StringGrrl sees the World

Jason, Cisco, and Russ from FedEx with StringGirl http://about.van.fedex.com/innovationchallenge/ As a result of the FedEx Innovation Challenge we got to meet several leaders at FedEx while in St. Louis, MO for the FRC World Championships. We were honored to have them as frequent visitors to our pits and along side the team during competition. Challenge #1 A heavy crate is on board Lewis and Clarks canoe. Given the mass of the crates and the volume of the crates, what happens when the crate is removed from the canoe and placed in the River? Challenge #2 Create an Ambigram of the word Robot. Ambigrams are word form or symbolic representation, whose elements retain their meaning when viewed from different direction. a rotational Ambigram of Robot. reads the same when you rotate it 180 degrees Challenge #3 Create a video showing why your mentors are the best Challenge #4 For the circuit shown in the image below. Find the path to the center in the fewest numb...

St Louis and its iconic Gateway Arch On the field at the World Championships Just a few of the Gearheads Team 1189 Gearheads in the pits at World Championships

Can't really tell with the glare from the front facing camera The camera obscura does the trick They laughed at first, but soon all got in for their view Science!

A bare tree on the shore of Lake St. Clair- Not ice or frost on the limbs, just a great deal of IR coming of the branches Visible light spectrum color of the Yacht Club The Yacht Club- original non-visible light spectrum imaging Wind and sun eroded ice flows on Lake St' Clair- Black and White conversion Wind and sun eroded ice flows on Lake St' Clair-  Black and white conversion of the IR image The Ice-locked Yacht club- Black and White conversion of the IR image file

Very frozen February afternoon. With temperatures hovering near zero Fahrenheit (-18C) took a "short" walk with Sabine to get her cabin fever worked out. Took the visible light filtered hacked digital camera out too see what we could not see. de-saturated of color for simple Black and White versions of the infrared images what the original images show up as with no edits Not too far from the Geocache, GC3ATPW Sabine is not impressed

Panorama from Klein Sternen Located about 2 hours from the Zurich Main station, Hoch-Ybrig ski area offers a pretty well rounded menu of all mountain sports. Whether preferences lean toward free skiing, groomed piste running, ski-cross, big air kickers, or jibbing Hoch-Ybrig has it all within reach without long traverses or bus rides across the valley.  StringGirl poses with Druesberg and Forstberg in the background A right bargain at a mere 53 CHF for an adult lift pass and a whopping 88 CHF for the Snow'n'Rail which includes your transit from Zurich to the mountain (65 CHF if you have a "halbtax" card).  Shot with my new GoPro HERO The weather this day was pretty poor in the city, but according to weather reports the snow ceiling was at 1100 meters. And Hoch-Ybrig was posting a sunny day forecast. So why not take a two hour ride from Zurich to the mountains. Sun rising to our backs with this ahead of us, lower cloud ceiling at 1500 m. Just obscur...

With so many incredible ski areas in Switzerland, one might accuse us of being in a little bit of a rut. However, Flims-Laax-Falera on my 4th visit does not disappoint nor manage to surprise with its great conditions and excellent terrain. A truly mammoth area anchored by three towns; Flims, Laax, and Falera. Laax would truly require multiple days to really cover. In this one trip we managed pretty much only 1/3 of the resort; barely setting foot on the Falera side of the mountains and just looking up at the glacier. Panoramic view from Mutta Rodunda, elevation 2420 m above sea level View from Flims Soup filled "bark" bowls, at Station Plaun restaurant A look up the hill from Station Plauns Up top near Mutta Rodunda Waiting at the Scansinas either the Gondola up to Nagens or 6 person detachable to Mutta Rodunda