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Asher Swartz Capstone

Posted by Asher Swartz in Capstone · Pahomov · Wed on
For my capstone, I explored wood joinery. I started with and focused on dovetail joints by hand. I had to do of research at first to figure how to actually make dovetails. I found plenty of sources, I just had to find the right ones. Eventually I found a set of tutorials that were suitable. Then I had to actually try to make the dovetails. While they aren't necessarily extremely difficult, as my mentor told me they're very easy to mess up. I did four dovetails by hand, and one with another method. My first, which I knew from the start weren't going to turn out well, didn't turn out well. For my second set, I used a different hand saw which helped. For the third, I used the bandsaw to see if it improved my work. It did, but not by enough to warrant the hassle. For my fourth I sharpened and improved my tools, which did help. For my fifth, my mentor set me up with and helped me use a dovetail jig to make a rudimentary box. 
My final product is my array of finished dovetails. They are a skill that takes years to master, and I showed my progression with each piece. Each was an improvement on the last. For each one, I took what I learned and augmented it with a new technique. Joinery, especially hand joinery, is a complex and difficult skill, and I only began to scratch the surface with my work.
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1. Bridgewater, Alan, and Gill Bridgewater. Making wood handles, hinges & knobs: the perfect touch for cabinetmaking. Sterling, 1998.

This book, which was recommended and lent to me by my mentor, is probably one of the less useful ones for my specific capstone, but still interesting nonetheless. As I’m not planning on making something with drawers, I most likely won’t have a chance to use the handle making techniques listed in this book. My design isn’t final, however, and depending on the difficulty I may very well decide to add decorative pieces. Also, carving these handles by hand involves a lot of chisel work, which I need to practice. I may create some of the simpler examples to this end.


2. Dahl, Timothy. “How to Cut Gorgeous Dovetail Joints to Up Your Woodworking Game.” popularmechanics.com, Popular Mechanics, 2 Feb. 2016, www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/how-to/a19197/how-to-cut-dovetail-joints-woodworking/. Accessed 22 Jan. 2018.

This source gives me a few resources. It doesn’t contain much information on its own, but it does link to a few other videos. It’s where I found the Paul Sellers tutorial. It also includes two other videos about how to make dovetails using a table saw and router jig. These aren’t methods I’m particularly interested, but they’re good to have nonetheless. Popular Mechanics is an important magazine, that many people read and trust. They don’t usually focus on woodworking, but the videos they link to are sound and from some websites that I use as sources, which I discovered independently.


3. Greef, Jeff. Marvelous wooden boxes you can make. Betterway, 1996.

This book is also from my mentor, meaning it has been read, reviewed, and approved by another woodworker. The author is a professional woodworker that has published articles in Fine Woodworking, among other places. This book doesn’t focus as much on the type of project I will use for my final, but showcases and details projects that would be good to practice fine joinery on. There are a good few chapters on type of dovetailed boxes, as well as other types. It might not be as helpful as some of the other books for my final project, but a major goal and core value of my capstone is improving my finer skills, which making a small, detailed box could help me do.


4. Haydon, G. “How to Dovetail.” Instructables.com, Instructables, 2 Apr. 2013, www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Dovetail/. Accessed 22 Jan. 2018.

Instructables is a source Mr. Kamal swears by. It mostly consists of at home maker uploading their tutorials and how-tos. And yet, many users are very good at doing what they do, and all types of interesting projects end up there. This source is in depth and detailed, and was a little tricky for me to understand at first. Their process is more complicated than the one I used. But it provides good information and an alternate way to do things. It also provides good explanations of how and why to do things, and details measurements to use for other sizes and types of wood, which will come in handy later.

5. Kirby, Ian J., and John Kelsey. Making joints: techniques, tips and problem-Solving tricks. Rodale Press, 1996.

This book, from my mentor, goes into lots of detail amount many types of joints which I will use in my final project. It was the first thing I looked at as it is very good for beginners. It details pretty much anything you would need to know in the process of making joints starting with buying the wood. I used it for my dovetails, but also for mortise/tenon joints and for some project ideas. It’s my all around most useful, generally applicable, resource that I will keep on hand and refer back to as I craft my various projects.


6. Rodel, Kevin. “Coffee Table Puts Joinery on Display.” Finewoodworking.com, FineWoodworking, 1 July 2005, www.finewoodworking.com/membership/pdf/8732/011178038.pdf. Accessed 23 Jan. 2018.

Fine Woodworking is a fairly highly regarded magazine that deals with more complex techniques, as the name implies. This article is a detailed description and walkthrough of the making of one particular type of coffee table. It features diagrams and design schematics and instructions and explanations for all of these. The design is meant to show off joinery, so it is a good concept for me to look at. It mainly uses mortise/tenon joints, which I haven’t focused as heavily on. In general, the design and process will make good reference material for my project, and I may use certain elements, but my final design will most likely not be based on this source.


7. Rodriguez, Mario. “All About Dovetail Joints.” FineWoodworking.com, Fine Woodworking, 12 Sept. 2005, www.finewoodworking.com/2005/09/12/all-about-dovetail-joints. Accessed 22 Jan. 2018.

Another source from Fine Woodworking, this article in particular was very informative about some of the history and theory behind dovetails, as well as common types and what each type is best used for. They give some good numbers and ratios to use. They try to include pictures, but none of the links work which limits the effectiveness of this source. This is good for thinking about dovetails, and not much else, as it doesn’t provide much more information. It may have been more useful if I hadn’t also read better, more specific source, but as it stands I didn’t gain much.  


8. Savage, Adam. “Learning How To Make Dovetail Joints with Adam Savage - YouTube.” youtube.com, Tested, www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIpN8yWEqNQ. Accessed 22 Jan. 2018.

This source shows someone else’s process learning to make dovetails which is useful in a few ways. Seeing other people learning and making mistakes can warn you of things to do and not to do that watching a master can not. This source is Adam Savage learning how to make dovetails, starting from a similar place as me, sort of. He obviously has a lot more experience, but the type of carpentry I have done is similar to the type he usually does. Adam Savage is an accomplished maker, and has a lot of expertise in many ways forms of making. Seeing someone of his pedigree learn is especially helpful.



9. Sellers, Paul. “How to Make a Dovetail Joint - The Three Joints - | Paul Sellers - YouTube.” youtube.com, Paul Sellers, 17 Feb. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCYjoj6cfno. Accessed 22 Jan. 2018.

This was my main reference in actually creating the dovetails. This source consists of Paul Sellers, a well known master woodworker, going through his process of making dovetail joints by hand. I found references to this on a few other sources, like Popular Mechanics. I watched it once through at the beginning to check if I would be able to do what he does, and he used tools that I had easy access to and a process I could follow. I referred to this video many times while making my first few dovetails because he details his process slowly and clearly. I also used other videos of his as a guide for chisel sharpening.


10. Tables and desks. Time-Life Books, 1994.

A book from my mentor, this one deals with the making of tables and desks. Seeing as how I’m making a table, this provides a lot of information. It talks about important things other sources overlook like wood size changing with moisture, something I was warned to look into. It gives some tables featuring common dimensions of types of projects which I can refer to depending on my design, and diagrams them too. It also shows common joints to use for each application. It goes on through every step of making a table or desk. This will be very helpful when designing my final project.


Advanced Essay 4: Something Something War Never Changes

Posted by Asher Swartz in English 3 · Block/Franz/Taylor-Baranik · C Band on
Introduction:
My goals for this paper were to effectively communicate the ideas I have about violence and war into an essay.​ I have a lot of ideas about things, especially this topic so when I write about them I hope that I talk about them well and get my point across. My goals were also to not exceed word count and be better than last time. I still went over word count but less terribly and I don't know about that last part. I'm okay with how the essay turned out. It could have been better, but I only had so much time and space so I guess I'm alright with the result.

Strictly scientifically speaking, there are only two purposes in life: to survive and reproduce (and truly life only wants to survive so it can reproduce, so they can even be grouped as one concept). Philosophers may theorize and others may speculate about higher purposes, but a lot of the basics of biology revolve around those two concepts. Pretty much anything else is either biologically pointless or can be reduced to the basic function of survival. Even many higher functions that we attribute to more advanced or intelligent species (such as humans and chimps and other primates) usually have their roots in survival. War and violence are no exceptions to these rules, as they have remained from a few million years ago to now. We fight and kill for the same reasons anything fights and kills: to survive. And nothing is going to change that.

An extremely old debate between philosophers (with plenty of other people’s opinions thrown in) is whether humans are naturally peaceful or naturally warlike. There are a lot of varying opinions on the matter, with a surprising amount of variety. But whoever is right doesn’t really matter. It’s a moot point as we don’t need to know the truth of it; all we know is history and the present day, and that’s all we need to worry about. It doesn’t matter whether humans are violent or peaceful because we know what has happened in the past. Humans have fought and killed before, but in a different form than today’s wars (excluding the technological differences of course). As John Green says, “For the vast majority of human history, war consisted of raiding. It was about taking stuff from other people's kin group so that your kin group could have that stuff. For 99% of human history, that's how we fought.” This is an effective survival strategy that many animals use. Chimps do it, even some ants, and more modern territorial wars are an extension of this.

Now, when John Green says “for the vast majority of human history”, he means for the vast majority of human history, which is somewhere around a few million years. And up until the last 10,000 or so, humans fought by raiding. But then things changed, and whether wars were the cause or effect of that change is another highly debated topic (there are many of those). As John Green also says, “Cities began as settlements, which, because they were stationary, were targets for raids. And so to deter raiders, cities built walls. But those efforts required coordination, or else coercion, and resources which states are good at.” But after cities and states and countries and all the innovations and progress that came with them, war had to change. John Green continues, “Concentrated urban populations were the basis of civil militias, made up of soldiers who were also citizens. That meant that they were both effective fighting forces and political catalysts. They built civic pride and diminished the power of wealthy warrior elites, who couldn't defeat these new, larger armies.” And so then we come to the modern era, where newer, bigger, more powerful and destructive weapons threaten to destroy the things you want to take from other people. So what do people do?

They create international accords and conventions to constrict warfare so as not to destroy the world or kill too many people, some prime examples being the Hague and Geneva Conventions. The International Committee of the Red Cross defines international humanitarian law as, “International humanitarian law is part of the body of international law that governs relations between States. IHL aims to limit the effects of armed conflicts for humanitarian reasons. It aims to protect persons who are not or are no longer taking part in hostilities, the sick and wounded, prisoners and civilians, and to define the rights and obligations of the parties to a conflict in the conduct of hostilities.” But these international laws are good for peacetime and not much else. Once the actually fighting starts they get thrown out the window. The first time they used poison gas in WWI, they tried to find ways to have it not violate those laws, but soon neither side cared enough. Survival and self preservation instincts are too strong, we won’t let ourselves be beaten because we are abiding unenforceable laws, because they are unenforceable.  The International Committee of the Red Cross says: “The International Committee of the Red Cross is regarded as the “guardian” of the Geneva Conventions and the various other treaties that constitute international humanitarian law. It cannot, however, act as either policeman or judge. These functions belong to governments, the parties to international treaties, who are required to prevent and put an end to violation of IHL. They have also an obligation to punish those responsible of what are known as “grave breaches” of IHL or war crimes.” And those other countries aren’t going enforce the international laws because once the other side violates them they start violating them too.

Humans have tried to maintain a lasting peace time and time again. After each World War there was a “never again” period where people vowed that this sort of thing could never be allowed to occur ever again. But humans aren’t going to stop. World War I was the war to end all wars, and so was World War II. But it probably will never work because fighting for survival is an ingrained instinct in humans, and “survival” is a very loose definition. Anything can be classified as survival, whether it seems like it to someone else or not. The types of wars fought change, from raiding to sieges to poison gas and nuclear bombs, but the reasons stays the same: survival.


Sources:

Green, John. "War & Human Nature: Crash Course World History 204." YouTube. YouTube, 31 July 2014. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.

Green, John. "War and Civilization: Crash Course World History 205." YouTube. YouTube, 09 Aug. 2014. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.

"Just War Theory." Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. Routledge, n.d. Web.


"War and International Humanitarian Law." ICRC. International Committee of the Red Cross, 29 Oct. 2010. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.

Untitled Interview Podcast

Posted by Asher Swartz on
My goals for this assignment were to get it done. That was it. I just wanted to finish this. No more, no less. My experience with this project was pretty bad. For starters, finding a person to interview for anything at all is hard enough, but being able to record the conversation and it being a whole 45 minutes was nearly impossible for me. And then trying to find anything meaningful or valuable in the interview, enough so that I could create a decent radio piece? Well, that wasn't nearly impossible, it was impossible. I think I learned most from those Ira Glass videos. You know, the ones where he talks about how difficult it is to get a good interview, how much crap you produce before something good, and how you have to have taste in your work? Yeah. Those. Overall, I am not pleased with my product but at least it's done.

Advanced Essay 3: We aren't what we Choose to be

Posted by Asher Swartz in English 3 · Block/Franz/Taylor-Baranik · C Band on
Introduction:

My goals for this paper were to convey my ideas in a way that would make them make sense. That’s basically the entire purpose of the first few paragraphs ands the last one. I also hope I related some past ideas to the audience. I’m not unhappy with my product, but it could be better. If I had more time and more words to use (frankly 750 isn’t enough to do this paper justice, and I’m already way over that) I could make it a lot better. There are a lot of parts left unfinished here that I wished could have been finished. Other than that and a few other things, I am relatively happy with it.


Essay:

People have asked the question “Who am I? Who are we?” for centuries, maybe for all of human history, and for obvious reasons. Humans are curious creatures by nature, and question everything from the stars in the sky to the dirt on the ground, so it would make sense that eventually someone would turn that curiosity inwards, towards themselves. This eventually grew so large that practically all the categories of philosophy have some fingers in the pie of questioning what a human is. Other fields of study do as well; sociology, psychology, biology, chemistry. Needless to say, it’s a complicated question with many hypotheses and ideas dedicated to determining who we are.
Sociologist Erving Goffman has some opinions on this matter. Goffman believes that “we display a series of masks to each other, enacting roles, controlling and staging how we appear,” and that “we play a range of different parts determined by the situations we take ourselves to be in.” He also believes that “we adapt what we are depending on who we are interacting with.” Many people share and have adapted this idea of the masquerade, that no one displays their inner self. But Goffman’s not done. His idea of the Performed Self is set apart because “in his [Goffman’s] view, there is no true self.” That is quite different than a fair amount of the imitators. But in addition, Goffman also details how our social interactions work according to this idea.
Another part of the identity question has less to do with how we interact with others and more to do with how we interact with ourselves. In fact, it specifically questions who “ourself” is. This idea is the idea of Personal Identity. Personal Identity is the notion that a single identity persists over someone's life. There are a few theories about the specifics of this. They are Body Theory and Memory Theory. Body Theory states that “identity persists over time because you remain in the same body from birth to death.” and Memory Theory states that “identity persists over time, because you retain memories of yourself at different points, and each of those memories is connected to one before it.”
While many people support theories of or Personal Identity, just as many vehemently oppose them. Philosopher Derek Parfit claims “that each of us has a psychological connectedness with ourselves over time.” Parfit’s idea that while we may have a psychological connectedness to any of our past selves, we are still not the same person and don’t keep the same identity. Part of any one identity may be the same for other identities, or parts of identities may even be transferable. Part a new identity could even be the fact that the old identity existed. But while these identities may be separate, they exist in the same vessel and people don’t instantly know if you have a new identity so that vessel does have a duty to be a thing.
These ideas are the product of years of work by many people, and if there’s one thing we know about human nature besides their curiosity is there innate hostility towards those with ideas that disagree with their own. Goffman’s theories of the Performed Self directly contradict the theories of Personal Identity, yet they each have their own merits. So, assuming they are true, do the theories of Personal Identity and the Performed Self interact? And if any of these ideas are true, in any combination, what does that mean for how we perceive interactions with others and groups in everyday life? As with many things, cherry picking certain parts of multiple ideas can create a product superior to its separate parts. In this case, we are discarding the common theories of Personal Identity such as Body and Memory Theory, leaving us with simply the idea that an identity persists over time and combining it with the core concept of masks from the Performed Self. Combining these two will smooth out the flaws in each. Body Theory and Memory Theory don’t make sense, and many don’t take to the idea that people have no true identity.
The basis of this idea is that even if we only see the masks people put on, that still reflects on who they are. Just because anyone can put on any mask doesn’t mean they will. Goffman’s idea that there is nothing under the mask is partly true. While there may not be anything inherently basic under it, no underlying identity that existed before and creates the mask, there is still something. That something is a reflection of all the masks it puts on. If you spend enough time around someone you’ll notice that some of their mannerisms and ways rub off on you. You might start to say some phrases they say, do some motions they do. This works in the same way. Our inner selves may start off as a black mass devoid of anything, but as our lives go on and as we are forced to assume certain masks and ignore others, those “other selves” start to mold our “inner self” into some sort of something. As for how this affects our interaction with others, that’s for each individual to decide, or rather for their surroundings and experiences to ultimately decide. And since everyone’s situation is different, everyone turns out differently. So you are special and unique, in certain ways.
The ideas of self, personalities, and what-in-the-world-are-we are big ones, and have been discussed and debated for a long time. Sometimes certain people, such as Erving Goffman and Derek Parfit propose ideas that make a large impact, catch on and ride the wave of popularity for a while until they get forgotten or replaced. But the thing about these questions is that there are no true answers. How can you prove something entirely subjective? We can’t even prove that everyone sees colors the same way, much less large concepts of humanity. This means all ideas are equally valid, from the D- college student sitting in his room late at night to the esteemed psychologist in the lecture hall. The world may never agree, but the search for the answers proves a certain something about us: that we care.


Citations: 
Erving Goffman and the Performed Self. By Nigel Warburton. Perf. Stephen Fry.

YouTube. BBC Radio 4, 15 Apr. 2015. Web. 18 Jan. 2017.

Personal Identity: Crash Course Philosophy #19. Perf. Hank Green.

YouTube. PBS Digital Studios, 27 June 2016. Web. 18 Jan. 2017.

Arguments Against Personal Identity: Crash Course Philosophy #20. Perf. Hank Green.

YouTube. PBS Digital Studios, 11 July 2016. Web. 18 Jan. 2017.

Goffman, Erving. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life.

Garden City: Doubleday Anchor, 1959. Print.


Don't Be Yourself - Advanced Essay 2 A. Swartz

Posted by Asher Swartz in English 3 · Block/Franz/Taylor-Baranik · C Band on
Introduction:
This essay fit in with my development as a writer by pushing me forwards. ​I've never had to combine outside sources and m own personal experiences before. Always it's either been a thesis essay with evidence from a book and maybe outside sources, or (rarely) something based around my own experiences. In this paper I had to merge them, which proved somewhat difficult because it made choosing an actual topic that would work more challenging. My goals for this essay were to present my ideas well to the reader, as what I wrote about are beliefs I've held for a while (though not worded in the exact same way). I like the way I was able to use the quote for Gloria Anzaldua, as it works very well with the theme. To improve as a writer, I have to work on my analysis. I usually stretch it as much as possible, and say the same thing ten times in five different ways.


Essay:

People are not one size fits all. We have to change and adapt based on the situation. You can’t always stay the same and thrive. It goes back to nature. The animals least specialized to a single environment are the most successful. Ants are a good example of this. Their adaptivity makes them versatile, and their versatility makes them successful. While this idea holds true for humans physically, it also is true socially and mentally. One type of personality will not work in every situation. A type of literacy is knowing when to be what type of person, and how you can change how you show yourself, as well as how you can use this skill to your advantage

Every school is its own microcosm, with its own ecosystems and communities. Every school has its own culture, which can vary greatly from any other place. Coming back to school and the culture that comes with it from summer can be a shift, and it takes a certain type of literacy to get through the transition.

I crossed the familiar streets for the first time in three months. The light at Market and 22nd tricked me again and changed at the last minute, forcing me to walk on the opposite side of the street. I walked by the faded murals, under the bridges with their proto-stalagmites caused by the rain. Soon I was walking the seven or eight steps necessary to reach the scanner, and slapped my ID on it to tell the district that yes, I, Asher Swartz, did indeed show up for the first day of school this year. I ascended the stairs, taking them two at a time; not out of excitement, but habit. I pulled open the door, a little too forcefully as usual, and strode into the Pool. My usual table was not there, which put a damper on things. Neither were any of the chairs, on the entire second floor, it seemed. I leaned against a wall. Soon, the people started to trickle in. Some my friends, some not. I tried to be quieter than usual. Even though it was Sophomore year, I still had to make a good impression. I tried to keep calm, not being too loud or in the way. I quickly slipped into the old habits. Exorcising “well” from my vocabulary, changing my speech patterns, not in an attempt to fit in but to be my “school self”.

“Swartz.”

“Yup,” I replied, lowering my voice only slightly, “So. How’re things?” I remembered the old rhythms, and adjusted myself accordingly. I had an image to uphold, after all.

Gloria Anzaldua has experiences with this technique, albeit in a different way. She, as a self proclaimed Chicano, speak many languages (and dialects of languages), eight by her count. But she doesn’t speak them all interchangeably, she uses them for specific purposes. She describes when she uses each language in the following: “With Mexicanos I’ll try to speak either Standard Mexican Spanish or the North Mexican dialect. From my parents and Chicanos living in the Valley, I picked up Chicano Texas Spanish and I speak it with my mom, younger brother, aunts and older relatives. With Chicanas from from Nuevo México or Arizona I will speak Chicano Spanish a little, but often they don’t understand what I’m saying. With most Californian Chicanas I speak entirely English (unless I forget). When I first moved to San Francisco I’d rattle off something in Spanish, unintentionally embarrassing them. Often it is only with another Chicana tejana that I can talk freely.” The last few sentences really highlight the importance of choosing how what you act like. Even though Anzaldua is changing languages, not personalities and mannerisms, the idea is the same. She is tailoring herself to the situation. She wouldn’t speak the Chicano Spanish to someone who wouldn’t understand it, as that wouldn’t be an effective way to communicate. Switching languages and switching personalities aren’t very different from one another.

Learning how to fit yourself to different situations is an important type of literacy to have. With it you can make the most out of almost any situation, and improve many aspect of life. And it doesn’t really change who you are, just what they see, whoever they may be. You may still be the same person inside, but what you show is your choice. And when you have options, you have versatility. When you have versatility, you have adaptability. When you have adaptability, you have success.


Advanced Essay 1: Anger

Posted by Asher Swartz in English 3 · Block/Franz/Taylor-Baranik · C Band on 
 Introduction:

My goals for this paper are to relate my feelings of anger and my experiences with myself to the audience, and inform them. I’m proud of some of the parts where I feel like I relate my ideas well, and also some of my descriptive scenes from memory aren’t too bad, I think. Apparently my transitions aren’t very good even though they’re fine and if they should be better than you have to tell me what’s wrong with them (a wonderful example of passive aggressive anger), so my transitions could be improved and my ideas and analysis could be better and I’m sure everything could be improved.

 Essay

Things make me angry. Lots of things make me angry. Everything makes me angry, and anything can make me angry with the right circumstances. I am an angry person, but you might not be able to make the case that I have anger issues as I have developed an amount of self-control in the last few years. It’s not difficult to make me angry, but one of the things that makes me angrier quicker than anything else is time. More specifically my time being wasted.

Unfortunately for me and the people who have to interact with me on a regular basis, this happens more often than I’m comfortable with. Many of these instances involve my family members, as my mom seems to love wasting my time slightly more than she loves my sister. It doesn’t matter the activity, she’ll find a way to waste time. Going over to my grandparents? Let’s stay over there until 9 o’clock on a Tuesday. Running into the grocery store to buy milk? Apparently we have a lot of things to buy. Even something as mundane as driving home is subject to this uncanny ability. My mother and I were driving home when she decided it was time to stop to stop for some art.

“No.” I pleaded. I don’t plead often. This had been an unexpected stop, hence my pleading. We stood in the tent, plastic on four sides which did nothing but enhance the oppressive heat. We were encircled by art, or “art” as many would consider it. I am one of those. The abstract paintings surrounded us. And my mother just happened to pick out the worst possible one.

Now while these detours frustrate me, there is another type of time-commandeering that infuriates me. I only have two days in the weekend, and a lot of work to do in that time. I like to spread it out, pace myself properly. This puts me on a very tight schedule. I have “x” amount of time to do work, “y” amount of work to be done, and “z” amount of downtime. Yet, nearly without fail, I am interrupted. I can understand when there are things scheduled for the weekend, things to do, errand to run, and I am fine with doing them. As long as I know ahead of time. And sometimes, I am not so forewarned. And during a particularly busy Saturday, I can get angry.

On this particular wasted Saturday, I stormed into my room and slammed the door. It doesn’t take much to slam my door, but I gave it the extra push just to prove my point. I glanced at my phone, the time reading 5:02. God. Damnit. I did my best to control my anger. This limited the outlet of my rage to the nearest throwable object, which just happened to be a pen. I took a few breaths in which I thought about my situation again, and promptly threw the pen at the wall. I let out a sigh, almost a groan but not quite, and slumped into my chair, which had begun to crack quite badly in places. I checked my phone again, 5:03. I had to leave in a few minutes. I stood back up with a groan that was almost a sigh and angrily picked up the pen as angrily as you can do that. I looked around the room again, then exited, not quite slamming the door this time.

This isn’t holding anything against my mom, merely accentuating how much I value my time, and providing a reason for why. She has taught me to cherish it, for it may change owners at any moment. As I said, when things are scheduled everything is fine. I am willing to sacrifice time with very little complaint if I am given the proper notice. But if not, then the examples above show the reasons for my anger.

My anger, as annoying as it is, is an integral part of who I am, it’s part of my identity. I somewhat enjoy being angry, as counterintuitive as that may seem. As my classmates and friends can attest to, I am the short kid who get’s angry at everything, give or take a few adjectives. And I embrace this openly. I’ve had a degree of anger problems for a long time. I can remember getting mad at the tiniest little things in first grade. But as I grew older, I learned to control it better (not perfectly, but better), harness it even, in a similar fashion to the “If you embrace your faults then no one can use them against you” quote. I’ve even said I’m at my best when I’m angry. So, all in all, it’s almost a good thing that I’m always angry.

ILP Semester 2 Reflection A. Swartz 3/28

Posted by Asher Swartz in Ilp - 10Th Grade - Miles - Wed on
I think that the group work has gone well, because it has been productive, informative, and interesting. We do many interesting things. I am looking forward to continuing our project, because I want to see where it leads and what happens next. We had a big discussion about our project, and I really enjoyed that and it helped me connect with the other people. I think it is important to remember that other people are different from me, and will have different (incorrect) opinions and I should keep this in mind, while sharing ideas.

2/25/16 A. Swartz ILP Semester Check-In

Posted by Asher Swartz in Ilp - 10Th Grade - Miles - Wed on
  • I feel like I am learning a lot, and seeing how professional engineers work and what things go on.
  • Working more and seeing where it goes next, because I am very interested in the process.
  • Two times ago (2/10/16), we were designing the basics for a parcel of land. I felt I did well and I enjoyed doing it. Add what you think is important.
  • To remember to look more interested. I am interested, but I am usually quiet and I could be more vocal and express my opinions better.


Asher Swartz ILP Update Thursday 11/12/15

Posted by Asher Swartz in Ilp - 10Th Grade - Miles - Wed on
Last Wednesday, 11/4/15, I attended my first ILP session with the ACE Mentor program.

It went very well, I think. I enjoyed it a lot, and am looking forward to the rest. I was a bit awkward, the only other kids from SLA are Juniors, but next time another Sophomore is coming. I can probably work on the whole "not being awkward around strangers I don't share a whole lot in common with" thing.

I am generally just looking forward to anything. It is a program that shows a broad view of engineering, and I am just excited to learn more.

I have only had one meeting, but I think they provide pizza everytime as it is somewhat late in the day. I like the food part, though we do have to answer questions to get it, but that isn't a problem. I feel like we're also going to be visiting active sites (not the enzyme kind, the building kind) which is gonna be cool.

I think I need to definitely work on the social thing, as I probably look a little bit weirder than I really am. Its important to remember that collaboration is an important part of engineering, and I need to do that better.

Asher Swartz Why I Don't Have an ILP Thursday 10/15/15

Posted by Asher Swartz in Ilp - 10Th Grade - Miles - Wed on
I was planning on fixing this problem by meeting with Jeremy after school today. I had sent him an email and was planning to follow up as soon as possible. Last week I attended the meeting for ILP-less people, and sent the accompanying email. Since then, I have been in contact with my Grandfathers accountant. I have sent him a description of myself and what I need and intend to have. Hopefully he will be able to direct me to any of his clients with an internship position. If I had sent this earlier, maybe I would have an ILP by now. I have been looking for opportunities for ILPs, but have seen none. I am not in contact with many people who could have set me up, so I didn't have any options before the big meeting. This delayed me a lot, as I had to wait for the meeting which gave me a week to find one. I think it's important to look more intensely. I probably could have found one earlier if I tried, but I thought that the meeting would have been sooner. It's important to actually look hard, and not just assume there is a system set up for people not looking hard.

A House Designed by Us the Person Submitting this and their Partner Who Should have Also Submitted This

Posted by Asher Swartz in Spanish 1 - Manuel - B on

Nombre: Asher Swartz Pareja: Tamir Harper

http://www.homestyler.com/designprofile/a95853f5-8702-4ac6-9cb1-e9ef023232e1

1st Floor/Piso Primero

Screenshot 2015-05-31 at 3.49.41 PM.png

2nd Floor/Piso Segundo

Screenshot 2015-05-31 at 3.50.10 PM.png

3rd Floor/Piso Tercer

Screenshot 2015-05-31 at 3.50.28 PM.png

A note from the writers: This is a note on this. This is the description of our house. Most of it is adjectives. Anything you see underlined is what the actual rooms/furniture are. Below this is a list of the rooms in

English.

Esta es una casa. Esta casa es maravillosa. ¡Es tan estupenda! Nosotros amamos esta casa muchísimo. Primero aunque, ubicación Nuestra casa está ubicada en el corazón de Atlanta. Situado justo enfrente de un gran parque. La comunidad cuenta con una piscina que se puede utilizar por un módico precio. Hay escuelas de alto rendimiento no muy lejos. ¡Aquí es! El piso primero:

Primero, tenemos el césped. Luego, el garaje para tres coches. Después de eso, las puertas principial. Luego, a la izquierda, el medio baño (con inodoro y lavabo) y a la derecho un clóset con dos puertas. ¡Luego, la sala grande! ¡Muy granda! ¡Súper grande! ¡Fantásticamente grande! Es grande. ¡Penúltimo, la cocina para el cocinero y niños y niñas! ¡Y finalmente, el comedor! El piso segundo:

Primero, el uno, el único, el enorme, el dormitorio principal! Viene con: el vestidor grande, dos lavabos, para él y ella, y la ducha y bañera. ¡Muy excelente, no! Después, dos dormitorios, con baños adjunto. Por último, la lavadero con mesa. El piso tercer:

Dos más dormitorios con baños (estos pueden convertirse en todo), una oficina grande y espacioso. ¡Y último, pero no menos importante, el sala de cine/juegos/diversión! La tiene pantalla de cine, mesa de ping pong, el baño, y algo más quiere. ¿Ah, mencioné la es grande, gigantesca? ¡La es!

¡Eso es la casa!¡ Gracias! Deseñado Por: Asher Swartz y Tamir Harper.


1st floor

  • Master doors

  • Open walk through

  • Large Living room

  • Half bathroom

  • Closet

  • 3 car garage

  • Chef Kitchen

  • Family dinning room

  • Large grass outdoor area

2nd floor

  • Large Master Bedroom

    • Walk in closet

    • His and Her sink

Shower and tub

  • 2 bedrooms with attached bathrooms

  • Laundry room with folding table

3rd floor

  • 2 bedrooms with attached bathrooms

  • large spacious office attached bathroom

  • Huge movie room with ping pong table attached bathroom

​


CopyofE1U8Q4HouseProject (1)

Reconstruction Era Visuals Project Asher S.

Posted by Asher Swartz in African American History - Jonas - E on
Q4BenchmarkNewspaperOfficial
MAKE SURE YOU CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO SEE IT ALL.

Artist Statement: 

Hello I am Asher Swartz, creator of the fictional "The Confederate Life" newspaper. This is a fictional newspaper set in the Reconstruction period following the American Civil War. A brief overview of the contents of this fictional newspaper (brief disclaimer: I do not inherently agree with the viewpoints expressed in these articles and this newspaper. They are merely fictional ideas I wished to express.): It is called The Confederate Life (as I'm sure you understand by now) and it features two main, one age long each articles. One is titled “Dirty Carpetbagger” (carpetbaggers were northerners who moved to the South after the American Civil War to benefit financially) and the other one is titled “Honorable Gentleman”. These are articles written by someone very mad about the American Civil War and Reconstruction in general and is venting their anger by writing newspaper articles promoting Southerners and bashing Northerner carpetbaggers. They each contain quotes from a main person. The Northerner is Marshall Harvey Twitchell, a Civil War veteran who lived in the South, a self proclaimed carpetbagger. The Southerner in question is Edwin H. McCaleb, a supporter of the Confederacy. The quotes are from an autobiography for Twitchell and a letter to a friend for McCaleb. The articles use these quotes, and the author rants on about this that and the other thing. End of summary. Now, there may be some points that cause some form of confusion for some readers, and I would like to clear these up. First, there are only two main articles. Everything else is for context. Secondly, once again, this is purely fictional. Everything besides the quotes themselves is completely made up. To finish up, I will tell you why this is important. Even though this is fictional, it is a representation of something that might have existed. Its just an example of how people might have thought.


​Here is the link to my source analysis. It also has the Artist Statement

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DRvBlaMc-1KMmq5xvXaicuLqmfky792F0dqJUAa1y2c/edit

Q3 Art Reflection (A. Swartz)

Posted by Asher Swartz in Art - Freshman - Hull - y1 on
a. I feel like I accomplished all that I could, since I don't consider myself particularly good at art. I hope I did all of the parts to the best of my ability. I like the back wall and ceiling best since those were the things I had the most time with. I enjoyed working on this, just wished I had more time since I work slow sometimes.

b. Time, and I'd be a bit more careful. There were some sloppy parts of my drawing that I would have fixed I could have. 

c. Seyni (N)s. She chose one of the walls that was, like, actually more challenging than a big window. The lines are light and it looks clean and precise and stuff. Also there are a bunch of things in it, she did a lot. It looks very good.

d. That it is very annoying to do, yet rewarding if done correctly. It looks really good if right, but not so good if wrong. I don't really like it a whole lot, since it is mostly rulers, and I have this weird trouble drawing straight line with the rulers. At least it isn't shade-sketching.
IMG_20150409_114612
IMG_20150409_114612

Entrevista con Señora Jonas (Asher, Nadia, Tamir)

Posted by Asher Swartz in Spanish 1 - Manuel - B on
(Here is the plain text from our blog website all about Mrs. Jonas)

Señora Jonas es trienta y uno años. Ella es muy intersante. Le gusta ver la televíson. Señora tiene dos menor hermanos y dos menor hermanos. Ella es de Los Ángeles pero viven en Filadelfia. Señora Jonas es trienta y uno años. Ella está muy interesante. Ella está casada. Le gusta ver la televíson. Señora tiene dos hermanos menor y dos hermanas menor. Ella está de Los Ángeles pero vive en Filadelfia. Ella está una profesora a la Science Leadership Academy. Señora Jonas tiene una mascota. El mascota nombre es Yogi. Yogi vive con la familia. Ella encanta ir al cine. La cantante favorita de Señora Jonas es Beyoncé. Cuando ella era joven, Señora Jonas encanta juegos. Ella jugo Candy Land, cuerda de satar, la etiqueta, Mario Hermanos, Donkey Kong, y Jango. Ella gusta viajar. Ella le gusta ir a Nicaragua y España. Señora Jonas encanta corre. Señora Jonas es muy saludable. Ella corre todos los días. Ella fue a la universidad. Ella especializó en educación y historia. Ella es passoniate para enseñar a los jóvenes y dar vuelta al mundo. Ella encanta los gentes. Su trabajo ideal sería dueño de su propio negocio o ser un fotógrafo. Ella pensar ella es aburrita. Le gusta baila y no le gusta canta.


Q. ¿De dónde viene?


  1. Yo vivo en Filadelfia  



Q. ¿Dónde nació usted?


  1. Yo nacío Los Ángeles



Q. ¿Cuántos años tienes?


  1. Tengo trienta y uno años



Q. ¿Tienes tú hermanos o hermanas?


  1. Tengo dos menor hermanos y dos menor hermanas



Q. ¿Tiene usted mascotas en casa?


  1. Mi mascotas nombre es Yogi



Q. ¿Qué tipo de juegos jugaste creciendo?


  1. Saltar la cuerda, Etiqueta, Candy land, Mario Brothers, Donkey Kong, Jenga,



Q. ¿Cuáles fueron tus canciones favoritas y música?


  1. Beyonce Single Ladies



Q. ¿Cuál es tu trabajo soñado?


  1. Su propio negocio/ National Geographic fotografía



Q. ¿Cuál es su lugar favorito(s) para visitar?


  1. España y Nicaragua



Q. ¿Hay alguna historia sobre parientes famosos o infames en tu familia?


   1.   Piensan que soy un pariente de Jonas Brother



Q. Cuales son sus actividades favoritas?


  1. Ejercicio, correr, cine, viajar



Q. ¿Cómo conoció a su esposo?


  1. Trabajamos juntos en el pasado



(And here is the link to our website! The site includes an introduction page, an essay about Mrs. Jonas, the basic question we asked and the answers we got, and some little extra things! Enjoy!) 

Ensayo Asher, Tajnia, Joseph.

Posted by Asher Swartz in Spanish 1 - Manuel - B on

¡SLA es Súper Agudo!



¡Hola! Somos Asher Swartz, Tajnia Hussain, y Joseph Lee, y somos en noveno grado. Somos estudiantes de Science Leadership Academy, o SLA. SLA es una Filadelfia imán escuela. Está en centro ciudad Filadelfia, 55 Norte 22 Calle. Está cerca de Arch Street Gourmet, Trader Joe’s, y 7-Eleven. ¡Comida! SLA es muy divertidos, y un poco extraño. Hay muchos estudiantes cómicos. ¡Es súper genial! Hay aproximadamente 500 estudiantes en la escuela, casi 120 por clase. Tenemos cinco pisos, y muchos profesores. Tenemos deportes diferentes, corremos en las carreras, leemos y escribimos poesía, cantamos canciones y bailamos bailes, y dibujamos arte. Tenemos también tocamos instrumentos, trabajamos en proyectos, estudiamos para pruebas, y comemos durante el almuerzo. ¡Tenemos buenos niños y niñas equipos fútbol y equipo de debate (bastante bueno equipo de debate), y muchos más maravillosos equipos y clubes! ¡Asher participa en Ultimate Frisbee porque es tremendamente divertidos! ¡Tenemos un gran escuela!

Hay clases bioquimica, historia, inglés, español, álgebra, tecnología, teatro y ingegneria en noveno grado. Mis clases favoritas inglés y bioquímica. Inglés es muy divertida y entretenido y un poco difícil. Nosotros hacemos trabajamos y escribimos. Señor Kay enseña muy bien y es tranquilo y chévere. Necesitamos la computadora y libros. Leemos libros tal como Odyssey, y opciones libros. Para tener éxito en esta clase debemos escuchar y prestar atención durante las discusiones. Bioquímica es bastante, interesante y fácil. Señorita Dunda es sociable y fantástica enseña. Necesitamos cuaderno para labs y bata de laboratorio. Experimentamos y tomar apuntes. Es requerido y importante a colaborar y hacer preguntas. También a responsable en puntualidad y estar preparada.

La Srta Manuel enseña español. Es bastante tranquila, boba, y baja. Su clase es divertido, interesante, y muy energético. En la clase hablamos español, cantamos en español, jugamos juegos, y tomamos apuntes. También tenemos súper divertido competiciones de clase. Los estudiantes son qué chévere y responsable. Muy diverso. Nosotros somos una mezla de razas.

SLA es muy chévere. Nos encanta la libertad, nos encanta los estudiantes, nos encanta el almuerzo, nos encanta las computadoras, nos encanta The Franklin Institute, nos encanta las clases, y muchos más. Lo que más nos gusta de SLA los profesores. Ellos son divertido, tranquilo, inteligente, y muy útil. SLA es muy exitoso, bajo, y súper interesante. SLA es un muy bien escuela para todos los que estén interesados en la ciencia. Amamos nuestra escuela.


Asher Swartz Los Seres Queridos En Mi Vida

Posted by Asher Swartz in Spanish 1 - Manuel - B on

ASHER

Intro

Hola. Soy Asher Swartz, y estos son los seres queridos en mi vida: Yo, él, ella, ellos, y nosotros. Numero Uno:


Yo: Soy Asher Swartz. Tengo catorce años, y mi cumpleaños es en primero de mayo. Soy de Filadelfia, y vivo en Filadelfia. Me encanta la ciudad. Tengo el pelo café y los ojos cafés. Soy bajo y algo delgado. Soy hablador y extraña (a veces un poco bobo, también loco). Soy una mezcla de razas. Me gusta jugar videojuegos, pasar un rato con amigos, y escribir. Me encanta comer, leer, dormir, y escuchar música. No me gusta estudiar, ayudar en casa,  y trabajar. ¡Odio cantar, bailar, dibujar! ¡Soy no artistico en absoluto! Soy súper chévere.


Él: Hola. Te presento a Thomas. Su nombre es Thomas. Thomas tiene catorce años. Él es alto, y tiene el pelo claro café y los ojos cafés, también. Es alto y más o menos delgado. Thomas es mi alma gemela. Ja ja ja. ¡Es una broma! Pero él es un buen amigo, sin embargo.


Ella:  Ella es Wes. Ella es muy alto y bastante delgado. El pelo negro y corto, los ojos pardos. Ella vivo en Filadelfia. Wes es cómica y super divertida. Súper, muy, bastante cómica! Tiene catorce años. Le gusta pasar un rato con amigos. Ella tiene muchos amigos. Ella está en mi consejería. Wes es chévere


Ellos: Ellos son mis mejores amigos. Asisten a SLA. Ellos son fabulosos. Ellos son tremendamente cómicos. Ellos son siempre divertidos. Ellos son las personas que se sientate conmigo en el almuerzo.

Ellos son: James, Luis, Saamir, Nadia, Savannah, Kali, Taytiana, y veces otros. Ellos son africano-americanos, asiáticos, latinos, de decendencia europea, y una mezla de razas. Ellos son mis amigos.


Nosotros:  Él es Luis-Manuel Morales y soy Asher Swartz. Nosotros somos amigos, muy muy buenos amigos. Él tiene el pelo negro y los ojos cafés. Él es un poco gordo, un poco, y él es latino Nosotros somos amigos, pero nosotros somos muy violento! Luis y yo tenemos divertidos.


Fin: Ellos es los seres queridos en mi vida ¡Eso es todo! ¡Gracias por tu atención!

Los Seres Queridos En Mi Vida from Asher Swartz on Vimeo.

More and More Net Neutrality Opinions

Posted by Asher Swartz in Technology- Freshmen - Hull - y2 on
​ My opinion on Net Neutrality? Everyone needs to know about it, teens included, especially even since we are the ones who are going to have to deal with this. We will be voting soon, and we will have influence on the government so it is important for us to make smart, deliberate decisions on how the internet will work. As seen here (http://www.whitehouse.gov/net-neutrality), Obama wishes to address this, and even though we wont be able to vote for him, we could vote for someone with similar ideas.
Even though internet as a utility might have its own problems, it is still better than an internet that is controlled by mega-corporations. Though internet as a utility may cost more, at least it won't be controlled and have the cost vary and be terrible and have everyone suffer. The head of the FCC Tom Wheeler (http://www.fcc.gov/leadership/tom-wheeler) is and has been involved in ISPs, which are completely biased towards net neutrality. That may affect the way he decides, which is important to know. Make good, informed decisions based on facts.
ISPs are negative because they act as middlemen. Middlemen are always bad because they raise raise prices, which is bad for you. Since they want to make money, they will find the ways to make money best. ISPs could get money from you to get internet, extort money form a website for a fast connection, and then that site charges you more money. This (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_neutrality#Dumb_pipe Wikipedia article talks about Dumb Pipes, which are internet lanes that just transmit data. ISPs want pipes they can control, so they can get money. It is important to know about this because it gives you information about what they want to do.

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Asher Slide Part Two

Posted by Asher Swartz in Technology- Freshmen - Hull - y2 on
Slide (9)
First off, I took away the white highlight from the text, since it was chunky and created problems and didn't look good and didn't add anything to the color scheme or anything else. I rescaled and repositioned the text to line up and look better relative to the picture, which I also rescaled and repositioned, just for an overall better aesthetic. I balanced the text color to better match the color of the ribbon. I made the top of the picture brush and overlap a tiny bit of the bottom text letter, so they tie together better. All the other things I changed were tiny adjustments,that don't actually matter, I just wanted to make them.

Slide

Posted by Asher Swartz in Technology- Freshmen - Hull - y2 on
Slide (5)
This is a slide all about me. I chose the simple grey background to create space for contrast, and to keep attention on my content. The first six words are from a “Six Word Autobiography” that I created, because they are simple, short, yet interesting. I found that photo and added it because it used simple silhouettes and it was understandable at a glance, and the white background went well with the grey and the red text. I overlaid the “Hurry up” text on the picture to make it seem more part of the picture (I tried to make the text color match the ribbon color, too). I connected the six words with the picture to make it draw the eye along the way I want it. I left rectangular spaces so it has some space, but the spaces look clean and on purpose.

Soy William Smith

Posted by Asher Swartz in Spanish 1 - Manuel - B on
will-smith-men-in-black-3-lunettes-salt-6
will-smith-men-in-black-3-lunettes-salt-6
¡​Hola! Mi nombre es Will Smith, tengo 46 años. Soy de Filadelfia, pero vivo en Florida, Sweden, y Filadelfia.

Soy más o menos alto, soy más o menos delgado, soy guapo, soy sociable, soy súper cómico, y soy bastante divertido y muy talentoso.

Me gusta jugar videojuegos. Me encanta actuar en cine y cantar. También, me gusta pasar con mi familia y amigos!

¿Te gusta las cine?

Home Network Swartz

Posted by Asher Swartz in Technology- Freshmen - Hull - y2 on
mind mapping software
My LAN is kind of big. It has three smartphones, and three mac computers. We have a wireless printer and wireless speakers. Also there is an old Xbox 360 and my Chromebook. Sometimes my mom and dad connect their work laptops, but rarely. I now know a lot more about my network, and networks in general. I had an OMG moment when I realized how many devices at my house were connected to the WiFi. It's actually kind of scary, especially since so many came in so recently. I feel like we use our internet a lot, and now I see why. I would tell other people to be careful of how many things that they have connected, and to keep track of them all. 
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