I think in the new season you should College engineering students up against each other. This could showcase the abilities of those who will have a impact on the engineering community in the next 50 years. Some good schools are; Univerisity of Alabama in Huntsville ( where I currently attend), MIT, Georgia Tech, U of Illinois, etc.. You could even put rivial colleges up against one another.

-- Brian Campe (Scampo1988@aol.com), January 31, 2001

Answers

Better yet, why don't college students form teams and simply apply like everyone else?

(To reply in email replace blort dot invalid with anime dot net)

-- Dan Hollis (goemon@blort.invalid), January 31, 2001.

The biggest problem with recent graduates is that they can talk the talk, but, can't walk the walk. If you believe you can be competive with a bunch of experienced tinkerers just submit an application, don't try to change the show to suit your own abilities.

JustJay

-- JustJay-Captain-Three Rusty Juveniles (justjay@neo.rr.com), January 31, 2001.

I don't know, Jay. I spent half of my time in college disassembling and rebuilding an old BMW ('68 1600) and tinkering (with limited sucessess) with a '58 Bugeye Sprite. I wasn't as experienced as the Rusty Juvenils -- who is? -- but I would have been a credible competitor.

As the JWY/SC franschise grows I can see room for a series of college-student competitions. TLC (and presumably Channel 4) has a lot of air time spent on shows that don't interest me. Filling it with variants of JYW/SC is just fine with me.

It would be especially interesting if teams from technical colleges could compete. "MIT vs. Lake Washington Technical" has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

(P.S. Lake Washington Technical is where I am going to take night classes in welding. I'm a hobbyist woodworker but I need to learn more about this metal stuff. I want to be ready for the 2002 challenge.)

-- Rick Tyler (rick@raf.com), January 31, 2001.

Experience is a great teacher, when I wanted to know about plumbing, for example. I didn't pick up a book I went to work for a plumber, when I wanted to weld I went to Tom's dad, a welding instructor, when i was 12 years old. I bought my first arc welder when I was 16. The Hot Rod I was driving at the beginning of the show was built in 1959, by Tom and I, he was 18 and I was 15, I drove it to California and back in 1999. I don't have anything against an education, it just needs a little experience to make it useful.

JustJay

-- JustJay-Captain-Three Rusty Juveniles (justjay@neo.rr.com), January 31, 2001.

Being middle aged artists, Jays way has worked the best for us. A good education is the best introduction for all the other stuff that life throws at you. Behind the glamor of television, it was alot harder than it looked. There were so many more things than just welding in the over-all experience of the junkyard challenge. Education is only an instruction manual, get your team together, find people who know what you don't, apply now. If you really feel that you can compeate only the college level, than maybe you should talk to your administrators to start another, similar collage of competitions like those of MIT. We hope to see you on the show soon, best wishes. I hope you find the old guy in the garage and make friends with him, hang out a little, he might even be your next door neighbor.

-- June Moxon/Ken Beidleman/Art Attack (june-ken@humboldt1.com), January 31, 2001.

Ummm, I may have given the wrong impression. I'm nearly as old as Flatmo (and THAT'S old), but not nearly as old as the Juveniles (I said, "I'M NOT AS OLD AS THE RUSTY JUVENILES"). I'm a self-educated mechanic and woodworker (my favorite hobby is turning large piles of expensive lumber into small pieces of furniture). Since I view my one limitation as a potential contestant on JYW as my lack of welding experience, I plan to do a 10-week course at the local technical college. They offer to help me "Gain welding and fabrication experience on oxyfuel, shielded metal arc (stick) T.I.G., M.I.G., and Flux-Core arc welding (dual shield and inner shield); includes processes for steel, aluminum and stainless steel" in 20 3-hour classes for about $200. At $5 an hour this sounds like a good deal to me.

And then, if history is any guide, I will then go out and spend way too much money on tools, materials, and stuff. I am such a man. Since my garage is already a woodworking shop, I might have to build another separate building for the inevitable metalworking stuff. I love hobbies, don't you?

-- Rick Tyler (rick@raf.com), January 31, 2001.

Rick Having both metal and woodworking equipment is one building is a hassle, I do. I usually have to complete one or the other before going on to the next, which is a pain for me I like to have several things going at once, so I don't have to watch the paint dry. Good luck with your welding classes, I took them after I thought I knew everything.

JustJay

-- JustJay-Captain-Three Rusty Juveniles (justjay@neo.rr.com), February 02, 2001.