[Mike Ciance]

wow, this thread has really gotten off topic...

as far as the mission of FIRST i believe that it is much more than just getting kids interested in science and technology. it is also about promoting hard work, creativity, and dedication. personally, since i became involved in FIRST i have very much shifted my career goals AWAY from science and technology. i originally wanted to program video games. after joining FIRST, my dreams shifted to engineering. after being involved in FIRST for a while, i realized that while robotics and programming would probably always be hobbies of mine, my career was meant for elsewhere. it was the creativity of FIRST that inspired me the most, but creativity can be expressed in many forms. at the beginning of last school year, i became involved in journalism, writing video game reviews for a county paper. i found that i loved writing, especially the creativity of it. even when you write a review, you use creativity in how you word and structure the article. would i have pursued this if i didn;t have my extra self-confidence from FIRST? maybe, maybe not. i'm now looking at other forms of writing, like comedy (ask anyone on my team, i'm very silly). another important thing when writing is to think outside of the box. nobody wants to read an article/book/cartoon/whatever that sounds like any other article/book/cartoon/whatever. you need to think of innovative ways to structure your writing. FIRST has helped me with that a ton.

with Dean Kamen's speeches, yes, he does stress science and technology. but i remember somebody (i think either dean or woodie) who said that FIRST was about more than that. the quote "...compose a song, write a book..." sticks out in my mind the most. FIRST encourages anything where people express creativity and innovation.

The mission of FIRST is not just to promote science and technology, but to help every student involved to reach their full potential and achieve their dreams.

now, before i can achieve any of my other goals, i better achieve the goal of getting this thread back on topic...

does anybody know exactly how many points each square represents?