Why bike? Reason #1

The scenery.
I was out for an just an hour and saw sights much like these (photos from Panoramio, but could have been taken today):

Space Value Judgments

I've been thinking a lot more about space as an indicator of value. As a general rule, the more space you give to something, the more you value it.

My current company, Robert Stephen Consulting, assesses the amount of space a company devotes to its various activities compares that with the total space available, so our clients cam come to conclusions about whether the space is used effectively.

Space is a type of capital, like currency or labor. It can be managed much like money and time can be, though not nearly as liquid. It has been a change of perspective for to look at it as a commodity.

At work, we consider cubicles, office spaces, and circulation space. But I've begun to look at my closet space, desk space, garage space, and storage space in a similar way. Am I using my space effectively? Do my space allocations match the value I attach to the objects and activities in my life?

SF Bike Expo - Highlights

Honestly, the San Francisco Bike Expo http://sfbikeexpo.com/ was disappointing. It felt like a flea market rather than a convention. I would have liked to see new developments, serious custom bikes, and more of the stuff on the fringe. The Maker Faire is much better event for unique bike stuff.

There were a few displays that really caught my eye.

Wooden Bikes - a new take on an old material.

• Renovo http://www.renovobikes.com/ - engineered hardwood bicycles that you can park in your living room.
• Bamboo bikes - there were a couple companies showing off their bamboo bikes.
  

Bike Apparel - most biking clothes are garish and unflattering. They are fine tuned to serve a single purpose, racing, and while they do that well, they seem inappropriate for the other 99% of the time. It was nice to see some clothing with some style.

• Shelia Moon -http://store.sheilamoon.com/
  
• Outlier - http://outlier.cc/
  

Bilenky - http://www.bilenky.com/ - this was the reason we came to the expo in the first place. They do two really cool things:

1. They retrofit bikes with Bicycle Torque Couplers (BTCs) which allow any bike to be disassembled.
   
2. They build special custom tandem bikes where one rider is upright and the other is recumbent. This Viewpoint model can be adapted for special needs riders. We've ordered one and should get it around the middle of February. I'll post pictures when they are available.
   

Josie Ben Hur

I've always liked Halloween. My dad, an engineer, created elaborate costumes. One year he taught my brother how to walk on stilts so he could be Frankenstein's monster, he constructed a neck and shoulders to sit on top of mine, so I could be the headless horseman, and worked with my mom on a witch's dress and hat for my sister.

This isn't the kind of fun you can buy at a costume store.

It has long been my desire to put together something with a bit of flair. Finally, nearly 30 years later, I came through.

My daughter, Josie, has a lot of medical equipment to help her get around. One of the cooler things is her stander. It gives her practice with balance, and gives her muscles a work out.

We've often thought that it looks a bit like a chariot, so the choice for for a costume was rather obvious. I got some inspiration online.

I then built a 3D model in SketchUp.

At first I was going to build the whole stander. I changed my mind when I realized how complex it would be. Really, I only needed a few dimensions and clearances. The rest didn't really matter for my purposes.

It took a little extra work to give all the pieces thickness, but in the end it paid off because I was able to get exact dimensions for everything.

The virtual model was pretty quick. The physical model took much longer. I had to cut everything out by hand.

Glue the pieces together.

Then check the fit.


Finally I painted it.

The helmet took an inordinately long time to put together. This was the third iteration. Historical accuracy and time constraints encouraged simplicity.

The hobby horse was a last minute addition. Perhaps it could have been integrated a bit better, but I think it added a nice touch.

9/10ths

I passed the Construction Documents exam. I can sit for the Orals next Spring.

Foray into Ruby for SketchUp

My biggest complaint about SketchUp models:
The pretty little lines turn into masses of thick black blobs when seen from a distance.

Plant models are the worst offenders, with hundreds or thousands of edges.

When I create a model I pick and choose which edges are visible and which are hidden, and it makes a huge difference. But often I am at the mercy of another modeler. What can you do then?

I learned just enough Ruby to create a basic solution. Here's the code:

model = Sketchup.active_model
entities = model.entities
edges = []

entities.each do |e|
edges.push e if e.typename == "Edge"
end

edges.each do |e|
e.hidden=true
end

model.definitions.each do |f|
f.entities.each do |e|
if e.typename == "Edge"
  e.hidden = true
  else
end
end
end

Pretty simple, no? But what does it do?

Basically, two things:
1. It searches for edges entities.
2. It hides everything it finds.

All the edges are hidden and we're done. Yeah!

Of course it only works on the whole model.

Wouldn't it be better if it worked on a pre-specified selection?
Can I get this as a drop down menu?
How about a button?
Or better two buttons?
What if I wanted to toggle sets of lines on and off?

Sure, you can do all that. And the author will leave all those options as exercises for the reader. Have fun!

DG Break Tool

Here's one of the training videos I put together at Dahlin Group.

If it doesn't show up, you may need to install the WMV viewer plugin.
Or you can just download the video directly:
http://sites.google.com/site/mattritzman/portfolio/video/DG-Break-tool.wmv

Google Earth Embedding Test

Not much to look at, but this just goes to show that it can be done.

Architecture for Humanity, TED, BaseCamp, better late than never

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/cameron_sinclair_on_open_source_architecture.html

This talk is at the nexus of several of my biggest interests.
1. This guy, Cameron Sinclair, has a fascinating story about developing a non-profit architectural organization, Architecture for Humanity. His story is amazing, and his main points are inspiring.

2. TED, Technology, Entertainment, and Design - This conference consistently delivers exciting and inspiring speakers and topics. Presentations are added weekly and are available as a podcast. If you subscribe to no other podcast, this is the podcast you should listen to.

3. SketchUp Basecamp - The connection here is a little tenuous, but here it is anyway. Last year (June 2008) there was a user appreciation conference/party for a few select SketchUp users (at the Googleplex). I, very fortunately, was invited to attend. It was AWESOME. One of the highlights was that Cameron Sinclair spoke with a similar theme. The conference concluded with a a little design charette for an Architcture for Humanity project in Brazil. My team came in 2nd.
http://sketchupdate.blogspot.com/2008/06/sportables-design-challenge.html
More basecamp videos
http://www.youtube.com/user/sketchupbasecamp

AutoCAD 2010 Faux Review

First the Link:
AutoCAD 2010 tips and tricks video
http://adskmedia.com/autocad_2010/

Now the rant:
From my experience, AutoCAD spent many years (R12-2007) in a rut. The interface remained basically unchanged (same commands new images), while new, fragile, features were added with every release. The features often seemed half-baked and languished in an unfinished state for many (sometimes all) subsequent releases.

In the last three releases, the interface has received a major overhaul. I find many of the changes fascinating, and refreshing. But it seems that the dust hasn't settled on the interface. It continues to change in each of the three previous releases. This is a reversal from the many years when the interface remained basically static, but not necessarily a better scenario. To be productive, you really need to know where all your tools are going to be.

The interface has changed, but has the underlying problem been improved? Are the new features now more stable than the ones of previous years? What about the big new features of AutoCADs past. Has there been any improvement? I guess it isn't as much of a selling point to say, "Remember all those broken features we gave you five years ago? Well, we finally fixed them."

That being said, I should fully disclose: I haven't tried the new release. My previous work computer struggled to manage the interface adjustments in 2009. My home computer is a Mac. So, while the software has upgraded, my hardware hasn't.

In spite of my complaints (it is mostly just sour grapes), I appreciate the power and change in focus of the new features. The additions of parameters and constraints to geometry in this release along with improvements to the 3D modeling interface and tools over the course of the last four releases makes the full version of AutoCAD begin to come into its own as a true design tool. It is no longer CAD drafting that tries to emulate hand drafting conventions, but a completely new variety of drafting where lines respond to relationships to other lines.

SketchUp Scripts and Renderers

Yesterday I presented "SketchUp Scripts of which I am Fond" for a portion of the San Francisco CAD Managers meeting. We also talked a bit about Rendering programs. Here are the links:

Scripts:
www.smustard.com
S-mustard
(Goes with S-ketchup) an e-store that has lots of excellent scripts. Some are free others you pay for. Even the expensive ones aren't very pricey.
--------
http://www.crai.archi.fr/RubyLibraryDepot/Ruby/RUBY_Library_Depot.htm
Ruby Library Depot
A library of hundreds of downloadable scripts.
-------
www.sketchucation.com
SketchUcation
A community site that has its own script library. This is a great place to find scripts as they are being developed. The forums are well organized and moderated. You can find a lot of great information here.
--------
http://sketchuptips.blogspot.com/
[Plugin] SketchUp Blog
A blog that keeps on top of new developments in plugins.
--------
http://www.special.eclipse.co.uk/sketchup_training.html
Quarr-IT
A collection of excellent scripts integrated into toolbars and the SketchUp interface.
--------

Rendering Programs:
I'm only including the renderers that work inside of SketchUp. There is a wide range of other programs that can take files exported out of SketchUp.
-----------
http://www.suplugins.com/
Podium
Simple to use program that works inside SketchUp. I've used it and it works quite well.
------------
http://www.light-up.co.uk/
LightUp
Also works inside SketchUp. "Bakes" textures onto the model while using the tool. Fascinating program, when I used it (a couple releases ago) it was a bit difficult to figure out the interface. But it has incredible potential.
------------
http://www.idx-design.com/
IDX Renditioner
I haven't used this one, but it is supposed to be similar to Podium in difficulty and quality of final products.

My portion of the meeting focused on how to install the scripts and where to find them online. Chris Fullmer preceded me with dynamic components and scripts that he put together. His presentation was a show stopper. It was inspiring to see what he's been able to put together in just a few months. Makes me want to spend more time with the program.

Investigating Potential Employers

Being only recently unemployed, I'm going to be fastidious about which firms I apply at. To help me in this quest, I've enlisted InsideArch to find out about office culture in the offices that I might work at.

In a couple months we'll see if I am still this picky.

AutoCAD on the Mac Redux

I may get my wish. AutoCAD on the Mac survey today. Revit Tomorrow?

From - http://worldcadaccess.typepad.com/

AutoDesk Assistance Program

If you are like me, you really relied on your employer to provide the tools of your trade. Now that you are unemployed you are in a real bind. You want to keep your skills up or learn new programs, but you don't have any money to spare.

Well, you could visit Pirate Bay, WarezRUs, or some other purveyor of viruses, worms, and cracks.

Or you can finally go legit (if only for a year) through AutoDesk's Assistance Program:
http://students6.autodesk.com/?nd=assistance_home

Now if only I could run Revit on my pre-Intel Mac!