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It's so cute!

O M G so cute. Must have.

Think I used it in one of the derailed threads of late...

It's actually a nice little thing, and so doesn't fit the messy, smelly, gangling, often cowardly sh!t shows we occasionally witness here before having to wash our eyes with soap.

Bummer on the hoof, Nam. But it sounds like you're 'on it' in both attitude and action. Good luck and fast healing.

Also I know I haven't been around as much lately but did Karl just recently start hanging around again? Or just started using that account/profile, perhaps?

Karl pops in very occasionally to comment then disappear again. Always nice to see him!

Agreed!

Kawye wishes he was jawknee.

Kanye.

Kawnyee!

I was there recently. Still am, in some ways. But husband and I are liquidating and downsizing and it has given me new excitement for life! Change is good, and being the driver of that change in my own life is excellent.

I was there last year. I set up new boundraries and created a weekly work plan based on the amount of hours I was willing to work without feeling a burnout. I'd pick and choose what had to be done alotted hours for it and leave at 430 no later (I start at 630) The idea was that if I got fired for maintaining that level of planning while maintaining my life at a level that kept me happy the job wasn't for me. This could only happen by downsizing and actually being prepared to get fired. Good luck Donna! I'm glad you are excited and making steps to live more simply! Also the outcome after more than a year of this weekly planning was that I got two raises and was praised for how I handled stress and workload so well. Nothing about why my butt wasn't in my seat late hours.

the pandemic has made everything infinitely worse. i initially enjoyed the wfh freedom, but without all the others part of life to balance working, only spinning around revit all day has ignited the burnout flames.

Glad to hear it went well for you, archi-dude! I hate to talk about silver linings of this pandemic but honestly: I feel like people are appreciating simple things like walks with their families in the evenings so much more because of this. Time to relax and time to stay healthy is what matters.

I'm very fortunate that my current job is as close to perfect as jobs get (short of my true calling - "lottery winner"), but even with that the cumulative burnout of a 20-odd year career (most of which wasn't in the perfect job) combined with the stress of living in the time of pestilence is really doing a number on my motivation, too.

Close to the same here atelier nobody. I don't have the cumulative burnout you do, though I will probably need to take a few days off soon to de-stress and relax. Deadlines aren't cooperating though. One of the nice things about being involved in most projects in the office is that I get to see and influence them all. One of the bad things is there is always a deliverable coming up in the next week or so.

Was so done with the working from home that I took a side job, just to get out of the house...It is great!, hard work physical labour, no sitting behind the computer, flexible hours so I can take care of the kids and I have my own nickname!

I keep hoping they pass the $600 a week unemployment add-on, just so I can ease myself into getting the heave ho. I have a lot I want to do, but there aren't any remaining hours in the day. after i get done having my soul sucked, i have enough time to chill, enjoy the chill, and fucking fall blissfully asleep.

@libertybell that sounds very exciting! @beta extending the add-on would def make it easier for my wf to pursue the additional accreditation and career path she is rethinking, in light of the pandemic.

we have reviews coming up and i'm just going to try to be brutally honest with how dissatisfied I am. It's not like I'm easily replaceable, so even if it leaves everyone in an awkward and unresolved position at the end, it may spur some changes.

archanonymous, I did that prior to deciding to leave my last firm ... nothing changed. I hope your situation turns out better. It should if you have good leadership.

For mine, they knew they could not afford to replace me (still haven't replaced me and are paying for it), yet they still decided to give me the run around on things that I wanted to see changed. Everything was good in meetings and discussions about it, but no actions or follow through. 

Hit them like a ton of bricks a few months later when I told them I was taking a job elsewhere. One of the principles tried to shame me for not working with the firm and making the position what I wanted it to be. When he was done, I told him that I appreciated what he was saying and in theory that would have been great. I then reiterated everything I had done in the last 3 months to make changes and how there wasn't any action or follow through from the leadership. He understood and said he was sorry the firm let me down. So that was nice, but still nothing was going to change.

yeah - i've gone back and forth on this. Literally every other job. I'll try one where I'm like "eh, they're never going to change, no sense in asking" (or I was so young I didn't understand that it is up to all employees to create the studio environment they want to work in) and then the next i'll be like "ok, going to really give it my all and try to be super team player." In the end I'm not sure it matters. This profession is fucked, the economy is in the shitter, and everything turns to dust eventually, etc, etc, heat death of the universe.

.

Or this one ... still not '97, but closer

yeaaah.... definitely more fugazi on that one.

This would also be appropriate...

https://bim6x.com/blog/command-and-control-archicad-part-4

Propose a visionary project that helps to revive the economy of a region, city or community affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Now where's my cash and prizes?

Someone will find a cure to COVID using shipping containers. Maybe it’ll be me.

Shipping containers and LEED Certifications can solve anything.

No, net zero buildings will cure the 'vid.

We used excel, switched to sheets due to the multiplayer. Trying to use deltek, but it's a pain.

I only understood the work excel . . . Switched to what sheets and multiplayer?

Google sheets. It allows multiple people to edit at the same time.

we have deltek at work

Deltek is kind of pricey for small firms, and is not really user-friendly.

If you really want to get fancy, you can link (x-ref for you ACAD users) MS Project files, so you could do a separate work plan for each project, then a master schedule with relevant details of all the individual projects linked to show overall staffing. This requires more than a casual user level of expertise, but nowhere near full-on geekdom.

Chad, for an office as small as your office is ... you could just make a shared outlook calendar and have everyone roughly block out their time there. 

There are lots of ways to accomplish it, the problem is getting people to 1) input the information, 2) keep it up to date, and 3) use it. 

At my last firm, I'd see some Deltek reports forecasting my workload. Some weeks would be around 100% utilization, some would be less than 100%, most of the time weeks would show something insane like 400%. This was all based on what PMs were inputting in their workplans. 

I never had 400% utilization because the information was always wrong. Once, I (jokingly) sent a clipping of it to a PM who had me at 32 hours each day that week, and asked what I should be working on because I was still waiting on certain information from the team. I never heard back. I didn't work on that project that week, but we still met the deadline, and I was still busy that week.

what do PMs do?

We use Ajera. It seems to be terrible, but I don’t really have anything to compare it to beyond having direct conversations with people about their workloads and upcoming deadlines.

Though coming from different industry I'd agree there are many low (calendar, excel or good communication) and high tech (dedicated apps) ways to accomplish and that the real keys are; "getting people to 1) input the information, 2) keep it up to date, and 3) use it".

Plus depending on management, all the information about (over)-allocation won't actually translate to realistic planning/timelines anyways...

I should clarify after going back and reading my comment above. It wasn't that the PM had me down for 32 hours each day, it was 32 hours that week total, spread out over each day in the week.

Thanks for all of the info people. It sounds like a shared Outlook calendar would be the way to go. Obviously the issue is people actually using it.

^ True, Chad. But the easier it is to access and use, the likelier that folks will participate. Once it's up and running, let us know how it goes. I'm curious.

Kind of hard for those of us who aren't anonymous profiles . . .

It should be a bal masqué!

We could dress in costume as our best posting.  And Pete's offered to pay for everything! (Top shelf brands, none of this "well" crap.)

randomised, how's your americish accent?

I wish I knew... had an interview last month with an English woman that worked for over a decade in New York and now in Amsterdam for the last 5/6 years or so, she complimented me on my English for someone from France, said she almost couldn’t hear my French accent at all during our conversation...I’m not French nor do I speak French. So I might be either excellent or awful butler material, I dig their outfits though...

For some reason I always hear Rando's posts spoken in that character from Holland in Austin Powers. Isn't that weird?

Il I’ve goooooooaaaaauld.

Take the fahza awaaaaaaay!

Dutch hater!

Also ... is b3ta Nigel Powers?

I'm half Dutch, father was from Utrecht. Grandparents had to flee the Nazis, came to Ellis Island after the war.

That Austin Powers character doesn’t speak with a Dutch accent at all unfortunately, seems more like Swiss or something, which would also explain the gold fetish a bit better.

Ah the Swiss

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it could indeed be that simple

You get that a lot, EA? ;O)

Hard to say when they just disappear, no? If there was something left to indicate when they've been removed we could tell who gets it a lot.

The reasons that people get nuked from threads are usually because they've posted offensive or threatening comments, or comments that violate privacy. What was removed last night, in the thread where you wrote this the first time, were comments explicitly inciting violence. If the comments of the nuked person were preserved, it would kind of defeat the purpose of the nuking.

They don’t need to be preserved as is, but simply something like “comment deleted” would already help a lot with maintaining the flow of a discussion and prevents miscommunication between people before and after nuked comments.

was he a decrepit old university professor from chicago? if so, send him my regards

Draw this, then add "thinking of you."

Not that hard to do with revit . . .

Not really the point IMO. Does that client go to the doctor and ask them to write their prescriptions in blue ink only?

I once drew the mortar in quite the complex brickwork project, just to prove to the contractor that their dimensions of window frames were way off. Was actually quite fun to do and it prevented a major fuck up...

We draw the mortar joints when coursing matters.

Of course you do.

We do as well. Again - in Revit it's not difficult.

I have a client telling me what information to put on what sheets. I just went ahead and did it. I feel dirty though.

Cash the check and take a shower.

Our entire profession is a client telling us what information to put on what sheets - we're all whores. Get used to it.

I don't agree with that, but understand the sentiment. A good client will listen to the Architect but overrule when necessary. It's a nuanced distinction, but is the difference between this profession being satisfyingly collaborative and soul-suckingly demoralizing.

Client demands: better on the sheets than under them.

That depends on the client, citizen.

Sneaky - a good client will listen to their architect however they still tell the architect what to do in terms of program, location, budget, schedule, and style. Sure some clients are flexible with these items however I think it's exceedingly rare to find a client that has no constraints or opinions on all of them.

Just to clarify, it's as-built mortar between bricks not new. Whilst possible it would take WEEKS just to draw mortar accurately in a project with a pre-existing 1950's brick walls.

Wait, they want accurate mortar joints for record drawings of a preexisting building?

Nah, no, and nope.

From HABS (https://www.nps.gov/hdp/standards/habsguidelines.htm):

For sketches:

"If brick coursing is consistent and regularly-spaced, it is not necessary to measure every course. Courses which tie into significant features of the elevation (such as window heads and sills) are located vertically, and the intervening courses counted
and divided equally when drawn. A similar technique may be used with regularly spaced horizontal wood siding."

For CAD Drawings:

"For brick buildings, horizontal brick joints are drawn across the entire elevation. A vignette of vertical joints, which have been measured, should also be drawn, typically in reference to one of the building corners. Do not use standard CAD brick hatch
patterns, as they do not typically represent actual conditions.
4.6.2 Individual bricks are drawn in round, jack, and flat arches."

For an existing building that's not reasonable to show accurate brick coursing. For new construction it's rather easy to show single line coursing on elevations. Showing mortar thickness on wall sections and details can become a bit more challenging however with Revit and repeating detail components it's not difficult. In some masonry details it's a really good idea to show them.

Pete's "Cash the check and take a shower" is going onto my letterhead and email signature. And a t-shirt. 

An all-purpose sentiment if ever there was one.

Thought that said 'Cash the check in the shower' for a second. I either need more or less caffeine. :s

If it was new I wouldn't be complaint,
easily done in AutoCAD or Revit ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You can extend this criticism to so many aspects of our society. Like, why don't we have public high-speed broadband internet regulated like a utility? Oh because that is big-government overreach that somehow strips us of our "freedom" to pay inflated prices to monopolistic corporations for poor service. In the end it leaves everyone poorer - all these little ways that we keep people from realizing their potential.

Return to school is in 3 weeks for us and both in-class and online options are available. Details are still being debated tho, but we're sending our little one to class. New cases are very low at this time and my wife needs to get back to work since she's in the school board with the special needs kids. I can't imagine how the learning will be maintained in the low/er income households that either can't afford the connection or multiple devices or have dedicated learning space, or all 3.

We starve the public coffers and feed the for-profit capitalist machine as if life is a zero sum game.

wow non, i'm just trying to wrap my head around that one. so you can either go to class or stay home. people with means can stay safe at home, while people with less desirable broadband will have to face potentially crowded hallways. it's like we inherited a virus design to attack old people and managed to turn it into something that attacks disenfranchised people. no negativity to you or your country, just that somehow your post got me to see it different. i'm going to go start some conspiracy theories now.

Curt, for the record, I am in favour of a return to class but it’s important to note that new cases are very low (less than 100 new cases in a province of 14mil today). Although I could easily manage to stay home (or my wife) for a few months, not everyone is in the same financial comfort zone so many need schools/daycares open to restart their income. Certainly helps that we took this shit seriously back in March. 8-). The lower income part does bother me tho since many are not even aware of the all the services available (part of my wife’s job is to pass that info on).

They just shut down a favorite restaurant and watering hole across the street. No Social Distancing going on. I saw a cop car sitting in front the the place during the middle of the week during the middle of the afternoon. He was most likely giving the owner a friendly warning.....but come Friday night the place was hopping and one of their staff tested positive for covid-19. Place is locked up tighter than Fort Knox.

You're in luck because we have our own in-house sweedish building designer. Reach out to the one and only RickyB and he'll guide you through. If he can legally (pretend to offer) design (exempt) building services in sweeden, anyone can!

Thanks Non, will do!

^please don't

Why bother, just keep it in English, they will be able to read it just fine ;)

My grandparents spoke sweedish. I have a good accent and know a couple of phrases, mostly about coffee. Taksamecka.

Bork!

No, but I did watch Mamma Mia last night.

All I know is "fika" because I always go for a second cup!

I miss my work clothes.

I bought a bunch of nice flamboyant collared dress shirts just short of the shut down and now they don’t fit anymore. Gotta work back into those fitted shirts.

I don't even remember the last time I wore anything but jeans and a tee shirt. For a little variety I switch between work boots and sneakers.

Have traded in my jeans and t-shirt for the summer for work pants, gloves and steel toe boots...no complaints so far!

We hit a few weeks left of golf short appropriate weather then a very short sports coat season, then winter and snow.

*short-sleeve

I now only wear socks when I go for a run.

NS - i went the other way and am now pulling old clothes out of the back, back closet from 6-7 years ago because my recent purchases are all too big. I had a strange sense of style then, but hey, they still work. (skinny teal or pink chinos and brightly patterned button-downs)

Pretty much the only thing I changed was doing 40 pushups everyday, which is also a necessity for relieving the massive tension my job causes.

Yup, my pale pink and blue patterned shirts and my slim white shirts no longer fit. Bit chunky round the midriff now... Gotta hit Jim! See what I did there!? Not really funny was it... Poor dad joke!

Lost over 16kg/35pounds since Covid started, combination of fasting and physical labour, and had to order some new pants myself, luckily some old and still decent shirts fit again making me feel 5 yrs younger.

16kg is a hell of a lot of weight, congrats.

I'm down weight as well. Not eating out at restaurants for lunch 2-4 times a week has mostly done it for me ... and a little more exercise for sanity and stress relief. 10-15 lbs so far (depending on the day). My regular office clothes might actually fit better now. I had a few pairs of slacks and a couple shirts that were getting a little tight pre-COVID that should be great now. But since I'm not wearing them, who knows. Shorts and t-shirts most days for me.

Thanks, I tried getting taller to fix my BMI, but that didn’t work...have to accept the fact that I am only as tall as Michael Jordan and now also weigh as much as him when he was playing.

Congratulations, rando. A wise man once said; "If you haven't got your health you haven't got anything."

i'm also more svelte...down almost 20# since Feb...not quite as tall as MJ, but up there

What's with all the pants-wearing? ;O]

My partner wears the pants around here. (SP says, surprising exactly nobody)

I've been at the office since may 15, haven't used long pants or long sleeve shirts yet, and no socks!

I lost 12 pounds in the first couple months working at home but a few snuck back over the summer. My office was very casual already so my work clothes are the same at home, except here I rarely put on shoes and can wear the same pants everyday and not worry that anyone will notice repetition. Or dirt.

Anybody else got painful feet from not wearing shoes, heard some coworker got a foot problem from walking barefoot at home all day everyday...I thought not wearing shoes was actually much better, now I’m confused.

Holy moly! Be careful up there!

That's a terrifying and awesome photo.

Pfft, the Grizzly Creek Fire is nothing.  

It's hot and smoky her in the Grand Valley (104 F, raining ash) from the Pine Gulch fire. 125,108 acres, less than 7% contained.. The fire is so big it can't be contained any further or put out until a sufficient amount of rain or snow fall.  Basically we will have to wait another 1-2 months for it to be extinguished.  

well yes, it's bigger, but having I-70 closed for more than a week it's been very disrupting, thanks to the firefighters that are stopping it from getting close to inhabited places.

This looks a lot like what they warned us about back in grade school if we didn't start taking care of the planet.

Trump has a plan for that; Melanoma is going to pee all over it.

JLC-1 - The people around No Name Canyon that have been evacuated and the firefighters . . . those people have legitimate concerns. For the rest of us having I-70 closed is just an inconvenience.

Oh and by the way - a 125,000 acre fire that destroys vegetation that prevents erosion in the high desert that is part of the biggest watershed in the state is going have a much higher impact than the closure and rerouting of traffic around I-70.    

Think the Mayans were off by a year or eight...what else 2020 will have in store?

I thought it was going to rain yesterday and then it didn't.

not interested in the pissing match. one annoying and unforeseen consequence of these fires is the paranoia that took hold of our fire departments, now we have to provide 1 hr rated assemblies on all exterior surfaces, that's on top of required sprinkler system for all residential work.

It rained all of 3 minutes last evening over here.

I'm supposed to go to Montrose sometime in the next few weeks. Not sure that can happen.

Seems like it would be much better to concentrate development in already-developed areas instead of pushing even further into the forests, but colorado mountain towns have an almost pathological aversion to multifamily development and density.

the south detour must be pretty packed, but the canyon will stay dangerous for months after the fire goes away, have you seen pictures of rocks falling?

tintt - you can still get to Montrose from Denver. It will just take 2 hours longer.

JLC-1 - ah wealthy mountain resort towns. You're going to get the affluent wanting special treatment to protect their properties regardless of the cost and the impacts to the average person.

It's north of Montrose that I need to go, yeah I can just take 7 hours to do it. I should probably look at a map... Happy Pandemic Wildfire Days.

7 hours two ways can't be done in a day very easily. I'll take my private jet.

JCL-1 - A gemologist friend of mine suspects that the fire will make the potential for rock fall in Glenwood Canyon higher through summer 2021.

And don't forget about the flash floods after as well....

last winter I drove through the canyon at 10 mph, it was an ice sheet end to end - and this march I had to wait 2 hours in dotsero because a minor rock fall, I can only imagine how scary it will be the next couple of years. There's a former councilman in this town that lost his wife and 2 kids to a rock fall some 10 years ago. Not for the faint of heart, I drive it like a demon was following me, and so do the state patrols. To your comment about the affluent, right now it's a shit show up here, people buying houses unseen, wanting to add "maids quarters" and gyms to already maxed out far. and everything for tomorrow, there's no more contractors to call. least concern is their safety.

That's why I don't live in the mountain resort areas. I've had plenty of firms offer me positions in that area but I couldn't stand the culture and attitude of the affluent that run things.

I've never been worried driving through Glenwood Canyon other than the dumbass drivers.  I only go through that area once every few months to climbing in NoName Canyon though so no real need.  Also I don't downhill ski so . . . 

huzzah!

I walked to work this morning. Eleven feet as the crow flies (if the crow could fly through walls), but about 18 feet on foot.

I just walked 800m to my favorite florist.

did some pushups. been doing 20 mile backpack trips every few weekends. being stuck at home made me look harder in the mirror.

Was biking to work 7 miles round trip - 4x week. The Pine Gulch fire stopped that this week. Mountain biking (5-9 miles) and paddling (10-12 miles) on the weekends. Just started a month long climbing training program on Monday.

Mountaineering or rock climbing? Or roller skate fittings for the flatirons?

I don't do mountaineering but yes, rock climbing. Nothing too hard, I top out in the 5.10b range for trad. Never been climbing on the front range. Farthest east I've done is NoName Canyon.

Hahahahaha. I max out at 10b sport these days, I thrive on 5.7 trad. Lots of that in CA but unfortunately it's all 3-4 hours away, makes for a long trip.

I've got 300 routes within 45 minutes of my front door. I prefer easy trad though. Right before the pandemic I did Otto's Route in the National Monument here in town. The last 6 feet was a mid 10 and wow did it kick the snot out of me.

Topo says it's only a 5.8.  It's not.  

https://www.codepublishing.com/CO/GrandJunction/?html2/GrandJunction21/GrandJunction21.html

It's old enough (older, for sure. 1911!) for the 5.8 to only make sense when you accept that there is no 5.10. Climbing grades are an excellent example of set standards that don't allow for adjustment for the future.

I think your copy paste failed in a funny way. :)

Ha! That's hilarious! When Otto did the FA he pounded fence posts into the soft wingate sandstone. Still brave on his part.

Every time I go up the cable route on half dome I think of the insane people who climbed it before technical gear was technical.

Is the YDS the Imperial to the French System's Metric?

^ wrong post

Pete, I went up that cable route against the recommendation of the ranger at the base of the dome. Was about 10-11am or so and it had been raining all morning. Only one other person had been up that day and it was some local who, according to him, goes every morning. Great place but the ill-prepared tourists are the worst.

Totally. It's why I only go when the cables are down. Still need to do Snake Hike.

Never been to Yosemite.

If you ever make it down this way let me know and I can show you around if you like.

That would be fun! I'll wait until the zombie apocalypse is over though. :)

Absolutely. The quota system in Yosemite for campsites in a normal year is ridiculous, and the entry quotas make it completely unworthy. If you want to climb Sierra granite, Tahoe's a better bet.

Wait, no, don't go to Tahoe, they're fed up with people trying to visit during Covid.

Pete, I remember working my way through the overnight camping lottery... like 6/7 years ago. I got one out of the 3 I applied for and it was for a overnight camping on top of El Cap. they only give overnight passes to less than 10 per day and I snagged half of them for our group. Good times.

You go in from Tuolomne or up from the floor?

You're not smart enough to drive any type of car axo. Stick to riding your bike.

Why do you feel it necessary to attack my intelligence when I’m trying to make a funny about how revit is cumbersome to use? Are you insecure about your skills as an architect?

Chad, you are often a real dick.

Awe - you got upset because you couldn't take a joke about not being smart enough to use Revit.

Seriously though - I know it was a joke axo - I was poking fun of you and meant no insult.  It clearly hit too close to home and I'm sorry that you took it personally.

AA - you're one to talk.  

No, it’s because you suck Chad. Seriously, no one wants more asses on this forum. Don’t be one.

You're just pissed because you're not eating enough.

You guys are all being dickish but it's ok because everyone is undergoing trauma right now. Things will get better, really. 

Except that REVIT will never stop being a huge pain in the ass.

Revit is only a moderate hemorrhoid once you learn how to use it.

I was having a conversation related to this last weekend. The final hurdle for professionals, and because we're architects, I'm thinking mostly about us, is when we get rid of this tired idea of having to live in NYC, LA, Chicago, etc...to actually work for a firm. Aside from perhaps more travel, why can't we work real remote like, and still be productive?

I haven't been traveling much, because of so many covid-related restrictions, quarantines, and closures. Also I like being at home and haven't grown tired of it yet. I feel there's a good chance I'm never going back to the office, at least not full time. My very small house is proving a little small to be my full time base of operations, and if I don't have to stay within daily commuting distance then I can look at more house in farther flung places.  Some properties I've been looking at online push the boundaries of practical - like just because I can apparently afford a 3-story 7-bedroom Victorian in a tiny town virtually in Canada doesn't necessarily mean I probably should... but I want to.

Not exactly, but I have been looking at real estate in more affordable places (I am in the Los Angeles area)

I've been having the same thoughts. Running two businesses, two classrooms, and now a housemate out of our tiny house in the city has me looking at small towns with big houses to move to.

rent a van & do #vanlife for a week or so...it will either make a ton of sense or you will realize why fixed structures exist

I'm torn about the 'digital nomad' or 'work from somewhere other than home,' thing. On the one hand, I think it would be great to be able to do that and this pandemic presents a situation where it can finally be possible for many people if they wanted to do such a thing due to the expectation of working remotely. On the other hand, I think it probably isn't appropriate in many circumstances ... and the appropriateness of it depends on many things. 

The point of having everything shut down and working from home is to keep people at home and not spreading the virus. Traveling to different places away from home can defeat this purpose ... though not in all cases and there are things that can probably be done to mitigate risk. 

Now, I don't know your situation gwharton so I'm not passing judgement, but I do get concerned when I see my friends, for example, traveling to see their extended families in different states multiple times these past few months. I'm also very conscientious to not pass judgment on my friends too. I would feel better about it if someone is staying at their destination for an extended period of time. For example, longer than two weeks where you can self-isolate in case you caught anything during the traveling, and then being able to self-isolate for another two weeks upon returning home. Best approach would also have self-isolation for two weeks prior to traveling away from home as well. 

There are other aspects to it as well like not potentially exposing essential workers for services while traveling (gas stations, grocery stores, etc.). I also know this is more of an extreme view, but it frustrates me to see non-essential travel right now. 

Again, I'll reiterate that this should by no means be taken as judgement against gwharton ... I don't know his situation (nor do I think he needs to justify it). I'm just throwing this (probably unpopular) opinion out there in hopes it might make someone think about whether it would be appropriate in their situation.

Either thinking of moving to a different, more affordable, big city or as remotely and isolated as possible within our budget. No small towns or suburbs, hate those, no decent facilities nor proper anonymity, worst of both worlds...

We passed the point where shutdowns were really having any effect on viral transmission back in May/June sometime, and there isn't actually a whole lot of evidence they did much against it past the initial month or so back in Feb/Mar anyway. We are well on the way to herd immunity now, if not actually there already. Hospitalizations and deaths are way, way down over the past three months. Since then, the "shutdown" is mostly just theater. Also, there are plenty of ways to be a digital nomad without putting yourself in the middle of a crowd of contagious people. For instance, cruising around in an RV or boat. Or staying in a cabin somewhere nice. Many hotels have great accommodations which don't entail much risk and are desperate for customers. Visit with family (I've been at my parents' place for a week now, helping look after my dad).

gwharton, I'd agree with everything you said after the word theater ... which is why I'm not trying to pass any judgement but rather point out that it could be done well, or poorly, in terms of the pandemic. 

For everything before that, I'd say, "it depends."

Herd immunity, also known as "Who cares if millions fucking die as long as the economy remains firmly in capitalist vulture control."

Now Showing: "Money, we fucking made it up and now it's more important than HUMAN LIVES."

Herd immunity needs at lest 70% of the population to have antibodies. The state with the highest case rate (as a % of population) has reported cases in about 3.5% of its population. The state with the lowest case rate has reported cases in about one fifth of one percent of its population. I do understand that the # of people with antibodies is probably far higher than cases recorded, due to asymptomatic transmission and unreported/untested/misdiagnosed cases, but we'd have to believe that it's underrecorded by over 20 times (for Louisiana) to over 350 times (for Vermont) to assume that we've achieved herd immunity in those places. That's a big stretch - but maybe if we had reliable and widespread antibody testing it would turn out to be true, who knows?

Don't you worry all your Greenies! Donald Trump is going to call out the Pillow Brigade. They are akin to the Rake Masters of California.

Just had my 4th or 5th craft beer of the evening while watching playoff hockey outside.

How are you watching hockey outside in this heat? ;)

^Beer helps... and it was the vancouver game, so 10:30pm start in my zone. Temp was humid but under 30C by that time.

Certainly would be beneficial to try. What do we have to lose?

Boobs do make everything better. You might be onto something here Donna.

Men make the world suck because of women though...

^[Devil’s Advocate]

history doesn't provide many examples, but few of them support the notion women are immune to the seduction of violence once they have power. though in fairness the examples below are mostly seen as above average as leaders, and a few exceptionally good for the expansion of their countries (through force of course):

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_the_Great

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Dowager_Cixi

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary,_Queen_of_Scots

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_de%27_Medici

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Zetian

to be clear i absolutely support the right of women to participate in accumulating power and running political bodies. i expect as humans they will perform similar to men overall.

Exactly, Non. A penis sparks creation (falling asleep immediately after) but boobs sustain life. A sustainable loving world needs women.

midlander, those are all individual women operating in an ocean of powerful men. I’m talking about letting women redefine what “power” means to be the power to include everyone, to care for everyone, and celebrate our ability to do important work that benefits the society, not just the individual. (Think elementary school teacher.)

LB, this would be a fun discussion in person over coffee in the future (cross fingers and hope!) i'm too lazy to type out a cogent response now, but you make an interesting thought question about something which seems impossible to implement.

helen had a face that launched a thousand ships. sure it was pretty much all men fighting, but without women, what would we be fighting for ?

To clarify, it’s not really “men”, it’s patriarchy. If feminism ran the world, meaning men, women, and any/everyone who identifies as feminist, the world would be a better place.

it's in reaching agreement about who will run the world that the guns would need to come out

My friend who grew up on the reservation said that in native culture, when a society is hurt it is time to put the mothers and grandmothers in charge. We need healers.

What an incredibly sexist comment. But I can generalize too. If women

archi-dude you're saying 2,000+ years of male leadership *didn't* get us a world full of war and power struggles and pain and worship of dominance? I'd like to hear how you see that as being untrue?

imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy

"bell hooks: We can’t begin to understand the nature of domination if we don’t understand how these systems connect with one another. Significantly, this phrase has always moved me because it doesn’t value one system over another. For so many years in the feminist movement, women were saying that gender is the only aspect of identity that really matters, that domination only came into the world because of rape. Then we had so many race-oriented folks who were saying, “Race is the most important thing. We don’t even need to be talking about class or gender.” So for me, that phrase always reminds me of a global context, of the context of class, of empire, of capitalism, of racism and of patriarchy. Those things are all linked — an interlocking system."

I guess if you look at the Roman empire with blinders and only see conquest and ignore democracy, architecture, art ect. Sure you are right history has only been war made by evil evil men. However that's a pretty narrow ignorant lense to look at history and look past the adventurism, exploration, heroism, discovery that came through all ages of human progress. However, sure let's just sit around and have kumbaya and never make any other achievements again as a species because inevitably when someone achieves greatness there are those that dont. Cant have that must be all equal and fair and sterile and safe.

archi_dude, did somebody raise you? Care for you? Put away their needs for yours? Or did you pop out of the womb hunting squirrel and cooking it over a spit fire. I bet somebody bottle fed you before you remember. I bet somebody took care of you when you were sick or down and out at least once in your life. Have you ever seen the tide ebb and flow?

isn't that the foundation myth of rome? romulus and remus suckling on a wolf because they were orphaned? and then one killed the other. it was probably true.

All those sexist male pigs that make up the patriarchy were raised by women, their mothers, their nannies, their daycare teachers and primary school teachers, all those horrible men were mostly surrounded by women in their formative years...that’s what screwed them up! You can see now, when finally after all those years men are able to play a more prominent part in the upbringing of boys that the patriarchy is coming to an end...so it’s because of men and not women that the patriarchy will end. A thank you should be in place to all men that stepped up to fix what women have been braking for generations since like ever! If we would leave things as they were and have women bring up boys, things would never change...that’s what got us in this mess in the first place!

Men taking on nurturing roles... how progressive of you, rando. love it.

It's called co-parenting. Like adults.

How screwed up is society we that we have to create a label like "co-parenting" rather than just call it "parenting" and have the expectations that Dad is included in that? 

Like when my guy friends tell me they have to babysit the kids. I say ... No, you get to parent your kids. You babysit other people's kids (and you can take mine if you want to for the night), but you parent your own kids.

I'll add for Rando's sake. Fathers don't deserve thanks for parenting their own kids. Their mothers, and grandmothers, and aunts, and teachers, etc. deserve an apology for not doing it sooner.

wait, so rando you think the reason men were shit parents it's because they weren't given a chance?

Well historically the dads were toiling in the farm fields and working with the kids as well. Then you have the Victorian age up to the 60's where this mentality continued with fathers in offices with mothers at home. So there was a diferent expectation per gender roles. It helps to put things in historical context. Viewing things with the same lens as today's standards will always give you a distorted look on things. So yes Dads who still think they are babysitting their own kids are pretty laughable, however I wouldnt really say wow took them 2000 years.

archi-dude, I think that's a fundamental flaw with conservatism, that things should be the way they always were, not responsive to the way things should be going.

Hmm that's actually a
really interesting point.

“wait, so rando you think the reason men were shit parents it's because they weren't given a chance?”

No Pete, I think men were/are shit and the patriarchy etc. exists because men are/were parented and raised mostly by women...
Stalin was raised by his mother, Fred Trump was always working and just look at the men in jails today, often raised only by their mothers, so you can see directly how women spoil it for boys and subsequently doom this planet. Luckily more and more men don’t let women get away with this damaging behaviour any longer and so the patriarchy will have to end, whether the women like it or not the days of the patriarchy are numbered, thanks to men!

“Fathers don't deserve thanks for parenting their own kids. Their mothers, and grandmothers, and aunts, and teachers, etc. deserve an apology for not doing it sooner.”

EA, actually men deserve an apology from women for screwing up men for all this time. Women try to take credit for male achievements saying behind every successful man stands a strong woman, but it’s actually behind every screw up, behind every sexist pig, behind every unsuccessful man stand loads of women...but that angle is never talked about, and that only proves that it is women that do the screwing up and it is when men are actually present and involved that decent men are being raised.

Interesting point rando. You could probably use prohibition leading to the birth of organized crime as a perfect example.

Men don’t deserve shit Rando.

rando, do you think you're a victim here?

bizarro

No curt, I’m not, it is just a societal observation of how the world got to this point, generation after generation of men raised primarily by women...that’s the problem, and the weird thing is that men are being blamed for how they were raised and brought up as boys by mostly women as if they had any say in it...

Why not Non? I think men deserve an apology from women for how they were raised and turned into the assholes that they are, it is easy to blame it on “the patriarchy” but we all know supporting every patriarchy is an entire system of female facilitators, instigators and intrigants...

I feel like too many people have never read The Lorax.

The fallacy is in the idea that the "women" are doing the raising. The impacts of patriarchy are ever present even if women are primary care-givers, and men are tangentially connected, and not co-equal partners. Even if women are the primary, the fathers are often the disciplinarians, and the models for misogyny, racism and homophobia. None of that would be attributed to women. And, because America is decidedly managed by systems of oppression, ruled most of the time at levels that are unacceptable in most developed nations; white supremacist, capitalist, patriarchal, is it any mistake that men are at the center of all of that? 

 I'll go on to note that the most feminist president we've had in the States was completely raised by a woman, and the father was never present.

I don't care how much child management has been done by women, men by and large undermine those efforts at every turn.

This:

“ I don't care how much child management has been done by women, men by and large undermine those efforts at every turn.”

Men undermine those efforts because that’s how they were raised mostly by women! Nature vs nurture. It is so obvious because the moment men step up and take proper part in the upbringing of their boys the apparent toxic influence of women is suddenly neutralised and the patriarchy dismantled!

“I'll go on to note that the most feminist president we've had in the States was completely raised by a woman, and the father was never present.”

Such a feminist that he forced his dual Ivy League educated wife to be a stay at home mom! Ah well, in the land of the blind...don’t do as I do etc. LOL!

He "forced" his wife? Really? You sure about that? I don't see Michelle Obama being forced to do anything, but...you can only see what you want.

So rando, you'd be totally fine with your "logic" (as it were) of obfuscated and misplaced blame being used on other systems, right? You're totally convinced your thinking is infallible and you honestly believe you have a valid point and you're not just trolling at beginner level?

I feel like this sexist point that everything bad in the world is the cause of men (ignoring that there are indeed good things as well). If women were in charge everything would be peaceful and symbiotic is a bit fanciful. For example in this amazing society, what are you going to do to make sure that no one decides to get ahead or achieve greatness on an individual level. It needs to be enFORCED that no one steps out of line with the new 1984 philosophy. So there you go, violence in this supposed perfect society. Sounds like a human problem not a sex problem.

You spent a lot of straw on that man just to burn it.

But Donna all those people (men probably, no?) with their weird superiority complex scorching the earth were raised primarily by women until this day and age...So, please credit where credit is due!

b3ta, I see it as it is...but please do believe in your fairytale version(s). Obama was raised by a “whitey” (your description) by the way, how does that not overthrow your world view and cause major cognitive dissonance? Ah well...

SneakyPete, as a parent I can see the results of my decisions in upbringing, therefore I would feel (at least) partly to blame for future mishaps by my kids (or do you not believe in nurture over nature?)...all those assholes(m/f/x)that spoil it in this day and age were mostly raised by women but nobody dares to talk about it or hold them accountable...that’s just sexism obviously.

We should arrest the parents of murderers and let the poor misguided victims go free.

Yeah, seeing as how Obama's mom likely was fighting against white supremacy and patriarchy, I'm sure she isn't down with your pantomiming of a "good white". Go on wit your bad self, woke-daddy.

Well SneakyPete, not my point but go ahead and do what you gotta do...Parents and people raising kids have a responsibility towards society, can’t blame a dysfunctional society on the gender of the assholes alone, or their patriarchy. the upbringing has to play a part in it too, in some way or shape...but only the inconvenient truth that most assholes are raised by women is being ignored. How convenient a bubble you must live in.

People tend to blame Marilyn Manson, videogames, Twitter, Trump or the media for creating assholes but the people kids spend most of their time with growing up are conveniently shielded from it all, apparently simply because of their gender...good luck living in such a delusion. If only people took responsibility for how kids and especially boys are raised, what a wonderful world this could be

I am sure the parents of every mass-shooter ever also wore socks. They all had that in common, therefore, let's shift the blame to their choice of footwear. My argument is just a logical as yours.

https://tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations

your argument is not as logical, those socks don't instil values, don't provide a moral compass or whatever...but keep your head in the sand, what do I care it's your patriarchy not mine :-P

You have not seen my socks then.

I’m not talking about incidents like mass shootings or whatever but the patriarchy or however one calls it, shitty men, assholes or whatever...the regular joes with their distorted views of reality that fuck up this world...those guys are/were raised mostly by women in their formative years...we can all ignore that fact or we can try to fix it. I care about the world so I intend to do something about it, if you don’t, the consequences are on you all, not on me. I’m the prime caregiver for my kids, have been since they were born, was a fulltime stay at home parent both first 6-9 months of their lives by choice, I walk the walk...but you all keep doing what you’re doing, we all know how that turns out.

You're changing yourself -A MAN- yet place the blame on the women. Your mother must be proud that she raised such a... unique... mind.

Lemme expound. If men aren't the problem, you need not change yourself. You're a man. You, by your own argument, can't be the problem. It's the women. It's the mother of your children that is the problem. Stop trying to change yourself and start trying to change her or else your fight is futile. Assuming what you say is true. Which it's not.

The problem is, it's that rando lives in majorly socialized democracy, one in which parents are treated very well, and capitalist patriarchy, runs counter to their hegemonic thinking. Now, we can take the "word" of a man, but as you note Sneaky, since he was raised by a woman, we can't trust him. Moreover, since we don't have his spouse countersigning his stellar rearing, nor do we have her eye-rolling - which no doubt many here are feeling, hard - we have to take the word of a congenital liar. Touche, rando.

Top quality snark beta.

I just find it weird that men are apparently the source of all evil but predominantly the women that raised them are conveniently left out of the picture...that’s just sexism. Nature/nurture...

You don’t have to take my word for it but I’ve clearly hit a nerve and exposed an inconvenient truth here...maybe when the cognitive dissonance passes you’ll be able to see it. Good luck and enjoy your fuckin Patriarchy2020 when the rest of us move on. Really can’t discuss equality here, how typical and sad...for y’all

blinders so big they look like the entire world

*Binoculars, #2020vision :-P enjoy your patriarchy, if you’re not part of the solution you’re part of the problem.

Rando, you do know that digging deeper won't get you out of that hole.

I’m not digging, I’m fighting the patriarchy!

In AA, so I'm told, that to fix a problem, you have to recognize there is a problem.

Yes, so you’re saying there is no problem or is there? I’m all on board in addressing the problems of the patriarchy, I’m doing that every day. Raising my boys to be feminists!

Just like you, right?

to think all this back and forth nonsense would be clear if only one man could get pregnant.

You have a lot of faith in humanity, JLC-1. :)

I never said who I wished would get pregnant ;)

“ The problem is, it's that rando lives in majorly socialized democracy”
I wouldn’t consider that a problem at all, you should try it sometimes, you’re more than welcome!

You are genuinely terrible at discourse and conversation. You vivisect posts and only respond to portions, intentionally ignoring the larger issue to score cheap points on the scoreboard in your head.

Non, top level observation!

"You vivisect posts and only respond to portions, intentionally ignoring the larger issue to score cheap points on the scoreboard in your head."

Yes, I score points and win and you lose :-P

Maybe you two should get a room together and make babies, I call 'em Non b3tadine[Sequiturs], you could raise 'em to support your North American patriarchy that you seem to love so dearly...

now I'm confused, is a country with a king less of a patriarchy than a democracy?

In this case, YES!

WINNING.

Indeed winning, for over a century following the royal logic of JLC we were in fact a matriarchy, three queens in a row, until 2013, and after this king there will be another queen, unless of course we will get rid of the constitutional monarchy entirely (fingers crossed). So yes, winning on all f-ing levels!

I’ve done a few design build jobs, one of them was even 300-milliion, and did not get this experience. We got to have the first say on materials and assemblies, then the PM, client, builder, and consultants would discuss alternatives when required.

We also have a legal form we’re obligated to pass onto clients when they agree to a substitution against our recommendations/better judgement. It’s often enough to scare them away.

All of my work is design-build (or "design assist") in the $10M to $60M range. I've had both experiences, even with the same contractor. If everything's not open-book from the start, it can be a real disaster (ask me how I know). That, and having good PMs on both sides, are crucial.

it will be important for architects to contribute more than picking what color they like. if the owner, contractor, and the subs see you as the expert they will listen to you. it sounds like they see the subs as the experts.

I too have worked on other D-B projects that have been absolutely fine. But I'm seeing more that are run like this where the subs or "trade partners" are the ones who are really calling the shots. 

I think a lot of the issues on this project are stemming from the way the GC is running the project. But it wouldn't happen if we didn't just bend over and take it. That's the part that bothers me more. On other projects there have been some potentially serious code issues that got pushed through because of the GC and some interesting AHJ configurations where there wasn't really an authority to appeal to in order to settle the issue. 

I'm with you on the substitution thing too. One of the better D-B projects I was involved with had a waterproofing sub that wouldn't install what we specified and they were claiming they needed more money for it unless we specified what they wanted to install and what they had bid without looking at our documents. GC was pushing us pretty hard to just accept the substitution. We held our ground and they eventually relented because we were going to write that type of letter to the Owner. No GC will ever put themselves in that type of liability with documented proof that they went against the AOR's professional judgement.

curtkram, it's more like our own designers aren't seeing ourselves as the experts. We aren't grasping that we are the ones stamping the documents, not the subs.

It's too late to fix for this project ... and probably the next 5 we might do with this Design-Build partner.

don't partner up

or

change the expectations for what you are delivering

uh.... performance specs?

I'm working on a couple of design-build projects where I work for the contractor. It's easy, fun, and profitable as we doing a similar project for several different clients and I have no client contact whatsoever. Drawing sets can be done in a matter of hours instead of months.

Works well if the contractor values what you bring to their team. Not so much if they just want a drafting service that will stamp.

The previous architect passed away and I inherited 30 years of his documents and his job. Very little to figure out and provide input on, and yes I get listened to.

So, does that mean you'll resurrect your beer drinking app profile too?

let us know when you hit 168 work hours a week!

getting there, but need to sleep apparently...possibly on beer, but can't work 168 hours if you drink beer or can you?

sure can

Hold my beer...

so do you want any details? good thing I put notifications in junk mail, but then the clients go on and on...how often are you on archintect while on client call?

beer app...possibly, only if I drink BrewDog...I always thought, if I ever open a brewery we would only use solar and wind as energy and deliver as far as the electric cars could go...but BrewDog is on it - https://www.brewsnews.com.au/2020/08/24/brewdog-goes-carbon-negative/

NS I tried installing the app while drinking, didn't work out. I'll just have to tell you want I'm drinking via Archinect....in support of the Monks - lots of Westmalle Tripels

I chirped you In a recent tank 7 check in.

i post drunk architect beer concerning thread now ;)

Tell me about it! ;-)

It's happening everywhere. Reality has come into hard conflict with "consensus" and nobody is allowed to talk about it openly.

nah, it's just that tolerance for bad ideas is waning.

nah, people don’t have tolerance for other ideas than their own...

^Correct... but not in the way you're intending it to be rando.

#notallideasmatter

Q.E. to the mothafuckin’ D!

;-)

wooooosh.

I had a legit response in the teddy roosevent and that was purged while other, less legit responses remain. I guess Sean or whomever decided I used up all my good will. Whatevs.

SP - you gotta hate the "right" things for your response to stay up, I guess.

My suggestion would be to disable news comments altogether or instead provide a link from the end of the article to the forums like boing boing does in order to provide a distinct pass-through that indicates what the site has written and what is solely user opinion.

do we work in the same office?

Funny thing. I work in a huge corporation with multiple A/E (really E/A) departments. Since starting here, I've been nothing but impressed with the junior folks in my own department, but when any department gets slow, we get offers of people to "help out", so the only thing I can do is politely decline this person in the future.

Sigh. Experience this so often with jr. staff (but then many are amazing young architects too - it just varies) I guess the frustration comes when both groups seem interchangeable in leadership's eyes, and the good one's aren't rewarded/ bad one's aren't let go.

Yes, and it would then require a 1hr rating (or 0hour if the space is sprinklered)... that's if you're referring within Canada. The trick is not to label it as such but some building inspectors know the ruse. Also important: chiro is just a scam, so charge them 7 times your fees to make up for their deplorable practice.

I would argue that a Janitor room is used for general maintenance of a large building. Soap for washing a floor is not anymore hazardous than the soup in the washroom and kitchen.

Why a 1 hour rating for the addition of a sink that HOLDS WATER? I might add that this Dr put in $200,000 worth of marble flooring from Italy. There is no way he's putting anything more than mild soap on it.

Janitors closets tend to hold all types of stuff that is flammable and toxic. That's why.

See chad's answer. We often advise clients to avoid placing mop sinks because they will get dinged for the FRR requirements. It's a low-hanging fruit for the plan reviewer.

Yes but there is no storage of flammable materials. Just a washer/dryer and a mop sink. A single shelf above the washer/ dryer. Nothing else.   Its labelled as a Laundry Room

The AHJ in my Country agrees with me. Unfortunately this project is somewhere else and the plans were approved by the building dept. and now at the final they have an issue with it. Ugh very frustrating.

for the record, I never said it made sense... just the way it happens to be. I've had to add FRR to laundry rooms in the past too.

Our solution is to remove the sink and put in a floor drain. I'm mostly just annoyed because this would have been an easy fix at plan review time. Not the week my client wants to move in.

Good thing this building in on a crawl space

They're fucking with you, but you probably know that, and are doing right by the client. These plan reviewer/inspectors never talk to each other, and if they do, they're running a scam. Just like moving companies do.

i would have gone with something like a basin sink instead of floor sink. the basin sinks are more laundry-like. also, i don't think i've ever rated a janitor closet. if it isn't big enough to fill with chemicals, it's not going to get filled with chemicals.

I just happened to stumble through the section of my code (which I assumed was similar to hip’s) that speaks to laundry and janitor rooms earlier today. Fire-rating required for both. (1hr typical, 0hr FRR if sprinklers).

I only have to rate laundry rooms of multi family residential

you can dip a mop into a toilet right? bidet?

I thought a laundry room was a smoke barrier instead of fire. Don't want to look it up right now though

^Curt, for me it's a smoke-barrier (0h FRR) unless there are no sprinklers. Then it's a 1hr FRR

Almost, is the laundry room over 100 sf?

no lol. The entire office space is only 4000s.f. (371m2) The laundry room is about 45 s.f. (4m2)

Then the code official, or inspector is a clown. This is an non-issue, if the space is 100 sf or more, based on table 509 of IBC, regarding incidental uses, this does not require a rating. Asshats.

I thought this project was in Alberta...

This was design under the National Building Code of Canada- Alberta Edition 2019 . So ya.....

I'm too lazy to walk down 2 storeys to go check out our copy of the alberta code.

3.3.1.21 states "a room or space within a floor area for the storage of janitorial supplies shall be separated from the remainder of the building by a fire separation having a FRR not less than an hour." Probably that same sentence as in the OBC. But without any shelving and just a sink where are they storing "janitorial supplies"? My only point was how does a mop sink = janitorial supplies. Doesnt rally matter as the sink has been removed

That is severe, and dense by my measure.

At least their photopshop clone is spot on. A lot of identical workflows with few quirks here and there that are super easy to google. Their support forums are excellent. More than sufficient for architect's needs. Print media graphic designers may still have to rely on Adobe for some advanced proofing features. We switched long ago and it seems to work great except for handful of Adobe licenses for people who plain refused to switch. Holding shift for certain 'Lasso Tool' features was too much for them.

Thanks Rusty! I do like the familiarity of the software, I just wanted to confirm that the learning curve isn't altogether too different.

Funny, I've been thinking about buying a personal Adobe license since my work has become a bit more stingy with the office licenses lately. Never heard of Affinity... I'll check it out as a comparison!

Are you doing photo editing? I use Gimp and it's free! I use Publisher and Word for page layout. I paid $10 for Publisher eight years ago. 

I use Gimpshop too.....good program

tintt - I do some photo editing but more often I do a lot of vector work in illustrator and trying to do more video work (in Premiere, though I know the other major programs well too). Creative Suite, as a bundle, seems like the most convenient, but the cost is giving me pause.

$60 a mo (Adobe), 2 devices, pretty damn cheap vs AutoDesk products...only became an issue with 5+ staff as Acrobat Pro was used most often, but then you just get a free copy of Acrobat Reader...so in short not that many people were ever on Photoshop or Illustrator to warrant more than one license...

We like Bluebeam . . .

Go Canada! But shouldn’t that be cases per people per km2 or something for it to compare? I mean Canada has same population roughly as California, no?

fine... then in that case it's 0.0012 new cases per km2 in Canada vs 0.57 new cases per km2 in Trumpkanistan... but the chart is new cases over a 7day period per 1 million people.

I meant new cases per population per km2, so related to density not just those absolute numbers, but congrats Non the less!

Be careful of those sneaky MN's Non. Especially the northern ones. We're basically Canadian's anyways.

I'm sure we can build a wall fast enough to keep them out.

i'm trying to see myself out of this fucked up country right now.

Which one?

The Netherlands

me? Well the USA, of course. No idea where I'm going yet, just elsewhere.

I'd always heard that MS (Martin Short and Maple Syrup) have healing powers, but this map confirms it!

I wish I could be as happy as Martin Short always seems to be.

architect is on the list of acceptable professions with canuckistani immigration, but good luck as a southern border occupant convincing them you will bring benefit to the country...might be easier to emigrate to australia first, convert residency, then find your way to canadia

NS - I don't know if Canadians could build a wall fast enough to keep out northern Minnesotans. Even if you could we'd just wait for winter and use the snow drifts to ski across the border.

Goddamnit. I'm considering a nice long 2 months of Canadian WFH starting at 'Murican Thanksgiving. Gotta make it that long for the initial 14 day quarantine to be worth it.

Bench is benching themselves. I like it.

I would move to the northen territories, and promise to not do any damage trying to architect canada. just leave me alone in the woods, it would be 100% better than anything happening now in the US, and no, it's not because of the patriarchy.

The territories are lovely - I did a work co-op there. Plenty of work to be done, it's basically Alaska with less guns.

Fewer guns  ;o]

^We still have polar bears up-there... also important to note is those are long-guns... not silly "self-defense" pistols.

Fewer vs. less is a pedantic argument started by an asshole in 1770.

And long guns are a problem down here, too. See: last night.

^those are not permitted, at all, to own for civilians, regardless of the amount of polar bear gangs in your hood.

Canadian Firearm Regulations

I feel like "less" vs. "fewer" is kind of missing the key point in that sentence.

Hence the emoji!

someone somewhere mentioned something about pedants?

also, that is an emoticon, not an emoji.

Pedant²

I specify Pedant Lamps in all my projects. They're smart speaker and smart mic enabled and correct all of the incorrect grammar that occurs within range with a smug Kiwi accent.

I went to EMOTICON a few years ago in San Diego... not at all what I was expecting. Who knew that comic nerds were such cryers?

I like polar bears, and grizzlies too.

This thread is the content I need at the end of a long week. Cheers all! Have a great weekend!

Speaking of polar bears JLC...a Dutchman was killed by one today in Spitsbergen, Norway https://www.highnorthnews.com/en/man-killed-polar-bear-svalbard

I remember that '96 cauldron, made quite the impression.

bah! IDK!

Be original, subsiDENCE!

(I've always heard subSIdence.)

Would be great. But you should still be able to choose which mode you want to have. I prefer dark mode on my smartphone. Light mode on the computer. At the desk I often only turn on the computer as a light source.

You can simply invert your screen on both mac and windows and iPhone too and there’s your dark mode...

I use a sharpie.

Yeah, this place is way too white.

Maybe they should simply lower the bar, remove the requirements for archinect licensure!!!

hey now, I worked hard for the archinect snark license