Talin Agasan

I imagine the analogy illustrating the right of the potter to do what he wills with the clay (Isa. 64:8; Jer. 18:3; Rom. 9:21; Prov. 16:4) would be well represented by the AFOL and his lego having the power/right to build MOCs for noble use and others for ignoble use (II Tim. 2:20). For the purposes of the AFOL, there may be heroic figures, grand vehicles and beautiful buildings - but also wretched villains, and the like as a powerful contrast with them - and of course to display the great ability of the AFOL. Not a perfect analogy, but the main point is well understood - the sovereign right over the lego is much like the potter's right over the clay. And the inability of the lego is analogous to that of clay, as is the absurdity of it arguing with its creator.

I would recommend support Smyth's Toys simply out of nostalgia... Plus Argos are not native.

A choir of festive carol-singers, the likes of which you may actually meet at this time of year. Some seem more enthusiastic than others. (I'm going to say that the reason the dresses are so shiny is probably because they're frozen...)

A little bit of expansion could be added to the above comments. The weaver's cottage and the shops beside the station were built by myself and my Mum. We also enjoyed building the "alternative" Christmas carol-singing choir. I love the station and the church and the whole scene. The first time I saw the whole arrangement was on Eurobricks.

Wow! That train is just wow! JR East trains are the coolest ever. You have great attention to detail: the doors, windows, wipers, colours, stickers, and the use of robot parts on the roof. Yet another reason for me to start collecting trains: to attempt projects like that!

Gotcha' there, frogs. I'm just finishing a four-year higher-level degree course in Environmental Science, and spent the last four years studying global-warming in detail, consummating in a final year project on the subject which I completed recently. Glacier growth and retreat is largely related to the relationship between ocean and land temperatures and precipitation patterns. I recommend reading the courtcase that Al Gore was brought to because of the inaccuracies and misrepresentations in "An Inconvenient Truth" (at the very least, you would then realise that recommended that film is not a good way to win skeptical people over to radical political/economic action), and seriously start informing yourself about the issue instead of just reading "climatecrisis.net". Calling it "FACT" is the antithesis of responsible investigative science. Futhermore, I didn't define what I meant by global-warming, and neither did you - which makes it all the more ambiguous. I was referring to the mania about the issue in the media which has ubiquitously resulted in mass-hysteria and misrepresentation of the actual science (some of which is mere dogmatic speculation rather than science). What were you referring to? I was not denying the globe is warmer than, say, the 1700s. But in climatology, such FACTS on their own are meaningless when it comes to prediction of the future, and simulation of the past. ~But that's all a topic for a different thread/forum. So then, the misrepresentation is very similar to the misrepresentation of swine flu, and its popularity among semi-political institutions. And we ought to question things that people get hysterical about so quickly without having examined the FACTS in much detail.

This is probably a set that I will get if I have the money... I think some people will agree with me, the best part of this set for me would be the big red truck. This really illustrates the hilarious and sad truth about wind farming in this country (Ireland) to date. All the contruction work and hauling up to inconvenient locations - and occasionally building big roads up to them just to make it accessible, makes the whole "enviro-friendly" idea a bit of a joke. The big red truck is a great symbol of this - and it's almost bigger than the windmill itself. I wonder what fuel it runs on? But seriously, if Lego wants to promote this enviro-friendly image (like in the recent Brick magazine), this is not a good way to do it. A very cool set, but windmills are a nonsense - even in Ireland where we get more wind per unit area than most of Europe. Wind power does not supply power on demand - and that is the power that is required. That is why the coal-fired and peat-fired power stations in this country will be sticking around. And like I said, the building costs of these windmills and decommissioning them really puts the whole malarcky in perspective, it's a PR thing, not a sustainable development thing. Smaller packaging, and stackable packaging is actually a great thing though - saves money, and saves resources. Lego is doing very well with that endeavour, so I'm all in favour of resized images to fit the pictures on the smaller boxes, even though advertising agencies will tell you that bigger is better. And I wonder are they looking into deriving their plastics from biomass yet? The technology is there already. The construction of a windfarm in Ireland (on a peat bog at the top of a hill!!! of all places!) caused a massive and dangerous landslide, for which we are being hauled to the European Court of Justice, AGAIN! The consistent failure of the planning permission process (too many politicians involved - unlike most other European countries) and environmental impact assessment would be hilarious, if it wasn't reality. But, having said all that, I love the look of windmills and windfarms - and especially in Lego. :) I also love the idea of having a big red truck with it (bigger than the windmill - running on dirty diesel), as my own little sarcastic joke about the whole thing. :)

It's a bit like the global warming mania. There are hundreds of examples of the media doing this kind of thing. Scare stories sell for the same reason that lotto tickets sell. Almost nobody ever wins the lotto (and engineers don't pay attention to probabilities so small). Most people don't get affected by these scares either. But "it could be you!" And we knew that good hygiene was important already (or should have known!), and as Christ asked, "Who of you, by worrying can add a single hair to his head?" Admittedly we can make them turn white, but apart from good hygiene, and safe practices that we would have done anyway (certainly people visiting Mexico!), everything else is just vanity and ridiculous fascination. People don't worry about getting into their cars each day, which is statistically even more dangerous than the possibility of getting the 'flu, let alone the swine flu. It takes people's attention away from the everyday things that they ought to be concerned about - like loving our neighbour, etc., whether we're sick with the 'flu or not. But stories that make people feel guilty don't sell so well. And I'm back at that philosophical conclusion that I always end up with when I look at this world. What horrible people we are. Edit: Also, washing your hands is never with the purpose of killing germs. This is why anti-bacterial soaps and sprays are a nonsense. Washing is about washing germs away. It doesn't wash them all away, but enough that it's down to the kind of probabilities that engineers ignore. Trying to kill germs just kills the weak ones, and leaves the resistant ones with a low-competition breeding ground to populate and pass on their resistant genes. They ought to teach that in schools, but they don't even teach logic anymore...

Thanks for the encouragement! And the roof will have to stay as it is. I've decided to diversify into other roof colours besides black. One of the buildings will probably have a yellow roof, and one will have a red one, probably. I have a few pictures of it all together in its context (and you can see the village pump a bit better too): The blue building, which is not yet finished (especially the interior!) is going to be a carpenter's/woodcutters' yard/wheelwright.

After spending some further time with this set, I have to agree that the cabin explosions (PLURAL!!!) are annoying. I will probably modify it to make it better. I wonder how they released this with such a design flaw. I'm assuming they rigourously test their sets. In fact, when we were younger, we would frequently test the structural stability of our own created Lego vehicles - the "down-the-stairs" test. A good design only lost a few pieces on the way down. After that we would slam the vehicles against each other to see which broke first. My brother built a van that was so sturdy that my own car (which was also incredibly sturdy) was shattered, and one the 2x4 bricks was even dented! Sadly, that bulldozer would not survive the "down-the-stairs" test at all. And I wouldn't even try. And it doesn't have enough vroom-ability to be tested against other vehicles either...

Hey, I can vouch for this. I used to play a bit of wargames (40K and LotR), and I can say that this system really works - really effective - really simple - and really fun! I wrote a battle-report on the first trial I had with my younger brother. A bit crazy - but that's what it's all about right? Brik-thirsty Pirates Overrun Fire Station! How do "forum battles" work?

That house is amazing. From the outside, I wasn't expecting such a rich interior. I was very impressed with the fountain and all the furniture/decor/artefacts - seriously detailed and carefully done. I wonder how Alexia passes the time when Sinister is racing against JT?

That's a neat jeep. I like the way you made the bumper. It's strange in one respect because it's like an Indiana Jones set, but it's style is like an old classic vehicle (it's the wheels and width), which makes it not like an I. Jones set.

Your lego city is beautiful! You have clearly been busy and inspired to produce all this stuff!

Bah. That quiz is silly. I got 64% evil, but I know at heart I'm 100%, like everyone else in this wretched world (except for JC). Just give me enough opportunity and temptation. But I'd agree that a lot of the things on that quiz are things I would never do again (*I hope! by the grace of God!*).