Game Testing at Sony Online

On December 6th, the Young Men went to Sony Online to test the game Clone Wars.  The boys were split into two groups, and one group toured the facility while the other group tested the game.

They met animators and saw how they create a 3D character, add texture mapping to make it look real and then add motion to it.  Then they saw how the players controls are connected to movements of the characters.

We walked through customer support where they answer peoples questions like: "I forgot my password", "What happened to the <something something> I earned", etc.

We saw the Network Center where they monitor the game playing.

We saw the audio/visual department making a commercial.

It was a great experience.

Game Testing at Sony Online

On December 6th, the Young Men went to Sony Online to test one of their games.  The boys were split into two groups, and one group got to tour the facility while the other tested.

They got to meet the animators and they showed how they create a 3D character, add texture mapping to make it look real and then animate it.  We then saw how they connect the players controls to character movements.

We walked through customer support where they answer peoples questions like: "I forgot my password", "What happened to the <something something> I earned", etc.

We saw the Network Center where they track all of the game playing, and we saw the audio/visual department making a commercial.

It was a great experience.

Kayaking at the La Jolla Caves

Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011 we went kayaking in La Jolla. We got a good Groupon deal on rentals at Hike, Bike, Kayak. There were 16 boys and 6 adults (11 tandum kayaks).  The weather was perfect: a little overcast then the sun came out after we got started.  The surf was small so it was easier to get the kayaks out.  Some of the highlights:

• Seals on the rocks
• Racing to the buoy (all 11 kayaks)
• Dolphins (swimming all around us)
• Leopard Shark and Sting Ray feeding area.  We watched from our kayaks and some of the brave got into the water.
• Kayak surfing (it was mostly flipping kayaks over).

This is definitely an activity we'll be doing again!

Emotion Charades - Combined Activity

Tonight we played "Emotion Charades" for our Mutual combined activity.  We split into groups of 4-6, and first had to identify the emotions shown on faces in several photographs.  Then, a set of cards (each with a different emotion listed) was given and each person in the group had to show the emotions on card.  Finally, the groups photographed the best emotion faces, all the photos were collected and everyone watched the slide show.  Here are some of the best faces:

Zion National Park High Adventure 2011

The older scouts went to Zion National Park near St. George, Utah. They stayed at Brother Carter's cousin's home in Brookside.  They hiked Zion Narrows and climbed to the top of Angels Landings.  Fun times were had by all!

The Priests were Zack Carter, Alex Williams, Jordan Jocelyn, Kevin Fullerton and Jake Linville. The Teachers were Spencer Larsen, Fred Warner and Brian Patterson. Ron Carter and Bishop Pete Larsen were the adults.

Fiesta Island Scout Camp 2011

This year our Scout Troop went to Fiesta Island for Scout Camp.  The camp is on the water so the boys learned sailing, motor-boating, etc.

Mock Job Interviews

Tonight we had mock job interviews for our young men's activity.  We had 15 volunteers come and interview the boys for positions in their fields of expertise.  The jobs included:

• Assistant Roofing Project Manager
• Aircraft Cargo Loader
• Bank Teller
• Bakery Apprentise
• Stock boy in Paper Distribution
• Firefighter Apprentice
• Retail Sales
• Teacher's Assistant
• Junior Analyst (Finance)
• Shipping and Receiving Administrator
• Emergency Responder
• Carpenter
• Maintenance Technician
• Accounts Receivable - Past Due Accounts

At stake were several prizes:  Gift cards to In N' Out and Jamba Juice; Big Boxes of Candy; Dodge Ball Memorabilia; and Granola Bars.

We had 18 "Job Candidates" with many of the boys dressing the part.  Everyone seemed to enjoy and appreciate the experience.