Not experienced a parent but a close family member nonetheless. Currently hitting its worse stage so far requiring secure institutional help... and the person has yet to teach 70 years of age. I feel where you’re coming from.

I can't even imagine. My 92 grandma is in a home now, but still seems to be driving my parents crazy. I feel for you.

BTW Donna, I remember you wrote a long time ago about the death of a family dog, it was really touching and I still feel for you. I had forgotten about it until a couple days ago when one of our dogs passed.

Sorry to hear that Donna. It’s brutal: the best outcome is the worst outcome. Good luck.

Not dementia but cluster B personality disorder. It's a living nightmare.

So sorry Donna. My grandmother passed a long time ago from alzheimer's. I wasn't close though; she was in advanced stages by the time I was in high school. It is an awful disease.

Went through it with an aunt in another city, with me as her only real relative. Godawful nightmare, which included elder fraud by a "caregiver" who was trying to do a little caregiving with auntie's money. Ended up in probate court hearings, on and on and on. Multiple airline trips back and forth. My aunt was on the moon mentally, so she didn't know what was going on. The biggest problem is that they are childlike, and yet you can't control them the way you can control a child. The legal system is reluctant to deprive someone of their autonomy, so you just feel totally helpless. Nobody wants to get involved (understandably). My parents were both dead by that point and I have no siblings, so I got to do it all by myself. Never felt so alone.

Lost my mother at age 53, not to dementia but to the most profound depression you can imagine.  For all intents and purposes, she really was demented.  That was the most vivid vision of Hell that you can imagine.

Sounds terrible, but when things get to that point, death is a blessing for all concerned.

I'm sorry Donna.

Very sorry to hear about this, Donna. I can't imagine how difficult that must be, how painful. Bless you and your whole family.

You are not alone Donna. It is the absolute worst. My grandfather was devolving into dementia, but also has issues with diabetes. One day he just woke up not knowing how to form sentences. He can say disparate words and sounds but nothing coherent. The doctor says its due to a prolonged high blood sugar episode that has damaged his brain. We have him living in a nursing facility. Our family feels almost as if we never got to say goodbye. His spirit is gone, but he is still physically living.

Thanks for all the replies, you all. I know there are so many of us who go through it and when you hit a certain age dealing with your parents' demise is just part of life. There's a beauty to the stages of life, absolutely! But it's a painful beauty because even though it's natural and and there is an emotional closeness you feel to the others in your family as you work with this person it's also so wrenching. When my husband's mom died a few years ago I felt somewhat similar and I am eternally grateful that she gave me a "dry run" rehearsal to experiencing the loss of a parent before it happened with my own - she was such a generous person in so many ways, and I count that as one of them! The other aspect of the stress (and I'm so grateful that I don't have to worry about con artists who prey on elders, geezertect, like you describe, ugh!) is that my other parent is in excellent health but I worry that they are WAY overtaxed being a 80-year-old full-time caregiver, and I live across the country where I'm no help at all except worrying and phone calls. But Yeah, overall: life is hard, it just is. But it's beautiful and wonderful too.

GF typically stands for girlfriend.

yeah, and... j/k

That's a hilarious story, Jerome. Love it.

I just got a PM from a user I don't recognize... Am I wrong to assume that it's DC attempting to thwart my anon veil?

Lmao

the email attached to the PM does not check out anywhere, so I'll add it to the ignore pile unless that user makes a dedicated thread.

Maybe worth checking the old 'nect mail for shits 'n giggles...

How do I check my archinect email address?

^it's under account settings.

I checked, nothing interesting besides +2500 new emails from archinect, apparently I was following TC and a couple of other threads...oh and a couple of emails from Rick.

Private message Setting:

( ) Allow other members to contact me 

(X) Do not allow other members to contact me

Pete, I leave mine on as I've had wonderful email exchanges with people outside of the forums.

You kids with your Instagrahams! 

Enjoyed perusing, and really like some of the pieces. The scale play of objects is fun, and of course we architects are suckers for that. Some of the tube/tubular pieces are delicious, too. And the fish-flops. Hope the show went well.

Glad you enjoyed the feed. The show was incredible.

blasphemy.

Too many dead threads are resurrected because of spam or newbies.

When I see the spam posts I flag them. Archinect is usually pretty quick to delete the posts once flagged, and the thread goes away. The problem is when people start responding to the thread not knowing it's a zombie thread. Even if the spam gets deleted, if there are new comments the zombie thread stays. 

I can't help with the newbies.

I've been way too busy this week trying to get one of the juniors here up to speed. eugh, is it friday yet?

Glorious.

That's how you know it'll get built right.

Lmao wow...

Looks like you've just found your next paint colour name for the next exhibition. What's the colour of mediocrity?

Is it just me or is there an odd number of applicants who have apparently created their portfolio in some kind of presentation software? Why oh why would you choose powerpoint to create a portfolio for a grad program?!!!

Medi-ochre. Already had it, just need some context.

Twice I made a portfolio in powerpoint, both times got the job.

I've not opened powerpoint since high-school... so, 20 years?

I know the shade medi-ochre. It's that super special shade of baby diarrhea.

So, let's revisit this in 4 months ;-)

/googles Donna Sink images. /gets pictures of faucets. /asks self, "self, can faucets look desperate?".

They're gonna bury you in work.

they can't even spell intern, how can they have work?

I like how 'complete time sheet' is under weekly responsibilities.

I hear her middle name is Kohler ;o)

I like the specifics for organizing binders and ordering and replacing the office flowers bi-weekly. Talk about your typical architect control freak.

updating the sherwin williams fan deck is noticeably missing. i'm pretty sure that means it's a scam.

Must add the medi-ochre colorway!

Justifying the binders to the edge of the shelf, and turning the lights on if arriving first definitely will require an Ivy credential.

"consolidate the trash" sounds corporate...

My biggest issue with that job posting is that the majority of the tasks have little to do with the practice of architecture, or interior design, and more to do with office administration. My completely unsolicited advice would be to hire an admin to do that stuff so the interns can actually get experience that will pertain to their chosen profession.

You need a master's degree and 3 years of experience to operate a paper stapler these days.

... or in the case of this posting, to assist the office in refilling printer paper.

i got to watch an electrician program light switches the other day. every room, he had to plug a computer into a low voltage switch to tell the switch what it's job is. things are changing. you probably need to know sql or c# to make the stupid stapler work now.

Isn't it just called Tiger? But also, they sell Lakerol for cheap which is the whole point of life in Scandinavia.

Need an emoji with 1/2 huge grin, 1/2 horror and one eye popping out of socket.

We got 4 projects from one client on our last day before the holiday break last year. It pays to answer the phone after 4.

I'll use the extra cash to buy a giant bottle of antacids.

Yep, two new this week. Everyone wants everything ASAP. That's why I spend my lunchtime scrolling through Cabin Porn.

Careful, Donna. Those wood splinters get in everywhere. Ouch!

sugar and booze is typical but I did get damn decent hockey tickets a few weeks ago.

ALL THE SUGAR is on our office reception counter right now. I have not yet seen any booze. I'd kill or die for some good smoked salmon! One tray of homemade baklava that was addressed "To Boss and Donna (and everyone)". I had to laugh - it's an AIA guy who sent it specifically to the AIA members, plus e'one else.

I got some wine. Higher quality than I'd ever buy, so that's a win.

We typically draw names and split all the bribes on the last day of the year before the holiday shut-down

I once got a bag of weed, but it was from my boss, not a consultant so I'm not sure if it counts.

it sure counts, awesome present

Sugar and booze... My last office every year one of the vendors would send us a rum cake. It was more rum than cake.

I had a feeling you were mildly drunk at all times.

you would not be incorrect.

(that's called management in some parts)

did you expect a tux?

That would also have been suspicious. Then I went and did the dumb thing of checking if the exposed steam supply plumbing was hot. Spoiler alert, it was.

Sounds like you almost had a Weinstein moment...

One person's bathrobe is another's smoking jacket. Hef spent most of his life in a swanky bathrobe.

38.5x48x52=96096 Gross - depends how much you like what you're doing and/or what you could be doing at the new place.

How many hours are you working now? Why not salary?

No health care benefits?

I'm a simple dirty communist canadian... I don't get the healthcare costs you deal with down south. If your employer covers zero healthcare, what's the average monthly costs for reasonable coverage?

it varies in every state, but around 500 for a plan that does nothing to 850 for a slightly better one.

Thanks JLC-1. So that's about 10K USD/year. puts things in an interesting perspective when I read compensation numbers.

that's for an individual making 80k with no kids- there are credits for family earning tiers, but if you make more than 102K for a family of 4, you would pay around 2500 a month. Isn't unchecked capitalism awesome?

this does include health insurance, my wife works for the hospital, so I get my insurance through her.

I don't think I've ever been salary, which is fine. I'd rather be paid for time over 40 hrs.

Salaried stinks.

Healthcare is subsidized I thought?

Who and what?

OMG!!!!

Any follow up on this?

Seems like jdc only created an account to post that single remark, makes you wonder.

NO slandering Martha, she picked me up from the airport once.

Nothing but respect for how important airport runs are. I drove Deborah Berke to the airport once; she is even more self-aware, wonderful, and grounded than one could imagine. I also drove Rena Klein, who rocked my world. I also picked up Paul Makovsky, formerly an editor at Metropolis - we couldn't stop chatting. And twice I drove Dave Hickey on airport runs. He was terrifyingly brilliant, and charming in a rough 60s tough-guy American male art scene way. I'm pretty sure there are more but none I can remember right now.

Another brilliant work by Banksy.

the fire is too small to be an accurate Balkins

you too!

Only 365 days till Christmas!

might as well leave all the decorations out then.

Same here, belatedly. So, Happy Boxing Day, then.

back at ya, and a happy new year!

I have coasters that say that.

Why would anyone like to have coasters that say "that"?

And a happy new year!

I took a Pro Practice course in grad school that attacked this backwards. The whole term revolved around a small design, on which various non-design parts of architecture were imposed. We had to write a spec table of contents that accounted for each material included, as well as 3 spec sections in full.

^ Excellent.

This was an assignment in my prof-prac class. The sections must be random though and you need to edit them to suit the design. We then had to price it and, as a fun twist, incorporate another team's spec section. I think 4 master spec sections were used.

So Donna... now that you've mentioned it and because I just happen to have my old grad school hardrive on hand (blame post xmas purging for this), I dug out the concrete spec I wrote for the project. Here are a few gems I inserted within the spec sections:

• Conformity to shop drawings is to be upheld under penalty of severe humiliation or possible death (method to be drawn from a hat). Report all discrepancies to consultant before beginning work
• Any remaining concrete can be kept by contractor only if used to form a personal penguin enclosure
• Stud finders are not required as the only studs on site are the projects’ respective architects
• Provide forms for concrete footings unless Resident Engineer determines forms are not necessary or is in the washroom
• Golfing tee time is at 4pm Friday, BYOB
• The writing of unnecessarily long lists is fundamental to the successful completion of the project

I got an A+ (96%) in this course... and this was 11 years ago.

Fypon , EIFS, and airport grade trench drains.

Non: that's hilarious.

^Cheers.

That is fantastic, Non!

Thanks Donna. We also had an assignment where we needed to create a license exam design question (to suit the NCARB test which were active in canada at time). That's where the penguin reference in the extra concrete line came from as my question had something to do about a go-kart track, penguins, and old nuclear silo. Who said you can't have fun in prof-pract courses?

Architects could also just use way less glass.

The guy with an airline trying to save the planet, I'm listening...

are we going full circle? or everybody is more stupid than their parents?

But can the firm not afford real renderers ...? Sheesh.

dislike it as much as ... ?

as all the rest of things he's done, at least this looks like will not leak, but I can be wrong.

I love the flat windows. They really set off the curves. :|  Wouldn't want to be the arch of record holding the liability for the flashing details at all of those disparate conditions.

that is quite unremarkable. And they forgot the building trees.

Isn't this just the Beekman Tower, but shorter?

This might become one of my favourite Gehry's.

No, mortar is what you place your medicine (or spices, seeds, etc) into before you grind them with a pestle. :)

No, mortar is a type of ballistic weaponry.

No, mortar is the silly hat worn at graduation.

No, mortar is when you kill someone in a Three Stooges movie. Oh, wait. That's moider.

See also Jack Klugman as Quincy...

Donna, don't know if this helps but I've associated the difference as mortar is applied to something before it is set into place, and grout is applied to something that is already in place. If I was more of a etymologist I'd see if there was some derivation of the words from ancient greek or something like that to back this up, but I'm not and it kind of makes sense to me this way ... or at least helps to explain the difference versus looking at what is visible or not.

Oh, and I lol'ed at citizen's comment

Thanks! I'm here all week...

If Zaha's death didn't kill the firm Patrik most certainly will.

Ironic that the world's most prominent Architectural libertarian / Randian is fighting tooth and nail to hang on to the coat-tails he's riding.

If it wasn't for Zaha, Patrik would be driving a cab in Frankfurt.

After reading that, it seems to me like Patrik has actually legit reasons to go to court...

Firm dependant. Last one was hush hush. This one is happy about making it known but they're engineers.

In my office, client agreement and fee structure is readily available to anyone. Profits or losses are not, but most senior staff know where their projects stand.

I typically ask when getting the rundown about the project from senior staff. We are pretty open about it partially because it helps younger staff to know how to prioritize time.

i think i have a good amount of information.

Yes, but no idea of profit

Proposals and contracts are saved in the project folder. Project managers have real time numbers. Quarterly updates to all staff on revenue and profits.

Eug, within the staff pool? Where’s this and how big is the office?

it's the time of the year, solitude, longer nights, cold. Yes, where is this?

Oh man this is fun. I can have an argument with myself all day long!

NO YOU CAN’T, DONNA! You have WAY too much work to do today to fritter away hours on TC! This isn’t 2009, after all! Get to work!

Ugh. Fine.

It's more fun if one of you is drinking.

pour me one too.

Definitely true, but somehow liberty didn't swear as much as I do.

Funny, usually it's the anon poster that uses more profanity, no?

Donna's alter-ego:

I think that's Liberty Bell's alter-ego ;)

randomised, you are correct. liberty was much more helpful and calm and rational. I'm on my last nerve already.

Sometimes I return/refuse a set of shop drawings within minutes of receiving them (if I catch the email notification). That gets the sub's attention.

I was pretty "green" at the outset of this project. It's the first project of this scale I've captained through CA - so I went in feeling a bit, uh, submissive? Getting comfortable with that sort of leverage has been the big learning experience of 2018. Definitely going to command higher standards next time around.

Fabricators and subs rarely have the money to afford a quality drafter. They'll bring in anyone that can simply open the software. Drafting standards are foreign to them. I remember one particular project where I finally got fed up marking up the drawings so I called the [railing fabricator] and asked to speak to the cad tech. I can't make this up . . . the guy said 'what's paper space?' He then went on to tell me that he drafted everything in model space and then used the 'scale button' to get the drawing to the proper scale on the page. Madness! But shit seems to get built this way everyday.

my current CA pet peeve is with the wc stall guys. On my last CA job over the summer, I even warned the green PM that this would be a headache. How can a sub return to me plans with irrelevant dimensions with no reference to my critical dims on plans and take weeks to give me a list of hardware. They eventually mailed me a sample of every component because they had no one on staff that could find the pdfs or whatever. I eventually gave the samples back (those that were ok) and they got installed.

we have a construction delay of 5 months on a house because the steel shop owner died days before starting the job and his minions don't know how to read plans, do shop drawings, or read redlines. 2 moment frames, about 6 columns and 6 w beams. unbelievable.

NS when you're turning back the shop drawings as a point of sloppy submission, what is your noted rationale to the manufacturer (what do you tell them directly)? What do you say if/when they protest? I am fortunate that the main project I worked CA on had a very advanced Tekla group producing all shop drawings and were very savvy in working hand-in-hand with me to get the project finished accurately. I cant imagine how to approach telling a manufacturer that their work is shit.

JLC, I think this speaks to a comment in another thread about how small and compartmentalized much of our industry really is. While there are certainly large AE firms, GCs, and developers, the majority of work is still completed by small businesses and shops with very unsophisticated systems in place. It can be both refreshing and tiring to learn that your project is being worked on by a 4th generation terrrazo installer or master carpenter -- but when something happens to that 'one guy', then what?

Bench, it depends, but normally I make it very clear in a follow-up email or as a big note on the cover page of the submission where the drawings fail to meet our specifications. Our P.eng do the same but they might wait a week to tell the sub. I do it within the hour of submission if that's the case.

For example, if I get a misc steel shop drawing and their stairs and handrails are written in french (happens often) then it gets rejected immediately even-though I'm fully fluent.  Same goes if the subs simply copy-pasted my details as their own or they lazily submit whatever in hopes that I add all the critical info.

On larger projects, I put in a call to the PM before rejecting the drawings so they have time to diffuse it with the subs.

precisely, but, they keep going, I'm sure we would have had less delays if they had told us from the get go they didn't know what they were doing and we could have found other shop. And, I think steel suppliers do favor large jobs in detriment of small ones, there is also a shortage of material apparently.

gibb, construction industry is pretty hot right now, so even 4th string quarterbacks can butt fumble into a paying gig. Best contractors are working on best projects, and I guess none of us work on best anything...

Y'all checking the dimensions, then? Good to see Architects doing the GC's job even in 2019.

^we don't verify nor do we confirm dimensions. I'll even request the GC remove all language on their drawings that refers to the "architect is responsible for ...." They complain, but fuck them. You're building the millwork, go to site and measure.

of course i'm checking dimensions from a crackhead doing shop dwgs.

JLC has it right, checking is not the same as confirming.

checking dimensions on the drawings after the gc gives me field dimensions.

V.I.F. on everything, even if you watched it get Verified 10 minutes earlier.

cabinetry is full of VIF notes

|---EQ. V.I.F.--|---EQ. V.I.F.--|---EQ. V.I.F.--|---EQ. V.I.F.--|

"conservatism is an illness"

conservatism is a mental illness

There, fixed it for you.

It depends, some things are worth conserving and keeping the way they are, others not so much. To call it an illness or even mental illness sounds very conservative to me.

when somebody does things in a way for a long time, and is not open to change it for something that's proven to work better, what do you call it to sound progressive?

That's a different story, being against conservatism without looking at the particulars just sounds very dated to me and unprogressive. Just because something's been done a certain way, doesn't mean it needs to change for the sake of progress, sometimes progress/change is for the worst, simply look at climate change...

I'm conservative about conservatism.

LTU?

That's right, looks like about 200 ppl are coming so far, should be a good event. Focus will be on items that code
officials look for on permit drawings

will try to make it. Im only 15 minutes from LTU

Shell - will there be a livestream?

Won’t be able to make it... can someone Facebook live or Pericscope?

boooo

I'll see if someone can record it for posterity

Just had 3" of rain, glad it wasn't snow. Now the temp is dropping, going to 9F tonight (-13C for you third-worlders). -12F/-24C with wind chill.

@$#%&?! iPad

great day to watch the patriots lose

Same here.... I have a 100’ driveway... I’m in rural country and need to invest in a plow for my John Deere

Any day is a good day to watch the Patriots lose.

Ha, great call on the Pats. My driveway can fit 4 cars length wise...

Brady all the way baby!

Watching the Patriots lose only seems great because of its rarity.

ans still have fingers to type?

According to Jack London when you spit at 40 below it freezes on contact with the ground. Lower than that it freezes in the air with a snap before it hits the ground. Maybe you could try it Non and let us know what happens.

Fingers are fine, probably some-what already permanently frozen just from living here every winter. My phone's battery did lose almost half it's power during my 10min walk tho because it was in an un-insulated breast pocket. I'll try the spit thing tonight when I leave.

same this morning too Jla, but looking to go to a scorching -2C tomorrow.

A good chunk of that movie was filmed in canada, so technically, it's a bison carcass. I'll show myself out.

Spend half my year living at that temperature, but at least mines a dry cold ;)

Which button for "make fresh pot of coffee"? ;o]

I did a major interior renovation with JLL as CM and Building Management. Was kinda strange since they have separate groups for CM/ Project Development and Property Management and the two didn't always work together perfectly. As a whole though, decent for a CM/ Building Manager. Not the most design-focused but willing to defer to the architect on most things, though cost always sneaks in as a main driver. Very nice people, but it seems like a bit of a clubby old-dude atmosphere.

does JLL still have a GC division?

I did a fit-out with JLL who was acting as GC. Their site super was great, but their paper pusher was difficult to work with. I know people who used to work for them and now on the developer side - they havent said anything bad abt them except for there was an exodus after the economy started turning around.

thanks, will ask some additional questions if something materializes

not sure re: the GC division. they seem to be pretty silo'd.

join the club. We'd have matching jackets but... no time to pick a design.

Congrats, this means you can either ask for a raise or look for new opportunities that fit your skill set and experience, exciting times!

i did wear a thermal layer under my pants, and brought wool socks. i don't entirely trust the building's mechanical systems.

I only wear wool socks.

Pics please.

I had a site visit this morning at 9am. I carried my steel-toe boots in a bag and changed out of my snow boots just before the meeting. Those protective steel plates just suck all the heat away.

Are they certified for job site?

We’ve been floating around the -40 for over a week now. People are dropping like flies from exposure.

How long does it take to "drop" in weather like this?

depends on your health and level of exposure, obviously... but for example, a prominent political figure' 90-something year old mother died last week because her nursing home forgot to account for her following a fire alarm evacuation. Woman did not even make it around the building to that main doors. A few more in the news, mostly elderly.

Fire alarm? Was there an actual fire?

nope. not sure if it was a false alarm or a scheduled drill.

62, below 0?

62K?

62K is -211C.

People keep asking me if its as cold as it was when I lived up North (like, way up there).

The answer is no, this is still quite balmy and I still dont need to wear a toque to work. Joy!

that is sick awesome.

Same reason people use unpaid interns. 

I thought I was the only one... Trying to share files via Google Drive is just as bad, IMO.

Never had to work with it, generally use Dropbox for file sharing.

you get what you paid for.

Icongnito again I see. Why would one not credit the artist if they had a role?

I hate it when people don't give credit properly, usually a sign of insecurity and a lack of talent.

Exactly, randomised. If you're confident in yourself you don't mind sharing credit when it's due, IMO. I do it constantly, though my therapist would say that the truth is I'm too insecure about other people *thinking* I'm claiming credit and that's why I can't ever take credit myself? LOL I will definitely take credit for the "Ability To Overthink Anything To Ruin" prize!

Yes of course I'd credit the super-famous artist. I'd be careful how I credited them so some jealous other-artist or unhinged "building designer" would not be able to report them to authorities for practicing architecture! I don't usually care about taking/getting credit  - except in situations where something that I did most of is wholly credited to someone whose real role/involvement was in the 0-5% range - in which case it irks me for decades!

Apparently Rick can't post in TC, that's why.

Could that arrangement be expanded?

I don't know about that Citizen... we might miss on some crucial business card etiquette.

Hmmmm... you may be right, NS. My very favorite part is the sheer volume of text it takes to finally, finally get to the small nugget of absolutely incorrect information.

It's not just the tiny nugget of wrongness. It's how f'ing intractable he is. Like business cards: he could google "should students have business cards" or "what to put on new grad's business card" and see 95% of the world agrees with 95% of thread respondents. But he won't, he'll stick with wrong until nobody's left to care, because he absolutely can't admit he's wrong or learn.

It's that and more, I think. My strong hunch is that this is one of the only connections he has to people. So, why say in ten words what can be blathered in a thousand (at no extra cost), for more reaction (and maximum return)? Not that he's likely aware of this, but it seems to be a driving force for him. 

And now, the Dime Store Shrink is off-duty.

Not a good look to insult the dude where he can't respond. I was commenting on the thread, didn't realize that was the reason. Doesn't change my opinion about it though.

No insult intended, just observation and opinion. 

Rick, even if you can't post here, you may be able to read this. If so, we've all got our baggage; Lord knows I've got mine. Feel free to opine on my compulsion toward sarcasm and joking, and my impatience with lazy "journalism."

Aw, citizen that's an excellent post.

Only 14 individual spots left for the single pen option ($50USD). hurry!