• One time one of our students got pinched and started bleeding due to the usage of safety glasses. OK, she was misusing them, but still.

• Max I, II, III,& IV have all bitten students, coaches (even the head coach), and mentors so many times that we couldn't keep track of them all. He also has created several bleeding and painful accidents due to pinching!

• Scott and James (he claims he didn't) have broken enough dremmel heads to take up the space inside a regulation size softball (maybe not that many, but it was close)!

 Notice he has his safety glasses on, this is dangerous work.

• Max I can "dance" on the high goals and "swing" on the hanging bar! This could be an interesting/amusing half-time show, if you like that sort of thing.
• When making buttons we have broken 3 presses, twice by junior members and once by a team member. We now keep their hands far away from the button making presses and warn the others not to make them mad!!!

Funny Pictures!

Helpful tips!

• To get past your tiredness/sleepiness during those late overtime hours, Mr. Shotyk suggests coffee... BLACK!
• When you get bored, James finds that a good boredom buster is playing America's Army! But, James, please don't play it during meetings!!
• When you feel like annoying someone, our head coach suggests singing the Green Acres theme song repeatedly! He has tried it and says it works!!
• One way to win the Think Award is to eat Hershey kisses! Not exactly, but last year in the Connecticut regional FVC, a team won this hard-to-get award for their presentation of a chocolate splotch in their notebook! Although it sounds like an easy way out, remember, this team didn't just eat candy all day, they also had a pretty good notebook. Just goes to tell you: be real in your notebook, and have some fun!
• When faced with the annoying problem of low ink in your printer, Mr. Scalzo suggests ignoring & deleting the "low ink" messages that pop-up on your screen. This not only eliminates stress, but can save you a few extra dollars! He also mentioned that the only time you absolutely have to change the cartridge is when the printer gives you the little messages, but refuses to print. Then it's back to the old cartridge which you saved from the last time it wouldn't print, and presto, you can print again!! Note: this process may not work with all printers, please check your printer's manual or handbook for further instructions.
• When practicing with your robot in real time matches, it is never a good idea to give a person who is bored and has energy the timer. Unless, of course, you like hearing the buzzer go off every 2 seconds. Team Overdrive found this lesson out the hard way by giving one of our coaches(ironically our strategy coach) the buzzer to time us while practicing. "No shoes on the field!" Bzzzzzz(buzzer on timer). "Get the snacks off the field!" Bzzzzzz. "Hurry up reseting the field and robots!" Bzzzzzz. And then he would also scare team members using the buzzer. End result, not a whole lot of practice or useful work, but sure to get laughs!!

Feat of the Meeting!

• On Feb. 13, James inhaled his cup of soda when Tyler said something funny. Really funny. James said he could taste the soda in his nose during the rest of the meeting. Then Mr. Shotyk mentioned that he once saw a kid, in the cafeteria, inhale a ham sandwich. Now that's talented!
• We learned about using Vernier Calipers and Micrometers in one lesson time, and we experimented with them afterwards. Out of all the people we tested, James had the thickest hair! Congratulations, James!!!
• On May 1, the life of a spider was changed forever... drastically!! He was just crawling along in the Wittel's basement, being his usual, hairy, disgusting-looking self, minding his own business. Then a team came clattering down the stairs, being their usual, joking, cheery-looking selves, getting ready to help clean the basement. Suddenly all team members were alerted about big, hairy spiders having been seen in the basement recently. We all started peering under everything we could, looking for any signs of creepy, crawly things. Had we not, we might have avoided this tragic, yet justified, ending(either that or prolonged it). We finally found the poor, innocent big thing, crawling across the floor, trying to get to safety in time, but in vain. The spider had been spotted. The ending you ask? Let's just say that if you've never seen Tyler armed with a broken mop, trying to kill a spider, you're missing some funny stuff!! Tyler looking on a mop for the mangled parts of the spider he just killed is even better!!!!