NOCTILUCA January 2018

FEATURES Appleton, Wisconsin January 2018 Vol. XXIII

Issue III

Page 8

Future of technology: computer science

By Brian Neville

long time along with the brand- new Computer Science Club. Mr. Behnke teaches our com- puter science courses: Intro to Computer Science, AP Com- puter Science, and hopefully AP Computer Science A this upcoming school year. Both the intro and AP courses cover the foundations of computer sci- ence but the major difference lies in the programming lan- guage of choice. Programming languages are basic instructions for the computer to follow that humans can understand; rather than programming in machine language, also known as binary. There is a multitude of languag- es each built for different tasks. Intro to Computer Science stud- ies the more mobile and user- friendly Scratch and Javascript while the AP course studies Py- thon and additionally have the good fortune of taking the AP exam come May. Moreover, North has Com- puter Science Club, which is new this year. Sophomores Matt Lee, Ted Reimer, Jacob Ortiz- Breiting and Beau Berg began the club in order to have addi- tional time outside of class to learn and focus on Computer Science. Their goal is to in- crease the school’s exposure to Computer Science and foster interest within the students The four founding members serve as the club’s officers and Mr. Behnke serves as advisor. There are numerous activi- Cena’s environment begs for a jazz combo to play and the Jazz Orgy does just that. Every Tuesday night from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. the Jazz Orgy plays their heart out. They are a combo, meaning a smaller jazz group that structures their songs from the head or melody, soloing, and can be done in choruses, fours, or anything else you can think of, finished off with the melody once again. It is a relatively simple process, the musicality is what makes it mi- raculous. Effortlessly following the form of a tune, shredding their instruments in beautiful solos, and showing their techni- cal abilities in up tempo swing tune heads, such as Dona Lee. Core members Michael Un- derwood (Drums), Noah Har- mon (Piano) and Andy Mertens (Bass), rarely miss a gig, Erin Krebs (Singer) is also frequent- ly involved. Various guest artist join too, among these guest art- ists are faculty members of the Lawrence Conservatory of Mu-

ties beyond those at North. For example, the I.T. Youth Apprenticeship Program of- fers paid, part-time positions that offer certificates to help reinforce growing resumes. Jando Valdez, who is also enrolled in the AP course, currently participates in the Youth Apprenticeship pro- gram at Bemis. He is a part of the service delivery team to help manage employee requests and internal sys- tems. There are a number of positions within the district as well, from helping at the Chrome Help Desk to sum- mer positions. Also, volunteer programs like Megabytes run in Appleton middle schools with the help of high school recruits. Computer Science is an ever-growing field with a high demand for new talent. There are many excellent paths to a career in computer science. Fox Valley Tech offers excellent two-year programs in software development and network ar- chitecture towards an associates degree. There are also other, more traditional courses through most four year colleges; the top college in Wisconsin, and one of the top in the nation, is UW Madison. In a world dominated by technology, the job opportuni- ties in computer science are nu- merous. Every company has an I.T. department with a demand

By Henry Ptacek Computer science, for those unfamiliar, is simply the sci- ence of solving problems me- chanically and approaching data abstractly. The field is often as- sociated only with computer programming when it is truly is a broad science, encompassing every and any computational device. The most ground break- ing and cutting-edge subtopics within computer science, as of 2018, are artificial intelligence, simulation, and algorithmic trading. We are already see- ing these things today, with the more basic smart home assis- tants, from Google Home and Amazon Alexa to IBM’s Wat- son, which has won jeopardy using machine learning. The future will hopefully hold technology that will help decide treatment for cancer pa- tients. In regards to simulation, computer scientists have begun to realize convincing virtual worlds with virtual reality with the combination of more power- ful computers and have already created consumer products such as Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive. Furthermore, with the advent of more complex algo- rithms, we’ve started to utilize computers and machine learn- ing to manage our financial world by making trades auto- matically. Here at North, we have mul- tiple computer science courses running for the first time in a Stepping out of a parked car on a busy street, cars flying by in the dry snow, you walk down the sidewalk. Up ahead you faintly hear a high trumpet note soaring over everything else. Walking a little further you be- gin to hear a band, in the busy downtown scene you’re lead to a hideaway by the sound of jazz. This anecdote is one that seems to take place in a big city, littered with jazz clubs, but in reality, it is our very own down- town Appleton. Cena is a small restaurant that sprawls back from its tiny surface area of exposure on College Avenue. Their logo, an abstract fork, is hanging on a softly lit wall with an LED backlight. An old radiator pro- duces warmth on the wall paral- lel to the bar, it is shouldered by two high top tables. In the front of the restaurant there are two red chairs across from a small alcove. In this alcove music is made.

Employees of Skyline Technologies work at the 2017 Devel- oper Camp. Photo by John Ptacek

for jobs. Software develop- ers program new software that helps run a business, from inter- nal computer systems to client management. Networking en- gineers setup internal local area networks for businesses and manage company connections. Demand for cyber security spe- cialists, to ensure the privacy of company and client data, will only increase as data breaches become more commonplace. There are many easy ways to get into computer science. Stu- dents like Gabe Koenig, a senior at North, experiment outside of

class by learning new program- ming languages using websites like Codecademy and taking on personal projects outside of class. Carson Lonsway, another senior at North, is working on redesigning the Stone Arch’s website. Many small businesses need help from people familiar with programming and technol- ogy as a whole, and it is a great opportunity to learn. For more info on how to get involved, contact Mr. Behnke. a sub so I’m the wrong guy to ask,” he was filling in on drums for Underwood. Noah proceed- ed to ask Andy, who was at the bar, how long they had been playing together at Cena. They have been doing it for a long time, and in classic laid back fashion they collectively found a disheveled 4-5 years. “Can’t be more than four, what year is it again?” When asked what their fa- vorite part of playing at Cena both Andy answered, “oh, it’s because I get to play with Mi- chael Underwood, Noah Har- mon, José Encarnación, and the other ridiculous musicians I get to play with, that’s my fa- vorite part.” He said it was also unique to have a regular jazz gig in Appleton, the last time that happened was when No- ah’s dad John Harmon played. Getting people involved and just playing music, that’s what jazz at Cena is all about.

Cena swings every week with live jazz combo

Guest Ross Catterton (Saxaphone), Noah Harmon (piano), Andy Mertens (Bass) and sub Zach Harmon (drums) preform- ing downtown. Photo by Henry Ptacek

sic, timid high school students, and retired trumpet players from around the community. Michael Underwood or “Wood” for short, has been drumming in the Fox Valley most of his life. Working as a full time drummer, he is con- stantly playing, working 350 plus days a year. Wood says he is grateful for his position, he said he tried the basic desk job, working as a drummer is the unconventional career he had

wished for all his life. Wood is a true jazz artist, easy going, great personality and attitude. He is kind to everyone, getting the artists and listeners involved and feeling at home. Just like Wood the other art- ists playing share the same laid back and friendly demeanor. When Zach and Noah Har- mon were asked how long they had been playing together in the Jazz Orgy they both pointed at each other, Zach saying “I’m