CloudCalc is pleased to announce the release of Version 1.02.10, the application’s 30th update since its initial launch on June 2, 2014. The highlight of this release is the addition of several enhancements to CloudCalc’s Units management.
Units management is done through the Tools->Units menu option. The new features are: Continue reading
Sergei Eisenstein, not just a story telling filmmaker, but also an engineer!
This summer I joined the World Affairs Council of Houston on a tour of the Baltic nations (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland) as part of my quest to visit 100 countries (after these four, I now have rung up a total of 92). Whenever I travel, I make it a point to keep my eye out for interesting structures, and of course this trip was no different.
The first thing I learned about the Baltic nations is that they love the stories and the songs of their folklore. The tradition of storytelling has survived from the traditions of this region – the Baltic countries were the last pagan nations of Europe — and their national ethos bear strong marks of this. Story and song are used to maintain history, pass down lore, impart advice, and even win national independence. So my goal was not only to find buildings that were interesting from a structural point of view, but maybe one or more that tell a national story as well. Continue reading
As of today, CloudCalc is a member of the ‘Terrible Twos’
Happy Birthday to Us! As of today, June 2, 2016, CloudCalc, Structural Analysis in the Cloud, officially turns two years old. So far the growth and development of CloudCalc has been as fun, exciting, and unpredictable to watch as that of any human two-year-old. So forgive me if I act like a proud papa and start regaling you with all the cute stories about my baby.
For example, I could tell you about CloudCalc’s overdue delivery. The due date was originally June 1, 2014, but problems arose that caused a complicated delivery. 11 days before the due date, my computer overheated and crashed, threatening an anticipated 10+ day repair period (you can read about that episode here). But things worked out OK, and CloudCalc popped out, ready to meet the world, only one day late, on June 2. Other famous June 2 birthdays? The Rolling Stones’ Charlie Watts, Jerry Mathers (TV’s “the Beaver”), and the Marquis de Sade. Continue reading
CloudCalc is pleased to announce the release of Version 1.02.09, the application’s 29th update since its initial launch on June 2, 2014. The highlight of this release is the inclusion of the structural steel profiles of IMCA, the Instituto Mexicano de la Construcción en Acero, A.C., as specified in the 5th Edition of the Manual de Construccion en Acero. Continue reading
Tom Van Laan, CEO of CloudCalc has agreed to appear at a presentation at the New York Institute of Technology Entrepreneurship and Technology Center in Old Westbury, NY. The presentation, to be held from 12pm to 2:10pm on May 10, 2016, is entitled “Financing your Business Venture and Lessons Learned for Entrepreneurs”. Continue reading
“What am I going to do, now that I’ve designed the Super Bowl stadium? I’m going to Disney World!”
“I’m going to Disney World!” We all know that is the destination of choice for Super Bowl winning quarterbacks, but earlier this month, it also became the destination for many of the 4,000+ structural steel professionals that attended the AISC’s National Association of Steel Construction Conference (NASCC 2016 – The Steel Show) in the Orlando, FL area.
Sure there was plenty to keep structural engineers’ interest at the conference itself, including the hundreds of exhibitors, the array of technical presentations (including CloudCalc’s presentation), and last but not least, the gorgeous structural steel supporting the St. Augustine Dome of the host Gaylord Palms Resort. But I’m sure that many of the attendees made it their business to get away from the conference and indulge some fantasy at the Magic Kingdom, a few miles to the north. Continue reading
Visit us in Booth 208 at NASCC to enter a drawing for a free Nexus tablet!
CloudCalc, Inc. would like to extend an invitation to all those who will be at the 2016 NASCC (the Steel Conference), held April 13-15 in Orlando, FL to attend our presentation. The presentation, entitled Structural Analysis in the Cloud: What’s in it for You?, will take place in the St. George 104 room of the Gaylord Palms Convention Center, from 3:00-4:00PM on Thursday, April 14.
This presentation is intended to introduce the audience to the benefits that accrue by doing structural analysis on the cloud, specifically through the use of CloudCalc, the on-line browser-based, structural engineering software which analyzes steel structures to the AISC ASD and LRFD codes. In this presentation you will see the following benefits: Continue reading
Saint Patrick, holding his second favorite book
This week, on March 17, there will be millions of revelers worldwide, dressed in green and drinking Guinness. What could they be celebrating? The conversion of Ireland to Christianity? If so, they would be 1500 years too late. The ridding of a distant island of snakes? That couldn’t be of interest to anyone (other than an ophidiophobe). A heritage that is claimed by as many as 80,000,000 people throughout the globe? Maybe, but remember – there are over six billion who do not claim that heritage. But if we approach a crowd of celebrants at random, it’s possible that we just might overhear them singing:
“Saint Patrick was an engineer – he was, he was.
Saint Patrick was an engineer – he was, he was,
For he invented calculus and handed it down for us to cuss;
Erin Go Bragh – Rah! For the engineers!”
Yes – just as we suspected, all of those partiers will be toasting Saint Patrick, the patron saint of engineers!
Step aside Mars, the engineering world comes first!
I bet most of you didn’t even know that today, Feb 25, 2016 is “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day”. Well that is understandable, as it is stuck right in the middle of a week already packed with more than its share of commemorative days: “Card Reading Day” (is that Tarot or greeting?), “Be Humble Day”, “International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day”, “National Tortilla Chip Day”, “National Pistachio Day”, and “Polar Bear Day”.
500 feet to go – Don’t fall down now!
Many of you who read my earlier blog entry, 26.2: The Engineering of Marathon Racing, are aware that I was training for the Chevron Houston Marathon. To those who wondered how I fared, I am proud to say that on January 17 I completed my first (and last!) marathon with flying colors. If anyone is looking for a challenge in life, I cannot recommend a more rewarding experience than taking on your first marathon.
26.2 miles is a long time to be out on the road, a long time with nothing to do – besides putting one foot in front of the other 42,000 times – but people watch (after all there were 13,500 other equally crazy people huffing and puffing in front of me). People watching is the easy part, since marathon runners tend to skew toward the physically fit and the attractive, with nearly half of the runners being women. As I watched lady after lady run past me over the course of several hours, I gradually realized that a marathon could provide a perfect teachable moment for any engineer interested in better understanding structural dynamics.
Engineering and the Cloud 