Hey Joe

There was a study that was published in the news a few months back (maybe a year or so ago actually, I don't remember) that said that children under three shouldn't watch TV at all. It recommended slowly allowing them to watch some after that, gradually building up to a maximum of two hours a day at age 16. Violence in the media is something that's really starting to bother me alot. Regarding Lego in particular, I don't think children have any business watching some of the movies that the Lego sets are made from.

I was trying to help but maybe my exasperation showed through as that bookmarking thing is about the only solution I've found to this intractable problem. Anyway, have fun! Joe

What's the old saying? You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink? You never have to restart your phone? You never run out of power?

Funny, thanks. Street performing without a cup for tips?

Sometimes I have problems like this (sites defaulting to the mobile version) on my Samsung tablet (the original one which is basically a big phone) using the Opera browser but Eurobricks doesn't do that, thankfully. The best solution on my device is to go to the offending website and scroll to the bottom and then click 'Switch to Full Version' (or whatever it's called) THEN bookmark that 'full version' page. This works for some sites as the URL is what points you to the mobile site however, subsequent pages that you browse to on the site may revert to mobile. CNN and MSNBC (now just NBC I believe?) are major offenders. Also, Opera has settings in the 'Preferences' that allow you to always go to the full site (I guess this is one reason that I don't have problems with Eurobricks) but sometimes sites really insist on going to the mobile site regardless.of any set preferences. Hope that helps, I used to do computer repair; doing support remotely pretty muchs s_cks IMO as there are so many possibilities.

I don't use Apple mobile products as I find them a little too controlling about what you put into them but: - There should be a button next to 'Next' that has two arrows on it, clicking this will allow you to go to the last page. - Also, I often browse the site on my Samsung tablet and in the Opera browser (I imagine it would be the same for Safari in an Apple mobile device) it displays some of the first and last page numbers near the topic title, you can just click on the last page number to go directly to the last page.

Yeah, I haven't had a laptop for years (don't need it for my job and I don't want the trouble of maintaining one) so a tablet was perfect for me. I got the original Samsung tablet (basically a big phone) so the only choice was between it and an iPad at the time. I don't really care for Apple's products as they are a little too controlling about what you install on them. The really nice thing about a tablet though is that you don't have to worry about what format the book is in as there's an app (usually free or very cheap) to open anything. If you buy a Kindle or Nook, that's another gadget you have to worry about. You don't like reading on your laptop? I wouldn't buy an eReader to read in bed, it would be great for commuting-type situations though.

Full-disclosure; I'm not up on the latest do-dads and you may have a point, particularly if you want to read in the dark or in the bright sunlight but if you have the right reader app (perhaps Kindle isn't the best, it's not my favorite) you can adjust a tablet to make it as comfortable as possible.

Nice, thanks. Double doors for security in the ground floor jewelry shop? Realistic I guess.

What's wrong with a tablet? I love my Samsung with Kindle app.

Thanks for that review Annie, it was interesting and informative. It sounds like a decent set. I think you're right about BanBao getting better, I put together one of their newer fire engines a few months back, it is a very nice and sturdy model. No worries on the photos, we all know that that's a lot of work. Glad you're feeling better now, have a great 2013! Joe

I have two of Joe Gillis, do you have an extra Norma Desmond to trade? EDIT; Sorry if tongue-in-cheek references about the movie 'Sunset Boulevard' were off-topic. It was late and I was feeling silly.

"On China" by Henry Kissinger, it's really great and he doesn't come up with too many words that I've forgotten the exact meaning of (living in China isn't conductive to maintaining a high-level of English!) and/or my tablet doesn't have a definition for.

Yeah, I don't know. Maybe everyone wore out their superlatives on your CMF Series 9 or Chima reviews? Anyway, keep up the good work.

You can never go wrong with a good train.

Really great, wish I had the time to do something like that. Thanks! Joe

It's much better now! Cheers.

I know your pain, here in the shops in Beijing the prices are about exactly double of the price in the US. Are you sure it's a case of Lego not wanting to invest in Asia? It's not BMW or something, it's just a toy company. It probably makes better business sense to them to work thru distributors and middle-men. China in particular is a very tricky place to do business, for example. Here in China we have Taobao, which is China's eBay. You can get just about any Lego item there for about 20% less than in the shops (still kind of expensive). You don't have something similar? I hear Hong Kong is a good place to score, especially in the markets but, of course, if you spend the money to go to Hong Kong you're not saving much if anything.

Very interesting, thanks!

Your post mentions several different types of users and situations which aren't really related to each other, doesn't it? I mean the 'eternal September' thing is talking about new people to the forum and hobby, right? Regarding that; as a person in that category myself I hope that the others realize that it's important to have new people coming in which helps keep it going for everyone. I had no idea of the proper etiquette of the board when I first jumped in but I always try to be positive, friendly and encouraging. The only reason I joined is because the functionality is limited if you don't have a user name and if you've got a user name you might as well start posting! I hear you about the whining. Yesterday I read about five pages of it regarding some low-res photos of Castle 2013. It was pretty much a waste of time. However, I think it is important for people to post their opinions. Lego certainly has some poor souls who have to read all this stuff we're generating so hopefully our messages are getting through to some extent. A lot of the posters here probably have more experience with the Lego catalog of products than some of the designers at Lego! Anyway, I value the opinions here mostly (just so long as it's not endless speculation about some photos that you can't really make anything out of). Sorry I can't help you with a better Technic board, my son is only three so we're not up to that speed yet! Cheers, Joe

That box is really cool. There aren't any for sale on Bricklink I noticed.

Thanks for the excellent review of a decent looking little set. Joe

I believe it says in the article something to the effect that the price usually peaks out about five years after it's been discontinued? Sounds like the best time to sell to me. Sellers at LUG meetings? Doesn't sound too kosher.

Anagrams, I hate anagrams... ;)

Ahh, ok, I got it now. The backstory is really crucial sometimes!