What's the dumbest thing you've ever done, related to FIRST?

[SuperJake]

On the way to the Philly Alliance Regional in 2000, I was driving a Suburban full of my team mates, one of the engineers was sitting shotgun navagation. If you've ever come at Philly from the south, you take I-76 into the city, as we were this day. Between 6:30am and 7:30am is rush-hour, and it was currently about 6:50am.
Ahead of me was gridlocked, so I stopped with a comfortable space between me and the van infront of me. The group I hauled that day tends to listen to loud music... who doesn't when they are surrounded by a bunch of teenage robotics members?? Let's just say that it the music was so loud I Couldn't hear the screaching of the tires behind me, and the base was so heavy that I didn't feel the bump, either. The gridlock cleared up, and I began to pull away when the engineer next to me said, "Hold on a minute, Jake, I think we've just been in an accident."
So I stopped, put the 4-way flashers on, and got out to see what was going on. Sure enough, there was a little compact car that had been sandwiched between my Suburban and a Mini-Van. To my dismay, the occupants of the Mini-Van were all members of my team.
If you were in that traffic jam (and I know some people were, 'cause we were asked if we saw the horrible traffic on the way in), I am sorry for the poor driving of some of the members of my team. Thankfully, driving a robot is much different than driving a car.

[Dave_222]

A miscivious engineer who is also the brother in law of our advisor and a couple of us students smuggeled a couple of water guns into the philladelphia regional last year. well when we were about to turn them on a fellow student our advisor came around the corner. needless to say we almost got kicked out of our hotel. Yes I am using my screen name instead of the real thing for fear of being reccognized.

[A. Leese]

Ok. I guess I may as well tell my same stupid story I've had to tell a million times and I'm sure you've all probably heard by now..

Freshman year at nationals I was with some of my team mates hanging out at the wrap party and we were like five minutes or somethign from curfew. Being the trusting person that I am (and lazy as well), I let my friend Bryce give me a piggy-back ride to the front of EPCOT. Well, after a while we saw an EPCOT worker coming towards us, probably to yell at us to stop, so he let me get off. Well, for some reason or another I fell and concked my head really hard on the brick ground. I thought I was fine but then my head really started to hurt. That same EPCOT lady saw me fall and came over. Soon she had called over several of her co-workers who in turn first had my friend Rishan call our adult sponsor back at the hotel tehn called the Disney paramedics. I felt so dumb. They asked me all sorts of dumb questions to see if I was with it, but I had no clue what was going on. They figured out I was fine to go and stuff but I was totally scared. I had to have two people help me walk to the bus back to the hotel because I was so dizzy. To this day I still don't trust Bryce, even though I know it wasn't his fault any more than it was mine.
(This whole incident explains why last year I randomly stopped and stood at one place at EPCOT..that was where I fell..it's kinda creepy)

[volleygrrl234]

this is more of a team embarrassment.. Qasim decided to get up and dance around at the Chicago regional and he preceeded to lose his wallet.. Woody called him up in front of everyone and gave it to him and he procedded to act like a moron. He also did this at nationals.... but we set him up for that one!

[Carolyn Duncan]

Originally posted by dlavery


Gee, Carolyn, I didn't know that you remembered...

-dave (still feeling VERY guilty that you got sucked in as a relatively innocent bystander - after all, it was targeted at Alisha and Joanne!)

How could any of us forget???? That was the worst experience ever! It wasn't even the prank that was bad, we got you really well and that I'm proud of because I was the one directing the shooter ! Yup, I admit it. The bad part was everything after that. You did get us well to though... Anyway, note to anyone else who may be considering pranks for any competitions, make sure you stay in control of the prank or you will get busted.

[EddieMcD]

Originally posted by SuperJake
Thankfully, driving a robot is much different than driving a car.

Yeah, you're not in it.

[dlavery]

Originally posted by Carolyn Duncan

How could any of us forget???? That was the worst experience ever! It wasn't even the prank that was bad, we got you really well and that I'm proud of because I was the one directing the shooter ! Yup, I admit it. The bad part was everything after that. You did get us well to though... Anyway, note to anyone else who may be considering pranks for any competitions, make sure you stay in control of the prank or you will get busted.

I give you full credit for what was a most excellent shot. And how J.R. managed to get me completely soaked without a single drop touching anyone else, while I was standing in the middle of a crowd of people, impresses me to this day.

-dave

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Try to live your life as if you have to prove that real life is stranger than fiction.

[AdamT]

Cheers to JR...

I think I'm glad that some of your students helped you say that your laptop was ruined. I think you and the rest would have gotten at least one more bucket. Ahhh, memories.

And to continue on Carolyn's. Remember if you prank someone, don't prank Dave Lavery. He will get you back, and ten times worse!

[Carolyn Duncan]

Originally posted by 401Mentor
Cheers to JR...
And to continue on Carolyn's. Remember if you prank someone, don't prank Dave Lavery. He will get you back, and ten times worse!

I think 10 times is a bit of an understatement... Just know it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaay worse than you get him!

[dlavery]

Originally posted by Carolyn Duncan

I think 10 times is a bit of an understatement... Just know it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaay worse than you get him!

Hmmm. Why do I suddenly feel a tickling at the back of my neck, like I am being set up?

-dave

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Life is short. Play hard. - Nike

Life is short. Doesn't that stink? -dave

this is just a fine example of the typical idiotic stuff that tends to occur during late nights at FIRST..... in 2000 our building area was a military warehouse...... there was a fenced in area in the middle where they had probably once stored stuff nobody is supposed to talk about........ and on the far end there was an ample stock of random decrepid office chairs
what was the result you are wondering?
extreme bumper office chairs in the battle cage

[Joe J.]

Originally Posted by SharkBite

this is just a fine example of the typical idiotic stuff that tends to occur during late nights at FIRST..... in 2000 our building area was a military warehouse...... there was a fenced in area in the middle where they had probably once stored stuff nobody is supposed to talk about........ and on the far end there was an ample stock of random decrepid office chairs
what was the result you are wondering?
extreme bumper office chairs in the battle cage

Me and a couple of other people did something like that this year. We had just ripped our unworking drive train out the first time and there want anything we could do that night sence we didn't have the parts for a ned drive train. So three of us got office chairs and and 4 foot long poles and proceded to smack one of the 13 inch balls around while running in to each other. stupid but fun. Akuu knows what I'm talking about.

[Elgin Clock]

I wonder if there is anyway to reply to this anonomously?? lol

Not for something I did, but for "stories" I hear of days gone by before I joined FIRST!

[Crop-Circles]

Last year, we were drilling holes in something (don't rememer what) with the drill press when the drillbit stopped drilling. We were pretty pissed since we were almost done.

Our solution? Push harder.

However the stupid little bit just wouldn't drill. We realized we were doing something wrong when the bit started glowing orange.

Our reaction? Push harder.

It wasn'tt until small flames began shooting out of the other side that we decided to get a new bit. We did, of coarse, stop to cool the bit down every now and then with a cup of water. What did we use for a cup? One of the old light covers.

See? there are reasons to keep those around!

[Elgin Clock]

Originally Posted by Crop-Circles

Last year, we were drilling holes in something (don't rememer what) with the drill press when the drillbit stopped drilling. We were pretty pissed since we were almost done.

Our solution? Push harder.

However the stupid little bit just wouldn't drill. We realized we were doing something wrong when the bit started glowing orange.

Our reaction? Push harder.

It wasn'tt until small flames began shooting out of the other side that we decided to get a new bit. We did, of coarse, stop to cool the bit down every now and then with a cup of water. What did we use for a cup? One of the old light covers.

See? there are reasons to keep those around!

lol Water??? I'm sure that just wrecked your bit.. Try some Go-Go juice on the bit next time.. Water is never good on the metal parts!!!