tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255580762024-03-14T14:48:50.194-04:00don't think: Do RevitMy journal of work in Revit as part of a 600+ member architecture firm.Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10689574748658789222noreply@blogger.comBlogger221125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-54891867076003104012018-05-05T22:52:00.001-04:002018-05-05T22:52:31.856-04:00Initial Yard OperationSqueezing in one night a week over the last few weeks I've managed to get the new yard operational. All of the track is not laid yet so I still am lack my three storage tracks, but the arrival/departure, run-around, caboose track, engine track and yard lead/throat are all up and running. I took some time last night to do some switching to see how it all played and I was quite pleased. For such a compact yard it seems to work very well. It was also unexpectedly easy and satisfying to use the throttle to control all of the turn-outs in the yard. The biggest challenge is knowing the turnout number address to control. At the moment I'm cheating and have bits of masking tape with the numbers near the throw-bar. I may consider putting a diagram on the back-drop I plan to mount. This would be a bit un-conventional, but much easier to glance at and still keep an eye on the tracks, as opposed to looking down at a control panel or the fascia.<br />
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You can see that the A/D track has a train almost ready to go with the switcher still on point. Two cabooses are in their hole and some additional cards (and Thomas) are in storage on the run-around/switching lead. The road engine is sitting on a temporary piece of track which will be the permanent engine track. All that is left is the switcher needs to grab a caboose, the road engine can pull the train forward and the switcher will tag the caboose on the end of the train as it leaves the yard for the main.<br />
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Next goals are to finish up the track laying and get that all operational, then I'd like to get a backdrop in place separating the town from the yard. Once that is all in place I can start in on some scenery while continuing to test the track-work. I'd also like to get some waybills set-up so that I can do some basic operations between the yard and town.Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10689574748658789222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-51884792129721288972018-04-14T22:54:00.003-04:002018-04-14T23:16:41.170-04:00Plenty of Progress!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4S8ziIWOjoWgVdSnvQMGPscGYvxpF_AEmAMoLWpxKv-Sm_6fgjEJphplju9rMjxb9zgVZOfhGTFhdi8Kt1z25hTUF7I6Fsisbk9goXabdtcBvzI8NIoeeWjF16t2S1A-N4iDpag/s1600/IMG_1572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4S8ziIWOjoWgVdSnvQMGPscGYvxpF_AEmAMoLWpxKv-Sm_6fgjEJphplju9rMjxb9zgVZOfhGTFhdi8Kt1z25hTUF7I6Fsisbk9goXabdtcBvzI8NIoeeWjF16t2S1A-N4iDpag/s320/IMG_1572.JPG" width="320" /></a>Ack! Where did the time go, I had all sorts of good intentions of additional posts, but the choice between time spent on the RR versus time spent documenting the RR means that the blog lost...<br />
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What have I been up to?<br />
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I achieved my goal of a fully continuous running loop by Christmas. It did require building a quick open grid frame on top of a couple of saw horses, with a sheet of plywood, but at least it works!<br />
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The loop on the table top currently provides an additional siding that can be used for spotting cars at industries and a return back out to the mainline.<br />
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Lacking any better ideas, I started labeling wires with "T" for "Town" and have since decided to refer to my town as "Taunton" (a local town here in eastern MA). The module portion is referred to as Taunton, while the extended siding is referred to as "East Taunton".<br />
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In addition for Christmas I also got Thomas up and running complete with custom sound effects for his whistle, and two sayings from the TV show. In addition to squeezing a decoder and speaker into tiny little Thomas I also found space for a tiny "keep alive" capacitor to handle trouble areas like turnouts or slightly dirty track. Check out the video! Apologies that the first part is a bit shaky.<br />
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Lastly, I've resurrected the staging yard from the old layout I de-constructed last summer. At first I thought I would keep the turnouts as is, but the more I looked at it I determined that I'd prefer to make the yard functional from a switching perspective and not just a straight staging yard. So I ripped up the turnouts and have re-laid most of them and planned out the remainder.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlcaoWHYR3azuABnZqfF8a1M3b5mz2TyAFduc5OB3LRY706Zxpf2AdrDrb2xg97DxYLpm4Lep9OATZMo8nIYSQLbr7CGBx1Ud_qW7NqFWSq7sK1TvTgtgNrpEqpJihmbx4mgkl6A/s1600/IMG_1577.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlcaoWHYR3azuABnZqfF8a1M3b5mz2TyAFduc5OB3LRY706Zxpf2AdrDrb2xg97DxYLpm4Lep9OATZMo8nIYSQLbr7CGBx1Ud_qW7NqFWSq7sK1TvTgtgNrpEqpJihmbx4mgkl6A/s320/IMG_1577.JPG" width="320" /></a>The improved yard provides two tracks that can be used for arrival and departure, a run-around, two classification tracks, a yard lead, caboose and locomotive storage. In the picture the classification tracks are buried under materials and the yard ladder and engine track have not yet been laid.<br />
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Redoing the yard also gave me a chance to look into stationary decoders to drive the turnout motors (all Tortoise under-layout mounts). I've picked up two Digitrax DS64s that give me control over all of the turnouts in the main yard.<br />
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I think my new best friends are Ebay and my parents' Brother Label Maker. Both have been critical in getting the yard up and operational!<br />
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Additionally for power management I've started implementing a PM42 Power Manager from Digitrax. This allows me to break out the power from each of my two boosters to two separate districts for each booster, additionally I can set the sub-districts to be auto reversing, rather than having the boosters themselves set to Auto Reverse. This way each booster can power an auto-reverse section (which should generally have no more than one train in it) as well as another larger portion of the layout, distributing power more effectively.<br />
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Once the yard is on-line, I want to get a back-drop installed between the yard and Taunton. After that I hope to start on scenery around the track that goes from Taunton to the yard.<br />
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<br />Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10689574748658789222noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-11429132595863573292017-09-04T23:17:00.000-04:002017-09-04T23:17:02.838-04:00I've been working on the railroad....Not as much as I wish... Lots of things going in life, but in the last week+ I've found a few moments to put some time in. I was able to rig up some temporary wiring and thanks to the acquisition this summer got a DC locomotive up and running on temporary track. Lorenzo loved it. Sub-roadbed has been cut for the next sections and test fitted (as you'll see in the pics). The other big news was that new LED shop lights went up, you'll not the change in color temperature in the pictures ($15 @ Ocean State Job Lot, how can you not take that, even if they die in four years...).<br />
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The new sub-roadbed is 15/32" plywood, a bit more rigid which should be good for the curves. I ended up re-enforcing the thinner 3/8" plywood I used originally as I was not satisified it would stay flat. Some scrap pine and maple did the trick with some wood glue.<br />
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I also pre-drilled the hole pattern for the Tortoise Switch Machines from the top down, this should make installation much easier later as the holes are started and I don't have to mess with finding center-line over my head under the layout. I don't know if others use this approach, but it just makes sense! The sub-roadbed will be covered over (so who cares about a few holes), so as long as you can mark where the throw rod will be, you're good to go. I'm looking forward to a significantly easier switch machine install in the future. :-)<br />
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Lastly I've had to think some about electrical blocking as I will need a reversing section since I have a return loop. Currently it looks like my max train length will be ~6 1/2'. This should be ample given the size of the current layout and I can do thinks like put detection on cabooses with DCC decoders or resistors for signaling, automation and full train detection, etc. in the future.<br />
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Till next time; toot, toot!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New sub-roadbed test fit with track.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reinforcement of sub-roadbed</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pre-drilled holes for mounting switch machines underneath.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This straight-away leading into the reverse loop will be the auto-reverse power block.</td></tr>
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<br />Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10689574748658789222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-8639017871835605972017-07-25T10:54:00.000-04:002017-07-25T10:56:36.147-04:00Construction Delays, but expansion proceeds!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two large sections of mainline.</td></tr>
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So, good weather finally showed up which means construction has come to a stand-still (ironic for a railroad, right). Taking a page from the company I work for the Railroad has decided to expand further via M&A activity! That's right, our little railroad has doubled in size thanks to the acquisition of all track and properties belonging to a neighboring railroad.<br />
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The railroad had laid dormant for some time and there was some damage incurred on moving from its original locale to the the house, however the bones are solid and we're looking forward to integrating it into the current plan.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkJgHZL6GF0c_OOYqedJskLHCa1hb-QoVHuwkzgWJPWWjo_3DOZfpBTKI-CkUlot8p9SuR7a3dmzJCL04lKaU_PlXiPr10SMexaPQFLQvAZcB-lR9UHVyU94_Xqcp6skX1aqH3sQ/s1600/2017-07-16_22-34-56_968.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkJgHZL6GF0c_OOYqedJskLHCa1hb-QoVHuwkzgWJPWWjo_3DOZfpBTKI-CkUlot8p9SuR7a3dmzJCL04lKaU_PlXiPr10SMexaPQFLQvAZcB-lR9UHVyU94_Xqcp6skX1aqH3sQ/s320/2017-07-16_22-34-56_968.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Small fuel dealer/rail customer.</td></tr>
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We're most excited by the addition a medium size stub end staging yard as well as a small engine terminal featuring a small turntable (scratch-built no less).<br />
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Looking forward to getting the first loop of track laid and running, then figuring out how to integrate the new portions!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Engine terminal.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbrzYhbhdMC7D2aPAaXT67lk0Mw4-Ij_9LVISg3mt_fVGSPFQc1NzGtr_obGfQXezQW9QYwVQRwMuPtskWVC_FZlVsTi495rd9YGDMmWY4CiOw0pCEKex2VM2wen9bXn3Hjnus1g/s1600/2017-07-16_22-35-41_766.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbrzYhbhdMC7D2aPAaXT67lk0Mw4-Ij_9LVISg3mt_fVGSPFQc1NzGtr_obGfQXezQW9QYwVQRwMuPtskWVC_FZlVsTi495rd9YGDMmWY4CiOw0pCEKex2VM2wen9bXn3Hjnus1g/s320/2017-07-16_22-35-41_766.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Staging Yard</td></tr>
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<br />Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10689574748658789222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-18214776239444913602017-05-30T22:27:00.000-04:002017-05-30T22:27:01.855-04:00Benchwork Up!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVO-Q4ZJScW0t1P1O6g-FWP7nXwI4PrRMmfgsMLM3YG_9gYGn7C76WXNUxJuzEvCmbUYt4uz74RDx9bEXrEGtWlIEB0Q_1UFAjXr9W7CyBhRN_yGovHNzVKzXdr07h29JhpS9C8g/s1600/2017-05-29_20-13-09_703.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVO-Q4ZJScW0t1P1O6g-FWP7nXwI4PrRMmfgsMLM3YG_9gYGn7C76WXNUxJuzEvCmbUYt4uz74RDx9bEXrEGtWlIEB0Q_1UFAjXr9W7CyBhRN_yGovHNzVKzXdr07h29JhpS9C8g/s320/2017-05-29_20-13-09_703.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
Progress in the last week has resulted in the first half of benchwork being stood up! Thanks to Revit I had a detailed cutting plan to work from, and my estimate of material (from a schedule) was spot on for linear feet. If only the carpenter were as good as the computer, one mistake in my manual optimization of cutting led to having to use some scrap pine I had for one last piece... :-(<br />
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Still need to add a few more gusset plates for lateral re-enforcement but in general its quite sturdy for being made out of 1x2s! Lorenzo was happy to walk on it like a balance beam (holding hands of course). My plywood triangular gusset plates are courtesy of a Canstruction project a few years ago. Knowing that I would be building a Model RR some day I had the foresight (and spare space in the basement) to save the scraps (of course being the one with the truck I also have all the original pieces after we took down the can sculptures :-) ).<br />
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Once the final bracing is in place I'll bolt the new benchwork to the existing module and I'll be ready to start laying out and cutting sub-roadbed. I'm cautiously optimistic that I'll have (limited) running trains by sometime in July, if not summer vacations and conferences will likely put further progress on hold until late summer... :-(.Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10689574748658789222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-74749365989719210532017-05-21T00:12:00.002-04:002017-05-21T00:12:28.436-04:00Four years!!! What happened?Yep, the last post was in 2013.....<br />
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So what did happen; lots of things. Mostly I felt like I ran out of useful topics around Revit and/or the more interesting stuff couldn't be shared for various reasons.<br />
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More recently you can read my Design Technology focused thoughts as part of the Design Technology Summit blog posts <a href="http://designtechnologyleaders.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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So what should I do with this blog; well there are other things in my life besides Revit (no way!!!).<br />
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Among them I've always had a passion for model railroads, and now that my nearly two year old son seems just as excited (I should add my 6.5 yr old daughter also likes trains, but that rascal.....) I'm diving back in!<br />
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So I'm moving forward with designing a model railroad, its a <a href="http://wgh.trains.com/" target="_blank">great hobby</a> I might add for lots of people, whether you have a more artistic bent or engineering/electronics/design there is quite literally a little bit of everything!<br />
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That all said I'm getting out of my armchair of having read Model Railroader for the past two decades and I'm actually going to do something about it! I've resurrected my old HO scale module and have planned a simple dog-bone track-plan around it.<br />
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The last couple of Christmases the kids received some cars and engines from Santa as well as a bunch of <a href="http://shop.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=265_422" target="_blank">Bachman E-Z Track</a> sectional pieces. Since that was a pretty big investment by Santa (and no its not me) I decided that while not my first choice, I might as well use the E-Z track as it would get me to "market" more quickly with not having to laydown roadbed, spike flex track, etc.<br />
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Now I wouldn't be a very good Design Technology guy if I didn't use software to do my planning... :-)<br />
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So I found what I think so far is a pretty neat little track planning tool that gets the job done <a href="http://www.scarm.info/index.php" target="_blank">SCARM</a>; it even has a train simulator, so you could just live in the virtual world forever. While there are other software packages out there (that have been around since the 90's) I really like this one (did I mention its free?). Admittedly the "Simple" in the name is a bit too true for a BIM junky like me, but it gets the job done, and in the realm of track planning, it is BIM for track planning, as you can print out a parts list!<br />
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Of course, I also found a way to work Revit into the mix. I used that to design and plan the benchwork to support my wonderful track-plan. A little hi-jinx with images got the track plan into Revit at scale so that I could make sure things were lining up "close enough". I could also make sure it would fit properly in the basement thanks to having a Revit model of the house!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkgyhD6IgQ0ZprkPdEnE2fgXIbxCwdKAheQy6f-AfzhVD-7W7YTo9i5zIoNT1usfL4x1q4LAXiU822pK1in6ZbqK3mWIAi2k-BjkeCbz83IAPss5DBnqbB1HYbM8c6yHvOsOpe9w/s1600/RR_Basement.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji1Uv2CWQ5iTFLRaLY5qiMYH82FHKdaNSxEU68e_vroG8-L0RXHFd1wMUiiGT3sfbGuwKBqBpFxw1dc0RGm5fMV6B06MIBV92nuV9Zd0cPM6-_vvJWWFUADUTLxZ9Xu_Wd8nsiuw/s1600/3D_bench.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji1Uv2CWQ5iTFLRaLY5qiMYH82FHKdaNSxEU68e_vroG8-L0RXHFd1wMUiiGT3sfbGuwKBqBpFxw1dc0RGm5fMV6B06MIBV92nuV9Zd0cPM6-_vvJWWFUADUTLxZ9Xu_Wd8nsiuw/s320/3D_bench.png" width="320" /></a><img border="0" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkgyhD6IgQ0ZprkPdEnE2fgXIbxCwdKAheQy6f-AfzhVD-7W7YTo9i5zIoNT1usfL4x1q4LAXiU822pK1in6ZbqK3mWIAi2k-BjkeCbz83IAPss5DBnqbB1HYbM8c6yHvOsOpe9w/s400/RR_Basement.png" width="400" /></div>
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Of course I also used Revit to create a quick sheet with dimensions and a schedule. Thanks to a handy renumbering tool I could key each instance to the schedule.<br />
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The end result? After $100 at the big Orange Store, as of tonight three girders are nailed, glued and drying (ran out of clamps) and the west end of the track plan has been fitted and tested (the beauty of snap track).</div>
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With some luck I'll keep the updates coming. Stay on track!<br />
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<br />Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10689574748658789222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-56358812382299343642013-01-27T22:46:00.000-05:002013-01-27T22:46:05.833-05:00Improving your BIMSo I think the news it out already, but Harry Madison (one of the most talented Revit API developers out there) has started his own blog and consulting business for developing Revit API tools.<br />
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He has put out a freebie on the Revit Exchange "Image-O-Matic". Which is a nifty little tool to generate an animation of a parametric family. There are a number of interesting possibilities with this tool, you could make a cool family such as the one Harry used for his demo. However another interesting possibility with this tool would be to demonstrate how a family works for the purposes of educating users on how to properly use a family in a project.<br />
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So on top of all that he is running a contest until the end of the month, the winner will get a free tool of their choice (some restrictions apply) if they win the content. To win you have to provide the best example of the use of Image-O-Matic.<br />
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For all the details go <a href="http://boostyourbim.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/win-a-free-custom-built-revit-api-app-for-using-image-o-matic/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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On another front, I'm working closely with Wes Benn (chairman of RTC), some of the North American committee members and some other folks from the industry for something special at RTC NA 2013. No other details to share yet, but stay tuned!Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10689574748658789222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-24495916609585321612012-12-06T21:58:00.000-05:002012-12-06T21:58:01.624-05:00AU 2012 - Is it a cloudy future?So, after almost a week I've mostly dug myself out from the post AU work hangover. For the first time in several years I was quite pleased with the majority of the course I attended, though most of them were dealing with Data and Information, and not specific Revit techniques.<br />
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I was however a bit dissapointed with this year's Keynote. I thought last year's was better overall (<a href="http://blog.makezine.com/craft/5_4_3_2_1_things_about_schuyle/" target="_blank">though the kid was great</a>), however I'm getting tired of hearing Carl Bass tell me the same thing for the last three year running, ie Autodesk is investing in cloud software solutions. Ok, we get it, what else? Oh yeah, you're software is going to share seamless with all products, and they don't want to "restrict our data". Enough, tell me what else is coming! I get the cloud thing we all do, but its also going take you another three to five years to get to full enterprise level support.<br />
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So with that thought in mind the folks at Imaginit were kind enough to line up Beau Turner and Matt Mason (two of my favorite guys to chat with) to talk a little bit about where they see things going and why they're leading the software developer they are (which by the way does not have cloud, social or mobile in any product name) and where they seem some intruging possibilities in the not too distant future.<br />
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Consider it DoRevit's AU Keynote rebuttal/follow-up.<br />
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<br />Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10689574748658789222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-58633248702926755582012-11-21T23:00:00.000-05:002012-11-21T23:00:21.191-05:00Happy Thanksgiving & See You @ AUHappy Thanksgiving to everyone in the United States!<br />
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I will be headed out to Autodesk University on Sunday and look forward to seeing many of you out there. I'll be kicking around so don't hesitate to look me up either through e-mail, blog comments, or whatever.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitchen Island, glass tile backsplash</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitchen on left, tiled chimney and wood storage on right.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7-VuYu91-BoRRoBNLWx87NHQbCPTjsZ7FsrjrLhzNXBU0IkZVZSNuabhrem11ib_O8EBa3WuZNPXh9yNZJmRJ75vqSpFy_17PShO19UEGmu5FovAYonwctdPzefD2kXevMXSv9w/s1600/HPIM3179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7-VuYu91-BoRRoBNLWx87NHQbCPTjsZ7FsrjrLhzNXBU0IkZVZSNuabhrem11ib_O8EBa3WuZNPXh9yNZJmRJ75vqSpFy_17PShO19UEGmu5FovAYonwctdPzefD2kXevMXSv9w/s320/HPIM3179.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wood Stove Hearth</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZkR6cguUU2AcBrtJy2JguNG6V_Prgx_Sqt1cz_VH2jFc5e771ajGeeFqmfI7pvL42W9DU_V5Y0cZcUdtuYC357ngn5tI-w1PezGqi9FDAT9cWJ06shnSfSkkmt_k0ydXy6VKMag/s1600/IMG_7544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZkR6cguUU2AcBrtJy2JguNG6V_Prgx_Sqt1cz_VH2jFc5e771ajGeeFqmfI7pvL42W9DU_V5Y0cZcUdtuYC357ngn5tI-w1PezGqi9FDAT9cWJ06shnSfSkkmt_k0ydXy6VKMag/s320/IMG_7544.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second Floor Foyer</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCu8rJODMJaj-fvoHcNMVTy6WzhZy-a8iYbN0DXm-LdYUyJ-u4NCwxQ51G7GmWCYD5bQ5VZUy9KbCoXdNnriv2wvcrz5btYl1QSmCogMc0r62nwgMi5CDlQMB-IX9T61xF0QWoAw/s1600/IMG_7538.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCu8rJODMJaj-fvoHcNMVTy6WzhZy-a8iYbN0DXm-LdYUyJ-u4NCwxQ51G7GmWCYD5bQ5VZUy9KbCoXdNnriv2wvcrz5btYl1QSmCogMc0r62nwgMi5CDlQMB-IX9T61xF0QWoAw/s320/IMG_7538.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Master Bath Shower (sans glass) and Make-up vanity beyond.</td></tr>
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The house is coming along quite nicely, painters are finishing up this week and next, we just need to get our guard rails installed and a few other minor finishing touches, here and there.Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10689574748658789222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-41842593068715410122012-10-31T22:07:00.001-04:002012-11-01T08:10:56.869-04:00Figure a Problem Out, Document the Solution, Share...<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg3t9n0Zf3gAE02kUVvP49dMfXbqJqOFuIlbynKSE5lZvn8bmDph8o0ic-k04XGAAw99bLrEDK0abO4TUT7DRlWK1N-rqs5BdGTxyIlAJen5mUoeXCEdzWNWN_R1Uztl7-llduVA/s1600/Chron_ScreenShot.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg3t9n0Zf3gAE02kUVvP49dMfXbqJqOFuIlbynKSE5lZvn8bmDph8o0ic-k04XGAAw99bLrEDK0abO4TUT7DRlWK1N-rqs5BdGTxyIlAJen5mUoeXCEdzWNWN_R1Uztl7-llduVA/s400/Chron_ScreenShot.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Project Chronicle Screen Shot: Video & Command Tracks</td></tr>
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I have been waiting a year for this Autodesk Labs technology research project to come to fruition, and finally tonight I got the e-mail I'd long been waiting for!<br />
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<a href="https://chronicle.autodesk.com/" target="_blank">Project Chronicle has gone live!</a><br />
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Chronicle is kinda like Jing for Autodesk products except is also captures actual command data, so that someone watching the video can also "See" exactly what you did, what your settings were/are and when you did it. I'm really intrigued by this technology as I think it is a great way to easily share with people how to perform a task in Autodesk software.<br />
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Now it does look like everything is "public" so that means if you have something you want to "keep in your company" you're still going to have to use tools like Jing. Though I do hope that something like Chronicle advances to where we can choose with whom and how we share our "Chronicles".<br />
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Happy chronicling!<br />
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<i>Edit: I've since been informed that Chronicles can be marked as "private" so you don't have to share with everyone, you can choose to share with specific people. Which is good news, as this person reminded me though, this is hosted by Autodesk Labs. That said, the more people use it and leverage ti, the more likely Autodesk will be to perpetuate it in some form.</i>Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10689574748658789222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-31032995364325402612012-10-20T18:59:00.001-04:002012-10-20T18:59:20.158-04:00Laser scanning: Any monkey can do itWho says monkeys can't run a laser scanner? Of course we'll have to see if he can make all the clouds register together. It would have been preferable to do the scans before board and plaster went up, but when you're waiting for fun toys to fall off the back of a battleship you can't be too picky!<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiq_7choS8K2oNmsWe6WEcD8GFduNMzOBKpWiwEFFW_l3MGVANe2UsHCJ_UZRajkX2fjvpXDkVHzoEsurHDtgm3fn0xuvl7x5YB_BgiuLs9H5jDqO0yXHbwnQPsX6-ofUUlSWM/s640/blogger-image--1653587673.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiq_7choS8K2oNmsWe6WEcD8GFduNMzOBKpWiwEFFW_l3MGVANe2UsHCJ_UZRajkX2fjvpXDkVHzoEsurHDtgm3fn0xuvl7x5YB_BgiuLs9H5jDqO0yXHbwnQPsX6-ofUUlSWM/s640/blogger-image--1653587673.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2pRQBRDoCx2YiQxV1u2ijRO8vpVTum1DqDDgI522Bpr5yjUaa5xuaW_Iu6JvKOLXOBvGO-JU6oh19bYTrTW4GozqxJRP6YT3G0xyOvoe8nmNjTAO33Wlibe134uUH6h-mWqHb/s640/blogger-image--1359571491.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2pRQBRDoCx2YiQxV1u2ijRO8vpVTum1DqDDgI522Bpr5yjUaa5xuaW_Iu6JvKOLXOBvGO-JU6oh19bYTrTW4GozqxJRP6YT3G0xyOvoe8nmNjTAO33Wlibe134uUH6h-mWqHb/s640/blogger-image--1359571491.jpg" /></a></div>alleycatbabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11755173177194157187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-74341376738593680332012-09-27T20:47:00.002-04:002012-09-27T20:47:49.438-04:00Coloring Rooms with Rules & Scheduling Project InfoSo one limitation that I've encountered with Color Fill Schemes for Rooms has been that you don't really have flexibility in terms of a set of "rules" by which to color, its mostly an all or nothing proposition with regards to a single parameter's value. So this week, it finally occurred to me to try filters to color rooms. I tried several view setting with no luck. In my case I wanted to color some very specific rooms all the same, and while I could have used room name, and made each unique room the same color, and turned all the others off, that seemed like alot of work to me. There had to be a way to make filters work!<br />
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It finally occurred to me to apply the filter with a color scheme applied to the view. Viola! My filter changed the color of my target room(s). That still left me with the issue of how to only color the rooms targeted with the filter. This actually turned out to be quite simple, rather then turn the rooms off, I made them "white". The white is a good "trick", it means that I can reduce my color scheme to a parameter with fewer values, think Department Names rather than Room Names, you could even create a parameter for rooms to which you assign the same value. With all rooms still visible, but set to white, now I have the freedom to colors rooms based on whatever Filter Rules I can dream up, thus allowing me to effectively right conditional statements to group rooms together under the same color or pattern which a single value would not typically allow.<br />
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Another silly little thing I encountered this week. I needed a schedule to contain project information, in this case with a list of areas. I actually needed the Project Name with each row of data (don't ask too many questions). What is one to do? I remembered that a couple of weeks ago when working with schedules that "Project Information" was a valid choice in the schedule field's tab combo box. This time though, I created a new schedule and it wasn't there! Then it occurred to me to check the "include linked files" box. Once again, presto! I had project information available to schedule with my areas. Now ironically I don't actually need to schedule anything from my linked file(s), but that is ok, I can deal with that one way or another. I do somewhat understand why these choices only become available when choosing to include linked file data, but at the same time it is a bit of a needless limitation, I can't think of any good reason why Project Information should not always be a valid choice.Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10689574748658789222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-58125292478723126462012-09-18T22:37:00.000-04:002012-09-18T22:37:23.015-04:00Type Catalog QuirkienessSo, was working on Type Catalogs today and came across an interesting quirk. If you're creating a type catalog that is going to populate built-in parameters you have to make sure that while creating the family you've put a value into that parameter at some point (even if you want to leave it blank in the end). It would seem that the blank parameters carry some type of null value by default. For instance my Type Catalog was supposed to populate the "Description" parameter, however I never bothered plugging any data in, as I knew I was just going to build a Type Catalog. However, when I went to load the family the family loaded properly, but I got a warning that the Description parameter did not exist! Obviously as a built-in parameter it is/was there. When I went back to the family, I added a value to the Description parameter, saved, deleted the value, and magically the Type Catalog worked correctly. The interesting thing to note here is that once a value is added it can be deleted, but its no longer a <null> value, so it will carry through the load process when using a Type Catalog.<br />
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As another update, house construction is progressing, interior fitout is coming along, cabinets are installed and painting is just getting started.<br />
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<br />Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10689574748658789222noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-76564679994614036962012-09-02T13:35:00.001-04:002012-09-02T13:35:49.672-04:00Art & Science<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo4FCqixStNvvxM8AubP8FN9A0s6dZOJ_wsSHfi1aeY0Ub92ERryegL1ADiNCrq0O8DD2yB0Jyl6kiGUXjPAb-8BNbx7HuxtAmZLrOLMkNgPfPFiAfJ9IShrXi2xg2fZSsUnLJKA/s1600/VT.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo4FCqixStNvvxM8AubP8FN9A0s6dZOJ_wsSHfi1aeY0Ub92ERryegL1ADiNCrq0O8DD2yB0Jyl6kiGUXjPAb-8BNbx7HuxtAmZLrOLMkNgPfPFiAfJ9IShrXi2xg2fZSsUnLJKA/s400/VT.tiff" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vermont House elevation study</td></tr>
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It is always interesting to see what pops up on my Google News feed that simply searches "Revit". Most of the time it is various press releases from companies announcing new add-ins or services (not terribly exciting), but occasionally something of real note pops up.<br />
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So this morning as I ate my muffin before going to chucch and browsed my tablet I found myself reading an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/02/opinion/sunday/architecture-and-the-lost-art-of-drawing.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all" target="_blank">OpEd piece by Michael Graves in the NYTimes</a>. Now Michael (Mr. Graves, I dunno...?) is not my favorite architect by any stretch of the imagination, but he is certainly not awful in my opinion. When I was in Philly our office had the opportunity to work with his firm on a local project and we chased some work together (I even spent an afternoon in their office working on sketch-up with some of their folks). It was a good relationship and we (firms) worked well together.<br />
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So to the point, I generally agree with him in his piece. I particularly like how he separates "Architectural" drawing into three distinct categories. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a good drawer at all, I enjoy sketching, and I love to use it to get my ideas out, but usually I'm the only one who understands my sketches (maybe I should have focused more on hand "art" while in school).<br />
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I would however put forward that even the lines of the first two categories (<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">referential sketch and preparatory study) are being blurred by technology. With the advent of tablets, and programs like Evernote, Sketchbook, the new "collaboration" between Moleskin & Evernote and the fact that styli are actually helpful even with a tablet (</span></span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/02/technology/personaltech/on-touch-screens-rest-your-finger-by-using-a-stylus-state-of-the-art.html?pagewanted=all" style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;" target="_blank">sorry Steve</a><span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">) it seems to me that more and more people will start to use these electronic tools to do sketching, and in fact they can even support the workflow that Michael describes in his piece. Of course these technologies do not replicate the "feel" of using a hand sharpened lead against yellow trace, but the question I pose is; what is more important? The end product, the result, or the means by which we get there? I understand and support the need to sketch, and I don't expect that we'll ever be "sketching" in a program like Revit, but I do believe that technology can make it easier and faster to collaborate, even when we are sketching and drawing (and still get an artistic end result that we can say is "Art"). </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">Furthermore, at the end of the day, I will still always keep a roll of trace handy at my desk, because sometimes (at least today and likely the near future) it is in fact just "easier".</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">However, as an example, of where "electronic" is taking over for physical last year when I was the project architect and I had to send "sketches" to our structural engineer, what did I do? I didn't print something out, draw on it, scan it and e-mail it, nor did I just draw something from scratch. Instead I used "Snip" a utility that comes with Windows7 to capture a screen shot from Revit, and use the built in pen tools to mark-up up the screen shot then directly e-mail to the engineer. Now it did help that I had one of the old Wacom screens off to the side (3rd screen, 1024x768) to quickly do my mark-ups, but in the end that is a minor point.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">I realize that these sketches do not fall into the two categories that are the focus of the OpEd, but I think the point of the application of the technology still stands, and one can see where the same underlying technological tools could be applied to the practice discussed. I'll also admit that the "study" shown at the top was probably not 100% hand drawn (I honestly don't remember at this point), there is a good chance that the sketch was based roughly on a computer drawing, but the act of "sketching", was way to explore and embellish what would otherwise be a very un-emotional and static drawing produced by a computer program.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">The biggest difficulty I find is making the technology available, and part of our dialog. The workflows and processes exist at an individual level (like myself) but I've yet to effectively capture it in a way to teach it, or make it available to others. The limitations of the availability of tablets (and other technology) fully integrated with enterprise systems also raises barriers to teams adopting artistic digital workflows (for instance I can't put a Wacom on everyone's desks, even old ones). I hope that the day will come, but I'm not sure when and I'm also not sure "how much", how much do people need the physical feel of drawing to execute drawing, versus the graphical result, without the "touch"?</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">What are your thoughts?</span></span></span>Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10689574748658789222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-90605735660957067282012-08-19T21:01:00.002-04:002012-08-19T21:01:33.757-04:00House UpdatesA few delays here and there, but finally drywall (blueboard) has started to go up. The crew is moving quickly, they should be done by early next week at the latest. More pics on Google+.<br />
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<br />Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10689574748658789222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-38899440163416651342012-07-02T21:43:00.004-04:002012-07-02T21:43:51.191-04:00RTC NA wrap up, final thoughtsHome again, and back at the office... :-(<br />
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RTC NA was great (again) and the organizers deserve plenty of credit for putting on a great show! James does a great <a href="http://www.allthingsbim.com/2012/07/rtc-north-america-2012.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FzpTgj+%28All+Things+BIM%29&utm_content=Google+Reader" target="_blank">overview post on his blog</a> (with some fantastic inside quotes).<br />
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In case you have not heard, next year's will be in Vancouver Canada (hence the NA and not USA). As well as the first European conference in Delft Holland and AUS is going to New Zealand!<br />
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Now some may be thinking (because I already heard mutterings) that Canada might be prohibitive for Americans because air flights into Canada have a habit of "jumping" in cost compared to a similar domestic flight in the lower 48. Might I suggest you consider flying into Seattle and renting a car (3 hr drive). If you bring your family it will be a great vacation, or if you pair up with some fellow Revit junkies from your area you can split the cost on the car.<br />
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The locations chosen for RTC tend to be very family friendly, and its nice to see everyone in such a relaxed and intimate atmosphere. The upper northwest is a beautiful part of North America if you've never visited, and given the time frame (mid July) it should be a great time to visit and make a vacation of it! I know we had a great time going to Atlanta early, hanging out then having some great Revit and BIM conversations and seeing some excellent presentations!<br />
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Our own lab went really, really well. As a bit of a teaser for the material you missed out on, this is a short supplementary video I put together for the lab. Start planning now! If I had to choose between AU and RTC, and I considered myself an expert user, looking to learn from the top of class experts, I would pick RTC!</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxlEypHfIgF4GhohoovLtILBPioA3mTSjoFm5W24i0saAyOOkluJIJkb_ucsWjMgOQXd2F-Xp2hH-o' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10689574748658789222noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-81256957256983450532012-06-30T17:34:00.001-04:002012-06-30T17:34:06.937-04:00Closing talk quote"get rid of text. If you're using text you're doing it wrong"alleycatbabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11755173177194157187noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-13278731330703171612012-06-29T19:07:00.001-04:002012-06-29T19:07:34.772-04:00On the boatWe're on the boat to dinner and our daughter has joined us. Off to eat pig on a stick.<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhia83RyEQLJqxuL-aMldswzFtF6CpfYWiWGgsj9iZx4nY2ayVjZpDeoHnoRwopsY-B_moSk-Cte2sCWhlc9QG8rZyufr5C866Yc8fIOHMPpJ82HVRkCmQ1ow9NAHhcBT4iGP50/s640/blogger-image--340230426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhia83RyEQLJqxuL-aMldswzFtF6CpfYWiWGgsj9iZx4nY2ayVjZpDeoHnoRwopsY-B_moSk-Cte2sCWhlc9QG8rZyufr5C866Yc8fIOHMPpJ82HVRkCmQ1ow9NAHhcBT4iGP50/s640/blogger-image--340230426.jpg" /></a></div>alleycatbabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11755173177194157187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-69150321519559483372012-06-29T16:13:00.001-04:002012-06-29T16:13:26.685-04:00BIM washingInteresting link<br />
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http://www.bimthinkspace.com/2011/06/episode-16-understanding-bim-wash.htmlalleycatbabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11755173177194157187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-10409907937324370982012-06-29T14:55:00.001-04:002012-06-29T14:55:02.583-04:00Data miningHow to mine data such as wall types and line style use data from models.<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcWVaxa5kotKeJETzHAUGSVtsaBkwholnHvbK2mCFgkRqXp-aWoKWI-49qlQx6NmbOLDh5MHMLHgIibsBvkSqM3-ATOr4nrypOMTtgO7mZzDti4OAFhAONawAKjExMMbPgXJ72/s640/blogger-image--257995957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcWVaxa5kotKeJETzHAUGSVtsaBkwholnHvbK2mCFgkRqXp-aWoKWI-49qlQx6NmbOLDh5MHMLHgIibsBvkSqM3-ATOr4nrypOMTtgO7mZzDti4OAFhAONawAKjExMMbPgXJ72/s640/blogger-image--257995957.jpg" /></a></div>alleycatbabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11755173177194157187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-37847746898899083382012-06-24T16:39:00.001-04:002012-06-24T16:39:40.591-04:00We're here!Checked in and heading to the pool! If you're around look us up, drop an email, comment on the post or find Krista on Facebook.<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQ_YJAd7XO0jD17NaCw90MiR9rphz8aSRRq2lp-cjl1ZV0b3gwBpSLR3Qsikma6Bx6-yiWe-4NmCik595KaBisEuodX3-1of4AY_J9Lo0SptWMjZhkG4sQPdmXKQpWLeS10rS/s640/blogger-image-1483993435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQ_YJAd7XO0jD17NaCw90MiR9rphz8aSRRq2lp-cjl1ZV0b3gwBpSLR3Qsikma6Bx6-yiWe-4NmCik595KaBisEuodX3-1of4AY_J9Lo0SptWMjZhkG4sQPdmXKQpWLeS10rS/s640/blogger-image-1483993435.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLn8sFwElAiwzhBSsx0QLaZY6aLt3f659p2MxpAgllsBm8TMlWef0SUCZKz-lv6A8fR0PjkOnQtzq7Gtvqr4O50TqYXRa7bdty0lg_OUqAhE-KaNfMnh8uTQfF1it-cgS-qjy1/s640/blogger-image--1076565476.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLn8sFwElAiwzhBSsx0QLaZY6aLt3f659p2MxpAgllsBm8TMlWef0SUCZKz-lv6A8fR0PjkOnQtzq7Gtvqr4O50TqYXRa7bdty0lg_OUqAhE-KaNfMnh8uTQfF1it-cgS-qjy1/s640/blogger-image--1076565476.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6CszxAfGWMiWoDZMvZr2Hsxon2ED7cwSDFM9FQca6_fz0oDNtvgseW9_kMrGhCmD69P-EORPbblM_lRutQ1UZQ9EtgpFLkAK1H2VaMb2md5Xlm8xVIbi_4jO5RT68cIgtqih/s640/blogger-image-2105914754.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6CszxAfGWMiWoDZMvZr2Hsxon2ED7cwSDFM9FQca6_fz0oDNtvgseW9_kMrGhCmD69P-EORPbblM_lRutQ1UZQ9EtgpFLkAK1H2VaMb2md5Xlm8xVIbi_4jO5RT68cIgtqih/s640/blogger-image-2105914754.jpg" /></a></div>alleycatbabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11755173177194157187noreply@blogger.com0Stone Mountain Park Stone Mountain33.804364 -84.13218tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-65932509720359972332012-06-24T12:33:00.001-04:002012-06-24T12:33:05.627-04:00TouchdownWe have arrived. If you can't tell the sign says welcome to Atlanta.<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqMpmHpkmoA1y2jw4M03GW5qvSrX9-NkkQhLW2e5kszfFlDxB71zg3Ua7-6IEnNTFQx_mMFNJQy3psPfHmZiFE59Sf1mPMULeXrzy5uhHCkUEKz0h9O8dlkUMagCZuIchXYi2q/s640/blogger-image-1353505946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqMpmHpkmoA1y2jw4M03GW5qvSrX9-NkkQhLW2e5kszfFlDxB71zg3Ua7-6IEnNTFQx_mMFNJQy3psPfHmZiFE59Sf1mPMULeXrzy5uhHCkUEKz0h9O8dlkUMagCZuIchXYi2q/s640/blogger-image-1353505946.jpg" /></a></div>alleycatbabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11755173177194157187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-38216413662757401972012-06-24T09:06:00.001-04:002012-06-24T09:06:06.096-04:00On our way to RTCWe are on our way! Elephante too!<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5IQCnmvO8ZV7RNEqUjL1CffFiTsBtrDc580Y_b75rzDp77SRUYNB3vEtpcn-Rc2_FV9RmW73q36QGlWXvOgPEJ8f7WqhpQHJiZMpIHkgCzir3JlJXPkcrlS15FrgC7WRYtsN/s640/blogger-image-1922202720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5IQCnmvO8ZV7RNEqUjL1CffFiTsBtrDc580Y_b75rzDp77SRUYNB3vEtpcn-Rc2_FV9RmW73q36QGlWXvOgPEJ8f7WqhpQHJiZMpIHkgCzir3JlJXPkcrlS15FrgC7WRYtsN/s640/blogger-image-1922202720.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyUMCvKZ6eCgbZBrGuCSDRGmJSh3BiKHkiSaY2YC0b7JUtmZ9IaeTnuz97mxteK7OoUEK0nvrOnjKwVh_2RghK1_zBsPS-bBWx7fxTJn8WwvRFqwsIC32RCOAAaPqZv33j1v7X/s640/blogger-image-927214547.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyUMCvKZ6eCgbZBrGuCSDRGmJSh3BiKHkiSaY2YC0b7JUtmZ9IaeTnuz97mxteK7OoUEK0nvrOnjKwVh_2RghK1_zBsPS-bBWx7fxTJn8WwvRFqwsIC32RCOAAaPqZv33j1v7X/s640/blogger-image-927214547.jpg" /></a></div>alleycatbabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11755173177194157187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-60396788986574526602012-06-20T10:34:00.000-04:002012-07-02T21:44:45.693-04:00Vaporware!So, I feel like I need to say something on the topic of "Autodesk 360". You may have seen recently that there has been another new <a href="http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?siteID=123112&id=19676436" target="_blank">"360" announcement</a>. The problem I have with 360 is there is no product! It is a best a banner for a number of different products, most of which rely on Autodesk's cloud that they've built out (courtesy of Amazon web-services). If you start to dig into the details, it is all still separate "things". Recent acquisitions Horizontal Glue and Vela Systems for instance are all still sold through their primary channels and have not been anywhere near integrated into Autodesk. "Single Sign On" is more like "Single User ID, sign in multiple times",. If you're a subscriber with access to some of the other cloud services like Rendering, Structural Analysis, CEA, etc. there is no "single" sign on. When you get "into" the "360" website, you still have to log into each unique product.<br />
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The issue I have, is people are starting to talk about 360 like it <b>is</b> a product. Even Autodesk's marking material suggests the presence of some "master" 360 product "Autodesk BIM 360: The next generation BIM". If I didn't know better this would lead me to believe I can buy "360", which is about far from the truth as you can get. If 360 were some sort of "master" or "base" program to which I could add modules, then the marketing speak would make sense (and maybe that is Autodesk's long term goal), but here, today its just Vaporware.<br />
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My warning to you, if you see someone listing how they've "got" 360, or they ask you to compare 360 to another product, then start asking questions. My response is "there's nothing hear folks, time to move on". If you peak behind the curtains, you're not going to find something you can actually put your hands on. None of this is to dispute that Autodesk does not offer cloud services, my point of contention is that I think the marketing approach to said services is confusing at best and mis-leading at worst.<br />
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Hope to see many of you at RTC USA next week!Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10689574748658789222noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25558076.post-71823719686736186672012-03-28T13:56:00.000-04:002012-03-28T13:56:01.237-04:00RTC North America 2012! Oh & Revit 2013So the veil has lifted for yet another year on the latest release of Revit. I know that <a href="http://autodesk-revit.blogspot.ca/2012/03/what-new-in-autodesk-revit-2013.html" target="_blank">David Light</a> will provide a detailed overview of the new features so I'll spare you re-writing my own post. That said I'm very excited by the changes to View Templates and View Types, I view this as critical to help maintain a graphically consistent document set in your model, particularly when working on large projects with big teams. The other big piece that I think many architecture users will get excited about will be the new stair tool (the old one is still there) and some minor improvements in railings. Would we like more, perhaps, but at least we've got something, rather than nothing.<br />
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So, the other thing I've been tardy on letting people know about is that Krista, David and myself are all schedule to be speaking at <a href="http://www.revitconference.com.au/rtc2012us/index.htm" target="_blank">RTC '12</a> about Stairs and Rails! Of course up until now my class brief on the RTC website had to be intentionally vague, but now I can let everyone know that the course will not be discussing the old stairs and railing tools, but will focus on the enhancements provided by 2013.<br />
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So if you have not already, seriously consider signing up for RTC, if last year's is any indication, this year should be fantastic, particularly with a larger audience!Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10689574748658789222noreply@blogger.com0