Karin and Vlad's Excellent Adventures- powered by SmugMug

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ktravers > Here's Karin, right before the beginning of the race, checking out the camera phone we're given to communicate and to document our arrival at each checkpoint.

For info on the Urban Challenge set-up, see the Urban Challenge website. In brief: 2 person teams are sent off on a point-to-point race through Boston, navigating our way to 12 checkpoints given in a series of clues to be decoded. Arrival at checkpoints are documented using digicam technology, and teams are allowed to travel by foot, or using public transport. Costumes are optional, but our team, Twin Lobster Special, has an image to uphold...

ktravers > Our trivia scoresheet. Contestants leave in waves of 10 teams or so at 3 minute intervals. Wave placement is determined thru a trivia quiz. Here's our answer sheet filled in- it puts us in the FIRST wave! Boy, do we end up needing that little boost!

Once we get outside, we get our clue sheet, and we off to solve clue #1 with help from our Crack Home Team.
Checkpoint 1. Friends; neighbors perhaps? Judging strictly by the name, Checkpoint 1 is to bars in Boston what electrons are to elementary particles. Find it within a half-mile of race headquarrters.

What to do! Team Lobster Special lounges at the nearby Millenium Hotel, letting the Crack Home Team know about the clue, and mulling it over.

ktravers > Here we are at the Union Oyster Bar, solution to Checkpoint 1! How DID we do it?!
Riffing off of electrons and elementary particles, Twin Lobsters in combo with Crack Home Team comes up with the fact that electrons are the FIRST elementary particles described. So what's the FIRST bar in Boston? Why, it's the Bell in Hand. So why are we here at the Union Oyster Bar?...

ktravers > Our second, better picture of us, documenting our stop at the Union Oyster Bar. We actually ALSO had a picture at this point of the Bell in Hand, which we erased when we realized the Bell in Hand was ACTUALLY clearly checkpoint 3! Turns out, the Union Oyster Bar is the first OYSTER BAR in Boston, and thus, judging by that name, is the first of its kind. So, we're on to checkpoint 2:

Checkpoint 2. But Do they Serve Buffalo Wings? Find a hanging, oversized, faux slice of pizza with what appears to be pepperoni, olives, mushroom, and green pepper. Find it within a half-mile of Quincy Market.

This clue has us all stymied. The Crack Home Team is calling pizza joints all over the area, as well as performing the requisite googling. Twin Lobsters are asking everyone and everyone, and being pointed in quite a few wrong directions.

ktravers > Twin Lobsters head into the North End, thinking surely there'll be a pizza place there that fits the description. No such luck. BUT- we do find the skip chick there! Getting our picture with the skip chick, whose image was messaged to all competitors via cell phone, allows us to skip a checkpoint of our choice. This will come in handy!

But we don't want to use this advantage TOO early in the game, so we continue to search out the pizza sign. The Twin Lobsters decide to get outta the North End and just start hunting within a 1/2 mile radius of Quincy market. A seemingly random strategy...

ktravers > But a strategy that works! We stumble on Jessica's Deli, with the previously described faux pizza (cut off in this picture). We snap our picture, and are off and running in search of Checkpoint 3.

Checkpoint 3. We Get Thirsty Just Thinking About This! Checkpoint 3 is on Union Street. To find out where, imagine you enjoy a certain sports drink that is 20% water and 80% other stuff. You like it, but feel like you should not drink anything that is not at least 50% water. At minimum, how many quarts of pure water would you need to mix with your sports drink to create a gallon of acceptable fluid?

Substitute the answer for A in the following equation: (30 times A)

ktravers > And here we are, back at the Bell in Hand, Checkpoint 3! How DID we do it?!

The Crack Home Team has worked the math, coming up with two guesses of 1.6 and 1.5 quarts respectively, and hammering out the math to come up with a final answer of 1.5. 1.5 times 30 is 45, and 45 Union Street is- the Bell in Hand! We snap our picture here, erase the previous pic of Bell in Hand as answer for Checkpoint 1, and we're good to go! On to Checkpoint 4.

Checkpoint 4. Or is it the Flagon with the Dragon? Find the golden vessel with the pestle. Its actually a mortar and a pestle; we just like the way vessel with a pestle falls trippingly from the tongue. Anyway, its really big and located within a quarter-mile north of Paul Reveres house.

ktravers > Here we are at Checkpoint 4. We saw this earlier while wandering aimlessly down Hanover Street. So we returned toot sweet, snapped our picture. All the while, the Crack Home Team was working on Checkpoint 5:

Checkpoint 5. Dello or Dino! Identify the capital for each of the following, then count up all the letters n each of the names.

MA KY OR NM FL MI OK NY CO Guam

If the total is even, then Dellos is Checkpoint 5.
If the total is odd, then Dinos is Checkpoint 5.

Find them both on Salem in the North End

ktravers > Twin Lobster Special heads to Salem Street, while the Crack Home Team feverishly works up Checkpoint 5. Pure brainpower and an excel spreadsheet yields 76 letters, an even number, thus Dello's on Salem Street is our target. The Crack Home Team delivers the address, and we hoof it there. We're ready for Checkpoint 6.

Checkpoint 6. Third floor Walk-up!
We continue to bust out the Patented Wacky Equation!
New York, Chicago, Boston
PLUS
Given Name of Actor who Treasured Zuzus Pedals [sic]
MINUS
Street where Springsteen Shuffled
SOUNDS LIKE
Checkpoint 6.
Find it within a half-mile north of Fenway.

Here's Karin, right before the beginning of the race, checking out the camera phone we're given to communicate and to document our arrival at each checkpoint.

For info on the Urban Challenge set-up, see the Urban Challenge website. In brief: 2 person teams are sent off on a point-to-point race through Boston, navigating our way to 12 checkpoints given in a series of clues to be decoded. Arrival at checkpoints are documented using digicam technology, and teams are allowed to travel by foot, or using public transport. Costumes are optional, but our team, Twin Lobster Special, has an image to uphold...

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Keywords: prerace

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