Waldo County Technical Center

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Pics - Saturday

Many more pictures to come! I've returned and will be adding more pictures Monday and Tuesday, the 26th and 27th. There are many pictures from Wednesday-II & Thursday that will show contest events and our trips around the city. - Jon Morrison

Saturday was off to a fast start when I woke up and realized that I misread the flight schedule. I had planned to leave the airport at 10:30, forgetting that this was the departure time MONDAY! We were supposed to take off at 8:15, which made for a fast paced morning. Luckily JonF is fast getting ready and we were able to make it to the airport without any major problems. The rest of the day was filled with anticipation about getting home to family and friends and looking back on the week's highlights. I think we both were content that it was an awesome week, but that it is also good to get home.

Getting ready to leave Kansas City.

JonF waiting for the plane to take off.

Descending into Boston. It was a bit gloomy to return to the cool, cloudy weather in the northeast.

Finishing a lunch break at a food court in Logan International while we waited for the flight to Augusta.

Our little plane getting prepared for take off. Isn't it cute? It almost looks like it could fly.

Taking off from Boston for the final leg of the trip. It was another great year of the SkillsUSA NSLC.

Pics - Friday

Friday was the real play day of the week since all of the required participation events were finished, except for the closing ceremonies. We were able to wander around the city quite bit and see different things. We started out doing a grand tour of the Crown Center area for shopping and sightseeing, a walk through the Broadway St. area and returning to Bartle Hall to get back to the hotel.

We took the car and drove around the city to look for places to do some errand shopping and to see if we could unearth any interesting stuff. The drive took us first to Route 24 and the eastern side of the city where we stopped at Arrowhead Stadium to get pictures. Then we were able to stop back at the hotel for a break and then took off again to check out the northern side of the city.

We drove up Route 169 and into Briarcliff. This got us to some areas where we could shop and then we returned down the Oak Trafficway. We drove along Route 210 into the eastern side of the city to stop at the Ameristar Casino & plaza. After this, it was time to go out for dinner before the closing ceremonies. We made a stop at the Golden Ox where we had a long wait for our meal, but were rewarded with some excellent steaks.

Returning to the hotel, we got ready for the closing ceremonies and took the bus over to Kemper Arena. The intensity was pretty high but also the anticipation and anxiety of waiting for medalists to be announced. The ceremonies were conducted well, but it was disappointing to see a lot of people leaving before the end of the awards. Hopefully people will be more respectful in the future conferences.

After the ceremonies, the students came back to the hotel for a state sponsored BBQ and a chance to pass out participation certificates. We didn't get back to our rooms until 11:00 and then had to pack for the morning. It turned out to be a good thing we did, since the flight was leaving earlier than I realized!

Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

The first class view of Kansas City from the Hyatt Regency 38th floor in Crown Center.

Time to do some shopping at the Crown Center.

Taking a moment to put away our loot outside The Best of Kansas City.

View of the Hyatt Regency hotel from the Elevator on the Westin hotel.

Walking in The Link as it crosses over Pershing St.

The great view of the downtown area from The Link as it passes over Main St.

Yum... This was seen in the science novelty store in Union Station.

The ceilings and walls are amazing in Union Station. The intricate artwork is immaculately restored.

One of the window arches at Union Station.

Another main hallway in Union Station. It was partly blocked off as people prepared an exhibit.

More of the amazing style of Union Station.

Motorcycle themed exhibits were shown at Union Station when we visited. This one was at the main entrance.

Another one of the motorcycles on display outside Union Station.

Carvings commemorating the veterans of World War I at the monument next to Union Station.

A very nice view of Union Station in the foreground and KC skyline in the back. Bartle Hall is the building left of center in the downtown area with four towers lining the top.

The World War I monument below Crown Center.

A closer view of the Union Station from the World War I monument site.

Looking toward the Westin Hotel from the WWI monument site.

The WWI monument and museum entrance. The engravings in the walkway are quite impressive - and numerous.

A closer view of the WWI monument engravings.

Looking south from the WWI monument. This area appears to be renovated and expanded since our last trip. It has been worth it because the area looks quite nice.

JonF and I returned to Union Station to head up Main St.

Railroad overpass on Main St. Silly shadows of JonF and JonM against the gravel in the stockyard below. I don't know why, but I always find this location and viewpoint entertaining.

Don't know what this flower is called but it looked like it was growing wild and it looks nice, I think.

The Hobo Home! We returned to the site of the world famous Hobo Home at the underpass at I-35 and 20th St. Looks like he may not have done any home improvements since our visit last year.

WHAT'S BEHIND THAT DOOR???? We saw this strange door in the underpass wall near the Hobo Home. We can only guess what is on the other side - it is locked.

A reflecting mirror looking type of view from the concrete jungle at the I-35 underpass near the Hobo Home. It means nothing, but it sure looks cool in a picture.

The Casino at Ameristar. No, we didn't go in - but it was quite a sight to see.

More of the Casinos at Ameristar.

Eating dinner at the Golden Ox. The wait was tiring, but they made good with a really good steak dinner.

Arriving at the closing ceremonies in Kemper Arena.

Our arrival at Kemper Arena, along with other "redcoats".

The horde of "redcoats" floods into Kemper Arena on Friday afternoon.

The SkillsUSA closing ceremonies stage.

The ME SkillsUSA banner makes the rounds. It was hard to get a clear shot for some reason - getting it from the back is as close as I could get.

JonF and I await the results - for quite a while as it turned out!

Pics - Thursday - Part II

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Pics - Thursday - Part I

Thursday was the big day for the competition action. A majority of contests ran throughout the day with some starting before 8:00 and running until 5:00 or later. Event sponsors and vendors were also quite active all day with big crowds at most locations. Weather was fantastic again, feeling like 80's but with a nice breeze and mostly clear skies all day. We were very fortunate during the whole week.

Arriving at the entrance to the Grand Ballroom.

Time to get going.

Some of the prize goodies for the Technical Computer Applications (TCA) contest winners.

Getting the system started up.

Starting off in the competition.

Off and running - the contest ran for 9 hours!

Setting up for the online knowledge exam.

Prizes for the Internetworking contest winners.

~The Technical Computer Applications (TCA) contest area.

~The videoconferencing call area at the Internetworking contest. Seeing this in action was really cool - even if you aren't a tech geek.

~More of the Internetworking contest area. The cable termination & testing part of the contest.

~A judge at the Internetworking network setup site.

~The network setup part of the Internetworking contest.

~The Computer Maintenance Technology (CMT) contest area. Some of the hardware troubleshooting sites.

A competitor waits to continue at the CMT contest in the laptop troubleshooting area.

~The 3DV&A contest area systems.

~Mike Myers, the computer textbook author, explains the laptop repair station to the CMT competitors. If it looks like he's a bit grumpy, he is. He's telling the competitors to NOT MAKE NEW HOME NETWORKS! Apparently someone did this and botched the competition area earlier.

~The poster explaining the goals of the 3DV&A contest, along with the mascot who featured heavily in the design goals.

~The 3DV&A contest area. Lots of powerful computers set up here!

~A workstation in the 3DV&A contest area.

The 3DV&A contest had a fairly mixed representation of PC's and Macs.

A 3DV&A workstation display.

~The Electronics Technology (ET) contest area.

~Competitors at work in the ET contest area. I can say from firsthand experience that this is one seriously grueling competition.

~A contestant soldering in the Mobile Electronics Installation (MEI) contest.

~MEI contestants terminating cables and performing repairs.

~An MEI contestant sets up a car stereo system.

~MEI contestant setting up a car stereo system.

~MEI contest area. It looks like they were pretty busy.

~The view to the northwest from the hotel room. Not noteworthy, but here it is...

~A courtroom on State St., a block over from the hotel room.

~Looking out the hotel room window toward the northern side of Kansas City. Not very inspiring, but at least you can see what it was like to be here.

~The Kaufmann Performing Arts Center from Broadway St.

~The Kaufmann PAC from the front. It appears to be almost completed on the outside.

~I was impressed by the brilliant blue color of these wildflowers growing along 18th St. below Bartle Hall. They looked like violets, but much more vibrant.

~A city garden landscape bordering Broadway St. below Bartle Hall.

~Signage at the city garden area near Broadway St.

~The view southeast from Broadway St. & 18th St.

~OK, back to the competition areas after a nice walk around town. JonF looks like he's got a pretty good challenge to tackle.

~JonF is looking pretty focused on this problem.

~Contestants in the 3DV&A contest area.

~A closer look at what those guys are working on.

~More of the 3DV&A competition action.

~Contestants in the CMT area wait to tackle another challenge. Looks like this is the test & measurement station.

~A row of people in the 3DV&A contest area. There were many competitors in this one and they were working in pairs.

~Some of the 3DV&A contestants working.

~More of the 3DV&A contestants at work.

~A promotional board set up at the 3DV&A contest area.

~The Architectural Drafting (AD) contest area upstairs from the previously shown contests.

~The Technical Drafting (TD) contest area.

~More of the AD contest people at work.

~AD contestants at work.

~TD contestants at work.

~The TD contest area.

~The Advertising Design (AdD) contest area.

~AdD contestants hard at work.

~An 18,000$ 3D printer on display near AdD.

~A sample of the plastic printing process models made by the 3D printer.

~This was the show stopper of the 3D models. A replica of the White House.

~The Robo Rescue robotics display.

~The Robo Rescue demonstration robot scurrying through a maze.

~The big robot (no name I'm aware of) on display at the Robo Rescue display.

~The Sustainability Solutions contest area.

~The Screen Printing Technology (SPT) contest area.

An SPT contestant quickly working the press.

~T-Shirt Design contest area.

~The First Aid & CPR contest area, with competitors taking a break at lunch.

~Mechatronics contest area.

~Building Maintenance contest area.

~Culinary Arts contest area.

~Commercial Baking contest area.

~Culinary Arts contest area.

~A dish on display in the Culinary Arts contest.

~Culinary Arts contest area.

~A dish on display in the Culinary Arts contest.

~The HVAC Repair contest area.

~The Marine Service contest area.

~The cabinetmaking contest area.