Happy New Year!!! (bis)

As I wrote a year ago: "It is customary to say 'Happy New Year' to everyone on 1st January, so now it's done (it was quick!), I can go on with my usual silly things I found.

Let's have a look at what will happen this year:"

2009 has been designated as the:

• International Year of Astronomy.
• International Year of Natural Fibres. [SL: I'm not surprised after the International Year of the Potato.]
• International Year of Reconciliation. [SL: I'm not sure it'll be successful.]

Predicted events:

• January 1 - Slovakia adopts the euro and becomes the 16th member of the Eurozone.
• January 20 - Inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States.
• January 26 - Annular solar eclipse.
• February 12 - Darwin Day, the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. Events are already being planned at the London Natural History Museum. [SL: I doubt Americans will celebrate this…]
• February 13 - The Unix time number reaches 1234567890 seconds at 23:31:30 UTC. [SL: funny.]
• February 22 - The 81st Academy Awards will be held at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. [SL. For the first time since 2003 BeTV will broadcast the ceremony so I won't miss it this time!]
• June 4-7 - The European Parliament election 2009 will take place, the exact date varies depending on country. [SL: really nice of 'our' European representative to organise this election while millions of students are taking exams… I also predict that we'll have to go to the polls for the Belgian federal election.]
• July 1 - Sweden takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from the Czech Republic.
• July 22 - Total solar eclipse. The longest lasting total solar eclipse of the 21st century.
• September - The Burj Dubai in Dubai, UAE will be completed. It is already the tallest man-made structure ever built. [SL. It's currently more than 800 metres high!]

And, sadly, as I wrote a year ago:

"Furthermore, the Iraq war will continue, as well as the War in Afghanistan, the Conflict in Darfur, and also the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Had I time enough… (and money!)

I told you several months ago about my passion for Lego bricks and I featured a picture of the biggest set ever, containing not less than 5195 pieces: the Ultimate Collector's Millenium Falcom™ from the second Star Wars trilogy. This spacecraft specially designed for Star Wars and Lego freaks (this includes me, obviously) was released in November, with a limited edition with an "authenticity certificate" signed by some head of Lucasfilm licencing or something like that. Now, the set is still available on the Lego online shop, but without the card (who cares?) The point is that I wanted to show you what it's like to build such a huge thing in Lego bricks. Check this wonderful video:



We have nearly 6 minutes in stop-motion, and the video's maker says on the YouTube page that it took him 37 hours over 11 days! Had I time enough! And money, indeed: €550. And the most surprising is that the prizes vary considerably in countries that don't use the euro as currency:

• United Kingdom --> £350 ≈ €525
• Switzerland --> CHF780 ≈ €490
• United States --> $500 ≈ €340
• Belgium --> €550…!!! Outrageous!

Perhaps in another life.

"I wan'it!" (Andy Pipkin, Little Britain) (bis)

Today, in my mailbox I received the Lego Newsletter. I was struck when I discovered that they were going to release a package with more than 3,500 bricks to build a 1:300 Eiffel Tower!!! (More than a meter high, divided in three stages to facilitate transport.)

I've already told you I'm fond of Lego bricks, even though I haven't bought any set for five years or so. My passion was to build huge towers. Building a proper Eiffel Tower would have been really difficult: not only you must have a lot of bricks at your disposal, but also you must have some building instructions. I had neither. Now my dream comes true — but it has a price: €230… It's a shame.

With such an amount of bricks, it becomes the second largest set ever sold.

(For the record, please note that the biggest set is the special, limited edition of the Millenium Falcon — from the Star Wars saga — counting more than 5,000 bricks for €550…)

Carte des gagnants Lotto en 2006

This "carte des gagnants Lotto en 2006" (map of Lotto winners in 2006) strikes me: it represents the places where amounts superior to 5000 € were won. You can only figure out that the Flemish (people living in the North side of Belgium) win a lot more than the Walloons… Is it due to the fact that the Flemish are richer, and thus can afford to spend more money on such games as the Lotto? Or is it because they are 6 millions, and we're only 3 millions…? Anyway, it's an interesting card. Maybe I should play in Flanders…