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Lego Robot Wars Series 4 - Working on New Robots 2

build any crushing robots. I built one which used gears to move the "crushing" arm but the moment it came into contact with anything the ...

Field Trip!

During our tour today of the Honda factory, I felt like a third-grade science nerd on a class field trip.  Who knew that watching valves and pistons be made would be so fascinating?  I sure didn’t.  Actually, after only five hours of sleep I went into the meeting with our executive representative hopped up on coffee hoping not to crash 10 minutes into his presentation.  Two hours later, as we were walking around all the warehouses, I was still wide-eyed, simply amazed by all the cool machinery.  Excuse me while I go get my glasses taped up and put in my pocket protector. 

First, we were sitting with a man Mr. Yamasaki-san who gave us some background on Honda as a company and then, specifically, about the Tochigi factory.  It was really cute because he read their mission statement and line-by-line was telling us how to use the same ideas toward softball.  (It is amazing how supportive the company is of our softball team.  They had to inform us that when walking around today, to make sure to smile and wave because most of the workers would know who we were despite our arriving only two weeks ago, not to mention the white, Honda factory-worker jumpsuits we were camouflaged in—which I will get to later.)  So this man was getting us all pumped up, talking about how we can win a championship if we just stick with Honda’s idea (and slogan): “The Power of Dreams”.  We appreciated his effort.  Then it was off to the tiny, tiny women’s locker room. 

At a facility that they said employs over 10,000 people, the women’s locker room was about 75 square feet.  The factory is made up of 99% males, the exec informed us, which I’m guessing means that .8% is made up of the current or former women’s softball team, and .2% being either secretaries or big, burly women that can lift steel.  So, anyways, we got to wear these ultra-sexy, ultra-starchy, unisex jumpsuits around the factory accessorized with a chic forrest green Honda cap and clear protection glasses.  We didn’t bring our camera, only because we were told they were forbidden (Toyota has spies I guess), but one of the girls on our team had a camera so pictures are on the way! 

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