Championship - Blog Posts

Our student ambassador is in the video!

St. Louis wrap video

Stowage Success: NASA Co-Op #3 Week 16

Last week at my third Co-Op tour at NASA Johnson concluded with successful handover and continuation of the stowage app. I passed on development leadership to a full-time employee after receiving  green light from managers. I consider this outcome to be a mission accomplished.

After receiving feedback from non-biased data takers, I met with app developers to prioritize how to move forward with app development. As a result the development team wants to designate a point of contact to learn about stowage ops just as I have to understand what the customer, crew member, would benefit the most from. The developers plan to take the feedback to refine app functionality and interface to make it more intuitive. Additionally, after comments from users like, “what do I do next?”, implement a procedure based app and conduct more user tests after refinements with an explicit tutorial.

Following my exit pitch to management about the stowage app I was awarded a Flight Operations Challenge Coin earned by exemplifying Mission Control values during my Spring Co-Op tour with the Inventory and Stowage Officers. These values include; discipline, competence, confidence, responsibility, toughness, teamwork, and vigilance.

Res Gesta Per Excellentiam -

Achieve through Excellence

This tour has been the most challenging and enjoyable so far. This fall I will be joining OSO (Operations Support Officer) team in Mission control.

You thought volunteering at Houston FIRST Robotics Championships was enough robots for me?

WRONG

I attended the St. Louis Championship too on my way home from Houston! My "Robot" Mater the Duluth East Daredevils and local team Esko Subzero Robotics competed.

It's good that we are moving the St.Louis Championship to Detroit next year because the roof started leaking on the field! Note the plastic tarp covering part of the field.

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

This week at NASA < 3 minute video summary.

First ever virtual career summit Wednesday May 24th hosted by NASA with insight on internships.

Why Co-Op during college?

Astronaut Jack Fischer chats with MIT students about space life.

Johnson Space Center Director, Ellen Ochoa, is inducted in astronaut hall of fame.

Hello Worlds: NASA Co-Op #3 Week 15

This year launched the inaugural dual FIRST Robotics Championships in Houston and St. Louis. Before, only one Championship dubbed "Worlds" was hosted where teams around the world competed for one title. Due to the growth of the teams involved in robotics, FIRST has decided to split Worlds into a North and South Championships with the intent to bring the winning alliance form each championship to battle it out during a live televised event. Unfortunately this means a Northern team will never be able to compete against a Southern team unless they win championships or pay to attend an out of state regional earlier in the season. There was ~700 teams, 15k students and 30k attendees!

My time volunteering was fantastically frantic! Resetting the Steamworks play field after each match for the robotics teams was a challenge requiring over 400 wiffle balls be picked up and dozens of yellow gears to be stacked.

Worked on the "Newton" FRC field. Winners from this field competed in the finals held in Houston's Minute Maid Park where their Astros baseball team plays. Logistics of getting 700 robotics teams into Minute Maid was a challenge that took longer than expected. There will be time for improvement as the southern robotics championship will be held in Houston for at least three more years.

The field had to be cleared within seven minutes to keep matches on schedule.

Robotics Houston Championship concluded with the announcement of he highest award, Chairman's, earned by team Thunder Down Under from Australia and fireworks!

Even the VIP seats did not have a good view of the final matches! Growing pains but lots of opportunity to improve over the next couple of years.

It is rumored the winners of the St.Louis and Houston Championships will go head to head at the FIRST Festival of Champions July Friday 28th - Saturday 29th, 2017. WAYS TO GET INVOLVED What is FIRST Robotics? Volunteer at a FIRST Robotics event or with a local team. Donate to FIRST Robotics. Read about my "Robo" Mater, Daredevils Robotics. Theme of the 2018 FIRST Tech Challenge, 18inx18inx18in robots.

Here's the intro to our new show 451 over at www.youtube.com/ballstreet

This is our new YouTube football show with Ian Wright and Jimmy Bullard: 4 Leagues | 5 topics | 1 show.  We'll be covering more than the top 6.

Ball Street's first YouTube football show with Ian Wright - here's the promo for 451.

Isn't every league a 'premier' league?

by Matt, Ball Street

First things first, this isn’t it.   People keep asking what we’re up to and we’ve some exciting things in the pipeline - more of which soon.   For now we thought we’d do a blog to introduce ourselves and tell you about where we are coming from.

I’m a Huddersfield Town fan.  In all my time watching the Terriers we’ve never graced the top flight of English Football.  But every year, we’re in a league that matters more to me.  Last year it was League One; this coming season it will be the Championship. 

Now, like me, something like 80% of fans that actually attend matches support teams outside the top 6.  You wouldn’t think that from the coverage our teams receive or the quality of the analysis. 

Sure, Man United’s global fanbase of 333 million has to be catered for, but are the majority of football fans in the UK getting what they need from the media?

It’s still the usual suspects serving up the same old, pre-packaged lack of coverage be it on telly or online.  In our version of the ‘Usual Suspects’, the greatest trick the devil pulled was convincing the world that there was a ‘premier’ league so that we put up with this.

We don’t hate the Premier League, far from it.  We just think that every league is a premier league, and there should be a place where all fans, all teams, get the top six treatment.

Over the coming months and years, Ball Street’s going to try to do something about it.

twitter: @Ball_Street