It’s the kind of job where you can’t just wear 10 different hats, you have to make the hats yourself. So you’re juggling constant projects and design work and construction work and repair work. You show up in the morning and you have to make sure that the whole theme park is safe—all the LEGO models are intact, there’s nothing broken, nothing’s going to fall down. And from there we’ll start to work on any repairs that they need done, or we’ll work on designing new models using computer software or using pencil and paper, or just building it from bricks.
Toward the end of the day we’ll start building those models, and the design process is really either up to us or up to other LEGO Master Model Builders at other LEGOLAND parks. We share designs all the time, we’ll share construction and things like that. So it’s different depending on every single project, and every single project has a story behind it.
Links
Fall Foliage Map 2016 →
The beauty of nature is sometimes found in the profound ‘intelligence’ it exudes. Perennials, which includes trees, must protect itself in order to get through the harsh, freezing temperatures of winter. If trees did not shed their leaves, their soft vegetation would certainly freeze during winter time, damaging and no doubt killing the tree.
In order to cope with the gruling winter temperatures, trees slowly close off the veins that carry water and nutrients to and from the leaves with a layer of new cells that form at the base of the leaf stem, protecting the limbs and body of the tree. Once the process of new cell creation is complete, water and nutrients no longer flow to and fro from the leaf – this enable the leaf to die and weaken at the stem, eventually falling gracefully to the ground.
Olympic Races, in Your Neighborhood →
What would Olympic races look like if they took place near you?
Teardown: Same Product, Fifty Years Apart →
The few things I have that have passed a half-century or more come in two categories. Either keepsakes like photos of my ancestors or my father’s Army medals. Or tools. Virtually all of them hand tools, because there is nothing wrong with a century-old hammer or screwdriver. (And if they haven’t broken yet, they’re not likely to.) But I do have one curiosity. An old electric hair clipper.
Ryder Cup Secrets From Undercover Pros →
This isn’t just jingoistic chirping about the enemy. In some cases, it’s Americans critiquing Americans, or Europeans burying Europeans: “It started with slightly dodgy mechanics,” said one, “and it has developed into a full-blown mental problem.” Another player’s weakness is highlighted: “Over a bunker to a tight flag is his worst nightmare. It’s not pretty.” And this: “He’s well capable of giving up. … If he’s not in the mood, he’s just not in the mood.”
Apollo 11 Guidance Computer Source Code →
Flag Stories →
Sure, there are a lot of books and websites covering the different aspects of flags like history, demography and culture, through heavy text, but we wanted to add new aspects to this field by only looking at the graphics and telling the story visually.
Are You Good Enough to Be a Tennis Line Judge? →
Watch a series of shots on a clay court and decide whether each was in or out. You only get one chance and five seconds to make the call.
Planet Money: Peanuts and Cracker Jack →
On today’s show: The secret world of ballpark vendors. It’s a game of weather forecasting, ruthless efficiency, sore thighs, and swollen vocal chords.
Visualization Of The World’s Shipping Routes →
Use this guide from Vox to see some of the features of the interactive map.
What They Teach You at Umpire School →
You’re defending the thin line between order and chaos, enforcing the rules. You’re nobody’s friend, and you take guff from all sides. You’re expected to perform perfectly from day one. You’re dressed in a uniform that signals authority but also makes you a target of derision and hostility.
The Secret History of Tiger Woods →
Outside of the golf course, it really seems that Tiger felt most comfortable using his superstar status to train with Navy SEALS.
Eventually, Woods learned how to clear a room, working corners and figuring out lanes of fire, doing something only a handful of civilians are ever allowed to do: run through mock gun battles with actual Navy SEALs. “He can move through the house,” says Ed Hiner, a retired SEAL who helped oversee training during the time and wrote a book called First, Fast, Fearless. “He’s not freaking out. You escalate it. You start shooting and then you start blowing s— up. A lot of people freak out. It’s too loud, it’s too crazy. He did well.”
At one point, Marshall put him through a combat stress shooting course, making him carry a 30-pound ammunition box, do overhead presses with it, do pushups and run up a hill, with shooting mixed in. Tiger struggled with slowing his heart rate down enough to hit the targets, but he attacked the course.
“He went all out,” Marshall said. “He just f—ing went all out.”
Marshall got his golf clubs at one point and asked Tiger to sign his TaylorMade bag. Tiger refused, sheepishly, saying he couldn’t sign a competing brand. So Marshall challenged him to a driving contest for the signature. Both Marshall and Brown confirmed what happened next: Tiger grinned and agreed. Some other guys gathered around a raised area overlooking the shooting range. Marshall went first and hit a solid drive, around 260 or 270 yards. Tiger looked at him and teed up a ball, gripping the TaylorMade driver.
Then he got down on his knees.
He swung the club like a baseball bat and crushed one out past Marshall’s drive. Tiger started laughing, and then all the SEALs started laughing, and eventually Marshall was laughing too.
“Well, I can just shoot you now and you can die,” Marshall joked, “or you can run and die tired.”
Today, Woods held a demo for Golfweek Junior Tour and is seen hitting golf balls publicly since late February.
The Best Time →
Dallas Stars captain, Jamie Benn, with a dose of pump up for his team’s first postseason game of 2016.
We want to win something bigger than that. Something shinier, with a little more heft to it.
The 2015 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards →
Why Can’t We Build a Splash-Proof Toilet? →
The BYU team also learned that a “low angle of attack” produces the least splash. When pee hits the porcelain at a 90 degree angle, the splashback is terrible. But when the urine simulator aimed low—imagine hitting just above the drain of the urinal—the splash was more modest and not angled back at the urinator. This is also a good reason to aim sideways rather than straight at the urinal.
Meet The 80 People Who Are As Rich As Half The World →
Eighty people hold the same amount of wealth as the world’s 3.6 billion poorest people, according to an analysis just released from Oxfam. The report from the global anti-poverty organization finds that since 2009, the wealth of those 80 richest has doubled in nominal terms — while the wealth of the poorest 50 percent of the world’s population has fallen.
The Martian – UI Screen Graphics →
Although not a lot of screen time, these graphics play a huge roll in the feel of the film.
How do the Ghosts in Pac Man Move? →
The ghosts in Pac-Man are among some of the most enduring enemies in video game history, thanks in part to their surprisingly difficult to predict movements which make the game a constant challenge for new and seasoned players alike. However, as it turns out, the ghost’s movements are defined by a deceptively simple set of algorithms thought up by the game’s designer, Toru Iwatani.
Project Apollo Archive →
An album of all 8,435 ever taken by Apollo astronauts. There could never be too many of these photos.
The NASA Design Program →
Fletcher: “I’m simply not comfortable with those letters, something is missing.”
Low: “Well yes, the cross stroke is gone from the letter A.”
Fletcher: “Yes, and that bothers me.”
Low: “Why?”
Fletcher: (long pause) “I just don’t feel we are getting our money’s worth!”
Fletcher: And this color, red, it doesn’t make much sense to me.”
Low: “What would be better?”
Fletcher: “Blue makes more sense… Space is blue.”
Low: “No Dr. Fletcher, Space is black!”
It is also worth checking out some of the additional images of NASA Graphics Standards Manual on Flickr.