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^ And getting an early start.

3 F. here. No rush to get out of bed.

Feb 18, 15 9:12 am  · 
 · 
snooker-doodle-dandy

Been thinking about getting some of those Contractor Hand Warmers just to keep my fingers happy when keeping busy as a CAD MONKEY!  Damn it is COLD!

Feb 18, 15 9:54 am  · 
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Sarah Hamilton

My husband has one of those battery powered heated coats.  Must be nice.

Feb 18, 15 10:01 am  · 
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gruen

mighty. hope you kept it real. 

 

Feb 18, 15 6:07 pm  · 
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mightyaa

Hate this 'waiting' part to know if they liked me or not and want me in the firm.......  Drives me nuts. 

Also wondering if I should continue to send out job apps to new ones that cropped up.  For now, trying to stay the optimist...  Although the nice secure gvmt CBO job where I already have a network and relationships is right there staring at me begging me to apply.  Totally different career path...  Wish they'd just call and make an offer.. for hopefully ridiculous mad money (figure I should keep my optimism going :P )

Feb 19, 15 6:06 pm  · 
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Stop acting like an intern. The interview way yesterday, what did you do today, and what are you going to do tomorrow? Are you driving or are you hitchhiking?

Feb 19, 15 6:27 pm  · 
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Sarah Hamilton
We put Abe in Taekwando. It's his 5th class. He spars like a pixi. Not even kidding. When he throws a punch, he hops and kicks his back leg up. When he kicks, he windmills both arms. And when he makes contact, he says "BONG!!" So weird.
Feb 19, 15 6:49 pm  · 
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"BONG", Ha!

Also, have i mentioned I get married in just over a month? EEEK / can't wait!

Feb 19, 15 7:37 pm  · 
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b3tadine[sutures]

Nam! That soon? Outstanding!

Feb 19, 15 9:58 pm  · 
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b3tadine[sutures]

Mighty, I keep sending out, until I get the job.

Feb 19, 15 10:00 pm  · 
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snooker-doodle-dandy

Talking about Interns:   This is a strange way to view the oppressed.

http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/archives/entry/bill_classifies_unpaid_interns_as_employees_to_protect_against_workpla/

Feb 20, 15 7:52 am  · 
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^ That is hilarious. Have to wonder if it is actually a back door that would make them real employees subject to minimum wage, FICA, etc. Without doubt a legal case could be made for that based on the classification. 

NY's Charlie Rengel did the same kind of thing unsuccessfully by calling for a national draft to feed the ongoing wars. Which would of course stop them all pretty damn fast.

Feb 20, 15 8:46 am  · 
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shellarchitect

mightyya - don't use a new job as an excuse to stop posting here

Feb 20, 15 12:18 pm  · 
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mightyaa

I won't...   Just wouldn't have all day to sit around and surf the net :P

I do have sort of a standing job offer as a Plan Z.  Incoming mini-rant:

It's 40 minutes away (double on bad weather) doing forensic/QAQC/litigation: 50 hour required work weeks. lots of field work and travel, plus a ton of that bullshit I hate like getting regular emails to tell you the company hasn't hit it's fiscal goals ($400k per month) and the staff needs to buckle down and go out there getting work.  It's not design at all and doesn't get my juices flowing... Been there, done that kind of work and it sucked even if I made a ton of money.  It is an adversarial world to be in where everyone else's entire purpose is to make you look like an idiot and discredit your opinions.

The real insult though is the type of compensation where they would bill someone like me at $350/hr, and only pay $85k based on what I know they are paying others (less than $40/hr)... I could negotiate higher given my court and testimony experience, possibly necking into the sexy six figures. 

Sometimes, knowing the business side can be a bad thing because I know how those books work and how salaries are generated.  They either have an obscene oh factor or are maximizing profit margins.  Basically based on a reasonable 3.2 overhead factor using the $350/hr billing rate it's a $150k+ position and given their hours they expect, it's closer to $200k and they are just pocketing the massive profit (or using it poorly).  Because of the hours and focus on money, I can bet where their focus is...That gives me a business morality and ethics issue with them.  So it's one of those 'desperation' jobs I'd see as a paycheck rather than a career.

Feb 20, 15 1:05 pm  · 
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Wilma Buttfit

Ask for $150k!!!  :)

Do it!!! Or at least $120k. $85k is a plain ol' PM/CAD jockey salary.

Feb 20, 15 2:12 pm  · 
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snooker-doodle-dandy

Time to Go Shovel Snow....nothing new here except the new 12" that fell in the darkness of night.

Feb 22, 15 9:49 am  · 
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forensic/QAQC/litigation

I'd rather flip burgers. 

Feb 22, 15 10:14 am  · 
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vado retro

i know that several hundred? tc pages ago i mentioned a judith chafee lecture i attended. her entire "lecture" was her slideshow of powerful desert modernist homes accompanied by a soundtrack of songbirds.

Feb 22, 15 11:51 am  · 
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Carrera

Sweet revenge....Neighboring Low e windows found to laser beam and melt vinyl siding.

Feb 22, 15 4:12 pm  · 
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gruen
Ahhhhh....sweet solar powah.
Feb 22, 15 7:53 pm  · 
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Wait, Carrera, I'm confused - did the house next door melt that vinyl siding, or is the house in the picture auto-cannibalizing?

Feb 23, 15 11:32 am  · 
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Carrera

Dream on about cannibalizing, that shit lasts for eons.... think the windows are our only hope. Article said it only happens in certain cases when some glass sort of gets warped .... which is common.... bet it's more common with shit vinyl windows.... tuning up my Andersen Window Wall for an attack on my neighbor.

Feb 23, 15 12:11 pm  · 
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curtkram

who's getting revenge on who, and why?

Feb 23, 15 12:13 pm  · 
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Carrera

Curt, guess I'll leave it to Miles to explain it to you.

Feb 23, 15 12:26 pm  · 
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snooker-doodle-dandy

Vado,

Did she have a bourbon in her hand during the whole lecture? 

Feb 23, 15 7:10 pm  · 
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Sarah Hamilton
Ice day number 2. Sorry New Englanders. I can see grass, and we got less than an inch of sleet, but the roads are icy, so I'm locked at home. Most of the city is shut down.

We've watched Fantasia, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and MacGyver. And I even scrubbed my floors to stay warm. What the hell are we going to do today?!

And it may snow tomorrow.
Feb 24, 15 9:55 am  · 
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they would bill someone like me at $350/hr

Looks like my rate just went up. 

Feb 24, 15 11:02 am  · 
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curtkram

miles, carrera says you're going to explain to me who's getting revenge and why.  trying to not get along with your neighbors must be a conservative thing?

Feb 24, 15 11:30 am  · 
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Carrera

Curt, at his new rate, north of $350/hr. Miles probably won’t answer, I think he’s up to $500 per answer, better check Fiverr.

Feb 24, 15 11:37 am  · 
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mightyaa

lol Miles.  Sort of sad isn't it.  When wearing an "architect" hat, people scoff at paying you $150/hr even with impressive portfolio and decades of experience.  There's a reason we prefer lump sum...   Take the same and switch to the legal world; they don't blink at $250/hr... and $350/hr just means you are really good because you cost more (isn't that how it works?). 

But it would just cost your soul and sort of goes against that grain for why most of us got into architecture in the first place: We love buildings and design.  But, for a bit, doing this on the side it does seriously supplement that starving artist. Your quote is somewhat accurate:

"forensic/QAQC/litigation...I'd rather flip burgers. " 

Easier is an old joke my Dad used to tell me:  How does a person become a happy, successful, rich architect?  Answer:  You marry very well.

Feb 24, 15 11:49 am  · 
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The expression friends and neighbors is two separate terms because they are not one and the same.

As to revenge, I leave that to Karma.

Also rich and happy tend to be mutually exclusive.

Feb 24, 15 1:21 pm  · 
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curtkram

mile, i agree that friends and neighbors are different, though there could be overlap.  just because someone is a neighbor certainly doesn't make them an enemy.  neighbors are people you have to live with whether you like it or not, so some effort into getting along would be time well spent.  effort in building resentment is the sort of thing that will come back to bite you in the ass, whether it's from a justified action or not.

also, good fences make good neighbors.

Feb 24, 15 1:57 pm  · 
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Mr_Wiggin

They're saying 2-4 inches of snow in this part of Dallas, which for me as a northerner is nothing, but here it's being billed as snowpocalypse.  Can't wait!

Feb 24, 15 2:15 pm  · 
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Sarah Hamilton
I think more than the weather, I'm hating the suspense of not having a plan. Will I be going to school tomorrow? Will I get a snow day? Argh. And now Abe is sick, so I'd like a snow day so I don't have to take off to take care of him.
Feb 24, 15 2:23 pm  · 
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Out in East Texas, I don't know that you would call this snow, more like slush.  It caused a snow day yesterday, and everything started late today.  Still, seeing a few cars in ditches today since people don't know what to do in this stuff.  I'm thinking we may be headed for another full day off tomorrow if the storm delivers as promised.  

I can almost hear the snickering derision from the North.  But hey, it'll be 70 on Sunday.  

Feb 24, 15 2:44 pm  · 
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vado retro

here in louisianastan we were completely shut down with a thin layer of ice that made driving pretty dangerous. supposed to get more in the morning. 

Feb 24, 15 5:25 pm  · 
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b3tadine[sutures]

Podcasting, we're going to bat for you debtor-architects. I'm calling Schools out.

Feb 24, 15 6:27 pm  · 
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Sarah Hamilton
Not that Snook, Miles, or Toast will be impressed, but Pete Delkus (local weather guy) says 1-2" between 5 and 9am. I'm hoping for another snow day. After 2, we don't have to make them up, so let's go!
Feb 24, 15 6:28 pm  · 
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It popped up to 33 for a few hours Sunday, absolutely glorious. Was tempted to change into shorts. Single digits last night, barely made it out of the teens today.

Feb 24, 15 6:34 pm  · 
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Tonight it looks like we might get as low as 65 here in central Florida. Most of the time I hate this state. Right now is not one of those times.

Feb 24, 15 8:29 pm  · 
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snooker-doodle-dandy

It was just another wonderful winter day here.  Better than most because the sun was shining and little of no wind.  Yesterday was brutal as the wind was a whipping.  Of course someone wanted me to come out and look at an old barn conversion into an Art Gallery.  So I of course said not a problem, even with out any heat.

They were wandering why the floor  was sloping up and down.  I attempted to explain it was either a rotting  Sill  (Beam) or  a frost heave.  I got the ole owl eye look....none of these old barns have anything but a few field stones piled under the  old  chestnut post....and certainly they are seldom down to below the frost line.  We also have the problem with most of them being built close to grade and over time the grade seems to keep building up do to decomposing leaves and things so now a hundred years later you have issues with the perimeter beams rotting away.

Just came home from having  a Chinese Home Cooked meal from my Chinese neighbor.  It is always a joy to have a meal at her house cause I know it is going to be yet another amazing meal.

Feb 24, 15 8:39 pm  · 
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Carrera

Get out the jacks & sky-hooks.

Feb 24, 15 9:42 pm  · 
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Sarah Hamilton
Two hour delay. That's all they gave us, but I'll take it. Think I'll wear my rain boots to work, though.
Feb 25, 15 9:29 am  · 
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2" of fluffy white powder last night. Texas would close for two weeks and apply for federal disaster aid. 

Feb 25, 15 10:19 am  · 
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We have had snow going pretty hard here for the last 2 hours, anticipating up to 4". 

Feb 25, 15 10:24 am  · 
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b3tadine[sutures]
We've got a Blizzard Of Oz going.
Feb 25, 15 10:27 am  · 
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snooker-doodle-dandy

Saw this in the Local Rag: 

Ice removal caused fire

BY MIKE PATRICK REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN


 

Firefighters gather in front of 14 Williams Drive, a home that was destroyed by fire on Monday.


PROSPECT — An attempt to remove an ice dam from the roof with ice-melting pellets resulted in an electrical fire that destroyed a home on Monday, the town's fire marshal determined Tuesday.

The damage could total about $1 million, according to Fire Marshal Keith C. Griffin, because the owner had a prized taxidermy collection of exotic animals he had killed.

 

Ya  winter has been a rough one......This is a first.  I have heard rumor of people going after ice dams with chain saws and blow torches.  Which in my opinion are not wise solutions. 

Feb 25, 15 12:39 pm  · 
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How does tossing ice melt onto a roof lead to an electrical fire?!

Feb 25, 15 1:43 pm  · 
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Mr_Wiggin

Ice melt is pretty corrosive, so if you have some leaks, and an old electrical system I could see how something like this could happen.

Feb 25, 15 2:09 pm  · 
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snooker-doodle-dandy

I suspect mr wiggly is correct...

Feb 25, 15 2:39 pm  · 
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