Story #3 Snowflake fundraiser

  

The welding students are currently making snowflakes as a fundraiser to help pay for their certifications.

Each student needs four certifications, which cost $30 each and is not covered by financial aid.  This is a fun and creative way for them to raise this money.

Maybe you’ve seen the snowflake on display in the window of the welding shop.  The painted white metal in the shape of a snowflake with all of the white rope lights attached to it is absolutely stunning.  It was brought to my attention by Dean Dowless, a member of the faculty.  It's a great way to raise funds and decided to attend one of the ITS (Industrial Technology Society) meetings to find out more.

The meeting was conducted by Jon Rambousek, President; accompanied by James Robinson, Vice President; Fred Stuewe, Coordinator; and Mike McCreary, Secretary.


The snowflakes are made from quarter inch round stock steel left over from last year.  After being welded together with a mig welder, a type of wire welder, they are ready to be painted white.  The last step is to string rope lights through the fabricated snowflake and attached with zip ties.  The snowflakes are being sold for $50 each.

Trish Moorehouse with
 Jumbo Snowflake

Welding student, Trish Moorehouse, fabricated a jumbo version of the snowflake as suggested by her instructor.  The department was thinking about possibly selling these jumbo snowflakes for $75.  This is the only one of it's size that has been fabricated so far.

Pendulum

Cap for fountain

The welding department is involved in other projects around campus, as well.  Maybe you’ve seen the swinging pendulum on the ground floor in White Oak Hall.  There is now a protective barrier around the base of the pendulum platform, installed by welding student, Brian Gerow. 

One of the other exciting projects the department is currently working on is a cap for the water fountain in the courtyard.  This is currently being fabricated by welding student, Andrew Gastafson.  Gastafson was one of the students that went to the KC Skills USA competition last year. 

All of the details of the fundraiser were discussed during the ITS meeting. Surprisingly, there’s another part to this fundraiser that many may not be aware of.  Developed years ago by Dave Ketler, a member of the faculty, the pumpkin turkey is also being fabricated and sold by the welding students. 

Pumpkin turkey

To create a pumpkin turkey pieces are cut freehand with a plasma cutter from sheets of 18 gauge steel.  The pieces of steel, which consist of a head, tail and two wings, are inserted into the pumpkin of your choice.  This kit is being sold for $15.

Both of these items will be available in the Courtyard weekdays at lunch time, or in the welding shop from now until the last day of fall term.

Links:

http://www.linnbenton.edu
  

http://cf.linnbenton.edu/eit/weld/dowlesd/web.cfm?pgID=2270 

http://cf.linnbenton.edu/eit/weld/stuewef/web.cfm?pgID=4706

At a glance:

Who:  Welding Students


What:  Snowflake Fundraiser


When:  Now until the last day of Fall term


Why:  To raise money for welding certifications


Where:  The snowflakes can be purchased in the courtyard at lunchtime or in the Welding Department, located at IA 105

Media Blog #1/Eminem Chrysler Commercial

The company Chrysler is using Eminem and his hometown of Detroit to market their Chrysler 200 "Born of Fire".

I chose this advertisement to blog about because it uses Eminem, a famous singer/songwriter, to promote their product.  Chrysler's luxurious, but tough motor vehicle is from one of the toughest cities, with some of the toughest jobs for the hard working American who deserve luxury and superior quality.   This ad is just over two minutes long, but puts the emotional aspect to work well.  I saw this ad on the internet, there are several ways to view this online.  I added the video from YouTube and is from June of 2011.

The ad compares the toughness and quality of their product to to the toughness and quality of the person who grew up in Detroit. They use the combination of the city and of the social icon, Eminem to portray this.  It's definitely geared toward the plain folks that work hard for a living, combined with snob-appeal to reflect status.  The message is trying to capture the consumer that works for a living.  It compares how the "hottest fire, makes the hardest steel", combined with hard work, conviction and the know how we've been exposed to for generations.  Associating the ad with the typical hard working, middle class American that deserves only the very best as a reward for all of their hours, days, and years of commitment to their city and their jobs.  It uses technology such as, the internet and to promote and spread this companies message to the people.  The demographic is a great way to support the meaning of the ad by the way it compares the quality of the car, to the quality of our lives.

The use of Eminem in his native city of Detroit is a strong way to show and empathize with the working class American, who it's geared to target.  I definitely think this is one of the ad's strong points.  The use of a white rapper may cut out some of the consumer market, but definitely target's the younger generation.  This particular ad initially caught my attention by seeing the face of Eminem with combination of his music is a great way to catch the attention of the consumer market they are trying to focus on. The use of the social icon and music makes it memorable for me, I am definately intrigued by his music.  It makes me want to go listen to Eminem right now.

Chrysler won an Emmy for an Outstanding Commercial.  I would say it's definitely memorable.
It makes you want to own the new 2011 Chrysler 200. 

Links:

www.youtube.com

www.chrysler.com

http://www.adweek.com/video/advertising-branding/chrysler-born-fire-132934?auto

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.16822/title.eminem-chrysler-commercial-wins-an-emmy

Interview with Edna Buchanan

Interview with Edna Buchanan, done by Charlie Rose of the Charlie Rose Show on public television. Edna worked at the Miami-Herald for most of her career.  In the interview she talks about writing fiction.

When she worked at the newspaper she was treated like just a piece of furniture, after a while she just blended in, she was just always there.  This gave her an edge against the other reporters she's covered over 5 thousand murders.

In 1988 she left crime reporting to write fiction, however, she misses the day job with all of the excitement. She stated how, "A good reporter can be a victims best friend".  She also shared her opinion about the cops, "There's no better creature than a good cop, but the worst thing is a bad cop, scum of the earth, and can be the same cop both in the same day", she said. For cops, it's not just a job, its their life.

 Was there a gender benefit?  Well, she was the first to cover crime full time.  Britt Montero, her role model, is her fictional character in her book "Act of Betrayal". It's about betrayals of the past, current betrayals and how they connect. 

The moment she saw Miami, she felt home.  It was beautiful and sultry, her love for Florida was exciting to her and is great place for a writer.  There are always stories in Miami, it's always the main character in her books.  She's been married twice, once to cop, but only briefly.  In her opinion, all novelists' character's are what you would be if you were in that particular situation.

ROLLER DERBY Sick Town Derby Dames

Roller Derby has made a comeback.  After being extremely popular in the past, then fizzling out in the mid 1970's, it's come back full force.  There were many attempts from the mid 1970's - 1990's to revive the sport without much success.  Our local team, Sick Town Derby Dames is part of this comeback.  Based out of Albany, the league also has several members from Corvallis and even some from Salem.

There are a few "derby girls" here at LBCC. Miranda Prince "Dixie Skullpopper", is one of them. She works in the Learning Center, is a teacher's assistant and student.

"I had seen flyers for Sick Town around LBCC campus for a couple of years before I joined", said Prince. This was in fall of 2009. "I thought I was too old and too out of shape", added Prince.

She saw Cherry City Derby Girls in Salem for her first bout, it was the "Black and Blue Debut," in October 2009. It was then when she realized there were girls of all ages, shapes and sizes. "That's what made me think, maybe I could do it too", said Prince.

UPCOMING EVENT: "FURY IN FALL", November 5th @ The Linn Country fairgrounds.  Come support your local derby dames.

The sport of roller derby has three positions: Jammer, Pivot and Blocker.  The Jammer scores points by lapping the opposing team's players, they start 20 feet behind the pack, she wears a helmet cover with stars on either side.

The Pivots start at the front of the pack and set the pace, they also play as Blockers, she has a striped helmet cover. 

The Blockers start right behind the Pivots and assists the Jammer through the pack and try to keep the opposing teams Jammer from passing, their helmets are not marked.

A bout is separated into two 30 minute periods, which are divided into jams.  The bout begins when the referee blows a single whistle, the pack takes off and the first Jam begins. 

Then, there's a double whistle blown after the back of the pack reaches the start line, that alerts the Jammers to start.

The lead Jammer is the first Jammer to pass through the pack, no points are scored.  She is allowed to call off the Jam at any time by placing her hands on her hips, the points are tallied and another Jam will start.  If a Jammer laps the opposing team's Jammer she will score an extra point, this is called a "Grand Slam".

If a team member gets one major penalty or four minor penalties, she is out for one minute.  Major penalties would be any block above the shoulder or below the hips, skating in the wrong direction, or " unsportsladylike" conduct, like tripping. 

Minor penalties would be blocking with elbows and forarms, pushing or blocking to the back, cutting the track, blocking out-of-bounds and intentional falling.

Sick Town Derby Dames is always looking for "fresh meat" to recruit.  So if you are interested in being part of the roller derby comeback, come to the next new skater day.  More information about upcoming events available on their website.


Links:

www.sicktownderbydames.com

http://wftda.com

http://quadskating.com/roller-derby/websites.htm