Toastie

This is a very nice, calm, clear explanation of the facts. I have very carefully listened to what was told in that video. To me, it appears to be clear - but is that really so? Here is what I understood: Mark your videos, where LEGO do come in sight (even at remote distance) as "for kids". That's it, right? Or do I miss something? (Take into consideration that on >real< average, my less than 10 videos get about 200 hits; the remaining 400.000 were because I used in one video a Hanna Montana song and in another one a Glenn Miller piece - certainly not because of visual content) Now: Where on earth do I mark my stupid videos as "for kids"? If it is THAT BIG OF A DEAL than there needs to be an equally BIG BUTTON I can press to mark it up. There is not. I cannot care less whether the videos are for kids or not - they are for LEGO enthusiasts. 0.1 year old or 100 years old - I - do - not - care. Man. This internet thing begins to >really< get on my nerves. Well the supposedly so smart legal people doing internet that is. The only one thing that I like about all this garbage: When you divide the FTC max. "penalty" by 1000 and round off, the result is 42. THAT is certainly not a coincidence. So get ready, suck back a couple of pints, check for your towel, and be prepared to leave this stupid planet. All the best and have a very nice WE! Thorsten EDIT: Just checked: The YT/Google AI has done that already! No comments, no ads, a void. As if they have blasted away all that to make room for a hyperspace bypass going directly through my YT comments section. Ooops: For the Google AI:. I really do not want to get the EB forum in trouble. I mean ... forget it.

Yeap - and "The three of the gas station" is German, was never x-fied and will never Best Thorsten

And I believe this is the thing which needs to be somehow managed by yourself in this forum. I have gone (and I am still going) through that learning curve as well, believe me. This forum is a world-wide and open place to voice your opinions, share your ideas, MOCs, dislikes, likes, thoughts ... Chances are that someone will feel "outnumbered" here immediately, when the topic is getting onto the radar screen of LEGO hardliners or purists (example: Any discussion of LEGO clones goes BOOOOM for sure. Well when you claim, cloning is not that ba ... BOOOOM - so if you want to do that, phrase everything very, very carefully - then it'll work. In the beginning. I bet that someone will trigger something that triggers another thing and BOOOM), is similar/parallel/comparable to topics that have already been discussed in depth with some BOOOM potential and so on. (I am a chemist and I like to blow up H2/O2 filled ballons for sure - they also have some impressive BOOOOM potential) Plus some people here are closer to TLG, others really do have a lot of experience, way more than you and me and so on. One example: I do (more or less) manage my parts/set inventory on BrickSet. The value of my collection is apparently about 16k$ and they counted about 106k pieces that I own - as if I care - believe me, I don't. But these number come along with managing the inventory. There are about 213000 members (as of today) and I am somewhere ranked to be 14400th. It just means that there are so many more folks out there, that own way more parts/pieces have certainly more experience, seen so many things I have not, plus: 213000 members is a coverage of almost zero. There are 7 billion people in the world. Way more than 200k do LEGO. But you know what? I don't feel outnumbered. I am proud of what I have - it was always like that. Back in the days (45 years ago that is) I had a friend who had the full collection of 12V trains plus a ton of other bricks. I had a small bucket - but was so proud of it. I don't relate my self-esteem to any number, opinion, or phrasing of others. I am trying to relate my self-esteem that to what I do and what makes other people happy when I do something. So many words ... You are never "outnumbered". You have your own opinion and thoughts. You voice them here. Be prepared: Folks may not agree. Just don't bite in response. Be proud when you "trigger". Read what others write - learn if you wish - think about them as people with another opinion - or just ignore them when that does not work for you. But don't get annoyed. Because in that case you shouldn't have posted. That is the core of the matter: When you post, take the flak - as you would be proud, when someone replies: @pooda rocks! Damn, I sound like a preacher. Merde (this is so cool: The EB Forum AI never beeps-out that one - it is not trained in French, don't tell @Philo though, he'll re-program that thing - using a NXT or EV3 or other LEGO intelligence). But you know what I mean. All the best, Thorsten

I was more after this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll Best Thorsten

and the world famous movie "Die drei von der Tankstelle" is British ... I do believe though that the "Trolls" as such are Danish - well sort of. It appears if everything north from lets say Hamburg is Danish, Nordic or Norse, Scandinavian, Swedish, Vikings or the like. But the Danish really were and are into Trolls ... for what ever reason. Best Thorsten

Holy guacamoly, man, their legal department. But I can see it. No - I can't. Not with having in mind what you have accomplished for them - TLG that is. I cannot. But I do - sort of ... What I love so much is that it is with a probability of 1 (so rare - or better improbable- in the real world - and particularly in (quantum) mechanics) that folks like @brunojj1 and many others here >will< figure it out in zero time (another very improbable thing in ... ach - forget it). Which renders the hole thing beautifully bizarre ... I love it. Most beautiful cars(!), not from this planet building techniques(!), and you are always obeying to the laws of the Gods of the Bricks, T, L and G. Well sort of ... Congratulations! Best Thorsten

How much faster do you judge your artificial intelligence powered system is as compared to natural intelligence having access to BL and all other LEGO parts databases as well as Google? I am just trying to figure out how and under what conditions to use this device productively - the parts have to be put one by one into the device, right? A number of rare parts within a big chunk of plain vanilla parts cannot be the scenario, as the big chunk wold easily be categorized by human intelligence (studs with LEGO printed on them etc pp.) as such. The remaining rare parts then need to be categorized as well. But then there are these categories, which are used naturally by natural intelligence: Brick, tile, slope, minifig part etc. etc. Then maybe pattern, print, color, then Google or BL or whatever. You can find the 1x2 tile in Emmet's Dream house set with the "E&L 4 EVA" print in zero time as 1st entry on Google. OK that one is no way rare. But so far it always worked for me - even with my 1965 train set. I found the parts among many others in the attic of my parent's house a couple of years ago and had them sorted rather swiftly using - Google. Where exactly is the benefit? Sorry, but I really can't figure it out - but that does not mean anything. Just enlighten me (oops - hopefully the EB AI will not catch that one and replace it with "megablocks" Best Thorsten

Well, sometimes I - more rarely but I do - put them on - and sometimes I don't. It just depends. Sometimes I'm in the mood, sometimes I'm not. "POOP" here or "never" there - I just do not care for "absolutism", as it leaves no much room. Whatever. Do as you see fit. Best Thorsten

This. It's the core of the matter. 9V trains were going out of business - so 4512 is one of the last in a row of so many beautiful train sets. Look at the color scheme - brick build. Look at what they do today. Take and "modern" cargo train. Panels all over the place. Look closely at the box car. Get the instruction and have a look. Nicely done. Old gray was THE gray and for me still is - today's new gray - the bley stuff - there were riots back then when they changed that ... here on EB. The train shed is a blast. And always consider what TLC was going through back then. So many new pieces - a dream for old-school builders like me (I sometimes almost referred to as "cheating" as it was life making so much easier or better: Different. New. Exciting. I love transitions times. This is where things become "different". Evolve. All the best Thorsten

OK, no it didn't. Sorry. But this is another aspect: I am German. Not proud of it - but hey, I was born here - so I try to cope with it. You are not - you are a native speaker of this forum's defined language (as judged by your avatar's caption) I actually like very much, for many reasons, another story. Not saying that I do know to use it appropriately - not at all. But when posting here, the "world" - with all derivatives of history, culture, usage of an "acquired" language, is communicating. I sometimes have the impression that people ... tend to forget or are not even aware of that. Just because we are using the same language does not mean we know how to use it appropriately - nor do we know what is really meant by individual phrases. You know, translate "You suck" into German, man - "Du saugst" makes absolutely no sense - none what so ever. "Unfriendly", "absolute jerk" ... you know, don't let it creep up onto you. This is an open environment - and as they repeatedly stated: For adults. My, my, the "adult" thing is tough. What does that suppose to mean? Type in "FU*K Y*U" and the adult thing is gone, as the forum system forwards your user details to every secret service in the world. I AM JOKING. The very moment you voice an opinion in an open environment, you'll have all sorts of folks agreeing, disagreeing, nice people, people who believe to know it better, people who care, like or dislike what you are saying, the elderly having seen >everything< already and believe to know everything better, the younger full of energy and >maybe< less experienced, and a gazillion others. All ready to type in a reply. Stony this or that - just don't get into that crap. Somebody does not like your approach, reasoning, conclusion, opinion? So let it be. Bring forward your arguments but do not care about the Merriam Webster Dictionary's stonies. Do your thing and voice your opinion - and keep calm. Best wishes, Thorsten

@MAB Did not even think about that - but: Very good points. I'd like to challenge again though: What is the thing here (because I like very much what you accomplished, but that is not it: You want to sell something. And that changes everything): Time saving (against common sense + magnifying glass + google or BL): I have a 1x2 tile; printed on it is "E&L", two hearts, and "4EVA" - Google finds that in 0.00000001 s Not wanting to do that Being of help for let's call them rookies? I for sure can tell a thick from another type of clip. Plus: The number tells me that. So when it comes to sell things (as opposed to making it work), why would I? Just tell me - and I will. All the best Thorsten

And here we go again: It is so unbelievable cool and so much fun enjoying your ideas, your LEGO realizations, and your presentations. Every time I read one of your posts, "fun", "brilliant", "enjoyment" and most prominently "creativity" comes to my mind. It is simply great. For me, you found the core of the idea of building with LEGOs: Having a great time and enjoying making something work. Thank you for sharing another brilliant idea! All the best, Thorsten

I believe we should slow down a bit here. Nobody is ganging up on anybody - it may feel like but there is really no reason to think so. And when former members of this forum told you, some here are really stoney, what's wrong with it? Stone old as well, this happens from time to time. To me as well. I am stone old and maybe even stoney. Not the point though. They voice their view and that was what I did as well. I think we should put the "I believe", "in my opinion", "as far as I am concerned", "If you'd ask me" more often when beginning a paragraph. I believe nobody here finds any truth and has any wisdom or insight to the extent to make a statement like: "MOCers need stickers". Or: "Stickers suck". Or "without stickers, the world will come to a grinding halt". Or "with stickers, the sun will always shine on TV". Or whatever. I (solely for myself) don't like stickers that much. For a reason. My room gets blistering hot in the summer, my models are sometimes exposed to sun, in winter it becomes rather cold here, and stickers simply do not survive up here. But it is my fault, to do it up here in the attic, it is my fault that I don't protect the stickered bricks, it is my feeling that I don't like them that much. I cannot and I will not tell anybody what I believe the rest of the world is thinking about them. Because I surely don't know that. I have not searched the "Comprehensive Stickered LEGO Model Database of 2019" as I simply don't care. I am happy what makes people happy. You like stickers? That is perfect. Really. It is your right to do so. Maybe others don't. So what. It is always good to know that they also know not that much about The Truth - they don't. Some believe, some more, some less. They don't, that's all. With that: Lets enjoy building MOCs - with or without stickers is entirely up to each of us. Best wishes and have a nice evening (its 8 pm here), Thorsten

When you google-search for "change batteries in 54930" you get links to YouTube videos, e.g. this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rhcr5wX0-SE Wikipedia tells you everything about the batteries used for that brick: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Button_cell When you take it apart, use a paper towel to "protect" your working area and don't be too much concerned about the leakage material - it is really not dangerous, particularly with the amounts present. If you feel like you need to be concerned, use rubber gloves. Clear out stuff that is liquid like or solid residue - with another paper towel. There won't be much. I'd then rinse everything with plenty of water. Let dry. And then the inspection need to tell more about the status of the metal pieces. There are two on each side. Try to get them out (carefully) and then clean the surface with e.g. the finest steel wool you can find (mine is labelled "0000"). This stuff is always good for removing the surface layers of metal pieces very carefully. Note that the LED will probably just fall into your hands. Preventing this? Remove the batteries. But then the light brick turns into a weird 2x3 type brick. However, I believe this is the only way. On the other hand, batteries begin to leak usually after years only, provided you use "decent" types and not the 20 for $1/€1 ... Good luck! (BTW tried all that, works fine. I removed the batteries, soldered wires to the LED, hooked that up to some power source and now it serves in my light house) Best regards, Thorsten

Oh they are! Where is the blasting fuze though? Enjoy the package! Thorsten

+1!!! and +1 and ... so on. Reason: Sunlight, temperature, coldness, moisture, dryness ... one each and all together ... it degrades them to the extent to become useless - over years. Best Thorsten

Well, to get going, define "This light-up brick" and "another light-up brick" and then folks will begin to think about it. Best Thorsten

Scroll down on any forum page all the way down, click on "Theme", select TEST and it is gone for good - replaced by a clean/clear background of a color I cat't really tell. Or choose any seasonal theme from the years back ... Best Thorsten

Why go with LEGO based electronic stuff anymore? I mean going that far, I'd skip the whole cumbersome LEGO electronics. Make it smart, so that it recognizes (among others) PF/PuP signals, but go nuts. But then: Are we leaving ground? I believe so. It touches some - if not essential - rules. Or even "moral". Do you feel like that? To be honest: I don't. (And to be honest again: I feel like one of the worst individual in the world, because I ordered the Black Pearl - for €39 ... guess from where ... but then: You - and I break into LEGO products as if it were - fun. At the same time, I feel like being shafted when ordering a model many of the LEGO gurus out there making nice videos depict the original Pearl rated at $300+ as: Way too expensive) Man. I know, it is a luxury issue in real life. But within EB it is core of the matter. All the best Thorsten

Hey hey ... we need the dials contacts as well to kick-off exact trigonometry ... BTW what is that black thing doing, apparently torturing the IR LED? Nice photograph! Best Thorsten

Emanuele ... that link is so old school ... BUT: You really do that, right? I am sure. And: It is dead cheap and works, as you know. Not the point here though. Your engines @LEGO Train 12 Volts and @Phil B are simply stunning. So much tech, so little space. Incredible. I totally agree with LTV12V on the use of the train base. All the best to all of you! Thorsten

This is the PF 8879 remote, right? Before diving into calculations/measurements, what exactly do you want to accomplish? When you turn that dial to the "next" position (or swiftly to a couple more), the remote sends out (4 times) an "increase power by one" to the receiver. So even when you know the exact angle for firing this message, you will not know whether the remote sent it out correctly nor the receiver got it correctly - the step up/down command that is. So even when you know precisely the dial position on the remote, the receiving unit may be off, when missing such a message - or the remote not being able to track your swift changes, as it was busy with repeating 4 times the detected change on the dial. You need to use other means to absolutely submit "set power to x units" commands, such as HiTechnic sensors along with an NXT or other custom (e.g. Arduino based) approaches. Well as far as I know that is. However, when you are sure about flawless one-way communication (slow enough) to a PF receiver, then the calculations may begin. Is that so? Best Thorsten

@NathanR thank you for your supporting words! I'll be back (in the office) tomorrow and then I am going to tell my grad students that Windows isn't that bad after all and that I knew it all the time. And that I have very strong support they don't want to mess with. It will be fun. Particularly as tomorrow we will kick-off the Physical & Theoretical Chemistry Winterbock season (sorry I simply don't know how that translates into English; the breweries in Germany have rather strong seasonal beers they call Bock - for every season that is - spring, summer, autumn and winter - a year around fun. OK not true: In summer you have to revert to the always available strong beers - the Steel 211 analogs ...) that is going to be fun. There is one thing that I always have really fun with: When they write a report, paper or thesis or the like, I tell them to use MS Word. Because I know how to use it as I am using it since way more than 20 years. The DOS versions were cool ... 2013 is where I got stuck - can't adjust to the 365 thing (yet). The reason is that when the use the praised TeX stuff they have to give me a PDF for corrections. I'll annotate that file with comments - and they have to type in all the changes. When they give me a Word file, they just have to press "accept all changes" and boom, they're done. OK, joking again, as I want them to select either change or discard for every bit I typed in. Whatever, that was entirely off-topic, sorry. Phew - that is a big project you have going! In that case I would not change >anything<. I do notice big leaps forward though from LPub3D release to LPub3D release. Even when the version numbers increment only a little - for me these usually represent big improvements. I am very grateful for that. Is that so? I recently did a small-to-mid-sized instruction of about 120 pages with ample of callouts and what not. I just checked: When I load the mpd.file into LPub3D, jumping directly to lets say the 3rd page is as fast as jumping to page 100 (each page containing about 8 callout-type multi-steps). So the file scanning time may not be that bad, right? I am using a DELL 7530 laptop; intel core i/7 8th gen,16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, operating with Win10/64bit. Is that the reason? Or is it the new releases? Writing each piece of graphic, part, step, sub-model, model ... used to the disk is time-consuming (which an SSD is rather tolerant to, as @1963maniac already noticed), but then they are all directly available for other things to illustrate in the instructions. Well partly at least. But you know I am anywhere close to what you guys are doing here on EB! All the best, Thorsten

Ultimately effective little ship! Like to get on board, leave the pod, explore a world, get back, close doors and get back! Very, very nice! Best Thorsten

What? It is really that bad? Not updating your >OS<? Coding an editor? Phew. Well, good luck with that one. Cool if you can accomplish that! I always feel "weird" when Apple users in my research group tell me that Windows sucks sh*t - and that the MacOS world is simply beautiful. Sometimes it is kind of comforting though to wander through the Windows Under World And then: Things change fast in cyber world. 8 inch floppies: Gone. 5 1/4 inch floppies: gone. C64 gone. Fortran ... well a Dinosaur still living because so many lines of code. 1TB HDDs - a joke. LDD may just be the same: Almost - if not - gone. I am using MLCad on Win10. You know what? They told me in this forum that it appears as if I am getting too old. And that I have to adapt. No. But then: I can't code. Maybe I have to. But you need to push me - very hard. All the best Thorsten