If you can't figure it out by reading the note, I'm still in high school! Now use the traffic map and my IP address to narrow down where I live and try to abduct me. I dare you. lol

Three years ago, I think, I remember feeling all disappointed in the FRC team because they'd procrastinated all season and were still building the robot at Peachtree (the name of the regional competition). So this year we ended up doing the same thing.
It gets better though; this year they scheduled us for the very first match, the first match after lunch, AND the very last [qualifying] match! So we went up for the first match having had absolutely no driver practice whatsoever. Plus the robot wasn't done, and because it was possible for balls to roll under the robot, which is illegal, we had a permanent "yellow card" penalty right off the bat.
Nevertheless, we ended up winning the first match, and because it was the first match we were able to say we were in first place for the first time in like six years! By the end of the qualifiers, we had finally finished the robot, painted it for the first time in like six years, and managed to get ourselves into I think 13th place. What that meant was that after the finalists were selected, we were only two spots away from being in the finals. :[ For some reason nobody in the top 8 picked us for their team even though we and Kell (who was only one place away from getting in) both set all-time records for performance for the state of Georgia at the world Championships. WTF?
So began the suspense! We knew that if two robots were to break, we could be called in as a backup team and play our way to Championships. One actually did and Kell was called up, so now we were first in line. Eventually it got to where the final match was in overtime, and if there were two ties and a robot broke on the red alliance we could get in. Imagine the suspense! Especially when there was a tie and the match went into double overtime!
Well, another tie didn't happen. So our only remaining shots at Championships were to win either the Chairman's Award (probability about 1.5%) or the Engineering Inspiration Award (probability maybe 3%). But then we did win the Engineering Inspiration Award! And - screw breathing a huge sigh of relief - I actually screamed in happiness.
Next on the list: printing more buttons, making trading cards, making a cape, redoing the bumper skirt, maybe building an arm, constructing a blimp, buying another sword at MomoCon, acquiring new shoes that look like Link's boots, making a couple new feet, building a display with a recycle bin, fixing the controls, actually learning to drive the robot, and probably something else that I forgot about.

'Cute Factor'

Today during robotics, I decided to venture forth and display to our sponsor my efforts to get our team into Lockheed Martin for a plant tour, with maybe some extra awesome stuff thrown in for good measure that I won't talk about now so as not to get up the hopes of any robotics members who may be reading this. ANYway, I told him my plan, he said it was very nice, very fun-sounding, and very improbable, considering that Lockheed has turned us down every other time we've asked. Now, I have some... connections... that I could use to our advantage, but then Aaron (not sure which form he was in, you'd have to ask him) suggested a plan that I think will work much better.

According to him, I have what some refer to as the 'cute factor', that immaterial quality some people have that is seemingly indescribable. The sort of thing that makes Japanese fangirls go 'squeeee!' every time they see it. If you're still not sure what I'm taking about, go to Daily Squee, they will educate you. Anyways, being the logical, rational person that I am, I asked him what he was smoking, as I am about as squee-inducing as a head of freezer-burned cabbage. He proceeded to note that compared to my backpack, I am a chibi, and that chibis ALWAYS have the cute factor. I'm forced to agree with him.

Now folks, maybe you don't know anything about my backpack. My backpack is HUGE. It'll carry three textbooks, five 1-inch binders, five spiral-bound notebooks, a lunchbox, and a clarinet case, and still have room to spare. In that spare room, I hold 8 small European countries (Montenegro's for sale, if anybody wants it), a spare backpack frame (in case the one attached to it now breaks), three or four tactical nukes (y'know, just in case), and the soul of James Doohan.

Anywho, all of this to say, because I apparently have many much more cute factor than our sponsor, I should be the one to try and negotiate the tour. I say we should take a vote on this: if you think I should try and use my 'connections' (five or six Lockheed employees that would probably be willing to help), mark this as 'funny'. If you think Aaron's idea will work better, mark it as 'awesome'. If you just like voting about things for no apparent reason, mark 'makes no sense'... mainly because it doesn't. :P

That's all I got for now.

[insert something witty here],
Tim


On a little side note, I need suggestions for a good signature closer. You know, something like 'Rock on', 'Because I Can', things like that (both of which are good, but already taken). If you have one, put it down as a comment. Thanks!