Category: Off Topic

Big heartfelt hug to Ryan and Katie for delivering their second child, Connor, yesterday in the a.m.:

I just upgraded the forum software to the latest. So if you see a few things out of whack, let me know

I apologize for this, but there was no way to test this without posting a news item. Thank you for your patience.

I know this may be a bit outside of our usual scope, but it brightened my day too much not to post.

800 kids from ages 5 to 13 who visited the BMW Welt in Munich a few weeks ago built this full size car in four days with approximately 165,000 LEGO bricks (under the automaker’s supervision of course). For every LEGO block used BMW made a donation to the “Die Arche” children’s foundation.

More images and original story via Carsoop. Best picture though? This one right here. That’s one satisfied kid!

It’s no big secret that the site makes money from our affiliate links to Amazon, LEGO Shop@Home, Target, etc. And believe me when I say that every click that leads to a penny is fully appreciated. So it should come to no surprise that I prefer linking to products and deals from our affiliates before non-affiliated companies. Toys’R’Us is an exception in that FBTB.net does not have an affiliate relationship with them yet I will still report sales and deals regardless. I believe by not doing so, it would be a disservice to our readers. I have applied to their affiliate program many times. Try as I might, and as often as I apply, I have always been rejected. Now before you think I’m just whining, okay, so maybe I am a little bit, allow me to state why Toy’R’Us sucks. The reasons they give me, EVERY SINGLE TIME, why I am not approved for their affiliate program are as follows, and this is copied directly from their rejection email:

* inability to access Web site
* Web site not yet live
* traffic levels too low
* inappropriate material on site

Allow me to deconstruct each point.

* inability to access Web site – I’m on the site every day and every night, pretty much every chance I get, monitoring the forums, checking messages, coding features, etc. Our uptime hasn’t been better. Sure there are a few hiccups now and then, but I find it hard to believe that someone from the affiliate approval department would not be able to access the site.

* Web site not yet live – Hello? If you’re reading this, I’m pretty sure we’re live.

* traffic levels too low – FBTB’s traffic may not compare to some other heavy hitters, but hey, we get pretty good statistics according to Google Analytics.

* inappropriate material on site – Now that’s a first. LEGO Star Wars is inappropriate? Better warn the parents. Sarcasm aside, how would they be able to make that judgement if a) they are unable to access the site and b) they believe the site is not yet live?

I have a feeling Toys’R’Us just rejects every applicant and checks off every reason why without really bothering looking at applications. That right there is a sign of incompetence. Providing reasons that not only contradict each other but also contradicts the truth is proof that no effort is made in reviewing applications. And if that’s the case, then TRU has no real intent on approving any applications. If TRU does not allow affiliates, they should just cancel their program and withdraw from Linkshare completely. ‘Cause seriously, what’s the point?

Regardless of the above rant, I will continue to report sales and deals from Toys’R’Us as I believe it will benefit our readers.

I try not to post personal things on this site, but this time I couldn’t resist. Come January, my wife and I will be expecting our first child. We are having a girl. And we are going to name her Leia. That’s right, you read that right. Say what you will, start your nerd jokes now, but it is quite a nice name regardless of the obvious reference. And no, I’m not going to start calling her “my princess” or “Princess Leia”; the last thing I want for her is to get a princess complex, cause you know how fun THOSE kinds of girls are. And yes, my wife has agreed to it. And no, if it we were having a boy we would NOT have named him Luke or Han although Han does sound Asian…

In all seriousness, I can’t tell you how excited and nervous I am at the reality of it all. This is going to be quite a ride.

I had meant to post this awhile ago, but real life got the better of me trying to get as much home remodeling done as possible before she comes. That is also the reason for my on-again/off-again hiatus from the site. I don’t know what else to say much more than that.

I am going to be converting my personal site https://www.acekim.com/ from a facepalm ascii art repository to a personal blog site in the next few days, so if you feel like reading up on my trials and tribulations of fatherhood as well as the other geeky things I’m into, bookmark it now.

This will be the last time I post something personal on this site until the next time that is. Thanks for reading.