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Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race
YetAnotherName writes "Both Wired Magazine and Tom Jones have coverage of the East Coast Championship Kinetic Sculpture Race 2003. Contestants plant tongue firmly into cheek, construct, and race bizarre human-powered vehicles across a variety of terrains. Notable vehicles included a 13-foot high pink poodle and a giant eyeball. Special rules this year required contestants to carry a sock-puppet on board. The winner this year? RTFA."
It's not unusual to be human propelled by anyone.....
im sorry....i couldnt help it.
xao
xao
http://TheHillforum.hopto.org
And I thought pumpkin launching was a waste of time. At least their kinetic launchers can kill people; Fifi doesn't exactly strike awe or terror into the onlookers.
He's preparing for the big show after the aliens come and destroy the planet...
Tying a wagon to the back of a bike does not a kinetic sculpture make.
I have been pwned because my
Someone decides to race a poodle.
This should be under the more-money-than-brains category.
You think that I'm crazy, you should see this guy!
...without mention of the Boulder Kinetics race, which has been run every year since 1979. While not the original according to this page, it still predates Baltimore's by 19 years.
I was just curious as to what everyone would choose as their "Homemade Sock Creature". (Required at all times). I personally would probably choose one that could beat up on the other puppets, thus claiming a puppet victory.
I was expecting a rendition of "It's Not Unusual" or Delilah. pfh!
The judges don't have to perform any complicated calculations to figure out who the winner is -- the rules suggest that they can simply give the title to whomever hands out the best bribes.
had been wondering what figure skating judges do in the off season...I'm making a giant bike sculpture powered by a dog.
I would have entered a Nissan Micra...ofcourse with my tounge firmly in my cheek because I would only ever drive one for a kinetic sculpture competition!
I think the poodle people are doing better than this guy
I love the smell of Karma in the morning
Could you put bumper stickers on your vehicle? Like "My sock puppet slept with your honor student?" or "Pets.com on board"
- gtaluvit (prnc. GOT-tuh-LUV-it)
You know things are bad when you have to be reminded to RTFA in the /. article.
Come now, lets give the skating judges a little more credit. They have to come up with a number between 1 and 10 at least! ;)
Additionally, spectators "may not throw their bodies in the path of oncoming sculptures,"
Well, there go all my Death Race 2000-inspired contraptions.
The coolest voice ever.
This is what brilliant engineering students who have taken too much acid end up doing for fun.
Did anyone else think there should have been a tux present at their silly little race?
Fnord.sig
You know it's bad when you find out about this on Slashdot and it went right past your house...
Me wonders what I did Friday night...
BTW, the sock puppet is NOT a new rule. Infact we have won for best sock puppet I believe 3 of the years.. (don't quote me on that.)
For more information on the Dumpster Divers, and related project(s) you can check http://www.pleasetake.org/
Infact I'm going down there in May for a party with some of the other kinetic racers and friends.
whats with the ask slashdot? aren't we supposed to be able to post replies?
YOU SUCK BALLS!
I drove by this last weekend and had no idea what these folks were up to. Alas my curiosity is satisfied.
I thought it was a kid thing... turns out it was a big kid thing.
Oh, and those are weird sculptures.
take a look here
Rule 2.01a requires you to carry a "comforting item of psychological luxury". Get your own ideas Baltimore!
Why are new comments disabled?
I had the pleasure of being on the pit crew for team Bumpo - the big Indian elephant. Let me tell you, the Gandhi on top was a huge hit with the folks on the street! The participants all have great attitudes - I recommend everyone to check it out next year (or your own local Kinetic Sculpture Race). Some teams spend months building these things. Of course, others only spend days... relying only on the fact that wheels turn and styrafoam floats. But hey, whatever works!
"The winner this year? RTFA."
You're new here aren't you :)
I would expect such blatant racism on Fark, but on Slashdot? Mods please ban this asshole.
Maybe that's the new policy on all "Ask Slashdot" postings now.
If you wanna a real trip, check out the Kinetic Sculpture Race in Humboldt California. Some of the wierdest stuff I've ever seen. It dates back to '69 I think.
Baltimore's race is a copy based on the Great Arcata to Ferndale (California) World Championship Kinetic Sculpture Race, celebrating its 35th year in 2003.
What's the difference? The original race is a grueling 3-day trek over road, sand, mud and water. It's as much about endurance as it is art, for the glory of course.
RTFA .... the original race started in Arcata in 1969
Actually, the first time was an accident. I was driving up 101 for fun, heard the coverage on the radio, and made sure to drive through town. I saw a giant warthog driving across a bridge. Quite neat! But the hotels were all booked and I didn't know where to go to spectate.
I went for "real" a couple of years back. Booked a hotel, got the schedule and map. The race started in Arcata (famed for its on-line police blotter), up the highway a bit. The racers assembled around the town square for inspection and brake trials. I took a lot of pictures. The floats^H^H^H^H^H^H Kinetic Sculptures ranged from barely modified bicycles to WILD, elaborate machines with teams in matching uniforms. Best were a giant dinosaur skeleton (with cavemen drivers armed with clubs) and a pink rabid poodle with a beer stine.
The Burned Out Hippy ethic of the race first became evident here. Very entertaining and charming, if you're into vague non-competitive niceness.
After leaving town, the racers headed for the beach, for a five-mile or so drag over the dunes overlooking the Pacific. I was going to follow on foot, but my ill-footing gumshoes tore up my toes. I ended up taking a lift to the next exciting spot, a hill that the races had to crawl up. There was a CLIFF on the other side. Most of the machines made it, but rarely gracefully. After another few miles through sand and brush the racers crossed a bridge into town for the night.
I decided another full day of this wasn't in the cards, but I stayed long enough in the morning to watch the racers go into water mode at the foot of a bridge. Very neat. Some racers were water-ready as is. Others had to deploy pontoons. Some were paddled, others had pedal-operated paddle wheels or even propellors.
The least well designed craft had to be rescued by the harbor patrol. (According to the Burned Out Hippy Ethic, the foundering craft were "pushing the coast guard cutters with stiff ropes.") The best really tore along. The best, as I recall, was "Rolling Blackout," which was made from black PVC barrels and had rotary paddles.
Anyway, I'd recommend this event, especially for families, but make sure you have other activities lined up.
Stefan
If you'd RTFA (read the fuckin' article) you'd have realized that this is the SAME EXACT PEOPLE sponsoring and holding this race.
This ain't just a local thing. It's gone national, baby. This was the east coast semi-finals. The winners go on to the World Championship race held on Memorial Day Weekend.
The annual da Vinci Days Festival here in Corvallis, OR holds a Kinetic Sculpture Race.
Racers have to cross a vast gulf of 1 foot deep mud, go miles on the hard pavement, climb sand hills, and go down the Willamette River for the length of town. And keep their sense of humor at all times!
Long Live Hobart Brown!
Rhino, a big 10 foot long, 8 foot high, 4 wheel drive, 4 pilot, articulated frame scultpure was coming in very late because it was version 1 vehicle with some deployment issues. In fact in the evening light Rhino seemed to be strolling over the fields. But it was the herd of diary cows following along that added that special Kinetic moment.
Cows: "He Has Come In Accordance With Prophecy!"
Corvallis, OR has a KSR as part of their DaVinci Days celebration every year, though it's relatively recent, only about 15 years or so. I'd post links to pics, but right now they're on my home system on the back end of a 128K upload DSL line ;-) The mud bog is particularly fun. One year, the Maltese Fulcrum, basically a human V-8 4WD that can go anywhere, albeit not very fast, ended up pulling out another racer who got stuck. If you get a chance, you should go --- they're a lot of fun. (oh, and the prize for which bribery is allowed is only one of the less valuable prizes ;-) )
There is even a museum, article about it here:
The Kinetic Sculpture race was started by artist Hobart Brown. He has an art gallery showcasing his metal sculptures on Main street Ferndale. The gallery features paintings by friends of his and a museum of the Race.
bored people are boring people
From the Tom Jones-Article
"The photos on this page have been reduced to bear the brunt of being posted on Slashdot and Wired simultaneously without costing me a fortune. The original higher resolution images will return, probably in the first week of June."
Seems they know what they do...
These things blow the pants off any case mod artists. Arcata's started in '69 and is ass loads of fun. The race lasts 3 days and you have to travel over road, ocean (well a shallow bay), sand dunes, and even past the worlds most ill conceived nuclear power plant*. All sculptures must be human powered, self contained, and the operator cannot touch the ground. Throw in a couple more rules like mandatory teddy bear and cookies (must bribe the judges or your automatically disqualified [RTF rule book]) all in an attempt to win the grand prize (a lemon of a used car rewarded to the contraption coming in dead middle) and you can have a right good time.
*The 63-megawatt power plant was the first commercial operation of its kind in California and the seventh in the nation when it began operating in August 1963. The plant was shutdown in July 1976 for maintenance at the same time three earthquake faults were found nearby, including one directly below. The "Triple Junction" is one of the few places in the world where three tectonic plate boundaries meet on or close to land. The power plant was never reopened.
-888 Geek Help (888-433-5435)
Some people don't have a sense of humour. Clever way to tie in the topic (the linked picture is from the race) with Tom Jones (the singer).
Others have mentioned Arcata, Eureka, and Ferndale as all being home to the original KSR. It should be noted for those not familiar with California geography that these are all the same race. As mentioned above, it started in Ferndale in 1969 but eventually the starting line moved north, so that now the three-day race starts in Arcata, crosses Eureka Bay, and eventually ends (after climbing the Slippery Slimy Slope) in the Victorian/hillbilly town of Ferndale.
It really is an amazing sight to see (especially the Sculptures trying to get up the Slope in the rain!) and I highly recommend that anyone who can manage to be six hours from the nearest major airport over Memorial Day weekend make an effort to attend.
For a good laugh, the rules are available online.
*******
"What good is science if no one gets hurt?!" - Professor Chromedome
and why would nerds care?
I'm smarter than the average bear.
The race rocked, because:
On the last point, they had a "blessing of the feet" for the drivers of the sculptures...which involved a person dressed a like Obi-Wan pretending to talk through his mind while a pre-recorded CD played what he was saying, and sometimes throw in music and efx. There was much other silliness. The pictures people took do a pretty good of depicting it.
Just seeing it once is inspiration to want to build one of these things and participate next year.
who won?
What about Boulder's kinetics: http://www.kbco.com/kinetics/
I live across the street from the park, and stopped by for a bit. Kind of boring, really. Then, I went over to the City Paper Beer Festival at the DeGroen's brewery. It was canceled. Got drunk anyway. Boring, rainy, alcohol-laden day.
I'm glad is a kinetic race. I heard that last Static Sculpture Race was really boring.
His son, OTOH, is still in therapy.
-Miko
Miko O'Sullivan
On memorial day weekend.
http://www.kineticsculpturerace.org/
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." -- Albert Einstein