Government shut down... and NASA

[MrForbes]

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

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik

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.

Originally Posted by rsisk

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

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.

[nighterfighter]

Originally Posted by squirrel

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

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

[MrForbes]

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.

[Cory]

Mark is on government travel when MC'ing.

[BigJ]

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

couldn't resist.

[VisandElu]

Well, it is averted for at least three days

[BrendanB]

Originally Posted by Cory

Mark is on government travel when MC'ing.

Wait, WHAT!


















Just kidding!


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

Good luck to all NASA teams!

[CallieJ]

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.

[davidfv]

Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik

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.

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.

[IndySam]

Originally Posted by Olivia

Well, it is averted for at least three days

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

[keehun]

Originally Posted by IndySam

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

CNN confirmed!

[Bill_B]

Originally Posted by BigJ

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

couldn't resist.

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>

[MikeE]

Originally Posted by Bill_B

Math? they only do English in D.C..

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)