Robot Christmas

FIRST robotics build season kicks off on 8 January.  Up until that point we only have hints and rumors of what we will have to build.  But once it gets real you have very little time to order parts, and even in a year without supply chain issues you sometimes have unacceptable wait times from a project management perspective.

So it is necessary to lay in supplies in November and December partially on "spec".  

Most of the parts suppliers prefer a private address versus the school or a business.  This gives them flexibility for weekend deliveries and one assumes fewer returns.  So I just use my front porch as our team's loading dock.  I like getting boxes full of neat stuff.  I call this Robot Christmas even when we do orders at other times.

Here's a few pictures.  May the joy of Robot Christmas be with you the entire year.

 01001101 01100101 01110010 01110010 01111001 01010010 01101111 01100010 01101111 01110100 01000011 01101000 01110010 01101001 01110011 01110100 01101101 01100001 01110011

(That is MerryRobotChristmas in binary!)

Stuff on the porch.

Stuff in the basement.  Some of it will stay there as our storage space at the school is precious.  The bright red fabric is for bumper covers but does lend a festive air to the stash.

And stuff at our build HQ.  The kids seem a bit bored in this picture.  Maybe putting the work list next to the Presents was not the best plan.  Bit of a lump 'o coal that!