Cheap Tricks Newsletter - Boston Society of Architects

DBUG Meeting Notes February 27, 2013
DBUG
1987-2012
1987-2012
The hardy group who braved rain, wind
and elements to make it to DBUG’s 25th
Anniversary meeting on February 27th at
the just-finished DataCAD Media Room in
Simsbury, CT were well rewarded for their
efforts. They got to see a beautiful facility
and hear a lot of the “war stories” that
went into its creation over the last year.
DATACAD President and CEO Mark
Madura did much of the actual construction work himself, risking body joints and
thumbs. But he learned some valuable
lessons in construction, such as the use of
salvage material, framing and insulation
principles, the joy of using GRK fasteners
with star drive heads, hardwood floor
finishing, and the use of DataCAD in
making construction templates for trim.
And he was happy to share these lessons
with the group.
The attendees also played a fun game of
Jeopardy (see DataCAD Tutor and
Architips this issue to play along) which
tested them on their DataCAD and DBUG
history. Who knew that the “real” first
slogan of DataCAD was not necessarily
“Designed by Architects FOR Architects”
(as your Jeopardy host thought) but
instead, according to DataCAD Historian
Dave Giesselman, was “Context Integrated
CAD” — probably a good move that they
switched! The contestants, both winners
and losers, received DBUG 25th Anniversary buttons and pins and enjoyed
anniversary cake and special custom
DBUG (ladybug) cupcakes.
Also on display were seven big boards of
artifacts from the 29 year history of
DataCAD and the 25 year history of
DBUG. Included were some cool items
such as the original floppy disks from
DataCAD’s early releases, the various
anniversary group photos, buttons, pins,
hats, and even the sign-in sheet from the
first DBUG meeting that Mark Madura
attended back in 1989.
In looking forward, Mark Madura also
previewed for the group the upcoming
update for DataCAD 15 subscription users
that is targeted for release by mid-March.
This update includes some very nice
productivity tools that will let you deal
with tricky issues where a bunch of
endpoints are on top of each other or
where polylines or polygons have coincident sides and vertices and you want to
move or stretch one of them. The newD
March 2013
©
2013 Shu Associates, Inc.M
update will allow you to pick the right
entity by snapping anywhere near the
closest entity you want to catch. If
“Dynamic” is on, DataCAD will also toggle
through the available choices if you don’t
get the right one the first time. This new
feature also works with move/stretch of
smart arrows, too and can also handle 3D
entities by using the 3D cursor. Another
new feature is underlining or overlining of
stringline text, which has a been a longtime user wishlist item. DataCAD 15
subscribers who don’t want to wait for the
official release can actually get these
features ahead of time by being a BETA
tester.
BETA testing is open to anyone who has
DataCAD 15 Subscription Edition. In the
"Priority Service Plan" section of the
forum, there is a sub-forum at the top
named "BETA Testing" which contains
the information and instructions for
downloading the BETA version. If you
have a subscription but are unable to see
this section of the forum, contact Mark
Toce at <[email protected]> with your
forum account name, and he'll add you to
the group.
These historical anniversaries always make
us wonder at what makes some things last
and others don’t. Our drive home from the
meeting took us past the old Charrette
facility in Woburn, MA, a massive
warehouse which was the scene of the
very first DBUG meeting on December 2,
1987. Charrette at the time was the go-to
architectural supply and services store of
the whole northeast US region and
DataCAD was just a fledgling CAD
program. As Internet competition grew,
Charrette’s business waned from the year
2000 on until they finally went bust and
closed in 2009. Who would have guessed
25 years ago that Charrette would be long
gone and DataCAD still standing?! Of
course, what the next 25 years will bring,
we can’t even imagine, but we will be
intrigued to see it happen. 9
—— Evan H. Shu, FAIA
©
2013 Shu Associates, Inc.
March 2013
Jeopardy Answers as Questions
8
Locales
$100 - Where is Charlottesville, VA?
$300 - What is the Infinity
$200 - Where is (Mohegan Sun)
symbol (DataCAD 8 in 1998)?
Uncasville, CT?
$400 - What is “CAD for Clunkers”?
$300 - Where is AIA HQ in Washington,
(Sep 2009)
DC in 1987?
$400 - Where is Windsor, CT (1989-1996)? $500 - What is Five (total 1.8 megabytes)?
(Manchester is also acceptable.)
$500 - Where is Chicago, IL at AEC
Systems in 1988?
People
$100 - Who is Dave Giesselman?
$200 - Who is Stuart Griffin Burgh?
$300 - DAILY DOUBLE: Who is Malcolm
Davies, CADKEY.
$400 - Who is Eric V. Smith?
$500 - Who is Berry Taylor, DataCAD
Product Manager in 1987?
Details
$100 - What is the AIA (American
Institute of Architects)?
$200 - What is “Designed by Architects
FOR Architects”?
Featuring
$100 - What is DataCAD X3?
$200 - What is DataCAD 11?
$300 - What is DataCAD 9?
$400 - What is DataCAD 7?
$500 - What is DataCAD 5?
Meaningful Letters
$100 - What is Multi Scale Plotting?
$200 - What is eXternal Reference File?
$300 - What is Snap/Walls/Ortho/Text/
Hatch/LineWeights/LineTypes/
Dimensions/Fills/Bitmaps/Knockouts?
$400 – What is Objects To See?
$500 - What is Raleigh Area DataCAD
Information & User Support?
(First DataCAD Users Group) (.
Meaningful Letters
(what bold letter stands for)
$100 - MSP
$200 - XREF
$300 - SWOTHLUDFBK
$400 - o2c
$500 - RADIUS
Featuring (from what DataCAD version)
$100 - SunShader
$200 - Symbol Browser
$300 - XREFs
$400 - MSP
$500 - Associative Hatching
Details
$100 - This national organization
endorsed DataCAD in 1987.
$200 - This was DataCAD’s First Slogan.
$300 - This "symbol" marked DataCAD’s
entry on Windows.
$400 - This slogan kicked off a big sale
for DataCAD 12:
$500 - The number of 5 1/4" DD Floppies
for installing DataCAD 3.1a.
People
$100 -On April 2nd, he will hit 29 years
with DataCAD.
$200 - Full name of Microtecture Founder
“Griff.”
$300 - DAILY DOUBLE: He dropped the
price of DataCAD from $3,000 to $150
in 1993.
$400 - He wrote the first code that
became DataCAD in 1981 on an Apple II.
$500 - He first suggested DBUG’s name.
Locales
$100 - It’s the birthplace of DataCAD.
$200 - DataCAD’s 25th Anniversary
Party was held there.
$300 - Site of the 1st National Users
Group Meeting.
$400 - HQ city when owned by CADKEY.
$500 - Site of the 2nd National Users
Group Meeting.
DBUG Jeopardy!
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Page Three
ARCHITIPS
25 Years of DBUG History
in Double Jeopardy!
We celebrated the 25 Anniversary of the
DataCAD Boston Users Group (established Dec. 2, 1987) on Feb. 27, 2013 (a
trifle late) at DATACAD’s new Media
Room. The attendees were treated to a
Double Jeopardy board on DBUG’s
history (in partnership with Jeopardy
board on DataCAD’s history — see
DataCAD Tutor). We present this quiz to
you as well to learn more about DBUG’s
storied 25 year history.
DBUG Firsts
$200 - Location of the First Meeting.
$400 - It was Mark Madura’s First DBUG
Meeting.
$600 - DAILY DOUBLE: First & only
DBUG meeting in Rhode Island.
$800 - First & only DBUG meeting in NH.
$1000 - First & only DBUG meeting in
Vermont.
March 2013
©
2013 Shu Associates, Inc.
Page Four
DBUG Double Jeopardy!
(Continued Next Page.)
DBUG Authors
$200 - What is Cheap Tricks (&
Cheap Tricks Ware) 1990-present?
$400 - What is The Official
DataCAD Users Guide (2000)?
$600 - What is “D’Macro”?
$800 - Reference Point (1991-1993)?
$1000 - What is WindowIn
(1987-1991)?
Potpourri
$200 - DBUG is a committee of this
organization.
$400 - DAILY DOUBLE: Demonstrate the
DBUG Salute.
$600 - This Internet e-mail Help Listserv
was founded in 1994.
$800 - City of DADUG users?
$1000 - Location of the BAD users group.
DBUG Moments
$200 – Name of Geoff Langdon’s CAD
competition.
$400 - Where most DBUG Anniversaries
held.
$600 - DBUG matriculated to this High
School.
DBUG Firsts
$200 - Where is Charrette HQ in
Woburn MA on Dec. 2, 1987?
$400 - Where is Ivan Bereznicki’s
office in Cambridge, MA? (Sep. 20,
1989)
$600 - DAILY DOUBLE: Where is
Bristol, RI (Roger Williams College)?
Host: Mark Madura, Aug 21, 1991
$800 - Where is Ashland, NH?
(Samyn-D’Elia Architects, June 18,
2003.)
$1000 -Where is Middlebury, VT?
Host: Chris Davis on Oct 21, 1989.
DBUG Authors
$200 - Evan Shu’s Newsletter.
$400 - Mike Smith’s Manual.
$600 - Bill D’Amico’s Nickname.
$800 - Phil Hart Newsletter.
$1000 - Chris Davis’ Newsletter.
$800 - It was the farthest (from Boston)
DBUG Meeting.
$1000 - DAILY DOUBLE: This company
both opened and closed its office with a
DBUG Meeting.
DBUG People
$200 - Who are Rick Gleason &
Evan Shu?
$400 - Who was Geoff Langdon?
$600 - Who are Mike Smith & Neil
Blanchard?
$800 - Who are Eileen Kelly, David
Sargert, and Greg Smith?
$1000 - Who is David Pendery?
DBUG People
$200 - They were DBUG’s Co-founders.
$400 - He was the "Professor" (DBUG
Award for “Host with the Most”).
$600 - They are the Makers (plane, electric
car).
$800 - This Trio of Hosts shared honors
for Best DBUG Buffets.
$1000 - He created the DBUG Salute.
Jeopardy
Answers
as Questions
©
2013 Shu Associates, Inc.
March 2013
March 2013
©
2013 Shu Associates, Inc.
Jeopardy
Answers
as Questions
DBUG Moments
$200 – What was the “3D CADD
Shootout”?
$400 - Where was Build Boston (World
Trade Center, Boston)?
$600 - Where is Milford High? (20082011, host Manny Snyderman)
$800 - Where is Bucksport, Maine?
(Hosted by Don Lewi/
Lewis & Malm 1998)
$1000 - DAILY DOUBLE: What was
Madura Studios (est. 1990, on Newbury
St. 1992-1997)?
Potpourri
$200 – What is the BSA (Boston Society
of Architects)
$400 - DAILY DOUBLE: Wave hand
over your head (as in “Whoa, that went
over my head!)
$600 – What is the DBUG Forum
$800 - What is Dallas?
$1000 - What is the Bay Area
(SF/Oakland)?
FINALJEOPARDY:
Foundations
What are rotating hosts and
open (no dues) membership? (
DBUG
1987-2012
1987-2012
Page Five