or-task-management.html

I am available to do webinars and presentations on a wide range of topics.
Subscribe to emails of future presentations by sending an email to:
speaker-henrywill+subscribe @ groups.io
Or visit my speaking list page to see the other subjects I've spoke on and will be speaking on soon!

  Please comment here with your ideas about being more productive!

Online Courses, MOOCs, and many for FREE

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

I mentioned to someone recently how I was taking several online courses and many are free.
She asked if I would share a list, so here they are:

1. Udemy offers courses on all types of subjects and many are free. I've enrolled in courses here by Amazon about the Amazon Web Services (AWS cloud). You can find discounts on courses here every now and then since they tend to have sales now and then.  I recently saw a PMI-ACP class on sale for $9.99 that offered 21 hours of PMI approved education. That was an offer too good for me to refuse!
 

2. Coursera - has courses and some are credited. I've recently taken 9 courses on Coursera that were created by IBM. I learned about AI, Machine Learning, Python, Visualization, and Data Science and received a Professional Certificate in Data Science.
 

3. Edx - has many courses. Some are offered by Harvard and other schools (MIT, BU, Berkley, etc.). You can audit some courses or pay extra for a certificate when you complete the course (if you have a passing grade). I took courses from HarvardX in Data Science and the R language.  They did have a 20% off sale around April 2019. I am also auditing a course from MIT in Machine Learning.

These online courses are sometimes referred to as MOOCs : Massive Open Online Course

Are there any online courses you can recommend?

Glass Fusing Project

 

Photo by Henry Will using Google Photo Scan app

The picture above is before being fused.

This picture is after being fused...

Photo by Henry Will

 This was a gift from one of our lovely daughters. She got it locally in Morristown NJ. It's a take home kit (and you can also work on projects at their shop).

They have a setup to drop things off and pick them up contact-less (even after hours), but I wanted to see the place. So, I went during business hours. They are very careful and cautious with the pandemic. It is a big place with lots of room for people to spread out. When I went, there were 3 family groups there that were spaced far apart, with masks, socially distanced, and working on various projects. 

There is loads of glass in all sizes, shapes, and colors. You can make all types of things: suncatchers, dishes, spoon rests, jewelry,etc. It looks like a very nice place to spend some time together and make something. Here's the website: https://umakeglass.com/

This was a kit to take home and work on. I waited until after Christmas day to do it. You can work on the kit at home and drop it off for fusing and then they contact you when you can pick it up (contact-less). It's a good system. Or, you can go to their studio and work on a project there if you want.

A "tip of the hat" to the Google PhotoScan app for allowing me to get a clear, no glare picture of the glass. I've used this app for many other pictures of pictures and find it performs very well. Highly recommended!

(note: my next project is a wooden pickup truck bank - I start on that today!)

I saw a very nice glass spoon rest at the shop that had a very nice flower design. Maybe that will be a future gift for someone!

What do you think about this fused glass project? What would you make out of glass?