I started this thread in response to the 1000+ thread that shows people weither or not their addicted to First. Here are some of the ways I have thought of to maintain a healthy level of FIRSTism.
*FIRST make a CD of music that would be heard a a compition
*buy some building material to keep busy
*Go out Saturday night with a group of FIRST friends
*Register yourself on Chief Delphi so you can post your thoughts
*Feel Free to Add to this List.
-Have your team number somehow integrated into one or several of your online aliases
-Have enough FIRST-related shirts to wear one every day of the week and then some
-Your AIM profile consists almost entirely of quotes some poor, luckless, dead-tired soul said one night of the build-season
-Your buddy list has the following categories: Buddies, Co-workers, family, robotics
-Robotics is the largest category on your buddy list
-You plan to name your first child Dean
You do realize that every thing that is in this thread can be put into the “You know you are addicted to FIRST when” thread.
Try it.
Reason Given ^^^
So I guess I’m an overachiever, eh?
SN: ThundrChicken217
FIRST Shirts - 39 and counting…
DJ at Kettering Kickoff = 10 CDs of music heard at FIRST
Profile at one point:
“FIRST - we’ve got the balls for this competition”
“…Except for secret dodge-ball clubs that are cropping up all over the nation, where students meet at night in abandoned warehouses to play the forbidden sport!” etc.
AIM groups: Close Friends, Family, Close Robotics Friends, Other Robot Friends (Biggest Group)…
Other things you can do-
Collect swag from every team you meet and hang it on a cape in your room
Decorate your room entirely with FIRST memorabilia
Start an unofficial FIRST DOX Fraturnity at your school
Actually WEAR robotics shirts every single day for entire Build season
Realize that when nonrobotics friends ask you “what’s up?” you immediately think about what happened at Robots that day…
Make a list of all of the inside jokes you have at robotics
Show school cheerleaders some moves that you learned at Robotics competitions
Buy denim shirts just because Dean looks cool in them.
That sounds like a good idea and I might do that.
The three songs that are really sticking in my head from the Chesapeake regional are Darude - Feel the Beat, Zombie Nation - Kernkraft 400, and the Chicken Dance. I don’t know why.
Oh yeah and Sugar Hill Gang - Rappers Delight. Thats an awesome song. Heard it in the morning the 2nd day of the Chesapeake Regional and it got me really excited.
-make every paper you write for classes about robotics in some way
-write programming flow charts in your spare time
-convince all your non-FIRST freinds that robotics is the greatest thing since sliced bread
-convert your local drama club to an odd made up religion based around a random handout you got at a competition
-(see my signature for more ideas)
next time Sears has a sale on small drill presses, buy one - and when you feel antsy and anxious go out to the garage and drill lots of holes in something
like, your keys, the handles on your silverware, your bicycle frame, your trash cans, your dining room table, your pocket change - you know, anything that you would like to make lighter.
*convert a room in your living quaters into a mechine shop.
*devote you computer to FIRST items( ie. programing, aoutcad drawings of robot parts, awards won,etc).
Get a copy of Inventor and see how many different gear ratios you can fit into one transmission without making it too big or heavy. Then calculate the speed and torque and current draw and voltage drop of the battery in each of the gears.
-buy a segway.
Set your table saw on fire and then try to put it out with a broken fire extinguisher…Then wonder why the fire extinguisher failed.
Sew a vest and cover it with buttons.
Memorize every team, where they are from, and there past history.
Break something so you can fix it. Or design something, make it, and break it so you can re-design it.
Figure out how many configurations you can make the edubot in without modifying parts.
Hahaha i’ve already done that one, my dad describes my bedroom as a workshop that is somtimes slept in. 
Keith’s Top Twelve List of “You Know FIRST Has Taken Over Your Life When…”
At night, you dream mostly about FIRST build sessions, contests, and design problems;
You have woken up screaming “Eureka!” so many times, you now keep a pencil and paper by your bedside for furious note taking;
Your wardrobe / jewelry / room decor consists more of FIRST items than other themes;
Your conversations with friends, strangers, and relatives at family gatherings mostly focus on you ranting about how cool FIRST, your team, your latest robot, (etc.) all are;
The first thing you think to ask every local storekeeper is “Hey, how’d you like to help sponsor our FIRST team?”
You’ve lost your fear of strangers, because they’re all now simply “potential customers for your fundraising item”;
Robotics hardware and/or drawings have taken over your room, and all other hobby items are somewhere in a box, corner, or closet gathering dust;
You know everyone’s name, job title, extension number and email address at FIRST HQ by heart, but can’t remember your SO’s birthday or anniversary date;
You’ve overfilled your system’s hard drive by mirroring FIRST’s “Documents & Updates”, and every kit vendors’ data sheet and app note website;
To wake you, instead of buzzing, your alarm clock now sounds like bowling pins crashing, and dumps eighteen large rubber playground balls onto your bed;
Your teacher caught you in class with a “Centerfold” hidden in your books, only to discover you were really drooling over a full sized CAD rendition of either the FIRST Playing Field or your team’s latest robot subassembly;
…And lastly…
*You get in trouble with your parents for staying at school too long every night.
*Start boycotting stores that refuse to sponsor the robotics team.
*Go out Saturday night with a group of FIRST friends
done that…
-Have enough FIRST-related shirts to wear one every day of the week and then some
-Your AIM profile consists almost entirely of quotes some poor, luckless, dead-tired soul said one night of the build-season
I think I have 9 or 10 team shirts, and like 3 other FIRST shirts.
2/3 of my current AIM profile consists of things team members have said.
New ideas:
*sacrifice what would’ve been a fun day hanging out w/ friends a the town festival to advertise your team at its booth
*Watch the NASA channel w/ team members instead of going out with them on a saturday night
*Do the previous in front of a news camera
(note: i’ve done all of those too…)
Hey now, I’m a cheerleader. Now robotics is some major cheering too, but dont down the cheerleaders what we do for competition is hard as well.
Definitly try and get some cheerleaders on your team tho cuz its so funny to be all showing up at robotics meetings after games in your uniform… everyone pauses and is just kinda like what?
and things on this list I have done… almost all of them… it makes me happy…
*you try to convince the drama teacher to use the robot in the school play [done this]
*you are trying to build something and you thing ‘gosh this would be some much easier to make from aluminum’
*you throw surprise birthday parties for team mentors… and then post pictures online on a robotics forum
*one of your pet peeves is when someone uses the wrong name for a tool
Or Use inventor to build new Field designs.
Here’s another one…
*You think of FIRST team numbers when you see numbers on the street, text books, and other numbers you see in your daily life
(This has happened to a lot of people in robotics, and me)
[Addition]
*You speak of the wonders of using a gearbox to your “enemy” (Your school’s low tech, other robotics team) because they don’t use gearboxes.
*You start promoting people in your school to join robotics at least once a week
*You actually miss the stress of the build period during off-season
*You spend more time on Chief Delphi than doing your homework
[/Addition]
you no longer worry about your suffering grades