Be Curious no more. Mission Accomplished. No I didn’t win the war in Iraq or even blow up the Death Star but I did finally get the Ultimate Collector’s Millennium Falcon [10179] completed.  It took well over the 20 hours I had read it would take but I wasn’t in a hurry and was more concerned that every piece was placed properly so I didn’t have to take this mammoth apart and rebuild it later.  The picture to the left shows the Ultimate Collector’s edition beside the original Lego Falcon [7190].

I would highly recommend this to anyone that has the time, the desire and the patient wife it takes to pull it off.  The room where it was built was disrupted for a month and my attention was diverted from other projects around the house in the effort to complete this piece.  I wouldn’t say don’t try this at home just know what you are getting into before you try.  Lots of pictures of the Falcon and a few shots around the room after the jump.

Another long and painful step forward as the Millennium Falcon starts to look more like a spaceship and less like a one story office building.  The bottom panels are on and work is about to begin on the top.  The size of this is impressive. [TWSS] It is really huge. [TWSS] Bigger even than it looked in the picture. [Really - we just got back from the beach and everything was something that SHE said.]  More pictures after the jump.  I have a confusing amount of small legos left and about half the instruction book to go.  Hopefully things will come together and I won’t be sitting with a lot of spare parts at the end of the build. <BobG>Nope.</BobG>

A couple of weeks ago the Ultimate Collector’s Millennium Falcon [10179] dropped in price on the Lego.com website and I decided to go for it. Who wouldn’t want the challenge of over 5,000 pieces and 30 pounds of construction? I didn’t realize at the time exactly what I was getting into but to put it in perspective the Imperial Star Destroyer [6211] I bought on Black Friday had 1,367 pieces. So roughly 4 of those to be assembled into one ship. After the jump I have all the pictures up to this point.  More to come and yes that is Chewbacca inspecting my work.

An evil ploy to caffeinate the world!!!!!

That’s right that is what I said – What no decaf coffee after noon! Imagine my shock and amazement after learning about this policy at Starbucks. It was 5:30 and I had to work late so I thought I would get a half caff/ half decaf.

No such luck any more! The woman behind the counter explained that it was a way for Starbuck’s to cut back since they did not receive that many requests for decaf coffee after noon.

That seemed like a rational excuse however I think the new policy may be Starbuck’s evil ploy to caffeinate the world and get them hooked on coffee.

C and I visited The Bain Project this past Saturday and highly recommend that anyone who reads this do the same next weekend before the installation is closed.  It will be open again May 16 & 17th from 1 to 5PM with performances at 2 and 4PM.

The art deco Ernest B. Bain Waterworks facility caught my eye a long time ago as I was entering downtown via Wilmington Street.  It is one of those buildings you look at in a state of disrepair and say to yourself – someone should do something there – that building could be something great.  After a long time of admiring its exterior I was very excited to hear the building was opening for a limited engagement art installation.

The facility opened in 1940 and replaced the facility directly in front of it that had been in operation since 1887 (this one pumped water to the stone water tower that looks like a lighthouse in downtown).  The waterworks could pump 10-20 million gallons of water daily but was outgrown by the city by the 1960’s when the Neuse River facility was built.  The plant remained in operation until 1987 and was used as a backup facility until the early 90’s since then it was used for storage. [Source]