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Junkyard Wars Marathon
bigdavenyc writes: "
The Learning Channel will be hosting an
all day marathon of 'Junkyard Wars' episodes, starting at noon on Friday. This is a great show and this marathon has many episodes never seen in the U.S." Also worth noting is that Iron Chef is doing a marathon over Thanksgiving as well. I hope they make ice cream.
Today's bit of useless knowledge: Iron Chef Italian (Kobe) did make ice cream once (actually, the Iron Chefs do it often, but this once sticks in my mind). He made (get this) FISH ice cream. The tasters hated it and told him so. He apologized. And promptly lost.
Isn't that just the typical slashbot reaction to consider any post supporting Windows to be drivel. You're just another cow following the herd.
"Microsoft windows originated with ease of use in mind."
I would not intentionally choose an OS because it is harder to use. That makes absolutely no sense. I've found I can be much more productive and get a great deal more work done if I don't have to waste hours just trying to get my OS to work right
"Linux originated as a hobbiest OS seeking to do things the most efficient quickest way."
I don't need to compile my OS before installing it.
"As such, Microsoft has grown in different areas - as has Linux. Linux, imho has a better base than Windows. ( I can't verify this obviously unless I go work for Microsoft... - it's just my impression )."
That's right, you can't!
"If you're a common everyday end user that wants something that's easy to use - go for Microsoft."
If you're the type of person who enjoys limited functionality that's a pain in the ass to use, go Linux
"Linux has been made substantially easier to use than when it first came out - in some areas it even excels over Microsoft, in others - not as much so. The majority of the power I see in Linux is that things are done in a logically coordinated fashion and the code is "tight"."
If Linux excels over Windows in some areas, why haven't I seen any Linux emulators for Windows?
"Your speed comparison on Quake makes several assumptions - all timing comparisons will. Quake runs faster, usually under Windows, as the result of the tight commercialization that Microsoft has done with Windows in terms of device driver software from hardware manufacturues. If you give it 2-3 years I would expect even more hw manufactures to start providing linux compatible software drivers."
Even in software rendering, Windows beats the shit out of Linux in Quake performance. I cannot judge hardware acceleration because none of the video cards I have will work under Linux.
"In sum, there is no right answer."
You're just in denial.
-atrowe: Card-carrying Mensa member. I have no toleranse for stupidity.
They changed the name for the US market. As to "always", this was the first season a US team competed. Last years final was bikers vs bikers.
Organizer:New England Rubbish Deconstruction Society;The NERDS,first US team in the UK Scrapheap Challenge/Junkyard Wars
They just have to cut out 6 minutes to make room for more commercials
Organizer:New England Rubbish Deconstruction Society;The NERDS,first US team in the UK Scrapheap Challenge/Junkyard Wars
Scrapheap has subtly different meaning in this country. Scrapheap has an implication that there is nothing that can be done with the stuff tossed on it. Junkyard implies that things will get picked over for re-usable stuff. Old cars are sent to the junkyard, not the scrapheap in american english. Bad political ideas get tossed on the scrap heap of history.
As to War vs Challenge, I guess challenge wasn't exciting enough for the WWF crowd they wanted to lure.
Personally, I like the UK name better, and if it needed translation, I would have been happier with "junkyard challenge". (besides junkyard wars pulls up to many star wars sites when you go ego surfing.)
-dp-
Organizer:New England Rubbish Deconstruction Society;The NERDS,first US team in the UK Scrapheap Challenge/Junkyard Wars
But they made it on the same pile of junk that the British show used.
Organizer:New England Rubbish Deconstruction Society;The NERDS,first US team in the UK Scrapheap Challenge/Junkyard Wars
Thank God for that - I thought they would be dubbing over all the English voices!
Grab.
Well I don't know about you, but if I had read about this marathon three weeks ago, I would have said "Wow, cool, I can't wait to watch that" and then promptly forgotten about it.
Most people don't need a three week advance notice to plan their television watching schedules.
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Why can't I moderate something "Wrong" or at least "Grossly Misinformed"?
Yes. These wonderful "nerd" shows are on so infrequently that this certainly is news. Especially when not one, not two, but THREE mega-nerd shows are all doing a marathon in the same week. That is cause for celebration. Many people outside of the US have satellite dishes and can get in on the fun as well. Sorry that you'll be missing out :(
Thanks God for my TiVo!
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Let me give you the lowdown
Now if I could only cobble together a TIVO to capture this marathon for me using only parts laying around my apartment, I'd be in business...
lesseee, some twine, a 486/66, bubble gum, a linux distro, gin and juice, cue cat & convergence cable... that oughta do it=P
E.
Build Your Own PVR/HTPC news, reviews, &
As a Brit, I would normally side with Brits in a US v UK contest, but I am a nerd by choice, and a Brit by accident of birth, so this wasn't such a hard choice.
http://rareformnewmedia.com/
RJ, respect dude. I've got a couple of mates who may be up for the next series, now we just need to get some serious welding practice in.
But an "Americanised version"?!?!??!? The mind boggles! I can appreciate changing the title to fit American terminology, but how do you Americanise the rest of it? Does everyone have their voice dubbed over then with American actors?
If so, this seems a supreme act of arrogance from the producers. "Hell guys, no-one'll watch this if they reckon it's just a bunch of faggot limeys. Let's wipe 'em over with some good ol' boy accents. But leave the chick - she doesn't do much 'cept eye-candy, so she can stay." Correct me if I'm wrong, but...
Grab.
What self-respecting Iron Chef fan would say that the marathon is over Thanksgiving, when in fact it's over New Years!
--Dave
Honda engineers vs. Sony engineers to build the first REAL "Iron Chef" and set it loose on Tokyo. POW!
Why not combine the two ideas? The Chef has to make his own Quisenart out of junk, and then cook a scrumptious meal with the secret ingrediant: Potato Peals and three week old Cabbage
All Spelling mistakes are my own, and not those of my employer or of the public school I attended
"42"
The popularity of 'reality' shows indicates that television is so poorly written, and so uniform that anything vaguely novel is seen as the next big thing. Then everyone else tries to copy the new idea, and people get bored of it until the next novelty comes along.
I would feel optimistic if people showed less interest in "Cops" and more in good fiction.
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share and enjoy
Anyone know the reason for the name change? In the UK, this is called Scrapheap Challenge.
"The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike." -- Delos B. McKown
I enjoy the "Jukyard Wars" programs, and optimistically think that they signal good things for the current state of television. Sure, people are finding entertainment in bottom-feeding reality-TV shows which dress up soap operas as "adventurous social experiments"; but there has also been a growth in recent years in the popularity of other reality (i.e. non-scripted) television programs.
In short: If reality-TV amounts only to a second-rate step toward turning off the set and walking outdoors, that's a good thing. If reality-TV indicates a trend toward a decreasing social interest in fiction, and a greater awareness of "real life" (as the Learning, History and Discovery Channels grow -- not to mention MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News), then that's a great thing.
crib
Please don't read my journal
I admit after watching this program I was pretty impressed. However, just how unscripted is this program, I mean I watched the episode about the tractor pulling and one team just happened to find 4 brand new ATV wheels in this "junkyard". That was a little bit for me to swallow if you know what I mean. Got to admit though, this show is a lot better than half the trash they've got on the TV these days. That and BattleBots are my two most favorite, I think though that the BattleBots need to have like a 10 minute round vs. the current 3 minutes, its just not enough time to trash another robot.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson
Domain Names for $13
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson
www.haidacarver.com
There was one where a chef soaked a fish liver in liquor, then covered it with chocolate and served it with ice cream.
The "ohgoddoihavetoeatthat" looks on the taster's faces were just great.
Nasty stuff like that is the reason to watch Iron Chef!
--K
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First off: it helps to understand the purpose of the show -- its stealth science education - tricking 10 year old kids into watching an explanation of how a wing works. They sit thru the mini-lectures because they get rewarded afterwards with someone making precision adjustments with sledgehammers. When chosing challenges, its the education that drives the choice. The competition is partly to make it addicting, and partly to give the kids the idea that actually designing and building something might be a lot of fun.
Yes, this is a "rich" junkyard. There are all sorts of neat things to find. And unlike some, there is a lot of stuff that isn't metallic. (usually its construction debris -- the plywood we found had clearly been a concrete form in a prior life) -- Its mostly what you get, when you don't have the yard workers picking over the good bits. The set was a corner of a real working scrap yard. On the other side of the wall, there are cockneys in hydraulic claw loaders, tossing cars thru the air. You have to wear a hard hat when you go to the bathroom. (its out by the truck scales). When stocking the yard between episodes, the random lumps of steel plate is just dumped over the wall from what they have sitting around. But yes, they will add extra stuff to make it possible to complete building a machine.
The basic rule for seeding: If its not possible to safely improvise a part with the time and tools provided, they will provide something that can be pressed into service. It will require some ingenuity to make it work. If there are specific safety regulations, the relavant parts will always be provided. For example, things like safety valves, regulators, and gas tanks will be planted, and will have their certification paperwork sitting in the directors briefcase. (and if we happen to find such a part that isn't one of the known good ones, they don't let us use it)
But: Just because they give you a part, that doesn't mean its clear sailing. For example the wheels you mentioned. Sure they were there, but none of the differentials in the yard came close to fitting the bolt circle. If you wanted to use them, you had to make it work.
And this brings up another point: That same helpfull crew that hides essential parts, can just as easily remove them. They made sure that there wern't matching differentials for those wheels. In the fire fighting boat episode, there wasn't a pump to be had. Both teams had to make a pump. And not just a wimpy one, the burning shed was supposed to be 50 feet away.
As to engines, yes, there is sample bias. What happens in a conventional junkyard, is that if a car comes in with a running engine, the engine is pulled and sold. Only dead engines are put out into the yard. As a junkyard owner, you don't want someone wrecking a $200 engine to get a $2 part. In this yard the teams are those yard employee's that have the job of pulling the good ones out. Teams get their engines from the same places people that sell used engines get them -- from cars whose owner has decided to artfully customize his vehicle with the help of a tree, broadside.
Yes, this is TV, and they do have to make sure they have two machines, with at least one of them likely to complete the course, and the other at least able to fail in an instructive way. The shows cost close to half a million dollars per episode to make, and the producer is betting that money on half a dozen amateurs. But they do have a surprisingly light touch. We did have ample opportunity to open fire at both feet.
The time limit is pretty real. You get an hour tools down for lunch, and credit for the time that the hosts spend disturbing you. If nothing else, a second day of a film crew adds a lot to the price. And they may only have the test site for a specific day, so you really do have to finish on something like on time.
I can assure you its not scripted, what happens is up to the contestants. The teams really did find out what they had to build that morning, on camera. The producer has been very suprised at what the teams made sometimes.
Now perhaps if I hadn't found the 'heap first, I might have given battlebots some thought. But its not the same kind of challenge -- The problem solved is the same one each time. If you need a part (except during the match) you can just order one, and it will arrive in a couple of days. You have as much time as your advance planning allows.
But: The thing that really annoys me about battlebots, is the attitude of the hosts when discussing something technical. The clear message presented is: "you aren't expected to understand this". Junkyard has the exact opposite purpose.
Anyhow, my web page has a lot more detail about the shows, the other teams, etc. For those that watched it in July, there will be 4 new to the US shows. (the two second season shows that they skipped this summer, land yachts, and mileage marathon, and the first two of the third year, Demolition and bombers) If you watch no other, watch the demolition show. Three Yorkshiremen with accents so thick they need power tools to cut, build an articulated claw that eats brick walls. (thats at 8pm)
The marathon schedule is here. This is the kickoff to regular weekly showings. The rest of the third season will run three shows a night on Wed in December. They will follow this up with an "americanized" version of the show in Jan/Feb. Yea all the accents (except for Cathy) are American, but they used the same crew, pile of scrap, and challenges. Didn't water it down at all. The only thing I will miss is Robert (aka Kryten) as host.
Our shows aren't part of the Marathon, but they will be shown in December. Monday we had 300 MIT community members in 10-250 for a sneak preview of the Steam Race car show. Much mirth was in evidence, and the reaction to my presenting the hosts a copy of the Hackers Dictionary, bordered on deafening. We had to call questions at 45 minutes.
Instead of thinking about "that was planted", work on your welding chops, and think about two others that would be a good balance to your skills. Its great fun to watch, but if you think that you have what it takes to compete, DO IT. Everyone I have talked to that has done a show, with without any hesitation, accept an offer to do another. If they called me today, my reply would be "is there room on tommorow mornings flight?"
-dp-
Organizer:New England Rubbish Deconstruction Society;The NERDS,first US team in the UK Scrapheap Challenge/Junkyard Wars
by someone who wouldn't miss an episode of Iron Chef
And if you liked that one, how about Survivor
-dp-
Organizer:New England Rubbish Deconstruction Society;The NERDS,first US team in the UK Scrapheap Challenge/Junkyard Wars
Actually the crashed out plane was there as set dressing. They were suprised when the expert decided to use bits of it.
Organizer:New England Rubbish Deconstruction Society;The NERDS,first US team in the UK Scrapheap Challenge/Junkyard Wars
I expect Crash to chime in at some point. This is extreme sports for nerds. Hell thats what we named the team... Especially modern computing gear, there isn't a lot of room for semi-skilled modification. The clocks run to fast, there is too much circutry in private label single purpose packages, etc.
Organizer:New England Rubbish Deconstruction Society;The NERDS,first US team in the UK Scrapheap Challenge/Junkyard Wars
The only thing missing from this show is a geek element. True, it does involve gadgets, but they seem to be the kind of gadgets that big, sweaty greasy mechanic guys would enjoy, not the kind of gadgets that Slashdotters would enjoy.
I think they need to come up with some kind of computer related contest, such as trying to program a kick.rom file for an Amiga using nothing but an aold Apple II...or maybe running a web server off of an Atari 800 (although that has already been done.)
Other wise...cool!
Hopefully I didn't put any [] around my words.