Quick notes after an exhausting day. I landed today in Vegas to attend and present at the annual Autodesk University. I immediately had to drop my bags in the room at the THEhotel (silliest name for a hotel), then get running to events. I ran into many old friends, and even more friends that did not recognize me having dropped 50 pounds of myself this year. Some of the reactions were priceless. The Exhibit Hall is being setup and was full of forklifts and busy people building the booths and exhibits. The exhibit hall opens 7:00pm Tuesday evening. I was told this is the largest number of exhibitors in AU history.   This year a new mentor program was started to help those attending Autodesk University for the first time around a table with a Autodesk University veteran. I had a table for Manufacturing attendees I will call my mentees, since I was a mentor. We discussed who they were, what they did, favorite movie, and then I provided some insight on how to make the most of their AU experience and not only survive, but thrive. I also was made aware some people are not clear on who the CEO of Autodesk is, or more than likely they were just being funny with their voting.   After the Freshman Orientation it was off for a elevator ride to the top of THEhotel at the Mixx Lounge for the AU Speakers Social, then down the elevator across the hotel and up the elevator to the top of the Mandalay Bay Hotel to the Foundation Room and location of the Blogger and Press Reception. It was great seeing so many Autodesk executives along with the press and bloggers. I even got to chat with my opponent for the cage match this week, legendary member of the CAD industry press Martyn Day. It will be interesting to see what topic we get assigned to debate, and how well we can follow the rules. The Foundation Room has one of the best views in all of Vegas.   Tomorrow begins the main Autodesk University with 8500 attendees crowding the escalators and halls bright and early in the morning with one of the most important events, and one my team and our executives have been working diligently on. You must not miss the main stage keynote with great presentations, topics, and many fun surprises. 8:00 a.m.–9:30 a.m. Keynote Address Events in the Center Arena, Concourse Level For those not able to attend in person AU Virtual 2012 starts tomorrow with live streaming of the main stage Keynote Live from Tues, Nov 27, 8:00am PST. http://au.autodesk.com/auv Share your AU experience. You can post your photos to the AU 2012 Photo Group Pool http://www.flickr.com/groups/au2012/pool/ for everyone to see and Flickr is free. Cheers, Shaan

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