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Renting is also a byproduct of the recession and fallout of the mortgage industry.  So many jacked up credits out there that renting is the only choice because there is no way you can get a loan.   And... well... people learned a house can be a major liability instead of the assumed asset.  Lots and lots are soured by the mortgage industry and Wall Street and prefer to be a lot more fluid and less tied down to a location.

 

That's part of the equation. The big deal is that we are in glorified "itinerant worker" culture. 

Aug 1, 16 10:01 pm  · 
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Carrera, your opinions about transit and housing are about 40 years out of date. You have zero credibility. Come back when you have a clue.

Aug 1, 16 10:58 pm  · 
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Non Sequitur

Carrera, you lost me at "smacks of socialism".

40years past best-before date indeed.

Aug 1, 16 11:02 pm  · 
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I have to somewhat agree with David Cole. 50 years ago, aside from their 20s, people tended to settle to a particular place as their home and lived out their career largely in that general locality once they had settled into their career. This was norm for the pre-baby boomer generations. This was in the change DURING the baby boomer generation. This vagabond/itinerant worker way of life in ALL occupations had began to become more and more the norm since the 1960s. 

Aug 1, 16 11:12 pm  · 
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Just so we aren't getting too nitpicky, I'm referring to the culture where we are in a large sense 'intinerant'-like in the nature that we tend to move from job to job, place to place to follow work. I'm not talking about architects getting client projects in different places. I'm talking about employees going from one employer to the next and relocating because we go from employer to employer and where the jobs are are constantly moving more. 

We stay at a place for so long and then we are no longer needed there and then move on to the next place or one place no longer is growing our career so as to grow in career, we move or the job we had no longer is at a given place because they close the factory and opening a new factory in another location (often with lower minimum wages) so people are laid off and then have to leave either to get new jobs, retraining and then new careers or they get rehired at a lower salary than before and have to relocate to another state or country (often the latter) just so the bean counter/executives at top that doesn't really work for a living can squeeze out more and more profits all at the same time, the cost of the product goes up while their investment in human labor goes down. This is the chickenshit crap that these rich people like Donald Trump and his cronies in the 1%-2% crowd does all the time. 

In turn, we are in effect.... a lot more itinerant as a population than we used to be. This is because that is how the employment environment is like. 

All this makes the desire and demand to stay living in one place, undesirable. Renting is a lot more attractive because if you need to leave, all you do is pack up and leave. You don't have a piece of property that you are straddling for up to years (with money tied into it) just to sell often at a price less than you can buy a new piece of property.

Aug 1, 16 11:33 pm  · 
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Carrera

Non Sequitur, I have a habit of repeating what I read which may be old fashion, used in ancient times to be helpful to others. In this case it was from a respected authority and advocate on mass transit, commenting on why the Ohio Governor passed on accepting federal mass transit money. Probably should only repeat what I learn by osmoses or on Facebook and should footnote everything I say on these pages as you all do….because as Mr. Cole says I have “zero credibility”.

Aug 1, 16 11:52 pm  · 
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Carrera

Mr. Cole - “Zero Credibility”? Funny coming from someone who doesn’t own a car, can’t afford to buy a place to live & has no skin in the game. Any design awards yet? Finished at 150, think you’ll catch up? Anything published yet? AIA Firm of the Year yet? AIA Honor Awards? Own your own firm? Employ anybody? Make payroll for 32 years? Ever not pay yourself for 2 1/2 years so you didn’t have to lay anybody off? I made it my business to be “credible” and survived 5 recessions doing so; I come here to be helpful, attacking no one’s credibility...this is a place to express ideas, share facts (without footnotes), answer questions and be helpful if you can…disagreeing about those things is one thing, but attacking someone’s credibility, as you repeatedly do…of whom you have no idea who you are talking about is incredulous, unprofessional and immature at best.

Does your “employer” know you’re posting at 1:17, 2:03, 2:25 & 3:36PM or is that a Portland Perk? Perhaps Pacific lunch time?

I should have left with Miles, equally disgusted with the disrespectful & immature tenor of this forum of which you are a part.

Aug 2, 16 1:08 am  · 
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u mad, bruh?

Aug 2, 16 1:15 am  · 
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Carrera,

It is customary professionalism to cite or footnote something you are quoting or referencing if it isn't your own direct thoughts. Aside from that, it's another issue. 

David Cole is in Seattle. He joined Ankrom Moisan Architects Inc.'s Seattle office. They have a Portland, Seattle and I think now a San Francisco office. However, there are customary allotted break per labor laws. There's a 1 hour lunch break and two 15 minute breaks during an 8-hour work shift. 

I don't think Ankrom Moisan Architects will have an issue on him posting on a forum unless it impedes is work at the office or otherwise represents the firm in a negative way. Having met Tom, and others of Ankrom Moisan Architects, I'll say from my albeit limited experience that they are professionals and that they seek good hard workers but they aren't whiplashing people to work. They have a friendly work environment where people are encouraged to socialize while working. They are much like other architectural firms in Portland/Seattle. They aren't a grind you to til you drop and throw you out work environment. In a sense, it is as important to the firm that you can work together with your fellow co-workers in a healthy work environment as it is that you do the work responsibly. 

I would say that David Cole should avoid or minimize using time during work posting on an internet forum for chatting but if it is for taking a mental break from work while the computer is doing something like rendering, okay. 

David Cole, I would put a note of caution. Carrera has been in the profession a long time and part of that is knowing a lot of the players including those running the firms. 

Aug 2, 16 3:56 am  · 
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b3tadine[sutures]

It's funny Carrera, when we can knock down your first premise, about mass transit, the other two points fall like dominos, or a house of cards.

Aug 2, 16 6:27 am  · 
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b3tadine[sutures]

More why Carrera is wrong.

"Along with eliminating the parking lot (workers are being encouraged to use public transit) G.E. wanted to do away with security gates and the sense of isolation that characterizes many corporate campuses."

Aug 2, 16 6:51 am  · 
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archiwutm8

Cars are unnecessary luxuries if you have good public transport. The sales of cars has declined in London in the last several years. Majority of the city workers now use public transport as its reasonably reliable and cheaper.

Aug 2, 16 7:28 am  · 
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Andrew.Circle

All the exciting stuff happens on west coast time apparently...

David (and probably mightyaa), I'm not arguing against public transit. I understand the benefits to density, including the elimination of parking and its impact on not only the finances of a specific project, but the overall character and perceived momentum of the neighborhood. The impact on the character of a neighborhood and the social cohesion generated by new public transit expenditures is difficult to measure, but I agree that it is a result of transit. I also think this idea that public transit spending drives private investment could be true, but I don't think it's necessarily true. Take a trip down the blue line to Long Beach sometime...private investment has not poured into those neighborhoods due to that construction. I think this idea that transit is a panacea is incorrect, and that we need to understand all of the costs and incentives being created. I say the same thing to people who are unable to see how much taxpayers really spend on automobile infrastructure. It's a complex thing.

mightyaa, I'm not (and I'm not sure who is) arguing against effective infrastructure spending for water, sewers, roads, etc. I think Carrera is rightly pointing out that a lot money will be spent wastefully on new roads, 'beautification', and graft. I am more in favor of maintenance spending. I would probably argue against spending public funds to build new infrastructure to connect new outlying developments to existing city systems. IMO the public shouldn't be subsidizing a developer's profits - creates an incentive to sprawl.

Aug 2, 16 8:19 am  · 
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Here are examples of transit/infrastructure effects in DC.

The NoMa BID is a place because of the metro stop (metro signage was changed to put the BID name 1st, bumping Galludet U down a notch). Just to the east, the new trolley line is attracting new money in the form of business and residential development. 

Another major infrastructure project recieving a great deal of attention is the bridge park (OMA/Olin) iniative that aims to create economic opportunities in both sides of the Anacostia, along with waterfront access to those on the north side of the river.

Aug 2, 16 12:32 pm  · 
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Mr_Wiggin

It's happening...

The architectation of Yeezus!

Kanye West's Ikea line should beat Justin Timberlake's homeware

Aug 2, 16 12:50 pm  · 
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Bloopox

It is customary professionalism to cite or footnote something you are quoting or referencing if it isn't your own direct thoughts.

...

However, there are customary allotted break per labor laws. There's a 1 hour lunch break and two 15 minute breaks during an 8-hour work shift. 

 

So where's your citation for that factoid?  In fact WA labor law states 10 minute breaks for every 4 hours worked, and a 30 minute lunch break if the shift is 5 hours or longer - which may count as one of the 10 minute breaks.(Source: Washington Dept of Labor and Industries  www.lni.wa.gov)

Federal labor law does not require any compensated breaks, or any lunch breaks.  (Source: www.dol.gov)

Aug 2, 16 1:20 pm  · 
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I don't work on a factory floor, and my employer doesn't want employees with a factory floor mentality. Nobody expects me to be pumping Revit nonstop for 8+ hours a day, and I wouldn't be working for any employer who did. The time I spend composing a quick thought here on Archinect is a fraction of the time I'd spend to go take a leak or refill my coffee mug.

As far as credibility goes, I'm not the one hiding behind a pseudonym; my CV and portfolio are out there for those who wish to look. I already have more than a decade of experience at some top-shelf firms under my belt, and you might even find a few awards and publications.

The idea that my credibility is somehow tied to car ownership, home ownership, or bank account balance is reflective of an incredibly vacuous and outdated worldview. Again, about 40 years out of touch with reality. I don't need lectures from some retired Baby Boomer who subscribes to that vision; my colleagues and I will still be cleaning up his generation's mess for decades after he's started pushing up daisies.

Aug 2, 16 1:54 pm  · 
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tduds

"I should have left with Miles, equally disgusted with the disrespectful & immature tenor of this forum"

I don't know if it's really the best tactic to cry about disrespect after what was basically a 100 word ad hominem attack.

Aug 2, 16 2:01 pm  · 
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Yep, that's my thoughts and feelings about Ankrom Moisan

Aug 2, 16 2:06 pm  · 
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tduds

I don't know why but I'm slightly unsettled about Rick's name dropping all of a sudden.

Aug 2, 16 2:07 pm  · 
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tduds, which one? The one where he name drops Tom and others from Ankron Moisan ... "Having met Tom, and others of Ankrom Moisan Architects...," or the one where he name drops David to agree with him, "I have to somewhat agree with David Cole."

What unsettles me is that I think David might have picked himself up a fan. Balkins also went out of his way to compliment David in the critical regionalist thread.

"I'll just like to say I like what David Cole is bringing to this discussion."

Aug 2, 16 2:25 pm  · 
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archiwutm8

Bloody hell David has a fan girl now!

Aug 2, 16 2:34 pm  · 
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Rest assured, the feeling isn't mutual.

Aug 2, 16 2:40 pm  · 
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Maybe before we embarrass him, we should just let it play out. This could be the next step in a long, drawn-out process to pursue employment at Ankrom Moisan. Perhaps Balkins is actually doing something about getting a job.

  1. Meet Tom.
  2. Establish online presence in architect-related social media.
  3. Praise Ankrom Moisan's employment practices on social media.
  4. Praise any Ankrom Moisan employees for their contributions on social media (after verifying status of architectural registration).
  5. Etc. ...
Aug 2, 16 2:43 pm  · 
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tduds

It's like watching a robot trying to reverse engineer networking.

Aug 2, 16 2:59 pm  · 
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Speaking of doing something ...

I saw the thread asking for Londoners to band together and take the ARE, and I realized that my 2-3 month break from the ARE for the holidays and family visits last year turned into 9-10 months of me just being lazy and procrastinating. Time to schedule the next division and lock myself away on nights and weekends until I get this thing done. 

Aug 2, 16 3:04 pm  · 
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E_I, 

The person I was referring to by the name 'Tom' is Tom Moisan. Awhile back, I met him before. Regardless of David Cole's presence on this forum or anywhere. My opinion of that firm has always been that I seen the firm as a respectable architectural firm as with SRG Partnership Inc. and some other firms.

Aug 2, 16 3:15 pm  · 
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That 'Tom' is Tom Moisan was not lost on me, and also completely not the point.

Aug 2, 16 4:01 pm  · 
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tduds

Awhile back, I met him before.

Have you not currently met him before?

Aug 2, 16 4:54 pm  · 
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tduds

Anyway,

EI: I'm currently taking a 3 month break from the ARE to enjoy as much outdoor activity as possible during the summer. I should probably just schedule the next one now to avoid falling into the same trap of procrastination.

Aug 2, 16 4:56 pm  · 
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^ Yes, absolutely schedule it now. 

My "break" was because I had just finished a test, my sister was coming to visit in a week or so and I didn't want to get started studying for the next only to be interrupted by her visit. That turned into, "well, I won't schedule it now, Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I don't want to interrupt my studying for the holiday." That turned into Christmas, which then turned into getting busy at work after the holidays and another excuse, and another, etc. Now it's been almost 10 months since I took my little break from testing. I should have just scheduled the test and been interrupted in my studying for it by my sister, holidays, etc.

TL;DR, give yourself a deadline ... schedule the test.

Aug 2, 16 5:32 pm  · 
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Mr_Wiggin

Are there still any architects for Trump?  With every passing day I cannot, for the life of me, understand how any decent human being could support that blabbering specimen of human filth.  I've never been actively against him, but him and his acolytes attacks on military veterans, and their families crossed the line for me.  I've always felt Trump was a plant by the DNC to get Hillary elected, and that's till well within the realm of possibility, but the Trump campaign has brought a mentality and world-view into the mainstream that should have no place in this country.  Of course it's always been there in every society, but that doesn't make it acceptable, or something that should be tolerated.  We need to fix this shit...

Aug 2, 16 5:34 pm  · 
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tduds

give yourself a deadline ... schedule the test.

I did the first part: About one exam a month, except July-Sept. I took one in April and one in June ...sooo not bad.

Goal is to have license in hand by April, which gives me plenty of wiggle room as long as I don't fail. The biggest thing keeping me from scheduling more than a couple in advance is cost.

Aug 2, 16 5:40 pm  · 
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LOOK AT THIS AMAZING MATERIAL BUILT OBJECT THAT EXISTS IN THE PHYSICAL WORLD!!!

Aug 2, 16 6:54 pm  · 
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Setting a goal to take one each month is not the same as paying the fee and having one scheduled for each month. The big difference is that you can always push back the goal because you haven't committed to it financially. A scheduled test, on the other hand, means that if you reschedule it, you take a financial consequence.

I was (and still am) aiming for about a 4-week testing cycle. Most people I heard recommended 6 weeks. I studied for 6 weeks on the first test and I was so bored by the 4th week that I only did 4 weeks to the next test and I was fine (still a little bored at the end). Some shorter tests, I could probably get away with 3 weeks or less.

It worked out well for me to schedule the next test right after taking one, before I got my score. This kept the whole thing moving and I always had something to do even while waiting to hear results.

Speaking of waiting to hear your results, what was your wait like? Coworkers of mine liked to schedule their tests on Mondays. It left the weekend for cramming or relaxing before a test, and work tended to not get in the way. They usually ended up needing to wait about a week and a half to get results. I took one that was later in the week (Friday) and I received my result that next week. My assumption is that all the tests from each week are processed on the beginning of the next week, and results are issued when they've all been processed (usually by Wednesday or Thursday).

Aug 2, 16 6:54 pm  · 
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It's not done yet, the base gets clad in cast concrete panels. It's a monument.

Aug 2, 16 6:54 pm  · 
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awaiting_deletion

that's wicked sweet Donna.  I like Sculpture In The Environment

is it ok to was down muscle relaxer and back pain meds with a beer?

Aug 2, 16 7:07 pm  · 
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tduds

Based on the two I took (SD & BS) I think I can do a 1-week rest, 3-week study cycle and be well-prepped without losing my sanity.

Both times I got my score back about two weeks later. I took both exams on a Thursday. I did notice that my score report was posted about 2 days before I received the email about it.

My assumption is that all the tests from each week are processed on the beginning of the next week, and results are issued when they've all been processed

That makes a lot of sense. I still don't know why NCARB says wait time is 4-6 weeks, everybody I know finds out in about 2.

Aug 2, 16 7:24 pm  · 
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I scheduled my AREs so that I'd have about one exam per month, and ended up taking a short break when I moved from NYC to Cincinnati. My employer at the time reimbursed for all the exam fees, so I scheduled my first exam, got reimbursed for it a couple weeks later, scheduled the second one, and so forth. So I was never out-of-pocket more than one exam fee at any given time.

I always got my scores back about two weeks later... It got to the point where it was almost like clockwork. I had to re-take two exams (both due to stupid mistakes I made on the vignette, on divisions that I thought I'd aced), so I worked those into my schedule once the 60-day waiting period had passed. Even with the re-takes I was able to pass all seven divisions over the course of about seven months.

Aug 2, 16 8:20 pm  · 
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shellarchitect

Missed out on all the name calling earlier, have to say we should be better than that. Smart people can have different beliefs, if you can't refute an agreement without a personal attack you need to think much harder about your own beliefs and communication skills. I'm sure I'm guilty of this as well

Aug 2, 16 10:39 pm  · 
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archanonymous

olaf - that sounds like the exclusive diet I maintained in grad school.

 

I started a new job a couple weeks ago. Too soon to open a bottle of scotch for the desk?

Aug 2, 16 10:41 pm  · 
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shellarchitect

Got all my results the following Thursday, roughly 5 am

Aug 2, 16 10:48 pm  · 
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JeromeS

I took all my exams on Saturday or Sunday and always had my results by the following friday. I believe a monday, tuesday exam pushes you to the folloiwing week.  There are more detailed results reporting by exam day availabls at ARE Coach.

Anybody know how long to expect Maryland to process a reciprocity request?

Aug 2, 16 10:49 pm  · 
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Gloominati

I took them back in the 9-tests version, when the graphic exams were separate from the multiple choice.  The graphic results routinely took 6 to 8 weeks back then, and sometimes up to 3 months when they were doing the cut score study.  I took a test approximately every 2 weeks, finishing in a little less than 5 months, and had already taken 5 of them before I got my first result letter.

Aug 2, 16 11:03 pm  · 
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...and home again with a plumber finding one disaster after another in our plumbing system. It's hard to know if the problems are due to their ineffective work previously, or not. Ugh. Either way, it ends up being expensive.

Aug 3, 16 9:39 am  · 
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shellarchitect

that testing timeline for the 9 exam format is crazy!  Donna, what's up with your plumbing?  

Also, regarding the link about mass transit that I posted a couple days ago, that millage will be on the ballot after all.  The leadership of the 2 counties against the measure decided to allow a vote, saying that they won't campaign for it and it won't pass anyway

Aug 4, 16 9:25 am  · 
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We had our 20 year old water softener membrane break and leak resin grains into the system. It was mostly cleared a few weeks ago but our hot water heater thermostat overheated and when they came to drain the tank to replace it found that the new hot water heater was full of resin too.

Homeownership sucks.
Aug 4, 16 10:23 am  · 
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Non Sequitur

Donna, I have no idea what any of those words mean. Resin? in water tanks? Don't think I have one of those, but even if I did, would I know what it looks like? I can claim ignorance since I work on everything but residential.

my DHWT needed replacement (red tag, those bastards) the week leading to xmas. I fired the first contractor due to typical high pressure contractor sliminess then threw money at homedepo to fix it. So much easier and probably cheaper than the other guy.

Aug 4, 16 10:36 am  · 
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Let's see if this image posts:

The grains are what filters the water. They aren't supposed to leave the filtration system to get into your regular water system, but sometimes they do!

Aug 4, 16 11:31 am  · 
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JLC-1

did it come out of the faucet?

Aug 4, 16 11:52 am  · 
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