Autocad Menu Customization
SYSTEMS
Streamline Design
Documentation Standardization
SERVICE: Custom Manufacturing.

CUSTOMERS: SIEMENS - OLYMPICS -BONNIER TECHNOLOGY
DATE: 1993-2001
AUTOCAD MENU CUSTOMIZATION
Position: CUSTOM PANELS
IN ORDER TO STREAMLINE DESIGNS , AND STANDARDIZE DRAWINGS AND DESIGNS. I HAVE EMPLOYED CUSTOMIZING THE AUTOCAD MENU. THIS ALLOWED ME TO DESIGN CUSTOM UNITS AND MAINTAIN DRAWING STANDARDIZATION AND MACHINE STANDARDIZATION CREATING FASTER DEVELOPMENT AND LESS ERRORS.

I "APOLOGIZE" BUT HAVE INCLUDED A BACK STORY I FIND SIGNIFICANT TO MY HIRE AND JOB HISTORY .

INITIALLY I WAS ASSIGNED TO DESIGN CUSTOM UNITS OF SWITCHGEAR. DESIGN BEFORE I ARRIVED WAS DONE BY "SOMEONE" MORE "FREESTYLE" WITH NO STANDARDS. "HAND DRAWINGS". DESIGNS WERE "INCONSISTENT" AND SLOW IN DRAFTING. THEY WERE STRUGGLING TO DESIGN 3-4 UNITS PER WEEK.
I WAS GIVEN NO INSIGHT TO THE PROCESS OR EQUIPMENT. I WAS LEFT TO "FIGURE IT ALL OUT ON MY OWN".
I WAS ONLY GIVEN AUTOCAD LT TO WORK WITH. I BEGAN 1ST BY STUDYING THE EXISTING DESIGNS. NO ONE TOLD ME "ANYTHING"- WHILE I HAD NOT EVEN BEEN INTRODUCED TO THE PRODUCT I WAS DESIGNING, ONLY THEIR HAND SKETCHS.
WHILE DAILY MY PREDECESSOR COMPLAINED AND "LOUD TALKED" ABOUT ANY ERROR HE COULD FIND" OR "QUESTIONS I HAD".
MY "DETRACTOR" DID ALL HE COULD TO EMBARRASS ME AND IMPLICATE ME, INTENDING TO BE OVER HEARD BY OUR MANAGER IN THE NEXT CUBICLE, IN ORDER TO SET THE STAGE FOR COMPLAINTS ON MY USEFULNESS AND INABILITY TO MAKE ANY THING BETTER THAN HIS DESIGNS. EVEN USING "PROFANITY". I WAITED FOR MY MANAGER TO INTERVENE. HE NEVER DID.
I REDREW EVERYTHING IN AUTOCAD AND BEGAN PRODUCING PRODUCTION DRAWINGS SIMILAR TO THE LEAD ENGINEERS DESIGNS,UNTIL I BECAME FAMILIAR ENOUGH TO "FIND A PATTERN" AND "MODULARIZE" THE DESIGNS FOR CONSISTENCY. (1993)
DURING THIS PERIOD (COMPLETELY BY ACCIDENT) I DISCOVERED A DIRECTORY ON THE NETWORK WHICH CONTAINED MOST EVERY COMPONENT MANUFACTURED BY THE COMPANY ALREADY DRAWN IN AUTOCAD.
COMPLAINTS THEN BEGAN ON THE DETAILED NATURE OF MY LAYOUTS AND SYMBOLS-(ACTUALLY RECRUITING ANOTHER PERSON TO HELP COMPLAIN) WHEN THEY ACTUALLY CAME FROM THE "COMPANY", BUT WERE NEVER UTILIZED.
"NOW" ALL "ANYONE" USES AT THAT FACILITY (OR ANWHERE I KNOW OF): ARE "DETAILED IMAGES".
THIS "SIMPLIFIED" THINGS, AS THEN I NO LONGER HAD TO DRAW "BLANK BOXES" AS DEVICES. THIS MADE IT CLEARER "WHAT I WAS WORKING WITH". SINCE THE "ORIGINAL DESIGNS" WERE "NEBULOUS" TO ME.
THE "DETRACTORS" COMPLAINED THE ASSEMBLERS WERE "UNSKILLED LABOR". THE CHANGE MADE IT "EASIER" FOR THE ASSEMBLY PERSONNEL.
BY MAKING THINGS "MORE VISUAL" THEY NOW UNDERSTOOD THE DOCUMENTATION "BETTER" AND MADE LESS ERRORS AND THE TYPICAL REWORK FROM LACK OF UNDERSTANDING DIMINISHED. "ASSEMBLY" TEAMS BEGAN TO APPRECIATE MY CHANGES.
STILL THE DAILY "YELLING AND PROFANITY" CONTINUED FROM THE ENGINEER IN ORDER TO "INFLUENCE" MY MANAGER WHO QUIETLY LISTENED TO HIS COMPLAINTS FROM THE NEXT CUBICLE, DESPITE THE "INCREASE IN PRODUCTIVITY" AND "REDUCTION OF REWORK".
I AM "MILD MANNERED". I WAS NOT INCLINED TO "RAISE MY VOICE OR FIGHT BACK". I COULD SENSE THERE WAS NO INTEREST IN "EXCUSES". I SIMPLY CONTINUED MY EFFORTS. MY MANAGER DID NOT INTERVENE.

I SUPPORTED OTHER DEPARTMENTS AS THE CAD "GURU" OF SORTS ON PROCEDURE,PRINTING AND CONFIGURATION. THEY ALL HAD "FULL AUTOCAD". OTHER MANAGERS GOT TO KNOW ME, AS I HELPED THEIR TEAMS.

I WAS ONLY GIVEN AUTOCAD LT, SO MY ABILITY WAS "LIMITED".

THE IMAGE ON THE RIGHT, SHOWS THE "STANDARD" 1993 AUTOCAD LT MENU SYSTEM.

MY ROLE WAS "ILL DEFINED" & I HAD "NO SUPPORT",SO I DECIDED TO WORK ON INCREASING "ACCURACY AND PRODUCTIVITY". OTHER DEPT. MANAGERS NOTICED ME COMING IN ON WEEKENDS AND OFFERED SUPPORT.
.

(DANKA HR. HERB JANSA AND NAMASTE MR.NOEL DSA':)(1993).
RATHER THAN MEMORIZE EACH CELL AVAILABLE, I DECIDED TO "INTEGRATE THE PARTS INTO THE MENU SYSTEM" TO SIMPLIFY SELECTION.
NOW THAT I HAD A SENSE OF DESIGN STANDARDIZATION, I THEN DESIGNED A NEW AUXILIARY SET OF "PULLDOWN MENUS" TO INCORPORATE THE PARTS,AND MIMIC THE NATURAL ORDER OF HOW I DESIGNED THE PRODUCT. THE 6 EXTRA MENUS (SEEN ON THE RIGHT) BROUGHT A SENSE OF "STANDARIZATION" TO THE DESIGN PROCESS.
NOW IT WAS 90 DAYS OF CRITICISM FROM THE "DETRACTOR" ("WHO WAS UNAWARE OF WHAT I WAS DEVELOPING"). WHO PROVOKED THE RESPONSE OF THE "ENGINEERING MANAGER" TO "APPROACH ME."
THE "LOOK AND VOCAL ATTITUDE" WAS CLEAR. HE "DEMANDED" TO KNOW "WHAT I HAD DONE", "IF ANYTHING" TO CONTRIBUTE IN THE "LAST 90 DAYS".(IT WAS CLEAR HE WAS PREPARING TO "FIRE ME" SINCE THE ENGINEER HAD BEEN WORKING ON THIS "BY YELLING AND PROFANITY", MY ENTIRE 1ST 90 DAYS. (TEMP. TO PERM.)
LUCKILY, I WAS "MOSTLY COMPLETE" WITH "MY DEVELOPMENT PREPARATION", AND SOME TEMPLATES I HAD CREATED. I OPENED AUTOCAD AND THEN SHOWED HIM THE "PULL DOWN MENU SYSTEM".
I INSERTED PARTS INTO THE DRAWING. EACH BLOCK PROMPTED FOR COMPONENT ID AND THE DEVICE DESCRIPTION WAS BUILT INTO THE BLOCK.
I FLIPPED THE LAYOUTS IN ORDER TO SHOW HIM THE "PRELIMINARY DRAWING" SENT TO THE CUSTOMER FOR APPROVAL. THEN I FLIPPED OTHER LAYOUTS, SHOWING EACH PANEL ASSEMBLY AND THE FINAL COMPLETED DRAWING WHICH WERE BROKEN INTO VARIOUS DESIGN DOCUMENTS FOR EACH WORK CENTER.

.
HE LEFT MY AREA...

HE RETURNED WITH "HIS MANAGER"- THE "FACILITY MANAGER" - AND WANTED ME TO DEMONSTRATE THE "MENU SYSTEM" AND HOW "WE WOULD BE DESIGNING IN THE FUTURE".
I WAS FINALLY OFFERED A JOB IN THE COMPANY I HAD SEARCHED FOR SINCE GRADUATION. (I HAD SPENT 6 YEARS "UNDER-EMPLOYED"). THIS DID NOT SILENCE FUTURE COMPLAINTS AND PROFANITY.(LATER I WAS NOT THE ONLY "TARGET").(THAT PERSON HAD DUAL DEGREES FROM GA TECH ME/EE.)HE IS NOW SR. MANAGEMNT IN "IT", ELSEWHERE(WE ARE LINKEDIN). I'M SURE HE'D CONFIRM MY OBSERVATIONS.(I IGNORED IT BEST I COULD FOR YEARS.)
I WAS NOT APPOINTED AN "ENGINEER" IN THE CAPACITY COMMENSURATE WITH MY DEGREE. BUT THIS DID GIVE ME "AN ENTRANCE", "HOPEFULLY" TO BE ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE MY CAPABILITIES FOR ADVANCEMENT.
THAT DAY, OUR MANAGER TREATED OUR DEPARTMENT TO LUNCH AT A "CHINESE RESTAURANT" . WE ALL RECEIVED "FORTUNE COOKIE FORTUNES" AT DESSERT. WE WERE ASKED TO READ THEM ALOUD.

MINE SAID

" IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO TURN BACK".


(OTHERS "SNICKERED") (OMINOUS TIDINGS)
TO THIS DAY DESPITE EATING ASIAN CUISINE, NEARLY TWICE WEEKLY,
I'VE SEEN PLENTY OF DUPLICATE FORTUNES, BUT I'VE NEVER SEEN A SIMILAR FORTUNE.(I.J.S.)(LOL)


I CREATED A MENU SYSTEM FOR "ANOTHER PROJECT".
I WAS ASKED TO SIMILARLY AUTOMATE AND STREAMLINE THE USE OF ALL SOFTWARE TO TRAIN OTHER "NEW HIRES".
I COULD NOW, DESIGN AND DO ALL PROJECT ACTIVITIES "BY MYSELF".
I WORKED WITH THE MANUFACTURING ENGINEER ON "INCREASED EFFICIENCY AND REDUCTION OF REPEATED ERRORS" (DESIGN AND PROCESS IMPROVEMENT).
ON THE RIGHT ARE SEPARATE SELECTION DESIGN MENUS FOR THE "HUSKY"(HIGHLIGHTED) AND "TOKYO ELECTRON" PROJECTS.
MY MENU SYSTEM:
1ST - YOU COULD SELECT THE TYPE OF DRAWING TO CREATE. APPROPRIATELY PICKING "BORDER TYPE" AND SET UP OF "TEXT ANNOTATION".
THE MENU ALLOWED THE USER TO FILL IN THE TEXT ATTRIBUTES WITH A SINGLE CLICK THAN TO AIM FOR VARIOUS ATTRIBUTES.
ALSO ALL STANDARD NOTES AND TEXT INPUTS WERE ALREADY THERE FOR INSERTION INTO A "STANDARD SPOT AND LAYER". "SAVING TIME" ON DRAWING SETUP. CREATING "UNIFORM" LOOKING DOCUMENTATION, NO MATTER WHO WOULD DO THE EDITING & DESIGN.

YOU COULD SELECT THE TYPE OF DRAWING SETUP (LAYOUT- ASBUILT) FOR ANY PROJECT I HAD SIMPLIFIED THE DESIGN.

MY MENU SYSTEM: PARTS WERE BROKEN DOWN BY FUNCTION, FOR EASIER SELECTION. FUSES,BREAKERS,CONTACTORS AND RELAYS, ALL THE WAY DOWN TO INDIVIDUAL SIZES OF TERMINAL BLOCKS.
ALL WERE PLACED ON THE SPECIFIC LAYERS AT A "1 TO 1" SCALE.
VARIOUS STANDARD VIEWS WERE ADDED TO SPEED DESIGN.
HERE IS AN "ICON BASED MENU" WITH ALL OF THE STRUCTURAL BAY CHOICES. VISUALIZED, RATHER THAN JUST DESCRIPTIONS, SO THE USER COULD TELL THE ACTUAL, TYPE AND SHAPE OF THE CONTAINER HE WOULD SELECT. I TENDED TO MAKE THINGS AS "WYSIWYG" AS POSSIBLE SINCE MANY ASSEMBLERS WERE NOT TECHNICAL AND NEEDED TO BE SURE THEY HAD THE CORRECT PARTS - NOT DRAWINGS OF BOXES AND SQUARES LIKE WHAT THEY HAD "BEFORE I WAS HIRED".
MY MENUS THEN INCLUDED THE SELECTION OF PANEL ENCLOSURES BY SIZE ,INDIVIDUAL CONSTRUCTION MEMBERS AND SUBPANEL SIZES AS MANY OF THE SWITCHGEAR WERE "MULTI-BAY" PANELS WITH UP TO 6 BAYS AND EXTERNAL COMPONENTS AS WELL. "VISUALIZATION" MADE PROPER SELECTION EASIER. NOW AUTOCAD HAS MENU PALLETS SO ITS BECOME SIMPLER FOR AMATEURS TO IMPROVISE, BUT I CAN PROGRAM THOSE AS WELL FOR MORE THAN JUST BLOCK INSERTION.
MENUS: INDIVIDUAL MOUNTING PANELS, MOUNTING BRACKETS AND OTHER ASSEMBLY ITEMS, WERE INCORPORATED AS WELL.

ALSO AN EXTRA MENU TO HANDLE DESIGN OF VDE MACHINES WITH DIFFERENT CLASS COMPONENTS FOR USE IN EUROPE.

ALL PARTS COULD BE PLACED ON PANELS TO ASSURE SIZE AND FIT TO LIMIT THE NEED FOR REWORK AND DESIGN CHANGES. I DID HANDLE "ECN AND ECO'S" TO MAKE CUSTOMER CHANGES "MID CYCLE" OF ASSEMBLY AND NOTICES TO CHANGE PRACTICES COMMON TO THE PROJECTS GLOBALLY BASED ON EFFICIENCY AND "LEARNING FROM PAST EXPERIENCE". ALSO ADDED "PREMADE" ASSEMBLIES TO SAVE TIME IN MATCHING COMPONENTS AND AUXILIARY PARTS SELECTION.
ALL COMPONENTS AND DESIGN WERE DONE IN MODEL SPACE TO ASSURE A "1 TO 1" SCALE OF DESIGN, AND TO ENVISION THE ENTIRE DESIGN IN ONE VIEW.
PAPER SPACE CONTAINED THE ACTUAL DESIGN AND ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS IN DOCUMENT FORM. SHOWING TABLES AND BOMS THUS NO NEED TO REDRAW VIEWS WHEN CHANGES WERE MADE. I WAS LIMITED FROM DATA EXTRACTION AND BOM FOR ORDERING PARTS THROUGH THE PURCHASING DEPARTMENT BECAUSE I WAS ONLY GIVEN AUTOCAD LT. THEY WERE USED TO USING "DBASE 3" WHICH WAS OUT DATED, BUT THE ONLY TOOL THEY WERE FAMILIAR WITH. "SOMEONE ELSE" PROGRAMMED AND LEFT FOR THEIR USE.
UNTIL I LATER STREAMLINED THIS AS WELL, THERE WERE MANY CONTINUAL ERRORS IN THE "PARTS ORDERING PROCESS" ACCURACY.
"COMMANDS THAT WERE "TYPICALLY USED", WERE INCORPORATED ALONG WITH AUTOLISP ROUTINES" TO "CALCULATE QUANTITIES" OR "SELECT AUXILIARY COMPONENTS" ALSO. TABLES AND VARIOUS TEXT STANDARDS WERE DEFINED AS WELL.
WHILE I ALSO DESIGNED ANY NEW MECHANICAL "STRUCTURAL MEMBERS" AND ADDED THEM TO THE MENU SYSTEM, "AS NEEDED".
MORE COULD HAVE BEEN DONE. BUT DESPITE A WIN. THE MANAGER "ASSUMED" THAT AUTOCAD WAS THE "LIMIT OF MY CAPABILITES".
INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY? : "PRODUCTION" WAS ABLE TO MOVE FROM (3-4) UNIT DESIGNS IN A WEEK TO 5-6 DESIGNS WEEKLY AND ONE SPECIAL LARGER TYPE PANELS. MANY OF THESE PANELS CONTAINED OVER 350 PARTS.
SEEING THE SIMPLICITY OF USING THE MENUS. I WAS TOLD TO TRAIN OTHERS TO DESIGN THE PROJECTS, USING MY TOOLS AND DESIGNS.
I THEN WAS ASSIGNED TO BE THE "PROMIS-E" PROCESS OWNER. NO ONE EXPLAINED "WHAT THEY EXPECTED THIS CAE (COMPUTER AIDED ENGINEERING) TO DO". SO I ONLY LEARNED HOW TO REDRAW THE SCHEMATICS IN THE "CAE".

ONCE I READ THE BOOK ON THE "REAL USE" OF THE SOFTWARE: EPLAN, AND PROMIS-E. I GOT TO WORK, TO SELF LEARN AND AUTOMATE THE EXTRACTION OF WIRE DATA FROM DRAWINGS USING THESE SOFTWARE. I NOTICED WE HAD HIRED SOMEONE FROM ASSEMBLY TO CREATE "WIRE LISTS". HE WAS STRUGGLING AND EVERYONE WAS IRRITAED AT THE ERRORS. BUT HE WAS POISED TO BE PROMOTED. HE QUIT OUR COMPANY AND FOUND A FULL ENGINEERING JOB WITH "GE" DESPITE HAVING NO EXPERIENCE OR DEGREE. BECAUSE HE NETWORKED CONNECTIONS.

DESPITE TRAINING OTHERS,I COULD NOW DO EVERY ASPECT OF THE PROJECTS FROM DESIGN TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT WITH "NO ASSISTANCE", BETTER AND FASTER THAN ANYONE. ALL THE TOOLS WERE MY DESIGN. I COULD EVEN MAINTAIN MULTI-UNIT PRODUCTION LEVELS BY MYSELF IF REQUIRED. THE CUSTOMER HAD COMPLETE CONFIDENCE IN MY DESIGN AND TEND TO CONTACT ME FOR PRODUCT ASSISTANCE AND IMPROVEMENT. BUT NO ONE MENTIONED PROMOTION OR CHANCES TO ME. THEY HIRED EXTERNALLY AND ASKED ME TO TRAIN. ONE HAD A DEGREE IN "PHYSICAL EDUCATION". I WAS DISSUADED FROM APLYING- BY THE DETRACTOR AND OUR NEW MANAGER (NOW FRIENDS).

AFTER THE DEPARTURE OF MANY ENGINEERS AND MANAGER. THE IT DEPARTMENT FORCED THEN TO GIVE ME FULL AUTOCAD. WAS FINALLY GIVEN "FULL AUTOCAD". I FURTHER INCREASED ACCUARCY BY PULLING THE PARTS DATA FROM THE ACTUAL DRAWING DATABASE FOR ACCURACY, ADDED LISP ROUTINES TO CALCULATE PARTS AND QTY'S, AND I BUILT COMMON CALCULATIONS INTO THE DESIGN PROCESS IN AUTOCAD.
I THEN DID ECO'S, ECNS AND PERFORMED PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT AND ERROR REDUCTION WITH THE SYSTEMS' ENGINEER. (ALSO UNDEGREED)- NO LONGER IN ENGINEERING.
MY NEXT MANAGER CALLED ME FOR A MEETING TO ASK WHY MY PAY WAS SO LOW COMPARED TO OTHER ENGINEERS. THAT WAS BEFORE THE COMPANY IMPLEMENTED PAY TRANSPARENCY LATER AFTER I LEFT.
MY DETRACTOR AND MY FORMER MANGER, THEN HIRED "TWO" OTHER DESIGNERS TO REPLACE ME. (TWO FRIENDS OF MINE FROM MANUFACTURING WHO INQUIRED INTEREST IN AUTOCAD AFTER SEEING MY CHANGES TO MANUFACTURING DOCUMENTATION- I ADVISED THEM TO TAKE A CLASS.)
WHEN THEY MADE AN SIGNIFICANT ERROR- I WAS CALLED FROM MY NEW JOB AND ADRESSED IN FRONT OF THE CUSTOMER AS IF I HAD MADE THE ERRORS FOR THEIR DEPARTMENT TO SAVE FACE. MY MANAGER TOLD ME TO STOP SUPPORTING THEIR DEPARTMENT. I GUESS IT WAS ANTICIPATED THEY COULD DUPLICATE MY SKILLS AS I LEFT THE DEPARTMENT. ("INEXPERIENCED", THEY HAD "JUST TAKEN" AN AUTOCAD COURSE). MENU PROGRAMMING IS NOT TAUGHT IN A "LEVEL 1" AUTOCAD CLASS. AND I HAD BEEN "SELF-TAUGHT", SINCE NO SCHOOL, I KNEW OF, TAUGHT A CLASS IN CUSTOMIZATION.
mY FORMER DETRACTOR TAUNTED ME TO SAY THEY HAD BOUGHT AN AUTOCAD BOOK AND WOULD SOON BE ABLE TO DO WHATEVER I DEVELOPED. THEY SAT WITH THE BOOK DAILY TRYING TO LEARN AUTOLISP AND MENUS. I HAD BEEN HIRED IN ANOTHER DEPARTMENT AS AN ENGINEER. AUTOCAD "CHANGED" MAKING THE "MENU SYSTEM I CREATED FOR THEM OBSOLETE" AND REQUIRING RECODING. (MNX CHANGED TO CUIX.
THEY SPENT MONTHS WITH THE ENGINEER AND THE "AUTOCAD BIBLE"- TRYING DUPLICATE MY DEVELOPMENT. 2 YEARS LATER THEY STILL HAD NOT ACCOMPLISHED THIS.
SO IT APPEARS MY DEVELOPMENT "WAS" "HIGHLY USEFUL", "PRODUCTIVE" AND "SIGNIFICANT" ENOUGH TO TRY AND EMULATE.

I WAS INFORMED SOME KEPT THEIR DEVELOPMENT SECRETS TO PICK THEIR REPLACEMENTS WHEN THEY LEFT. SO PEOPLE WERE POSESSIVE OF "PLC AND HMI" DEVELOPMENT, FURTHER LIMITING MY CHANCES AT ADVANCEMENT, WHICH HELPED STALL MY CAREER. I WOULD BE "STELLAR" BY NOW IF I ONLY HAD ANY MENTORING TO GET ME STARTED, LIKE OTHERS AROUND ME.

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AUTOCAD MENU CUSTOMIZATION


VARIOUS COMPANIES

DOUBLED PRODUCTION


STANDARDIZED DOCUMENTATION AND MANUFACTURING

WHERE I'VE WORKED

  • AUTOMATED RESPONSE - "A CAD HOUSE" - VARIOUS PROJECTS
  • BONNIER TECHNOLOGY GROUP - CONTROLS SENSORS
  • SIEMENS - CUSTOM SWITCHGEAR

    • TYPICAL MENUS

  • MANUFACTURING: CUSTOMIZED SWITCHGEAR DESIGN
  • TEXT STANDARDIZATION
  • LAYER STANDARDIZATION
  • DESIGN :CUSTOM NOTES
  • REPETITIVE CAD TASKS REQUIRING CALCULATIONS

    • MY KNOWLEDGE & SKILLSET

    AUTOCAD HAS CHANGED IN THE LAST FEW YEARS. I NO LONGER USE A "MNX FILE". SO ITS HARDER TO RAPIDLY DEVELOP A EFFICIENT MENU. THUS "SOME" DEVELOPMENT TAKES A LITTLE LONGER. SO I AVOID THOSE ,WHO SAY I CAN'T DO WHAT I'VE DONE MANY TIMES, BECAUSE THEY WANT IT TO BE "FAST" AND SIMPLE. AND DIMINISH RECOGNITION OF MY CAPABILITY. A LOT OF PEOPLE FEEL IF THEY CAN COPY MY WORK ONCE I'VE DONE ALL THE FOOTWORK.
    IN THE MENU SYSTEM, I MAY USE AUTOLISP AND SOME "VBA". "VBA" IS LESS USED IN AUTOCAD AND IS NOW AN "ADD ON" AND NO LONGER "INTERGRATED". I DO NOT CLAIM MASTERY OR TO BE A "CAD GURU" ANYMORE, AS I DO NOT DO THIS REGULARLY ANYMORE.
    IT HAS OFTEN BEEN YEARS BETWEEN THE NEED FOR EXTENSIVE DEVELOPMENT. IT MAY TAKE A WHILE TO RECOGNIZE EXISTING CODE I DID NOT AUTHOR, PEOPLE DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY.

    OBSERVATION

    LATELY, I'VE ONLY USED MENU'S TO AUTOMATE COMPLEX TASKS ON A "TASK BY TASK" BASIS. SOMETIMES IT TAKES A WHILE TO MAKE IT WORK CORRECTLY AND EFFICIENTLY OR DISCOVER A WORK AROUND.
    SO IF YOU EXPECT "INSTANT" RESULTS OR WANT TO GIVE ME "A TEST". "I'LL PASS" - I'M NOT A TRAINED "DEVELOPER". I LEARN AND DEVELOP AS "I SEE A NEED" FOR A SOLUTION. THERE'S A DIFFERENCE.
    I TEND TO "COOK BOOK", SINCE I DO NOT DO THIS EVERYDAY. IT GETS COMPLICATED, I MAY DO MANY TYPES OF PROGRAMMING AT VARIOUS JOBS. SO IT TAKES TIME TO BECOME FAMILIAR AND EFFECTIVE WITH ANY LANGUAGE - EVEN IF I'VE USED IT BEFORE.
    MANY LANGUAGES HAVE CHANGED. SOME HAVE SYNTAX ISSUES. SOME HAVE NEW WAYS OF DOING THINGS. IT TAKES DAILY IF NOT REGULAR USE, TO BE "INTUITIVE". SO IF YOU HAVE NO" PATIENCE" OR WISH TO SAY "I CAN'T DO IT" WHEN IT SIMPLY MAY TAKE SOME TIME". I'D RATHER "PASS" ON THE OPPORTUNITY. I DON'T LIKE DISSAPOINTING ANYONE.

    CAD MANAGEMENT

    IN SOME CASES I HAVE FOUND A GREAT UTILITY IN REPROGRAMMING THE AUTOCAD MENU TO SIMPLIFY TASKS. BUT HAVE ALSO FOUND SOME WILL ATTEMPT TO HIRE ME IN ORDER TO SIMPLYFY AUTOCAD FOR THEIR "OTHER DESIGNERS OR ENGINEERS" TO BECOME MORE PRODUCTIVE AND TAKE CREDIT.
    I HAVE ALSO USED TO RUN INTO COPIES OF MY EARLIER DEVELOPMENT , MODIFIED AND PORTED TO ANOTHER COMPANY AFTER DESIGNERS HAVE COPIED MY WORK AND CLAIMED IT AS THEIR OWN. SO I AM TREATED AS A "JUNIOR" TO THE GUY WHO HAS PIRATED MY WORK.
    WHILE I AM HAVING ISSUES FINDING EMPLOYMENT. THIS IS ANNOYING. I NOTE AS THEY ARE LAZY ENOUGH THAT THEY DON'T EVEN CHANGE VARIABLE NAMES MAKING IT EASY FOR ME TO SPOT MY WORK. I AM NO LONGER DEVELOPING TO INCREASE "EVERYONE'S" EFFICIENCY WHILE I HAVE LOWER PAY OR NO PERMANENT EMPLOYMENT.
    I DO NOT KNOW VISUAL LISP "YET". I JUST HAVEN'T HAD A NEED OR TIME ON THE JOB TO "EXPLORE". I AM WILLING TO LEARN, (SELF TAUGHT), JUST NEED "TIME", IF THAT'S YOUR NEED. VISUAL LISP HAS A SYNTAX EDITOR LIKE VISUAL BASIC- SO THERE IS SOME TIME SAVINGS IN USING IT. IT IS BUILT INTO AUTOCAD, AT MY LAST CHECK. PLEASE CONSIDER SAME ISSUES IF YOU NEED "DCL" DEVELOPMENT.(IT TAKES TIME FOR ME.)

    SORRY, REASON FOR BACK STORY

    SORRY, I ASSURE YOU I AM THE GOOD GUY. GOOD GUYS OFTEN FINISH LAST.
    I ASSURE YOU I AM AS MULTICULTURAL AS THEY COME. I GREW UP IN A MULTICULTURAL SCHOOL ON A COLLEGE CAMPUS. MULTICULTURAL CHURCH AND HOMELIFE. MY CLASSMATES WERE OF EVERY CULTURE AS THEIR PARENTS WERE PROFESSORS AT THE COLLEGE.
    TOLERANT BECAUSE I GREW UP WITH PARENTS WITH THE "KEYS TO TWO CHURCHES". I'M NOT PIOUS OR RELIGIOUS AT WORK.
    I AM "A-POLITICAL" - I DO NOT SUPPORT ANY POLITICAL PARTY. I AM A FORMER VOLUNTEER AND VETERAN. AS A CITIZEN I SUPPORT THE "PRINCIPLES" OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES- "NOT AN INTERPRETATION". I AM OPEN MINDED AND HAVE NO ISSUES WITH PEOPLE AND TREAT EVERYONE EQUALLY.
    ON JOBS I HAVE MET FRIENDS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, "BECAUSE OF MY PERFORMANCE", WHO WERE PERSONAL FRIENDS BEYOND WORK.
    AT WORK, I DO NOT TEND TO MENTION RELIGION, POLITICS OR PERSONAL ISSUES, I SIMPLY GET ALONG WITH "MOST PEOPLE". OTHERS I TREAT PROFESSIONALLY BUT ACTIVELY AVOID.
    WHEN ENCOUNTERING ISSUES, I PRACTICE THE VERY TRAINING I RECEIVED OF TRYING TO MAKE DOUBTERS INTO FRIENDS, AND INCLUSION TO OVERCOME ADVERSITY.

    BUT FOR SOME REASON I KEEP MEETING SOME PEOPLE THAT DESPITE THEIR COMPANY CULTURE AND RULES, "WANT" TO STAND IN MY WAY AND "LIMIT MY CONTRIBUTIONS", BLOCK MY CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING, HIRE ME FOR LESS PAY(THAT WAS DETERMINED BY THE GA DEPT OF LABOR- NOT ME). AND BLOCK ME FROM SIMPLY FEEDING MY FAMILY, RECEIVING BENEFITS, AND EVEN LIMITING MY VACATION AND TAKING CREDIT FOR MY DEVELOPMENT OR MINIMIZING MY CONTRIBUTIONS.

    I TRIED EVERYTHING TO PROVE MY DEGREE AND TRAINING (ENGINEERING- PROGRAMMING SUCCESSFULLY MET ALL CHALLENGES). I MADE EFFORT TO BE FRIENDLY TO DETRACTORS ONLY TO FIND OPPOSITION AND ATTEMPTS TO ENLIST OTHERS. I HAD TRIPS TAKEN AWAY. TOLD I WAS TOO IMPORTANT FOR VACATION. WHILE HIRING OTHERS TO TRY AND ELIMINATE MY POSITION. WHILE OTHER EMPLOYEES QUESTIONED ME WHY I WAS BEING TREATED THAT WAY OR IMPROPERLY TITLED OR PAID. IN ORDER TO SEE WHO I AM, YOU NEED IN DEPTH DISCOVERY, MY RESUME, JOB HISTORY AND EVEN EDUCATION "ON PAPER" DOES NOT GIVE A COMPLETE PICTURE. I AM AROUND FOR ONE REASON. TO CONTRIBUTE. DO MY BEST. INNOVATE AND RECEIVE THE SAME CHANCES AS ANYONE- BENEFITS/ INSURANCE. WHILE I HAVE OFTEN BEEN KEPT CONTRACT , HIRING OTHERS WITH LESS DEGREE AND EXPERIENCE. IN THE END I AM THE HIGH PERFORMING EMPLOYEE THAT DOES MORE WILLINGLY. CULTURALLY. MORALLY AND CONSISTENT WITH PERFORMANCE AND TEAMWORK.

    IT WAS THE BEST JOB I HAD. BUT I EXPERIENCED DUBIOUS BEHAIOUR AT THE MID MANAGEMENT LEVELS. UPPER MANAGEMENT APPLAUDED MY PERFORMANCE AND GAVE ME OPPORTUNITIES. I DID EVERYTHING FROM CAD TO DRIVES TO HMI TO PROGRAMMING. ONLY TO HAVE OTHERS ACTIONS ATTEMPT TO TRY AND KEEP ME FROM BEING EMPLOYED THERE, AFTER I QUIT FOR "FAMILY REASONS". ANY COMPLAINT I WOULD HAVE WOULD ONLY BE VIEWED AS "SOUR GRAPES" WHEN I PREFER NOTHING BETTER IN THE WORLD THAN TO BE EMPLOYED THERE AGAIN AND SHOW WHAT I CAN FURTHER ACCOMPLISH. 7 YEARS I SAW NO INNOVATION FROM ANYONE ELSE. OTHER EMPLOYEES STILL APPRECIATE MY CONTRIBUTIONS IN COMMISSIONING. MY LAST MANAGER TOLD ME HONESTLY ON THE DAY HE RETIRED. MY DETRACTORS WERE JUST TOO CONNECTED FOR ME TO GET PAST. MY PRESENT JOB? "8 YEARS" "CONTRACT" FIXING THINGS. I MUST BE CAPABLE. AGAIN I AM SEEKING JUST A FAIR JOB OPPORTUNITY. YOU ARE MISSING A GOOD INVESTMENT AND "ROI".