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best sentence i've read today:
On the bright side, that gives the C-J [Courier-Journal, Louisville's paper] 10 years to start creating digital journalism, which, by 2019 will probably be something we download directly to the insides of our iLids.

May 29, 09 12:48 pm  · 
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WonderK
iLids!

I love it!

May 29, 09 1:04 pm  · 
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mantaray

I don't have any hostility toward pre-fab at all; I simply don't really understand what it's intended to achieve, and don't see how it will save the world. Your points about construction quality control above, SW, make sense, and I will keep that in mind. However I guess I just don't really see how encouraging people to consume even more remotely-constructed poorly-understood commodities will somehow save the planet. I look around and see so much embodied energy & materials in the tons of houses we've already built -- shouldn't we be focusing on rehabbing them, before introducing new methods of creating yet more houses?

I don't know. My point above wasn't really about man-power -- I know that's not the point of pre-fab -- it's about the whole idea of removing the consumer from the process of creation of their goods. Sure, owners of current pre-fab models have had a hand in their design/construction, but that's only because pre-fab isn't currently being truly realized. When true pre-fab comes around, no, homeowners won't be involved -- that's the whole point. To that end, the Sears kit houses make all kinds of sense to me -- I love the idea. Teach people how to build their own homes -- great! Break down the barriers between people and the crafting / changing /renovation / re-use of their own spaces! To me, this makes much more sense than simply delivering a house and hooking it together on site.

May 29, 09 2:30 pm  · 
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treekiller

I may be 'designing' quonset huts for the USACE in Qatar - talk about landing a stimulus project. one of our design/build bids seems to have been accepted. Now it will be seen if we actually make any money producing drawings on this project...

May 29, 09 3:08 pm  · 
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Living in Gin

IIRC, Bruce Goff designed and built quonset huts during World War II, and that experience had a big impact on his development as an architect.

His Ford House in Aurora, IL -- now home to a former professor of mine -- is basically a quonset hut wrapped into a donut shape.







May 29, 09 3:25 pm  · 
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neat house LB.

manta, no offense intended, but that is a bit paternalistic isn't it? it feels a little bit like asking people to buy a loom in order to get a good understanding of how to make their own t-shirts. my family tends to do it all by ourselves, and the workmanship is sufficient, but not very nice. not because of disinterest, but lack of time. in the case of my parents as they get older, also health. they only do it because they can't afford to pay someone with actual skills. i am not sure they find it as positive an experience as you might hope.


interestingly pre-fab is so normal in japan even muji-store is making their own version. it is pretty sophisticated really.. muji literally means "no-name", or "no-brand", but unlike president's choice this non-label stuff is carefully designed and not just cheap. i find it ironic that people can buy no-name houses, and customise the heck out of them while at it. actually, to me the process is empowering, not distancing.

i am not sure why this sort of thing works here and not in north america. it may be that most houses in usa are built on spec, while in japan homes are almost always built to order, one at a time. that means buyers shop around, look at old homes, check out other builders, then choose to buy old or make anew...which also explains why there are not many neighbourhoods where every house looks the same.

that is super cool TK!

May 29, 09 7:13 pm  · 
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WonderK

Leaving my friends at my part time job today for the last time.....it's bittersweet. I wasn't trained in anything that these people do (patent law, intellectual property, event planning, etc.) but it's probably the most awesome group of people I've ever worked with. Sad. And if they asked me to work full time and give up my so-called "career" to work with them? I'd probably do it, they are that great. :'-(

May 29, 09 7:47 pm  · 
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@Gin I'm not sure how that Goff house could be referred to as a quonset - but it is cool nonetheless. By far the only one I could see myself actually appreciating it's composition - the others are just crazy.

@Vado, "for most it [a house] means gable roofs, wood ie hardiplank siding, columns and pediments ie fypon, and enough garage space to store all their crap" - I couldn't of said it any better. As a non-native to the US it is the strongest most glaring thing that I saw in the suburban areas.

sorry I can't add anymore to the prefab discussion, I'm a little tanked from all the driving and the multiple archinecteur telephone calls I've had this week. Some sound so chirpy even early in the morning

May 29, 09 9:38 pm  · 
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liberty bell

Dear UCLA: your flashy banner ad is going to cause a seizure if an epileptic architect comes to visit this site. Ugh, take it down please.

Got lots done today and still more to go. Looking forward to that Monday evening post-deadline beer....

May 29, 09 10:11 pm  · 
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Living in Gin

The Ford House has a similar structural system as the quonset hut, but instead of having parallel ribs following a linear path, they're rotated around a central axis. Sort of like taking a Slinky and bending it so that it forms a torus shape instead of a cylinder.

Here's my WWTCD question of the night:

I'll be back in Cincinnati from Saturday June 20th to Friday the 26th, and my cat will need to be fed during that period. He's pretty low-maintenance and I've left him home alone for long weekend trips before, but not for an entire week. He'll have a large supply of dry food and water, as well as a clean litter box, but I'm thinking I'll need somebody to drop by the apartment maybe 2-3 times while I'm gone to check on him and give him some canned food.

Unfortunately, A) I'm not having much luck finding friends who live in this part of town and who will be around during that time, and B) I don't have an extra key to the building entrance. My landlord doesn't have any extra to spare, and they're restricted keys that supposedly can't be duplicated at the local hardware store. (My actual apartment keys, though, can be easily duplicated.)

So... Would it be the worst thing in the world to leave a healthy, 6-year-old male cat home alone with plenty of dry food and water? If not, how does one duplicate a restricted key, assuming I can find somebody willing to stop by the apartment a couple times?

May 29, 09 10:33 pm  · 
 · 

um, why can't you give *your* copy of the key to the catsitter, considering you'll be out of town and unable to use it? alternatively, find one of those shady keycutters that operates out of a van, they have no problems with the "do not duplicate"s.


May 29, 09 11:48 pm  · 
 · 
Living in Gin

Mainly because I'll need my key to get back into the building when I return, which will be late at night that Friday. I'd rather not have to haul my luggage to somebody else's apartment at 3 AM and wake them up just to pick up a building key, and then get back on the subway to get to my place.

Unfortunately, I don't know of any particularly shady keycutters.

May 30, 09 12:27 am  · 
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WonderK

I've never been stopped from duplicating a so-called restricted key.

liberty bell, that's so funny that you mentioned that banner because when I was doing my PhD in Architecture research, UCLA's Web site, in particular, made me want to gauge my eyes out. And I'm not just saying that because I'm a Trojan. It was easily the worst site I saw out of the 30+ schools I researched. So I'm guessing their person in charge of all things Web-related just enjoys trying to torture people in general.

May 30, 09 4:08 am  · 
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WonderK

PS. There is a surprisingly large number of drunken tools out in my neighborhood tonight. I don't think it has to do with the movie they are shooting up the street, which I sat out for a couple of hours and watched earlier. Nothing interesting there, unfortunately, but I did have quite a chuckle when I stumbled upon a "mutt mixer" at the boutique pet store behind my building, where they were apparently filming something for the E! channel. Ah, LA. I'm so over you...

May 30, 09 4:11 am  · 
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liberty bell

DubK, it made me smile to hear you say you're over LA. Seems like a good time to move on!


May 30, 09 10:44 am  · 
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vado retro

I have never had a problem having Do Not Duplicate keys copied at the hardware store. Six days is too long to leave a cat alone. The aren't houseplants. I am lucky. I have the best cat sitter in the world.

May 30, 09 10:56 am  · 
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vado retro

WonderK here's a song for eminent departurefrom LA! Probably nobody has heard this tune cept for me and some old midwest local yokels...

May 30, 09 11:07 am  · 
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Morning all.
I finally watched Taken. It was quite a rush. Love Liam..

I also have never had a copy with copying those types of keys (either from work or school).

WonderK, love that "mutt-mixer"

May 30, 09 11:09 am  · 
 · 

I actually recently discovered that I'm not as over LA as I thought, and the only thing keeping me from going back was a certain boy (see two years worth of Dear Abra postings for anyone who doesn't remember). So I decided that was absolutely retarded, and I'm interviewing when I'm there for a friend's wedding in June.

Yesterday was a pretty fabulous day overall, since not only did I land an interview 20 minutes after I sent in my resume, but a poster (part of my thesis) that has been bugging me for ages all the sudden got good. Hallelujah for that!

May 30, 09 1:05 pm  · 
 · 
snook_dude

L*GIn I visited the Ford House a mumber of years ago. It was a "Friends of Kebyar", gathering. It is a house one has to experience, and well I was experiencing it with a number of people who had been in both the Goff Camp and the Frank Lloyd Wright Camp. I don't think I have ever experienced the outdoor interior experience developed at such a high level. When your standing on the Pod above the sunken sitting area and you go outside to the ribbed covered exterior court it is like melting butter.

I also loved the skylights...as they are still beyond what has been done today with all our technology.

BTW Mrs Ford was an artist involved in the Chicago Art Circles.

BTW there is a piece of shit built next door...in all directions.

BTW the Bavinger House has been opened to the public once again in Oklahoma.....it is well worth checkin out.

May 30, 09 6:24 pm  · 
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snook_dude

btw...I saw Mark Twain today.....and it was better than and Elvis sighting.

May 30, 09 6:27 pm  · 
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Living in Gin

IIRC, the piece of shit next door to the Ford House has been torn down. My former professor (who now owns and lives in the Ford House) bought the property next door a few years ago so he could demolish it and consolidate the lots.

May 30, 09 10:54 pm  · 
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liberty bell

I used to frequently see Ben Franklin in Philly. Sometimes I saw Betsy Ross. They were married a few years ago.

Drawings finally done. Now i just have to write my narrative and scope description document tomorrow. And finish the revised SU rendering. And get everything copied and bound.

G'night.

May 30, 09 11:26 pm  · 
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mantaray

snook, was he lookin' for connecticut yankees? ;-)

May 30, 09 11:55 pm  · 
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vado retro

Mark Twain. Safe Water...(that's what mark twain means.fyi)

May 31, 09 12:01 am  · 
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****melt

[url=http://www.thetimesherald.com/article/20090530/NEWS01/905300301&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL]Too funny not to post[/img]

May 31, 09 12:14 am  · 
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****melt

Ahhh crap

Too funny not to post.

May 31, 09 12:15 am  · 
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mantaray

hehehehe tuna, i love that they devoted like 6 pictures to the news!

May 31, 09 12:23 am  · 
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WonderK

If you just came on TC and read the last 7 or 8 posts, you'd think we were all high. Congrats to those who actually are, LOL.

I've got the munchies....

PS. Those squirrel thieves are awesome. We have squirrels at USC that I swear have higher IQs than some of the students.

May 31, 09 12:31 am  · 
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l3wis

Ha ha. Squirrels own.

May 31, 09 12:36 am  · 
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vado retro

the last squirrel i saw was runnin across the street with an entire bagel in its mouth.

May 31, 09 1:47 am  · 
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fays.panda

the last squirrel i saw was running across the street and was hit by a car :S

May 31, 09 7:19 am  · 
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hi... I'm alive although barely a really long day at the beach can do that. Didn't help that we ate and drank sooooo much. I love being back in Jamaica - wow!

May 31, 09 12:35 pm  · 
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liberty bell

Have fun and be careful, techno!

This TC page has the story of my own run-in with a squirrel thief, about 1/3 down the page.

About 2/3 down the page is a lovely picture of Ewan McGregor, as an added bonus.

I found that page using Google's ability to search specific forums. If you don't know this magical trick, here it is:

Type the term you want to find in quotes, like "squirrel", then one space, then the word site, colon, http, colon, double slash, www dot archinect.com/forum/

It's truly magical, my squirrel story was the very first result! Google is amazing, utterly amazing.

May 31, 09 2:14 pm  · 
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WonderK

Wow. lb, I mean....Wow. Nicely done. How did it know? I wonder if that same page will come up if I search "4000" since, obviously, I was pretty excited about hitting 4000 posts on that page as well. Lemme try, I'll be back.

May 31, 09 2:40 pm  · 
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WonderK

HA! It didn't work because Apurimac is sitting on 4000 posts right now so all of his recent posts came up first. Fascinating, though.

May 31, 09 2:42 pm  · 
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mantaray

Yeah! I LOVE that feature! I use it constantly with archinect -- there's no other way I can find anything around here.

In other news, back to horrid horrid LEED studying. Ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh!!!

May 31, 09 2:44 pm  · 
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WonderK

I'm going for the "3 posts in a row" move....

Giving more stuff away today. Sold my coffee table last night. It's fun to unburden yourself of stuff you don't really need. Today I dig deeper into the depths of my crap; tomorrow my freecycling will probably include "Bag of Assorted Stuffed Animals"....

Also, I think parting ways with WonderMan was timely. I don't want to get too far into it, but his impulsiveness/bad decision-making has led him to pursue an apartment that he cannot, under any circumstances, afford. At first I tried to be nice, then I was firm, then I basically said I don't want to hear about it anymore - watching someone you care about self-destruct is not fun, and I can't be emotionally tied to it any longer. I wash my hands of it entirely. I'm moving on with my life.

May 31, 09 2:48 pm  · 
 · 
mantaray

Wow I figured he would cancel that lease ASAP. Man.

I loooooove purging. Good for you, WK -- it's such a freeing feeling! I did some myself a few weeks ago and feel great. On the flip side, I personally cannot get rid of the stuffed animals. They're one thing (along with legos and children's books) that I've held on to. Thank goodness for free parental storage, in this case...

The rest, I do well without. I think I've mentioned this on here before (probably even to you, if so, sorry for the repeat!) but what helped me a lot with my purging efforts was my trusty digicam. If I had an item that I really was only keeping for the memory, so that I could remember I had had it, or had been there, or done that or whatever, then I took a picture of it and tossed. Because ultimately, in that case, all you really need is the picture -- the pictures jog your memory, you can reminisce for a minute or two, and you'll move on. Meanwhile your closets won't be filled with souvenir junk.

Most useful storage tip I ever learned... Now I have a folder on my computer for "Souvenirs" and everything goes in there. When I eventually have time, I'll be able to tag the pictures with meta-data tags that describe the particular memories I have -- and it will be a veritable proustian memory bank! Since I have discovered the meta-data tagging ability of Adobe Bridge, I've been dying to put it to good use.

May 31, 09 2:54 pm  · 
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****melt

DubK - you going to be around today? It's been a while and I've been thinking about giving you a call to catch up on life. Oh and I bought three cans of skyline for you today. I was going to surprise you but I always get way too excited about the idea of giving presents.

May 31, 09 2:57 pm  · 
 · 
Living in Gin

So, yesterday was apparently "Mahattanhenge", that day of the year when the course of the sun through the sky perfectly aligns with Manhattan's off-kilter street grid.

From Gothamist:

May 31, 09 8:57 pm  · 
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AP

that's pretty cool LiG, i didn't realize Manhattanhenge existed. yesterday was certainly a beautiful day...

random Scarpa diversion:
source
tangent

May 31, 09 9:13 pm  · 
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AP

oh, and the tangent from the tangent: two Palladian Villas

May 31, 09 9:14 pm  · 
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****melt

Very cool photo indeed. LIG. Thanks for sharing

May 31, 09 9:53 pm  · 
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liberty bell

For the love of god, I have hit my limit.

May 31, 09 9:56 pm  · 
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Living in Gin

My favorite thing about the photo isn't the sun coming up between the buildings, but the sense of wonder shown by all the people who showed up there to witness it. Who says New Yorkers are jaded?

May 31, 09 10:04 pm  · 
 · 

So I recently found the architectural review critique of my blog via high beam. It said I could read the full thing if I signed up for the free trial which when I checked said I needed to use a credit card for, and thought they could suck it. Anyway after a bit of searching I found the full thing

What's in a name?

It's difficult not to enjoy architectural site names. How could you resist Architechnophilia. When I looked at it in September it looked like the beginning of an architectural plan book but a bit of scrolling, as with bloglikeyougiveadamn, revealed a bunch of pleasures from Thomas Hcatherwick's latest, through Dutch floating homes, some bad music to a fascinating blogumentary about building, actually mostly pouring concrete, in Tokyo. Like many blogs it relies on material sourced from elsewhere. That poses global problems of copyright for the whole web, not just blogs. But in the same way that a blind eye was turned to music sampling in the 80s maybe blog-like sampling of text and images is something media publishers are just going to have to put up with.

May 31, 09 10:05 pm  · 
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vado retro

techno send me your credit card number and you can get a full review of what I think about you...here's a sample...

That Techno. His voice is a little like butta. However...

May 31, 09 10:44 pm  · 
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Vado.
Great review.. Now I can't wait to hear for myself.

Nite all.
I read a book tonight.

May 31, 09 10:55 pm  · 
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Oh and Dubk,
Good for you. Any word on the job?

May 31, 09 10:56 pm  · 
 · 

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