How did the Whack-A-Mole go?

It Phaled!

We tried it actually ON the street once the cars were gone. I even made the one police car back up to give us the needed room. (He was very accommodating.) At that point, we turned the devices on and went for it. Mike soon realized that the many electrical wires overhead were wreaking havoc on the GPS satellite reception. Accuracy was something like 25 feet (radius) - which is very very bad. In other words, you think a mole is in this spot right here, but you are really aiming at a circle 25 feet x 2 . That level of frustration would drive everyone away.

So, we could only play it at say, Columbia Park (not on the street) or in some parking lot (also not on the street).

I'll save the activity for a non-street-centered day and hope for a space without electrical wiring overhead.

Thankfully, so many other people came out with so many cool activities that actually worked! Nice work to y'all!

Man, that was great. Thanks so much to everyone who made it possible, and made it fabulous.

How did the Whack-A-Mole go? We were sorry we missed it!

Mikala

There must be other fun photos out there to share. Please do! Here's how.

I've posted photos online at http://www.flickr.com/photos/69903824@N00/2815925921/in/set-72157607047528242/

Enjoy.

Joanne

I need a bit bigger of a space than the corner of (say) Rainier and Ferdinand offers. We played in the parking lot across from Kallaloo and Jones, and that space is a better size. However, that's not at all on Rainier AVENUE and the whole point is to be on the street, eh? :-)

So, if the corner of, say, Alaska and Rainer is available, that may work better. (I'll try again with looking at the map today. I may still call you, Sharon.)

The current plan:
At 3:30 pm, 3 people can play at once. We'll do a practice run, and then a real run.
If there is enough interest, I'll do it again at, oh, 4:00.

We all bring our mats, tape 'em into one huge grid that spans the street, line up on each side, get all the spinners going, and have at it.

It could have a certain Chinese checkers aspect — see if you can get across to the other side while stopping other people from crossing. Or it could just be a giant morass of arms and legs…

Yes? Bring your Twister mat over to Findlay Street if you're interested.

Cheers,

mik

Just need to make little, portable signs to advertise it.

Picture three adorable children walking the street. Each carries a big velvet sack. The sacks contain poems printed on slips of paper which are folded in half. The poems are short, accessible, earthy, perhaps written by Neruda. The children offer a poem to any who would reach into the sack.

Glad to see some posts about this coming Sunday. CCBA is footing the bill for some live music on the corner of Rainier and S. Hudson - Skywheel Band (http://www.myspace.com/skywheelband) will play from 3-4:30, followed by Stephen Smartt (http://www.myspace.com/stephensmartt) courtesy of Columbia City Theater (who's also donating the sound gear.)

I see that the map's been updated, and I, too, had trouble knowing how to add something to it. If you want to add something to it you can contact Diana Vinh (vog.ytnuocgnik|hniV.anaiD#vog.ytnuocgnik|hniV.anaiD).

The left-over chalk from the Heritage Festival has been given to SEED Arts, who's going to have chalk drawing.

I hope the labyrinth happens - sounds really cool.

I think this day is what we make it, so c'mon … let's get creative.

Joanne

I am working on an idea of playing Whack A Mole using GPS technology and a platform called Wherigo. Hopefully, I can get the plans together for it.

To the organizer of this:
I will want a large-ish open space without too many tall buildings nearby. Any intersection in our 'hood ought to fit the bill … but the fewer buildings nearby, the better for GPS satellite reception. Is the intersection of Alaska and Rainier available? Can you please let me know? Thanks.

If it comes together:
This game of Whack A Mole is of course based on the old-school carnival game where you bonk moles with a hammer as they randomly pop up from their burrows. You've played it before. Right? :-) The moles will appear on your GPS screen (which I will provide for free, hopefully) and the hammer is you. You have to run to that location before the mole disappears. The more moles you whack, the better your score.

I hope that this will be played by 2 or 3 adult people at the same time, at around 3:30pm. You'll be racing both against the clock and against the others playing. It just takes a few minutes.

It's fun!

As odd as this may seem, I'm going to ask that you bring your driver's license to this "car free day" activity. I plan to take your driver's license as a "safety net" before I give you the GPS.

BTW, do you know the girl who works at Columbia City Bakery named Ariadne? You should give her some thread and get her involved. :)

I like the Giant Craps game idea, too, but finding suitable dice is the trick. Don't think cardboard will last very long. I'd like to play regular craps - I have a ton of dice in the house - if someone would teach the rules.

1. Giant Labyrinth — I'm thinking some relatively flat intersection… Maybe Orcas, or one of the Columbia City intersections, if they're not all taken. This could be sidewalk chalk, or more vertical if I get ambitious.

This one is easy to draw and can be expanded so it actually takes 15 minutes or so to walk it: http://www.labyreims.com/e-cr.html

Some people do this as a meditation, but it's also fun for kids to play in it — especially if someone's willing to play minotaur…

2. Giant Craps Game — it can't be too hard to make some giant dice out of cardboard boxes (I promise not to load 'em…). This would need to happen somewhere flat too, but wouldn't need as much room. I'd love it if some of the craps players from behind the Columbia Plaza would come out and play. Might have to find some giant money too, for betting purposes.

What do other people have planned? I'm curious.

— Mikala