Don’t Get Lost This Christmas

May Santa find your house this year.

It’s true. Sometime in 2013, there will be an official LEGO Back To The Future set. Complete with Marty and Doc minifigures and a Delorean.

I can’t wait.

Linkage

Original image found at Affordable Luxury

This is one of those stories – LEGO fan or not – that makes you have confidence that companies still have their customers in mind when running their business.

Read the below letter to get the story of this boy who wanted the above Emerald Night Train LEGO set that got discontinued.

September 1, 2012

LEGO Systems, Inc.
555 Taylor Road
P.O. Box 1600
Enfield, CT 06083-1600
USA

LEGO Group Headquarters
East Europe, SNG countries, the Baltic States and the Balkans
LEGO Trading A/S
DK-7190 Billund
Denmark

Dear Sirs,

My name is James Groccia and I am 10 years old. I have been playing with many Lego sets and products since I was about 4 years old. I have brick sets, Hero Factory, Creationary, Lunar Limo and more. I participate in a Lego Playgroup to help with my Social Skills (I have Asperger’s Syndrome) and I love playing with Legos at home (I play with them every day).

A couple of years ago, I saw The Emerald Night Train set (K10194) and fell in love with it. I wanted it right away, but my parents said I had to save the money to get it. For two years I kept all the money I got for birthday and holiday gifts, some of my allowance and some money I got for participating in a research project. At last, a couple of months ago I had my $100 and was ready to buy the Lego set of my dreams!

My mom started looking for it on line and could not find any. We checked the Lego store in our area and they didn’t have it either. I was completely crushed. You’ve stopped making it! It seems the only way to get one now is to pay $250 on Amazon or ebay, since now it is considered collectible.

I got another Lego set, thinking I could forget about the Emerald Night, but every time I see it anywhere on line I get very sad and disappointed. I still want the Emerald Night so badly, but there are none to be found.

Do you have any at your corporate headquarters? Perhaps I could get one that way? If you have any other ideas, I would be happy to hear them. I have never wanted a Lego set so badly ever in my life!

Your most loyal Lego fan,

James G. Groccia

Here is the text of a letter James received from LEGO:

September 13, 2012
Dear James,

Thanks for your interest in our products.

James, I’m afraid that we no longer made the Emerald Night. I understand how upsetting this news can be. I realize that you saved up your money to purchase it, I do apologize for any disappointment this news may have caused you.

The toy store shelves aren’t be enough to hold ever
ything, so sometimes we have to stop making a few of the older sets. Meanwhile, we have a team of experts in Denmark whose job it is to invent to LEGO® toys every year. They spend their time trying to create new and fun toys for children of all ages.

You never know though, some of the old favorites sometimes make a comeback, so keep a look out!

The best way to track down discontinued LEGO sets or individual pueces is to check the following secondary market websites:

http://www.bricklink.com/ and http://www.peequestion surbron.com

Please note that these websites are not affiliated with the LEGO Group.

I hope one of our many new LEGO toys will inspire the LEGO fans in your home. To take a look through the hundreds of sets and toys go to www.LEGOshop.com and remember to keep an eye on the ‘Exclusives and Hard to Find’ section, which includes classic and collectible sets!

Thanks again for contacting us. We are always pleased to receive feedback from LEGO fans! If you could take a moment to complete a four question survey, it will help us make sure we are providing the best customer service to you.

Sincerely,
Thomas
LEGO Direct Consumer Services

Then a box arrived with this letter:

Dear James,

We are always thrilled to hear from our LEGO fans! You truly have a passion and joy for LEGO. I am amazed at how many sets you have at
only ten years old! I am a very big LEGO fan myself and enjoy some of the same sets you do. We received your letter here in Consumer Services and were very touched by your determination.

The Emerald Night Train is a wonderful set, so we can understand why it is your dream to own it. I commend your willpower and patience to save money for over two years just to purchase this set. It is very evident that no other set could make you happier. We can understand how disappointing it must have been to find it had been discontinued. Due to your passion for LEGO and your heart-warming letter, we knew we had to go above and beyond to help make this a reality.

We have located an Emerald Night Train for you, James, and included it in this package! I am sure you will enjoy building it and cherish your time playing with the train. We are excited to know that we could help make this dream come true for you! Now there will be no more sadness or disappointment when you think about it …just happiness!

We hope you will continue to love to build and create with LEGO. Fans like you are why we are so lucky as a company. Who knows, maybe you will be working for The LEGO Group one day! You certainly have the heart and passion for our bricks to do so! Happy building, James!

Sincerely,

Megan
Consumer Services Advisor

Excuse me, but after reading this and watching the kids’s reaction, I now have something in my eyes.

Thanks to KevinIL for sharing this story via Twitter.

Not that anyone may have noticed, but this site was completely down from mid-morning Wednesday Nov 21st till Friday (today) Nov 23rd, bringing it back online just a couple of hours ago.

I was forced to move web hosting companies this week due to a change that my previous hosting company – My Domain – made that broke both of the WordPress blogs I hosted on their site. Working one minute, then once moved to their “new platform” they were not working. After three 40 minute phone calls, there was no resolution. I was simply told “the upgrade hasn’t finished yet. Things will work once it’s done.”

Well, I patiently waited hours – a good 24 hours to be exact and still nothing. So on Thanksgiving Day, I moved to Dreamhost. They had a one day deal that was hard to pass up.

The odd part about this is that I could still get into my WordPress Dashboard, with the database intact and operating properly. The main page was the PHP code from the index.php file [if you were viewing it from Google Chrome] or a blank page [if you were viewing it from Firefox, Safari or Internet Explorer] , which for some reason wasn’t executing the PHP code and bringing up the blog posts.

Still need to move my other blog – Adult Beverages – which remains down. In my efforts to not put every blog I have with a single hosting company, I am looking at a couple other providers that should be able to meet my needs without spending a lot of time and money.

Boomboxing… music playing of the past

Almost three years ago, the Cameron Crowe creation “Say Anything” celebrated with a new DVD and Blu-ray version of the movie with several people gathering and re-creating the iconic boombox stance that Lloyd Dobler immortalized so well, jamming the Peter Gabriel tune “In Your Eyes” [which itself just turned 25 years old].

A Mob of Moblers

Here’s a collection of Moblers

http://youtu.be/xwX1HfF-alc
http://youtu.be/6iDPbKSPYXk
http://youtu.be/OJjBUEEFNaQ

And for even more, check out this YouTube link.

Original photo found over at Tuesday Afternoon

A friend shared this article with me last week. Some staggering numbers here. Also, what the fuck is Travis Barker doing so high up on the list? And in that same shock, why is Mick Fleetwood at the very bottom of this list?

1. Ringo Starr (The Beatles, $300 million)
2. Phil Collins (Solo/Genesis, $250 million)
3. Dave Grohl (Nirvana/Foo Fighters, $225 million)
4. Don Henley (The Eagles, $200 million)
5. Lars Ulrich (Metallica, $175 million)
6. Charlie Watts (The Rolling Stones, $160 million)
7. Larry Mullen Jr. (U2, $150 million)
8. Roger Taylor (Queen, $105 million)
9. Joey Kramer (Aerosmith, $100 million)
10. Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers, $90 million)
11. Travis Barker (blink-182, $85 million)
12. Stewart Copeland (The Police, $80 million)
13. Alex Van Halen (Van Halen, $75 million)
14. Nick Mason (Pink Floyd, $75 million)
15. Tommy Lee (Motley Crue, $70 million)
16. Bill Ward (Black Sabbath, $65 million)
17. Jon Fishman (Phish, $60 million)
18. Carter Beauford (Dave Matthews Band, $55 million)
19. Rick Allen (Def Leppard, $50 million)
20. Tre Cool (Green Day, $45 million)
21. Danny Carey (Tool, $40 million)
22. Tico Torres (Bon Jovi, $40 million)
23. Max Weinberg (Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band/”Conan O’Brien,” $35 million)
24. Mickey Hart (The Grateful Dead, $30 million)
25. Bill Kreutzmann (The Grateful Dead, $25 million)
26. Neil Peart (Rush, $22 million)
27. Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters, $20 million)
28. ?uestlove (The Roots, $16 million)
29. Steven Adler (Guns N’ Roses, $15 million)
30. Mick Fleetwood (Fleetwood Mac, $8.5 million)

http://youtu.be/9pCIxeiOuIA

Another edition of Gary Dell’Abate’s tech video podcast. Regardless of Howard’s criticism, I like this podcast.