[Robotgroup] Austin American Statesman Mention!

[marvart at txwinet.com]

Congratulations to all you roboteers that lasted 1st night to the frigid
closing. Sorry I wimped out and left early. The Babyheads needed to be
tucked in bed and fireworks scare them. Marvin



> Looks like our publicity campaign is off to a good start!
>
> Happy New Year to all of our Robot Overlords!
>
> Paul
>
> On Jan 1, 2008 2:23 PM, Vern Graner <vern at txis.com> wrote:
>
>> Small blurb, no pics, but coverage! :)
>>
>>
>> http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/01/01/0101firstnight.html
>>
>> ------------------------ clip -----------------------------
>>
>> Third First Night is second to none
>> 125,000 join carnival-like atmosphere downtown to greet 2008.
>>
>> By Patrick George
>> AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
>> Tuesday, January 01, 2008
>>
>> How did Austin ring in the New Year? With rock 'n' roll, funnel cake and
>> giant insects, of course.
>>
>> In front of Lady Bird Lake, thousands of revelers kicked off 2008 by
>> attending First Night and turning the city into a massive carnival.
>>
>> The Texas Juggling Society added a spark to Monday night's events:
>> Connie Leaverton lights up the First Night parade as she juggles her way
>> along Congress Avenue. The third year of the Austin event attracted up
>> to 125,000 people, according to city estimates.
>>
>> Kids who couldn't greet 2008 at midnight got their own fireworks earlier
>> in the evening.
>>
>> Jack Fairchild put the yee-haw in Monday's First Night parade, stopping
>> to rope a spectator on Congress Avenue. Plenty of costumes, creativity
>> and talent were on display as Austin turned out to meet the New Year.
>>
>> Bicycle parades, dancing librarians, sausage wraps and toddlers with
>> glowing plastic swords all dotted the downtown streetscape Monday night.
>> Approximately 125,000 people enjoyed the third year of this festival of
>> creativity and local flair, according to city estimates.
>>
>> Recent Albuquerque, N.M., transplant Jill Price brought her 3-year-old
>> twin girls downtown and said she was impressed by First Night's
>> alcohol-free environment.
>>
>> "It's definitely family-friendly," Price said. "It's a good, safe place
>> to bring your kids for New Year's Eve."
>>
>> Traffic on Cesar Chavez Street, Guadalupe Street, Lavaca Street and the
>> South First Street bridge was shut down from 2 p.m. Monday to 2 a.m.
>> today to allow partygoers a safe space to view more than 60 public art
>> showcases. A parade along Cesar Chavez Street included zany bicycle
>> floats shaped like huge butterflies and even a gargantuan snake
>> skeleton.
>>
>> And what would any New Year celebration be without fireworks at
>> midnight? This year, there was also a fireworks show earlier in the
>> evening so kids could have some New Year's fun before bedtime.
>>
>> The event drew out odd contraptions, too. Austin-based tech-artists the
>> Robot Group showed off Ponginator, a 20-foot-tall computer-controlled
>> robot that fired pingpong balls at up to 160 mph. Robot Group president
>> Vern Graner said the robot, stationed on West Cesar Chavez Street, could
>> launch balls nearly to the top of the CSC building across the street.
>>
>> "It's been amazing. Kids love it," Graner said. "It's a big, giant
>> robot, and kids love robots. It makes a lot of loud noise, and kids love
>> that, too."
>>
>> The carnival atmosphere was strongest on the South First Street bridge,
>> where the smells of sausage wraps and funnel cake filled the air and
>> kids drew New Year's greetings in chalk on the pavement. Toni Gonzales
>> and her husband, David, said the fun on the bridge let their 4- and
>> 6-year-olds enjoy the New Year's celebration before their 8 p.m. curfew.
>>
>> "We had fun making kites," Toni Gonzales said. "We just had some sausage
>> wraps over there."
>>
>> "The lemonade was good, too," her husband added.
>>
>> First Night was a big opportunity for those who serve the throngs of
>> revelers. Just ask pedicab driver Jeff Raby, who, despite being new to
>> the job, had big goals for the evening.
>>
>> "Tonight, you can make up to $400," Raby said. "I heard someone made
>> over $1,000 last year."
>>
>> pgeorge at statesman.com; 445-3851
>> ------------------------ clip -----------------------------
>>
>> :)
>>
>> Vern
>>
>> --
>> Vern Graner CNE/CNA/SSE    | "If the network is down, then you're
>> Senior Systems Engineer    | obviously incompetent so why are we
>> Texas Information Services | paying you? Of course, if the network
>> http://www.txis.com        | is up, then we obviously don't need
>> Austin Office 512 328-8947 | you, so why are we paying you?" (c)VLG
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