is this thing on? *tap tap*




Hope everyone is enjoying the end of the year and all associated events.

Huge congrats beta, RA. i have a widget that lets me know when someone on TC gets licensed...and i had to come by to congratulate you (it must've been nearly 2 years ago that you posted the pic of yourself at prometric)...
also, congrats on the new job.

LIG, i think you've made the right eyeglass decision. although i concur with those that like the stylishness of pair #1, they lack the clean, classic proportions of pair #2 and would've seemed less of a natural fit for you. and plus, who cares about hipster cred when you have TC cred?!

so...i've been working on grad school apps for the past 2 months and just sent the first batch of portfolios off yesterday (thanks again for the typeface input, rationalist). still have to print a few more portfolios, finalize my statement of purpose and otherwise wrap things up...but it felt pretty great to walk around the city yesterday afternoon...finally feeling a bit of freedom after being locked in my studio apartment for the past 2 months, leaving only once every few days to gather essentials. n_, you're applying as well, right?

amid the portfolio printing frenzy the gf and i did take some time to enjoy the 25th (our first Christmas together, and her first away from her family). we made some turkey, smashed potatoes, gravy, etc. and enjoyed it with a bottle of wine that one of her clients gifted to her. planning on making some soup with the leftover turkey...

regarding glove gremlins, they are alive and well in nyc. i've had a nice pair of leather/cashmere lined gloves for a long time, and mom finally replaced them with an identical pair last winter. less than one month after i put the old pair away, one of my new gloves disappeared, so now i wear one new leather glove and one matching, yet severely worn, leather glove.

the predictions feature is fantastic. big props to all of you that took part. i regret that i was just far too consumed with grad school application stuff to participate (outside of my cameo at the end of Quilian's entry).
i love the parallels and comparisons that can be drawn between the ideas expressed by each predictor. reading those predictions together reminded me of one of my primary attractions to this site - many intelligent people discussing many ideas of importance in many different ways, from many different perspectives. i've always appreciated that aspect of archinect tremendously. so much to learn if you're willing to engage. this place is truly, as kazys varnelis suggests in his prediction, more meaningful than other works of architecture executed in the past decade.

SW,

what 2 fonts?

i stick to just a few
trade gothic
helvetica
swiss 721
FF DIN

AP - Yes, I am applying to grad school. I'm sending out my first round of applications tomorrow and will be sending my second round next week. I'm tired.

I, too, saw the Curious Case of Benjamin Button recently. Enjoyed it. I didn't love it but definitely enjoyed it. Next on my movie list: Valkyrie (I'm obsessed with WWII) and Frost/Nixon.

Sarah: apologies for my poor English: a combination of reading too much Per and my own Nova Scotianese dialect

jump: last thing I heard Dalhousie was trying to sell Fenwick towers - it is totally unsuitable I think as a residence for university undergrads

AP and n_: Where are you applying?

I really need to get my ass in gear so I can finish my BA degree and apply next year. I have about a half-dozen schools I'll probably apply to, although I'm sure the list may change between now and then. Recently I've been wondering if I might enjoy taking a concentration in architectural history, so that may impact my grad school choices if I decide to pursue that route.

n_

i'm not really too hot on the valkyrie story.

let's see. we'll do a story about a bunch of germans that, 4/5 of the way into the war, decided enough was enough.

instead of putting more than enough explosives or going out al qaeda-style and having a suicide bomber actually take him out, it's one of the biggest failures in history. the result of which was continued war, further massacre of innocents at the hand of hitler, goebbels, etc. and the execution of 5,000 co conspirators in the 20 juli plot.

what's next, a movie about how george tenet is a national hero for publishing the august 6, 2011 PDB?

I think that's why the film appeals to me so much because it is one of the biggest failures in history. I think the film can be successful if they exploit the answers that we seek: why did they decide to be proactive, why did it take so long, what personal struggle did Staufenburg (misspelled and too lazy to look it up) experience that forever changed the course of history, etc.

I'm not too keen on Bryan Singer so I have moderate expectations of the film. I thought that Apt Pupil was one of the most tedious movies I ever sat through.

Well it may just be the end for My Jeep Cherokee. Tonight the Ingnition Lock Cylinder Assemby went South. Turning the key was like walking bare foot on sharp rocks. It just wasn't right. I had to leave it at a resturant this evening, and will call a tow truck in the morning to have my baby towed and looked at. I just can't justify dumping a bunch of money it to it with 160,000 miles and twelve years of life. So 2009 is going to bring me a new ride...it just might not be spanking new....but new to me.

I went and saw Marlie and Me with the Mrs this afternoon. Marlie reminded me a great deal of Matisse. There have been several moments in the movie which have been part of our live. Matisse did manage to keep a house sitter at bay in our master bedroom. The house sitter called a friend who lived 25 miles away at 10:00 pm to be saved from a dog who would on most occassions lick her to death.

Melt I felt the same way about War Inc, it missed on the classy writing that Gross Pointe had. I just watched Slumdog millionaire - wow. And I totally love the end scene - but then I have a warm spot for Bollywood films.

I head north for some R&R tomorrow morning, I should be drinking mojitos by noon

snook, I just saw Marley & Me with my cousins today as well. I cried so hard I was having trouble breathing. It's not exactly a secret what happens - it's a best selling book - but having just lost a pet it was a lot for me to handle :o/

n_ thank you for your compliment. I think WonderK is a pretty cool chick as well. Glad you enjoyed it and my imagination of you as a TC Hero ;o)

AP, it's good to see you on here! Good luck with your applications, I'm sure you'll be a shoe-in wherever you apply.

Cousins & I are now watching true-life haunted house stories. I'm not big on church but this exorcism stuff definitely increases my appreciation of the clergy.

I was just wondering, this apparently being a thread about threads, if there was some sort of archinect bravado about how many posts or comments or whatever you might have. Me being a newb and all, I don't know if you get more props for having the most posts, and if this makes you some sort of expert, or just full of hot air. Maybe I'll post this twice just in case.

Almost everybody here is full of hot air (we are architects, after all)... But a higher post count makes your hot air slightly more credible.

I thought it just showed how ridiculous I am!

Yes, architects and hot air definitely go hand in hand, but I was thinking about the opportunity to boost ones ego by just spouting off. I wonder if anyone puts this in their resume.

Matt Baran, Architect
License # C12345
LEED Accredited Professional
Archinect Entries 135
Archinect Comments 4562

"No, sorry Mr. Baran. We only hire architects with 5,000 or more Archinect Comments."

you know i've never thought about the post count thing. i guess it is there for some reason that makes lots and lots of sense.

farmer, yeah i did hear that. i was there around 1988, and it was fantastic. i believe the place was built by developers who went bust and then dal bought it up dirt cheap...so it was higher end than normal. we were on the 29th floor and had fantastic views and because da was grad student and we were nominally in family housing far away from the undergrad students below. parquet flooring, views that were awesome, and actually really spacious...for me as a barely 18 yr old kid from the prairies was brilliant.


today we went skating and came out of the rink to see the japanese alps clear as a bell before us. i don't think i have seen them so well before, something about the weather made the sky perfectly clear. truly amazing. its funny because i lived out here in the land between the ocean and the mountains for nearly ten years and barely noticed the mountains even though they were literally 30 minutes away by car, just because the clouds always kept them covered. but today was breathtaking. it was like being in a ski-resort town nearly.

high post count simply means that most days you don't have anything better to do between 7 - 8 am or 9 - 10 pm.

or maybe that's just me.

in honor of the publication of this new book, i may just have to break out my little commentary about the wearing of black. what do you think, lb? maybe an open-source, add-your-thoughts kind of thread?

I would hate to think that everyone with a high thread count is full of hot air - especially since the top ten is filled with such wisdom Orhan, Liberty Bell, Steven Ward, et al. Rather they are often compelled to respond and instigate the intellectual discourse. Other times were are just sharing, TC is a family of friends and we are involved with aspects of each others life break ups, additions to the family be it significant others or the birth of children, professional opportunities, papers written, positions argued as well as daily happenings.

High all back at work.
Had a great holiday week. Looking forward to having Thurs off. I am going to try and wrap up a few non-work things i have been working on, on that day.
And maybe watch some football.

What about you all?

Jump Japanese Alps... Sounds beautiful. Are you and yours staying at an Inn/hot spring combo? On-sens always sounded like a better version of a bed and breakfast to me.

SW i find that is when i am most available too. As for post/comment count, i think i will start using the tag on my CV. Which will make even less sense until i change fields..

Honestly, Polyphilo, it's an interesting and relevant question whether ones online persona could help/hinder ones resume. I think it can do both. In my case, my online reputation has gotten me at least one job and oftentimes recognition from people I meet in person when they find out I'm liberty bell. But post count has little to do with that; post content is what matters. Naturally as one with a high post count I've put a lot of silliness out here, but I believe that friendly chatter helps build community and that is also an important quality for a potential employee/colleague to bring to a job search.

Steven, we await your thesis on black as soon as your schedule allows it! I say this as an architect dressed in my traveling outfit of all black (yes undies included) except jeans with Superman belt buckle and brown boots. I wear black because it's unadorned and comfortable.

I'm pretty sure I was going to say something profound about Valkyre or some other thing I read above, but have forgotten it now.

Farmer, I didn't mean your english was poor, just that I didn't understand what you were saying due to perhaps slang or dialect; not sure. It'd be like if I wrote posts in redneck. jawnoe wudyemine?

My mother gave me a beautiful, hand carved sahara sandstone candle votive. Its got three holes, and resembles a bick, but is larger, and weighs about as much as a CMU block. NOt sure where to put it yet.

Hope everyone has a good day.

Oh, and as I said before, Valkyre would've been better if Tom Cruise wasn't in it. Mostly, it just makes you pissed off at how politics muddy up military ops. Its frustrating. Melt, if you see it, please tell me how Toms German is. I couldnt help but wonder.

yeah, as for post count; i am probably good evidence that count does NOT = content.

my ass doesn't hurt from the movies, my brain did though, as i spent 12 hours in a movie theater and could barely remember what i saw. Benjamin Buttons was good, kind of reminded me of a "thoughtful" Gump, without that fancy cliche. Slumdog is probably my favorite of 2008. Milk, great acting, relevant story, puts Prop 8 in perspective. Valkyrie, interesting story, i knew about the failed bombing, but i did not know how late it came in the war or how extensive the plot.

the intriguing thing about all four movies, and having seen them in one day makes it more apparent, was that they basically ask the same question; What is your life, what do you stand for?

i thought that was a good way to end the year.

now, if anyone is in the TC area and would like to see FREE movies until Wednesday at mid-night, let me know and i can get you and 5 in...

AP, thanks for the props, it feels good to be employed and sueable....

i think i found my frames for the end of 2009 B07

This week I'm doing an official stay-cation to get things done around the house. Unfortunately I'm failing at getting anything done as it's 12:40 and I'm still in bed with the cats sleeping all around.

Funny about architects wearing black thing. Of all the architects I know/known only one wears black (dark clothes) on a regular basis and the only reason he does so is because he's color blind. Interior Designers on the other hand, seem to be the most colorfully/stylishly dressed people out there. I'm always drooling over someone's new pair of shoes, or commenting on another's piece of jewelry... I just wonder where the hell they get the money to alwayd buy new stuff.

OK - I think it's finally time to get my arse out of bed. Must make a few phone calls.

Sorry to post breaks in the ongoing movie / black clothing discussion, but I am really fascinated by the post count thing. If my comments start to become inappropriate (due to join date / post count) please let me know.

My question is related to the idea of Archinect as a community. Is it an exclusive community? I would think it was exclusive to architects, but as I find out more I don't believe it. It seems like an exclusive sub-set of architects, and this is based on more than post count, but simply familiarity with one another. When I hear that people share about their family life, children, and relationships, it sounds more like facebook.

Only with facebook, you have 'friends' and only hear the stories you ask for. Here you have to put up with interruptions from people like me. Which I suppose is just a sort of background noise; I've noticed members with 0 posts and 1 comment that joined back in 2004.

By the way, I mostly wear all black, and I'm color blind.

poly, it's not exclusive at all because those here are self-selecting. it's just who shows up and sticks around. welcome!

poly, i've noticed people don't post at all in the threads, but find their voice in the news posts. i think that this place is like any community, you get out of it what you put into it. this thread, more than any other, is probably the "chat" thread, and where you are more likely to find chit-chat among the elite. that's why it stays nearly at the top, and never makes it to the "2nd page" of the thread list. another thing, there are architects, designers, and all sorts of types here, at least from what i can gather...

Poly - well than my count is now up to two ;o)

BTW - Welcome to Archinect and Thread Central. Not everyone here is an architect. I am actually an interior designer. I would say there are a wide range of people from different professions that post here. The one thing though that we all have in common is our love of architecture. People get out what they want from this site. The threads are just the tip of the iceberg. I personally enjoy reading the news, drooling over books I can't afford to buy and when a new episode is posted, watching Archinect Travels

Just like beta says, Thread Central is the "chat room" It's a thread about everything and nothing, so don't worry about interupting the "convarsation". Hope you enjoy your visit and decide to stay for a while.

it's definitely post content over post count. I've heard tale of a couple of former archinect regulars being discussed in an interview, just based on the candidate saying he saw the job listed on archinect. I just hope I'm not quite ridiculous enough for that to ever happen.

Ooohhhh Rationalist, I'm intrigued by your tale.

Poly, I agree with the others, that TC is like a community coffee house/park. Sometimes it can get serious, and deep, but mostly, we keep it light around here, and fairly mundane. I haven't ventured into the other threads in quite a while because they can get deep, thoughtful, and intense, and right now, my brain just wants light and easy. *sighhhh

Welcome, though. Oh, and some of those members with 1 entry, and no comments, are spammers. We get those from time to time. People, or machines, cyborgs? that just want to advertise for free. Or, sometimes they are people who just want the answer to their homework.

And Nam isn't an architect, or interior designer. He's in the medical field, I think.

And if you really want to up your comment count, take a que from Puddles.

Poly,
I for one am studied history in grad school and am no working in Healthcare/IT fields.
However, as melt and beta and others have said the community is open to all. The only thing that makes one a member of any "status" is their use of the site. As for TC i think it is the most Facebook or chat area of the site. Basically because everyone was or previously or is now friends, and it is a convenient way to stay in touch...

Personally i was a strictly news section person for the first few years..

Thanks for all the info. I think I will un-check the email notification now.

Not that anyone really cares, but I finally found the glove. It was defying gravity (literally) in my dryer. Had I not looked up I wouldn't have found it.

Am finally leaving the confines of my house for the first time today. Yay me.

Melt,
I actually just recently learned last time i was at the laundromat (where i use a fancy side loading machine) that i must check the inside of the machine by sticking my head inside.
Apparently socks, gloves etc like to stick to the side and it isn't easy to detect.

Just thought i would share my sharing in your plight???

I usually just rotate the drum around by hand, rather than having to stick my entire head in the machine. (My head is so big it probably wouldn't fit, anyway.)

Woo hoo! I just bought one year of hosting for my web site at Dreamhost.com for less than $10! For the whole year!!!! AND they are carbon neutral! If anybody else needs to host their web site, go sign up by the end of the day, because this crazy sale they are having ends today.*

Polyphilo, hopefully this helps you understand....no conversation topics are off-limits here.





*I am in no way endorsing or a spokesperson for dreamhost.com. But this is a pretty kick-ass sale.

WonderK,
Did you buy space for you thesis website?

One goal for the upcoming year is to transition to a new Drupal run self-hosted home for my blog. Rather than a wordpress/blogger style one like currently. I will have to look into it.

LIG, that would be the mature (read sensible) way to do it.. Somehow i enjoy the childlike fun/awe that overtakes me when sticking my head in. It's cavernous...

durnit i just renewed my hosting plan, WK. pitt-y.

nam, we are visiting my wife's family in the countryside. small city of about 300,000 or so. they live in + hundred year old house that my father in law remodeled with proper earth walls and so on. (which is, btw, FREEEZING cold, and incredibly energy inneficient. it is basically like camping, but there is a TV and electricity ;-) but beautiful too). is a fantastically beautiful part of japan with the japan sea on one side and the alps on the other. we are lucky that the house is enormous as my father in law's family used to be the local lords and still have a huge property and farmland around it. when the americans came they re-distributed most of the land to the peasants, but his father still got to keep a good chunk of land to live on, and while the city has grown around it the ancestral home is still intact. so we are in the middle of the city but can't see it without walking a bit...is great for my kids who otherwise would not get the chance to run around so freely.

we are off to an on-sen in a few days. we will be in newer addition to ancient beautiful building that was constructed over a pond overlooking the ocean. i have wanted to go for years, but could never afford it. mom-in-law got a deal of some sort so off we go . hurray!

unrelated, but my father in law has renamed his cat obama. because it's black. apparently that was supposed to be funny. IS it?

Can anyone tell me how to stop email from coming every time someone posts? Thanks.

in the email there is a link that says "to stop notifications, click here...". Click there. It may take a bit to process though, so you may continue getting the emails for an hour or so, but it'll stop soon-ish.

Poly - usually if you uncheck the "notify me when someone replies to this post" box it should work. Not sure how long it takes though.

poly -

Welcome.

Post count does earn street creds around here, but only when that person is contributing to the community. So if a first time poster asks for assistance with a challenging issue, 'necteur's might not step up. But if the same question is asked by somebody that has a proven track record of engagement across the forum, they will get a much quicker and greater response. Intelligence, humor, self-deprecation, education, and experience are all valued more then having thousands of posts. But the folks that have wracked up those high post counts tend to have most of those attributes.

Those BO7's make me swoon, beta! Love them!

I'm desperate for new glasses but I'm definitely in a style transition right now - not sure what I'm going to look like or want to look like in a few months. So I'll wait.

Back home tonight (start singing, vado: "...back home in Indiaaaaa-na...") and very glad about it. Vacation is exhausting. I like work better.

liberty bell, I must agree with you. Vacation is exhausting. I wish I could take a walk, but I'm stuck in an unfriendly 'burb, unfortunately.

nam, yes, I did buy space for the thesis web site. Now I just need to figure out how to upload all of it and I'll be all set! LOL...

vacation is more than exhausting. I was away from the 23rd to the 27th and even that was too much. My father longs to have family around him, but when that happens, he flips out. for instance, this year he got in a snit and refused to carve the turkey on Christmas Day!

Xmas sucks. better if I were a humanist or something. . .

you've been waiting for it (or not). just released:
Charcoal with Carbon and Midnight is the New Black

LIG: stuck my whole head in the dryer this morning, as I had never done it. Very interesting acoustics!

Farmer,
See what was i saying... Did you like it?