I know, I said I would keep up with the blog, and I haven’t posted in around 2 weeks. I started writing an article, a re-write in fact, which is coming soon. So, again, I apologize, however, I have not forgotten about the blog. Anyways….
Day before yesterday, Friday, I went to Farmington High School’s Robotics Pasta Dinner, as I am a programmer for their team. This was a great social event; parents and other members of the community came and saw what robotics is made of. We had booths where people could drive last year’s robot, and other past robots including Gizmo (the first robot the team made). We had another booth where children could play with smaller Vex robots. In addition there was a booth where people could learn more about Dream First, a program that brings science and technology to children through toys and books, all created by our team. However, I was part of another booth, the Segway booth. It began with a simple initiative, find someone with a Segway, and charge a small amount for people to ride them. Then an idea came to call Segway themselves…soon we had a rep, his wife, and two Segways (an x2 Adventure model, and an i2 model). I came early to the Dinner, in order ot help setup. As I was to spend most of my time at the Segway booth, I immediately went there, and asked the rep if I could give it one a whirl. It takes a little while to understand you are not going to fall, and to get used to how to handle it. He had a method for teaching how to ride a Segway. It seemed to work; I was soon gliding above the air and experiencing childish joy. It is truly a great experience whirring by in a Segway. I can imagine the joy just stepping on your Segway, and taking a ride through your neighborhood. I was skeptical at first, but this experience changed my mind. Segways truly are awesome. I stepped off, and some other members of the team tried it out. After the Pasta Dinner began, a few people started coming up to the Segways. I asked the rep if I could teach the people using his method, and suprisingly he agreed. Soon after, I could have people somewhat comfortable riding one of these in 20 seconds. Whether it was me or the Segways, or both, more and more people came up, long lines ensued, and I did not have a single moment to relax. Although, taking charge of the booth and teaching people was quite fun. Many types of people came up, 5 year olds to grandparents, yet all experienced the same joy I had. Most people, even those skeptical as I had been, now wanted one of these.
All in all, the Pasta Dinner was a great opportunity for the robotics team to interact with the community, as I did with the Segway booth, in a fun and cheerful way.
