Tyson
Veteran
Hi Everyone,
On the way back from the Drexel competition, I got some ideas about US Nationals 2009. Generally, when I get an idea, my mind becomes pretty active, which is different from its normal inactive hibernation state. Those at Drexel probably know this as I kept talking about this interest rate idea, where... as a young 24-year old, I'm not looking to purchase a house in the next 2 years, but I will probably want to purchase one in 5 to 10 years time. If the interest rates are sufficiently low, I was thinking you could take out a loan, put it in a money market account, and basically pay the difference in interest for that period of time until you needed the money. I was told that I would not have collateral for the loan, but because the money is not being used, it would theoretically be risk averse enough that I could convince my parents to let me use their house as collateral and... yeah. It sounded like a great idea for the better half of Saturday. Anyway...
I am thinking of Stanford University for US Nationals and Open 2009. Stanford University is in California, about 25 miles south of San Francisco, and accessible by public transportation from San Francisco International airport. 2006 was San Francisco, 2007 was in Chicago, and 2008 was in Atlanta so I feel it's time that we return it back to the west coast.
The Stanford area is home to many cubers that would be able to lend their support to the competition. This would definitely make running the competition easier, and we would probably be able to coordinate some type of airport pick-up as well.
There is also a summer program at Stanford which we may be able to leverage for resources as Leyan and I have done work for them in the past, and I think they would be keen on assisting us this summer.
The main question right now is that given the flexibility of such a competition, because it is near the home of so many cubers, we should have a good pick in terms of which weekend to hold it. My thoughts were as follows:
Friday - preliminary rounds
Saturday - preliminary rounds
Sunday - final round
Downtown Palo Alto is also within walking distance of Stanford and has a nice array of restaurants. I can do some research as well and find a close hotel.
I am very familiar with the area that Stanford University is in and I can promise, it is very nice, unlike the crap that was the Underground Atlanta.
I will be bringing this idea up with the director of the summer program, but it would be nice if people could give ideas of dates. Here's what's good to suggest and what's not.
Good idea: The first weekend of August would be good because most colleges start at the third week of August and people should be home from vacations at that time.
Bad idea: Plz hold it on teh 25th becuz i is freez!
Also given the number of cubers in the area, if you do some coaxing, you should be able to convince some cubers to let you stay at their homes, which should reduce the needs for the hotel. Nonetheless, we would still probably find a hotel for the competition as these things end up being large gatherings in the hotel lobby anyway.
One thing I would like to try and do for this competition that would be different than other competitions is to try and coordinate some group activities for everyone. After all, these competitions are really one of the few national gatherings, and it's quite nice to see everyone.
Some ideas include a bbq, a cube-style treasure hunt around campus and ending up at a restaurant for dinner, or laser tag (everyone vs Stefan Pochmann since he's so elite and can probably bend space-time with his mind).
For competitors traveling from outside of the United States, we could probably also arrange to take you around the San Francisco Bay Area. Again, since Stanford University is an area that I have many ties to, there are significantly more resources for me to leverage. The Monday and/or Tuesday and subsequent days could be used for people visiting from Europe, Asia, and Antarctica (penguin speedsolve division) to see the city of San Francisco, go wine tasting in Napa with Swedes, poke the Facebook head quarters, or whatever.
Anyway, these were some ideas that I have initially. The main thing is to figure out when a good date is. OR... the other thing is to suggest a better place to hold the competition. And again, if you say "Hold it in my back yard because then I don't have to travel," I will pay someone to kick you. (Probably the sum of 1 USD... which is actually WORTH something now. Haha... suckers who use the Euro.
)
P.S. The jab at the Euro I'm sure will be short lived. Only a few months ago, it was the other way around.
On the way back from the Drexel competition, I got some ideas about US Nationals 2009. Generally, when I get an idea, my mind becomes pretty active, which is different from its normal inactive hibernation state. Those at Drexel probably know this as I kept talking about this interest rate idea, where... as a young 24-year old, I'm not looking to purchase a house in the next 2 years, but I will probably want to purchase one in 5 to 10 years time. If the interest rates are sufficiently low, I was thinking you could take out a loan, put it in a money market account, and basically pay the difference in interest for that period of time until you needed the money. I was told that I would not have collateral for the loan, but because the money is not being used, it would theoretically be risk averse enough that I could convince my parents to let me use their house as collateral and... yeah. It sounded like a great idea for the better half of Saturday. Anyway...
I am thinking of Stanford University for US Nationals and Open 2009. Stanford University is in California, about 25 miles south of San Francisco, and accessible by public transportation from San Francisco International airport. 2006 was San Francisco, 2007 was in Chicago, and 2008 was in Atlanta so I feel it's time that we return it back to the west coast.
The Stanford area is home to many cubers that would be able to lend their support to the competition. This would definitely make running the competition easier, and we would probably be able to coordinate some type of airport pick-up as well.
There is also a summer program at Stanford which we may be able to leverage for resources as Leyan and I have done work for them in the past, and I think they would be keen on assisting us this summer.
The main question right now is that given the flexibility of such a competition, because it is near the home of so many cubers, we should have a good pick in terms of which weekend to hold it. My thoughts were as follows:
Friday - preliminary rounds
Saturday - preliminary rounds
Sunday - final round
Downtown Palo Alto is also within walking distance of Stanford and has a nice array of restaurants. I can do some research as well and find a close hotel.
I am very familiar with the area that Stanford University is in and I can promise, it is very nice, unlike the crap that was the Underground Atlanta.
I will be bringing this idea up with the director of the summer program, but it would be nice if people could give ideas of dates. Here's what's good to suggest and what's not.
Good idea: The first weekend of August would be good because most colleges start at the third week of August and people should be home from vacations at that time.
Bad idea: Plz hold it on teh 25th becuz i is freez!
Also given the number of cubers in the area, if you do some coaxing, you should be able to convince some cubers to let you stay at their homes, which should reduce the needs for the hotel. Nonetheless, we would still probably find a hotel for the competition as these things end up being large gatherings in the hotel lobby anyway.
One thing I would like to try and do for this competition that would be different than other competitions is to try and coordinate some group activities for everyone. After all, these competitions are really one of the few national gatherings, and it's quite nice to see everyone.
Some ideas include a bbq, a cube-style treasure hunt around campus and ending up at a restaurant for dinner, or laser tag (everyone vs Stefan Pochmann since he's so elite and can probably bend space-time with his mind).
For competitors traveling from outside of the United States, we could probably also arrange to take you around the San Francisco Bay Area. Again, since Stanford University is an area that I have many ties to, there are significantly more resources for me to leverage. The Monday and/or Tuesday and subsequent days could be used for people visiting from Europe, Asia, and Antarctica (penguin speedsolve division) to see the city of San Francisco, go wine tasting in Napa with Swedes, poke the Facebook head quarters, or whatever.
Anyway, these were some ideas that I have initially. The main thing is to figure out when a good date is. OR... the other thing is to suggest a better place to hold the competition. And again, if you say "Hold it in my back yard because then I don't have to travel," I will pay someone to kick you. (Probably the sum of 1 USD... which is actually WORTH something now. Haha... suckers who use the Euro.
)P.S. The jab at the Euro I'm sure will be short lived. Only a few months ago, it was the other way around.
) and also its in a good, safe area. Atlanta was really bad, Chicago i cant tell but it probably was bad.
