RTCUSA Day 2 recap

Another scorcher in Atlanta. Reports of 106 F. Sessions even hotter. My day was all about DATA, DATA, DATA. Leveraging Room data, Big data mining of projects for assessing the health of your project and your firm. Inspiring stuff.

Classes I wish I had the opportunity to attend yesterday- Building Smarter Models with James Vandezande and Visualizations to the Max: Taking Revit into game engine environments for real-time rendering, physics and animation by Marcello Sgambelluri. My twitter feed was on fire about the classes.

All this led to a heat stroke inducing riverboat ride to a whole pig BBQ on the other side of the lake. I'm pretty sure a good time was had by all. And it was comforting to see that the hotel pool was not cordoned off with Police tape this morning.

On to the next one!

RTCUSA Day 1

Great Keynote yesterday. A "Fireside Chat" with Dick Morley and Brad Holz. You may know of Dick, and if you don't you should. Developer of the PLC (Programable Logic Controller) and the ABS (Antilock Breaking System) among others things.

It was a free flowing, stream of consciousness education that covered topics ranging from how to effect the world consumption of oil by 5% (copper cored steel motor shafts that make bearings last at higher temps) to why Dick never got to develop an orange sorting system (did YOU know they paint oranges for visual consistency?) and Javahoe (not a "lady of the night" that hangs out at Starbucks, but a full size Backhoe controlled over the web. )

Learn more about Dick here and visit his site http://www.barn.org/ It will blow your mind. "Dick doesn't think outside of the box, he doesn't recognize that there is a box."

Oh, and thanks to Evergreen Marriott Resort for having muffins with my name on them.

Roadtrip

What kind of Collaborator are you?

CADSoft Consulting brought some great representatives from Autodesk together to talk about Emerging Technology for Building Professionals, and I was invited.  :)

Tim Douglas reminded us of the importance of DATA in our models.
Scott Davis talked about the power of visualization (and NOT just the photo-realistic type.)
Ken STowe talked about the ROI of BIM and a Workshop series he has facilitated on the subject. If you ever have an opportunity to participate in that workshop  I highly recommend it (even from the short description we had today.)
And Chuck Mies talked about how Owners can use BIM and what we all have to do to make it happen.

Thanks to all of you.

In relation to the Post title, Chuck Mies brought up a great point about the buzzword Collaboration, their are two definitions:

col·lab·o·rate

intr.v. col·lab·o·rat·ed, col·lab·o·rat·ing, col·lab·o·rates

1. To work together, especially in a joint intellectual effort.

 2. To cooperate treasonably, as with an enemy occupation force in one's country.

How are you collaborating on your current projects?

Autodesk and Vela systems...

...it just makes sense.

Autodesk aquires mobile construction management solution provider Vela Systems today.

With Vela's cloud sourced, list based project management and issue tracking solutions and Autodesk's BIM authouring capabilities we will start to see a more seamless integration of BIM use on the construction site.  Interesting things to come for sure....

See the press release here.

Reflection of...

...my other blog. Just Geeky enough to make it here.

Once in a lifetime...

...is such an overused expression.  But today folks over most of the world have an opportunity to view a true "once in a lifetime event."  The Transit of Venus!  I know, exciting right?  What, pray-tell, is the Transit of Venus?  It's when Venus passes between the Earth and Sun and is visible crossing the disk of the sun.

WARNING!: Once in a lifetime events do NOT give us license to be stupid.  DON'T LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN! You won't be able to see it anyway, given that Venus will appear approx 1/32 the size of the Sun.  And you may not be able to see anything afterwards.  (Safe viewing tips below.)

What's the big deal, anyway?  Well, this rare astronomical event occurs in pairs (the last was in 1999) and the next won't be until 2117!!

Wait, I thought you said this was once in a lifetime?  You just said it happened in 1999.. Right... it wasn't  once in a lifetime then, it was twice in a lifetime.  Duh. Clearly that's why I didn't blog about it then (and I was too busy partying with Price.)

OK, so it happens once every century (or twice, or whatever) why should I care? Aren't planets and stars and stuff constantly circling the sun?  Planets, yes. Stars, no. (maybe visit the planetarium? today would be a good day.)  This particular event was instrumental in measuring the size of the solar system! And was arguably responsible for making our exploration of Space a reality.

OK, OK, I'm convinced.  How do I view this awe inspiring display of celestial clockwork?

First you have to NOT be in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

If you're lucky, you get an awesome sunset view like the image above.  If not, you have a couple of options.

• #14 Welding glass or Eclipse Shades  (Welding Glass available at local Welding Supply shops, Big Box Stores (Home Depot, etc) or Farm Supply Stores)  You'll need some pretty darn good eyes to Venus transit the Sun though.  We're not talking lunar eclipse here.  Much, much smaller.
• Visit your local Planetarium.  If you're reading about this for the first time, you're probably out of luck.  Space geeks probably have all the spots reserved. Probably a pretty rockin' time though.
• A Pinhole projector.  This is one of the few ways the non-planners can see the transit of they are interested.  Given the size of the silhouette on the disk of the SUN, your mileage may vary.  Pinhole projectors can be elaborate or simple.  You can even use your hands. Just hold up both hands with your fingers overlapping at right angles. The holes between your fingers make pinholes.

 

• Project the image with Binoculars or a Telescope.

• Your best bet is probably to view it live over the web.
• http://sunearthday.nasa.gov/2012/transit/webcast.php

Thank You NASA!!

So, get your Geek on and take part in a truly once in a lifetime event.

Is your organization stuck?...

Is there a human being alive who is capable of getting to an airplane who doesn't know how to buckle his seatbelt?

Given that we have 100% seatbelt understanding among the flying population, why do flight attendants repeat the instructions literally millions of times a year? (Low and flat across the waist...)

It's stuck. - Seth Godin

 How do you get ""Un-Stuck"?  For a start, visit Seth's Blog

Friday Fun

I know what you did last Summer...

Now put those pencils mouses mice down turn off that computer, and have some fun...  It's Summer!!!