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[Chris is me]

In my personal, biased by lack of snow opinion...

Don't waste your time trying to get an extension with such little build time left. Either FIRST will do it or they won't, but you've got too little time to be campaigning and worrying.

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

In my personal, biased by lack of snow opinion...

Don't waste your time trying to get an extension with such little build time left. Either FIRST will do it or they won't, but you've got too little time to be campaigning and worrying.

The teams complaining about losing time should have thought of this last night or the day before and either put in even more hours during those days or moved their robots and tools they need to someone's garage. It is as simple as that.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

The teams complaining about losing time should have thought of this last night or the day before and either put in even more hours during those days or moved their robots and tools they need to someone's garage. It is as simple as that.

Assuming teams own their robots and tools, it could maybe seem as simple as that.
Do all teams own their robots and tools? Do all teams pay for their robots and tools? It's easy to say what teams should and should not do. It's not so easy to actually be the teams that are dealing with a difficult situation and have to contend with what they can and cannot do.

Jane

[V_Chip]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

The teams complaining about losing time should have thought of this last night or the day before and either put in even more hours during those days or moved their robots and tools they need to someone's garage. It is as simple as that.

I understand your simplistic perspective but your statement does seem a little harsh. Please consider that some of these teams were not aware of the consequences of a snow storm like this.

[BrendanB]

Originally Posted by Vector MycroftH

I understand your simplistic perspective but your statement does seem a little harsh. Please consider that some of these teams were not aware of the consequences of a snow storm like this.

20+ inches of snow doesn't sound like a ton up north, but go down south and you have some major problems. I agree with Akash, teams should have been ready and even if they took a few items home or done extra stuff it should have been done. Yes, it is unfortunate that this is happening, but it isn't like 2 feet of snow just showed up outside. Sorry if it might seem harsh, but as was said earlier, life isn't perfect and if it was then that isn't FIRST.

I think you guys should all get your team shirts to say, "Got snow?".

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by BrendanB

20+ inches of snow doesn't sound like a ton up north, but go down south and you have some major problems. I agree with Akash, teams should have been ready and even if they took a few items home or done extra stuff it should have been done. Yes, it is unfortunate that this is happening, but it isn't like 2 feet of snow just showed up outside. Sorry if it might seem harsh, but as was said earlier, life isn't perfect and if it was then that isn't FIRST.

Agreed Brendan. It was not unplanned or uncalled for weather. It was also not news that these states would be inadequately prepared for weather like this because they do not budget for snowplows/salters and what have you.

It was not a harsh statement, it was more about questioning the logic of teams who sit idle when they know what is coming. The statement about not knowing the consequences of a snowstorm this late in the build is highly questionable.

Jane- teams who do not "own" the robots/tools still had time to plan things out with their school/sponsor. As I stated, this was not uncalled-for weather.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

Agreed Brendan. It was not unplanned or uncalled for weather. It was also not news that these states would be inadequately prepared for weather like this because they do not budget for snowplows/salters and what have you.

It was not a harsh statement, it was more about questioning the logic of teams who sit idle when they know what is coming. The statement about not knowing the consequences of a snowstorm this late in the build is highly questionable.

Jane- teams who do not "own" the robots/tools still had time to plan things out with their school/sponsor. As I stated, this was not uncalled-for weather.

I think you missed Jane's post. Teams can't just decide to move tools and parts to someone's home. They may belong to the school. They may belong to a sponsor. They may not be able to do anything.

Still, this talk of an extension is silly. The only reason the extension was granted in 2003 was because FedEx was not going to be able to pick up crates on ship day. There's a difference between losing time 2 weeks before ship and an entire region being shut down for 2 days ON ship day.

[V_Chip]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

Agreed Brendan. It was not unplanned or uncalled for weather. It was also not news that these states would be inadequately prepared for weather like this because they do not budget for snowplows/salters and what have you.

It was not a harsh statement, it was more about questioning the logic of teams who sit idle when they know what is coming. The statement about not knowing the consequences of a snowstorm this late in the build is highly questionable.

Jane- teams who do not "own" the robots/tools still had time to plan things out with their school/sponsor. As I stated, this was not uncalled-for weather.

Excuse my misinterpretation


I also agree with other posts on this thread:

that the exclamatory beginning was highly unprofessional.

However it is true that some teams may be unable to do NOTHING at all due to the fact that most of their equipment does not belong to them. It is beyond me on what they can do. (I don't count complaining as an option)

P.S. Then . . . let it snow.

[EricH]

If, for some reason, you physically cannot get to your robot to crate it or bag it before the deadline, then talk to FIRST directly. Don't come here to get anything official done; CD is unofficial. You still have over a week to get your paths cleared to get in to the robot work areas. If you can crate it or bag it, and FedEx or your shipper can't get to your shop, then contact FIRST for directions. They can work with you. The extension in 2003 wasn't quite enough time for some teams to dig out their shops, IIRC.

The best teams at the D.C., Chesapeake, and Virginia regionals (and any other regionals affected) will be the ones who got hit hard by the storm and planned and prepared to build a robot in a short amount of time, instead of complaining and trying to start petitions to FIRST to get an extension to the ship that runs clear to the regional. (Note: this does not count if you're from out of the affected region...)

[offtopic]By the way, I hear Vancouver needs more snow. Can't hurt for them to see if they can get some fresh stuff sent over from the mid-Atlantic...[/offtopic]

[JGecko146]

When I was in high school there was a year we lost two weeks of build season due to a massive ice storm. We were sponsored by the local public service company and most of our engineers were linemen. They were out taking care of power lines and other problems. Somehow we still managed to pull it together and ship a working robot on time. It can be done. Rally your team and go.

Also, while I understand your frustration with your current situation there are proper channels for dealing with this. In situations like this it is best to contact FIRST directly. Ranting on Chief Delphi rarely obtains the results you're looking for.

[Stephen of REX]

Well good news for teams building two robots, you can scrap the second robot effort and focus on your "practice" robot for competition...

[Akash Rastogi]

I'll still go ahead and try to post suggestions on what to do if you still can't get to your robot and don't think you will for the rest of the week.

Plan for what you WILL be able to finish on the robot. What changes might you have to make once you do get to the robot? What is worth changing? What is worth finishing? Can you compensate for anything? Can you finish anything during the practice day or even Friday of the competition?

Ok, so you may have missed your chance to plan for the snowdays, but you can plan ahead now for whatever time you have left.

[gblake]

Folks,

[SOAPBOX]
Take some chill pills.

1) When I read the OP's post I was a little disappointed with the speeling mistakes, but I was able to discern that he was attempting to strike a comical tone, not an angry tone, and that he was not attempting to create a carefully crafted request. When you see CAPITALIZED letters or lots of !!!!!!!, please remember that not everyone interprets them the way you do. The world is a diverse place.

2) To everyone who suggested that folks in the mid-Atlantic should have planned for something as obvious as snow, well I'm pretty sure most did. However, this is a once in a hundred years event (actually the worst since records have been kept here, but why quibble). How many of you folks tossing rocks have plans that anticipate that sort of extremely unusual disruption?

3) As other folks have implied, when school-based teams with workshops in their schools are forbidden from entering the schools, who among the rock-throwers would like to guarantee to protect the careers and assets of the faculty and mentors if they encouraged students to travel on hazardous roads to reach the school, and then let them into it? Never mind asking who could undo a serious accident should one happen?

So - Let's take a step back, re-read that original post with our senses of humor turned up as high as they will go, and then ask if the Mid-Atlantic teams (or other folks in a bind) need any help we can supply.

I suspect that offering to publish solutions to basic kit-bot level problems (so that any team in a bind can assemble a useful robot before the shipping date), or offering to help design or build/assemble an extra copy of a "standard" mechanism (bumpers?) for a team that won't have time to build their own, will earn a team or person more brownie points than anything I have read so far in this thread."

"No robot [or team] left behind"
[/SOAPBOX]

Find the big picture...
Blake

[Karibou]

Please send some snow on over to SE Michigan, our plows could use the work!

As a few others have said, at this point, it's too late to have planned for anything. I also understand the situations of teams who work out of their schools or sponsor's workshops - historically for our team, if the school is closed because of the weather, we couldn't get in. It's also very hard to predict and plan for school closings.

At this point, there's not a lot you can do to the robot if you're cut off for it. However, you should know approximately where you left off. If it's safe to drive in your area, try meeting at someone's house to have a general meeting. Figure out EXACTLY what needs to be done when you get back to your facilities, how it will be done, and who will do it.

Oh, and if you haven't finished your Chairman's, Woodie Flowers, or Website submissions, now would be an excellent time to do that. And if you hadn't even thought about submitting for Chairman's, why not give it a shot now that you've got a ton of time to work on it?

Good luck!

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Karibou

Please send some snow on over to SE Michigan, our plows could use the work!

As a few others have said, at this point, it's too late to have planned for anything. I also understand the situations of teams who work out of their schools or sponsor's workshops - historically for our team, if the school is closed because of the weather, we couldn't get in. It's also very hard to predict and plan for school closings.

At this point, there's not a lot you can do to the robot if you're cut off for it. However, you should know approximately where you left off. If it's safe to drive in your area, try meeting at someone's house to have a general meeting. Figure out EXACTLY what needs to be done when you get back to your facilities, how it will be done, and who will do it.

Oh, and if you haven't finished your Chairman's, Woodie Flowers, or Website submissions, now would be an excellent time to finish them up.

KARA SHUT UP! Come up to Flint, the plows don't need more work, there is no money to run them.

Adding on to Kara's suggestions (that don't involve me cursing more at Kettering for being the only school within a couple counties open) If the roads are still to bad then simply meet electronically via email or conference call. Develop a plan of attack. Based on where you are at and what point you expect to get back to the robot figure out what goals you can do and what ones need to be changed.

Yes, bad things happened, learn from them, adapt, and get better.