đź”· Open Thread

^Why do people skydive who are allergic to smashing into the earth at terminal velocity? All about the thrill. Also fresh honey.
 
I would happily risk death for a pot of this:

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When that started I didn't know if it was a joke or not. Then it just kept getting more and more amazing.
 
So people may remember me posting about Lego's new architecture model, the UN Headquarters. Well I bought it (at $50 it's not the most prudent decision ever, but...) and I'm loving it. As you can see against my 15 inch laptop it's quite big! (that's what she said) And very blue and white...I feel like I have a mini Richard Meier in my room.

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And since I've cracked open the door, I may as well blow it wide open and say I'm a total nerd, I've never stopped loving Legos, and I have my own Lego car that I designed from scratch. I'm also a huge car nut and ever since selling off my car and becoming a city boy I haven't had one to tinker with. Enter Legos into my adult life.

Now I know it's not the prettiest thing ever, but this is a case where form follows function in that I've designed the whole front end to progressively crumple just like modern cars do. I also geek out over crash testing and the physics behind energy absorption, so over time I've designed and redesigned the front structure to absorb energy as best as these plastic pieces can. It also means it's not some static model that just sits on a shelf collecting dust once it's put together...I can tinker to my heart's content.

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Now the action shots!

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Designing it to take hits from any and all angles has been an evolutionary process that started way back in 2004.

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And despite all this nerditude, I manage to have a fairly normal life! Huzzah!
 
That car is awesome. I used to have an attic at my old apartment that was 100% dedicated to K'nex. I don't know whether I had more fun building huge towers, or sabotaging them to see just how much it to fall down.

Then I got a girlfriend...
 
Acccck, I miss my bricks. I've had to leave them all at home with this college thing.
That car looks fab, kz.
 
davem said:
That car is awesome. I used to have an attic at my old apartment that was 100% dedicated to K'nex. I don't know whether I had more fun building huge towers, or sabotaging them to see just how much it to fall down.

Then I got a girlfriend...
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See, my car's had the same basic formula for almost a decade now and my parts collection is only big enough to support this one vehicle, so I don't even have the option of getting sucked into a big time sink of a project even if I wanted to. And considering I'm a so-called adult now I'm fine with that :)
 
Boston Athenaeum
November's Taste of the Month is a series of architectural drawings by Nathaniel J. Bradlee of the William H. Knight Residence.

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In 1927 Philip Wadsworth donated to the Boston Athenæum eleven volumes of drawings by George Minot Dexter, Bradlee’s mentor, and thirty-two volumes of Bradlee’s drawings. The Bradlee volumes contain well over 5,500 architectural drawings, one of the largest archives of its kind in the country. In addition to charting the career of one of New England’s most successful architects, the archive also provides a fascinating documentation of Boston’s built environment. Combined with the Dexter archive, the drawings range from the 1840s to the mid-1870s and serve as an important historical record of the architectural profession in nineteenth-century America.
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Somerville crumbles some more.

For the second time in just a few months masonry slabs have fallen off an old building. This time it was the Davis Square home of Dunkin Donuts. Just like the first incident there was no renovation or construction happening, there was just that one final vibration that sent the chunks dropping. Seems their distinguished officials are a tad too preoccupied with brazen corruption to pay much attention to building inspections.
 
Brad Plaid said:
Somerville crumbles some more.

For the second time in just a few months masonry slabs have fallen off an old building. This time it was the Davis Square home of Dunkin Donuts. Just like the first incident there was no renovation or construction happening, there was just that one final vibration that sent the chunks dropping. Seems their distinguished officials are a tad too preoccupied with brazen corruption to pay much attention to building inspections.
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Not really doubting you, but is corruption in the Somerville building inspection office a problem?
 
BussesAin'tTrains said:
Not really doubting you, but is corruption in the Somerville building inspection office a problem?
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Seeing as how a much bigger collapse happened this summer on a similar storefront, I'd say they've got to make a show of force on inspections to convince people it was a coincidence. And, logically, it probably is. But as a citizen I'd be a little bit unnerved at this starting to resemble a pattern, so right now that's more PR than anything else.


If Strike Three follows shortly, however. . .
 
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