View Full Version : Missing valuable work days!
Sunshine
15-01-2009, 12:20
I'm bummed!
We've had one snow day (no school) and now school was canceled today because of extreme cold weather. We may have school canceled again tomorrow. Our district policy is if we have no school you can not meet with students. We are behind of schedule. Anyone else having the same problems?
Unfortunately this seems to happen somewhere in the country during Build season every year. We've had several school closures in the past couple of weeks here in CT.
Uberbots
15-01-2009, 12:23
Thats the danger of living in snowy regions my friend!
What the Uberbots used to do was meet in a secondary meeting location and do things that were non-robot related, though for obvious reasons if we were behind on the build this didnt help much.
MrForbes
15-01-2009, 12:29
We're suffering from excessive warmth and sunshine....it's hard to get motivated when it's so nice out
(sorry!)
Jared Russell
15-01-2009, 12:59
I certainly sympathize!
I do remember (I think it was 2003?) FIRST once postponing the ship date because of inclement weather. I spent two days (and the night in between) snowed into our shop, frantically finishing our robot.
It was awesome.
MamaSpoldi
15-01-2009, 13:03
Due to a fire at our high school on December 30th, we were unable to work in our regular work space until January 12th! :ahh: Thanks to a local business man (who also happens to be a team parent and mentor) we were able to meet for the kick-off on the 3rd (just to give them a plug... it was Precise Circuit in Shelton, CT :D). No one (except cleaning staff, not even teachers) was able to go into the school building for more than a week after the kick-off. Fortunately we were able to make arrangements to get our control system cleaned and out of the building on the 3rd... and we were even more lucky that it had not been damaged by the fire, smoke, or water. This sponsor also opened up his business for us to work in both of the last 2 weekends... although it was not like being in our usual space it was still a big help for us to have somewhere to meet and begin work on our design and strategy. We are still a little behind... but we are working to make a strong comeback.
Elgin Clock
15-01-2009, 13:04
I certainly sympathize!
I do remember (I think it was 2003?) FIRST once postponing the ship date because of inclement weather. I spent two days (and the night in between) snowed into our shop, frantically finishing our robot.
It was awesome.
I think that actually happened 2 years in a row. 2002 & 2003 if I'm not mistaken?
It's rare, & we kind of were looking forward to it happening again the nest year, but alas, it was not to be.
Oh wells.
Something you can do to make up some time in the first couple of weeks during a missed night is to have an online meetng, or teleconference, or just meet "unofficially" somewhere other than your school. There is nothing wrong with meeting with friends after school at someone's house.
Keep safety in mind though, & if it's a blizzard or frigid cold out, use common sense & your best judgement.
Building a robot is not more important than risking your life or anyone elses to get to a meeting.
The robot may be lonely for a night without you, but it will wait. :)
paragon571
15-01-2009, 13:15
we have that problem to but we cant work at our schools they hate us
Engineer
15-01-2009, 13:20
Some of the school districts in Western Minnesota are closed also. I'm a mentor and I have not heard from any of the teachers if we are meeting today. I'll have to assume not.
It was -25F and dropping when I left my house this morning.
I think it was just 2003 that had the ship date postponed 2 days. I remember getting that e-mail early in the day (Sunday?) and then putting off telling the students until later in the day, simply because they were working so deligently and I didn't want them to slow down. I felt really guilty about it.
The weather issues as well as numerous other situations and such are always affecting some teams more than others. It is not fair but nonetheless, I feel it provides students with more real world experience at problem solving. Companies too deal with many issues outside of their control (even weather), but still have to stay on a timeline. Students that must go through these problems will have gained valuable lessons in project and time management.
Some of the school districts in Western Minnesota are closed also. I'm a mentor and I have not heard from any of the teachers if we are meeting today. I'll have to assume not.
It was -25F and dropping when I left my house this morning.
So you use your driveway as a playing field?
Jon Stratis
15-01-2009, 13:24
What, you guys don't own snowmobiles down south? :p
We occasionally have similar problems here - school is almost never canceled, but when there are bad conditions out we go out of our way to either cancel the meeting our caution students, parents, and mentors to use their best judgment (or let their parents drive). Yeah, missing a day of work hurts the build season. Missing a student for the rest of the build season and competition hurts more.
I think that actually happened 2 years in a row. 2002 & 2003 if I'm not mistaken?
It's rare, & we kind of were looking forward to it happening again the nest year, but alas, it was not to be.
Oh wells.'03 and '04. '03 was weather; '04 was due to delays in getting KOP stuff out. I remember trying to figure out how to do something at some ridiculously early time the revised ship date--if it had been on the normal day, I would have been in bed hours before.
330 used to have a little issue with film crews in the facility where we had our build site during the last couple weeks of build. We'd move out for a day or two, then move back in. We finally moved for a while into another facility.
Engineer
15-01-2009, 13:36
So you use your driveway as a playing field?
Driveways, parking lots, roads and highways can all be used as a playing field if you have a working robot. Everything is frozen. Any colder and we might be able to have a "super conductor motor" in the robot.
It's fun to take a pot of hot water and throw the water in the air. No water (or ice) reaches the ground, it all floats away in cloud when it's this cold.
BTW the snowmobile but but you have to dodge all those cars and truck sliding into the ditches while trying to get to work. :ahh:
One of the huge benefits of being in Atlanta is the weather is lousy enough to keep you inside, but almost always good enough that you can get around, so the calendar works out great.
We have probably one snow day every 5 years.
Elgin Clock
15-01-2009, 13:45
One of the huge benefits of being in Atlanta is the weather is lousy enough to keep you inside, but almost always good enough that you can get around, so the calendar works out great.
We have probably one snow day every 5 years.
Did you have a Tornado/Flood day last year though, or was that outside of the build period? I forgot when that happened - I just remember seeing some damage in April still (Plywood on the Westin & Omni hotels, etc.)
smurfgirl
15-01-2009, 13:50
I'm bummed!
We've had one snow day (no school) and now school was canceled today because of extreme cold weather. We may have school canceled again tomorrow. Our district policy is if we have no school you can not meet with students. We are behind of schedule. Anyone else having the same problems?
Unfortunately, this is what happens to most teams in snowy areas. It's hard, but you can try to make up the time by calling a meeting on a day you usually have off, or staying for extra time for a while. Remind your team that they need to work extra hard during your meeting time to keep on schedule.
We have probably one snow day every 5 years.
That one day is more snow days than I had in the 13 years I went to school in Minnesota (K-8, college four years). I only had one day completely canceled in those 13 years. The governor canceled school state-wide because of the cold.
JaneYoung
15-01-2009, 13:58
Due to a fire at our high school on December 30th, we were unable to work in our regular work space until January 12th! :ahh: Thanks to a local business man (who also happens to be a team parent and mentor) we were able to meet for the kick-off on the 3rd (just to give them a plug... it was Precise Circuit in Shelton, CT :D). No one (except cleaning staff, not even teachers) was able to go into the school building for more than a week after the kick-off. Fortunately we were able to make arrangements to get our control system cleaned and out of the building on the 3rd... and we were even more lucky that it had not been damaged by the fire, smoke, or water. This sponsor also opened up his business for us to work in both of the last 2 weekends... although it was not like being in our usual space it was still a big help for us to have somewhere to meet and begin work on our design and strategy. We are still a little behind... but we are working to make a strong comeback.
Wow, that's a pretty intense situation. It is very good that you were able to retrieve the control system and that it was undamaged. Kudos to Precise Circuit for recognizing that the team needed help and provided that help/support. I'm sorry to hear about the fire and hope the other areas impacted are able to recover as well.
Jane
The Megan 2207
15-01-2009, 14:04
There were only a couple schools in my area open today because of the ridiculous cold. A lot of people complained because most of the school districts right next to us were closed and ours was still in session, but the robotics team was happy! :)
Elgin Clock
15-01-2009, 14:10
Due to a fire at our high school on December 30th, we were unable to work in our regular work space until January 12th! :ahh: Thanks to a local business man (who also happens to be a team parent and mentor) we were able to meet for the kick-off on the 3rd (just to give them a plug... it was Precise Circuit in Shelton, CT :D). No one (except cleaning staff, not even teachers) was able to go into the school building for more than a week after the kick-off. Fortunately we were able to make arrangements to get our control system cleaned and out of the building on the 3rd... and we were even more lucky that it had not been damaged by the fire, smoke, or water. This sponsor also opened up his business for us to work in both of the last 2 weekends... although it was not like being in our usual space it was still a big help for us to have somewhere to meet and begin work on our design and strategy. We are still a little behind... but we are working to make a strong comeback.
I was actually wondering if the fire at SHS affected your team in any way, but I hadn't seen Rick or any other Team 230 members to ask that question to since the FLL event at CCSU a few weeks back. I guess that answers my question! :ahh:
If you need any assistance, just shoot a message to myself & on behalf of myself & Team 237 from Watertown we wish you good luck this season in your catch-up efforts!
Hope to see you at the scrimmage in Suffield on Feb. 14th if you can make it.
Robert Cawthon
15-01-2009, 14:10
We had a couple of days last year and the year before due to snow and cold. We just worked around it. Its all you can do. Our school is not closed right now, but it is so cold we cannot work on the bot. We work in a parent's garage that has some heat, but it cannot compete with this cold. We have cancelled the build part, but are still meeting in the house. Its the best we can do. Good luck and look forward to the time when you can get back to the bot.
Teams in the south of Israel have had it difficult as well, having to meet in bomb shelters. Read this article:
http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enDispWho=Articles%5El2411&enPage=BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enVersion=0&enZone=Culture&
Young inventors work under fire to meet competition deadline
By Rachel Neiman
January 07, 2009
Most high-school science nerds have it hard enough without having to do projects under fire. But as the brainiac participants in the 18th FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) all over the world began building their mechanical monsters this week, the teams from Ashkelon, Beersheva, Tel-Nof and other areas in Israel's south were doing the same - or trying to - in the face of school closures and missile attacks.
But there are only six weeks before the FRC tourney in Tel Aviv and time is at a premium. Speaking from his home safe-room, 17-year-old Barak Palesznick, the Ashkelon team leader, explained to ISRAEL21c that though school was cancelled, his group had planned to begin work in their school's bomb shelter but that the meeting was called off because a GRAD missile fell nearby the school.
The team's adult mentors are now trying to find an alternate location. "I hope this week we'll get a place because the other teams are already working on their robots and we're not. And every minute counts," he says.
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded by Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway and iBot, to use robotics as an inspiration for youngsters to study technology and science.
FRC is an annual competition for students in grades 10-12 that challenges them to solve common problems inherent in control system design. Each year, a challenge is unveiled and identical materials distributed to teams that must build a robot which can successfully complete the test, and compete against other robots. Team hierarchy is organized along high-tech industry lines to operate like a start-up, including raising funds through sponsorships.
More than 42,000 high-school students on 1,686 teams from the US , Brazil , Canada , Chile , Germany , Israel , Mexico , the Netherlands , the Philippines , Turkey , and the UK are participating in this year's competition. Some 47 groups of high school students from Jewish and Arab cities across Israel - Ashkelon, Usfia, Haifa , Jerusalem , Lod, Beersheva, Tel Aviv, Hod Hasharon, Dimona, Jatt, Umm El-Fahim, Tamra, and others - are competing in FRC 2009.
Lunacy amidst the madness
This Sunday, the students convened at the Air Force House in Herzliya to receive their robot building material kits (made up of motors, batteries, a control system, and a mix of automation components - but no instructions) and learn this year's challenge. They were also treated to a presentation by the FRC 2008 winners, Aviv High School in Ra'anana, whose challenge last year was to design a robot that could drive around a track, pick up balls strewn there and drop them into baskets.
This year's challenge, called "Lunacy", explains Asaf Agmon, CEO of FIRST, requires the teams to design robots that can pick up nine-inch game balls and score them in trailers hitched to their opponents' robots for points during a two minute and 15 second match. Additional points are awarded for scoring a special game ball, the Super Cell, in the opponents' trailers during the last 20 seconds of the match. Lunacy is played on a low-friction floor, intended to mimic the physical challenges of the moon's surface.
"In six weeks, on the same day all over the world, the regional competitions will take place," says Agmon, adding that the Tel Aviv municipality has donated the Nokia stadium in Yad Eliahu for the three-day event. "After that, the winning teams fly to compete in the international finals in Atlanta . And our groups have always done Israel very proud."
Two years ago, Agmon notes, one of the Israeli teams to reach the finals was comprised almost entirely of religious Arab girls from the village of Tamra, many of whom have gone on to study at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology.
"What's beautiful about FIRST Israel is that we have groups from different kinds of schools: academic, technical-vocational, religious, secular, primary, junior-high and high school. At the FRC kickoff, all the kids - Arabs and Jews, religious and secular, girls and boys - sat together. We brought the kids from Ashkelon , Beersheva and Tel Nof up onstage and everyone applauded them," says Agmon.
Teen life during wartime
Down on the Ashkelon homefront, Palesznick says: "I'm just trying to make some sort of routine which isn't working out so well. This morning it was quiet so I hope it will stay like that. I was looking Lunacy up on the web yesterday when there was a siren. I'll try again today. We're trying to keep in contact by phone but it's kind of hard - we check up on one another but the lines get overloaded and crash after an attack and you can't always call. But normally, I try to update them on what's going on."
In mid-conversation with ISRAEL21c, a siren sounds, warning of an incoming missile. Palesznick pauses to make sure his family gets into the safe-room, waits for the sound of the explosion, and continues. "All the people on the team are from school and we've known each other for at least six years. So that creates a good bond because when you work together on something that's so important, it's like a brotherhood." (There is one girl on the team, he adds. "She's the electrician").
Operation Cast Lead has only strengthened Palesznick's resolve to be a fighter pilot in the Israel Air Force. Would he go into robotics for his army service? "There's some similarity in principle. You have to drive machines that are operated by electronics and computers. But I think I'll stick to my goal - it's something I've wanted since I was a kid."
Sixteen and a half-year old Avia Hadar, the Beersheva team leader, is also having a hard time organizationally. While it looks like Ben Gurion University of the Negev will provide a room for his team, he isn't exactly sure where the team is. "When we met at school we had 17 people. Today, when we met at BGU there were only five. People aren't answering their phones or email but I know some families have gone down to Eilat to get away from the bombing."
Hadar, still rattled from having to take shelter from a missile attack on his walk to the university this morning, is also facing budgetary difficulties. In addition to the NIS 40,000 price tag for the parts kit, "we need to have parts built to our specifications and all the metal workshops are shut down. It looks like we'll have to import them, and that will cost us more." He is, however, working on sponsorships from local industries. "Nothing is 100% yet, but we're recruiting them," he says.
Both Palesznick and Hadar seem absolutely confident that, in the end, they will get it together and work will commence, and both sound excited about the challenge. It's the sort of spirit that Agmon is looking for. "The objective is to expose kids to the beauty and challenge of technology. Engineering isn't so popular these days. We're a volunteer organization that does this out of passion and we try to get them to fall in love with it.
Robert Cawthon
15-01-2009, 14:25
Amazing story, Jon. Good luck also to the Israeli teams.
GaryVoshol
15-01-2009, 19:15
So you use your driveway as a playing field?
Nope, can't, you might fracture a frozen pool noodle.
waialua359
15-01-2009, 20:30
trouble in paradise?
We had to close our school for high winds, lots of rain, and huge surfs of up to 35ft. Maybe tomorrow also.
We wanted to work, but our admin sent all of us home. :(
synth3tk
15-01-2009, 20:40
It's a part of the challenge that we face. For most, school district policies state that you cannot meet or even remove the robot from the building. For others, it's simply a matter of taking the robot and necessary tools elsewhere.
I just found out 10 minutes ago that nearly every school (among other government and religious places) in Northeast Ohio will be closed due to cold weather. We also had over 10" of snow last Saturday, and I had to walk four blocks in the street with the snow blowing sideways to catch the public bus, and then had to wait outside the school for half an hour.
It's just one of those things where you have no control, so you've gotta work with what you have. If that means less time, then unfortunately, you've gotta make adjustments somewhere.
gorrilla
15-01-2009, 21:18
trouble in paradise?
We had to close our school for high winds, lots of rain, and huge surfs of up to 35ft. Maybe tomorrow also.
We wanted to work, but our admin sent all of us home. :(
i'd rather have rain then snow any day:D \
35ft!!!! i wish, all we get in florida is around 8 at the most in sebastian
We've gotten around this in the past by moving the robot and base of operations to either my house or to one of our sponsors.
It's pretty cold right now, both where the school is (2°F) and where I am (4°F). The roads are pretty good, though, since the last major snowfall was a few days ago.
Lancer Robotics
15-01-2009, 21:48
Wailua 359 closed, what a break. Just got the word, we (2437) will be closed tomorrow, but being married to the VP pays off. We have robotics!!!!!
that is if we have electricity. My house has been without since 1:40pm
Joe Schornak
15-01-2009, 21:51
I barely remember the last time it snowed here in Phoenix. It was in '97 or '98, and it lasted for about 20 minutes. There was barely enough snow on our car windshield to make a decent snowball, as it melted as soon as it hit a solid surface.
The last time my school actually told people not to come was when a water main broke and flooded parts of the campus, and the closest thing to a hurricane I've ever experienced was in August, when a storm brought in 80 mph winds. Every single power line was knocked over on a street near my house, and trees were down all over the city. It was rather exciting at the time, but it pales in comparison to some of the conditions described in this thread.
Good ol' hot, sunny, boring Arizona...
DonRotolo
15-01-2009, 21:56
we have that problem to but we cant work at our schools they hate usCan you elaborate? Why is it that you think the school hates your team? Is it something you did, a lack of understanding, or?? (Serious question but also seriously off-topic)
ya they just called off school for the second day in a row, and our team is already behind, we will really need to catch up this weekend!!
The bad weather is great. 1714 does not meet at a school, so school closures help us a lot. We meet at American Acrylics which is one of our main sponsors so the door is open all the time, even in this weather.
smurfgirl
15-01-2009, 22:08
The bad weather is great. 1714 does not meet at a school, so school closures help us a lot. We meet at American Acrylics which is one of our main sponsors so the door is open all the time, even in this weather.
You're one of the lucky few teams that bad weather is actually good for...
ikhana870
15-01-2009, 22:17
we had a power outage one day, and because we are located on a University campus the WHOLE campus was closed... we got out of school at like noon.
Did you have a Tornado/Flood day last year though, or was that outside of the build period? I forgot when that happened - I just remember seeing some damage in April still (Plywood on the Westin & Omni hotels, etc.)
It was after the build. During the Peachtree Regional, literally a tornado was in the area, and it was hailing, and lightning hit the building a few minutes before the finals on Saturday and killed the field control equipment.
After about a 3.5 hour delay the heros on the site lashed together some manual control boxes to do the disable/auto mode and the UL Safety people were programmed to be the disable/enable/auto mode operators so we could have the matches and finish the regional.
RE snowflakes. We don't do snow. The stuff we have that we call snow is a lot more icy than they have up nawth. It doesn't have the same driveability as that stuff in Minnesota plus we don't have the gear to deal with it so we cancel school if there is a snowflake spotted by our hyperventilating news anchors.
synth3tk
15-01-2009, 22:52
RE snowflakes. We don't do snow. The stuff we have that we call snow is a lot more icy than they have up nawth. It doesn't have the same driveability as that stuff in Minnesota plus we don't have the gear to deal with it so we cancel school if there is a snowflake spotted by our hyperventilating news anchors.
I believe that. When New Orleans recently got a few inches (read: less-than-2"), one of my buddies at my video game community said the whole city shutdown, because they don't have plows or tons of road salt sitting around. When he posted pictures, it literally looked like an average snowfall up here. We don't even blink at two inches.
But you can't compare apples and oranges. ;)
Chaos in a Can
15-01-2009, 23:14
Our team is comprised of students from multiple schools, and though we work at one of those schools, we are not affiliated with that school, so we can work on snow days.
Interestingly enough, we were able to meet at the school even though school was cancelled, so we aren't losing any time.
Cow Bell Solo
16-01-2009, 00:09
Well lucky for us, we had to be one of the few schools in MN that didn't cancel or have some kind of delay, but hey, as we know I'ts White Bear. We also have a good relationship with the principle at our school where we work and he has let us into the school before when no one else is there.
Travis Hoffman
16-01-2009, 00:24
We love snow days. Instead of starting work at 2:30; the students start at noon instead. :)
Engineer
16-01-2009, 08:52
-25F again this morning and many of the schools are closed again. It's actually supposed to warm up to 10F today and 20F tomorrow. Hurray a temperature on the positive side of the scale. We have not seen that for awhile. Negative temps is not that bad if you dress for it. You do need all exposed skin covered when you snowmobile or you get almost instant frostbite.
Today will be the 3rd meeting we've canceled this week. (1 on monday due to snow, thursday, and friday due to the cold). We aren't permitted to meet if school is canceled.
ayeckley
16-01-2009, 09:15
Teams in the south of Israel have had it difficult as well, having to meet in bomb shelters. Read this article:
There ought to be some sort of award for that...
Sunshine
16-01-2009, 09:16
Well..............
Thanks for the reassurances.
Some of you have put everything in perspective when you start talking about tornadoes and fires. Sorry for your pain. My small problems are nothing compared to others.
And actually, we are now able to turn lemons into lemonade...........
School was canceled again today, but they are allowing us to come in at 12:01 because it is supposed to warm up enough. We will actually be able to get 8 hours of work in. Now, I hope all the kids can make it safely. We are lucky.
scottydoh
16-01-2009, 09:37
hah, a day or two missed due to snow is nothing, here in smithtown, every year, the second week of build season our one and only team leader/teacher goes on a "technology educators" conference in orlando, thats a whole 7 days down the drain, plus all the sundays and saturday afternoons we loose. so in reality, 810 is building a robot in 3 1/2 weeks instead of 6...
synth3tk
16-01-2009, 09:40
-12 with windchills in the ZOMFG-I'M-FREEZING-MAH-BUTT-OFF range.
Nothing in the area is open currently, sans obvious locations (police, hospitals, etc), so teams who can work outside of schools are at much of an advantage. But I'm not jealous, because I probably wouldn't go to the meeting even if we had one. :rolleyes:
surferacf
16-01-2009, 10:33
We lost today due to -15 to -25 wind chills. No school Monday (MLK) or Tuesday (Teacher Report Writing) means bad news for our build team!
(I'm glad our CAD teacher advocated switching us to Pro/E. We're behind schedule on the model, and are just going to keep working from home!)
Oh come, It's only like -10... with -25 windchill or something like that.
sloteera
16-01-2009, 10:44
You have no idea about the problems that Brazilian Teams has.
Every year, we need to wait around 2 weeks after kickoff to receive the kit. And some years, we need to finish our robot with one week less.
The main problem call it: Brazilian Bureaucracy!!!!!!!
Unfortunately just have capacity isn't enough!!
We here in the UK also had problems getting our kit of parts. We didn't receive our kit of parts until Monday the 12th, 9 days after kickoff. What burns me is that FIRST didn't even ship them until the 7th.
Oh well, AndyMark got us our wheel order in fast, it arrived on the 7th so we were able to test with that. The CD community and my friends throughout FIRST were able to give me useful information and comments on the nature of the game pieces. So onwards we move.
Wetzel
Well, I'm just glad build season isn't in December because of the huge ice storm schools canceled the 8 days before Christmas Vacation, so we basically had no school for 24 days straight and no power for half of that.
GaryVoshol
16-01-2009, 15:05
We always liked MLK day. While there were no classes, the school was open. [Dean mode]After all, the basketball team had to practice.[/ Dean mode] So we often could get extra hours in.
Andrew Schreiber
16-01-2009, 15:27
We always liked MLK day. While there were no classes, the school was open. [Dean mode]After all, the basketball team had to practice.[/ Dean mode] So we often could get extra hours in.
Seconding this notion, it also means that 397's plethora of college mentors (myself included) can all be there which RARELY happens.
Sadly snow days don't exist in the world of work of college. In college you MIGHT get lucky and have a prof cancel class but you usually only find out after you walk over there (in -9 degree weather) and then you have to walk back. Also work, no snow days. The day we got ~12" of snow DURING the work day was particularly bad. Our CEO sent out an email telling us to flee to our homes. Several of us hitched rides with others because our cars were stuck in snow drifts such as the 14+" one that was our drive.
These are some of the reasons I REALLY want to get out of the North. I am not a huge fan of snow or temperatures that make my skin freeze.
Last year our school didn't let us in when school was out. Between several days of inclement weather and a 2 week strike in the the middle of build season, we lost a good chunk of time. We ended up moving out of the school at 10PM one night and working in a stable (which was actually unbelievably fun), and still had some snow.
This year looks better. We're in a more accessible place, and it's only -5 out right now, with no snow until Sunday-Monday. We're really not in the worst of snow country, and every location has its problems to some extent. I do really admire our overseas teams, though!
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