Sunday, December 24, 2006

Autodesk University 2006

I think I have finally recovered from AU.

Don't get me wrong. AU is the premier event of the year. But it's exhausting, and it's gotten SO big...more than 7,500 people this year.
Since I'm posting this well after this year's event, I'm not going to go into great detail. Shaan Hurley has posted a lot of photos on his blog.

I taught five classes this year, plus again joined Jamie Thomas on her CAD consultant panel, and assisted Jeanne Aarhus with her "Revit for Autodesk Architectural Desktop Users" lab. Several of my classes were recorded. I'll be posting most of my class materials on my website.

When I wasn't teaching a class, I was taking a class, mostly the classes in the excellent Revit PowerTrack series.

But other than classes, what were the highlights of this year's AU?

Before the event even got started, I journeyed across the street to the Mirage to see "LOVE", the new Cirque du Soleil show. This was by far the best Cirque show I've ever seen, perhaps the best show in Vegas. The soundtrack—created by George & Giles Martin by re-editing tracks from the original studio recordings—is nothing short of incredible. The sound system in the new theatre is superb; it's almost worth going just to listen. But the Cirque du Soleil performance is magnificent, with the circus feel of the troupe's earliest shows. Definitely a must see. Lynn Allen hosted the main stage kick-off event at AU this year, introducing Autodesk's new President and CEO Carl Bass. The parties at AU are always great, and this year was no exception. Check out the crowd at the JET club over at the Mirage, where BSD held their event. AU always includes world-class entertainment. This year, the entertainment was provided by comedian Don McMillan, followed by The Blue Man Group. Another high-point? Look at the incredible rooms at The Venetian. And finally, AU means being able to reconnect with friends. Here we are, toasting another successful AU: Matt Murphy, J.C. Malitzke, Lynn Allen, Karen Miletsky, Craig McCurdy (Lynn's hubby), and me.

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