2006 Palmetto Regional

[Jonathan M.]

Much thanks sir!

Well it seems that 845 is possibly going. They're on the "pending list." I hope so, otherwise, I'll still probably go. See you all there! ^_^

[Billfred]

By the way, since I know folks are now in the process of making travel arrangements, I figured it'd be smart to point out a few things.

1) Anything out towards Harbison Boulevard will be a good twenty minutes from the Colonial Center. If you get stuck in rush hour, plan on it taking closer to 30. Staying out on Harbison does have its advantages, though. There's plenty of food, shopping, hardware stores (Lowe's and Home Depot, and Northern Tool and Equipment is one exit off), and entertainment in that area.
2) Unless I'm completely missing a hotel, the only hotel within walking distance of the Colonial Center is the Holiday Inn on Assembly Street, about two blocks away as the crow flies.
3) On the subject of vehicles, I'd highly suggest bringing vans or something else that doesn't require several parking spaces. Last year, the parking lots by the Colonial Center were not closed off from USC students, which meant it was a bit of a scramble to find parking even for a normal car. If you have to get a bus, get there early. (The Russell House, USC's student union about three blocks away, opens up around 7:00 for breakfast. The walk will get the blood flowing.)
4) Folks flying in: Columbia's airport has free wi-fi. Celebrate or groan, depending on your team policy.
5) The road construction mess from last year is done. Thank goodness.

If anyone needs to know anything about this town, I'm glad to answer.

[Spiffizzle]

Originally Posted by tiffany34990

well i believe you all will pull off another great regional.. i'm sorry i have to miss it though.. i was at the first 2 and they were fun... the no dancing allowed well that was an interesting rule

but the team list looks very interesting and going to have some interesting matches of course...

i wish all the teams good luck @ palmetto and all the regionals.... let the games begin already...

Team 1676, Rookie Allstars in Trenton in 2005, will be attending the Palmetto Regional this year! Looking forward to it!

For my own curiousity... no dancing?!?

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by Spiffizzle

Team 1676, Rookie Allstars in Trenton in 2005, will be attending the Palmetto Regional this year! Looking forward to it!

For my own curiousity... no dancing?!?

The story goes back as far as the Palmetto Regional itself.

One of the rules about Team Socials is that you can't dance. (Something about an incident a few years ago where a kid got hurt.) So the folks running the Team Social posted signs all over the courtyard in Swearingen (where it's held) reading

Unfortunately,
Dancing is not
allowed

For some reason, people found it humorous. Several turned up at the 2004 Championship a few weeks later, and team 900 had one laminated and had it on their robots ever since.

I can't wait for this competition--and I haven't even seen the robots yet!

[Billfred]

Has anyone noticed that we're now playing host to 45 teams?!

It seemed a little tight last year with 42 (to the point that 1618 and 1650 were off in a corner by the inspection station). Does anyone remember any wide-open spaces that were left that way last year, or should we tell the folks at USC Vehicle Management (whose main area is directly out of the Colonial Center's back door) that we're putting the practice field in their lot?

[Tomasz Bania]

Originally Posted by Billfred

Well, it looks like now that FIRST posted the pending team list as well. Which means I get to be all happy that 818 (Genesis '02) is planning on coming back to Palmetto after taking a break in 2005, as are 247 (Da' Bears, with one of the best drive/coach teams I've been on the field with). And 34, 342, and 343 are coming back for the third time around.

This'll be fun.

Team 818 is also happy to be back in Palmetto. Also, our team will the the server host at the Palmetto Regional for FSN (First Scouting Network, www.firstscouting.net). We don't know if we will offer internet on top of the scouting stuff (unless they got WIFI there) then that won't be an issue. If they don't have WIFI and we do provide internet, you would connect through our server to either Verizon EVDO High Speed Network or Verizon 1x DSL speed (I just had to get technical) but anyways, that is still in the works. If any team would be willing to help us out, PM me as soon as you can so I can arrange something.

[Billfred]

USC does have wireless internet for students and staff, although it's a bit of a pain to get started with it. I don't know whether that access extends to the Colonial Center or not. Either way, I haven't heard anything about internet access at any Palmetto Regional. And a quick check of Verizon Wireless seems to indicate that EVDO isn't here in Colatown yet.

Combine that with the manual saying not to arrange for internet access, and I just don't think I'll be able to get my Delphi fix in the building. (If you're wondering, there's a Kinko's just up Greene Street, about two blocks off.)

[Tomasz Bania]

Originally Posted by Billfred

USC does have wireless internet for students and staff, although it's a bit of a pain to get started with it. I don't know whether that access extends to the Colonial Center or not. Either way, I haven't heard anything about internet access at any Palmetto Regional. And a quick check of Verizon Wireless seems to indicate that EVDO isn't here in Colatown yet.

Combine that with the manual saying not to arrange for internet access, and I just don't think I'll be able to get my Delphi fix in the building. (If you're wondering, there's a Kinko's just up Greene Street, about two blocks off.)

I found that out today too about the no EVDO, but colatown does have 1x, which has DSL speed. Now i'm not making any promises about the internet, but the scouting will be there for sure. I didn't even know about the WIFI there, so I won't even consider that as an option. I know I will have Internet for sure, but I don't know if I will release it for open access.

[aallen88]

Team 11, MORT, will be at Palmetto this year for the 3rd time in a row! Can't wait to see you all there !

[Tomasz Bania]

Originally Posted by micro3000x

I found that out today too about the no EVDO, but colatown does have 1x, which has DSL speed. Now i'm not making any promises about the internet, but the scouting will be there for sure. I didn't even know about the WIFI there, so I won't even consider that as an option. I know I will have Internet for sure, but I don't know if I will release it for open access.

I went to Verizon today and asked about if we could do something like this and they say yes. So now there is a 50% chance that we will offer full internet at the regionals. We need volunteers to help us with the FSN, please pm me if you can help! All help is appreciated.

[Jeff Pahl]

Well, we are the one pending team at the moment (Sunday evening, Jan 21), and as soon as we can get the right person to log into TIMS on Monday, we will be clearing that out. We just found out at the last minute that one of our sponsors will not be participating this year, so no $$$. Darn, we were really looking forward to making the trip

[Billfred]

Sorry to hear that. Perhaps you'll be able to get a carload of folks to day trip over here on Saturday? (One of our mentors did the same trip backwards for the Championship last year, and he made it alright.)

On an unrelated note, I got a little bored in Google Earth tonight, so I whipped up a .kmz file with some locations around campus and town that I figure are moderately important (alright, and a few that might not be important to anyone but me):

http://www.billfredinthenighttime.com/palmetto2006.kmz

If you'd like anything added to the list, please let me know.

Enjoy!

[Tomasz Bania]

Originally Posted by Billfred

Sorry to hear that. Perhaps you'll be able to get a carload of folks to day trip over here on Saturday? (One of our mentors did the same trip backwards for the Championship last year, and he made it alright.)

On an unrelated note, I got a little bored in Google Earth tonight, so I whipped up a .kmz file with some locations around campus and town that I figure are moderately important (alright, and a few that might not be important to anyone but me):

http://www.billfredinthenighttime.com/palmetto2006.kmz

If you'd like anything added to the list, please let me know.

Enjoy!

nice job on that. On my cell,sry 4 da short reply!

[Jay W.]

Originally Posted by Jonathan M.

Much thanks sir!

Well it seems that 845 is possibly going. They're on the "pending list." I hope so, otherwise, I'll still probably go. See you all there! ^_^

Yeah, we got accepted last week for Palmetto.
So, pending on my college classes, I will see everyone in Columbia..I'll be the one sporting the Clemson hat in the middle of USC's campus..hahaha!

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by Jay W.

Yeah, we got accepted last week for Palmetto.
So, pending on my college classes, I will see everyone in Columbia..I'll be the one sporting the Clemson hat in the middle of USC's campus..hahaha!

Close, but not quite. One of 1293's alumni (whose father and sister are with the team as well) goes to Clemson (I like him anyway ) and occasionally helps us out on Saturdays.

(For those who are just reading this thread, USC and Clemson are rivals, about two hours apart. USC plays host to Palmetto, and is about 20 minutes from 1293land.)