Latest news with #MakeAWish
1News
4 days ago
- Science
- 1News
Two Kiwi students shine in Apple's global coding competition
Two 16-year-olds from New Zealand have been named among Apple's Swift coding competition winners for 2025. Alex Liang from Westlake Boys High School and Ben Lawrence from Kaiapoi High School were named among the 350 winning submissions from the tech giant's global competition associated with the Worldwide Developers Conference. Applicants span the globe, representing 38 countries and regions, and incorporating a wide range of tools and technologies. Liang's entry called Make A Wish follows his success last year as the only winner from New Zealand, this time using maths to predict a meteor path, track it in the sky and capture pictures of meteor showers from a phone, rather than a meteor camera. He said he vividly remembered standing outside in May 2021, holding his mother's phone up for three hours and being "very happy and proud of myself" when he finally captured a meteor on camera — but it was time consuming. ADVERTISEMENT "My app is focused on meteors because many people actually try to see meteors and then try to take a picture of it. Right now, the cheapest way to capture a meteor without having to endure it is to use a meteor camera." Alex Liang demonstrates his app to a fellow student. (Source: Supplied) For Liang, it's the second year in a row that he has been named as a winner and he said there had been a "very clear rise" in the number and calibre of applicants this year, and in the use of Artificial Intelligence. "And so this year, unlike last year, I mentioned little planets, which was no AI at all. But this year I did actually implement AI/machine learning in the form of object detection." Liang said he was "not surprised at all" that Apple had decided to allow the use of AI in the competition this year but all usage had to be disclosed. "In fact, I was expecting it. Without AI, many of the things from the app I made would not be possible. "I use it to bump up my efficiency sometimes because I do actually use AI to debug and stuff and then sometimes to create new features or learn new frameworks. But using it does not mean you have to rely entirely on it. ADVERTISEMENT "You have to understand your code top to bottom, every single line, not just saying 'hey GPT do something for me, just write me an app that's doing this'. And AI is not able to create things like that just by saying one word." Liang said planning was already underway for next year's entry, and Make A Wish was being reviewed by Apple to be added to the App Store. "Words cannot describe the experience. I felt like I stepped up to the whole next level of not just astronomy, but innovation. It is something I'm very profound about, something I'm very happy about." Helping money make 'Good Cents' Ben Lawrence pictured using his app, Good Cents. (Source: Supplied) 16-year-old Ben Lawrence from Kaiapoi High School, Christchurch, told 1News he "didn't expect anything" after entering his submission, Good Cents. The app simulates real-world financial scenarios in which users get a job, spend and save money and navigate complex financial curveballs. ADVERTISEMENT 'You do a quiz on some financial questions like 'What is a good way to spend money?' 'How do you save?' 'What's a budget used for?'. 'And based on that, you'll be awarded points, you'll get promotions and the player can also complete lessons that will teach you certain elements and aspects and then I'll quiz you on it to make sure you've actually read through it." Throughout the game, Lawrence gave examples of "random events" players could encounter designed to test whether they will spend money or not. "Oh, the new iPhone came out. You know you already have one, but you want the new one. Do you want to do it, or should you save your money? That kind of thing." Ben Lawrence's app, 'Good Cents'. (Source: Supplied) "Or if your savings are low but you have tonnes of money in your spending [the app] might say, 'hey do you want to put some money into your savings, get some interest on it?'." Lawrence said learning money skills in class could be "pretty boring" and hoped his app could be a way to make learning finances more fun. ADVERTISEMENT "Just making learning more fun and then also helping people with skills better pretty darn important and going into adulthood." The app took him three months to develop, and he hoped to launch it on the App Store soon. 'But I'm working on kind of upgrading it, almost making it so it's more of a platform so schools can sign up to it, license it, whatever and you can have classrooms and teachers can assign work to students and certain aspects of it. 'Phones are banned in schools so that's a huge problem, but I'm working on making it so that they can do it through a website now as well.' An idea that could go 'global' Denis Vida, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Western University in Ontario Canada, runs a project called the Global Meteor Network (GMN), which has over 1400 meteor cameras globally across 42 countries. Liang said he was collaborating the organisation with the goal of sharing his app with the global astronomy community. ADVERTISEMENT Adjunct Research Professor at the University of Western Ontario. (Source: Supplied) "Essentially everyone can follow a simple set of instructions and buy very reasonably low-cost hardware and install a meteor camera, then install our open-source software and contribute to the project," Vida said. He said "you don't really need to know much about space or science" to do so. "We have a lot of participants in New Zealand who are farmers with no previous context or interest in astronomy, but when they heard about potential meteor fall in their area they got in touch to get a camera installed." He said Liang reached out to him as one of New Zealand's "strong, well-organised" group of space enthusiasts, and was excited to collaborate with him on a project to solve a common problem. Vida said the main issue they faced was that people may be told when a meteor event could happen in their area, but won't know where exactly to look or which way to point their phone in the sky. "Most of the time when people do it, they hold their phone up, they wait for the right time, and it turns out they were looking the completely wrong direction. Or they'll swing the phone and then the only thing they have in the frame is just the fireball with no other reference points. ADVERTISEMENT "The problem is if we want to make measurements in that, we can't use it. There needs to be stars, it needs to be static or have some kind of reference points." He said developing an app to solve this problem sounded like the perfect project for programming pro Liang. "So the idea was let's build an app or some service that people can install where every time something like that happens within a certain radius of you, you'll get a notification and a set of instructions of how to start calibration and the sorts of images to take." Vida said now that Liang had created the app, the next step was getting it installed on a lot of phones, to get other meteor agencies on board. "Once we know that, you know things are going to happen and then people are going to install it, they're going to take pictures with the app and then once we show results that's where the app is going to get more established or where people are going to get more recognised." He said with some more rigorous testing and development of some features, Liang's app would have the potential to have an "oversized impact" globally. "Impacts of little asteroids happen all over the world in a random way. So something's on the App Store and anyone can download it, that's literally [going to] go global." ADVERTISEMENT "These challenges are a great way to find talent. You have pretty small investment and you set some sort of a goal, and you find talented people who are inspired by it," he said.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Horrific mistake Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson made with WWE dwarf
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson made the horrific mistake during his WWE return in January 2011 of believing fellow wrestler, the dwarfed Hornswoggle, was a Make-A-Wish kid visiting the show. After departing WWE for Hollywood opportunities in 2004, The Rock reappeared in early 2011, where he ran into Hornswoggle backstage after announcing he would be the host of that year's WrestleMania. Seconds after The Rock came back through the curtain after his first on-camera segment for the company in several years, Hornswoggle was waiting in the production area right behind the stage. The Make-A-Wish Foundations attempts to grant the desires of children with life-threatening illnesses. WWE Champion John Cena is famous for granting more wishes than anyone else, which could explain Johnson's initial thinking. 'He thought I was a Make-A-Wish kid,' said Hornswoggle, whose real name is Dylan Postl, to Chris Van Vliet. 'He did a promo announcing he was gonna be the host. I was like, I'm gonna meet my buddy, Dwayne. I'm gonna be his best friend. We're gonna have tequila and Zola energies.' 'And so I am in a suit, like a legit suit, not my leprechaun outfit, with my gear bag, and I'm gonna meet him behind the curtain. As he comes through, in my mind, best friends. I see my buddy Dwayne come back through. I'm like, "'Here we go! Hey, man, thank you so much for coming back. Thanks for what you're gonna do for WrestleMania and what you're gonna do for the company, and just glad to have you back. Good to meet you. My name's Dylan.'" 'He extends his arm out. "Did you have a good time tonight buddy?" Taps me on the shoulder, leaves. And I go, "Oh no, he doesn't realize I work here." I was on the show before that.' 'I told Kofi (Kingston) thinking he would have my back, support me. He supported me by texting 97 people immediately while driving because he couldn't wait on it. Within 30 seconds, I had so many people message me.' '"Rock thought you were a Make-A Wish kid, huh?" Big Show called him out the next week about this, and Rock goes, "Yeah, I did, I don't watch the show."' Hornswoggle, who was introduced to the WWE audience as the leprechaun sidekick of Finlay in 2006. He is now under a legends contract with the company. Johnson is likely more in-tune with the WWE product now as an executive in TKO, the joint combat-sports venture between the UFC and the professional-wrestling behemoth.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Cans for Wishes remembers wish kid in record breaking drop-off
Cans for Wishes is a program that turns aluminum cans and other junk into wishes for children facing critical illness, and so far, the program has granted 42 wishes to kids with Make-A-Wish. On Sunday, the program's directors and volunteers held their monthly drop-off event, but this time they're looking to exceed $200,000 in total donations in memory of one of their wish kids who died this May. 'This is by far the biggest drop off we have had in the five years of Cans for Wishes. We are doing this in memory of Jesse McFadden, who passed away on May 11th… Jesse was our fourth Cans for Wishes kid; his wish was to go golfing in Hawaii, and so we sponsored that for him back during the COVID pandemic,' said Diane Blood, Cans for Wishes Director. Blood said the drop off exceeded all expectations, with community members dropping off anything from extra aluminum cans to an entire boat. Saegertown residents turn trash into treasure for Make-A-Wish Since starting five years ago, the program has raised almost $200,000 for Make-A-Wish, and she said they easily passed that total within the first hour of their drop off.'It's about helping kids with critical illnesses and their families. The whole family is affected by what the child is going through, so it's about putting smiles on faces, even if it's just for a little while,' said Kristine Haemer, Cans for Wishes board member and volunteer. Volunteers like Haemer said it's a lot of work unloading cars and trailers full of metal, but it's all worth it to make wishes come true, and on Euclid Avenue in Saegertown, it's all hands on deck to make the operation run smoothly. 'Since I'm smaller and not that strong, I do more of the smaller stuff, so I can get like the cans and some of the wiring. This is honestly bigger than I've ever seen it. This is totally more. Last time, we had the dumpster, and it wasn't even filled,' said Lilly Whitehouse, a volunteer with American Royal Beauties. Next up, volunteers will take all the scrap to Lincoln Recycling, and if you have any cans lying around, the next drop-off date will be on Sunday, June 29th, on Euclid Avenue in Saegertown. For more information, check out the Cans for Wishes website here and their Facebook page here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBC
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
The Top Moments From Season 6 of Family Feud Canada
What were the best moments from last season of Family Feud Canada? Survey says: Too many to count. But that doesn't mean we can't try! In a season full of great families, hilarious answers, ridiculous questions and more, we did our best to pick a few of our favourite moments. Gerry For Mayor "Let's Keep Dildo Canadian, eh?" What started as a joke became a reality as the residents of Dildo, Newfoundland (Yes, that's the town's real name) petitioned to oust honorary mayor Jimmy Kimmel and replace him with Canada's own Gerry Dee. Jimmy, why aren't you returning our calls? Redemption Week We've had countless incredible families compete on the show over the years, and we kicked off the season with a shot at a redemption tournament with a few of our favourites. Sadly, there were no more on-air proposals, but we were pleased to find out that the Woodman family have expanded their love for gummies beyond a viral moment and into a business! Meet Gerry's Replacement Canada's Make-a-Wish Canada made a 13-year-old superfans dream of becoming a gameshow host a reality when Christos took over hosting duties for Gerry Dee for a special taping of Family Feud Canada. And what did Gerry have to say about his replacement? "I can't believe CBC would do that to me. Bring in my replacement, right before my eyes. The scary thing is, he was actually really good. I'm glad he's not old enough to have the job. Otherwise, I think I would be in big trouble." William Shatner Puts A Debate to Rest Is the sun a planet? Apparently so according to one of our favourite viral moments that has caused much debate. Well, we finally decided to consult an expert to answer the question. And who better to weigh in on the subject than Captain Kirk himself. Canadian legend William Shatner had some insightful (and hilarious) thoughts to help finally put the debate to rest.
CBC
20-05-2025
- Sport
- CBC
P.E.I.'s Filipino community to host dragon boat festival in Charlottetown this summer
The Filipino community in P.E.I. is bringing a piece of its heritage to Charlottetown this summer by organizing the province's first known dragon boat racing festival. Dragon boat racing got its start in southern China about 2,000 years ago. One of the event's organizers, Vladimir Iscala, said it is also a major part of Filipino culture, and he's noticed its growing popularity across Canada in recent years. Last year, he had the chance to join a dragon boat festival in Moncton. "Everyone was having a blast there. We thought, 'Why not bring that event here in Charlottetown as well, as a way for the Filipino community to give back?' And, of course, to support a charitable institution," Iscala told CBC's Island Morning. The festival is set for Aug. 9 at Victoria Park, with part of the proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of P.E.I. Organizers are now calling on teams across the Island to sign up. Iscala said they're aiming to have at least 20 teams participate in the 200-metre competition. Those interested can find details and register through the festival's website. How it works Each team can have up to 20 members of any gender. Sixteen people will paddle during the race, while the other members will serve as substitutes in case replacements are needed. Organizers will provide each team with a person to steer the boat, to make sure that is done by someone highly experienced in handling the bulky watercraft. One member of each team will take on the role of drummer, sitting in the boat's prow to signal the paddlers when to dip into the water. "Whenever the drummer beats the drum, that's a signal for the rowers to paddle. So the faster the drum beats, the paddlers have to, you know, sync with that tune to paddle faster as well," Iscala said. Success in dragon boat racing relies a lot on working together, he said. "Dragon boat signifies a strong symbol of teamwork. So everyone has to be in unison in terms of paddling together to achieve their goal to finish the race," he said. The organizers will supply each team with a boat and all the necessary equipment, which will be trucked to Charlottetown by the Montreal-based company 22Dragons. A licensed and certified coach will provide each team with one hour of training before the event. The registration fee is $1,850 per team, to help cover event expenses and contribute to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Iscala hopes that if the event continues next year, organizers will be able to lower the fee to make it more affordable.
