When I was a little kid my great passion was building things (usually spacecraft) out of LEGO. When I was 10 I learned about computer programming thanks to the Commodore PET computers at my school. I really think that the mental process is much the same, and that my experience with LEGO led directly to my ability to pick up computer programming skills.
Kellogg’s LEGO Sculptures at Williamsport Airport
My wife and I visited her family in Williamsport, PA last September. There is a very small airport there which just has one gate, served by US Airways Express turboprop planes. So imagine my surprise when I saw LEGO on display there! They had a glass display case with LEGO sculptures of Kellogg’s Tony the Tiger and Toucan Sam characters, along with some of the Kellogg’s product boxes.
Bay Area LEGO Train Club at San Jose Train Show in Sep. 2005
Another long-delayed set of photos from a club event. This time, the BayLTC layout from the Great Western & Atlantic Train Show is featured. The show was held at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San José, CA.
Bay Area LEGO Users’ Group Meeting on Sep. 11, 2005
I am finally getting around to posting pictures from this meeting. We met at the Museum of American Heritage in Palo Alto, CA on September 11, 2005. The meeting featured models on display and a lot of buying, selling, and trading of parts.
BayLUG exhibit at MoAH
For the past few weeks (starting just before Christmas), we have been running a display at the Museum of American Heritage in Palo Alto. It has been insanely popular, with more people coming to see the exhibit than the room could even hold at once.
Hot Mindstorms NXT News from MacWorld
At MacWorld I was talking to the LEGO Education (Dacta) guy there and he told me some interesting things about Mindstorms NXT that I hadn’t heard anywhere else.
Mindstorms strikes again
A little over a week ago I finally got around to ordering a LEGO Mindstorms set for the first time. I’ve been a LEGO fan for years but never got around to trying Mindstorms, LEGO’s robotics kit that has been around since 1998. One big reason was that I usually buy LEGO in increments of $10-100 at a time, not the $200 that the Mindstorms Robotics Invention System would have cost. When I did get around to buying it, I chose the educational version from LEGO Education (aka Pitsco aka Dacta). I got the ROBO Technology Set for $159 which should arrive in a few days.
BayLUG Pleasanton display featured in BOTB
Our display window at the Stoneridge Mall (one of only three in the country at the moment!) was mentioned on the Bricks on the Brain blog.
BayLUG mini-San Francisco display at Stoneridge LEGO Store
Today I met with other members of BayLUG to set up a new display at the Stoneridge mall LEGO store in Pleasanton, CA. We had a display there for the past month with a Christmas theme, but I wasn’t involved in that. The new theme is miniature models of San Francisco landmarks: I made Transamerica Pyramid and Lombard Street models, which are now on display along with a Coit Tower model from Russell Clark and a waterfront scene by Paul Sinasohn that included a tall ship and the car ferry Sausalito.
BayLTC Museum Show, December 2004
Last December, BayLUG and BayLTC put on a display at the Museum of American Heritage in Palo Alto, CA. This was our second long-term exhibit, after the one in Pleasanton in June of 2004. Here are pictures taken both during and during tear-down after the show.
I took the pictures taken during the teardown phase while suffering from a terrible fever and flu, so I don’t remember much about it! But the pictures speak for themselves anyway…
Coast Guard Base
Last fall, the Bay Area LEGO Train Club (BayLTC) was doing a show where many of our usual waterfront models were not available, so I volunteered to build a new model for that spot. I discovered Coast Watch HQ sets on sale at Costco for about $20 each, and bought two of them. I used many parts from the sets, such as the baseplates and windows, but built a new design to be a little more realistic. The building is of my own original design, but the helicopter and cutter are based on real U.S. Coast Guard equipment. Since it was for a train show, I made it come apart into pieces for easy transport.
Esso Garage
A garage to take your LEGO cars for their regular maintenance. Has two service bays, each with a lift to give the mechanics access underneath the car. Also equipped with a workbench and a complete inventory of repair parts and tires.
This model is fully detailed on the interior, and also features rare and valuable printed bricks (Two each of “ESSO SERVICE” and “GARAGE”) from the 1960’s.
Great American Train Show, November 2004
On November 27-28, 2004, we participated in the GATS in Pleasanton for the third time. We won third place again!
BayLTC “Dress Rehearsal” Meeting, November 2004
My digital camera troubles continue at this meeting. This time I brought it, but with three sets of nearly-flat batteries. I only managed to get 5 pictures.
This meeting was held at Bruce’s church gymnasium as a “dress rehearsal” for the next weekend’s Great American Train Show display.
We set up the tables and track along with major landmarks to make sure that it all fits.
BayLUG Meeting, October 2004 in Fremont
I forgot my digital camera when I went to this meeting, so I took pictures with my cell phone instead. Apologies for the poor quality.
This meeting featured a Halloween contest as well as several space and Technic models not shown before.
BayLTC Museum Show, July 11, 2004 (tear-down)
Turn out the lights, the party’s over…
Sunday, July 11 was the last day of our month-long display at the Amador-Livermore Valley Historical Society and Museum. After the museum closed at 4pm, we took down the “sneeze guards” and table skirts for a photo shoot, culminating in a group photo.
BayLTC Museum Show, July 3, 2004 (parade)
For the penultimate weekend of our month-long display at the Amador-Livermore Valley Historical Society and Museum, we put together a 4th of July Parade. Only problem is, the museum is closed on the 4th. However, I took these pictures on the 3rd:
BayLTC Museum Show, June 26, 2004 (new models added)
These pictures, taken two weeks after the opening of our month-long exhibit at the Amador-Livermore Valley Historical Society and Museum, show some of the models added during that time.
Christmas 2003: Santa Claus Bust
Initially I wanted to build a complete Santa Claus model, but Christmas came and went and I had only built the head and neck. So I finished this model as a bust.
