[JBotAlan]

Pre-kickoff: 68 has been prototyping and speculating for a few months now, so we've gotten to mess with the ideas we wanted to explore during build 2007. We aren't having any meetings during break (all the way up until 1/5) because so many people were on vacation. We meet at GM, pile into 1 or 2 fleet vehicles, and (usually) slide our way to the Novi (I think) local kickoff.

Kickoff: Whatever you feel like. Just take the info in somehow. I sit with my laptop on in front of me, doing something mindless, like Pocket Tanks...
Scramble to write the PDF code down (they showed it for a second..literally..last year) and crack the manuals open. I start reading on the way home.

Post: Pick up lunch on the way back to GM. Major brainstorming time in the meeting room--argue, draw, sketch, argue some more, ponder, theorize, read the rules, ponder some more, and try to convince the team that your design is the best. (for me: shudder because they are designing a robot that will be a major PITA to code...) Inventory kit of parts; I get my hands on the electrical portion shortly after this (it's like Christmas, except much, much cooler).

First week is prototyping/design week. Every day we meet and get as much done as possible. Then we go to our usual Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday meetings until ship, where any free time we might have goes in the shop...

That's about it.
JBot