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In any event, since this is Slashdot, I'd recommend a Linux based beowulf cluster in custom wooden cases with a long T-1 cable trailing behind. Don't forget to weld a nice chair to the tractor too! Maybe a nice desk would be useful too. Heck, I'd just park the tractor and make a fortune by answering Make Money Fast emails!

I must admit as kid building the kits and sometimes being creative
enough to make up my own designs was cool. I grew up and like many
people I put my Legos away except on special occasions. I do look now with
a great deal of envy toward peaple like Eric. I see him making
a living doing this sometimes on a grand scale. God I hate him. I work
in hell and he gets to play with legos all day.

The minute I read this, I knew someone would be crazy enough...

Personally, I think this is the biggest symbol of geek worship gone terribly awry during the 90's.

Let us bring in the ideas by a man who has actually done some thing with legos. Eric Harshbarger. He has created the lego desk.I don't remember to many erector set desks. Eric has also managed to create many other wonderfully engineered pieces. I am sorry this gentleman feels he can blame the demise of British engineering on the lack of proper toys for kids. Besides I was always a Tinker toy person myself.

Persuading the would-be interviewer that they want to hire me, surprisingly, never appears and never appears to be a problem. I just take charge and talk and ask questions about what they do and what they want people to work on, and somehow people magically get the impression that I can do it.

But going in with the attitude that I'm interviewing candidates for my time and attention seems to convey a very capable image.

Just make a list of questions and start prying. What productivity metrics do you do? What languages, coding stanards, source control systems, and code review methodologies do you use? How do I get a quitclaim concering work I'm contributing to the FSF? (This phrasing is a great way to get into the topic of IP rights agreements while putting them firmly on the defensive if they want something more draconian.)

Remember that early in the interview process is when you have the most freedom to negotiate and make demands. The fellow who got a Lego desk didn't wait until he was filling out health insurance paperwork to ask. Their ability to deal with a slightly oddball request is also a good indicator of (and precedent for!) how flexible and accomodating they'll be in future.

How fast does the company pay expenses? (If they're interviewing on campus, you're talking to someone who's trvalling, so they'd know, and it's a good judge of how much the beancounters respect the staff.)

And especially, ask them about what they want you to work on. If you ask lots of questions up-front and don't worry about looking ignorant, by the end of the interview you won't be ignorant and you leave them with the impression that you're an expert on the subject. This has worked for me countless times. I have heard both directly and via back channels people being impressed with how much I knew about a subject that I didn't know anything about going into the meeting. I just spent the meeting asking progressively more sophisticated questions.

More interview questions for you to ask them: How much of is this project like something you've done before? What's the legacy support burden? How is the team organized? Who are the people I'll be working with? Who will I be reporting to? (If they aren't sure yet, attange to meet all of the possibilities.) What's the project design so far? What's the process for changing it when I find something stupid?

Oh: and, of course, never take a job without having visited the sitem and talked to the people you'll be working with. Campus recruiters lie. Or don't know the truth, which amounts to the same thing.

I found some of the other photos that were near the lego desk to be quite amusing... I mean, I've heard of flat girls, but this just gives the concept a whole new meaning. And pale! Did the "naked and petrefied" guy get to her or something? :-)

I found some of the other photos that were near the lego desk to be quite amusing... I mean, I've heard of flat girls, but this just gives the concept a whole new meaning. And pale! Did the "naked and petrefied" guy get to her or something? :-)

Laine Walker-Avina

Having a case made out of LEGO would be great... need a new piece of hardware? Out of drive bays? No problem! Just build another one!

Also, a LEGO computer case would go great with the LEGO desk I plan to get when I become obscenely wealthy.

(I should probably mention that LEGO and related marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of the LEGO Company , which does not sponsor, authorize, or endorse this post. You have been duly warned.)

--Psi

Max, in America, it's customary to drive on the right.

I'm super impressed! Check out the Chibi Daemon and Tux!

This is how Open Source Software is supposed to exist!

I like the comment on this page about losing legos. Reminds me of those stories about the workers who, while building the Hoover dam, fell into the concrete.

The interesting thing is the height (5ft. 1.125in) is pretty much what I would expect actual size to be. And after all that, wouldn't it suck if someone tripped in his workshop. "Oops, I didn't knock over anything important, did I?"

http://www.ericharshbarger.org/lego/clock.html

Actually, he used his own Java program called Pixelego.

The guy who made the Mona Lisa mosaic also made a 3 dimensional Tux model which looks pretty nice:

http://www.ericharshbarger.org/ leg o/penguin.html

This guy has also built a Lego Tux.

Any question of the coolness of Lego is now removed. :)

This guy has also built a Lego Tux.

Any question of the coolness of Lego is now removed. :)

The site is under stress, so if you just want to see a big picture without going thru the intermediate page, here' s a link.

-- Give him Head? Be a Beacon?

-- Give him Head? Be a Beacon?

-- Give him Head? Be a Beacon?

A giant Tux or...

Eric Harshbarger has already beaten you to it.

George

Well, there's always the Lego Tux. I've always wanted a couple of lifesize standups from various science fiction shows adorning my room.