The FIRST ("For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology") robotics competition has recently begun it's 2007 competition season. The competition, which began and still enjoys it's greatest popularity in the United States, challenges high-school students and mentors to design and build a (teleoperated) robot to play a game in six weeks. Founded by Dean Kamen, of segway, IBOT, the first home dialysis machine, and clean drinking water fame founded the competition in 1988 to inspire students to enter the engineering profession. Every year a new challenge is put forth, and this year's game involves placing inner-tubes on a cylindrical rack in addition to lifting other team's robots. A sizeable community has sprung up around FIRST, with much attention paid to Dean Kamen's ideal of gracious professionalism which is like sportsmanship without the sports. The 2007 regional competitions provide teams an opportunity to show off their work. If you're interested in getting involved, or just watching the events, FIRST provides a handy Event Locator.
posted by martinX's bellbottoms on Mar 8, 2007 - 14 comments

The Family Research Council is claiming victory in their fight to have the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services remove a web site "Celebrating the Pride and Diversity Among and Within the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Populations." [Google Cache Links: 1, 2, 3, 4] But the FRC are not very happy about the "derogatory and even threatening responses to the messages they sent to their own government."
posted by Otis on Jan 31, 2006 - 95 comments

Gay sex -- so good, it just might destroy the planet. Family Research Council founder Paul Cameron is frequently cited as an authority on sexuality by the religious right. In his view, "lesbians are particularly good seducers" and the thrill of gay sex is like "pure heroin" -- which is why homosexuality must be stopped before we all suffer gay-orgasm death, apparently. (I don't know about you, but after reading Cameron, I could sure use a... something in my mouth.) [via TBogg.]
posted by digaman on Mar 2, 2004 - 75 comments

"Dawson’s Creek" is really an indoctrination tool for homosexual activists. "The Family Research Council has taken offense at everything from 'Friends' to 'American Pie'. And don’t even get them started about all the gay people on television".
posted by matteo on May 7, 2001 - 44 comments

An informed view of prop twenty-two. This may be a bit belated, but it's astonishing that someone could come up with a comparison like this and actually believe that it had any worth in judgment or persuasion.
posted by EngineBeak on Mar 22, 2000 - 13 comments