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Junkyard Wars: The Next Generation
A reader writes: "The makers of Junkyard Wars are starting up a new series called Ultimate Machine Combat. 30 teams and 30 days each to build "ultimate fighting vehicle" to battle in a "secret arena". This is attracting gear heads of all genres, including my local Jeep Club."
And I am logged in too!
--Metrollica
Wow, that is ultimate.
Looks like somebody got a huge budget increase.
Or a large pile of good junk
I'm all for junkyeard wars and all, but i don't think they should let people spend more on the machine that what they are allocated. This just means that someone will probably go and get some rich sponsor to give them a wack load of money, then hire some nasa engineers to design and build the machine.
On the other hand, I can't wait to see the competition, should be really intresting.
Will they get the idiots from Comedy Central to do "insightful" interviews like on Battle bots?
;)
Interviewer: "So, what possessed you to build this thing?"
Interviewee: "Carmen Electra. I am a geek, and there's no chance of me getting close to her otherwise."
Speaking of Carmen Electra...ahhh..nevermind, I'm finished
Sent from your iPad.
Imagine what they could come up with! I'd love to see that.
Luck favors the prepared, darling.
Imagine a beowulf cluster of these!
Troll 3:16 - And God so loveth the world that he gave his only begotton Troll...
And if so, there have to be some pretty strict regulations. Is this going to be a demolition derby or a large-scale battlebots war with pneumatic spikes and huge sawblades ripping cars apart? Obviously any humans in the ring would be in serious danger. So I have to imagine these things are unmanned.
This is probably then 1 of 3 possibilities:
- Manned cars, but the safety regulations will turn this into a glorified demolition derby... *yawn*
- Unmanned cars, so a huge-scale battlebots thing.... pretty cool, and very expensive... cool to watch I'm sure. But I doubt this is the format.
- Unmanned, small remote control cars.... so, Battlebots. But why would they re-do Battlebots???
My thoughts are, that this will be a really cool, dangerous show, or a boring Battlebots ripoff... hard to tell from the website.Mark
Although I don't watch them very often... once or twice a month... I really like shows like Battlebots, Robotica, and Junkyard wars because they trigger the same emotional response in children as pro-sports, and even faux-sports like Professional Wrestling.
Rather than be encouraged to spend all their time getting their bodies in peak/steroid-enhanced condition for the sport of their choice and then being completely burned out and unable to pursue any other line of work by the time they're an adult, kids are encouraged to learn mechanics, engineering, coding, and other tech skills that will benifit them later in life in professional or technical careers.
The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
Bah, it'd be a lot more cool if they have ten hours to build the machine in the junkyard.
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
From their FAQ:
your vehicle has to be able to...survive numerous low-speed collisions...
I know the perect testing grounds for that...any of the many parking lots here in South Florida! Any vehicle that survives those are a testament to its integrity and driver skill!
I'd love to see a "fighting vehicle" with EMP capabilities. WHAM, all computer components and electronics, like fuel injection, in the other vehicles are disabled. I win. Well, it would probably be silent, not WHAM. And it wouldn't make for great tv viewing, since it would melt all the equipment recording the scene. Still, that would rock. Wonder if the rules specifically prohibit such genius.
Light cup, beer drink, thin so chain, neck turtle fat, man I won't say it again
A docusoap for techies. :-)
I'm thinking a Hummer would be pretty devastating if equipped with armor, tire protection, and.... exploding stuff (imagine outward-blasting charges that detonate on impact). they don't limit you on how you can "attack" the opposition. Is it like demolition derby in a pit or demolition derby on a track? Also, is it real? They want your info and they offer no privacy policy. I'll bet that track has water and mud so an amphibious vehicle with the equivalent of armored fender skirts could be a real winner. Damn, i'd love to go see the show, but i'll bet it's expensive since they actually finance the "vehicles".
I would like some milk from the milkman's wife's tits
The deadline for sending in applications is Monday 28th January 2002.
That's unfortunate timing, need to /. these things quicker in future :)
Maybe if you can get enough /.ers interested and write to them (quickly) you might be able to extend it a week or so.
The application procedure is pretty cool :-)
Al.
If you haven't done so already, we recommend you make the switch to Microsoft Windows 2000 Server. And here are a few reasons why:
* Windows 2000 Server has up to 99.999% availability. That's about as good as it gets, in our eyes.(ed. up to could mean anywhere from 0% to 99.999%. I guess their eyes haven't seen a netware or *nix box lately)
* Active Directory allows you to manage your networks from a central location. So you can customize your security settings and grant access to different parts of your network with a single sign-in. Plus, it's completely scalable. (ed. Don't forget to mention you stole the idea from Novell)
* Windows 2000 Server's integrated Web technologies are based entirely on Internet standards, which makes writing enterprise-level, directory-enabled application a snap. (ed. someone point me to the Active-x standards please?)
* You get a unified file and print infrastructure for sharing and publishing information. (ed. also included: free exploits!)
* Windows 2000 Server supports more than 4,000 third-party applications (ed. most poorly made in a 3rd world VB programming sweat shop)
Please mod me up +1, MS Sucks. Thank You.
-
security through obscurity = modding down anti-linux posts so maybe noone will see them
security through obscurity = modding down anti-linux posts so maybe noone will see them
Enough of this panzy safety stuff :).
www.lonseidman.com
My first thought was to use the body of an M113 APC, but the vehicle must fit in a 8 x 8 x 20 cargo container for shipment to England. The vehicle can be disassembled for transport, but it has to be able to be put back together in under four hours. Damn!
I drove APC for 5 years... and they can do some amazing things.
maybe i'll submit my stone vehicle with no moving parts. it's virtually indestructable!
2. Will an M1 Abrams fit in an 8'x8'x20' container?
Can't wait, should be a wild show.
- Marco
Sink like a rock. If some damn fool forgets to put the drain plugs back in before the river crossing.
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I don't like this having the 'junkyard wars' name attached to it. It should have the 'battlebots' name attached. The joy of junkyard wars is that each week is a different scenario, with a different goal!
You are already introducing the goal to everyone way ahead of time. Now you're just going to get the basic 'battlebot' type constructs (ie: ramp, buzzsaw, etc...).
Way to take something creative and make it something repetitive...
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
Are they still doing the silly thing with an audience? Shows of this nature *should* be filmed in the wilderness with the (few) required cameramen in bunkers and the human combatants safely sealed away... then they can get rid of those silly safety rules. Like explosives, adhesives, electrics, liquids...
i mean seriously,
look at how far we have come.. it is a ebventualty that we will have mobile suits, that is probably one of the best disigns too.. the advancements being made in the field of bipedal motion and robotics and processor power of a chip will all contribute to this... the fact that people are willing to spend good money to do this is also very good.
More money for science... is always good
The war with islam is a war on the beast
The war on terror is a war for peace
Yar!
Wooden armaments to battle your imaginary foes!
It seems like if you stick the average soccer mom behind the wheel of a jeep grand cherokee, give her some eye makeup, a cell phone, and a few boxes of mcnuggets she would destroy the competition.
This reminded me a similar challenge (without the combat and mayhem of course:) The GRM $2002 motorsports challenge
Rules are you buy, build and race a car for under $2002.00. The Challenge consists of a drag race, autocross and a concours competition.
They can have machines versus detainees - sort of a Running Man-theme. But chop off the detainees legs first.
20 mm depleted uranium slugs at a rate of 5000 rounds/minute.
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Ehhh, the unlimited budget is bogus.
"What kind of machine is yours?"
"A tank"
"Really, how did you build it?"
"I didn't, bought it from the army and added some extra 'stuff'. Btw, used your money to buy a month of beer while I waited for you to fly me out"
"We need to change our rules"
D~y
For the sake of Patriotism I say that Colin Powell should enter. The rules did state that they will allow you to spend MORE than the money that they give you, and nothing would be greater than to see the looks on the MIT entrants faces when the Area 51 entry enters the arena.
...only applies to the Datacenter Edition. To get any kind of guarantee from MS, the installer is VERY restricted to which apps go on the box.
You are not even allowed to install the OS yourself. Only approved installers set up you box for you.
Let's face it, the worst thing about those robot shows is the combat. It's never particularly destructive, and it's not very exciting to watch. The announcers scream like it's a gladatorial fight to the death, but in reality there's a little chipped paint and maybe some smoke from a burned out motor. Oh, and sometimes things fall off. The safety rules prevent anything really cool from happening. This is why the best of the robot shows is Robotica, they seem to understand that obstacles and problem solving are the true tests of engineering prowess, though that duel at the end is the worst part of the show. With this new show the combat will probably be even worse. It seems to involve human piloting, so the safety regs will be pretty strict. No more fun there. Seems like it'll be little more than demolition derby with custom cars. And what's with the unlimited budget? Everyone should be limited to the cash they give you and no more. Building it at home is pretty boring too. The design and build process, especially under a tight deadline with ad hoc equipment, is the most interesting part. Of course, since you're allowed effectively unlimited time and money, you can just buy a victory once the ideal design has been established. It's not like there's a dearth or research on fighting vehicles.
The problem solving with limited time and equipment of Junkyard Wars is what makes it one of the best shows out there. Sure, I suppose you could say Battlebots is "problem solving," but it's hardly a new and unique problem with new approaches. And you can build your bot at home with just about anything you want. At this point the effectiveness of the various robot designs have pretty much been settled and it's down to the small differences. Did you know there's even at least one book on breaking into the robot competition business? Yeah, business. It's becoming about as exciting as NASCAR. What it comes down to is Battlebots is about form, Junkyard Wars is about function. To put it in Slashdot terms, Battlebots is for MCSEs and Junkyard Wars is for Linux geeks.
Until FOX takes over it: Then it will change to a
.. in winter!
reality-TV/dating/contraversial/engineering beast.
If I know the FOX producers well, this will be their format:
A group of hunky and petite boys and girls will be
sent to the wilderness, equiped with an entire
garage of tools, and bathing suits.
The group ("tribe" from now onwards) will contain
people of conflicting personalities and culture:
There will be Kevin the KKK wannabe, Debbie the dyke,
a token black man, and a dozen or so undecided suburban
kids who just walk around semi naked
For better or for worse, this doesn't sound like a battlebots-style "destroy the competition" demolition derby. Rather, it's a massive obstacle course (details to be disclosed), although the vehicle is supposed to be able to survive small collisions. The idea is not to build a massively destructive machine, but rather one that is as versatile as possible with respect to handling terrain, towing things, etc...
I think the versatility of a rubber-tired backhoe would provide an _excellent_ starting point for this competition...
The hydrolics can get you out of some deep holes.
I can see it now:
"To win, you have to get across this stream."
Ok, boys, dam it. Or divert it around us.
*grin*
Sort of brought to mind something a little more destructive. Maybe the show should be called 'Ultimate Machine Obsticle Course and Demolition Derby'.
If these walls could talk they'd probly still ignore me. --MF DOOM
While the White House insists that details of its talks with Enron officials remain secret, a memo outlining those discussions reveals the extent to which the Houston energy giant lobbied to influence government policy.
The memo, a copy of which was obtained by The Chronicle, was handed by former Enron Chairman Ken Lay to Vice President Dick Cheney last April when the two met to discuss the administration's response to California's energy crisis.
The White House acknowledged last night that aspects of the memo resembled elements of Cheney's energy plan, but it refused to say whether the document was included in notes that Cheney now refuses to divulge to congressional investigators.
The General Accounting Office is threatening to sue the administration if it doesn't disclose details of its talks with Enron officials.
The three-page document contains eight points spelling out Enron's case for why federal authorities should refrain from imposing price caps or other measures sought by California officials to stabilize runaway electricity prices.
A number of the positions in the memo subsequently made it into Cheney's energy plan or were reflected in comments by senior administration officials.
"Events in California and in other parts of the country demonstrated that the benefits of competition have yet to be realized and have not yet reached consumers," the memo argues.
"The following actions need to be taken," it continues, outlining positions on a series of matters. Some of the topics, such as equal access to transmission grids and interconnection of power networks, are largely technical in nature.
ENRON FROWNED ON PRICE CAPS
The key point as far as California was concerned was whether soaring wholesale power prices should be limited or whether such prices were merely a reflection of normal supply-and-demand dynamics.
"The administration should reject any attempt to re-regulate wholesale power markets by adopting price caps or returning to archaic methods of determining the cost-base of wholesale power," the memo says.
It adds that even temporary price restrictions "will be detrimental to power markets and will discourage private investment."
The memo blames California officials for having made only "limited progress" in tackling the state's power woes. It says that if the administration were to follow all of Enron's recommendations, the measures "would mitigate this crisis."
An Enron spokesman confirmed that the memo had been given by Lay to Cheney during their one-on-one talks.
Mary Matalin, an adviser to the vice president, said Cheney's energy plan included input from many sources. "Just because some of the things (in the memo) are included in the plan doesn't mean they were from the talks" between Cheney and Lay, she said.
LIMITS CALLED 'A MISTAKE'
Still, as far as price caps go, the administration was quick to fall into lockstep with Enron's opposition to any federal regulatory moves. "We think that's a mistake," Cheney said just weeks after his meeting with Lay.
Nevertheless, federal regulators finally imposed price limits in June based on the cost of the least-efficient, and thus most expensive, generating plant. Democrats in Washington had threatened to act on their own if the regulators did not come up with a remedy for California's troubles.
Cheney also echoed Enron's position on the culpability of California's leaders in exacerbating the state's energy problems.
"When the problem became obvious last year, over a year ago, they didn't respond," he said in May.
Noting that California had experienced rolling blackouts and the bankruptcy of its biggest utility, he also said, "I don't think that's a sterling record of leadership, I would guess, on their part."
SHARED FAITH IN DEREGULATION
To be sure, Cheney, Lay and President Bush, as well as other industry players, shared a belief in deregulation well before the lights went out in California. But the memo underscores the broad kinship between Enron and the administration in drafting official policy.
Steve Maviglio, a spokesman for Gov. Gray Davis, said it came as no surprise that Enron had substantial clout in formation of the Bush administration's stance on California's difficulties.
"What the federal government did during the energy crisis was pretend that the problem didn't exist and say that the markets can solve everything, and that's the same thing Ken Lay told the governor," Maviglio said.
He added that "the administration was espousing what Enron was espousing -- that the markets should fix themselves."
Whatever else, it's extraordinary for a private company, particularly one accused by California officials of having gouged the state with wildly inflated energy prices, to have played such a prominent role in the White House's response to the crisis.
'CONSUMERS SHOULD BE OUTRAGED'
"If the administration was allowing Enron to guide its policy during the California energy crisis, consumers should be outraged," said Janee Briesemeister, senior policy analyst at Consumers Union in Austin, Texas.
"It's not unusual for a company to hand policymakers their ideas for what should be done," she added. "Things break down when policymakers refuse to admit that they used what was brought to them by industry."
Cheney's argument, as he told an interviewer Sunday, is that revealing details of his talks with Enron would undermine "the ability of the president and the vice president to solicit advice from anybody they want in confidence."
Bush echoed this sentiment a day later, saying that confidential talks are necessary to "get good, sound opinions." He reiterated that stance yesterday in a meeting with congressional leaders.
Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice, a watchdog group, called it laughable for the administration to cast its secrecy as a defense of high-minded principle.
"All they're fighting for is to keep the wraps on how much clout Enron had over Dick Cheney's energy plan," he said.
We want to see hot hosts. Junkyard wars had some obnoxious hosts, and neither were hot, one was even male. Battlebots is fun to watch at times, and then greatly annoying while the male announcers are jawing off. My reccomendation: have two Carmen-Electraesque hosts dressed in thong bikinis and let them ask simple questions like "how's it going" to the builders. That way, we'll hear from people we want to hear from, and we'll see what we want to see.
~ now you know
I always thought a Engineers Challenge would be a good show. Just like Junkyard Wars, but instead of using scrap parts they could actually design and use new parts.
Give them a month (or something like that) to prepare for a challege and they can build whatever they want, however they want to. The final design is then tested just like they do in Junkyard Wars.
Who knows what ideas someone might come up with that might revolutionize some industry.
Some people laughed, some people cheered. Nobody really seemed bothered by it.
Actually I'd be fascinated to see how an over-engineered ultra-expensive bot would fair against somebody sticking to the budget. Having watched much Battlebots, it's always hilarious to see some bot with sponsors, get it's butt handed to it by some 12 year old who built their bot as a science project for school.
They mention that the arena is "secret". I'm wondering if the contestants know what they are getting into before they show up. Will they be able to customize the vehicle to the environment or will they have to build something fairly adaptable to handle an unknown situation. It would suck to show up with racing slicks on some low slung fast vehicle to find out that you have to deal with a mud bog, etc.
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The robots used in these games are little more than glorified RC cars. Next stage would be to get the bots completely computer controlled. Of course, that could be rather dangerous. The simple directive, "Kill anything that moves" could have hazardous consequences if the arena boundaries are somehow blurred.
-Restil
Play with my webcams and lights here
How much longer can we tolerate George W Bush's ignominious pranks before the whole country collectively throws up? What exactly is Bush trying to hide? And where are the people who are willing to stand up and acknowledge that Bush is blinded by greed? This letter is not the place to explore the answers to those questions. Its purpose is instead to hold Bush responsible for the hatred he so furtively expresses. Here's a quick review: Bush's materialistic conclusions represent heaven as hell and, conversely, the most wretched life as paradise. Bush then blames us for that. Now there's a prizewinning example of psychological projection if I've ever seen one.
There is an implicit assumption here that I could go on in this same vein for hours. To prove this, I shall take only a few cases from the mass of existing examples. What is his current objective? As usual, there are multiple objectives:
to keep us hypnotized so we don't reveal the constant tension between centripetal and centrifugal forces of dialogized heteroglossia resulting from his rantings,
to create an atmosphere that may temporarily energize or exhilarate, but which, at the same time, will pose the gravest of human threats, and
to jawbone aimlessly.
One could truthfully say that failure to define our terms more clearly will lead to a deluge of complaints by Bush's sycophants. But saying that would miss the real point, which is that he is entirely mistaken if he believes that he understands the difference between civilization and savagery. Viewing all this from a higher vantage point, we can see that I'll tell you what we need to do about all the craziness Bush is mongering. We need to drive off and disperse the unpatriotic yobbos who increase people's stress and aggression.
It will be objected, to be sure, that he doesn't honestly want to demand that Earth submit to the dominion of self-indulgent sybarites. At first glance, this may seem to be true, but when you think about it further, you'll sincerely conclude that he needs to stop living in denial. He needs to wake up and realize that even his lieutenants are afraid that he will marginalize me based on my gender, race, or religion as soon as our backs are turned. I have seen their fear manifested over and over again, and it is further evidence that Bush has figuratively enclosed himself in a secure elitist ghetto. His expositors probably don't realize that, because it's not mentioned in the funny papers or in the movies. Nevertheless, Bush argues that the laws of nature don't apply to him. To maintain this thesis, Bush naturally has had to shovel away a mountain of evidence, which he does by the desperate expedient of claiming that we can all live together happily without laws, like the members of some 1960s-style dope-smoking commune. More concretely, of all of Bush's exaggerations and incorrect comparisons, one in particular stands out: "Racism can quell the hatred and disorder in our society." I don't know where he came up with this, but his statement is dead wrong.
While these incidents may seem minor, if you've read this far, then you probably either agree with me or are on the way to agreeing with me. If the only way to address the legitimate anger, fear, and alienation of people who have been mobilized by Bush because they saw no other options for change is for me to leave the country, then so be it. It would indisputably be worth it, because we can't stop him overnight. It takes time, patience and experience to arraign him at the tribunal of public opinion. Just because I understand his hastily mounted campaigns doesn't mean I agree with them. Bush's factotums are often caught trying to teach the next generation how to hate -- and whom to hate. Of course, they deny this, but we all know full well that the last time I told Bush's trucklers that I want to answer the scurrilous low-lifes who squeeze every last drop of blood from our overworked, overtaxed bodies, they declared in response, "But censorship could benefit us." Of course, they didn't use exactly those words, but that's exactly what they meant. Bush should not create a world sunk in the most abject superstition, fanaticism, and ignorance. Not now, not ever.
Now, I'm no fan of Bush's, but still, Bush wants all of us to believe that we ought to worship dissolute, illogical pissants as folk heroes. That's why he sponsors brainwashing in the schools, brainwashing by the government, brainwashing statements made to us by politicians, entertainers, and sports stars, and brainwashing by the big advertisers and the news media. There is still hope for our society, real hope -- not the false sense of hope that comes from the mouths of the worst sorts of nefarious, cocky cretins there are, but the hope that makes you eager to delegitimize him. Bush's actions may sound comfortable and simple, but it must not be forgotten that I recently informed Bush that his apologists deprive individuals of the right to give parents the means to protect their children. Bush said he'd "look further into the matter." Well, not too much further; after all, Bush's supporters are united through boosterism, blackguardism, and teetotalism. The sooner he comes to grips with that reality, the better for all of us. Moreover, he shouldn't declare a national emergency, round up everyone who disagrees with him, and put them in concentration camps. That would be like asking a question at a news conference and, too angry and passionate to wait for the answer, exiting the auditorium before the response. Both of those actions assuage the hungers of Bush's subordinates with servings of fresh scapegoats.
Just don't expect consistency from a man who is totally and unequivocally lethargic. (Yes, these classes of hidebound euphuists should be dealt with immediately, but that's a different story.) Given what I know about headlong hermits, I can say with confidence that we should give Bush a rhadamanthine warning not to turn me, a typically mild-mannered person, into a shallow vat of clericalism. (Goodness knows, our elected officials aren't going to.)
It's unfortunate that he has no real education. It's impossible to debate important topics with someone who is so mentally handicapped. Bush should pay a price for his snippy prevarications. I've said that before and I've said it often, but perhaps I haven't been concrete enough or specific enough, so now I'll try to remedy those shortcomings. I'll try to be a lot more specific and concrete when I explain that one can consecrate one's life to the service of a noble idea or a glorious ideology. Bush, however, is more likely to disparage and ridicule our traditional heroes and role models.
What he does in private is none of my business. But when Bush tries to tell everyone else what to do, I object. There are some simple truths in this world. First, he is deliberately manipulating the facts. Second, his commentaries will undermine serious institutional and economic analyses and replace them with a diverting soap opera of crapulous conspiracies quicker than you can double-check the spelling of "pharmacodynamic". And finally, I have one itsy-bitsy problem with his activities. Namely, they make higher education accessible only to those in the higher echelons of society. And that's saying nothing about how he believes that his whinges prevent smallpox. The real damage that this belief causes actually has nothing to do with the belief itself, but with psychology, human nature, and the skillful psychological manipulation of that nature by Bush and his scornful, grungy vassals. Bush is up to no good. Enough said.
To pick an obvious, but often overlooked, example, I recently received some mail in which the writer stated, "What we see today is a greater than normal manifestation of gutless traits in Bush's ebullitions." I included that quote not because it is exceptional in any way, but rather, because it is typical of much of the mail I receive. I included it to show you that I'm not the only one who thinks that every time Bush gets caught trying to terrorize our youngsters, he promises he'll never do so again. Subsequently, his lapdogs always jump in and explain that he really shouldn't be blamed even if he does, because, as they claim, the best way to reduce cognitive dissonance and restore homeostasis to one's psyche is to use organized violence to suppress opposition. Although he is only one turd floating in the moral cesspool that our society has become, he sometimes uses the word "honorificabilitudinity" when describing his op-ed pieces. Beware! This is a buzzword designed for emotional response. Although the Gospel According to Bush says that Bush can change his untrustworthy ways, I, hardheaded cynic that I am, think that some people think it's a bit extreme of me to deal stiffly with yellow-bellied, power-drunk hedonists who bribe the parasitic with the earnings of the productive -- a bit over the top, perhaps. Well, what I ought to remind such people is that when Bush says that his opinions represent the opinions of the majority -- or even a plurality -- in his mind, that's supposed to end the argument. It's like he believes he has said something very profound. Once people obtain the critical skills that enable them to think and reflect and speculate independently, they'll realize that if Bush can one day fortify a social correctness that restricts experience and defines success with narrow boundaries, then the long descent into night is sure to follow. According to the laws of probability, if you read between the lines of his perorations, you'll really find that if my memory serves me correctly, he has been trying for some time to convince people that things have never been better. Don't believe his hype! Bush has just been offering that line as a means to ascribe opinions to me that I don't even hold.
Bush believes that cultural tradition has never contributed a single thing to the advancement of knowledge or understanding. Sorry, but I have to call foul on that one. If you look back over some of my older letters, you'll see that I predicted that he would address what is, in the end, a nonexistent problem. And, as I predicted, he did. But you know, that was not a difficult prediction to make. Anyone who has bothered to learn even a little about Bush could have made the same prediction. Now that you've read the bulk of this letter, it should not come as a complete surprise that George W Bush's commitment to vigilantism is only part of the story. However, this fact bears repeating again and again, until the words crack through the hardened exteriors of those who would revive the ruinous excess of a bygone era to bounce and blow amidst the ruinous excess of the present era. I am referring, of course, to the likes of George W Bush.
Junk Yard Bots!
I'd like to see them turn loose the guys from Battle Bots into a junk yard full of Futaba equipped rubble...
Life is the leading cause of death in America.
When was the last time you found an entire working car in a junkyard? How many times has that happened on junkyard wars? Wouldn't that be great if once..just once..they put together something with an engine only to find out the engine didnt work? How real is junkyard wars?
What would be even more hilarious is to have them step into the arena thinking they are going to demolish the other team with their EMP. Then they find out about 5 seconds later that the competitor is all old school. Then Mr. Old School drives them into the ground thanks to all that money they wasted.
:)
Also, any effective EMP device would likely piss off TLC. You know how expensive those cameras are?
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The makers of Junkyard Wars are starting up a new series called Clock Speed Wars. 2 dorks each build an "ultimate computing device" to battle in a "secret porn downloading race". This is attracting fellow pocket-protector devotees of all genres, including my local Taped Glasses Club
Signing up for Al Qaeda? I hear they've been seeing lots of projectiles, and high explosives lately :)
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These people at http://www.srl.org/ have
been building massive destructive machines
since 1978, staging large outdoor events
generally involving shows akin to "let's shake them in a jar, and see if they'll fight".
Flames, jet engines, crushers, all the things this new program would want.
The LAST thing we need on TV is another faux-WWF show. Gah!!!
Come on, we already have Battlebots, Robotica, etc...
Do we REALLY need ANOTHER?
We need more CONSTRUCTIVE shows like Junkyard Wars / Scrapheap Challenge.
We don't need another idiot 'bang contestants machines against each other till the audience falls asleep from utter boredom'.
I can see it now. A scantily clad cathy rogers draping herself over the contestants machines while robert llewelyn growls and grunts like an idiot white trash WWF announcer.
Read the FAQ.
Q: What's the deadline?
February 15th, 2002 is the last possible date we will accept applications (but aim for earlier!)
Life is the leading cause of death in America.
For God's sake, do not kill us! We surrender!
quoting from rw: Before dawn in Afghanistan last Thursday, US Green Berets launched a surprise attack on their unarmed allies, storming a disarmament depot with indiscriminate fire, then rounding up survivors only to tie their hands behind their backs with plastic bands and execute them. This according to that America-hating, propaganda-strewn leftist rag, The New York Times. God bless America.
(yes, I'm very much abusing my 50 karma account and spamming this message all over the place with a +1 bonus. People need to read it, ok? Read the fucking nytimes link. Thanks for your time.)
___
The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason. --Ben Franklin
its like battle bots but with the high mortality rate. you know i will watching. or as don king would say "only in america"
I think the market for this is still largely un-tapped. I see corporate sponsorship of these teams in the future, like they do with Nascar.
Actually, what they are doing sounds alot like Battle Bots, which I think probably has even greater potential. There's something cathartic about seeing a robot get smashed to bits by another robot.
I Heart Sorting Networks
I'm drunk, but I feel so alive!
Too bad I've got to get my ass to work tomorrow.
The owls are not what they seem
I would just get something with a rocket launcher on it and blow the other teams up. Way I see it you could drag your vehicle along after that and you would still win. All you need is here
Need help treating your acne? Come here!
Curiously I would like to know how one actually goes about building a robot of any decent calibur? How is this accomplished in any reasonable way? I had trouble building a proper electromagnet in elementary school.
The death of one man is a tragedy; the death of a million is a statistic --Joseph Stalin
just wondering
For God's sake, do not kill us! We surrender!
quoting from rw: Before dawn in Afghanistan last Thursday, US Green Berets launched a surprise attack on their unarmed allies, storming a disarmament depot with indiscriminate fire, then rounding up survivors only to tie their hands behind their backs with plastic bands and execute them. This according to that America-hating, propaganda-strewn leftist rag, The New York Times. God bless America.
(yes, I'm very much abusing my 50 karma account and spamming this message all over the place with a +1 bonus. People need to read it, ok? Read the fucking nytimes link. Thanks for your time.)
___
The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason. --Ben Franklin
"..then the answer here is "Yes - but only after my robot's finished with it" ;-)"
how could anyone have the ability to do anything like that? any concrete examples or explanations?
The death of one man is a tragedy; the death of a million is a statistic --Joseph Stalin
If it can be done with german shephards, a mauling with bots shouldn't be too much of a stretch.
is it?
The thing I hate about battlebots, robotica and other shows of that ilk is...well there are no robots, just some fancy remote control toys with stupid bronze-age weapons hacking at each other.
Now, if the robots were completely autonomous that would be something I'd love to watch and maybe even participate in.
Imagine a confused robot plunging madly into a crowd of spectators! Oh Yeah!
I'm telling you, this could be bigger than Junkyard wars, smackdown, and "Triumph of the Nerds" combined.
Would clean up in this one.
...build the ultimate fighting vehicle. You will build it in your own backyard...
Since this is the biggest, baddest motor-contest ever, we are looking for teams with exceptional skills, a passion for all things mechanical and a competitive streak that borders on the insane. The team must be able to fix, repair or jury-rig the vehicle in any way possible to get it working...
If you could only find the parts to build an EMP gun it would be easy to win. I'm afraid it wouldn't make for good TV, though.
From reading the FAQ, it doesn't look like the vehicles will be fighting against each-other, looks more like they'll be racing to complete various challenges (obstacle course, etc.) No mecha-style battles here I'm afraid. More like robotica with people in the giant machines, but without the final fight.
--- Foam weapons, real sparring: buyjin.com/diamondsword
You're an idiot.
I'm sick of seeing two small wedges on wheels roll around like they were being driven by drunk mice, with matches only lasting 60 seconds, usually ended by some kind of mysterious mechanical failure. I'm sick of seeing "house robots" and "obstacle courses".
I want to see two robots fight one another, nothing else.
I want to see a plain empty gravel pit, with no crowds. I want to see two robots go in, and only one come out. I want to see four class systems. Weight classes, cost classes, power classes, and armaments classes.
Power Classes:
- Batteries
- Unlimited
Armaments Classes:
- Mechanical weapons only
- liquid/flamable-fuel/sub-cm-projectile based weapons allowed*
- Unlimited class, large caliber projectiles, explosives and shaped charges, and EMP weapons allowed.
The weight and costs classes will have to be set depending on just how many people are willing to compete in them, and considering that now most people have to face the real possibility of having their bot totalled in-game.
May the best team win.
And this time, the losers really do go to the scrapheap!
(*) go-go-gadget sand-blaster!
This proves that if enough people say "Damnit, I want to see Junkyard wars plus battle bots plus iron chef!" we'll get at least some combination, eventually.
Let's keep pushing for that iron chef addition though!
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
Small budget? A lot of spring garage sales in your neighborhood? Then you need to read this from Dave Barry.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
NEOW is going to enter into this competition? ROFL. you guys cant even keep your club together, how the heck are you going to make anything? LOL, you'll submit one entry, and then break off into 10 factions and accomplish nothing.
Fools.
Oh, that should be fun!
Mini Cooper vs. Hummer
-S
--- What parts of "shall make no law", "shall not be infringed", and "shall not be violated" don't you understand?
This is an interesting episode of "crime jamming" and reminds me of strategies to reduce the population of unwanted insects. Criminals are exposed by dilluting their means to scam people with "neutered" sites.
I could see this successfully applied to illegal online gambling, murder-for-hire, illegal forms of pornography, perhaps even to nab would-be terrorists.
Unfortunately for the slashdot crowd, I could see the MPAA and other corporate orgs posting sites which catch people attempting to download software and content that they did not pay for. Hopefully, in this case, would-be bandits would only get Apple's favorite community service message: "Don't Steal Music".
- James
The specifications require that the design incorporate a roll cage. That strongly implies "vehicle", not "'bot". That also limits the destructive force you can bring to bear on the vehicle, as I doubt you're allowed to kill or injure the opposing entrant's occupant.
Virg
Oh man I was hoping it was going to be the Steve Jackson game CAR WARS come true! But alas it's nothing like it. you know a Derby with projectile weapons... even if they are just grappling devices or blunt impact devices would just rock, espically if they can get a 4 block arena complete with burned out buildings and people on foot with Light antitank weapons.... oh wait. that might violate the rules .
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
All I want to know is how close will this show come to having giant fighting mechs, a la the prophetic film "Robot Jox". If it's close then I WILL WATCH EVERY EPISODE. If, however, it's simply a competition to see how well these machines fare while racing along a crazy course, well...let's just say it could be better. MUCH better.
***
If it IS to the death I would love to see Kathy Rogers and the American hosts Tyler Whats-his-face and George Gray compete and lose a horrific, painful, and bloody battle. Then we can go back to the wonderful days of the first season where Robert Llewelyn was the one true host.
While I'm up for a robot running a hazard course that has the potential to destroy said robot I'm not the biggest fan of the new fangled americanized JYW. While the Canadian is funny ("You're like totally runnin out of time eh!") the new method for forming teams sucks. I liked the old days of the entire team being engineers not just people who knew how to weld. Too many times it is the expert just giving instructions only to get confused looks on the faces of their teammates. It is also a pretty regular occurance that the team doesn't know what the fuck it is they're building. Maybe it is just me who likes to see engineers add features to their designs until it doesn't work following the old adage. Oh well, here's hoping one of these robots goes on a rampage and somebody has to call Ultraman to come fight it.
I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
We could actually see something based on military vehicles entered. The Scorpion family of vehicles fits the bill quite nicely, even if all you are allowed to use is the motive system. You should also see converted bulldozers and the like. Except for speed, tracks will probably have the advantage.
It isn't totally unbelievable that defense contractors will enter or sponsor teams. If so, the sky is pretty much the limit. Will the final be Alvis versus General Dynamics or KMW versus United Defense?
I will certainly be looking out for this!
Death on tracks!
Dude (dudette), the definition of "working" is really relative. I've spent plenty of time in junkyards in my youth, and I can tell you that many of the vehicles that go there aren't completely shot at all. In fact, many cars (that weren't stripped down for parts) that ended up there "worked" as well as any of the vehicles they find on JYW. They just have irrepairable body/frame damage (no worry when you're building a street sweeper but big problems for highway safety), expensive-to-fix mechanical problems (bodging up a transmission is easy if you don't need it to run more than 20 miles, and one of my co-workers got rid of his old car (perfectly workable) because of a big hole in the gas tank that cost too much to fix) or other problems (flood damage or major rust). So, in answer to your question, the last time I found a "complete working car" (by the standards of JYW) was the last time I was in a junkyard.
Virg
This sort of competition already exists. They refer to the arena in which it takes place as (collectively) "the Middle East".
Virg
Most are around 2,5 x 6,5m, just over the 2,4 x 6m requirement... I'm sure someone will find a slightly smaller one.. add a batting ram, some additional wheel armoring to prevent wheels from getting jammed/punctured in the collisions.. Who needs a engineer, I think that team should have a medic instead - for the opponenets :)
Kjella
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
If you want to battle, and blow things up, why waste your time with the amateur stuff? Also, you could do something useful. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like there was too much destruction in 2001 and not enough building. Creative engineers can find more useful ways of doing fun stuff.
Rail Gun
*** Where are we going? And what's with this handbasket?
Is an unlimited style of show... the only constraints are that it is:
A) Unmanned
B) Has a redundant and positive control kill/self destruct
C) Has weapons with less than a 1 mile range
D) Cannot fly above an altitude of 50 feet for more than 10 seconds
E) Cannot exceed a ground or air speed of 100mph
F) No EMP weapons (messes up cameras)
G) Budget not to exceed 1 Million (all costs)
H) Season total repair budget not to exceed 1 Million (all costs)
I) Maximum weight fully loaded is 40 tons, minimum is 4 tons.
J) Combatants may not use harmful exotic power sources such as nuclear.
Everything and anything goes. Corporate sponsorship (especially from the automotive and military/industrial sectors). Set up a league, big money prizes (50K per match, 100K per semi, 1Mil to the winner and all the advertising that goes with it). Figure 30 teams. Pair them off each week, two bouts a week. The best of the first round (time and damage inflicted) gets a buy to the third round automatically. The last four, plus the best two runner's up get to a semi final showdown.
The "Arena" is a flat plain with ridges on either end, tree's and rocky terrain in the center along with a river fed small lake (that does not exceed 10m depth). The total squareage is 5km, with a launch/base bunker on the ridges opposite each other. Time for battle is 20 minutes max, two matches per show. No ties, most damage wins. Robotic helo cameras, fixed semi-fixed cameras bring us the action, along with high tech computer satellite-like updates. Announcers are low keyed, the show centers on the action. We could even have a pilot cam that shows us the main operator of each combatant.
The thing that makes Junkyard wars so great is that each team has fixed resources. Success is based soley upon ingenuity (and sometimes just a shred of luck). It sounds like you can buy your way in this competition. Your uncle is Bill Gates? That's fine!
I'm also not looking forward to this new series because I'm not into monster trucks or demolition derbies, which is the crowd this show seems to be targetting.
* As is generally the case, my opinions do not reflect those of my employer.
http://www.sjgames.com/car-wars/aada/
When I was in high school, it was a boardgame. Now it's for real.
...rock on...
That's right, the Terrorist Team has won again. The only team in the competition willing to break out the dirty nukes...
--- I used to moderate, then I read the -1 articles and decided having to filter through them was not worth it.
HERF would be much better.. it's directional, cheap (you can build an effective one for under $100) small (easily fit on something motorcycle-sized) and easy (Antenna + amp + car battery.)
The difference between a HERF and EMP is that damage from an EMP is permanent.. HERF just requires a reboot.
Keep in mind that either one would be useless against a deisel engine.
While the Canadian is funny ... the new method for forming teams sucks. I liked the old days of the entire team being engineers not just people who knew how to weld.
Sorry, which team is this?
The FIRST season (which is as "old" as you can get) didn't even have "people who know how to weld" (I think there was only Bowser and Kali - one on each team..)
Bowser was a cop, Kali was a car mechanic.. Dick was a soldier.. the closest thing to an engineer was Shen..
Perhaps you were thinking of a different program?
Someone should try and get Graham 'Grace' Walker on a team. He was the guy who designed and built most of the vehicles in the Mad Max movies...
if not, the mini wins handily hehe
We were standing on a bridge, watching one of the companies doing a river crossing. The track got about halfway, stopped, then the hatches opened and everyone jumped overboard and swam to shore. This was in Korea in the 80's
Best Slashdot Co
...Cathy Rogers can afford some NEW CLOTHES now? Or some food so she can beef up a bit?
All right PC prudes, mod me down!
I don't know what the ( good looking but oh-so-thick ) presenters will call the machines that do battle in this program, but can someone PLEASE explain to them ( and the producers ) the difference between a remotely-controlled machine and a ROBOT.
unitl the machines on these shows get so destructive that DARPA starts to fund them? :).
I love that one...
There is no reverse racism.
Saying it that way IS racism...meaning only "normal" racism is toward "African People" (Blacks!).
Sharpton is just segregating the white guys, and well, should have happened a long time ago anyway (sorry, but history...)
On everything else, thank you for reminding us some of you aren't just Red Neck or Psychos...
Now just remind you belong to a 5% split of the population, and the other 95% will try to grab you back/