pic: Oh The Places We Go And The Things That We See!

[JaneYoung]

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[JaneYoung]

The Texas Robot Roundup: Lunar Showdown was fun yesterday. One of the highlights for me when attending off seasons, is visiting with other teams and mentors of other teams. Yesterday provided that opportunity again as you can see.

John didn't appear to be quite as busy as he normally is... and the opportunity presented itself for the mini-tour. Please note the housekeeping smile that is marked on the paper - that's pretty funny.

I also had the opportunity to take advantage of purchasing one of the JVN dolls, oh ok, two - a funny fundraiser that the team is doing and one that is pretty popular.

[DanaRocks]

my team got a in atlanta so.... i think u just got to do wat u got to do to get the robot done

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by DanaRocks

my team got a in atlanta so.... i think u just got to do wat u got to do to get the robot done

John pointed that smilie out to me and it's made me think of a few things. (As usual.)

There are teams in FRC that we think of as elite teams. Teams that set very high standards for themselves. In 148's case, I believe that, yes, the mentors set high standards and I also think the students set those standards as well. What I've begun to think with these teams is that as they achieve their goals and wow the FRC community (and others) as they do, a reputation for being perfect and untouchable somehow begins to occur. It isn't true but, reputations can be hard to break through once they establish themselves, sometimes distancing teams from each other.

This toolbox lid and John's terrific humor showcases the team's attitude to me in a great way. They keep it real. They have great respect for the Thunderchickens. Sometimes, their JVN dolls make things a little messy. And, they are a very approachable and friendly team.

[Chris is me]

Look at the center of the bottom of a photo and you'll see what looks like an unreleased Vex part: small dualie omnis?

[BrendanB]

Or maybe two omni wheels stuck together?

[Rich Kressly]

Our baby JVN is the only thing in the house the dog won't chew. Weird.

[GaryVoshol]

Wouldn't you want your checklist to read "change the battery" before you "zip tie" it?

[ParkerF]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Look at the center of the bottom of a photo and you'll see what looks like an unreleased Vex part: small dualie omnis?

Brendan got it right. We decided the VEX small omni had too much bounce in between the rollers, so we faced two sides, rotated them slightly, and used a cotter pin to keep them together. Worked great for smoothing out the follower wheels.

[Anne Shade]

So that's where John put the team patch we gave him!

[JaneYoung]

Realizing that this would qualify for a thread bump (I think - I still don't quite get that but... ) I have a plan:

During the 2009 off season, The Texas Robot Roundup: Lunar Showdown, the Robowranglers had some of their JVN dolls in their pit and I bought a couple of them from JVN, himself.

I'm thinking about donating one of the dolls to the 2010 IRI Silent Auction. Just giving ya'll a head's up - get your bids ready for the Robowrangler JVN doll!

Jane