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Thoughts and notes
I write about work, things I'm trying, career questions, books, and everyday life.
16 public posts
BIM3D ScanIf we skipped reverse engineering, we almost ate a cost bomb | 3D scanners down to millimetersHave you heard of reverse engineering? In architecture, it means redesigning a building that already exists. It is especially necessary for curved buildings and complex steel structures. A curved pipe beam, for example, is almost impossible to measure by hand on site.
BIMAI can model in 3D now? I asked Revit to build a houseI kept thinking it couldn't be real. Then it was. AI has started doing 3D modeling instead of people. I didn't believe it at first. After seeing it myself and testing it, I had to admit it. This is how I hooked Claude AI up to Revit and asked it to model a house.
ThoughtsIs this Korea or America? Duluth in GeorgiaHey, it's HowBIM. The weather was so nice I even filmed outside. I'm setting BIM aside today and talking through my first three weeks in the US. If this isn't your thing, feel free to skip it.
BIMIf this is digital construction, this is how: STUD-IOHi, this is HowBIM. I often say construction needs to go digital faster. While thinking about what that actually gives us, I found a really good video on YouTube. I want to share it and add a few thoughts of my own.
BIMThis cannot go on: BIM in KoreaHi, this is HowBIM. Before a trip to the US, I spent a short time in Korea. I started BIM in Singapore, worked in Australia for more than six years, and had a chance to talk with many people in Korea before moving on. What I heard was more shocking than I expected.
ThoughtsKorea and Australia, if you want to be happyOn holiday in Korea I asked almost everyone I met, "What do you like? What do you want to do?" Most people could not answer. Having no desire means you are not living as yourself. In Australia, the same question brought all kinds of answers.
BIM3D ScanWhy I joined a survey firm after five years in BIMIf you came in entry-level and actually learned the work, year five is usually a good time to move. So why, at five years in BIM, did I pick a survey company instead of a solid BIM firm or a big GC?
BIMWhat is a digital engineer? Is it different from a BIM engineer?I have been seeing job ads for digital engineers. What does the role actually do, and how is it different from a BIM engineer? This post looks at what a digital engineer is, why the role matters, how promising it is, and how someone might move into it.
BooksWhy we have to keep learningAs information and automation replace many mid-skill jobs, the new roles split into high-skill work such as engineering, programming, management, and design, or low-skill work such as retail, cleaning, and customer service.
BooksThe five stages of talent. Which one are you?At work you meet all kinds of people. When you choose teammates or hire someone new, what standard should you use? I also wanted to know which stage I was in. Kim Young-jin's book Everyone's Business lays this out clearly, so I want to share it.
BooksYou read a book with your bodyI found Lee Ha-young on YouTube. I wanted to borrow some of the way she lives and thinks, so I bought her book. In the chapter 'You read a book with your body,' she asks you to read for about 30 minutes, close the book, and write. So I am writing this.
BooksThe book extreme T types need most? Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence PeopleI should admit this first. I am an extreme T — Think, in MBTI terms. Being a T does not automatically make relationships hard, but I judge most things by efficiency and logic, so even everyday conversation is hard to meet with empathy.
BIMPIT in the palm of my hand (families, shared parameters, schedules, tags)Hey. It's already September 2017. The year's almost gone... and so is another birthday. This time, as the title says, let's get PIT into the palm of our hand. On a job site, there are times you just want pits to be easier to manage.
BIMTagging pipe BOP (bottom of pipe level). Let's go!Hello — it has been a while. I was wondering what to write and landed on a tip for tagging pipe BOP. Looking at tag families, duct can show BOD (bottom of duct level) with a label. Pipe does not get the same support in Revit (2016).
BooksWhy the forty I imagined is not the forty I am living: Future Self, Benjamin HardyIt has been about three months since I read Future Self. I applied to Thinkubation for the new year of 2024, was lucky enough to get in, and already feel happy starting the year in a group like that. Thinkubation reads one book every two weeks, four books in total, with reviews and discussion. The first book is Future Self.
BIMThe outlook for BIM engineers through 2030One question comes up again and again from YouTube. I made a video about BIM engineer salaries three years ago. Then came COVID, ChatGPT, and a flood of generative AI. We are living in a time when no one can predict the future easily. Many people are afraid and unsure about the path ahead.