How is it a scam? From day one, Dean Kamen has said that the main goal of FIRST is to inspire students in science and technology. It's not a program that is set up for students to do everything. And FIRST is not responsible for how a team is run. I've been a volunteer on team 116 for over 3 years now. Team 116's main claim to fame is that it is one of the few teams that gets a large grant from NASA and the use of one of their engineers (a lot of other teams get smaller grants to help them get started). The NASA engineer that we have is Dave Lavery, Program Executive for Solar System Exploration, is one of the main people responsible for the two Rovers currently on Mars. Now, a lot of people would think with a talent like that, our team would always be one of the top ranked teams... sometimes we do alright (semi-finals, VCU 2004) other times we suck (last place, VCU 2003). Every year we vote on who will do the work, and every year, the vote is for students to do the majority of the work, with the engineers to guide them when needed. We vote on just about everything, from the design of the robot to which competitions we will attend to tee-shirts and buttons. It sounds like you were on a team that was not a democracy, but again, that is not the fault of FIRST.
FIRST never made any claim to being "fair", but then why would they create a fantasy like that when life itself is not fair? Sure, it's not cheap to enter these events, and maybe there are too many inner-city, and small town schools who think they cannot afford a team, but I bet those same schools have sports teams. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with celebrating the body, but too many schools fail to celebrate the mind, and maybe one day the powers that be will realize this. Until then, teams do what they can. FIRST urges teams to reach out to schools like this, which is why the Chairman's Award has top honors over the actual robot competition.
And sometimes I am truly envious of people with average or poor memories. Long term memory, that is. I know the books say about age 3 for the developement of memory, but there are exceptions to every rule (age 11 months, I remember my sister and brother chanting "naked tree, naked tree" as we drove by palm trees in Florida). And there are different kinds of memory, like a detailed, analytical memory or an emotional memory, something based on fear and pain or joy. I also think the emotional memories are more likely to be remembered at an earlier age.
I remember too much. It was, and still is, the family joke. I remember whole conversations (and let me tell you, this can really freak someone out who you have only recently met, they think you're some kind of a monster if you can make reference to some obscure thing they said in passing six months before). I can remember expressions on people faces as we talked. Without going into detail, I will say I did not have a happy childhood, but I remember every grueling detail of it. Luckily, I can remember the good times too, but often, I think memories are scars.
Here's a trick for dealing with the isle hogs... *cough, cough, cough, cough, cough* If you sound like you're going to be buried next week or at least like you're going to cough up a lung, people scurry to get out of your way. For added detail, you can wipe your hands on your clothes and make sure you handle lots of products before you put them back on the shelf.
Any book dealer would tell you paperbacks don't appreciate in value. But the other day someone e-mailed me to ask if I would be willing to sell my copy of Steal the Dragon by Patricia Briggs (I have a list of my favorite books on my website). Confused by this request, I did a search on Amazon and BnN and on those two sites, the 1995 mass produced paperback copy of this book is going for between $100 and $200. What gives? Of course, the book is one of my favorites, so I'm not selling it, but it made me start to think about the big box of paperbacks I had just donated...
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FIRST never made any claim to being "fair", but then why would they create a fantasy like that when life itself is not fair? Sure, it's not cheap to enter these events, and maybe there are too many inner-city, and small town schools who think they cannot afford a team, but I bet those same schools have sports teams. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with celebrating the body, but too many schools fail to celebrate the mind, and maybe one day the powers that be will realize this. Until then, teams do what they can. FIRST urges teams to reach out to schools like this, which is why the Chairman's Award has top honors over the actual robot competition.
FIRST inspires.
I remember too much. It was, and still is, the family joke. I remember whole conversations (and let me tell you, this can really freak someone out who you have only recently met, they think you're some kind of a monster if you can make reference to some obscure thing they said in passing six months before). I can remember expressions on people faces as we talked. Without going into detail, I will say I did not have a happy childhood, but I remember every grueling detail of it. Luckily, I can remember the good times too, but often, I think memories are scars.
Here's a trick for dealing with the isle hogs... *cough, cough, cough, cough, cough* If you sound like you're going to be buried next week or at least like you're going to cough up a lung, people scurry to get out of your way. For added detail, you can wipe your hands on your clothes and make sure you handle lots of products before you put them back on the shelf.
Heidi, FactorFantasy.com