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I noticed that too Miles. Must have finally ran out of articles to copy and paste. You think he reused any of them in there just so he could post more?
Dec 30, 14 10:24 am  · 
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curtkram

this was part of tammuz's parting post:

This is my last post here.  I will not lie (as I have not lied in my posts). It was not my decision and I disagree with the closure of this thread owing to  pressure being exerted on Archinect by part of its community who are against, whatever their reason being, the call to boycott Israel.  Archinect has taken a decision and has taken sides.  This is clear, however apolitical it might be presented as being.  

sounds like it wasn't entirely his decision to leave, but he was given the opportunity to say goodbye.  anyway, probably best to let his memory die with his thread.

Dec 30, 14 11:31 am  · 
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Thank you, Archinect. 

Dec 30, 14 1:33 pm  · 
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shivuy

Here's to 2015, wishing the best for everyone.

I was taking the chance during a lunch break to look back, and nothing has made me feel more appreciative for what I have this year than rereading the layoffs threads from a few years ago (especially the 50 page anthology). Being a fresh-faced "bachelor's of design" graduate in 2010 with no real experience was a humbling experience, and although I may not be working for the most prestigious company at least I am earning IDP hours and finishing up my master's degree in the spring. It's been great to see things improve over the past couple years, and so here's for a happy billings for all in the new year.

Dec 30, 14 2:52 pm  · 
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Agreed, shivuy! Work does seem to be picking up all around; I think the prognosis for architecture employment in 2015 is overall good.

Dec 30, 14 4:28 pm  · 
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toasteroven

donna - I hope so - I'm currently looking for a new position.

Dec 30, 14 5:49 pm  · 
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chigurh

donna, per your comment a few before...you guys have to get balkins on archinect sessions...

You would have to dedicate a whole 90 mins + just to Richard ranting...I wanna hear that dudes voice!

Dec 30, 14 9:34 pm  · 
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@toast, good luck! and to all a good night.

Dec 30, 14 11:37 pm  · 
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I hope you find something easily, toast, and something that's a good fit.  From what I understand the coasts are the busiest, but that's typical I guess. 

chigurh, I'm exhausted just thinking about that......that said, we do want to get people on the podcast to discuss things they are knowledgeable about or have an opinion contrary to the rest of us, or who have some informed insider information/gossip, of course! And you are free to remain anonymous, meaning you can come on under your screen name or under your real name not linked to your screen name. Email me, anyone who is interested, and I promise I won't compromise your anonymity.


I went to a poetry reading last night, organized by a former co-teacher at the Kentucky GSA program. It was called Black Poets Speak Out! but it was poets of all colors talking broadly about oppression and specifically about Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, et al. Very powerful and emotional, especially the women addressing the situation of being a mother to a young black boy and how terrifying the world looks to them. All parents, we all want to protect our children, and for African Americans right now it's a vastly more challenging world of dangers than it is for white people.

Dec 31, 14 6:51 am  · 
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Marwan Al-Sayed is looking to hire, and I enjoy the text in their job posting.

http://archinect.com/jobs/entry/112772194/project-designer

Dec 31, 14 7:03 am  · 
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Happy New Year, Archinectors!  Whether you’re anticipating big big big changes or looking to stay the course – me, I can’t decide – I hope it works for the best for all of you. Architecture-types are good people. Thanks for providing me with entertainment and mental stimulation for another year. 

Dec 31, 14 9:52 am  · 
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I like Architecture-types very, very much.  Cheers, and here is a holiday drink guide by architects!

Dec 31, 14 10:38 am  · 
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-------

Last night I read Michael Benedikt’s Shelter, a lecture which he gave for the 2000 Raoul Wallenberg Lecture. Wallenberg, who was trained as an architect, saved over 100,000 potential Holocaust victims during WWII. The main premise of the lecture is that “Raoul Wallenberg pursued architecture to the deepest possible levels of its theory, to that place where laws and walls coincide, where speaking/writing and construction are one. He practiced, too, the deepest and most important of all arts…the art of shelter…”(p.16).

Dec 31, 14 11:54 am  · 
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Wow, great link, jw486! Thank you for that.  I'm a fan of Benedikt.

Dec 31, 14 12:30 pm  · 
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curtkram

happy new year archinectors!

new york times has released a year in charts.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/31/opinion/the-year-in-charts.html?_r=0

not a single vin diagram.  quite appalling really.  we should start a grass-roots protest movement to link them to proper diagramming.

something simple perhaps

http://archinect.com/news/article/25489643/architecture-in-charts

or more indepth as the case may be

http://archinect.com/forum/thread/70197/fun-with-diagrams-indexing-and-mapping

or maybe something with(out) a real point

http://archinect.com/forum/thread/83995563/pointless-diagrams-i-make-my-own-arch-porn-and-it-feels-great

Dec 31, 14 4:16 pm  · 
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curtkram

*venn diagram.  my bad.

Dec 31, 14 4:25 pm  · 
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Re: The New York Times, the Enemy of Truth.

And what's up with that drink guide - no tequila?!

Happy New Year 'necters. May peace and sanity prevail.

Dec 31, 14 4:40 pm  · 
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Mr_Wiggin

Nothing better than a fine tequila, I prefer it over any other spirit.  However, overindulgence of the cheap stuff has ruined it for most.  Let that be a lesson, and take it easy on the cheap cocktails tonight.  Happy New Year all!

Dec 31, 14 5:37 pm  · 
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I'm in the car (not driving) right now headed up to Traverse City to ring in the new year. Happy 2015 to all!
Dec 31, 14 8:30 pm  · 
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Hey TC, 2015 is going to be a great year! Started off with yoga and a run.

Wish you all the best!

Jan 3, 15 10:00 pm  · 
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Home last night, now today I pull down all the holiday decorations! Start the year with a clean, clear house.
Jan 4, 15 9:43 am  · 
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snooker-doodle-dandy

Guess Donna is still taking down the decorations.  Moving slowly toward a New Year. The deep freeze is just starting to hit us here in New England.  Guess I will have to dig out the long johns and stay under the covers until Spring Arrives.

Jan 5, 15 5:33 pm  · 
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chigurh

Sent a proposal for a residential kitchen remodel and 1200 sf addition, all exposed framing, full kitchen interiors, plus as-builts included in the scope.  Did an estimated cost of construction reasonable for the market, fee based on 4% cost of construction, which I know was on the low end.   Client/contractor came back and said it should be $2/sf for the addition only, kitchen included.   $2400!?   I can't even do the as-builts for half of that, let alone a shitty builder set and plan check corrections.  This profession is a fucking joke sometimes. rant!

Jan 5, 15 7:17 pm  · 
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chigurh, if they are all willing to listen to reason: kitchens and bathrooms are the most complex parts of any house, and your fee should reflect that complexity and need for detail and coordination.  An addition of a bedroom and closet would be super cheap by comparison: no plumbing, little electrical, no built-ins, no special finishes, no coordination of HVAC, etc.

Sorry they're being jerks about it, but they are definitely wrong.

 

Jan 5, 15 8:01 pm  · 
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And to think people are incurring massive debt to enter this profession. 

Not for long. 2015 is going to make 2008 look like spring break.

Jan 5, 15 8:32 pm  · 
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@Miles what is Roubini saying? I haven't been paying attention lately. use to read his newsletter.

good night!

Jan 5, 15 10:27 pm  · 
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Roubini says 2016. A lot of other people are saying 2015.

Not that it really matters exactly when. It's coming, and it's going to make 2008 look like spring break. Legislation is in place that puts banks' interest ahead of depositors. Cyprus was the test.

Jan 5, 15 10:51 pm  · 
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Bill Clinton will be the 2015 AIA National keynote speaker. I'm overly excited about this.

Jan 6, 15 8:17 am  · 
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Wilma Buttfit

chigurh, I have decided it is easy to be a mediocre or poor architect, but very, very hard to be a good one. People don't know the difference between quality and not quality, they think it is all the same. They don't know that if they pay for a chevy they don't get a lexus so to speak.

Rant: My brother asked me to do schematics on his new medical practice. He made a big deal about how he believed in paying people for professional work and that he wanted to pay me for it (I have plenty of experience with medical). I did programming and schematics of a 1300 s.f. tenant space and told him he should hire a licensed architect in his city to finish it, which he did. He used my drawing to get financing and talk to the property owner and the architect took it as it was and did coordination and CD's on it, so he obviously thought it was good. I only asked for a couple hundred bucks, 3 hours at $80 an hour is what I asked for. And I spent more like 5 hours on it, not 3. So I never got paid and when I asked him what was up he told me he decided after the fact that he wasn't going to pay me and that I did it as a sisterly favor! What nerve. And he is a doctor, with plenty of $$$. End rant. 

Jan 6, 15 9:19 am  · 
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tint, do you ever call your doctor-sibling with medical questions? I do mine, all the time, so I figure I owe her architectural consultation whenever she wants it.

Jan 6, 15 10:03 am  · 
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Which doesn't excuse it if your brother first said he'd pay you then changed his mind later.  That's not nice.

Jan 6, 15 10:03 am  · 
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Non Sequitur

Donna, will he be performing a sax solo as well?

 

happy slightly less than new year to all.

Jan 6, 15 10:06 am  · 
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Wilma Buttfit

Donna, no, he is a podiatric surgeon and not really a nice person. I did give him a bunch of free advice on helping his special ed step-kid (I have academic therapy training too) and I gave that away for free, I didn't mind because it was for the kid. The advice helped them a lot, and I don't feel taken advantage of about that. I give free advice all the time to many friends and family members. Some have paid me retroactively, like a tip or gift. 

Jan 6, 15 11:05 am  · 
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Non Sequitur

Tint, I've done, and still do although reluctantly, plenty of architecture related services for friends and family but only once did I actually charge a real fee... and for that one, ground rules were set immediately. If things get too complicated, I simply ask them to refer to another architect/P.eng and remove myself from the situation. I've only done that once... with another one I feel coming in the near future.

Jan 6, 15 11:30 am  · 
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Wilma Buttfit

NS, you should see all the sketches I've done for an addition for my parents house, all for free of course. I have literally done 100's of sketches, dating back to the time I was in school over 10 years ago. She hates them all by the way and drew her own plan, which is awkward and won't get her what she wants which is a more senior-friendly house. She is trying to get a contractor to work for big discounts too and complains to me that none of them will call her back. :) She remembers the 50's where you could buy a whole new house for $25,000 and thinks the contractors are all ripping her off. Glad I live far, far away. 

Jan 6, 15 11:50 am  · 
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curtkram

imho, when entering into work with family you have to expect to not be paid from the outset, even if they say they want to pay you like in your case.  the reason being is that if i don't get paid, i don't get upset.  blood is thicker than water and all that, and letting something like money come between you is just stupid (imho; other people put more value on money than people - your mileage may vary).

it was a dick move on his part to make promises he didn't expect to keep.  also, i think when you expect people to work for free like that (family or not), you shouldn't really expect the same quality of care they give real clients.  i get legal advice (or maybe legal perspectives/legal philosophy, etc.) from family all the time (they're lawyers), but i think if i needed a lawyer to represent me, i'd rather have someone impartial charge me full price.  i guess that's actually pretty situational though.

Jan 6, 15 12:08 pm  · 
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Non Sequitur

Tint, no need to see sketches, I have my own collection. 8-)

I've come to realize that it's fashionable to hold opinions on residential constructions these days. Perhaps it's due to the variety of tv-reno or house-hunting shows but many of my friends and family I speak to about my domain tend to always get argumentative when I offer professional advice or examples. Perhaps a friend or family member is less likely to pay you for your service because they know you personally, not professionally. For example, some of my good friends and drinking buddies would never take my word, even on simple residential construction questions, because they know me as I am day-to-day, primarily as a bumbling fool, not as a competent professional is a competitive field.

I grilled my father during xmas dinner because he added an unprotected opening in a rated wall along his property line after I had exasperatedly previously explained why it was not legal without treating it as a rated enclosure. His counter-argument: "I've seen it done before".

/end of mini rant/

Jan 6, 15 12:11 pm  · 
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Wilma Buttfit

My policy with friends and family is that I will talk to them about whatever they want and do all the napkin sketches they want or point them to unique solutions or products, no problem. If they are happy and can use it they usually give me something. I have this policy with both architecture and design and the educational therapy.

People are all different, my brother-in-law paid me $250 to measure and sketch a plan for his basement finish. It took about 2.5 hours of my time and he was able to get it permitted, built, and then sold the house. He was sooooo happy. I would work for people like that all day long if I could. Sounds like I will get to - the new house has a great unfinished basement too. 

Talking actual figures is fun. I wish we did more of this. I did plans and a material list for an on-grade deck for $60 for a friend. It was about an hour of work and we just sat outside drinking wine while I did it. One drawing on an 8.5x11 page. It added quite a bit of value to the house I am sure. 

Jan 6, 15 12:27 pm  · 
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Non Sequitur

Tint, a bottle of some sort of fine spirit is often all that I need.

Jan 6, 15 12:54 pm  · 
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tint, take him to small claims court. Or maybe Judge Judy. All that publicity would be great for his business.

Jan 6, 15 2:01 pm  · 
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Carrera

Tint – went to an oral surgeon thinking I had a big problem. He looked in my mouth for 3 seconds and said it was nothing. He sat back and we talked about football then when he learned what I did he asked me about his leaky roof….told him how to fix it. He sent me a bill and I returned it with a letter saying we were even. He was outraged then I got outraged….it’s a double standard that we have allowed to happen….I rarely give advice to laypeople – they do the opposite anyway.

Jan 6, 15 2:03 pm  · 
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Non Sequitur

Carrera, I was at the dentist some 2 or 3 years ago. My old one retired so here I am looking for a new joint and this was my first time seeing him. Anyways, once learning what I do for a living, his reaction was to make it known that we architects charge alot... I instantly responded, without a hint of sarcasm that we do not charge nearly as much as dentists. I chalk that one up a win in my books.

On your lay-people comment, it frustrates me greatly to see a friend or family member make a contradicting decision to my advice because some "dr" Oz type on TV or mommy-blog no-body said otherwise.

Jan 6, 15 2:24 pm  · 
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Wilma Buttfit

Carrera, with all due respect, I don't know about that... you made an appointment with him and he did an exam and you probably interacted with his staff too whom he has to pay for, let alone other overhead like billing and real estate, even if you didn't use any equipment or instruments in the exam. You didn't visit his leaky roof. 

The way to get my brother would be to call his wife and tell her. She'd both cut me a check and shame him for me. 

Meanwhile, I just got a message from a family member asking for advice.... it does feel good to feel appreciated at least. 

Jan 6, 15 2:45 pm  · 
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We love you, tint.

Now what do you think about my leaky roof?

Jan 6, 15 5:27 pm  · 
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Mr_Wiggin

Glad to see so many jobs listed on the front page these days, pretty cool!  Just wondering if there was a call out for potential employers to post their openings on archinect, or are there just so many openings out there that the volume of postings have increased so noticeably?

Jan 6, 15 6:11 pm  · 
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curtkram

miles,

try sticking your finger in the hole.

no charge.  you're welcome.

Jan 6, 15 6:44 pm  · 
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Wilma Buttfit

Miles, caulk it. Your bill is in the mail. 

Jan 6, 15 7:03 pm  · 
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I'm in a big ol' twitter fight with the author of a horrid Forbes article about architects right now.  Look for @ justin shubow.

Jan 7, 15 3:34 pm  · 
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Mr_Wiggin

It is a horrid article, but I have to say I previously read the articles he reported on and can't say they made a great case for the profession either.  Reading the words of the profession's luminaries makes me feel about the same as when I found out my childhood role models were all about eugenics, and were in love with the Nazi party.  I'm not old, just liked the idea of Charles Lindberg and Henry Ford...  Now, not so much.  We really need to represent ourselves better, only then will it be difficult for a "journalist" to report on things they read about in other publications.

Jan 7, 15 4:33 pm  · 
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curtkram

maybe justin shubow is thayer d?  not calling anyone out, just speculating.  i'd join you in the tiwtterverse, but twitter is too high-tech for me.


What if polls show people prefer trad arch?

Arch schools are abusive: crush the spirit of those who have different vision of arch. Only the prof's vision is permitted

just saying, i've seen those comments before.

Jan 7, 15 6:51 pm  · 
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