I love a city or an area that's blanketed in white, providing it doesn't last too long and I don't have to drive in it when the snowfall or ice has just occurred. While it didn't result in a mishap, there was one such event when the days of rear while drive and no ABS brought me close enough.
People in FL and CA are boasting of their temperatures now. In L.A., people use the term "let's go to the snow" or "we're going to the snow." Because it won't snow in the city, yet there are mountains going up to 4,000 to 6,000 feet in its backdrop, you go to the snow because it doesn't come to you. When we could not yet ski, this involved taking those circular disks or sleds to snow play hills within an hour or so from home.
One childhood friend's dad once obliged. Weird family. His dad was a psych professor at a univ. and his mom was an artist. She cranked out some nice watercolors of coastal scenery. For some reason, I would see his dad driving him around, and he would sit in the back seat alone, as if being chauffeured. That time we "went to the snow" was the only time I've seen him sit in the passenger's seat, since I sat in his usual spot in the back seat.
@Curtkrtam、yes apparently it is possible, but I have not found the time to get it working. Probably dead easy once you have done it. The entire zoning of the world makes sense for content that we are buying, since the money should flow to the local economy not overseas, if that is the way things are set up. But for free content the entire concept of the internet makes little sense to me when this kind of thing comes up. On the other hand Hulu Japan is filled with ancient content and I really don't want to pay extra for sub-titled movies to begin with. World economy is misnomer.
@Donna I agree! great interview. Would like to see how those words play out in real world.
Also, I am very glad to hear that I might not find mars entirely uncomfortable should I choose to move there.
Speaking of Mars, when it flipped polarity it flipped personality too if you know what I mean.
Sarah, my house's previous owner was a feng shui master. Before that, a multi-generational family of 6 that owned a neighborhood cafe. The history of everybody that has lived here is written in a journal.
Also, I am very glad to hear that I might not find mars entirely uncomfortable should I choose to move there.
Consider yourself lucky, will. If you chose to live on the planet Mars, you would still have a presence on two planets because you might be the sole architect on Mars, of the few people chosen to live there, and it's not as if someone would paint over your picture on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
I guess the sistine chapel on Mars would be the Milky Way - hard to paint over.
Must be brilliant view from mt olympus - apparently we could all drive (or cycle) into outer space on its slope, which also must be awesome.
didn't know mars' polarity flipped like earth's does. I keep thinking there is some lewd intention in your comment TNT, but I'm too slow to tease it out. Visions of Mars vs Venus about all I can summon.
will, I wasn't trying to be lewd. The polarity of Mars came up while conversing with friends over the weekend. It is supposed that Mars was not a hot dry planet until the magnetic fields around it disappeared. We were conspiring various paradigm shifts that might correlate with magnetic shifts, but not necessarily anything male/female. Interesting.
depiction of Venus, Earth and Mars and our magnetic fields (found it by googling)
Tomorrow, Jan. 6, is the Epiphany in Europe. Well, it is as well in North America, and anywhere in the globe it is Jan. 6. This is when some kids in Europe get their Christmas gifts, unless they've Americanized. God only knows they've sold out on so many levels in Europe. Kids over there clamor for McDonald's and are now getting fat like kids in America. I saw one person at the beach over there who looked like a veritable Big Mac slam dunking machine. It's actually sad. It's bad for one's health.
get ya, not flipping polarity, but actual disappearance of the field altogether. I've heard that one before too, and it makes sense. Cuz the molten core cooled off and stopped making magnetic field which caused the atmosphere to strip away. Recently I've heard that it might not be the entire explanation, but I can't remember what the alternative explanation is. Something cool.
The mayor just declared that driving on the roads tomorrow is illegal. High tomorrow is supposed to be -15! We still have power, thankfully - long enough to watch Downton Abbey (and email a job application moments before it started heh!).
Ya 50 degrees here and Mrs is headed into the City.....Hoping it doesn't turn to a sheet of Ice at the end of the day cause it has been raining cats and dogs this morning
It was 60 here on Saturday. Today, it's 12. TWELVE! I know, I know, it's still on the right side of Zero, but com'on, this is Texas. We don't have real coats. Heck, our scarves are just for fashion. Brrrr
Temperature here over the weekend was at that magical spot where both Fahrenheit and Celsius scales meet. Now, there is a good 25mm of ice over my walk-way and car.
^ That looks like a bas relief and is actually kind of cool. Without you telling us, I don't think we would have ever figured that out. Guaranteed admission to U of M's a-school for its creator.
Alcohol is really bad for you in extreme cold temps - it takes blood away from your core and moves it toward your extremities - so you might feel warm, but you're setting yourself up for hypothermia.
Seriously - the best way to make sure you're all safe at night is to have the entire family sleep in one bed under a bunch of blankets. Also - during the day, keep moving, snack constantly, and drink lots of hot liquids (and limit your caffeine). moving heats up your feet and hands, and eating/drinking keeps your core at a constant temp.
insulate your house and get a better heater so your room isn't that cold. then you can just get a sweatshirt and a blanket, and drink as much scotch as you want. there isn't that much risk of hypothermia if you stay inside where it's 65 degrees. even if your house or office is 40 degrees, there shouldn't be much risk for hypothermia, it's just a bit uncomfortable.
the suggestion that scotch isn't the best answer just seems odd to me.
You can get hypothermic at relatively high temps-remember, your body is at 99, comfort zone 65-78, 40 or 50 is dangerous w/o proper clothing if you're hungry, not moving, injured, etc.
I'm betting there is going to be a spike in births about 9 months from now. It's a cheaper way to keep warm in the short-run compared to alcohol. In the long-run, not so much. But most people don't pencil either child rearing or alcohol.
And I promise to keep in mind not to get wasted when I go skiing, but it's nice while in doors. I can attest, after being without power during the big ice-storm, that the everyone under the same pile of blankets definitely works. I think we were sweating!
^ We've seen that article, or other renditions of it. It used to be 12% or 14%. If you look at the bar charts, it still leads at 8%. Just work harder and be in the 92% that is employed. Also, with a 2% differential above business, that's negligible. I think most people would rather be intern-architects than in a buyer training program at Macy's or as a claims processing and estimating trainee at State Farm, since most people who pick business just sort of end up there. Just hypothesizing, with many anecdotes to back that up. Good to see that education is faring better and more people are getting picked up as teachers. Clearly, these numbers are not as dismal as they were 3 years ago. GObama.
hard work? so when people get layed off because their firm loses a project they were expecting, or otherwise just isn't making enough money to pay them, we blame the victim because they aren't working hard enough?
and what does hard work have to do with recent grads? work hard at what? re-make your portfolio over and over again? work harder sending resumes to more firms? work harder searching careerbuilder.com? in my personal experience, hard work is an important part of the overall picture, but still a small part.
^ I'm not talking about those things you are proposing, such as redoing a portfolio over and over. Just consider your own graduating class. There were people who didn't work as hard, or didn't have as much talent, or weren't as communicative, or just weren't that remarkable. They may have a hard time finding a job. So will good candidates in a tough market. The article seems to address new grads. If a person is employed and loses a job, I've seen that it's usually an issue with the employer's unscrupulous business practices + work conditions (losing a commission, client, etc.) : employee's competence to the tune of about 80:20. The hiring personnel then look at that candidate as less desirable, because they relate to the employer's point of view and are likely to be unscrupulous all over again themselves. Let's face it. There are very few quality employers in the ranks of architecture. Le monde d'architecture est comme "La Boheme."
Yes. Let's blame the lack of employment on the work ethic of the workers as opposed to the people who control the money. That way we can sling our verbal swords at our neighbor instead of having to think about how to actually solve the problem.
I'd suggest you read more slowly and not be so trigger happy. My logic is completely inverted from what you represent above. I say that it's 80 employER : 20 employEE. I believe that most employees are fundamentally good, more often than not. Look at what kind of crap interns and newly minted staff architects are willing to endure. Evidently you haven't read many of my posts along the way. That's ok. I wouldn't read them either. However, I once cited an article that I copied and kept around called "The Profession that Eats its Young." The fact that new architecture grads cower and feel so honored (the article used the Sally Field expression "You like me, you really like me") if given a pittance is because that process of lowering their self-esteem begins in school, whereas in law, graduate business, and health profession education, they aim for an atmosphere of higher self-esteem, validating competence, and collegiality. From there, these basic initial approaches of these various fields snowball, albeit in different directions. Read more carefully, Pete. Got it?
school didn't lower my self-esteem. it helped me self-actualize.
so, 80 employER : 20 employEE means the 20 needs to work harder? they're good people and all, like you said. they just need to work harder. how does that make a difference again?
school didn't lower my self-esteem. it helped me self-actualize.
so, 80 employER : 20 employEE means the 20 needs to work harder? they're good people and all, like you said. they just need to work harder. how does that make a difference again?
No, but since you're a 4+2 guy, you don't have the experience of an entirely different academic department. They sure try to put people in their places, in some cases, and in a manner that is excessive and gratuitous. One's personal resolve determines how they deal with that and how well they self actualize. Architecture school can be empowering (God, I hate that word) but leaves some people feeling defeated, even though they leave with a degree.
I'm tossing out some approximate numbers, sort of in Pareto's rule, or whatever it's called. All I'm saying is that there are way more crappy employers than there are crappy interns. As for interns I've supervised, I'd say about 80% have rolled up their sleeves and removed the red lines, without much hand holding, while 20% did so begrudgingly, and indicated that architecture wasn't as creative as they hoped it would be. Then, one only needs to look at these people's personalities coming through via their portfolios; for that 80%, balanced, diverse, detailed, and tight, and for that 20%, theoretical, ethereal, overly playful,and artsy-fartsy. I'm not a fan of the artsy-fartsy, as if you couldn't tell.
I read what you wrote. Throwing the 80/20 disclaimer in doesn't change the tone and thrust of what you wrote sounding like a swipe at all the poor lazy fools who don't cut the mustard.
in my experience, many of the "begrudging" people just need to be rewarded with small (and challenging) design tasks every once and a while and then they'll happily do the more mundane grind-work (and do it exceptionally well), and you also need to really watch people who mindlessly pick up redlines - especially those who never come to you with questions.
^ They are given design tasks, such as a wing of a building, some specific aspect of it, or creating a theme or identity for it. Sometimes, the nature of the project doesn't allow for cutting edge creativity but, rather, creativity in how they choose to solve it. And this is where I've heard the "this isn't creative" complaints. Sorry, someone has to do the conventional gabled addition to a building or a box with a more or less flat roof behind a parapet, or the telescoping of an existing strip mall.
As for the red line folks, we usually walk through the red lines in advance. They also do ask a question or two.
These two typologies have established a fairly predictable pattern of interaction, so one knows that they can either roll their eyes as they head back to their desk or rest a little more comfortably that the work will competently be done.
No one is going to kill this trust fund baby! No one is going to fire me from my job either cause I work for myself.
Jan 7, 14 5:53 pm ·
·
Well I wasn't reall thinking of the trust fund types becasue they've got money to support themselves.
I was thinking more of the type of people who want to work but for whatever reason fail to be employed. Because if we don't execute them then we have to do something with them. And if not welfare then we might as well bring them into the office. in other words, instead of those of us with jobs working harder, maybe we should work softer.
3 people working 40 hours/week could (maybe should) be 4 people working 30 hours/week.
Thread Central
I love a city or an area that's blanketed in white, providing it doesn't last too long and I don't have to drive in it when the snowfall or ice has just occurred. While it didn't result in a mishap, there was one such event when the days of rear while drive and no ABS brought me close enough.
People in FL and CA are boasting of their temperatures now. In L.A., people use the term "let's go to the snow" or "we're going to the snow." Because it won't snow in the city, yet there are mountains going up to 4,000 to 6,000 feet in its backdrop, you go to the snow because it doesn't come to you. When we could not yet ski, this involved taking those circular disks or sleds to snow play hills within an hour or so from home.
One childhood friend's dad once obliged. Weird family. His dad was a psych professor at a univ. and his mom was an artist. She cranked out some nice watercolors of coastal scenery. For some reason, I would see his dad driving him around, and he would sit in the back seat alone, as if being chauffeured. That time we "went to the snow" was the only time I've seen him sit in the passenger's seat, since I sat in his usual spot in the back seat.
Everybody is weird. Period.
@Curtkrtam、yes apparently it is possible, but I have not found the time to get it working. Probably dead easy once you have done it. The entire zoning of the world makes sense for content that we are buying, since the money should flow to the local economy not overseas, if that is the way things are set up. But for free content the entire concept of the internet makes little sense to me when this kind of thing comes up. On the other hand Hulu Japan is filled with ancient content and I really don't want to pay extra for sub-titled movies to begin with. World economy is misnomer.
@Donna I agree! great interview. Would like to see how those words play out in real world.
Also, I am very glad to hear that I might not find mars entirely uncomfortable should I choose to move there.
When south is north and north is south...
Speaking of Mars, when it flipped polarity it flipped personality too if you know what I mean.
Sarah, my house's previous owner was a feng shui master. Before that, a multi-generational family of 6 that owned a neighborhood cafe. The history of everybody that has lived here is written in a journal.
Also, I am very glad to hear that I might not find mars entirely uncomfortable should I choose to move there.
Consider yourself lucky, will. If you chose to live on the planet Mars, you would still have a presence on two planets because you might be the sole architect on Mars, of the few people chosen to live there, and it's not as if someone would paint over your picture on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
I guess the sistine chapel on Mars would be the Milky Way - hard to paint over.
Must be brilliant view from mt olympus - apparently we could all drive (or cycle) into outer space on its slope, which also must be awesome.
didn't know mars' polarity flipped like earth's does. I keep thinking there is some lewd intention in your comment TNT, but I'm too slow to tease it out. Visions of Mars vs Venus about all I can summon.
will, I wasn't trying to be lewd. The polarity of Mars came up while conversing with friends over the weekend. It is supposed that Mars was not a hot dry planet until the magnetic fields around it disappeared. We were conspiring various paradigm shifts that might correlate with magnetic shifts, but not necessarily anything male/female. Interesting.
Tomorrow, Jan. 6, is the Epiphany in Europe. Well, it is as well in North America, and anywhere in the globe it is Jan. 6. This is when some kids in Europe get their Christmas gifts, unless they've Americanized. God only knows they've sold out on so many levels in Europe. Kids over there clamor for McDonald's and are now getting fat like kids in America. I saw one person at the beach over there who looked like a veritable Big Mac slam dunking machine. It's actually sad. It's bad for one's health.
Damn Hump day isn't a day off from work this coming week....Enjoy 2014!
ah i liked the lewd version better.
get ya, not flipping polarity, but actual disappearance of the field altogether. I've heard that one before too, and it makes sense. Cuz the molten core cooled off and stopped making magnetic field which caused the atmosphere to strip away. Recently I've heard that it might not be the entire explanation, but I can't remember what the alternative explanation is. Something cool.
The mayor just declared that driving on the roads tomorrow is illegal. High tomorrow is supposed to be -15! We still have power, thankfully - long enough to watch Downton Abbey (and email a job application moments before it started heh!).
It was -11 here a couple days ago with 10" of snow, it's near 50 now. Psychotic.
I like periodically seeing pictures of big NY-JFK airport dusted in white. I don't know why. It probably adds character.
Hearing about an incoming flight from Toronto skidding on the runway? Meh. Not so much.
Ya 50 degrees here and Mrs is headed into the City.....Hoping it doesn't turn to a sheet of Ice at the end of the day cause it has been raining cats and dogs this morning
Temperature here over the weekend was at that magical spot where both Fahrenheit and Celsius scales meet. Now, there is a good 25mm of ice over my walk-way and car.
Donna, do they not meet at 1?
.
.
.
oooooooooh, spooky.
hi TC!
Even little old FL is going to be cold (ish) with below freezing temps next two nights...
also anyone seen this image of Michigan from space?
^ That looks like a bas relief and is actually kind of cool. Without you telling us, I don't think we would have ever figured that out. Guaranteed admission to U of M's a-school for its creator.
Happy Epiphany Day, folks.
and that is why some parts of michigan can get around 20 feet of snow over a typical winter.
The house won't get above 64 degrees right now. Poor furnace, it's working as hard as it can!
that's when you need to start relying on body heat of your loved ones.
we're just keeping the house from freezing. other than that: electric blankets, baby!
Scotch is bad in these temps unless you hate your nose.
My 1919 house won't get above 60 when the wind is out of the west, and it's 10F and howling today. Thinking about adding a wood stove.
Alcohol is really bad for you in extreme cold temps - it takes blood away from your core and moves it toward your extremities - so you might feel warm, but you're setting yourself up for hypothermia.
Seriously - the best way to make sure you're all safe at night is to have the entire family sleep in one bed under a bunch of blankets. Also - during the day, keep moving, snack constantly, and drink lots of hot liquids (and limit your caffeine). moving heats up your feet and hands, and eating/drinking keeps your core at a constant temp.
The only ones that love this deep freeze are the fuel oil company's. That is so True in New England.
insulate your house and get a better heater so your room isn't that cold. then you can just get a sweatshirt and a blanket, and drink as much scotch as you want. there isn't that much risk of hypothermia if you stay inside where it's 65 degrees. even if your house or office is 40 degrees, there shouldn't be much risk for hypothermia, it's just a bit uncomfortable.
the suggestion that scotch isn't the best answer just seems odd to me.
Awesome idea
I'm betting there is going to be a spike in births about 9 months from now. It's a cheaper way to keep warm in the short-run compared to alcohol. In the long-run, not so much. But most people don't pencil either child rearing or alcohol.
Scotch is NEVER the best answer. Tequila is.
Tequila is EVIL. Positively EVIL.
And I promise to keep in mind not to get wasted when I go skiing, but it's nice while in doors. I can attest, after being without power during the big ice-storm, that the everyone under the same pile of blankets definitely works. I think we were sweating!
This should keep you feeling warm and fuzzy.
http://qz.com/163984/if-you-want-a-job-dont-major-in-architecture/
^ We've seen that article, or other renditions of it. It used to be 12% or 14%. If you look at the bar charts, it still leads at 8%. Just work harder and be in the 92% that is employed. Also, with a 2% differential above business, that's negligible. I think most people would rather be intern-architects than in a buyer training program at Macy's or as a claims processing and estimating trainee at State Farm, since most people who pick business just sort of end up there. Just hypothesizing, with many anecdotes to back that up. Good to see that education is faring better and more people are getting picked up as teachers. Clearly, these numbers are not as dismal as they were 3 years ago. GObama.
hard work? so when people get layed off because their firm loses a project they were expecting, or otherwise just isn't making enough money to pay them, we blame the victim because they aren't working hard enough?
and what does hard work have to do with recent grads? work hard at what? re-make your portfolio over and over again? work harder sending resumes to more firms? work harder searching careerbuilder.com? in my personal experience, hard work is an important part of the overall picture, but still a small part.
^ I'm not talking about those things you are proposing, such as redoing a portfolio over and over. Just consider your own graduating class. There were people who didn't work as hard, or didn't have as much talent, or weren't as communicative, or just weren't that remarkable. They may have a hard time finding a job. So will good candidates in a tough market. The article seems to address new grads. If a person is employed and loses a job, I've seen that it's usually an issue with the employer's unscrupulous business practices + work conditions (losing a commission, client, etc.) : employee's competence to the tune of about 80:20. The hiring personnel then look at that candidate as less desirable, because they relate to the employer's point of view and are likely to be unscrupulous all over again themselves. Let's face it. There are very few quality employers in the ranks of architecture. Le monde d'architecture est comme "La Boheme."
Yes. Let's blame the lack of employment on the work ethic of the workers as opposed to the people who control the money. That way we can sling our verbal swords at our neighbor instead of having to think about how to actually solve the problem.
I'd suggest you read more slowly and not be so trigger happy. My logic is completely inverted from what you represent above. I say that it's 80 employER : 20 employEE. I believe that most employees are fundamentally good, more often than not. Look at what kind of crap interns and newly minted staff architects are willing to endure. Evidently you haven't read many of my posts along the way. That's ok. I wouldn't read them either. However, I once cited an article that I copied and kept around called "The Profession that Eats its Young." The fact that new architecture grads cower and feel so honored (the article used the Sally Field expression "You like me, you really like me") if given a pittance is because that process of lowering their self-esteem begins in school, whereas in law, graduate business, and health profession education, they aim for an atmosphere of higher self-esteem, validating competence, and collegiality. From there, these basic initial approaches of these various fields snowball, albeit in different directions. Read more carefully, Pete. Got it?
Should people who don't have jobs be killed?
Absolutely. Start with all the freeloaders living of trust funds.
school didn't lower my self-esteem. it helped me self-actualize.
so, 80 employER : 20 employEE means the 20 needs to work harder? they're good people and all, like you said. they just need to work harder. how does that make a difference again?
school didn't lower my self-esteem. it helped me self-actualize.
so, 80 employER : 20 employEE means the 20 needs to work harder? they're good people and all, like you said. they just need to work harder. how does that make a difference again?
No, but since you're a 4+2 guy, you don't have the experience of an entirely different academic department. They sure try to put people in their places, in some cases, and in a manner that is excessive and gratuitous. One's personal resolve determines how they deal with that and how well they self actualize. Architecture school can be empowering (God, I hate that word) but leaves some people feeling defeated, even though they leave with a degree.
I'm tossing out some approximate numbers, sort of in Pareto's rule, or whatever it's called. All I'm saying is that there are way more crappy employers than there are crappy interns. As for interns I've supervised, I'd say about 80% have rolled up their sleeves and removed the red lines, without much hand holding, while 20% did so begrudgingly, and indicated that architecture wasn't as creative as they hoped it would be. Then, one only needs to look at these people's personalities coming through via their portfolios; for that 80%, balanced, diverse, detailed, and tight, and for that 20%, theoretical, ethereal, overly playful,and artsy-fartsy. I'm not a fan of the artsy-fartsy, as if you couldn't tell.
I read what you wrote. Throwing the 80/20 disclaimer in doesn't change the tone and thrust of what you wrote sounding like a swipe at all the poor lazy fools who don't cut the mustard.
80:20 - is that the billable time ratio? seems rather lenient.
in my experience, many of the "begrudging" people just need to be rewarded with small (and challenging) design tasks every once and a while and then they'll happily do the more mundane grind-work (and do it exceptionally well), and you also need to really watch people who mindlessly pick up redlines - especially those who never come to you with questions.
^ They are given design tasks, such as a wing of a building, some specific aspect of it, or creating a theme or identity for it. Sometimes, the nature of the project doesn't allow for cutting edge creativity but, rather, creativity in how they choose to solve it. And this is where I've heard the "this isn't creative" complaints. Sorry, someone has to do the conventional gabled addition to a building or a box with a more or less flat roof behind a parapet, or the telescoping of an existing strip mall.
As for the red line folks, we usually walk through the red lines in advance. They also do ask a question or two.
These two typologies have established a fairly predictable pattern of interaction, so one knows that they can either roll their eyes as they head back to their desk or rest a little more comfortably that the work will competently be done.
No one is going to kill this trust fund baby! No one is going to fire me from my job either cause I work for myself.
Well I wasn't reall thinking of the trust fund types becasue they've got money to support themselves.
I was thinking more of the type of people who want to work but for whatever reason fail to be employed. Because if we don't execute them then we have to do something with them. And if not welfare then we might as well bring them into the office. in other words, instead of those of us with jobs working harder, maybe we should work softer.
3 people working 40 hours/week could (maybe should) be 4 people working 30 hours/week.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.