just-first-robotics-things

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FIRST Robotics Confession #3

When I applied to be captain of my team I ran against a guy whose mother was important on the team. This guy was a complete jerk who had anger issues and never worked, while I constantly worked and designed the robot. He was very unpopular with students, because of his behavior. In the end he got picked to be captain because of his mother's influence... ~anonymous

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FIRST Robotics Confession #2

One of our seniors tightened a clamp around his head, while a sophomore asked him to do the same to her. At a competition! A safety inspector walked by and did nothing.

~anonymous

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Realizing that you are permanently done with robotics, and you never have to be gracious or professional ever again.

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Inclusion in FIRST

On May 20, 2017, STORM Robotics hosted its first annual FIRST Compass, an event where teams can give or watch presentations about different subjects in robotics. Representing LGBTQ+ of FIRST, Jaye and Sean presented this slide show to help teams in the MAR region and MAR itself learn how to be more inclusive to LGBTQ+ FIRST participants.

Since numerous teams seemed interested, LGBTQ+ of FIRST is sharing this presentation for all FIRSTers, especially those outside the MAR region and those who missed the event.

Every LGBTQ+ students deserves a welcoming and inclusive environment.

Sean 5113

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FIRST Robotics Confession #1

FIRST Steamworks was an okay game, but the steam punk theme was terrible. The Steam Powered song made me want to die every time I heard it. I just think it was way too cheesy. Does FIRST not know who their target audience is? ~Submitted by anonymous

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FIRST Robotics Confessions

Hey FIRSTers! Since I graduated, I'm starting to take confessions from anyone who has done robotics. It could be anything, the good, the bad, or the ugly! So send me your confessions!

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I love her

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FIRST Robotics is Eurocentric AF (But Don't Worry, We Can Fix It)

So, this is something I started thinking about last year. Stronghold was a medieval style game that was really fun, but FIRST could have done better promoting what was happening during the time period outside of Western Europe. During this time most of the world was advancing far beyond what Western Europeans had accomplished with their lowly feudal system. Asia was the world powerhouse, making advancements to nautical technology, as well as pioneering, advanced mathematics, gun powder, medical remedies, glasses, and paper. The African continent was also booming with some of the best education, trade, agriculture, military techniques, and exploration. Even in Northern Europe the Vikings were able to stay in touch with the rest of the world because of their advanced seafaring technology. They made great advances in engineering and exploration for the time period. Why were these medieval technological and social advances not discussed? Western Europe did not accomplish much during this time period. I do appreciate that they made Stronghold more of the nerdy medieval trope, and that they had a lot of Month Python and the Holy Grail references, because that was fun, and who doesn't like that movie??? Although, FIRST could have done better, they made the theme accessible for everyone. This years theme on the other had does the complete opposite. As you all know, Steamworks is based off of steam punk, a concept in which the world still rely on steam to power everything, but being that it is in the future there are drastic social advances that support equality and civil rights, instead of the hyper patriarchal society of the late 1800's. I have noticed that instead of focusing on these futuristic ideas, FIRST is focusing too much on the industrial revolution in Europe and the US. Yes, great advancements were made because of the industrial revolution, but it came with tremendous social and environmental costs which are still affecting the entire planet. Let's name a few shall we! First, there were almost no safety regulations, age limits, or employee benefits in factories. Workers had to work for 10-20 hours everyday with no breaks around life threatening machinery. Spacing out for once second could mean getting catch in the machines and dying. Many children as young as 4 years old met this horrific fate. Fingers would get chopped off and end up in peoples canned food. Many workers got poisoned by the chemicals being used and died. Women and children were very prone to sexual assault by shift supervisors. They toiled in factories, mines, and plantations all over the world for just pennies a day. Their environment and living conditions were disgusting, because of the pollution from factories, cities, and animals. Many rivers were so polluted that no animals could survive. Colonialism was also huge in the late 1800's. Europeans went into Africa, the Americas, and Asia and took land from the people who had lived there for thousands of years. In many cases the Europeans forced them into servitude on cruel plantations. They used awful tactics, like cutting off limbs, to force people to work. Slowly, they started destroying the environments of these regions by killing off animals, like the American Buffalo. And who benefitted the most? Rich people in Western Europe and the US did!!! Sure they did give some of their money away, but they earned it at the expense of the planet. The industrial revolution was a terrible time in our history that FIRST must recognize as such. The people in charge of FIRST wonder why there is poor turnout of girls and POC in the program, and this is partially why. The leaders, being mostly white, middle or upper class, male, and older are pretty out of touch with the demographics that want to join FIRST. They have to realize that most people in the world don't see themselves in these patriarchal eurocentric themes, instead they see a white, middle-class, straight man (white middle-class straight men should also have fun in FIRST and STEM while being accepting). We do not have to sit around and deal with this issue. We all have a voice. Start conversations online and with your team. Participate in programs like FIRST Ladies. Go to those inclusiveness seminars they offer at FIRST events and speak your mind! A few years ago, I brought up how the FIRST website only had pictures of white and Asian boys, and they have since changed the pictures to be more inclusive. Support the LGBT+ of FIRST, and start conversations about it on your team. Encourage all kinds of people to join! Contrary to popular belief, all kinds of students are "natural" in a STEM setting, so don't be afraid to ask. By doing this we can all slowly erase the toxic eurocentricity in FIRST Robotics.

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Wow that's awesome!

FRC Kickoff 2017 - FIRST Steamworks

We hope that everybody is as excited for Kickoff as us, because this game is certainly something else.

As they said, it’s the first year that we’ll have human players on the team and that’s extremely exciting! The entire game as a whole is extremely interesting and we hope that everyone will succeed this year. Stronghold was a great game, but in my opinion this one looks even better!

There’s quite a lot to this game, so get to reading the game manual and watching the videos if you haven’t! 

Something very exciting happened during the stream! We noticed two people FIRST staff wearing our lapel pins, once of which was Woodie Flowers!

Here’s a closeup of the our pins:

We hope that everybody has a safe and fun build season,

- Jaye B. 2729

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It's the 21st Century, c'mon

“Oh, you know how to use power tools?” -Yes you idiot, I know how to use power tools.

“Are you sure you can handle this equipment?” -Pretty freaking sure I can considering I spend at least 6 hours a day in a robotics shop

Getting really tired really fast of stereotypes. Yes I’m a girl, yes I do robotics, yes I do the mechanical work, and yes I do the electrical work. No I’m not incompetent when it comes to these things.

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Friend: “So I’m thinking of joining that robotics team you’re always talking about.”

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So that happened and I am still in shock (we won the event and chairman’s at the same competition)

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I’m pretty rarely proud of myself, but this build season, I programmed the entire robot. I still think, “I wish I had made a contribution to the team,” but I can fight that thought now. I represent the entire lgbt+ community on my team, I am one of three women, I’m the second to youngest member of the team, and I did something unforgettable by programming the robot this year. So, though it may be rare, I’m proud of myself tonight.

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me: just to be safe-

FRC kid: ⚠⚠SAFETY FIRST®💯😥 just gotta keep building 🛠 🔩🔨 until youre 💯 graciously professonal® 😅😊 ive burnt my hand 👋✌ twice today 😮 steampower 💨 steampower ⚙ steampower 🔴🔵 NO 🚫 running in the pits 😘 ♺ rip recycle rush™ ♻ 👨👖Dean 25:4👖🧀🚹

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TEAM 79 KRUNCH IS OFFICIALLY GOING TO FRC WORLDS IN HOUSTON HOOT HOOT

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Albert Einsteins letter to Marie Curie. In November 1911, Marie Curie was weeks away from being awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. She received her first Nobel in 1903 for Physics, and the new award meant that she was the first person ever to receive two Prizes. 

Though her extraordinary work as a scientist should have been all anyone cared about, it seemed that many were preoccupied with her personal life. Due to her romantic affiliation with physicist Paul Langevin who was at the time married, the media began to portray her as some evil homewrecker. 

When Curie returned home to France after the conference, she was greeted by a mob that surrounded her house and terrified her daughters. Albert Einstein was disgusted by the media’s behavior, and decided to write her a letter which basically said to ignore the haters. (Source) 

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