2006 game piece? [Archive]

Mike Schroeder

02-01-2006, 21:58

Greg Needel

02-01-2006, 22:08

can you give us a model number? and or any other details?

come on mike we only had a few more days till kickoff why must you torment us now :ahh:

Alex Golec

02-01-2006, 23:24

Now really! Putting pasta and noodles in a mailbox sounds like a joke to play with your leftover spaghetti dinner. Well, who knows if thats for the game or if they just wanted to change all their mailboxes and have spares for a couple of years, ( :confused: ) but it sounds interesting.

This year's game:

POSTAL PASTA

_Alex

sanddrag

02-01-2006, 23:34

Sounds like a bunch of bucatini to me.

I guess I've just seen too many of these stories that all have the same style that I am just extremely skeptical (if not 100% positive it is made up) Also, if someone were to order that many mailboxes, I don't think they'd get them from Home Depot

Michael Corsetto

02-01-2006, 23:43

Could they possibly be those mailboxes that the US Postal Service uses to transport their mail in bulk. Those boxes greatly resemble the ones which were used in the 2003 game. Could FIRST have gone back to boxes this year? Mabye we put the pasta in the boxes? Or mabye these are the classic mailboxes with the little hatch door thingy? But why? My brain is starting to hurt with possibilities. More details please? Pretty please?

Mike C.

sciencenerd

02-01-2006, 23:45

But if you think about it, if it were FIRST why would they need 2000? It is too late to put one in every KOP (I think) and if they were for the regionals/champs, I don't think they would need that many. Because there are only a max of 7 regionals on any given weekend, and (remind me if I'm wrong) they ship the fields from one location to the next for each weekend, so they only need 7 sets.

That would be 285 mailboxes per regional! To possibly need that many, they would have to either (1) greatly increase the number of robots on the field at once or (2) significantly increase the length of the match.

And just imagine 285 mailboxes scattered around a field the size of the 2005 one... there would be no place for the robots!

Not to burst any bubbles, but this is probably for some major housing complex being built/neighborhood renovation. Or maybe it is a for construction company that needs a stockpile for many projects across the country. But you don't know who bought it, right?

Billfred

02-01-2006, 23:47

That would be 285 mailboxes per regional! To possibly need that many, they would have to either (1) greatly increase the number of robots on the field at once or (2) significantly increase the length of the match.

And just imagine 285 mailboxes scattered around a field the size of the 2005 one... there would be no place for the robots!
Two words: spare parts.

You should've seen the number of tetra clovers FIRST had for competitions.

Ted Boucher

03-01-2006, 00:27

I can hear it now at competitions, they will have to change the charge sound to the AOL "You've got Mail!" sound. :D

Elgin Clock

03-01-2006, 00:28

Somehow.. the phrase "you've got mail" has taken on a whole new meaning.

And the Millyard complex is a pretty big place. Maybe the mailboxes are an upgrade for the many tenants. LOL

Adam Richards

03-01-2006, 00:39

But if you think about it, if it were FIRST why would they need 2000? It is too late to put one in every KOP (I think) and if they were for the regionals/champs, I don't think they would need that many. Because there are only a max of 7 regionals on any given weekend, and (remind me if I'm wrong) they ship the fields from one location to the next for each weekend, so they only need 7 sets.Week 2 actually has 8 regionals, but yes, that would still be 250 mailboxes per regional.
Not to burst any bubbles, but this is probably for some major housing complex being built/neighborhood renovation. Or maybe it is a for construction company that needs a stockpile for many projects across the country. But you don't know who bought it, right?Big Mike said that it came from 200 Bedford Street, which is the location of FIRST HQ in Manchester, NH.

ChuckDickerson

03-01-2006, 00:57

IF these 2000 mailboxes were actually purchased by FIRST, then I think it is safe to assume they would want to buy the least expensive ones possible that accomplish the goal. If you search the Home Depot site, about the least expensive one they have is a plastic one for less than $40 that opens in the front and back made by Step2. I can see this as a solution to the human player/robot interaction safety issue. The human player must put something in the front and the robot retrieves it from the back. Sort of redefines the whole loading zone problem doesn't it.

On the one hand, $40 x 2000 = $80,000 is a pretty big chunk of change but on the other hand why would anyone order 2000 mailboxes anyway much less from the Home Depot near FIRST headquarters? Hmm, very suspicious.

dez250

03-01-2006, 01:00

200 Bedford Street:

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/pics/bin/11055500205.jpg

What a fun game piece that could be...

Nuttyman54

03-01-2006, 01:03

but if they're using them for loading zones, why would they need 2000 of them? i'm hard pressed to imagine 250 loading zones on a field...

ChuckDickerson

03-01-2006, 01:20

but if they're using them for loading zones, why would they need 2000 of them? i'm hard pressed to imagine 250 loading zones on a field...

There are 1133 teams currently listed for this year. I wouldn't think $40 more per KOP would be out of the question. Since we don't know the game yet maybe there is a wall of mailboxes or something. Who knows. By any measure 2000 is a lot of mailboxes. My guess is these have nothing at all to do with FIRST and somebody messed up an order somewhere. Once at work I needed to order 500 plastic sample bottles and someone in the purchasing department messed up and started to order 50,000 before the mistake was caught. It would have been a real problem if an 18 wheeler showed up full of empty plastic bottles.

Billfred

03-01-2006, 01:23

Mike Schroeder

03-01-2006, 01:29

ill say that its definatly not one you can find on the Home Depot Website... and that the mailbox is very cheap under 20 dollars

VideoMan053

03-01-2006, 07:23

Just a thought, but they could still need 285 for each regional... Think about how many extra tetras each field needed just to keep enough for an extra supply...so we can't rule out this possibility yet?

Vince lau

03-01-2006, 08:18

Maybe the mail boxes are part of the Montana’s height clue, the mail box is raised off the ground a certain height, and inside is the object that the robot has to detect using the vision cam either at the beginning of the match or the return home at the end of the match for bonus points.

Dr.Bot

03-01-2006, 08:41

1000 teams 2000 boxes.

Shipping boxes you dweebs!

Francis-134

03-01-2006, 08:43

This is certianly interesting. I would have to wonder though, are these mailboxes the type that would be sitting out front of your yard, or are they the kind that are similar to a P.O. box with a lock and a small door?

dhitchco

03-01-2006, 09:40

I sincerely hope that this thread wasn't started by mis-using private data from a computer system within Home Depot.....Be VERY careful whatever role you have in life and wherever you travel that you may be entrusted with something of confidence......

It's all part of being "gracious" while also being "professional"....... :)

aaeamdar

03-01-2006, 10:18

Maybe the mailboxes are being deconstructed to be something else? I think it would be odd for the boxes to have to be opened and for things to be put in them, that would seem to require an overly complex manipulator. If we had more details about the boxes that would be helpful ... =)

Kristian Calhoun

03-01-2006, 10:57

Since we don't know the game yet maybe there is a wall of mailboxes or something. Who knows. By any measure 2000 is a lot of mailboxes.

If they opened in the front and back, as someone previously said, then...Anybody thinking of a robotix version of "punchout"? eh..?
the role of the human player could be to stuff the mailboxes (maybe with ball crawl balls?)!.....still, it's just a thought.

Don Wright

03-01-2006, 11:16

What if the mailboxes were the game pieces. And, you get points for scoring them somewhere. But, you get extra points for designing a robot that can open the mailbox and put something inside it...and then score it.

Or, there are multiple mailboxes around the field (i.e. 6...one for each team). You score by putting things inside them. Or descore by taking things out.

Again...the possibilities are endless. But, something fun to think about.

MikeDubreuil

03-01-2006, 11:16

First off, I don't think Mike would do something like this. It's obviously a joke. Secondly, I don't see how you could link mailboxes to the clue given by the game design committee. Unless of course the game piece, the mail box, is obsessed with a shovel's show when it needs to be dug out after a snow storm :ahh:

ZZII 527

03-01-2006, 11:36

Why would FIRST buy 2,000 mailboxes when they could buy materials to make a similar box for less money?

ChuckDickerson

03-01-2006, 11:44

Why would FIRST buy 2,000 mailboxes when they could buy materials to make a similar box for less money?

Maybe because FIRST wants teams to be able to go to their local Home Depot and buy the exact same mailbox for their practice field?

artdutra04

03-01-2006, 12:33

Alright so seeing as it is really slow at Home Depot right now, and in a continuing effort to look busy i was browsing through the computer system to see if 200 Bedford Street had any recent orders and the only thing i saw scared me alittle, i printed out a copy but for the obvious reasons, i cannot keep my job and post it on the Internet, but an order was made for 2000 Mailboxes.... I don't know what this means, but it is an very interesting element indeed

I don't know about you but i am sure starting to be afraid of what Dave and the GDC came up with this year
FIRST isn't the only tenant at 200 Bedford Street...

Could this order of two thousand mailboxes possibly be from one of the other tenants?

Could this be a mailbox in an unconditional sense, such as a box that gets mailed? For example, storage totes for the KOP?

Can this be a giant joke? :p

What if these mailboxes were these? 2000 mailboxes wouldn't seem that unusual if they were this type of mailbox.

http://www.mailboxworks.com/images/Commercial.jpg

I have doubts that FIRST that FIRST would use mailboxes as a game piece. If anyone has ever seen what snowplows do to mailboxes, I don't think [traditional] mailboxes would survive long in a match. :rolleyes:

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/126495/2/istockphoto_126495_weathered_mailboxes.jpg

What if the mailboxes were the large ones like on street corners? Does this mean that the human player will be inside the robot/mailbox, a la the Homer-bot (http://capefeare.com/robot.gif) from The Simpsons?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/16/Mailboxes.jpg

Tom Bottiglieri

03-01-2006, 12:35

I think I'm going to go ahead and call you out on this one Mike.

1) I think FIRST would go straight to the manufacturer to get these parts, not buy them from a retail middle man.

2) With one week left until the Kickoff!? Unless these are for comptetitions or being used for later shipments, I don't believe they would cut it that close.

BRosser314

03-01-2006, 15:20

IF you look at the picture on the first page you can see that the first name on the sign is St. Mary's Bank. perhape these mail boxes might be like safety deposit boxes that they put in there safe, if this didnt blong to FIRST, this could be one of the alternatives.

Nuttyman54

03-01-2006, 15:48

Home Depot DOES sell PO boxes, which could be used for safe deposit boxes. The only thing that bugs me is that they're buying it from Home Depot. At those volumes, I'd imagine you would be better off just bying from from the manufacturer...

JBotAlan

03-01-2006, 16:08

Good one, Big Mike! Nice! Only a few things:

One, a traditional mailbox would get mangled in normal competition.

Two, FIRST would not buy 2000 mailboxes from Home Depot. They just won't. Why? It would take longer to get them through Home Depot and be much more expensive, not to mention that it would take a semi to get them out of there...which can be done, but it is not really feasible.

Three: Why mailboxes? I mean, really. They won't hold up, they are almost impossible to manipulate with clumsy robot pieces, and they are too small to stick any kind of arm into.

Four: FIRST would not make one trip to buy the mailboxes and not buy anything else. You would've turned up everything else in use and it would give away the game. You'd be able to tell us just about everything.

Five: You are part of a FIRST team. From my experience, people on FIRST teams are honest and they really care about others. Nobody here would do something that dishonest, and even if they did they wouldn't tell anyone.

Nice gag, though. Man, what happens if I'm wrong? :ahh: :yikes: :D

JBotAlan

Mike Schroeder

03-01-2006, 16:29

Heretic121

03-01-2006, 17:07

well these are the only 2 mailboxes under 10bucks a peice...

*links didnt work trying to re-link

*link 2 didnt work either...

mkay heres how you find them lol... www.homedepot.com - seach "ultra mailbox" and its the first 2 black ones listed *or should be*

both are made outta heavy plastic... aka not as breakable/dentable...

*just read big mikes post...

from homedepot.com there are NO metal mailboxes under 10$... hes throwing us curveballs!!!!!!!!111111111111111

Greg Needel

03-01-2006, 17:36

didn't he say that they weren't available online...someone go to home depot real quick with a camera and take pictures.

Don Wright

03-01-2006, 18:32

Not from Home Depot, but... A sub $10 standard issue metal mailbox...

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=92622-297-1-1&lpage=none

sburro

03-01-2006, 18:59

The problem is is is not through HD but through the HD Supply company (one in the same) This division is for comanies like a bjs or sams club. Here is a link. You can pick the mailbox.
http://hdsupply.com/prmw95/mwus/jsp/products/itemlist.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&_n=false&subPage=Hardware&categoryID=%2Fmwus%2Fenus%2Fproducts%2FHardware%2F Mailboxes+%26+Accessories&catName=Mailboxes+%26+Accessories&BV_UseBVCookie=yes&_n=true&pgSize=30

AndyB

03-01-2006, 20:26

think camera housing, the hint this year was "seeing montanas green heights" this could mean the cam is returning and it might be housed in a mailbox optionally. a mailbox would make for good protection. and then when done you can just close it back up. :)

JBotAlan

03-01-2006, 20:34

I'm still 99.99% sure that this is a joke. It sounds too outrageous to be true.

JBot

ps Your persistance means either you are really good at pulling a bluff, or I will have to eat my words later. :D

Aidan F. Browne

03-01-2006, 20:54

The order was made for a Certain FIRST, second they are priced at under 10 dollars, standard issue metal mailboxes, the type you mount to a post in your yard the kind that the postal worker puts mail in, not big ones standard issue mailboxes,

i could give you the SKU of the item.... but well that wouldnt make anyone happy ;)

Um... Mike never said they were purchased... he said an order was shipped. Note: "The order was made for a certain FIRST"... not "by FIRST".

Perhaps FIRST finally got Home Depot as a sponsor (yeah!).

Not sure what to do with the mailboxes, but the $50 Home Depot gift card in every KOP will come in handy!

Yeah for new sponsors! :)

Aidan

Rich Kressly

03-01-2006, 22:02

You are all analyzing the words of a 300 pound fuzzy Pooh Bear with a penchant for squeezing other human beings for fun. Saturday is coming fast. Go see a movie. :)

sburro

03-01-2006, 22:09

Just a thought, those mailboxes do not have to be for FRC, they could be for FLL, or even VEX. I doubt it though. :D

petek

03-01-2006, 22:19

You are all analyzing the words of a 300 pound fuzzy Pooh Bear with a penchant for squeezing other human beings for fun. Saturday is coming fast. Go see a movie. :)I suppose you'd recommend You've Got Mail? The Postman Always Rings Twice? Pooh's Heffalump Movie?

Don Wright

03-01-2006, 23:08

And just when I thought FIRST was finally breaking down the barrier from it being an all "mail" activity...

Elgin Clock

04-01-2006, 00:30

As many skeptics have stated before, there are many businesses located at the Millyard (200 Bedford St.).

Anyways, while I stand firm on my idea that (if this is real Big Mike) it is supplies for a huge building complex's many tenants, I offer another idea.

Say this is for the kit. With a last minute Home Depot order, you are definitely sure to not get all 2,000 mailboxes in on time. (Prove me wrong Home Depot lol I dare you.)

Anyways, what if they are just the right size to put last minute kit parts/a kit part in.

Maybe a FIRST KOP supplier came through at the last minute, and for the mystery item to fit in the already overflowing KOP, it was given a separate safe box of it's own. (re: Mailbox)

So, what potential KOP part can fit in a mailbox?

Either that, or someone has finally heard the very random question asked for many years in the FIRST Q&A which was something along the lines of "Can we use the hard plastic tote/cardboard box/fed ex shipping tube/other KOP box on our robot?"

This was an actual question asked at least one year I have been involved in FIRST. I remember that question distinctly.

Oh well, I guess we will see in a few days.

Oh, and the first time I saw Mailbox I instantly thought of our 2004 bot.
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/img/1b8/1b8eb25e8317201289909ca7878cfac5_l.jpg
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/img/c1c/c1cdcdbc18259fc0e72a2a011b14dfb8_l.jpg

We nicknamed that large black cover for over our shimmy arm a Mailbox.

Justin Montois

04-01-2006, 01:58

If this is a joke its time to spill the beans cause if not, i won't be able to sleep tonight. Visions of mailboxes ::shutters::

EricH

04-01-2006, 18:01

IF FIRST ordered 2000 mailboxes, I suspect we won't see them this year. Personally, I would expect to see them next year, because the game designers would be trying to design a game around them.

Greg Needel

04-01-2006, 18:29

IF FIRST ordered 2000 mailboxes, I suspect we won't see them this year. Personally, I would expect to see them next year, because the game designers would be trying to design a game around them.

why would first order 2000 mailboxes just in the chance they could find a game for them....doesn't seem smart to me.

EricH

04-01-2006, 18:31

why would first order 2000 mailboxes just in the chance they could find a game for them....doesn't seem smart to me.
Just in case they could find a game....Don't worry, if they can't find one they'll make one. 3/4 of those mailboxes are for the documentation... :rolleyes:

Rickertsen2

04-01-2006, 20:52

I can see the game now:

"Mailbox Mayhem"

Vaillancourt88

06-01-2006, 06:53

I think this can be cleared up easily...one of the New Hampshire teams needs to go dumpster diving at FIRST HQ and look for an invoice. While you're at it, get Dean's credit card # too, our budget is tight this year :p

1075master

06-01-2006, 09:39

it was pointed out on the official game thread that there are more businesses at that location other than FIRST. anyone of them could have ordered the mailboxes. isn't an assumption that first was who ordered them alot to stake your job on?

jerry w

06-01-2006, 10:11

I can see the game now:

"Mailbox Mayhem"

no.. it will be
"Mailbox Madness"

Andy Grady

06-01-2006, 12:10

I'm smelling something fishy my friend...

I call Bravo Sierra!

Though mailboxes would be pretty fun to try to pick up with rollers.

-Andy Grady

P.S. I work for PSNH, which is the electric company for much of NH including all of Manchester...and I didn't realize until yesterday when I was looking out the door of one of our substation control houses directly at two parked Penske moving trucks at the FIRST loading dock (one of which I saw driving into SNHU later on in the day) exactly how easy it would be to really find out what the heck FIRST has in store for us....

No I don't have a camera phone...

No I do not claim to have seen ANYTHING!

Good luck this weekend all!

Netrilix

06-01-2006, 19:07

"P.S. I work for PSNH, which is the electric company for much of NH including all of Manchester...and I didn't realize until yesterday when I was looking out the door of one of our substation control houses directly at two parked Penske moving trucks at the FIRST loading dock (one of which I saw driving into SNHU later on in the day) exactly how easy it would be to really find out what the heck FIRST has in store for us...." - Andy Grady

I had a somewhat similar experience this week. I was volunteering this week for some stuff at the FIRST building, so at different times during the week I was in the same room as the kit of parts AND the full field (not constructed, still in the boxes). I don't think knowing about the field in advance is going to help you too much, because its all speculation until you know the actual objectives. Because of this, I didn't look around too much at the kit of parts, and we actually specifically asked them NOT to put together the field until after we were done what we were doing in the room because we figured it'd be more exciting to wait for kickoff. Yes I do have a camera phone, but I tend to turn it off when I'm around the FIRST building, so you're not going to get anything from me.