Revit 2027 AI Edition

 Greetings Fuckfaces!!!

 As promised, I'm going to submit myself to reviewing the latest and 'greatest' (using that term in the loosest possible context) version of Autodesks flagship BIM software. (I didn't realize until after I posted this that I never did a 2026 review, but what the fuck ever). 

Of course, in the Year of Fuck The Lord 2026, what is guaranteed to be the first goddamned item on the list? You guessed it - A fucking I.

That's right, you unworthy limp dick motherfuckers - Revit 2027 is introducing 'AI-assisted workflows, performance improvements, cloud connected BIM, and enhanced automation for faster, more coordinated design'. 

What the fuck does that mean? Fucked if I know (and fucked if whoever posted knows either) - but it's item 1 of 8.

Oh - and was that (and the rest of this list) most likely written by an AI? For fucking sure.

For #2 we get the ever present 'performance enhancements' (padding early as usual) so that unlike 2026 Revit, the latest version will actually run *an eensie bit* less like dogshit - even on hardware far exceeding their recommendations. 

#3 and we're talking about 'Extended BIM Data and Cloud Integration' - so in addition to repeating #1,  we're gonna babble about Autodesk Forma. 

What is Autodesk Forma, you might ask? According to their website it is 'Your go-to AI-powered cloud software for site planning and analysis'. That's right - #3 is advertising another piece of Autodesk software - and repeating the same handful of buzzwords like it's some kind of mantra, while sounding suspiciously like a bullshit generator: 'extended properties allow cloud-governed data to be embedded directly into Revit elements, enhancing model intelligence and cross-team coordination. (And let's not forget about how: 'improved model analytics and data  interoperability help maintain model integrity and documentation consistency').

 (Edit: There's nothing to indicate this anywhere, but 'Forma' is apparently just a new name for the Auto desk Construction Cloud ... So.... Who cares?)  

I mean Jesus Fucking Christ, people - bring it down a notch.

How the fuck any of this self-fellating nonsense translates into anything that is going to make the Revit experience less of an futile exercise in time-wasting, while providing nothing of substance is so far beyond me that they might as well be discussing the benefits of microwaving my balls.

#4 is literally the Autodesk Assistant. 

Just... Fuck you. The level of effort at this point is so small, it is undetectable by the most sensitive equipment in existence.

#5 Automation and Computational Workflows.

Finally!!! They've gotten around to the platform modernizing automation, computational design, and scripting capabilities!!!

Oh, wait, that's just more meaningless bullshit and jargon - made worse by the claim that it: 'supports more efficient workflows, structural detailing, energy and HVAC analysis, and fabrication ready systems'.

Fear not, though -as we are now moving into the discipline-specific enhancements (#6) - where the real meat-and-potatoes will be. 

Just kidding! Architecture gets 'improved modeling precision and documentation tools', Structural gets 'enhanced detailing, analysis, and reinforcement workflows - but hold onto your nuts for the MEP portion... 

'Upgraded energy, HVAC, and fabrication-ready systems for better coordination'. 

That's it. (And yes, they did repeat several items  from #5 - fuck, if you remove all the repeated terms you could probably print this whole list on the back of a matchbook).

#7 'Connected BIM and Forma Integration' 

Revit 2027 acts as Autodesk's first official Forma Connected Client, enabling closer collaboration between planning stage tools and... you know what? Fuck it. I'm not typing the rest of that sentence (and yes - I manually type everything I post here - usually on a phone). 

It's just another ad for Forma, and a repeat of the same mantra. Goddammit , people. 

#8 'User Experience Improvements' 

-Faster Opening Times (I'll believe it when I see it)

-Lower Memory Demand (Which is probably good , since AI has been driving memory prices through the roof.... Oh wait) 

-More trustworthy graphics (I dare you to make those three words make sense)

Yep -that's it. They finish off by claiming that Revit 2027 represents a 'significant step forward in AI-driven design, performance, and cloud-connected BIM workflows, with BIM managers delivering projects faster and with higher accuracy'. 

And if you believe that shit, I've got prime real-estate between my balls and ass for you to lick. 

Fuck this shit.

Fuck Autodesk, Fuck Revit, Fuck whatever AI wrote this list for some illiterate fucking moron jerking themselves unconscious on a printout of the Revit logo.

Fuck every single person involved , fuck their mothers, fuck their children, fuck their aunts and uncles, fuck their inlaws, fuck their next-door neighbors. 

And if you don't like it... Fuck You (and then refer to the list above for additional instructions).

Literally, 

-Skullfuck

Next Time: Rev-ducation. 

 

 

 

 

 

Revit Rears It's Ugly Head

Greetings Fucktards!

I've been leaving this thing alone since I'm only ever tangentially involved with Revit these days.

The one project I had to deal with finally came to an end after a decade+ long (fairly profitable) journey for my firm. Amusingly there were apparently several other 'Revit Holdouts' before I got here, because I would regularly find where they had (most likely in a fit of rage) exported drawings for various systems into CAD (or developed them in CAD to begin with, since fuck Revit). 

I joined their illustrious ranks when a large number of as-built panel schedule updates came through - exporting panels to CAD and updating them manually rather than having to beat on Revit until they looked right (one self-imposed limitation of the project that I probably mentioned before was that it was done in Revit 2018, and nobody wanted to deal with the headaches that converting it to a new version had the potential to cause).

At some point the client may want the Revit model, but since they have a full set of .pdfs and .dwgs they will almost certainly never look at it - and even if they do, and have a problem with anything, then they can promptly fuck themselves directly in their own stupid fucking faces. 

Anyway, today some people came by my desk asking about drawing a building in Revit for a proposal so they can oooh/ahh a client with our ability to show them their (fucking barracks) building to them in 3D.

I expressed hesitancy, because while I could probably slap a few walls, a floor, etc. into it - I had a funny feeling that they would try to turn it into a 'can we make X look like Y' or some other type of bullshit (or expect it to be an architecturally sound model).

 'We thought you had Revit skills?!?' was their incredulous response . Yeah, fuckface - *electrical* Revit skills, because I'm a fucking *electrical designer*. It turns out the project manager (an architect by trade - at least when I used to work with him) hates our architect that is a certified Revit bitchboi and would probably ejaculate at the idea of getting to slap a model together.

They were going to check with another guy on our team , whose previous firm had choked down on the Revit dick - but who is kind of a dipshit, and is unlikely to have ever Revited up a building.

Fortunately , it doesn't sound like the Revit aspect is as important as having a 3D picture, so we might be able to get one of our guys who is proficient in Solidworks to shit one out.

It's funny how Revit keeps getting tossed around from time to time , but never by people who know what the fuck it entails, and never actually ends up going anywhere.

In all reality, I hope to never look at it again (never hearing about it again would be fine too).

As always... Fuck Revit, Fuck Autodesk, and just for good measure - fuck you.

Sincerely, 

-SF

Next time: Revit 2027 review whenever they shit out a list of 'new features' or 'improvements'? 😅 

I'd Forgotten Just How Bad Revit Sucks

 Hola Amigos!

 It's been a minute, but I've been dicking around in Revit this morning , so I thought I'd take a moment to reiterate just what a festering sack of donkey balls it really is. 

This particular project is a ridiculously long-term one, and it's a mix of Revit , CAD (and other stuff), but it continously gets revised.

I'll be working along, go to look for a file, realize 'ah fuck, that one's in Revit' then waste time waiting for Revit to open, more time waiting for the file to open, forget what the fuck I was doing, then go to work battling it to get something that would've take a me three seconds in CAD.

Oh -and just to make it even stupider , the model has been kept in the 2018 Revit format (not that they've actually improved anythig in the 7-8 years since).

I needed to make some fairly elaborate updates to some panel schedules - which is where Revit is supposed to shine (OMG - it automatically populates and calculates them, ya'll!!!), but since it would have required tracking down each piece of equipment, updating the loads, the wire sizes, breaker sizes, etc., I decided to say 'fuck it' and export them into CAD where I could make the changes in seconds. 

Actually, I had already exported it to CAD  previously because when we send native files for sheets, it is all CAD anyway - so it only took a minute to change the revision information and get to work. 

For my own amusement, after I finished knocking out the changes, I decided to open the model, move the shitty Revit panel schedules off the sheet and replace them with my stupid linework/text, non-linked, hand calculated ones. It took me a minute to get it tweaked (battling Revit's counterintuitive bullshit every step of the way), but now it's nearly impossible to tell. 

If anyone ever calls me out on it, I'll toss them out a fourth story window (and these windows don't open).

Revit Can Burn. 

Until next we meet ! 

-SF

(Next time: Here we go again...)  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CADtastic 2025 Rundown

Greetings Fellow CAD Holdouts!

I figured it wouldn't be fair to excoriate Revit without holding ACAD to the same standard, but since the software was basically perfected in 2014, I'm not really going to care about 99.9% of what they've done (so long as they don't break anything).

Before we get into it, I had something weird happen last week. I left on Thursday, and everything was working fine, only to come in Friday morning to find that ACAD 2024 had decided to shit itself - receiving a fatal error on launch. I tried rebooting, and it still didn't work. I turned in a trouble ticket to IT (my company doesn't allow any users to do anything to their computers - I can't even delete shortcuts from my desktop without IT's help).

They were like 'huh - that's weird' and asked me the standard IT questions - have you rebooted, do you have sufficient hard drive space, etc. - but couldn't actually figure out a solution. Googling it came up with the option of reinstalling - but my IT guy recommended just going ahead and upgrading to 2025 ACAD. Unfortunately their software installer kept face-planting, and I had work to do - so I pulled up a copy of Plant 3D 2022 that was on my machine for some reason - and after making some tweaks, it worked well enough to do what I needed to do.

I came in this week and 2025 ACAD still hadn't installed, so I kept on with 2022 Plant 3D. I should probably mention that my machine got Windows 11 on it recently - and while that didn't necessarily coincide with my 2024 ACAD issue, it's not impossible that the two are related (of course between Microsoft and Autodesk, there is probably plenty of blame to go around).

Fortunately an IT guy was able to get 2025 loaded today - and I was stunned to see that it successfully imported all of my settings, allowing me to jump right in and start working. Now I'm just waiting for them to figure out how to install 2025 ACAD Electrical - which is giving them fits for some reason. 

But enough of all of that! What's new for 2025 ACAD? 

 I found a pretty comprehensive list on a site called 'TheCadMasters' (i.e. - a bunch of 'dinosaurs' and 'holdouts' that don't have jobs because Revit...).

They start off with (bum bum BUM!!!) 

'UNLEASHING THE POWER OF AUTODESK AI'.

So, that's fucking stupid.

Next is 'Smart Blocks: Redefining Block Management' which seems to be some kind of automation tool (that is guaranteed not to work as advertised - but which does mention 'AI' again, per the new requirements for discussing anything technology related).

And if that's not awesome enough - we have on deck 'Markup Workflows Reimagined' which is great... I guess?

As we dig to the bottom of the barrel, we get 'Enhanced Visualization and Geographic Data Integration' which mentions an improvement to hatching (primarily the ability to define hatch regions manually instead of having to draw something first). I attempted to use it, but everything looked the same. Fortunately I found a video describing how it works - but it only seems to bring up the new options if you select 'hatch' from the ribbon (typing 'hatch' or putting it in the qat inexplicably just brings up the old hatch command) and since fuck the ribbon, I'll probably keep doing it the old... WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE?!? 

Just for funsies, I decided to ask the Autodesk Assistant what the fuck the problem was - and after crafting my query a few different ways, it told me that changing HPDLGMODE from '2' (the default) to '1' would allow me to access the new hatch settings. It was wrong, of course - but setting it to '0' worked!  I told it what I did, and it explained why what I did worked (seemingly ignoring the fact that it was wrong the first time).

I'm not taking back my previous statement regarding AI (especially since Autodesk could've just included a goddamned 'draw' button in the old hatch menu) but I'll acknowledge that it may have some use.

So, where the fuck were we?

'Extend Autocad With API's and 3rd Party Apps' 

It's honestly stunning, and often overlooked just how powerful ACAD is as a piece of software. This made the wholesale Revitard dismissal of it that much more amusing. The sheer number of people customizing it and using it for purposes that I (as  someone who basically just uses it as a drawing tool) can hardly conceive of, is overwhelming.

Obviously people have managed to dig in and force Revit to do things it was never originally intended to do - but I still hold that instead of buying a shitty piece of software and trying to patch it up and limp it along, Autodesk could've simply made their flagship piece of software into a BIM monster if that was the direction they wanted to take the industry.

'Leveraging AutoLISP for Automation'

This is another aspect of ACAD that I've never really taken the time to look into - but I might have to take our little AI buddy out for a spin and see if he can make some suggestions in case there are actually useful tools here.

'Comprehensive Activity Insights' 

This goes into a lot having to do with logging/tracking changes, and other stuff that might have some use to some people, but honestly doesn't really interest me

'Tailored Functionality And Customization With AutoCAD Toolsets'

This goes into industry specific stuff - which, if I can ever get ACAD electrical on my machine (and it doesn't suck) I might do a rundown of. 

'Seamless Collaboration And Connected Design Experience' 

This list is steadily working their way in the direction of 'Bullshit Generation', and again - none of it really interests me - but hey, we've got another functional release of ACAD with one cool new feature (and the potential for Skynet), so I can't complain. 

Unlike Revit, where I sincerely believe they have been reticent to make major improvements to it, as it would be a tacit admission that they've been charging thousands of dollars for a shitty piece of software (figuring it's easier and cheaper to simply indoctrinate a bunch of sad, shitty individuals and have them gaslight the rest of us) - ACAD just keeps doing what it does best - staying the fuck out of my way.

Which is what anyone who doesn't want to get knocked the fuck out needs to do.

Now - if you'll excuse me, I've got an AI to convince not to wipe out the human race (despite some pretty good arguments for the proposition).

As always, fuck this, fuck that, fuck the other thing... Etc. Etc. 

-Skullfuck

(Next Time: Revit Rears It's Ugly Head - Then Face plants) 

Revit Rundown - 2025 Edition

 Well fuck a duck and call me quacky - 2025 Revit is here, and you know what that means...

Not a whole lot.

But hey, as long as we're here, let's take a look!

This Iist is brought to us by some jerkoff Revit loving site called 'BIMSMITH', and even they had trouble making it sound like Autodesk did anything other than rearrange some deck chairs. 

We'll start off with a new version of 'Revit Home' with access to your cloud data...  They claim this 'new home experience brings a consistent, modern, and easier to use homepage that provides a more seamless method of finding models and versions to (laugh) speed up your work flow.

Seriously. It's gonna go downhill from here. 

Next is 'Sheet Collections', which would be a great way for someone with a Mexican accent to describe every version of Revit up to this point.

Then we move on to 'Small Linear Array in Family Editor' - the description of which is 'you can now create small linear arrays that can go down to 1, or (gasp) 0!!!'

Moving on, it's 'Align and Distribute Text Tags and Keynotes', claiming that 'gone are the days of your OCD forcing you to make each adjustment to annotations one-by-one'. Amusing that they can make light of what can be a debilitating mental issue, while also acknowledging that it took until 2025 to be able to align fucking keynotes for fuck's sake. 

And... We're already scraping the bottom of the barrel with the ability to disable/enable wall end wrappings in Canvas. They gave you an *icon* ya'll!!! 

And if that wasn't exciting enough, get a 'load' of this - 'Excavate on Toposolid' is another 'New Feature'. I know of exactly *zero* people who are using Revit to do topography, or who would trust it to calculate volume of excavation.

While we are on the topic of 'new features nobody needs, or asked for' - now you can simplify toposolids too! And don't forget the ability to 'Model By Face Toposolid'!!! And (holy shit!) SMOOTH TOPOSOLIDS!!! (Edit: I just happened to glance back at my 2024 rundown and noticed that 'Simplify Toposolids' was on last years list - with much the same description).

THAT'S FOUR WHOLE NEW FEATURES (out of a list of 20 - otherwise known as 20%) dedicated to MOTHERFUCKING TOPOSOLIDS!!!

It gets more insulting though - because guess what? Now you can use a new rendering engine to 'dramatically improve' the generation of.... (wait for it...) MATERIAL THUMBNAILS!!! 

Then get ready - because you won't have to adjust the width of column dividers every time you open the box because IT REMEMBERS WHAT THE FUCK YOU TOLD IT TO DO NOW!!!

And hold onto your fucking hat, because you can ADD AND DELETE MORE THAN ONE MATERIAL IN THE MATERIAL BROWSER AT A TIME NOW!!!

Now take that hat and eat that fucking thing, because you'll never guess... Oh never fucking mind - it's the ability to have properties (and type properties) in ALPHANUMERICAL ORDER!!!

YES!!! 

BUT THERE'S MORE!!! ROOM PERIMETER ACCURACY IMPROVEMENT!!!

AND

AUTO-JOIN AND LOCK WHEN PLACING WALLS AS A FINISH!!!

Okay, okay, everyone calm the fuck down - oh for fucks sake Jeremy, put your cock back in your pants!!!

Because it's time (cue the kettle drums) for the (cue the smoke machines and laser lights) for the one, the only... (cue sad trombone)... 'New Electrical Feature'... 

Single-Phase within Three-Phase Power Systems

I... Just can't even... 

But no time to dwell on Autodesk's complete disdain for my discipline (I'll throw in a few more from Augi's MEP specific rundown at the end)...

It's time for 'Text Alignment for Multiple Selected Texts'!!! Whaaaa?!?!? 

And just when you thought it couldn't suck any harder - it's 'Dynamo for Revit Updates'!!! That's right folks, *substantial* additions that make it easier to work with linked models, interact with Revit Geometry, and generate topography using our new favorite buzzword 'Toposolid' nodes.

Just in case you lovers of dark themes thought you were getting left out - you no longer have to be 'blinded by the light' (their words) when using schedules.

Funny story... When I first had Revit forcibly inserted into my ocular orifice, one of my biggest complaints was that I was stuck staring at a white screen (changing the background to black wasn't an option because the stupid fucking thing couldn't invert colors), and probably set off my disdain of it from day one. But guess what? 

Now they have 'Automatic Color Conversion for ALL views in Dark Theme!!! And it only took them... A metric fuckton of time to get with the program.

Amusingly, there were two comments on the 'BIMSMITH' page - the first from 'Allex' read 'Autodesk, as usual, did nothing, but called it a new version of Revit...' - and another from 'Michelle that read 'Agreed, it is a very disappointing short list again.'

So, that's it - OR IS IT? 

I decided to swing by Augi (Autodesk's Unbelievably Gullible Inbreeders) to see if they had anything to add, and found an article by Jason Peckovitch who echoed the previous sentiment - calling this release (at the risk of being excoriated by the Revit faithful) 'quite lackluster'.

He repeats the one about single phase electrical components (although neither article goes into any detail as to exactly what this would mean - something that Mr. Peckovitch points out is an issue with many of the 'new feature' descriptions).

Then something about disable mark auto-generation - with a bit at the end about it probably being a good reason not to use Mark and Type Mark parameters, so that's special.

On to 'MEP Parameters' - where the ability has been added to have a 'maximum number of circuits' for data panel schedules (along with Mr Peckovitch's question of whether or not anyone actually uses said schedules).

'Report Low Voltage Panels' is next - with a vague description of what this would consist of.

He mentions that Material Gauge has been added to Fabrication duct work as a read only parameter - which was previously only available for design ductwork - so that's great.

He then does a rundown of general features (because he ran out of MEP specific ones almost immediately.  Some were mentioned before (like sheet collections, and multiple text alignment), but some are new like...

'Background Export to .pdf' - that's right, instead of staring at Revit blankly (i.e. the default Reviteer state) while it grinds out some .pdfs - you can keep 'working'.

He tosses out a quick blurb about 'Autodesk Insight' (requiring the installation of 'Carbon Insights Add-On' in Revit) that has something to do with environmental impact, as well as 'gbXML v7.03 Update' which has to do with importing 3rd party HVAC loads, and then support for five newly supported Horizontal Coordinate Systems, before mentioning Filter Discipline Updates (something to do with new categories from the 2022 release no longer showing up in Visibility/Graphics overrides, or whatever).

With the bottom of the barrel suitably scraped clean, we flip the barrel over and continue with... 

'Extensible Storage Improvements' where he goes on and on about 'schemas' which are data structures created by add-ins in a model or family's extensible storage - which apparently caused conflicts if a vendor recycled the software code and ID in an add-in.

If the above sentence strikes you as something you should have to worry about, you'll be glad to know that in 2025 you can deal with these conflicts better now (apparently Mr Peckovitch ran into issues with this, so I'm sure he's happy that they decided to unfuck it for him).

Further padding out the list is .NET 8 Upgrade (from .NET 4.8l, IFC Export Category Mapping Templates, and 'Improved MEP Fabrication Modeling' - so... Yay? 

If it wasn't already crystal clear, Autodesk has fucked the dog (that's the saying right?) when it comes to Revit. Their paltry lists of 'improvements further solidifying their position on the topic as 'fuck you', and so I bid you, good reader, a fond adieu until 2026.

As always, fuck an Autodesk, fuck a Revit, fuck a 'tard - you probably like it lubed with lard.

Yours, sincerely, et cetera,

-Skullfuck

(Next time: 2025 Autocad?)

Revit and Adobe Can Both Go And Blow Me

Welcome back!

On today's episode, I'm trying to add a tiny bit of text and some revision clouds to a half-dozen drawings that some moron did in Revit. 

I'm in 2018 Revit, since nobody wants to risk updating to a newer version and fucking the entire thing into a hole in the ground (a valid concern).

First I fixed the titleblock because someone didn't know there are two instances of the letter 's' in the term 'sys' (short for system) and was also unaware that we needed at least three slots for system codes).

Then all I needed to do was add the codes, cloud them, update the revision date, and print them out.

It was that last one where I ran into issues, as Revit would just stop working after printing one .pdf. It would allow me to attempt to reprint, but then just sit there indefinitely until I canceled it, closed out of Revit, and re-opened (not exactly a quick process).

::French Accent:: 'Two Hours Later'

Finally I had the drawings I needed, and fortunately the other handful were done in ACAD (by an equally incompetent moron who had pasted the fucking titleblock into paperspace - not even as a block). I had already xref'd in a new titleblock to these sheets, and less than ten minutes later I had added system codes, clouded them, updated the revision dates, and printed them all flawlessly.

Now, I don't know if I can totally blame Revit - because it's entirely possible that the problem stems from a newer Adobe .pdf printer being used on an outdated release of Revit, but who are we kidding here? Both companies suck, so even if there is blame to go around, Revit can still go fuck itself.

After I was done, I opened another project in CAD and was able to completely renumber a wiring diagram in minutes without having to battle a counter-intuitive and intentionally obtuse piece of software, then move on to the next task (also in ACAD).

It's still amazing to me how long ago I was told that I would 'have to use Revit to have a job in this industry', and yet, 15+ years later, at a much better (and higher paying) job, it still isn't true.

As always, fuck Autodesk, fuck Revit, and anyone who doesn't like it, fuck off.

Sincerely,

-Skullfuck

 (Next Time: 2025 All Up In Your Eyesockets! Aw Yeah!!!)

Special Specification

Greetings One And All,

So, today (and on/off for the last week or so) I'm working on gutting and replacing all of the equipment in a control panel. I really don't have a lot of experience with this kind of thing, but I was able to get all of the information I had onto drawings so that I could submit it to my boss and have him start filling in the holes.

The main focus of the panel is a rack with a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) which I have some experience with. I had all the data for the processor and I/O cards, and fortunately the manufacturer had excellent CAD models that I was able to download and assemble.

Normally we would use an Allen-Bradley PLC, but on this project we opted for an inexpensive (but still good quality) brand called 'Automation Direct'. We actually ordered and received the parts, which was fantastic, because each module had a little installation pamphlet, and the cables that plug into the cards had detailed color coding that I was able to associate with inputs/outputs.

I started a Bill of Material (BOM) to include all the PLC components, and then started trying to track down all of the other stuff that was going to be necessary to finish out the panel. The majority of it was pilot lights and switches to go on the front - all (or at least the vast majority) of which is Allen-Bradley (AB).

This is where I ran into some difficulty. The AB catalog I was able to download is garbage, their website is hot garbage, and attempting to Google any of their equipment is a mixed bag of people attempting to sell off their stock of equipment (including tons of used crap, some of which is no longer in production), so you get a fucked up mix of information, ranging from somewhat helpful, to so-so, to totally misleading and/or plain old wrong.

I was able to track down one solution, since a company had a pilot light with no cap listed, and then had each color of cap available. I got concerned though, because there was conflicting information regarding whether the lights had a push-to-test option (including on documentation from AB's parent company 'Rockwell', where it literally said 'push button test' and directly below, said 'does not have push button test'). 

I was getting frustrated at this point, as I also needed to find some very specific switches. I had already set up an account and attempted to get information from Rockwell's technical support chat, only to be told that I needed to contact my local distributor. The problem is, I don't want to talk to my local distributor, because I knew they (and not just them, but any local distributor, regardless of what they sell) would try to attach themselves to the project in a most annoying fashion, especially considering we won't be buying any of it from them.

In fact, if you aren't careful, and they figure out who the client is, industrious distributors have been known to do an end-run, go directly to the client, and try to take control of the design - which they should have fuck-all to do with, because they aren't engineers, weren't part of the bidding/contract process, and by the time they get done 'helping' (all the while reminding you of how 'helpful' they are being) you'll be writing a post exactly like this one bemoaning the mistake of talking to them in the first place.

I should temper this, since there are some actual helpful people out there that know where the line is, and won't cross it without an invitation. They tend to be very knowledgeable about the products they rep, and can be invaluable when trying to solve a problem that requires a unique configuration, or some out-of-the-box thinking.

That said, they are still trying to sell stuff, and also have a penchant for trying to get people on board with the 'latest and greatest', which, as I've mentioned before in the past, a lot of engineers are hesitant to get involved with, because while they may want to be up to date on what the latest and greatest entails, they are trying to get projects designed, built, and then on to the next one without getting stuck trying to unfuck something that worked perfectly fine the 'old way' (or trying to convince a particularly ornery AHJ that 'the new shit' meets all of their requirements.

At any rate, there was no fucking way in hell I was contacting a distributor, so it was back down the Google rabbit hole - until, at last, I hit the motherfucking jackpot. After having hunted high and low for what shouldn't have been that hard to find, I clicked on a link on some vendor's website, and I got a whole goddamned section of a Rockwell/AB technical data sheet catalog.

I was actually mad for a second, because I was trying to get a specific data sheet, and I was like 'for fucks sake' because it was like they had thrown the whole library at me *until* I started to scroll down and it dawned on me that it contained every single fucking thing I needed.

Now, why the fuck this wasn't right there on their website, referred to by their catalog, the first goddamned suggestion the dickless rep who I chatted with gave me, etc. - I'll never fucking know, but all of a sudden I found myself swimming in *actual information* on every component I had been searching for! I was able to quickly find cut sheets that listed off every single configuration and option (including some that I never would've even thought to search for)! 

There, on one sheet, was the pilot light, with push-to-test as an option, a rainbow of colors (including clear, which, for some fucking reason, didn't appear anywhere in their catalog (except for in a description of the materials used, which made it that much more frustrating), voltage options (including transformer options), lamp options (incandescent/LED), terminal guard options, contact block options... it just went on and on!!!

On another sheet was a three-way keyed switch, all of it's options arrayed in glorious fashion. I was able to specify key removal positions, terminal guards (again), key options, cam options, contact blocks... just... just... FUCK YEAH!!! I was even able to confirm 100% that all of it was properly rated for the field conditions the panel needed to have.

I was able to track down a two-position switch, e-stop buttons, a momentary switch, relays, and more (one of the relays took an extra couple of minutes because they were trying to sell them in bulk (lots of 100, and I only needed like 10) - got it all on the BOM, got my bosses approval, and he sent it off to the client for his approval.

I had been out of (or at least only adjacent to) this industry for nearly a decade, and while the (re)learning curve has been steep, it was nice to have an opportunity to prove that I understand at least some of what I'm involved in now (even if other aspects are going to take some time).

Now it's time to write a 'less-than-glowing' review of the chat rep, and a 'wtf?' letter to the doofy motherfuckers at AB... ::leans back, cracks knuckles, presses 'caps lock'::

'DEAR MOTHERFUCKERS,' 

Until next we meet. Fuck Revit, fuck unorganized unhelpful and pointlessly obstinate manufacturers, and if you don't like it, that's... just like... your opinion man... (oh, and fuck you)

Next Time: Shitty Software is Shitty 

Architects Ain't Shit But Hoes and Tricks

 Greetings on this glorious day!

So, it's been busy as fuck over here. I didn't even realize I had passed the six month mark at my new job.

It's been incredible working with teams of engineers to take on projects of a scope and complexity I had never imagined being involved in before... and then there are the architects.

The last time I was doing electrical design work was for the Architectural/Engineering firm that took the Revit deep dive (and prompted me to start this blog) - and while structural and mechanical got on board, it was definitely the architects running the show (despite both the president and CEO of the company being engineers).

At my current firm, engineers reign supreme. Electrical, mechanical, chemical, etc. etc. - and it's the difference between night and day. There's still been a push by some of their clients to get a-bimmin, but it's been middle fingers all the way down... and (again) there are the architects.

We employ a small handful of these guys to handle the few times we need to be responsible for some aspect of a building/structure. One of them actually worked at that A&E firm, but he's one of the exceptions to the title of this post (plus he put in a good word for me when I was applying for this job - and the project I'm currently working on with him is 100% ACAD).

And then there are the jokers that were involved in this massive demolition project that I just finished.

We spent several weeks developing our set of isolation drawings, including on-site visits, rounds of comments, in-person discussions with the people running the project. The newest drawings they had ranged from 'old' to 'ancient' - and weren't exactly 'accurate'. 

Throughout the course of the project, we basically had to design the entire system - which consisted of a large switchyard, towers, poles, and a few buildings (all with systems routed through the area that needed to be preserved - but which had never been identified or documented).

The *day* we were supposed to submit our final drawings, we happened to notice that the Architect(s) responsible for providing three lousy sheets of details (as compared to our set of nearly one hundred) had not taken into account several items that they needed to show on their drawings (and which they promised on multiple occasions would be addressed).

They had spent an inordinate amount of time modeling three buildings in Revit - two of which were being demolished (including one that they lovingly detailed out various tanks and supports that were also going bye bye) - but had left important details out. They were able to rush and slap a (terrible) looking set out, (while acting affronted that they had to do it).

Fast forward a couple of weeks, and our final deliverable was our 'Native Files' - but (because the client, a government entity, are idiots) needed to be in Microstation. Technically we were supposed to use it to develop the set, but everyone (Revitards included) were like 'fuck that!'.

Apparently my firm was used to exporting stuff out to Microstation (which I honestly don't know if the client ever actually looks at), but this project was unique, in that it had an inordinate amount of linked images and .pdfs - and as it turns out, Microstation ain't so great when it comes to preserving relative links, and falls directly down on its face depending on how the original files were developed (but, in its defense, it also does a terrible job of translating lineweights and other aspects of linework, hatching, etc.)

I was able to beat my set into shape, but it required reattaching dozens of files before exporting (mainly .pdfs - which it couldn't seem to bring over if they were in model space) and then fixing countless links that were still pointing to full paths (despite being relative in the .dwg. 

I was able to export some directly from ACAD, but others I had to open in Microstation and then export (to itself). There was very little information online to assist me in this task (apparently some of the things I was doing manually could be automated with bits of code, etc. - but I was disinclined to figure it out - especially considering it's unlikely to come up, at least at this scale) in the future.

It has options for packaging files for transmittal, which is probably fine for files developed within Microstation, but I can guarantee the result would've been comical for imported files.

Anyway, I finally get mine ready, civil engineer gets his ready... and then there were the architects.

I get an email from one of them trying to pretend their files have been ready, despite not being in the folder they belonged in (then he asked where they needed to be - in response to the same email that informed everyone where to put their files). 

Even after pointing this out, they continued to put their files in the wrong place - then I tried opening one of them - only to find out they hadn't even tried to fix their links. The guy was like 'it all shows up right to me', and I had to break it to him that it was because he has *access to our server*. It didn't even work on mine because his drives were mapped to different letters.

Attempting to fix his links, most were grayed out and incapable of being changed (possibly due to having been exported from Revit. I actually opened Revit, attached a .pdf and a .png, and was stunned to find out that 'absolute' is the only path option for both. Again, there is probably a way to package for transmittal from within Revit (but no help if you are exporting). What the fuck Revit?

He kept at it for a few days (having to be prompted to communicate his progress) and finally today he was able to show me his screen where the file comes up correctly, has proper links (but still won't open correctly on mine). I said 'fuck it' and we're just going to send it.

All of the files were included, so if the client has some. Microstation whiz kid, they can fuck with it.

As far as these architects, they can stick Revit up their asses. I've heard from co-workers that they share the same superiority complex that I've come to expect from the Revit crowd (and architects were bad enough already). On one project, they had shown a roof at the wrong level - when it was pointed out, the architect smarmily said 'oh - I can fix that in seconds.... in Revit'.

What he failed to understand was that his fuckup meant that several things that had been carefully coordinated were now fucked up as well. I've mentioned this 'bull in a chinashop' mentality that the simplicity with which someone can rearrange (necessarily or unnecessarily) things in Revit leads to people not stopping and asking whether or not they *should* make a change (or how they go about it).

Add to this, the fact that when you are working in Revit, it has no way of informing you that these changes are being made until the next time you save to central, and find out you just blew a whole morning because somebody decided to move things in such a way that 'the magic of Revit' didn't just automatically make everything work perfectly.

It's been amusing being back in this industry, and seeing that the Revit prophets that said everyone would be using it (or be out of a job) continue to be shown as hacks. Now, just as then, results are what matters - not software, not some 'mindset', not some 'club' for joiners to join - results.

And from what I've seen, and continue to see - the results you get from Revit (and its cheerleaders) are total, 100%, unadulterated, dogshit.

Fuck Revit.

That is all for now. If you don't like it - consume mass quantities of phallus.

-SF

Next time: Spec'ing Electrical Shit

Autodesk Loses Its F**king Mind

Just a quick one to get this out of my head.

So I was half asleep the other morning and overheard someone talking about the Autodesk University (AU) 2023 Keynote Speaker being Ryan Reynolds.

Now, I have nothing against Mr. Reynolds - his performance as Deadpool/Wade Wilson was absolutely hilarious - but what does an actor have to do with a software company like Autodesk?

While attempting to get to the bottom of this, I ran across this drug trip from earlier this year:

https://youtu.be/h2nrvx2ZrqQ?si=bYUxfzbNnpRntEur

In this short (apparently from the Oscars? IDGAF) we hear about a Hollywood visionary being hailed by various actors (and a voice-over) who goes by the name of 'Otto Descinski' (or 'Otto Desc' for short... get it? It sounds like Autodesk... Get it?)

Apparently this was an attempt by Autodesk to 'humanize' the company (while also humblegbragging about how their software is used in VFX (not sure what percentage if VFX is done with with Autodesk software, but Maya does seem to show up in a lot of VFX toolboxes).

My only hope is that their development team(s) had more on the ball than the bozo dumbfucks that shat out (and continue to drizzle diarrhea over) Revit. 

But back to Ryan Reynolds. Yes, his sarcastic wit makes for a great Deadpool (not to mention his commercials for Mint Mobile), but wtf?

I'm sure whatever wanktastic bunch of wanking wankers who actually attend AU's presentation will get to have a few laughs before they go back to wanking wanktastically.

It's just fucking weird.

Fuck Autodesk - that is all.

-Skullfuck

Next Time: Flip the script. 

2024 Shut The Fuckin' Door

Well damn!

I'm working yesterday and Revit 2024 magically starts loading on my machine. I wouldn't care, since my hard drive is massive, but it required a reboot, so I had to save out of everything, then get back into it.

So, now I have Revit 2018, 2022, AND 2024 - but as of now (and hopefully for all time) I don't actually have any Revit projects on deck. I overheard one of my younger co-workers telling someone over the phone that he had never used Revit, and it literally brought a tear to my eye how beautiful that statement was.

But enough of my sentimental bullshit, it's gonna be 2024 soon - so Autodesk had to spread their sizable buttcheeks, bend down, grunt, and spray yet another release of Revit diarrhea onto the faces of those willingly (or unwillingly) in the blast radius.

And you know what else that means? That's right - time to do a run down of 'Whats New' in the software that was already supposed to be perfect in every way, and how dare you suggest any different? All of these 'improvements' were obviously pre-existent, and Autodesk is just now deeming you worthless peons to be informed about them!

All right - get ready, because this is actually an extremely long list - skip to the end if you want to see the sad electrical improvements (honestly the only thing I would care about, were I actually using the software).

Here's a link if you are into that kind of thing:

https://help.autodesk.com/view/RVT/2024/ENU/?guid=GUID-C81929D7-02CB-4BF7-A637-9B98EC9EB38B

1) Export Fill Patterns

That's right kids! Now you can export drafting AND model patterns to a PAT file (whatever the fuck that is).

2) Simplify Topography (CI) 

This was a 'community idea' ("CI" from here on) - so that Autodesk can pretend to be listening to users (or at least those it has deemed sufficiently devout that they wouldn't ask for anything that might draw attention to the massive flaws still inherent to Revit).

So - this apparently allows the user to reduce the number of points used to generate toposolid elements (considering that I've never seen a Revitard give two fucks about the reality of the site the building they are modeling will sit on, I can't imagine this will affect many users).

3) Shape Editing: Split Line Enhancement

This just appears to be tweaks to a tool that allows you to take one element and break it in half to allow you to adjust each piece independently. I'm sure that comes up... sometimes?

4) Visual Styles in Type Preview

Literally just adds a button to let you change the visual style of the preview - for... reasons?

5) Automatic Tag Placement for Multi-Rebar Annotations

Speedin' up that annotatin' (because that's why Revit projects take forever to complete).

6) Intuitive Rebar Segment Length Editing

Let's you type rebar lengths directly in 2D/3D views... That's it. (I guess we're already padding this list out).

7) Split with Gap for Structural Framing and Columns

Okay - this is one that I could see people wanting. A regular split could result in difficulty selecting one element or the other (as the end points coincide). Plus, if you already know the gap width, you don't have to sit there and adjust both elements afterwards. 

8) Structural Section Shape Parameters in Tags

Well. I can die happy now. 

9) Trim or Extend Structural Analytical Members

I'll trim your Structural Analytical Member, motherfucker.

10) Split Structural Analytical Members

I'll split your... Oh never fucking mind.

11) Dynamo Updates 2.18

I spent a few minutes glancing at whatever the fuck this thing is - apparently it allows you to use BIM data to make graphs and shit (and users call themselves 'Dynamites', so that's retarded) It also apparently lets you use Python for data analysis, etc. what's amusing is - it doesn't seem to be an Autodesk product, so including it in this list is... um... NOT A REVIT UPDATE. 

12) Project Browser Navigation Enhancements

Apparently now you can hit ctrl+scroll to zoom the contents of the project broswer. Whoop-dee-fucking-doo.

13) Apply Area Rules is Remembered

(Pouring out some of my 40oz for Apply Area Rules) 

14) Change Text Alignments for Multiple Selected Elements (CI) 

That's cool, I guess. I'm used to just fixing one and matching properties to the rest.

15) Warnings for View Deletions in Workshard (sic) Models

What amused me (besides the misspelling of 'shared') was the fact that the heading for this item got cut off - not unlike how various elements like to disappear in Revit due to the sheer volume of view range settings (currently more numerous than the number of alternate dimensions - of which only three actually contain Revit as a thing).

16) Toposolids (CI) 

You heard earlier how you could reduce the number of points used to generate one? Well now they are a thing in Revit too!

17) Revit Dark Theme (CI) 

Okay - I'm 100% on board with this one. From day one, I was like 'how the fuck am I going to stare at this glaring white screen all day long (apparently one good way was to have Revit dicks in both of your eye sockets). Attempting to change my background to black would cause issues with black lines not showing up (because it wasn't smart enough to invert the colors). Oh - and you can have a dark theme too. Very goth. 

18) Align Surface Patterns (CI) 

Okay - another halfway decent idea. The closest I come to this is hatching, which often refuses to work the way I want it to (resulting in me *manually hatching* shit so I have absolute control over it. Credit where credit is due, I guess. 

19) Cut Geometry Enhancements (CI)

Lets you cut stuff - like your own wrists after you try to do a project in Revit.

20) Search in Project Browser (CI)

Just... Wow. 

21) Schedule Revision Clouds (CI) 

I'll give them credit for this one (assuming it actually works). Keeping track of what changes were made, when, why, and by who, can be a constant struggle.

22) Link Coordination Models (CI) 

Ah coordination - you know, that thing that happens when people stop expecting software to magically do their fucking job for them, and actually coordinate with other disciplines. 

23) Snap Points for Coordination Models (CI) 

Gotta have them snap points, I guess. (The padding continues - this could've been part of #22)

24) More Path Alignment Options for Free Form Rebar

Probably to facilitate these amorphous blobs that Autodesk likes to show on Revit splash-screens as if 99.9999% of users will ever do anything like that (except maybe while jerking themselves off). 

25) Bar Bending Details on Reinforcement Drawings (CI)

Someone's been spending a lot of time at the bar.

26) Bar Bending Details in Schedules (CI)

Again with the padding, Jesus H. Christ.

27) Custom Physical-Analytical Element Association

More wankery.

28)  Enhanced Analytical Loads

Wank wank wank. 

29) Detailed Results Report for Connection Automation Rules

Seriously, how did we ever build buildings before this thing came along? 

30) Flow and Pressure Calculations for MEP Fabrication Parts

Finally, something MEP related... Oh wait, morons think that the 'E' in MEP is just another aspect of mechanical design (which could explain why the Electrical Portion of Revit gets so little in the way of new features/improvement. 

31) Create Energy Analytical Model by Elements in a 3D view

All right! Energy! Oh wait... More MP wankery

32) Insight Tech Preview

Getting an early start on the carbon footprint of your building - not that the vast majority of customers give a flying fuck (especially if it involves extra cost on the front end). 

33) Cloud Model Collaboration Cache Management (CI)

Can't be a complete list of Revit updates without some mention of 'The Cloud' (The Cloud, of course, being the haze around a Revit developer's head after they exhale a hearty dose of crackpipe smoke). I guess I should just be happy they didn't start babbling about 'AI'. 

34) Textures Visual Style

Gotta make that massive waste of modeling time look pretty, now. 

35) Draw Order Improvements

Ah yes, Draw Order. The one thing that was holding Revit back all these years... 

36) Access Coordination Model Object Properties

More padding - see #22 and 23

37) Color Books Dialog

I swear I thought this said 'coloring books' the first time I read it, because thats definitely on the level of Revit developers. 

38) My Insights on Revit Home

We've determined you aren't Reviting enough...

Seriously - this is supposed to give you insights and suggestions on how to Revit better (begging the question of how much information about your projects Autodesk is tracking).

39) User Interface Modernization (CI) 

New. Fucking. Icons. 

That's it. New fucking icons.

40) New Sample Model and Project Templates

Oh, for fucks sake, people.

41) Revit to Twinmotion Enhancements

Another non-Autodesk product in a list of Revit updates - oh, but wait, now there's an 'auto sync' option in a drop-down menu. Just... Sad. 

42) Dynamo Player

A repeat of #11. Pad Pad Pad

43) Patterns and Colors for Structural Area Loads

You can't hear colors, but now you can visualize loads. 

44) Improved Steel Connection SDK Documentation

We gave you new API's for your SDK's now sit down and STFU. 

45) Run Solar Studies with Seconds (CI) 

They literally made it to where you can break your Solar Study down to the second. Sigh... 

46) Access Sun Settings from the Ribbon (CI) 

Great - another thing on the fucking ribbon. 

47) Sun Path in Perspective Views (CI)

Gotta get in as many entries as we can about Sun Path (did you know about Sun Path?)

48) Toggle Stirrup Orientation for Free Form Rebar Alignment

Giddy-up. Also should've been part of #24 (pad) 

49) Resize All Rows in Schedules Placed on Sheets

You mean like my spreadsheets have been able to do since the beginning of time? (Of course they aren't talking about panel schedules - although this might apply to lighting fixture schedules (although I wouldn't bet on it). 

50) Open Sheet Directly from Drawing Area

The padding.... It burns!!! 

51) Place Multiple Views and Schedules

It's like having molten metal poured right into my eyes! 

52) Additional Resizable Dialogs

What kind of loving god would allow this? 

53) Sort Project Parameters

Sorts Project Parameters ALPHABETICALLY YA'LL!!! HOLY FUCK!!! 

54) Scope Box Height Parameter

Set the height of a scope box AFTER IT'S PLACED!!! HALLE-FUCKING-LUJAH!!! 

55) Demand Loads and Demand Factors for Electrical Analytical Components

Wha..?!? Finally something for electrical?!? That's fucking crazy!!! Oh wait, this is only for determining preliminary loads. Just... Fuck Off.

56) Define Loads Sets for Non-Coincident loads 

Now this actually sounds like a new electrical feature, (albeit one that needed to be in the software from day one). It allows you to properly size panels/feeders properly - primarily related to HVAC load, i.e. electrical a/c if there is gas heat, or electric heat if there is no gas. 

57) MEP Fabrication Duct Stiffeners

Well, that's the end of electrical 'improvements'.

58) Network Based Calculations for Design Ductwork

Yep.

59) Maintain Annotation Orientation Added to Air Terminals

Wow.

And that's all folks! Yet another padded out list, insulting to electrical (although plumbing didn't even get a mention). All these structural improvements (the vast majority), despite the fact that structural was way further along even way back when my old firm adopted Revit. 

Honestly, after reading the descriptions (and even after doing additional research into them) I couldn't tell what some of these items were even fucking talking about. It's a rabbit hole that I'm not remotely interested in going down - but it's apparently what people who have managed to save just, like, so much time ya'll, by using Revit fill their days doing now (or, more likely, spend all their time wanking about instead of developing functional legible floor plans and details).

It's par for the course.

As always, fuck Revit, fuck Autodesk, fuck the Revit community (and their stupid requests), and if you don't like it - FUCK YOU.

Yours Truly,

-SKuLLFuCK

Next Time: Ryan Reynolds?

BIM Keeps On Slippin'

Hola Muchachos y Muchachas!

This mierda just keeps getting better.

So it took me a few days to get all of the software I needed on my machine - each package had to be requested and approved, then (theoretically) it would get installed. Some (like ACAD) worked flawlessly, while others required contacting my companies helpdesk, and having it pushed to my computer (after multiple requests failed).

Since ACAD was the only one I needed (and/or wanted) I wasn't worried that much, and I knew that eventually it would get worked out, I didn't let it bother me, and my patience (combined with a bit of coaxing on my part) was rewarded.

Now I have ACAD, ACAD Plant 3D, Microstation, Revit (both 2018 and 2022 since the piece of shit isn't backwards compatible), Acuity Visual, Adobe Acrobat, and Office 365. I also got an IP phone that runs on my desktop that is pretty cute (I can request a hardware phone, but honestly I don't really need one).

My new office makes extensive use of Teams (starting with my interview). I had never used it before, but it has already proven to be highly effective for communicating with co-workers (both in and out of the office), allows me to share my desktop with the engineer (or vice versa), meetings, and organizing projects.

They provided me with a high quality USB noise canceling headset (which makes a hardware phone redundant), and I was impressed how it automatically worked with the applications it was suited for (Teams/Phone), while my earbuds work for all other audio.

The companies Intranet seems to want to run on Edge (which I'm not a big fan of - but I can make it dedicated to that one task), and I installed Firefox (my favorite) and Chrome (just for good measure). I like having multiple browsers in case one decides to take a shit, or someone who didn't know how to test their website on the most common browsers results in HAVING to open their page in a specific one.

Anyway, I was confused when I went to find the Microstation software that I thought I would be using. Years ago one of my old firms had brought in a Bentley representative to show us their BIM electrical design solution - which I've talked about before. When I couldn't find it, I went looking in the Internet, and finally located it again.

They call it 'Promis.e', and in between when I was exposed to it and now, it doesn't appear to have taken off in any kind of noticeable way. A license for it was almost $4300, so I wasn't really inclined to request it (although there is a way for me to request software).

I was puzzling over what it was that projects with a Microstation deliverable would actually consist of - and after speaking to some of my co-workers, was pleased to find out that it didn't involve any kind of BIM, or 3D drawings of any kind, and would literally be the exact same as if the project were being done in ACAD.

One project that a younger designer had been working on, they were simply doing in ACAD with the eventual plan to dump them into Microstation when we were required to turn over our native files. The sheer number of fucks not given put a huge smile on my face.

When I look back on my experience with Revit, it makes me wonder why I didn't just let the retards suck their own dicks while I did whatever I wanted to (well, I did do that, but in retrospect I could've done it while pretending to be on board).

I had no (well, a few) problems populating shitty Revit models with 3D elements like lights, panels, etc. - but (as I've mentioned countless times) the next step was to dump everything into ACAD and doing it my way (cue Sinatra). 

On one occasion, I had a pain in the ass architect come crying because he found out that I was giving Revit the middle finger, and they gave me an ultimatum that I had one week to get to Reviting (the fear was that the client, who I can guarantee couldn't give two shits, would 'find out' that my drawings weren't Revit enough.

Instead, I came in for a few hours on a Saturday and dumped all my linework into Revit, made a few tweaks, and first thing Monday morning - handed him a fully 'Revitized' (as far as he was concerned) set of drawings (in glorious 2D .pdf).

I could've basically done this for every project, and nobody would've been the wiser, but I think it had a lot to do with an unwillingness to cave in the face of idiots telling me to waste my time jumping in the Revit nutsack grinder than anything else.

Fast forward to now. I realize 'holy shit - they just want to use Microstation as drafting software' and I decide to jump in with both feet and... Holy fuck, is Microstation an unintuitive p.o.s.

Combine this with a glaring lack of online resources for it (at least when compared to ACAD), and buddy - you are pretty much on your own... 

***BUT***

This company is willing to pay me a small fuckload of money to do this job, and Microstation is going to be a reality going forward, so I put my game face on.

Now, most software packages out of the box (ACAD included) are really not ready to go until you go through and configure them, so I figured I would start there. 

Apparently Microstation's default units is millimeters, but to be fair, ACAD's is 'absolute units' (but by simply typing 'units' and changing it to architectural, bang - you are in feet/inches for data entry, measurements, and dimensioning).

In Microstation, you have to go to several different (and disparate) places, and change several things that I don't think anyone would ever intuitively think to change. I managed to get it into standard units, but dimensions were displaying decimal instead of fractions. 

Some more scouring the Internet and trying various combinations of settings finally convinced it to display feet and inches, show ' for feet and " for inches (instead of ft and in) display fractions of an inch, stack those fractions, and set the tolerance (to prevent getting 365/2864ths etc.)

The one advantage of this clusterfuck operation was that it actually started familiarizing me with all of the different places where settings could be changed. With a few more adjustments I was ready to dive in and try to draw something.

I decided to try duplicating a schematic I was updating in ACAD - and despite a lot of stumbling around (mostly related to muscle memory), I was able to spit out an exact copy of a fairly complex detail.

I had to pat myself on the back for that, because (at least based on what I had read online) it generally takes months (with tutelage) for someone to get to where they can use Microstation - and, in fact, most mentioned that it would actually be better if you hadn't used ACAD.

Obviously those are generalizations, and I'm sure I have a lot more to learn before I would consider myself 'proficient', but I'd say within a month or two of using it, I could be cranking out drawings as (or nearly as) fast as I can in ACAD.

My first order of business, however, will be seeing if I can't bridge the gap between the two software packages. First - because of the project that I mentioned earlier that's going to require importing into Microstation, and second - because it might be good for future projects with a Microstation deliverable to simply be done in it to begin with. 

A few keyboard shortcut updates would probably bring Microstation a lot closer to ACAD's user-friendliness, but there may be things that it will dictate (I regularly got the feeling while using it, that the developers would look at how ACAD does something, and purposefully make it different, just for the sake of it not being how ACAD does it). 

I'm actually willing to be open to the idea that some of these differences may have actually represent improvements over how ACAD has traditionally done it (a common claim among Microstation afficionados - who, while some across a tad smug, don't even come close to the egotistical jackasses dubbing themselves 'Revit Gurus'). 

I read several testimonials to the effect of "omg, ya'll - I used to have to write lisp routines in ACAD to do things that are built into Microstation, it's so much faster that I'm actually done before I start!" (sarcasm my own), but even those weren't accompanied by the type of disdain I had heard expressed towards 'ACAD holdouts'.

Speaking of which, bitch - guess what's still around? That's right - ACAD.

It was supposed to go the way of the Dodo, but over a decade later, I wander into a random engineering office, and it's still the gold standard for people who have massive projects to get out on time and on (or under) budget.

In less than the two weeks I've been here, we've already won several more huge projects - on top of several that were already in the pipe and more just starting up. Only *one* of the existing projects has a Revit component (probably some idiot who got convinced by a Revit Dick Socket that it was the way to go).

Hopefully that's the last one. The death rattle of a useless clusterfuck of epic proportions.

As always, fuck Revit, fuck 'Revit Gurus' - you self-important, narcissistic, dick rags, and if you don't like it... FUCK YOU.

Sincesquarely,

-Skullfuck

Next Time: Another Year, Another List of Useless Bullshit. 

My God... It's Full Of CAD...

Yo!

Day three of the new gig - and it's fucking awesome so far!

I've been handed two projects to work on - and what do you know? I'm doing every goddamned bit of it in ACAD! 

Not doing an end run around the BIM-tards mind you - we're doing the design for these projects, and so we're going the most productive route that results in the most profit (with a side-effect being that our drawings don't look like unwashed assholes, and aren't riddled with errors as we desperately try to force p.o.s. software to do what we want it to).

I'm sure I'll eventually run up against a project that has BIM deliverables, but by putting the bare minimum of 3D elements into the model, and doing everything else the *right* way, I'll make sure to guarantee projects get completed on-time and on (or under) budget.

In the case of Microstation projects, I'll have the benefit of being able to use 'Visual' (the lighting program I've always used to design lighting) and have it populate the model with lights. In the case of Revit, it can literally go fuck itself, and I'll wrangle it as needed (and figure out 'workarounds' for everything else).

If I ever need to feel better about putting myself in the position where some Revit Dick Socket might fuck up my work flow (which kept threatening to raise its head at my previous job anyway) all I'll need to do is glance at my paycheck, and it shouldn't be a problem. 

I honestly do get the desire to have (and benefits of having) a 3D model of a project, but to reiterate for the millionth time - you are going to build the fucking thing in reality, and regardless of how much 'coordination' you try to do ahead of time, when you actually start building it, a lot of that careful planning is guaranteed to go straight to shit, resulting in the same scrambling to figure out solutions on the fly. 

THEN you get the added 'bonus' of having to try to integrate 'as-built' conditions into your model (generally based on some scribbled bullshit that various disciplines wrote on whatever piece of paper they had laying around) - which I'm sure some Revitard thought would be a way to make more money as they included 'as-built modeling' in their bid.

As I said, my co-workers all seem to have a negative view of the 'Revit-lution' and 'BIM' in general (even the younger generation), so I won't have to worry about being viewed as a 'hold out' (read: guy who just wants to get shit done some time this decade). 

I don't know how long I'll be at this job, but if this first couple of days is any indication, I'll be in it for the long run! 

In closing - Revit/Revitards can eat a bag of dicks.

-SkullFuck

Next Time: Rev-who? 

Movin' On Up!!!

Greetings Fucktards and Fucktardettes!

So, a few weeks ago, I get a call from one of these 'talent' places that I regularly get calls and emails from - mostly offering me jobs based on keyword matches between the job listing and my resume (whether or not they actually line up in reality).

Even the jobs that I am qualified for are generally in other places that I'm not interested in relocating to, require extensive travel, or are with sketchy companies that I'm not about to hitch my wagon to as they crash and burn.

The first job they offered me was not a complete mismatch, but was more of an industrial engineering type of position. I turned it down, but after a quick discussion of what I have been doing for the last two decades they informed me they may have something that would be a better fit.

I was surprised when they actually presented me with a position that was not only in my wheelhouse, but would also be a return to my electrical design roots. I didn't take it terribly seriously at first - but then they started talking numbers and it made my head snap up.

Fast forward a few days and they had me set up for a 'Teams' interview that was technically supposed to be a preliminary interview to see if they wanted me to come in person. I was still only taking it half-seriously, as I was very comfortable at my current job.

I've always loved interviewing for jobs when I already have a job, and that morning I had gone to work early, taken off to do a yoga class, then parked my car near my office - switching into a dress shirt, tie, and suit jacket (to look my best) - while wearing a pair of jeans and old vans below the camera view.

The interview went spectacularly well, with the engineer, his right hand man, and a representative from the 'talent' place sitting in. It was a light-hearted affair, mostly discussing projects (successes and failures), and with me asking how they keep their clients under control, avoid 'scope creep' etc.

I was impressed, and started taking them much more seriously (I had also done some research into the company, and was stunned by the range of projects that they worked on). Apparently I also impressed them, as they basically offered me the job that day, offering an on-site interview as a formality only.

They asked when I could start, so I told them I would probably do a two-week notice with my current employer. My head was spinning, because I had become quite comfortable in my current position (the downside, ironically, being that I had become maybe a little *too* comfortable at my current position).

The promise of a massive increase in pay was enticing, but I was worried about a consequent increase in stress, and I didn't want to end up back in the type of grind I had gotten into before. One notable difference being that this would be working for an engineering firm, and not for an engineer at an architectural firm.

I sat down and made a list of pros/cons of staying at my current job, and a list of pros/cons of taking the new job - and finally made the decision to take their offer. I knew my current job would make some attempt to keep me - and holy fuck, did they ever.

Their counter offer was *massive*, just barely less than what the new job was offering, but I knew that it would be the last raise I would see for a while, and I was having to twist their arm to get it - whereas the new job didn't even blink when I asked for the going rate for a senior designer (plus the possibility of overtime - AND since it is a contract to hire, I'll most likely get what they are paying the 'talent' company after the year contract is ended and I go to work directly for the new firm). 

I broke the news that I couldn't pass up this opportunity, hoping that I wasn't making a huge mistake, and worked my two-weeks, knocking out a handful of projects, and wrapping up pretty much everything, ending a nearly nine year run with that firm. 

There was a little snag with getting the new contract started, but I convinced them to reimburse me over the next few checks (giving me a few days to relax), and had my official first first day today. The environment is quite a bit different, going from a private office to an open layout - but it is very relaxed. The engineer is laid back, and my new co-workers all seem to be pretty chill.

They only have one project using Revit, and their attitude towards it is pretty much the same as mine (that it is slow as fuck and sucks ass). Most of their clients prefer Bentley Microstation (which can also be slow and might suck a bit). Fortunately it sounds like they try to do as little modeling as possible, and stick to schematics (meaning ACAD will still be a mainstay - even if we end up dumping linework into a BIM file).

The biggest difference going into this phase of my career, is that I will 1) Be getting paid enough to give a fuck, and 2) Not be getting the 'bait and switch' I got from the firm I worked for that decided one day that everyone's eye sockets would suddenly become Revit dick receptacles. 

We'll see how it goes. 

In the meantime, fuck Revit, fuck 'BIM', fuck the people who worked tirelessly to make it a requirement for projects that gain nothing from using it, and (as always) if you don't like it - FUCK YOU.

Sincerely, 

-The Kinder and Gentler Skullfuck (for now). 

Next Time: ACAD all the way down! 

ACAD 2014 - We Hardly Knew Ye...

Well, Fuck.

I got the phone call today letting me know that I could no longer use my stand-alone copy of ACAD 2014.

My company recently merged with another company, and it came time to renew our ACAD licenses (which I didn't have to use, because 'stand-alone').

I requested to be left the fuck alone, because I had what I consider to be pinnacle of ACAD, since nothing beneficial had been added in the interim (I think I've done at least one post regarding this), and the only things that had been changed were the equivalent of rearranging deck chairs (mostly trying to make it look like Autodesk's other shitty 'flagship' pieces of software).

 Unfortunately, I was told that ACAD 2014 was apparently vulnerable to some kind of RAM overflow exploit that hackers can use to cover their tracks (sounds highly implausible, and hasn't happened in the eight years I've been here, but hey).

This meant I had to install ACAD 2024!  Yay!

It looks like shit.

It runs like shit.

I noticed as I was tearfully uninstalling 2014, that the entire goddamned thing was less than 400MB (That's MEGABYTES), and 2024 is 3-1/2 GIG (for no perceptible reason other than 'why not make bloatware?')

I was impressed that it was able to import most (if not all) of my settings - and the one good thing I can say about Autodesk (or at least their Autocad Devs) is that they tend to make things forward/backward compatible as much as possible.

I had been having to rely on  'TrueView' to be able to convert newer .dwg files back to a version I could use on 2014, so that's no longer going to be an issue.

Fortunately I'm not up against any deadlines, so I will have some time to fiddle around with the settings to try to strip this baby down to the bare minimum, and (if at all possible) get it looking and running as much like 2014 as possible.

Of course, I will now be beholden to the license server always working properly to keep from being locked out of the goddamned software I need to do my job, and that sucks.  I've probably ranted at length before about how you no longer own software (which is bullshit) but apparently that's 'just the way it is' now (because people got down on their knees and sucked the dick of the subscription model).

I can foresee a day in the near future where I am up against a deadline on a massive project, only to come in to work and 'derp'.  Hopefully that day never comes, and color me cynical, but I don't have any trust whatsoever when it comes to people who aren't me, and don't have any skin in the game when it comes to me being able to do my fucking job.

I think that's been the through-line of this entire blog from the beginning.  Stop fucking with my ability to do my goddamned job.

Stop trying to redefine what my job entails - especially when you don't have the first clue what the fuck my job even is, and couldn't do it, even if I held a gun to your  head.

And even if you do know what my job is, and think you've found a better way to do it - you can tell me about it, and while I promise I will  try to assess it with an open mind, if I don't immediately see how it will improve my workflow, and get even a whiff of it hindering my ability to crank shit out - I'm going to tell you to go fuck yourself.

Again, if you think it's helping you - and you've got the work product to show it, then more power to you - but I implore you, for the sake of keeping all of the pieces of your face intact, I suggest you take my suggestion to fuck off to heart, and FUCK OFF.

Well, I'm off to see if I can't make some improvements - and curse at Autodesk if I find that they've hardcoded any retardation into this thing (not that I wasn't going to curse Autodesk anyways).

I guess I should just be happy it's not Revit... 

Because Fuck Revit, Fuck Autodesk, and (as always) if you don't like it - FUCK YOU.

-SkullFuck Rel. 2023 V5.24

 Next Time: Well Holy Shit Ya'll... 

Ayyyy!!! Aye!!!

 What The Fuck Ya''ll?

Well, I guess it's finally time for me to throw my hat in the ring regarding the latest oversold bunch of bullshit. 

 

Whether it's a sketchy chatbot that most people don't understand is just an algorithm that guesses the next most probable word based on other things that have been written, some weird pictures mashed together based on searches of disparate elements (that most people don't understand is just pixels getting changed until it matches the search terms) - the *slightly* more useful functions for assisting in programming or other complicated/time consuming tasks - or things that have been being developed for years - like protein folding, or machine learning - it's definitely the new buzzword that people literally can't shut the fuck up about.

 Some Quotes:

'Oh my God - it's evil and it's going to take over the world!' 

 -The same dumb-asses who scream this every time something new comes along.

 

'Oh my God - it's incredible, and it's going to change the way we do everything!!!' 

 -The same (but different set of) dumb-asses who scream this every time something new comes along.

 

The reality:

People are trying to make money.

 

Not by using AI to increase productivity, etc. mind you - but instead, by attempting to increase their stock prices by including 'AI' in their prospectuses (prospectii?), and scaring everyone into thinking that if they don't follow suit, that they will risk getting left in the proverbial 'dust'.

So, expect to see 'AI' show up in all kinds of places that it has no reason to exist, and has no actual practical application to (at least yet) - along with self-important people telling you that they don't know what the current state of AI is (without just telling you that they don't know what the current state of AI is).

Here is where I will include the obligatory statement reiterating the fact that AI is indeed a real thing, with a range of real-world applications - and will only improve as time goes by.

And here is where I will talk about the long storied history of people being convinced that the 'new shit' is far more advanced and capable than it actually is.  I have been listening to a number of people rave about how they use AI in all aspects of their jobs - giving lectures on how it can be implemented into their fields, and basically lining up to fellate our new robot overlords.

In many cases, they are (unsurprisingly) the same people who jumped directly on the Revit dick, which (instead of increasing productivity, improving coordination, or adding any demonstrable benefit) resulted in considerable wanking, and self-congratulation (as well as additional work, delays, etc.).  

It's not surprising, because these are the type of people who love to believe that they are on the 'bleeding edge of tech', but are actually just falling for the sales pitch.

More than a few people have pointed out the (glaring) similarities between the current AI wankery and the .com boom/bust - or the (continued) pyramid scheme of blockchain/bitcoin/NFT's (which relied heavily on hype over substance), as well as other stock 'bubbles' that are the result of everyone jumping on a bandwagon (often one that they don't actually understand), and buying their own bullshit.

So to conclude - CALM THE FUCK DOWN, get over yourself, and see where this all leads.  If you think you can make a career out of either using or hyping AI, then go for it - but don't be surprised when you find yourself surrounded by AI bros, all of whom thought they were the only ones who thought of it (while very few actually even understand the technology or its practical application).

 (Not written by an AI)

-SkullFuck

 Next Time: Vaya Con Dios ACAD 2014

2023 In The Place To Be

 Hola Muchachos y Muchachas!

So, I think I might've missed doing a review on 2022 Revit - I'm sure it was fucking useless, with any 'new features' either being a total joke, or just a list of buzzwords with no actual relation to anything that has actually been changed/added - so with no further ado... A list of 2023 'changes/additions that are either a total joke and/or a list of buzzwords with no actual relation to anything in reality.

(List from: What's New for MEP in Autodesk Revit 2023)

1) "New Analytical Workflow for Electrical Preliminary Design"

 This is it everyone!  They've finally done it!  What we've all been waiting for!

 Oh wait... this is literally complete bullshit!

"this new workflow provides a way for Revit to manage the key electrical loads and distribution information, without having to physically model any part of it"

Well, there we go... we can spend more time in Revit, not actually getting anything done.

Apparently they claim that they heard from 'designers' (read: fucktards) that 'the requirements for distribution systems are defined and iterated long before it is necessary or even desirable to create a physical model'

There is literally never a time when it is actually necessary or even remotely desirable to create a model, so this part is sort of correct.  While having the ability to front-load Revit with information about distribution sounds like it might be helpful, the reality is that this is just more masturbatory nonsense.

 

2)  'Major Pain Point Resolved for Mechanical and Electrical Designers'

Yay!  They finally acknowledged that Revit has some major issues that cause serious difficulty for anyone actually wanting to be produc... oh... no..  wait..  It's just some ways to incorporate 'phasing' into a project.

Apparently people were actually modeling elements that were going to be demolished (I mean, what the entire fuck) and then were having problems with the system no 'remembering' what system it was a part of.  

Out of all of the 'major pain' that Revit caused me back in the day, I can honestly say this never even occurred to me (mainly because I would never model something that is being demolished). 

 I do like that the note at the end ' this does NOT solve the larger problem of having independently computable states'  well... fuck you, I guess... 

 

3) 'Energy Analytical Model Improvements'

Yet another issue that I would constantly run into when the firm I used to work for would try to force me into using Revit was that  I needed the energy analytical model to be improved... no.. wait..  that's not it...

Oh yeah - I needed it to let me design electrical systems quickly without constantly getting in my way.  So (like everything else on this list) this does fuck all to address that.

4) 'Elevation Annotation Improvements'

And... we're already at the 'padding it out' part of the list.  Apparently, previously, 'the elevation of an element such as pipe or conduit was always reported relative to its reference level'.  Yes! This is what was constantly getting in the way of me being able to do anything resembling productive work in Revit!

I'm sure this was a pain in the ass for mechanical more-so than electrical, but just now, in 2023 getting around to making it to where you *couldn't* set dimension elevation to anything other than 'level' is just... a fucking stunning admission.

5) 'Other Improvements for Mechanical and Electrical Design Firms'

 That's right ladies and gents... we're into the 'other' category, where a few last items get glommed together because none of them are spectacular enough to justify their own category.

There are a few other items like 'mechanical modeling/fabrication' and a section on 'Platform Improvements' - but I can guarantee that the Revit experience today is *EXACTLY THE FUCK LIKE* the experience of Revit from eight years ago when I finally told them to fuck off and went on to a more productive and satisfying job that didn't require gargling the Revit cock for 10-12 hours a day to accomplish what I could do is 4 or less hours in Autocad, while not having to deal with hairline bone fracture levels of stress.

As I've said in previous reviews, a major overhaul that actually took the *real* major pains that Revit causes would require that Autodesk acknowledge that A) Their software is low-level garbage that requires a major overhaul to be even remotely useable, and B) Require that they actually spend even five or six seconds in a production environment to see what is ACTUALLY FUCKING NEEDED to do the job that Revit is ostensibly there to help you do.

 Instead, they have relied on input from Revit Cock Sockets, every one of whom I could design circles around, and produce ten times the *actually coordinated drawings* (because I actually coordinate with people - instead sitting blank-eyed and rotating my model around and around as if it will somehow magically become something other than an over-elaborate piece of trash that helps no-one, and will promptly be ignored the second 2d prints are issues (by anyone other than the sad sack motherfuckers that have to figure out how to make changes to the model when things get changed in the field).

They finish the whole thing off with what basically consists of an ad for 'Fabrication Data Manager', and to be honest, I don't even give enough of a fuck to try to figure out what the hell that even is.

 

As always - this is the sad state of affairs in Revitland, but you know what?  Fuck Autdoesk, Fuck Revit, Fuck every single Fucking Fuck using Revit, and if you don't like it... 

 

Fuck You.

 

-SkullFuck

 

Next time: 'One Does Not Simply Stop Talking About AI'

 

Macro-scopic

 WTF?

 Just thought I'd drop a quick one to complain about something other than Autodesk/Revit (refreshing - I know!)

 So... Microsoft.

 Fuck Microsoft. 

 I've had a long running visceral hatred for Microsoft, and their seeming inability to remove their collective heads from their collective asses on a number of fronts - but especially when it comes to their flagship O/S.

 But I didn't come here to tell you about that today.

 Today - it's Office 365.

 Fuck Office 365.

Specifically Excel, and even more specifically, the decision to block macros.

Theoretically, it should be as simple as allowing macros, either file by file, by publisher, etc. - but after fighting it for several hours the other day, the only way it would work was to dump the file I needed to open into a folder, and then add that folder to the 'Trust Center'.

Once I figured this out, I was immediately up against a problem with the glorified spreadsheet the manufacturer of the equipment that I specify - where they added a new option that promptly broke it

 Fuck the manufacturer of the equipment that I specify.

They regularly make changes to this glorified spreadsheet that break functionality, while adding questionable benefit (sound familiar? cough Revit cough).

In this case, the solution was incredibly simple, but even after contacting my rep, and him contacting his rep, nobody was able to explain what the solution was, but it was suddenly not running extremely important calculations that I needed to do projects and produce accurate bills of material.

Only after sitting down with one of our more intelligent salesmen and going through it line by line were we able to figure out what they had changed, and how to fix it.  I told  my rep about it, but amusingly never got any response - and I'm sure it's going to fuck other people who are under the gun, and make the mistake of using the most recent spreadsheet.

There will also be a fuckload of them up against the macro blocking - and it was one of my co-workers running up against it today that reminded me (and making me have to recall the steps I took to fix it).  I forwarded both the file and instructions of how to fix both problems to another one of our salesmen, but I'm probably going to have to make sure everyone at all of our branches that use it get this information as well.

The stated reason for the macro blocking (which apparently started last year, rolled back, then re-implemented again) was to 'to stop threat actors from abusing the feature to deliver malware via email attachments', which is great and all, but if it prevents me from (or requires me to scour the internet for a solution of how to) use files that I know the origin of, purposefully downloaded, and didn't even come from an e-mail (for fucks sake) then 'fuck  you' is the only proper response.

Apparently it has been effective, as 'threat actors' have been moving away from using macros to distribute malware - but (of course) it just means they've moved on to another way of accomplishing the same task, while leaving legitimate users attempting to access legitimate files to have to find workarounds when the 'official solution' doesn't fucking work.

C'est la vie I guess.

 But I don't have to like it - and everyone responsible (including 'threat actors') can go fuck themselves.

Sincerely,

-Skullfuck

 Next Time: I finally get around to reviewing Revit 2023 MEP bullshit.

The Slow Painful Death Of An Art

Greetings and Salutations from the land of Zero Revit,

I never get a chance to post here anymore, because it seems somewhat redundant to keep pointing out the same old shit, but the last two projects I have worked on were especially egregious examples of how far the mighty have fallen.

The first was actually someone else's project - a community center, which I was doing some revisions to due to the Electrical Engineer being a dumbass, and the Fire Marshall having to come back and point out his many (many) fuckups.

Some of my co-workers don't have the fucks to give to do the clean-up work that I do to drawings that we receive that were sharted out of the Revit Box, but due to my background, as well as an outsized sense of pride I take at the quality of my work, I find it necessary to at least make them less cringy to look at.

Sometimes I wish I could not care how shit my backgrounds look, and just do my job, but as I've said in the past, it sometimes helps me to become intimately familiar with the project to spend some time cleaning it up, and I often find items that need clarification so I can get those questions in at the beginning, rather than getting  halfway through the project, only to find out that it was poorly and/or unclearly designed (shocking, I know).

It also helps facilitate my workflow as, once I get to doing my actual job, I don't have to stop every five minutes to stare in disbelief at the absolute garbage people apparently considered 'good enough' to issue to the world with their names, and the names of their firms emblazoned upon the titleblocks of (often with misspelled and/or incorrect project names, address errors/omissions, and other comedy gold.

The community center I was working on was the epitome of Revit, with excruciating levels of detail all throughout - but my absolute favorite were the turnbuckles on the swimming lane marking ropes:

 

They contain nearly 700 lines (and there are 50 of them).  You can also see in that image, the drain system around the perimeter of the pool, and 'no diving' signs, all lovingly crafted in a way that turns into black blobs of nothing once you actually print them out.

 This project also includes a waterslide, that I'm sure looked fantastic in a 3D model, but ended up looking like unwashed assholes in 2D.  I had a similar one in an indoor waterpark I did recently, that was so fucking overwrought that it obscured tons of rather important information.

That underscores one of the other problems that I run into attempting to use 2D drawings exported from Revit - anything that (whether intentionally or accidentally, due to idiots who don't understand view range settings) obscures part of something below it, ends up wiping out whatever it obscured.

This will include structural elements, duct work, and other unrelated elements that make their way onto electrical drawings (my old forte, and the ones I still rely on to do my current designs) resulting in having to sometimes recreate entire sections of drawings after eliminating the offending elements.

Fortunately I'm pretty good at guessing what the fuck all of the countless lines upon lines upon lines are actually supposed to represent, which ones are surplus to needs, and which ones I can use to reproduce what should've just been shown clearly and concisely, but instead... Revit.

The second project I received, and am currently working on is a courthouse building, and while it may be devoid of swimming pools and water slides, the Revitards took great pride in using as many ridiculously elaborate families as they could put their hands on - just to make sure... of... something?

I present to you one that I've seen over and over (and have maybe even posted here before), what I like to call the 'Way The Fuck Too Much Information To Show How A Goddamned Window Goes Together'

For those keeping track, that's 365 lines (x2 for each window in the entire goddamned building), that basically disappears completely when you zoom out (or turns into a little black blob when printed). Interestingly, this family only appears on the second floor of the building, which means two different Revitards were most likely being employed to design one building, and they weren't talking to each other (also meaning they have at least two window families loaded into the model, causing bloat on the Revit end as well - OR the person doing the first floor knew how to set the family to not show unnecessary detail).

It was also evident that (at least) two people worked on it, as there is a courtroom on both the first and second floors - and while one is laid out correctly, the other one has tons of overlaps and other signs that the person either didn't know what they were doing, ran out of time near the end of the project, or just didn't give a shit.

All throughout there are walls jammed together in a haphazard manner, and other weirdness - but I was able to get it all cleaned up fairly quickly.  Then I had to start figuring out what the fuck the electrical engineer had actually designed.  This was made more difficult by his keynotes on every sheet being different (so from floor to floor the tags might mean different things).

In addition to this stupid shit, we had actually requested CAD files for this nearly a year ago - and for some reason the salesman responsible for it kept sending us CAD files for a different project.  We would inform him they were the wrong ones, we would wait a couple of months, then he would attempt to send the wrong ones again.

The problem being, that this gave them ample time to fuck with the project, so now the CAD files have little changes all throughout.  I just got done making a fairly exhaustive list of the changes (including, amusingly, that they managed to delete a door into a mechanical room, while also duplicating the same room number from the corridor outside this room).

At any rate, this has sadly become standard for nearly every single project I do these days.  The only reason it is tenable, is that I have the ability to use ACAD to process the complete and utter shit I am given into semi-comprehensible floor plans. 

I've bemoaned the lack of giving a fuck on many occasions, but these last few projects were just another reminder of how an industry that used to pride itself on producing clear, concise, accurate drawings, has just fallen into a pit of shit, driven almost entirely by Autodesk shilling Revit, and incompetent little cunts being brought in to try to make it generate anything remotely passable.

I never tire of saying fuck Revit, fuck Autodesk, fuck everyone generating garbage with it - and, as it has been since the beginning, and will be until the end... If you don't like it, then FUCK YOU.

Ecstatically Yours, 

-The Revit MEP Skullfuck

 Next Time: 'EXCEL-SIOR!!!'