Top of the Rocky Knoll Trail

One of my favorite hiking trails in and around Nanaimo, BC is this one located within the Morrell Nature Sanctuary. Rocky Knoll Trail has an offshoot trail that brings you to a summit with not an extreme effort. Reward is a beautiful view of Mt. Benson to the west. 

Autodesk, AutoCAD, 3ds Max, Revit and Tokens

 I've been a user of Autodesk products for so many years, it's kinda embarrassing. I call myself an AutoCAD "Olde Fart" sometimes. I can remember when..... Well here goes something new, Tokens to use the program. Back in the day, you purchased the software, later to become known as a perpetual license. I seem to remember that this cost something like 3500 CDN$ back in 1985. Than small upgrade fees every so once in a while, 100 to 200 not that much more than that. The whole software industry worked like that. Then companies realized that this was not sustainable.

Then came subscriptions, annual and monthly. Choose between a higher price per month or a better deal if you commit to a full year. Now we have per day, usage tokens. I'm an architect, and over time I'm using these products less and less. I'm just not working as much. So what to do to use these programs in a cost effective fashion. Especially for a person like me that only uses them occasionally.

AutoCAD and Revit both have full versions and LT versions. 3ds Max only a full version. Oh and I forgot to mention the AEC Collection, the whole kit and kaboodle one price. and the AutoCAD/Revit LT Suite, Shish.  So here goes:

AutoCAD (3D Capabilities)

2900 CDN$/ Year

360 CDN$/ Month

29.05 CDN$/ Day (7 tokens at 4.15 per token)

AutoCAD LT

755 CDN$/ Year

95 CDN$/ Month

No Flex / Token version available

Revit

4160 CDN$/ Year

525 CDN$/ Month

41.15 CDN$/ Day (10 tokens at 4.15 per token)

Revit LT

770 CDN$/ Year

95 CDN$/ Month

No Flex / Token version available

AutoCAD/Revit LT Suite

945 CDN$/ Year

120 CDN$/ Month

No Flex / Token version available

3ds Max

2780 CDN$/ Year

350 CDN$/ Month

41.15 CDN$/ Day (6 tokens at 4.15 per token)

AEC Collection (AutoCAD, Revit, 3ds Max and a whole bunch of other software)

5085 CDN$/ Year

635 CDN$/ Month

No Flex / Token version available

WOW, I hope I have not lost you. So many options, depends on how much you are going to use the product or products. Given that I might use a program once a week, and even then perhaps not the same program, flex/tokens might be the route. 

Full version of AutoCAD = 29.05/day * 4 days per month = 116.2 per month

slightly more than paying for AutoCAD LT for 1 month.

3D Printing and a Modular Building Design

 A few months ago I attended a trade show to illustrate the modular designs which I have developed. I wanted to show how the designs could be flexible using similar modular components. Here is what I came up with:

The first image shows the massing of the structure if the entire building were built. This is a model which I called "The 1050"

The second image shows the smallest house which I am suggesting be built. This model is called "The 450"

Highlights of a Trip to Nanaimo

What are some great places to visit in and around Nanaimo? I'm writing a few days ahead of Nanaimo Infusion and the start of the biggest summer Cruise ship schedule I have seen since living on Vancouver Island. On April 24th the official start to Nanaimo Infusion and the arrival of the cruise ship Noordam, will bring in excess of 500 and 1200 visitors to the city respectively. 

I wanted to create a short list of places that I would suggest visitors try to get out to visit. I'll update the list with more information 

Hiking / Nature:

Morell Sanctuary: A private nature and wildlife sanctuary open to the public. 

Westwood Lake: Nice and easy walk around the lake

Cable Bay Trail & The Narrows (Cedar): Walk down to Cable bay and then into Joan park to the narrows. Watch the boats brave and the sea lions brave the currents  

Englishman River Falls (Parksville): Beautifully awesome waterfall

Cathedral Grove: Experience some of the oldest trees on the island

Dining:

The Vault: Great for breakfast, lunches and general hanging out

Asteras: Greek food

Thai Cook: Really delicious Thai cuisine

Carlos O'Bryan's: Nice combo of pub fare, great beer on tap, and waterfront dining

Baby Salsa: Excellent mexican food, homemade chips and salsa

Entertainment / Bars:

The Queens: Live music typically from Thursday to Sunday

The Nanaimo Bar: Something happening nightly, and the only place to get a Nanaimo Bar Martini

The Nanaimo Casino: Nanaimo's own little casino

Help for Manufactured Home Owners in BC, Canada

 An organisation called the Active Home Owners Society of BC is an excellent resource for manufactured home owners in BC. Answers related to problems between home owners and manufactured home park owners can be addressed on their website FAQ or by sending them an email. 

Joining the organisation as a member is FREE with an optional donation to help support the activities of the group. You can find the organisation website at BCMHO.ca. 

The Assault on Manufactured Home Communities

 I live in British Columbia, Canada, for about 5 years now. About 4 years ago I bought a fairly new manufactured home in Nanaimo. There are many communities, or Manufactured Home Parks (MHP) in the City of Nanaimo. Approximately 1,700 units of this type exist in the city. While not a large percentage of Nanaimo's housing stock, it is an affordable alternative for owning a home. Typically, a potential resident buys a unit on a parcel of land, and leases land from the owner of the land. Depending on the condition of the home a small unit (Approx 700 to 900 sq. ft.) can sell from 150,000 to 300,000 CAD. Condos in the area go for 300K and up, and Townhouses 450K and up. Houses are difficult to afford, especially for the first time buyer. 

So what's wrong? Instead of promoting more of this type of housing, MHP owners are making things more difficult for this to be affordable. What would you think if a service went from 500 CAD per month to 800? Floored right.? This is what is happening when a new lease is signed between the land owner and a new home owner. The affordability of a Manufactured Home is directly affected by an increase in the fee to lease the land where the home is located.

Sometimes people just do not know any better, but there are methods to control these cost increases. The Rental Tenancy Branch (RTB) can help people in BC. Most provinces in Canada have organizations of their own. 

3D Printing

 I've been working on these affordable homes models for a few years now, and I finally decided to get some 3D Prints made. 3D printing is so much different from creating a 3D model for rendering. As I quickly learned. I'll make some adjustments for the 2nd go around.