Nanoblocks Big Ben: my thoughts and videos

 

 

Building a new Nanoblocks kit is usually pretty fun.  When you get to build one you had been waiting for, things are just that much better.  Maybe it's anticipation.  Of course if the theme of the kit appeals to you, it is much better.

This kit wasn't as challenging as the Space Shuttle kit, but it was quite fun to build.  There were some new design wrinkles from the people at Kawada, or whoever designed this one.  I liked the colour scheme and I liked the nice mix of water, road, building and even a bus--though the representation of the bus seems a little out of scale.

I spent quite a bit of time on this one, mostly because my fingers are not as agile as they should be and those round pieces always seem to give me trouble.  I was enjoying myself, so I didn't really notice the time.  I had the radio on and my cat was keeping me company.  All in all it was a sunny fall morning and I relished it.

In addition to that, I took a lot of pictures of the build, showing people what it looks like step by step.  And before anyone says anything in the comments section--yes, I made a few mistakes along the way, and my application of the decals was a little poor.

Again, I found this kit quite enjoyable.  I paid more for this kit than I did for some of the other world landmarks series, but I blame that on the place I purchased it.  I probably could have held out longer, hoping for a sale.... but I am tired of missing out on something.  I was a little afraid that if I didn't strike now, I would lose the chance.  I am still kicking myself over the Maersk Lego Train.

There were quite a few pieces leftover--more than usual.  I wonder if they have been getting a lot of flack from customers about not having enough parts?  I have never been short, but it stands to reason that it might have happened to someone.  I guess I will just file them in the parts box.  I have enough extra parts now to build something....I wonder what I should build.

 

I have included links to two of my YouTube videos here.  One is the step by step build (but it's stage by stage rather than piece by piece) and the other is a 360 degree view of the finished product.   I hope you enjoy them.

 

The disappointment of a pathetic crossword

These days I have settled into a pattern for my commute (no I am not talking about the schedule--I never manage to catch the same bus two days in a row).  After getting on the bus I do the crossword from the previous day's newspaper (perhaps newspaper is not the right word for the free Metro newspaper), then maybe the Sudoku.  After that, I turn on my e-reader and get into whatever novel I am reading.

Though this sounds good, I am becoming rather upset with the crossword puzzle.  I guess I feel as though the puzzle is rather weak.  I don't feel challenged.  Don't get the wrong idea.  I am not a crossword puzzle snob.  I can't finish the New York Times Sunday Crossword.  I am an average crossword puzzle solver who is terrible at any clues that revolve around geography or capital cities.  However, this puzzle bothers me over little things.

What are these little things?

This puzzle seems to think that using possessive s on every clue is a good thing to do.  I don't know how many clues I have read that included phrases like "Mr Lenon's" or "limo driver's"--and those are the good ones.

Really, I think the puzzle creator is being lazy.  Since I am doing the free newspaper crossword, I can't expect much.... but I shouldn't be fed a constant diet of crap.  At least once a week, I would like to be faced with an interesting puzzle.

I think tomorrow I will crack open my book of logic puzzles instead.

Easy Isn't Better

 

 

I like mental puzzles.  I take great pride in my ability to do things like Sudoku, or logic puzzles, or codewords, or crosswords.  I do them at home, on lunch breaks, and even in the bus on the way to and from work.  This takes a bit more skill because sometimes the bumps on the road come exactly when I am writing down a crucial word or number.  This doesn't really bother me though.  It isn't the greatest frustration that I have.  The greatest frustration comes when crossword puzzles are too easy, too predictable, or seemingly rather lazy.

A couple of years ago at my work, several people used to do the crossword puzzle as a group.  They enjoyed doing it...but after a while they had to mix things up.  I came upon them one day and witnessed a strange scene.  The person holding the puzzle said the answers and they had to guess the clues.  They were quite proficient at it.  I guess the puzzles had gotten rather predictable.

As of late, the puzzles that I am doing (featured in the "free" newspaper) have been full of lazy clues.  So many of them are suffixes and prefixes, or words that wouldn't normally need an s--but do in this case only.  One TV show (How I Met Your Mother) has the main character saying they always use the same clue because they need the vowels--I didn't realize how true that was.

For the next week, I won't be doing the crossword puzzle, because it has become too predictable.  I could blame it on myself.  I am the one who chose to do the "free" puzzles.  If I were smarter, I would go to the bookstore and get a book of tough crosswords.  Then, at least, I wouldn't complain about easy and lazy crosswords.