Not too long ago (I’m saying that so I don’t feel old) computers and their peripherals came in one choice of color and 99% of the time that was beige. Over the years, the beige ABS plastic turned yellow and even darker thanks to flame-retardant chemicals.  A discovery from Commodore Amiga enthusiasts in Germany soon spread through the vintage computer community, reaching LifeHacker in 2009. Before and after photos of plastics treated with the hydrogen peroxide solution show startling results. Dubbed Retr0Bright, the formulas and background information are collected on a wiki. I stumbled upon this not in the context of whitening old computers, but looking into how to restore vintage Lego. My husband’s sister sent us her substantial collection of Lego (so large that most of it is still hidden in the garage awaiting good behavior reinforcement opportunities). Some of the white and clear pieces have yellowed over time, and while they are perfectly usable (except for the one I warped in the dishwasher), perhaps we’ll try restoring them to pristine condition one day.

San Francisco artist Emiko Oye has a lovely line of jewelry made from repurposed Lego, some set with gemstones.  Maybe if I show this to my son he’ll be inspired to make something for me that isn’t a weapon from Star Wars.

I couldn’t understand why they would bother creating a Lego version of the Rock Band video game, but then they announced that it would feature a David Bowie minifig and now I’m all for it. If Lego released actual David Bowie minifigures, perhaps a set of his many personas, I’d be first in line at the Lego Store. On a similar subject, I had been wondering if Harrison Ford is the first and only actor to be represented by two different minifig characters (Indiana Jones and Han Solo). But Lego trivia fanatics know that Alfred Molina also has two minifigs (Doc Octopus from Spiderman and Satipo from Indiana Jones). (update: fixed Batman -> Spiderman ‘typo’ … really it was a typo! Thx rory.)

I’ve been intending to rebut Jason Kottke’s “Legos becoming just another single-use plastic toy” post but haven’t had time to round up photographic evidence. Tim Maly and Robin Sloan did a great job of it though. My favorite part of the N.Y. Times article that triggered this discussion states: “The number of different bricks or elements that go into Lego toys has shrunk to less than 7,000 from roughly 13,000, and designers are encouraged to reuse parts, so that a piece of an X-wing fighter from the ‘Star Wars’ series might end up in Indiana Jones’s jeep or a pirate ship.” We started our son with a large stash of vintage bricks from my husband and sister-in-law’s childhood. Then he discovered the Lego store at the mall around the same time he fell in love with the Star Wars movies.

He started asking us, over and over, for the specialized Star Wars sets. I resisted at first, but he was already building space ships and other objects out of his basic blocks on his own, and it was unlikely I would be squashing his creative brain development. So for special occasions and rewards, our son has received many of the small Star Wars sets, mini-figs, and a few of the medium-sized spaceships. Thanks to the international market, the instructions use no words, just diagrams and numbers, so even at four he was able to put the sets together with just a little help on the trickier attachments. I was actually a little horrified that after his first hard-won success at putting together a full ship, he started taking it apart. Then I realized he was doing exactly what I hoped for: he created something entirely different and of his own design.

On his fifth birthday he received three sets and as he was constructing one, he made pieces of another into animals and enemy ships. His designs have become more sophisticated not only because his brain is developing but because of his experience with the sets. He knows how to use hinges and feet and spinning pieces to make mechanical parts and he’s got an amazing eye for symmetry. He has the mini figurines for acting out stories so his play is not just about building things. I can’t wait until he’s ready for Lego Mindstorms and FIRST.

A scale model of the Hudson River plane crash in Playmobil and Lego. The Seattle Times printed a photo of a similar one on display at the PlayMobil table at the Model Railroad Show in Seattle this past weekend, but they don’t have it online.

Now at the Museum of American Heritage in Palo Alto, CA: Living LEGO-cy, a “spectacular Holiday season display” of Lego creations, including a 12 x 25 foot train layout of scenes and buildings from the Bay Area.

It’s October so it’s Christmas time for Neiman Marcus. Their annual, over-the-top Christmas book has all the “wow” gifts conveniently gathered on consecutive pages this year. You can get a life-sized replica of yourself made out of Lego ($60,000), a 3-hole golf course designed for your backyard by Jack Nicklaus (over a million and that’s without construction costs), a fully functional, traditional Irish pub built in your home, Guinness Stout included ($250,000), and 35 years worth of Top 100 hits on 18,400 45 RPM vinyl singles ($275,000 and I think you need your own turntable). If you don’t have all that dough, perhaps you can afford the $24 box of infamous Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies, and if not, you can make them yourself.

DIY not too expensive mini Star Wars toys: buy the Millenium Falcon, TIE Fighter, Y-Wing Fighter Lego “bag charms” which are now $4.99 (originally $9.99) and remove the chains. They’re glued together Lego pieces, which is actually a good thing when you are three and your mom doesn’t enjoy digging through the vacuum bag. Or you could actually use them as bag charms. Just be aware that our three-year-old managed to remove the Millenium Falcon from a backpack. We don’t know how, but we suspect his Y-Wing really needed back-up.

A Lego Store opened in our local mall and will be opening soon in two malls near where we used to live in CA. In both areas it’s likely you’ll see some geeks thrown in amongst the usual families with kids (or families of geeks, which is even better). The store has a wall of bins with loose Lego bricks in various colors (I noticed purple was plentiful) which you can pack into different sized cups for purchase. And when you walk around you must be careful not to trip on the bricks that are scattered about on the floor. Someone needs to make a Lego-sweeping-up robot out of Lego.

Educational and cool: Mathematical Lego sculptures. (via Graham)