Before I write this blog, I need to get something out of the way. A confession, if you will. I really, really like zucchini squash. Specifically, I like it a long, long way from wherever I’m eating. Because zucchini squash is just wrong.

I’m not sure what brought that on. I haven’t seen or thought about zucchini squash in quite a while. But sometimes, you know, you just need to get something off your chest that’s been bothering you subconsciously for a long, long time.

Now, on to my blog: I like Lego blocks. I got to thinking about this last week when I blogged about giving Dann an imitation-Lego set for his birthday. I’ve grown up with the little toy building blocks, and made some amazing things. I remember when I got the battery pack and motor for Christmas and build a remote-controlled Lego car. Uncle Wallace commented to my dad, “If we got as smart as we did with TinkerToys, how smart are they going to be?”

Well, now we know. I’m this smart. Not one smidgen less, and not a whit more. Frankly, I’m kind of disappointed. Being smart is like having money: the more you have, the more keenly you feel the need for more.

But back to Lego blocks: I’ve been separated from my little plastic bricks for far too long. I got a small set in my Christmas stocking a couple of months ago, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed playing with them here at my computer. Whenever I get around to going back to our house in Northeast Georgia, I need to dig my old plastic tubs of blocks out and bring them down here to Atlanta.

I’m considering buying some more Legos. Several years back, they came out with a set of robotic, computerized Legos that you could program with Artificial Intelligence on your PC, called Mindstorms. One guy built a Rubik’s Cube solving machine with it. I’d love to get it, but two things are holding me back. One: It costs a couple of hundred dollars. Lego blocks aren’t cheap – if you go to your local toy store, you may be seriously surprised at what a small set of Legos can cost – but several hundred dollars is far beyond mere “not cheap.” Two: There’s a pretty steep learning curve for AI, and it doesn’t get any easier just because you’re building with Legos. I’m already up to my neck in computer projects, both programming and building, and that pretty much covers both aspects of Lego AI. I don’t think I’d have time to significantly appreciate and enjoy the Lego set after I got it, especially in proportion to what it costs.

All that playing with Legos, though, seriously sharpened my mechanical abilities, I believe – abilities that are coming in handy now that I’m putting computers together. I wonder how many other toys I played with instilled in me the skills I’m using today? (Sudden images of sitting playing Space Invaders for hours – well, if we ever do get invaded, I’ll have the skills to handle the situation!)