New Members of Robotics, Part 1 of an Unknown Quantity

This season has brought with it several new members (chief among them me, of course... just kidding). I've already introduced myself, so here are two other new members:

Crystal Clay, 10th grade

"I joined Robotics because I enjoy building and learning more about technology, and I like science. I am also thinking about taking engineering as a career or mechanics and I know Robotics can help."

Glenda Nelson, 9th grade

"I joined Robotics because I love the knowledge of engineering and technology. I like to help teams with fundraising because I just love helping people. I love science, communication arts, reading, and math. I would like to have a career in either engineering and/or law."

And I feel like jumping on the bandwagon:

Andrew White, 9th grade

"I joined Robotics because... umm... I'll come back to that... Actually, just check the blog entry entitled 'Hello, Everybody'. That should tell you all you need to know."

Robolions at Homecoming

This morning we finally made a float for the Homecoming parade. We would have made it really spectacular if we hadn't procrastinated until about forty minutes before the parade began. And by float, we mean Mr. Wurst's truck with paper wrapped around it and paint splattered on the paper. But it actually turned out pretty well, despite a few gears that looked more like suns and circuitry that looked like a bizarre window. (I'm not artistically inclined, okay? The only thing I did right was put smiley faces in the O's in ROBOTICS.)

The two newest members of our team really enjoyed themselves - they were the only ones really dancing to the music, admittedly. But their enthusiasm made up for the rest of us. One even dressed up in her own lion suit for school spirit!

Many of our members are also in the Latin club, so several of them walked with the Latin float. However, since the Latin float was right behind us, this worked out all right. And in front of us was a BUBBLES-producing bike! BUBBLES! We quite enjoyed the BUBBLES. And yes, the caps are absolutely necessary when talking about the glorious BUBBLES.

Captain Grace will probably post more about Homecoming in the near future, and her posts will most likely have pictures. So stay tuned.

On the not-so-great side, we ran out of candy about halfway through the parade, which did not endear us to many people beyond that point. And my tweed jacket got purple and orange paint on it! But neither of these really matter. The important bit is that we endorsed and advertised the Robolions robotics club, and had fun while doing it.

And don't worry - the paint will wash out.

Hello Everybody

You may have noticed that the previous post, "Butter Shows Off," was written by someone other than Robolions, Captain Grace, or danpolitte. The author of that post was me, Andrew White, and I'm one of the team's newest members. I don't want to drone on and on about myself here, because the blog's about robotics, but suffice it to say that I've joined the team because several of my closest friends have been on the team for a while now, and the more extracurriculur activities I go to, the better. Given that my true passion is for writing, rather than connecting wires, bolting together robots, and (heaven forbid) programming, we decided the best position for me was blogger. I'll be writing up an account of the latest build session every now and again, unless the other authors beat me to it. If you want to know anything additional about me (and I'd be pleasantly surprised if you actually do), you can check out my profile.

Butter Shows Off

Today at our second build session of the school year, we had the chance to take our new robot Butter for a spin and impress a few other denizens of University City High School! Two girls from the school yearbook committee happened upon our hallway, and with Charlie behind the wheel, Butter got a chance to shine - running up and down the hall, nipping at passersby's ankles, and finally ascending a long ramp... sideways!

It's from this sideways motion that Butter takes its name, though only very loosely. And by very loosely I mean REALLY loosely... When it came time to name the robot, the always-hungry boys on the team noticed its crab-like walk and thought nothing more than, "Butter goes well with crabs." This name could most likely have been averted had Captain Grace been there to inject some sanity into the proceedings, but alas she was not.

No matter how bizarre the robot's name, the yearbook girls seemed quite impressed, unless they were just frightened into submission. Several other people were attracted by the incredibly loud ruckus Butter's wheels made, and seemed similarly awed. Regrettably, despite bringing home several awards, the robotics team goes mostly unnoticed by a sports-obsessed student population. Sigh.