You know you're addicted to FIRST when...

[Vermeulen]

Originally Posted by rcmolloy

When you have a countdown to kickoff on your cell phone, room calendar, and in in your head.

Only 261 days!

[Francis-134]

-when you are seen mumbling incoherently about the robot while you draw a design on an etch-a-shetch

-when you become a member of RA (Robotics anonymous)

[FAKrogoth]

. . . you consistently find aluminum shavings in your shower drain

. . . you compare drilling scars with your friends

[Specialagentjim]

- When you can relate ANYTHING back to robotics
ex. Our technology program just moved into a new building at our school. The floor was supposed to be all tile, but our robotics room has a special 8 foot by 8 foot (I think 8 foot..) square carpeted area for the robot. While sitting in english you suddenly have the urge to design a tether arm to extend out from the wall to come out over the robot, allowing for tethered robot control and power from an AC transformer so you don't have to change batteries while testing, and dropping down a flashlight to look inside the crevices of the bot, all without tangling up the robot by using a tension holding reel mechanism desgined by you and the lead programmer for the team...

- When your current choice of music was inspired from robotics 4 years ago (In 7th grade, I was introduced to techno through robotics competitions and animations...now techno makes up most of my playlists )

[RobDeCotiis]

...when you tape a whiteboard w/ marker above your bed so you can write down your idea when you get one in the middle of the night

...when your teachers start asking you why you're not skipping class to work on the robot..

...when you spend time thinking up reasons you're addicted to FIRST...

...when you build the bot AND animate(i did that last year and the year before).. get home at 10 after building, and stay up until the next day animating... repeat daily.

[EddieMcD]

You know your addicted to FIRST when:

10) You still participate in the FLL.
9) The workshop is your "home away from home".
8) Chief Delphi is your "home away from the workshop".
7) Tigerbolt is your "home away from Chief Delphi".
6) You despise Battlebots/Robot Wars, etc, and Viacom for featuring a Battlebot-like event in one of it's Nickelodeon cartoons.
5) You always use the phrase "inhales audibly".
4) You realize that set-screws really do suck (yes, I mean suck)
3) "Gracious Professionalism" is your motto.
2) You belong to the Holy Order of FIRSTism.
1) You grow your hair long and wear a pin vest to every FIRST event you attend (uh, not that I know anyone like that).

This has been an official "Eddie's Top 10 List". The top 10 list is an official property of and sponsered by The Holy order of FIRSTism, and my not be copied, reproduced, or retransmitted in way without the expressed written consent of The Holy Order of FIRSTism.

[Joe Matt]

Originally posted by EddieMcD

1) You grow your hair long and wear a pin vest to every FIRST event you attend (uh, not that I know anyone like that).

HAHAH! LOL! Or you can dress in all denim and talk with a slow New England accent about helping the world too.

When you girlfriend complains about you spending more time on the robot.

When you daydream about how to make the animation perfect

When you'd walk in a blizzard up to the local electronics store for parts.

When that calc midterm takes a backseat to testing autonomous mode.

When you teacher pushes back all the tests, quizzes, and assignments for the robot.

When the teacher stops teaching so the class can work on the robot.

When you actually get over 10 girls involved in the project

When you dream of it.

When school security no longer finds it odd that teenagers are lugging in a large objects in the rain with a coat on top and many many wire protruding from it.

When you can tell where a pneumatics leak is occuring from across the room just by hearing it.

When you spend 6+hours desiging logos for the team.

When you start making physics puns outside of physics class.

When people get tired of calling you a nerd because of robotics.

When you close that crate and a piece of your soul goes with it.

Good luck to all teams. It's really been a pleasure.

[George]

When its all over, and you can't wait for it to START again!

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!

Geo.

[Kyle]

when you can maneuver Delphi fourms with out looking at the screen until you are where you want to be

[Ryan Foley]

when your obsession with robotics and your habit of talking about it all the time, and dragging friends to competitions eventually drives your girlfriend to want to join the team and learn how to build a robot.

when you talk about things on chief delphi so much your now-robotics-enthusiast girlfriend decides to browse around, and starts picking up FIRST jargon and using it in conversation, or emailing you links to funny threads.

[shyra1353]

... when someone is complaing to you that they only got 4 hours of sleep the night before and you are jealous

.. when you get a test back that you wrote the day after build season (okay so i fell asleep through it .. but i had to be there) and you get a 7/30 and your teacher's comments are: "i hope your robot does better than you did on this test"

.. when you go to your bio class to tell your teacher you cant stay because you have robotics and he says "your robot better do well" and when you are leaving he says "ill see you next time you decide to stay for a full class"

... when your msn picture is your robot (it used to be the FIRST logo until i got my pics back ... ill upload the pic here when i get a chance ... )

... when a non-robotics friend sees said picture and you end up talking about FIRST for 3 hours instead of studying for physics

[mtaman02]

This isn't really an addiction but more or less a bad habit :-)

...when you decide to force your body to stay up from wednesday to thursday so you don't miss thursdays bus to the regional practice.



...after the nationals you decide that some well earned sleep is in order but decide to stay up late anyway to work on 2005's design.




an hour and a half to go b4 I hit the territory of Riverbank State Park. wooohhhhoooooooo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jonathan M.]

...when it seems like teachers choose to drown you in homework and, or projects only when it's robotics season.

[Elgin Clock]

Originally Posted by mtaman02

This isn't really an addiction but more or less a bad habit :-)

...when you decide to force your body to stay up from wednesday to thursday so you don't miss thursdays bus to the regional practice.

Sounds way to familiar, but it does suck when you are the one driving.. With Caffeine as my co-pilot, I can do anything!!!
And Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!