My First Android Applications

I’ve recently completed and published my first Android applications! I’ve now made my own videos, blogs, websites, published books, and now created an app (what haven’t I done?). In reality though, these apps aren’t very complicated and it will be very interesting to see how well they are received and used. I wrote a short post on my CAD blog about Android Application Programming Basics.

My first app, which I programmed myself (and with lots of assistance from my brother), is essentially an index of roller coaster information including all of the interviews I’ve conducted over the years. Check it out for free here.

For fans of my Apartment Search Spreadsheet, my other new app is called Apartment Comparison. This app transforms my highly downloaded apartment search spreadsheet into an easy to use mobile app. I outsourced the main coding to a programmer in Singapore through oDesk.com and I got a logo and icons made from a designer using fiverr.com. I made some final tweaks to the code myself. Download Apartment Comparison from the Google Play store today.

I hope these apps are helpful and I would like to make back the $25 developer fee with the banner ads. As always, I welcome any and all feedback.

Albert Miller Model Train Display

I put together a short slideshow of the Miller Train Display, an amazing and detailed model train and city that my late grandfather built in his basement. Many of the structures and buildings were custom built by Albert and he named them after his children or grandchildren, like the Keegan Railroad company and the Weisenberger Mall.

I believe up to four Lionel trains could race around the track on different routes at one time. The longest route makes a giant loop around the entire perimeter of the table. Another route  just inside of the outer one goes up and down a hill. The mountain contains two tunnels on two different levels. A working waterfall feature was planned for the mountain but never built. The third route circles around the residential area while the other route stays in the industrial section of the display where the train cars could be loaded with logs, ice, cows, coal, grain, and milk. The layout included 29 track switches!

The train display had a little bit of everything. One cool feature hard to see in the pictures was the monorail/skyride (not sure what you call it) that rode along a wire above the train table. As you can see in the pictures the city included an airport (complete with runway lights), campground, mall, and more.

Using a CAD system and a free railroad layout creator software I found on the internet I was able to made a recreation of the train set. Pictured is the overhead view of the train’s layout I assembled based on the pictures and my memory.


Sadly, the train display no longer exists and all the train engines, cars, buildings, track, etc. were all sold and the table disassembled. I regret that this happened before I owned a video camera so these pictures are all we have left of this amazing display. Thanks for the memories grandpa.

$1000 per Month

Learn how to make a residual income from the internet in your free time.If you’re not making any money off the internet – why not? You very well could be. It’s extremely easy to make some extra cash. Through my own experiences, I’m going to show you how to make a residual (and hopefully somewhat passive) income from the internet including:

• The secret to making money online
• 7 easy steps to building and monetizing your own website
• Optimize your site for search engines
• Internet marketing lingo
• Tools and resources

Do you want to learn how to earn 1000 a month? Do you want to know what is passive income? Download my free report and I’ll tell you ways to earn passive income and give you some of the best passive income ideas I’ve used to earn over a $1000 per month all in my free time!

How to Insert the Degree Symbol in Microsoft Excel

My latest "How To" video captures how you insert the degree sign or other symbols into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

My First Video Tutorial

I created my first step-by-step video tutorial today. I basically used workshop 1 from my new CATIA macro book which I am promoting on my brand new website, www.scripting4v5.com! Check out my video embedded below and let me know what you think - did I do a good job and what can I improve on?

I'm Published!

I self-published my first paperback book today through CreateSpace as well as an eBook version through Kindle Direct Publishing. Have you ever wondered how to design a roller coaster? Coasters 101: An Engineering Guide to Roller Coaster Design examines the numerous diverse aspects of roller coaster engineering, including some of the mathematical formulas and engineering concepts used. This technical guide is the most detailed roller coaster design book to date and will take you through the entire process, from concept to creation. A must read for every enthusiast and aspiring roller coaster engineer!


Shout out to John Stevenson for designing the nifty cover.

Order the paperback version here.

Purchase the eBook version here.

View a free preview of the book here.

The Risk of Fuel Efficiency

The Risk of Fuel Efficiency
Improved gas mileage in cars may not necessarily be helping the environment

President Obama recently announced new, stricter fuel economy standards. These new standards will cover cars and light trucks for Model Years 2017-2025, requiring performance equivalent to 54.5 mpg in 2025 while reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 163 grams per mile. One method which car manufactures are using to improve their fuel efficiency numbers is by reducing the overall weight of the vehicle. This is accomplished by switching to a higher strength, lower weight steel material for components which are manufactured through a stamping process. However, in order to stamp these ultra-high strength steel parts, the manufacturers need to switch from a cold stamping process done at room temperature to a hot stamping process. Hot stamping involves longer cycle times and takes more energy to make parts than cold stamping.

Cars may be more fuel efficient than ever before but the net effect on the environment may be worse overall. We're just transferring the energy usage from one location to another, a place out of view, not seen or heard by the public. Car companies will be able to report great fuel economy numbers and everyone will feel good about helping the environment when in reality we could be doing just as much damage. This is something that will have to be studied very closely. That's not to say the manufacturing plants won't see a breakthrough in technology as well but it is something everyone needs to be aware of.

Please vote for my design

I recently entered CATIA's 2011 design visualization contest, which will evaluate realistic rendering images that use CATIA functionalities. Whether a real-time screen-shot or a calculated rendering, the designer's image will be submitted to a panel of CATIA experts and fans will be able to vote for it via the application. The contest runs from July 21 to September 9, 2011. The two best competitors, selected by the fans and by the CATIA experts, will win an Apple iPad2.



My entry is, of course, the cantilevered coaster- a revolutionary concept pushing the thrill ride to the next level of unpredictability and excitement by utilizing two tracks which follow different courses causing the vehicle to swing in a side to side yaw movement, pitch front to back, and an up and down vertical stroke. Please vote for my design here! Thank you. http://apps.facebook.com/dassault-catia/profile/150.html

My 3D Model in PRISM Magazine

I received a copy of the November issue of PRISM Magazine the other day. Flip to page three and what do I see? My model of the cantilevered roller coaster sponsored by Dassault Systems! PRISM magazine is ASEE's monthly publication (the American Society for Engineering Educators).

Playstation Move Review

I picked up a copy of Playstation Move this weekend at Walmart (went to Best Buy first but they said they had already sold the set number they were alotted to sell on Friday, WTF up with that? You don't want my money? OK, now I'm forced to give it to the evil empire. Anyways..) Everything you have read about it is pretty much spot on in my opinion. It's basically the next generation of the Wii. The thing right now is that it's all about potential. The games still need time to develop and truly take 100 percent advantage of this step up in technology.

I bought the starter bundle and an extra controller for $150, which comes with the Sports Champions game. The Gladiator Duel is probably my favorite mini-game so far (if you couldn't guess that after seeing my latest video). I will say though, the controls are much better when you play single player with two controllers. It's much more realistic that way. Archery is another good, although tricky, game. Two handed is a must. The remaining four games are better (more fun) in multiplayer mode.

I also downloaded a bunch of demos for upcoming games which come with the bundle. TV Superstars was hilarious. Here's my avatar:

The one big negative about Playstation Move as opposed it's competitors? You can't make funny jokes with it's name such as "hey dude, wanna come over and play with my Wii?"

How to fix your Playstation Network Connection Issues?

I can't connect to my friends on while trying to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. I think I have finally figured out the solution for us PS3 users. It's under the network settings. Scroll down to media settings at the bottom of the internet connections menu. All you have to do is disable the media servers. If that doesn't work, it may be an issues with your router. Buy a new one. If that's not an option then clear your main web browser on your home pc, punch in 192.168.o.1, should be at your motem's menu lobby, then go to advanced settings, turn your wpnp on, save, then back out to lobby, enter the firewall settings, turn the firewall off, save!!!!

Is Google tracking my personal information?

I came across an interesting article today claiming that Google is the Evil Empire. Here is a brief summary:

“Google routinely invades your privacy as part of some endeavor to build a better world…Each person online has a Google embedded cookie that tracks all your searching and reports to a database, where it is kept for two years…Despite legal concerns that this information can be linked to your name, address, SSN# and medical records – there is no way to opt-out or deactivate this monitoring…Google openly and freely admits that they scan every message you write and receive, every search, anything… looking for keywords to add to your trackable profile…the Nexus One and any Android phone using Google is a walking surveillance device that tracks your physical location and gives Google access to all activity you’re up with Facebook alerts, IMs, contact lists, calendar, browsing, etc… Anything Google develops – is for the purpose of gathering more information…which is how they make money…Don’t believe they’re building a better world by tracking your every keystroke…And there is no reason to believe they only transcribe voicemail. If the government can do eavesdropping, why can’t Google? You checked their privacy policy box.”

Wow. I never heard of any of that before and I feel dumb for not realizing it earlier. I decided to investigate. This is directly off of Google’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy:

We may set one or more cookies in your browser when you visit a website.

When you access Google services, our servers automatically record information that your browser sends whenever you visit a website.

Google may present links in a format that enables us to keep track of whether these links have been followed.

Google uses this same kind of software to scan for keywords in users’ emails which we can then use to match ads. When a user opens an email message, computers scan the text and then instantaneously display relevant information that is matched to the text of the message.

Google offers location-enabled services, such as Google Maps for mobile. If you use those services, Google may receive information about your actual location (such as GPS signals sent by a mobile device) or information that can be used to approximate a location (such as a cell ID).

When you send email or other communications to Google, we may retain those communications in order to process your inquiries, respond to your requests and improve our services.

There it is, written black and white. Google tracks you and everything that you do. Maybe it’s time to start using Bing?

Amazing Model

This is freaking amazing. I wish I could work on something of this scale.

Roads Should be Automated

On my way to Toledo last Friday I was driving down I-275 and drove past the scene of this horrible accident on the other side of the highway involving three cars and a truck. I don't know the conditions or the cause of the accident but I think this is just more evidence that the road system needs to be automated and controlled by a computer. Not only would it make traveling safer (and cheaper), it would also be much more efficient in terms of fuel usage and duration. I envision some sort of wire down the middle of the road that an eye under your car follows. A master computer controls the spacing between vehicles and compensates for congestion. You could effectively eliminate traffic lights by seamlessly alternating cars through intersections. I can only hope something like this happens soon, for the sack of all those injured or killed in vehicle related accidents.

iPhone Apps

I want to learn how to write apps for the iPhone. I've heard many stories of people getting laid off or quiting their jobs who then decided to write iPhone apps and made hundreds of thousands of dollars. Why can't I do that? Oh, maybe because I don't have an iPhone or a Mac. Hmmm. Any ideas?

Disney and Interactivity

The amusement park visitor of today is vastly different than the visitor of yesteryear. Visitors, especially the younger generations, are expecting more and more customized entertainment experiences. The days of the passive viewer are over. Today is all about interaction, choices, and personalization. The quickening pace of daily living combined with the advance in personal technology contribute to reshaping what guests are expecting out of today's amusement parks. There's also an erosion of patience as people's tolerance for waiting in lines is decreasing at a rapid rate. Visitors want instant gratification, personalization, and interaction. They want to add their own input to an attraction. "What do I get to do?" To address shifting tastes, the broader amusement park industry will have to rewrite its operating rules. Disney understands this better than anyone and has already built attractions that use technology to their advance and cater to the needs of today's amusement park guests. One of these new attractions takes the personal experience to the next level: Kim Possible. From Wikipedia: "Based on the Disney Channel animated series Kim Possible, the World Showcase Adventure is an interactive attraction taking place in several of the World Showcase pavilions. The attraction is an electronic scavenger hunt that has guests using special "Kimmunicators" (in actuality, stripped-down cellular phones) to help teenage crime-fighters Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable solve a "crime" or disrupt an evil-doers "plans for global domination." The "Kimmunicator" is able to trigger specific events within the pavilion grounds that provide clues to completing the adventure. Launched in January 2009 and presented by Verizon Wireless, the Adventure is included in park admission." Here's the basic procedure: 1. Sign up as an agent to help Kim Possible. 2. Receive a ticket directing you to a 'disguised' cart in one of three countries. 3. Receive the phone device and follow instructions to the mission country. 4. Find and perform several interactions that drive the storyline. 5. Deposit phone in secret location. The "fake" mobile phone looks like the older LG flip phones and will not work outside of the park. Movie files play when you hit a specific destination and it gives you a task. Then the magic happens. It's an attraction, no more offsetting than spending time to go on a ride. However, it's not something you carry around all day and tinker with. There are 7 different missions to do. Because it's so technical people won't shy away from it. The big thing is the time involved. It should only take about thirty to forty-five minutes to do, which shouldn't distract you from your day any more than doing any other attraction.  The potential issue is if you go through it with others doing it right ahead of you. Then you run the risk of seeing the clues ahead of time thus spoiling the fun for your hunt. There are many other new attractions across the Disney parks that also have a new level of interactivity. Turtle Talk with Crush is pretty amazing. It's been out a couple years now--one in Epcot and one in DCA. It's basically a puppet, but done with computer animation instead of a real puppet---and completely interactive with kids in the audience, including facial expressions, etc. Even when you know how they do it, you forget. And if you don't know how they do it, here is the explanation from Wikipedia: "Crush's movements and lip synch is created on the fly and is projected at 60-frames-per-second so that the turtle's mouth moves in synchronization with the words of a hidden actor portraying the character. The sophistication of the animation enables the projected turtle to move about the screen, seemingly propelling himself with his flippers, doing somersaults, and hovering, in very convincing maneuvers controlled by the actor. This breakthrough technology enables every show to be different than the one before as Crush responds uniquely to each individual audience." The Monsters Inc. show in Magic Kingdom uses the same idea, but I've heard that the theater is too large for the effect to really work well whereas Epcot's Crush theater is perfect for this. Another interactive attraction is Toy Story Mania. There is one in California and another in Florida. Toy Story Mania is very re-ridable because of the Easter eggs. For example, during the Dart Scene you will see two clouds with balloons on them (it takes two people to be effective), but if you clear the balloons on both sides of the clouds at the same time (each person takes a cloud) you will be treated with a rain of 2000 point balloons, where you can then rack up the score nicely. Each round has a different Easter egg. Also, let's not forget the Tower of Terror. It's got an endless set of programs, so like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get!

Excel Mulitple Combinations

I have 3 columns of data, not all the same length. I then have Excel 2007 create three more columns of data which will show each possible combination of the three sets of original data. Here are the formulas I created that works. No headers are in the columns and the original data is in the first three columns A,B,&C.

=OFFSET(LookUp!$A$1,INT((ROW()-1)/(COUNTA(LookUp!B:B)
*COUNTA(LookUp!C:C))),0)

=OFFSET(LookUp!$A$1,INT(MOD((ROW()-1),
COUNTA(LookUp!C:C)*COUNTA(LookUp!B:B))
/COUNTA(LookUp!C:C)),1)

=OFFSET(LookUp!$A$1,MOD((ROW()-2),(COUNTA(LookUp!C:C))),2)

My question now is how do I do more than three columns, say four or five? And is there a way to modify the formula to put headers above the data but not include that in the combinations? Help! Anyone?

Toilet Seat Scale Site Online

Check it out: http://www.mime.eng.utoledo.edu/design/clinics/2008/Fall/sites/2008-04-01/

Senior Design Project

The Future of Transportation

Ford builds a car that gets 65mpg but won't sell it in the U.S. for "marketing" reasons. Ford will sell the car in Europe where gas prices may now be the equivalent of fifteen United States dollars per gallon. That's almost five times more than the average here in America, even though the U.S. uses much more barrels of oil per day. Europe uses much less fuel in cars because they have an amazing public transportation system and many people don't even own a car. Buses, subways, trams, trolleys, and high speed railroads are all in use in Europe, and have been around many years.

Why doesn’t this type of public transportation exist in America? The biggest cost in constructing a high speed railway system in America is the infrastructure. The civil engineering. Buying all of the land for the tracks to run on. Most people will be surprised to hear that this crucial step has already been completed. So where is all this land the railway tracks will go? Easy. Four-lane divided highways are the perfect solution. Take half of that divided highway and convert it to two tracks for bullet trains going opposite directions. Take the other half of the highway and paint a double yellow line down the center of it for whatever remaining cars there are and for service vehicles to use. Now Americans can pay their yearly travel pass of $2500 to $3000 and travel anywhere in America. At first $2500 to $3000 is a pretty steep upfront fee. But think about it and how much money would actually be saved by doing it this way: no car insurance, no gas, no car repairs. You could take several trips from coast to coast if you wanted. The possibilities are endless.

What keeps this from happening right now? Money. Not the cost to build the
system, but the money that people have invested in the oil and automobile
industries. The rich will do anything to stay that way and keep other people from becoming rich. The businessmen who have tons of money invested into oil pay lawmakers to keep these railroads and such from happening because it would make them bankrupt.

However, the day will come when a change will be forced upon America. Extremely high gas prices ($15/gallon) or lack of oil/gas altogether, whichever comes first, will force American's to quite driving and invest in public transportation methods. This will happen in our lifetimes.