TexLUG-SA

Next Generation Mindstorms

It looks like LEGO Education has posted the information about the next generation of Mindstorms on their blog.

March 3, 2006

The Health Baby and Child Expo

Exhibitor Information

Display Information

Feb. 11, 2006

When: 2:30 PM
Where: Chris’s House - See Meeting Places for directions
Who: Anyone who’s interested.
Why: To build various models for the March event.

Jan 14, 2006

We held the meeting at my place. We built a HEB logo on two gray baseplates. And discussed the March event.

December 3, 2005

When:
December 3, 2005; 2:00 to 4:00 PM
Where:
Blue Cactus Cafe,
13525 Wetmore Road (one block north of Thousand Oaks)
San Antonio, Texas 78247
ph: (210) 490-7330

See November Meeting (previous post) for more information.

November Meeting…

Hey folks:

Lee Rahe and I had a smashing idea the other day: TexLUG-SA should meet one last time before the silly season begins, as we don’t get a chance to meet again until January or later. This will also be Lee’s last opportunity to join us this month.

At the Business Expo a few months ago, Chris Macdougald and I had another smashing idea: Next time we meet, let’s try the Blue Cactus Cafe. They served great brisket at their booth.

So why not, thought I, combine the two?

When: November 19, 2005; 2:00 to 4:00 PM
Where: Blue Cactus Cafe, 13525 Wetmore Road (one block
north of Thousand Oaks), San Antonio, Texas 78247, ph:
(210) 490-7330
What: Meet to welcome our newest member, Rebecca Chavez, trade the latest in LEGO scuttlebutt, trade parts, whatever, and eat a late lunch/early dinner.

Not sure if Mark Bagnell’s computer is working yet or nay, so I’ll inform him by phone.

Chris, I’m hoping you and Connie can make it this weekend, but also please inform anyone that I have not included in this email, if you would be so kind.

The URL for the Blue Cactus Cafe:

http://www.thebluecactuscafe.com/

Here you will find their menu, their history, and a MAP IT! link (near the bottom) that shows you how to locate them.

Hope to see you all there!

- Pat

October 8-9, 2005

It is time for the Statewide TexLUG meeting. As usual it will be held in Austin. Thanks Laura for hosting once again. TJ was kind enough to put the details online.

Fall 2005 Meeting Details

See you all there…

September 17, 2005

All in all the event went really well photos and summary will follow soon…

On Saturday, September 17, 2005, TexLUG-SA was invited to present a LEGO Town display at the San Antonio WAHM Expo, which took place at the Alzafar Shrine Center near Blanco Rd and Loop 1604. Most folks participating in the convention had to pay for their booths, but TexLUG was honored with a free booth (actually two) with the understanding that we would put on a decent display and provide an area for the kids (and some adults) to build their own creations.

I arrived precisely at 10:05 AM and discovered that Chris Macdougald had already arrived some minutes earlier with wife Connie. I was able to locate Chris and Connie through use of my cell phone and Chris met me up front to unload my small contribution to the display (a harbor scene on 8 32×32 baseplates) plus some accessory material. Once Chris and I had completed the unloading of vehicles, the building began in earnest. Ideally, we wanted to be setup by 11:00 AM when visitors to the convention were to be allowed through the doors. I have to say, however, that despite the fact that we did not complete the basic display until around 11:15 AM, we managed to accomplish in 55 minutes what would have taken six of us to complete in double the time a few years back.

The results were, with all humility, outstanding considering the small assemblage we had and the enormity of detail that went into the display. In just under one hour, Chris, Connie, and I had managed to:

• Unload both vehicles
• Get the 3 large foldout utility tables in the formation that we wanted them
• Spread out the play area and the LEGO that went with it.
• Set up the rope barrier around the display (including getting the PVC into the buckets and threading the rope)
• Set up a fourth table with all the literature available to the public which Chris and Connie had brought along in neatly organized fashion
• Completely assembled the entire display which measured a square area roughly eight feet per side.

Chris brought along the majority of his collection which, even incomplete, still lacked the space to put even half of it on the table. My own harbor area occupied the rightmost forward corner (facing the aisle away from the booth), and Chris joined up with my blue baseplates to complete the harbor area. Connie was a HUGE help and without protest accepted the various assignments that wives of collectors like Chris inevitably find themselves performing. It was Connie who helped Chris with unloading all the storage bins containing his many assembled sets, it was Connie who, at my beg for help, placed all 42 little tires (stripped from as many wheels) around the docks in my harbor so that they would take on that harbor look. It was also Connie that saved us by being the food gopher that day.

Chris is becoming more adventurous in the creation of MOCs with each event, and Saturday was no exception. Chris really outdid himself this time with a miniature golf course, a full zoo complete with aquarium which featured a well-known professional basketball player (who shall remain nameless in this recollection) getting eaten by a shark (a “sha’k attack” get it?), and a house that was carefully designed to blend in well with the commerical house sets from LEGO which Chris put all around. Especially cool was the fact that he had brought along two miniature tubs, one filled with vehicles of all sorts which acted as filler on the roadplates, and the “tree-tub” which I promptly emptied as I dispersed them all around the display in what I thought were appropriate areas. I
only brought five trees of my own.

Anyway, the amount of success that a display reaps (or doesn’t) is measurable solely by the reactions of those members of the public who happened by our booths. In this, I can safely state that TexLUG-SA helped the organization as a whole to earn yet another A in Enthusiasm.

There were all manner of young children present of all ages, with some being participants in the convention and some being visitors. Initially we Chris, Connie, and I were a little apprehensive as the 30+ members of a aerobics/dance/cheerleading team ranging from ages 4 to 16 used the aisleway in front of our display to perform some minor calesthenics. We also performed the familiar battle of the barrier as we struggled throughout the day to keep various children in unguarded moments as they “made the run” in their eagerness to touch various elements of the display. But all in all, it was good fun.

I almost forget to mention that Chris managed to mount a wireless CCTV transmitter inside the engine of the train he set up, so that the view from inside the engine could be seen on a nearby TV he and Connie had brought along (with everything else). After one minor mishap in which the train derailed after “running over” a minifig, Chris graciously stuck a Jar-Jar Binks minifig next to the track in such a way that it appeared to be run down on TV everytime the train made a pass. Ah, my favorite scene in the whole show.

The kids were ESTATIC about the building area, and of course several kids wanted us to keep their MOCs intact (at least for the duration that the kids were present), so half of the literature table became devoted to displaying the kids’ MOCs.

But most stunning of all was the level of praise and curiosity levelled on TexLUG as a whole by the large numbers of adults that wandered by, with or without kids in their entourage. Concerned parents asked a number of intelligent questions, with the most prominent being “What does TexLUG do?” We tried to answer that with a combination of literature, descriptions of past meetings, and our own enthusiasm.

One of the folks who came to visit us was a woman who owns the Blue Cactus Cafe along with other members of her family. She herself had three boys along who were active participants in the LEGO building, and she invited TexLUG-SA to meet at the Blue Cactus Cafe in future meetings. She gave each of us a 8.5 x 11 blue handout with a small calendar detailing events that will take place at the cafe in September, as well as featuring a full menu on the back. Chris and I are thinking about meeting there one of these months. Primarily, their offerings are in the BBQ-potato salad-beans-coleslaw range, although I am somewhat eager to try out their “BBQ Nachos” followed by a plate of meatloaf and two sides. They are located in an state-recognized historical building (former Wetmore General Store and Post Office) at 13525 Wetmore Road, one block north of Thousand Oaks. They have live entertainment and other events throughout each month. Their phone numbers are (210) 490-7330 for general info and (210) 355-0587 for reservations. Website is www.thebluecactuscafe.com/

Another solid event, even with just the three of us, and Chris and I truly feel that we made further progress in educating the public about who TexLUG is and what we do. I leave Chris and Connie to add their own observations and anything I left out.

- Pat Hough

Update Photos
Brickshelf - Chris & Connie’s Photos

San Antonio WAHM Expo

What:
San Antonio WAHM Expo
http://www.sawahmexpo.com/
When:
September 17, 2005
11 AM - 5 PM
Where:
Alzafar Shrine Center
901 North Loop 1604 West, San Antonio, Texas 78232
http://www.alzafar.org/

Details for the group…
There are some vendor policies we have to follow here are the ones that apply to us.

• All tables must be completely setup and ready for business at 11 AM.
• All participants must stay completely set up at their table until 5:00PM. This means all display items, literature, business cards… etc.
• … to be completed …

More details to come…

July 2005

Meeting Information
Pat has offered to host the next meeting. Date is either the 23^th or the 30^th. To be decided. Date is the 23^th from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM.
Directions to his place.

Agenda

• A rather large monorail display for S&G
• A new TexLUG member
• Parts Trading (I am always looking for space, particularly Classical Space-related elements)
• Discuss progress of MOCs for September small-business display (remember to keep those borders four studs from the edges of the baseplate clear)
• Hear about YMCA update from Chris MacDougald

What date is everyone in favor for 23^th or the 30^th? Cast your vote by commenting.