#Piwars2019 is just minutes away....well more like less than 3 weeks and an 18 hour flight away...but that's not the point. The trip is almost here!!!! 

Here are today's goals:
-Review the rules 
-Get new chassis completely functional
-Map out remaining items to get completed

​Lets get going!!!!!

Today we held a Goodwill fundraiser! We were only expecting to get maybe 4 bins filled but we were lucky enough to get 7 bins filled!!!! A big thanks to those who came out to support us!!!! This money is going towards paying for our trip to #Piwars2019

Today we were invited to Meow Wolf to participate in a micro controller showcase. Mr Bruce and a team of Students traveled to Santa Fe New Mexico to share some of our HackerSpace activities, including HAL3000. Students participating in the outreach were, Paul Judge, Stephanie Perez, Dalton Pierce, and Marlan Ball plus CNM Faculty member Rob Garner joined in on the fun. In addition to sharing HAL3000 we demonstrated our Raspberry Pi based super computer, our student built 3D printer, Marlan's awesome LED cube, and Sense Hat animation activity. All demonstrations were well received and the students had a lot of fun sharing and exploring Meow Wolf exhibits.

We are getting so close to the trip!!! You know what that means!? Time to start getting homework for the classes we will be missing!! Totally worth it though. In other words the team will be attending the official CNM travel meeting in a couple weeks. Everyone one has plane and train tickets, hotels have been booked, travel insurance has been purchase, arrangements for museums have been made, and last but not least....restaurants have been chosen! Fun fact the team as whole love to eat so if you have any great food places to recommend let us know!!!!!

Okay so maybe not that kind of famous...but we like to think we are cool.... CNM Marketing came to our Friday HackerSpace meeting to interview us for an article about the #Piwars2019 team! How awesome is that!!! Check it out here!

https://www.cnm.edu/news/hackerspace-students-putting-their-robotics-skills-to-the-test-in-england

We cant just stop now! We have more fundraisers coming up!! Heres a list!

-3 more meal fundraisers at Crazy Lizard, California Pastrami, and Torinos at Home 
-Goodwill fundraiser 
-Paint night at Kelly Jo's painting 
-T-shirt sales 

Another huge thanks to  CNM Executive Council of Students supporting us with yet another year of funding. We have successfully raised enough money to send 5 students and 1 Faculty member to compete in #piwars! In addition we would like to give a huge  thanks to our sponsors! We hope to continue with fundraising, we wouldn't have the ability to participate if it weren't for all the help and support!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH 

Just a quick update on the travel components. Heres what everyone said...
  
                   "Hey guys how are you feeling about the trip and the progress of the robot"

Dalton: "I'm super excited"

Paul: "I'm super excited"

Jimmy: "I'm super excited...slightly worried about the progress."

Abby: "I'm super excited. A little bit worried about driving the robot in competition"

Kerry: "Just waiting on the response for ECOS and the funding situation. Other than that I'm super excited and a little worried about the progress"

Steph: "I'm ecstatic about it, I'm gaining so much experience from this on several fronts. Traveling to another country, traveling by plane, and participating in a technology based competition. They're all firsts for me 

I'm pretty sure everyone is feeling a bit overwhelmed with the lack of progress but I know with this team we can pull through and get caught up in no time. 

We are two days into the semester and we are ready to take a break from class. Luckily the team is meeting today to work on HAL 3000...More and more modifications are happening and we are getting super excited about the trip.

Activities include:
-Dalton and Jimmy are debating on whether to use an Arduino for line following. However they have come to the conclusion to go with the raspberry pi (they did not completely veto the Arduino). 
-Jimmy is converting code from Robokits to python for line following and our pixy cam.
- Mr Bruce is Cleaning up our chassis which was 3D printed and designed by Paul
-Mr. Bruce is  also doing a little bit of recruiting with the class next door.

Guess what?!?!? We are getting closer and closer to the new semester which means only a few months before the competition! Can I get a "Woohoo"?!? The team is currently researching and discussing costs and options for getting us from New Mexico to England. Having to stay within a tight budget, we found a very good deal on airfare and accommodations! We plan on hosting a few more fundraisers to help out, but for the most part the team has purchased their tickets and are ready to embark on this adventure .

Happy to announce the CNM HackerSpace will be participating in Pi Wars 2019. Everyone is eager to get started and sharing ideas! We will be updating throughout the entire process and we hope you enjoy the activities and frustration as much as we do!!