[Madison]

Okay. . . .chill out.

I think that we always should try to look at the good in a situation. I know - it's cliche.

I didn't find anything inappropriate about Andy's suggestion, nor do I, personally, feel like it was the wrong time to bring it up.

Quite the opposite is true, actually. With the horrible tragedy of having lost so many brave firemen, I think there's no better time than right now to bring the nation's focus to viable alternatives to placing human lives in danger. That does not mean, of course, that we have any less respect or admiration for those who are eager to place their own lives on the line to help others.

But, as you've noted, there's a definite role for robotics in firefighting. A FIRST competition geared toward innovations in that field might not only prove to be useful within the existing scope of FIRST, but also in the greater outside market. It's entirely possible, if not probable, that some of the great teams out there can come up with some unique, intelligent solutions.

Now, with all of that said, I think I can pretty safely say that Andy wasn't suggesting we set fire to the playing field, and have two eerily reminscent tower-like goals or anything like that. Instead, he was just trying to think of a way our experiences with FIRST could be extended even further into society, and he was suggesting that there's a way we can do our own part to help out.