Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with blocks

Help Me Remember These Obscure Toys

sjuhawk31 — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:09:00 -0800

ObscureToyFilter: Help me remember a toy from my childhood. My siblings and I are remembering plastic, colored blocks and cylinders that unfolded to become characters. We recall a king and queen, almost certainly a pig, and maybe a cow. Google has failed us so far. It was almost like these things were precursors to Transformers, but they were far less complex (as we were far younger). They would only unfold once, on a hinge, and the character would be printed on the inside of the shape. They weren't perfect halves, either; there would be little legs and arms sticking out.

This would most likely be in the 1984-1988 range, when we were between 5 and 10, but perhaps earlier.

Bonus points for pictures proving accuracy.

A shortcut for giving mulitple blocks the same attributes in AutoCAD 2009

Thin Lizzy — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 09:42:12 -0800

AutoCAD LT 2009. How do you make one set of attributes and apply it to multiple blocks? Let’s say I have a list of 3 attributes, for example: Make, Model and Cost. I also have 3 blocks: a couch, a chair, and a lamp. I want to attach all the attributes to all the blocks, but after that, the blocks will never relate to each other- they all have different makes, models, and costs- I’ll edit them individually. There must be some feature that does this quickly but Help and Google have failed me.

"I need more pieces, please!"

Soliloquy — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:13:56 -0800

Is there any way I can get my hands on some cool Scalino marble run pieces before Christmas? For Christmas last year I bought my darling little cousin a Scalino marble run complete with "ski jump" piece. He adores it, and I'd like to add another accessory or two this year. The site I bought it from now only lists three Scalino items without pictures (extra marbles, and what I think is a basic set, and probably a waterfall type piece) and my email to their customer service address asking about availability and clarification on what the "Modelkasten Kaskade" piece did received no reply. I checked out Scalino's web site but my Deutsch ist nicht so gut. Ebay came up blank too.

The little guy would probably prefer a y-shaped switch I remember seeing last year, or the xylophone piece shown in the picture, to a waterfall. Heck, I was looking forward to seeing what he would build with all the cool pieces I added on over the years. So if anyone knows of other sources or can assist me in contacting the company, I'd appreciate it. I'm in New York City if there's anything local.

My little cousin will spend many happy hours sending marbles whizzing around the track in your honor.

Methods of semi-precise breaking of a cinder block in half lengthwise?

vanoakenfold — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 06:40:14 -0800

I want to use cinderblock halves for the border of an outdoor project, but my question -- how to break them along intended lines without cracking/fracturing the rest of it? I'd like to break a cinder block (two-hole) lengthwise, that is, down the center of the two holes, so that I'll have two wide "m" shapes. How can I break the cinderblock semi-precisely, without fracturing the rest of it? I'm going to be implanting them into the ground, so the exactness isn't necessarily perfect, as long as I have to flat surfaces on the edges of both halves (two flat tops on the "m" shape) to line up end to end to make a border. Any suggestions of how to accomplish this, without having to buy/rent a concrete chainsaw or drilling perforation holes? Solutions that are slow/tedious are just fine.

trying to create a privacy wall from glass blocks

frizelli — Sun, 13 May 2007 21:40:41 -0800

I want to create a privacy wall on a deck we're building using recycled 6 x 6" glass blocks. What is the best material to use to set them, portland cement or flexset tile mortar? Also, what safety considerations do I have vis- a- vis windage and reinforcement i.e. what kind of a span is safe?