[FRC Blog] Surprises

Posted on the FRC Blog, 8/9/2017:

Surprises
Written by Frank Merrick.

https://www.firstinspires.org/sites/default/files/uploads/frc/Blog/spider-ice-cream.jpg

Spider I found in my bathroom. It was making a web. And signing up for Netflix. I think it’s intending a long-term stay. Pint of Ben & Jerry’s ‘Phish Food’ ice cream for scale.

I found a spider in my bathroom several days ago. It surprised me enough to make me say ‘ooh’ out loud. When I saw it, I was in the middle of my nightly bedtime routine, a routine I would bet most of us have in some form.

From what I’ve read habits like our bedtime routines make up somewhere in the neighborhood of 40% of our everyday activities. Think about it – so much of our time spent performing routines with limited mental effort. Habits are great to minimize the decisions we need to make, sparing the effort of active thought for more important tasks*. But some habits can be lousy at helping us to explore different options or to find new ways to grow our so-important social connections.

Surprises that interrupt habits can be gifts. Favorite restaurant unexpectedly closed? Long-time sponsor of your FRC Team can’t write that check this year? Regular Saturday meeting needs to be canceled? These can be doorways to something better. Not always but sometimes.

After this spider interrupted my nightly bedtime habit, I texted the photo above to my 14-year-old daughter, who was elsewhere in the house. She was delighted and told me she loved me. Or at least that’s how I choose to interpret “OMG DAD STOP”.

Frank

*I wonder if this is why vacations can seem tiring. Every normally routine action, from where to put your clothes to when to get up in the morning, requires investing some resources in decision-making.

So… spider game confirmed?

I think Frank is telling us surprises are good. Which mean’s he’s going to surprise us with something.

If I don’t see a surprise from him before kickoff, I’m making my students open the KoP while I stand by in a full hazard suit with a can of RAID…

Wheeled robots are routine. Walking robots are not. Quick, liquidate the Colsons!

Surprise us by ending the routine of bagging our robots?

This year, to make up for 2015, the robot is only a set of bumpers.

One can only hope.

Habits make up 40% of your day? It doesn’t mean “habit game confirmed.” That means the autonomous mode next year will be 60 seconds instead of 15!

This post does not contain a “not a game hint” disclaimer.

I was afraid this day would come.
2007 replay. Bringing back the spiders.

Edit: I wonder how Sister Baker feels about all this talk of habits.

“Surprises that interrupt habits can be gifts.”

Is Frank saying that the GDC is… breaking the four year cycle?

Or, is he referring to replacing the discontinued carpet color?

With… REGOLITH!

The spider does appear to be on a textured surface that looks somewhat like …

and what about the choice of Pfish Food for the ice cream?

Fish swim in water.
A water game would be a surprise.
Water game confirmed.

Water game confirmed

According to:

Phish reunited in** 2009** and have been touring regularly since…

All Saturday meetings now canceled, by order of Frank.

Thank you, Frank.

I think I’ve figured out what the surprise is… someone walked into the office this morning and said “I bet we can get them to guess water game by blogging a picture of a spider. And it’ll be guessed on the first page!” Looks like someone won a bet, and someone else was rather surprised at the hoops the community jumps through :smiley:

The biggest surprise Frank and FIRST could give us for the closing months of this year and the first week of next year would be no surprises at all. :wink:

Or maybe the robots will have to shine lights on the robots which do not shine light on themselves…

Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream in the KoP this year?

He also said he saw the spider in the bathroom… The “Regolith” material is generally used in shower liners… coincidence?