GeorgeWeeks2014
@georgeweeks2014.bsky.social
🇪🇺British/New Zealand urban planner & university teaching fellow living and working in Auckland. Twitter refugee. Interested in most things, esp. architecture, energy, accessibility, sustainability, comedy and health. My views are my own. #FBPE
And have a look at the Technicopedia if you're a fan of Lego-but-with-holes-in.
www.technicopedia.com
www.technicopedia.com
January 29, 2026 at 7:51 AM
And have a look at the Technicopedia if you're a fan of Lego-but-with-holes-in.
www.technicopedia.com
www.technicopedia.com
True. I am talking about the Lego of my youth, when it was mostly bricks.
Also: Technic Lego. I have been on such a nostalgia trip since I discovered the Technicopedia!
www.technicopedia.com
Also: Technic Lego. I have been on such a nostalgia trip since I discovered the Technicopedia!
www.technicopedia.com
January 29, 2026 at 7:46 AM
True. I am talking about the Lego of my youth, when it was mostly bricks.
Also: Technic Lego. I have been on such a nostalgia trip since I discovered the Technicopedia!
www.technicopedia.com
Also: Technic Lego. I have been on such a nostalgia trip since I discovered the Technicopedia!
www.technicopedia.com
Smart-looking block of flats in Pt Chevalier Road.
And a small castle just off Mt Albert Road.
#Auckland #Architecture #BikeRide
And a small castle just off Mt Albert Road.
#Auckland #Architecture #BikeRide
January 29, 2026 at 7:33 AM
Smart-looking block of flats in Pt Chevalier Road.
And a small castle just off Mt Albert Road.
#Auckland #Architecture #BikeRide
And a small castle just off Mt Albert Road.
#Auckland #Architecture #BikeRide
In New Zealand you can write off your double-cab ute as a company vehicle if it has a logo on it.
The logo can be inch-high black letters on a dark grey body. That's fine.
People do what makes financial sense. The car tax system here favours off-road vehicles, even if you don't ever go off-road.
The logo can be inch-high black letters on a dark grey body. That's fine.
People do what makes financial sense. The car tax system here favours off-road vehicles, even if you don't ever go off-road.
January 27, 2026 at 7:06 PM
In New Zealand you can write off your double-cab ute as a company vehicle if it has a logo on it.
The logo can be inch-high black letters on a dark grey body. That's fine.
People do what makes financial sense. The car tax system here favours off-road vehicles, even if you don't ever go off-road.
The logo can be inch-high black letters on a dark grey body. That's fine.
People do what makes financial sense. The car tax system here favours off-road vehicles, even if you don't ever go off-road.
That makes sense. It's the use of off-road pick-ups as suburban substitutes for normal cars that should be stopped.
This ad is an example. It looks like the outdoors dream. A pick-up is a daft vehicle for transporting a foiling windsurfer; someone can just pinch it! Just use a normal car.
This ad is an example. It looks like the outdoors dream. A pick-up is a daft vehicle for transporting a foiling windsurfer; someone can just pinch it! Just use a normal car.
January 27, 2026 at 6:51 PM
That makes sense. It's the use of off-road pick-ups as suburban substitutes for normal cars that should be stopped.
This ad is an example. It looks like the outdoors dream. A pick-up is a daft vehicle for transporting a foiling windsurfer; someone can just pinch it! Just use a normal car.
This ad is an example. It looks like the outdoors dream. A pick-up is a daft vehicle for transporting a foiling windsurfer; someone can just pinch it! Just use a normal car.
It's the stupid high front ends that are obscene.
Yes, boat and horse trailers require a decent towing rating. That's fine. 🚙🚤🐎
It's the slab-like front end that is completely pointless & which can kill a pedestrian in a crash by hitting them in the chest organs or pushing them under the vehicle.
Yes, boat and horse trailers require a decent towing rating. That's fine. 🚙🚤🐎
It's the slab-like front end that is completely pointless & which can kill a pedestrian in a crash by hitting them in the chest organs or pushing them under the vehicle.
January 27, 2026 at 10:25 AM
It's the stupid high front ends that are obscene.
Yes, boat and horse trailers require a decent towing rating. That's fine. 🚙🚤🐎
It's the slab-like front end that is completely pointless & which can kill a pedestrian in a crash by hitting them in the chest organs or pushing them under the vehicle.
Yes, boat and horse trailers require a decent towing rating. That's fine. 🚙🚤🐎
It's the slab-like front end that is completely pointless & which can kill a pedestrian in a crash by hitting them in the chest organs or pushing them under the vehicle.
Good to remove the tax exemption. Dual-cab pick-up trucks don't look much like the utility vehicles of yore.
In fact, they look like four-door saloons on steroids, where someone has nicked the bootlid.
Often ought for ego-boosting or to feel more manly. Accountants cosplaying as wild outdoorsmen.
In fact, they look like four-door saloons on steroids, where someone has nicked the bootlid.
Often ought for ego-boosting or to feel more manly. Accountants cosplaying as wild outdoorsmen.
January 27, 2026 at 10:18 AM
Good to remove the tax exemption. Dual-cab pick-up trucks don't look much like the utility vehicles of yore.
In fact, they look like four-door saloons on steroids, where someone has nicked the bootlid.
Often ought for ego-boosting or to feel more manly. Accountants cosplaying as wild outdoorsmen.
In fact, they look like four-door saloons on steroids, where someone has nicked the bootlid.
Often ought for ego-boosting or to feel more manly. Accountants cosplaying as wild outdoorsmen.
Quite so. Mobile phone use at the wheel is incredibly distracting and dangerous.
Can't stop glancing at your phone? Lock it in the glovebox.
Can't stop glancing at your phone? Lock it in the glovebox.
January 26, 2026 at 6:20 PM
Quite so. Mobile phone use at the wheel is incredibly distracting and dangerous.
Can't stop glancing at your phone? Lock it in the glovebox.
Can't stop glancing at your phone? Lock it in the glovebox.
It's like the late 1970s over again, when Detroit's new compact offerings were mere facsimiles of far superior imports from Japan and Germany.
Why buy a dreadful GM X-body when you can get a thoroughly competent VW Passat?
Why buy a dreadful GM X-body when you can get a thoroughly competent VW Passat?
January 26, 2026 at 2:07 AM
It's like the late 1970s over again, when Detroit's new compact offerings were mere facsimiles of far superior imports from Japan and Germany.
Why buy a dreadful GM X-body when you can get a thoroughly competent VW Passat?
Why buy a dreadful GM X-body when you can get a thoroughly competent VW Passat?
Yarp. The modern pick-up is just an oversized four-door saloon/sedan that is missing its bootlid.
January 25, 2026 at 9:25 PM
Yarp. The modern pick-up is just an oversized four-door saloon/sedan that is missing its bootlid.
Having been to rural Kyushu, I can confirm that Japanese farmers use Kei pickups as standard utility vehicles.
American pick-ups *used* to be utility vehicles, but the load-carrying area has become smaller and smaller.
These days they are tax write-offs for accountants cosplaying as cowboys. 🤠
American pick-ups *used* to be utility vehicles, but the load-carrying area has become smaller and smaller.
These days they are tax write-offs for accountants cosplaying as cowboys. 🤠
January 25, 2026 at 9:23 PM
Having been to rural Kyushu, I can confirm that Japanese farmers use Kei pickups as standard utility vehicles.
American pick-ups *used* to be utility vehicles, but the load-carrying area has become smaller and smaller.
These days they are tax write-offs for accountants cosplaying as cowboys. 🤠
American pick-ups *used* to be utility vehicles, but the load-carrying area has become smaller and smaller.
These days they are tax write-offs for accountants cosplaying as cowboys. 🤠
January 25, 2026 at 9:20 PM
There was a section on biomimicry. Sharks have been around for 350,000,000 years so they know a thing or two about speed and sensitivity.
I liked this Chevrolet Mako Shark concept from 1962. It's like a wilder version of the C2 Corvette (Sting Ray); released in 1963; still gorgeous 63 years on.
I liked this Chevrolet Mako Shark concept from 1962. It's like a wilder version of the C2 Corvette (Sting Ray); released in 1963; still gorgeous 63 years on.
January 25, 2026 at 8:10 AM
There was a section on biomimicry. Sharks have been around for 350,000,000 years so they know a thing or two about speed and sensitivity.
I liked this Chevrolet Mako Shark concept from 1962. It's like a wilder version of the C2 Corvette (Sting Ray); released in 1963; still gorgeous 63 years on.
I liked this Chevrolet Mako Shark concept from 1962. It's like a wilder version of the C2 Corvette (Sting Ray); released in 1963; still gorgeous 63 years on.
Bustle-back luxury cars; an unlamented design fad from early 1980s Detroit.
When you compare these confused aesthetics with the sharp styles emerging from early-80s Munich, it's not surprising that BMW became the de factor yuppie car brand of the decade.
When you compare these confused aesthetics with the sharp styles emerging from early-80s Munich, it's not surprising that BMW became the de factor yuppie car brand of the decade.
January 25, 2026 at 6:10 AM
Bustle-back luxury cars; an unlamented design fad from early 1980s Detroit.
When you compare these confused aesthetics with the sharp styles emerging from early-80s Munich, it's not surprising that BMW became the de factor yuppie car brand of the decade.
When you compare these confused aesthetics with the sharp styles emerging from early-80s Munich, it's not surprising that BMW became the de factor yuppie car brand of the decade.
Sharks! 🦈 🦈 🦈
There is a terrific shark exhibition currently on at @aucklandmuseum.bsky.social
Well worth a look, particularly on a day with variable weather.
#shark #museum #Auckland
There is a terrific shark exhibition currently on at @aucklandmuseum.bsky.social
Well worth a look, particularly on a day with variable weather.
#shark #museum #Auckland
January 25, 2026 at 12:52 AM
Sharks! 🦈 🦈 🦈
There is a terrific shark exhibition currently on at @aucklandmuseum.bsky.social
Well worth a look, particularly on a day with variable weather.
#shark #museum #Auckland
There is a terrific shark exhibition currently on at @aucklandmuseum.bsky.social
Well worth a look, particularly on a day with variable weather.
#shark #museum #Auckland
Talk about creating a problem to solve.
Keep it simple and stylish. Bring back the British Leyland double-square flush door handle, as used on the Morris Marina, Lotus Esprit, Range Rover and Peugeot 505.
Yes, the Marina was a bit crap but all the others were good cars.
Keep it simple and stylish. Bring back the British Leyland double-square flush door handle, as used on the Morris Marina, Lotus Esprit, Range Rover and Peugeot 505.
Yes, the Marina was a bit crap but all the others were good cars.
January 24, 2026 at 6:34 AM
Talk about creating a problem to solve.
Keep it simple and stylish. Bring back the British Leyland double-square flush door handle, as used on the Morris Marina, Lotus Esprit, Range Rover and Peugeot 505.
Yes, the Marina was a bit crap but all the others were good cars.
Keep it simple and stylish. Bring back the British Leyland double-square flush door handle, as used on the Morris Marina, Lotus Esprit, Range Rover and Peugeot 505.
Yes, the Marina was a bit crap but all the others were good cars.
Oho! The unofficial Bonds!
Never Say Never Again isn't bad at all. The plot is basically Thunderball-in-the-1980s; and it has a great cast: Sean Connery, Kim Basinger, Klaus Maria Brandauer and my favourite Bond villainess, the splendidly evil Fatima Blush, played by Barbara Carrera.
Never Say Never Again isn't bad at all. The plot is basically Thunderball-in-the-1980s; and it has a great cast: Sean Connery, Kim Basinger, Klaus Maria Brandauer and my favourite Bond villainess, the splendidly evil Fatima Blush, played by Barbara Carrera.
January 24, 2026 at 5:46 AM
Oho! The unofficial Bonds!
Never Say Never Again isn't bad at all. The plot is basically Thunderball-in-the-1980s; and it has a great cast: Sean Connery, Kim Basinger, Klaus Maria Brandauer and my favourite Bond villainess, the splendidly evil Fatima Blush, played by Barbara Carrera.
Never Say Never Again isn't bad at all. The plot is basically Thunderball-in-the-1980s; and it has a great cast: Sean Connery, Kim Basinger, Klaus Maria Brandauer and my favourite Bond villainess, the splendidly evil Fatima Blush, played by Barbara Carrera.
Got it. I hadn't appreciated the fact that it is completely open-sided.
Large, airy stations are lovely...but they benefit from having solid walls.
Paddington Station 🇬🇧 is one of my favourite examples of this genre.
Large, airy stations are lovely...but they benefit from having solid walls.
Paddington Station 🇬🇧 is one of my favourite examples of this genre.
January 23, 2026 at 7:25 PM
Got it. I hadn't appreciated the fact that it is completely open-sided.
Large, airy stations are lovely...but they benefit from having solid walls.
Paddington Station 🇬🇧 is one of my favourite examples of this genre.
Large, airy stations are lovely...but they benefit from having solid walls.
Paddington Station 🇬🇧 is one of my favourite examples of this genre.
Oh wow! This was the first generation of Technic pneumatics. Very old-school.
Yes it's a great website. A lot of effort clearly went into it.
Yes it's a great website. A lot of effort clearly went into it.
January 23, 2026 at 10:58 AM
Oh wow! This was the first generation of Technic pneumatics. Very old-school.
Yes it's a great website. A lot of effort clearly went into it.
Yes it's a great website. A lot of effort clearly went into it.
Let's not be forgetting 8485, the second Control Centre which allows you to build a tyrannosaurus.
Yes! An actual articulated dinosaur!
This set was released in 1995, two years after Jurassic Park, which possibly influenced the Lego designers 🦖
www.technicopedia.com/8485.html
Yes! An actual articulated dinosaur!
This set was released in 1995, two years after Jurassic Park, which possibly influenced the Lego designers 🦖
www.technicopedia.com/8485.html
January 23, 2026 at 10:54 AM
Let's not be forgetting 8485, the second Control Centre which allows you to build a tyrannosaurus.
Yes! An actual articulated dinosaur!
This set was released in 1995, two years after Jurassic Park, which possibly influenced the Lego designers 🦖
www.technicopedia.com/8485.html
Yes! An actual articulated dinosaur!
This set was released in 1995, two years after Jurassic Park, which possibly influenced the Lego designers 🦖
www.technicopedia.com/8485.html
This was all a long time ago. Life moves on.
Still, if you'd like a good trip down memory lane, there's a lovely old-fashioned website, the 'Technicopedia' which has detailed descriptions of all the Technic sets, with mechanical analysis and everything!
🧵 ENDS.
#Lego #Technic #Nostalgia
Still, if you'd like a good trip down memory lane, there's a lovely old-fashioned website, the 'Technicopedia' which has detailed descriptions of all the Technic sets, with mechanical analysis and everything!
🧵 ENDS.
#Lego #Technic #Nostalgia
January 23, 2026 at 10:33 AM
This was all a long time ago. Life moves on.
Still, if you'd like a good trip down memory lane, there's a lovely old-fashioned website, the 'Technicopedia' which has detailed descriptions of all the Technic sets, with mechanical analysis and everything!
🧵 ENDS.
#Lego #Technic #Nostalgia
Still, if you'd like a good trip down memory lane, there's a lovely old-fashioned website, the 'Technicopedia' which has detailed descriptions of all the Technic sets, with mechanical analysis and everything!
🧵 ENDS.
#Lego #Technic #Nostalgia
My (slightly younger) friend down the road had a huge Technic collection, including the Daytona VX4 Super Car and the Space Shuttle.
These were enthusiastically built & then rebuilt with gusto into all kinds of new machinery.
Technic is (was) a very forgiving toy; it rewards experimentation.
4/n
These were enthusiastically built & then rebuilt with gusto into all kinds of new machinery.
Technic is (was) a very forgiving toy; it rewards experimentation.
4/n
January 23, 2026 at 10:23 AM
My (slightly younger) friend down the road had a huge Technic collection, including the Daytona VX4 Super Car and the Space Shuttle.
These were enthusiastically built & then rebuilt with gusto into all kinds of new machinery.
Technic is (was) a very forgiving toy; it rewards experimentation.
4/n
These were enthusiastically built & then rebuilt with gusto into all kinds of new machinery.
Technic is (was) a very forgiving toy; it rewards experimentation.
4/n
Occasionally I'd stumble across old Lego catalogues showing extremely cool Technic models that were no longer available. 1988 seemed to be a great year, but was slightly before my time.
www.technicopedia.com/1988.html
I wonder what Lego did with any surplus Prop Planes and Test Cars?
3/n
www.technicopedia.com/1988.html
I wonder what Lego did with any surplus Prop Planes and Test Cars?
3/n
January 23, 2026 at 10:17 AM
Occasionally I'd stumble across old Lego catalogues showing extremely cool Technic models that were no longer available. 1988 seemed to be a great year, but was slightly before my time.
www.technicopedia.com/1988.html
I wonder what Lego did with any surplus Prop Planes and Test Cars?
3/n
www.technicopedia.com/1988.html
I wonder what Lego did with any surplus Prop Planes and Test Cars?
3/n
There were many large and/or expensive sets which remained firmly out of reach.
The Control Centre (8094), for example, which allowed you to build a frikkin' drawing machine!
www.technicopedia.com/8094.html
2/n
The Control Centre (8094), for example, which allowed you to build a frikkin' drawing machine!
www.technicopedia.com/8094.html
2/n
January 23, 2026 at 10:13 AM
There were many large and/or expensive sets which remained firmly out of reach.
The Control Centre (8094), for example, which allowed you to build a frikkin' drawing machine!
www.technicopedia.com/8094.html
2/n
The Control Centre (8094), for example, which allowed you to build a frikkin' drawing machine!
www.technicopedia.com/8094.html
2/n
I love Technic Lego!
My first encounter with Technic was in about 1990; I received several Universal Sets (each with 4 model options) before I was 10.
All the fun of Lego, but with gears, motors, pneumatics and linkages.
I loved reading Lego catalogues and fantasising about I'd like next.
🧵 1/n
My first encounter with Technic was in about 1990; I received several Universal Sets (each with 4 model options) before I was 10.
All the fun of Lego, but with gears, motors, pneumatics and linkages.
I loved reading Lego catalogues and fantasising about I'd like next.
🧵 1/n
January 23, 2026 at 10:09 AM
I love Technic Lego!
My first encounter with Technic was in about 1990; I received several Universal Sets (each with 4 model options) before I was 10.
All the fun of Lego, but with gears, motors, pneumatics and linkages.
I loved reading Lego catalogues and fantasising about I'd like next.
🧵 1/n
My first encounter with Technic was in about 1990; I received several Universal Sets (each with 4 model options) before I was 10.
All the fun of Lego, but with gears, motors, pneumatics and linkages.
I loved reading Lego catalogues and fantasising about I'd like next.
🧵 1/n