THE OBJECTIVE HERE IS TO BUILD A MACHINE [BULLDOZER, BUCKETLOADER, MOBILE CRANE, WHATEVER; THEIR CHOICE] THAT MOVES BIG STUFF. THE CONTEST WOULD TAKE PLACE ON ADJACENT PARALLEL STRETCHES OF "ROADWAY" IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE JUNKYARD, AND WOULD OCCUR IN TWO PHASES: PHASE I: THE TEAMS WOULD BE GIVEN X MINUTES TO HAUL OUT OF THE JUNKYARD WHATEVER CHUNKS OF RUBBISH THEY FANCIED, AND DEPOSIT THEM IN A HUGE HEAP ON THEIR OPPONENTS' ROADWAY [THE SIZES, SHAPES, AND WEIGHTS OF THE PIECES SELECTED COULD ALL HAVE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE]. PHASE II: THE TWO TEAMS WOULD THEN RACE TO CLEAR ENOUGH OF A PATH THROUGH THE HEAP ON THEIR OWN ROADWAY THAT THEIR MACHINE CAN LUMBER DOWN THE ROADWAY TO THE FINISH-LINE. THE KICKER IS, THEY HAVE TWO OPTIONS OF WHAT TO DO WITH THE STUFF THEY CLEAR AWAY: THEY CAN EITHER PUSH IT OFF TO THE SIDE, OR THEY CAN CARRY IT OVER AND DEPOSIT IT ON THE BACK OF THE HEAP ON THE OPPONENTS' ROAD. THE WINNER WOULD BE WHOEVER REACHES THE FINISH-LINE FIRST, OR COMES CLOSEST TO IT WHEN TIME RUNS OUT.

-- Peter Kivic (kivic@westelcom.com), April 06, 2001

Answers

Multi-task machinery with multi-task challenges tend to overwhelm both the ten hour build time limit and the brevity of the final competition to determine a winner from the two teams' machines. Even if you reduced this challenge to simply building a crane that would pick up random scrapyard materials and haul it all up over an eight foot high fence, variations in the random junk piles available to each team might determine the competition winner, rather than an individual machine's superior design and/or construction. If you saw the demolition machine competitions, you saw how very careful JYW was to get the playing field absolutely level for both machines. Nothing random about it. Dare I suggest a much needed challenge? How about an automatic caps lock deactivator?

-- Chip Haynes (ehaynes@co.pinellas.fl.us), April 06, 2001.

I CANT HEAR YOU!

-- Uncle Orange (orange_nz@hotmail.com), April 06, 2001.

Caps lock is located to the extreme left of your keyboard, and right above the left shi(f)t key! PLEASE STOP YELLING. IT ANNOYS ME!

-- Joey Falgout (Broadcast Junkies) (joeyinalexandria@hotmail.com), April 06, 2001.