I contributed to AUGI Hot News for January 2006.
We often get stuck in a rut, doing the same things day in and day out. These ruts are affectionately known as habits. Habits can be good and they can be bad. Good habits may be things such as exercise, eating right, getting plenty of rest, and drinking four, eight-ounce glasses of water per day. Bad habits may include watching too much TV, biting your fingernails, and so on.
I want to discuss forgotten habits. These would be things that you once did but have now forgotten to continue doing. Forgotten habits in CAD will cost you time and money. They will stunt your CAD growth and can even corrupt your files.
Habit #1 – Reading
We all have very busy schedules and have little spare time for much of anything. Reading is the top one on my list of habits that are easily forgotten. Obviously my focus is on reading CAD related items. You should take to read a good book or novel also to escape the techno-world we live in. I just finished reading “To Kill a Mockingbird” – a mid century classic by Harper Lee. But I digress…
You should be reading CAD related information whenever you get the chance. Here are a few places to look for good CAD info.
AUGI
Of course this is tops on my list. AUGI World is a bi-monthly publication that is delivered as part of your AUGI membership. AW contains superior articles by noted authors and speakers like, Matt Murphy, Robert Bell, David Harrington, David Kingsley and myself. Guest articles cover just about all of the products that Autodesk develops.
Autodesk
They have Autodesk Press which publishes many good books on many topics. I am currently reading “Introducing & Implementing Autodesk Revit Building” by L. C. Fox and Jim Balding and also Mastering Architectural Desktop 2006 by Paul Aubin.
Don’t forget the books that come with the software. Read them whenever you get a chance. I highlight and flag interesting items and make notes in my books. Autodesk has stopped shipping the books with the software lately, but you can still get them for free. Look for a 3×5 card in the media case or go to http://autodeskbookrequest.com [1] and request your book.
Third Party books
I did a search on Amazon for “AutoCAD” and found 1,797 books. Many of these books may be for older releases, but the vast majority will offer many tips and tricks that will more than cover the cost of the book. I often will find one or two jewels in a book that pays for my time and outlay for the purchase price and reading time.
Magazines
I mentioned AUGI World, but let’s not forget Cadalyst. The articles in this magazine are great. Recurring columns and authors that are top notch. Robert Green’s column is often worth 10 times its weight in gold. Sara Farris does an excellent job of putting together high quality editions, month after month.
Before I move on I want to encourage you to read other technology based magazines also. I think that anything tech related is worthy of reading and you will find many items and articles that effect your daily tech use.
One more thing – often the advertisements are just as good as the articles at keeping track of what is happening with technology. I know that the ads often over hype things, but they do reflect the pulse of the industry.
So far we have looked at hardcopy publishing and the information they provide that can be carried with you. Next time we will look at Reading from an online perspective.