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Autodesk tries marketing differently. I watched it in HD. Four stars.

AU Virtual 2009

Autodesk University has a virtual component this year. Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute is one of the keynote speakers. You can watch it here. All I can say is WOW. He has some great ideas.

Wind powered building

I've seen numerous examples of wind generators attached to buildings. The typical problem is that the cyclical action of the generator starts a vibration in the structure that makes the buildings noisy. Another problem is the generators themselves detract from the look of the building. Take a look at this one.

Architecture & Design

Architects and design professions take set of design parameters, goals, objectives, suggestions, codes, and execute a design. If a designer only opens an ear to one faction, the design will not serve the whole set of user well. Design is setting priorities on the inputs. Is the use of a single material the top priority? The result becomes a hotel entirely made of ice in Canada. For projects such as elementary schools, the design must serve the needs of many factions: teachers, principals, children, the public, parents, maintenance staff, construction crews, code officials, state funding reviewers, bond committees, the design community, engineers, taxpayers, other visitors, local youth sports organizations, community organizations, (I'll add to this list...) As you can see what once was a simple building to house school children has become a major complex project involving balancing many interests. Designs can easily become the subject of criticism because of the variety of users and their competing interests. A school that has excellent design appeal, may not serve the interest of teachers or students well. A school that is very easy to maintain, won't necessarily have much success in increasing test scores. A very expensive school may score highly across many of the factions, but becomes a burden on the taxpayers because of high costs. Economics teaches that the world is full of trade-offs, Architecture is exactly the same.

New Cycle Ideas

I like technology. I like innovative design. I like cycling as a means of transportation and recreation.

Check out this design.

I already ride a D-Drive Bike. It works great. No need to worry about grease from the chain. The bike is easier to keep clean.

New Car

I love this design.

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/06/bmw-builds-a-ca.html

http://www.bmw-web.tv/en/channel/new

Imagine changing your car's paint job in a matter of minutes. What if you wanted to show your support for your favorite team (Clippers, Dodgers, Raiders, Trojans) and could change based on the season. I thin that BMW is making a mistake by just placing it directly in a museum.