DrJB

Others had no choice ... I had to switch jobs, move, and sell my house in 2008 ... not happy as I took a big hit, but ok, others ended up losing their jobs. I'm grateful for what I still have though.

I wonder if it's really me or some members just have a very 'different' opinion ... After all, I do ask other questions in other forums, but ... Thank you, that's exactly it: I'm only into Technic ... Not too interested in how many polybags John AFOL has grabbed during the last TRUs sale and saving for his upcoming Super Metropolis build ... but that is alright, gotta be able to 'filter' somehow amongst all answers.

Not to hijack this thread but, you bring back wonderful memories ... I attended MIT over 86-94 ... and each year, in January, MIT had a Robot Design Course / Competition (6.270) with technic lego bricks and micro-processors ... This ultimately led to the Lego Mindstorms Brick. Back to original topic.

Sorry but, my training made me draw clear distinctions between the various quantities encountered in dynamics ... when I see terminology such as energy/power/work/force used 'losely', it kind of dilutes the situation ... I could switch hats here and go grom Technic AFOL to dynamics lecturer but ...

You mis-quoted ... The traveling wave idea is mine ... :)

Congratulations ... seems you got everything planned/figured out. Retire though? Who in this modern day and age (and scr*w*d-up economy) can even think of that? Though, I agree ... Legos for retirement sound like a pretty colorful/fulfilling occupation. Enjoy, and All the Very Best

There is a set of 4x Power Puller tires on eBay for $190 ... rather pricey.

There is a catch here ... the repulsive and attractive forces generated by a magnet are EQUAL and OPPOSITE. There is no such thing as a magnet with a stronger/weaker push/pull force. The trick, as I said above, is to switch that 'array' of magnets in such a way as to create a 'wave' ... but since we're dealing here with permanent magnets (can't switch on/off), hence the idea of rotating the magnets continuously to mimic a gradual on/off behavior ... On a different note, and in this day and age ... I have hard time believing people still believe in perpetual motion or free energy (or anything) for that matter ... Makes for an interesting debate nonetheless.

41999 Crawler Limited Edition - With all the hype and many theads/discussions, got my share of it for a long time to come 8043 Crawler Excavator - spare, twin has been on display for a while 8070 Super Car - same story as 8043 8258 Crane Truck - same as 8043/8070. I'll most likely open/build 41999 over the holidays ... others, they will most likely go into a time capsule and re-surface 10 years down the road

It seems no one on here has the EV3 EDU software .... hmm

Good for you. I did not realize those parts were so expensive in Red .... even more expensive than the dark blue (which came in only one set). Good thing I got the full 8258 a while back.

Interesting, the 8454 Fire Truck is a set that is rarely discussed ... Gotta love the Trans-Bluish air dampers. As for the space shuttle 8480, I've seen several sets over the last few days in the $150 range on eBay.

Just want to have a feel as to which sets are really sought after ... I do have quite a few (some iconic), but still missing some really good sets: 1. 8275 - Technic Dozer 2. 8450 - The Mission 3. 8258 - Tow Truck 4. 5771 - Model Team Truck 5. 7905 - City Crane 6. 9701 - Control Center 1 7. 8880 - Super Car Psst Papa Noel ... If you're reading this, take a hint ...

Exactly ... but 'linear' electro-magnets are not 'available' as Lego parts. That is why I mentioned mechanically rotating je common train magnets. A worthy MOC/exercise ... but in this day and age ... not sure one has the time to experiment with...

The snowmobile for $20 sounds promising ... especially with all the new parts in it.

Not really .... but may require some tweaks Conceptually, the idea is to attach each magnet to a gear, then have all those gears synced/phased properly, and all driven by the same chain ... Not that easy, but absolutely doable.

There is one way to make this work ... but you have to continuously keep moving/rotating the magnets so as to create a magnetic 'traveling wave' onto which the train would ride. This is in essence how some of the high-speed levitating trains work. The catch here is that, while the train may seem to move with little/no effort, you must provide a mechanism to move/rotate the magnets ... or back to one of the earlier posts, the 2nd law of thermodynamics cannot be ignored/violated (conservation of energy).

Not quite ... I 'feel' this is all about technic. Other themes come and go (Ninjago, Mars Attacks, ...), Technic is however always renewing itself, and that is why it exerts a greater pulling power than other themes. I'm not speaking for myself only, I see this regularly with my kids. They've outgrown all other themes, but Technic and Mindstorms ... they always come back to them. Granted, there may be more people answering this thread in the general discussion, but I'm more interested in the Technic AFOL's perspective ... That's 501 now ... I've crossed that line and must keep on going. Very nicely put ... Have Lego, Live Happy!

Reading above post reminded me of a 'limitation' in LDD ... does anyone know what 'dimensional' tolerance LDD allows for snapping parts to each other?

Seriously, and as an AFOL, have you considered quitting this hobby for one reason or another ? 1. Taking too much time ? 2. Wanting to explore other 'interests' 3. I really should be putting my $ elsewhere ... 4. Enough with this 'play' ... time to focus on contributing to Society, and possibly leaving a legacy behind ... 5. One's own mortality ... who's gonna sort my thousands of parts once I'm gone ... sure hope they don't end up as a bulk lot on eBay for a fraction of the initial investment ... 6. I've reached my 500 post ... a Knight now (with all Rights and Privileges as they said during my graduation), will take forever to reach the next level ... 7. What else ... ?

I saw that at the last brickworld 2013 in Chicago, and indeed those are very useful parts. I wonder if the track spacing is narrow enough to make GBC tracks ...

I recall, when bionicle first came out, some of the masks were 'defective' and not meant to be released. Some people have them, and those count as 'rare'.

I mutilated an 'old' differential few days back ... simply because I needed a 'larger' clutch gear than those available. To some, this is illegal, to others it is looking into the future and hoping TLG would make such a part standard, but to ALL, this opens up new possibilities. BTW, this is the first time I 'cut' a lego part and I do not intend on making this a habit. The technic backhoe 8455 also came with 2 long hoses (dark grey + light grey). And the instructions called for cutting the hose to length as the build progressed.

I always thought that Lego is about building 'anything' out of basic shapes ... Of course there are those who are in it only for the minifigs, and gender makes a difference to some. I do find mini-figs to be a pricey alternative (and limited playability) as compared to regular dolls. I must commend TLG though for working very hard into luring girls towards Lego... whether with the friends sets, the old clickits, or even the new assortment of colors (pink, purple, lavender, ...) which my girls prefer over the 'boys' colors. To each his own I guess ...

I got a set of clear boxes from Costco. They're shoe-sized and incidentally, the artwork on the box shows Lego-like bricks. They're a fairly good deal... $15 for 14.