The Dirt

World's Oldest Man (a Land Surveyor) Dies at 113

Wow!  Must have been all the fresh air and exercise!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31439522/ns/world_news-asiapacific/

BIM / VDC: An Evolutionary Step in Engineering

 

I am long overdue for a post, but I think I have the perfect one.  Are you ready?  I am convinced that we are witnessing the next evolutionary step in engineering.  That being the wide scale adoption of BIM (Building Information Modeling) and/or VDC (Virtual Design and Construction).  What are BIM and VDC?  Follow the links:  BIM  VDC  My two cents . . . they are esentially the same thing!

CAD, GPS, Laser Scanning each in and of themselves represented evolutionary steps for engineering.  Today, BIM / VDC is here and here to stay.  Still not convinced?  Have you seen the recent cover stories  from both CE News and ENR?  Check them both out and get ready to retool, rethink and reengiineer your current processes.  If you don't I believe you will no longer be able to compete, much less win any size-able, stimulus related contracts.  The recent GSA RFP that requires BIM models as part of the submittals is proof enough.  This is a 5 year, $35M contract.  If you want a piece of the action BIM and/or VDC is the way forward.

You know you are getting old when you have witnessed more than three of these evolutionary jumps in your career.  I was hired at my first civil engineering firm to migrate the design shop from ink and mylar to CAD.  That makes me about 102 years old.  But I am never too old to adopt new, necessary and inevitable processes / technologies - except for reality TV.  Not going there.

Autodesk Assistance Program

Autodesk Assistance Program Offers Help to Displaced Workers Designers, Engineers and Architects Can Receive Software, Training, Certification and Other Company Resources to Help Extend Their Skills and Improve Employability SAN RAFAEL, Calif., April 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Recognizing the impact of today's economic challenges, Autodesk is launching the Autodesk Assistance Program. The Autodesk Assistance Program will provide Autodesk customers and partners with design software tools, education and resources that will help them to enhance, maintain and develop their 3D design technology skills and remain competitive in the marketplace. The program will offer free* student software term licenses, free online training and a path to certification to unemployed architects, designers and engineers in all industries. "Everyone has been touched by the economic downturn," said Steve Blum, senior vice president, Autodesk Americas sales. "Autodesk has a tradition of supporting the needs of its customers and partners. The Autodesk Assistance Program is a fast-tracked way for our customers to improve their productivity and competitiveness during this challenging and volatile time by accessing the multiple resources we offer them to best position themselves for the future." Autodesk Assistance Program tools and resources will be made available through an online portal, where users can access: Free* Software License: Any 13-month term student license of AutoCAD, Autodesk Revit Architecture, Autodesk Inventor Professional, and/or AutoCAD Civil 3D software. Free Online Training: On-demand training available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week provided online through vBooks - powered by Retrieve Technologies, Inc. (internet access required) Reduced-Cost Classroom Training: Many Autodesk Authorized Training Center (ATC) partners are offering classroom training at their training facilities for free or for a significantly reduced fee. Certification: Certification preparation and exams are available at discounted rates through Autodesk Authorized Certification Centers. In addition to the Autodesk Assistance Program, Autodesk has partnered with various industry organizations on local initiatives. For instance, the new Autodesk office in Waltham, Mass., is teaming with the local Boston Society of Architects to offer free volunteer-led immersion seminars on building information modeling (BIM) to unemployed design professionals in the Boston area. Autodesk resellers and Chief Information Officers from different Boston-area companies are all pitching in to help teach the seminars. Seminar attendees receive a free* Revit Architecture student term license, and can also receive American Institute of Architects (AIA) continuing education credit for the seminars. Partners who participate in the Autodesk Assistance Program will be designated as official Autodesk Assistance Program members on the program's website. Offers for certification and classroom training will vary depending on each ATC. Locate an Autodesk ATC in your area for details. The Autodesk Assistance Program is being launched in North America. The company hopes to roll the program out in other countries over the next few months. Listen to Steve Blum discuss the program in a video on the Autodesk YouTube channel. Autodesk currently provides training and online resources to end users through Autodesk University Online (AU Online), Autodesk User Group International (AUGI), various online industry communities and the Autodesk YouTube Channel. For more information about the Autodesk Assistance Program, please contact your local reseller, or contact Autodesk directly at assistance@autodesk.com or visit www.autodesk.com/assistanceprogram.

The Golden Spike & The Gates of Hell

I decided to drive down to Carmel, CA this weekend.  Along the way I stopped in at Stanford University in Palo Alto because I had heard rumors that the infamous golden spike was on display there.

 

The golden spike on display at The Cantor Arts Center (Stanford University)

There is lots of information on this historic (and gigantic) civil engineering feat HERE.

 

East meets West at Promontory Summit, UT - May 10, 1869

Well, I found it.  Much to my suprise I also stumbled on The Gates of Hell . . . by Rodin . . . on display at Stanford University.

 

The Gates of Hell by Rodin

What a day.

Fortune Battle of the (Corporate) Bands

I have a question for all you DIRT readers . . . Should I assemble a band, made up of Autodesk employees to compete in the annual 2009 Fortune Battle of the Corporate Bands?

VOTE HERE

I'll post the results soon!

Introducing Google Latitude

 

Another cool application from Google . . . http://www.google.com/latitude/intro.html  Do I really want folks to know where I am 24/7/365 as long as my Blackberry is on?  I'll think about it!

Easter Island Story: Fortune Magazine & CNNMoney.com

 

Benjamin Lowy (photographer), me and Jeffrey O'Brien (author) walking up to the Moai on Easter Island - August 2008

I have been waiting five months for this to go to print.  If you prefer hard copy see the January 19, 2009 issue of Fortune Magazine.

Fortune Story:  http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/13/magazines/fortune/obrien_easter.fortune/index.htm

CNN Video:  http://money.cnn.com/video/ft/#/video/fortune/2009/01/13/fortune.tt.easterisland.fortune

 

 

Travel back to ancient Rome with Google Earth

Check this out:

http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/annc/20081112_earthrome.html

This is not only very cool but Bernie Frischer with Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities / University of Virginia, who I met in Oaxaca, Mexico recently, had a big hand in this effort.  You guessed it, Bernie and his team are Autodesk customers!

Dave Graveline "Into Tomorrow" Interview from Autodesk University

 

While at Autodesk University this week I had a chance to sit down with Dave Graveline to talk about the Autodesk Easter Island Project.  You can watch and listen by picking HERE.

Autodesk YouTube Channel

Check it out, Autodesk has it's own YouTube channel.