Sinister Reflections

Played with mirrored surfaces at the Guthrie on my walk to meet a friend to go for a walk. The repetition of the George Bernard Shaw panel took me to a sinister place where a pacifist playwright was transformed into a Dear Leader.

LEGO Pneumatic Prototype

Built a quick prototype of a pneumatic mechanism. The yellow baseplates are a new LEGO Technic part that makes it easier to explore a mechanism before incorporating it into a more formal beam structure.

Categorized as LEGO

Remnant of WWII

On my cycle ride: World War II guard tower built to protect a Norden bombsight factory. Today, tenants of the old factory buildings include a distillery and a company that develops LEGO military model kits. (The LEGO Company has a strict policy against selling military models.)

Model Railroad Sale

Locked up my bike outside the Twin City Model Railroad Museum. In a dark room where the lights had failed, other nerdy old guys were pointing their phone flashlights at tables filled with surplus models that were on sale. I did likewise, looked, but didn’t buy.

Categorized as Play

My First Great Ball Contraption

https://youtu.be/MpkWSPPooqs A great ball contraption (GBC) is a [LEGO] machine which receives soccer balls or basketballs from one module and passes them to another module, rather like a bucket brigade. Modules built according to the GBC standard can be assembled into a collaborative display without pre-planning or modification.greatballcontraption.com GBC’s are a whole LEGO subculture, complete…… Continue reading My First Great Ball Contraption

Categorized as LEGO

No Video Game Here

Spent way too many hours hacking data streaming out of a game controller. I don’t do video games, I’m figuring out how to use it to control seven servo-motors

Categorized as LEGO

Visualizing LEGO

Got back to my Lego Mindstorms robot after resting my brain for a few weeks. Started building a software visualization of the robot to help me understand where to move the joints to position the tip of the robot at a particular position and orientation. Needed a nap afterwards.

Categorized as LEGO

AFOL

Did something really nerdy: posted to a technical discussion on an AFOL (adult fans of LEGO) site.

Categorized as LEGO

Jigsaw Puzzle

Completed a travel-themed jigsaw puzzle, a gift from a friend.

Categorized as Play