Ravit's Blog

Today I am going to talk about a project that I have completed with my Raspberry Pi a couple days ago. If you do not know what I am talking about, the Raspberry Pi is a tiny computer that can fit in your pocket. What I did is that I made a program using Python that set one of the GPIO pins (#17 for Revision B) to high, which is 3.3v for 0.2 seconds, and low, which is 0v for 0.2 seconds. Then, I made a circuit using a resistor, an LED, and a breadboard (to make the connections easier). Here is a video and picture to make this easier to understand. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qPZDKFLll0&feature=em-upload_owner Picture:

Who is Boo Radley? Boo Radley is a character from a book called To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee. He is  a misunderstood character and despite the rumors about him is a kind character. He stays in his house most of the time, and the people in Maycomb County take advantage of that by creating rumors about him that are not necessarily true. People say that Boo Radley was about six and a half feet tall, had popped eyes, drooled most of the time, dined on raw squirrels and cats, had yellow rotten teeth, had bloodstained hands, and had a long scar across his face, although this might not be true. Jem gave this description and might have said false information. To my agreement, Atticus, Jem and Scout’s father, thinks that Boo Radley minds his own business and Scout and Jem should mind their own. I think that Boo Radley is a kind-hearted character despite the rumors about him. Boo Radley has done many things, good and bad. Let’s start with the bad things. When Boo Radl...

I got a note from Ms. Husa, my seventh grade history teacher. It is attached to this blog. It is a special note saying that she was proud of me for consistently having positive attitude.

Stanford is a wonderful college. It is located in northern California and has 19,945 students. The colors are cardinal and white. Its mascot is a cardinal and the tuition is $14,230. It was established in 1891, and its president is John L. Hennessy. Its motto is Die Luft der Freiheit weht which is German for 'The wind of freedom blows. Its newspaper is the Stanford Daily. Its website is  Stanford.edu . Faculty and alumni have founded companies such as HP and Yahoo. They generate more than 2.7 trillion in annual revenue. Stanford is one of the greatest universities.

Last to last weekend, we slept in the backyard. It was a fun experience for all of us. Our plan was to haul the items out of the house, such as playing cards and air mattresses. We played cards, ball and ate lots of yummy food. Around eight, we ate dinner. We had roti and aloo gobi. Later, we had Lays BBQ  and sour cream along with BBQ sauce and cream cheese. We slept around 10:00. I remember specifically, my dad asked me not to let Rohan push me off the bed. My response was "How will I know?". At 1:00 am., my mom went inside to sleep in her own room.  Later that night, Rohan took over the bed and pushed me off. I went to sleep with my dad. At 5:00 a.m., my dad woke me up to go upstairs because the humidity was too high. I liked sleeping in the backyard. I hope to do this sometime soon again.

I have been going to Kumon for 90 months now. I started at age 2 1/2 and I am going to turn ten in three months.In reading I have passed 22 levels and I am on the second last level. In math I have completed 14 levels, and I have 7 levels to go (including X).Reading ends at L and I am at K. Math ends at X and I am at I. In level  X you can choose whichever branch of math you want. It is after the level  O. Each level has 400 worksheets.

I have been learning how to solve rubik's cubes since June. I started off simple with the 2x2 cube. Once I could solve it in thirty seconds, I moved onto the 3x3. This surprisingly took a shorter amount of time to learn than the 2x2. That was probably because when I first learned how to solve the 2x2 cube, I was starting from scratch. But when I got the 3x3, I could apply some of the 2x2 tricks. Two days after I got it, I could solve it. Now I can solve it in 1 1/2 minutes. On July 19, my dad's birthday, I got a 4x4. Solving the 4x4 is taking  around twenty minutes right now, but I am sure that I will speed up pretty soon. My mom and dad are also trying to learn the cubes and I am teaching them. The down side of this is that they don't have a lot of free time on their hands. My mom has learnt the 2x2 and 3x3, but along the process of learning  the 3x3, she forgot how to solve the 2x2. She is satisfied with the 3x3 and does not want to move on to the 4x4. My dad is  still ...

On July 12, 2014 our family went on a trip to Boardwalk, a beach in Santa Cruz. During our prior visit, on July 6, we only stayed at the beach; we did not go on the rides. But this time we went for a longer time and we spent most of our time on the rides. The rides we went on were the "FreeFall" in which you sit down on a seat and they elevate you. Then they suddenly drop you down. But there was an even larger version of it and it wasn't even scary. It was barely 20 feet tall, but people were screaming. This was the least scary 'scary ride' I have ever been on. We also went on the "Train Adventure". It was a small kiddie ride in which there were weird animated statues doing things. It was dark and there was light that looked like Ultraviolet light. But I wasn't too disappointed when we came out of the train. My next favorite ride was the "Pirate Ship". There was a ship that was swinging back and forth very high. It was scary, but a fun kin...

Today, people came to clean our backyard. They did it very quickly (40 min.) and also made it very clean. They cut down the rose bushes so that it was short and had no leaves on it. It will grow back. Then they used a hoe and a leaf blower to blow the leaves out and raked it out. In the end, our backyard looked very clean and empty. It has been a long time since the last time we cleaned our backyard, so it had gotten very dirty. But now, it looks the exact opposite of that!

This July fourth was my best experience yet. On Friday, July 4, we went to Adobe Park, and my dad clicked pictures of the family. After that we went to see firecrackers at Cardoza Park. My brother was very excited and kept clapping and jumping up and down. Then we went back home. On Sunday, we went to the beach. We had a lot of fun there and played in the water. I even buried myself in sand. Then when we came back home, I took a shower, got ready to go to swimming class. In the previous week I had passed the level "Sting Ray" and I am currently in "Dolphin". I only have two more levels to go . YAY!!! I had learned to do breaststroke kicks. Next time, I go, I will learn dolphin kicks. After swimming class, I went to music class. After that my music teacher had to go somewhere, but she cannot see, so Mrs. Kathy dropped her off. I had a very fun July 4th weekend.

Ingredients: 1 3/4 cup milk - divided(low fat milk works best) A cherry sized piece of ginger 2 teaspoon sugar 1 1/2 teaspoon tea leaves/1 tea bag Directions: Pour one cup of milk in a medium sized pot. Turn your stove on in low high. Then, immediately after that, put your sugar in the milk. Then add your tea leaves or put in one tea bag. Crush your ginger and add to the chai. Boil on high for five minutes until the chai is a nice dark brown color. Stir in between. If the level of the chai rises to the brim, simply turn it back on low until it comes back down. Then turn it back on high. Once you have boiled it for five minutes, add the remaining 3/4 cup milk. Boil it for five more minutes until it is again dark brown. Your chai is ready. Sift the chai through a filter and serve immediately. Drink your chai along with some snacks.

It has been about a year since my last visit to India. In fact, three hundred sixty-five days ago, on July 1, 2013, I wrote a blog on how I liked India so far:  http://ravitsharma.blogspot.com/2013/07/my-trip-to-india-of-2013.html . I feel that India is a great place to have fun and to meet your relatives, however the only down side of India is that there is too much pollution. It is also very hot and the water is not as clean. I was falling sick almost every week because I was inhaling the dust and emissions from vehicles. However, in India, there was a lot of fun. We went on train rides and long car rides. In Mathura, I enjoyed playing with my cousins in India. I was originally planning to come to India this year, but that is not possible anymore, because school is about to start in a month. Now we are considering coming to India next year, in 2015.

 My brother and I were going to the park in late June, 2014. I had taken my 2x2 rubik's cube with me. I saw my friend and decided to play with him. When he left, my dad was talking to his friend so I waited for him and started solving my rubik's cube. When he was finally done, he did not realize that I was still in the park. I ran towards him with my cube and we went home. The next day, my brother wanted to go to the park. But when I entered the garage, I did not find my bike. I searched the park, but my bike was not where I had put it, nor was it in any part of the park. All I  found was my helmet in the middle of the field. My dad was at the gym. I was scared. What was going to happen! But when I told him, all he said was that I had to figure out a solution to stay more organized. The next evening. I again went to the park with my cube. I told another of my friends that my bike was lost. A few minutes later I went back home. Several minutes later, I heard a ring at the doorb...

The Raspberry Pi is a tiny computer that can fit in your pocket. It functions just like a regular computer, except, it has less computing power. All you have to do is connect it to a cellphone charger, an SD card,a TV/monitor, and a keyboard. However to access the internet, you will need to plug in an Ethernet cable. To connect it to your TV/monitor, you will need either an HDMI or both an audio jack and a video cable. There are different types of the Raspberry Pi, and they only cost about $40! On this computer, you can program and also make your own website. You can also do all the other things you would do with a regular computer. What makes this computer special is not its size, but the way everyone, even children can learn about the different parts of a computer without having to take apart your old desktop and put it back together again. You can buy a transparent protective case and learn about your Raspberry Pi.

Despite my sadness, I look up from the park bench and watch a train speed into the tunnel. A passenger in the last compartment waves and I gasp. It can't be, it just can't be? My father smiles weakly as he watches me sitting on the bench. Why did he have to get sick right now? We were  both working on making a hydrogen powered car for the science battle starting two years ago and there are only two weeks left. How am I going to be able to finish it without his guidance! It isn't that I don't care, I am very worried about my dad's health, but my project is also very important. I get up and start my way  to the lab. I start working. Barely ten minutes later, I feel frustrated and call my dad. He doesn't pick up. I decide that it is better to work with what you have rather than whining, so I start greasing car axles. That night, I slept at twelve, and again wake up at four o' clock. I only take a break when I need to. I keep doing this for the next two weeks. ...

     When I say Africa, what do you first think of? You might think about the Great African Safari or herds of animals grazing the grass. But there is more to Africa than just wildlife. Have you thought about the living conditions of Africa? Here in the U.S. it is common to have a T.V. in your house.We have gotten past the basic idea of food, water, shelter and clothing. We are a rich country and have more than enough food to live. How about in Africa? In Africa, people are struggling to survive. Malaria is not uncommon in many parts of Africa and is fatal to many. People struggle to grow food, and unpredictable weather makes it even more inconvenient. Growing food requires intense manual labor, and yet, the result is minuscule.More than 18,000 people were on the verge of dying because of starvation. Most of the children under the age of five have died of starvation.The need to help this struggling continent is imperative.

Let me first describe the setting. In this world, there is no war, fear, pain, color, feelings, or music. The sun never shines. It is a place where no one makes choices. Children do not have birthdays, but have ceremonies in which each group of children, at the maximum twelve months apart are advanced by one year. Let me give you an example. A child is born in January. Then two months later another one is born. Both children would turn one in December, and then two in the following December. When you turn twelve, you become an adult, receive your training, and then start working. Another difference between our world and their world is that it is very rare to die. Therefore, after each adult has led a good life, they are released. Jonas is an eleven eagerly waiting to receive his assignment. When it is finally December, he is selected to be Receiver of Memories. That selection is very rare. He has to go under physical pain through "memories". The Giver - the current receive...

        Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a wonderful movie. However, I would modify the contents of it if I was the writer. The movie is not very disappointing because they show that Milkha Singh lost the Olympics in the beginning of the film.         I know that this movie is based on a real story, but I think that it would be a more satisfying ending if they would start the movie from the beginning, and show him winning the Olympics in the end. Second, it makes the movie interesting when they show the grief of his childhood, however the impact of it on his life is too great to be realistic, especially when he loses the race because his coach unintentionally causes him to suddenly remember his childhood and, as a result, loses the race.         Despite all of these amendments, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is still one of my favorite movies.

February 20, 2530:             This is Dr. Yichasmi posting onto the GS mailbox from the device Hologram 4239. ID:623018. I am now exploring the past from the virtual box #23 part of the General Science Foundation. I am seeing what appears to be a tiny metal box encrusted within the earth's surface. As an employee, it is my job to report back a 3D Virtual Reality Map, which I have already sent to you and Hester. Another part of my job is to bring back samples of the earth. However, this tiny device is preventing me from affecting any part of it. Let us skip to seventeen years later and look at what advancements the Team of Archaeologists and the General Science foundation have made. The GS has found out that the tiny device still exists, but is now the size of a peanut. It is revolving around the core and is still functioning. Archaeologists are baffled and are reverting back to older technology such as seismographs to find better luck. Detectives ...

Here is the story I have based upon an unfortunate incident that occurred to me on May 19 2014:     It all started ten days ago in English class with Mrs. Robinson. I had been eagerly waiting for the finals and that day was the day of my English final exam. I had thought that the test was easy and I had aced it. I turned it in to her. As soon as she was holding our column's papers, she called out a no-name. I went up to check, and it was mine. I wrote my name on it and passed it in, or that was at least what I thought I did. The next day, during math class, I found my English final exam in my binder. I did not know what to do. Just as I walked in during English class, Mrs. Robinson told me that I had not turned in my exam. I said that I knew and quickly gave her my test. I asked her if she would grade it, but she said that I would get a zero on my test. The next day, the principal pulled me out of science class to talk to me. She asked me a few questions, and then she said th...

My Trip to a Historical Place If I had to go to a historical place, I would choose India because in India because it is the country of my origin. There are also many historical places in India. For example, when India won its independence, they built parks in memory of the war against Britain. India is unique because it has won its independence through non-violence. Many more historical events have also occurred in India. India is a wonderful historical place to visit. There were many remarkable events in India. Mahatma Gandhi believed that he could win the war with no violence. He first attained many people to like him and then when the British refused to let India become independent, he started to fast. He knew that many people liked him and would passionately attack the British if they did not give India their freedom. The British got scared of that and let India become independent. Also, a great king whom many stories are made about, Akbar be...

Today, I am going to talk about how I can be a leader. I think that in order to be a leader, you have to be able to think and feel for others. You also have to be able to set an example for the people, and inspire them so that they will follow you. There is a big difference between a supervisor and a leader. A supervisor makes sure that everything is in place, while a leader not only tells people what to do, but listens to them and their ideas to help improve the quality. A leader naturally gets the support of the people, but he doesn’t seek control. An example of a leader is Mahatma Gandhi. He believed that it is possible to have freedom without war or violence. He did this, first by getting the respect of the group of the people. Then, he asked the British to leave India. When they refused, he decided to fast. He fasted for a long time. The people who respected him were very upset at the British. Finally, the British were naturally forced out of India. This pe...

This painting is my finished product of a combination of finger painting and paintbrush painting. I painted the petals of the flowers with my finger, but I made the center of the flower and the stems and branches with a paintbrush. I was inspired to make this by watching a Youtube video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTba3wgzKG8 . I would also like to acknowledge my mom for helping me with this project.

1 One day, Duster Dohf slowly trudged home. He had a headache worse than he ever imagined. His dad would get angry at him again just because he was late for dinner. On top of that, he had to finish his homework. A few minutes later, Duster found his dad waiting in the doorway. When he reached the dinner table, he realized that he was not hungry. Duster then, went to his room. Forgetting his homework, he drifted off to sleep. 2 When he awoke in the morning, he did not feel better. In fact, he felt worse. He figured that it was just his disliking of school, but when he got out of bed, he felt dizzy and fell to the floor. He had a stronger headache and also had a stomachache. He felt nauseated. He called out to his parents, and they came running towards him and found him sprawled on the floor. Duster’s dad lifted him onto the bed. 3 His mom was talking to the nurse. The nurse said that she would talk to the doctor. His mom waited anxiously beside his bed and co...

Current Event Report Title: Oceans on Saturn’s moon Source: CNN Article Date: April 3, 2014 News Type: World Summary: NASA’s Cassini spacecraft shows the existence of a body of water, the size of Lake Superior, beneath a layer of ice on the south pole of one of Saturn’s moons. This means that Saturn’s sixth largest moon is open to life. However, this is not found in the north pole. The reason is that the north is heavily cratered, and has rock underneath it, while the south is not, and has resurfaced over time. Other moons, such as Titan of Saturn, and Europa, Callista, and Ganymade of Jupiter may also have oceans under ice. Personal Response: I chose this article because I like learning things about space. I love to discover interesting things about the world, especially space. I think that the fact that there is H2o on a moon is very interesting. That means that there could be extraterrestrial life in outer space. This is important because with this info...