16 hour trip today, including 8 hours on a bus, 1 hour of combined stops, 1 hour where we toured the Raptor Club facility (hawks and whatnot), and 6 hours of grueling mathematical melee.
On the way to the competition, a few friends and I designed the entirety of our Thermodynamics device, and on Monday we'll be procuring supplies and beginning construction.
Once there, we began the Winter Games.
Slalom: Multiple choice (5 answers) +1 point for crossing out a wrong answer, -4 for crossing out the right one. 40 minutes for 140 questions.
Curling: Short answers to story questions. 40 questions, 40 minutes. 1 point per question.
Biathlon: 15 problems each worth 2 points, same difficulty as the previous. 5 questions worth 6 apiece, all based on probability, and hellish beyond reason. 20 minutes.
Speed Skating: Starts with the two Long Tracks, where there are 20 questions in each. Each question is read twice, and then the next is read. There is a 45 second break after each set of four. Then comes the Short Track, the most stressful math I have ever done. 40 questions. Each is read once. 25 second pauses between sets of four, plus two minutes at the very end to get caught up.
Did I mention that instead of the standard team of four, one member of my team decided to skip? Three people, four question sets. Also, no calculators. Only one piece of scratch paper on the Speed Skating. Final destination.
We did okay in Slalom, but screwed up by crossing out a few right answers. We placed third in Curling and the Biathlon and fourth in Speed Skating. Being the only 11th/12th grade team from our school that day, we didn't have to average with any other teams from our school, leading us to a 4th place overall finish. The trophies were just strings of beads with labels, but it was nice all in all.
On the way back we stopped by the Raptor Club at the behest of our coach's daughter, who works there. Met a friendly Golden Eagle named Amicus that was born without eyes. Seeing him break the neck of the dead goat the handlers fed him was a bit terrifying, but it was cool to see such a powerful creature up close. According to his main handler, he has enough power in his claws to break every bone in your hand, regardless of how strong a falconer's gauntlet you where. He's one of very few that have lived in captivity for a significant length of time without harming anyone.
A pretty good day, but fuck I'm tired. I missed the Occupy rally, but the STOCK act was passed. (Though it really could have been better, Eric Cantor!)
My first time seeing snow...
It was snowing outside the hospital when I was born, and from what I've seen of the room, there's no way I could have missed it if my eyes were open. Big window in there. I've always lived with snowy winters, but next year I'm off to college on the wet side of the state, where it drizzles instead. Not looking forward to it really, I like snow.