Gangplank

Volunteers needed ASAP

Katie Charland — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:55:23 +0000

With the completion of the project rooms in the back of the current space, Gangplank will need to move out of the temporary space we are occupying in Suite 3. That means the podcasting studio and HeatSync Labs will need to be moved this week. For those of you who have seen these rooms, you know this is no small feat – especially in 3 days.

So…help us out!

Come out tonight beginning at 6pm to help us move. Who knows – perhaps the evening will end with a few beers at San Tan

Dedication

Katie Charland — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 21:52:52 +0000

Having an idea is easy – making it happen is hard. Especially when that idea relies heavily on others.

At the beginning of the year, Gangplank Junior decided it wanted to form a First Lego League team. The competition seeks to teach kids mechanics, robotics and problem solving, skills often left untaught in the modern era of slashed school budgets.

Now, nearly six months later, I’m sitting watching HeatSync Labs Jose Diaz talk to a group of parents about this tremendous opportunity for their kids. In the back, more than 20 kids aged 4-14 are intensely focused on building working cars and mini machines.

Jose Diaz, Jacob Rosenthal, Roy van de Water, Mike Benner, Nate Plamondon and Jason Petrilla have dedicated their free-time on weekends to teach these kids lessons they don’t have access to in school. Several of them have put in their own funds, as well as late nights organizing kits for the younger kids, and orchestrating training schedules for the upcoming months.

As a former teacher, watching this idea come to fruition is tremendously moving. It gives me hope that there are more people out their willing to sacrifice their time and resources to educate the next generation.

Process Mapping

Katie Charland — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:45:29 +0000

Nathan Eskue discusses the planning tool known as ‘process mapping’, as well as shares some examples from his current projects.

HTML 5 in 15 minutes

Katie Charland — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:41:16 +0000

Clayton Lengel-Zigich of Integrum, covers HTML 5.

Robotium for Android

Katie Charland — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:40:02 +0000

Mike Benner of Integrum shares his knowledge of Robotium for Andriod.

Mac OS10 Tips and Tricks

Katie Charland — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:36:39 +0000

Andrew Bowerman of Integrum, presents on tips and tricks for Mac OS10.

Welcome to Gangplank 3.0

Katie Charland — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:28:50 +0000

New space means a new site – Welcome to the next installment of Gangplank.

With so much going on at our new location in Downtown Chandler, we felt it was time to update the website to make room for all the exciting events and news coming out of Gangplank.

Our home page now includes sidebars highlighting the latest blog posts and upcoming events. For more information, the Events tab includes our calendar, as well as explanations about our Brownbags and Hacknights.

The new Vision tab has all you need to know about Gangplank – the underlying vision, manifesto, as well as some frequently asked questions for new visitors. The People tab highlights our members, anchors, mentors and shares ways you can become involved. Additionally, our blog navigation has improved with separate tabs for brownbag and technical brownbag videos.

A huge thanks to Ward Andrews, Josh Strebel and Chuck Reynolds for their work on the site. Take a look around – let us know what you think.

Castles and Catapults

Katie Charland — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:13:35 +0000

It starts with a spoon on the edge of a cereal bowl. Little Billy is curious to know what would happen if he slammed his hand down on the edge of the spoon as it lays tilted outside of the bowl. How far will the Cheerios fly?
On Sunday, half a dozen kids satisfied that curiosity by participating in Gangplank Junior’s ‘Castles & Catapults’ event. Designed to teach kids a bit about energy, tension and physics, the event had kids problem-solving through hands-on activity. Mike Benner of Integrum, began the session by explaining how catapults were used in ancient warfare, as well as the different styles that developed over history. The kids were then let out to design their own catapults, utilizing popsicle sticks, rubber bands, glue, candy foils and twine. Each catapult was unique – a few of the children went with a cross-bow design, while others relied on the more traditional pull-back and let fly design. We also had one gravity-powered design, going back to the whole slamming-your-fist-down-on-the-Cheerio-spoon idea.

Once the kids completed their design, it was time for round one of testing. The first test was for distance, the second for accuracy with the kids attempting to destroy our little bitty castle. Based on their performance, the kids were allowed to make modifications for round two.
The Catapult Competition from Gangplank on Vimeo.
At the end of the event, win or lose, all the kids got to see a giant catapult in action. Roy Van de Water of Integrum built a water-balloon catapult for the kids to try, resulting in several wet roofs, and a very soaked Roy.

It starts with a spoon on the edge of a cereal bowl. Little Billy is curious to know what would happen if he slammed his hand down on the edge of the spoon as it lays tilted outside of the bowl. How far will the Cheerios fly?
On Sunday, half a dozen kids satisfied that curiosity by participating in Gangplank Junior’s ‘Castles & Catapults’ event. Designed to teach kids a bit about energy, tension and physics, the event had kids problem-solving through hands-on activity. Mike Benner of Integrum, began the session by explaining how catapults were used in ancient warfare, as well as the different styles that developed over history. The kids were then let out to design their own catapults, utilizing popsicle sticks, rubber bands, glue, candy foils and twine. Each catapult was unique – a few of the children went with a cross-bow design, while others relied on the more traditional pull-back and let fly design. We also had one gravity-powered design, going back to the whole slamming-your-fist-down-on-the-Cheerio-spoon idea.

Once the kids completed their design, it was time for round one of testing. The first test was for distance, the second for accuracy with the kids attempting to destroy our little bitty castle. Based on their performance, the kids were allowed to make modifications for round two.
The Catapult Competition from Gangplank on Vimeo.
At the end of the event, win or lose, all the kids got to see a giant catapult in action. Roy Van de Water of Integrum built a water-balloon catapult for the kids to try, resulting in several wet roofs, and a very soaked Roy.

CrowdPitch Phoenix

Katie Charland — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 15:16:57 +0000

Photo by Peter J Hart

On Thursday evening, more than 125 people packed into our new space to hear five brave entrepreneurs pitch their business. Talk about buzz – the room hummed with anticipation, energy and excitement. Attending last evening, and witnessing the tremendous growth this event has had in such a short amount of time, really instills confidence that there are opportunities in this economy – that hard times don’t stop tough people.

Funding Universe hosts CrowdPitch events every several weeks all over the United States. The event has many goals – to allow startups to receive quality feedback on their ventures, to award business services to get the winner’s idea up and running, and to connect potential investors with a promising venture. For audience members, CrowdPitch is a chance to network, learn and hopefully be inspired to pursue your own passions.

To winning pitch was delivered by Scottsdale Medical Device, who have designed a product that will assisting in draining blood during cardiac surgeries.

So much goes into planning and executing the CrowdPitch event. Thank you to:

Funding Universe’s Shane Van Cott and Brent Davis for running the event.
Murphy’s Law Irish Pub & Restaurant for providing the delicious appetizers (Ceviche and Shepherd’s Pie? Who knew it could be so good!)
Brand Adoption for assistance in setting up the event.
Stealthmode, myKB, and rYnoweb for assistance in breaking down the event.

Photo by Peter J Hart

CrowdPitch will be back in Arizona on November 18th. Mark your calendars.

Social media and the Phoenix Suns

Katie Charland — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:17:22 +0000

The power of social media is nothing new to any of us. We’ve experienced it first hand.

But how does the advent of social media impact athletes, owners and the professional athletic machine?

Jeramie McPeek, VP of Digital for the Phoenix Suns, will be sharing a case study on how the team has integrated social media into their marketing plan. With eight players, their head coach and more than 30 front-office executives serving as brand ambassadors on Twitter, not to mention a quickly growing Facebook audience, the Suns are one of the NBA’s most active and engaged teams in social media, if not in all of professional sports. Hear how the Suns got into this game and how they are utilizing these new channels to connect with fans and generate revenue.

“I have heard a lot of great things about Gangplank and the #brownbag discussions,” said McPeak. “I am excited to share some of our stories and experiences, and network with some of the creative residents of the Gangplank community.”

The Valley’s original sports franchise, the Phoenix Suns will tip-off their 43^rd season in the National Basketball Association on Oct. 26. Led by two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash and seven-time All-Star Grant Hill, the Suns are coming off one of the most successful and entertaining seasons in franchise history, having advanced to the Western Conference Finals.

Wednesday, August 18th at noon
Gangplank HQ
250 S Arizona Ave, Suite 1 & 2
Chandler, AZ 85225