FIRST LEGO League Recognition

Okay, so this isn't Brickworld related.

My FLL Team was featured in two local town newspapers today.  They were recognized for their efforts in winning the regional champion award and two first place awards at the state championship for robot performance and mechanical design.  Very cool to see the kids in the paper!!

Congratulations Team B-Squared!!

Brickworld Indy Layout

The layout for Brickworld Indy is always so much easier than Brickworld Chicago.  Displays are pretty much all known ahead of time.  There isn't as much last minute change.  This year, it got even easier (and we will be applying this to Brickworld Chicago too.  We designated the vendor booths in the layout.  And, when they are full, they are full.  That will at least fix one aspect of the last minute change effort for Chicago.  Meanwhile, I was able to complete the layout for Indy in two revisions.  I spent about 6 hours on revision 2 yesterday and I think I nailed it.  (at least I hope)  :)

Fun Stuff

I got to spend 4 hours yesterday with my fighting sumo remote control robots at a Pinewood Derby.  Its great because it takes 5 minutes to set up and tear down.  The kids always love playing with the robots.  And, of course, we handed out Brickworld Indy fliers while we were there.

Now, I have to start over on the Brickworld Indy layout.  I would like to add a thank you to Bill Gates for updating and restarting my computer and losing my unsaved data.  Shame on me for somehow having auto-save shut off.

Geek Nation Tours

So, first, I have to credit Teras from Geek Nation Tours for the basic idea of starting this blog.  It kind of popped out of an email conversation I was having with him regarding bringing a Geek Nation Tour to Brickworld this year.  Just one question, what's geekier?  Running a LEGO event or running a tour that goes to the LEGO event?  ...that's a tough one

Insurance

Great way to start the evening.  I just approved the bulk of the insurance quote for the year.  Good news everyone.  We added terrorist protection to our policy.  So, when Megablocks invades, we have protection.

We Love Distractions

I just confirmed with BrickBash that we will be in Ann Arbor to display the weekend of March 24th.  We love little distractions where we get to go have fun.  Specifically, I get to be the guy with absolutely no responsibility.  It is a nice change of pace for me at events.

Busy Evening

It was a busy evening tonight as I finished up the parts order to make trophies, get minifig parts and something for the goody bags.

We also finalized the vendor agreement for Brickworld Indy and sent it out.

Kathie continued working on registration invoices and a new combined flier with all 3 Brickworld events in 2012 listed.

I really need to get over to Eurobricks and make a post or two...the work is never done.

New Collaboration in the Works

Can't say much more yet...A couple new coordinators are trying to pull together a cool new collaboration for Chicago...stay tuned.

BrickEngraver

I noticed we picked up Tommy as a follower to this blog...thanks Tommy...

This reminded me that Kathie spent several evenings in the last couple weeks stacking green 1x8's and 1x6's and shipped off a bunch of stuff so Tommy can start engraving the Brickworld 2012 bricks.  Nothing waits until the last minute if we can do it early!!!

Registering Early Helps + more

So, Kathie is spending many hours right now entering invoices into Quickbooks.  Since each registration payment is a separate invoice, they stack up fast.  So, the more people that register early, the sooner Kathie has that work out of the way and she can focus more effort on making sure everything is perfect to the last detail when you arrive at the Westin.

Now, if I could only figure out how to do a poll on whether Adam should have the mo-hawk again this year at Brickworld.

One thing that we have been re-architecting about the event in Chicago this year is the use of the River Ballroom.  Nobody seems happy when they are placed there.  So, we are considering several alternatives.  This is a tough one because of the inherent space constraints at the Westin.

Over 200 Registrants in 5 Days

I just checked registration.  202 in 5 days!!!  This is amazing.  We are so excited about this year's event!  So much work to do....and June will be here before you know it.  It does help to have people signed up early.  Please keep it coming!!

Home from Chicago

Made it home today.  Today's tasks:

• Work on layout for Brickworld Indy
• Work to line up final displayers for Brickworld Indy
• Work on vendor agreement updates
• Work on parts order for trophies, etc.

Waiting in the wings:

• We have all the parts for the event kits...now we need to kit them up

Illinois FLL Championships

Yesterday we (Steve H, his sons, Kathie,and I) braved the snow and took Super Robo Rally up to Chicago to display.  We met up with Adam and Andy M who brought his space shuttle and other fun robots.  Brittny came by and we all got to meet Jaxson (their new baby).  Fun times were had by all.

Purpose

The purpose of this blog is to provide fun updates of the behind the scenes preparation for the various Brickworld events.