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Junkyard Wars Tour
ArtEnvironment writes "Junkyard Wars coming to a... MALL near you!?
Here's your chance to experience Junkyard Wars firsthand, or at least a glorified pinewood, er I mean JUNK derby! You can build unique gravity-racers and compete on a 'special effects-filled', mini race track. In addition, you can watch clips from the show and possibly even win prizes, yay!"
Yay -- one of my favorite shows is coming to a mall near me?! Where do I sign up? :)
A nice step forward for a television show -- involving viewers in person.
"How am I supposed to remember you, when you won't let me forget?" --Bare Naked Ladies
Or will they crush it at the end of the competition?
Seriously, this sounds like fun. Hey Junkyard Wars, over here in Reno, eh?!
Nobodies Prefect
Tidbits for Techs Technology Blog
My only question will Cathy Rogers be there??
I want to be the guy that gets to dump alll the "junk" into the mall and watch little teenie boopers try to figure out what a fulcrum is good for, instead of spending 19 bucks on a Justin Timberlake CD.
I watched a couple of episodes of junkyard wars and the word that comes to mind is lame. They couldn't build half the stuff they do if they only used junk. They have to seed the junk with things like working hydrolics, rocket motors, etc. Junkyard wars is as fake as the WWF. The A-Team was able to build cool stuff out of junk, but then that was fiction, and reality is boring.
-- Thou hast strayed far from the path of the Avatar.
Information that would have been good to know 5 days ago!
I thought so too! :) Thanks for the kind words.
Or did I miss your *sarcasm* */sarcasm* tags?
"How am I supposed to remember you, when you won't let me forget?" --Bare Naked Ladies
To heck with attacking other robots, I wanna build a robot that I can turn loose into 'The Gap' and a few other choice targets.
now you tell me... I live not but 5 minutes from Perimeter Mall in Atlanta =)
May 2-4, 2003: Atlanta, GA -- Perimeter Mall
--Justin Mitchell
"2nd Place is a fancy word for losing" --Bender (Futurama)
I notice they never get near Montana like so much else I'm interested in. We're a prime location guys! Almost every other hovel/trailer/dive/barn has their own junkyard in their front or back yard. Think about it!
Cathy: Today's competition is to knock a five year-old off a moveable staircase using no wheels and only gravity.
(Meanwhile, Silent Bob goes swinging by on a line thethered to the ceiling to knock the kid out.)
--Chag
This sounds like a lot of fun. Too bad there's only 9 stops on the tour...
Tour Schedule/Hours:
Fridays: 2 p.m. -- 8 p.m.
Saturdays: Noon -- 8 p.m.
Sundays: Noon -- 5 p.m.
April 25-27, 2003: Washington, DC -- Montgomery Mall
May 2-4, 2003: Atlanta, GA -- Perimeter Mall
May 9-11, 2003: Philadelphia, PA -- King of Prussia
May 16-18, 2003: New York, NY -- Roosevelt Field
May 23-25, 2003: Boston, MA -- South Shore Plaza
May 30-June 1, 2003: Chicago, IL -- Woodfield Mall
June 6-8, 2003: Minneapolis, MN -- Mall of America
June 13-15, 2003: Dallas, TX -- The Parks at Arlington
June 20-22, 2003: Los Angeles, CA -- Westfield Shoppingtown, Santa Anita
My college (UTA, in Arlington) is really big on engineering and such. As a lowly MIS major I need to make some engineering friends ASAP and bring them to this.
Step 4.....Profit!!!
Thanks for the heads up. It was at my local mall last weekend. I saw it as they were packing it up. There were bins of toy wagon wheels, and zip ties, and a long, bumpy, twisting, downhill track for three vehicles, as if Salvadore Dali designed outdoor play equipment.
Do they expect you to go around smashing up cash registers,soldering all that shit together with coat hanger wire, and then use burning bras from Victoria's Secret for fuel?
Maybe they can just use some of the hot air from the jewelry stores instead of burning undergarments.
Build a man a fire and he will be warm for a day.
Light a man on fire and he will be warm the rest of his life.
One of the teams that competed earlier on in the series, The N.E.R.D.S., have their thoughts on this here.
The short answer is that yes, there are parts there that one wouldn't find in a normal junkyard due to safety concerns, and that yes, there are a higher number of "good junk" than the average real world junk heap, but honestly it's not like it's still not difficult as hell.
The "Junkyard" concept is only that, a concept designed to hold the show together, not an absolute reality that must be adheared to or else.
What's with the production quality of the American episodes. All the colors are washed out, and there's too much light. It's like their filming in a desert. Anyone else notice this?
Of course they're going straight from Dallas to LA, with no stop in Albuquerque. Since the freeway between those two cities goes right through here, maybe I'll be able to at least watch the trucks go by, a single tear streaming down my cheek.
They still get to saw cars in half...
Now THAT'S entertainment!
I love the British version of Junkyard Wars with Kathy Rogers and Douglas L. (can't spell his surname). The TLC version is really lame with those 2 moronic hosts. I used to make a point of watching it but now I really don't care. Bring back the original hosts!
Trolling is a art,
The point of the show is to get the viewer to watch the little animated bits where they tell you how a certain piece of technology works (or might not work, in some cases). The rest is just hooks to get the viewer interested.
Ita erat quando hic adveni.
Hmm... I work less than 2 miles from the KoP Mall... Mayhap a rest-o-the-day-lunch is in order...
i love to see UK exports like this accepted as being good in the US :-) who wants to be a millionaire too.
Slashdot - The one stop shop for procrastination
Count me in !!!!
I work 2 blocks from that place.
On the one hand I love the show on the other I am too lazy to drive 20 minutes to the King of Prussia mall.
But I lost intrest after determining how horribly setup the show is...
I now put this show in the same category as battlebots.
-Rob
I would always watch it, and enjoyed it very much. A couple seasons ago they started allowing/requiring too much cheating, etc. (eg: Things that were out of line with what I see as the spirit of the show). Watching became annoying - seeing the "wrong" team win, etc. I stopped watching. - blah.
Weenie burgers!
There's so much fun to eat!
If you look real hard, you might even find the meat!
Yes it is my intention to do this exact same thing, remote controlled electric car with rocket boosters attached on the side : bring the car up to speed, then clutch the transmission to go free-wheeling then trigger the boosters at a distance. Yes fun. Volunteers? - I am aiming for physical engieneering and hope that this program will bring more people into the wonderfull world of physics
In Canada, we don't fancy things like socks
This is recognizable as a fancy version of good old Cub Car racing. That was a lot of fun as well. I remember agonizing over the aerodynamic design. And the paint scheme.
Has anybody actually seen the exhibit already?
I'll be at the King of Prussia exhibit in suburban Philadelphia this weekend, and I'll post a brief report to this forum after I get a chance to see it. I really like the show, so I'm very excited to see what they have.
Too bad the JY is seeded... it makes the show seem more like the WWE than a 'game-show'
I too prefer the UK version but prefer the original female presenter to the new one. Also has anyone else noticed that whilst the competitors in Scrapheap Challenge quite often build effective working machines and have exciting final races / challenges the competitors in Junkyard Wars almost never build anything which works properly and so the finale is always a bit of a let down ?
... it was very timely, JunkYard wars came to a mall near me a month ago.
I'm the big fish in the big pond bitch.
Junkyard Wars will never be the same as the original Scrapheap Challenge. JW doesn't have Rob Llewellyn (sp?) for one thing.
But they're coming Memorial Day weekend, and I will be out of town. That's just wrong. :(
www.HearMySoulSpeak.com
It's Robert Llewellyn
Dear Slashdot,
What is this "Mall" thing you keep talking about. Is it like a Best Buy?
Sincerely,
Debbie Gibson Fan Club Member #1337
"Lawyers are for sucks."
- Doug McKenzie
I forget quite where, but I read an interview with one of the producers who said they also remove stuff from the yard that would make the challenge too easy.
Despite seeding the yard, if you watch the show you'll notice the teams still often face the dilemma of being unable to find the stuff they need/want which sometimes results in the failure of their machines.
I finally get to sit in the middle of crap and try to make something out of nothing & make it work like what I'm trying to imitate is supposed to work!
Oh... wait...
That's what I do for a living...
(Network Admin for a small (50 Users) company with $0 IT budget)
At least this time I'll get to do something fun!
(They're coming to my town!!! Yipee! Arlington, TX)
~ tmasman
Oh! And this one time, at band camp...
I can deal with the filming in a desert look.. incidentally the newer british shows are also filmed at the same spot outside LA..
What I get tired of is the macho attitude of many of the american teams. In contrast to the usual british sense that 'it's all in good fun' most of the US teams are overly competitive and pushy.
They get genuinely pissed off when they can't find something and especially when they lose, which takes all the fun out of it. The Miami gearheads are a case in point, though I guess they come from a particularly macho segment of US society.
Then there's the US team leader who thinks that a mixture of shouting 'let's go, let's go, let's go' and then berating his team members passes for leadership. Sheesh.
Not every team is like that of course, the High Flyers being a recent notable exception. Plus, they had the former governor of North Dakota.
I prefer watching the radiator explode or the boat sinking as they bail furiously, or the one with the cant-apult that just snapped when they tried to fire a washing machine with it.
It makes for a much better "reality" show.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
It was a lot of fun, but we didn't win (2nd place). Here's how it goes:
Stand in line, then stand in line some more. Fill out a sheet where you list your car's name ("Thundermobile", courtesy of my 3 year old) and the team members (myself, my 5 year old daughter and my 3 year old son). Sign a waiver saying that if you die it's your problem and if you're on TV then you get no money.
Finally it's build time. 3 teams get 10 minutes to assemble their race cars. First, pick a frame from about 1 dozen or so shells and then head to your workbench. Pick 4 wheels (sizes are large, medium, small). Attach wheels (don't forget cotter pins). At this point you have a car to race. You're provided with other items to attach...basically a bin of junk that serves only to dress up the car but can add weight. You also get flashlights and batteries. I was going to pile on the batteries for weight but was told that too much weight will sometimes make the car get stuck on the track. Everything has to be secured with either colored electrical tape or zip ties. After a final check the cars are loaded on the "junkivator" and lifted to the start of the course. Teams are put on stage and the race is run. Winning times are around 5 seconds. The winner gets a team picture with the host and the losers go off to an old auto bench seat. For our effort each of us got a JYW bag containing promotional flyers, radio shack coupons (they're sponsoring the tour), a picture frame magnet, and a JYW mini maglite in a JYW-branded plastic case. The winners get the same plus a t-shirt.
It was fun though not really a challenging build (remember, they have to crank through as many teams as they can which is why the time is limited). A great thing for a family to do together. There's a lot of hype - the host is very energetic (he's the same guy on the tour commercial) and everyone is very nice. The kids liked being on the TV screens around the display and liked the race. My son has been talking about doing it again. All it all it was worthwhile and if they have a tour next year we'll do it again.
you insensitive clod!
I'm smarter than the average bear.
The mall tour sounds more like Operation Junkyard, the kids version of Junkyard Wars as part of the Discovery Kids shows on NBC. Although all the parts are nicer rather than just being junk, the show has kids participating rather than adults. It's a little different format but still a set time period (6 hours) to build something and then a competition. Instead of experts they have engineers they can consult with for a very short time at the beginning. My kids like the show a lot along with regular Junkyard Wars. It's not bad. More info is available here.
OT rant: Now for a really lame kids version of a show (since the adult show is lame as well) there is the Discovery Kids show Endurance, a kid version of Survivor. Now that bores my kids to no end. It makes me proud to see them go build stuff instead of watching it when it comes on after Operation Junkyard.
...posting this AFTER they've come and gone at the local mall...
Electronics need to be separated from other waste. It is send in huge containers to China. Over there they use the most polluting way to 'recycle' or dispose of all our 486 machines and 5 1/4" floppy drives.
I would like to see two teams, a couple of these containers, an internetconnection for downloading needed drivers only etc. Let's start by making a list of some nice targets to be met for the contestants.
1. Convert a given DOS program to a Linux/Apple executable.
2. Contribute as much as possible to a distributed computing project.
3. Build a network with as many different motherboards/processors as possible.
etc. etc.
Whatever its called (and I've seen both) I still can't but help Kryten (Robert Lwellyn) is the best host. Also use of the term bodger is fun :)
Rus
Cheap UK and US VPS
What is so special about a robot that you need to see it directly instead of on television?
;)
Besides, the American version had jet trikes. :-)
...in San Francisco this Sunday: Power Tool Drag Races.
83chrise.nuf
"Oh! They violated my personal, pwecious spirits of the show! I'll just go off in a huff and never watch again!" Pussy.
...except they call it Pottery Barn. The junk doesnt do as much fun stuff though.
I really don't understand the vitriol against the American version. I watch both shows and enjoy both shows. Yeah, Lewellyn's probably the best host, and we all miss Cathy, but, geez, I don't understand all the huff & puff over Tlyer and Karyn. It's just plain weird. I watch to see the stuff built and pitted against one another. The US version has had some great teams and good builds this season. Seriously, folks, you need to lighten up a bit.
--- Ban humanity.
I don't understand all the huff & puff over Tlyer and Karyn.
Tyler is a flake. He's not funny, he's not off the cuff. He's just lame "If you think that was fun, wait until you see the next episode of [deepen voice] Junkyard Waaaaarrssss!"
Ug, I'm turned off just thinking about it.
Trolling is a art,
I was there on their first weekend, a few miles from Discovery Channel HQ (TLC's overlord). The Missle Masters (the Navy team from this season; they live about 200 miles away) were there to say "hi" and helped a few people with their models.
It was about as much fun as you would expect when you realize that they want to get a few hundred people to build the models and they don't allow arc welding. Lots of flat screen TV's, and the mall's Radio Shack manager came down with a bunch of ZipZaps (the small RC cars) to play with (and sell); my 4 year-old had much fun (and the ZipZap has survived 2 weeks (3 sets of batteries) of use).
I kept asking for Kathy Rogers. I figured one of the TV hosts would show up for the first stop of the tour. Maybe on the last...
If you have the fastest car at the end of the tour you'll get to be on the show. The fastest run at the first weekend was 4.4 seconds.
Yeah, I'm in west philly, and I'm trying to get some of my friends together to go over there and see what is going on. I wish i had known earlier. I might have skipped work to check things out.
What's the use of dressing like a 1970 rocker to show you don't care about what everyone else thinks you should dress like, if you don't hang around where people can see you so you can think they will learn something?
We probably also don't see the shows where one team grabbed all the seeded steam engines so the other team had none. "Cut! People, we need a little change here..."
Followed by...
I'm 37 and still laugh at "poo poo" jokes.
Dude, you owe me a new irony meter. You blew mine right through the ceiling. People could have died, man!
And again, who cares about Tyler? The shows still fun to watch for the builds. Like I said, people need to lighten up. Grumbling "Ug, I'm turned off just thinking about it." is neither light nor up. It's taking the show, and yourself, too seriously.
--- Ban humanity.
My only problem with the latest US versions is the Radio Shack "product placement". A "Radio Shack" confessional a'la Real World, and some piece of junk with a big Radio Shack sticker on it behind Tyler as he segues into commercials. Ick!
Junkyard Wars is the most un-Mall-Culture thing on the television. Going to the mall to drum up business for corporate fixers selling plasticky crap is the antithesis of their do-anything-with-refuse ethos.
Careful, you don't want a weenie to tell you you're taking yourself too seriously. ;)
Trolling is a art,
~2:00PM Stroll into the mall thinking 'Really cool concept on paper- especially if they let you use such junk as the espresso machine from StarBucks, the ear piercing gun from Claire's, the laser barcode scanners from any store, and god only knows what else to create a Caffiene powered, laser guided, ear piercer (or something)'
~2:01PM I see the stage. Sort of. There's about 5 million kids, many on the shoulders of (more patient than I could be-Thank god for birth control) parents, blocking my ability to see anything.
~2:15 Waiting in line to build some silly car to race on a racetrack where the right lane had won each of the last 6 races Word of note: If you want to keep your kids, or worse, yourself, from being publicly humiliated, you might have to shed some blood to get that lane.
~2:30 We decided to take turns waiting. I took off to find me some shoes- in case you were curious.
~3:45 Cell phone rings. We're almost at the front of the line.
~4:00 Dinner break for the JYW crew. They'll be back in an hour or so. We decide to not wait it out. I can live without the YoYo or whatever the prize was.
~4:15 Walking out of the mall, whom should we stumble across, but a whole JYW crew outside chain smoking and swearing up a storm.
That's my story.
I'm not claiming that they need to uphold some sort of moral standard, or that it's not worth it- Some of us really need that yoyo, but my experience was lackluster.
My advice- Clean that disgusting bathroom you've been meaning to get to for the last month or so instead...
yea, thats a cool 5 days too late to do me any good ;) still cool tho :)