Getting a Lego Mindstorms RIS 2.0 set for Christmas in 2001 is what instilled the love of programming, computing, and engineering in me. I’ve pretty much known what I’ve wanted to do with my life from that point forward.

The homebrew community that grew around it was also legendary. I learned Java (via LeJOS) because the block based programming became too restrictive for what I wanted to do. I learned C (via brickOS) once I hit code size limits with LeJOS and became less scared of pointers :)

Similar story here. I got RIS 2.0 after it had been out for awhile, but my parents couldn't justify the cost. Finally, Toys R Us had a beat up box sitting on the shelf and marked it down. I wandered over to that aisle every time we went in. Then it showed up one Christmas.

I learned Java because of leJOS too. I wanted to display something on the screen. The rest is my career.