A.C.E.S. BIIIG Turn Out

I wish to thank everyone who took time out of their busy schedules to attend yesterday evening's A.C.E.S. User Group meeting. The turn out was awesome. About 75 attendees! One person timed a trip to Southern California from Colorado to be able to attend.

The feedback regarding the technical presentations (Raster Design, Map, Civil 3D Grading) was very positive.

I wish to additionally thank everyone who SHARED their knowledge and expertise, and those that contributed by asking good questions during the evening. It very much fulfilled the spirit of what a user group can be, and the three guiding principle of this group: Share, Network, Learn.

Last but not least, I wish to thank Eric Galvan, Autodesk, ISD-Business Development Executive-Western Region (Civil CAD Dude, inside joke) who was able to join us and provide input.

I am happy with how this group has gotten off the ground (pun), and I look forward to it's future. Based on some of the buzz this group should soar!

The next meeting is currently scheduled for Thursday, April 12, 2007. Please mark your calendars. I will keep you updated.

The A.C.E.S. Squadron Blocks Out The Sun

It is possible that there may be over 100 signups for tomorrow evening's Autodesk Civil Engineering Solutions (A.C.E.S.) User Group of Southern California meeting.

The runway is clear, A.C.E.S. is on final approach, and the hanger will be nice and full.

Translation:There will be plenty of opportunity to Share, Network, Learn.

I hope to see you there.

A.C.E.S. Fly again in January

The Autodesk Civil Engineering Solutions (A.C.E.S.) User Group of Southern California will be holding it's next gathering on Thursday, January 11th, 2007.

Click here for more information and to register.

2007 Autodesk Civil Engineering Solutions (ACES) Service Packs

I have been receiving inquiries for the following, so here is a more complete list of Service Packs that were recently made available, and the order in which they would typically be installed:

Autodesk Data Management Server 5 Service Pack 1 - Sep. 18, 2006

Civil 3D 2007 Service Pack 3 - Nov. 4, 2006

Google Earth™ Extension for Civil 3D® 2007 Service Pack 3 - Nov. 4, 2006

Land Desktop Companion 2007 Service Pack 2 - Nov. 4, 2006
or
Land Desktop 2007 Service Pack 2 - Nov. 4, 2006

Civil Design Companion 2007 Service Pack 2 - Nov. 4, 2006

Survey 2007 Service Pack 1 - Nov. 4, 2006

Raster Design 2007 Service Pack 1 - Nov. 2, 2006

A.C.E.S. Landed

Last Thursday evening (October 5, 2006) the Autodesk Civil Engineering Solutions (A.C.E.S.) User Group of Southern California held their inaugural meeting at the University Marriott in Fullerton, California. There were employees present from over a dozen engineering firms and several municipalities. By all accounts it was a great success. The intended goals of Share, Network, Learn seemed to be well addressed during this first meeting.

The evening began with dinner. Then Pete Kelsey, Autodesk Technical Evangelist, presented an "Industry Overview" (where have we been, where are we, and where are we headed?).

I did a "Technical Presentation" which was titled "Civil 3D on a Dime". Intended for organizations that have not yet cracked open the Civil 3D box. This section covered Civil 3D capabilities that we can use with very little or no training/investment, and take advantage of Autodesk Civil 3D 2007 to support whichever application we may use currently. These capabilities included taking data from Land Desktop into Civil 3D in order to do...

--Earthwork Volume Calculations (2 commands, 10 steps, 45 seconds)
--Translate and Rotate a Surface (4 Commands, 10 steps)
--Parcel(s) Lot Line Adjustment (3 commands, 11 steps)
--Create Geometry for an Alignment (2 commands, 8 steps)
--Renumber Parcels (2 commands 12 steps)

KETIV Technologies gave everyone in attendance a CD with custom styles and expressions to jumpstart the use of these items in Civil 3D. The evening ended with an open forum segment and announcements.

If the first meeting is any indication, there will be lots of benefits to members of this user group. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday January 11 (location to be determined). Mark the date on your calendar, and invite your co-workers. This is a free and easy way to get information about our industry and the applications that we use.

A.C.E.S. Landing Tomorrow

The Autodesk Civil Engineering Solutions (ACES) User Group of Southern California will be meeting tomorrow evening. Dinner, Tips, Tricks, Networking, Learning, Sharing will occur. Click title to see more info.

A.C.E.S. Flying into Southern California

The control tower has given final clearance for A.C.E.S. to land here in Southern Califonia. What is A.C.E.S. you may ask? A.C.E.S. is...

Autodesk Civil Engineering Solutions User Group of Southern California

You can join this squadron of novice, intermediate, and elite users of:

Civil 3D
Land Desktop
Civil Design
Survey
Raster Design
Map
AutoCAD

We can all see this group get off the ground together (Thursday, Oct. 5 @ 5:30pm) and attendees can help pilot its formation. I am also looking forward to meeting Pete Kelsey at the first meeting. Who is Pete Kelsey? You don't know. You will.

Click on any of the links to register.