My Non-BIM Hobby

We all do something else, hopefully, outside of work that makes us happy. Maybe it's kickball or something. The point is, technology, architecture, BIM, et al, are great, but we need to step away now and then.

Seriously, who doesn't love kickball?!

Some background; I've played music most of my life. Starting with the saxophone in 6th grade, my love for playing music has only grown. I picked up the guitar for the first time in 1995 and haven't put it down. More recently, however, I've been exploring new musical avenues. Last April, I decided I was going to learn the banjo.

Every Thursday night since then, I've been playing in a 'jam' group with guys from around DFW. I believe the best way to learn is to play with other people as often as you can. Last night a few of us got together to play an 'open mic night' where one of the guys work and the rest is history.

We'll probably be famous soon...

Apply Dependent Views

You spend so much time getting your dependent views set just like you like them. You get the cropping regions all set, with just the right amount of overlap, and then you remember this is a 30 foot tower.

 queue dramatic music

Well don't fret, little buddy. You can take all that hard work and apply it to every other floor in seconds! Just right-click on the parent view of the set you just finished and choose "Apply Dependent Views", choose the views you want to apply that set to, and you're all set. This is yet another great example of "do it once, do it right". You will have to take some time and rename the new dependent views, but the hard work is done. Apply your view template for that type of view, and get back to work!

The views you apply your set to must be the same scale as the original.

I tell my employees all the time that if you find yourself doing something menial repetitively, there is another way to do it.

Back to Reality

What a great break! 12 days of Christmas, quite literally, and it absolutely flew by. Great time with the fam, but unfortunately, it's back to real life. While I was away, I played, I thought, I slept (a lot), and I contemplated where we go next as an industry. Many changes are coming our way to be sure, and if Ray Kurzweil is to be believed, the Singularity is truly near.

Your next project

Technology is changing so rapidly now that I feel like it's a full time job just playing catch-up. With tools like Revit Server coming into maturity, enterprise cloud solutions for email, documents, and storage, and teams growing ever more complex and dispersed, our life is about to change big time.

I though about the challenges we face this year and created a very short list. Some of these aren't new technologies, but on the spectrum of 'Impossible' to 'Required', these just moved into the 'Practical' realm.

1. Security: Central files based in the cloud (or at least, outside access given to consultants).
2. Preparedness: Owners finally realizing BIM's potential and turning the screws on those who aren't ready.
3. Communication: Central files that aren't central files at all, but a data-hub of sorts.
4. Process: Simulation (energy, logistics, personnel throughput) for high-performance design will become commonplace.
5. Cost: Subscription-based cloud tools and services (think rendering).

If we make it that far.

This list is by no means complete, but just a series of thoughts I had whilst sipping Egg Nog at my 11am breakfast. Here's to a great 2012!