Letagi

I might actually make it this year. It's never really been an option in the past, either because of the cost or because I was too young to travel that far on my own (or to register for a conference, for that matter) and would have needed a parent with me - which would have doubled the already high cost. I'm twenty, so obviously the second problem isn't a problem anymore, and I have some good job prospects so I'll be able to pay my parents back for at least part of the trip in the near future. That's one of the annoying things about where I am in life right now - I'm self-sufficient and independent in every way imaginable except financially, in large part due to the fact that going to university full-time doesn't really allow for a job. But now I've applied for some jobs that I think I'm likely to get at the university where I study and live, which will make it easier to balance work and school, so hopefully my financial dependence on my parents will start to attenuate. That, and finally this cursed* school will start giving me money, rather than it always being the other way around. *Just kidding, I love this university. But seriously, universities are evil when it comes to taking your money. -Letagi Edit: First line is now inaccurate. I am going to BrickFair.

But- ... Just what are you insinuating? I'm not hypocritical at all! But yeah, I think I've made that connection too. -L

Last entry I mentioned I had picked up LEGO Marvel Superheroes from Steam. What a fantastic game. Not only that, but it's gotten me into the recent Marvel film and television literature; I'm particularly enjoying Agents of SHIELD. I've never been into superheroes; I always thought the concept was a bit silly. That perception is definitely changing. I mean, some of it still seems kind of silly, but a bit of silliness isn't a bad thing. In other news, I managed to slam my head into a concrete wall while playing dodgeball on Monday night. Since then I've been recovering from the resulting concussion, while simultaneously suffering from a cold. Not fun. -Letagi

Very nice. I saw him a couple of years ago and he was really good. His voice isn't what it used to be, but with the type of singing he does, that's sort of to be expected. Looks like he's coming to my city in December. Might go see him a second time. -L

I bought it off eBay years ago and was also really impressed with the construction and quality of design. Not only is the gear system really clever, it's also well-integrated and doesn't affect the aesthetic, unlike sets like the Toa Mata, who had giant gears sticking out of their shoulders and back. -L

This is all really good. The only thing I might disagree with is your advice for #2. I'd say four courses is better because it gives you a more accurate idea of what you're getting into, but you're right that five is not a good idea. I have some additional thoughts on the matter, so I might steal this idea and do a blog entry of my own on the subject. -L

I've never been much of a gamer, but I've always enjoyed the LEGO games. Recently I've also gotten into playing Smash. Anyways, I just picked up a bunch of LEGO games on Steam. Star Wars Complete Saga, Clone Wars, Marvel Super Heroes, LotR, Hobbit and Indiana Jones 2. Good thing I don't have much important stuff to do this summer. -Letagi

Dark tonally, or dark visually? I guess if the spy stories you exposed yourself to were in the vein of the James Bond films then I guess I could see why that would be surprising. Personally I prefer moodier films like this one to James Bond and Bourne. If you meant visually... I think the dank atmosphere works wonders for telling the story. I personally love the cinematography. I guess it surprised me a bit because I had watched The Man with the Golden Gun immediately beforehand, which is totally the opposite end of the spectrum. But I really liked it, and as you say, the dark aspect is very effective and matches the story perfectly. The whole thing was really well done. -L

I just watched Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011). I wasn't expecting it to be quite so dark, but I was really impressed. I'll have to watch it again to figure out all the details. Thanks for the suggestions! You've mentioned that one a couple of times, I think. I'll have to get around to watching it sometime. -L

For some reason I've really been enjoying spy/espionage/secret agent movies lately. Aside from the Bond, Bourne and Mission Impossible films, what are some other good ones? (MI 2 excluded from list of "good ones" because it was terrible.) -Letagi

I knew you couldn't stay away for good. Really enjoyed the new stuff. Do you think you'll be writing any more? -Letagi

My point about the SSKK was that there were so few to begin with (72) that the chances of finding one now would be practically zero. 1.44% that of your chances of finding a WMKK, which is already incredibly unlikely. A metal detector would work to verify the presence of a metal Krana, yes. Flintsmith used one back in the day when toy store shelves were stacked with Kal sets, and I believe he found at least one. It wouldn't increase your chances of finding one in the first place, but it would mean that you wouldn't have to open the set once you bought it; you could resell it. So I take back what I said about this endeavor costing thousands of dollars; if you play it right, it might not end up costing you a penny (just lots of time and effort ) Regarding your last point, a high price for a sealed Kal set isn't an indication that there's a metal Krana inside. There are lots of sellers who price their items at way higher than what's reasonable, hoping to take advantage of buyers who either don't know any better or who have tons of money and don't care. -Letagi

Wait, when did you get back into power again Windy?Uh, I don't think she ever left? -Letagi

I disagree with that actually - I thought Hewkii and Kongu were terrible, and that Nuparu was quite good in comparison . But regardless, Hahli was actually the postergirl for that wave of sets. I'm sure LEGO had their reasons, but is it possible there was more than one Toa Mahri displayed in this manner as there was for the Piraka? -Letagi

I thought that but Tufi seems to still be pretty busy with RL stuff right now so thought I'd just go with it and wait for a mod to come in here and yay or nay it! They can always edit out the official if they don't see it as a useful topic after all! Interesting that Zaktan was the leader of the Piraka yet we get two tubes neither of which contains him... I guess we got the red one which seems to be normal for the most part but it's certainly peculiar! Pretty sure Gresh is in the same hexagonal tube as the other two examples. I can only see six sides myself anyway so one of us is definitely counting wrong Whoops, I was looking at it as having eight sides of equal length. Now I see that the back is probably flat. Also, I don't think that LEGO intentionally puts leaders into their displays, but rather the sets they figure will be most popular. Remember the purpose of these is to advertise the sets, not the story. Red sets just generally sell the best. The numbers also don't support it: only 7 of the 13 that you have listed follow the leadership forumla (Kalmah wasn't leader of the Barraki; it was Pridak). -Letagi

That's really interesting. I'm no expert in LEGO's production methods, but based on this, I would guess that the eyeholes aren't part of the moulding process; rather, they're stamped out after the piece is moulded. This is a case where that stamping didn't go all the way through for some reason. Either that, or the eyeholes are moulded, and there was some bleedthrough of plastic into an area where there shouldn't have been. I don't think the fact that it's an early release has any significance, though. This sort of mismould could happen any time, I would guess. -Letagi

Looking good so far! I believe that technically official topics are supposed to be approved by a forum leader before being posted, but that might be an old rule. Tufi is the one to contact if you haven't already as she's forum leader for B/S/T. Just two very minor notes - Hakann wasn't leader of the Piraka (Zaktan was), and it looks to me like Gresh's case is octagonal, not hexagonal. -L

And that is the problem with the whole promotion angle. It's a cool incentive but some people don't understand the value of the item... and you get tragic stories like this. -NotS Yup, that was me. Actually a friend of mine found it and traded it to me. And I would partially disagree with your assessment of it being tragic, NotS; after all, now I've got a WMKK. Aside from that, the original owner may very well have known its value, but accidents like holes in pockets do happen. Anyways - it's easy to estimate the number of sealed Bohrok-Kal sets that still have metal Krana in them, but it requires three numbers that none of us have: Kal sets distributed to North America (the only place where the promotion happened), the percentage of people who leave sets sealed after buying them (a very rough estimate by itself, not to mention very small), and the percentage of Kal sets that had metal Krana in them to begin with (5072 divided by the first number - again, very small). Multiply those three numbers together, and you have your estimate. Unfortunately, the fact that people were actively searching for sets with metal Krana, and not just buying them randomly, means that the estimate found with the above procedure is an overestimate. It assumes that people were only buying Kal sets randomly, which they weren't. Then there's the point that Lyichir brought up - that most people who still have sealed Kal sets have already inspected their stock. So, to answer your first question, yes, there's a chance. But it's minuscule. You would likely end up spending thousands of dollars or more, only to be met with disappointment every time. As for believing in your goal no matter the odds, that mindset might make you more determined, but ultimately won't help. If your ultimate goal is to own a WMKK, you would be much better off buying one; there was one for sale in B/S/T a few days ago (it's gone now, but the point is they show up for sale regularly). It's not as much fun as finding one in a sealed set, but sadly the latter is virtually impossible. And as for SSKK specifically - forget about it. -L

I'm trying to make it as accurate as possible, so basically full orchestra minus woodwinds. Specifically: violin, viola, cello, bass, piano, trumpet, horn, trombone, bass trombone, tuba and lots of percussion. The tricky bit will be the electronic stuff. I'm trying to simulate it with percussion because Finale doesn't have a lot of synthy options. -L

I can just imagine it now - Flintsmith walking into a toy store with a massive metal detector, sweeping it over the Bohrok-Kal-containing shelves, scaring the employees... -Letagi

Some of you may know that I'm a musician. My instruments are flute and string bass, but I also do a fair bit of arranging and transcribing for fun. My current project - and one that I just started a few hours ago - is this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vLByq36ENg I'm sixteen measures in, or about 30 seconds, not counting the brief intro because I don't like it. Since I have no sheet music at all to go off of, I'm transcribing every note by ear into a music notation program called Finale. Those first 30 seconds took me about two hours. It's very time-consuming. To be honest, I don't think I've ever actually finished a project like this after starting it. But it's a great exercise in ear-training. -Letagi

Nobody. That's just been my experience. I know it's gone down in the past but it's always been much better than Majhost. xccj - As long as Brickshelf is mostly up I'm okay without Majhost. Looks like Brickshelf is working again, too. -L

Uh oh, farmstink joined up. Everyone go home, party's over. No more coolness to be found here. -L

So I go to all the trouble of moving my BZP images from Majhost to Brickshelf, and right after I finish telling Makaru that Brickshelf is usually pretty reliable, it decides to stop working. Brickshelf, I am disappointed. Now my blog is back to looking utterly ridiculous. In other news, go and join The Toa's Hideout. It's what all the cool kids are doing. There are cool things like custom member titles and blogs after 100 posts, and the membership is currently tiny. There's just one rule in tTH: You don't talk about tTH. -Letagi

Darn, I really messed that one up. I didn't post it because no one else had, so I thought someone here was probably bidding on it. -Letagi