EvilTwin

Hello I see a lot of videos on Youtube of people's train layouts including many where there is a camera mounted on the train itself. Videos like this one I am just wondering what cameras people use to do such things? I guess it's possible to just use a smartphone or something like a GoPro just sitting on top of the train but I wonder if there is a smaller solution that fits more neatly with the train itself? And reasonably priced of course Ideally I want something where I can watch the video live on a monitor as well as record the video on a SD card or whatever. I am thinking about something like these "Fredi" spy cameras for sale on Amazon but I wonder if anyone has a recommendation?

I bin (recycle) all of mine. I'm a builder not a collector Although when I see the resale values of sets I have, and compare the "with box" and "without box" prices, I do wonder whether I'm doing the right thing

Hello alican This is a cool idea and this is something that is very much in my own area of interest. Have you seen this video from a company called Jayway? Their setup uses AWS IOT and Lambda functions to control the train. Also there's an Australian company called Buddy that uses a whole Lego city including trains in their IOT demo setup- there is an article about it here although their setup is mainly for showing data gathering and how the IOT makes a "smart city" And for those people who are complaining about the IOT- you are too late. The genie is already out of the bottle

I was there on Friday. Yes there is the life size Volvo there (it's huuuuuge) with some remote-control models for kids to drive around. There didn't seem to be a very long queue but it will probably be different at the weekend. Technic on the whole was not very well represented. There are a couple of stalls selling Technic sets but only alongside other stuff. The main interest is the Mindstorms stall where the awesome Cubestormer is on display. Alongside it there is an area where people can build their own robots (from a truckload of Technic/Mindstorms parts). There are also a couple of stalls offering hands-on sessions to teach kids about robotics. EvilTwin

I find it really strange that people are saying that TBBT is not appropriate for Lego because of its "adult theme" i.e. some of the characters talk about sex and stuff, when they seem to be perfectly OK with Lego Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, both explicitly violent series of films that feature massive battles and people getting murdered, dismembered (I mean in one of the Star Wars films there's a scene where someone cuts off his son's hand!), tortured etc etc etc. It is not exclusively Lego where this happens- in some countries anything stronger than kissing is censored from films where graphic violence is left in- but I do find it a bit weird that people doing nice legal things together = bad, people doing horrific illegal things to each other = OK. It is a peculiar world we live in I don't really think there will be a Lego TBBT episode but I do suspect they will build a few references to the set into at least one episode. Maybe an episode where Sheldon obsesses about a decision about buying a Lego set like the Xbox/Playstation episode and then ends up buying the TBBT set as well... Regarding the Simpsons- I saw one of those "top 100 ever" type TV programmes once where the Simpsons was rated as the number 1 children's programmes ever. I was completely surprised at this as I have never regarded it as a children's programme... for example one of my favourite episodes, the one where Lisa tries to prevent the "snake skull-cracking day", has several fairly obvious sexual references... --- EvilTwin

So we have a Lego set of the Simpsons, on which Stephen Hawking has appeared as a guest star. And now we have a (future) Lego set of the Big Bang Theory, on which Stephen Hawking has appeared as a guest star. I'm pretty sure I've seen a MOC somewhere of Hawking himself News headline: "REVEALED: theoretical physicist is sinister controller of Lego Group set design. Brief History of Time sets rumoured" I will definitely be looking out for the TBBT set. I am hoping there will be an all-Lego episode of the series, like there was for the Simpsons --- EvilTwin

Hello Recently I bought a Mindstorms NXT programmable brick plus a rechargeable battery 9798 from someone on eBay. What the seller didn't mention is that the battery is slightly swollen. You can just about make it out in this terrible picture (sorry) : 20140918_193625 by freshfroot1, on Flickr So basically is has a slightly rounded top and bottom. I know that swelling up is normal for some batteries of this type and age (there are many cases of Apple MacBooks that have basically burst apart because of the same problem). It's not too bad yet and the battery still holds a charge. But I'd be interested to know if anyone else has experienced something similar, and if so, if it is possible to predict how long the battery will last. I know this could probably be a random number but I would be interested in others' experience anyway. Also what happens if it gets worse- does the battery split apart, just simply fail, explode dramatically? I'm not really bothered about it because the price I paid was about average for the NXT brick by itself. Also I'd expect it to be very unlikely that Lego would replace it, since it is probably several years old, is discontinued (replaced by 9693) and is probably counted as a consumable item anyway. Thanks --- EvilTwin

In Sainsburys today I noticed that Simpsons minifigures are now 2 for £3. Previously they were £2.50 each. There were two boxes of them on the shelf that had hardly been touched. I suspect maybe this series wasn't quite as successful as the normal collectibles (of course, it could be that I just happened along shortly after the boxes had been put out). Also as mentioned above I noticed that Benny's spaceship is £54 on the John Lewis website too --- EvilTwin

Generally speaking, is it the case that the earlier series are more "collectible" even if the figures themselves are not as complex (in terms of printing, accessories etc) as later series? Also I think I read somewhere that series 1 was a "limited release" and not available everywhere so they generally have a higher price than others? I am thinking about this because I have about a dozen unopened series 1 figures (I haven't checked to see what figures they actually are) and I am considering selling them EvilTwin

I noticed in my local Sainsburys that some of the sets that were previously 25% off, are now 50% off. But it does not apply to all sets, even sets within the same theme. For example 75034 Death Star Troopers is 50% off (£5.99) but the Kashyyk Troopers set is still 25% off (£8.99). Sames goes for various Creator sets. I don't know when this started but usually when this happens the shelves in my local branch clear pretty quickly of the 50% off sets but there were still plenty in stock so it might be a new event.

A bit like the thread about Shell and Greenpeace, this thread seems to have jumped a Lego shark somewhere along the way But, I think it is a good thing that Eurobricks allows this kind of discussion. it is providing a valuable service to society by giving people an outlet for this kind of warped opinion, when otherwise they might be getting into trouble out in the real world somewhere

I bought a copy. Overall, I thought : "nice try for a first edition... but really, how much is there in here that I couldn't also find by reading Eurobricks and/or Brickset and/or watching The Brick Show etc etc on Youtube?" In the end the only article I really liked was the photography one, I really liked the pictures of the snowtroopers skiing and so on. I know this edition was basically a labour of love and I have noticed that they are bringing new people onboard for the future so I will keep an eye on it. It might be interesting if they introduce regular features such as building techniques or Mindstorms programming or something like that. Otherwise I will save my pennies I have put my copy in my recycling box but if anyone wants it (for free) it let me know EvilTwin p.s. one other point. Maybe I have started noticing this more because of the ongoing debate about female minifigures, etc. but the magazine does rather paint Lego as being a boy's hobby. There were a couple of comments along the lines of, "I hope my wife doesn't find out I spent all this money, ho ho", also in the "getting started" page about which set to buy, there is a choice that says "this is just a quick fling while the wife's not looking". I don't necessarily agree with the people who say Lego is divisive etc but I mean srsly?

Chocolate Lego. Main page : http://www.theinspir...ihiro-mizuuchi/ But. Eat it or play with it? Quality iooks impressive, it even has the logo on the studs EvilTwin

Well, I think she is right, that play is a child's way of learning about the world, and the more creative and social the play is, the better. I observe this even in adults. But, I think she has picked the wrong target with Lego. If all Lego made was, say, Star Wars sets, I might agree a bit, but in the end Lego stands for exactly those values (i.e. creative, social). Perhaps some of that has been lost in the publicity of licensed lines and perhaps Lego need to be a bit better at reminding people that creativity is written into the company's DNA. Maybe they should make a movie or something I also dislike the way the article has conflated this (perceived) loss of creativity with the ongoing spat with Greenpeace about Shell. I think that is an issue that Lego needs to address but the two things are not related. I am kind of surprised the article didn't mention the thing about female minifigures too... EvilTwin

It seems that the adverts for winter village sets get earlier and earlier each year... Still as long as you have your elf, that's the main thing What are those four two-high stacks of 1x2 plates at the front of the picture supposed to be? EDIT: Oh I get it, they are the parts of the back of the reindeer that can be put in place when they are not harnessed to the sleigh

Hello I bought a NXT brick from eBay which was described as "very good condition" but what the seller conveniently forgot to mention was that they had at some point left batteries in the unit too long and they leaked and so the battery contacts and the compartment are covered in battery goo The unit still works, just about. What is a good technique and/or product for cleaning the box? Can the contacts in a NXT unit be replaced? I think one or two of them might be too corroded to clean. EvilTwin

Another thought I would guess that the main competitor to this product would not be NXT (or EV3) but cheap secondhand RCX units which can do nearly all the same things (and probably do many things better). RCXs can sometimes be bought for around UK£10-15 on eBay and have all the support from years of being available to the community. EvilTwin

I think it looks interesting, as a kind of cheaper alternative to Mindstorms with not so many easily stealable parts I use Mindstorms in education and I would definitely consider using this if it fits into my course plan especially if I am travelling and I don't want to carry several NXT units around with me plus lots of sensors etc. NXTs are not especially fragile, but they can be broken quite easily and are expensive to replace. Also to make it cheaper to use I would probably be happy to use clone brand bricks together with my clone brand Mindstorms :laugh: Couple of points though: - Lego have given up on sound sensors- they are practically unusable in a real classroom because it is too noisy- I think this will be a dead end in this device - I would have preferred to see a colour sensor rather than a simple light sensor even if it added another few dollars to the price - interesting that the software is available for Linux as well, that means it would probably be usable together with a Raspberry Pi to make a cheap complete system - the communication method is a bit weird. Why not just use USB? It must be cheap enough it will be interesting to see if the community adopts this little machine and produces homebrew sensors, alternative languages etc- I would like to see RobotC (for example) support this EvilTwin

I think I'd have an advert for some kind of survey on the back of every instruction leaflet. To encourage people to fill in the survey, maybe there would be a chance of getting sort of small prize To draw attention to it, I think I'd have a picture of a kid, maybe shouting "win!" or something. What could possibly go wrong? Also, I think I would make Lego Ideas more like Kickstarter, or possibly combine the two models somehow. That way Lego would have an idea of how many people would actually buy a set rather than just how many people could be bothered to "support" an idea (i.e. just click their mouse). For example, people sometimes ask "why doesn't Lego produce separate rolling stock for trains any more?" and the answer is always "because it doesn't sell enough and it's too expensive" but if enough people pledged the price of a carriage or whatever then the cost would already be covered. Something like that, anyway. Well, I can dream EvilTwin

You could ask the same question of any of the various organisations that were completely derailed by one rogue individual. Nick Leeson for example. I would expect that a massive international bank would have "control mechanisms" but that doesn't stop a determined person getting round them. If you truly believe this then you should probably close any pension fund or savings account that you might have. They are gambling with your money! Are you really asking such a question? A major international organisation has to plan for the future. Actually on closer examination it appears that Greenpeace's assets aren't as large as I thought they might be; but they are still considerable. They have to pay people now and in the future, they require credit now and in the future, they have to service their debts now and in the future, they have to plan asset management, they have to have an emergency fund, they have to respond to the changing world. For example nobody foresaw the Gult of Mexico oil spill but Greenpeace scientists were there shortly afterwards monitoring how the spilled oil was affecting the food chain in the area. They would not have been able to do that if they didn't have resources available. Any organisation which relies on raising public awareness will spend quite a bit of money on media and communications, etc. They seem to be effective; otherwise this long and tedious thread would not exist. Do you really believe that to be true? If so I suggest that a sense of perspective needs to be regained. Huh? Read back what you wrote and then read what I wrote. OK this thread has been completely driven off the rails. It's clear there can be no grown-up discussion of this topic.I am going to play with my Lego.

No, that is not what I said. Please understand that "Greenpeace" did not speculate with the money; one misguided individual did. It is comparable to previous financial incidents- for example, Barings Bank did not indulge in speculative trading, Nick Leeson, acting as an individual, did. "Greenpeace" did not "bet on exchange rates". Once again, it was one individual. Speculating on exchange rates is a risky, but normal, part of financial trading. One might consider any type of speculative investment as "betting"; if so, anyone who owns any stocks and shares is a gambler. Those of us who are more active investors know the difference. However, any charity with a sizeable amount of assets will have a diverse portfolio of investments of both higher and lower risk types. Greenpeace are not the first charity to get caught out with a high risk investment and sometimes even lower risk investments go bad. A few years ago when various Icelandic banks collapsed, several charities who had deposited money with them, enticed by their higher interest rates, lost everything. Yes, I imagine anyone would. I was pleased to see that Greenpeace took internal action and the individual responsible was fired. Once again, this was the action of one individual... further, a quick glance at Greenpeace's annual reports shows that generally, they are responsible with the money they are given, as I would expect any sizeable charity to be. I am bored now. If all donors are "stupid" in your terms it is clear you are not capable of reasonable discussion on this matter.

Not really "misconduct". More like the stupid action of one person who was given responsibility beyond their ability. And, it is not much of a distraction really, is it? "Oh we have lost some money, therefore we will distract people from that by doing exactly the same kind of thing that we were doing anyway. Brilliant!" There is nothing particularly amoral about losing money on financial markets. If you think there is, you should probably not go into any bank again, ever.

Hello So today while I was excavating the back of a cupboard in my hallway, I unearthed a historical artefact. All the way from 1998! It's a vaguely eye-shaped package, in transparent bright green: 20140717_234700 by freshfroot1, on Flickr Inside is a purple case with a surface designed to look like a brain (mmmm... purple brains) 20140717_234719 by freshfroot1, on Flickr And inside that, a CDROM and an advert for version 1.0 of the Lego Mindstorms RCX system.. Your Future Starts Today! Oh wait, I need a Pentium 90 and Windows 95 to play it? Why do you have to be so demanding!! 20140717_234749 by freshfroot1, on Flickr The other side of the advert is a futuristic timeline of inventions. Still waiting for "Pathfinder" (the autonomous landmine clearer) though... 20140717_234816 by freshfroot1, on Flickr On the disc are a number of videos that reveal that the package has been sent "from the future" (2043 I think it said) to my 1998 self explaining that I was one of the chosen few who would lead mankind into a new golden age, through the medium of Lego Mindstorms robots. The future promises Lego medical nanotechnology, space exploration on Lego spaceships (real ones, not Benny's), armies of Lego robots to irrigate deserts, and so on (but what about personal jetpacks? I want jetpacks dammit!). This far removed, it seems incredibly quaint- the past's predictions of the future always do- but it's a reminder of how advanced the Mindstorms system really was at the time (compared to most consumer robot kits, which were very limited by comparison, or required electronic and/or programming skills which were quite niche). The videos emphasise the ability to create robots that think for themselves- whereas more recent Mindstorms promos seem to focus on the ability to remote-control robots... a step backwards, I think. This is a very British promo... one of the videos mentions robot footballers programmed with the characteristics of legendary players such as Pele, Cruyff and Shearer... it seems there must have been a US version as well, there is a video on Youtube that shows a similar type of thing: I am not really sure what to do with it. I don't collect this kind of thing, so I don't really want to keep it. On the other hand, it seems a shame to throw it away.. it should be in a museum or something EvilTwin

I'm actually kind of surprised that PETA haven't commented on the unrealistic situation depicted in the 60052 Cargo Train set, which has a cattle wagon carrying one single cow and a bale of straw. In real life, in the US at least, it is more likely that there would be about 20 cows crammed into that wagon with no food or water

Yeah, great example, not. I remember that incident. The French government had the Greenpeace ship bombed while it was docked in New Zealand, killing a press photographer. The French government were the terrorists in that incident- launching an attack on a civilian vessel while it was in another country's waters. It was a major diplomatic disaster for the French and they paid out millions to the New Zealand government, the family of the murdered photographer and Greenpeace. Well, no they didn't really, but India is on a mission to crack down on any anti-nuclear or environmental group as they want to grow their own nuclear weapons programme so they can carry on their sabre-rattling contest with Pakistan, and destroy their country's environment unimpeded in the quest for mining uranium, amongst other things. We shouldn't really look to India as the guardian of the world's morals. So basically, neither France nor India claim that Greenpeace is a terrorist organisation as you stated previously. Except it wasn't- the main founder Jim Bohlen served in the US Navy in world war 2. OK I'm bored now. There is clearly no point in trying to have a reasoned discussion about this if you can't be bothered to get basic facts straight. I'm going back to play with my Lego. EvilTwin