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although this blog features many grmmatical errors, it captures what I went through to finish my cpastone project. (setbacks, stress and all)

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December 21

today i was able to work on the analysis for the methods section. I also decided the format for the results. I need to edit my methods to fix how we did not use the wax to attach the crickets and how we administered the echinacea and extracting the hemocytes. 

 

December 20

today was a little bit of a slow day since I cant complete any testing until break. Today instead i wrote a little synopsis of my capstone project for a college application. This week i hope to finish a majority of my analysis with the half of the groups I have left.  Right now I have four groups done which ill finish the analysis at the end of the week. Ill also begin to start the conclusion so most of my break isn't used crying over capstone. 

 

December 19

 today I was able to get two immune groups done, the immune challenge control and the immune challenge windtunnel. that means that i only have the immune challenge echinacea wintunnel and immune challenge echinacea left. I plan to get those two done over the next day or two days. I found if i do it during 2nd and i can easily finish it during third. That means I will only miss one more day of class work (which i have been able to make up pretty easily)

 

December 18

today i was unable to start my other testing group which is a real bummer. This week I hope to take two school days to finish my remaining two groups, even if that requires me to miss class. For this week I have to finish all of my crickets with the immune challenge. Although the plan is to finish testing this week, and have my paper/data done by the time break ends, If need be I will stay after the day when we get back to school. 

 

Weekly Log

this week was quite successful again, even though there were some set backs. I was able to complete two test groups and I have four left, all dealing with the immune challenge. For the control immune challenge I am only going to test 15 crickets in order to save slides. I also plan to finish my analysis by the weekend of next week. I have been focusing more on college applications so I did get a little side tracked. I would have given myself a 3 for this week because I didnt get as much done as I wanted too but I was still content with my work

 

December 15

today i was able to make my task sheet for this week and prepare more for next week. Next week the plan is to finish all of my experiment and then work on the analysis and the conclusion after school. Ive finally gotten the hang of things for extracting and the wind tunnels so i only have to stay after for about two hours. 

 

December 14

today i was able to finish some analyzing of my current data and figured out what I have left to do for next week. Ms. V said that the bacteria will be ready for next week so i will have to cram in 4 testing groups, which is quite stressful. I feel bad constantly missing class but I have no other option. Next week i also plan to only complete 10 crickets ofr the immune challenge in order to save slides. 

 

December 12 

today i was able to finish my presentation for tomorrows exhibition day. i also plan to finish 3 more test groups this week, one today, one tomorrow during the half day, and one on thursday. that means that next i will have all of my groups done after two days of testing. i still need to figure out how im going to represent my data. im going to practice my presentation after school today but other than that i know i will have to get alot done over break

 

Weekly Log 

this week was quite a successful week. although we technically only have two full class days, i was able to get alot done outside of class and make a successful presentation. this week i still have to finish 5 of the groups, but i will hopefully get 3 done this week and the last two done next week. during break im going to end up spending a lot of time analyzing the data and writing the rest of my paper but im hopefully going to get help from my cousin. this week i also completed all of my tasks, which im proud of myself for and i figured out how to fix problems along the way. although the testing has been stressful doing it alone, i think i have definitely seen improvement in my time management skills, giving myself a 5 out of 5 for this week. 

 

December 5

today i was able to finish a majority of my presentation expect for the information regarding my results. I should have results for two groups completed sometime today. next week i plan to do the windtunnel testing which is when i will need a few volunteers. it will take time to kill the crickets and to extract their hemocytes but the counter we have does seem to be successful in working. I chose to not use volunteer for this weeks testing and im slightly worried it may be too much or too time consuming but the problem is a lack of razors and hood space. 

 

December 4

today the plan is to complete two of the control groups and to get their hemocytes. this week i plan to get 4-5 groups completed and i plan to use class time to figure out my presentation for this week. the last week before break i plan to work on the results section of the project, which i know will take alot of time to complete. 

 

Weekly Log

this week was quite successful and i am excited to start testing coming next week. THis week i would give myself a 4 out of 5 because i was able to complete all of my tasks even with missing a day of school. i definitely need to practice extracting the hemocytes better and im excited to be able to get a lot of stuff done this coming week. Im excited to be able to start like analyzing the data and i really have liked working collaboratively with annie and luis. we were able to get the crickets and make the solution no problem and i have been able to get the help that i need. the plan for this week is to get the baselines and do as much as i can without the windtunnels or taking alot of time from the volunteers. 

 

November 30 

today i was able to make the anticoagulant solution, we just have to get NaOH from a different chem teacher. Today i am going to practice extracting the hemocytes from the cricket and the plan is to train the individuals during 2nd period on monday. Testing should start on monday and we should be done by the week of the 16th. We were also able to get our crickets yesterday which gives them time to adapt to the environment and having the ones who are about to die, pass. 

 

November 29

today i was able to find out more information regarding the crickets and the solution. tomorrow i am planning to make the anticoagulant solution tomorrow without the chemical. luis today was talking to Ms. Baker  about the crickets. i am still very stressed about this whole "being on time" thing and i know things will be alot let stressful when testing starts. hopefully it will start next week. 

 

November 28 

i. am. stressed. i already can tell capstone is going to take a majority of my winter break and we have to fit two weeks of testing in a month full of possible snow days, and holidays. we have three full weeks of school left before break and i have a feeling most of my break will be used figuring out the rest of my paper. I feel like i wont need too long to write the conclusion but its just annoying because I have had to kinda just sit and wait. i also feel bad i keep having to cancel on my volunteers. stress. 

 

November 27

since i was sick since last monday and holiday break, i did not accomplish much for capstone this past week. In fact i was supposed to start testing this week, which does not seem feasible. Everything regarding the experiment and prep work is ready, the only problem is that the crucial chemical for the anticoagulant did not come in yet. Other than that annie luis and i are going to get our crickets this week so they have time to adapt before testing. 

 

November 20

today i did not do a lot during class mostly because i feel sick as heck. but this week i have pretty simple tasks and ill be able to finish them when i get home. im a tad worried i wont complete the solution this week because it seems it is not being delivered anytime soon. we were supposed to have it last week but for some reason the chemicals did not come. i also need to do some fundraising because wow is capstone expensive. 

 

Weekly Log

this week i would have given myself a 3 to a 3.5. this week i was quite on task a majority of the week and was able to complete all of my tasks. i was unable to do the solution because the materials did not come in. i was able to make the agar solution which was pretty neat and i was able to finish all of the windtunnels pretty easily. i am a tad worries it will not be quick enough for the crickets to have to fly but i am not too worried about it. i also will need to change my volunteer schedule again because we would be unable to get the crickets until a thursday and a few of them will naturally die when we first get them. 

 

November 17

today i was able to finish my task sheets for next week and last night i was able to finish my windtunnels. the only worry i have is if the wind from the windtunnel is not fast enough. i also have concerns regarding taking the crickets off the Popsicle sticks. i dont want them to be on the Popsicle sicks for up to two hours after being in the windtunnel. they sounds quite uncomfortable for the cricket. 

 

November 15

today i am completing about 3 of the tasks on my task sheet. Today I was able to figure out the schedule for volunteering, fixing the days for after school experiments and training during the 28th. Today I am going to BJs after school and getting AAA batteries so i can finish the windtunnels (finally). I am also hopefully making the anticoagulant solution today (if everything is delivered on time). If everything goes smoothly today, the only thing I will have left to do this week is learning about the state competition from Ms V.  

 

November 14

today i rewrote my task sheet and have plans to get all my prep work done this week. tomorrow i plan to make the anticoagulant solution during the long period and i plan to finish my motors tomorrow. I have to get AAA batteries for the motors and i really need to fundraise because i am out almost 150 dollars. which really really sucks. Im glad i have everything shipped and today luis and annie are talking to ms baker about the crickets. 

 

November 13 

for exhibition day i feel like it is best to make it a work day, or a stress free day. The problem with the last exhibition day was it kinda felt like a waste of time, honestly i would like to spend the time doing work or learning. Last exhibition day it felt like it was thrown together last minute and the day went by very very slow. For a stress free option I think we should watch a movie or do some art together. Or maybe bring in food and do work. I kinda wish they were to make the half days back to where they were. OG half days 

 

Weekly Log

this week i would give myself a 2.5. This is because i was not able to complete all of my tasks mainly due to issues with shipping. I was able to stay on task this week pretty well and I did not procrastinate. This was the first week in a while that I  completed all of my tasks and daily logs during class time and not having to worry about them at home.  I do think that the testing will be postponed and the chemicals for the anticoagulant solution will be here by next week. I would have liked to complete more this week but the short week kinda made it difficult. 

 

November 9

today i was able to contact more of my volunteers and found out who was able to wok with the schedule and who wasnt. I was also able to complete my task sheet and my daily/weekly log. other than that today wasnt too productive because this week was quite short and alot of what i had to do was electronically. 

 

November 8

today i was able to email all of my volunteers the schedule for the testing week. the chemicals for the anticoagulant solution were supposed to come on monday but for some reason they were delayed. it seems like we will be all set to start testing at the right time, so we can spend a majority of December analyzing the data and and finishing the presentation. I also have to figure out the state completion thing, what i have to do and what needs to be done. Tonight i plan to finish my motors meaning the only thing i have left to do is figure out the heymocetometer. 

 

November 6

today i hit another bump in the road. THE THINGS I ORDERED ON AMAZON SAID THEY WERE HERE AND THEY ARENT IN MY MAILBOX HELP. I am stressed. i dont know what to do. yikes. help. i wanted to start testing next week but SINCE AMAZON DOESNT WANT TO COOPERATE. 

yikes. 

 

Weekly Log

this week i was able to complete all my tasks and am giving myself a 4 for work ethic. I was able to complete my presentation without procrastinating and felt like i did a very good presentation. I feel confident speaking about my project to peers and feel like i can explain my complex project pretty simply. the only thing that i am worried/annoyed is the delay in the windtunnels. Ill hopefully have them done by monday next week. its just annoying. 

 

November 3

today i was able to complete my scheduling for my experiment. I have decided the date of the experiment will be from the 27th to the 8th. I am slightly hesitant about getting all of my consent forms and am worried about over scheduling people for the two weeks. other than that i feel pretty confident about my project this week.

October 31 

today i was able to complete my presentation and i am feeling quite confident. I also found out what chemicals need to be ordered to make the anticoagulant solution which will hopefully be in next week. i am hoping to start the experiment the week of the 13th and have it done before thanksgiving break. Or maybe i will finish the experiment the first two weeks of December. 

 

October 30

today was quite a productive day. I was able to finish a majority of my capstone presentation for wednesday and I have almost received all of the material needed to finish the wind tunnels. I have to finish collecting the rest of the chemicals for the anticoagulant solution and the crickets, but other than that i should hopefully be testing by next week or the week after. 

 

Weekly Log

this week I would give myself a 3. This week was again quite productive but there has been many obstacles that I have had to face. For example he delaying of the windtunnels has been a major stressor. I also worry about making the anticoagulant solution in time, because we do lack one of the main chemicals needed. There is only a few more things we need to do preparation wise for the experiment, so I do not want to have to wait for things to ship in order to start the experiment. Other than that, although we are running behind in our timeline, things are looking hopeful for this project. 

 

October 27

today was quite a productive day. I was able to create the echinacea solution, which was quite simple, and I will have plenty for the actual experiment. I was also able to email all of my consent forms out and have already gotten a few back. Although the initial plan was to have the experiments completed by last week, I believe the experiments will be completed by the end of November, as soon as all of the windtunnel materials are shipped. 

 

October 26

today i hit a little bit of a bump. The supplies I ordered for capstone had o be refunded for some odd reason. I was able to order new stuff off of amazon but that worries me about the wind tunnels. I also need to make the solutions next week hopefully. I am honestly starting to worry about when the experiments will take place. fingers crossed. 

 

October 23

today was a successful day and things are LOOKING UP for capstone. school has become very hectic lately but even with the delays capstone is getting there. annie and luis were able to figure out the nutriet broth ordeal and were able to get the hemocytemeters. Supplies for the windtunnels should be in by novemeber 1st and this week ill hopefully be able to get all my interns. I worry about time constraints for actual testing but if I have to stay after school I really dont mind. 

 

Weekly Log

this week I would give myself a 3. This week was quite productive but there are still many things we need to complete. This week I finished a majority of my tasks without a hitch. The solutions were pretty easy to figure out and surprisingly the windtunnels were super simple to make. Im lucky to have a dad who was able to help me cut the acrylic so i didnt cut off my dang hand. Although the experiment would not begin next week, I feel like it will be done in the next few weeks (hopefully I will be finished before thanksgiving) Also luis and annie have been testing the effects of water with the bacteria in it would work over stabbing the crickets. This week i was able to tweak my methods so they fit with the current procedure. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hZoIKY82EEYyihf10riGxCVe61QI4b7vlNwuIkkAFuA/edit?usp=sharing  

 

October 20

yesterday was a very success day. Annie Luis and I were able to complete all of the 5 windtunnels and they look pretty good. We were unable to find the dc motors at home depot or hobby lobby which did suck. I was able to order 5 dc motors, a switch, a propeller, and a battery case for $45 and it should be here by November 3rd. The agenda was completed today as well which is really exciting to see. 

 

October 19

today i was very pleased with the amount of work i completed. Afterschool with annie and luis the goal is to complete the wind tunnels and hopefully we an find the proper DC motor and propeller. If not I worry we might not have the motors in time for the experiment. I also was able to complete some of the agenda for tomorrow. exciting !

 

October 18 

today i further worked on the agenda and should be finished friday. Tomorrow annie, luis and I will be completing the windtunnels after going to home depot and buying the rest of the materials. Im nervous there will be difficulties finding the proper motor and propeller. I still am worried about finding enough volunteers for my project. So far i have been able to find friends who are open to helping me. 

 

October 17

today I was able to complete some more research regarding the anticoagulant solution and the echinacea drops. I would have the order a few materials for this week and i still have not had many people offer to volunteer. I am hoping to have at least 5 volunteers by next friday and the solutions done as well. Tomorrow the plan is to finish the windtunnels and prepare as much as possible for the experiments ahead of time. 

 

October 16

today i completed more tasks for testing. I was able to publish and send out my volunteer application, even though I have not received any responses yet. I am slightly worried I will not have enough people to help me afterschool (i need a minimum of 5 people). I am slightly stressed about timing for this week too. Hopefully by thursday the windtunnels will be all done and we can start testing in the next week or two. 

 

Weekly Log 

for the past two week I would give myself a 3-4 for my accomplishments. I was kinda able to cruise through the first month of preparation because it was too early to begin testing but I had a majority of the pre-work completed. This weekend I was able to build some of the windtunnels which is a big step to start the experiment. The main concern I have for this next week is completing the agenda and finding enough volunteers. I think making the solutions will be pretty simple, and I hope having them sitting for some time wont mess them up. I have been feeling very productive regarding capstone which has caused me to feel like a weight is being lifted off my shoulders. 

 

October 13

today I was able to figure out the agenda more, even though the logistics still need to be finalized. for next week I do have alot planned, but i think it is manageable. I feel like i never run out of things that i need to do. To make sure everything runs smoothly, I hope to start testing in a week or two. It might be hard finding volunteers, which is my main concern. 

 

October 12 

today i reached another problem i did not expect to happen. During the past week I had been working on the agenda for testing days and thought i had it down to a T. TURNS OUT i did it wrong because i disregarded the fact that the 2 hour groups should be complete first. Now I am having a difficult time figuring out the correct time schedule and just need help figuring it out. But good news, Ms. V had found someone at the Peabody museum that is basically a cricket expert which would help with everything. Although today i had a major setback, I will stay positive and have it figured out in time to do testing. The experiment will hopefully be successfully completed in November, meaning i have 2 weeks left. Scary, but excited. 

 

Weekly Log

this week I would give myself a solid three for work. I still have that "lost" feeling but i was able to solve problems I faced this week. For example I was very stressed about the whole needle problem but I was able to talk to Ms. V and Ms Crudale and we were able to figure out the solution. Although ill end up killing alot of crickets, to kill them for free instead of paying hundreds of dollars to save them. I have to make sure the volunteers know that they will be required to kill the crickets because i dont want any hate. excited to finish this. 

 

September 29

today I was able to complete some small tasks but not many due to Ms. Reaes coming in and talking to us about college. Luis, Annie, and I were able to create a permission slip for our experiment (woo avoiding lawsuits). I was able to have a decent draft of my methods done this week (found in the link I gave prior) I just need Ms. Crudale to look over my methods just to figure out

if what I am doing makes sense. 

 

September 28

today I was able to complete multiple tasks for this week. I was worried that changing the hemocyte extractions (aka not using the needles) would be stressful but it was actually quite simple. I need to complete more research regarding the bacteria (if we need a plate etc) and how to use a hemocytometer and what ones/how many we should purchase. I also need to figure out fundraising and a safety contract for those helping with the experiment.

 

September 27

today i feel like i made progress in my project. I was able to meet with annie and luis and we were able to figure out our cricket problem. Instead of using the needles we would use a scapulae and squeeze the blood out of the cricket. Although this would kill the cricket, they do not have pain receptors and they would be frozen, which makes them unconscious. I do worry about being patronized for killing the animals.  Like some people understand this is the best I could do but others are judging TOO hard. Its nice to finally get the ball rolling on capstone. I still need to figure out the exact materials/procedure. 

 

September 26 

today i had come across the first major "setback" of my capstone project. I never knew needles would be so expensive and that it would be so difficult to obtain them. There are good reasons why people cant obtain needles easily but it is still annoying. I also need to figure out a proper budget for the experiment and if it is beneficial to create 5 wind tunnels or just one and go through the struggle of tagging the crickets and having individual timers for each one. I feel like I need to make me methods due dates to be extended and I need to change the length of time i set for the experiment. There is less of a chance for cross contamination if I do 2 groups per day.

 

September 25

today I looked over my materials and began figuring out the volunteers needed for the experiment. I feel like ill run into the problem of not gettign enough volunteers because they will need to stay after for about 2 hours, which can be tiring. Also I am confused if I should attempt to do two groups a day or keep it safe and do the 8 groups over an 8 day period. If i were to do that I may have to extend my experimental period for two weeks instead of one, and possibly have testing starting a week before. I might have two different groups of volunteers as well because staying after until 5 would be a lot for students, maybe i can bribe them with community service and food. 

 

Weekly Log

for this week, I would give myself a 2-3 again like I did last week. Although i did complete all of my tasks, I still had troubles with being stuck. It did help that Ms. Crudale did read and edit some of my paper but I felt like the work I was doing this week ended up being redundant. It was like I was looking at one of those abstract paintings too close, but you have to step away and squint your eyes to see the blobs of paint turn into a beautiful portrait. I did finish my tasks, but I still was distracted because I had become bored looking at the same introduction over and over again. I feel like this upcoming week will be more productive because the methods section does need a lot of work (making sure it could be replicated and finding the costs for things). Im looking forward to getting started on the more strenuous parts of my paper, even if they do make me stress cry.   

 

September 22

today I was able to complete my introduction to my liking. I still have some questions regarding basic logistics.  I am still confused bout what I need to explain and what I don't need to explain, I know i should treat this paper like an "alien" is reading it but i do not want to  over explain things. I think i might continually have this problem.  Here is the final draft https://docs.google.com/a/bridgeportps.net/document/d/1hZoIKY82EEYyihf10riGxCVe61QI4b7vlNwuIkkAFuA/edit?usp=sharing 

 

September 20 

today I edited some of the suggestions Ms. Crudale had left on my paper. For tomorrow Im planning to complete editing my introduction totally or as much as I can before meeting with Ms. Crudale. I still have been struggling with the same issue I have had since last weekm finding motivation and finding edits to make on my introduction. I know it is not no where near perfect but it is hard to get a new perspective on something you look at for a long time. 

 

September 19 

Today I focused on doing some research regarding my topic. I was looking up grammar videos and went over some of the comments Ms. Crudale left on my paper. I also was able to look up more information regarding the hectometer that I need for my project. I also did research some fundraising ideas and how much money I would need to budget for my project. Overall i still have a hardtime finding motivation because a majority of my introduction was criticized and edited enough last semester.  

 

September 18 

today i helped marie fix her paper which took up a majority of the class time, which made me feel a little  tonight when i get home i plan to edit my paper and make grammar revisions. My plan is to conference with Ms. Crudale tomorrow because currently I feel stuck. Its hard looking at the same paper over and over again because it is hard to get a new perspective. Overall I feel pretty confident with the paper I currently have due to my extensive work I completed last year. 

 

Weekly Log 

For this week I did complete all of my 5 assigned tasks. Although I did try my best, I had a hard time editing my work because I felt like last year edited it to the point where I am stuck. I am proud of all of the work I completed last year, alleviating some stress for for this year. I would give myself a 2-3 for this week becasue although i did complete my tasks, i got distracted easily and did not put all my effort in. This week I kinda was having a rough week leading to a few days were I was to emo to get a lot of work done. The thing I am concerned most about is making my paper to confusing, like someone who knows nothing about science would read this and be overwhelmed. I just need to meet with other people and have more peer reviewed conferences would aid my paper. I believe if i try hard enough I could get this published. 

 

September 15 

today I read through my introduction again and checked if I needed to make any changes to complete the first draft of my introduction. I had a hard time finding specific areas to edit but Caleb helped me check over my work and feel more secure about certain aspects of my paper. I still have a difficult time with grammar but I think it would be best for me to talk to Mr. Ewing about it. 1st draft https://docs.google.com/a/bridgeportps.net/document/d/1hZoIKY82EEYyihf10riGxCVe61QI4b7vlNwuIkkAFuA/edit?usp=sharing 

 

September 14 

today I compared my introduction to the rubric and also going through my introduction and writing any notes/concerns I had. During class today I was listening to music and going over my paper. I did complete today task of going through my paper, writing notes in my notebook (completed task 2 from yesterday and worked on task.  I still have to physically make changes to my paper but I need to do grammar research for tomorrow. Ms Decloux had over analyzed my introduction, making my draft not needing too many changes expect some technical flaws.  

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