Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks

I am happy to report that I survived my first Skype teleconference today. This amazing technology may be old hat to some of you but as a non-grandparent I had to call my daughter, the internet expert, for a quick lesson in how far to sit from the screen, how loud to speak, and how to position the screen. Things went well and it was far better than spending a day in the airport traveling to and from an out of town meeting. Travel budgets have been tight for years now; so much so that many AGMA committees are having more teleconferences than face-to-face meetings. The ones I have participated did not have a video component and I’m not sure they need it. It isn’t like there are incredibly cute grandchildren running around. One thing that came up in the Skype meeting was how ubiquitous 3-D models are at these gatherings. Everyone expects there to be pretty colored pictures. I admire the speed and skill of our younger engineers at rendering designs in this medium. Maybe it isn’t too late for me to learn a new CAD program.