45735 replies to this topic

[SCM]

Darn it BGT, starting a new page is my job! | Wondering if anyone else has had troubles with helicopter parents. It was such a laborious task to go out with friends - yes, I had friends. HAD. Anyway, better give them the full names, what their parent(s) are like, what they are like, location of activity, what the activity consists of, bla bla bla. It's like I just wanted to have some fun and some social experience, like the other teens... and I always felt so bad because the inclusion of me in the fun-times was so awkward and uncomfortable. 

 

Just last year, my parents and I were visiting the college I'm going to. They wanted to hold my hand and all that stuff. I didn't want to seem rude, so I just went along with it. Then they took it to far. Like, we would have to go to a certain room. The college had signs that directed people to room numbers, and my parents were like "now turn right..." and for fvck's sake I can read directions. Still, I went on with it. The rest of the visit... ugh. But the directions thing really did it the most... after this and that and that and this, I was purposefully hiding the annoyance I felt less and less. When they finally did notice, I snapped back at them and told them to "Quit it!" 

 

Fair enough, I'm not a parent (that would involve me getting la... large amounts of knex), but it was still annoying. At the same time, I find it kind of funny, with how ridiculous things were with them. But I still *sappy stuff*. 

Edited by SCM, 12 April 2018 - 07:12 PM.

[BGTKing]

Dabbling around with Open RCT2. Glad it exists otherwise the game doesn't work for me on my Surface.

[OddlyCreative]

yeah im getting into nl2 but its a lot of hard work to get a good final product....

[KirbyCoast]

I have no idea when I was last on here but it feels like its been a really long time. Maybe if I’m not lazy I’ll start building again over the summer.

[SCM]

I tried the NL2 demo once. It was too much work for a lazy person like me, and I also didn't know what I was doing.| I define procrastination as: n.; The ironic activity of being productive with everything but the one thing being procrastinated against. Example: "I have a huge exam next Tuesday, but first I'm going to wash all of the cars in the neighborhood, find a cure for all diseases, and establish world peace. 

[BGTKing]

Looks like a terrible weather weekend. Seems like I will be stuck in the hotel.

[~stεεlspectrum~]

Darn it BGT, starting a new page is my job! | Wondering if anyone else has had troubles with helicopter parents. It was such a laborious task to go out with friends - yes, I had friends. HAD. Anyway, better give them the full names, what their parent(s) are like, what they are like, location of activity, what the activity consists of, bla bla bla. It's like I just wanted to have some fun and some social experience, like the other teens... and I always felt so bad because the inclusion of me in the fun-times was so awkward and uncomfortable. 
 
Fair enough, I'm not a parent (that would involve me getting la... large amounts of knex), but it was still annoying. At the same time, I find it kind of funny, with how ridiculous things were with them. But I still *sappy stuff*.

Well they're gonna realize pretty soon that you're a capable adult once you're off at college, right? They can only treat you like that for so long... still, I'm glad you're giving them some leeway to be typical parents. I'll never understand the desire to embarrass your kids in public, but then again I'm not a parent either

The first week of work was a whirlwind. Got thrown onto a project and now I'm the main guy designing one of our ride's control systems. So much of it is brand new to me and I'm learning it on the fly. I'm really enjoying it though, and it's great to be back in Orlando!

[Chaos]

^That's awesome! Excited to see what incredible path the job leads you down.

Edited by Chaos, 14 April 2018 - 06:43 AM.

[SCM]

Well they're gonna realize pretty soon that you're a capable adult once you're off at college, right? They can only treat you like that for so long... still, I'm glad you're giving them some leeway to be typical parents. I'll never understand the desire to embarrass your kids in public, but then again I'm not a parent either

I sure hope so, but minor inconvenience if they don't. I like to give leeway for people. Customers included. 

 

Speaking of customers, wow what a night. We were so slow right up until the end. Then, parties of 10s to 30s and everything in between. All coming in at roughly the same time. That really large party was probably going to be there until 12:30 AM! That's not even considering all of the other large parties, small parties, meals, camping, etc; I would honestly be surprised if they didn't leave until 4 AM. Then all the employees still had side work, which in itself takes an hour. Speaking of camping customers, I was at work a lot longer than I should have been because this one table decided to camp out for hours on end. So annoying not being able to go home because one table misread 'restaurant' as 'camping resort'. All they were missing was a place to sit and some food. Oh, wait... 

[BGTKing]

This winter just never wants to end.

[Rollerfreak987]

What’s up guys. Long time no see, figured I would drop by and see how everyone’s doing.

I’m going to SFOT this weekend because I realized I’m an adult and I can do that kinda thing now. So yay. Also going on a mini vacation to Houston for the FRC world championship. I’m leaving tonight after work and we’re gonna do the 17 hour drive. Kinda pumped

[SCM]

I actually studied for my biology exam and got to know the material, and I was even slightly confident in myself (for once) when I was taking the exam, but I found out I got an F. It's a good thing I always expect a bad grade, or I would have been really upset with myself. Hooray for low expectations! 

Edit: Edit, 'cuz I don't wanna interrupt... fvcking test anxiety! I've been nervous about tests and stuff before, but now that I know how important they are... one look and I will forget just about everything despite studying for hours on end and becoming a walking textbook. 

Edited by SCM, 23 April 2018 - 07:09 PM.

[BGTKing]

One more day to get through before I can go home from a 2 week business trip

[CW5X]

Oh man. Been averaging about around 4.5 hours of sleep a nig for the past 3 weeks for my big geotechnical project and the architecture review I had today. Even had to do a tonne of work on holiday in London which sucked, but at least I still made it out to Thorpe Park for a day. Just an exam and a folio to hand in now and then, somehow, 4th year is done. Got my summer job sorted a couple of weeks ago going back to the same place as last summer. They have potential given an indication of going further after I graduate so hopefully that all works out. Nothing to do with roller coasters but there's plenty of time to get experience and move around.

Now I'm going to get some much needed sleep.

[LaMbChOpZ]

Just saw LEGO announcing it is releasing a roller coaster model and I thought of visiting SSC again.

 

Pretty much what I would expect from a LEGO roller coaster model, but still neat regardless.

 

https://shop.lego.co...ncement&p=10261

Edited by LaMbChOpZ, 26 April 2018 - 12:29 PM.

[BGTKing]

Holy expensive for little track

[Chaos]

That's more expensive than their Mindstorms Kits! How on earth doe they determine their pricing?

[LaMbChOpZ]

That's more expensive than their Mindstorms Kits! How on earth doe they determine their pricing?

 

My personal guess based on my childhood history with LEGO: it centers on part count and the types of parts (i.e. unique parts means more $$), but with a few additional factors like popularity (because you can charge more and get away with it) and licensing (i.e. Star Wars), etc.Then, after determining the cost, multiply it by some scaling factor to reach a specific margin per set. For example, if your product costs $10 to make and you want to have 50% margins, you would sell the product at $20. To make everything nice, round up the cost to the nearest $X9.99, typically (with X being an odd-number). Eventually, LEGO probably takes the time the product has been on the market into account too, so you could see small (probably an insignificant drop) in cost after several years. Eventually, the model starts slowing down in sales and is taking up room of faster-selling models or parts can no longer be made, etc., so it's retired. This would also be the general process for other businesses too, not just LEGO. Staples, for example, does this in the Print and Marketing department (where I work now while in school). It costs <$0.01 for us to run each black and white page, but we charge starting at $0.16. We're considered the "cash cow" of the store because margins in this department are huge (some products are considered nearly pure-profit).

 

Interestingly, look at models with a similar piece count. The cost can vary significantly (sometimes by $200 or more!). Take 10253 (Big Ben) and the roller coaster. Near-identical piece count. Big Ben has been out for about 1.5-2 years now. 10188 (the first version of this kind of Death Star) was $399 when I bought it myself with wads of small-denomination bills back in the late 2000's. The new model (75159) is now $500 on their site.

Edited by LaMbChOpZ, 26 April 2018 - 09:56 PM.

[BGTKing]

Toys R Us closing is so sad. We keep checking the one nearby for deals. Currently 20% most stuff. LEGOs are 10%. Waiting for the percent to go up a little.

[SCM]

This reminds me of when I used to leave near a certain movie theater company. From what I've heard, they closed but the employees didn't know. So they came to work wondering what the hell is going on until - oh! Closed for good. So I guess that made them unemployed until they got a new job? If I ever end up in a predicament like that, I'll be saying "The job where I have to deal with a bunch of idiots has just been closed? PARTYYY" until I realize I need money for bills and other stuff that really just exists to cause inconvenience. 

Edit: The god of new pages strikes again! Also, call me a hypocrite for saying this, but I am starting to get creeped out from the spam bots... or whoever is posting random novels in the construction forum. 

Edited by SCM, 29 April 2018 - 10:23 PM.