Robot Claw – Page 245 – “Life In The So-Called Space Age”

LEGO NES

December 30, 2020

Earlier this year LEGO released a set of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and I bought it online within moments of it being listed.

It builds in two parts, the console and the TV. I built the console first. It was a fairly easy build, but the engineering is impressive (amazing even) since it has a working cartridge tray (which locks into place) and the model reproduces to uncanny detail every aspect of an actual NES including all the plugs and sockets.

Here it is finished. You can see the (LEGO) Super Mario Brothers cartridge in the tray.

Next game the TV. While I would have been perfectly happy had the set been the console alone, the inclusion of the TV takes it to another level since they actually include a scrolling playfield to simulate the game itself.

This works by creating a belt mounted on tracks, which then turns via a crank mounted on the side. This works seamlessly and smoothly and is just another example of how clever LEGO engineers have become.

Here’s the TV interior with the scrolling belt attached:

This was a great kit to build, and for old school gamers such as myself the nostalgia value is through the roof. This is easily my favourite LEGO kit to date, and one I’ll likely keep assembled and on display for a very long time.

2020 in Postcards

December 28, 2020

We all know what didn’t happen this year: travel. And no travel (usually) means no postcards. But as you may know I found ways around that, and this past year ended up being a strong one on the postcard front!

When I visited Australia/Japan late last year and early this year I sent Kristin about 50 (yes fifty) postcards, four of which are shown above. As usual these are mostly amusing travelogues and I’m already thankful I did them since they contain slice-of-life memories that have already faded! Here’s an example of what I wrote on one from Japan:

Of course the last card from Japan (sent on January 20) was the last card I sent in 2020 while I was actually on holiday somewhere.

Then a friend (thanks JK!) made me some postcards for my birthday! This was perhaps a better gift even than she realized, because immediately I decided to use the same service (moo.com) to start making my own.

And I’ve made hundreds! Most of you have received some in the mail, and a few of you are receiving them weekly! This is in part due to covid, and in part due to me enjoying sending postcards. I hope you are enjoying receiving them.

Happily I’ve been receiving cards as well, and the above is a selection. Even if none of you are traveling either, you’re still sending me cards which is great. Every time I find one in my letterbox I smile 🙂

And then there’s postcrossing as well. I only check my PO Box every few weeks but every time I do there’s a pile of cards in there and I’m very close to receiving my 300th card! Covid is still slowing the mail for many countries, but even if delayed the cards eventually arrive and I haven’t had a single one ‘lost’ during 2020. Understandably the vast majority of cards contain comments about covid, and I can assure you people all over the world are hoping we get through this soon.

My latest idea was to purchase some ‘vintage’ US Stamps (some examples above) to use on postcards, and I’m just about to start doing that. Even though US stamps are good forever I’m still going to test this before sending a bunch of cards, but I’m optimistic you can look forward to cards with 30+ year old stamps on them soon…

Of course I hope 2021 brings travel back, and I can once again go somewhere and send you tacky tourist postcards. But even if that can’t happen I’ve got enough cards to keep me going for a good long while, and enough ideas to keep them fresh. Watch your mailboxes!

Let’s Call It A Christmas Tree

December 23, 2020

I bought a multi pack of crystal tree growing kits recently and gave some of you one for Christmas. Who got one? I don’t remember! If it was you, here’s what you have to look forward to…

I believe all four kits were different colours, and we ended up with pink. It takes only moments to assemble it, and when you’re done be sure to put it somewhere it won’t be disturbed.

The above three shots are right after making it, then 1 and 2 hours later. You can see the tree saturates quickly, but the growth takes a while to begin.

Here we have 3, 4 and 5 hours after assembly. As you can see this is a high quality kit! I’ve blogged about these before and if you’re interested how they work go have a read.

And lastly we have 6 and 7 hours and then the final image is the next day (about 18 hours after assembly). What a lovely tree!

That’s a detailed shot of the crystals themselves. They’re very fragile so we keep it in a curio. In time they get stronger, but they will also fade as the food coloring evaporates. The white thing in the background of the photo is one we set up years ago.

If you get one from me for Christmas please set it up and send me a photo when it’s done. I’d like to see the colours 🙂