Robot Combat
Who's Who?
The following list of people have all entered a brief
description about themselves on the Robot Wars Forum and the BattleBots
Forum.
Click
on a name to view that biography.
this list updated
on 2/1/00
This list is no longer updated
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Carlo
(CARLOBERTO)
Name: Carlo Bertocchini
I have been competing at
Robot Wars since 1996. In that year my robot, BioHazard, won the heavyweight
face-off, best design, and best engineering. In 1997, Bio took home the prizes
for face-off and melee. You can learn more about my robot at my home page: http://www.webspawner.com/users/biohazardpage
I am a mechanical designer
from Belmont, California. I'm the host and moderator of the Robot Wars Forum.
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ANDREWL (ANDREWL)
Ok, I'm Andrew Lindsey,
creator of Team Spike.
I got into Robot Wars in
the fall of 95 after seeing a special on TV. My first entry (Spike I, RW 1996)
was underpowered and badly designed, but utterly indestructible (a local machine
shop welded it together out of stainless steel plate). My second entry (Spike
II, RW 1997) was powerful and well designed, but barely survived the event intact
- I built the frame myself from sheet aluminum and cheap pop-rivets. I'm currently
working on Spike III (a thing to be feared) and Chew Toy (a cheesy low-budget
but fun entry).
I maintain a web site at
http://www.cybercomm.net/~alindsey/
with information on the last two year's competitions and tips for beginners.
I also distribute a videotape wich is just about the only footage available
of the '97 event right now.
I live in Old Bridge, New
Jersy. I'm attending Rutgers University part-time (the university machine shop
is a wonderful thing to have access to). I'm currently unemployed, but when
working do electronics design and PC/Mac help desk/field service work.
Anyone else?
-Andrew
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BOB (PITZOID)
Bob - "My name is Bob Pitzer
and I am an addicted robot builder" All - "Hi Bob"
So much for the formalities.
To all that care, I am a Robotics Engineer at Intel with a degree in Mechanical
Engineering from the University of Florida "Go Gators". I have never competed
in RobotWars, but I have been in many other robotic competitions including the
AUVSI competitions and some events sponsored by the American Nuclear Society(autonomous
robot stuff). I have an interest in RobotWars because I can't compete in the
collegic events anymore and I need an excuse to tinker and build cool sh-t.
Me and one of the machinist I work with are building a Featherweight contender
this year so I can start my interaction with all the faithful, don't have time
in the immediate future to do much more. But I've already started resourcing
next year. You can check out a couple of my previous creations at
http://mil.ufl.edu/people/pitzoid
If you need to get in touch
with me for some reason, use a
pitzoid@mil.ufl.edu
email address. I think
when I signed up for the account here I used my work address which is unaccessible
to me from home, stupid secure mail servers. Keep the faith.
BOB
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(EXO)
Hey, my names Matt Lennen.
I'm planning on competeing
in RW98 with my partner John Glick, and our robot Damaged Cybernetics. This
will be our first time competing, if you have any tips, feel free to share.
-- Matt Lennen
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Grayson
(GRAYSON314)
I'm Grayson DuRaine, currently a junior at CSU Sacramento,
majoring in biology. I ran across Robotwars in early 95 and quickly threw something
together and entered in featherweight, and have basically been going ever since.
Unfortunately all of my robots have been built on a student budget (read 3 pennies
and a moldy cracker). Usually ended up building my robots with a hacksaw and
a handheld drill, which has sometimes effected the quality, this year I have
access to better resources, and will definitely be back for 98, with something
in the low-budget category.
Currently my website is at http://members.aol.com/grayson314/main.htm
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clinesgl
(CLINESGL)
Hi all, I'm Gary Cline and thanks to Carlo, I can post this.
I've been to all the Robot Wars and competed in the '96 event with Spunkey Monkey
and in '97 with Bad Monkey.
In fact Spunkey Monkey won "Strangest Robot" in 1996. Both my wife and I are
HUGE fans of Robot Wars. I'm an Oracle contract programmer and live in Novato,
CA. I have two sons ages 25 and 19 and a daughter 20. When I started I was NOT
mechanically knowledgable at all. So to those who are getting into this sport
you can rest assured that all (most all) the RW contestants are fantastic guys
and totally willing to help as long as you don't ask too many questions about
their motors - a sensitive subject. My website is www.clineworks.com - just
a resume right now.
Email me if you want fun ideas - I've got plenty of those.
As to the technical stuff - I'll defer to Carlo, Dan, etc.
Power ON!!!
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Edwin!
(EWISE)
Name: Edwin Wise
Howdy... I discovered
Robot Wars on the Web a month or so prior to the 1997 event, and it inspired
me to revive a childhood dream-project: Boris
I keep a log of my ramblings
and whatnot at:
http://www.simreal.com/Boris
It's my first robot
since I was a kid, and it's insanely complicated, expensive, and probably not
suited for Robot Wars -- but very cool. I'm having more fun with it than is
probably legal! And with any luck, It will be in running condition by the time
RW '98 happens...
When I'm not suffering
in the robot shop, I develop CAD/CAM software.
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Palladin81
(PALLADIN81)
I'm a poor poor boy (high school student) people call me
"steve" or "wacko" it dosent matter which. I have been racing R/c cars for uhh...well
forever. and somehow I still cant seem to get any good at it. any who in the
past I made some small robotics platforms and an arm that was controlled by
one of the most uncomfortable gloves I ever made (plastic and wood stuck together
with pot's). I hope to compete in this competition is about 1 or two years with
a robot in the neighbor hood of 350 lbs.(yeah legs but there are only 3 legs?!?!
you figure it out ) the only thing is I have absolutly no money (crummy job
but maybe there is a fast food summer in the future for me, oh boy) but I'm
still hopefull. I've been machining stuff for a few years and have access to
3 profesional machining people and other connections for stuff (I get free Aluminum,
the kind they make turbines out of, for FREE and I GET FREE DELIVERY WOOHOO
go me!) so once I figure out how to get to the west coast (i live in NY) watchout
cause what I make is gonna be big and it's either gonna malfunction and explode
by itself or it's gonna run around that arena smashin stuff (this is never going
to happen any time soon so dont worry) P.S. I love Stainless Steel go big spikey
thingie on the fron of my robot.......oh I've said to much.....hehehe................
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Jim Smentowski
(MACSHACK)
I'm Jim Smentowski, a computer systems engineer at Industrial
Light & Magic (In case you don't know- George Lucas' visual effects house in
San Rafael, CA). I got into Robot Wars after attending the '96 event with some
friends from work, and I was hooked immediately. I started on my Heavyweight
robot immediately, and in 1997, I entered him in Robot Wars- 'Hercules' made
it through five battles at the event, and even outlasted some of the big guys.
I was pretty proud of him, and so I am re-entering him (totally redesigned)
for 1998. I am also using most of old Herc's parts in another entry- my middleweight
that for now I am titling 'Junior' (as in Herc Jr.). I live in Novato, CA and
am married. I have to give a bunch of credit to my wife, Erica, for putting
up with my long hours on the robot, the money spent, and the sacrificing of
the garage and much of the house for Hercules and Junior. You can check out
more on my story and robots at my website at http://members.aol.com/macshack/robotwars/
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Scootermutt
(SCOOTERMUTT)
Hi, my name is Michael. I'm a Sophmore in High school. I
live in southern CA, so I'm dying for Nuts and Volts to host something here
if RW98 doesn't go through. I have been racing R/C cars for about 3 1/2 years,
and found out about RW a year or so back. I got internet access, and read everything
I could get my hands on. I am currently working on a fairly simple wedge design
for RW 99 (I don't want to waste my money on something rushed, so I'll take
my time and build to win!). I have a fairly small budget, but hopefully I can
get a little sponsorship(any takers?!).
Anyways, I have read a lot of stuff, and if you have any questions, hopefully
I have read about it! Michael http://home.earthlink.net/~scootermutt/
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Admin (MONKEYJOE)
Hi, my names Jordan and I'm a freshman(everyone else seems
to be a SOPHOMORE!) in high school. I'm certain on competing in RW99 (im pretty
sure there'll be one) and I might compete in RW98, if i get a bot built in time...
I'm still learning the whole radio control part of it, but I'm sure i'll get
it after awhile. I live in the midwest(why do all the competitions have to be
on the east or west coast?)and I really enjoy this forum.
-Jordan
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Shoe (BOTME)
I'm Brian Foote, I live
in Bozeman Montana (The only person from Montana who's entered, I believe) I
entered Sonic in 1995 and Bite Me in 1996. I had planned a "real" entry for
this year with decent parts and all the rest, but with all the legal problems
and my pitiful resources I'm entering another low-budget bot for this year.
I work for a company
that makes Si and Ge optics, before that I was a DJ in a country bar.
I have a homepage (currently
undergoing reconstructive surgery) at www.mcn.net/~shoe
-Brian (aka Shoe)
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Todd Mendenhall
(THUMBUNNY)
Hi everyone. I guess I will be the old man of this group.
I live in sunny southern California (Rancho Palos Verdes to be exact). I work
at a local aerospace company that makes spacecraft. A few of the satellites
I have worked on are actually in orbit right now.
Periodically, I get a little bored at work and one day while searching the net,
I discovered the Team Delta site.
I decided to enter RW98 and drafted my wife to help me when she can.
Valerie has degrees in physics, electrical engineering, math and a masters in
optics. I feel barely adequate with two degrees in mechanical engineering.
My project is named the HarMagedon and we are team Revelation.
You can check out my progress at home.earthlink.net/~thumbunny. As a true engineering
geek, everything I make is way over designed.
Cheers and good luck.
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Wolfins (WOLFINS)
Hello, my name is Daniel
Howe and *suprise* I am a sophmore in High School.
I am not currently planning
to enter RW 98, but I find this forum and the people associated with it very
helpful with building robots. I have learned a lot of stuff from the Team Delta,
Team Spike, Team Biohazard, and many other home pages. I know making the pages
take away from robot construction time, but they are very helpful to a beginner
in electronics/robotics. Keep it up!
My homepage is at http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/8454/
Daniel Howe
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megagreg
(MEGAGREG)
I'm Greg Munson, part
of Team La Machine - We entered RW '95 as a middleweight and to our suprise
we won! We then entered the '96 and '97 events as a heavyweight, we did pretty
well there but Biohazard has clean our clock numerous times.
The team was orignally
Me, Gage Caucious (now with Vlad the Impailer) and Trey Roski (my cousin --
that crazy driver guy). Now Trey and I (with help from Scott LaValley (DoAll))
work on La Machine.
I originally got into
RW through my friend Mark Setrakian (high school and musician buddy). He and
Peter Abrahamson (Gigan) encoureged me to build a robot.
My day job is building
Websites -- My company built the New RobotWars Web page only to have it struck
down by legal difficulty.
Thanks to Carlo for
putting this forum.
*Part 2*
It's true! Most people
don't know that Mark and I were the original Van Halen Brothers. We were separated
at birth only to be reunited on the Jenny Jones show. After that we formed a
band and became huge rock stars (in Japan). We only do this Robot stuff now
to kill the burn out from "the road"
OK the truth - the band
was called Screaming Mad George and Psychosis (that's Screaming Mad George on
the far left). We were a throw together band, formed to support the band's CD
release. We toured Japan, preformed at Budakon (Cheap Trick Rules), went home,
and that was it.
Mark and George (Mark
is in the center) wrote all the songs, George sang and Mark played electronic
drums. I played guitar (I'm on the far right). Paul Rivera (who you probably
recognize from Mark's Team Sinister) played keyboards (he's in the back-center).
The other two members are Andy (acoustic drums) and Lisa (BKG vocals).
Yes we did spit blood,
we also ripped open live squirels, and Lisa gave birth right on stage ;) Alright,
I know...But it is true about the blood. Mouthfuls of Karo Syrup all over the
front row of Japanese school girls.
Since meeting in High
School, Mark and I have always done music together . And if you think Mark's
robots are cool, you should hear his tunes! I also write some music but my stuff
is a little like La Machine, simple and stupid (but I can rip power chords like
La Machine hitting the Southbay Mauler at full speed).
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Daniel J.
Peirano (PEARGOD)
Contrary to the trend,
I'm a junior at High School and myself and about three friends are creating
a team for Robot Wars '98. Two of us are located in Corte Madera, Ca. (A little
north of San Francisco) and we have a member in Canada and one in Alaska. We
too have used the net and I have to say that I have truly learned about the
possibilities of the web through this knowledge conquest.
Anyway, we are planning on being a contender for Robot Wars '99, and hope to
pit for '98. See you at the Arena.
Daniel J. Peirano
*part 2*
Since it seems like
everyone is posting thier ICQ number, I'll do it as well. (Perhaps we could
create a strand of alternative ways to contact as in AOL Instant Messenger or
IRC as well as ICQ and anything else you hackers can think of.) Anyway, my UIN
# is 10975281. Hope to see you online. I know that Carlo opposes it, (Carlo,
if I'm wrong, please correct me) but perhaps we could organize a time for the
majority of us to meet in one of the chat rooms that Delphi has. Just an idea
if anyone is interested in organizing a time.
Thanks, as always, for your Time, Daniel J. Peirano
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MegaFrenZy (TMZ)
I'm Patrick, builder
of 1994, Cyber-Knight 1995, frenZy 1996, (all new) frenZy 1997. All
Heavyweights, except for 1994, we qualified as a lightweight, middleweight and
heavyweight with a modular design.
I'm a mechanical design
engineer, I build underwater camera and lighting equipment for motion picture,
commercial and documentary work. I work in San Carlos, 1/2 hr south of San Francisco.
Although my robots have
never won anything, I compete simply to build it and have some fun. My failures
have always been in the electronics, I tend to build all my own stuff (except
for the radio).
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(SHAMU)
My name is Todd Weber.
I am 28 yrs old. I live in the Central Florida area. I work in the television
industry as a camera assistant. I got interested in the RW events when I worked
at the one that was here at EPCOT, WDW. I am planning to enter a heavy weight
in the '99 RW (Trying to set up some corporate funding). Monitoring all the
websites has been fun, you guys really do some nice programming. Anyway, I am
designing my robot around a Hydraulic system, If anyone has any info on Hydraulics
(Textbooks, Hydraulics for dummies... etc.) could you please let me know? Also
in modular robots, do all robots have to be under controll after separation?
What are the rulings on the separating robots?
Nice to meet you all,
Todd.
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Jonathan
Ridder (JRIDDER)
Hello,
My name is Jonathan
Ridder. I saw the first Robot Wars (it was a fluke, my ex-girlfriend worked
at Fort Mason and got me in for free) and have competed in the last three events.
My robot has always been named Ziggy after my cat who died last year at age
14. He was known as being the most ill tempered feline that you would ever likely
meet (though I got along fine with him.)
My robots have not generally
been too successful, mostly because of lack of preparation. My robots for the
first three years used tank tracks. They provided increadible traction but were
quite a hassle to set up and maintain. They also failed at just the wrong moment
last year. I have also used Aveox brushless motors on all the entries. These
are very effiient, but I've had trouble with the control system for them.
Last year my entry had
a chainsaw engine powering a cutoff saw blade for a weapon. It was, as I'd hoped,
one of the loudest robots at the competition. This year I am building a lightweight
clone of Blendo. I have just completed the chasis and drivetrain and am staring
work on the spinning top.
Jonathan
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Oliver (OSPLAN)
My names Oliver Steeples
and am in my 4th year of an engineering degree at the University of Reading
in England. I got into RW after an advert was posted in the engineering department
asking for people to build robots and be on TV.
Well this appealed to
me and I built a featherweight robot (Cunning Plan) and it was on TV and won
(somehow) the featherweight class quite easily but got beaten in the grand final
by big heavyweights. Oh well there's always next year.
Well that's all folks.
Oliver Steeples
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jasonbar
(JASONBAR)
Howdy
I'm Jason Bardis. I'm
a 4th year and counting grad student at UCSB (Univeristy of California, Santa
Barbara), working on the ol' PhD in Mechanical Engineering. At this rate, I'll
be here for a looooong time yet. I'm studying composite materials and had an
internship with McDonnell Douglas/Boeing in their composite materials prototyping
lab last Summer, so I've got some really hot materials to work with for RW98.
I've also done some movie effects work and other engineering junk. My other
main hobby is collecting and restoring coin-operated video arcade games (yes,
the big 300#, 6' tall ones that eat quarters).
I also TA the machine
shop classes and am a student supervisor in the engineering shop--that is, I
open up the shop on some evenings and weekends so we engineers can build our
race cars, submarines, dune buggies, amphibious vehicles, solar-powered boats,
killer robots, etc. Having a set of keys to an extensive machine shop is oh
so handy.
I've advised our UCSB
Robot Wars teams for the last 3 years. In 96, we brought Rampage (featherweight,
mine, obscenely underpowered, blew out the R/C car drive motor), The General
(middleweight, made of a car tire, blew its Tekin Titan speed controllers),
and P.A.T.
(featherweight, mighty tough wedge, but we forgot to recharge batteries between
matches...D'oh!).
In 97, we brought Webster
(lightweight wedge with saws, did ok, had battery problems & got stuck in a
wall), and Bot Will Eat Itself (mine, rework of Rampage, with beefier drivetrain
and crazy airbrush paint job, drivetrain was still hokey, but it had a cool
independent suspension).
In 98, I said "to hell
with the limited school budget" (generally, $1000 to split amongst several robots),
started shortly after my weak RW97 showing, and, now, $2500 later, I've got
a competitive lightweight and a fun featherweight ready to roll for RW98.
Working names are Dr.
Inferno and The Titanic Weiner.
If you actually made
it this far, you can check out my weak (and infrequently-updated) web pages
at: www.engineering.ucsb.edu/~jasonbar I have pages on Rampage & BWEI. I took
a whole roll of film to document the construction of the new lightweight, then
found that my camera was broken and all the pictures are solid gray blobs...
-Jason
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Dreadnok
(DREADNOK)
Hello! My name is chris
and I'm a 19 year old severely overworked and poor( 10$ in the bank baby!) Art
student at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I'm duel majoring in Computer/2D
Animation and Sequential art (thats right, I draw comics.)I've never competed
in robot wars , but I hope to have my entry, the Madd Professor, refitted, armored,
and ready for RW 99.
Two quarters ago A friend
of mine turned me on to the SRL people. If that wasn't inspiring, I followed
A link to a robot wars site and was Struck with inspiration. 4 grueling weeks
later, for my final 3D design project, My friend Adam and I held the twilight
cacaphony circus, I performance art piece involving two fighting robots mangleing
various props, electronic toys, and or course each other.
I'm currently unemployed
and hurting for cash, so most of my bot wil be (probably) made by yours truly.
Also due to classwork, my robot building time is limited to weekends, summer,
and the odd holiday.
When not working on
projects, I enjoy swing dancing, Ska shows, playing import playstation games,
and attaching weapons to cheapo RC cars and smashing things with them.
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BIGCHUCK
(BIGCHUCK)
In response to a response
to one of my (offensive) msgs, Ive decided to put myself up on the who's who
section.
Well, my name is Charles
Carns and Im a senior in high school over here in Maryland. Next year Im going
to school for a Major in (hopefully) either mechanical or structural engineering.
Spare times include building and designing the sets for our schools theater
productions, spending too much time on my computer, and Odyssey of the Mind
( thanks to Carlo B.
for giving me a source of decent balsa wood) where I have just missed making
it to the World Finals the last 2 years.
As Scott LaValley already
knows, I am an opinionated person who gets carried away sometimes, but will
glady see the light if it is showed to him.
Also the last 2 years
I have tried unsuccessfully to get a team started for RW, we all have the will
but not the cash, so I am forced to watch from my chair at the computer.
Well ther ya go! If
you have any ?'s just ask.
part 2-----------
Howdy folks, Charles Carns here.
I am a 19 yr old college sophomore at the College of Southern Maryland. Im currently
pursuing an AA in engineering which is going to be a real hoot. I work at the
Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indian Head, MD doing gun-systems engineering
and projectile development and a lot of crap jobs the real engineers don't want
to do:) Ive been talking for years about building a robot, but now Im finally
getting around to it now (I have actually gotten new tools and ordered a bunch
of parts) Ive got my CA glue and Lego's and you just better watch out MegaDan
(he knows what Im talking about). If you want to see my first Who's Who post
from the Robot Wars forum you can go to www.robotcombat.com for Jim S. saved
the entire thread for all to see there. I spent all of high school and some
of college so far doing technical theater, competing in creative thinking competitions(OM,
Olympiad, etc) and playing with my Legos, which are the greatest single invention
in the world. Well now Im starting to ramble, later guys
Charles
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igoforit
(IGOFORIT)
Name's lowell nelson,I live in Quincy Ca.
62 years old, I have no degrees to my name, except a 360 degree rotating Blendo
killing robot named S.L.A.M .
I was 1981 and 1983 class champion in tractor pulling in California.
My son Steven who lives in Reno is taking care of the smoking electronics part
and I'm doing the torch and grinding part. We are using some of the knowledge
we gained in tractor pulling. I hope it's not to late to save 98.
S. Stevens L. Lowells A. attack M. machine Email fishboat@inreach.com
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wyad76@aol.com
(WYAD)
real name Sasha Horwitz
(male)
1999 would be my first
attempt at compeating I need helpbuilding the electonics and motor set up could
anyone help with information I live in Savannah Ga.
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tomd (TDAVIDSON)
Hi, all..
I've gone from a loosly
affiliated member of the Robot Group here in Austin, to a full committed member.
And all the benefits thereof..
I maintain the Robotgroup.org
webserver among other things, and have built a packet radio controlled 'bot
a few years back. I currently am working on a new platform for telepresence
experiments with Glenn Currie. More on that as it develops...
I also had a run-in
with the SRL crew.. somehow I and two other friends convinced ourselves that
we needed to have our very own SRL show here in Austin, so we put up some $$$$$
and it happened.. For my part of the $$$$, I decided that I'd never see it again,
so I hung out and helped a little with a giant Tesla coil.. FUN!!
We have a plan to build
a big hydraulic hexapod with backhoe mechanics, and are currently working on
a small prototype to get the control logic going.
----------Top----------
Alex Rose (HALON)
team: Rhino competitions:
SWAK in 1996 Rhino in 1997 and Rhino II in 98
note: We were ther one
who built the Halon weapon to choke out gas engines.
Alex Rose: industrial
designer Reason Bradley: machinest
--------------
Part 2
Hey you can find anything out about Team Rhino you want on http://www.longnow.org/rhino.
We are based in Sausalito CA.
z
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dlariviere
(DLARIVIERE)
Name: Don Lariviere
Senior Design Engineer
Honda R&D Americas (Auto) Torrance,Ca.
Tried to get the P3
and a sledgehammer for the competion.
They didn't think that it was such a good idea.
We just started a robotics club here, got alot of (corporate) money for the
next term ,so well be in force for '99.
See you in August.
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oracle1 (ORACLE1)
Hi my name is Pete Reynolds
and I am entering a robot called ORAC into Robot Wars in the UK.
I am an overworked electronics
engineer working at a car plant in Oxford, England and I'm producing a heavyweight
robot in my spare time.
I graduated from Brighton
University 3 years ago with a degree in electronic and computer engineering
and have been looking for something to fill my empty life ever since.
My robot is about 50%
complete and is the biggest pile of scrap metal you have ever seen. But, it
looks like it might start to move on its own soon ( without any help from a
steel toecap)
Any help with speed
control circuit diagrams would probably save me a lot of money in vapourised
components
cheers
Peter_Reynolds@msn.com
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RoboWarrior
(RWARRIOR)
Dr Nick: "Hey everbody!"
Everbody: "Hey Dr. Nick!"
That's it, only with
"Jay Crandell" instead of "Dr. Nick."
In case you missed it,
the name's Jay Crandell, and I guess that I'm the youngblood of the RW group.
Yup, I'm currently going to middle school (Yes, middle school) which, by the
calculations you're going through in your head no doubt, would make me 13 right
now.
I have already got a year A RW experience under my belt in '97, and my low-tech
and low-cost team entry, "C-3" C-3 was a group effort consisting of myself,
my father, my grandfather, and a neighbor/friend with a machine shop ( No mill
though ). I don't want to make this seem like I did all the work, since it would
have been downright crappy if so, and I don't want to make it seem like it was
one of those deals where the "kid" pilots and the "grown-ups" do all the work.
I did assign myself the job as pilot, and was able to squeeze in about 3 hours
of practice.
I guess I'm a typical
teenage punk, "alternative" music, etc. My free time consists of doing nothing,
skating, working on robot ( right now I'm working on and assembling the PWM
control boards for the clutch ), going places with friends, and music.
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MegaDan (MEGADAN)
Hello all,
I am pleased to add
my simple bio to those I have read here.
My name is Dan Danknick
and I live in southern California. I have an oversize mill and lathe on one
side of my garage, and two shelves full of aluminum, steel and plastics on the
other. And if you're wondering, I do get my wife down now and then to lay a
bead of weld with the Mig.
I tried talking my mom
out of $100 to build a robot when I was 14. She declined.
Fifteen years later
I'm where I want to be, resource-wise. My ultimate target is a full blown exoskeletal
augmentation suit. I know the Marines are training with these at Fort Lejune,
but *I* wasn't on the design team!
I started college as
a computer scientist, and then switched over to applied physics when I got tossed
from the program for taking a year off to work with an entertainment robotics
company. In my spare time I love studying biomechanics especially cellular processes
as well as materials science. I work as a firmware/systems engineer for Imagineering
in North Hollywood, knocking together the next generation of animatronic control
software for the new park we're building in Tokyo.
I competed in RW'96
with a middleweight named Agamemnon and in RW'97 with another mid named Alexander.
I will be competing in SOME ROBOT EVENT this year with a heavyweight named Agrippa,
and my teammate Chris will bring Jackknife as well for the lightweights.
I am a serious fan of
Marc Thorpe, Mark Setrakian, Christian Carlberg, Carlo and a number of other
innovative/artistic engineers.
My friend at work said
it best: "I'm basically into all forms of mayhem."
Thanks for reading!
Dan
----------Top----------
Gina (TIGERSEYE)
hi i'm gina hoang and
im a junior in high school im from a little unknown town called wadsworth, ohio
i first got the idea to compete in robot wars from my friend john bellinger
he found it on the internet and wanted to try it he, a bunch of other guys from
our school, and i plan to compete in robot wars '98 our present robot is a featherweight
called the mouse all we have right now is a frame that looks like an alien skull
or a futuristic minivan it will eventually look like a big mean mouse with lots
of fur and a circular saw tail
byebye me (<>..<>)
----------Top----------
Jason
Taylor (PHOENIXHAWK)
Hello. I'm a Senior
in HS (I dont go to school, school comes to me.) I plan on entering Robot Wars
US '99. Doing my homework, ferreting out as much info as I can on what works,
what doesnt, and exactly how much caffiene you need in order to do this. I'm
an avid Theatre Techie (wooHOO!) and I've raced RC cars for years now. =) I
have a descent Mechanical and Electrical background (damnit, I can make it work.)
Passions: My girlfriend
(who lives 700 miles away...grr) Music Computers 4x4 trail riding Things Dark
and Gothic Chupacabra Anime (Vampire Hunter D. YEAH!)
And I've realized by
now that mental stability is deffinatly an issue if your going to enter Robot
Wars (I.E. you have to be nucking futz.)
----------Top----------
Steven
Levin (LEVENG)
Hi All I'm Steven Levin, a mechanical design engineer living
in the South Bay (San Jose) area. I've been working for a medical device firm,
but am about to go into consulting.
Got bitten by the bug when I saw RW97. I just about have a featherweight bot
completed, possibly the "Summer of Love" . I'm getting ready to buy 2 R/C car
motors to move it. They're geared down for a low top speed, 10 mph or so(big
weapon, low speed). All I want is maneuverability, not speed.
Any comments will be appreciated.
----------Top----------
Issac Merkle
(MXYPLTK)
Greetings!
I've just come across
the Robot Wars Forum and signed up, and thought I should type a bit by way of
introduction.
My name is Issac Merkle.
Currently, I'm living in Knoxville, TN, where I am employed as a computer consultant.
I also do some commercial web design work. I have never compteted in Robot Wars,
and would be quite surprised if I did (though it would be fantastic!).
My passion for robots
extends to my earliest memories. In high school, I built a polar coordinate
robot arm (fairly large) as part of an ill-concieved science fair project. The
project was lame, but the arm was great!
Currently, I am working
on conceptual design of a remote controled robot probe that will assist in the
investigation of the paranormal. My knowledge of mechanics and electronics is
fairly minimal, so I've been scouring the web for any and every resource available.
If anyone cares to have
a look, my non-profit organization for paranormal investigation has a fairly
large website at http://www.ghosthunter.org. (And if anyone wanted to help out
with the robot, so much the better!)
I can be contacted via
email, should anyone want to do so, at issac@ghosthunter.org.
Regards, Issac Merkle
(Mxypltk)
----------Top----------
Tony (TBUCH)
Hi there. My name is Tony Buchignani and I am the creator
of The Wedge of Doom. Unlike the majority of the competitors in Robot Wars,
I don't have any formal education in engineering, physics, electronics, or any
of the other foundational disciplines that are commonly associated with robotics.
Rather, I'm just an attorney who thought it might be fun to build a robot and
enter Robot Wars. I first heard about Robot Wars from a friend in 1995. We went
to the competition that year and it looked like so much fun that I decided I
had to enter.
By some unbelievable stroke of luck, I managed to win that year and the next.
I guess it just goes to show ya that anyone can come out on top at Robot Wars.
I also have a web page that talks about my two robots and the 1996 and 1997
competitions. You can find it at: http://www.legalword.com/wod.html. Regards,
Tony Buchignani
----------Top----------
Will
Wright (SPINYNORMAN)
Hiya, I am one of the
two Will Wrights in Robotwars (the one who didn't create Sim-City).
I am a game designer
from San Francisco and have little or no technical background. In fact I hadn't
even owned an RC car untill I began building Spiny Norman.
Robot Wars is by far
the coolest thing i have ever come across and I hope to meet you all on the
battlefield.
----------Top----------
Rich Kanzig
(RWKANZIG)
Hello All! My name is Rich Kanzig. I am going to be a Senior
in High School (schools out for me already!). I live in Sitka, AK. I have never
been to a Robot Wars, so I guess that makes me a newbie. I am a member of a
team, and we are planning on entering a bot for RW '99. I have experience in
R/C cars, so I hope that helps me out with bot building.
Right now our team just has some ideas that have been thrown around, but we
hope to start building soon. I guess that's about it. Bye.
----------Top----------
Peter
Abrahamson (TEAMSINISTER)
I'm Peter Abrahamson,
Part of Team Sinister with Mark Setrakian, Paul Rivera, and Bob Orr. I have
been at ever RW since 94(even went to UK with the Master, La Machine, and Thor.)
My robots have been featherweight Gigan 95 and 96 and heavyweight Gigan II in
97. I havn't done to well yet considering the what the rest of the team has
done.
I do special Effects
(mostly creatures and puppets)for film, TV, and theme parks. I have worked on
the films the Blob, Addamms Family, Alien 3, Beethoven, Born to be Wild, Warriors
of Virtue, George of the Jungle, Dr Dolittle and a little bit on the upcoming
Mighty Joe Young. Dinosaurs the TV show, Seaquest, loads of commercials, Universal
Studios Florida, Sanrio Japan, and lots of other little things.
I am willing to give
advice to any and all who would want it. Email me with any questions.
----------Top----------
Anklebiter
(ANKLEBITER)
Well I guess it's about time I put up my "WHO'S WHO". My
name is John McKenzie, and I live in Northern California. I entered Anklebiter
in RW'97. Thanks to a loan of parts from Team La Machine, I was able to get
my butt kicked at least once. Before Robot Wars, I had a very limited knowledge
of electronics, machining, and related subjects. I was making my living as a
carpenter in the S.F. bay area. After attending RW'96 with my wife Jennifer,
we were convinced that it was our duty, as citizens of the earth, to build a
robot for RW'97. I started, like some others I see here, with no knowledge whatsoever.
I didn't even have a computer! I enrolled in some college classes, I read tons
of books, I asked a lot of stupid questions of anyone who would listen, and
I learned.
Although Anklebiter wasn't quite ready for '97, it was one hell of a start.
I learned so much from making this robot, I now make my living as a machinist
and welder. I plan to be back with Anklebiter as a middleweight, in whatever
form Robot Wars takes. I am also interested in making contact with other robot
builders in Northern CA. Maybe we can form a group to exchange ideas, parts,
etc... It might even be possible to get together for a little practice. Anyway
if anyone is interested, you can e-mail me a mckenzie@pacific.net John McKenzie
----------Top----------
Christian
(DIGDUG)
Hi everybody,
Well, it's about time
I got more involved on-line.
My name is Christian Carlberg, creator of the lame Buzzcutt and not-so-lame
but lamely named Pretty Hate Machine. Although the competition might not happen
this year I urge everyone to continue building.
Somehow we'll all get together for some robotic carnage even if we have to compete
in a drained pool at the local YMCA.
-C
----------Top----------
Terry Barker
(TEAMTKO)
Hello.
My sons David (16) and Steven (14) and I have been following Robot Wars since
1995. Each year we went wild with ideas. In 1997, David (handler), Steven (pilot),
three of my friends (Jim Woessner, Dean Thompson, and Alan Detier) and I entered
TKO.
TKO is a simple, well-armoured, low-profile, flipable, ramming robot with sharply
angled ramming surfaces. TKO'98 is a beefed up version of our '97 robot.
Terry Barker
----------Top----------
RWrab (RWRAB)
I just got Marc's latest
email, which included the URL of this site, so here I am. I've been involved
with the Robot Wars effort since the 1996 event, mostly working on the electronics
for the arena hazards but also doing frequency coordination (which didn't work
very well....), safety inspections, electronic titling, and just general helping
to make the event happen.
(I tend to get a lot of fun out of doing this kind of thing in general -- see
my Projects page for lots more examples.)
I'm interested in helping
to make something like Robot Wars happen, even if we have to call it something
else to keep the evil Plotnicki away. Regrettably, that probably means that
we can't involve Marc either (except inviting him as a guest), because otherwise
the lawyers would crucify him. It's way too late this year to begin putting
something new together, but perhaps we can start now and do something really
fantastic for 1999. I'd like to be involved!
Bob Bickford rab@daft.com
my Projects Page: Bob Bickford rab@daft.com
----------Top----------
Steven Kirk
Nelson (SLAMER)
Hi My name is Steven Kirk Nelson My father (Igoforit) and
I went to Robot Wars 97 and thought it was great. It kind of reminded me of
a computer convention meets a Tractor pull (Run what you brung) sorta thing.
We spent about 5 years Tractor pulling and were rather successful at it. We
see robot wars as a far cheaper type of competition but it looks just as fun
and challenging. Its unfortunate that the only event is in lidigation at this
time. Oh well anyway My background includes mostly Trade Schools such as Universal
technical institute in Phoenix Az. for Auto/Diesel mechanics and Nevada Gaming
School for Amusement/Gaming technology. I also Arc/gas weld. I am also a Private
pilot. My contribuiton on the robot my father has construted will be the electronic
intigration you know wires and tape and other stuff like that.. He also lets
me read and interpet all the technical data (lucky me). I hope to take on all
heavyweights if theres ever an event! I got a website check it out. Its about
flying http://users.intercomm.com/stevenn/index.htm
----------Top----------
Cyborg2000
(CYBORG2000)
Hi..
My name is Tim and I am from England. I have been in the states about seven
months ( Nevada ).
It seems I left England right at the wrong time, but my luck was always not
that good : ) I have not participated in robotwars yet, but I am making a robot
for entry as soon as any event happens.
http://members.xoom.com/Cyborg2000/robotwars.htm I am an Electronics engineer,
specialising in CCTV and cameras, lens etc. The story behind my name is that
I want to enter a legged combatant in the year 2000.
If you have any questions regarding vision technology or things like that, feel
free to e-mail me at Cyberun@usa.net Regards
----------Top----------
Derek Young
(MRSMASHY)
I realised yesterday
that the message I posted to the "who's who" thread never made it, so I figured
I'd post again.
I am a second/third
year Systems Engineering student at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, BC.
Myself and some of my friends are the creators/builders of Mister Smashy. I
have been interested in competing in RW since 95, but I have always been on
the wrong coast during the summer. So this is (was) the year that I could finally
make it. Our robot is coming along, albeit a bit behind schedule (I am glad
I started early). I am currently in school fulltime taking math and linear systems
courses, so Mister Smashy has fallen a bit to the wayside.
As far as my personal
interests go, I paint and sculpt occasionally, as well as snowboard/skateboard
depending on the season. I just bought a 1971 Datsun 510, and I like working
on that too. Next summer I plan on competing in regional solo II (autocross)
events with it. I am into music too. I've played guitar and/or drums in a few
punk/ska bands and I enjoy going to punk and ska shows as well as going to clubs
and dancing and stuff.
Check out my homepage for more info on all that crap.
As far as the competition
goes this year, a college team from San Jose sent us a private challenge. I
was thinking it would be cool to do some a smaller type event for feather/lightweights
at a university. Less insurance problems due to the less dangerous robots and
it could be setup to have minimal entrance fees. Anyone interested? Oh well,
it is a pipe dream at the moment, as I have not the time to organize such an
event.
Till then?
Derek Young Mr Smashy
part 2--------------
I'd personally like to start this thread again. I will start by doing an freshly
updated take on who I am.
My name is Derek Young, I am a 4th year systems engineering student at Simon
Fraser University in Vancouver British Columbia, Canada... eh? I have been building
robots for a couple of years, and have two of them under my belt. The first
being Mr Smashy which was built for the ill-fated robotica. A year later I built
Son of Smashy from the remains of Mr Smashy, and a bunch more stuff. With a
lot of luck SOS managed to win the megabot duel title at BattleBots 99 at Long
Beach. I met a lot of you guys there, and I had a super time. My other interests
include racing Datsuns, art, and just generally building stuff. Besides going
to school some of my upcoming projects include a bolt-in Semi-Automatic transmission
for 510s, a new walking robot and the elusive "Gerbil Bot"...
Who's next?
Derek Young
MegaBot: Son of Smashy
Upcoming MegaBot Walker: Pressure Drop
Webpage: www.sfu.ca/~dbyoung
----------Top----------
MrProject
(MRPROJECT)
Hello,
My name is Curt Meyers.
My robot team and various other teams I have been on have always been OperationBoilermaker.
(I graduated from Purdue "The Boilermakers")
I have this motto: "Bigger
with More Power"
I lover playing with
mechanical and electrical things. I have entered a LOT of contests with robots
and various other things.
My most recent projects
include:
Robot Wars: Pokey (Middleweight),
Kill-O-Amp (Heavey) Rebuilt my 1969 Ford Bronco's suspension. Now I want to
beef up the V-8.
Claimed the trophy for
the fastest piece of furniture with my electric Lay-Z-Boy chair! Self cooling
softdrink can holder.
Trying to make my house (bank forclosure) look like a house!
I started building robots
in College for design contests. I saw the first robot wars on Discover way back
and was hooked. Moved to San Jose for robot wars, happened to have a job here
as well. I write calibration software for Automatic Test Equipment at Schlumberger,
so I have to get my hands on the hardware at night.
Like others have stated,
I have lots of ideas but little extra money. I try and spend my money on my
tools and save money by using what is commonly available.
A word related to robot
wars robots. Although I haven't become famous by winning anything in 96 or 97.
I have given Dan a run for the money. Also unseen by most I did inflict a large
amount of damage to the 97 "DoAll" with my lump of metal!
I just like building
stuff no one else can build....
Curt
----------Top----------
milesj (MILESJ)
my name is jerome miles
I am 13 years old I am a studen't at centenial midle school I have been working
with engenering since I was 8 years old I heard about about wars on a search
engine and emidietly started working on desgines for robot wars 98, an I picked
one I named biodome my home page is at http://www.angelfire.com/ak/jeromemiles/index.html.
*post #2:
I've already posted here but you can barely read my message it is spelled so
bad let me revise it for you. My name is Jerome miles and I am thirteen years
old. I have been interested in robots since I was eight years old. I am building
a lightweight and a featherweight. They are both paid for and built by me since
I have no team. Any one wanting to become part of my teem please email me.
----------Top----------
BLS (BLS)
My name is Brian Scearce,
I'm a software engineer who lives in Fremont, California. I heard about RW96
about a week after it happened and spent a year waiting to attend RW97.
I'm building a featherweight
that I hoped would be in RW98. I hope I'll at least be able to show it off to
some other builders this summer, even if there isn't any official competition.
Brian
----------Top----------
Barry (CSHERWOOD)
I am Chris Sherwood,
Head of Design & Technology at Hagley RC High School in the UK.
I became involved with
Robot Wars when pupils encouraged me to organise a trip to a RW preview, put
on for the BBC in London in 96. The Master and another bot were flown over here
for the event.
We were hooked and built
BARRY for UKRW97. It was a variation on La Machine but with a pneumatic, shock
absorbed, lifting blade. We entered UKRW97 but we were over weight and were
blocked in the Gauntlet and went home without fighting anyone.
We are now building
GNASHER, a petrol powered, four wheeled articulated bot with Hydralic Jaws and
a linear actuator doing the steering. Not as strong as BARRY but an engineering
challenge.
In the UK the "look"
is more important than the "effectiveness" because of the TV involvement.
Check out our home page
:- http://freespace.virgin.net/chris.sherwood/
----------Top----------
Michael Preston
(ASSAS)
Hi! I am Michael Preston,
currently organiser of BotZ in the UK, an alternative Robotwars event.....
My main interests are
Robotics, Computers, Virtual Reality and Telerobotics...I am currently working
on a exoskeleton with haptic feedback....would make a great robot control...
I am strongly in favour
of an international organisation, and would be willing for it to use the Name
BotZ....
Feel free to contact
me......
Michael.preston@virgin.net icq# 9952074 or Phone...+44(0)7050 047 029 BotZ webpage
http://botz.home.ml.org/
----------Top----------
Jack Buffington
(J1432)
Hi. I'm Jack Buffington.
I am part of Team Finagler with Chris Crandall and Stiven Kerestegian.
I started out at Penn
State as an EE major, but realised that I would be bored for the rest of my
career since engineering has the posibility to be fun for me, but it appeared
that there were few jobs that actually were. So I switched over to animation
at the Academy of Art. My team members are product design students at the Academy
of Art. We will be entering a new and improved version of 'Finagler' this year.
In the plans: a control system that works well. (as opposed to last year)
----------Top----------
Luke Dalske
(LDALSKE)
Hi all. I just want to let you know who I am and where I
come from. I saw the competition on tv a year ago and started building my robot
in May of 1998. Planning for the competion in August. I am so bumed that it
is not happening. Any help I can lend to getting it running I'm game. I am from
Yuba City, Ca. and presently go to Chico State University. I am studing to get
my degree in Mechatronic Engineering. Please email me about any info so I can
help.
My email is lad@ecst.csuchico.edu Hope to hear from anyone.
Sincerely, Luke Dalske lad@ecst.csuchico.edu
----------Top----------
Thomas Davis
(THAEMOS)
Greeting to all- I am
a Systems Engineer/Project Manager for computer systems. I am a fire breather,
juggler, priest, DJ, Renaissance faire goer, fencer, programmer, and Robot Creator.
I am currently working on a working bot for '98. I am giving myself a 40% chance
of success to make it this year. The basis of that being all the usual factors
- time, money, parts, and tools. I have them all, just not all the right ones
at the right time (shrug). I owe my psychotic robot creation to Edwin Wise.
I came upon his web page and was inspired. I won't tell you how, just that I
was inspired. My walker will be a feet of engineering to amaze all, if I make
it. Otherwise, Ill be another talker who didn't have the right stuff to back
it up. We shall see. I am also considering sponsoring another event similar
to what Gary Cline has done only in the area of March/April 99. I figure if
we spend all this time and money on these things it would be nice to enjoy them
more than only once a year. If alternated every 5-6 months, that would give
people time for redesign/repair for further competition.
Opinions on a better time are desired. Chao.
Thomas Davis Sacramento,
CA thaemos@jps.net (916) 600-3892
Thaemos >>>--------->
((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((
"What do you mean, 'it jumps'?" ))))))))))))))))))))))))))));)
----------Top----------
Otto Girtmacher
(ASSASSIN3)
I am a 15 year old kid from Pa. My name is David B. Sutton.
I'm starting to build a robot named ItChE 2.
----------Top----------
Camp Peavy
(CAMPP1)
Hello, my name is Camp
Peavy and I too am a roboholic. It all started with an innocent little book
by David Heiserman entitled "How to Build Your Own Self Programing Robot". This
book described a homebrew 8085 microprocessor controlled device that would roam
around, sense stall conditions and exhibit "machine intelligence". After years
of trying to build this very complicated computer system from scratch... I finally
got a clue and replaced the homebuilt control system with a storebought 386sx
PC and started having fun with some of the higher level concepts. That is, having
the robot run around the floor and when the computer sensed a stall condition...
he would (faithful to the book) generate a random code to eliminate the stall
condition. This was according to Heiserman and example of "Alpha Machine Intellegence".
This system eventually became "Gladiator Rodney". You can see a picture of Rodney
and some of my other CyberBeasts at
http://www.seric.com/robotpics/
- Camp
----------Top----------
Mark Setrakian
(NECROMAT)
Well, I guess I'm a
little late getting onto this forum. At this point I think you guys know more
about me than I ever would have bothered to tell you myself (thanks Greg).
My name is Mark Setrakian.
I first entered Robot Wars in 1994. My robot, The Master, won best design in
'94, best design and heavy weight face off in '95, fought at the RWUK promotional
event in London, and finally tore itself to pieces in the arena in '96.
In '97 I slammed together something called Snake, which barely worked, but won
strangest robot.
Hopefully it will work a little better at Robotica '98.
For a living I build
and puppeteer mechanical creatures. My last project was Men in Black, my current
project is Mighty Joe Young (coming out at X-mass). My job is very demanding
and leaves little time for personal projects (The Master 94 was built in three
weeks, Snake was built in twelve days).
When I'm not spending
my lunch money on gear heads, I make sounds that may or may not be music.
I am indebted to my
very supportive crew (Team Sinister) my coworkers and many of my opponents,
who have made RW such a great experience for me.
----------Top----------
Ilya Polyakov
(HOLIO)
Hey everyone! You might
remember me as the pissed off and stressed out red haired kid whos speed controls
have been burning out EVERY SINGLE YEAR of the competition for the past 2 years!!!!!!!.
This year I finally got my hands on a Vantec, so hopefully you might actully
see me kickin ass out in the arena. Another great thing about this year is that
the bot (CARNIVORE) is actually finished, the arm works, and so does the gas
powered endmill.
Hope to be there in agust.
And remeber: "Our city
can kick your city's ass!" - NYC mayor Rudoph Guliani
donald
hutson (TAZBOT)
hay gang! what's going
on! team tazbot here and i just have one thing to say LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!!
----------Top----------
dcole@ctaz.com
(DEIGH4DAVE)
My name is Dave Cole.
I am going to promote a robotics battle competition. I have talked to the lawyers,
e-mailed "Robot Wars" and told them, Told Gary that I wanted to acquire the
name "Robotica", and now I am here to tell you the same. If you want to play
the game, I will provide the arena. I have the resources and the desire to carry
this thing through. If what I hear from you is true...I'll make it happen. If
you are serious about "Robotica", I will resurect it .
All I ask from you, is that you help me to rally support for this. If there
are enough people that want to play this game, then we will. So you know that
I speak true, I include my contact info. If RW wants to use it they can, although
all they have to do is read their e-mail from today! Dave Cole 5215 Jackrabbit
Dr.
Bullhead City, Az. 86426 (520) 768-5452
This is my home info,
so please try to call after noon, and before 10PM.
Thanks Dave
*part 2*
David Cole age 37 occupation
/ Enterpreneur I do what it takes to make a profit. I either own now, or have
owned businesses ranging form Custom Steel Fabrications, to Ptivate Investigations,
to Construction companies. I guess I don't know what I want to do when I grow
up. I was a Cop for a while, Taught school for a while, Owned a Newspaper, just
what ever. I have made corporations, and raided corporations. I have done a
lot in a few short years. This is what happens when you grow up poor, and don't
wish to stay that way. I don't drink much, nor do I ever do drugs. I have been
married for 6 years to a woman who puts up with my somewhat agressive, overbearing
personality.
God gave me a brain, and I intend to use it to the last neuron. My educational
background is as varied as my resume. If there is info that I need, I learn
it. I develope solid friendships, and keep them. I speak my mind, and always,
ALWAYS, stand my ground. I always take responsibility for my actions, and admit
to my faults.
I am 6'5", weigh 245 lbs, and take nothin from no one. I hope to make some friends
here! Dave
----------Top----------
Rex Schrader
(SCHRADERR)
Mr. Cole - What I really
want to know is who are you - Where are you from, how old are you, what is your
interest in Robotic Combat, what have you seen before, what is your educational
background etc. Why should we trust you? We never see or hear from you and suddenly
you are >HERE< promoting an event. Who's rules do you want to use? How do you
feel about the SORC? Anyone can try to run a Robtotic Combat event, but we've
seen what Mentron did to it, and we've seen what Profile did to it. Why should
we belive that you will be any better?
Not to come off too
negativly, but so far we've had a run of bad luck with Robotic Combat events
and I don't want to be let down again. I am going in with my eyes OPEN.
Rex Schrader Proud Member
of the Society of Robotic Combat '>
*part 2*
I should talk - I've
been lurking here since shortly after the fourm's inception and I've never gotten
around to posting my Who's Who, so here I go.
My name is Rex Schrader.
I just turned 24 on the 15th of August. I am a second year Senior at California
State University, Sacramento. I have another 2 years to go before I can graduate
with a BS in Electronic Enginerring. It is my intention to concentrate in Robotics.
I had previously attended 3 years of junior college (Diablo Valley College)
trying on Computer Science before I "figured out what I wanted to do". I have
since spent 2 years at Sac State doing the G.E. thing (seems that my previous
G.E. was not a useful as I had hoped.)
I discovered Robot Wars(tm)
a few years back when I saw it on Next Step - later that year I was surfing
the net and was inspired by Andrew Lindsey's page with the complete history
of RW '96 as well as by Team Delta's great page. In '97 I saw RW live and had
the time of my life.
I originally intended to build a bot for '98 (I even bought a cool 8 channel
PCM radio) but school and work got in the way. One Of These Days(tm) I will
build a bot. With the support of my loving Girlfriend Dodi I cannot fail.
I currently make a living
as a "Computer Consultant" with my father as Schrader & Son - We come out to
people's houses and fix computers or tutor. We also do small business networking
and support. Neither of us have ever had formal training as compter techs, but
we've owned one or more of each generation of computer tech from the Compaq
Green Screen luggable up to some nice Pentium IIs.
That's about all I can
think of, Rex Schrader Proud Member of the Society of Robotic Combat
----------Top----------
Chris
Baron (CHRISBARON)
Hi I've been posting
a lot to the forum so I guess it's about time I posted here.
Name: Chris Baron Personal:
Age 37, married, 8 (yes 8) children, male, nerd. I live in western Washington
State about 70 mi. south of Seattle. I live on a farm out in the sticks where
we raise chickens, pigs, dairy goats, and have a big garden.
Education: B.S. Aerospace
Engineering, M.S. Operations Research
Background: I'm currently
employed building Web sites, doing programming, and general technology stuff
for nine.dots corporation a marketing services firm in Tustin, CA. I have written
a book called "Drag 'n' Drop CGI: Enhance your Web Site Without Programming"
published by Addison-Wesley 1997. I also occasionally write articles for WebTechniques
and other Web development magazines. Before my Web career I was an officer in
the USAF building mission control software for some of our (IMHO coolest) military
space systems.
Once the Russkies folded up the USAF decided they had plenty of nerds and I
was given the opportunity to excel elsewhere.
I've been building robot
things and working on small computer boards since the late 80's. I also play
around with model airplanes and programming computers. I'm in love with the
Linux OS (world domination!). My teenage kids found the RW Web site and from
there to the Team Delta site and we just kind of got more and more enthused
about the whole deal. We decided to build a featherweight for RW '98 in March
and actually finished it in time for Robotica. It now sits near me, forlorn
and taking up most of my desk but ready to answer the call when it comes :-)
Chris Baron cbaron@nwrain.com
Team ELSPFODDAD
----------Top----------
John Gallagher
(JDPG)
Hi All
Since I have posted
a few things on this form why not this.
Name John Gallagher.
Personal: 33 years old, married with one child ( 5 month old little girl)and
a dog(Jack Russel Terrier). I live in Princeton NJ.
Education: B.S. & M.S. Electrical Engineering (geek) I currently work as a hired
gun (Consultant) for a major pharmaceutical firm (Viagra!). I fly RC helicopters
and planes for fun and have been building small non combat robots for years
and thought it would be fun to do some damage.
JDGP gallaj@pfizer.com
----------Top----------
Wen (WENDIGOX)
My name is Jason Faggert,
i'll turn 20 on the 23rd, I live in Concord, NC. I'm getting an AS in Electronic
Engineering Technoloy at a local Comunity College. I originaly saw coverage
on Next Step, and wanted to build a robot ever since. Last year i found out
more about it on the internet but haven't gotten serious about building one
until this July.
Wen
----------Top----------
Arthur Sanders
(SANDMAN416)
Time to fess up, Arthur
Sanders
Personal, 43, engaged,
living in Philadelphia PA. I have 2 birds. Last year I was 1/3 of Team Spike,
this year I'm half of Team Chew Toy. I'm a main frame operator that has also
learned client server. I'm the hardware nerd of Quest Press and my video can
be gotten from the Team Spike home page.
I went out to Robot
Wars last year with camcorder in hand and this year I had planned on being there
with a battle bot in hand.
Hobbies, still and video
photography, building PC's, birds, RC cars and boats.
----------Top----------
GRIDIRON
(GRIDIRON)
Ok my turn, I am Paul
Hemshall a 20 year old Student from Nottingham, England currently in my second
year studying for a BSc in Audio Electronics at Anglia Polytechnic University,
Cambridge, England.
Before embarking on this degree I completed a two year BTEC in Audio Electronics
and Electronic Engineering. I have followed robotwars for three years now and
last year decided to get together a team to develop a robot (GRIDIRON) although
not finished yet GRID's future is at present looking very bright.
I am a person who follows his ambitions to the death and i hold a grudge for
a very long time (it takes a hell of a lot to begrudge me though!) The main
aim for me at the moment is my career and getting my bot to the states to the
arena!
Paul Hemshall (SORC
MEMBER)
----------Top----------
Mike Shanahan
(MIKEXXXX)
Well Hello My name is Mike Shanahan. I live in Pomona California.
I'm 41, married with a 4 year old who idolizes Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes.
I work as an air pollution chemist at an independent testing company. The company
has an excellent mahine shop where I have built 2 robots one that was supposed
to have been at robot wars '98. I am very into fencing( I own the fencing school
at the Renaissance Faire in Glen Helen Calif. I am also a habitual marathon
runner. My tentative name for the robot is The Agincourt. Hope to smash all
your robots to scrap at a future competition.
Mike
----------Top----------
Ron Karren
(QUESTINC)
Hi! Since this is the
"introduce yourself" section of the Forum, here's my bio!
I was (until last year)
working in R&D for a company that builds mass storage systems but was laid off
a MONTH before Robot Wars '97! I still came to SF and was part of the team that
you all saw with video camera equipment seemingly glued to their shoulders .
BTW - this years RW would have been my 3rd year as a competitor had it happened...!
I was pit crew for TEAM SPIKE last year and the year before. Drew L.
is a good friend of mine (and he can build the NASTIEST stuff you ever saw!)
Anyway, as of now I'm an author (first book came out this past June!) and info
on it can be found on www.questpress.com I also write for Robot Science & Technology
magazine and I'm BACK in school for my 3rd degree (this time I'm getting a CIS
degree ) and, at 40, I'm proving this old dog can learn a few new tricks.
I'm also a single-parent with an 8-year old daughter who loves Robots and is
looking forward to her first Robot Combat event as my pit crew.
I live in central NJ about a half hour away from my pal Drew.
When not working on machines of mass destruction, I game, hang out with friends,
go to movies (love action filsm, Hong Kong cinema and Anime), write and go to
SF conventions.
See you all in SF sometime for a rumble...
Ron team chew toy
----------Top----------
Team Digital
(ASCENDANT)
Quid Pro Quo!
My name is Chad Jackson,
I am the instigator of Team Digital.
I am 27 yrs old, married to a petite beautiful women (I am biased!) I have 3
children, aged 5,3 and 8 mos. Two girls and a boy respectively.
There are several other
members to Team Digital: Clay Hamlet, Rex Fox (yes that's really his name),
Byron Archer, Kelly Hawk (a guy). If they choose to list here, it's their choice,
otherwise wait for the web page. We have a web design in situ, my wife's response
to it was, "Yuk, that's just evil!" - must be doing something right, about ready
for launch.
We live in Kansas, yes,
and NO DOROTHY JOKES!!
I did my most of my
undergraduate stuff in Aerospace Eng. at KU, but it was a jumping stone to get
into KU Med. (They weigh your UG courses according to how hard they were, it
worked.
Something like 400 apps and 20 accepted, I was lucky!) I am a Respiratory Therapist
and also a Diving Medical Technician - big deal! I am really an OK guy.
I used to be real heavy
into R/C planes, have 11 planes and 2 choppers.
Can't fly either chopper well. Haven't done it REAL seriously since I've been
married 7 1/2 yrs.
I had all the money I wanted when I was single...
Just kidding, I love
my family, I'm quite sacastic. I am 6'6" and 260 lbs. I used to be much skinnier,
I even walked onto the KU basketball team when I was a freshman. Ya know, one
of those white guys on the bench with no real playin time. Play alot of JV though.
Anyway...
I have built seven robots,
two constantly in revision, a lawnmower (MOE) and a vacumn cleaner (SUCBOT).
This just seems like a neat way to vent some pent up energy! See ya in the battles...
----------Top----------
Some Guy
(MCOUCHOT)
read your bio in the
Robot Wars Forum.
I'm a mechanical engineering student (3rd year) at Cal Poly, and I really want
to get into pobots- where should I start, how do I get the exposure?
Could you give any advice/anecdoes
on how you started?
Thanks Matt
----------Top----------
John Patrick
(NETJOHN)
Thought it's about time
I posted a little bio.
I'm John Patrick, recently
moved to the Chicago area (Wheeling, to be specific), where I work for a defense
contractor as a Software Engineer.
I'm married, no children,
and my wife is persuing her Doctorate in High-Energy Particle Physics.
Hopefully we'll be moving to the Batavia, IL, area for her to work at Fermi-Lab.
I have a B.S. Electrical
Engineering and a M.S. Electrical Engineering, both from the University of Oklahoma,
where I work(ed) on their robotic team, which was planning on entering RW98/Robotica.
My emphasis is in Embedded
Systems and Digital Design, hence my attraction to the autonomous competitions.
I'm not much for mechanics, but that'll change, as I'm learning machining techniques
this fall.
My objective is to produce
high-quality autonomous and dual-purpose combat robots, as well as other competitive
robots. I'm also interested in ultra-small autonomous robots that mimic insect
and animal behaviour. Don't know if I'll ever "get around to it", though.
If you're a robot builder
in the NW Chicago area, I'd love to hear from you.
John Patrick
----------Top----------
(MAXHAVOC)
(MAXHAVOC)
Since I didnt make it
on Jim's Page, and I only posted a brief message here once... here it goes.
My name is Mike Simmons,
24, married, no kids.
I have a BSME from the
University of Texas at Austin. I work at a NASA robotics facility at the Johnson
Space Center in Houston. My lab replicates the Canadian SPDM robot going on
the Internatl Space Station (ISS) and we test the ability of the arms to interface
with orbital replacement units (ORUs). Groovy.
Im currently designing/gathering
parts/acquiring funding for my first combat robot. Heavyweight: MaxHavoc. Going
back to school part time to get a second bachelors in EE.
----------Top----------
CTP (CTP)
My Turn: I'm Christopher
T Palmer, 31, native and resident of the SF Bay area.
Married 1 year, and
now have a 2 week old daughter.
BA in Photography and
Visual Communication.
Worked in electromechanical
R&D for 6 years for a geophysical instrument company, then moved into IS and
IT. Currently MIS for a global scenario planning firm.
Inventor, builder, designer,
artist, bike mechanic, British car restorer, yada...
Started CTP Design &
Creation in 1990 (while at SF State sort of half assed working on an MA in film)
to design and build things...started with a balloon carried still and video
shooting system...worked great until my client lost 2 balloons and gave up.
Longtime robot phreak...had
planned to get involved in Robotica 98, but would have coincided with my daughters
birth, so decided to shoot for '99.
That's about it.
----------Top----------
Jamie Chinn
(CHINN101)
Let's see.
My name is Jamie Chinn,
age nineteen, and I am currently attending Lake Superior State University in
Sault Ste. Marie Michigan for an ME degree. Just started reading the forum,
and am interested in building a tank-style robot. I've been interested in robots
since about age ten, and haven't had any real experience.
----------Top----------
Matt Reed
(Qu (CYCLONE3))
My name is matt reed,
i am 15 years old and go to the london collage of general technology where i
am studing computer sciences and technical drawing (and design).
I have participated
in two robotwars type events in the uk. Inthese contests i have entered my two
robots - macro14 and zeus. I hope to start building another one soon. Building
robots is really all the experiance i have at the moment in this area.
I've been a "member"
of the rw forum for about a year, although i have always wanted to build a robot
for "robotwars".
----------Top----------
Dale Henson
(HENSONDALE)
I am Dale Henson. I
am an M.E. located in San Jose, California. I am one of the many people that
built a robot for competition at Robotica '98 this year and was disappointed.
I have a 25 pound robot that I changed to a 50 pound robot at the last minute
since the featherweight class had filled up almost immediately. A few other
guys at my company and I worked to develop the robot as team building exercise
at company expense. Our robot is named "Harvey Wall Banger", or simply Harvey,
and it is developed to the point of needing only some minor finishing but is
already capable of breaking the ankles of unwary spectators.
We used a Vantec speed
controller and are overdriving 24 VDC motors with 38 volts. We use chain drive
and can spin at about 90 RPM using "tank drive". We have experimented with various
batteries and charging systems and are about as close as we can afford to an
'optimum' design. We put a lot of effort into shock mounting and are currently
working on power switching, charging hookups and a more-durable antenna. We
plan to try using the steel sheel as an antenna but are not convinced it would
work from all directions and at an adequate distance.
We are interested in
smashing something with Harvey and have posted some comments under "arena design"
that may work for a small group.
----------Top----------
Nigel Jones-Quartey
(NKWATE)
Hi my name is Nigel Jones-Quartey (now you know why they
have screen names, imagine having to write that out every time). I originally
beame involved with robot wars when My friends decided to do the Robot Challenge.
At sixteen it is hard to build a robot so I have asked many a stupid questions.
I hope to ask you all stupid questions in the future.
----------Top----------
Joshua
Babb (JOSHUABABB)
I'm Joshua babb and am on team strawberry. I am building
the reliant. My page is at http://members.tripod.com/~jbabb/jbabb
-Josh
----------Top----------
Marcel Oerlemans
(THINGUL)
HI all,
I am Marcel Oerlemans
from Holland, Europe, 23 years of age. Became interested in robot warfare when
I saw the BBC tv-show on it. Have been interested in robots for as long as I
can remember. At the moment I am in the process of:
A) Designing and building a tank style robot, using Wolfram/Titanium alloys
for shielding and 2 starting engines of large diesel cars for driving. Not sure
about the weapons sustem yet.
B) Trying to start-up a dutch version of Robot Wars.
I've got 10 years of
experience with manufacturing diverse steel machines and in january of this
year, after five years of studying Technical Applied Physics, I graduated from
Technical University.
Bye,
Marcel.
----------Top----------
Antonio (WALLY6)
Hello, first of all,
excuse for my bad english. I'm Antonio from Bari, Italy. I've designed a mobile
robot for autonomous navigation using simple bricks.
If someone is interested in it, he can send me a mail to : fanelli@iesi.ba.cnr.it.
NB: the photo is at
www.iesi.ba.cnr.it/people/Liborio Capozzo/
----------Top----------
Marc Warren
(MARCWW)
I guess I should intro.
myself by now--
Marc Warren, Colchester CT (USA) I work as a service and installation technition
for a company that sells CNC (computer numerical control) systems and complete
CNC machine tools. I've also worked as a computer repair tech (70's to 80's
when you could actually fix stuff) I've done some embedded design- software
and hardware. The most code I've written is for the old M6803 (stop snickering!)
(8 bits, 4mhz, 64k address space for you newbie PIC guys!) Iv'e dabbled inC/C++,
I never developed a lot of respect for BASIC, and my first computer experience
was writing in FORTRAN on an IBM 1130 in high school.
I've spent a fair amount of time working on hardware at the component level,
including industrial SCR and PWM servo amps, and for the last five years I've
been spending a lot of time chewing up scrap metal with a mill and a lathe we
have at the shop. I have FINALLY found what appears to be a possible focus for
these diverse skills.....I'm gonna build me a robot! That's my story and I'm
stick'n to it!
{:=) mw
----------Top----------
Tom
Welsh (THOUGHTRAIN)
I see that you are from
New Jersey. I am living in Philadelphia. I work as an inventor for a company
which makes all sorts of mechanical devices. I was looking for someone to collaborate
with on a robot. e-mail me if you want to discuss it further.
thought_train@msn.com
Tom Welsh
[part 2]
Jack, Where are you located? I live in Philadelphia and am interested in getting
involved with a robot team. I am an inventor with my schooling in mechanical
engineering and a wide range of experience and a knack for contests. e-mail
me if you're interested.
[part 3]
John, I live in Philadelphia and am looking for someone to team up with to build
a entry for the Robot Wars. I am 38 years old, got a couple of kids and spend
most of my life inventing. My education is in mechanical engineering, but I
read from a range of sources. I think we could win this thing. We are both old
enough to not make any silly mistakes but young enough to have the energy required
to pull this off.
What do ya say? Talk to me.
[part 4]
Dave, My name is Tom Welsh. Your bio reminded me of myself a bit except I'm
still poor. I work as an inventor for a company which makes mechanical dodads.
I have a stack of notebooks in the back of my house full of inventions which
could make someone wealthier than Bill Gates. Unfortunately, I wasn't born with
the abillity to sell my ideas. The first idea I attempted to patent was an alternative
skateboard. This was a wonderful product but a young fellow in South Africa
beat me to the US Patent. We were working on the same concept but completely
unaware of each other. The South African product is called the "Snakeboard".
Do a search on the web and you will see the popularity of this product. Anyway,
I have many ideas with true market potential in a vast range of fields, but
need someone with business savy to team up with. Please contact me.
[part 5]
Jerome, Where do you live? I'm in Philadelphia and am hoping to piece a team
together myself. Maybe we should create a team which is from all over the world
and each work on a different part of the robot.
----------Top----------
Mike Joyce
(MAXAB)
Hope it ain't too late
to hop on this "Crazy Train"!
Thanks to Edwin Wise
and his outstanding web site for turning me back on to Robotics. A combat walker,
totally insane! I love it.
Background:
Math/CS, engineer wannabe,
1984 University of Illinois graduate. I nearly flunked out, spent most my spare
time building gadgets & 'bots in the Advanced Digital Systems Lab (ADSL, anyone
here remember Prof. Uribe?) The rest of the time I pumped gas at the local airport
and flew when I had the cash.
Did the 2yr AFROTC thing
and landed a pilot slot. Did pilot training (class 86-04, Go Jet Punks!) at
Williams AFB, AZ (Now Closed). B-52G Initial Qual at Castle AFB,CA (Now Closed).
B-52's at Wurtsmith AFB, MI (Now Closed). T-38 Instructor at Reese AFB, TX (Now
Closed). And finally B-1's at Ellsworth AFB, SD (On Closure List). I got out
after 11 years 'cause I wasn't looking forward to flying desks. I now write
software for a company in TX from my home in the Black Hills of SD.
I've an empty 2100 sq
ft basement that I plan to turn into a bot shop. I'll probably be spending my
bucks on machine tools for the next several months. Maybe a crude entry for
fun in '99 and something more serious in 2000. Hope to set up a web site soon.
MaxAB (Maximum Afterburner)
is slang for a jet's throttle position... It's also an attitude.
Anyone near Rapid City
out there? E-mail me.
Mike Joyce
(605)584-1857
Joao de Souza
(JDSOUZA)
Hi My name is Joao, and I'm an alcoholic.
Oooops. Sorry, wrong group. :)
Okay, A bit more serious this time:
My name is Joao de Souza. I have been following robotic competitions since
96, but haven't competed in one yet. I *was* going to compete in RW98, but
then it got canceled, and I haven't managed to find much time to work on my
robot ever since. I hope to have it finished by next year's Battlebots. My
robot works in a similar fashion as Blendo, but its top is made from a NYC
Con Edison manhole cover, with interchangeable weapons (blades, chains, sledge
hammers, live dogs on leashes, whatever :)
I work as a computer programmer, with an education - if not a background -
in EE. I also worked with post-production audio for a little while.
And that's about it for now,
--
Joao - http://nanonerd.com/
Tim Rich (TIMRICH)
Hi all!
My name is Tim Rich. I'm a high school student currently living in Pitt Meadows,
BC (Canada)... I'm currently a complete newbie to robots/robotic combat with
one very unsuccessful robot in my past, Opus. I'm currently working on a Kilobot
robot for whatever event I can go to named, The Colonel. My goal for this time
around is to make a working (much unlike Opus), battle worthy robot. I hope
to actually make it to an event so I can meet everyone and finally get a taste
of combat. I also enjoy acting, drumming and skating (With a skateboard.)
-Tim Rich
"Hopeless yet hopeful"
Kody Baker (KOWREK)
Hey all,
My name is Kody Baker,
and I'm another BC-ite (There's already 2 others in here! Awesome!). I am a 4th
year UBC Mechanical Engineer.
3 others in my program and I are building either a megabot or a kilobot for summer
'00 Battlebots. We're carrying two different designs for a while so we don't get
trapped with a bad design, but if we get the funding and everything goes smoothly
maybe you'll see us there with two bots!
Our website will be up shortly, but until then if you have any questions/comments
feel free to contact Team UBC (not our official name, but it will do for now)
at kody@interchg.ubc.ca
l8r all.
Jimmy Wang (JIMMY W)
Hey everyone,
My name is Jimmy Wang. I'm on the same design team as Kody Baker , but
apparently someone neglected to mention me in his message. I'm also a 4th year
Mechie from UBC.
Like the K-man said, we're still in the design and beg-for-money stage right now,
but we'll definitely see you all at some event next year (knock on wood).
Feel free to e-mail me also about stuff jimwang@interchange.ubc.ca
l8r
Gabriel Fiorini
(EL MUERTO)
Hello, All I am Gabriel
Fiorini, a 15-year-old highschool sophomore, and the lead conceptual designer
of La Papa De Muerte, a heavyweight robot which is currently in the parts-researching,
concept-tweaking, and money-grubbing stage. We're based out of Duxbury, Massachusetts.
We (myself and two friends) have a very basic working knowledge of robotics
and the principles involved in a battlebot...but no specific knowledge of any
of the individual parts involved, which makes research very frustrating. Okay...this
is turning from a bio to a ramble to a plea for help from more experienced battle-bot
creators. PLEASE...if you have any tips, information, sources of parts, design
information, or spare parts you want to donate, e-mail me at El_Muerto@priest.com...we'll
all be *very* grateful for anything you have got to offer us. Anyways...yes.
We are highschoolers. We have no money. We are building a robot...yesss...okay.
That's all...I will now go see what that ominous, scraping noise behind me is.
You can't stop it...it keeps coming.
You can't break it...it
won't be broken. It's a juggernaut, unstoppable, unbreakable, irresistable,
and infinitely absurd...yes, it is La Papa De Muerte...the potato of death.
