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Monday, January 6, 2020

2020 ... New Century, New Revit Kid?


Happy New Year!!!!!!!


Wow... 2019 felt like it flew by.  I would assume that figuring out this whole father thing has something to do with it.  And yes, that is my little man, Jacob, and I knocking glasses and bringing in the new year in style.

This year I will be making some major yet exciting improvements to this blog, the tutorials (new and old), and my courses. I wanted to take a moment to tell you about my plans for 2020 and "The Revit Kid". 



DIY Dynamo Day


We're starting the year off with a bang.  And there is still time for you to be a part of it.

I will be hosting the first ever (in-person) "DIY Dynamo Day" at the end of this month... And I am beyond excited.  I love teaching you all Revit here on the blog through videos and online courses, but there is nothing like teaching face to face (or, "IRL" for my fellow nerds).

DIY Dynamo Day is a single day "deep dive" training course on Dynamo for Autodesk Revit. The class will be broken into four distinct modules.  We will use real-world examples to build a foundation of knowledge giving you the ability to create your own scripts in Dynamo. Each module builds on the previous to demonstrate the connection between the simple and complex scripts. 

By the end of the day you will have the skills and confidence to develop your own scripts from scratch. You'll go back to your cubicle and become an instant hero as you use Dynamo to automate repetitive tasks, overcome Revit limitations, and solve complex problems. 

Oh, and it is worth 6 AIA learning units... Learn Dynamo and knock off 34% of your credits for the year?  It's a win win.


I am hoping to do more "in-person" events of various types this year...


Complete Website/Blog/Course Redesign



Original Logo (2009)
I started this blog almost 11 years ago on February of 2009.  YouTube was only 4 years old at that time.  Heck, the word "blog" was barely even 10 years old.  Anyways, there weren't many blogging platforms to choose from.  I chose Google's "Blogger" because that's what most of the other Revit bloggers were using at the time (side note, where have all the Revit bloggers gone?).

Variation of the logo (sometime in 2012?)

Well, fast-forward 11 years and I am still stuck on Blogger.  Google stopped "supporting" the platform back in 2018 and I have been planning this move ever since.

Therefore, in the first quarter of 2020 I will be migrating the entire BIM After Dark website/blog to Wordpress. 

Why bother if Blogger still technically works, you ask?


Two major reasons:  limited design capabilities and lack of functionality.

Let's face it, this blog has needed a design refresh for years.  I can honestly say I have taken Blogger as far as I can when it comes to theme customization.  I have an idea of how I want this website and blog to look and I simply cannot do it with Blogger.

Blogger also lacks functionality and interoperability with even the most basic third party apps.  

For Pete's sake, Blogger doesn't even have "interoperability" in it's spell check dictionary:



My goal is to have BIM After Dark become your personal hub of Revit learning and your go-to resource for navigating the BIM universe.  With tutorials (that also include sample files), discussions, live office hours, and self-hosted courses in which the content is easy to update and you have all the support you need to fully engage with that content.

Migrating off of Blogger will make all of the above possible. 

What does it mean for you, my dear reader?


A couple of things.

First, if you find yourself on dead links and error pages throughout the next couple of months let me know immediately.  Migrating 11 years (and over 1200 posts) worth of content isn't going to be perfect and will take time.

Second, I am going to be looking to you to provide feedback on the direction I am taking the site when it comes to design and content delivery.  This site has always been for you (except when I am also Googling and finding myself telling myself the answer from 6 years ago) and I am going to be relying on your input.

More Tutorials and Courses


Of course, I will not stop making content.  I already have a bunch of posts started, outlined, or planned.  Some of which include:

- Lumion 10 Review
- Enscape3D Tutorials
- More Real-World Dynamo Examples
- Continuing the "Residential Revit" series...


I, for one, am extremely excited for 2020 and all of the challenges and successes this year will bring.  Whether you have been following me for the last 11 years or just started following today, thank you for joining me on this journey and I can't wait to continue getting to know you.

P.S. - For real, if you have the means and want to join me in Hartford in a few weeks, now is the chance.  You will not regret it. It's going to be a special day.  Register here...