08 Dec 2010 No Comments
Autodesk University 2010 – What an Experience
So how do I sum this up. Epic, Surreal, Amazing, Incredible…they all fall short. So, perhaps I should just start at the beginning.
Monday
I arrived in Las Vegas Monday night around 11. I was hoping to meet up with Zortar, theMonk, awerning, and CADFileRefiner but everyone was a bit zonked so we opted to meet in the morning. Little did I know I would be up till 2.30 which thankfully was just enough time to squeeze in a solid 4 hours before meeting the gang at 6.30 that morning. Lame but I was happy my room was so awesome!
I arrived!
Tuesday
After yanking myself out of bed, I tossed on some clothes and met the Krusty Krew representatives for breakfast.
awerning, theMonk, CADFileRefiner, Zortar
Believe it or not, this is only half of the room.
After breakfast, me and 9,000 of my closest mates were off to the main stage Keynote!
On our way to the main stage Keynote. So many people! It was crazy
The Keynote was great!! From Autodesk CEO Carl Bass (who I met and was super cool!) to Emily Pilloton of Project H to Digital Domain talking about TRON to what I thought was the best presentation of all. The keynote was an eye opener.
Carl Bass at the AU 2010 Keynote - Image courtesy of Carsten Beineke
Emily Pilloton - Awesome gal for an awesome cause!
Autodesk looping show reel, great stuff!
TRON - Image courtesy of Carsten Beineke
After the Keynote I had roughly a day to meander around and take it all in, which I failed to do. It’s simply too much. Believe me when I say if you have never been, there is far, FAR too much to take in. I constantly felt like I was missing so much. I am digressing…
Pretty cool Autocad banner at their lounge.
I liked the way the sun was hitting this skylight, so I took a picture. Moving on...
I used my free day to rehearse my presentation and…well no that’s about it. I rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed. We had a full blown dress rehearsal that night that went really well. Then, afterward we hit up the swanky Mexican joint for some after rehearsal beverages. There was talk of going out that night but it was already 11 by the time I got back to my room and with the big day looming, I took a bath, slipped on the headphones, and drifted away.
Wednesday
Game day! I woke up at 9am feeling very energized, refreshed, and ready to meet the challenges of the day head on. The Keynote was scheduled for 2:30, the blood was pumping, and nerves were…nerving.
The first speaker was Mike Denholm. Mike presented a fast track project his company, Bateman Engineering had recently completed in South Africa.
Next was Carsten Beineke from AC Plant Consult in Germany. Carsten presented some of the add on tools his company created for the Autodesk Plant Suite.
Waiting for the Plant Keynote to start
Your's truly about 20 minutes before we went live. People were already filing in.
Mike Denholm and me waiting for the Plant Keynote to start
As each speaker was called, I became more nervous and to be honest, it felt like my heart was about to pound out of my chest. Then, as Robert Shear introduced me, the giant picture of me on my scooter appeared. Everyone laughed, including me and the nerves just sort of washed away.
Real men ride scooters!
This aggression will not stand, man!
The after party was held on the 64th floor of TheHotel. Autodesk picked up the tab on the drinks and we even won an award!
Photo courtesy of Carsten Beineke
Pictured are Eileen Foran (Autodesk), Irene Radcliff, Aaron Werning, Joel Harris, Dave Tyner, Brian Lister
After that party, it was off to the beer bash at the exhibition hall. With so many awesome toys to play with, we were like kids in a candy store! There is some amazing technology coming down the pipe that will forever transform how we work for the better.
Aplant Monkey with a real VR headset on. He said it made him disoriented.
That about wrapped it up as far as things I can talk about goes. It was such a great experience and I am grateful to Autodesk for giving us the opportunity to tell our story. I hope to see you there next year!!
