AU 2008 – Day Two – Monday

[Obviously the following didn't get posted on day two, apologies]

Morning came quickly today but it didn't seem like it because the room has drapery that literally cuts out any evidence of exterior light.

We started out with a board meeting (AUGI) at 10 AM, mostly a planning session for AU events and activities. After a brief lunch in the food court we had a very long session called the Leadership Conference. I say very long because it went from 1-6 pm according to the schedule, it actually concluded a little after 6:30 pm. The purpose of the meeting was to provide people that run user groups and or user communities, like AUGI user groups or the AREA with a lot of information that will hopefully help them start a group or just manage their existing one better.

I personally found the last two presenters the most interesting while I'm sure the majority of the attendees found value in all of the presenters information. John Morgan, AUGI board member, discussed the “best practices” of starting/running a user group. Though compressed into much too little time he covered a wealth of ideas. Then Shaun Hendricks with Autodesk and the manager for The Area spoke about their three versions of the site and what they've learned, all very insightful!

After the LC wrapped up I made a “quick” trip up to the room, (definitely not quick) and then joined the line to attend the AEC Mixer. I never made it to the food because each time I turned around or changed location I ran into another Revit user/friend. It was fun to catch up with everyone and I regret not managing to find time to chat with more people.

Last but not least, “dinner” at the new Grand Lux in the Palazzo portion of the Venetian. A little name dropping...Jim Balding, Doug Williams & Scott Brown (WATG), Matt Jezyk and his wife (Autodesk), Greg Demchak (Autodesk), Wesley Benn (Benn Design) and last but not least the “Rock-n-Roll” architect – Steve Shell. Always a fun happy bunch to share a meal with, thanks for including me!

Lights out!

AU 2008 Day One – Sunday for Me

I left home on Sunday afternoon and arrived in Vegas at about 5:30 pm. I parked the car at the Valet, checked in and made the veeerrry long walk to the registration area. It is about as far away from the hotel rooms as it could be and still be part of the Venetian complex.

I met with a few members of the AUGI board that were also either registered or just finished doing so. We then separated briefly so we could all regroup for a dinner at Dal Toro (Lamborghini). It was really quite good but surprisingly quiet, the calm before the AU storm of attendees I suppose. I was told by another attendee that their taxi driver told him that it has been a “ghost town” lately though, evidence of the currently economic situation I suppose.

After dinner I ran into Pat and Todd with HNTB (and we met up with Jim Balding, WATG) and we passed a couple hours chatting about stuff, well in fact a lot of it was Revit stuff...which isn't really that surprising is it?

Autodesk University 2008

I will be attending this event during this coming week so my posting may or may not be sporadic. I have a pile of posts in "drafts" but just haven't finished anything, favoring family time during the holiday.

If you use Twitter you can find me "there". I intend to update where I am as often as I can remember to do so via Twitter so it may be a little easier to find me, there are going to be a lot of people there!

I look forward to seeing old friends and making new ones this week.