3D CAD NEWS

Our story starts with a band of merchant-monks known as The Hungry Rats. They wanted to build a weapon that would offer 90% of the firepower of existing weapons at 10% of the price and would work on the new generation of weapon platforms just coming on the market. They did so, and as a result they created a grand army the likes of which had never before been seen.

The Merchant-Monks practicing their levitation.
The founders of Autodesk.

The General was a tall, likeable fellow who could be as nice or as mean as required by circumstances. He became known in his younger years as one who would speak his mind. Once when he was a young lieutenant he was fired for offering constructive criticism when none was requested. Not long after, the general who fired him brought him back, and he rose through the ranks to become general of a large army which built the weapons preferred by most soldiers, the army founded by the merchant-monks.

The General, testing new hardware.
Autodesk CEO Carl Bass, winner of the 2008 CAD Society Leadership Award.

The Arms Merchant never thought of himself as such. He preferred to think of himself as an entrepreneur who worked to enable a level playing field in times of war. The General once tried to bring shame upon this humble entrepreneur by naming him The Arms Merchant, who in turn accepted the new name as a badge of honor. For years The Arms Merchant supplied keys to all The General’s opponents. When the key was placed into the weapon built by the enemies, it allowed the weapon to use the same bullets as used in The General’s weapons. This was a wonderful benefit because millions of bullet makers were all creating bullets that worked in The General’s weapons, but few were making bullets that would work in each of the opponent’s weapons.

The Arms Merchant on a fishing trip.
Consultant Evan Yares, winner of The CAD Society’s 2008 Joe Greco Community Award.

The Samurai was a wise and gentle soul who only wielded his sword when his guitar could not solve a problem. Years ago, when the General was fresh out of military school and The Arms Merchant was an itinerant peddler, the Hungry Rats mentioned above asked The Samurai to solve a problem they had trying to build the weapon.

The Samurai went into hiding for weeks, meditating on the problem. When he came out, he spoke to them the code that answered all their problems. The merchant-monks became wealthy. They asked The Samurai to join their band, but he preferred life in the desert. After several years of disagreements over fees, a judge told the merchant-monks to pay The Samurai a handsome settlement, allowing him to continue to craft codes for other weapons and to play his guitar more often.

The Samurai, notoriously camera-shy, is spotted receiving guests in his desert hideaway.
Evolution Computing Chief Software Architect Mike Riddle, winner of the 2008 CAD Society Lifetime Achievement Award.

Years passed. The General turned his attention to building new weapons that would be nicer to the environment. The Arms Merchant was forced by his clients to stop selling keys after a thief was found in his camp. He found other ways to help small weapons builders and started to write his memoirs. The Samurai continued to meditate on codes and play his guitar. In time their work became known to The CAD Society, who decided they were as worthy as any to receive honor for their past exploits.

So, on the night of April 12, 2008, The General, The Arms Merchant, and The Samurai will gather under a tent in a desert oasis. Each will receive a trophy for their accomplishments, courtesy of The CAD Society, and they will set aside any thoughts of past animosity. All three owe a debt of gratitude to those merchant-monks.

The moral of the story is simple: Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. You never know when the roles may change.