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I was in L.A. all during House of Bricks. My wife and son went yesterday, but
didn't take any pictures -- I told them there was no need since there would
surely be great pictures online anyway.
So... any great pictures online? :) And in general, how did it go?
Thanks,
- Joe
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Its the Great Ball Contraption - LIVE!
You are invited to build modules, or just watch the action, live & in person. We
will be constructing a Great Ball Contraption
<http://www.teamhassenplug.org/GBC/> at the House of Bricks
<http://2becontinued.com/hob/> event at the Chicago Marriott, Schaumburg, on May
6-8. But we need your help - the more modules the better! In order to make this
as smooth as possible, we wanted to put out a formal call for modules. Please
send us an email detailing the information listed below for your module(s) so we
can smoothly assemble the full Contraption for this event. Then just show up at
the event with your creations, and let the good balls roll!
GBC roll call:
1) Module name & builder
2) Size: width & depth (preferably in studs), & height
3) Lift mechanism(s) & output type (continuous or batch output)
4) Preferred input: Continuous? Batch? No preference?
5) Peak throughput: in balls per second, or bps (aim for at least 1 bps)
6) Power source: Battery box? RCX? Pneumatic? Other? Do you need access to a
powerstrip?
7) Description: feel free to include what the module does, as well as any
special abilities or features, or anything else you want to draw attention
towards.
Please feel free to post this information to the forums of your choice, but also
email a copy to <brdavis@iusb.edu> so we can plan for the grand assembly at
House of Bricks. For any questions about the GBC or the module standard, please
take a look at Steve Hassenplug's page listed above.
--
Brian Davis
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In lugnet.org.us.clb, Joe Strout wrote:
> The third Saturday of the month would be this next one, Feb. 19th. Is there a
> CLB meeting planned?
Man, we're slackin. But it sounds like everyone is pretty busy. Maybe we
should try for something in March. I'm out of town the 3rd Saturday. What
about March 26?
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In lugnet.events, Joe Strout wrote:
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Sounds neat! But please include lugnet.org.us.clb (Chicago Lego Builders) in
announcements about it -- seems like thats the most directly relevant group.
I almost missed it, but just happened to see it on the home page before it
was cycled out.
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Good idea. Ive also included .loc.us.il.chi as a regional area and kept .events
in there because it is indeed an event.
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Will it be possible to attend HoB without registering for the whole
convention (which isnt as interesting to me, as, say, models of subways and
donut shops)?
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Unfortunately no. Still the price for a weekend pass to
2BeCONtinued4 is comparable to other brick
conventions.
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Still, if this is the only way we could get such a big LEGO event in Chicago,
then Im happy to support it. Thanks for setting it up and letting us know
about it!
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It may not be the only way, but it does give us a good start. Lets see how this
year goes and then move forward from there.
Jason Spears Chicago House of Bricks Castle Coordinator
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The third Saturday of the month would be this next one, Feb. 19th. Is there a
CLB meeting planned?
Thanks,
- Joe
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In lugnet.events, Felix Greco wrote:
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Chicago House of Bricks will be an AFOL
event held May 6-8, 2005, in Schaumburg, Illinois (Chicago Suburbs). Fans are
invited to display, attend seminars, watch animation, and participate
in LEGO gaming.
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Sounds neat! But please include lugnet.org.us.clb (Chicago Lego Builders) in
announcements about it -- seems like thats the most directly relevant group. I
almost missed it, but just happened to see it on the home page before it was
cycled out.
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This event will be held as part of 2BeCONtinued4:
The Musical, a Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention. Attendees will be
welcome to take part in all aspects of the convention.
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Will it be possible to attend HoB without registering for the whole convention
(which isnt as interesting to me, as, say, models of subways and donut shops)?
Still, if this is the only way we could get such a big LEGO event in Chicago,
then Im happy to support it. Thanks for setting it up and letting us know
about it!
Best,
Joe
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In lugnet.trains, Ken Nagel wrote:
<snip>
> "Some pigs are more equal than other pigs" George Orwell-Animal Farm
> Ken
Whereas I think I can see both sides of this issue, 1- Larry wasn't posting as
an admon, he was posting as a user of LUGNET, justlike the rest of us, and 2- by
the very fact that he mentioned o.t.fun should have made it obvious that he was
just having fun and wasn't being serious at all in his post.
Now I know from very recent circumstances that people that have past animosity
towards one another, then one of them posts something that, from the outside
looks like it's just fun, can be construed by the other party that it's
malicious, and, if Larry knew about the acrimonious relationship between the two
of you, I'll state that he shold have used better judgement.
THen again, one could say htat Larry was trying to make a light hearted effort
of 'burying the hatchet', again,k had he known about this bad relationship
between the two of you.
As it stands, I won't speak for Larry, but I will point out that taking the
words exactly as they are posted, Larry's post wasn't offensive. I didn't find
it amusing, much, but I can see where the humour would be.
Dave K
-who just has far too much time on his hands to post to many different threads
here on LUGNET. Maybe I'll go open a 10152 and start building...
Now *that's* funny!
-trimmed miscellaneous groups 'cause myy post had nothing to do with trains, et
al, but I guess should be left in admin groups...
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On Tuesday the 18th I extended a simple invitation for people to Visit NILTCs
next show:
http://news.lugnet.com/trains/?n=24035
It was responded to by Larry Pieniazek, The curator for lugnet.trains thus:
http://news.lugnet.com/trains/?n=24044
The copy came from the library who is very excited about this show. I would
never be so pompous as to correct them on something so arcane as the plurality
of Lego especially since a quick review of Larrys past posts show he is
woefully under qualified to be correcting anyones spelling or grammar.
If that wasnt bad enough he had to continue with, I can't imagine him messing
up this spectactularly. (his spelling). While Larry Pieniazek decided I was
getting personal in a debate forum he found no problem writing something that is
clearly nothing but a personal attack. It is clear he has an ax to grind with me
but taking it out on NILTC and the library was totally out of line.
Furthermore while my friends and acquaintances know I work at a Lego retail
store. When I post here however Im on my own. Its not something I put in my
posts. Taking care of the stock room and sweeping the floor once or twice a week
Doesnt qualify me as an insider. I find my information the same place most of
you do, through the internet. However since this administrator decided to
raise that flag I was fired for being a member of that AFOL web site.
After this post was posted I emailed Kelly McKiernan and then all the signers
of the Lugnet policy update:
http://news.lugnet.com/admin/general/?n=12017
Despite their statement that they were not immune to the policy none of them had
the courtesy to respond to the email. They have proven that despite the fact
that they claim their only goal is to make Lugnet The happiest place on earth
they really are not interested in that goal.
It is unforgivable that an administrator should take a post designed to benefit
a train club and an organization hopping to put on a public show and turn it
into a personal attack. It is further unforgivable that the rest of the
administrators are not capable of policing their own.
"Some pigs are more equal than other pigs" George Orwell-Animal Farm
Ken
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Geneva Public Library
127 James Street
Geneva, IL 60134-2241
ALL ABOARD FOR LEGOS®
Saturday, February 12 9:005:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 13 12:004:00 p.m.
The Northern Illinois Lego® Train Club will be bringing huge Lego® train
displays complete with running trains! There will be timed building competitions
each day from 2:003:00 p.m. using Legos® the Train Club
will provide. You may register for these contests at the door at 2:00 p.m.
Registration is not needed to view the exhibit.
For more information please visit: http://www.geneva.lib.il.us
Thank you, Ken
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What?
Its just a meeting, an informal gathering of other lego
builders/fans/collectors in the Chicago area. People will likely bring creations
to share. Past meetings have had lots of lego related conversation, ranging from
online buying experiences, to sharing of building techniques, to how to tell
your boss that you dig lego bricks. Also one person expressed interest in
playing the X-Pod
game.
When?
The meeting will be on Saturday, December 18th, 2004 from Noon till approx 4 or
5pm.
Where?
Beth Weis house in Deerfield, IL. Email Tim Courtney or me for the
address.
--
Jason Spears
Chicago Lego Builders
http://www.chicago-builders.org/
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In lugnet.trains, Ken Nagel wrote:
> The Second annual Midwest Lego Train Show was a big hit...
>
> Thank you to all who displayed and thank you for all who
> came out to see us.
I'm no longer sure which of those two groups I belong in, but thank you (all
three train groups) for putting on a great show! I was present to demonstrate a
module for a Great Ball Contraption, and was really welcomed by everybody I
bumped into (sometimes literally!) during Saturday. I had a fantastic time
letting kids (& adults!) play with the module, and my son & I spent a couple of
wonderful hours exploring & getting lost in the amazing detail in all the train
layouts, including...
Dinosuars in the subway (poor subway worker!), waterskiing minifigs,
bungie-jumpers, superheros, caves, waterfalls, haunted houses (with the
fantasticly detailed canyon below it - the favorite of both my son & I; fishing
for skelton parts was a nice touch as well), the trio of convicts plotting a
robbery (?), a floral heart, the ATM machine, a field of flowers with a park, in
front of the forest at the base of a wonderful mountain (with polar bears, of
course), Hogwarts (wonderful squid, BTW), car wrecks, the wonderful droid assult
on all things Galidor & Jack Stone... the list is endless. My son now has a new
list of "pieces I want off Bricklink for Christmas" (OK, so do I). Not to
mention the TRAINS! Dang, just what I need, another obsession...
Also, thank you MichanaLUG for letting my son & I help out by building a ramp
for the tracks during set-up; I suspect this was my son's 2nd-most favorite
moment (the first being getting to "run" the Hassenplug C4 robots). OK, the ramp
looked *terrible*, but at least we loved building it!
--
Brian Davis
(who is currently coveting the several hundred pounds of ABS he enjoyed this
weekend).
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In lugnet.trains, Ken Nagel wrote:
> The Second anuall Midwest Lego Train Show was a big hit. We're still waiting on
> final attendance totals! The pictures go on though!
My 4-year-old son and I spent both mornings there, and on Saturday afternoon, my
wife and our 2-month old joined us too. We all thoroughly enjoyed it.
Some here will think I'm exaggerating, but: we used to live about 40 minutes
from Legoland California, and visited that frequently, but in many ways this was
better. Sure, Legoland is (much!) bigger, but there was a tremendous amount of
fun and detail packed into these layouts, and getting to chat with the builders
made it really precious.
I'd like to thank the presenters who gave up their weekend (and part of their
week!) to share their creations with us and the other visitors. It was great to
meet those of you I hadn't met before, and I dream of one day building something
that will look half as good as yours!
Best,
- Joe
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The Second anuall Midwest Lego Train Show was a big hit. We're still waiting on
final attendance totals! The pictures go on though! Pictures from NILTC,
IndyLug, MichianaLUG, The Chicago Lego Builders Group and more can be found
at...
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=82977
For the complete story of NILTC's layout please visit....
http://mocpages.com/moc.php/5370
Thank you to all who displayed and thank you for all who came out to see us.
Ken
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In lugnet.org.us.clb, Joe Strout wrote:
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Im planning to attend the Midwest LEGO Train Show this weekend. Is there
anything I/we could do to help promote the CLB there?
Ill have my 4-year-old with me, and wont be able to stand in one place very
long, but I could perhaps leave a stack of flyers, maybe even tape some up
here and there (if its OK with the train show organizers). Do we have a
flyer? If not, anyone care to whip one up?
-- Joe
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well as im the show orginiser its deffinitly ok with me. its actuly a good
idea and i look forward to seeing it. placement will be tricky since cantigny is
so picky on things but ill find a spot or 2. ondrew
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In lugnet.org.us.clb, Jason Spears wrote:
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We dont currently have a flyer, but Im willing to modify the MichLUG one
for CLB use. (Im guessing that OnDrew will be fine with us leaving some
flyers around.)
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Ok, I looked over the MichLUG flyer and it is far more train and club display
orientated than I remembered. I think it might be better if we started from
scratch. Once we have the verbage worked out, Im willing to lay it out in a
pdf. (Or maybe Matt could help, word has it that he does graphical design for a
living.)
Anyways, straight from the website, here is a
place to start:
Our Purpose
Chicago : Our events are held in the Greater Chicagoland area, but our
membership is open to anyone who wants to participate.
LEGO : We are an all-themes-inclusive group. We include all those who promote,
discuss, or simply enjoy creating wonderful and amazing things with LEGO-brand
plastic building blocks. We are not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed
by The LEGO Company (TLC), which owns all rights to the trademark LEGO.
You : We invite all adult fans of LEGO (AFOL) to participate in our
organization. In addition, our games are open to participation by teens (14-17)
with parental permission, and our shows are open to the public. To build a
better club, we need you!
Builders : The plastic blocks we work with automatically bind when placed
together, so we can build large and intricate structures without glue or cement.
So how do we want to expand upon that? What key points do we want to communicate
to people who pick up our flyer?
Jason Spears | BrickCentral | CLB | MichLUG
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In lugnet.org.us.clb, Joe Strout wrote:
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Im planning to attend the Midwest
LEGO Train Show this weekend. Is there anything I/we could do to help
promote the CLB there?
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Well you could walk around, talk with people who seem VERY interested in the
displays, mention the club. Im not sure what else to do.
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Ill have my 4-year-old with me, and wont be able to stand in one place very
long, but I could perhaps leave a stack of flyers, maybe even tape some up
here and there (if its OK with the train show organizers). Do we have a
flyer? If not, anyone care to whip one up?
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We dont currently have a flyer, but Im willing to modify the MichLUG one for
CLB use. (Im guessing that OnDrew will be fine with us leaving some flyers
around.)
Jason Spears | BrickCentral | MichLUG | CLB
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Im planning to attend the Midwest LEGO Train Show this weekend. Is there
anything I/we could do to help promote the CLB there?
Ill have my 4-year-old with me, and wont be able to stand in one place very
long, but I could perhaps leave a stack of flyers, maybe even tape some up here
and there (if its OK with the train show organizers). Do we have a flyer? If
not, anyone care to whip one up?
-- Joe
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What?
This will be a meeting, a chance to get to know other people on the
list and other lego fans in the
area. Talk about what other things we might want to do as a club, show off
creations, and other general lego themed conversation. Everyone is welcome.
When?
The meeting will be on Saturday, November 20th, 2004 from 1pm till ~5pm.
Where?
Downers Grove Public Library
http://www.downersgrovelibrary.org/
We have a meeting room reserved there. (Seats about twelve.)
--
Jason Spears
Chicago Lego Builders
http://www.chicago-builders.org/
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On the yahoo group, we were talking
about the date for the next meeting. We sorta found that the third Saturday of
the month worked for the majority.
November 20th would be the date for the next meeting. The last meeting was at
the Downers Grove Public Library and that seemed to work well for everyone.
So.... Post a reply if you will be there, if you think another date would work
better, or have an absolutely fabulous alternate location for the meeting.
Jason Spears | BrickCentral | MichLUG | CLB
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