Ramblings

Sometimes I sit in my LEGO lair and look at all the stuff I have in there and I realise that a LOT of it has been given to me by kind-hearted souls and companies (which are obviously run by kind-hearted people).  I have received letters sent to me by physical mail to thank me for the Driver Suite, for ...

When I first heard this book was coming out a few months ago, I couldn’t wait for it to become available on Amazon.  Fate would have it be that last week I was contacted by No Starch Press to ask if I was interested in reviewing this book.  It took all of about 1 ms to make up my mind; of course ...

If you’re in the Netherlands and you want to see loads of cool robots and talk to their creators then come to the HCC Robotica Open Day event in Hooglanderveen this coming Saturday, 6 October.  I’m going to be taking some of my robots with me.  So if you want pop by and say “hi”, ask questions or just hang ...

Looking for an interesting challenge to hone your robot building skills?  Want to pit your skills against the rest of the World?  If so, then The Mindstorms Annual Online Competition might be just the thing for you. Here’s a run down taken from various pages on the official site: Rules All entries MUST be submitted before 25th December Up to ...

I don’t usually write about stuff other than sensors and robots, but I’m going to have to make an exception this time. I’ve been using a great tool for the past few months now called Freemind.  It’s a Mind-mapping tool that allows you to quickly put down your ideas and visualise them and make connections between various sub-ideas.  As Wikipedia ...

There’s a new Hispabrick Magazine out! Another installment packed full of great articles, models and tutorials. Here’s a taste of what you’ll find: Lots and lots of droids (the ones you were looking for) How Kickstarter helped fund two very cool projects Another installment of the Mindstorms NXT programming tutorial The next chapter in the LDraw tutorial (part 13) Reviews ...

Simon Burfield, a.k.a. Burf has made a super cool model.  By model I mean chair and by chair I mean omnidirectional wheelchair. Oh and it’s life-sized, too.  Yeah, it is capable of handling no less than 90 kg!  I saw a video of an early prototype a few weeks ago but this new one is even better-er! Some facts: It ...

Nothing brings people together than playing with LEGO and solving problems.  It was with that in mind that I organised a fun team building event at my current assignment at the KPN GIA Tooling Team.  I packed my car full of NXT sets and other paraphernalia and spare parts. The playing field was simple, the assignment, not so much.  We ...

Original article here: [LINK] The registration deadline has been extended to July 18. Register here. What needs to be submitted in Phase One? Team Biography Team Photo Team Video Answer to Creative Question Answer to Outreach Question Registration Consent Forms for All Team Members and Team Captain must be received. Just make sure to read the official rules carefully. now ...

I’ll be at the LEGO Festijn in Hardenberg this weekend.  Martijn Boogaarts and I will be displaying our robots and answering questions about life, the universe and Mindstorms. It’ll be a blast, so be sure to drop by if you can!  More information on where, can be found here: [LINK]. Be there or be square!