Andrew @ 3D Basecamp... and beyond

Moving to a new place

2011-02-07T22:06:00.004-05:00

Dear friends and readers:

Thank you for visiting my blog. I have taken the plunge and have moved to tumblr, a blogging platform where I can better post images, snippets, and blog posts. On tumblr, not everything needs to be text, nor does it need to be long.

I have moved some posts from this blog over, and I will continue to do so in the coming months.

Now, I invite you to join me on tumblr at www.andrewnathanson.tumblr.com. If you have one of your own, please follow me!

This is, of course, not signaling the end of my Google SketchUp career. I still use the wonderful program and hope that many experiences--perhaps future Basecamps--remain in store for me.

Thank you,

Andrew

androo54@gmail.com

If Only They Built It... LIBRARY CAFE & SKYWALK

2010-11-04T15:43:00.004-04:00

This is part of a series called If Only They Built It... My use of SketchUp began in 7th grade and that year, I made an elaborate model of my school, Rye Country Day School (I'm now an alum.) Between 7th and 9th grades, I copied my school model and made additions and changes I wished to see in real life, some with excruciating detail. 8 years later, it's time to revisit those ideas. Click images for larger views.

LIBRARY CAFE & SKYWALK

I've spent a good deal of time at Manhattanville College in my life because of the school's proximity to home and Rye Country Day. At Manhattanville, like many schools, they have a cafe in the library. Here at Connecticut College, ours is called the Blue Camel Cafe. So, in my imaginary SketchUp/Rye Country Day world, I thought it would be a nice touch to build a cafe into the Klingenstein Library, a building that is literally a bridge between the Middle and Upper School. I also proposed a sky-walk connecting the 5th/6th grade hallway to the library because, even though these two spaces are less than 50' apart, the walk could take a few minutes and a number of staircases. I guess I was just lazy.

View of the Skywalk connecting the Library to the 5th/6th grade area of the Middle School

The Library Cafe, seen in the location of the support room that houses the old yearbooks and the cable internet connection.

View If Only They Built It.... @RCDS in a larger map

If Only They Built It... LS GYM STAGE

2010-11-04T15:24:00.002-04:00

This is part of a series called If Only They Built It... My use of SketchUp began in 7th grade and that year, I made an elaborate model of my school, Rye Country Day School (I'm now an alum.) Between 7th and 9th grades, I copied my school model and made additions and changes I wished to see in real life, some with excruciating detail. 8 years later, it's time to revisit those ideas. Click images for larger views.

LOWER SCHOOL GYM STAGE

In my SketchUp world, I decided to create a stage addition to Cedar Street-facing end of the Lower School Gymnasium. The Lower School Gym may be more recognizable to some old-timers as the "Girl's Gym." It was constructed in 1957, I want to say (someone can fact check that--the cornerstone near northeast corner has the year,) and the title changed in the early 2000s. The simple stage I designed was raised about 4 feet, had a small backstage area, and also included mounted lights over the basketball court.

The stage, as viewed from center court looking south

Arial view of the stage and backstage hallway area
I even included a lighting and sound booth on wheels. In my head, the cart would reach the basketball court by being wheeled through the two roll-up doors seen above

View If Only They Built It.... @RCDS in a larger map

If Only They Built It... ART GALLERY

2010-11-04T15:13:00.002-04:00

This is part of a series called If Only They Built It... My use of SketchUp began in 7th grade and that year, I made an elaborate model of my school, Rye Country Day School (I'm now an alum.) Between 7th and 9th grades, I copied my school model and made additions and changes I wished to see in real life, some with excruciating detail. 8 years later, it's time to revisit those ideas. Click images for larger views.

ART GALLERY

In 2004, a middle school art teacher and I were having a conversation about display space on campus. This conversation inspired me to design an art gallery and lecture space addition to the Dunn Performing Arts Center. I knew that the school was interested in a lecture hall, and that project transformed itself into the Pinkham Building addition, "Wildcat Hall" project (now officially "Memorial Hall,") for which construction began in the summer of 2009. My art gallery space, named after my grandmother who was an artist, was a two story addition to the Foyer of the PAC and had gallery space on the first floor, with the second floor available for additional displays or lecture seating.

View from above

Second floor in lecture setup

View of first floor gallery space

View up on new courtyard connecting arts the gallery with the Performing Arts Center foyer

View from Grandview Ave.

Ariel view of the first floor in gallery set-up

View If Only They Built It.... @RCDS in a larger map

If Only They Built It... SPRING ARTS FESTIVAL BANNERS, MORE OFTEN

2010-11-03T22:30:00.004-04:00

This is part of a series called If Only They Built It... My use of SketchUp began in 7th grade and that year, I made an elaborate model of my school, Rye Country Day School (I'm now an alum.) Between 7th and 9th grades, I copied my school model and made additions and changes I wished to see in real life, some with excruciating detail. 8 years later, it's time to revisit those ideas. Click images for larger views.

SPRING ARTS FESTIVAL BANNERS, MORE OFTEN

In 2003, for the now-annual Spring Arts Festival, Mr. Starr, an art teacher, installed a number of colorful banners hanging off the library. This simple installation really struck me and inspired a number of my future designs and decorations. He simply used rolls of plastic table cloths. I found in my SketchUp model that I had mimicked his work in SketchUp and I wanted to share that briefly here. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of the original. I'll keep an eye out for it, though.

Colored, flowing fabrics applied at the Youth Group Carnival I began
And used as ceiling decor at the Purim Carnival...

View If Only They Built It.... @RCDS in a larger map

If Only They Built It.... Pool

2010-11-03T21:48:00.007-04:00

This is the first post in a series called If Only They Built It... My use of SketchUp began in 7th grade and that year, I made an elaborate model of my school, Rye Country Day School (I'm now an alum.) Between 7th and 9th grades, I copied my school model and made additions and changes I wished to see in real life, some with excruciating detail. 8 years later, it's time to revisit those ideas. Click images for larger views.

AN RCDS POOL

Rye Country Day School, sadly, does not have a pool, nor a swim team. In the existing parking space just north of the LaGrange Field House, I "dug" out the steep hill to create an indoor pool and a second-floor viewing area for the Field House and pool facility.

View from the fields

View from within the Field House to the viewing area

Ariel View
View of seating area in pool facility
You can see the multipurpose room/squash courts here. The locker room doorway connects with the existing hallway behind the lockers.

View If Only They Build It.... @RCDS in a larger map

"Andrew Nathanson Goes Google"

2010-09-22T21:06:00.002-04:00

"Andrew Nathanson Goes Google." That's the name of the article about my trip to 3D Basecamp that appeared on Tuesday in Connecticut College's The College Voice, the student newspaper.

There's even a drawn picture, which I was NOT expecting in the least!

Google's take on Basecamp

2010-09-17T01:33:00.005-04:00

Just recently, Google SketchUp posted their video of the conference, as well as a video of the keynote presentation given by John Bacus of Google SketchUp. Finally, they also posted a photo album.

Below, embedded, is the event overview video. I can be seen coming into focus at 1:28-1:29.

Enjoy!

Photos!

2010-09-10T23:46:00.003-04:00

One and all,
Here are (finally!) my photos from Google SketchUp 3D Basecamp 2010 in Boulder, CO!

Click here!
The photos are also, for the time being, scrolling as a slideshow at the top of this blog.

Enjoy!

_andrew

Connecticut College Posts Article

2010-09-07T14:39:00.003-04:00

Hi there! I still owe an update about Friday from the trip to Google. In the mean time, however, Connecticut College has posted an article about my trip to 3D Basecamp. Check it out!

For the time being, you can see my picture on the homepage of the website (below.) And yes, the photo is from two years ago, at 3D Basecamp 2008.

Tweets from #3DBC

2010-09-07T14:22:00.003-04:00

In reverse order, from newest to oldest

And back to New York. A great #3dbc trip! (@ LaGuardia Airport (LGA) ✈ w/ 33 others) http://4sq.com/21nwnw

7:55 PM Sep 3rd via foursquare from Laguardia Airport, New York

Love love love love walking on these. #3dbc #kinda http://twitpic.com/2kx6ql

2:28 PM Sep 3rd via TweetDeck from Denver International Airport, Denver

Last stop on the #3dbc adventure (@ Denver International Airport (DEN) ✈ w/ 49 others) http://4sq.com/1Uqc7I

2:11 PM Sep 3rd via foursquare from Denver International Airport, Denver

Last checkin of #3dbc before the airport. What an awesome #sketchup #3dbasecamp !! (@ Google) http://4sq.com/8IXy6m

11:37 AM Sep 3rd via foursquare from Google, Boulder

Also just met the folks who created the Augmented Reality SketchUp plugin. So cool! #3dbc

10:42 AM Sep 3rd via TweetDeck from Whittier, Boulder

Just spent a session learning about 3d printing with a company that makes nice size color models for $400 or less in many cases! #3dbc

10:42 AM Sep 3rd via TweetDeck from Whittier, Boulder

Final day of #sketchup #3dbasecamp #3dbc (@ The Dairy Center For The Arts) http://4sq.com/coRiEg

8:42 AM Sep 3rd via foursquare from Dairy Center for The Arts, Boulder

Currently sitting in a massage chair at Google #3dbc. Best company ever. I love my life.

9:27 PM Sep 2nd via TweetDeck from Whittier, Boulder

#3dbc party! http://twitpic.com/2kokws

7:34 PM Sep 2nd via TweetDeck from Whittier, Boulder

Check out the #3dbc party! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UeYK_3Ipn8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

7:12 PM Sep 2nd via TweetDeck from Whittier, Boulder

On the roof deck with hundreds of SketchUp people! #3dbc #3dbasecamp (@ Google) http://4sq.com/8IXy6m

6:44 PM Sep 2nd via foursquare from Google, Boulder

Just followed @ConnCollege convocation on twitter from Google's Boulder offices!

4:04 PM Sep 2nd via TweetDeck from Whittier, Boulder

#3dbc day 2 (@ The Dairy Center For The Arts) http://4sq.com/coRiEg

10:29 AM Sep 2nd via foursquare from Dairy Center for The Arts, Boulder

After a scary technological glitch, namely my laptop not turning on, problem solved and I'm off to day 2 of #3dbc

8:41 AM Sep 2nd via TweetDeck from Whittier, Boulder

Back for mingling with #3dbc folks (@ Baker St. Pub & Grill) http://4sq.com/5AQySd

10:55 PM Sep 1st via foursquare from Whittier, Boulder

#3dbc at dinner having great sketchup discussions with 11 other sketchupers

7:46 PM Sep 1st via TweetDeck from here

With a #3dbc crew (@ Baker St. Pub & Grill) http://4sq.com/5AQySd

5:30 PM Sep 1st via foursquare from Whittier, Boulder

#3dbc podium! (attempt 2) http://twitpic.com/2kcjra

4:37 PM Sep 1st via TweetDeck from Whittier, Boulder

#3dbc awesomeness (@ Google) http://4sq.com/8IXy6m

4:13 PM Sep 1st via foursquare from Google, Boulder

#3dbc podium! Keynote about to start

12:50 PM Sep 1st via TweetDeck from Whittier, Boulder

http://twitpic.com/2kakrq #3dbc wahoo!

12:02 PM Sep 1st via TweetDeck from Whittier, Boulder

#3dbc http://twitpic.com/2ka2oj legit!

11:00 AM Sep 1st via TweetDeck from Whittier, Boulder

#3dbc http://twitpic.com/2ka2la

11:00 AM Sep 1st via TweetDeck from Whittier, Boulder

Officially here! #3dbc (@ The Dairy Center For The Arts) http://4sq.com/coRiEg

10:59 AM Sep 1st via foursquare from Dairy Center for The Arts, Boulder

http://twitpic.com/2k9irp And I'm Here at @google SketchUp's #3dbc !!!

9:52 AM Sep 1st via TweetDeck from Whittier, Boulder

#3dbc Uncrustables on the plane, as great as they are, don't count as dinner. (@ Baker St. Pub & Grill) http://4sq.com/5AQySd

10:36 PM Aug 31st via foursquare from Whittier, Boulder

#3dbc and I've finally arrived! (@ Best western golden buff) http://4sq.com/dsppvi

10:18 PM Aug 31st via foursquare from Whittier, Boulder

#3dbc awaits but I'm on the SuperShuttle right now and we've stopped for gas (@ Conoco Gas) http://4sq.com/9OfAtU

9:50 PM Aug 31st via foursquare from Boulder, CO

And touchdown #3dbc (@ Denver International Airport (DEN) ✈ w/ 25 others) http://4sq.com/1Uqc7I

7:50 PM Aug 31st via foursquare from Denver International Airport, Denver

#3dbc (@ LaGuardia Airport (LGA) ✈ w/ 17 others) http://4sq.com/21nwnw

4:01 PM Aug 31st via foursquare from Laguardia Airport, New York

Fun fact: I joined twitter in June '08 for Google SketchUp 3D Basecamp 2008... I just didn't use it. #3dbc

11:22 AM Aug 31st via web

As I head to Boulder for SketchUp's 3D Basecamp today, I've turned on FourSquare for Twitter! See my blog too: http://tiny.cc/3dbc #3dbc

10:47 AM Aug 31st via web

Heading to Boulder, Colorado for SketchUp's 3D Basecamp...tomorrow! Check out www.3dbasecamp.blogger.com! I'll be tweeting, using #3DBC too!

1:01 AM Aug 30th via TweetDeck from Harrison, NY

3D Basecamp Day 2 Recap

2010-09-03T17:18:00.000-04:00

Alright I owe you an update. It's Friday, 3D Basecamp has ended, and I sit here in Denver International Airport writing this on my iPad. I'll do my best to summarize the awesomeness that was yesterday, day 2 of Basecamp.

Yesterday was the longest of the three days, the only full day. We got going with Breakfast at the Dairy Center at 8, then went into the main lecture room to begin the Unconference part of Basecamp.

After an introduction, anyone who wanted to was given the chance to take a post it note, write a conference session idea, then come to the front of the room and speak about it for a moment. What was scheduled for an hour really took nearly an hours and a half because of the great, fascinating ideas that came about. Post it notes were placed on a whiteboard with time slots marked out, and the Google staff had the challenge of placing the sessions into different slots. An unplanned bonus was using the last slot, instead of having unconference sessions, but have an all-group idea generation binge for SketchUp version 9. Version 8 was released on Wednesday, at the Basecamp keynote address. I'll come back to that, though

Throughout the day, I attended 5 unconference sessions over the four time slots. They ranged from someone in particular showing their tips/tricks/application of SketchUp to open, roundtable discussions.

I felt it appropriate to attend the education discussion proposed and unofficially moderated by Diego Matho of the Boston Architectural College, a friend since 3D Basecamp 2008. Discussion included the preconceived notion that "SketchUp is simple and easy," when in reality it takes practice...and how that can be a turn off for users who expect to come to a single class then expect to meet their Friday deadline. We also discussed what initial stumbling blocks teachers encounter with their students during the early days of SketchUp exploration. I believe I was again the youngest at the conference. At least, is timely, I didn't need a chaperone. To my knowledge, there was only one other student, a 22 year old from England who I happened to be at dinner with on Wednesday.

During the second session, there were three events I wanted to go to (the inherent problem with conferences) so I told myself I'd go to two. I went to one, got hooked, and stayed. The topic was SketchUp use in the film industry designing sets, but also with a discussion of SketchUp's [seemingly lacking] camera views for professional cinematographer. There had been a windows plugin, Film &Stage, but it wss found to have bugs before the [I believe it was] SU7 release, so it was pulled and has yet to be fixed. After seeing some of the creative and tedious work-arounds created by the professionals, I can understand their frustration.

Following lunch, i straddled two sessions during the 3rd block: a [quite technical] discussion of Dynamic Components, and a discussion relating to Building Maker. Not much to report from these sessions, really. I had kind of burnt out and needed a break this point so much of what was said went over my head and was, in some aspects, too technical for me to understand.

Following a break in the hall during which I hung out with Aidan, SketchUp Evangelist, I went to an interesting session lead by a professional theater set designer from France who uses SketchUp models to design her sets. We were showed sets from Dracula, A Midsummers Nights Dream, and others. Quite interesting to a stage manager AND SketchUper.

Then came time for the unplanned idea roundtable for SU9. During the day, people had the opportunity to propose ideas on a whiteboard, then during the session of nearly all 250 attendees, those who wrote ideas had the chance to further explain them. Aidan write them all on a notetaking application projected on the screen, then ideas most desired were determined by loudest applause. Sounds 5th grade, but it amazingly worked because everyone knew their applause meant real potential. Depending on the applause, Aidan changed the size of the test of that given idea. Some ideas decreased from 12 pt font, but some gained great support, growing quite large in size.

There was one moment when Aidan went online to Google to find the Basecamp website. Basecamp 2008 was the first link, THIS BLOG was the second link, and Basecamp 2010 was the third link. I was terrified in those moments that he was going to click on my blog. I love putting stuff up here but was not prepared see it on the screen in front of 250 of the most hardcore SketchUp users.

Now to the party. After an hours break, we were invited to Google's Boulder offices, only a block away from the Dairy Center... With significantly less security and formality than in 2008 at Mountain View, we felt welcomed as guests and were invited to look around the offices, play rockband and pool and foosball, as well as enjoy the delicious dinner on the second flood deck of the offices. With massage chairs scattered around the office, I found one at the end of a quiet hallway. After two 7 minute massages, I felt quite revived. All this SketchUp talk, plus meeting tons of people, makes you quite exhausted. I went to bed following the party. The hotel was only a three minute walk away.

More later about Friday.

_andrew

3D Basecamp Day 1 Recap

2010-09-02T15:13:00.001-04:00

Ok, time for an update. We’re half way through day 2, the “unconference day,” but let me spend this blog post updating you loyal readers on Tuesday night and Wednesday.

After an uneventful flight to Denver and a SuperShuttle ride to the Best Western here in Boulder, I finally arrived on Tuesday night. At about 10PM local time (so, midnight at home,) I checked into my room and began a search for dinner… Uncrustables on the plane were great, but not sufficient. I found a pub next door to the hotel, then returned to my room for the night.

I woke up Wednesday morning at about 8:20 here. Check-in and brunch began, technically, at 10, but I took some time to walk all the way down Pearl Street, the same street the Google Boulder offices are located on. About 4 miles away, I came across the pedestrian plaza and “downtown” area.

After I returned to Google, actually the Dairy Center for the Arts—a performance and conference space two doors away from the Google office where most of the conference is being held—I checked in and got an awesome backpack and shirt. And most importantly, a nametag.

After an hour and a half of talking to old SketchUpers and meeting new ones, we filed into the [beautifully “basecamp” themed] hall for the Keynote. SketchUp 8 was announced with three major upgrades and advancements, including greater access and connection to and with Google Maps/terrain/Google Earth, the introduction of “solid” objects with cubic measurements of volume and Boolean tools for cutting intersections between solids, and advancements in LayOut.

Following the Keynote, a surprise 10^th birthday celebration for SketchUp with cake and Google-colored cupcakes. Photos coming soon. Also, bamboo USB memory pens with SketchUp 8 trials pre-loaded.

After returning to the hotel for a few moments, I was back to the Dairy Center as groups of likeminded users (education/everything, Ruby Scripters, Supermodelers, SketchUp Sages, BetaTesters, etc) went to dinner in groups. I retuned with a group of 11 other SketchUpers to the same pub as the prior night. After dinner, I gave SketchUp 8 a spin with another user here, before heading to bed.

That’s all for now!

_andrew

Off to the races...

2010-08-31T14:40:00.001-04:00

Heading to the airport in about a half an hour! Getting more and more excited for this trip as it arrives.

Check out twitter for a live progression!

_andrew

Basecamp 2010

2010-08-30T23:15:00.001-04:00

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Google SketchUp's 2010 logo for 3D Basecamp

Bloggin'.... from the beach

2010-08-27T09:30:00.002-04:00

Ok fine, not actually from the beach at this very moment, but I was there yesterday (and I look a bit like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and I'll be going again in about an hour. It's our yearly vacation, and usually I'm spending these last few days getting ready for school.

I still am, but this year things are going to be a lot more chaotic.

As you, loyal reader, know, I go to Connecticut College. Upperclassmen (meaning sophomores like myself) arrive on August 31st, and classes begin on September 2 and 3, a Thursday and Friday.

But yet, I'll be in Boulder! In terms of packing, it means I need to pack for school, then remove what I'm taking to Boulder, then bring it back to school when I arrive on Saturday the 4th. In terms of planning, it means I'm just that much more excited about this upcoming adventure to 3D Basecamp.

I have yet to hear very many details about my days in Boulder, but all I know is that it'll be supremely busy. It'll be Tuesday through Saturday (including my move to Conn) of non-stop movement... and I'm really looking forward to seeing all the SketchUp folks (and users!) again.

Oh, and I'm getting more and more excited about getting back to seeing my school friends. I'll be arriving late, but as my schedule has it, I don't have any Friday classes this semester. Essentially, I'm missing one day of classes, not two.

Perfection.

Ok Boulder, see you in 4 days.

3 weeeks from today

2010-08-10T00:01:00.001-04:00

3 Weeks from Today....
I fly to Boulder, CO.

That is all.
_andrew

Lightning Strikes Twice

2010-08-01T10:43:00.006-04:00

Two summers ago, I had the honor and great fortune of being invited to Google SketchUp's 3D BaseCamp. Not only was I invited, but I was asked to give a presentation! I was 17 at the time, the youngest attendee, let alone presenter. So young, in fact, that Google not only flew me to their Mountain View Headquarters (lovingly referred to as Googleplex,) but flew my dad to be my chaperone as well. Those three days of 3D BaseCamp 2008 were some of the most remarkable days of my life.

I was at the center of the digital world, Google's HQ, and I was speaking to an audience of professionals telling the story of how SketchUp changed my life: a learning tool, a tool that helped me get employed, and (since,) a tool that cirtainly helped me find the school of my choice (That being--shameless plug--Connecticut College.) Most importantly, SketchUp became my new canvas. I moved from building blocks to SketchUp's digital canvas, and it was really thanks to SketchUp that I've become interested in architecture.

[tl;dr: I was at Google's Headquarters for 3DBC in 2008, was the only student, and gave a presentation. SketchUp introduced me to architecture, my study in college]

So here's the important part (SKIP TO HERE):
I've been honored to be invited to Google SketchUp's 3D BaseCamp 2010, this coming September. This time, BaseCamp is being held in Boulder, CO., and is in unconference format. I won't be presenting again, but being able to go is truly an honor, for there was no registration process for the conference. Instead, you had to be nominated.

So, from August 31st-September 3rd, I'll be more than half-way across the country. I'll be missing sophomore year move in day, as well as the first two days of classes (really, only one day; I don't have classes on Fridays this semester).... but I KNOW this trip will be worth it.

I NEVER thought I'd go to Google's headquarters in my life.... for a geek like myself, that's just an unattainable fantasy. Not only did I go, AND present, but I've been invited back--abeit a different campus--for another life-changing trip. Lightening can strike twice, I guess.

I'll be reviving this blog for the trip--and hopefully for the future, too. Be sure to check back here.

Subscribe to the RSS feed
Follow me on Twitter (@andrewnathanson)... I'll also try to use #3dbc while I'm in Boulder
Shoot me an email
Stalk me on Foursquare!

More to come!

_andrew

A song

2010-02-14T13:04:00.003-05:00

Library. Sunday. Early afternoon. You'd think I should be doing work. And if that's the case, you're absolutely right. Instead, I have chosen to procrastinate. Go figure.

But procrastinating via blogging is somewhat educational. At least it makes your brain get going, mind thinking. What to write about. Geeky... iPad? Valentine's Day? My semester filled with classes I'm thoroughly enjoying?

Not sure why, but this post is a little different. Today, I woke up at about 11, quite well rested, took a shower, and went to breakfast. On a side note, it was an amazing breakfast.

When I got up to clear my stuff, a song came into my head. Well, lyrics that I couldn't place. "Crying who will help me...." Just those 5 words. I knew it was something recent, something from a show? from choir?

I realized it was from the RCDS Festival Chorus concert, this year, which I returned home for. A beautiful song entitled Prayer of the Children, by Kurt Bestor.

Unfortunately, this song also had negative connotations, despite its beauty. In that concert, it was dedicated to the father of a friend who had been killed in the Haiti earthquake. He had worked for the United Nations, and of all people, he was in that country working for peace. I still love the song, and its dedication to him made it even more powerful.

_andrew

 Greenwich Avenue

2010-01-24T10:51:00.004-05:00

Yes, better late than never, but Apple has opened a beautiful new store on Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich CT. The store opened at 10AM on November 21, 2009.... and I was there! In fact, I was #8 on line, and I arrived at about 7:30 AM.

I should have liveblogged it, or something, but I was a little too tired to care. I had returned, the night before, from college, for an extended Thanksgiving Break.

Anyway, at about 9, they brought out stanchions and moved us to the street-side of the sidewalk, and then the doors opened to great fanfare at 10AM. Upon entering, one was handed a small box (with a t-shirt!) then proceeded to high-five down a long row of staff, all dressed in red. It was probably Apple's day with fewest sales ever at that store. Most people, including myself, were there for the spectacle, not for the purchases.

The line only was 80-100 people deep, wrapping shortly around the corner of the block. After about 10 minutes inside the store, I exited to get on the line again, in a successful attempt to gain an extra shirt for my brother. Later, I befriended an employee who lives in Port Chester and attempted to score an extra shirt for my aunt. There were no more being handed out, so she went in the back to check. About 5 minutes later, the absolute final box of shirts arrived, to great fanfare, with the employee holding the box above his head. As Apple fanboys descended on the box for another free shirt, my friend from Port Chester, at the center of the pile-up, stuck out her arm with a boxed shirt for me. It was time for me to go... a quite successful adventure, but more importantly I can now say I've been to an Apple Store opening.

This Greenwich Apple Store has been very helpful, in terms of it's location. You can ALWAYS get a reservation at the Genius Bar, (unlike The Westchester) and it's a heck of a lot closer to get to than Stamford (When my 30-day-old laptop died this summer, I made a series of 4 trips over 5 days to the Stamford store, fighting i95. One trip, I drove the entire trek on Route 1. Needless to say, Apple staff were generous and understanding. Since the laptop was so new and shouldn't have had such issues so soon, they replaced the computer entirely. Since it was custom-ordered, they facilitated a mail-and-switch system. Within 5 days, I had a new computer.)

Since the Apple Store in Greenwich has opened, I've been there a number of times for purchases and Genious Bar visits alike. I had my laptop's memory cards removed and re-inserted to successfully solve a freezing problem, I've brought my (former) iPod touch, and it was the Genious Bar staff who administered its lasts rites. Finally, I helped my dad purchase his first Mac in person at this store. For once, a store where the staff aren't arrogant, and are willing to find creative solutions to fixing problems. In the case of the memory freezing issue, I couldn't actually get the computer to freeze when I was there, but unlike other stores, the staff actually believed it was happening and didn't need to see proof to help fix the problem.

Here are some photos from my opening day experience.

If anyone from Greenwich Avenue reads this, thanks for your successful customer service and genuine interest in the customer so far. Keep it up, and I'll see you when there's an Slate/ Tablet / Something!

_andrew

Prediction

2010-01-17T09:52:00.002-05:00

Prediction: The presumed Apple tablet. likely to be announced at the end of January, will likely have an e-reader app or function, with possible physical "turn page" buttons (not virtual buttons.) I also predict that, come such time, the iTunes Store (formerly called the iTunes Music Store) will open a section for eBooks, just as they have movies, music, and apps.

That's my prediction, you heard it here first.

_andrew

Google Voice....better than last time

2009-12-08T13:46:00.002-05:00

Back in July when I got my invite, I wrote a piece about Google Voice and how it didn't work well with anyone who wanted to keep their old number. At that point, basically, there were no features you could use if you didn't switch your number completely.

I pity anyone who switched their number because sometime in October, Google Voice made it possible to use some of the features with your existing number. I've been using it since then, but have not had a chance to blog about it.

Basically, the key is the voicemail thing, more specifically, voicemail transcription. Once you set up Google Voice with your existing number, calls are routed, without your knowledge, through Google Voice to your phone. If I chose not to pick up, and the caller leaves a voicemail, a few wonderful things happen:

1. I get a text message saying who my missed call was from
2. Between 30 seconds and a minute later, I get 2-4 texts with a transcription, 70% accuracy, of what was left in the message
3. At about the same time, I get an email with the transcription, as well as an embedded audio file, so I can listen to the message right there.

This is just what I needed, because most of the time my phone is on, I'm just in a place (like class) where I can't pick up, even to listen to a message. The transcriptions are fairly good, and the message gets across. The voicemails, all of them, are saved so I can go back in time. Instead of pressing a button to delete, you press a button, like on Gmail, to "mark as read."

This is a great, great thing. Thank you Google for making it so I didn't have to full-out switch my number.

...but this is just until I get an iPhone in June.

Old Format...

2009-12-01T12:30:00.002-05:00

It's time for a new layout on this blog. It's not all about 3D Basecamp anymore, although I'll keep the address.

Rest In Peace, old layout...

_andrew

My Addiction....to Google Calendar

2009-11-17T12:19:00.004-05:00

Well I guess I have not posted here much. Since this is turning into a reminiscence/geeky blog, I will take this opprotunity to proclaim my love. For my calendar.

At RCDS, we had FirstClass, and with that, came FirstClass Calendar. I lived on that thing. I would get a reminder before events of importance, and I would say to people, "If I don't get this on my calendar right away, I'll forget to be there."

Since heading to college, I've picked up on Google Calendar and, basically, I can not live without it.
With Google Calendar you can have multiple, well... "calendars."
I've got like 15.

First off, I have my "College" calendar, which I set up in September. It has my class schedule, repeating on the appropriate days, until the end of the semester. I also have important, college-official events, like class registration there. All these things show up in Blue.

I've got my own personal calendar in green. I've got a calendar for events that I am employed to photograph at in purple. Zipcar reservations in red.

Here's where it gets fun.

1. I take a pill each morning. Sometimes, but rarely, I forget. I set up a new calendar called "Pill Reminders." Every morning--at a time programmed specifially for 20 minutes before my first class or committment of the day-- I get an email reminder saying, "Have you taken your pill?" With a little smile of technology, each morning, I've begun to nod and respond in my head, "Yes, yes I have." Best of all, this calendar is hidden. I don't see the orange "Pill" event every time I look at my calendar. I only know it's there when I get my morning reminder email.

2. Conn College is putting on Doubt this coming weekend. As part of my Technical Theater class, I had to put in 25 labor hours into the set/costumes/lighting of either this show, or the previous one, The Tempest. I would get an email from the Theater Department with a listing of "crew calls" for the week. At that point, I would put each of those calls into a new calendar called, you guessed it, "Doubt Crew Calls." Often times, this calendar overlapped with other events in my life. In order to try to plan out how I would accomplish my 25 hours of crew time, I created a new calendar: "Doubt Goals." If there was a place when I had a few hours and a crew call was going on, I would create an event in "Doubt Goals" called "Goal: 2.5." If I ended up going for those 2.5 hours, I would change the event to read "Completed: 2.5" then change the calendar from "Doubt Goals" to "Doubt Completed Crew Calls." This way, I could go back and double check how many hours I had completed and how many were left.

3. Finally, I get an email from Google which has everything on my agenda for that one day. With my personal calendar, my class schedule, a zip car reservation, an event to photograph, a Doubt crew call, and a Doubt Goal, those calendars can look pretty crazy.

But that's how I stay organized. And I couldn't live without it.

Thanks, Google Calendar.

_andrew

Yankee Stadium: A New Era

2009-07-12T18:12:00.004-04:00

Back in September, 2008 I reflected on the closing of what's not referred to as the "Old" Yankee Stadium.

A week ago today, I had the pleasure of making my first trip to the New Yankee Stadium. And it was an experience.

Overall, I truly like the new stadium, and I think it really feels like Yankee Stadium should. For one thing, it's spotless. That'll surely change over time, so savor it now, but it's nice to be in a clean stadium for once. It really feels like the old stadium when you're sitting in it, just nicer.

An amazing thing is the open space-- the Great Hall, as well as the open-air section behind the top area of stands. Previously, all the areas of the stadium were fully enclosed, but now the areas where food are sold for the top two tiers of seats has no roof and a view of the sky. It makes SUCH a difference.

The only downside of the stadium is that everything's just so expensive. Also, the lines were somewhat endless (despite bountiful choices off food,) but I think those sort of kinks will be worked out once the building ages a little.

All in all, it does the Yankees justice. But I'll never forget that one day in August, 2006.

_andrew

Google Voice... and why it could be an awesome program

2009-07-11T12:30:00.003-04:00

Preface: I havn't posted in a really long time. I think I'll post a bit more now that life has settled down over the past year. For one, I know where I'll be going to school: Connecticut College class of '13!

Last night I [finally] got my Google Voice invitation email. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Google Voice is a new application by Google (created from their acquisition of an online program called GrandCentral) which gives you a new, free phone number. This is a central number that, basically, you can program to ring on your multiple lines-- your cell, your home, your work. If you want to always be in contact with your, let's say, parent's give them the new number and--with one call--it will ring wherever you may be. No need to have voice messages that say "OK well I'll try calling you on your cell" anymore.

It can also be used to adjust where certain people call. If you want your boss to have only cirtain access to you, it can be set so he or she will ring only on your work and cell lines.

I tested out Google Voice briefly. When a someone calls your Google Voice number, your various lines will ring. (The first time a given caller calls, they are asked to give their name.) When your lines ring, it will say "[name] is trying to call you. Press 1 to accept the call, press 2 to send to voicemail, or press 3 to listen in on a voice mail being left."

Google voice has a remarkable, free transcription feature. With the new, central phone line comes a central voice mailbox. Within about 60-90 seconds (from my own tests) after a voice message is left, Google will have completed a surprisingly good voice-to-text transcription. The message can be played as audio, or simply read.

This is all well and good, and Google Voice could be great for some people.

But not for me, at the moment.

I'm a student and I've only got one line that I control: my cell phone. To make use of my Google Voice line, I would have to alert everyone that I have a new number, but continue to use my cell phone to access incoming calls from the Google Voice line. To make outgoing calls, I could continue to use my cell phone number, but it would come up on other people's caller ID as me, and if they were to call back, they would call to my cell number, not my Google Voice number.

If I wanted to call through my Google Voice number there are two options.
First, if I were on my computer, I could go to the Google Voice website and type in/chose the contact I wish to call, then tell it which line to connect to. For example, I could chose a contact named Mom and pick up the call from my cell phone (meaning it will ring there and that's actually where I will conduct the call from.)

If I'm not at a computer, it's a painful process. First I have to dial my number on my phone, then I am told I have no new messages. I'm then prompted to put in my pin, then I have to dial the number I want to call. I don't even know how it would work if I had contacts yet, but I surely don't remember everyone's number.

Basically, Google Voice seems like a good application for someone in the professional world. The only reason I really would want to use it at this point in my life is for the transcribed voice mails. But chainging my number to everyone I know and changing my dialing out procedures are not worth the transcribed voice mails.

If Google Voice could be improved, here's how I imagine it: Instead of picking a new number upon sign up, Google should let you use an existing number. Then I could use my cell phone number. When people call me, it will ring on my phone and give me those same options of answering (which I like) or transcribe the message if I chose.

I had the good fortune of picking a Google Voice number quite similar to my cell phone number (which I really like). My cell is XXX-500-7XXX and I found a Google Voice number that shared to 500 part too, XXX-500-8XXX.

Nevertheless, I won't be using Google Voice for the time being.

_andrew

I do hope to continue to post more regularly.

4 Years, 2 Dreams

2008-09-25T23:04:00.003-04:00

Four years ago, as a freshman surviving the first month of high school, we were given a small assignment. In Life Skills class, a class taught by Peer Leaders, a group of Juniors and Seniors. It was simple, just write a letter to your future self. As an annual tradition, Seniors open their letters during the month of September... and today was the day I received mine.

Two things stuck me as amazing, in regard to the paths my life has taken over the last four years. Sure, I mentioned that when I was writing it, the top news was the fourth anniversary of 9/11, and that Hurricane Katrina had just struck, but these other messages I wrote to myself were more important.

"Self-- By the time I read this, I hope that...I have continued to work with the City of Rye."
At the time I wrote the letter, the only work that I had done with the City of Rye was a voulentary few meetings and a "modern" version of my Rye: 3D. The following two summers after writing the letter, I had the pleasure of being an intern in the City Planning Department.

Success? Yes.

"..I hope that... I have continued to succeed at SketchUp and hopefully gone to the users confrence (sic) once"
This one, this one I was most excited to read this afternoon... I wrote the sentence above during my freshman year because it was then when the first 3D Basecamp took place, back in 2005 in Boulder. Though I wanted to go, there was no way my parents would ever let me go.

Success? Yes, and so much more.
I went in 2008 (since that's what this whole blog is about...) and of course, I presented. It changed my life, and having seen today's letter only made me more proud of my accomplishments at Basecamp in June.

I wish that I had done something similar to this letter, but only let it sit idle for longer. I still have reletivly vivid memories of writing the letter, where I was sitting in the classroom, and what was going on in my life. Ideally, if I were to write another letter, it wouldn't be opened until the point in which I had forgotten about it's existance.

I wonder what it would include...

_andrew

Reflection: Yankee Stadium

2008-09-21T17:07:00.003-04:00

I guess it just so happens that Yankee Stadium is closing today, this same year that so many things in my life are coming to a close.

The first time I ever went to Yankee Stadium was an Old Timer's Day back in '94 or '95. I've been a back a number of times, including three times this season, probably a personal record.

I do have one personal connection with the stadium that is about to close, however, but interestingly it comes from the opponent's side. My brother was given a gift for his Bar Mitzvah that changed all of our lives. He was to be the pre-game bat boy for the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays on an August day in 2006. It was truly a day I'll never forget. We arrived at the stadium around 10 AM and were escorted into the visiting team's locker room, a sight most never see. Susan Waldman struts in, checking out the batting order, taking little note in the player's bare behinds near her. Some players are in the kitchen area, others are sitting around a table playing cards. My brother has since gone off to do his duty, something with preparing the bats and whatnot, but we remain in the locker room meeting some of the players and coaches.

Then comes the one moment that I'll never forget. We exit the locker room and make a left, then a right and look straight ahead. It's a long, upward-slanting hallway with a blinding light at the top. Upon reaching the end, I realize we're in the visiting team's dugout. I proceed up the three steps from the dugout to the feild to meet my mom who's there, waiting. After my foot lands on the dirt, I suddenly hop back into the dugout, until I actually realize that I can be on the field. Looking every direction, taking in each sight, and watching the Yankees take batting practice. Gradually I become more comfortable with the idea of being able to walk on the dirt and grass, and I eventually get about 3/4 of the way to the home team's dugout. My brother was given the opprotunity to meet his hero, Bernie Williams, the handshake of which encounter I have a great picture of. I also have a wonderful picture of Joe Torre hugging Don Zimmer, reuniting after a year of seperation.

But it's the few memories of that day, exiting the hallway into the blinding light, crossing the grass behind home plate and looking into the stands, and being escorted through a tunnel through the Yankee's clubhouse hallway, the same hallway which the team's greats have also passed through. are things I'll never forget.

To Yankee Stadium, you'll be missed, but thank you for providing a backdrop for a lifechanging experience.

_andrew

Reflection: Opening Ceremonies

2008-09-15T17:58:00.006-04:00

School's been in full swing (and by full swing, I mean moving at the speed of light) for a little over a week now. This past Friday, however, the [almost] entire school gathered for one of my favorite traditions of the year, the Opening Ceremonies (Pre-K was not present this year.)

Maybe I've progressively begun to enjoy this ceremony more as I've gotten older because I've gotten closer and closer in age to the people who take part, but it's one of the traditions during which the entire school takes part.

Over the course of 20 minutes, the band performs a few songs, our Headmaster speaks, the President of the Student Body speaks, and the 12th Grade Class Officers present the Class Flag.

Being the President of the 12th Grade, a position I was running for (Post: What A Day) when I began this blog, it was my job to unfurl the flag that the officers and I designed over the summer. I was asked to introduce them and the flag, something I had not been expecting to do, but happily did anyway.

I remarked to a teacher, a few days ago, how I remember my first Opening Ceremonies. I was in Mr. Brockman's kindergarten class. It's one of my most fond memories, mostly because of that visual component, the flag of the Class Of 1996. It was with this memory in mind that I worked to design the Class of 2009 Flag as one that the kindergarden class will remember when they graduate in 2021. Our design was simple and classic, and I couldn't be more thrilled with how it came out.

Normally, the President and Vice President of the class unfold the flag, an awkward and drawn out experience for the nearly 1,000 students, faculty, and staff in the audience. This year, I had two goals for the unveiling: I wanted all four of the Officers involved, and I wanted to do away with the unfolding process. Having the flag already unfolded and placed along a step below the stage allowed all four of us to take part, making a true spectacle of the event.

The flag of the Class of 2009 is now a memory, etched right beside that 1995 Opening Ceremony unveiling...

_andrew

Microsoft: A True Underdog Story

2008-09-05T18:15:00.004-04:00

Microsoft signed a $10 million contract with comedian Jerry Seinfeld to star in a series of ads with Bill Gates. The goal? To make Microsoft "hip."

The first ad has been released; watch the horror for yourself:

My only response is this: HUH?
That might be the most pointless advertisement I've ever seen. Did anyone find that funny? And why is Bill Gates acting, anyway?

Not only was that one commercial a complete failure (at least to me) at making Microsoft "hip," but the whole plan has been doomed from the beginning.

See, Apple can be called "hip" because "young people" are the primary consumers. Using a celebrity endorsement, like Seinfeld, doesn't automatically make you part of the in crowd. Why?
Let's assume, for example, that Microsoft is targeting the younger generation: college students.

Jerry Seinfeld is 54 years old. His hit TV show, Seinfeld, was aired between the years of 1989 and 1998. A college sophomore was about 2 years old when the show began, and 11 when it ended. This student was probably watching Barney, Sesame Street, or The Simpsons at the time, not Seinfeld. Even worse, Seinfeld wasn't even a show aimed at kids! It could be an equivalent to today's Two And A Half Men--a show who's target audience is 20-30 year olds!

By hiring Jerry Seinfeld, Microsoft simply missed their target audience! I'm their target audience, and I barely know who he is, never watched his show, and actually don't think he's very funny!

_andrew

Summer's almost over

2008-08-30T16:29:00.005-04:00

I'm going to keep this blog going. SketchUp will stay a prevelent topic, as well as other geeky things, but quite possibly also things going on in my life, like that whole college thing. Yeah, that.

After pledging my loyalty to Google, or maybe visiting, I've become an active user of most products, including Google Docs (which I'll get to later) that I never figured I'd actually use. I now use Google Maps as opposed to Mapquest, but there's one problem. Google Maps isn't a verb. (I use the word "verb" loosely. "to google" has only recently become acceptable, as has "to wikipedia.") You can't really say, "I'm going to Google Maps this," or "I'll Google Map it." Those phrases seem just too long. The problem here is that you can say "I'm gonna Mapquest it." Since "to mapquest" is taking on the meaning "to get directions," I worry that Mapquest will gain advertising from this word-of-mouth usage. If there's any solution at all, when you want to make it clear that you are going to get directions using Google Maps, my proposition is: "I'm gonna G-Map it."

Staying on the subject of Google, I'll talk about my newfound usage for Google Docs. Well, first of all, I've never really been a fan. Putting my all of my documents online takes faith. Maybe I'm a negative nancy, but I always think of the worst situations first: a need for documents without web access, Google crashes, I get hacked... all problems that I could theoretically face by using Google Docs as my sole location for storage. [And yes, Google Docs offers offline backups, but still, I can't be sure if that version is the most recent or whatnot.]

There is, in fact, a use for Google Documents for everyone. Wether it's planning a meeting, comparing notes, or working on projects. Here's mine, and it echos so much of what my life revolves aroud these days: College essays.
Google Docs is the perfect location for such files. I always have revision history and I can allow teachers, parents, or college advisors to be collaborators. Sure, commenting features have been around in local programs such as Microsoft Word, but that requires emailing back and forth, back and forth, and being unsure about which version is the most current.

That's all for now. School begins [for seniors] on Tuesday.

_andrew

Keep on blogging...

2008-08-03T12:32:00.006-04:00

As of right now, my presentation's video on Youtube has 1,297 views!

The last thing I want to do is let this blog die. I'm going to keep blogging here on the topic of SketchUp, but it might branch off a bit.

I'll start with my recount of Basecamp. In fact, 3D Basecamp was almost 2 months ago! It's kind of funny that just three days of your life can be that important. I learned a ton from the presentation, but that wasn't my favorite part. My favorite part was meeting the people and experiencing the atmosphere. I've said it before, but putting names to faces was an amazing thing to see. Not only that, but I had never been to a conference before. That said, usually when I'm in a class or walking down the street and hear the word "SketchUp," I do a little twitch. Often times, it's an, "Oh, you know SketchUp?" that I respond with, surprised that people are farmiliar with the program.

Being at Basecamp was an interesting event in that respect because everyone had a common goal and purpose: SketchUp. For the first day and a half, that twitch still went off because it hadn't set in that I was in the company of people who were there for the same reason I was.

In March, 2007, my school choir, of which I am a member, took a trip to Prague and Vienna. It was a life changing experience for me; I had never been outside of the north-east United States (with the exception of Canada) at that time, and what I experienced and learned on that trip changed my life. On that trip, using just my brother's camera, I shot more than 1,100 pictures. (I ended up cutting those pictures down to about 166 for Facebook. They can be seen here on Picasa.)

I have not counted, but I don't think that the number of photographs taken at Basecamp from our respective cameras matched the 1,100 from Prague and Vienna. The knowledge I gained from Basecamp, however, exponentially multiplies that of the Europe trip.

I think I'll run through, all in all, everything we did. This schedule has been scattered around countless blog posts, but here it is in one place:

Tuesday

JetBlue, JFK --> San Jose
Rental Car --> The Grand Hotel
Visit Stanford
Dinner at Chevys
Rest in hotel
Post-dinner dinner at In-N-Out

Wednesday

Breakfast at The Grand
Drive to Google
Park, register, meet Jon and Allyson
2nd Breakfast at Googleplex
Talk & lecture room tour with Allyson, Diego, and Paul
Introduction by Aidan
Chaos rush to Charlie's Cafe
Lunch around the Basecamp tent
Presentation Block 1: Promoting Your Work Using Google Resources
Presentation Block 2: SketchUp and Green Design
Ice Cream break
Presentation Block 3: [Break]
Keynote Presentation, Cameron Sinclair
Basecamp party with BBQ, pool, ping-pong, and foosball

Thursday

Van to Googleplex from hotel
Breakfast & Raffle
Presentation Block 4: Photo-Rendering Your SketchUp Models: Some Options
Presentation Block 5: SketchUp and Education
Trip to Google Store with Allyson
Lunch at Charlie's Cafe
Presentation Block 6: Building A Presentation from Start to Finish with Google SketchUp LayOut
Presentation Block 7: [Break]
Presentation Block 8: Cool SketchUp Stuff

(Dad took Introduction to Geomodeling with Google Earth and SketchUp)

Back to Hotel
Dinner at "The Fish Market"
Added final touches to my presentation, changed the music track for the RCDS tour to it's 2004 original, The Magnificent 7

Friday

Drove from hotel to Googleplex
Breakfast and conversation
Announcements from Aidan and Cameron
Went up to Seville to set up my presentation:
Presentation Block 9: Making Your Mark with SketchUp
Met people, answered more questions
Went to the Google Store again
Relaxed in the tent
Took a blue-bike trip around the neighborhood
Lunch at Charlie's
Sportables design competition results
Said goodbyes
Drove to Mountai View CalTrain station, met Billy in Palo Alto
Visited Billy and family at his house, took a driving tour of San Fransisco
Took streetcar to AT&T Park, saw the game
CalTrain back to Mountain View
In-N-Out desert visit
Back to hotel for 4 hours of sleep, 1 AM -- 5 AM

Saturday

Awoke, drive to San Fransisco International
Made plane by 10 minutes, fly home

_andrew

Google Ads... for SketchUp

2008-07-11T10:16:00.001-04:00

As seen on the MacRumors forums:
_andrew

All videos

2008-07-04T16:27:00.002-04:00

All of the 3D Basecamp videos and session handouts are live and available on the 3D Basecamp Video Site.

Making Your Mark... The Movie!

2008-06-27T21:43:00.001-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yvzypn2Lm-E&fmt=18

Pictures by others

2008-06-22T00:15:00.001-04:00

Here are a few links that I'll gradually expand upon of 3DBC photos by others:

_andrew

It all comes full circle...

2008-06-18T16:15:00.005-04:00

Our final project of the year in Ms. Kubisch's Spanish class was to create and illustrate a children's story. I made a short story about a 10-year old girl who goes with her mother and her pet dogs to the Zoo. The plot, simply, is that the girl and her mother go to the Zoo and lose one of her 6 dogs, then have to walk around and find him. Of course, I illustrated with SketchUp. This project was one of many examples that I used in discussions at 3D Basecamp about SketchUp's application in almost every school course.

On Monday, I was reading SketchUpdate, the SketchUp blog, and I came across this post explaining that the pre-made component people in SketchUp are actually based off of pre-acquisition employees. Here's Aidan, John, and Dusty, just to name a few.

Allyson was the person who brought me to Google in the first place, has been my contact in the months leading up to the trip, and was my "tour guide," if you will, while I was there. As it would turn out, Allyson and her daughter are the central character of my Spanish class story!

Here's the story (PDF), and a rough English translation (PDF), for anyone interested.

What a small world.

_andrew

SkechUpdate Blog - 3DBC Post #2

2008-06-17T17:43:00.005-04:00

http://sketchupdate.blogspot.com/2008/06/sportables-design-challenge.html

(This is the design contest I discussed previously; bonus points if you can find me in the picture below!)

Sportables: a Design Challenge!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008 11:37 AM
Posted by John Bacus, Google SketchUp Product Manager

Last Wednesday's keynote at our 3D Basecamp by Cameron Sinclair (Co-founder, Executive Director and "Eternal Optimist" of Architecture for Humanity) was a real highlight for me. I've been talking to AFH for a long time now, especially about the talented SketchUp folks we have in our user community. We've been trying to come up with something that we can all do together – something that shows how great design work can make a real difference in the lives of ordinary people around the world. To that end, we decided to kick off a new Design Challenge with Architecture for Humanity.

The Challenge (should you choose to accept it) is to design a "Sportable". Sportables are highly-transportable and deployable play spaces that can double as a sustainable infrastructure nodes for the community in which they operate. Continue Reading...

SkechUpdate Blog - 3DBC Post #1

2008-06-17T12:34:00.003-04:00

http://sketchupdate.blogspot.com/2008/06/dispatches-from-3d-basecamp-no-1.html

Dispatches from 3D Basecamp, No. 1

Wednesday, June 11, 2008 6:26 PM

Posted by Beth Callas, SketchUp 3D Basecamp Team

Coming to you live from the Google SketchUp 3D Basecamp 2008! Nearly 400 SketchUp enthusiasts have descended on our Mountain View campus for two-and-a-half days of 3D modeling abandon. With plenty of SPF on hand, we’re enjoying the 85 degree weather with folks from all over the world. While some attendees breezed in by way of the light rail from San Francisco, others made the trek from as far away as Western Australia. Continue reading...

Interestingly, for me at least, this post only showed up on Saturday, though it was added on Wednesday. I have no idea why...

_andrew

Coming home

2008-06-15T14:08:00.000-04:00

It's early afternoon on Sunday, here in New York. We left the hotel about 6:00 am yesterday morning, made it San Fransisco International, and we were in the air by 8:07. The flight, suprisingly and fortunately was only about 4 hours and 50 minutes. Any longer, we would have had issues, for as soon as we left baggage claim, thunder storms hit.

Here are a few pictures from my dad's camera of my presentation on Friday. All of our pictures (4 cameras, sorted down) from the trip are available on my Picasa album. At first, I was going to have an album per day, but instead, I just created one big album. This proved to be much better, for I could simply put the photos into iPhoto and hit export and not have to worry about changing links, code, and slideshows on this blog.

Anyway, here are the pictures:

_andrew

Presentation Notes & Info

2008-06-14T18:15:00.008-04:00

Here's the information regarding my presentation, "Making Your Mark with SketchUp," given on Friday morning of 3D Basecamp

Click here for the OUTLINE that was handed out to attendees (PDF download)
Click here for the POWERPOINT PRESENTATION from Making Your Mark (PDF download)
Watch the RCDS 3D TOUR movie (Part 1 | Part 2) below (Youtube link):

Watch RYE: 3D, the Rye CBD tour below (YouTube link):

If you attended my presentation, I would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below, or send me an email-- androo54@gmail.com
Again, thanks for attending

_andrew

Friday Recap

2008-06-14T02:36:00.002-04:00

I woke up about 6, got to Google about 7:45, then just chilled with new friends until about 8:50. It was then when Allyson brought us up to Seville where I set up my presentation.

Then I presented. And it went fine.

The biggest request I got, however, was for access to my movies, slides, and information about my projects. Since I included my blog link on the presentation, I'll put a post related to just these items.

After the presentation ended and the adrenaline died down, we visited the Google store one last time to swap one sweatshirt and pick up some other pieces of paraphernalia. I'm honestly coming home with close to 15 Google articles of clothing (of course, not all are for me.)

Deciding not to do any of the ongoing sessions, I spent time in the Basecamp tent talking to people and just relaxing. One of the people I met in person over these last few days was Chris Fullmer. I originally came into contact with Chris in the summer of '06 when he began a website called SuWiki (You guessed it, a SketchUp Wiki.) I was asked to be a judge for their logo contest. It was a surreal experience to meet someone like Chris whom I had only known as an email address or avatar. I had similar opportunities to meet people such as Gaieus, the administrator of the SketchUp Community Forums and Aidan, the "Steve Jobs" of SketchUp, if you will. I also has the wonderful (kinda inspiring even) opprotunity to meet people who had read my blog and to see the comments from those who had, but were unable to attend either Basecamp or my presentation.

Following another delicious lunch from Charlie's (today it was "General David's Chicken" among other items,) we headed into Tunis, another presentation room, to see the results of the Architecture for Humanity/SketchUp challenge.

Here's the deal: following Cameron Sinclair's keynote, he posed a challenge to the 3DBC participants (read the keynote post for information about what his group does first.) The challenge: build a fully portable youth soccer stadium for a team of street kids from Brazil while incorporating an entrepreneurial or "green" aspect. Groups who completed the task had 3 minutes to present and explain their model to attendees and judges before first, second, and third place 3DBC winners were announced. This challenge is going global within the next few hours and will be open to anyone in the world (with cash prizes) through the end of the month. I'll post more information as it becomes available.

Anyway, following all this, we ended up leaving Google after saying our goodbyes and such. We took the Caltrain (MetroNorth of California, basically) to San Fransisco. En route, we were joined by my dad's Milburn (NJ) High School friend, Billy. We went to the San Fransisco Giants (vs. Oakland A's) game with Billy's family.

In true California fashion, we made an In-N-Out Burger run upon arrival to Mountain View after returning from the game.

Now we're back. And I'm exhausted.

I'll put up pictures and the presentation information (I promise) tomorrow upon return to New York in the late afternoon.

Until then, thank you for reading this blog. Whether you were here at 3DBC and I met you, you came to my presentation, or we didn't meet, or if I provided you with 3DBC updates from afar, thanks for following along. For the foreseeable future, I'll be continuing this blog, so please continue to read.

_andrew

KICKASS

2008-06-13T14:20:00.001-04:00

Ok. That was pretty sweet.

I presented at 9:15 this morning to a full room, probably 100 people if not more. Allyson introduced me and the presentation went off without a hitch. Asside from the computer lag for one moment, it was awesome. I can only wonder how many times I've said "Awesome" this week.

I'll leave it at that for now. We're off to do some bluebiking :)

If you were in the presentation this morning, thanks for coming and for visiting the blog. I will have more information, slides, handouts, and material coming soon. Please check back!

_andrew

Nailed It!

2008-06-13T13:35:00.001-04:00

It's done. And it actually awesome. More later

Ready!

2008-06-13T02:23:00.002-04:00

It's 11:23 here... which means it's 2:23 at home. Poo, no one's online. Nevertheless, I write to report that I finished reading over my presentation and editing the videos.

I'm very excited, I'm including two videos totaling 9 minutes (5 and 4 seperatly.)

Anyway, I'm off to bed..... but I'm WAYYY excited. Should be fun :)

_andrew

Wow

2008-06-13T00:51:00.004-04:00

I don't think I can really create a post title that's any more fitting than "Wow." That's exactly what this day has been: Wow.

Let me start with last night, my sleeping to be exact. It came to me, for some obscure reason (during my sleep) that RCDS bares a striking resemblance to Googleplex. 50% of my time thus far at Googleplex has been spent in and around the tent in the main "quad." I realized that the view I've been exposed to for the past day resembles the view one has at RCDS when exiting the big glass thing we call the cafateria. To the left side of both pictures, there's a bridge. For RCDS, it's a library, for Google, it's an air-bridge.

In my last post, I forgot to mention I made a trip to the Google company store. I did some damage. Basically, there won't be a day for the next 2 years where something on me will say Google.

This afternoon since my last post has been interesting as well. The session I went to at the end of the day was called "Cool SketchUp Stuff." This was originally the presentation I was supposed to be a part of. Three presenters (I guess I would have been one of them) showed 3 unique uses of SketchUp. Let me recap them (not in the correct order, intentionally):

First was a guy from Sweet Onion Creations, a group that takes SketchUp models and prints them in 3D. Basically, instead of your printer spitting one layer of ink on a paper, it puts down a layer of clay, then a layer on top, then another, then another... eventually creating a physical model of up to 8 inches. That's pretty sweet.

Presenting third was Rob Bell who hooks SketchUp to a woodworking table. His work in SketchUp then gets created in physical space by a drill on a track that takes away bit by bit of the plywood on the woodworking table. Here's a picture of him sampling.

The second person to present (who I'm mentioning last) was John Martin who demo'd a program called iClone. Simply put, iClone takes a SketchUp model and uses is as a background or prop for an animation. You can make people walk down the street, or have the camera fly around a car as it moves down the road. It was only earlier today when my dad asked, "When's SketchUp going to become an animation tool?"

Well, about an hour later, I ran into John in the elevator of our hotel and introduced myself. He had read my bio and actually offered a copy of iClone for free. Within 5 minutes, I had ended up in the doorway of his hotel room getting a free copy of both iClone and his other product, CrazyTalk. I'll give them both a try and report back. I can't thank him enough, though, for the unexpected software!

After that, it was off to dinner at a local fish place, then back to the hotel where about 10 presenters and attendees were preparing for a secret meeting (regarding SketchUp 7??) My dad and I spent more time talking with Diego, then headed back upstairs to where I sit and write this now.

That's all for tonight. I present tomorrow morning, and it should go well. If it doesn't, then I guess I'm not coming home.

_andrew

A day of workshops

2008-06-12T18:52:00.006-04:00

Today has been full of workshops, to put it simply. I started the morning with a session on Photo-realistic rendering of SketchUp models. This has been an area that I've always been interested in, but never really learned a lot about.

Second was an overview of Boston Architectural College, their curriculum, and their SketchUp integration provided by Diego.

Following another fantastic lunch (some of the best pizza I've ever had,) I took my (thus far) favorite session of the day: "Building a presentation from start to finish with LayOut." What is LayOut? SketchUp's little, ignored brother only available to Pro users. It's a program that integrates your SketchUp model in a presentation format.

Here is a screenshot from LayOut. About two years ago, I dedicated my entire spring break to precisely modeling the renovations of a friend's kitchen to provide visuals before the construction began. It's the most detailed model I've ever made, so it was the perfect model for me to experiment LayOut with.

I took a break during the session following and took another bike ride around. No crashes this time.

Right now, I'm waiting for "Cool SketchUp Stuff."

More to come. Pictures too.

_andrew

Keynote & Partying.... Google Style

2008-06-12T09:51:00.007-04:00

Last night, we entered Charlie's to see a totally different layout than what had been there for lunch:Cameron Sinclair gave the keynote. He leads a volunteer architect team that organizes volunteers to design and build new homes in disaster areas, like the tsunami and Katrina. All very very interesting. And he's a great speaker.

Then it was off to the BBQ where we sat with a college senior and two young architects from Oregon. My dad and I ended up playing 3 games of pool against some of the other guys there, too. A band, aptly named "The Experience" played.

En route to the restrooms, I noticed the live search projection. That is, in the lobby, a projector displays seemingly every search currently being put into Google. I tell you, it's extremly easy to get lost watching this list form... and every so often an entertaining one comes up. One of my favorites was "Best Brothels."

_andrew

Taking a break

2008-06-11T19:44:00.004-04:00

I opted not to go to my 3rd session of the day. None of the choices appealed to me and, honestly, I needed a break. I actually instant messaged with Mrs. Rees for a moment before having a conversation with Jon, the guy running this whole thing. I had to pull away from my conversation with Mrs Rees because of it.

As I sit here and type under the tent, workers are putting the legs on an air hockey table, a pool table, and a ping pong table for tonight's dinner. There are two foosball tables too. So Google.

Google has hundreds of blue bikes that are everywhere. Find any one, ride it to wherever you want to go, then just leave it. So I picked up a bike and got going... only when I neared the road, I noticed there were no breaks. It took me a minute to realize that pedaling backwards, just like a bike with training wheels, stops the bike. Too bad I realized that after I almost crashed.

This afternoon, I did a session on using the Google products to advance your models followed by a session on building "Green." Both were very interesting for the most part...

Tonight is the Keynote followed by a BBQ and music.

Some thoughts and things:

Pregnant? Work at Google.
Solve code issues while using the bathroom? Work at Google.
Drive a hybrid? Work at Google.
Vegan? Work at Google.
Like Legos (on the tables under the tent)? Work at Google.

_andrew

Reporting from Kiev

2008-06-11T16:11:00.006-04:00

This place is crazy. We showed up this morning and spent our time meeting "Googlers," other presenters, and attendees. The central quad of Google has a huge tent, a smaller sample tent, and a stage. Oh, and a Google "Micro-Kitchen".... a.k.a. free food. and lots of it. I met Jon and Allyson and spent most of the morning sitting with Allyson, Diego Matho, and Paul Moore. Diego and Paul are professors at Boston Architectural College and Diego is also a presenter (also under the control of Allyson.) We got a tour of campus (kinda) which included seeing Charley's Cafe, the three presentation rooms, the Presenter Ready Room, and some offices. Very cool.

Then lunch at Charley's. It's basically like the best college cafeteria I've ever seen... only this isn't college. The food at Google is hyped beyond belief.. the result: it's all true.

I'm now in a presentation discussing how to use the Google applications (Youtube, Blogger, 3d Warehouse, etc.) to promote your model. I know some of this stuff, but there's some amazing stuff I'm learning. It's SketchUp from every aspect possible... Google, marketing, and sales.

More to come. Pictures too.

_andrew

Goog Morning

2008-06-11T10:28:00.003-04:00

The spelling of this post was an accident, but I decided to leave it.

So it's 7:30 am and I'm adjusted to California time. At about 10 last night (1 EST) I began to crash and my, that was a deep sleep.

So I've woken up and after [complimentary] breakfast, (this hotel is, shall we say, "off the hook") it's off to Google for registration.

This'll be a long (THE longest) day of the stay, so I probably (maybe) won't be on the internet as much. After registration, there's the opening lunch at 11:45 at Charlie's Cafe (location #22), 3 workshops, a cocktail party for the SketchUp Education attendees (which apparently includes 29 students, of college age I presume. I'll follow up,) then the opening dinner with Keynote speaker Cameron Sinclair.

Should be fun :)

_andrew

And touchdown, part II

2008-06-10T23:45:00.001-04:00

Out we went again, to kill some time. We visited Stanford, had a smoothie and took some pictures (most of which I classify as "artsy" and used the DSLR for... so I won't upload them just yet)

Then to Chevys, an awesome mexican place. Then back to chill at the hotel more, then the essential california experience: In-N-Out Burger. I had a double double & fries animal style... and for a second dinner, it was pretty awesome. In-N-Out is a rival to Burgers Shakes and Fries... a winner yet to be declared.

That's all for tonight. Off to Google tomorrow :)

_andrew

And touchdown

2008-06-10T15:15:00.001-04:00

Where do I begin? Not having internet for the last 3 days thanks to a lightning bolt to the house did not make my life easy. Nevertheless, at 5:15 (EST) this morning I was up and by 6:30 we were out the door to JFK. An uneventful but long (can you say 6.5 hours?) flight ensued, then we touched down in San Jose at 3:15 (PST.)

Rental car? A red mustang. 'nuff said.

So we made our way to the hotel and that's where we are now...
Not much more news to report, but here are the pictures from today, thus far. Remember, it's only 3:15 PM so there's much more of the day left for photos here.

_andrew

Blog time zone

2008-06-09T13:52:00.002-04:00

Well, we're one day away and I've just changed this blog's time zone to Mountain Time, -7. I'll blog as often as possible.

I layed out most of my clothes last night despite a power surge that took down two of our computers, some outlets, and some lights for some reason. Fortunately, my laptop and files are fine.

More to come soon!

_andrew

So soon...

2008-06-08T11:36:00.005-04:00

So Gaieus has made a communal Picasa Web Album for all attendees to post their pictures to. I'll try my best to post my pictures to MY picasa album and put the nify little slideshows on this blog. I'll post my best on the communal one, probably. Google has free wifi (cmon, it's google) but I don't know what my timing and availability will be.) I'm actually looking forward to meeting some of these people who I've only known as computer aliases or email contacts.

I received the Google Non-disclosure agreement via email a few days ago. Nothing to worry about, and it seems that we can still take pictures. Basically, if they announce to us that they're building nuclear bombs or something, it means I can't tell you. I would post it here, if it weren't labeled confidential. As discussed on the SketchUp Community Forums, it doesn't seem to be 3D Basecamp-specific. That is, anyone who visited the campus for any reason would have to sign it.

I guess I'll pack tonight, but it should be fun. Of the technological things I'm bringing, there's the laptop, my dad's Windows laptop (to work as a backup, if necessary,) at least 3, maybe 4 DSLRs and point-n-shoots between the two of us, and my portable external hard drive. The external hard drive (damn, I feel like a secret service person or something in the way I write this) will never be with me. During travel, it will always be on my dad or in another secure location. It's got, not only my entire laptop backed up, but also my presentation and such. Basically, it will be available if we run into computer issues.

I'm giving SketchUp until Tuesday night to post the outlines/handouts for the sessions (mine included.) Otherwise, I guess, I'll just put mine up here.

Incidentally, Monday is WWDC. That means Monday is the Steve Jobs keynote. 3G iPhone, anyone? That'll be going on all week in San Fransisco.

WWDC, 3DBC, and Digital Wave, all in one week! Can it get any geekier?

For the record, In-N-Out Burger is really close to both The Grand and Googleplex. YESSSSSS!

(the yellow marker is the hotel, the green marker is Googleplex and the little flames are In-N-Outs :)

View Larger Map

_andrew

"Making Your Mark with SketchUp" and more...

2008-06-04T18:30:00.009-04:00

So an email was sent from the folks at Google containing this information about a week ago, but the email linked to some Google Docs, not the 3DBC website... oddly.

Enough time has passed and the links have been posted by others on the SketchUp Community Forums, so I figure it's public information now.

Making Your Mark with SketchUp
Friday, June 13, 9:15 - 10:00 AM
Room: Seville

In this presentation, Andrew will present his SketchUp models that have opened doors and attracted the attention of local press and government. Having been introduced to SketchUp in 7th grade, Andrew has created expansive models of his school campus and the Central Business District of Rye, NY. He used SketchUp for two summers as an intern in the Rye City Planning Department and presented to the City Council, as well as school administration, parents, and students. Andrew has channeled his interest in architecture and urban design through SketchUp and made a positive impact on his school and community. During the presentation, attendees will see how one computer program has brought new opportunities, challenges, and life skills to this 17-year-old high school student.

Edit: * Fixed link

_andrew

6 Days

2008-06-04T14:51:00.004-04:00

The presentation is done, the handout is done, school is done. I'll post them both on this site once they go public and/or after the actual presentation.

So basically, I'm absurdly excited for this. The idea of going to Google astounds me still. Going as a presenter and on their money is still distant. This might just be every geek's dream.

I wrote the presentation with some humor and zest. I've got a story to tell, not a product or tool to sell or show. I want to incorporate so many thing from SketchUp in terms of education to SketchUp's effect on one person's life.

In an email yesterday from the folks at Google, they wrote that they'll be recording all the presentations and putting them on YouTube. I'll be posting the link here once that happens.
They'll also have a "presenter ready room" ... I don't know. Thats cool.

If this post makes absolutely no sense, I'm sorry. My brain is... off :)

_andrew

Writing the presentation...

2008-05-30T21:11:00.001-04:00

Wow, this is a lot harder than I expected!

_andrew

Presenter bios are live

2008-05-28T19:07:00.008-04:00

http://www.google.com/events/3dbasecamp/bios.html
30 listed presenters... that's impressive

Click for larger image

_andrew

13 Days More...

2008-05-28T17:00:00.007-04:00

Well, that's assuming I did my math correctly.

The past few days, I've been checking the 3D Basecamp Website pretty compulsively -- my sources reported that the final schedule and presenter bios and things were going up last Friday. Now, I'm not impatient, nor am I yearning to see my own information up there, but, taking a step back, how often do you have your name and picture on a Google website? Kids, this is GOOGLE we're talking about... I don't know, maybe it's just me.

Anyway, I checked today, and the sidebar of the site now has these links: (see right)

See that one that says "Presenter Bios" ?? It's brand new.

One problem, though:

Ah, well, paciencia y fe...

I did, however, get an email from one of my contacts at Google today. In short,

"Your session will [be] from 9:15-10am on Friday, June 13th."
"The session has been extended 45 minutes ... feel free to include lots of material and allow 5-10 minutes for Q&A"

Now all I have to do is write this presentation... Easier said than done. Maybe I should be doing that instead of blogging... oh, and there's that English essay (grrr.) Hey, only 4 more days of school, though!

_andrew

Wesleyan Commencement

2008-05-25T17:43:00.003-04:00

Barak Obama giving Wesleyan University commencement speech, "pinch hitting" for Ted Kennedy. Sitting on Foss Hill with 5,000 others (10,000 were seated on the field below.) Sunburn. What a day, what a speaker.

_andrew

Updates

2008-05-08T14:18:00.004-04:00

My hope is to add little bits of info once they've set in and/or become public. Here's a little accumulation of 3D Basecamp-related:

1. Over the past week, I've been in contact with the folks at Google regarding what the presentation will cover. I'll post the description I was asked to write up once it goes public on their website.

2. They asked me for a headshot and bio, both things I didn't have. Mr. Gillies helped me out and professionally shot some pictures of me one warm morning this week. Over the course of 24 hours, I also came up with a half-page bio. Not too bad... [I'll also put them up here once they show up on the Google 3d Basecamp website.

3. My dad and I've dealt with Google's travel agent people who are great. jetBlue. Extra legroom seats (only $20 each, but probably worth it)... We'll be flying out on Tuesday and coming back Saturday. That means one day of Digital Wave '08!

4. Oh, and apparently I've been bumped from a 20-minute section of a bigger presentation scheduled for Thursday to a solo presentation on Friday. Yikes.

This whole thing has begun to give me a little glimpse into Google life. I'll show it more later, but all the people at Google have extremely non-corporation-like email signatures. One guy's is a quote from Almost Famous, another woman has a quotation from Frida Kahlo. Once I'm out there, I'll experience it firsthand (and post the pictures here,) but it just goes to show how different life at Googleplex must be in comparison to so many other businesses.

More to come soon.

_andrew

Still Comprehending...

2008-04-25T09:56:00.004-04:00

Congratulations: to junior Andrew Nathanson, who has been invited by Google to be a presenter at the Google SketchUp 3D "Base Camp" Conference. Andrew is quite an expert on the 3D graphics program SketchUp, and being asked to present is an honor and clear recognition of his accomplishments. Many of you may have seen his video renderings of the town of Rye, and of the RCDS campus.

RCDS E-Notes.
http://www.ryecountryday.org/page.cfm?p=1183

_andrew

What A Day

2008-04-23T18:55:00.004-04:00

This morning, I drove to school, parked in the lot, and trekked into school. Two hours into the morning, I gave my speech for President of the Senior Class. That should have been the biggest thing of the day. Too bad.

During my free, I checked my email, like I so often do. A message with the subject line "Could you please stop by and see me :-)" from Mr. Bartels. Figuring it was about my Architecture Independent Study, but never sure, I scampered down to the tech center. No one. It was later that I realized Mr. Bartels was teaching AP Computer Science during that block (ironically, only because I had previously dropped that class)

About half an hour later, I was getting ready to go to math when Mr. Bartels found me and brought me back to his office.

"I have good news and bad news, which do you want first?" he asked. "Bad news"
was my answer.

"You have a lot of work ahead of you, and some work and time demands."

"Ok. And the good news?"

I don't quite remember the next few sentences, let alone minutes. Everything began to blur. The conversation, paraphrased, went something like this:

"I submitted your resume to SketchUp and they would like you to present at 3D Basecamp in June. Air travel and hotel expenses paid."

*Blank stare.*

"What?" ...the only question I could think of.

"The only catch," Mr. Bartels continued, "is you'll need an adult to travel with you. Their expenses will be paid for by Google too."

"No way."

Thus began my day. That is, thus began my day being on cloud 9. Even as I write this summary, it still hasn't sunken in.

After Math, I headed over to the Performing Arts Center, one of the few places where you can "illegally" use your cell phone without being caught. I called my dad at the office first. He picked up and was ecstatic. I called my mom on her cell, had a poor connection, but after two tries was able to relay the basic information of the day. All in all the conversation summed up the day: "Remember the SketchUp conference I wanted to go to? Remember how you joked that I could go if they paid for me? Well they are!"

The rest of the day was a blur. I spent my afternoon free and Choir clutching a printout, the first page of which is how I introduced the situation to friends and teachers. I held the paper out and said, "Read this."

Hello Fred,

I'm happy to say we'd love it if Andrew would present at our 3D Base Camp. He would need to have an adult accompany him. We would pay travel and lodging expenses for both. If you could put me in touch with Andrew, we can work out the details on everything, including what he will actually present. The team here is quite excited to hear Andrew's story. Thanks for recommending him.

June 11-13. Mountain View, CA. Googleplex. Holy shit*.

More to come...

*pardon the language. In my opinion, it is warranted.

_andrew