Build Season 2010 Blog

Time for the Fair! Monroe County Fair Starts Wednesday!

After several intense field building sessions, the U-Haul Truck, driven my Parentor Peggy, backed up to the HS shop on Monday afternoon!

A dedicated crew of students (Jason, Crystal, Alex R., Alex C., Andy, Lizzy and Mike H.) and a few adults started the process of loading what seemed to be the entire contents of our closets as well as the pieces to build a full size Breakaway field and our entire cotillion of robots into the truck. We were joined by several college alumni: Tommy C., Cuyler and Cristian all lent a hand in the loading and unloading process. The loading seemed to continue forever, but finally everything that Jason wanted loaded - except for the shop vac, and the kitchen sink was in the very very full van.

The crew then transitioned to the Monroe County Fair site in Henrietta where we were met by Team Leader Larry. We have spacious accommodations at the fair! The demo/field area is inside out of the heat of the day. Several exhibits were already set up and we are sharing the space with a quilting exhibit and a farm exhibit, and a hand dipped ice-cream stand!

The U-Haul was unloaded. The robot trailer was pulled inside. The largest effort was in placing the carpet. Once that was down the pieces of the field were somewhat sorted and staged for assembly on Tuesday.

The fair starts Wednesday afternoon. Here are the shifts that the robots will be in action! Rolling Thunder's bots should be joined by some other Rochester Teams. I wish I had the line-up to add, but any time you come, the show should be great to see!

Schedule
These are the time shifts for the fair.

Wed. July 14: 3:30-9:30
Thur. July 15: 3:30-9:0
Fri. July 16: 9:30-4:00, 4:00-9:30
Sat. July 17: 12:300-6:00, 6:00-9:30
Sun. July 18: 12:30-5:00, 5:00-9:30 (for cleanup)

Summertime!

It's been a while since we have had a blog entry and there is so much going on that I have decided that it is time for an update!

June has been filled with the last push from students for good results on final projects and exams, with the selection of next year's leadership team and with the graduation of our 8 seniors. Kim and Eric were able to come from Boston for graduation and reported that it was a nice ceremony and that it was good to see all the seniors graduate!

And now school is officially out and that makes it summer! Time for rest and relaxation - unless you are part of Rolling Thunder! We never stop, or so it seems!

Preparation is underway for a major demonstration of our robots at the Monroe County Fair. Jason K. is leading the group in rebuilding the Breakaway field and the next build session is scheduled for July 10th. He is still looking for some adult supervision for that day. Parentor Peggy is coordinating the displays and team sign-ups. There is still an opportunity for other FIRST teams in the area to come and join us as we play on the nearly full field! The robots will be playing from July 14th through July 18th. The busiest day will most likely be on Friday, July 16th as that is Children's Day at the Fair.

College mentor, Josh, is organizing the decorating committee for the Penfield 4th of July Parade (to be held Saturday July 3rd in the morning). Our float will be decorated in our team colors of red, black and white and will feature 5 of our robots - three on the float and two "walking" the route. The committee will be decorating the trailer on Friday from 3 pm to 9 pm and adding finishing details and decorating the truck on Saturday morning at 7:45 am.

Work was also done at the last meeting to get ready for our upcoming Lego camps. The Legos were pulled out of the closet and five "tri-bot" bases were assembled by the end of the evening. Parentor Val especially had a good time as she assembled an entire unit by herself and then assisted me in finishing up the last base as the bricks were attached to the other units. She has the uncanny ability to spot the unique needed pieces in the whole pile of Lego parts!

In the shop, Thunderfoot has been getting a much needed replacement of its wheels. Driving on asphalt and concrete at our carwashes and outdoor demos really chews up the wheels. Mentor Mike was leading this activity and even had his lovely wife, Sharon, wielding a screwdriver. Thunderfoot looked pleased to be getting a little TLC after the hard competition season.

Other July activities on the schedule are the next carwash on July 24th and a special team Karate Class on July 28th. Need something to do to while away those summer hours? Come and spend some time with us!

The Final Hours -- Good bye, Boston!

May 23rd, 2010 - Day Three: Beantown Blitz Trip

It was a late morning for the Thunder who left Kim and Eric's at about 9:20 am to go down into Boston to visit the Quincy Market, and Granary Burying Ground (where Sam Adams, Mother Goose, Paul Revere & Ben Franklin''s parents!). The Quincy market was very busy and bustling with people! We saw several street performers and stopped for lunch in the food hall where a wide variety of services were offered. Everything ranged from burgers and fries to sushi, noodles and chowder!

We also stopped at the Holocaust Memorial where there were glass monuments with all the numbers that people were labeled as. Imprinted were quotes from survivors.

After exploring the market and picking up souvenirs, we headed back to Kim and Eric's and said good-bye before hitting the road home at about 1:30 pm. The drive was quiet for both cars as the students slept a good majority of the way. Larry's car slept soundly, and later watched episodes of House before getting home.

We got into school at about 7:50 pm where parents greeted us and took us right home while Larry, Leann and Mark rushed home to watch the finale of Lost!

Signing off now to do loads of homework
is Communications Director...

Crystal!!!

Backspin! Oh no, it's all in reverse!

May 22nd, 2010 - Day Two: Beantown Blitz Trip

The morning started early with everyone waking around 5:30 am.
The night before Kim kindly placed out boxes of cereals, spoons and bowls for the hungry army of kids!

Leaving home at about 6:20 am, we arrived at the Northeastern Matthews Arena ready to unload and start practicing! The coolest part of the morning was that we could drive right into the arena to unload right next to our pit table INSIDE! The venue was very small, and thank goodness Regional Competitions aren't held there!

Beantown Blitz accommodated approximately 39 FRC teams! The Thunder ended up with a very challenging day as we only had three students to drive and one alumni for coaching. Alex and Mike both switched off for drive-train, while Crystal manned the controls all day and Mark strategized.

The competition had a special feature in the matches which included a golden soccer ball which scored an additional two points! This bonus was not utilized in the very first match, but when teams began to notice the difference it made and just how much it curved matches, it was a battle on the floor the blitz the gold bean!

Overall we ranked 22nd out of 39. Thunderfoot had overcome many problems that ranged from hanging faults to controller problems and I/O Connections.

When it came time for the alliance selections, 467 -- the Duct Tape Bandits moved up to seed 7 after the first two alliances made
their choices. Because of our team's awesome relationship with the Bandits, they selected us for their first alliance partner pick. They then chose 121 -- the Road Warriors as our final partner. Proceeding to quarter finals, our first match against our very own partners from Boston was 2648 -- Infinite Loop along with 1519(Mechanical Mayhem), and 1073 (the Force team). We played a very tough match and lost by one point due to a penalty. The second match was well played by both alliances, but favored with Infinite Loop.

For lunch, we had cardboard pizza that claimed to be the best in the world. They lied.

For the rest of the day, we cheered on Infinite Loop and their alliance and watched them proceed to Finals where they fought hard but remained competition Finalists.

Leaving the arena at 6:30 pm, we said goodbye to the Matthews NU arena and headed back home to Kim and Eric's! There, we prepared vegetables, burgers, hot dogs, sausages, and even pizza bagel bites to eat for dinner! Jeff and Eric cooked up on the grill and everyone else grabbed the grub. After Alex and Mark finished, they had the brilliant idea to make a bon-fire that will stay in the back-yard for a good few years.

Mentor Adam from Duct Tape joined us for our grilled dinner and later took some members out to the Cheesecake Factory to retrieve dessert. From there it was a camp out at the fire (which was nearly coals now with a giant tree trunk section) until it was hosed and it became lights out time!

Tomorrow the crew will be getting up early to tour Boston, enjoy some New England Chowder, see the Public Market and visit historical sites before they hit the road.

Until the, signing off so she can yet again get sleep of her own,
is Communications Director...

Crystal!!!

With the protection of kitty cat Scrambles who will nom all the bugs that have intruded!

Hit the Road, Thunder!

May 21st, 2010 - Day One: Beantown Blitz Trip

The Thunder tucked away their packed belongings in Mentor Larry & Jeff's cars and headed for Boston, Massachusetts at approximately 5:15 pm.

We made two pit-stops where dinner consisted of pizza, chicken dishes and McDonalds french fries! In Larry's car, we had Mike, Mark and Crystal who enjoyed their pastime with movies, music, books and video games as well as some very interesting childhood stories among others. While in Jeff's car, Alex boon-doggled a good majority of the way here!

Arriving at a small home at about 11:30pm, we unloaded our bags and invaded the Eckhardt home! We were greeted by Kim, Eric and Scrambles, their tiny kitten!

After scheduling our plans for the Beantown Blitz event tomorrow, it went lights out and everyone is sound asleep for now! We will be leaving the house at 6:15 am and look forward to a good competition day tomorrow!

Signing off so she can get sleep of her own,
is Communications Director...

Crystal!!!

Atlanta - The Lost Entries - The Thursday Report

Day Two – This is IMPOSSIBLE!!!
Thursday, April 15th, 2010

Have you ever had a situation where you struggled and just felt like giving up? Well that was the feeling for a few members of the Thunder today. We had to get up at about 5:30-6am, get breakfast and run out the door to line up at the Georgia dome in order to get seats with “runners”, however really, they are just speed walkers Practice matches started right at 9am and 1511 secondary drivers got to do some practice rounds in order to be prepared for filling in on Friday when the Chairman's students will present.

Many got breakfast from the hotel shop, MORRSELS which featured breakfast sandwiches, croissants, cereal, coffees, juices and sodas. The dome venue offered anything from regular basic concession foods to fresh fruit smoothies, quesidillas to dots ice cream and candy apples/cotton candy.

It was strange to have practice matches and qualifications matches all in the same day as traditionally in the past, there was an entire day dedicated to practicing.

The arena – the arena, or Georgia Dome is the huge home of the Atlanta football player, and to think that rabid teenagers have taken it over! Held within the arena there are FOUR FRC Breakaway fields called: Curie, Newton, Archimedes and Galileo. Between our Curie field and the Galileo field is the Einstein FRC field where the Champions of each division will face off. It isn't just FRC all on that floor though! The FLL and FTC competitions are also going on all within that dome!

With all the FIRST Teams, participants and fans, together, our force fills about half the entire arena! We anticipate that there will be many more, as several have pledged to bring more people into science and technology which can relate to FIRST.

Not to surprise those of you at home, but if you didn't know – the competition site and the pit set ups are in two different buildings parted by a 10-15 minute walk depending o people traffic and your slowness. When routing from the arena, you go through the West Point open grassy outdoors and proceed into another building where conferences are held and the Chairman's hall of fame.

Many of our students attended open conference sessions topical to anything from press releases to pneumatics, or presentation skills.

The Chairman's hall of fame features past international Chairman's award winners such as the local X-Cats (FRC 191), and Miracle Workerz aka MOE (365).

The pit area is not like any you might have seen at a regional. It's about quadruple the size as it is accommodated to suit over 300 teams from all over the world. Robots were being carted here and there, left and right all over the place and all you can hear is the constant grinding sound of teams using power tools and shouting for tools. It's flooded with students, mentors and visitors that tour all over. Sometimes event FLL students and FTC students. What some rookie or young teams may not have known though, was that judges had been walking around in-cognito!

While many of the odds were against us today, we only won one of our matches because of several robot break downs. As if that would stop the Thunder though! The astounding pit-crew jumped right on the problem and worked to resolve it as soon as possible.

The one match we won was extremely successful which concluded with THREE robot hangs on our alliance. It was the first time ever reported that three robots on one alliance have hung successfully.

Cynette’s note: After the matches were done for the day, Crystal and Parentor Lee went to the conference center and gave a 45 minute presentation on writing press releases that will attract the media and make them want to cover a robotics team. Then Crystal caught up to the other students that were headed to the Robo-Prom, a “semi-formal” dance for team members! Hopefully I’ll get reports on those events and on the rest of the weekend!

Atlanta - The Lost Entries - The Wednesday Report

Day One – Fly, Fly away!
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

The dedicated Thunder hit the Rochester airport at about 5:45 am and got through checkpoint securities surprisingly quick! Everyone grabbed some coffee and breakfast and the plane boarding was right after. Our flight took off on time – 7:30am SHARP! It was a pleasant fly down with refreshments and snacks. We hit Atlanta at about 9:30am ad headed off to the train. As all of 1511 loaded up and the train doors closed. Funny story, we saw Kim and Eric (Mentors from Afar) getting ready to board the next train... unfortunately, they could not hear or see us. Following that we board MARTA which was a new experience for many kids.

Today was the tour day for many as we've visited the Atlanta Aquarium, CNN tower, and even Coke Factory. Upon arriving at the Omni Hotel, aka home, we all stored our luggage in a secured room because our rooms were not ready yet!

A little bit about about the Omni and CNN – they are joined together, and conveniently enough the CNN center has a giant food court with various vendors such as Moe's, Arby's, Chick-fil-A and much more in HUGE quantities! When you entered the foodcourt, what you would see are multiple cubicle windows! It was like a building inside a building! Not only that, but you will see a giant flight of an escalator for the tour, and a large world globe!

Lunch at the CNN foodcourt was just the beginning of the day! The sun shined a good 80 degrees or so for us all day...how pleasant! Many of us took advantage of the open pool this year since it was open.

A thank you is in order to all that helped to unpack and set-up the pits! (And pushed Thunderfoot through inspection!) And a huge HUGE thank you to team 1126 – Webster Thomas SparX who transported a good portion of the FRC teams robots, tools and various other things!

After a day of touring, the pool was a pleasant refresher for not just our team, but others that had also homed at the Omni. Not too far off is a wonderful hot tub that just melted our muscles and helped us ease up from a day of travel.

Because this is all I have for the day...goodnight! I am enthusiastically and graciously accepting sleep!

Crystal.

Atlanta!

The student team members have arrived in Atlanta with the school advisors and chaperones! I don't have much of an update yet, but it is good to know they have arrived safely! The rest of the team leaves Rochester just a little before 6 pm. Our group will be close to 50 strong!

The counter on the FIRST site says the competition starts in just over 19 hours, but our unpacking crew gets to uncrate Thunderfoot, and to do as much as they can in three hours tonight to get the robot inspected.

Be sure to check out the action using the web casts or on NASA TV starting tomorrow when the qualification rounds begin at 1 pm (Atlanta time). Here is the link! http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/robotics/

Atlanta Preparations!

This past weekend was the final time to get everything all set for the trip to Championships in Atlanta! I hope we make it look easy from the outside, but it is amazing to see the amount of effort that goes on behind the scenes.

FIRST Conference Presentations. Crystal, Parentor Lee spend lots of time putting the final touches on their presentation on "How to Write a Press Release." And Mentor-from-afar Kim has two presentations to give - one on holding an off-season event and one on presentation skills.

All Rookie Meet and Greet and the 2010 Meet the Rookies Book. Parent Peter and Parentor Lee spent hours and hours working on the data collection for the rookie book, assisted at various time by other students and adults. The final preparation for the ARMAG included printing the invitations and buying some cool prizes. I'm hoping I'll find a giant soccer ball waiting at my doorstep when I get home today!

Spare parts for the Robot! The mechanical team was busy fabricating a second winch mechanism, and other spare parts for Thunderfoot.

Chairman's Presentation - The presenters were struggling to find a time to meet and practice, but I know they will work hard to make the best possible presentation in Atlanta - while the rest of us keep our fingers crossed!

Button Making - Supermom Sharon was busy making more team buttons for Atlanta. We have almost totally depleted our supply of button making parts, and we gave away way too many buttons in Boston, so our Atlanta supply won't be nearly enough!

Scouting! The scouters and strategy subteam was busy getting the scouting laptops back in tip-top shape. They were also spending time watching videos of some of the robots in action at regional competitions. We are ready for scouting the 80+ teams in the CURIE division. The Curie Division looks like it has lots of tough robot competition.

The excitement is building as The Thunder Just Keeps Getting Louder!

A time to cry...

One of the best qualities of Rolling Thunder is that we are family. And as a family we are learning that some of our greatest challenges have nothing to do with the robot or with the competition. It has to do with life.

In and through our week before Boston and and continuing through this week, our team has had an underlying story, one that makes me especially proud of the mentors and adult leaders. We operated the last week before the regional without our team leader, Larry. His dad became gravely ill and Larry was called home (Connecticut). His fiancée, Leann, who does our Chairman’s prep was our only contact with him, stayed here in NY. We made a call to keep it very low key for the students since the expend so much energy to prepare for competition and to get ahead on school work, that we knew we didn't need to add to that burden. The final preparation meetings and the mandatory travel meeting were held, the final packing and trip prep and all that stuff was done without Larry. Mentors and teachers just kept taking pieces of the work to be done and making it sure it was done. I’m sure most of the team members didn’t even notice a real difference as great care was taken to not make it a big deal.

Larry stayed with his family until the Wednesday before Boston. Leann picked Larry up on Wednesday evening as the caravan passed close by the exit to his hometown. The adults continued to encourage and do things to take the load from Larry, but made sure he had full reign as team leader (which has been an important part of ensuring the successful transition from Kim to Larry). The kids just loved him and accepted his leadership which has also been the whole hallmark of this season for us. (If you want to know how to adapt to change, watch a teenager – we as adults learned much from their ability to adapt.)

Saturday, after all of the celebrations, Larry returned to his family. His parent’s wedding anniversary was Sunday, and Larry’s dad died late that night. So this past week, instead of having a chance to celebrate with the team at our meeting, Larry was making those final preparations. He has shown great strength of character and I am very much impressed with him. We can’t wait to get him back to let him know once again how much he means to the team.

From TCExtra.com

Obituaries
Lawrence Paul Lewis

04/01

KENT — Lawrence Paul Lewis, 63, of Kent, died March 28, 2010, at New Milford Hospital, surrounded by his family. He was the husband of Virginia (Mills) Lewis.

Born Oct. 23, 1946, and raised in Wilton, he was the son of the late Lurina (Nickless) and Norman Lewis.

As a youngster, he developed a love for fishing. He always enjoyed being with family and friends, and making new friends. He was known for his gift of being able to hold a conversation with anyone he met.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1966 and served two tours of duty in Vietnam. He was a life member of the VFW.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a son, Lawrence Paul Lewis Jr. and his fiancée, Leann Bartomioli of Rochester, N.Y.; a sister and brother-in-law, Charlene and Roger Genest of Kimberling, Mo.; a brother-in-law, Gary Lorentson of Brookfield, Conn.; four nieces, Tammy Ricchezza and her husband, Mike, of Waterbury, Jammie Genest of Naugatuck, Alyssa Lorentson of Brooklyn, Conn., and Polly Fife and her husband, Kevin, of Northfield, N.H.; a nephew, Clifton Mills III and his wife, Beth, of Fort Drum, N.Y.; a brother-in-law, Clifton Mills of Northfield; and several great-nieces and great-nephews.

He was predeceased by a sister, Melissa Lorentson.

Services will be held at Lillis Funeral Home in New Milford on Monday, April 5. Calling hours will be from 5 to 7 p.m. The service will begin at 7 p.m. Burial will be in Oak Lawn Cemetery in Fairfield.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to a charity of your choice.

The family welcomes on-line condolences, which may be posted at obituariestoday.com.
© Copyright 2010 by TCExtra.com

A time to Laugh...

Just a quick note to post some photos taken to celebrate April Fool's day!

The leadership team took some time last night to fill Mr. Brewer's office with old FIRST game pieces.

And then some of the members of the team were there when he saw it this morning!

Boston Update - Saturday. The Big Show

For the longest time it looked like I would be unable to give to you Crystal's perspective on the final day of the Boston Regional. But she has pulled it together for me! I will interject here and there on this one!

Day Four – BREAKAWAY!!

While the event is a blur in my head now, and no longer fresh in my mind, I’ll still try my best to fill those empty spots in.

It was about 7-7:05am when everyone met down in the lobby with all their belongings that they had brought with them. We all wheeled up on our bus and drove for the last time, through the busy Boston traffic.

The day started just like the morning before; getting our bags checked, waiting 15 minutes in the lobby, cheering for the staff and other teams. The storm had already hit the arena. This time, there were no hair up-dos, no spiking, and certainly NO straightners!

Opening ceremonies were very brief on Saturday, and the final qualification matches were underway quickly. Kristina and Mentor Sharon took the time to prepare the team awards - our camo decorated inflatable soccer balls.
Our award recipients:
Goal Tender - Best Defense - Team 97
Striker - Best Kicker - Team 2084
Upper 90 - Best Lifter - Team 1403
MVP - Favorite Alliance Partner - Team 467
MIP - Most Improved - 2888
Dribbler - Best Under the Tunnel - 2590
Halfback - Best Bump Climber - Team 3148
Rookie - Favorite Rookie - Team 3280
A large contingent of students, accompanied by Mentor Bear as the photographer, headed to the pits to distribute the awards.

We started the day in first place, but wavered throughout the morning based on other teams results. After our final two matches, we were seeded 2nd and Theo was selected to make the alliance selections.

Everyone was nervous throughout the day for the upcoming awards ceremony, but when the Thunder and lightening struck on the field with several successful wins, everyone’s minds were drawn to cheering and shouting to support the team! We even had alumni Rika Lee and Mark Mascadri join us!

It was phenomenal for our drive team to make it all the way to Finals! Alliance Captain, Theo Matt directed the alliance selections. 1511 allied with Brazilian team 383, and a Maine team, 2648! (We lost our first Final's match by one point - unfortunately Thunderfoot had not climbed to his full height and we missed out on bonus points.) Our last competing match was a score of 12 to 11 favoring the opposing alliance. It was an intense last match as the scores climbed and climbed. Congratulations to the winners: Team 88, Team 1922, and Team 1768!

That wasn’t the end of our day though. For sure, we knew we had the Regional Finalist medal coming.

The crowd went quiet as our emcee re-appeared in a tux. He welcomed us to the regional awards ceremony, and called Dean Kamen to the podium. Dean, spoke to us about our future, his vision. He told us about the new Dean’s List award, informed us of his family story.

Then the awards ceremony proceeded…. With many poems. It was silent… and there wasn’t a squeak in the room until team after team was called.

The team was called for the Top 3 Safe teams (Mike H's record as safety captain is still perfect - Top 3 at every regional!), Cooperition Award (tied with the 1st seeded alliance, HYPER Team 69), and Regional Finalist Award.

And then came the first moment that the team was waiting for – not Chairman’s just yet, but the Dean’s List. The arena was quiet… and 1511 members had their fingers crossed. From there, everything was a jolt as they called student leader Crystal Vongnaphone as one of the Dean’s List Semi-finalists!!! The team jumped in excitement and tackled Crystal in the stands until she dashed down to receive her certificate from Dean and Woodie themselves! (My version - The team erupted! I couldn’t really see Crystal at first but by the time they got her to the aisle, she stopped, put her face into her hands and started crying. Then as the team started cheering, CRYSTAL! CRYSTAL! CRYSTAL!, she bolted down the stairs (with our photographer trying to dash after her from about 5 rows up). When she got to the entrance the other winner, a young man from one of the teams from our finalist alliance, Blake Bourque, Team 2648, was waiting for her. They congratulated each other and she let him go first, which was good because when she got to Dean they seemed to have this very long conversation.)

I could see the sincerity within each and every judge and refs eye. I knew they were watching me, and I knew they had kept a close watch. The entire day, I was just so nervous thinking about it at every minute. When they actually announced my name, I could not believe it! I was in tears! My eyes just flooded as I went down and shook each and ever person's hand. Dean, gave me a hug and that moment was captured by both mentor John Hall and teacher advisor, Mr. Weisbrod! Thank you!!

Little did Crystal know, she’d be joined by her team as soon as she got to the top of the stairs…
By the time we got her back upstairs, as we were in the nosebleed seats, she had time for a quick photo with her Mom and just a few hugs before they started the Chairman’s announcements. A poem...

“We all know FIRST's a marvelous thing,
That gives us each back more than we bring.
The many fine works of this fine team
Show all who see what FIRST can mean.

They teach, they strive, they ignite the sparks
That spread FIRST’s message in widening arcs
Across the globe, and around the corner.
This team attracts great awe and honor.

A robot could be nuts and bolts,
But inspired by sponsors, kids and coaches,
This team's power can reach so high
That their energy can light the sky.

Now, if this poem has made you wonder,
Just wait, and you will HEAR THE THUNDER."

Midway through, you could begin to hear the sobs of our team members and the enduring squeaks that just wanted to become screams of joy! There were many shedded tears of joy as the team jumped up and hugged each other. We could even hear the echo of our Thunder in the stands next to us as the Duct Tape Bandits cheered for us. After they announced our team, we went up to the main hallway to get to the next down stairway and in the hall way we were just a jumble of piles of hugs. It was a cool almost private moment before we all entered the arena again.

Mr. Weisbrod thought Crystal might have been in some serious shock having cried so much over the team’s success and her own, knowing that all her hard work has been rewarded in the highest honor possible!

The team will now go to Atlanta with high hopes of Chairman’s at Championships, a kickin' robot ready for more competition, and for Crystal, the chance of becoming a Dean’s list Finalist!

No one wanted to go home, or leave the arena. No one wanted to stop enjoying the wondrous time we will remember – no one wanted to leave Boston.

Dean, Woodie – Thank you!

The bus ride was long, and everyone slept. We didn’t get home to about 2am. We stopped and had McDonalds, salads, sandwiches and pizzas.

Before leaving the school we draped the Chairman’s banner over Mr. Brewer’s desk, and placed our trophies beside that blue piece of pride that we hold our heads high for.

A thanks is in order to all our friends, family and alumni who were able to capture these amazing moments in time, and were able to support us throughout the entire trip!

We hope to have a great competition in Atlanta,

And signing off until then…

Is your Head Communications Director…AND

Dean’s List Semi-Finalist now,

Crystal

Boston Update - Friday Evening

Thanks to Crystal, you are truly getting a day in the life of Rolling Thunder at competition! Here is her perspective on Friday evening. This is as close as it gets to downtime for the team and as you will see, it is anything but restful and relaxing!

Day Three ... Part II

So the team had a wonderful time exploring the museum and having dinner.

What did we have? The food ranged from chicken tenders with french fries to salads and sandwich wraps!

Everyone split up in groups and checked out many of the exhibits, including one in honor of our own founder, Dean Kamen! There were also exhibits focused on lights, electricity, personality, and well.... physics.

A lot of the big kids took over the kiddie play room. Yeah, that was a lot of fun! We even met with a few of the Duct Tape Bandits and toured with them!

After the museum we returned back to the bus to have our team meeting before we got to the hotel. As Mr. Weisbrod gave his talk, we passed through the "Big Digg"-- a giant road tunnel that was just completed as of this year. Upon arriving at the Marriot, everyone made a run to the only two guest elevators in the entire hotel.

The hotel has 15 floors.

Do you know how long it takes just to get up and down? And imagine the looks on business people's faces when they saw a mohawk, red camo, and a bunch of kids. Some might have said it was priceless, and others were just curious.

While most kids went to bed, strategy crew: Matthieu, Kyle, Jason, Crystal, Becca, Theo and the amazing mentors Kim, Larry, Jeff, Leann and even Tom and Cynette came!

From approximately 9:40pm to about 12:45am, the team ranked and ranked robots and observed them for their top teams selection list. It was a long night, but everyone got some amount of sleep.

That's it for day three in Boston, part II!

So signing off is your Head Communications Director,
Crystal

Boston Update - Friday's Events

Once again, Thanks to Crystal, I can publish a team update! This is really great, since I have very limited computer acess and it would be Monday or Tuesday until you heard anything from me!

Day Three - In the heat of Competition (Friday - Qualification Rounds Begin)

It was a day of excitement for the enthused Rolling Thunder! We departed from the Marriot hotel, our temporary home at about 7am! We all got on our awesome bus and it took us about 15 minutes in the crazy Boston traffic to get to the Agganis arena.

From there, we headed for row 107 to claim seats for Duct Tape Bandits and ourselves so that we could coordinate cheering! We even ended up sitting with other local NY teams, Devil Tech from Victor and Division by Zero in upstate NY, Potsdam.

At that point, the pits flooded with people in capes, duct tape, and even inner tubes! What you see at competition, is always something not like any other! I find that the most interesting thing about the regional is how differently it compares to other regionals and the ranging difficulty.

Half of the primary drive team upon arrival were taken right into practice mode for the Chairman's presentation at our time slot of 10:15am. So part of the secondary drive team helped to fill in! The first match was a loss, but we know we wouldn't back down!

The Chairman's team returned within half an hour of their presenting time and brought great news and gossip! The judges loved our presentation and are really impressed with ourt eam. Great job, Chairman's team!

From that point on, there were many matches of success! Thunderfoot's awesome mechanical and electrical work has kept our scores constant and amusing! Many spectators throughout the day came into our pit to view our newly implemented hanger, including Dr. Woodie Flowers! Funny enough, our pitcrew had about a five minute long conversation with him as he inspected the red protruding mechanism that was designed in between regionals.

1511's seeding went up and down as matches carried on throughout the day. Dropping down to as low as 11, the Thunder brought on the storm when they won their final qualification match of the day with a score of eight to four! This put 1511 into the position of seeding number one! By the end of the night, 1511's ranking remained and Thunderfoot went to sleep with it's new bumper blanket created by awesome team Mentor, Cynette! (Our team was quite bummed with the new bumper rule assigned this year, but that didn't mean we couldn't still have camo bumpers!)

The team did not receive any awards today, but as Woodie would hope everyone will do and has, is we have all made our grandmothers proud!

We are currently loaded up in our bus and heading off to eat dinner! Do you know how difficult it is to fare in Boston traffic and roads? You either have miniature cars sneaking up right in front of you and cutting you off, or you have people walking across the street!

Tonight, some students will be going to the museum, some will be scouting, and others will hopefully be resting for tomorrow! Everyone is to pack when we get back home in preparation to leaving Boston tomorrow evening after the awards ceremony.

Our team has high hopes for top seed, Champions, Chairman's and even Dean's list!

Ditching you for the sights of Boston, is your head Communications Director,
Crystal

P.S.: I'll let you know what we eat later and how late night strategy goes!
Till then, don't forget to smile

Boston Update!

Thanks to Crystal, we have an update "Day Two – Let’s get it on!" This covers the first day of the regional - Thursday, Practice day.

It’s day two of being in Boston with the drive, pit and back up team. Most of our students (even the ones back home) woke up at regular school time hours to get ready for our arrival at the Boston Agganis arena!

We set off from the hotel at 7:30am after waiting for everyone to get their meals and head off. Everyone piled in cars, and we drove over to the parking garage which was $10/person! Kind of unfortunate, really, but oh well!

The arena was already really crowded with pit setup, stands flare, and even laptops! Everyone had their own special items, like the Duct Tape Bandits – one of our favorite teams.

Did you know that you cannot bring food or drink into the venue? You can’t even walk in without having your bags checked! But it’s got to be best for everyone!

What we had for lunch? At the arena concessions you could find anything from pizza, to pretzels, to even crab cake sliders! Talk about variety! Many of us decided to eat out though at the Qdoba’s down the street, or Chicken restaurant that appears to be favored by quite a few of our team members!

The practice day consisted of our students pit scouting, exploring or being in the pits mounting on all the new robot designs that were completed as of 4pm! We have a new hanger that effectively works and flips our robot up successfully! However, we are currently working to “up” our status on there because we don’t quite clear the tower base (or whatever name best fits here).

When it came time for everyone to stop practice rounds our members took their time packing everything up for the pit. A majority of the pit crew went right back into their working zone, while some returned home to the hotel to rest, or attended the team social that served free pizza and ice cream! Held in a gymnasium, half of it was used for movie viewing of The Terminator, and the other side had food and games! The hosts were collecting jigsaw puzzles that would be donated for an Alzhimers cause.

In a nutshell, there were many series of unfortunate events today, but everyone is here now, and our Thunder is still rolling

We look forward to a great day tomorrow and lots of cheering!

Signing off again for take two is your head Communications Director,

Crystal