Last Monday Alex and Ralph from sharkwerks swung by in their 2008 GT2 on their way to Arizona..
don't let the shorts and flip flops fool ya :)
these guys know how to drive..
these guys are from the "too much is never enough " school of HP.
this 2008 GT2 now has 775 HP !!
now i often say i am a "less is more " type of guy when it comes to my early cars and HP..
Well after a few runs over the 6 th street bridge -i started to realize these guys may be onto something with this BIG HP thing.
i recall their prior visit in their GT3RS 4.1 was very memorable drive earlier on this year.
having recently spent a few days with the 991 turbo i had become acquainted with how addictive 520 HP could be...
what would an extra 250 HP in a manual 2 wheel drive car be like ?
much to my surprise Alex asked me if i wanted to keep the GT 2 For a couple of days ?
well he did not have to twist my arm to hard for me to answer YES of course i would love to ..
naturally the first place to go for a shakedown was my favorite road ACH...
NOW 775 HP is well over 3 times the power im used to ,
so i eased into the car gradually ,as i got comfortable and started to explore myself and the cars capabilities as one.
remember the 997 GT2 is the last factory 2 wheel drive Manual Hooligan car :)
as always a stop at NEWCOMBS RANCH is a must...
we even had Thanksgiving dinner there...
keep on climbing higher...
still pulling strong and making HP at over 7000 ft....
so whats it like to drive ?
after a few miles under my belt i was starting to get the hang of 775 HP and decided to turn off the traction control ,
TC has a hard time of putting all the power down to the ground ,with TC off my senses are heightened and my attention highly focused as hitting the rev limiter at 87 MPH in 2 nd gear and up shifting to 3 rd and repeating as the car steps sideways takes a little easing into :)
by the time i grabbed 4 -check the speed o and realized i was running out of open road it was time to ease off a bit :)
over the past 3 days i have put over 500 miles on the car,made many memorable moments and filled the tank up 3 times..
did i mention the car is tuned to run on 100 octane fuel ..
below 4000 RPM the car is a real easy drive,the clutch is manageable and the car shifts effortlessly -its a pleasure to drive in LA Traffic
above 4000RPM the car is real explosive,an addictive sensory blast .
in short its a car that i just wanted to keep on driving...
i spent the past 4 days just driving for the sheer pleasure
Crystal (colleague) and Lynda (fellow) wanted to know more about this. So here's the story:
The previous week, I met with one of my high school fellows who teaches Algebra to freshman. As with all my fellows, it's been an extreme pleasure to work with her because she's hungry for ideas and will take suggestions and run with them. It was so cool to walk into her class this past week and see her running with an idea, again.
She had already taught her students ways to solve linear systems; graphically, substitution, elimination, etc. On this day, she prepared six short videos of her solving linear systems and linear inequalities using Educreations on her iPad. Students were to watch the videos and do error analysis, reporting the following on their handout:
Identify the mistake(s) for each question.
Explain what should have been done.
Fix the mistake and complete the question correctly.
Each video was between 60 and 90 seconds in length. We both discussed what we thought would be most effective for her students and short videos was a must. Have you ever noticed how the majority of Khan videos can be extremely lengthy? Sal Khan usually talks (and repeats himself) while writing things on his digital blackboard. To me, that's a waste of someone's time. It's like you watching me type this blog post while I reread every sentence two or three times, stalling so I can finish typing. Another thing I can't stomach in Khan videos is when he fumbles around searching for colors to write with. Lastly, I find it unfortunate that the videos rarely suggest the viewer to pause and consider what's happening. Here's an example. Sorry, here's a 9+ minute example:
I suggested my fellow pause the recordings often and write the equations "offscreen" when not recording. Then, press record again when she's ready to talk and/or write something important on her screen. She also took advantage of this offscreen time to select different colors in order to emphasize different equations, steps, lines, or shading (linear inequalities). *See the video structure below with suggested notes and style points.
It took my fellow one prep period on a minimum day to create six videos, a supplemental handout, upload the videos to Educreations, and create hyperlinks on her Haiku page for students to access all the videos. That's super impressive. Talk about an activity with meaningful and HUGE return from an efficient investment in her prep time.
When debriefing with my fellow after class, she was completely ecstatic. I asked her, "What elements made this awesome?" She replied:
it was video and new
they liked figuring out someone else's mistake
the videos were short
students could pause, rewind, and start the video over
using Desmos to show a graph of the original equations at the end (comparison)
gave students the idea to use Desmos to check their work/answer
self-pacing
very little hand-raising or students drowning
the videos were easy to make
she passed out the handout and said "go" instead of modeling
the handout had a simple structure
the students did most of work, not the teacher
I love this last element the most. The two of us talked about this specific element the previous week. Now she experienced it first-hand and it's an amazing feeling. As an observer, it was awesome to see the students working hard on a meaningful task and helping each other out so it allows her, the teacher, opportunities to calmly circulate and provide support where necessary.
Student engagement and interest were high. Discussions were plenty and authentic. Students were thriving using thinking skills in the "Analyzing" category of Bloom's Taxonomy or Strategic Thinking category of Webb's Depth of Knowledge. Here's a tip I suggested when I noticed some kids plowing through a video and hadn't caught the mistake: pause and make predictions. The video structure will explain pausing and predicting more.
Video Structure:
Part 1:She takes about 8 seconds to explain her plan
*All of this was written on the screen prior to her pressing record. Style points.
Part 2: Multiply the top equation by (-5) in order to eliminate the x-terms
*Here's where we need to ask students to pause and predict what the top equation will look like after being multiplied by (-5).
Model this for students.
Build "pause and predict" prompts into the video.
Circulate the room and ask students to pause and predict.
SO valuable. Don't skip "pause and predict".
Part 3: Write the new equations "offscreen". Don't record yourself writing these equations.
*Notice the new equation is written in red ink. Style points! **Pause and predict what it will look like when combining the equations ***Catch the mistake?
Part 4: Combine the two equations.
*Another great use of "offscreen" writing.
Part 5: Find the value of y.
Part 6: Substitute the value of y into one of the original equations.
*Yet, another use of "offscreen" writing here. Part 7: Solve for x this time.
*Ask your students to check for reasonableness. **Find an alternate way to validate (or invalidate) their conclusion.
Part 8: Insert a screenshot of the system graphed in Desmos.
*Mind grenade: the graph doesn't match the algebraic procedure. **HUGE style points by inserting a visual representation of the correct answer.
For those of you who don't have 1:1 devices in your schools, no sweat. I still recommend you make a video of some sort. Borrow an iPad from someone. Create an Educreations video for error analysis. Use the tips and techniques mentioned here. Your videos should be less than 90 seconds. Play it to your class. Pause the video to have students make predictions and/or discuss possible errors. I guarantee you, good things will happen.
first up was my 2 day back to back 75 -2015 Turbo shoot out.
on Wednesday night between the hours of 10 pm yo 4 .30 am frazer spowart and his E garage crew shoot footage in DTLA for my upcoming MIDNIGHT RAMBLER video..
This Saturday the Solar Knights attended the plantation holiday parade. We drove SK3 the whole way and got to show it off at city hall. The day consisted of holiday hats and nailing each other in the head with candy. It was certainly a great way to show the community what we do at South Plantation High.
Yesterday the Solar Knights took a trip to Thermal Concepts to see their metal fabrication shop where they cut us pieces of metal using their plasma cutter in the shape of the Miami Dolphins logo and the Miami Heat logo. They also gave us a tour of their offices, training facilities and CAD department.
Thank you Jesse M. from Thermal Concepts for giving us this opportunity to tour your company!
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