I have been trying to get pictures of TSTC campus scenes. A lot of people don’t know what kinds of things go on at a technical college. It is different from a community college, but there are a lot of parallels. Here are some electronics students that I ran across in the Spring.

Why are these students playing with electric racing cars and lighted replicas of famous buildings?

What is underneath that has them working so hard?

Not much down there, really - just hours and hours of work programming microproccessors to control all of the systems in the “city.” Digital students know these processors inside out when they leave this course!

I’ve been using an iPhone 3G for the last couple of months (I intend to do a full review soon). I downloaded the MotionX GPS app from the app store and found it to be a lot of fun. I decided to use the GPS “Stopwatch” feature on my trip home from work. As you can see from the picture below, it took me nearly 36 minutes to travel 33.6 miles at an average speed of 56.6 mph. The surprising thing is that my 4-cylinder 5-speed Camry was able to reach a top speed of 208.3 mph!

GPS is very time-dependent, and I am assuming it was time error. I’m just glad the highway patrol wasn’t monitoring this. The fine for going 208 in a 70 mph zone must be huge.

I previously covered the TSTC student who was trying to get his iPhone application approved. It is now done. Read all about it here.

A TSTC Marshall student also had an application approved by Apple. Read about that here.

It has been busy and I have been remiss in blogging. Stay tuned.

The local paper has noticed the college a lot lately.  Here is an roundup:

Waco TSTC student would like to cash in on iPhone application ‘goldmine’

Dolan is awaiting approval from Apple for an application he developed called “Pocket Puppy Raiser,” which he designed to raise money for Guide Dogs of Texas Inc., an organization devoted to training guide dogs for visually impaired Texans.

Elton Stuckly, guest column: Jobs are there, and here (a column from the Boss!)

While the U.S. economy may seem soft right now, don’t let it fool you, and most of all, don’t panic. There are still jobs available – especially for technically skilled workers. Other fields may be adapting, changing or rearranging, but Texas has always emerged on top as a strong economic force, and one of the leaders in innovation and job creation.

High-skill jobs drive Waco pay gains

Company president Mike Sullivan said the factory jobs typically require at least a technical degree from a place like Texas State Technical College, followed by an apprenticeship training program at the factory.

And saving the best for last -

3 TSTC grads planned additions for Cameron Park Zoo as class assignment

Velia Garcia-Reyes, and plans she made for Cameron Park Zoo.

“What I have been impressed by with these young women is their professionalism,” Cox said. “They listened to what we said we needed, but they had their own ideas as well. The result is more original and more functional than we anticipated.”

Thanks Waco Trib, for covering these stories that are important to TSTC, Waco, and Texas.

I had the opportunity to visit the VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas on Saturday.  It was a great day with hundreds of teams of intelligent and motivated kids.  I saw teams from Colombia, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, The United Kingdom, China, Hong Kong, and all across the USA.  I snapped some pictures with my iPhone.

The results of the competition can be found HERE.  Congratulations to the team from Greenville, TX listed at the top.  (Innovation First/VEX is also headquartered in Greenville).

Banner at the door of the Dallas Convention Center

Note that the competition got support from names like Autodesk, EMC, and NASA.

The main competition floor for middle and high school students

The main competition that I watched involved both autonomous and controlled operation to stack blue or red cubes in designated areas, scoring for the respective team.  Defense was also practiced and a solid “blue” goal didn’t always stay that way for long.

One of the many Chinese teams attending the competition

A Colombian post-secondary team

The competition is piloting post-secondary competition to give engineering students some hands-on experience.  There were far fewer teams than on the secondary side, but they were from all over (including Rice University here in Texas).

The Syntax Error team "mascot" costume

Zany hats, t-shirts, and costumes helped to show team spirit.

Repair work with Dremel in the pits

A lot of schools use these robots and the curriculum built around them to teach science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines.  Check out the link above for more information.  I really wish that I had taken my Flip video camera to this one!

UPDATE: I note that the Mythbusters tested the VEX system and came away favorably impressed.  Go HERE to read the story. (NOTE: The VEX system is no longer sold at Radio Shack).