Moe FwackyRight Here, Right NowDrives a BuickModeratormod
edited January 2009
So, I've found something that pertains to the CCST that might help convince some of you who are still on the fence, as it were. It's called Lessons from Geese and it was transcribed from a speech given by Angeles Arien at the 1991 Organizational Development Network.
Fact 1
As each goose flaps its wings, it creates an “uplift†for the birds that follow. By flying in a “V†formation, the whole flock has 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.
Lesson
People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier, because they are traveling on the thrust of each other.
How this pertains to the CCST
Traveling together is easier and feels faster because we're all oriented on a common goal. Also you save gas mileage riding in the wake of the vehicles in front of you.
Fact 2
When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.
Lesson
If we have as much sense as a goose, we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.
How this pertains to the CCST
This is pretty self-explanatory
Fact 3
When the lead bird tires, it rotates back into the formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.
Lesson
It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on each others’ skills, capabilities, and unique arrangement of gifts, talents, or resources.
How this pertains to the CCST
Don't be afraid of driver rotation. The people in your car are with you all the way, when you're tired, allow somebody else to drive while you rest. Everybody needs rest, and you have other skills that could be put to use when you're not behind the wheel.
Fact 4
The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.
Lesson
We need to make sure our honking is encouraging. In groups where there is encouragement, the production is much greater. The power of encouragement (to stand by one’s heart or core values and to encourage the heart and core values of others) is the quality of honking we seek.
How this pertains to the CCST
Radio chatter is golden, especially during the later hours. Talk to each other and feel free to make jokes at the landscape's expense. I've been told in the past, that when everybody in the car is alseep, the only thing that kept the driver going was the fact that there were other drivers in the same situation within easy communications range (as long as your FRS radio has a 5-mile range).
Fact 5
When a goose gets sick, wounded, or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then, they launch out with another formation to catch up with the flock.
Lesson
If we have as much sense as geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we’re strong.
How this pertains to the CCST
We help each other out. If a car should drop behind the group due to some unforeseen catastrophe--such as a tire blowout--we stay in communication, find out the situation, and slow down the pace to allow them a chance to catch up. If it becomes plain that they won't catch up before the next waypoint, we give them some extra time at that stop so that they can meet back up with the group.
I hope this has been insightful, I'll be posting it in the OP when I have a little more free time.
Oooh... the thought of late night radio communication sounds compelling to me. I'm not sure why, but it does. Comradery is a compelling motivation I think.
So I'm one person down in my car, and potentially one up. My wife has begun to express sincere doubt about her ability to endure 3 days in a row of driving without stopping at a hotel, as well as the fact that she only really wants to go to Seattle so she can then go up to see her best friend who moved up to Alaska... so we looked at the airfare costs from Seattle to Alaska versus NH to Alaska, and the difference was minimal. Therefore, she's going to fly straight out to meet her friend... which actually relieves me a little, because as much as I love my wife I think she'd go crazy by the end of it.
However, my friend over here has begun to express interest in going, and he can drive... and he has a van. I'm going to talk to him more about it in the coming days, but this could be a fortunate development in the end.
I'm sad that she's not coming to PAX either, but apparently she had thought from the start that she'd not actually be going to PAX itself. I figured she'd at least go to the first day to meet everyone... apparently we have communication issues to sort out. But all should be good.
What day is this going to start? And perhaps pass through the midwest? There is a group of 3 of us that are going to be making the trip, however our plan was to leave September 1st, and drive thru to seattle. Bringing along a 32" flat panel, ps3, and 360. Game out all the way, loser drives!
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Moe FwackyRight Here, Right NowDrives a BuickModeratormod
edited January 2009
We depart on 9/1, schedule and maps are in the OP. Also, I can draft a route from your location to the nearest waypoint if there isn't already one.
edit, actually, judging by your location in SD, you could meet us in Fargo at 8:30am CDT on 9/2. I hope you didn't plan on stopping for the night. Our planned arrival in Seattle is 1pm PDT on 9/3 (yes, it is possible).
Yes, Fargo would be the next stop. We were planning on being in Seattle on the 2nd.
so we'll actually be a day ahead of you. Which is both unfortunate, and kewl
I hope you guys aren't staying in a PAX hotel the night you get in. You won't get the PAX rate for that night, and instead get the full flavor rape train rate.
As of now, no plans are set in stone. I do know that we are planning some salmon fishing before PAX, so I think that we will probably get the whole rate raping. But some things are just worth it.
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Moe FwackyRight Here, Right NowDrives a BuickModeratormod
Ok, I looked at the data from 2 years ago. Why? Well that was the year that the car that I was in made a trip that Google maps said that would take us 34 hours and we did it in 36.5.
Ok, going back to White, SD from Seattle. Google maps says 1602 miles and approx. 22.5 hours. That gives you an average driving speed of 71.2 mph. Our trip, we averaged 71.8 mph.... for the time we were driving. Factoring in our stops for gas and food, we only averaged 64 mph.
And mind you we did not stop for anything on the way back. 17 stops with an average of 16 mins per stop. And that's including a 53 min stop when one of our drivers got pulled over for speeding in WA in the middle of the night.
So let's look at the PAX schedule for last year. PAX got over at 6pm on Sunday. I'd give you an hour to get out of the building, back to the car (since you would have had to check out of the hotel already), get it gassed up and onto I-90. 7pm... Pacific time. which would be 9pm, Central Time.
So you leave at 9pm and it takes you at least 22.5 hours to get home, you're looking at 7:30pm at the earliest. Mind you, Sunset is at 8:00pm round that time of year. But that's if you car can somehow not have to stop for gas. Using our 64 mph average for the trip, that would put you AT LEAST at a 10pm arrival time on Monday night.
What am I saying, basically good luck getting back on Monday no matter what you do.
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Moe FwackyRight Here, Right NowDrives a BuickModeratormod
edited January 2009
And all that's providing you don't drive off a mountain in Montana from not getting a good night's sleep before departure.
a note: they got pulled over on their own, not with the group, the group dwindles for the ride back, as people have their own schedules and some like to take a different route on their return
It's 1605 miles if you go through Fargo, and North Dakota. The way we will probably go is through South Dakota straight to Billings. Which is 1497 miles. Gotta love back roads. So guesstimating a 24 hour drive, between 3 drivers, is 8 hours of driving per person. With minimal stops, and since we'll actually most likely not be with the group, I feel it's very possible for us to be there on the 2nd, and back on the following Monday evening with minimal risks.
But if we were with the group, it would be a different story. And what you say would most likely be true.
It's 1605 miles if you go through Fargo, and North Dakota. The way we will probably go is through South Dakota straight to Billings. Which is 1497 miles. Gotta love back roads. So guesstimating a 24 hour drive, between 3 drivers, is 8 hours of driving per person. With minimal stops, and since we'll actually most likely not be with the group, I feel it's very possible for us to be there on the 2nd, and back on the following Monday evening with minimal risks.
But if we were with the group, it would be a different story. And what you say would most likely be true.
Back roads kind of suck, IMO. Also, southern montana and that corner of wyoming are littered with roadkill. Also in 2006 (when we went through SD, WY and southern MT) there was a bear feeding in the middle of the highway. We go through North Dakota these days because the drive is easier on us than the alternative.
Also, Qs23's stats aren't through North Dakota, they're along I-90 through South Dakota. Don't expect those back roads to move as fast as google seems to think they will.
Edit: all this talk of statistics kind of strips away the spirit of the trip. Consider this (and talk it over with your traveling companions). The CCST is a day later, an extra hundred miles and 40 extra friends. Not to mention, traveling together makes the trip that much more fun, and that much easier to handle.
Perhaps we will, though we are looking forward to fishing in Puget Sound before the event. So we'll have to see what happens.
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Moe FwackyRight Here, Right NowDrives a BuickModeratormod
edited January 2009
Like I mentioned earlier, consider fishing after PAX, or even on Friday before PAX opens. PAX doesn't start usually until about 3pm on Friday, that should be plenty of time to get some fishing in.
Just a thought, for the east coast PAX is there going to be a super trip for those on the west coast so we can experience the super trip to its fullest?
mavrick88 on
I was driving some out-of-towner friends around, and I kept complaining about being blinded. They responded with "You see, where we come from, people tend to wear Sunglasses." I retorted with a simple "You people tend to have sun."
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Moe FwackyRight Here, Right NowDrives a BuickModeratormod
edited February 2009
I can't even count how many times I've answered this question. PAX East is in Boston in March. March through the mountains of Montana is deadly enough, not to mention the potential weather conditions of the rest of the northeast. You guys in the Seattle area don't get a real winter, and by March it's already spring for you. For the rest of the northern states though, it's still snow, ice and cold.
Short answer: unless they move PAX East into a warmer month, no.
Posts
How this pertains to the CCST
Traveling together is easier and feels faster because we're all oriented on a common goal. Also you save gas mileage riding in the wake of the vehicles in front of you.
How this pertains to the CCST
This is pretty self-explanatory
How this pertains to the CCST
Don't be afraid of driver rotation. The people in your car are with you all the way, when you're tired, allow somebody else to drive while you rest. Everybody needs rest, and you have other skills that could be put to use when you're not behind the wheel.
How this pertains to the CCST
Radio chatter is golden, especially during the later hours. Talk to each other and feel free to make jokes at the landscape's expense. I've been told in the past, that when everybody in the car is alseep, the only thing that kept the driver going was the fact that there were other drivers in the same situation within easy communications range (as long as your FRS radio has a 5-mile range).
How this pertains to the CCST
We help each other out. If a car should drop behind the group due to some unforeseen catastrophe--such as a tire blowout--we stay in communication, find out the situation, and slow down the pace to allow them a chance to catch up. If it becomes plain that they won't catch up before the next waypoint, we give them some extra time at that stop so that they can meet back up with the group.
I hope this has been insightful, I'll be posting it in the OP when I have a little more free time.
Off to work, wheee!
So I'm one person down in my car, and potentially one up. My wife has begun to express sincere doubt about her ability to endure 3 days in a row of driving without stopping at a hotel, as well as the fact that she only really wants to go to Seattle so she can then go up to see her best friend who moved up to Alaska... so we looked at the airfare costs from Seattle to Alaska versus NH to Alaska, and the difference was minimal. Therefore, she's going to fly straight out to meet her friend... which actually relieves me a little, because as much as I love my wife I think she'd go crazy by the end of it.
However, my friend over here has begun to express interest in going, and he can drive... and he has a van. I'm going to talk to him more about it in the coming days, but this could be a fortunate development in the end.
I'm sad that she's not coming to PAX either, but apparently she had thought from the start that she'd not actually be going to PAX itself. I figured she'd at least go to the first day to meet everyone... apparently we have communication issues to sort out.
edit, actually, judging by your location in SD, you could meet us in Fargo at 8:30am CDT on 9/2. I hope you didn't plan on stopping for the night. Our planned arrival in Seattle is 1pm PDT on 9/3 (yes, it is possible).
so we'll actually be a day ahead of you. Which is both unfortunate, and kewl
I hope you guys aren't staying in a PAX hotel the night you get in. You won't get the PAX rate for that night, and instead get the full flavor rape train rate.
*wanders off to crunch some numbers*
...no I'm not joking. you'll die
See VThornheart's signature
Saw that.. I grew up in the mountains, and and been through Montana, Idaho, Washington many times. Won't be new territory.
Ok, going back to White, SD from Seattle. Google maps says 1602 miles and approx. 22.5 hours. That gives you an average driving speed of 71.2 mph. Our trip, we averaged 71.8 mph.... for the time we were driving. Factoring in our stops for gas and food, we only averaged 64 mph.
And mind you we did not stop for anything on the way back. 17 stops with an average of 16 mins per stop. And that's including a 53 min stop when one of our drivers got pulled over for speeding in WA in the middle of the night.
So let's look at the PAX schedule for last year. PAX got over at 6pm on Sunday. I'd give you an hour to get out of the building, back to the car (since you would have had to check out of the hotel already), get it gassed up and onto I-90. 7pm... Pacific time. which would be 9pm, Central Time.
So you leave at 9pm and it takes you at least 22.5 hours to get home, you're looking at 7:30pm at the earliest. Mind you, Sunset is at 8:00pm round that time of year. But that's if you car can somehow not have to stop for gas. Using our 64 mph average for the trip, that would put you AT LEAST at a 10pm arrival time on Monday night.
What am I saying, basically good luck getting back on Monday no matter what you do.
a note: they got pulled over on their own, not with the group, the group dwindles for the ride back, as people have their own schedules and some like to take a different route on their return
But if we were with the group, it would be a different story. And what you say would most likely be true.
Also, Qs23's stats aren't through North Dakota, they're along I-90 through South Dakota. Don't expect those back roads to move as fast as google seems to think they will.
Edit: all this talk of statistics kind of strips away the spirit of the trip. Consider this (and talk it over with your traveling companions). The CCST is a day later, an extra hundred miles and 40 extra friends. Not to mention, traveling together makes the trip that much more fun, and that much easier to handle.
Translation: Qs23 = Buzzkill
Eh, Montana is nature's way of telling you that you need to toughen up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5cmmQcmfYM
Talked to the guys. As much fun as it would be to join your group, the consensus is that our departure will be on the 1st.
Nunderw00b: Your friends suck and you need new friends....like the ones on CCST
NEW ALBUM OUT, NOW WITH 100% MORE SHEEP!, have a listen will ya
Also, I agree. Nunderw00b, you need new friends.
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq9Gzc0KkxE
That's "Cry of the Wild Goose" By Frankie Laine
Short answer: unless they move PAX East into a warmer month, no.