SFAUG - Next Meeting July12th

Day 052
	San Francisco Autodesk User Group Meeting July 12th Just a reminder to myself that I accepted Dave's offer to speak at the upcoming meeting.

Upcoming Events

Day 051

June 30th Workshop to Follow-up Successful Kickoff of Dolores Park Community Design Process - Reminder June 30 On June 30th at 6:30pm in the Mission High School Cafeteria, the Dolores Park Project Steering Committee and RPD will host the second Dolores Park community design workshop. During this session park users and neighbors will vote to determine the priorities of the project and then work in small groups to create conceptual plans for the rehabilitation of the park. This second workshop follows the resounding success of the kickoff workshop held last night in the same location. Over 120 people came together to assess the current conditions of the park and brainstorm a comprehensive list of rehabilitation needs. As the RPD design team explained, this was the first step in a “co-design” process. Rather than follow the traditional route of presenting ideas and asking for input, co-designing starts with a blank page and asks the community to present ideas and create plans to give the designers direction.

1. Finish and Print Befores and Afters (and Upload)
   
2. Finish and Print Existing and Proposed Toilet\Clubroom\Equipment Stote
   
3. Create kmz Files
   

For the upcoming meeting I need to do some more research on the landscaping firms employed to facilitate the design and the SFGOV officials involved in the project. Plus of course finish my ideas.

Also reminder:
Monday is the Golden Gate slideshow and lecture at the Cafe Royale
Tuesday is SF Debate off night but prep for the following week
Wednesday is Toastmasters
Thursday is the Park

Infrastructure Financing at the Commonwealth Club

Day 050

Infrastructure Financing From Point A to Point B: Fixing U.S. Transportation Systems Steve Heminger, Executive Director, SF Regional Metropolitan Transportation Commission John Horsley, Executive Director, American Association of Highway and Transportation Officials Michael J. Scanlon, General Manager and CEO, San Mateo County Transit District; Executive Director, Caltrain Asha Weinstein Agrawal, MTI National Transportation Center Finance Director Polly Trottenberg, Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation - Keynote Speaker Mortimer Downey, Chair of the MTI Board of Trustees; Former Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation - Moderator

If you have ever been stuck in traffic on the Bay Bridge, late to meetings, or have had a ruined weekend because you couldn’t make it to a destination in time, you know that California suffers from a major transportation infrastructure problem. From pot holes jarring people’s necks and backs, to bridges collapsing nationwide, thousands of commuters are being affected every day by America’s inadequate and faltering transportation infrastructure system. At the upcoming FREE Commonwealth Club transportation infrastructure summit, experts will examine what can and must be done to ameliorate this dire situation. U.S. Department of Transportation Undersecretary for Policy Trottenberg will headline a panel of national transportation leaders to explore solutions to this serious crisis. Trottenberg works toward implementing the president’s priorities for transportation including safety and creating jobs. The DOT employs more than 55,000 employees with a $70 billion budget that oversees air, maritime and surface transportation missions. For 12 years she worked extensively on transportation, public works, energy and environmental issues in the U.S. Senate, for Senators Barbara Boxer, Charles Schumer and Daniel Patrick Moynahan.

This is the sort of presentation where I couldn't really disagree with anything that the panelists offered by way of future transportation plans. Our infrastructure is in need of repair, the current gas-tax doesn't even cover the basic maintenance, the Republican leadership cannot be seen to waver on their no-new-tax promises, and the Chinese and European commitment to infrastructure and transportation dwarfs our feeble attempts.

What to do?

Probably, pull out our collective fingers, and get stuff done.

I was very impressed with the panelists, and especially with Polly Trottenberg who is not a transit professional, but clearly knew her stuff, particularly during the Q and A session.

Tiger Links
DOT Information Related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act)
Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery(TIGER) Grants USDOT 2010
TIGER Discretionary Grant (TDG) Applications Overview

Other Links
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (WIKI) - Wonder why Lautenberg voted nay

Webinar Sustainable Infrastruture

Day 049
	Schlosser Webinar Site Development: Planning for Sustainability This presentation will begin on June 23, 2011 at 01:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time.

Live Blogging
Still not sure about these webinars, aside from very vague sales-y information, I'm not convinced that the signal-to-noise ratio is worth it.

Every one of these presentations starts with a tired message that "we've been doing things wrong" and "we've got to be more connected". And then invariably focuses on a few simplistic projects, which tend to be on the underwhelming side.

1) Spray
Using MAP3d queries and buffer analysis to theme maps and locate potential spray facilities.

2) Golf
Because we need new golf courses. More of the same analysis tools. But much more useful and much more in depth. For once the method of determining possible locations is better than dart at a board.

3) And one for San Francisco residents ... Coffee Shop
Overlay analysis and pivot charts. That was new.

---

OK. I take it back, because that was actually a very good example of what MAP 3D can do. I have the slides and I'll definitely download the webinar once it is up and I'll go to CADLearning and check out the MAP 3D training videos.

Get the Bus

Day 048

Big Trip Read the Whole Shocking Story My route is the brainchild of transit blogger Matt Nelson, a baby-faced 24-year-old who grew up in an Arkansas town where the closest thing to mass transit was a Chrysler Town & Country. After relocating to transit-rich San Francisco, he founded www.californiastreets.org.image Among self-professed transit nerds, devising Rube Goldberg–like routes necessitating dozens of bus or train rides to travel even short distances is a matter of pride. Many itineraries are strictly theoretical: No sane human will undertake Nelson's 68-hour S.F. to L.A. route via Yosemite ... ...The N-Owl pulls up at Haight and Fillmore at 4:11 a.m. Somewhat surprisingly, it already has 16 passengers. Not surprisingly at all, the bus is already thick with the official Muni odor — BO ineffectively masked by Old Spice with hints of pee. Sunflower seeds are scattered beneath the seats and the floors are already movie theater-sticky. A man wearing a Philadelphia Eagles knit cap repeatedly smacks himself on the forehead; his pensive expression indicates some elusive knowledge is on the tip of his tongue. The driver's eyes meet mine. He exhales deeply. "It's Monday," he sighs.

And they say there are no real explorers and adventurers any more.

Learning about Old Stuff

Day 047

Roman Architecture (at Academic Earth) Go to Lecture Introduction to Roman Architecture The Founding of Rome and the Beginnings of Urbanism in Italy Technology and Revolution in Roman Architecture Civic, Commercial and Religious Buildings of Pompeii Houses and Villas of Pompeii Habitats at Herculaneum and Early Roman Interior Decoration Painting Palaces and Villas in the First Century A.D. Exploring Special Subjects on Pompeian Walls Augustus Assembles Rome Roman Tombs Nero and His Architectural Legacy The Colosseum and Contemporary Architecture in Rome Imperial Palace on the Palatine Hill Civic Architecture in Rome under Trajan Hadrian's Pantheon and Tivoli Retreat Roman Life in Ostia, the Port of Rome The Baths of Caracalla Roman North Africa: Timgad and Leptis Magna Baroque Phenomenon in Roman Architecture The Rebirth of Athens Architecture of the Western Roman Empire The Tetrarchic Renaissance Rome of Constantine and a New Rome Discovering the Roman Provinces and Designing a Roman City

Not really work but you cannot live on current engineering alone. 28 hours of lectures on Roman Urbanism, great great stuff. Gotta love Academic Earth.

Talking about New Software Trials

Day 046
	Demo Period Goto Luxology - Modo Go beyond the traditional 3D workflow to an immersive creative experience. modo delivers the next evolution of 3D modeling, painting and rendering in a single integrated and accelerated package for the Mac and PC. And now, modo is a true end-to-end solution that includes true 3D sculpting tools, animation and network rendering!

You know you are working too hard when you download a piece of demo software for 15 days and end up spending about 15 minutes using the product, then neglect to click it again till the demo period has expired. Grr.

Linked In you say

Day 045
	Edit Opportunity Preferences Get Recommendations Find where the Opportunity Is Find out the skill sets required Find out how your colleague got that nice offer Contact the HR Grow your network first

Hrm Remind me to look again at my linkedin profile.

Autodesk Vs Google

Day 038

123d and SketchUp So, I bet you are thinking, Colin, what do you think of Autodesk 123d. How does it measure up to Goolge's SketchUp. I'm going to make sure I know them both and then have a review.

A Bridge Too Far

Day 037

Just some Photoshop practice and thinking about Dolores Park Currently the footbridge over the J-Church line is in pretty good shape, minor spalling of the concrete and in dire need of a repaint notwithstanding. I heard on more than one occasion at the Dolores Park meeting that the bridge and stairs were considered architecturally significant, although that classification seems less than totally accepted. The stop below the bridge is not used and at the present time the only function of the stairs from down to track level is to attract graffiti and vandalism. Removal of the stairs and reshaping the embankment would require some interruption of the J-Church service but would provide a much cleaner visual look to the crossing from either side of the tracks.

Really, thats what you do with you Saturday Nights

Day 036
	Upcoming Closure Closure For some weird reason I feel the need to hang out over there if I can find a good vantage point and watch the proceedings. I didn't get round to it , but it still seems like a 'good-ish' idea.

In Progress Bridge

Day 035

Useless Stop under 19th Street Pedestrian Bridge. Remove stairs, discourage trespass. It's a little bit slow going because I don't really have a library of architectural and landscape elements, preferably with transparent backgrounds, to work with. Maybe there are some free images online somewhere.

Central Market Meeting

Wednesday - June 8, 2011
6-7:30 p.m.
1355 Market Street (SF Market Square)

The Central Market Partnership meeting agenda will include a presentation and discussion of research findings from the first phase of the Central Market Economic Strategy project, including:

-Existing conditions in the neighborhood
-Demographic Analysis
-Real Estate & Housing
-Merchant and Person-on-the-Street surveys
-Case studies of other arts districts around the country & more...

This research will feed into the second phase of work which entails a series of key stakeholder interviews, focus groups, resident surveys, and community meetings to build consensus around a set of strategies for building on and sustaining an arts district in Central Market while creating a more stable, healthy and vibrant commercial district that serves the adjoining neighborhoods with increased retail, services, recreation, and jobs. Presenters will include consultants from AECOM and Deborah Frieden, an expert on planning arts districts and arts facilities.

This is why we can't have nice things

Day 033
Work was slated to start on the playground rehab, and as promised the construction fencing went up. Well that security fence lasted exactly 1 day

It seems I should have called somebody or at least shouted at the two women about to negotiate the twisted fence, ok, maybe the toddlers being pushed were more my size.

SFist with the story Link So, Missionites and fans of Dolores Park may have already noticed the ugly fencing that went up around the playground and central meadow of Dolores Park earlier this week, marking the first stage of the park's renovation -- which has now been phased so that the entire park did not have to be shut down at once. They totally cut a hole in the fence within like 24 hours (not visible, at right), and then just went ahead and mowed down a section of the fence so they could get back in!

Dolores Park Playground - Baby Steps

Day 032
	Playground Fenced and Closed In anticipation of construction of the new Hellen Diller Playground at Dolores Park a rented chain link fence was thrown up Friday morning. - By Robert Brust

Robert Brust, Founder Robert lives in the Mission Dolores area with his partner of 20 years, Joel Costa, and maintains the blog, Dolores Park View. He is a chef and works for Left Coast Catering and is on the board of the Dolores Heights Improvement Club, where he helps produce the annual neighborhood block party. An avid organic gardener, he tends a plot at Ogden Terrace Community Gardens in Bernal Heights.

Before After Toolsheds at Delores

Day 031

Currently the maintenance tools for the park are stored in old containers. Could be used for more picnic facilities.

Before After Stairs at Dolores Park

Day 030

There are 3 or 4 access points from Church Street down to the footpath alongside the J-Church line. All are in poor condition and encourage pedestrians to illegally cross the track. A physical barrier could be added along the foot path, the concrete steps could be rehabilitated and new planting made to soften the edges.

New Date - Still Going

Day 029

Itinerary 7:45am – 8:45am Coffee and Registration 8:45am – 10:00am Session 1: Applying 2012 Features and Functionality 10:00am – 10:15am Break 10:15am – 11:30am Session 2: Reaping the Rewards – Productivity Best Practices 11:30am – 12:30pm Lunch 12:30pm – 1:45pm Session 3: Master the Skill Set – Certification Exam Objectives 1:45pm – 2:00pm Break 2:00pm – 3:15pm Session 4: Secrets to Preparing and Passing the Certification Exam 3:30pm – 4:45pm Session 5: Combination of the above

Don't spend any more of your career looking up. Attend the powerful, single-day Autodesk boot camp when it arrives in San Francisco. Register to attend AUGI CAD Camp 2011 today.

I think I'll go. I hope there is a good turnout. The higher the turnout the more people I can beat at the Top Daug competition.

Dolores Park

Day 028

Mission Dolores Park (commonly called Dolores Park; formerly known as Mission Park) is a San Francisco, California, city park located in the neighborhood of Mission Dolores, at the western edge of the Mission District, which lies to the east of the park. To the west of the park is a hillside referred to as "Dolores Heights" or considered a part of the Castro neighborhood. Dolores Park is two blocks tall by one block wide, based on the configuration of north-south and east-west blocks in that part of San Francisco. It is bounded by 18th Street on the north, 20th Street to the south, Dolores Street to the east and Church Street to the west. The northern end of Dolores Park is located directly across the street from Mission High School.

SF Chronicle - Octavio Lopez Ragyoza

Mission - Octavio Lopez Ragyoza

Dolores Mission

Day 027

Water Resources Group - May Meeting Please join us on Tuesday, May 10 as Jennifer Lehane of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) San Francisco Professionals speaks on three water projects in the developing world – namely Tanzania, El Salvador and Fiji. Ms. Lehane will also talk about the EWB as an organization. EWB-SFP supports community- driven development programs worldwide through the design and implementation of sustainable engineering projects, while fostering responsible leadership EWB-SFP’s vision is a world in which all communities have the capacity to meet their basic human needs. Ms. Lehane will be joined by project managers to present the above projects.

Not simply a mercenary opportunity to meet a number of engineers at URS, after all water is not really my area, because I truly am enamored by the idea of Medecins sans Frontieres and all of its offshoots.

I think I can just manage to squeeze it in-between class and the Emperor.

As for Monday a mixture of applications, phonecalls and study.