Autodesk University 2010 - Monday 01

Monday morning is starting slowly for me (and a bit groggy). Because my sessions don't begin until 11am I opted to stay up a bit too late and hang out with people and chat. This is my hotel room view of the Vegas strip. Just about the same as last year but a little closer to the ground.

I got to spend some quality time with the AUGI Board members for dinner, many thanks to Karen Popp of Extension Media for graciously picking up the tab! The food was excellent at RM Seafood. The key lime pie was still frozen when they brought it out but it was excellent, though tough to get a fork into. In software terms we'll call it a "feature"? I sat next to Peter Jamtgaard and we talked about a wide variety of things, he's a very very bright guy. If you ever get a chance to speak to him, take the plunge!

I ran into some old friends from WATG who have moved elsewhere and a couple who are still there. Scott Brown with HHCP in Orlando, Doug Williams with Perkins & Will, Dean Yama and Danny Polkinhorn (with WATG) and Robert Manna (not with WATG, with Burt Hill very likely soon to be Stantec). When I stumbled into them they were chatting about, what else, Revit! Not really a big surprise. It's funny to be around "old" Revit users, they can be a cranky bunch, ranting about this feature or that feature that hasn't been changed or tweaked to their likely yet, or in many years. I'm included in the characterization, to be fair.

I was asked, what I thought, was an interesting question late last night, "Why does a guy like you come to AU anymore, it's not like you really need to attend a class about walls, doors and windows?" In the early days it was all about the classes for me but after the first two years of AU (attending since 2001 except for 2002) it became much more about the chance to see, meet and talk to people face to face.

Sure the classes I choose to attend are different now and it would be idiotic to think I can't learn something new (I try not to be idiotic, though some friends could accuse me of that at times). It's about the nuggets, a comment made in a session that makes me reconsider some long held assumption or the fact that the presenter has a different perspective and tries something my "old timer" mind doesn't let me "go there" for.

I find it ironic too, that many of the people I know now were originally met via online interaction but now it is the face-to-face time with them that I cherish at each AU.

I'm heading to my first media event session shortly, more to come.