School Locks out FIRST Team, Keeps Their Cash

In a time when some schools are trying to encourage science and engineering education, Franklin High School in Portland, OR not only tried to shut down FIRST team 1432 but is keeping their tools, equipment, and $7,500 the students raised for their team. An article in a local paper called The Bee quotes one of the team members:

“We found ourselves standing outside the auto shop waiting to get in on October 21st. Three times previously, Principal Shay James refused to let us have our robot for the OMSI display on October 23. Finally, James allowed us to remove the robot only. All of our computers, parts, and tools are still locked in the auto shop.”

To get an idea of how the school's actions are affecting the team, here's a quote from Team 1432's website:

It appears we will lose $3,540 from Intel and another $3500 from the grant money that came through FIRST – M.J. Murdock, Oregon Community fund. <...> The school seized all of our property – 7 years of gathering tools, equipment, building materials and computers and kept it from us for the last 31 days. We find out on Monday what they will let us have back. This has kept us from doing Girls Generation, Bunny Bots, and a second regional. It has also cost us half of our new members because of the instability and uncertainty.

The school claims none of its 100 staff members are willing to act as "advisor" for the group. The principal declined to be interviewed for The Bee's article and according to Rebecca LohKamp, "In all the years we’ve been there, a Principal has never come to see us". This apparent lack of interest was confirmed by the school's business manager who told the paper that the robotics team would conflict with plans for a more academic, classroom-based, "smaller scale" robotics curriculum.

We'd bet if this were the football team rather than a club that promotes educational activities, the school administration wouldn't have any problem finding the resources to support them. But until Shay James and the other bureaucrats get a clue, might we suggest that local robot clubs around the country get in touch with Team 1432 and ask how they can help out? One thing that might help is if a 501(c)(3) group could become their fiscal sponsor and help them recover some of their funds from the school. And it probably wouldn't hurt to let the Franklin High School staff or the Portland Public School system know what you think.

Update: The latest update on the team's website clears up a few things from The Bee article. They confirm there were at least 5 teachers willing to act as advisor but school staff "talked them out of it". The school now claims it has returned most of the team's money to the donors.

Source: http://robots.net/article/3078.html

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Fast, Healthy Food On The Dollar Menu

The news has had quite a few updates on the fast food industry lately - debating whether toys should be removed until the kid's meals get healthier to kids seeing more fast food ads to Wendy's "healthifying" their fries with skins and sea salt.

But you don't have to go to a fast food drive-thru to pick from a dollar menu, there is one available at the grocery store and with a bit of planning you can save money and eat healthy food as you run out the door.

flickr/cc - TheGiantVermin
~ Breakfast ~
Eggs - You can buy a dozen for around a dollar and get plenty of protein for a very cheap price per egg. Hard boil a few at night, right HB on them and place them back in the refrigerator for eating when in a hurry with your home-made coffee.

Oats - Buy one container of regular oats or quick oats and you have cereal for a week that will provide fiber, complex carbohydrates and may even lower cholesterol.

Fruit - Like eggs, a bunch of bananas give you more than a handful for around a dollar and have enough for the work week. Plus they are high in potassium and fiber for a great start to the day. Apple, grapefruit, oranges and grapefruit are also the better alternative now that sugar in fruit drinks might give you gout.

Milk - Though a gallon with run you a few dollars, on a per serving cost basis, you are less than a dollar and you get a lot for the money with protein, vitamins A and D, potassium, and calcium

flickr/cc - #Justin
~ Lunch ~
Bread - You need bread for a peanut butter/banana sandwich or an egg salad and at a dollar or two, you can have enough for the week and a good healthy lunch that will beat any fast food dollar menu.

Yogurt - Whether you go with Greek yogurt or store brand, you can pick up a container or two for a dollar or less. I'll take a 100 calorie, high protein yogurt over a soda any day.

Meats - On the day of a holiday or the day after, pick up turkey, ham and chicken at a good price to cook up and slice for sandwiches and soups.

Greens - Lettuce is the base for a salad and spinach leaves are usually under a dollar and they last for a few days worth of meals. Toss on some home-made croutons, carrots and sprinkle with olive oil and you have a good source of fiber, iron and vitamins. Other greens are kale, collard greens and broccoli to name a few more.

flickr/cc - Materials Aart
~ Dinner/Supper ~
Vegetables - Not everyone likes all the vegetables, but most people like a few of them. Such as beans, carrots, peas, tomatoes, sprouts and squash or yams. All of these are available for under a dollar or around a dollar a pound. Grab some corn on the cob, cook, strip and freeze when they go on sale during the summer.

Legumes - One of the cheapest staples you can buy, next to pasta and rice. Buying them canned or dry you can make them last in soups, stew, chili and salads. Add lentils to that list and you have a low calories and fat, high in fiber, protein and iron - for cheap.

Pasta - Another staple that can be picked up for $1 a pound or a little more for whole wheat. Boil up a serving of pasta and you have a great complex carb loaded with fiber and low in fat. I bet you can't say that about the spicy chicken sandwich you bought for a dollar at the fast food joint.

Rice - White or wheat, just eat! Have it as a side dish with fruit mixed in or as a main dish with chicken and you have a jack of all trades type of food for under a dollar a serving.

flickr/cc - woodleywonderworks
~ Snacks ~
Nuts - They rule the roost for something quick to eat and packed with the good fats, protein and Vitamin E and you can make them last when you only need to eat a handful at a time. By now your pumpkin outside your door is toast, but for next year, toast up some pumpkin seeds for a snacking alternative.

Tuna - Though not for everyone or every workplace, I used to eat tuna out of the can as a snack in the afternoon, mix in some relish and you have a tuna biting back at you.

Celery and Peanut butter - With celery having few calories, peanut butter gives the crunch a bit of taste. Both of these items are on the dollar menu and a good source of protein and vitamins that are filling.

There are a multitude of other specific items from popcorn to dried peas to cherry tomatoes that can be bought for a dollar or under a dollar a serving. But this is a good start.  
What foods do you eat that are healthy and cheap?


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/IpRp/~3/1oHoJiQMiZg/fast-healthy-food-on-dollar-menu.html

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Awesome projects built using Dorkbot PCB Order

pcb_order_projects.jpg

Laen of Dorkbot Portland started a batch PCB Order project a year ago, to make it more affordable for his friends to order prototype boards by grouping them together into larger group buys. The basic idea is that it's much cheaper to have a large circuit board manufactured with a bunch of small designs on it than it is to have a bunch of small boards produced individually, so by pooling resources, everyone gets their parts built for cheap. It appears to be working quite well, and has helped bring a bunch of projects to life, including a Daft Punk helmet, LED clock, arrow flight data recorder, and various FPGA projects. Congratulations, Laen!

Read the Full Story » | More on MAKE » | Comments » | Read more articles in Electronics | Digg this!

Source: http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/12/awesome_projects_built_using_dorkbo.html

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MotorStorm Apocalypse dev diary details 'The Festival' campaign mode

Sony has delivered a MotorStorm Apocalypse dev diary video -- and it's quite festive. Seriously: it features "The Festival," which is the single-player campaign mode of the game. As you can see in the video below, the Festival mode will offer up a real story to go with your urban wasteland racing, seen through the eyes of three characters: a rookie, a pro and a veteran.

Races in the mode occur in a set sequence, and while some will make use of the new Supercar and Superbike classes others will get crazy with vehicle choices, like pitting one measly motorcycle against a whole field of competitors in big rigs.

This latest sequel to MotorStorm and its Split/Second-esque take on urban racing is looking pretty darn good from a gameplay standpoint, but its visuals are clearly still a ways from being finished. Hopefully they'll be spruced up by the time the demo hits.

Continue reading MotorStorm Apocalypse dev diary details 'The Festival' campaign mode

JoystiqMotorStorm Apocalypse dev diary details 'The Festival' campaign mode originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2010/12/21/motorstorm-apocalypse-dev-diary-details-the-festival-campaign/

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Money With Strings Attached

A friend wanted to give me a gift of money, she wanted to make sure it was ok if she just gave me the money instead of a gift, then I could get what I wanted. I accepted the offer and said that it would be put to good use. (She hadn't actually handed me the money yet)

I then followed up with, "I have a bill I could put it towards, so that would be nice to pay off." This didn't sit well with her and she immediately said she wasn't going to give me any money if it was just going to go for bills. "I want you to get something for yourself. Forget about bills for a moment."

flickr/cc - oskay

I was a little upset that she had changed the 'rule' on the 'gift' and now it came with a condition. She might as well just keep the money and use it on herself. Well, that wasn't a good response and things escalated into a war of words- Me accusing her of being materialistic and having a spend, spend mentality; and she accusing me of being tight fisted and not having any fun.

Eventually the fire subsided and we talked about it as civilized people. I explained that it gives me pleasure to pay a bill and know that it isn't haunting me, that I'm not a slave to the bill. And she told me that seeing me buy something I have always wanted made her happy, that she could do something I would put as a low priority.

Eventually, she came around and said that I could do with the money as I pleased, since I was clearly happy about paying off the bill. I was glad to see her come around, not that it was about getting me the money, but that she understood happiness doesn't come through added 'things' to my home and the reason some things are a low priority is because I have higher priorities (like bills) that take precedence over other things.

All in all a lesson learned about someone else, you just never know how they view money.

A couple of questions for you:
Have you given money gifts with strings attached? Why?
Would you have used the money for bills or a something on your low priority list?


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/IpRp/~3/ohgZdkRpf9U/money-with-strings-attached.html

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Kinect Co-Developer Looking to Make Technology Open Source


With Kinect now on the market and reportedly doing well for itself, technology developer PrimeSense is moving on to develop open standards and other initiatives for "Natural Interaction" technology.

PrimeSense announced that they are leading an "Open Natural Interaction" consortium; the goal being to promote compatibility between Natural Interaction devices and create new applications for the technology. They also hope to implement the OpenNI framework under an open source license, effectively allowing companies to purchase development kits and put their own spin on the Kinect technology.

"PrimeSense is bringing Natural Interaction to more than just one environment. Gaming is just the beginning of this new paradigm that is changing the way people interact and live their lives in just about every walk of life," said vice president of marketing Adi Berenson. "With OpenNI, we want developers to know that the Natural Interaction 'marketplace' is wide open for them to show us how the future will feel."

Source: http://www.1up.com/news/kinect-co-developer-technology-open-source

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The Commodore 64 returns as a modern PC

If you want a working Commodore 64 in your home, but would also like something that you could actually use as a computer, somehow there's now a product to fit your needs. The new Commodore 64x looks as much like the beige wedge of old as you could ever expect, but has an Intel Dual Core 525 Atom processor, 2GB of RAM, and an Nvidia Ion 2 graphics chipset.

Though it's now a PC in C64 clothing, it's also designed to run the original software, using either an emulator or a custom Workbench 5 operating system, both of which are included. No release date or price information has been announced yet, but you can stare at pictures of the prototype in our gallery while you wait for information on your new Impossible Mission machine.

Gallery: Commodore 64x

JoystiqThe Commodore 64 returns as a modern PC originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2010/12/21/the-commodore-64-returns-as-a-modern-pc/

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6 Shopping Tips Without Coupons

This week I looked over the coupons in the paper and the new grocery store circulars and realized that there were not many great deals out there for my style of eating. I don't eat hot dogs much and I've stopped eating most of cold cereals that coupons come out for.

What all this means is that the monthly grocery shopping will be almost coupon-less. But I'm not worried, I can still keep my food bill low by shopping without coupons.

List and Calculator
I keeping a running list on my whiteboard and then when there are sales weekly, I jot down what I need and grab them for the week. When the monthly grocery run comes up, then what is left over on the list goes with me. I have a $110 grocery budget for food when it comes to food items. Of course the weekly runs take me over that, but it is easily covered by setting aside $20-50 for those runs.

If I come under the $110 budget for the month, that is then a good time to start stocking up on Thanksgiving or Christmas food. Recently, duck was on sales at a good price per pound and there was room in the monthly budget to get it, so that will go into the freezer until Thanksgiving.

The calculator is just for me to stay on budget. I round up to the next dollar (since I can't keep track of what is taxed and what isn't.) and use that as my guide to trimming my list down or adding more items for an upcoming special meal.

Food Circulars
I do my monthly shopping at a specific grocery store and then the weekly shopping is usually done at the stores nearest my house, depending on the deals. But I do look at them and check for items on my whiteboard grocery list.

The best deals for each store circular are on the front page or the flap that promotes deals for the weekend only. But since my list is pretty small during the week, it takes at most 5 minutes to glance through the weekly ads to King Soopers or Safeway to decide what has the best deals.

Loyalty Cards
I don't like it that if you want the better price (sale price) you have to have a loyalty card to get it. I do like it better that a sale is a sale whether you fill out personal information or not. However, since it is already done I can't complain much. The downside is if the card is forgotten or you used the card to scrape the windows last winter and haven't gotten a new one. Most grocery stores allow you to enter your phone number.

I have heard that if you try the popular phone number song, 867*5309 with your own area code, you may still be able to get a good deal or two. But I haven't personally tried it. I know that lately some grocery stores will give a money back if you buy a certain number of name brand items on top of the usual weekly savings, so cards do come in handy.

Dump Brands
In most cases, if I don't have a coupon for the brand name item, the store brand comes in under the name brand. There are a few items where there are no store brands or the item's store brand didn't cut the quality test for me. At those times I take the name brand, coupon or not.

Walk the Circumference
I would say that over half of the items I buy are on the "outside ring" of the stores. Milk, bread, poultry, fruits and vegetables. The items in the middle are more processed than I would desire, except for the baking aisle and frozen area (ice cream).

Go Clearance
For markdowns on meats I ask the employees when they mark down the meats, in one store they do it around 8-9am. Another store has set aside half of a freezer area for marked down milk, eggs, cheese and the like. And most all grocery stores have an area in the back - usually around the entrance to the back room, where they mark down shelf items like dented soup, bread and bakery items. I get most of my bread from these areas.

flickr/cc- Genista
That sums up my plans for this coming week on how I'm going shopping without coupons. A little planning and a budget. Then I keep my eyes peeled for clearance items I need and store brands that area cheaper in price. And finally I mostly keep to the outside ring of the store to stay healthy and I usually make sure to use my loyalty card for the extra discounts.


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/IpRp/~3/s70yIw4sypM/6-shopping-tips-without-coupons.html

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Creepy Old Flasher Answers Police Knock with Pants Down [Nudity]

When police in Arizona responded to a complaint of a man, "white and in his 50s" with his pants down and wiggling his hips in public, they found Michael Polley at his apartment door, still pantless and "immediately angry." More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gawker/full/~3/VrEmbATIQX8/creepy-old-flasher-answers-police-knock-with-pants-down

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Could Lindsay Go to Jail for Beating Up a Betty Ford Clinic Employee? [Gossip]

TMZ says a Betty Ford Clinic employee is accusing Lindsay Lohan of battery, and wants her prosecuted. Meanwhile, Radar says a "major blow-up" with an employee drove LiLo to a "secret location." Update: Michael Lohan confirms fight, blames employee. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gawker/full/~3/eqvdGJ-k28U/could-lindsay-go-to-jail-for-beating-up-a-betty-ford-clinic-employee

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