Saturday, March 21, 2015

Patreon is live

Amy and I just finished filming, editing, and uploading the final pieces for the Patreon campaign. "Hook's in the water," I proclaimed upon the completion of the final upload. "What? What about ducks?" said Amy. "Hooks! Hooks!" I corrected. "Yeah, I wasn't really listening," came her reply.

I'm thinking about cycling through the different software I want to screencast an episode at a time. Monday could be AutoCAD Monday. Tuesday could be Solidworks Tuesday. Wednesday could be Onshape Wednesday (Ow, for short). Thursday could be Inventor Thursday. Friday could be Inventor Friday. Saturday could be SketchUp Saturday. Or NX Saturday, Or Creo Saturday. Or Microstation Saturday. Or Revit Saturday. The week needs more days.
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Friday, March 20, 2015

So excited!

I just unleashed the hounds of Patreon. You can find my campaign here: patreon.com/christianbuchert. Go, Patreon hounds! Go flush those elusive currency birds from their hiding places!

Here's how it really happened. Coming up on a year ago, got frustrated with the free video training content I was finding, so I decided to start producing my own. My goal was to make them get right to the point, with no obnoxious intro videos and no patronizing preambles prior to delivering the actual tutorial material. Since then, I've had something close to a quarter million views, over a thousand subscribers, years worth of time spent watching my videos, and an overwhelming amount of positive feedback. I'm super stoked to be giving this a shot.

I decided to do the Patreon campaign for a few reasons. The primary reason is that I really want to keep making videos, but I can't afford to use so much of my time producing content and maintaining the channel. A secondary reason is to help me feel like my time is being well spent when I produce videos on content that feels important but probably won't drive big viewing numbers. My life basically boils down to a game of numbers. My hope is that with patron support I will be able to devote more of my time to producing high quality video content.

So what do patrons receive for their patronage you ask? Beyond my gratitude and absolution for the sin of eliminating the ads I have used to monetize my channel through products like Adblock Plus, they get progressively more visibility and input on the content I produce. Beyond those guys, there's also an option to emotionally underwrite a video. I honestly can't see myself or anyone else ever donating three thousand bucks for a single video, but if they do I intend to live up to the reward in every way. My wife and I are budding connoisseurs of world class fine foods and I intend to deliver.

I'm working on shaking things up in my current video format a bit, making smaller videos that are more situation specific rather than longer videos that try to cover multiple things with the goal of matching my audience's attention span (about 5 minutes before they watch something else). I'm still interested in producing the longer videos, but I want to add the bite sized option for those looking for something specific as well.

In terms of software I would like to cover in the next year, here's what I'm thinking.

  • AutoCAD 2016 new features
  • Solidworks
  • Onshape
  • Inventor
  • NX
  • PTC Creo
  • Microstation
  • Revit
  • ArchiCAD (Maybe. We'll see on this one.)
  • SketchUp
The goal is ambitious given the amount of material, but I'm stoked to get it planned out and give it a shot.

Onwards and upwards.
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Sunday, March 8, 2015

Revamp, Redesign, and Screencasting Onshape Tomorrow!

New years bring new things. This year has brought me an 800 mile move to the coast, a new microphone setup, a laundry list of new restaurants to enjoy, a broader YouTube viewing audience, some graphic overhauls, and a new piece of feature based modeling software. How exciting!

The design for the blog was looking a little long in the tooth, so I shook things up a bit. You're welcome.

I also implemented video thumbnails over the weekend as well as channel art and a new avatar across my Google services. And now you know.

My lovely wife and I moved from Utah to the Bay Area in California in February. So far it's been good.

Yesterday I had Ethiopian food for the first time. It was super good! This is the point at which I would normally make some wise crack about Ethiopia and food, but I'll restrain. I did suggest that we grab a bite before we went to the restaurant. You know, just in case. It was not well received by the more refined company I was keeping. What, people can make Canadian jokes but not Ethiopian jokes? In all seriousness though, the food was delicious and the experience was really great overall. If you want to eat the food of the Ethiopians and are in San Jose, check out Walia. The staff was great and the food was sensational. We were served by both an Ethiopian Amazon and an Ethiopian dwarf. I literally couldn't ask for more.
An open letter to the good people of Ethiopia.

Dear Ethiopians, 
I love your food. I know, that sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. It's not. This time. I really really like your food. You are a wonderful people with a cultural heritage that is nearly as rich and deep as civilization itself. In millenia past, you were Pharaohs. You built eternal monuments. You cut churches straight down into bedrock. Your food is dang spicy. You are a major focal point of Rastafarianism. That may very well be your greatest achievement. 
We need to talk about your ladies and their treatment. This whole under fed, under sized, under age marriage ending in week long deliveries, dead babies, fistulas, and social pariah statuses thing really needs to stop. Your women are key to your current and future success as a nation. Please be nice to them. 
I ate your food stuffs. They were delectable. Half of them were vegetarian. I then heard that there are no vegetarians in Ethiopia. That made me laugh deeply, from the diaphragm. I too am not vegetarian. I will dine on spicy, stewed meats with you any day. You just let me know. 
Sincerely, 
Chris.



The Real News.


Now, the real news. As of tomorrow, the NDA I signed with Onshape is no longer in effect and I will be screencasting video tutorials on the beta right out of the gate. You have permission to get excited in advance. I'm really stoked about OnShape. They still have some ways to go, but the feature set they currently have is robust and the performance of their system has been fantastic during the closed pre-production period. Here's to it continuing! And the price point! It's so exciting to find feature based modeling software in the affordable range. Keep up the good work, Onshape!

That's about it. Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me on Twitter. Until next time.
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Sunday, January 5, 2014

The New File Server

Our current server at work is getting a little long in the tooth, so I proposed building a new server. The box it is replacing is running Windows SBS 2003 on a spinning disk. Requirement-wise we look something like this:
  • 500+ GB Storage
  • Dropbox Synchronization
  • Incredibly reliable
The first two criteria aren't a stretch. I opted to put an SSD in the system (Samsung Electronics 840 EVO-Series 750GB) for several reasons, not the least of which is speed. The load we put on our server is generally non-sequential reading and writing of handfuls of small files in sequence, and with five users on the system is makes sense to spring for a SSD.

The server is running a 64-bit edition of Ubuntu 13.10. All things considered, it's a pretty vanilla system. I opted for the desktop edition in the event that someone else needs to get on the server for whatever reason and Unity is pretty easy to get around. Dropbox is run on the Nautilus package (hooray for Aptitude!), file sharing is done in Samba 4, and Webmin as a management convenience for simple changes from my desk.

Eventually, it makes sense to move to a managed network, but for now we're keeping it simple.

The grand picture for our network is having all workstations on a domain. In addition to normal shares, all users would have their own home folder where all their software support directory structures would live, allowing them to be able to switch between workstations seamlessly. Imagine: you get a new workstation and don't have to copy the ../Rx/enu/Support folder manually or (heaven forbid) set up all personal settings again. More on this as it develops.
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Saturday, January 4, 2014

2014 Q1 Entry Level CAD Workstation

Lately I've been building quite a few workstations for my current employer, Helius Lighting Group as their business has been growing on a near exponential curve (way to go, Paul and Jarron!). For me, the biggest source of frustration when building a new CAD workstation (when I haven't done one in a long time) is the research. Hardware research isn't terribly cathartic for me and I'd rather just buy the parts and get into the build.

While I was working as a hardware tech at Ancestry.com, my boss taught me an incredibly important lesson: it's almost always cheaper to use an existing solution than to create your own. To this end, my first choice was to find someone else's build, review it, compare it to other comparable builds, then buy parts. Much to my chagrin, the newest build I could find was for early 2013 (at least one hardware generation ago), so I wound up taking the computer building Plan B.

Fortunately for me, my brother-in-law (drop me a line if you want him to consult for you) keeps up on hardware way more than I do and had some fantastic part recommendations for a gaming (converted to CAD) system (without monitors) for around $1,300.00 USD.


Parts.

I split the parts between Amazon.com and Newegg.com, depending on price (shipping included). This was accurate as of December 26, 2013.

Amazon.com Parts

Total: $1,031.95 + Shipping


Newegg.com Parts

Total: $284.97 + Shipping

Grand Total: $1,316.92




Breaking it down.

Working from the outside in.


The Case.



As a rule of thumb, I never buy a cheap case. The reason for this? I like to keep my blood inside my body and I find that more of it winds up outside my body when I get cheap cases. Needless to say, I'm okay paying more money for fewer cuts on my hands and fingers. This case would normally be deep in my "do not touch" zone were it not for a recommendation from my brother-in-law. I got the case, loved it, and have purchased it for almost every CAD system I've built ever since.

Pros.
  • The case is priced very well for its feature set.
  • The case is very easy to work with.
  • The case has decent cable routing, especially given the price of the case.
  • Maybe this dates me, but I still think thumb screws are an awesome feature.
  • The power supply lives on the floor of the case.
  • The case has a ready spot for a 2.5" drive that only needs two screws.
  • The fans are fantastically quiet.
  • The hardware that comes with the case includes a thumb screw adapter for motherboard standoffs. Take that, ratchet!
  • The power and reset buttons are set on an angle that is hard to accidentally push with your knee.
Cons.
  • Lots of metal breakouts on the back which means holes if you goof up and break out the wrong thing as well as sharp metal when you break anything out at all. Watch your fingers.
  • USB 3.0 from the front panel has to physically plug into a USB 3.0 port on the back of the motherboard.
  • Cable routing space behind the motherboard is a little cramped.


The Mouse.


Because I spend so much of my day using it, I'm pretty picky about my mouse. When I was building my own workstation about a year ago, I ran across this guy. This has to be the most comfortable mouse I've ever used. It's fantastic. Designed to be a gaming mouse, it has some really nice functionality that transfers over to CAD really nicely like the sensitivity control buttons on the top (seen in the picture) and the adjustable weight control. The ergonomics can't be beat and the mouse is solid and responsive. The scroll button doesn't drift up and down when clicked and the cable is nice and long. I've even been told by left-handed friends that it's still comfortable for them to work with (for what it's worth) though I have no personal experience to back that up with. Ninety bucks sounds a little steep for a mouse, but once you put your hand on it you'll understand completely.

Pros.
  • It feels amazing.
  • All the buttons are fully programmable by application. If the default button functionality isn't doing it for you, just change it!
  • All internal lighting can change color (if that is what you're into).
Cons.
  • Price seems a little steep when you're first making the plunge.
  • Over time, the cord frays a little bit as it is cord bound. This cleans up quickly with a lighter.


The Keyboard.


My keyboard sensibilities are the exact opposite of my mouse sensibilities. If I had both hands on a keyboard for a long time, I'd think about a different keyboard but until then, I need something my left hand can comfortably rest on (all my most used aliases are bound to the left hand) and something that has a 10-key numeric input (I loathe using the number keys above the letters). To fill these two criteria I generally get the cheapest Microsoft keyboard I can find. So far this one hasn't let me down.

Pros.
  • It's cheap.
  • It works.
  • It has a 10-key.
  • It has windows buttons on both sides as well as a context menu button (yeah, I actually use that thing).
  • It uses the traditional IBM keyboard layout with Microsoft modifications. I hate hunting for the insert, delete, home, end, page up, and page down buttons.
Cons.
  • It isn't terribly comfortable for extended two-handed typing marathons.
  • The buttons are kind of loud, even for a rubber dome keyboard.


The OS.
Despite issues I've heard (and sometimes experienced) with AutoCAD on Windows 7, I've decided to stick with Windows 7 on my builds for now (until I feel there is a truly compelling reason for moving on). I'd love to move all my builds over to Ubuntu or Linux Mint or something like that and cut $160 off my build but the software still lives on the Windows platform. Come on, web standards!

Pros.
  • It's Windows 7.
Cons.
  • It's Windows 7.
  • AutoCAD 2012 (what my shop is currently running) has some stability issues every once in a while, especially if a single instance of AutoCAD has been running for longer than 12 hours. Make sure you install all the service packs!

The Video Card.

I'm all about using objects but not for their intended purpose but in the case of video cards I really draw a hard line. Once upon a time I thought I could muscle my way past any driver differences in a gaming card and a pro card with an outrageously over powered gaming card and was sorely disappointed to find out that an entry level pro card STILL whooped my high end gaming card. The take home lesson? Just get a pro card and make sure you stay up to date on your drivers.

Pros.
  • The price for entry level Pro cards is extremely affordable.
  • CAD and BIM applications run WAY better on a pro card.
  • DVI and DisplayPort. What's not to love?
  • The DisplayPort port comes with a DVI adaptor.
Cons.
  • Honestly, I can't think of any. It still plays games well and it's better for work.


The Hard Drive.

Given that SSD's are now less than $1.00 per gig, there is no reason (except for workstation storage space if that's an issue for you) to get an SSD. The performance increase from an SSD is absolutely lightyears beyond what conventional HDD's will give you and while you do sacrifice potentially terabytes of storage space on the workstation you more than make up for it in speed.

Pros.
  • Speed.
  • Speed.
  • Speed.
Cons.
  • Size, though if you have file server you work off of it shouldn't be a determining factor.


The RAM.

There's probably a more refined technique for finding RAM for a workstation than the one I use. My methods? Sort by highest rating. Sort that by price. Sort that by 4 x 4GB sticks. Sort that by CAS latency. Get the one in your price range with the highest CAS latency you can. Mission accomplished.

Pros.
  • They're well priced.
  • There are a lot of them.
  • They're quick.
  • They do a great job at dissipating heat. No over heating issues.
Cons.
  • I haven't found any yet.


The CPU.

I love i7 processors. They are amazing. Are they expensive? Sure. Are they worth it? Absolutely. Just make sure you get the 4770 and not the 4770K or another variant. Performance in the other variants makes a difference.

Pros.
  • Fantastic hardware.
Cons.
  • None to date.


The Motherboard.

I'll own it. I've always been an Asus motherboard fanboy. Departing from Asus for the motherboard on a workstation was a real leap of faith for me, once again spurred on by my brother-in-law and the board has absolutely not disappointed. Plenty of capacity for RAM, two full length PCI-Express slots, great documentation, and 

Pros.
  • Fantastic layout. Everything is easy to plug in and doesn't require you to compromise airflow for cabling.
Cons.
  • The only way to force boot to a different device is to actually change the boot order in the BIOS. Unlike my beloved Asus mobo's, there is no option to quick boot to a device within the BIOS itself.


The Power Supply.

This is a location I can imagine getting a little flack but after putting together 4 stations with this exact power supply I'm willing to stand my ground and fight about it. Could it supply higher wattage? Sure. Does it need to for this build? Absolutely not. Maybe if you were doing a bigger video card and more hard drives? Sure. In that case, Corsair makes the same line in progressively higher wattages, which would probably be the direction I would take. For the price, this is an excellent power supply. So many times your power supply is the cause of funky little (or big) issues that are crazy to pin down and so far the batting average for this device is 100%.

Pros.
  • Modular
  • Fantastically reliable.
Cons.
  • The cables feel a little cheap. It doesn't seem to effect their performance though.
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Sunday, February 26, 2012

Some Sweet Anti-Scamming Action

So, today I was the target of really weak sauce phishing attempt. The whole interaction was pretty funny, so I figured I'd pass it on. Enjoy!


Original Message


According to our records, today (February 26th), there have been made several unauthorized attempts to log into your CL account. Immediate login is required in order to authenticate you as the owner of this account.

<phishing links>




Reply


I'd love to log in and fix the problem, but I'm actually an African prince in need of money. My uncle will be giving me money when he gets back to my country, but right now my car broke down in England and I need money to fix the car. I'll go ahead and send you 10 dollars, just give me your account number and we'll make it work. You can get others to chip in too. I'll give you 10 percent of everything that they donate. I have been selling Avon to try to get the car working; perhaps you'd be interested in some? I am also very well connected with a series of well reputed Canadian pharmacies and can get you all the Viagra you could ever want. All I need is your credit card number and CCV, maybe your social, date of birth, mother's maiden name, etc. Heck, go ahead and add me as a friend on Facebook while you're at it so I can learn about your crazy all night drinking and puking binges, then bring them up in awkward social situations in 10 years. I bet my uncle, the king, would be really excited to meet you, and will reward you handsomely for your generosity in my time of need.

Sincerely,

Mufasa Jabar


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Sunday, February 5, 2012

Fire Eater, the Simple Steam Engine

I've been wanting something more complicated to model lately, so I went online and found a site for steam engine enthusiasts, downloaded some plans, and started modeling. And after a day and a half, here's what I've got:

I don't have everything in yet, but it's coming. This was really an exercise in assemblies more than modeling. I learned a lot of neat new things about putting objects together that I didn't know before. Three cheers for self-paced learning!
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