Government shut down... and NASA
 

Hey all,

I was just wondering.... if our government does shut down, does that mean no NASA broadcast for the championships? ::rtm::

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

If the government is shut down during St. Louis, I would expect we will not have the NASA webcast, NASA Machine Shops or Mark Leon the NASA Emcee.

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

I guess you're right. According to this letter, FIRST events would be considered as non-essential operation. Therefore, NO fun for us :mad:

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

So, if for some reason a government shutdown was to happen, say around December at the end of this year, does that mean teams sponsored by NASA would be screwed? :eek: :eek: :eek:

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

...it's not part of the government???

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

So answer to your question would be no. (from my understanding)

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

How doe you figure no from that?
is FIRST an "excepted activity"? :confused:

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

For later half of this year (past October), it would be considered a new financial year, 2011-2012.

For now though, the letter explicitly states that their policy covers only the 'critical' ongoing missions such as support missions for ISS, satellites, and the expected launch of space shuttle.

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

No, it is not. We have been told we will not have access to our center in the event of a furlough and are removing everything from our lab tonight in the anticipation of not being able to get back in before St Louis. Hopefully that does not become a reality.

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

I hope that doesn't happen for you! This shouldn't affect your team's performance, right :D ?

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

Pink team is clearing out too

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

I'd agree with the first two, but I'm pretty certain Mark could still Emcee. If there's a furlough, he won't be working for NASA unless he has a critical role to fill. And if he's not working for NASA, he's a civilian like the rest of us and can do whatever he likes. It's not like they're going to lock him in his house for the duration of the furlough. The only obstacle would be that NASA wouldn't pay his travel expenses, assuming they do so in the first place.

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

According to Mark at the Utah regional, he would not be able to EmCee if NASA is shut down over the weekend.

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

Aw... that sucks... Mark is a GREAT EmCee.

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

Well I stand corrected and curious as to why that'd be. But I trust the man knows his own business better than I would.

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

If he's representing NASA when he MCs, then he can't do it, because he's not allowed to work while furloughed.

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

Indeed, from what I'm reading it would apply to anyone whose FIRST involvement is part of their official NASA (or other agency) duties is forced to sit on their hands for the duration of the shutdown. (I read a report that some employees are being ordered to shut off their BlackBerries in the event of a shutdown, lest they get an official reprimand up to termination for working while furloughed. Hard to interview for a new job with blue hair.)

Fingers crossed that a resolution is reached in Washington, not just for the robots either.

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

So he can just MC without representing NASA, he's just a random guy they found on the street, with great MC talents! :p

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

I don't know if you've seen Mark MC, but representing NASA is a big part of what he does. I can easily understand why he could not do it if furloughed.

My wife is also subject to furlough if the budget is not passed....I've been paying a bit of attention to the subject.

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

Mark is on government travel when MC'ing.

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

Well... let's all hope they do the math in a timely manner over in Washington.

:o couldn't resist.

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

Well, it is averted for at least three days :)

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

Wait, WHAT!:eek:


















Just kidding!;)


If you guys are gettting rid of any old items/robots send them up north *COUGH*!

Good luck to all NASA teams!

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

Well, Team 1868 and Team 254 cleaned out our lab today.... Thankfully most of our materials were still packed from SVR so we just grabbed some stuff we can usually make do without for a few days at competition. We'll be working out of our team leader's garage for the time being, which hopefully won't be too long. If anyone knows of a place nearby where we could run some driver practice (if this lasts more than 5 days or so) it would be much appreciated.

See you all at Championships.

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

Mark is on Government Travel for these events as part of his support of the NASA Robotics Alliance Program. It would be impossible for me to afford all the events that Mark supports. He could go to St. Louis on his own dime, but that would be expensive.

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

Yup, looks like we're safe. At least for this weekend.

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

CNN confirmed! :)

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

Math? they only do English in D.C.. And as far as RTFM goes, they usually go to great lengths to prevent that. The founding fathers never imagined acts of congress whose length is such that, if handwritten, would take a year per copy. So, they sadly omitted specifying congressional acts' word-count length limitations in the constitution.
</soapbox> ::ouch::

Re: Government shut down... and NASA
 

Slightly off-topic, but I frequently summarize the core mission of FIRST as inspiring the smartest high school kids to study science and engineering, so they don't become lawyers :)
(It's about 70% in jest)