ok, thanks a bunch. i want the serial communications code working by friday, or at least sunday, because those are the last two days i'll really have a chance to be playing with the robot. so, if i can get the serial communications down, i can do the rest of the code over the summer, without a robot, and then plug it in next september. then, theoretically, if i haven't changed the serial communications part, it all should work. but we all know about theories, and how they come out... *cough*communism*cough*
