shah269

I couldn't let that happen...these are my kids! Yes I had to grab their shirt and pull their head out of the robot so they would not die, and yes I had to scream at them to stop soldering each other to the table and I nearly lost it when I looked up and all 7 were just standing there drinking monster while I was doing all the work needed to get the robot on the field......but I love these kids! I'm spending this evening writing letter of recomendations for all of them! So letting them fall on their buts....just something I could not let happen! I just wanted them to get on the field and see that all the hard work they put in pay off... And after I lost my voice due to me raisign my voice....and cutting my self so that I bleed out about half my blood......the robot passed inspection and got on the field. It wasn't the best robot but it did do something! Will i ever do it again? Well maybe but most likely not. I think the nail in the coffin for me on this program was when I was lectured by the pit judges. Yeah I shouldn't have blown my lid but hey I'm the only adult with a team of 7 kids, and i'm standing infront of you with a ripped shirt and bloody fingers, metal shavings sticking out of me running on 4 hours of sleep....how about asking where the parents are? Here is my team, yeah they drove me nuts but....they are good kids! http://www.mrhayden.net/photos Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

Ha ha! I still want a piece of that green thing! Yeah I think I'll "barrow" the student 285. The thing is huge but it was so much fun to just hang in. I like the idea of the ladder on the field would really help with the sight picture. Thanks guys! Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

That's great Im sure it's hard work and very rewarding to see what the kids come up with....though i have to say some appear to be more parent built than kid built. But I'm done I'm never ever going to step in as the coach, the mentor, lead builder, main money guy and administrative problem solver. I got too wrapped up and when the kids would goof off while I was bleeding into the robot modifying it on the fly getting to pass inspection I did flip and scream and yell a bit to get them off their asses and help me out instead of just sitting there looking at me run back and forth from the robot to the tool box.....not a professional or adult thing to do and I do regret it...and i'm sure i'll get a nasty gram from the organization for it. But for the record im done. It was fun but I learned my lesson if the school and the majority of the parents show up and lend a hand from day one sure ok. If not then......it's just way too much work and too stressful for one person to wear all of those hats and to take care of the kids and to organize all the money and do the majority of the building. Yet all is not lost, since the kids got their robot on the field and did manage to land a few shots the school...next year will offer more than just busing and money processing. They are going to offer a coach and a place for the kids to build. So my job is done.....and now I'm 100% sure I'm never ever going to have kids of my own. I'm just not patient enough. I can only deal with them for a few hours at a time. ps Funny thing though, i did get an email from every single kid saying sorry for not helping me out when I was the only one working on the robot getting it fixed to pass inspection. Good kids, great kids......but....i'm never doing this again! 10 evening build....and wear all those hats at once.....no way no how i'm done! Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

Stop overthinking everything. Flare height is different for every canopy and every landing. It's a 'fluid' motion, and you will need to alter for every landing as the situation dictates. The only real way to practice flaring is to do it. Build familiarity with your canopy and the 'look and feel' of the flare each time you jump, and that's how you'll 'learn' to flare. Standing on a ladder in the middle of a field, or looking down from the top of the stairs isn't going to help. Thank you! Any other new students / sub 100 jump guys and gals out there. How do you get ready after a good 6 months off? Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

I'll have a photo for you guys later. I just hope we weren't too...."rough and loud" that we can go to the next competition at the end of the month. I was very loud and over the top...as always...screaming at my kids to get off their buts and organize the tools or help me carry stuff or if they didn't they would be utilized for target practice or be beaten with carbon rods. And my kids being jocks were equally loud and crude with each other. At one point I looked over and two of the meet heads were using the batteries to do curls to impress the nerdy girls.......my kids....can you tell! and in a sea of civilized petite cerebral folks....yeah we were like a bull hopped up on monster in a china shop! But I'll post a photo as soon as I have one! Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

It's that time of year again. For those of us who lacked the funds to fly south to get a few jumps in and who weren't too keen on the idea of jumping is sub zero temperatures it's time to think of the spring. From the older guys, what do you suggest? I for one have inspected my equipment and reviewed it's operations. Furthermore I have been packing my parachute about once an evening to build muscle memory. I will also reread Mr. Germains book. What do you you suggest for refreshing determining property flair height? Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

John, Thank you this is a very interesting read. Shah the lefty pinco who actually likes guns...go figure!

Wow this is hard work. My organization provides grants to schools who wish to enter the FIRST robotics world so I always knew it was lot of work but I have never been a coach or actually built one from the ground up. I'm usually the guy who comes in every other week to help specific mechanical problems or I find engineers and scientists to help out. You know kind of like the "cool" uncle! Long story short, teachers and administrators reach out to us however this time a great group of kids broke the mold, took initiative and reached out to us to support them instead of waiting for their teachers to approach us for funding....how do you say no to that? So we did :) Unfortunately things got nutty and well they lost their classroom and their instructor support :( And by the time they reached out to me for help they had only 14 days to build.....we worked our buts off and in was the sponsor mentor and coach. A students family donated their living room dining room and kitchen and by the grace of god they had a small machine shop in their garage. Long story short today Crushinator 3000, though she had some serious issues and I had some issues getting the robot to pass inspection and some amazing help from the other teams.....she rolled on the field. And we came in second to last :) The kids were very happy and I have lost my voice. The best part. Most first teams are....well.....non athletic kids. My team of 7 ( most teams are 25+) was made up of 6 varsity athletes and the team leader the person who reached out to my organization Kim So I think my kids though lacking a star wars type robot scared most of the kids because they were physically bigger a d louder....well i know i was louder shouting our orders to get the robot ready to roll! But it was all in good fun and again I'm very proud of them. So if you have the time and energy....help out your local team Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

You know the first time I saw a video of a "rodeo" jump....I was just thinking....hu.....ok........not saying its gay or anything but.....well....hum.....yeah this would be fun. Now I have to find a skydiving girl and convince her I should jump on her back! Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

I was having drinks with friends who are in the banking industry. I don't talk much about this to them for though they are my good friends...and we did get my EMBA together......how shall i put it...their response the last time I spoke of this situation last year was "Who did the feds save? So why should we care?" That aside they are great guys and I respect them and they respect me. Thus when they tell me the stats I take it to heart. And per the info they provided, I'm just like a good 40% of the folks out there who are 35% underwater. For me that's about $100k. But I live in a very expensive part of the country and it's where my job currently is. Back when I was married and there were two incomes i was more liquid and thus had more options. And right now that would be nice! Hence I wonder if that's what is allowing these well to do folks from walking away from their under performing investments? They are liquid enough to pay their ransomed and walk? I don't know, have an appointment next week to talk to yet another professional. Yet all I have to say is thank god I don't have kids, and especially those who are about to go to university. I was at one of these "group help meetings" last week and there were a number of average middle class folks who were in tears that their homes have lost so much value that now their kids have to take out huge loans to go to school....and I'm talking local state schools. They had hoped that their children could graduate and be debt free via leveraging equity in their homes...now that's sacrifice. Sadly......someone made good money off their bones thus the kids will now graduate $60k+ in the hold....and who will make money of their kids debts? Odds are the same group of talented individuals who put us on this bubble? Funny...how a little game of squeezing blood from a stone killed off one generation and is poisoning another before it even gets a chance to take one step. To think, we put drug dealers away for life for destroying lives perhaps we should give white collar crime the same level of penance? And for these well to do folks in their well to do homes who are walking, god bless you and your good fortune. Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

I would hit that.... But then she would hit me... And then it would get all kinky and stuff! But seriously very glad she was able to walk away. The technology is truly amazing! Who know maybe they will start fitting overhead cams and undertrays to these cars next Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

When I was living in Cochabamba Bolivia, many of my friends were part of groups and the months of work that goes into making these costumes is truly amazing! Oh and the girls were all HHHHOOOOTTT! Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

Yup slumming it via.....dumping a non performing asset and giggling all the way to their next home. It is what it is, the more money you have the more options you have. Lucky them. The rest of us have to find other ways out of our non performing assets i guess? Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

hu? It's basic chemistry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrocarbon Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

Watching the video and the stills, I'll be the first to say it. Boy is lucky he didn't bust a nut! I mean what a way to loose one nuts....in Africa...on a rock at 140mph! Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

Ha ha! Nah man odds are she was a super girl and if you were married now you would be a solid 50lbs chunkier thanks to kebab and all that rice! Nah i'll be honest there are some amazing Persian women out there. The total package. Smart, sexy, amazingly talented and infinity compassionate and understanding. And much like many of my bad over the top jokes and generalizations I'm sure this show will be entertaining if nothing else. However if there are any questions you may have regarding the culture or more importantly the food let me know. I'll be more than happy to give you any recipes that my mom has given me. Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

I work with some amazing women. Very smart very talented and best of all very funny. One asked me once, "So how long does it last?" Me "Well doing the math a minute maybe a minute ten" "Oh and are the girls ok with that?" Me "I mean we do have to pull before we hit the ground...but if she shows some boobies it may go to say a min and a half or so i guess?" "Hu wow these girls sure know what they are doing!" Me "Oh yeah all professionals and very safe......wait a minute! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!" At his point all of the women in my office were red and giggling. So if 1min 20sec is enough for some of you go for it!

there has been lots of face plams here. but I will answer this one. listen to your mother. when you walk out of a room...TURN OFF THE FREAKING LIGHTS! CLOSE THE DOOR BEHIND YOU! DONT' STAND IN FRONT OF THE FRIDGE ALL DAY! going green is that simple, and it will save you money. and again DO NOT ARGUE WITH MATH OR SCIENCE. Unlike faith it is accountable, predictable, repeatable and best of doesn't ask you to wake up early or not eat a given type of food. Do not argue with the math the science or chemistry Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

Nanook, Thank you yes I have to have a very serious talk with my accountant and my lawyer. I guess....as someone with more education than I once said. Money doesn't buy you happiness it buys you options which may lead to happiness. I guess these high end homeowners just have more options. They can simply walk away and not worry about the tax hit. Odds are many pay less taxes than I or a good portion of the population does. That said, it's funny isn't it? How many people rant about middle class folks buying homes they could not afford or lower income folks not working hard enough for the homes they bought...here we have some people who supposedly have the means and the brains to be worth their salt and they are walking away. Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

Hum....don't read much do you! Good at the attacks...bad at the reading. I was in the process, I had just paid $500 for a home apparisal and was on my way but well...the banks said "Ah...you know what...go pound salt." But hey we are not hijacking a good thread. So let's stop it before it gets too dumb. Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

yeah we get energy and we expell energy but we are not getting carbon or loosing it...well not much anyway. But please do explain and please use science and don't just get angry and find one little bit of unusual information to build your case on. Jesus walked on water! I don't think anyone else can. Thus...we can't walk on water. Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

Hey I'm no better or worse than these highend home owners. Yeah I bought it, Yeah I can afford it...but why? It's a sinking investment. Any one with half a brain can see that! Thanks to how things are going I expect to loose another $40k-$60k on it. So why not walk? Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

And a shit load leaves every second. But we burn carobon and that means of that shit load some of it hangs around a little longer than it should. Which is bad. You know what I love about people who fight this climate change thing? They apparently hate to save money. Carbon is expensive. If you drive or heat your home it's costing you money. If you can find a way to use less carbon you will save yourself money. And who doesn't want to save money? Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

jonstark WOW GREAT STORY!