Omg thats' so sad Snook - that is a beautiful, beautiful dog. My condolences to you and the Mrs. Loosing a loved one is a troubling hardship human or otherwise.
Nam... you had me rolling with laughter. Keep pedalling my friend
I've been out of town so I'll do a little blog post-type update.
Flew to Phoenix with Angus Thursday. My parents just moved back there (from PDX) two months ago, so I wanted to see their house and help my mom with some furniture and stuff. My sister is there too of course and Angus needed some time with his cousins, all of whom he adores.
Friday morning I borrowed my dad's Miata and enjoyed a lovely two-hour convertible drive down to Tucson for my 20-year BArch reunion. About a dozen of us showed up and had a very good time. After the "official" event at the College we all went to the local bar to catch up. Someone made a very astute comment: we all looked older, yes, but we didn't look unfamiliar to each other, because we basically looked exactly like we all looked after a 36 hour charette: a little haggard, a little drawn, a little wrinkled! It was very funny and VERY true - a bit more grey hair, but basically everyone looked craggy but happy.
Most of us went on to practice architecture despite the pain in the ass of the entire profession, and graduating in '90 into a recession, so that was cool.
Spent a little time with my favorite former professor (now retired) - he keeps on keeping on and doing good, good work - he's still an inspiration.
Went back to Phoenix Saturday and spent the next day with my family, hiked up Lookout Mountain, killed a scorpion in my bedroom, and drank a lot with my ebullient, raunchy, fun family.
Back to Naptown last night and now I'm caught up in tons and tons of non-billable responsibilities! But life is good. Tornados even passed us by this morning, yay!
"The Big Guy" is Matisse. He was a year older than Jack. We discovered he had brain cancer just about a year ago. Not that it slowed him down at all, he was a leader kind of dog. He would get me out of the house first thing in the morning come rain or shine. The last month he was changing rapidly. Like one night when I went to put him in his crate for bed he had a panic attack, so he slept in our bed with us for the past month. He was a strong headed as myself which is really saying something about his personality. He was starting to loose his coordination, and you could tell his mind would go to another place. This past weekend he injured his front shoulder jumping off of the bed. But he still even till yesterday morning was insistant in doing it his way, cause there was no other way. We could tell he was in alot of pain, and when we were taking him to the Vet,
he is alot of talking...not barking...just those soft nice noises he would make when he wanted us to understand.
Sounds alot like my list of favorites....except because I scooted out early I never had exposure to Corkey. I was fully aware of him because of friends who had him as a professor and also worked for him. I do recall a slide show he presented on Mexico City which I found absolutely fascinating. I had both McNeil and McConnell for Studio.
I am so sorry to hear about matisse. as a dog person and a friend of animals, i can partially relate to your loss. my sympathies to remaining part of the family.
my condolences snook... my oldest is 15 years old now and i'm terrified of when that day might come... luckily riley is still very healthy and keeps his younger brother in line...
Oh I hate homework in classes you dont care anything about. Who cares about tree diagrams, bubble diagrams, nativist vs behaviorist theories. I sure don't. And I have to do it in Power Point!? Oh, the bane of my existence.
Nam - re: I've witnessed the same thing and have just sat there dumbfounded by the actions of ppl. As one commenter said you can't change everything so I think the way you handled it was perfect. Hope your new cublicle mate is working out. OK.. now I'm really getting back to work
Three hot young Latino men just came to my house and...cut down a dead tree that was about to fall on the garage after yesterday's storms. I enjoyed watching the, um, process.
Sorry about your puppy snook, I have experienced the same a few times and sucks...:{
Hi back everyone...
I had my first experience opening a pomegranate last night...that fruit is so messy... I had shock-pink splats all over the counters, back splash and including on over my face and neck. It was ridiculous...I noticed that cutting it in quarters is a less splashy way to go.
it's about a new phenomena of young men who are apparently capable of dressing themselves. I've recently seen 20-somethings wearing bow-ties (and not the clip-on kind) and wingtips... and I'm pretty sure they were software engineers...
beta, we get to see a pic? I recently took to shaving regularly again. Well I should say with a actual razor vs electric (which always leaves a 5 o'clock shadow)
Husband is growing out his beard again. He does so every year about this time. I love how it defines his jawline, and actually makes him look younger/happier. Must be something about how it brings out his eyes or something. This only applies when it's neatly groomed, though. Gotta keep that thing trimmed.
Ok, so I was excited about today's teaching, but they're all just writing timed essays. I'm just babysitting. Ugh.
thanks all, it definitely is looking up. now if only i can pass all my exams in the next month. yuck.
nam, after 9 years of torturing myself w/ a straightedge razor, i switched to a decent electric. i now shave almost daily (instead of 2-3x a week) and feel a lot more professional. however, i still need a blade to clean up.
holz, you can do it, easily. You'll be overwhelmed with the convoluted sentence structure of all the exam questions, and may even start speaking that way, but you'll get over it a week or so after you're done.
yeah, i'm with tufte as well...
[i]At a minimum, a presentation format should do no harm. Yet the PowerPoint style routinely disrupts, dominates, and trivializes content. Thus PowerPoint presentations too often resemble a school play -very loud, very slow, and very simple.
At a minimum, a presentation format should do no harm. Yet the PowerPoint style routinely disrupts, dominates, and trivializes content. Thus PowerPoint presentations too often resemble a school play -very loud, very slow, and very simple.
Quick call for alternatives to traditional architecture practice so I can give my students some ideas about what to do if they can't get a job. This is what I have so far:
-hang a shingle and start your own firm like John Morefield (Architecture 5cent guy)
-graphic design
-web design including games
-clothing (like Mohop Shoes and Cyberoptix ties)
-vaguely defined architectural consulting a la C.A.S.E. and PRE Studio
-facilities management? I'm honestly not certain I know what this is, so I have to research a bit more
-construction - small-scale carpentry etc.
-construction management, maybe for private clients? Seems like you ned a lot of experience for this
-construction management as in my friend who works for FedEx overseeing all the building projects they do, or doing similar for any large company in-house
What else? has anyone heard recently about someone doing cool alternative work? LiG recently posted this article about some youngsters in Cincy finding new owners for historic buildings in OTR.
-product rep, which reminds me I need to call one right now.
NOOOOOOO TO FACILITIES MANAGEMENT!!!! I did it for a brief stint before I got my current job. It's not what you think it is and it SUCKS unless you enjoy trying to figure out how to coordinate department moves (i.e. moving a bunch of ppl around in their cubicles), ordering furniture for cranky corporate hacks who think they're God's gift to the world. I'm sure there is more to it, but I hated it so much I didn't get much further than the stuff I mentioned above. I cringe every time I think about that horrible position.
opps, a few ideas got cut out of my reply:
* teaching k-12
* video game design/animation
* home energy auditor/weatherization - utilities and contractors are both offering these services
* urban farming (for the LA folks)
I don't suggest art direction/set design ie hollywood - too much competition and the industry is shrinking
you know what, I have to say that as a graphic designer, I hate receiving portfolios from architects and architecture students. They tend to think they have 10x more skills than they do. They know have the foggiest clue what to do with type. They aren't making consistent choices within a piece. Half of the time they aren't even using the most appropriate program for the application. And they don't seem to think that any of this is a problem!
I know that's a bit of a rant, but to be equal-opportunity about my dismay, some of the BFA grads I've seen portfolios from are dismal as well, and that just makes me mad at the schools for letting these people graduate.
Thread Central
Oh no, snook, is that Frito?! What happened?! I'm so sorry.
nam I commented on your blog. Let it go.
Donna, yeah. I know that is better....
I went on and had a great Monday anyways though. Have a good night all.
Omg thats' so sad Snook - that is a beautiful, beautiful dog. My condolences to you and the Mrs. Loosing a loved one is a troubling hardship human or otherwise.
Nam... you had me rolling with laughter. Keep pedalling my friend
I've been out of town so I'll do a little blog post-type update.
Flew to Phoenix with Angus Thursday. My parents just moved back there (from PDX) two months ago, so I wanted to see their house and help my mom with some furniture and stuff. My sister is there too of course and Angus needed some time with his cousins, all of whom he adores.
Friday morning I borrowed my dad's Miata and enjoyed a lovely two-hour convertible drive down to Tucson for my 20-year BArch reunion. About a dozen of us showed up and had a very good time. After the "official" event at the College we all went to the local bar to catch up. Someone made a very astute comment: we all looked older, yes, but we didn't look unfamiliar to each other, because we basically looked exactly like we all looked after a 36 hour charette: a little haggard, a little drawn, a little wrinkled! It was very funny and VERY true - a bit more grey hair, but basically everyone looked craggy but happy.
Most of us went on to practice architecture despite the pain in the ass of the entire profession, and graduating in '90 into a recession, so that was cool.
Spent a little time with my favorite former professor (now retired) - he keeps on keeping on and doing good, good work - he's still an inspiration.
Went back to Phoenix Saturday and spent the next day with my family, hiked up Lookout Mountain, killed a scorpion in my bedroom, and drank a lot with my ebullient, raunchy, fun family.
Back to Naptown last night and now I'm caught up in tons and tons of non-billable responsibilities! But life is good. Tornados even passed us by this morning, yay!
although this seems only true in NYC/Boston...
toaster, I can't get your link to open but I'm guessing it's similar to my lament that everyone now wears funky glasses and it sucks.
Donna,
Sounds like a great time... I love the Southwest area and have had some good times in Tuscon although not in almost 10 yrs...
Liberty,
"The Big Guy" is Matisse. He was a year older than Jack. We discovered he had brain cancer just about a year ago. Not that it slowed him down at all, he was a leader kind of dog. He would get me out of the house first thing in the morning come rain or shine. The last month he was changing rapidly. Like one night when I went to put him in his crate for bed he had a panic attack, so he slept in our bed with us for the past month. He was a strong headed as myself which is really saying something about his personality. He was starting to loose his coordination, and you could tell his mind would go to another place. This past weekend he injured his front shoulder jumping off of the bed. But he still even till yesterday morning was insistant in doing it his way, cause there was no other way. We could tell he was in alot of pain, and when we were taking him to the Vet,
he is alot of talking...not barking...just those soft nice noises he would make when he wanted us to understand.
He is in a better place.
By the way who was your favorite professor?
Aw, poor Matisse. They let you know when it's time, I think, and no one wants to see their loved one in pain. I'm so sorry.
Kirby Lockard and Corky Poster were my favorties - Kirby passed on two years ago (approx?) and Corky is who I had coffee with.
Also loved Doug MacNeil, what a true dude. And Bob McConnell. And Robert Giebner, who was sadly under-appreciated.
Liberty,
Sounds alot like my list of favorites....except because I scooted out early I never had exposure to Corkey. I was fully aware of him because of friends who had him as a professor and also worked for him. I do recall a slide show he presented on Mexico City which I found absolutely fascinating. I had both McNeil and McConnell for Studio.
dear snook "daddy",
I am so sorry to hear about matisse. as a dog person and a friend of animals, i can partially relate to your loss. my sympathies to remaining part of the family.
snook, sorry to read about the family member, i know how shitty that is to lose a loved one.
my condolences snook... my oldest is 15 years old now and i'm terrified of when that day might come... luckily riley is still very healthy and keeps his younger brother in line...
Thanks everyone..night all!
Good morning all,
Jump, nice upstarts feature...
sorry for your loss snook.
thanks nam. it is cool when friends are doing cool things and my generation of graduates is starting to take off. very nice feeling, that.
Oh I hate homework in classes you dont care anything about. Who cares about tree diagrams, bubble diagrams, nativist vs behaviorist theories. I sure don't. And I have to do it in Power Point!? Oh, the bane of my existence.
Sorry to hear about your loss snook. He's in a better place though. OK back to the tedium that is the project I'm working on currently. UGH!!!
Nam - re: I've witnessed the same thing and have just sat there dumbfounded by the actions of ppl. As one commenter said you can't change everything so I think the way you handled it was perfect. Hope your new cublicle mate is working out. OK.. now I'm really getting back to work
i'm shaving.
Three hot young Latino men just came to my house and...cut down a dead tree that was about to fall on the garage after yesterday's storms. I enjoyed watching the, um, process.
Sorry about your puppy snook, I have experienced the same a few times and sucks...:{
Hi back everyone...
I had my first experience opening a pomegranate last night...that fruit is so messy... I had shock-pink splats all over the counters, back splash and including on over my face and neck. It was ridiculous...I noticed that cutting it in quarters is a less splashy way to go.
beta - uh - your face?
donna - link should work...
it's about a new phenomena of young men who are apparently capable of dressing themselves. I've recently seen 20-somethings wearing bow-ties (and not the clip-on kind) and wingtips... and I'm pretty sure they were software engineers...
for sarah... powerpoint is evil by edward tufte
Thank you, Phillip. It's nice to see myself verfied in print.
I'm teaching 11 grade AP English tomorrow. I hope it's good stuff.
shaved. it took awhile, chainsaw needed to be sharpened, twice.
did you do a high-top fade with "b3ta" on the sides?
totally dope.
snook, sorry about the hound.
holz has had a pretty crappy month, but things seem to be looking up considerably. which is nice, for a change.
holz.....one foot in front of the other....just keep walking into the storm...the sun will come out again.
thanks snook, now i've got this stuck in my head
Beta look the new look, though the scruffy one looks good too. Chin up holz, this will indeed pass soon.
holz, at least it's getting better.
beta, we get to see a pic? I recently took to shaving regularly again. Well I should say with a actual razor vs electric (which always leaves a 5 o'clock shadow)
I always wanted a hightop....
Husband is growing out his beard again. He does so every year about this time. I love how it defines his jawline, and actually makes him look younger/happier. Must be something about how it brings out his eyes or something. This only applies when it's neatly groomed, though. Gotta keep that thing trimmed.
Ok, so I was excited about today's teaching, but they're all just writing timed essays. I'm just babysitting. Ugh.
most of the time i couldn't tell you whether i have facial hair or not. i have to check.
yep, today i've got my scratchies (as my girls say).
thanks all, it definitely is looking up. now if only i can pass all my exams in the next month. yuck.
nam, after 9 years of torturing myself w/ a straightedge razor, i switched to a decent electric. i now shave almost daily (instead of 2-3x a week) and feel a lot more professional. however, i still need a blade to clean up.
holz exactly....
holz, you can do it, easily. You'll be overwhelmed with the convoluted sentence structure of all the exam questions, and may even start speaking that way, but you'll get over it a week or so after you're done.
Good luck!
The Powerpoint Battle Begins!
Learning to Love Powerpoint by David Byrne
I'm Team Tufte on this one.
yeah, i'm with tufte as well...
[i]At a minimum, a presentation format should do no harm. Yet the PowerPoint style routinely disrupts, dominates, and trivializes content. Thus PowerPoint presentations too often resemble a school play -very loud, very slow, and very simple.
btw, those are from 2003!
morning all.
It is going to be a busy friday here. what about you all?
Twiddling thumbs at moment patiently waiting for work. Co-worker just needs to go and pick it up. I told him to hurry up.
Quick call for alternatives to traditional architecture practice so I can give my students some ideas about what to do if they can't get a job. This is what I have so far:
-hang a shingle and start your own firm like John Morefield (Architecture 5cent guy)
-graphic design
-web design including games
-clothing (like Mohop Shoes and Cyberoptix ties)
-vaguely defined architectural consulting a la C.A.S.E. and PRE Studio
-facilities management? I'm honestly not certain I know what this is, so I have to research a bit more
-construction - small-scale carpentry etc.
-construction management, maybe for private clients? Seems like you ned a lot of experience for this
-construction management as in my friend who works for FedEx overseeing all the building projects they do, or doing similar for any large company in-house
What else? has anyone heard recently about someone doing cool alternative work? LiG recently posted this article about some youngsters in Cincy finding new owners for historic buildings in OTR.
-product rep, which reminds me I need to call one right now.
fabricators?
...a few recent grads from my program are working for digital fabricators.
NOOOOOOO TO FACILITIES MANAGEMENT!!!! I did it for a brief stint before I got my current job. It's not what you think it is and it SUCKS unless you enjoy trying to figure out how to coordinate department moves (i.e. moving a bunch of ppl around in their cubicles), ordering furniture for cranky corporate hacks who think they're God's gift to the world. I'm sure there is more to it, but I hated it so much I didn't get much further than the stuff I mentioned above. I cringe every time I think about that horrible position.
my advice is to not rely on the old farts for work.
I also hope that "traditional practice" will finally be displaced by something better, but I'm not holding my breath.
facilities management doesn't have to suck. doona, you can call me sometime. it's been too long anyway.
Donna-
A few more options I share with my students:
* community service - habitat for humanity or americorps
* teaching k
opps, a few ideas got cut out of my reply:
* teaching k-12
* video game design/animation
* home energy auditor/weatherization - utilities and contractors are both offering these services
* urban farming (for the LA folks)
I don't suggest art direction/set design ie hollywood - too much competition and the industry is shrinking
you know what, I have to say that as a graphic designer, I hate receiving portfolios from architects and architecture students. They tend to think they have 10x more skills than they do. They know have the foggiest clue what to do with type. They aren't making consistent choices within a piece. Half of the time they aren't even using the most appropriate program for the application. And they don't seem to think that any of this is a problem!
I know that's a bit of a rant, but to be equal-opportunity about my dismay, some of the BFA grads I've seen portfolios from are dismal as well, and that just makes me mad at the schools for letting these people graduate.
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