tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11645859681828518892023-11-16T10:54:33.452-05:00Cate's WordSharing and remembering our new adventures.Cate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-17613686448400955432021-01-08T14:40:00.001-05:002021-01-08T14:40:47.548-05:00People are amazing!<p> Hi Friends!</p><p>We are currently at a lovely state park in Florida, Topsail Hill Preserve. It is beautiful, with lots of great bike trails and a beautiful beach. When we got here we got a big suprise;there were other Airstreams! We usually don't see a lot of Airstreams in campgrounds, maybe one or two, but there were so many. Turns out there is a rally at this park that we landed persfectly in middle of! Over 70 Airstream campers are here for the Canopener Rally. We have made a lot of new friends and are constantly learning from them.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCCldrKIRMy64nCG1OU2FNsesovPcBxq39wpsHkFIfbzOJ3GB0yCPR8xBcE138LLua7yLSmgBJrft0vmjo6iTQxOxfINB8T04E9TMLIoB3jTnZjd4dHKyZyHIWRoSl5s1NuvK9sHabTXU/s4608/20210102_093745.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCCldrKIRMy64nCG1OU2FNsesovPcBxq39wpsHkFIfbzOJ3GB0yCPR8xBcE138LLua7yLSmgBJrft0vmjo6iTQxOxfINB8T04E9TMLIoB3jTnZjd4dHKyZyHIWRoSl5s1NuvK9sHabTXU/s320/20210102_093745.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>On Tuesday I decided to put up the awning. We haven't had it up in a while because it's either been too cold, too rainy or too windy but Tuesday was perfect. As I was lifting the rear support it broke! The spring unwound and wacked me in the head and arm pretty badly. There was blood everywhere - head wounds are the worst according to everyone. So we went to Emergency, probably the last place you want to go to in a pandemic. But after three hours and lots of bleeding, I got eight staples in my head!</p><p>When we left for the hospital the awning was sprawled over the camper half unrolled, half still attached. While I was getting fixed up, the other campers at the campground put the awning back together so we didn't have to deal with it when we got back! People are amazing!</p><p><br /></p><p>Now I'm going to continue with my recap of how we got here. We left off in my last post dropping the AS at Woodland Airstream in Grand Rapids in February.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3UlpPEWO2wbGf9_U2aUrfL-FEogLLQbrlRTWJTWljtuS3lWyQiXQ6GMFt9eG31Yamu_AzgTFwmMNBOOyA5ZGpiZkW0HDeC6l9nkG6g7fgucAIWYPlD-a9n7UKk1ZMuEsSHP4PKoZzXps/s2880/20200207_161204.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="2880" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3UlpPEWO2wbGf9_U2aUrfL-FEogLLQbrlRTWJTWljtuS3lWyQiXQ6GMFt9eG31Yamu_AzgTFwmMNBOOyA5ZGpiZkW0HDeC6l9nkG6g7fgucAIWYPlD-a9n7UKk1ZMuEsSHP4PKoZzXps/w348-h261/20200207_161204.jpg" width="348" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>We gave them a massive list of projects:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The major issues to start was the rotted floor in the back storage space so that had to be completly replaced.</li><li>Replace the roof fans with new Fantastic Fans</li><li>Replace the front skylight</li><li>Make the furnace work - the previous owner had removed the controller so you couldn't even turn it on.</li><li>Install a new Natures Head composting toilet and plumb it into the black tank.</li><li>Install a new Truma on Demand instant hot water heater. </li><li>Fix any leaks they could find (I now know that is an impossible task - but worth a shot)</li><li>Remove the old satellite dish and patch the holes</li><li>Replace all the bulbs with LEDs</li><li>Replace the old power ports with USB.</li><li>Add a back up camera</li></ul><p></p><p>They set to work and then Covid hit. The dealership was closed for a couple months, but so was everyone so we understood. </p><p>I made a "before" video at the dealership. </p><p><a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/Wa3UfqPLc4MTyzW6">https://photos.app.goo.gl/Wa3UfqPLc4MTyzW6</a></p><p>We picked up the completed camper on May 7.</p><p>Meanwhile, we scheduled The Dry Campers, a couple who travel around installing Solar systems on RV rigs, to come work on our camper. They had a great way of working. We ordered all the parts they would need to be delivered to our house before they showed up. Then they camped near by, Mike worked on our camper during the day and they get to enjoy a new part of the country. They were at our house the first week of June and put in 900w of solar panels and 4 lithium batteries. I highly recommend working with them. Mike and Leanne are just great people.</p><p>When Mike pulled up the floor to put in the batteries he discovered some black mold! It wasn't bad but we decided to pull up the the laminate floor and take out the cork floor a previous owner had installed. I marked the existing laminate and reinstalled it - badly I will admit. We should have replaced the floor at that time but didn't. </p><p>I started working on the interior. We decided to use the Moose picture that was in the camper when we got it as our theme. I didn't care for all the oak and decided to paint it all. I went with Annie Sloan paint because it covers everything. It was a huge learning curve getting it right and I'm still touching it up where I didn't get it on correctly but I love the look.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPSPMlJGvJmJ_iBjrCgsj9HKPeBWGJ-n78tDvePeOAFfZUh5Hkdpign8br_1_0uUHQKSy3vEWtgfM1N6uQye8NOx9btES9eRctwZazHHq0gZ3vm8xa3Y6l8e7dyNiVuYMBH90QCjw6qVY/s2880/20200520_114720.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="2880" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPSPMlJGvJmJ_iBjrCgsj9HKPeBWGJ-n78tDvePeOAFfZUh5Hkdpign8br_1_0uUHQKSy3vEWtgfM1N6uQye8NOx9btES9eRctwZazHHq0gZ3vm8xa3Y6l8e7dyNiVuYMBH90QCjw6qVY/s320/20200520_114720.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>The jackknife sofa was in dire need of reupholstery.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIitXahGha7mrJFCOMRyCKC9tterkzIKKt4k7Kt2HfmVvYhU5MRkIx3xc2qFsIL0YIMq6txZaFrSfa-VtiV68B8CTUQGbq5VT7DuE_1QFPGtDW4sCL9KTxKileyprhVKWClL_Mcc5VTqE/s5184/IMG_0842.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIitXahGha7mrJFCOMRyCKC9tterkzIKKt4k7Kt2HfmVvYhU5MRkIx3xc2qFsIL0YIMq6txZaFrSfa-VtiV68B8CTUQGbq5VT7DuE_1QFPGtDW4sCL9KTxKileyprhVKWClL_Mcc5VTqE/s320/IMG_0842.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Pleather peeling</div><p>I wanted to use the leather from our sofas in our home. It was buttery soft and the perfect color. I called around to find someone to do the work but most people said it was impossible. Finally found a wonderful man in Holland who said he would take on the challenge.</p><p>I "skinned" our old sofa and loveseat and delivered the leather and sofa to him. He did an amazing job. I even convinced him to make a poof, an empty storage pillow for blankets and extra clothing.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2TbYjh1YhKTGuwfAQ5MGTIhdl7qfAqYh6vJGmn79_ExVdkq6ZBj4riN1B2zxFxyfq5_j8IQPlJGYdQOcXsKJzXyaUms4dDqk5xmhyb5tXjKbjltmIK3bdz5XkEHSS9L-YHkCeY2PrUd8/s2880/20200713_160315.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="2880" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2TbYjh1YhKTGuwfAQ5MGTIhdl7qfAqYh6vJGmn79_ExVdkq6ZBj4riN1B2zxFxyfq5_j8IQPlJGYdQOcXsKJzXyaUms4dDqk5xmhyb5tXjKbjltmIK3bdz5XkEHSS9L-YHkCeY2PrUd8/s320/20200713_160315.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I loved this sofa, so comfortable</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpRag8LtCHjYVbjhtGUaJfTZF_JTgnYqj61csPmaOy399x9YxydXvK7uBpNQTvhC1foPp30qvqU_3f6PUneBD2llykAaBdTZdv8t5rFgCOSU4R2QMhjiU9YaMe1ESQD_a75w8ZFF0dB8/s2880/20200714_181748.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="2880" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpRag8LtCHjYVbjhtGUaJfTZF_JTgnYqj61csPmaOy399x9YxydXvK7uBpNQTvhC1foPp30qvqU_3f6PUneBD2llykAaBdTZdv8t5rFgCOSU4R2QMhjiU9YaMe1ESQD_a75w8ZFF0dB8/s320/20200714_181748.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Leather after skinning it and the loveseat.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiwSJuQaPq-ETcZxPTMVUQoPPJ3zIiEnHKS-0ODar-QxKy8LdAbNHLCBit9feph36OeQi0AB-W4P_VNsBsBVhQHUCYT43vZILxP0WCEkVAoauABOjZd0ZW5OR0pcOzqtq3nqybZgq93JA/s2880/20200805_134945.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="2880" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiwSJuQaPq-ETcZxPTMVUQoPPJ3zIiEnHKS-0ODar-QxKy8LdAbNHLCBit9feph36OeQi0AB-W4P_VNsBsBVhQHUCYT43vZILxP0WCEkVAoauABOjZd0ZW5OR0pcOzqtq3nqybZgq93JA/s320/20200805_134945.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Randy, the artist who did the work.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcmre-xHgNdQeC5XcdI3P8AtqQrAqQ8JSX08YU80xUELS1PmgDkAbi9T5w8M9OMbgDgCRQ6EQtY9v7YAFMEGVTv0ihpCKvmu7mtEPmKDs2mlrQFDNmRaQMcEeSB89eGP9AfS-whV4hKt0/s2560/1597239751527_IMG_20200811_184847452_HDR.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="2560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcmre-xHgNdQeC5XcdI3P8AtqQrAqQ8JSX08YU80xUELS1PmgDkAbi9T5w8M9OMbgDgCRQ6EQtY9v7YAFMEGVTv0ihpCKvmu7mtEPmKDs2mlrQFDNmRaQMcEeSB89eGP9AfS-whV4hKt0/s320/1597239751527_IMG_20200811_184847452_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The sofa and the poof!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEG987tS7VpmrxDsdWXwkSh552u58PyFsyi1lotQefAR78Jl6nsTS6CGB_4cBpdKOyxQ9Rs8H6r07YV1FKipCV8MhW8xfWEVgiO6fOrrgHivOocWVX6n34DrDjiZOP8TXpQ9vdyTlAGp0/s2880/20200714_181510.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="2880" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEG987tS7VpmrxDsdWXwkSh552u58PyFsyi1lotQefAR78Jl6nsTS6CGB_4cBpdKOyxQ9Rs8H6r07YV1FKipCV8MhW8xfWEVgiO6fOrrgHivOocWVX6n34DrDjiZOP8TXpQ9vdyTlAGp0/s320/20200714_181510.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The leftover sofa and cushions were reused by our good friends the Spratts. Randy did an amazing job for them as well.</div><div><br /></div><div>I put up press-on wallpaper in the bedroom, bathroom and main room. I installed press-on tile in the kitchen. The difference was amazing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiew0i7aIXto6CBy3rsrRy-9NmxhnzEs_8ftR8G3_t1GZ7_zFCUMXcOtv7O-23hRC9m6xP4vSb05Uz2vsj45HZXHAMIUFxBxFTvPcE2ZgT2JeI0u0Fr0SKSsrngTghSyJKZmKmWnSQ_60k/s2880/20200531_200633.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2880" data-original-width="2160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiew0i7aIXto6CBy3rsrRy-9NmxhnzEs_8ftR8G3_t1GZ7_zFCUMXcOtv7O-23hRC9m6xP4vSb05Uz2vsj45HZXHAMIUFxBxFTvPcE2ZgT2JeI0u0Fr0SKSsrngTghSyJKZmKmWnSQ_60k/s320/20200531_200633.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Bathroom</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0NnJaDVOpNpXFC3DTdeb2u1Gv2JbFWC8u0lqZellsTWs1tvvaq15ugKC6iWhs8Y7vbEdclCG-fg7oh14N6G3o_iydaK2iahyUH9-pFimEJuNMQtIPo7kHceKrqMCspJQ0NfOQfcW8qVk/s2880/20200602_201500.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="2880" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0NnJaDVOpNpXFC3DTdeb2u1Gv2JbFWC8u0lqZellsTWs1tvvaq15ugKC6iWhs8Y7vbEdclCG-fg7oh14N6G3o_iydaK2iahyUH9-pFimEJuNMQtIPo7kHceKrqMCspJQ0NfOQfcW8qVk/s320/20200602_201500.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Bedroom wall</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeN_Cw29Yu9hz64fri6FIUGvEIsQUu2ug78GSCzu9pmHphC6x0PMV9OhUcADABwa-46N2P18igEiYCg8Ov2jweYZFEip13v8tzq8IA9ZSoX4Qr1p4w47m-ypcaSC58Bh3h4Mwv4wJw0Fo/s2880/20200611_192615.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="2880" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeN_Cw29Yu9hz64fri6FIUGvEIsQUu2ug78GSCzu9pmHphC6x0PMV9OhUcADABwa-46N2P18igEiYCg8Ov2jweYZFEip13v8tzq8IA9ZSoX4Qr1p4w47m-ypcaSC58Bh3h4Mwv4wJw0Fo/s320/20200611_192615.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hard to believe it's press on</div><div><br /></div>The last project was the desk. We removed the dinette and sold it to The Dry Campers - well, actually used it to pay for some of our solar installation. :) A good friend built a custom desk and I painted it.<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4WS8V1P24dMM6OXx5xX3YZfHNLJuaXg7eo2FaU3fo3oSDWrXgEehKxvItxxlMA7TbK5pHoG7tSUUrU3xbNT2cmG6W3x42CMC3uDDKGXqkKk_Sq-vzssuR-1ikoTmRUxCqfMMvd_M0BwU/s1440/IMG_20200917_210409_161.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4WS8V1P24dMM6OXx5xX3YZfHNLJuaXg7eo2FaU3fo3oSDWrXgEehKxvItxxlMA7TbK5pHoG7tSUUrU3xbNT2cmG6W3x42CMC3uDDKGXqkKk_Sq-vzssuR-1ikoTmRUxCqfMMvd_M0BwU/s320/IMG_20200917_210409_161.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div>At this point we were ready to move in. Over the summer we had sold our house and most of our stuff. We still had some issues with where to put what we wanted to keep. I'll save that for my next post.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now it's time to enjoy this lovely park.</div><div><br /></div><div>Take care of yourself and each other,</div><div>Cate</div>Cate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-74670816188967995532021-01-04T09:25:00.002-05:002021-01-04T11:08:48.153-05:00Purchase and pick up<p>Hi Friends,</p><p>Our move to living full-time in an Airstream has had so many ups and downs that our friends have suggested I write about it. Yes, I should have started the minute we brought it home, but I didn't. So today I'm going to start journaling what's going on. But first I need to go back in time and journal what we did to get here.</p><p><br /></p><p>January 2020</p><p>Starting in the fall of 2019 I began researching online looking for the perfect camper. I knew I wanted an Airstream and I knew it had to fit in our budget. I wanted to keep the total for both the truck and camper around $50,000. That's seemed almost impossible. </p><p>I had an idea of the layout we wanted. We didn't like the rear bathroom because the bed was much to small for the two of us but other than that we looked at every model. I scoured Airstream Classified, RV Trader, FB Marketplace and Craigslist every day for months. It was frustrating when I would find the perfect camper on the west coast because I knew it would be more to trasport it home than to buy it. Eventually I found one in Florida that seemed about perfect, a 2001 31' Excella wide body with a rear bed.</p><p>Buying something for that much money sight unseen is scary. I asked the very helpful people on the Airstream Forums page what to do to make sure it was a good purchase and they gave me the name of an inspector in Florida who really helped us out. He gave a full report, found some issues (in hindsight, missed a few - but not many) and we negotiated the price down to cover the repairs. </p><p>But there was still a problem, we didn't have a TV (tow vehicle). I set my two amazing brothers to work on this one. They are car geeks, they love old cars and fixing old things. If anyone could find us a great vehicle Norm and Rich would be the ones. Sure enough, they found the perfect truck outside of St. Louis, a 2004 Silverado Diesel 2500 with low miles and in great shape. The thing was the dealer knew it was a great deal and we had to pay cash for him to hold it for us. Again, pretty terrifiying buying something sight unseen. Norm assured me with his research and insight that it was the right thing to do and we did it! Wired the money to them and then had to figure out how to get it.</p><p>February</p><p>On Feb. 3 we flew to St. Louis. I had booked the night at Americas Best next to the truck dealership in Eureka MO, I thought, but it turns out there is an Americas Best in Eureka CA as well! Yes, I had booked the wrong hotel; (hard to believe I travel for work all the time). We stayed at the airport Marriott that night took an Uber to the dealership in the morning and by noon had our first truck! </p><p>We drove to Macon GA en route to pick up the Airstream only to realize I had booked us at the WORSE hotel ever. I was trying to save money and had grabbed a budget hotel. YIKES! I can't even describe how nasty the room was. So at 2:00 am I called around and found a Fairfield for the night. </p><p>Next day we drove to Tampa to pick up our new camper. It was what we expected, except it felt smaller and dirtier. Photos can be so deceptive. I paid the owner and we hooked up. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_K4db37CTwBxZsZ4pofHJdFpX6of9QYoyxY90D5Nmnwipvw9USApHd5_aKSHSC9buM-BdnRpnjL63Pcn6Fta03rUoAKmoMr9BMZLMFskljTgPgT3lbVliLEU2LyJRCxFmKzK1Wj6eLw/s1893/image000000_02.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1303" data-original-width="1893" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_K4db37CTwBxZsZ4pofHJdFpX6of9QYoyxY90D5Nmnwipvw9USApHd5_aKSHSC9buM-BdnRpnjL63Pcn6Fta03rUoAKmoMr9BMZLMFskljTgPgT3lbVliLEU2LyJRCxFmKzK1Wj6eLw/s320/image000000_02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Our first photo with the camper</div><br /><p></p><p>The truck's trailer brakes didn't work but we took off. I called ahead along our route and found someone who could install a new brake controler. With a small detour and some time spent in a tiny town in Georgia we were back on our way.</p><p>We spent our first night at a Cracker Barrel in Georga. It was hot and we had no idea how to open the windows. The batteries were dead and we had no water but it was ours! We bought some ice, beer, candles and food. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifaWktp2ZfuEGA5BWAuSYSJB6-syWkC3KRx7fXxl1xHHltsdgacdqcfzWQoambMO0_38_1RtyX0G4kC0xc5Bn240-wi8_8ztzv1slEgvJ0DH5sVBxXkb3XKo1mMqn4xRsaDWthWm3GGqM/s2560/image000000_04.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifaWktp2ZfuEGA5BWAuSYSJB6-syWkC3KRx7fXxl1xHHltsdgacdqcfzWQoambMO0_38_1RtyX0G4kC0xc5Bn240-wi8_8ztzv1slEgvJ0DH5sVBxXkb3XKo1mMqn4xRsaDWthWm3GGqM/s320/image000000_04.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Our first night!</div><br /><p></p><p>The next day we drove most of the way to Michigan. By mid-afternoon it started to snow. The second night we spent at a rest stop in Ohio. We had no idea how to turn on the heat and we froze.</p><p>We drove into Woodland Airstream mid-afternoon Feb. 7th. I went over a huge list of things to fix, replace and add with Erich the service manager and left our new camper with him.</p><p>We had done it! Bought an Airstream and truck for under $50,000. Now the work had to start.</p><p>Enough for today.</p><p>Cate</p><p><br /></p>Cate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-23323684179769387552021-01-03T11:24:00.000-05:002021-01-03T11:24:50.035-05:00My New Years letter<p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;">Hi Friends,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;">Like many people I didn't send cards this year but still wanted to touch base. This year would have been extremely dramatic for us even if there hadn't been a pandemic. Indulge me while I recap.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"></p><p><img alt="image.png" height="344" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ed3d67aea9&attid=0.3&th=176ba2de5099a0be&view=fimg&rm=176ba2de5099a0be&sz=w1600-h1000&attbid=ANGjdJ-vX5qEoBG-FNg4ZKZTiGj5CRPtFFMGjW03DtkRYwUOO3oZsDAlivaFonUjhfiUZYEOUY_CEm2_lojZN7t7DUhv81ea9Ba1PxZDjr8UZlzNRgkRCLBRkt-Wqts&disp=emb&realattid=ii_kjd7aojl3&zw/downloaded" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" width="420" /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;">In February Dennis and I flew to St. Louis and bought a 2004 Silverado 250 truck. Then drove to Florida to buy a 2001 31' Airstream Excella. We pulled the camper home and dropped it off at the Airstream dealer in Grand Rapids for major updates. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"></p><p><img alt="image.png" height="230" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ed3d67aea9&attid=0.1&th=176ba2de5099a0be&view=fimg&rm=176ba2de5099a0be&sz=w1600-h1000&attbid=ANGjdJ-ePYbW2vhU9WpPl0suleWzhgtSxShjGS4a4capslfW5CCt3gjLxXd-LeZNkyW-AcGhGfXCYRG1_IBSxs38AopojamNp-7rNtxdlx693KNub1-j_PNPicIyH3g&disp=emb&realattid=ii_kjd7458e0&zw/downloaded" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" width="426" /></p><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;">The shut down in March hit Liam hard. He had had his best swim season and was poised to break a school record in the 200 Free at the State meet on March 13th. The meet was canceled on the 13th. To come so close and miss it was tough, but he never complained or got upset. He just went on with his dreams of writing music and was accepted to the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music (CCM) to study Music Composition.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;">Like everyone else, we stayed home for the next couple months. Dennis had been working at a bike shop for a while and my online training went crazy, I usually had a couple classes a month, but my schedule filled up every week, thankfully.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;">Liam graduated with little pomp or celebrating. He didn't seem to mind missing prom, graduation or all the awards ceremonies. He went to a few graduation parties and we had one for him.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"></p><p><img alt="image.png" height="269" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ed3d67aea9&attid=0.2&th=176ba2de5099a0be&view=fimg&rm=176ba2de5099a0be&sz=w1600-h1000&attbid=ANGjdJ-BQWJev9235mHHMYG7psWToyaMAATAE0arJC35XlMskHUlfJgYh-C4M2dwkAWB5yRvMwqdCU2MryV6kLranmj6xnvZ0b0XIs93wwqERKaPCBV7KDd3sq_2MO0&disp=emb&realattid=ii_kjd75hgt1&zw/downloaded" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" width="396" /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;">In July we put our house up for sale and it sold in 3 days for more than we were asking! Two weeks later we closed! Luckily, we had till the end of August to move. The rest of July and August was spent getting the Airstream completely ready and selling/donating everything we owned. That is a huge chore!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;">We dropped Liam off at UC mid-August and he has been LOVING school. His classes have been mostly online, but he loves being in the dorms around "his people''. He lives in a dorm with a couple floors completely dedicated to CCM students. The jam sessions, the creativity, the fact that other kids get his jokes has been a gift.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;">August 30, we left our house for the last time. Our old boy Gus had passed earlier in the month, but we still have Jazzy, our cat. So, the 3 of us set out. She has taken to Airstream living well but the travel days are still filled with hours of her singing the song of her people. We must get that figured out!</span></p><p><span style="color: #595959; font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Labor Day weekend we had a tire on the trailer blow on the highway and it caused a lot of damage to the septic system (tore the valves right off). We could live in it but couldn't camp in a campground because, well, we leak! We camped by mom's house in Harrison for most of October and helped sell everything in her house, getting it ready to sell. In November we went to Tennessee to stay at Rich and Sharon's country house. It's a peaceful, beautiful place and we loved being there. Except for getting Covid. We both had a mild case and thankfully after a couple months are pretty much back to normal.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;">Thanksgiving week we dropped off the Airstream at the dealership in Grand Rapids to finally get the repairs it needed. We spent 10 days in Cincinnati at a lovely Airbnb. Thanksgiving with Liam was wonderful. We miss him so much and it was great to laze around and visit.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;">December finally got us to be truly full time RV'ers. We went to Florida and got our new license plates and driver's licenses updated. Liam chose to stay at the dorms over the holidays and work. He is a lifeguard at the UC pool and says he's glad he didn't make the team. Their warmups are tougher than his hardest practices were in high school!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;">We are looking forward to traveling around the country. I'm still training a couple weeks a month from the camper and Dennis is starting a bike repair business. My goal is to visit as many of my friends and family as I can. Hopefully, moochdocking with them occasionally. I would love to get invites to visit! (hint, hint)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"></p><p><img alt="image.png" height="266" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ed3d67aea9&attid=0.4&th=176ba2de5099a0be&view=fimg&rm=176ba2de5099a0be&sz=w1600-h1000&attbid=ANGjdJ_Y68bUwJkryPRXo0QGQ33qBCncH10vQ9u5cFQULquG6IuyjUl71ofEcg21Vx5TxUE0vq_cnOXXGNXixaoBck5j7bz4gltuyEDZdC_MjzkuL0u4oFXjjcbWr7o&disp=emb&realattid=ii_kjd7sgqo5&zw/downloaded" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" width="562" /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;">We miss our friends, and I am so thankful for technology that lets me stay in touch. We are blessed beyond words to have been able to do what we love and live life simply.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;">Hope to see you on our adventures.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;">Love,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;">Cate and Dennis</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;">Here are the links to Liam’s music:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://soundcloud.com/liam-khaye-269745324&source=gmail&ust=1609597511361000&usg=AFQjCNHiVdVAPpjeLAVLUDb9qwzILSq4NQ" href="https://soundcloud.com/liam-khaye-269745324" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #0563c1; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;">https://soundcloud.com/liam-<wbr></wbr>khaye-269745324</span></a><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV3gB61lUUT_nwj4RHpJgw/videos&source=gmail&ust=1609597511361000&usg=AFQjCNHFGQ_2BpQ6CIgrbixS3FdbOKfRRg" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV3gB61lUUT_nwj4RHpJgw/videos" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #0563c1; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;">https://www.youtube.com/<wbr></wbr>channel/UCHV3gB61lUUT_<wbr></wbr>nwj4RHpJgw/videos</span></a><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;">Follow us on Instagram to see photos of our adventures:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.instagram.com/catesword/&source=gmail&ust=1609597511361000&usg=AFQjCNGi9pwVxDspTWV6JrRJFEyUJm5wkg" href="https://www.instagram.com/catesword/" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #0563c1; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;">https://www.instagram.com/<wbr></wbr>catesword/</span></a><span style="font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #595959; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Eras Medium ITC", sans-serif;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.instagram.com/khayedennis/&source=gmail&ust=1609597511361000&usg=AFQjCNFVZOZiyOQs8u4ZkeZ4kWpvFfHgnQ" href="https://www.instagram.com/khayedennis/" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #0563c1; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/<wbr></wbr>khayedennis/</a></span></p>Cate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-55160637097963717602014-03-21T09:39:00.002-04:002014-03-21T09:39:58.383-04:00CET Designer Printing Tips<h2>
Printing the Architects drawing Grey in CET Designer</h2>
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First day of spring and it's time to post a tip for my friends using Configura CET Designer. I've been doing loads on online and on-site training with CET users and haven't made time to post any tips. So today, I'm making time.</div>
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I had a user ask me how to make the AutoCAD drawing print grey and the furniture print black. In AutoCAD we had plot setting that we made to do this but CET Designer doesn't have an easy way. (Yet. You've heard me say it - send it in as a Feature Request).</div>
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So here is the work around. Set all the layers of the AutoCAD drawing to grey. Set up the viewport in Paperview. Make a copy of it. In one viewport turn on the furniture layers set it to print in Black and White. In the copy turn on just the AutoCAD drawing set it to print in color. Move one on top of the other and you will be all set.</div>
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Here is a quick video on how to do it.<br />
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Hope this helps. I always welcome challenges so if you are trying to do something in CET Designer or AutoCAD or CAP let me know. </div>
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I hope it's spring where you are, we still have snow!</div>
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Cate</div>
Cate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-81988532178627724912013-10-28T17:28:00.000-04:002013-10-28T17:28:22.558-04:00Subtle not RandomIf you've been in one of my classes you've probably heard me say, "It's subtle, not random". <br />
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I get a lot of very frustrated users telling me how their computer or software does this crazy thing and they can't figure it out. Many times I know exactly what is causing it. <br />
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It could be where your mouse is located when you pick or that you hit escape in the middle of a command or maybe you are in the wrong "silo". Once you understand what is causing this crazy behavior you can control it, predict it, and even use it to your advantage.<br />
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One of the reasons I love training is to see the ah-ha moment. That moment when I explain "when you do this, that happens" and the student's eyes light up as they "get it".<br />
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The trouble with subtle things is figuring it out. That's my job. Discovering what is happening and sharing with you. I hate things that are random in the software. I test, test, test, read the manual, test some more, and sometimes call the developer to find out what the heck is going on. Then I share it with you.<br />
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A few months ago I was explaining to my son why the cat's were meowing for treats at 9 PM instead of 10 PM and I said, "It's subtle, not random. Cat's don't know about time change." That's when I realized it's not just software. There are so many things in life that seem random. Then I dig in and find out what subtle thing is causing that seeming crazy behavior.<br />
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Here is another one for you. Have you ever really looked at the FedEd logo?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJO-nTx2pcPXDOaovWEQ4jpX7miIk-GTfBzF6n_KJv7m-qBF2iytInqFLy_xLPQqhXhHP9dZ8n6QKkpmsjuK-AMcuSerYVPOzwMWoCQIZ-2ZEgc5dDt1Aw1GvgoNHEK5kNLIQMjChDN8/s1600/fedex-logo-300x107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="71" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJO-nTx2pcPXDOaovWEQ4jpX7miIk-GTfBzF6n_KJv7m-qBF2iytInqFLy_xLPQqhXhHP9dZ8n6QKkpmsjuK-AMcuSerYVPOzwMWoCQIZ-2ZEgc5dDt1Aw1GvgoNHEK5kNLIQMjChDN8/s200/fedex-logo-300x107.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Do you see the arrow? They did that on purpose. </div>
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Subtle nor Random.</div>
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Today, I don't have a software tip, I have a life tip. If something seems random, look for the subtle action causing it. You might be able to use that info to your advantage, if nothing else it won't be a mystery any more.<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading. Take care.<br />
<br />
CateCate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-76053558655690294642013-08-30T16:25:00.000-04:002013-09-03T14:19:48.428-04:00Back to School Special! Two tips in one post.Hi friends, I've taken the summer off from posting but with
school about to start I thought it would be time for me to start sharing with you again.<br />
<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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First, a surprise new feature was added to blocks this month
(or maybe it was a bug fixed, I don’t really know). You can apply materials from schemes to
blocks now without editing them! Try
it. Or watch the video, I’ll demo it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Second, the categories function is much more powerful. Again, it might have just been a bug fix but
there are some nice things you can do with it.
For example see your AutoCAD drawing in the Electrical View tab. Handy when you want to place base power in
feeds and dimensions to the base plan. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p>Pretty slick! </o:p></div>
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Don’t forget to sign up for the Users Conference in October. It will be both informative and a lot of FUN!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Check it out at: <a href="http://www.configura.com/userconference">http://www.configura.com/userconference</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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I'm doing two presentations and attending as much of the fun things at night as possible. :)</div>
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Hope you had a great summer and holiday weekend. Now, it's time to get back to work!</div>
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Take care,</div>
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Cate<br />
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PS: I just tested the materials applying to Canvas symbols and it doesn't work the same! I'm so sorry. If it looks like something you want to have send a Feature Request.<br />
<br />
Cate</div>
Cate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-42897782942359704442013-04-25T21:59:00.000-04:002013-04-25T22:56:12.187-04:00Creating your own symbols in CET Designer or Non supported Symbols<h2>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I promised you I'd show more cool uses for the CET Designer Edit Graphics extension. Here is the second one.</span></div>
</div>
</h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have you ever wanted to put something in your drawing that isn't supported by SmartTools, Canvas, or ProjectSymbols? I've come up with a method to create your own symbol by using ProjectSymbols and Edit Graphics.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You will need a couple things to do this procedure. </span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First you need to find a good 3D symbol either in AutoCAD or SketchUp.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Second you need to have a manufacturer other than Steelcase or Haworth installed in ProjectSymbols.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After that you are ready to go!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are the basic steps. Watch the video to get the details.</span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Import the AutoCAD or SketchUp symbol.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Place a ProjectSpec Symbol that is about the same size as the one you are creating.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Use Edit Graphics <i>Replace Symbol </i>to switch the PS Symbol to the new symbol.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Use the <i>Query </i>command, <i>Make Special</i> to edit all the part info.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Change the Install Text.</span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also show you how to change the colors on the symbol. :)</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/M0nQxY1qBUU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let me know if this is helpful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you and have a great day!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cate</span></div>
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Cate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-90809833286877986412013-02-11T12:25:00.000-05:002013-02-22T11:58:06.555-05:00Another quick CET Designer rendering tipSometimes new features are slipped in and we don't notice them or we don't really know what they are useful for. I've found another one that Configura added to CET Designer that I think you will like.<br />
<br />
It's the Camera Angle Step function and it helps you get the same angle on a rendering every time. Or you can do a birds eye view of a plan. Have a client that just isn't getting the plan view? Render it from above to help them understand.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwaN432LlJbFGG5O_oRkR0qtRK_fe6vQNtg5IaM73r7FPzeDk6FZXMgm-s3POUBlAmK_zMyJLcMK6ZbcG5EbEBi4IAwS23gckARvak6nuOUetq7r9F5qY3m5RKnIRcxJMNVAEy76_rpbY/s1600/Top.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwaN432LlJbFGG5O_oRkR0qtRK_fe6vQNtg5IaM73r7FPzeDk6FZXMgm-s3POUBlAmK_zMyJLcMK6ZbcG5EbEBi4IAwS23gckARvak6nuOUetq7r9F5qY3m5RKnIRcxJMNVAEy76_rpbY/s400/Top.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rendered from above</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Front view; I used a clipping plane to show the inside of the workstation.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ1E2GYCS4vKMyF-GRG1I25A26IBXX667gfeTIQ76-nIdhGeP4_cZahE3J937gPdCPVTYyihRNsBShLm-DEqGcGOZdSfBr_RfYBy801fAbL_sckaG2ui3O6U_oyYpySVHSuh6o9f8NSaE/s1600/front.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ1E2GYCS4vKMyF-GRG1I25A26IBXX667gfeTIQ76-nIdhGeP4_cZahE3J937gPdCPVTYyihRNsBShLm-DEqGcGOZdSfBr_RfYBy801fAbL_sckaG2ui3O6U_oyYpySVHSuh6o9f8NSaE/s400/front.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rendered in elevation</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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How to use it:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/mNRk01vwLJw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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As always have fun. Let me know if you want to see something special here.</div>
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Hope you aren't snowed in. :)</div>
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Cate</div>
<br />Cate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-7697709480776708142013-01-15T16:08:00.002-05:002013-01-15T17:45:24.778-05:00Other uses for CET Edit Graphics<h2>
Happy New Year!!</h2>
<div>
The holidays flew by as usual and now it's back to work. I hope you all had a wonderful time.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
By now I hope you have played with Edit Graphics in CET Designer. If you haven't installed it you should, then download the <a href="http://my.configura.com/index.pl?page=mysettings#downloads" target="_blank">reference guide</a> from the Configura site and read the section on Edit Graphics.</div>
<div>
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<div>
A few cool ways to use Edit Graphics have occurred to me to share with you.</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>Show a worksurface that is going to be cut to fit in the field.</li>
<li>Apply a COM easily.</li>
<li>Have multiple colors on the same item.</li>
</ol>
<div>
You may never have to do these things but if you do it's helpful to know how.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br />
Here is the video on how to make a cut-to-fit worksurface.<br />
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<br /><object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/q_mj6GiUYkk/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/q_mj6GiUYkk?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/q_mj6GiUYkk?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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I'll give you videos on the other two soon.</div>
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Have a great day!</div>
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Cate</div>
<br /></div>
Cate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-78761291275073779152012-11-26T13:27:00.000-05:002012-11-26T13:27:14.315-05:00New CET 3.2 rendering technique<h2>
No longer need the "white room" to render!</h2>
It's been a while since I posted and a lot has happened. I'll get to that later. But for now, my friends, the best new thing in CET 3.2 is a little check box called <i>Emissive background</i>. What that means is there is a nice white ambient light that is shining all around our layout that we can use with the Natural Light render mode. So, no more need for the white room to get a nice natural light effect.<br />
Here is an example:<br />
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<img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVARQw1JmWGRvfoKC4WeBpB44dDewgMa7kZQmwoktUy2iPHwO0Q54LcJBhhi0dVc3Qz5oPXej3ZmPG888OnrLwWcyfzfnLCRTb1J1SD796GRP4FNDfZcnVLP2z6c6-t5454lfosaKY3U4/s400/ProductLighting.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<br />
I've made a short video to get you started.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/-7kpZkyAZQs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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As always, I appreciate your feedback and comments. Enjoy!!</div>
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Cate</div>
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Cate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-27089164576298152652012-09-25T10:53:00.000-04:002012-11-27T09:16:26.926-05:00Ghost Panels<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: start;">Rendering in CET Designer is a hot topic for me these days. A lot of my time in training is spent on it and I've been showing some of my students this nifty way to create Ghost Panels. It's very similar to the process you use for the SketchUp look but with a twist. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Here is the result:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF_KxW3ga3ppzzhy2P4NT11XGJAgTPda6GABKc-BFNtMDoZFI9tSpB1KhSzF245KTaAsb6EJHpEdQi_PXu9RAZZYYzzNfzxNO8Dvh5luhO1TL5Jpbc_NusLjqza1ADg49ab3o-AUN6iB8/s1600/ghostfinal.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF_KxW3ga3ppzzhy2P4NT11XGJAgTPda6GABKc-BFNtMDoZFI9tSpB1KhSzF245KTaAsb6EJHpEdQi_PXu9RAZZYYzzNfzxNO8Dvh5luhO1TL5Jpbc_NusLjqza1ADg49ab3o-AUN6iB8/s320/ghostfinal.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">I created a short video with the steps if you'd like to watch it.</span></div>
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<br /><object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/F2xHi_032k8/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/F2xHi_032k8?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/F2xHi_032k8?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Hope this works for you.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Cate</div>
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<br /></div>
Cate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-90776317487287842512012-08-09T11:20:00.000-04:002012-08-09T11:35:05.319-04:00Announcing In-Depth, Topic Focused, Webinar Series<b id="internal-source-marker_0.112392692361027"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.112392692361027"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Get in-depth education in two 2-hour <i>one topic </i>training, specifically geared for your users. The webinars are hands on; you sit comfortably at your own computer with CET running as I demonstrate, watch, and guide you as you learn. The first session ends with a homework assignment to reinforce the topics covered.</span></b></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.112392692361027" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b><br />
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.112392692361027"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Part of the second session is a Q&A discussion about best practices.</span></b><br />
<h2 dir="ltr" style="font-weight: normal;">
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.112392692361027">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cost:</span></b></h2>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.112392692361027">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Each course is $250 per person. Class is limited to 6 participants. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dates: </span></b></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CET Rendering:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b><br />
<ul style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.112392692361027">
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">September 17 & 18, 2012, 11:00 to 1:00 EST</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">September 19 & 20, 2012, 2:00 to 4:00 EST</span></li>
</b></ul>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.112392692361027">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CET ProjectSymbols In Depth:</span><br /><ul style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">September 19 & 20, 2012 11:00 to 1:00 EST</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CET Edit Graphics and Specials: </span><br /><ul style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">September 17 & 18, 2012, 2:00 to 4:00 EST</span></li>
</ul>
<h2 dir="ltr" style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sign up now:</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sign up at </span><a href="http://www.catesword.com/" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">www.catesword.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> or email me at </span><a href="mailto:cate@catesword.com" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">cate@catesword.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for more information. More classes will be added as needed, check the web site for more times and dates.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><h2 dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Course Outlines</span></h2>
<h2 dir="ltr" style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CET Rendering Class</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Session 1 Topics:</span><br /><ul style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Basic rendering tips – angle, composition, depth</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Capture Image</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lighting – simple, multiple sun, grid, ceiling tile</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">PhotoLab setting </span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Photo Series</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paperview</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Output</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Session 2 Topics</span><br /><ul style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Environment </span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Materials</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">SketchUp </span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Special effects</span></li>
</ul>
<h2 dir="ltr" style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CET ProjectSymbols in depth</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Session 1 Topics:</span><br /><ul style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Placement, rotation</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Layers</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Resolution</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Block replace</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Specification</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Session 2 Topics</span><br /><ul style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Standard options</span></li>
</ul>
<br /><ul style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Specials</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Non supported Catalogs</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Converting drawing</span></li>
</ul>
<h2 dir="ltr" style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CET Edit Graphics and Specials</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Session 1 Topics:</span><br /><ul style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Replace Graphic</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Simple modifications</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Advanced modifications</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Session 2 Topics:</span><br /><ul style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review Advance modifications</span></li>
</ul>
</b>Cate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-53083571590688142542012-07-19T11:03:00.003-04:002012-07-19T11:39:29.120-04:00A CET Dimension Tip<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wow, where has the time gone! So much for giving you tips every month! I'll try harder, but for now I have another tip for the CET Designer users.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For many of you as you start using the software for installation drawings you find that you don't have the control over the dimensioning you'd like. Sure, now we can set a preset size and change them all globally but we are still missing the true ability to link them to specific "layers" or as they are called in CET Visibility Categories. I <i>know </i>it is coming but until CET has it solved I have a work around.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had a client ask me the other day if she could have dimensions for a panel plan and then other dimensions for components. The answer is not really. But I found a way she could do it. I'll share it with you.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<ul><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<li><span style="background-color: white;">First you rename one of the Part Tagging Tags to <b>Panel Dimensions</b> and the other to <b>Component Dimensions</b> (you don't really <i>HAVE </i>to do this but it gets confusing if you don't).</span></li>
</span></ul>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLFC-Te0WTxLTZg4HkvXfDbb2tXFaJSD50jRteZuqU5dWgjhcxlAshxEQ2AsVnlogXX7ZaKojduEalKsA8phGk-iRkGYSq3DvLx3wmERyQA-hH_qYLo-6gLa72IWRlIhCzKB49kivhzZk/s1600/tagging.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLFC-Te0WTxLTZg4HkvXfDbb2tXFaJSD50jRteZuqU5dWgjhcxlAshxEQ2AsVnlogXX7ZaKojduEalKsA8phGk-iRkGYSq3DvLx3wmERyQA-hH_qYLo-6gLa72IWRlIhCzKB49kivhzZk/s400/tagging.jpg" width="282" /></a></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then right click on the dimension and pick <b>Visibility and Categorization</b>.</span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdxBmUsobEwH1D3cHD4gquIlgXNYVTUPsY9pB7bq8vq2AO4lj4xqscVBGwqSzovVvibqT-rP8frFMakebZAalD1bq8uj9h84DMym93h-IPLf1bdDyhebxvRIqh6f_pjqDFuX8EIAwjryw/s1600/vandC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdxBmUsobEwH1D3cHD4gquIlgXNYVTUPsY9pB7bq8vq2AO4lj4xqscVBGwqSzovVvibqT-rP8frFMakebZAalD1bq8uj9h84DMym93h-IPLf1bdDyhebxvRIqh6f_pjqDFuX8EIAwjryw/s400/vandC.jpg" width="353" /></a></div>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the Categorization tab check either Panel Dimensions or Component Dimensions.</span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAKamLMVsUS6wF_uaOitJNjL9u0xU5m3lo26HhM0Ly4oduPiqYJ2jC9ZQ7oG5qCT4IJWWS7q2F0rA6TLTQh_Va_19D2t0iFSDXyVG-T4eNdpv2iMEmjqBgdj25uOhlRUlfJ_dWqSkYZtw/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAKamLMVsUS6wF_uaOitJNjL9u0xU5m3lo26HhM0Ly4oduPiqYJ2jC9ZQ7oG5qCT4IJWWS7q2F0rA6TLTQh_Va_19D2t0iFSDXyVG-T4eNdpv2iMEmjqBgdj25uOhlRUlfJ_dWqSkYZtw/s400/3.jpg" width="161" /></a></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When you set up your PaperView Viewports just make sure that you don't have <b>Normal View </b>selected and then go to the <b>Part Tagging</b> and check the dimensions you want to print.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGjJtDC__FDJiwVS1LJMxh51IGwD3f69qMRwO7ORDlQINPQxsm8wkDb_RJ1dyF7nkD4E7oOSNhrhRaNgfbjHvG2RM-uV2xnkgJVqm6D0CtdF7GiF9xP0vaLkKIGKm3Bov47L5y2_SJKwQ/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGjJtDC__FDJiwVS1LJMxh51IGwD3f69qMRwO7ORDlQINPQxsm8wkDb_RJ1dyF7nkD4E7oOSNhrhRaNgfbjHvG2RM-uV2xnkgJVqm6D0CtdF7GiF9xP0vaLkKIGKm3Bov47L5y2_SJKwQ/s400/4.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;">There you go. I suspect there are more uses for this tip, let me know if you find other ways to use it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Also, don't forget to order your renewal before August 1. If you plan on renewing in the future do it now before the rates go up!!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Enjoy the rest of the summer!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cate</span></div>Cate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-77253559992282380882012-04-17T14:15:00.001-04:002012-04-18T14:19:01.187-04:00CET MaterialsI am always looking for resources for great materials to use in rendering. <a href="http://www.configura.com/" target="_blank">Configura </a>has a nice zip file on their web site that you can download. It's on the <a href="http://www.configura.com/cet/documentation" target="_blank">documentation </a>page. But there isn't quite enough choices.<br />
<br />
Another resource I found was on my own hard drive! AutoCAD installed a huge library of wonderful materials. I found it in the C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\Materials2011\assetlibrary_base.fbm\2\Mats directory. Some of the files are <i>Bump </i>files which give AutoCAD the texture information, others are <i>Mask </i>files that AutoCAD uses for creating holes in the material (think of chain link fence). You probably won't use those type of files. However, if you look through the directory you will find some nice stone and brick patterns.<br />
<br />
Here is a screen capture of the directory:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bHKsH7qDf0M/T42uhECc75I/AAAAAAAAB2g/yPvl93fZwqU/s1600/4-17-2012+1-33-54+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bHKsH7qDf0M/T42uhECc75I/AAAAAAAAB2g/yPvl93fZwqU/s400/4-17-2012+1-33-54+PM.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Hope you are able to use these materials. <br />
<br />
Cheers!<br />
CateCate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-88786857558738271142012-03-07T11:21:00.000-05:002012-03-07T11:21:23.956-05:00New Configura CET TipHello friends,<br />
I haven't had much to share lately but today I want to tell you about a CET trick I discovered when I was testing.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Updating multiple alternatives at the same time</span></b></div><div>Lots of people ask me if they can make changes to all their alternative at once and I have always said no. But I found a work around using Blocks.</div><div><br />
</div><div>See, a block is the same in all your alternatives, so if you make a block of your architecture you can update it in one and all the other alternative will also update.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Here are the steps:</div><div><ol><li>Draw your room in one of your alternatives.</li>
<li>Select the whole room and right click to pick Make Block.</li>
<li>Leave the Block dialog open and switch to another Alternative.</li>
<li>Place the Block.</li>
</ol><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qQtQCrGukYY/T1eHs_dk_7I/AAAAAAAABf4/Y2U68hYqAQ0/s1600/3-7-2012+11-01-13+AM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="321" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qQtQCrGukYY/T1eHs_dk_7I/AAAAAAAABf4/Y2U68hYqAQ0/s400/3-7-2012+11-01-13+AM.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div></div>When you change the Block in any alternative they all will change.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9U_-pK4E4wU/T1eI0kiTHhI/AAAAAAAABgA/Y-ftQXwbH9U/s1600/3-7-2012+11-11-18+AM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="333" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9U_-pK4E4wU/T1eI0kiTHhI/AAAAAAAABgA/Y-ftQXwbH9U/s400/3-7-2012+11-11-18+AM.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S4JbORVT82k/T1eKu8041NI/AAAAAAAABgI/__cgLHGqbRM/s1600/3-7-2012+11-19-44+AM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="337" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S4JbORVT82k/T1eKu8041NI/AAAAAAAABgI/__cgLHGqbRM/s400/3-7-2012+11-19-44+AM.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div>You can do this with other things that are the same in all the alternatives as well, like accessories or even the workstations.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Hope this is something you can use!</div><div><br />
</div><div>Have a great day,</div><div>Cate </div><div><br />
</div>Cate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-83988247615231796722011-12-22T13:22:00.001-05:002012-03-07T11:40:43.074-05:00Christmas Gifts to You<div><span id="internal-source-marker_0.7217827197164297"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tis the season for giving.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sure you hear about free apps for your smart phone all the time but did you know that there are free programs for your computer too?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here are some that I use and some that come recommended but I haven’t had to use yet... but might now.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><ol style="font-weight: bold;"><li style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.7217827197164297"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">SketchUp </span><a href="http://sketchup.google.com/download/"><span style="color: #000099; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://sketchup.google.com/download/</span></a><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - I’ve talked about it before and it’s still the best deal out there.</span></span></span></li>
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<li style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trillian </span><a href="http://www.trillian.im/"><span style="color: #000099; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.trillian.im/</span></a><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - this chat program is a great way to combine all the different chat programs (AOL, MSN, Skype, Google+, Facebook) in one so you don’t have to load each program to chat with different friends. It also has an app for your phone if you really can’t get enough chatting! Pidgin is another program like this that my husband uses. </span></li>
<li style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Picassa </span><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/home"><span style="color: #000099; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://picasaweb.google.com/home</span></a><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - I use this program for organizing my photos uploading to their web site so I can see them on my smartphone without actually using space on my phone.</span></li>
<li style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CutePDF </span><a href="http://www.cutepdf.com/"><span style="color: #000099; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.cutepdf.com/</span></a><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - installs a printer driver to print to pdf. It doesn’t have all the functions of Adobe but it’s all I need.</span></li>
<li style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jing </span><a href="http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html?gclid=CMOxk5_8la0CFWkDQAoduDOplw"><span style="color: #000099; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html?gclid=CMOxk5_8la0CFWkDQAoduDOplw</span></a><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - fun and easy way to capture either images or short clips from your screen. It’s great for tech support when you want to send in the steps you did and don’t want to write each one out. Just start the recorder and do it, you can even narrate.</span></li>
<li style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Evernote </span><a href="http://www.evernote.com/"><span style="color: #000099; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.evernote.com/</span></a><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - I use this to take notes and capture web sites on my laptop, smartphone, or when I’m on someone else’s computer. They all sync up so if a friend gives me a great recipe when I’m at her house I have it when I get home on my laptop. Now, there are people who say the DropBox is better, I’m tempted to download it and try but I don’t know if I can transfer my notes from one to the other and I’ve got a lot of notes.</span></li>
<li style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">GIMP (Graphic Image Manipulation Program) </span> <a href="http://www.gimp.org/">http://www.gimp.org/</a> <span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - If you don’t have PhotoShop you can get this one for free.</span></li>
<li style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CCleaner </span><a href="http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner"><span style="color: #000099; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner</span></a><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - cleans up the junk on your computer great if you are running out of hard disk space.</span></li>
</span></span></ol><span id="internal-source-marker_0.7217827197164297"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here are some recommended ones that I’m going to try:</span><ul style="font-weight: bold;"><li style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7-zip - zips up your files</span></li>
<li style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">imgburn - copys files to a DVD - great if you have a lot of files to send to a client</span></li>
<li style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">teamViewer - online viewer of other peoples computer, similar to GoToMeeing but free.</span></li>
</ul><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>BEWARE</b></span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Make sure you download these programs from their actual web site or a trusted site like CNet. There are lots of hackers out there setting up fake versions of the populars free downloads with their own bad stuff on them.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hope you can use some of these programs to life a little easier. </span></span></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixm3BGbXsGjXpQ0nh14rAE0NvXXv2Oq3-h3vkmdruYYN9tiEmNzxBgB-cjcACjBc7w3PRwlx131GlBeyTsnyGddJQNs_dCWq4vunYQXznFqlJYlUz-nc6MGfm0JJfUj5w8jNKs1D_LwIA/s1600/Christmas+2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixm3BGbXsGjXpQ0nh14rAE0NvXXv2Oq3-h3vkmdruYYN9tiEmNzxBgB-cjcACjBc7w3PRwlx131GlBeyTsnyGddJQNs_dCWq4vunYQXznFqlJYlUz-nc6MGfm0JJfUj5w8jNKs1D_LwIA/s640/Christmas+2011.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From my family to yours I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Yes, we are geeks)</span></span></div></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cate</span></div><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>Cate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-8154020750403623402011-11-24T11:29:00.000-05:002011-11-24T11:29:49.464-05:00Comfortably numb<div style="background-color: transparent;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.1961412427481264" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I've been thinking about the user experience lately. And I've come to the conclusion: It's amazing what you can get used to.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Case in point. <a href="http://www.configura.com/cet" target="_blank">CET </a>Changed the behavior of the Schemes dialog pop up box. It used to pop up in the upper right hand corner but now it remembers where it was last and pops up there. This is so much nicer. I forgot that it bugged me and I simply got used to it. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This happens to power users all the time. We find work arounds or just get used to it. But the bug is still there.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a trainer and a power user I’m in a unique position to watch new users get frustrated by bugs that have long since stopped bugging me. This fresh perspective is something most of us gloss over.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A couple weeks ago I was training some designers who are dealing with very badly drawn furniture symbols. They learned to deal with them by redrawing the symbols correctly. All this extra work because the people who drew the symbols originally haven't responded to their complaints. Like most of us, after a while you stop complaining and just deal with it. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My challenge to you is, UNITE.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You need to make yourself a thorn in the side of the software companies.That's what I do. A lot of times complaining to a huge company like Microsoft or AutoCAD makes you feel like you’re the only one not clapping at the end of a rock concert. Smaller companies are different. They tend to care about complaints. <a href="http://www.configura.com/cet" target="_blank">CET</a>, <a href="http://www.2020technologies.com/en-us/interior-design/offices/2020-cap-studio" target="_blank">CAP</a>, <a href="http://www.projectmatrix.com/" target="_blank">ProjectMatrix</a>, and others like them fall into this category. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A lot of my students say they don't have time to report the little things but I say if we all complain a little, maybe they will fix it. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Every thing they fix is one less thing you have to remember when using the software. And that makes your job a tiny bit easier. All these tiny bits add up.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So instead of being numb to the weird idiosyncrasies, tell someone. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you don't know who to tell, tell me.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'll tell them! </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Be thankful! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cate</span></div>Cate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-1713887654713315812011-11-01T10:39:00.000-04:002011-11-01T10:39:06.027-04:00Vegas Baby!The CET User Conference in Las Vegas last week was excellent! I saw a lot of old friends, met some new ones and learned some new tips as well!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH8MmvjQuBDw7npxc0o7esH0Y4XpmtTvNnH-DhXrKlPypIr2i4B0qsBBOzbL68il01CDt0aQYNWvyDDsbGFPYjLUCKSo0GqT_1Mff4vSr-OMbWSZKOLpjp21wW9cYYJkETYW1M6PZOXSY/s1600/Attendee4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH8MmvjQuBDw7npxc0o7esH0Y4XpmtTvNnH-DhXrKlPypIr2i4B0qsBBOzbL68il01CDt0aQYNWvyDDsbGFPYjLUCKSo0GqT_1Mff4vSr-OMbWSZKOLpjp21wW9cYYJkETYW1M6PZOXSY/s320/Attendee4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Tip1</b></span><br />
One thing I can away with is I am more inspired than ever to learn <a href="http://sketchup.google.com/" target="_blank">SketchUp</a> better. Aidan Chopra from Google SketchUp spoke and he was excellent. I really see where it can work with CET but also with CAP & ProjectMatrix. With specials being so important it's nice to have a 3D drawing tool that I can use to create customs in, export to ACAD or CET and add intelligence and then render. I bought the Pro version last week for $500 to be able to import/export ACAD symbols but that seems like it will be worth it once I get good. And it won't take me long to get good! Three reasons:<br />
<br />
<ol><li>It's easy - my 9 year old son plays in it and he taught himself. I figure if he can I should be able to.</li>
<li>There are loads of <a href="http://sketchup.google.com/intl/en/training/videos.html" target="_blank">videos </a>and tutorials online to help. </li>
<li>It's fun. I find myself playing in it when I'm supposed to be doing something else.</li>
</ol><div>I might use SketchUp for sketchy renderings too but I think my use will be mostly for specials.</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Tip 2</span></b></div><div>Another great tip I got from the conference was to use <a href="http://explore.live.com/windows-live-movie-maker" target="_blank">Movie Maker</a> for presentations. Whether you are doing walk thoughs or just have renderings and text it was a FREE way to pull stuff together. I downloaded it today and will check it out. I am all about FREE software! </div><div><br />
</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqb7tbemuVTlstIe7x2zb5HwSNDPfi3EJogNVA-K-zTm3lxnPhRpIekiCu1ZT3x3G7OHoTuGq8qud4Tugq8y7xYsJRn95HsNzrbBjMoZbCB0_NQfjdjhwnZ5SiEPqjXj4V9ijI20yfGU/s1600/Lunch+day+2-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqb7tbemuVTlstIe7x2zb5HwSNDPfi3EJogNVA-K-zTm3lxnPhRpIekiCu1ZT3x3G7OHoTuGq8qud4Tugq8y7xYsJRn95HsNzrbBjMoZbCB0_NQfjdjhwnZ5SiEPqjXj4V9ijI20yfGU/s320/Lunch+day+2-8.jpg" width="320" /></a>Naturally it wasn't all about work - the food and the costume party were great. There were some very creative costumes. I'm not sure I want to see the photos! I had plenty to drink so I was at my BEST dancing! LOL</div><br />
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<br />
Thanks for reading,<br />
Cate<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Cate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-81648732533379932972011-10-24T13:32:00.001-04:002011-10-24T13:34:01.005-04:00Specials - blechSpecials seem to be the thorn in designers sides when they are doing projects. How do you handle them? There are lots of ways: add them to the spec, put a dummy symbol in the drawing, create the symbol in SketchUp, stretch it in AutoCAD, draw it from scratch, etc. Then you have to add intelligence to the symbol and each software has it's strengths and it's issues for doing that.<br />
<br />
<b>Some good news:</b><br />
I've heard that CAP is coming out with some new tools for specials that will give you the ability to include specials in Visual Impressions. VI is a great new tool but only for standard product, so adding that functionality will really help. I haven't seen it yet - but as soon as I do I'll share it with you!<br />
<br />
<b>Other good news:</b><br />
CET is updating the Editables extension to make it more user friendly. I like Editables, however, it has a lot of steps and buttons. CET has been getting feedback from users and incorporating them into the tool. Also, haven't seen it but I will this week at the <a href="http://configura.com/event/4th-annual-cet-designer%C2%AE-user-conference-2011">CET User's Conference</a> in Vegas. I'll let you know what I find out. <br />
<br />
<br />
By the way, let me know if there is a topic you'd like to hear about. I'm happy to share what I know.<br />
<br />
Have an excellent day,<br />
CateCate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-43339581179501815712011-10-07T12:09:00.000-04:002011-10-07T12:09:42.435-04:00Hardware. Finding the perfect little black dress.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I get the hardware question a lot. What do I recommend? What do I have? What do I like? It's a toughie.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First off, let me say I am not a hardware expert. I ask a lot of questions from people I trust and do the best I can. This is my take on that info.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhODQ8YLGwugwoovFc89jXxRIhXFufvBHzp1wekqYqwpkozCukTBNWHLri9iIxrT9x9XQmkF9vjiimEfH5eGep-ZMgoGnElgwM-pTdh_hDyKs0vZJ4NGdsRKP8WPK9ZH6gM6tM6qJbRkOY/s1600/liitle-black-dresses-assort.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a lot like getting a little black dress for a big event.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhODQ8YLGwugwoovFc89jXxRIhXFufvBHzp1wekqYqwpkozCukTBNWHLri9iIxrT9x9XQmkF9vjiimEfH5eGep-ZMgoGnElgwM-pTdh_hDyKs0vZJ4NGdsRKP8WPK9ZH6gM6tM6qJbRkOY/s1600/liitle-black-dresses-assort.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhODQ8YLGwugwoovFc89jXxRIhXFufvBHzp1wekqYqwpkozCukTBNWHLri9iIxrT9x9XQmkF9vjiimEfH5eGep-ZMgoGnElgwM-pTdh_hDyKs0vZJ4NGdsRKP8WPK9ZH6gM6tM6qJbRkOY/s320/liitle-black-dresses-assort.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You could spend $500 at a boutique or find one on sale at a department store for $20. The dress from the boutique may be a classic and you could wear it for years. I have a few of those - I gained weight and can't wear them, but also can't just donate or sell them at a garage sale because I spent so much on them. So they take up space in my closet waiting for me to lose weight. The dress from the department store may be cute at first but sometimes the cheap dresses don't last - sometimes they do - but often enough they lose their shape or fall apart. Sometimes it's a great deal, sometimes not.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what we do is find the dress that we can afford but that we know will last and will be good for a long time. We find that comprise. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The same thing with computers. We need to find the one that is the best we can afford and that will last. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are some factors to consider:</span><br />
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<ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Your IT department - Do you have one? Do they really know what you do? Are they responsive when you need help?<br />
If you have a great IT department you can trust them to get you what is best for you and what they like. Make sure they know how your software works, that having a laptop designed for gaming doesn't mean you are a gamer. If you don't have the best IT support you may need to stick to your guns about the hardware. I have heard many designers tell me that the IT person didn't believe them when they said they needed a good graphic card and got a cheapie and the designers are paying for it with crashes and slow machines. If you are your IT department then support from the manufacturer is going to be very important.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Laptop vs Desktop - Are you going to work from home/clients/Starbucks?<br />
A desktop computer can be upgraded and can have more power for less money. However, with the graphical nature of our programs and the work anywhere attitude people have a laptop is much more practical, even a large heavy laptop is better than a desktop and a monitor if you want to work from home or do a quick presentation at the clients.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The brand of the other computers in your office.<br />
If your office has a contract with Dell you may get better pricing. Or your IT person may have a good working relationship with someone. </span></li>
</ul><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What do you need? </span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The most important issue when getting a computer for designers today is getting the best graphic card you can afford. My experience is get a Nvidia GeForce Graphics Card but there are lots of them so here is a <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5840839/this-chart-actually-explains-the-nvidia-geforce-hierarchy-of-video-cards">chart </a>to figure out if the one you are getting is as good as you can afford. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The second most important is the hard drive, then getting plenty of ram to support that awesome graphic card.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What Brand</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just like dresses we all have our favorite brands. I can't wear Ann Taylor because I'm just not thin enough but I know there are people out there that love her.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't have a favorite brand right now. It used to be <a href="http://www.alienware.com/" style="font-weight: bold;">Alienware </a>when they were a boutique shop and they are still fine but then <b><a href="http://www.dell.com/">Dell </a> </b>bought them and if I'm going to buy a Dell - I'll just buy a Dell. Which I think is a good computer.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wouldn't get an <b>HP</b>. Rumor has it they are getting out of the hardware business and my experience has been a bit like getting the dress form the department store. Sometimes they are solid other times not so much.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I like <b>Lenovo </b><a href="http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/laptop/thinkpad/index.html">ThinkPad </a>and the <a href="http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/workstation/?menu-id=learn&current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087&current-category-id=96EBC6A8C8EC47A59E95B3D5E300F333">Thinkstation </a> but they are on the higher end of the price scale. You do get what you pay for and I have some clients that have them and are very happy.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mac are right out. Our software doesn't really run on them. Oh well.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is what I have right now:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.malibal.com/boutique/pc/configurePrd.asp?idProduct=285"><b>Malibal </b></a>P150H Lotus P150HM <br />
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Display: 15.6" 1920 x 1080 FHD LED Backlit Glossy Display <br />
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-2920XM, Extreme 8MB L3 Cache, 2.50-3.50GHz <br />
Memory: (12GB) 12288MB, PC3-10660/1333MHz DDR3 - 3 SO-DIMM <br />
Graphics Card: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 485M 2GB GDDR5 <br />
Hard Drive: 160GB Intel® X25-M SATA II 3Gb/s SSD2 Drive</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I got this laptop in June and I haven't been happy with it because I think I got a lemon. My friend Jason at Configura loves Malibal and has over 20. I have heard others say the same thing. However, my experience with their customer service was bad. They were unprofessional and unresponsive to my problem - blaming me for my hard drive crash. I would only recommend them if you have an extremely good IT person.</span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Keep in mind, all of this could change in a minute because there is always something new. You are also going to want to get a new one in a couple years to keep up with all the new software that is going to come out! Trust me, it won't stop. I buy a new computer every 18 months - but that's pretty much my only business expense so you may want to budget for every 2 to 3 years.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, have I answered the question? No, but I hope you can make a more informed decision now.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good Luck!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cate</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div>Cate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-59239621625868203902011-10-05T16:01:00.001-04:002011-10-05T16:09:39.148-04:00Nifty new tab in ProjectSymbols for CETThere was a new release for CET and ProjectSymbols last month. A huge improvement for ProjectSymbols was the new tab in the Layers dialog call <b>Categories</b>.<br />
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See, you can link the layers to categories that will be able to turn on and off when you plot!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB1-igLNcYPZ7OzIfGTyL6VO7CS_rw6N7RQJr2YIBFFz2KIIyISSSdJey5BUwKBQ_bCadZ-7EodleDvmMmiDKOTY3E74_eTrtvDzGBmpkukcboZmzrGvSmzaWlS5Os4Bedg4FVH15eEsE/s1600/PSlayer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB1-igLNcYPZ7OzIfGTyL6VO7CS_rw6N7RQJr2YIBFFz2KIIyISSSdJey5BUwKBQ_bCadZ-7EodleDvmMmiDKOTY3E74_eTrtvDzGBmpkukcboZmzrGvSmzaWlS5Os4Bedg4FVH15eEsE/s400/PSlayer.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And you can save them like layer sets. It's very cool. It's been needed for a long time and I'm happy to see it working in 2.6.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The <a href="http://www.configura.com/system/files/Release%20Notes%202.6.pdf">release notes</a> are a bit vague about this but once you start using it you will see why it is needed.</div><br />
Hope this makes your work a bit easier!<br />
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CateCate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-82318860626903592912011-10-04T21:42:00.000-04:002011-10-04T21:42:54.475-04:00Change the focusToday I learned something new I wanted to share with a lot of people. I emailed a couple people, chatted with another, I even told one over the phone. When I told Dennis about it later he told me I should be blogging it. What a brilliant idea! I have a blog started - I've been sharing things about the Susan G. Komen 3Day for the Cure but I don't have much to post. Why not change the focus?<br />
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So starting today. I'll post tips, tricks, opinions, feedback or just plain information about the software I train and about the furniture industry. I welcome feedback and interaction. I don't claim to represent the software companies that I work with, just myself. But I've been doing this for a long time and I've got a pretty good handle on what's going on.<br />
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So, let's see how this goes. Tomorrow I'll give you a tip about ProjectSymbols!<br />
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CateCate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-10885941554390442572011-09-18T16:37:00.001-04:002011-09-18T16:39:43.858-04:00DID IT!!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I did it!</b> My third 3 Day Walk! 60 miles through San Francisco, did you know that city is very hilly? Oh, yes. The route took us through the city, through Berkley & Oakland. Then on the third we walked across the Golden Gate Bridge. Many of you don't know this but I am terrified of heights so this was actually a huge accomplishment for me. Well, I held the hand rail the whole way and almost threw up at the end - but I did it.</span><br />
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</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Along the way I met so many caring people. It's amazing to be part of a group of people like that, no one is mean! I wish you could all experience it. Every one helps each other, is friendly and even when exhausted will smile and crack a joke. I also hear a lot of stories. But the best part was at the closing ceremonies when we heard that this particular event had raised almost $4 million to help fight the battle against breast cancer! Then we raised our shoes to show the world that we would keep on walking, to do whatever it takes. I was in tears (honestly, I'm in tears now remembering it). If you ever get a chance to attend the closing ceremonies for one of the 3 Day walks you should go, it is amazing.</span></div>Cate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-5177659059066015802011-08-11T14:54:00.000-04:002011-08-11T14:54:13.116-04:004 Weeks till the 3 Day<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;">Can you believe it? 4 weeks from today I will be flying to San Francisco to walk in the<i> Susan G. Komen 3 Day Walk for the Cure</i>. The time has flown by.</span><br />
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</div><div>All my stuff will be in Ziploc and garbage bags in my husbands large gym bag ready for the camp. I'll be wearing pink and eating plenty of pasta. Then on Friday I'll be there by 6:30 in the morning when opening ceremonies start, along with around 2,000 other walkers, ready to walk 60 miles through SF. The next three days will be fun, entertaining, heart wrenching, and exhausting but in the end it will be so worth it. I'm hoping for no blisters and a few new friends.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Can you tell I'm excited? I'm excited to be part of something this big, that helps so many people. Last year people walking in the 3 Day raised more than <a href="http://continuekimsfight.com/the-3-day/2010-3-day-statistics/">$77 million</a>. Did you know that most of the money raised goes towards <a href="http://www.the3day.org/site/DocServer/3-Day_for_the_Cure_Report_Card_09_series_6_10.pdf?docID=341">breast cancer education and awareness</a>? That's important because so many women don't know that they need to get checked or what to even look for. If you can catch it early enough it can be cured.</div><div><br />
</div><div>So, once again I'm going to ask for money. I haven't raised my $2,300 yet, but am very close. <b>Those of you that have already donated, thank you so much!! </b> I know many of you give to other causes and I respect that so I'm not asking you. But there are some of my friends who say, "Oh, right, I was going to donate." now is your chance. :)</div><div><br />
</div><div>Help me help others. <b><i>Everyone deserves a lifetime</i></b> is the slogan of the 3 Day and mine is<i> <b>If not me, who? If not now, when? I can walk, so I will</b></i>.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Thank you for reading and for donating. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Cate</div><div><br />
</div><div>PS Let me know if you want updates on my walk. I'll be texting family and can add you to the list!</div>Cate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164585968182851889.post-89689308693081788132011-07-20T15:33:00.000-04:002011-07-20T15:33:06.966-04:00Walking and technologyRecently I found three new apps for my phone and I love adding them to my walking time. I have a Droid and love it. As I start doing more and more miles alone it's nice to have the distractions.<br />
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One is Endomondo. It tracks distance and time walking - which a lot of apps do - but what I like is it tells me when I've gone a mile and gives me my times. Every mile after that it gives me my splits. The uploads to a web site. The web site has lots of fun stuff - like how many times I've walked to the moon (none) and how many times I've walked around the world (.003 still a ways to go). <br />
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Another app I'm loving is my new podcast player called BeyondPod. I can stream or download podcasts. I like having them pre-downloaded then it doesn't seem to take as much of my battery life. I'm catching up on all kinds of stuff.<br />
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The third app is a mobile version of GrooveShark, my favorite online music player, called TinyShark. I have had so many problems with Pandora on my phone that I took it off and switched to this one. Same concept except you can actually play the song you like.<br />
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One other addition to my phone isn't really an app but Dennis has been downloading audio books for me and I love listening to them from my phone.<br />
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Walking alone isn't boring any more!<br />
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CateCate Swordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876776677322809881noreply@blogger.com0