My New Years letter

Hi Friends,

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.

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. 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

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!

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.

 

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!

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.

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.

 

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!

 

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)

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.

 

Hope to see you on our adventures.

 

Love,

Cate and Dennis

 

Here are the links to Liam’s music:

https://soundcloud.com/liam-khaye-269745324  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV3gB61lUUT_nwj4RHpJgw/videos

 

Follow us on Instagram to see photos of our adventures:

https://www.instagram.com/catesword/

https://www.instagram.com/khayedennis/

CET Designer Printing Tips

Printing the Architects drawing Grey in CET Designer

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.

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).

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.

Here is a quick video on how to do it.

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.  

I hope it's spring where you are, we still have snow!

Cate

Subtle not Random

If you've been in one of my classes you've probably heard me say, "It's subtle, not random".

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.

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.

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".

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.

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.

Here is another one for you.  Have you ever really looked at the FedEd logo?

Do you see the arrow?  They did that on purpose. 

Subtle nor Random.

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.

Thanks for reading.  Take care.

Cate

Back 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.

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.

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. 

Pretty slick! 

Don’t forget to sign up for the Users Conference in October.  It will be both informative and a lot of FUN!

Check it out at:  http://www.configura.com/userconference

I'm doing two presentations and attending as much of the fun things at night as possible.  :)

Hope you had a great summer and holiday weekend.  Now, it's time to get back to work!

Take care,

Cate

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.

Cate

Creating your own symbols in CET Designer or Non supported Symbols

I promised you I'd show more cool uses for the CET Designer Edit Graphics extension. Here is the second one.

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.

You will need a couple things to do this procedure.

• First you need to find a good 3D symbol either in AutoCAD or SketchUp.

• Second you need to have a manufacturer other than Steelcase or Haworth installed in ProjectSymbols.

After that you are ready to go!

Here are the basic steps.  Watch the video to get the details.

1. Import the AutoCAD or SketchUp symbol.
2. Place a ProjectSpec Symbol that is about the same size as the one you are creating.
3. Use Edit Graphics Replace Symbol to switch the PS Symbol to the new symbol.
4. Use the Query command, Make Special to edit all the part info.
5. Change the Install Text.

I also show you how to change the colors on the symbol.  :)

Let me know if this is helpful.

Thank you and have a great day!

Cate

Another quick CET Designer rendering tip

Sometimes 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.

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.

Rendered from above

Front view; I used a clipping plane to show the inside of the workstation.

Rendered in elevation

How to use it:

As always have fun.  Let me know if you want to see something special here.

Hope you aren't snowed in.  :)

Cate

Other uses for CET Edit Graphics

Happy New Year!!

The holidays flew by as usual and now it's back to work.  I hope you all had a wonderful time.

By now I hope you have played with Edit Graphics in CET Designer.  If you haven't installed it you should, then download the reference guide from the Configura site and read the section on Edit Graphics.

A few cool ways to use Edit Graphics have occurred to me to share with you.

1. Show a worksurface that is going to be cut to fit in the field.
2. Apply a COM easily.
3. Have multiple colors on the same item.

You may never have to do these things but if you do it's helpful to know how.

Here is the video on how to make a cut-to-fit worksurface.

I'll give you videos on the other two soon.

Have a great day!

Cate