I hear ya. Just had a meeting yesterday with a long-time repeat client which could have gone either 2 days ago TC dumpster fire or gone completely good like current day TC with selective ignore settings turned on.

Meeting went better than we could have expect and left with two other decent sized potential projects.  One of them being a 12 storey office building.  Now I just need to get these structural drawings out for coordination so I can hammer out two other commercial infill jobs while I wait for the others to start.  Soon it'll be winter again.

I feel exactly the same, archanonymous. I'm totally burned out. I have a very brief trip to Phoenix next week for my nephew's wedding and in my mind I'm clinging to those four days with all the fervor and mania of Gollum fondling the Ring and whispering "my preciouusssss"....

Same, except I've been ping-ponging between being absolutely burned out stressed from overwork and absolutely burned out bored from poor personnel management. On top of that there's the various global existential crises I just can't seem to ignore, and the fact that I'm planning a wedding and buying a house this year. I need an extra month before 2020, preferrably one where I can just nap.

Sure, things are getting better in a lot of ways. But, two things: 1) [from that Vox link] "Climate change is one big area where we’re not making progress, and things are getting considerably worse. There’s no sugar-coating that." and 2) Most of the improvements mentioned in that Vox article are positively correlated with carbon emissions. So by not improving on climate change, all the other progress may be for naught.

That said my own personal burnout has come less from negativity bias and more from... well I'll call it strained bandwidth. The constant onslaught of "necessary" information piped at me / us through various channels is simply overwhelming. I know it's on me for not ignoring it, but I have a very hard time ignoring information. 

Similarly, all the ways I'm overextended are extremely good things (I'm getting married! We bought a house! I have a very productive job!) but that doesn't change the reality that I'm temporarily overextended. 

I do enjoy my weekends, though.

Tduds, that's what beer is for.

And how.

A union framer put it perfectly a few months back. They (owners) figured out how cheaply we’d all work during the recession and now the only place left to cut is schedule time. Until both architects and contractors push back on schedules your going to see jobs still going for low fees because they are running on 1/3 the labor required but it’s employees that pick up the slack. I think the only thing that would get firms to push back would be a revolution in labor protection for white collar workers. Not sure why we all stand for the salary = as much overtime as you can bully / scare out of people.

The union framer’s company was pushing back on the schedule with additional fees, but since we have such loose borders, there are plenty other framing companies without those restrictions.

Not enough time... Too few people. I had already worked 11 hours today when my boss was a total jerk to me. Just kinda shrugged, packed my stuff up and left. I want to do a "work to rights" strike where everyone paid salary just starts working 8 hour days consistently.

Race to the bottom!

Wait...

just needs a little caulking.

What, you never heard of "shim as required"?

I call those "shimple solutions."

Yeah, but what about the anchor bolts on the front side? Not visible, maybe three threads on the nut.

Wrong thread?

after approving shop dwgs? heads should fall....

The steel fab shops could be okay. The concrete pour appears the likely suspect, it seems...?

you think they put the column in before pouring the concrete? also, while checking fab shops, you don't look at attachment plates and their relation to the concrete below?

You'd think an RFI would've helped here, but....no one likes sending RFIs now. I'll say this, and I've seen it in my own office, if millennials don't figure out how to actually call people on a phone, in construction, we're all fucked.

I'm guessing the shops were approved, steel was fabbed, then landed on the site where the slab had already been poured a foot short. Steel sub-- or maybe concrete sub-- has a surprise bowel movement, then an epiphany, and jams a TS piece in the void. Just a guess.

Also +++ to b3ta's observation on phone calls.

Our first si in all big projects is building corner start point. The second is a slab edge plan(s) so this does not happen.

b3ta, when contractors start texting we'll be fine

i'm not sure i entirely understand the drawing, but it looks like this was built as designed. probably not the contractor's fault, though they should have probably pointed out how it doesn't make sense before they built it.

also 15/16" dimension. was just talking about our 1/256" dimensions to a guy today.

At least they are putting a level on it!

Good catch Curt... nothing says quality like dimensions to 3/64".

If collaborating with B3ta on a project is anything like interacting with her on this site, I think I can understand why communication with the contractor is strained...

I'm surprised they didn't run the 2x6 plate under the column.

This hints at massive, extensive fuckups. More pics would be good.

they were probably pleased with themselves for recognizing this would be an inappropriate location for wood blocking.

I like the 3’-10 3/4” dimension with the leader coming off the bottom of the dim line just so it can cross the extension line. Still trying to figure out why the column needs to be dimensioned from that wall. Seems like locating it from the other column would have been to straightforward. But we don’t have the full plan, so I vote for posting it next.

... and don’t you need PT sill plates on your concrete slab?

I just spent 30min composing a 2 sentence reply to a structural steel question from a client so that our intentions were clear. This is all in order to avoid shit like that HSS shim in the picture.

also... B3ta, no foundation waterproofing and top of slab membrane under the wall track?

As a millennial who spends entire weeks playing phone tag during CA, I would like to push back against the further stereotyping of my generation. 

That said - always make sure to get a record in writing of whatever was decided on the phone. 

C(Y)A.

The sills are pt, and typically here they put a sill plate gasket. The TPE = Top of Pier Elevation, which for some reason is conveniently placed at top of slab. So, instead of the column sitting on a pier, it sits half on a slab. Right. Oh, if you look closely, the anchors were post set in epoxy, nice. The clusterfucking on this site; extradumb, because extraordinary would be an improvement.

#notallmillennials

is this a real project you're working on b3ta?

My ire toward non-phone-callers is not focused on any age group, but generously applies to lazy folks of all generations.

curt, it's real, not mine specifically, but it is mine...you get my drift.

The sills are pt, and typically here they put a sill plate gasket. The TPE = Top of Pier Elevation, which for some reason is conveniently placed at top of slab. 

Maybe it's my monitor, but that sill doesn't look like PT to me. Also looks like the top of pier is at the bottom of the slab rather than top of slab. If it was top of slab, no HSS shim would be required. Either way, it looks like that yes, you have some extradumb CF mess to deal with. Good luck.

So is the column half outside the building?

(These are the threads I love-- down in the working studio, where none of the blog-posting, news-forwarding "architecture" editors ever visit.)

Hehe, maybe now, but it wasn't intended to be......

Love to hear how this gets reso
lved

That couldn't possibly get past an inspector... could it?

Construction is not an exact science. Errors are made everyday by every trade and person that touches the project. I often sit in awe of how well contractors can think on their feet. Their ability to work thru a problem like this often showcases our own inability to do the same. (not suggesting every solution by the GC is a winner). I've never had a project that was flawless. These issues come up. How we respond to them is what determines your reputation in the field. And for what it's worth, if the structural engineer signs off on that . . . I think it's a pretty clever fix.

I don't think the tube shim is the only problem here

You can't call this a fix without looking at the entire condition.

Construction isn't an exact science, but special inspections need to be based on what is reasonable, and structural drawings are, reasonable. Now, the slab isn't a structural slab, the pier - which we now find out, is at an elevation 8" below the slab - is, but an RFI was never issued to request clarification of the conflict. No one, least of the architect, expects flawless construction, not in the US, but what I do expect is an RFI. Additionally, the question begs, if they knew the pier was at an elevation, who made the call to install, did the anchor bolts get length, how, and did they have permission to drill the set concrete, epoxy in the anchors, and when do they plan on inspecting?

You know what the kicker is? We've had problems with the GC, I've been out there for site visits, and have expressed my concerns to the owner of the lack of urgency, lake of person power, and how shoddy the execution is on the project. So, we shared this constructed element with the owner, as yet another example of the extradumbness going on there. Later on today, the site sup calls the architect to express his regret that this wasn't brought to his attention on-site. We then expressed our regret that an RFI was never issued for this item, as it was clear that one was necessary.

ahhh yeah... sssstructural...

(final edit)

Very sensual. Now I have to sit awkwardly and wait for the moment to pass before getting up.

Heh, post- tensioned.

residential podium construc tion?

Looks stressful to me.

curt, nope commercial project and parking structure.

very fluid, like the slush you have to pour to get a homogeneous mass.

Based on a thread a while back, I thought we weren't allowed to say sexy anymore...

I like big buttresses and I cannot lie...

I always have saturday and sunday off.

Yep - went camping over the long weekend, and as nature always does, my psyche is (somewhat, temporarily) restored.

A truly wonderful child - congratulations and wish him a happy birthday! Life is delicate and that which is precious reminds us of the urgency to live well.

^cheers

Oh that's awesome! Congratulations!

Love that you stuck him in a Guinness hat - priorities! Happy birthday lil’ Sequitur!!

Thanks Donna & Poop.

Donna, I'm keeping that hat in my firesafe.  It's a good object to determine scale in the future.

congrats non!, my youngest is graduating high school on saturday, it's a long road.

My daughter was born at 30 weeks. She actually lost weight for the first two weeks. Got down to 2 lbs, 13 oz. Today she is a healthy, vibrant 9 year old. Small for her age, but amazing none the less. The NICU nurses kept telling us she was a fighter. They weren't wrong--which I keep telling myself will serve her well when she's older.

Happy b-day little Non Sequitur! I had a facebook memory from a year ago pop up in my feed of my daughter eating her first popsicle, attempting words, tripping over her own feet, and generally being the cutest little toddler. I can't believe it was only a year ago. So much can change in a year's time.

congrats and hbd to the little guy... my sister had some serious childhood medical issues resulting in some cognitive issues, but 20+ years later, all is well (enough). Usually life turns out OK.

Thanks everyone. Gib, I can certainly relate to the NICU comment.

0/10

AlinaF, in a forum overrun by spam and idiots, you complain about an expression of humanity and love? you are vile.

^thanks Midlander.

Alina you might benefit from the services of the spammer that just hit TC; they offer “Powerful Love Spells That Works In 24 Hours” and you could definitely do with some more love in your life!

My only "complaint" is that this is not its own #humblednotbrag thread so people can share what really matters in their lives. We could all use some perspective now and then. Keep on keeping on shorty.

Thank you for posting this, NS, and a huge happy birthday to the little one! =O] Sounds like he has a great mom and dad, too.

Oie, warm feelies all over today.

Congrats my first was a premie... Mencius

Ignore last word damn phone.... I remember living in NCIU for a couple weeks. Not a fun time and we saw the worse of the worse with other parents. Very sad and depressing at times. My little guy pulled through and he had developmental challenges but he has overcome them. Congrats again

and now this is the new page...lol

There were 3 very large spam posts earlier today. all 3 were on a new page, so I think It's just a coincidence that my last post was the end of page 1250. Perhaps the rebar appeared to you as to you as the start because you've "ignored" some of the discussion?

No, I haven't ignored anyone ... at least not using archinect's "Ignore User" feature.

What Non said. There was a massive spambot post - three posts that were each maybe 5,000 words long, plus video. They have been nuked.

Nope, pretty sure it was AlinaF getting all their posts on TC nuked. AlinaF had posts on page 1245 (see AUG 15, 18 5:19 PM, and AUG 21, 18 7:21 PM in cached version here) that are missing from the current page. Nuking those older posts (and others they had on other pages) would have reordered the page numbering from those posts forward, which is why I recalled beta's post at the top of this page, but now it is my post.

Here's another one of AlinaF's TC posts that got nuked, MAR 8, 19 6:01 PM cached here, current here.

What happened with AlinaF?

^his/her comment on my son's birthday post was nasty uncalled for. I guess the big green head agreed. Those nuked comments are no big loss as most of that user's contribution was lazy snark and thinly-veiled racism.

I never saw the comment, but I usually agree with the BGH's actions on things like this. Looks like the result is similar to Rick's ban from TC. No loss for me. I was just trying to figure out why TC wasn't like I remembered it. Mainly just making sure my mind was working and I wasn't imagining things where they weren't.

the world keeps changing EA. codes change, expectations change, people change, TC changes. Don't get old and complacent because that's annoying. Got to keep up with change.

JLC, I don't think the ignore feature works that way.

I understand that now, it's ok. I see he keeps trying, sad poor snowflake.

Threads started by a blocked user still appear.

You didn’t follow the first two rules of ignoring a user: 1: don’t talk about ignoring a user 2: you don’t talk about ignoring a user.

3.maybe you do, just to trigger the troll. there's more than one way to skin a cat.

I don't like cats

So ignoring a user becomes feeding a troll, that’s not how cats are skinned...why skin a cat in the first place?

Carts are only useful for swinging in large circles as a fool-proof way to determine if a particular space is roomy enough (enough at least to allow said swinging of cat). Swigging a skinned cat would give you a slightly incorrect result unless you calibrate for the missing skin and fur.

*cats*

This, uh, ain't a good look JLC.

What do you have against shadows? #allshadowsmatter.

If you wanna stick around, try being less hateful?

What do you mean Sneaky?

what shadowbanning and deplatforming?

You brut.

I've been there, but I'm currently being humbled by the 500 we didn't nail in the final throes of CA...

I'm never that worried about the 500 we didn't nail, that's what addenda, change orders, and ASIs are for. It's the 500 that we didn't know we needed to nail that keep me on my toes during CA.

But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the feeling at the moment of getting a set out the door. Take a minute and relax ... you've earned it.

Amen to that.

At least its a Revit file and not a fricken AutoCAD "Fatal Error"

I am certain those 500 will have me crying in the fetal position under my desk sometime in the next six months, but yes I'm enjoying today feeling good about at least getting one set out the door!

I'd say the same, but with 2 extra "0s" on that 500.

Having spent 5 or so years of my career pigeonholed doing CA, I would be sending you flowers daily if you gave me a 99.5% complete set of CDs. I've had projects where I swear I did at least half the detailing in RFI responses.

Congrats Donna!

If it helps, atelier, this was a small job. A regular-sized job is much less likely to be that good!

congrats, look forward to hear when it's built well. revits horrible interface with PDF printing is among my top 3 pet peeves about the software.

reading this has filled me with an ill-timed feeling of anxiety. Notwithstanding great when you make that goal, even if the 1% lingers in your head..."oh what did I forget?"

Piker. Go 13%, or straight to cocktails.

I’m fresh out of the 13% brews. (That’s a lie)

STL & Binnington were ridiculous last night -- congrats to them! I was rooting for BOS, but, while they brought pressure early, they just didn't have it. Cocktail of choice was the 100yr anniversary negroni...not very hockey-fan, but hey...!

^it truly is a masterpiece.

They really are. With time, I'm sure they will get better for me, but at the moment they've left quite a sour taste for me. Nothing I hate more than being misled, and I can't fathom the reasoning behind the misdirection from him. Seems completely unnecessary, and I don't think it really helped him in the end at all.

It's not clear which is the misdirection. Is he the architect, as he first claimed - or the client, which he claimed to be after which bashed the architect?

The only thing I can think is that he didn’t want any state boards or courts looking at him. He obviously knew the regulations and knew the board existed. Filing a complaint in Pennsylvania involves filling out a web form, a task much simpler than spending months making posts across a slew of websites.

I have no doubt his intention was to deceive and mislead, but like Miles asks, in which direction. It was pointed out that he'd been playing the client much earlier than he was playing the architect ... but in his DMs to me he seemed pretty keen on asking me to delete any of my posts that suggested filing a complaint with the board or that disciplinary action would be appropriate. I don't see why he would be so keen on that if he really was the client. Like Steeplechase says, he really doesn't want anyone looking at him. But is this because he fears disciplinary action against him, or is he somehow trying to get back at his architect without alerting the board because some other shady crap is going on with his project (unpermitted work maybe)? Maybe given his past indiscretions he wants to avoid any scrutiny from the board.

I did see one post from him in a Pennsylvania legal forum where he claimed to have past felonies. There is certainly something he is hiding. Hopefully his threads are archived somewhere in case it gets nuked.

Definitely an architect, or trying to pass as one, and now terrified that the state and the client are going to give him a deep rectal probe. doGspeed.

Wow. Just...wow.

Good point NS. I just had the Wayback Machine archive both threads.

LOL, that thread (I mainly only skimmed it) was hilarious. But s/he does at one point say s/he is a licensed PE, I think. So yeah, maybe s/he's worried about his/her *own* license while trying to figure out how to report a fellow licensed professional to the state board. Who has the time for that?

He is a licensed PE - I think that's why he's worried about action against him with the board. He is not an architect - at least not in Pennsylvania. He's the disgruntled client. (He posted variations on this same story on several other forums, some with his real name, so it's easy to verify this on the license lookup sites). He's been ranting about his architect (or sometimes it's his home improvement contractor or his kitchen designer - it's about as consistent as in all of his posts here) in various places for 6 months - I think the goal of posing as an architect was to collect some language from other architects that he could use to blackmail his architect (i.e. "return my fee or I'll report you to the board", but in archi-speak.)

Down the rabbit hole we go.

The weirdest thing to me is that when it came up that he spends a lot of time on sites for ex-felons he said that's because he helps people who commit petty theft to beat the charges. Why does he think that's a good thing? Who makes it their mission to help thieves, and why would he brag about it in the same thread where he's trying to convince us he's honest?

it's amusing but tbh it concerns me too. people with that degree of narcissistic delusion and willingness to subvert the truth to manipulate others tend to be quite harmful in real life. considering that, his interest in convicts especially is unhealthy.

He's playing a game to get people to bash his evil architect character, then parroting them in his reviews about the architecture firm - he's been busily trashing the firm on houzz, porch, google, oscarpages, citysearch...

kjdt I predict I will regret it but I kinda want to see the Houzz profile if you are serious?

If you google the following (keep the quotation marks) it will take you to a few of the negative reviews he left about the architecture firm, including the one on their houzz profile: "Absolute Fraud, liar unprofessional watch out doing business with these cartoons. They would be sweeter than honey until you sign contract"

more interesting the firm in question appears to focus on mid scale commercial work, especially branded suburban hotels. so i don't think SFR is a staple for them. I bet this was some kind of favor for a friend of a friend that got all out of hand.

How’s the draft list?

Kind of like Skull and Bones?

The first rule of Archinect Legends Lounge is...

...pretend to be an Architect?

I still see his threads.

Both threads are still there.

The individual that posted the threads requested that they be deleted.

That's too bad. There was some real good discussions in there. Evidence of professional misconduct too, on behalf of the OP.

That stinks. Those were valuable threads. At least there are archived copies out there.

The episode underscores how common it is for people to forget that one's online stuff has the potential to come back and bite.

( e.g., So a 'friend' of mine was murdering puppies the other day and then found this really great kale smoothie place...' )

This kind of deleting threads on request makes me not want to bother participating anymore. Why spend time providing an informative response when it will just get deleted if the OP doesn't like the accumulated answers? It's the same thing that happened back with that high school kid who got offended at critiques of his portfolio. Threads can be valuable to people who come along with the same questions later - it shouldn't be up to the OP once there are any other responses.

Nice Shell.

JLA, I'm doing some free work for family too. They insisted on paying me and I said big no. I don't want to get dragged into this any further than I have to as I'm only "consulting" them on removing 3 load-bearing walls in their typical suburban townhome. I did the math for them, took an hour to draw up new structure and column placement... then set them on their way. My city allows for home-owners to submit their own permit as long as it's conforms with the basic codes.

I refuse to wear even something lambasting that dumpster fire of a slogan.

^ Yep.

That so called dumpster fire keeps Trump very warm and comfortable though in his White House.

You think? It's seemingly only keeping him warm, and everyone else has moved on.

Need to look past the personal aversion and disgust and you’ll see he’s heading for quite a simple re-election...

Need to look past the personal confidence and navel gazing and you'll see he's heading for reelection by default due to ignorance.

Fraid so

Oh boy, tough-crowd. I guess my comical attempt to draw a comparison to the other thread's OP and Trump tantrums is not as good as I had hopped. Perhaps it's because I don't live in trump's america and don't really have any experience with it. 25% discount to those offended.

I'm not offended, I simply dislike any foothold Trump gains in pop culture. I'd prefer he remain the punch line to bad jokes about failure that he is.

But Trump is not a failure, he won the presidency and is set to win 2020 too...

Getting the job is not success. What you do with the job should be the measure of success or failure. By that measure, he's a fucking failure.

I really bristle at the idea of Election Day as the finish line. It's the starting point. Whatever you do to get into power is rendered meaningless the minute you're in. Of course, gaining and holding power for its own sake has a name... and history has not looked kindly upon leaders who embody that name.

Why is he a failure, at least Trump hasn’t killed as many (if any) innocent civilians as his predecessors. In fact he ends wars and brings home American boys and girls alive instead of in body bags...

coming to a city near you! https://www.babytrumptour.org/

How many Hats do you want Rando?

Put me down for three magenta “Keep Archinect Great!”

DONE

1) https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2017-12-19/counterrorism-strikes-double-trump-first-year 

2) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47480207 

Out of sight, out of mind, I guess.

There are other easily sourced refutations to the other ridiculous claims above, but I'm busy today. 

Nice to see we're at the point where the president who overhauled the healthcare system, negotiated an imperfect but absolutely forward-moving treaty with Iran, and reopened diplomatic relationship with Cuba is "no better" than the president who has children in concentration camps, because the first guy *told us* about the foreigners he killed.

Maybe we deserve fascism. 

tduds why you spreading fake news, mate . His recent Royal visit here to the UK, sparked widespread outrage and protest. but did make for some laughs...like his approval rating. https://www.irishnews.com/magazine/daily/2019/06/03/news/tower-of-london-projection-among-protests-against-donald-trump-s-state-visit-1633920/

although, we are about to get our very own pound shop Trump with Boris Johnson. so shouldnt throw stones really

What?

sorry, i was tying to do a sarcasm. He is largely seen here as a massive bell end. 

How many magenta hats are you ordering Jla?

I'm too stressed to get into this, but it's bewildering how many incorrect assumptions you need to make about me each time you respond to me. But how else would you shoehorn your boilerplate ad hominems into the thread?

"There is no humane option within the framework of the current broken immigration system." So fix the fucking system. Not a difficult line of reasoning, imo.

I'm probably not done responding but I should be.

Ok one more 

"We need to decriminalize immigration, make it easy, fast, and cheap. Neither party has done shit to make this happen." 

I agree! 

I just don't know why you need to come in guns-a-blazin with your idiotic Whataboutism every time someone mentions Trump is a racist incompetent fascist. "BuT oBaMa wAs aLsO BaD" ...okay, who gives a shit? Doesn't change the fact that our current president is a racist incompetent fascist.

ps Beto would suuuuuck as president. He might be an ok senator, he should go back to dunking on Cruz.

buying my hats will help fix your system.

"Because of television, and for the convenience of television..." etc. etc.

I just can't help feel like we're at the end part of The Boy Who Cried Wolf where the wolf actually shows up.

Disagree. & even if there are no "good" guys, there are extremely variable levels of "bad", & equating them seems willfully ignorant.

.

I'm glad we found common ground on this.

Might have posted this before but, relevant to the context of this thread, this is - in my opinion - the single most important letter in American politics. and it's almost entirely forgotten: http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch2s23.html

" The earth belongs always to the living generation. They may manage it then, and what proceeds from it, as they please, during their usufruct. They are masters too of their own persons, and consequently may govern them as they please. But persons and property make the sum of the objects of government. The constitution and the laws of their predecessors extinguished then in their natural course with those who gave them being. This could preserve that being till it ceased to be itself, and no longer. Every constitution then, and every law, naturally expires at the end of 19 years. If it be enforced longer, it is an act of force, and not of right."

Anyway I'm not under the delusion that defeating Trump - whether by impeachment or election - is going to *fix* the country. But that doesn't change the simple fact that he should be defeated - if not by conviction then by election - because his behavior as president is, in my conclusions, impeachable ( https://www.vox.com/2017/11/30/16517022/impeachment-donald-trump).

Sorry to get all high-brow in your dumb hat thread, Non.

T'is ok Tduds. I'm quite oblivious to all of this.

Lucky.

"What was the impeachable offense?" You should read the things I linked.

I only have faith in robust systems.

You are once again conflating my indictment of Trump with support of some other non-Trump individual. I've made no such claim in this thread. I may support a certain candidate, but that's unrelated to this & irrelevant to my disdain for the current president.

This is getting (surprise surprise) wildly off-topic, but - as might be apparent from my comments above - the play is not "Impeach the president and then do nothing else and assume it'll all be okay" There's a much bigger change that needs to come and frankly I have no clue when or how or if it'll happen. But that doesn't change my feeling that it's needed.

"Impeachment will completely destroy the Dem party." 

This is actually my biggest fear right now. The GOP has completely politicized the application of law, to the point where any attempt to hold their actions accountable will be used as justification for invoking that "accountability" in response to every single thing the Democratic (or any opposition) attempts, no matter how legitimate. If the Democrats impeach Trump, the Republicans will impeach *every* Democratic president.

Honestly the GOP needs to die. It's become a party of kleptocrats and authoritarians. I don't always agree with their policy proposals, but looking at their recent record, it's clear the Democratic party is at least mostly acting in good faith. The GOP, in my lifetime, has descended entirely into bad faith obstructionism and fealty to the donor class.

If the GOP withers, the Democratic party can fill the role of center-right party, which is in line with their establishment proposals. Then maybe we can have a legitimately left or center-left political movement in the US.

Wow, mad skills there Non ;-)

Here 's just one example.

Also Merrick fucking Garland. To say nothing of their 

This is their play - take something the Democrats did once for a slightly different reason, and use it as a shield to do it *every time* forever.

The GOP has hijacked the process specifically to subvert democracy to cement their own power despite a diminishing electoral majority (actually a minority in the current electorate). Plain and simple.

The Democratic Party may pass a bunch of legislation that you don't like, but - to quote Walter Sobchak - at least it's an ethos. The Republican Party since at least Reagan, and really in earnest since 2010, has obstructed, disenfranchised, and cut taxes on the very rich. And almost nothing else.

I'll happily concede that the Democratic Party isn't great. But you're a fool to think they're equally bad.

"To say nothing of their..." I honestly don't remember what I'd intended to write there.

There's a quote I saw years back that went something like "The Democrats and Republicans were playing chess, then at some point the Republicans flipped the board and set the house on fire. The Democrats are still trying to win the chess game. "

Political parties will never go away. What would help is to end the two party system. Unfortunately that's not going to happen until we change the way we vote in this country. And I really don't know how that even begins to happen.

Well, Democrat Obama deported over 100k people more per year than Republican Trump...

BUT OBAMA

I was also against it then.

Are you drunk? That's just crazy talk. Actually, my professional practice prof, who was licensed with some 2 decades of experience, was completing a M.Arch at the same time as I was. So maybe not too crazy...

I've looked into doing one of the distance/online masters, but haven't pulled the trigger.

I've been thinking about this recently. Not crazy if it positions you to do better work and get engaged in teaching, and of course fits your budget. I'm curious to see some responses.

Yes, did this 4 years after licensure, and 8 years of practice. I wanted (needed) to do some studio-based creative design again after/alongside the rigors of project management. It was a great decision for me. It helped that I was in my 30s, and knew what I wanted to do-- as opposed to "I think I'll get a masters cuz it sounds fun." I also discovered how much I enjoyed research and writing, which opened the door to teaching. YMMV.

I do not want to teach. I am looking ahead a few years, want to set and accomplish the next goal. I would work while going to school, pay cash as I go I presume.

In my sitch, the teaching connections were not a goal (at first); they just arose along the way. I went for fun and enjoyment, but also new skills and practical knowledge useful for practice.

Citz, I can't help but notice you contradicted yourself. You either went for fun or you didnt.

I've looked at the distance/online program, but not convinced I want to pay the same amount as an in-person program for less credibility on a resume and most likely less alumni networking opportunities. I've thought about a standard MArch (and a PhD tbh), but I'm not convinced it is worth giving up my current position at my job and the potential salary growth. I would really love to teach though.

Point taken, tintt... let me clarify. After giving it a lot of thought, I went in knowing I'd probably enjoy it (or some of it). But that wasn't the only reason. I wanted more experience and knowledge, too, that would be instrumental. I ended up with both, fortunately. It didn't hurt that school was only 20 minutes from home-- logistics are an important part of such a decision, too.

Experience, knowledge, fun, a new college sweatshirt, I want it all. 5 min away for me... Is is unusual for someone already licensed to go back for a Master's?

Don't forget the official School Shot Glasses! 

I think it's pretty unusual for licensed folks, statistically. I had some classmates my age (and a couple older than that), but they were newer to the field.

I already have the shot glasses!

There were a handful of licensed architects when I was in grad school - one was in his early 50s and the others all in their 30s - but all of them were people with non-professional undergrad degrees, who had become licensed in states that had an alternate route for people without an NAAB degree and they were all getting the M.Arch in order to be able to work in more states (or in one case to be eligible to become a partner in a firm that she was already working in, that had offices in the more restrictive states.) I don't think anyone was doing it just for "fun". There was one kind of head-in-the-clouds snooty doctoral student who had left his licensed architect career to be a theorist - I guess he might have counted as doing that for fun - though it was hard to tell if he was having any. 

 One thing I learned from the licensed architect students was a healthier attitude about school. They didn't usually get as extremely stressed or work as crazy hours in studio, because they had "real lives" already. Some had kids, some were working in firms part-time or keeping their own part-time practice going, and they were just a lot more relaxed about academic requirements and better able to compartmentalize it so it didn't consume their whole lives.

If it's just more of what I did in undergrad, then that gives me my answer. Maybe just some discreet classes is what I should look for.
Thanks all!

I think the cost and time would make this prohibitive for most people. It would be best if you know your thesis advisor and want to work with them. Best of luck and lots of happiness to you.

citizen, what impact did this have on your career? were you going in with the goal to take on more of a design lead role? tintt, if i recall you have gone outside architecture and opened a business at one point. what is your goal for returning to study?

Goals: knowledge, enlightenment, exploration, challenge, mastery of process/craft, collaboration and network, degree certificate/line item on the list of creds, further blend of my two careers.

Help to find an edge or niche.

If it's for a edge or niche, maybe a second degree; urban planning, landscape arch, interior design... or certifications like NFPA, plan reviewer, etc. or just oddball/complimentary like marketing, project management, construction management, business, real estate, etc.

or you could be trained as a blacksmith (inside joke tintt would understand)

Thanks mighty. Ideally a second degree would be in structural/civil engineering but I don't qualify to even enter that program from what I can tell. Interior design is a possibility but there are obvious drawbacks... I have looked into online degree programs but don't see much of what I would get from them.

You could find a ABET accredited architectural engineering degree. Most of your architectural degree college credits should transfer leaving you just a smattering of advanced structural classes to take. But, that probably means relocation (no degrees in CO), as well as internship under a licensed PE... hence the bad option given your case. Maybe someone has a online option since it's really just structural classes; you should have studio and whatnots taken care of.

oh, and don't forget CO still allows grandfathering work experience. So, I could get you a nice high paying job here and you could intern for your PE credits for a decade :P

^ tempting. :) But one of my main goals is to never work a 8-6 type job again.

honestly though... go for certifications that help you sell architecture assuming you want to be your own boss. So figure out your interest, the markets you want to pursue, and start researching. Get em, add more initials behind your name, and charge more because those initials often mean 'higher qualified' than your competition.

Yup. That's it. Thanks!

Oh yea.. you can also do my route too if you want to blow money at the issue. Just collect licenses through reciprocity. Apparently, Joe Blow thinks having licenses in a dozen states means... in my best Ron Burgundy voice "In case you didn't know, I'm sort of a big deal." For your contract stuff, that might also be marketable.

This is all great, thanks.

Nice, don't want to nitpick but it misses the "!" at the end :)

I prefer real frustrations to
idiocy.

I think the source of BAC's bad reputation - deserved or not - comes from two things: 1) their unique structure. I can't think of many other Architecture-exclusive schools. There's also the lack of "campus" and, at least last time I saw, lack of permanent studio space that gives the whole space kind of a "community college" feel. And 2) Their open admissions policy. They'll accept anyone who can pay, and as a result, their graduation rate is abysmal. 

It seems to me that combination of open admissions, high failure rate, and non-existent social support network (as a result of no larger university institution + no cloistered campus space) leads to a lot of disgruntled ex-students.

It has wider recognition than just Boston - I've worked with lots of people who went there (some of whom actually graduated and got licensed - others who left mid-way to work and never went back to finish their degrees.) Of those I've known in person who went there, nobody has expressed overall disgruntlement - and most have been very positive.

The thing the BAC has been most well-known for, going back 4 or 5 decades, is having a real part-time program. If you wanted to work a job with enough hours to fully support yourself, while getting an accredited architecture degree, that was one of very few places where you could manage it. A few other schools, like Drexel and University of Cincinatti, have long-standing co-op work programs, but they still require full-time attendance or close to it in some years or semesters. BAC doesn't. Also BAC was the first NAAB program to be offered mostly remotely. There are a lot more options for that now, but the BAC had that option as far back as the 1990s, while most of the others are much more recent. Students still have to attend in person for a few days once or twice a semester, but otherwise do not have to be in that region or even in the US.

It's not a cult - it's just not as large or widely known as some programs. It's similar to every time that Roger Williams or Wentworth or University of Hartford come up on the forum: people question whether they're real.  If you don't work in the northeast you may not have encountered many of they're grads - but they're real schools with architecture programs, that graduate qualified people.

yeah I realize it's a real school; I mean more what is it that inspires so many threads on BAC and deeply emotional criticisms or defenses of the program. Other schools' discussions tend to be limited to "how do i get in", and "how will it help me get a job" - not nearly so much personal concern about other schools.

It’s mostly due to one person resurrecting all the BAC threads since like forever on this forum to post the same response. There are not that many threads about it if you consider the years this forum’s up.

it would be nice if archinect had an antispam filter that blocked multiple posts of identical text...

Those people rarely stick around after they carpetbomb the forum tho.

Paraphrasing from the movie Matchmaker... "What's it like being the village idiot?" Answer; "It's like being right all the time."

well you can't do much arguing with truth either. Somethings got to give.

Credibility? Patience? Civility?

ya, the Zen koan in the modern age is "close the browser window"

Please report back, and with a photo or two if you can. This sounds both interesting and not unusual as a kind of residential architecture problem.

+1

We've already been over how little self-control I have.

Great idea, although it probably won't curtail political/ideological posts in here. If only.  Can't hurt to try, though...

Enthusiastic self-promotion? He eagerly agrees with most comments.​ I find him a bit out of his depth. A lot of lecturing, no introspection, offended by criticism. It would be more interesting and pertinent if he wrote about his own experience.

I see a person that is half your age, trying to develop a voice through writing and conversation...

I like his threads, I think they can be very useful for some without being negative or judgemental.

I'll chime in too to say I like reading them. His style might benefit from editing for length, but his tone and enthusiasm are refreshing.

Good point, Marc. I can't fault his enthusiasm.

Yes, lot's of energy and excitement. Curious to see what he writes (and rebuts) about as he hits his stride.

They didn't teach you that in school?

That people don't realize things are designed/created? No. Not covered in school. I wonder if it's a religious thing... that God created everything...? I'm not kidding. Is that what they think?

More often than not, when I tell people an architect, they try to make conversation based on one of two wrong assumptions:

 1) That I'm a structural engineer. 

2) That I'm just like [whatever HGTV interior decorator / real estate agent is popular this year].

"Oh wow you must be really good at math" 

"Well, I am, but I never use it for Architecture."

The thing about math... True that most of us aren't doing any higher math but I can most certainly subtract 16 from 88 without a calculator and with minimal effort and to most people that means you are good at math. /shudder/

I never get the you must be good at math. Might be because I'm a female and it's assumed I can't do math.

it's the engineer thing

and the awesome green head promptly wiped them all

Aww, that's sad. It was truly a thing to behold - almost the whole first page...

I’ve complained about this before to no avail. Not saying don’t try, but maybe don’t get your hopes up.

Ive flagged this multiple times. I also understand the need for revenue streams, but labeling blatant ads / sponsored content as "Features" is really disingenuous

Would love PP or others to address this on a podcast sometime ...

Yeah, and maybe, just maybe, we can get Spielberg to edit Reeses Pieces out of E.T. That fucking shill.

it's Trump's fault. Clearly.

I'd rather pay for ad-free content. 

#FirstWorldProblems

I was researching a medical condition the other day. The next day my Instagram feed was filled with advertisements for class action lawsuits related to that condition. Enough is enough.

You think talking to them is bad? Try building the crap they design.

Maybe we need some type of help group? the AA? Architecture anonymous?

Oh yeah? There is a big meeting near me (open office) with a table full of government employees talking all sorts of BIM stuff... doubtful any of them have ever used the software, yet they are making decisions that will cost us hundreds of hours of man/women power.

I forgive people for not knowing stuff but not for being confident in their unknowledge. Blame Trump.

At a company "social" event (an oxymoron) when I was at a large firm, I was seated at a table with a principal who asked me my thoughts on BIM. He then spent the next half hour or so telling me I was wrong about everything, even when I was describing documented features of the software.

This was the same principal who admitted on another occasion that he'd never done a set of CDs.

This is the direct result of the “fake it until you make it” attitude in architecture and it drives me crazy.

This is the result of a fundamentally broken architectural educational system and a culture based on bullshit.

IMHO; Miles is about right. Add to it that to shave costs, experienced folks in a firm are overseeing way too much or forced out... So no one is there to pass along what they've learned. Advanced stuff really isn't talked about at all.

I work predominately with so called "BIM" I talk to morons all the bloody time that I absolutely hate the word BIM now.

Raises hand as BIM moron... But I can talk about wood shrinkage and how hydro-collapsible soils will screw up your building biggly :P

^stop, I’m already too aroused. The folks next to me on the bus are starting to stare.

Hmmm…. Might change my reporting style; “that hydrostatic pressure just builds and builds on your podium until finally your buttered precast rim reaches maximum cohesion capacity, can’t take it anymore and blows ending in a violent eruption as it lays shattered on the sidewalk below totally unable to function anymore…”

I... I think I need a cigarette after reading that.

"This is the direct result of the “fake it until you make it” attitude in AMERICA and it drives me crazy."

Fixed it for you. When complete fuckwads like Travis Vanderpanderzanderwanker are billionaires and have yet to put any actual thought into anything other than how to fleece idiotic investors are held up as examples of success, we're fucking doomed.

My non-arch business has hired at least 15 people. I've only caught one with blatant misrepresentations in credentials but it makes you wonder. We canned him. Then he got a job with some people I knew and they knew we fired him but they didn't ask us anything about it. He didn't last there long either. We had him for 3 days, he lasted there a few months. He blamed us all for being racist. I feel sorry for him.

What does ex-post facto mean?

a retroactive change to a prior decision. they checked references after getting some complaints and realized this faculty had been fired from his last job

@tintt it's happened with 2 people i've worked with in the last ten years. one just over embellished his experience to the point he was hired for a mid level job when he had basically no relevant experience. the other had his offer rescinded after a former colleague contacted us to explain the reason he had resigned his last job... involved watching porn in his office and threatening coworkers who complained.

Do you not check references prior to hiring? All offers I 've had are conditional subject to successful references.

I also wonder how many firms are using 3rd party background check services. I assume at least that large organisations like AECOM do.

Most architecture firms don't do 3rd party background checks. Some large companies do, and so do some small ones that have been particularly burned in the past. Even if they do use them, third party checks will uncover the most egregious criminal stuff, plus things like traffic infractions, bankruptcies, bad credit rating, defaulting on debts, arrears in child support, etc. - but they don't uncover the kinds of things mentioned in this thread: puffing up one's background, being fired for watching porn at work...
Firms should certainly verify easily-checkable things like status of claimed licenses and other credentials. But most of the things discussed here are of the squishy, uncheckable sort.

Checking reference can have similar gaps, because: the names the applicant provides as references will presumably be people who will give a glowing (or at least pretty good) report. In situations where the applicant didn't have the best experience with a principal or with one or more direct managers, he may give the name of a manager with whom he did get along better.

Most potential employers will not attempt to contact an employee's past firm(s) if the applicant didn't specifically ok that and provide a named reference.  If an employer does just cold-call HR at an applicant's past firm (rather than a particular named reference provided by the applicant) then for potential liability reasons generally all the firm will provide is: confirmation that the person worked there, title, dates of employment, and full-time vs. part-time status. HR won't typically provide the reason for separation, or any qualitative review of performance.  So it's useful for determining if someone has just completely fabricated a past job at a big-name firm, but it's not good for determining that the person was fired for any number of reasons, or just bad at his job or a jerk.

About 7 versions too late, if you ask me.

Have you tried yelling really really loudly?

You don't yell at Revit, you sing to it.

If by 'yelling' you mean 'slamming the ESC key repeatedly' then yes, a lot.

^^^not exclusive to revit...it seems like the ESC key is the first to go on any cad station

Odd . Never had this problem with vellum or mylar.

Thanks, Miles. I still love my light table for over/underlay.

Oh quiet, ya luddites.

Editing vellum and mylar is so much fun. It's obvious it's the better option for everything for ever. It bugs the ever loving shit out of me that Autodesk managed to break the very simple functionality of ALT-TAB.

where's my damn eraser shield?

It's more civil than you'd expect.

Sometimes I wonder if it would be an overall good or bad thing if Archinect would allow you to know who has ignored you. Similarly, I wonder if Archinect will ever show you who follows you and whether that would be a good or a bad thing.

You can follow people?

Only if they've set up a profile (name shows up as a link in the forums). 

Click on the name/link to open the user's profile. On the left side of the page there is a button to "Follow" and it shows how many people are following that person. Donna for example has 54 people following her. I, on the other hand, only have 1 stalker.

Interestingly enough, my older Everyday Intern account has 4 followers. I guess they weren't following closely enough to catch that I started using a different account.

Fascinating. I just checked and I have 2 stalkers.

One of them is that aussie wanker.

^which one? There are quite a few of them that have gifted us their presence.

TIL that I have followers on Archinect. Seriously, I didn’t know that was a thing.

Today I learned what TIL means.

TIL TIL

it's the commentary in these forums more than anything that's helped me understand what shit women have to put up with. it's like some of them have this trigger when they see a woman's name and they're not at peace until they've delegitimized her or the process that selected her.

Oh god I hope nobody follows me.

Oh, hold on there Jla... "Echo".... No, let's try again. "Echooo". Still nothing. No echo chamber here.

Donna non (and on and on). Fun to say!

Sponsored by a raft of corporate interests including insurers, Toyota, and oddly enough Network Rail.

http://www.brake.org.uk/fundra...

#followthemoney

I can see how, if you only prioritize the life of the human in the car, providing a car for every human would be the logical conclusion. It's a several thousand pound suit of armor filled with airbags. Of course, that's a comically myopic picture of the world and I can't imagine how anyone could seriously make that claim.

If you have 5 young lads in the car and 4 of them influencing the driver, picture those 5 lads in 5 different cars influencing each other.

I pressed the wrong key... Obviously not all are like that, but those types of driver are more inclined to race each other. Its those drivers that contribute larger numbers to tha casualties. They should do the same as we have for motorcycles. Power restrictions based on age and a new test to increase power of vehicle until you have an unrestricted licence.

Again the myopia of ensuring your child lives long enough to suffer through an eventual climate apocalypse brought on by "safety first" thinking.

I read those last night. Did not seem nuke worthy, more like contrarian flavour sprinkles just for shits and giggles.

A senior monk and a junior monk were traveling together. At one point, they came to a river with a strong current. As the monks were preparing to cross the river, they saw a very young and beautiful woman also attempting to cross. The young woman asked if they could help her cross to the other side. The two monks glanced at one another because they had taken vows not to touch a woman. Then, without a word, the older monk picked up the woman, carried her across the river, placed her gently on the other side, and carried on his 
journey. The younger monk couldn’t believe what had just happened. After rejoining his companion, he was speechless, and an hour passed without a word between them. Two more hours passed, then three, finally the younger monk could contain himself any longer, and blurted out “As monks, we are not permitted a woman, how could you then carry that woman on your shoulders?” The older monk looked at him and replied, “Brother, I set her down on the other side of the river, why are you still carrying her?”

As per the other recent gutter discussion from 2 days ago... I believe the only solution is sealed copper.

Post a picture!!! (I’m on my phone which is wonky in the Forum so if you posted a picture that I can’t see forgive me.)

If you were willing to clean and oil your wood gutters regularly, they would probably last forever. Once you seal them, with a compound or with metal, they become vulnerable to leaks and will fail if not maintained. But most people choose to go with the slightly-lower-maintenance route. I've had wooden gutters lined with copper on several occasions, and have seen ones that were lined with lead or zinc. But if the profile isn't special (probably K-style?) you could just replace them with an extruded metal profile.

If they aren't aesthetically significant to you, maybe you can remove them and sell them to an architectural salvage place? Someone might like them for their novelty value.

I'd love to see a picture too.. While googling, I did find a firm that specializes in liners for wood gutters. riverside or something like that does a copper liner and or lead faced copper.

Donna - They’re pretty far gone - and likely full of lead paint. Woodguy - yup - k style. Nothing special.

Never heard of that but it’s almost midnight here and still above 30c. The whiskey is nice on my patio. Invites for all!

I caught one episode (#3, I think) and it was very good. Emma Thompson is amazing and so fun to watch. (Much more believable here than as a seasoned comedian in "Late Night," fwiw.)

And now the boris is prime minister, feels eerie.

We're finally letting the children have candy for every meal. Unfortunately we're the ones who have to pay the medical bills for said child when they realize it was a stupid fucking idea.

Just wait until this asshat fails and that reprobate Katie Hopkins becomes PM; then we'll have the reality show, of the fake show.

oh shit, that is emma thompson's character! Didn't know she existed

YUP!

Like tears in the rain...

It's not an easy thing to meet your maker.

I'm on holidays this week. #humblebrag

enjoy! but where did the article go?

Maybe Kanye did like the comments and architected its disappearance.

*didnt.