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Lego Addictions
randomErr writes "Canada.com has an article about Frank Robinson, an man who is into Lego WAY more than the average builder. Frank said "I still get Lego for my birthday and at Christmas, too. So do my kids." At last count the Robinson family's Lego inventory was nearing 100,000 pieces, a majority of which were tallied and itemized by type and colour on a computer spreadsheet." No Lego story would be complete without a link to something large and useless, say, a Lego harpsichord. Okay, it plays, so it's not actually useless. But the Lego Star Destroyer is.
Yeah, legos 0wn me. I mean, come on, I'm studying to be an engineer 'cause of the damn things. They rule.
640 pieces should be enough for anyone...
Can I get that in terms a simple consumer like me can understand? How many Lego bricks would it take to build a Library of Congress?
"I think all foreigners should stop interfering in the internal affairs of Iraq"
-- Paul Wolfowitz, 7/21/2003
It's not just a childs toy anymore. Check out this one guys Lego Computer Case. Looks pretty cool.
Spreadsheet? Bah!!!
-- Thou hast strayed far from the path of the Avatar.
I identify with him when he laments about the lack of good pieces. There was a golden age, when space lego got .. lets see .. MTron (the magnets were ultra cool) and Dark Space (was that what it was called) when the right balance between specialized pieces and generic blocks (and suitable colors for cool models!) was found.
Since then, all their forays into branding, that evil of evils, have caused them to have to design all these specialized pre-made pieces. God damn it this world would be better off if it were illegal to position yourself horizontally in the market place.
"Old man yells at systemd"
Lego toilet paper ?!?!? That's gotta hurt ...
I suppose you could always go follow the link and download the mp3.
Oh, say ... like this?
(Unless, of course, you were wondering what sound the Star Destroyer makes.)
How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
You mean like this? It's right there at the top...
Culture is more than commerce
Try here here. This guy does Lego construction for a living. A LIVING! I'd build Legos for a living to if it weren't for my lack of opposable thumbs...Oh, well, back to engineering.
Wow, that's what I raelly needed.
4 people telling me exactly what to do.
I should have looked at the page more thouroughly went I looked at it first.
There is an MP3 on the site. And it sounds like the worst harpsicord I've ever heard. But when an hippopotumus flies, you don't criticize the lack of grace.
Prime numbers are exactly what Alan Greenspan says they are -S. Minsky
Wow, that harpsichord is really impressive looking. However, listening to it, er, it kind of reminds me of a joke:
A man and his dog were sitting in the park in front of a chessboard. A stranger stopped by, wondering what was going on. The man made a move. The stranger was amazed when the dog reached out a paw and made another move!
"Wow! That dog plays chess? That's some amazing dog you have there!
And the man replied, "Ah, he's not so amazing. I'm crappy at chess, and I still beat him 9 out of 10 games."
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
Time, hell.... this person has waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much money...
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing -- Emo Phillips
Lego H&K MP5
These are really cool, with working slides, collaspable stock, and removable mags.
Not only does he wield a mean lego block, but he's also a man who can tell you exactly how the chicken crossed the road!
Hrmmm, but what exactly does one do in poultry production class? I hope you're not making any really weird home movies...
"They do not preach that their god will rouse them, a little before the Nuts work loose." Kipling, 'The Sons of Martha'
Yeah, I wondered what sound does a Star Destroyer make. ;-)
Silly me, I didn't seee the link the first time around.
Come on, michael - there is no such thing as useless Legos. They're fun, they pique the imagination, they provide an endless number of fun hours. I'm really glad my son is turning 5 soon, so I get to play with real Legos with him (IMHO, Duplos are not really funny for adults). If the cool Start Destroyer weren't so expensive, I'd get it for him (and me :-) right away.
I have so many fond memories of playing with Legos during my childhood, and no model was ever useless. They could all be combined in so many fun and surprising ways that even the hopelessly outdated models I inherited from my father were never useless. In fact, most of the Legos used by my son now is from MY childhood, and a (very small) part of those are from my fathers and uncles' childhood.
In some ways, this goes to show that a carefully designed interfacing system can survive many years and revisions. If only programming API's had the same level of longevity. The C standard libraries, perhaps?
Black holes are where God divided by zero
Can I get that in terms a simple consumer like me can understand?
When I was a kid (yikes), lego sets usually cost about 10 cents per brick. Using that factor, 100,000 pieces is around $10,000 worth! That's not allowing for current prices, either, which are probably a lot higher.
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain
This guy better hope The White Stripes are making a second video.
I can't imagine having anywhere near the necessary time (and money!) to create anything lifesize, but come on people, Legos are wonderful. They shaped my childhood and sparked my interest in engineering.
My college even has a freshman engineering course that uses a slightly modified version of Lego Mindstorms to teach the design process, how to compensate for mechanical error, programming logic, etc. It was tons of fun.
Wait for it.......
Lego Girlfriend.
Now THAT'S news for nerds.
There are 01 kinds of cars in the world. The General Lee, and everything else.
That sound sample is the most hilarious thing I've heard all week. It sounds like he crammed my whole high school band into his harpsichord!
Seriously, bravo to the "inventor" for his "accomplishment", but he obviously loves Legos much more than he loves music. Bach's ghost is hunting him down right now...
In my opinion lego structures are really cool when they stay within the realm of the system. I think every non-Lego piece, substance, or tool you use detracts from the "coolness" value of the overall structure.
For example, first he starts with glue.. thats somewhat understandable, given the size of these projects. Next its unrolling cloth capes to use as dampers. Brass wires? Well, i suppose those were necessary.
Next he crosses the line... using a surgical scalpal to cut and shave down LEGO pieces? Doesn't that defeat the purpose?? I mean, at that point I might as well melt down 100,000 of my own legos, pour them into a harpsichord shaped mold, and say I built an instrument out of legos too! I mean, technically it would be correct.
Perhaps thats an exageration, but I just don't enjoy these models as much when there is so much, well, cheating going on behind the scenes. I suppose those are tradeoffs you have to make to actually make something that isn't just a statue.
Some interesting LEGO links:
The LEGO User's Group Network - started as an offshoot of the rec.toys.lego newsgroup, now the definitive source for info and discussion.
The Brickshelf has a gallery of all sorts of stuff people have done, as well as scans of old catalogs and building instructions (you threw those away, didn't you).
I sorta miss my LEGO sometimes, until I see new LEGO in the store - yech. For the most part, they've really gone downhill (the Sante Fe train engine excepted). Plus, I've got other expensive hobbies - 1/32 slot cars, bicycles, 'puters....
That harpsicord is pretty wack, tho.
Later,
DoC
Sheesh, the guy totally gave himself away. Any self-respecting geek would be storing that all in a relational-database.
....
The redundancies of a spreadsheet, aieee
... but any one who says the Lego Star Destroyer is useless is already dead inside...
According to Eric...
I have at least 500,000 in stock and have used at least 250,000 in models that I have sold over the past few years. and there are (a few) people with more than I.
"Politicians are interested in people. Not that this is always a virtue. Fleas are interested in dogs." P.J. O'Rourke
...he's very very good. Feeble excuse!
It must be. It says he's had kids. Via what method? Sperm donation? Come on! They guy's house is FULL of Legos! It's not crack guys, its A TOY! (to paraphrase Woody from Toy Story).
I can imagine the scene where he procreated his kids...
"Come on babe, let's shag! Lay here next to Lego Larry!"
"Why is the bed so hard and rough?"
"it's made of legos! Just like these restraints!"
Now if you want to talk about a Real Man's collection, come on by my place and let me show you my collection of SPAWN(R) action figures...
After reading the Slashdot writeup, clicking over to the story and reading the article, and studying the user comments, I shall now launch into a six-paragraph attack accusing this gentleman of having too much time on his hands.
I'm suprised and disappointed to note that the subject of this article apparantly does not belong to www.lugnet.com , nor is an active part of the Lego community. It's unfortunate that many AFOLs, former AFOLs, and potential AFOLs fail to learn about the active and growing community. Come on over to Lugnet, and browse the posts. Then go visit www.brickshelf.com , the primary site for hosting MOCs (My Own Creation). Adult Fans Of Lego aren't freaks or outcasts (although many would probably call themselves geeks, just as most on this site would call themselves the same), just regular people who have a particular hobby.
Here are instructions on how to build a robot out of Legos that can solve all of those stupid Rubik's Cubes you have laying around your house. Fighting toys with toys: now that's elegant.
--- Wherever you go, everyone is always connected...
How do you decide you want to be that when you grow up?
Trying is the first step towards failure.
I've noticed alot of posts assuming his collection is Massive, but in reality its not THAT big. I recently added to my own collection and went to the local Walmart/KMart and bought a few tubs of 500 pieces for only $10. Now doing the math His 100K collection is only worth $2000, of which I bet a good portion /. users has spent more on their computers and accessories.
Theres collectors who go FAR beyond this and make legos a significant factor in their household budget and have well surpassed 100k pieces...
See: This And this.
What's going on with Slashdot and posting frickin' articles that feature the number 100,000?
What? Is it as high as anyone can count?
As for the Star Wars Destoyer, that's pretty cheap for a coffee table.. (just flip it upside down) (:
Ladies, form queue here -->
There are 250, 350 and 600K piece collections that are really impressive.
Calum
We used to fire ball bearings out of slingshots at each other's lego space ships. No need to 'simulate' damage there! Around the 4th of July, we would get very creative, often requiring significant reinvestment in legos to replace all the melted bricks.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
Well according to the link above, the Lego Star Destroyer (which is over a meter long) is built with just over 3000 pieces. So he has roughly enough to build 33 of those Star Destroyers (or enough to put the Emperor to shame).
Although I'm still not impressed. Maybe if he had enough to build 33 Death Stars with 33 Calmari cruisers with 33 lil' Admiral Akbars all yelling in unison "It's a Trap!"
What is music when you despise all sound?
I did this too except in HS we used rubber bands to make sling shots with the Technic pieces. It was all fun and games until we actually broke a couple of the longer pieces in two. Too much tension. :)
The Anti-Blog
That was an excellent design and a worthy use of flash.
Degaussing scares the bad magnetism out of the monitor and fills it with good karma.
Don't make fun of poultry production. No poultry production experts, no food for geeks...
Freedom: "I won't!"