Late night epiphanies..

So I'm doing some stuff for the display tomorrow. As usual, I talk myself into a hole that I have to pull a rabbit out of a hat (what, you think I can actually DO all the  things I say I can:-)?)

The original idea was do make an NXT rover that responds to sound - turns out that little thing makes for a really fun bot for kids. They clap and it turns - and that is something that any schoolkid can understand. And I had one of those that was made at the Air and Space Museum...until I made a tank out of it. I didn't realize that until tonight.

Oops.

It's not a big deal, actually - I have the program, which was written by Clifton Chambers, Jr. on teh spur of the moment at the Museum, and I can make a rover pretty quickly (it's making them do something that trips me up). But...

this idea is kinda boring to me.  I really wanted to do something nifty. And by a funny coincidence, Philippe Hurbain happened to release online directions to make an NXT joystick earlier this week.

Now, I have been an NXT wannabee for the longest time, but it's not an easy thing to learn how to build...and programming is a trick too. So when I saw the joystick, I was really impressed - it was something that looked really neat, and I wanted to try to build it.

Of course, it wasn't easy - for one thing my downloads wouldn't unzip, so I sent an e-mail to Philo asking for a file to read. He sent it the next morning - that was really nice of him. And upon opening the file - the building is really simple.

By this time, I REALLY wanted to build it. And by this time, it was REALLY Thursday night, and I was busy getting other stuff ready.

So I went to the display setup and I was working building and taking pictures and helping, and I basically made the decision to spend the night building the joystick and a car for it - and get them to work.

Now, I'm a complete idiot on most computer things - I understand the base level of programming, but the modern stuff is way out of my league. The only thing worth note is that I used to  know Mac OS 9 likethe back of myhand in the good ol' days..so I'm going to build the joystick, a rover, and bluetooth them.

This will be fun.

It took me two hours to build the joystck and the rover - both came from Philo's website, as I wasn't going to take chances with different models from what has already worked.

And building the joystick wasreally fun - discovering what Philo did to make everything synchronize was sorta like unfolding a great origami model - things look so basic, but once the folds are made, it's almost magic!

And the rover was a quick build.

So I got them done, downloaded the programs from the website (I am wildy incompetent on programming, so don't even ask me) and ....the remote program wouldn't load. The NXT brick sorta looked me everytime I tried to download. And after a little troubleshooting, I found out it needed a sound file. Oops. Always read the documentation.

Getting the bricks to bluetoothwas another challenge. Philo's nstructions are clear - the bricks aren't, so there's not an obvious confirmation of things...I had failed connections and pass keys that didn't make sense...but I finally got them to see each other - but they wouldn't talk.

I sat there for a moment, then just on a hunch, started the programsfor both NXTs...and they worked - the rover wandered in responce to the joystick, and I was a little kid all over again.

Those peope playing with NXTs who have more than one need to go to Philo's website - it's here.

And away we go!

So the setup fo display started - and I'm not the coordinator. YAY! This is good because I am already busy, and also because I don't necessarily want to be the only one for coordinating. It's nice to be able to be some one to bring things in instead of lead every so often.

The event site is a planetarium that is part of a state college, so it's a little interestingto come in, because you have to get ing the lot and then have to find a space - this is easy, but usually the good spaces are already taken. It's no different this year for me, so I am parked far away.

Bythe time I getthere, there are already members of our club in and starting to lay out their models.

That's Sabrina and Signe - Sabrina is Signe's daughter. And that's a Star Wars collection. And it's not all there - more is coming!



This Cyndi's pile of very organized stuff for her layout. She is presenting a castle layout that is very impressive (you'll see a couple of pix in a moment)


There's David and Joe Evangelista (or Joe Cool) - they are building stuff, as we all do - I spent the time building a crane. Joe and I are working on a construction site and a heliport so I can show these:



And who led the event?



that would be Carin. She and her sister were building and settingthings up, like this:



a nice retro layout.

Here's some other pictures too:



those are the Batman comics,incidentally!



part of Cyndi's layout...a really small part:-)

But the neatest part was when Cyndi started adding trees and foliage - she ended up teaching the Planetarium volunteer to tree build, and they were really enjoying the building!



It's moments like this that make me really happy about our hobby - when we cah reach out by intention or accident.

But I gotta get to my task - I gotta build some NXT items! Thanks, Philo, for sending me instructions!!

and the display is set to GO!!

So I have my MOCs...well, some of them:-) Doing part of a heliport, so I have my old helicopters and a refueling point.

Will also be bringing some construction stuff for a building zone...a skyscraper and stuff will be there.

There's going to be a lot of stuff, so it'll be a lot of fun!
 
Pictures coming
...

Building? I'm supposed to be doing THAT?

You know, there's nothing like getting wrapped in work - I just did some more layouts to BrickJournal (yes it's STILL going on)

But I can tell you that the following will be in it:

• Event reports from all over- Germany, Italy and the US...and a couple others too
• Interviews with some women builders
• Instructions on some nifty models (hey, I did one:-)!)
• Some more interviews

It's at 82 pages, and there are still some articles left to lay out (including one by Gary Istok)...and a surprise too!

Getting prepared for a display....

So I gotta get ready for a local display (Morehead Planetarium, Chapel Hill, NC) and have to buid some stuff. Pile this into working on BrickJournal and some other stuff, and you get a pretty busy Joe!

The display is LEGOPalooza, and will have some displays from the local builders - and it's a lot of fun! I'll be bringing an NXT set to respond to sound (so kids can confuse it by clapping their hands) and assorted MOCs to show - some are sets (the Mobile Crane and the Construction Crane) and some are custom (helicopters and other vehicles)

There will also be Harry Potter stuff, Batman stuff, and Castle stuff...so it's goingto be a pretty nice layout. There will be pics taken of course, so watch this space this weekend!

So I'm busy busy busy!

Neat item that dropped in my lap...

So I got a package today, and it was a box of Batman LEGO comics.

Really.

These are for an event that I will be at this weekend in Chapel Hill, NC. Steve Witt mailed them out for distribution.

This comic is a promotional (and is 16 pages), and hasn't been seen around, so far as I know...anyone know of these?

And anyone want one? Drop me a note if you do - I'll send out 1 of them to the first ten that respond - send to admin@brickjournal.com, subject: Batman!

Thanks Steve!

The European Bureau

With the formation of a European Bureau (thank you Melody), there have been a lot of new things that have been brought to my attention.

We now are getting reports on many more clubs and many more events - and it's exciting to see how vibrant the community is overseas. And there are going to be more builder spotlights from people who are 'under the radar' - these builders may only show at displays and only be seen on Brickshelf.

There's so much that hasn't been shown yet in the community - and it's really fun to explore what is out there. And the European community has been very happy to become an active part of BrickJournal.

On that note, I also should point out that I am beginning a layout staff - I have three people interested in helping out, and I would like to thank them: Bill Jacob, Didier Enjary, and Camille Goureau-Suignard. Thanks for stepping up to assist!

Is there more out there?

You bet there is - we just gotta look!