Butterflys.

[the man]

I always hate the weeks before kick off. My stomach fills up with the familiar sense of anticipation. I know I'm not the only one. How does your brain and body react to the increasing sense of anticipation?

I'm filled with anxiety. The game hints take over my life, my thinking, everything. I ask for a good game for christmas. My mind creates a matrix of every possible idea. I become a FIRST zombie until kickoff.

And I love it!

[IndySam]

I spend all my time designing strange drivetrains

[Billfred]

This year will be my ninth season of FRC (one as a student, the rest as a mentor). I worry less about the game hints now, but I still can't wait to see the new game and just how the fine folks in Manchester feel like torturing our minds for four months.

[Garrett.d.w]

I always try to find a project to keep me busy. This year I have an AIR CANNON!!!!!!!(sorry, I couldn't help myself). It's for a physics project.

Invariably, I always finish my project way before kickoff, leaving my mind to wander. I have refrained from the game hints, but I still like a good discussion on possibilities.
During the kickoff event I start climbing the walls while I wait for Dean Kamen to show us the game animation.

[JByrd]

I have recently applied to MIT and they told me that while I was waiting for an admissions decision I should do what I answered as "what I do for fun" and that's robotics and right now there's no robotics. I was thinking: What can I do?!?

[plnyyanks]

But hey, real programmers harness the butterflies and write code. That's what I do...

Originally Posted by plnyyanks

But hey, real programmers harness the butterflies and write code. That's what I do...

So.....you mean you use emacs.

[msimon785]

Originally Posted by plnyyanks

But hey, real programmers harness the butterflies and write code. That's what I do...

Yay, XKCD! I sincerely hope this year's game won't involve umbrellas and setting off fire alarms, though... (water game?)

[CNettles11]

Originally Posted by IndySam

I spend all my time designing strange drivetrains

Quoted for the truth.

[akoscielski3]

Originally Posted by IndySam

I spend all my time designing strange drivetrains

Well atleast im not the only one...

I've designed 4 chassis so far...

[IndySam]

Originally Posted by akoscielski3

Well atleast im not the only one...

I've designed 4 chassis so far...

It's a sickness

[JesseK]

I spend this time studying past years' designs and memorizing diameters/distances of COTS products. I also try to thoroughly research suppliers for the uncommon things we've used in the past but might use again. Occasionally I'll run across something I've never seen before, then bookmark it to see if it's useful/legal for the build.

This year I'm not focused on the game hints, but rather I'm trying to find more and more pictures of the past robots of the teams I try to emulate. I'm also running some tools through scenarios to have a pre-optimized set of gearing determinations for the various scenarios of game strategies so we can quickly and realistically whittle down the brainstorming ideas towards the end of kickoff weekend.

I'm also planning to take some time off to read a book that isn't related to anything technical whatsoever. This will probably be the highlight of my efforts in the weeks leading up to kickoff.

[Brandon Zalinsky]

Nah, my team just spends hours covering our test robot in aluminum foil and figuring out where we're going to mount the EM Pulse emitter.

[Ernst]

Before kickoff this year, I harnessed the butterflies by playing loads of Minecraft. There was some homework involved, but mostly Minecraft.