Momentary pity party aka I Don't Like being A Manager:
Three weeks ago I got a call from a client asking if one of my staff was alive, basically, because the client had a report that was supposed to be done in October and the staff member had been ghosting them for the last six weeks. I get with staff member, we'll call them V. V ghosts me too for a while, when we finally connect I offer to help finish the report together with them, I get no response, client is asking for an update, any update, on the schedule. V sends a report that's half-assed, so I promise the client I'll have additional staff work on it. I spend the entire weekend in the office re-writing the report myself. I come in Monday morning to V's resignation by email.
I start managing all of the shit required for a resignation and having nightmares about how hard it will be to onboard someone new. (The work we do is custom and complex and V typically did good work and will be challenging to replace.) I meet many times with the client being overly-accommodating to try to just get this nightmare project out of my life.
I get things somewhat manageable and head off to T-day weekend with intent to spend time away in the quiet finishing the report. While in the car leaving for holiday away, I get an email from one of V's *other* clients saying we thought we'd have a report yesterday, WTH is going on, can we just stop paying you and finish the report ourselves? My boss is copied and they start panicking b/c this client is a big deal.
Spent half my long weekend on the second client and Sunday on the original one. Two super unhappy clients and one former staff who has essentially eff'd up the rest of my year. Today I'm trying to finish the first report and finish one of my own that's now overdue and do all the end of year admin crap that I'm now two weeks behind on.
TLDR: I don't like being a manager. I love my job, I love the WORK itself, but I don't like managing other people. And partly it's because I guess I'm enough of a narcissist to think I can do the work better than anyone else so why don't I just do so?!
Anyway, I may ask to be demoted in 2025.
Grateful to have found LoFi Girl holiday tunes to work with today!
I was asked if I would be upset not being offered a director position, I felt a millisecond of annoyance, I firmly stated that I liked my life the way it was, I was challenged in the work, I like solving problems, managing projects and seeing get constructed. I don't want to stop doing that to manage people.
JLC-1, the story of all my professional experience...
I am very proud of Brian's statement "BAM Construction/Design, Inc. consists of a loose federation of architects, designers, and artisans who are willing to take on anything and everything, from mobile home remodels to upscale penthouses, from agricultural buildings to 50,000 sq. ft. advertising agencies."
Yikes! I get pissed managing 2-3 people on my project team, even though they are great and we have worked together for a while, I cannot even imaging managing more people.
Dec 9, 24 3:07 pm ·
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Wood Guy
Wow, that's terrible, Donna. It's good that you're there to clean up the mess but are you really compensated enough for that? I'm with you, I love designing, but not managing people--they're just too unpredictable. And I really do think I'm better at most of what I do than the architects and drafters I've hired, though on a few occasions I was probably wrong. In the last ten years, my former long-time drafter has become a principal at a tony residential firm and designs $20-60M compounds for wealthy people.
Dec 10, 24 10:21 am ·
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archanonymous
Donna - it sound like you don't like being a manager. So you should, like, stop doing that. Life is meant to be enjoyed!
Be careful of you sources. I am not saying anything that's been posted here is incorrect. It's just that I've seen a lot of stuff posted elsewhere on this topic that isn't correct.
Dec 10, 24 2:20 pm ·
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OddArchitect
JCL-1 - I don't speak Italian. Can you translate that?
Dec 10, 24 2:59 pm ·
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JLC-1
It's one of the main newspapers in Italy, showing comments on tiktok, originally in the us, but only being reported by foreign media - about the horrors people have endured with UHC denying coverage, asking doctors about life expectancy to assess payments, and mostly hailing Luigi as a hero. Instagram has a built-in translator btw.
Dec 10, 24 3:14 pm ·
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OddArchitect
Ah. Thanks!
Translator doesn't work for the entire comment. Also, won't translate the image text. Probably because I'm not on my phone but a pc. I'll check it out on my phone . . .
While I understand the frustration I don't view the accused killer as a hero or some type of Robin Hood figure. It's a grey area. I'd like to read the accused manifesto before I make an judgements.
In my opinion, killing cand be justified in many situations. I'm not sure if this is one of them.
Our revit, of autodesk, hallowed be thy name, your sheet set come, your view templates done, on all views as they are in heaven.
Give us today our daily error warnings. Forgive us our sins, as we have used other software against you. Lead us not into temptation of sketchup and deliver us from the evils of rhino.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory of architecture, forever and ever. Amen.
Every time I have to completely trace a view with detail lines to make it look anywhere near a damn, I add a teeeeny tiny little pentagram that only I know is there.
Non, your comment feels to me it could apply the USian healthcare system, too. Sure, you can learn your way around it well enough, but why should the difficulty exist in the first place?
Your entire US health plan is a joke and a mess, unlike Revit which is just a tool. Too many old farts complain about Revit because they don't take the time to learn it or they get conned by junior staff or salespeople who pimp it well beyond it's capabilities.
Oh, don't get me started. Being an American with T1D, finding health insurance has been the major deciding factor on where I work, who I work with, and when I can retire. It's very frustrating.
revit is annoying, but also very nice for working quick and getting drawings out. While USA healthcare is a mess, I find Canada a pain as well in comparison to Japan. It is amazing that I can get care for free, walk in to a place with a problem, and then simply walk out not owing any money to anyone. Yay Canada.
On the flip side , it takes a long time to get to that free care sometimes, and that makes no sense.
At home in Japan we can walk into any specialist anywhere and get treated immediately. No referrals required. More important, those specialists are scattered all around us, working in clinics attached to their homes, in the suburbs, in the city centre, wherever. And the care is top notch. We can go to hospitals too, but decentralized and highly regulated care is possible
with just a little political will.
The big similarity between Revit and US healthcare is yes, it can really work when you know your way around it. I have learnt that rather painfully about US healthcare.
The big learning is that if you pay way more premiums for a PPO plan, things get easier. Kinda like how one has to pay out of their ass for an Autodesk Suite.
Being the outlier here, I hate Revit and always will. Sketchup>Revit>AutoCAD>Rhino.
For all the programs they are just tools. I use just as much hand sketching (about to start using a digital drawing pad) as REVIT. When it was only AutoCAD it was the same. Never really used Sketchup. With the digital sketching I probably will start. Oh the learning never ends.
Regarding US health care - SOD is spot on. I had to learn early how to understand and navigate US health care. I would say it's way more difficult than REVIT.
I have a love-hate relationship with Revit, just as I do with American healthcare.
On the one hand, Revit is a frustrating, annoying, limiting piece of crap with a closed ecosystem that can't deliver on most of Autodesk's promises. On the other hand, it's an immensely powerful tool for accomplishing the tasks its designed to do - to the point where it's really the only serious option for doing those things. I hate Autodesk passionately, and yet Revit allows my business to function at a high level and deliver great products at shocking speed. I'll take that.
On one hand, American healthcare is mired in an incredibly f***ed-up system of administrative and financial complexity, none of which has anything to do with providing healthcare. On the other hand, the American healthcare system delivers the highest level of quality care in the world when it's actually doing healthcare. That system kicked my daughter off my health plan because she had her 26th birthday, despite her being intensively treated for stage 4 cancer, leaving her with no easy way to pay for very expensive treatments. The system also found a way to help her get coverage, and then saved her life with heroic measures and treatments only available in the US. She is now cancer free. I'll take that, too.
Dec 12, 24 6:29 pm ·
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OddArchitect
I think we've had this discussion before gwathorn. There is no evidence that American healthcare is the 'highest level of quality care in the world'. In fact, America ranks 38th in quality of healthcare in the world.
Funny how literally anybody who can afford to comes here to get critical health care when the stakes are really high. If my daughter had stayed in Canada after her cancer diagnosis, she'd be dead right now. There were only two cities in the world where the treatment that cured her is available, and both are in the USA.
Dec 13, 24 12:19 pm ·
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JLC-1
it's not funny for those who can't afford it, especially americans.
gw, you've given us this story before and I'm happy it worked out for you but this is an exception. For everyone else, it's a terrible system. The only people who boast of the greatness of the USA health care system are those for whom money is not a concern. This is why it's far better everywhere else.
No one is disputing the quality of the Healthcare in America, we are either not rich enough, or poor enough to get it without going bankrupt. Why is this so fucking hard to understand? Capping a couple of CEOs while funny as fuck, ain't gonna solve the problem; Nationalize Healthcare.
gwharton - as before - the US doesn't have the best healthcare in the world. The US doesn't even have the best specialized healthcare in the world. There are various other countries that far exceed the US in certain types of specialized care.The US does have the best cancer research in the world.
You're statement that "literally anybody who can afford to comes here to get critical health care when the stakes are really high" is not true. You know this because we've been through this before.
Your daughter was extremely luck to get to see a specialist. Your daughter was even more lucky to not have to pay for it. 99% of the rest of the country wouldn't of had that outcome.
To gwharton's point - the US is amazing when it comes to severe diseases like cancer. It is not just about the research facilities here, but there is somehow a certain kind of "compassion" here when it comes to those diseases. Mind you, there are many stories of people getting kicked out of coverage when they are in their 4th round of chemo cuz etc, but it is still rare compared to many other countries where you die or resort to quack medicine cuz you did not have funds saved up. I know this from personal experience of my mom.
The bigger problem is for smaller ailments, which are common when one starts to get older. For example we need an expensive PPO insurance just to keep our GP and Pediatrician in network, as they accept only PPO. Doctors are rather fed up with the HMO system. This is where other developed countries excel. Although i just heard from a friend in the UK, that he has to bear his kidney stone pain for about 8 months as the next appointment is only in august of next year, so who knows. ?
It would be great if the subsidized Obamacare was available to medium earners the same way they are available to low earning families. It would necessitate us not sponsoring proxy wars or investing so heavily in the military industrial complex. though.
Some folks here seem to have a lot of difficulty distinguishing between the quality and capability of medical care, and the administrative delivery system used to deliver that care to patients. The USA has an incredibly high, essentially incomparable, capability and quality of care, with an absolutely disastrous delivery system. That delivery system is the problem. We have combined all the worst aspects of for-profit care with all of the worst aspects of socialized care. If you don't have the resources necessary to escape or bypass that system, you are locked into a nightmarish hellscape of administrative bullshit to get access. So, you all hating all over the US medical system need to focus on what the real problem is rather than repeating propaganda talking points distributed by the various competing interests associated with existence and perpetuation of the problem. It's especially rich to see people talking up Obamacare, which seems like it was specifically written by the insurance industry and their governmental enablers to make quality health care in America as inaccessible as possible for the majority of people while enriching themselves.
Dec 13, 24 2:16 pm ·
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sameolddoctor
I dunno, gwarton, but Obamacare (or lets call it the ACA to make it less divisive) has changed a lot of stuff for good, especially the pre existing condition clause, which it did away with. It is not at all perfect, but here in california its worked rather well for a lot of people I know. Yes, the premiums are quite a bit if you make >80k as a family, but its better than what existed before that. It also frees up quite a few solo practitioners in the way of health coverage. I think its one of the only baby steps taken by Obama (and Biden) in terms of equitable healthcare.
If the ACA had been a single-payer system as originally designed it would have been far less expensive and more effective. But our politicians weren't ready for true socialized medicine.
GH, I believe everybody here is acknowledging that the difference between the behind-the-scenes aspects of our "healthcare" system and the delivery system, and that the delivery system, governed by insurance companies, is the worst aspect. But there are also plenty of issues with the quality and capability of care; I'm sure we all have personal experiences with that. It's probably worse in rural states like mine, where doctors are in short supply, and specialists are nearly non-existent.
The system you all are criticizing so hard literally is ACA/Obamacare. So is it the worst system in the world or really great? Make up your minds. This is exactly what I was referring to when pointing out how sloppy and political everyone's thinking is on this stuff.
Dec 13, 24 3:46 pm ·
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b3tadine[sutures]
No it's not.
Dec 13, 24 3:50 pm ·
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b3tadine[sutures]
I should clarify the ACA did a lot, and didn't do enough. No rational person thinks the ACA is any kind panacea, it still kept UHC and other scamming companies.
GW, I believe you're being disingenuous, but in case you aren't: I had even worse experiences back when I was on an employer's insurance plan, long before the ACA. My mom and MIL both have Medicare and have had numerous issues, both with their primary care docs and especially when trying to see specialists, who are often booked out 6-12 months.
While the ACA has some impacts on Medicare, they aren't the same thing. And I don't think anyone has said that the ACA is amazing; I think it's terrible, and expensive, but it's my only option.
Dec 13, 24 4:14 pm ·
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gwharton
Two things: (1) Do any of you seriously believe that care and coverage isn't regularly denied or unavailable in single-payer systems? and, (2) Before ACA, it was still possible for generally healthy people to buy cheap catastrophic care coverage (e.g. real health insurance) and self-cover regular visits and that kind of thing. That is now literally illegal. My health insurance premiums have nearly quintupled since ACA took effect, and cover less.
Dec 13, 24 4:38 pm ·
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Non Sequitur
Why should you have to buy any insurance at all? What's the cost to a regular freedom-loving 'merican if they need to mend a broken leg? All I need to worry about is parking fees so I can break my leg as many times as I want without fear of insurance cost premiums.
"Before ACA, it was still possible for generally healthy people to buy cheap catastrophic care coverage" You are peddling the quack insurances sold by the companies before ACA - the insurance plans that did not cover anything at all.
For some context, i dealt with a loved one's gunshot injury (which is also patently an American issue) before the ACA and then a loved ones cancer diagnosis and treatment after the ACA. World of a difference in terms of what was covered and what wasnt.
"My health insurance premiums have nearly quintupled since ACA took effect, and cover less." This is really disingenuous and false, the part about covering less.
I think you are letting your politics getting in the way of your judgment. Again the ACA is not perfect by any means for a developed country, but is much better than what existed.
All healthcare systems deny coverage, because not all care is effective. Decisions about what to pay for are difficult and complex and imperfect. When insurance companies try to gather rent is when it goes wrong. On the other hand the fact that not everything is paid for seems a misdirect to avoid actual conversation.
In Japan all adults have insurance, mandated by the govt and it is progressive, based on income. It is not anywhere near as expensive as the USA. For my family it was a few hundred dollars a month which always seemed reasonable. Especially since that goes with impressive access to care.
That said, I have also seen wealthy friends pay directly for experimental care or care that was out of the system - a flag that there is a gap for some care at least. So it's not a utopia. Even so, it seems to be exactly what ACA was supposed to be.
Why there is no political will about that kind of approach in Canada or USA or UK is beyond me. No wonder so many feel so helpless. Its a tragedy.
Two things: (1) Do any of you seriously believe that care and coverage isn't regularly denied or unavailable in single-payer systems? and,
It's denied or unavailable in all heath insurance systems, regardless of the type. In the US claims are denied or unavailable at a rate 3.5 times higher than countries with a single payer.
(2) Before ACA, it was still possible for generally healthy people to buy cheap catastrophic care coverage (e.g. real health insurance) and self-cover regular visits and that kind of thing. That is now literally illegal.
That type of cheap coverage was basically worthless. That's why it's illegal.
My health insurance premiums have nearly
quintupled since ACA took effect, and cover less.
That isn't because of the ACA. It's because a larger % of the US population are getting older (older than 65), living longer, and providers charge more.
When I worked in Philly in the late 90s, way before the ACA, our health insurance costs at the office went up 25% every year.
Dec 15, 24 7:38 pm ·
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Wood Guy
OA, while those are probably factors in why insurance premiums have gone up, insurance company profits have to be a major factor as well. Oddly I can't find a simple graph of health insurance company net profits online, only revenue.
Just spent 2 hours in all today trying to get an appointment with a specialist (not a surgery or anything), who told me to call blue shield (even though I have a PPO) - only for the rep to put me on hold for 45 minutes while "researching", then transferring me to another department where no one picked up the phone for a good 45 minutes and I hung up. Finally found another specialist. The insurance bros deserve every ounce of hatred and ill-will directed towards them.
I just talk to my doctor and get a referral to specialists. Of which I see three. Makes things a lot easier. Still have to go through the process to ensure things are covered and the rest of it.
Dec 17, 24 9:59 am ·
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sameolddoctor
Well the GP that we like usually refers doctors to a network that Blue Shield suddenly decided to drop, so we have to find our own specialists, which is not super hard as we live in a big city with many good providers. But yes the difficult part is to make sure they are in network even after paying almost $1000 per month in premiums as a family.
Dec 17, 24 11:38 am ·
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OddArchitect
Yup. I've at a referred doctor become out of network halfway through treatment. Most of the time it's the doctor's choice, sometimes the health insurance provider drops them.
such a stupid & corrupt organization... fits well that it's hosted by a stupid corrupt nation. What are the betting odds on the number of slaves killed during the construction?
Anyone here in Denver have some friends or students that are interested in digital fabrication? I am running out of room in my van and need to offload a CNC knife cutter. Free. I really just want to see it go to a good home.
Also an 11 x 17" format Brother printer from like 2006 that absolutely will not quit and ink costs like $0.12 for a refill.
@Donna I know a few folks who've stepped down/back from managing over years and one lesson their experiences have taught me is that our career trajectory isn't linear with management as some inevitable pinnacle. Agree with @arch perhaps less a demotion and simply a realization.
Also somehow I'd never come across Ms. Giovanni's work until her death. Finally, this is a bit old but a great line "Dang we got Italo Calvino in the forum" :P Night all!
I too have had a plumber tell me that "pipes go where they go" line. I responded with "well it can't go through structure like that. You're paying for cutting the beams and reinstalling them at no cost."
We had a contractor cut the bottom off a wide flange steel beam to pass ducts through it. When we saw it they told us it was fine because it's design build and they said so. We had to remind them that as the architect we're the one's responsible and liable for all our consultants work. We then informed the contractor that they could either let structural look at this and prescribe a fix OR the GC could sign a legal document describing what they did and that they accept all liability. The GC went with option 1.
Ya'll work with some bad trades/GCs. We show & dimension plumbing & HVAC routes on arch drawings when coordination is critical so shit like this is avoided.
beta makes a good point. Looking at the masonry, and also how little steel is in the chipped-away concrete, I bet this photo comes from somewhere not in the USA/Canada/Europe. Maybe Mexico or India?
Non, that's how I feel. An architect's (or designer's) role is to solve the problems ahead of time so the builders can build. If you aren't including ways to route mechanicals, you aren't doing your job. Of course in the residential design world that is very rarely done, and we all make mistakes, but it's been one way that I've found to be a designer that builders recommend to clients that find them first. And to charge much more than most residential designers.
Yeah, Non, I'm going to be the one to disagree with you. Means and methods. Now, I will make sure chases are sized appropriately, and that I make sure that pipe and ductwork runs above ceiling work, but I shouldn't have to tell numbnuts not to cut beams in half without speaking to the structural team. And this thing, could've and should've easily been cored through the beam center without to much of an issue, if it was absolutely necessary.
Beta, some of our projects require that level of coordination where each M&P service is layed out by us. Definitively not in the average commercial project though.
That's interesting I will say. I can drive that when it matters, visual, but beyond that I don't control schedule or sequencing, so I'm curious to hear more.
it is not always easy to build according to plans, especially when cost or some other issue comes up (and it always does). We carefully coordinated openings in CLT building for MEP only to see it undone when a last minute VE change in HVAC equipment increased the number of pipes in the building. All after the wood structure was cut and in place. I guess the only way to do things properly is to plan for everything and then have a plan for when it doesn't work too. Sounds like that is what you do, Non Sequitur, as matter of course?
Jan 4, 25 10:50 am ·
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Non Sequitur
Beta, Will... I have 2 clients with repeat projects where coordination is critical in advance of CA. One is more process pipiping and the other is very-high end vacation marina residences. There is little to no VE in these projects and we leave nothing for "site to figure out" because there are too many pieces that need to fit in very little space. I even make several details and 3D axo views showing where grills and other devices go on exterior walls so that we can properly predict what reveals are required and how the cladding is affected. My current main project (5 condo buildings) needs arch sections showing ducts and pipes so that the GC can tell who to go first.
Non, I would expect that level of coordination on those types, those kinds of clients will pay for that level of coordination, and you likely bill accordingly. However, the work I do won’t accommodate that level of coordination, sadly. On my private work, it will, because I make it a priority.
this is the result of "drill baby drill", nothing below 800k along I-70 west. You can see this particular box was sold for 260K 3 years ago. Interesting use of tron memorabilia.
Jan 7, 25 10:07 am ·
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OddArchitect
Oh dear gowd.
I can't tell if this is a real home or some bustardized computer rendering. Either way my face hurts.
I'm still not certain if the interiors of 'the box' have been completed. I'm going to go check out this 'gem' at lunch today. If I can I'll take pictures.
So I checked out the house. It was only 10 minutes from my office. Wow, it's way worse than we thought. Every single one of those photos are doctored. The exterior is already cracking, stucco coming off, the 'stone' is falling off. The interior looks kind of like the images. Well, except that none of cabinets are the same, the kitchen is different, and the lighting is just recess cans.
Most importantly, is the stripper pole there? That's it, that's THE question.
Jan 7, 25 4:01 pm ·
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OddArchitect
Sadly, it was not b3ta. I'm sorry.
Jan 7, 25 4:33 pm ·
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Non Sequitur
So... you just walked up to rando house and peaked in the windows?
Jan 7, 25 5:04 pm ·
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OddArchitect
Kind of. There where signs around the property saying to come check it out though. Looked like an open house that was being poorly executed. I mean the house wasn't occupied and was still under construction. Very weird to have signs up saying to look around.
Both are equally dumb and clueless... but there are a lot of dumb people out there.
Jan 7, 25 5:03 pm ·
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OddArchitect
True. I'm not sure if bennyc was banned or if he just ran off and deleted his account due to his 'legal' troubles associated with lying about being an architect.
Jan 7, 25 5:09 pm ·
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BluecornGroup
You're sure digging deep for anything to post - who really gives a damn about this? - time to grow up little boy ...
Jan 7, 25 5:31 pm ·
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OddArchitect
Meh - You know nothing BCG - bennyc was harassing me outside of the site. When someone attempts to do what he did I bother.
BCG - if you want to trade insults I'll PM you my number and you can call me to do so.
Jan 7, 25 5:53 pm ·
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bowling_ball
Some people are miserable and feel the need to make everyone around them just as miserable. Best to ignore if you can.
I've got four on full ignore now. I generally don't like to do that for anybody, because I am not a delicate wilting flower incapable of rationally processing divergent perspectives, but when they start spamming the forum with low-content walls of text or endlessly repetitive reply-guying, they get blocked.
Jan 9, 25 1:22 pm ·
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Non Sequitur
Josh, there are a few that appear to resurrect as other users. Perhaps it looks like this because of lack of other discussions? Personally, figuring out how to build a fanny pack in revit is interesting. Probably the only worthwhile contribution of godindetails.
Jan 9, 25 1:40 pm ·
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Wood Guy
I don't have anyone on ignore but some days I'm tempted to.
Jan 9, 25 1:45 pm ·
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OddArchitect
I don't have anyone on ignore. My opinion is that if a person's posts are so offensive then they should be banned. If that isn't happening I either deal with them or just don't read / respond to their posts.
All the work I can handle plus more, just now got a nod on a great new project that should get some press/public attention, the weather's been nice and I've spent plenty of time hiking, my new-ish meds are helping me greatly with my usual winter blahs/non-productive time, December was my highest billing month of the year so my bank account is happy--can't complain! My wife and I are taking a long weekend at a fancy hotel in a nearby coastal/resort community--our main Xmas gift to each other for the second year in a row, so we can get out of our perennial renovation project and have some good restaurant food.
Save some time for your Spring skiing trip - Santa Fe Ski Basin at 12,004 foot elevation with no Colorado prices & lift lines - come see our soft organic architectural scene ...
I'm sitting in an outdoor sauna as I write this. An apparent 90*c delta between inside and out right now. This is the way to do winter when it gets to -25. Stay warm everybody
OA, haha, zero chance of a "bundle of joy!" Unless you mean a bigger pot belly for me or a fresh pack of edibles.
Re: skiing, I'd love to get out west for that, but one of three brothers I was very close to growing up is ski school manager at Copper River so I'd probably have to go there. The other two live in Alma/Breckenridge and Salida, so by default I'm a front range guy ;-)
atelier - it was very cold. Every time I've been out in such conditions I've built a snow shelter. That keeps the interior temps around 30 F in -40 F temps.
Roughly 48% of US citizens, apparently. It's going to be an interesting ride. I'd say an interesting four years, but I doubt he'll leave then, and if he does, the country will be permanently damaged.
Nice to see that at the very least, separation of church and state is still an important thing... I expected it to be bad, but it is just so unbelievably dumb. This is your "chief" who will bring international respect? Ha... you'd have more respect if you elected a potted house plant.
Non, re: electing a potted plant: I honestly wonder how all the mega-wealthy think their dollars in financial institutions are going to be safe when the world power US is annihilated by laughter because *no other world power respects us* anymore. Seriously, we're a laughing stock. The stock market will collapse and no one respects the "laws" any more anyway. The preppers are better off than Neri's husband, for real.
“Many of the worst man-made events that ever occurred were not the product of evil geniuses. Instead they were the product of a parade of idiots and lunatics, incoherently flailing their way through events, helped along the way by overconfident people who thought they could control them.”
He was obsessed with the media and celebrity, and often seems to have viewed himself through that lens. He once described himself as "the greatest actor in Europe," and wrote to a friend, "I believe my life is the greatest novel in world history." In many of his personal habits he came across as strange or even childish—he would have regular naps during the day, he would bite his fingernails at the dinner table, and he had a remarkably sweet tooth that led him to eat "prodigious amounts of cake" and "put so many lumps of sugar in his cup that there was hardly any room for the tea."
great description, very updated.
They probably think the same you do about owning a Toyota, Leaderships of both companies have done some crazy and horrible things. Hell, most car companies have. No one seems to mind.
I don't own a Tesla. I've known for quite a while (10+ years) that Musk hasn't invented anything. He simply buys up companies and pretends to be an inventor. I've also been aware of the Musk family obsession with 'procreating'. It appears that Elon is attempting to 'one up' his father and be the 'savor' of the human race with is Mars colony. In short, I've know for at least a decade that Elon is nutter.
Indeed, all CEOs are dicks and all that jazz. However, I do not see Mr. Toyoda enabling his overlord to win and then throwing Nazi salutes. Then again liberals owning Teslas is not the point, I agree. Its the fact that Elon Musk has been given such a mouthpiece is the point.
Yup. I would look up what the CEO's of Toyota have done. You'd be surprised. Also - why stipulate that liberals owning Teslas? I know many third party and republicans that own Teslas.
Jan 21, 25 6:07 pm ·
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Non Sequitur
I own a Toyota hybrid. Don’t think it came with nazi baggage.
I know a few Tesla-owning Democrats and leftists, and all feel conflicted. They love their cars but hate what Tesla and Musk now represent. I'm finally at the point where a lightly used Tesla would make a lot of sense, but I'll stick with my Subaru.
Jan 21, 25 7:24 pm ·
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archanonymous
Better to not own a car - one of the greatest contributors and enablers for global warming and global-warming generating urban planning the world has ever seen.
Arch, I totally agree. As soon as my wife and I can move to Europe we'll get rid of our vehicles. Unfortunately the US has been designed around vehicles and unless you live in a large city they are a necessity. As I'm sure you know.
Yes and no. I know of plenty of capitalists that are kind and fair. The issue are self centered, rapacious, avaricious people.
Jan 22, 25 10:17 am ·
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b3tadine[sutures]
Ok.
Jan 22, 25 10:44 am ·
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b3tadine[sutures]
You know, I did use the interwebs, and typed in “fair and kind capitalists” it spit out three companies, and then asked, oh, you were serious. Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, and Salesforce were the three MS Copilot spit out, and you know what, all three have been cited for exploitive practices, not the least of which is human trafficking. So you’ll pardon me if I am not aware of any “kind and fair” because to me, “kind and fair” would have a lot to do with how well the mix with fertilizer.
yes, in this day, everything comes from an exploitative supplier feeding the capitalist machine. well documented everywhere.
Jan 22, 25 12:29 pm ·
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Wood Guy
Capitalism is absolutely the problem--worship of money and the unending pursuit of it (and the power that comes from having it) is completely at odds with a fair and just society. They cannot co-exist. I don't see a way out of capitalism at this point. We have been fortunate to have a loose social contract that has helped keep capitalism in check, but that has disintegrated so now we are seeing what happens as the remaining controls are dismantled and the worship of money and power--the core element of capitalism--fully take over our society and others.
Many companies--maybe most--start with altruistic intentions. Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, grew up not far from me and has been a model of altruistic intentions throughout his life. But publicly traded companies have changed from investors who support their missions to having their primary mission to maximize shareholder value above all else, with no exceptions I can think of, which is another symptom of capitalism and leads directly to unethical behavior.
Oh I'm not defending capitalism. It easily causes a lot of the problems in the world. My point is that it's the greedy, money and power hungry people that cause the problems. It's the same in Communist, Socialism, and every other system used in the world. No system is good.
It's just like architecture. Even when we do our best to be kind to the planet and it's people we still do a lot of damage to it.. We could do a lot less damage however people won't allow it.
There is a difference between those systems, though. Capitalism ONLY seeks to maximize profits and consolidate power until there's a "winner." I'm sure you've heard that the game Monopoly was invented to show this concept.
Socialism works reasonably well where combined with democracy and a large majority of the people support the concept. Communism is a beautiful idea in theory, it's just too far from our animal instincts to be implemented effectively.
Both socialism and communism are ruined by greedy people. The point of capitalism is to support greedy people.
There's definitely some truth to the old saw that "Americans know the cost of everything and the value of nothing." But it's also a glib dismissal of what is a deeper problem not specific to just capitalism. Instead, it's a huge cultural over-emphasis on quantification and analytical methods dating back to the 18th century. This has metastasized over the centuries into our current managerial technocracy, where managers have taken control of everything without owning or being accountable for anything, and will not consider the value or importance of anything which can't be listed and validated in a spreadsheet. That's not a capitalist problem. That's a managerial bureaucracy problem (Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy explains a lot about how this comes to be organizationally and politically - Burnham wrote several excellent books about it back in the 20th century). It manifests differently in different kinds of political and economic systems, but it's pervasive through the entire world at all levels. We're seeing a massive political backlash against it in the USA literally right now.
Capitalism is parasitic. Communism may not be perfect, but are we expecting perfection? At least with Communism it's the working-class making decisions, making mistakes and being held accountable. How do we hold oligarchs to account? How, I'll revert you to Boots Riley and The Coup.
Jan 22, 25 3:40 pm ·
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JLC-1
you know what's the biggest issue with capitalism right now? the idea that growth can be infinite. I bet all the big shots know this very very well and have embraced it by speeding their own growth until they die and fuck whoever comes later....and we are all dancing to their tunes because what else can we do?
Jan 22, 25 3:44 pm ·
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gwharton
Literally every political system everywhere - capitalism, communism, monarchy, anarchy, etc., etc. - is fundamentally an oligarchy of some kind. Saying a country is run by oligarchs is literally a tautology and doesn't really mean anything at all. All you are disagreeing with is who the oligarchs should be and what sort of political formulas you are willing to accept as legitimate to justify their rule. Otherwise, the complaint is trite nonsense.
Thread Central
For the record, Timotee WAS in Minneapolis this week. Was.
If he plays an assassin in his next movie this could be the pinnacle of method acting
Momentary pity party aka I Don't Like being A Manager:
Three weeks ago I got a call from a client asking if one of my staff was alive, basically, because the client had a report that was supposed to be done in October and the staff member had been ghosting them for the last six weeks. I get with staff member, we'll call them V. V ghosts me too for a while, when we finally connect I offer to help finish the report together with them, I get no response, client is asking for an update, any update, on the schedule. V sends a report that's half-assed, so I promise the client I'll have additional staff work on it. I spend the entire weekend in the office re-writing the report myself. I come in Monday morning to V's resignation by email.
I start managing all of the shit required for a resignation and having nightmares about how hard it will be to onboard someone new. (The work we do is custom and complex and V typically did good work and will be challenging to replace.) I meet many times with the client being overly-accommodating to try to just get this nightmare project out of my life.
I get things somewhat manageable and head off to T-day weekend with intent to spend time away in the quiet finishing the report. While in the car leaving for holiday away, I get an email from one of V's *other* clients saying we thought we'd have a report yesterday, WTH is going on, can we just stop paying you and finish the report ourselves? My boss is copied and they start panicking b/c this client is a big deal.
Spent half my long weekend on the second client and Sunday on the original one. Two super unhappy clients and one former staff who has essentially eff'd up the rest of my year. Today I'm trying to finish the first report and finish one of my own that's now overdue and do all the end of year admin crap that I'm now two weeks behind on.
TLDR: I don't like being a manager. I love my job, I love the WORK itself, but I don't like managing other people. And partly it's because I guess I'm enough of a narcissist to think I can do the work better than anyone else so why don't I just do so?!
Anyway, I may ask to be demoted in 2025.
Grateful to have found LoFi Girl holiday tunes to work with today!
I was asked if I would be upset not being offered a director position, I felt a millisecond of annoyance, I firmly stated that I liked my life the way it was, I was challenged in the work, I like solving problems, managing projects and seeing get constructed. I don't want to stop doing that to manage people.
solidarity!, I've been lucky to work in a 3 person firm for the last 16 years so nobody manages others, sporadic task help only.
Yikes, Donna. I wonder if that elusive NYC fellow in the hoodie might be available for a little HR work...
JLC-1, the story of all my professional experience...
I am very proud of Brian's statement "BAM Construction/Design, Inc. consists of a loose federation of architects, designers, and artisans who are willing to take on anything and everything, from mobile home remodels to upscale penthouses, from agricultural buildings to 50,000 sq. ft. advertising agencies."
Yikes! I get pissed managing 2-3 people on my project team, even though they are great and we have worked together for a while, I cannot even imaging managing more people.
Wow, that's terrible, Donna. It's good that you're there to clean up the mess but are you really compensated enough for that? I'm with you, I love designing, but not managing people--they're just too unpredictable. And I really do think I'm better at most of what I do than the architects and drafters I've hired, though on a few occasions I was probably wrong. In the last ten years, my former long-time drafter has become a principal at a tony residential firm and designs $20-60M compounds for wealthy people.
Donna - it sound like you don't like being a manager. So you should, like, stop doing that. Life is meant to be enjoyed!
IS THIS REAL
Yep. He's a right wing person with class solidarity.
OK, not saying he's not right wing, but in that conversation above Max is the Trad, not Luigi.
I could see that, I read it too quickly.
https://x.com/IwriteOK/status/1866250515686019089?t=CYrv_zwmBr8Lp-ktgxNdXw
I wonder why the northamerican media hasn't showed any of this https://www.instagram.com/p/DDZ9SfmR8lJ/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Be careful of you sources. I am not saying anything that's been posted here is incorrect. It's just that I've seen a lot of stuff posted elsewhere on this topic that isn't correct.
JCL-1 - I don't speak Italian. Can you translate that?
It's one of the main newspapers in Italy, showing comments on tiktok, originally in the us, but only being reported by foreign media - about the horrors people have endured with UHC denying coverage, asking doctors about life expectancy to assess payments, and mostly hailing Luigi as a hero. Instagram has a built-in translator btw.
Ah. Thanks!
Translator doesn't work for the entire comment. Also, won't translate the image text. Probably because I'm not on my phone but a pc. I'll check it out on my phone . . .
While I understand the frustration I don't view the accused killer as a hero or some type of Robin Hood figure. It's a grey area. I'd like to read the accused manifesto before I make an judgements.
In my opinion, killing cand be justified in many situations. I'm not sure if this is one of them.
there you go https://web.archive.org/web/20241209212748/https://pepmangione.com/manifesto/
Um, hole up:
Exclusive: Luigi's Manifesto - Ken Klippenstein
Do you know if that the entire thing taz?
I ask because I've been told this was a multi page document with several references to the Unabomber's writings.
No idea - everything is sus, but the site I linked makes reference to other fakes floating around.
Maybe the pages were small notebook sized? The link JLC posted is a mini-novella.
That's the issue.
Both claim to be the shooters manifesto, both are different.
It doesn't appear the one posted by Klippenstein is a portion of the larger one titled 'Healthcare and it's Victims'.
The two documents don't appear to be written by the same person.
Let's keep TC the way it was intended. Maybe create your own thread for this?
revit weenie daily prayer:
Our revit, of autodesk, hallowed be thy name, your sheet set come, your view templates done, on all views as they are in heaven.
Give us today our daily error warnings. Forgive us our sins, as we have used other software against you. Lead us not into temptation of sketchup and deliver us from the evils of rhino.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory of architecture, forever and ever. Amen.
Every time I have to completely trace a view with detail lines to make it look anywhere near a damn, I add a teeeeny tiny little pentagram that only I know is there.
Just learn to use it properly and your frustrations will dwindle significantly.
axonapoplectic, that prayer is perfect.
Non, your comment feels to me it could apply the USian healthcare system, too. Sure, you can learn your way around it well enough, but why should the difficulty exist in the first place?
Your entire US health plan is a joke and a mess, unlike Revit which is just a tool. Too many old farts complain about Revit because they don't take the time to learn it or they get conned by junior staff or salespeople who pimp it well beyond it's capabilities.
Oh, don't get me started. Being an American with T1D, finding health insurance has been the major deciding factor on where I work, who I work with, and when I can retire. It's very frustrating.
revit is annoying, but also very nice for working quick and getting drawings out. While USA healthcare is a mess, I find Canada a pain as well in comparison to Japan. It is amazing that I can get care for free, walk in to a place with a problem, and then simply walk out not owing any money to anyone. Yay Canada.
On the flip side , it takes a long time to get to that free care sometimes, and that makes no sense.
At home in Japan we can walk into any specialist anywhere and get treated immediately. No referrals required. More important, those specialists are scattered all around us, working in clinics attached to their homes, in the suburbs, in the city centre, wherever. And the care is top notch. We can go to hospitals too, but decentralized and highly regulated care is possible with just a little political will.
The big similarity between Revit and US healthcare is yes, it can really work when you know your way around it. I have learnt that rather painfully about US healthcare.
The big learning is that if you pay way more premiums for a PPO plan, things get easier. Kinda like how one has to pay out of their ass for an Autodesk Suite.
Being the outlier here, I hate Revit and always will. Sketchup>Revit>AutoCAD>Rhino.
For all the programs they are just tools. I use just as much hand sketching (about to start using a digital drawing pad) as REVIT. When it was only AutoCAD it was the same. Never really used Sketchup. With the digital sketching I probably will start. Oh the learning never ends.
Regarding US health care - SOD is spot on. I had to learn early how to understand and navigate US health care. I would say it's way more difficult than REVIT.
I have a love-hate relationship with Revit, just as I do with American healthcare.
On the one hand, Revit is a frustrating, annoying, limiting piece of crap with a closed ecosystem that can't deliver on most of Autodesk's promises. On the other hand, it's an immensely powerful tool for accomplishing the tasks its designed to do - to the point where it's really the only serious option for doing those things. I hate Autodesk passionately, and yet Revit allows my business to function at a high level and deliver great products at shocking speed. I'll take that.
On one hand, American healthcare is mired in an incredibly f***ed-up system of administrative and financial complexity, none of which has anything to do with providing healthcare. On the other hand, the American healthcare system delivers the highest level of quality care in the world when it's actually doing healthcare. That system kicked my daughter off my health plan because she had her 26th birthday, despite her being intensively treated for stage 4 cancer, leaving her with no easy way to pay for very expensive treatments. The system also found a way to help her get coverage, and then saved her life with heroic measures and treatments only available in the US. She is now cancer free. I'll take that, too.
I think we've had this discussion before gwathorn. There is no evidence that American healthcare is the 'highest level of quality care in the world'. In fact, America ranks 38th in quality of healthcare in the world.
https://worldpopulationreview....
https://www.internationalinsur...
https://www.healthsystemtracke...
https://www.usnews.com/news/be...
Funny how literally anybody who can afford to comes here to get critical health care when the stakes are really high. If my daughter had stayed in Canada after her cancer diagnosis, she'd be dead right now. There were only two cities in the world where the treatment that cured her is available, and both are in the USA.
it's not funny for those who can't afford it, especially americans.
https://youtu.be/_6fEx3Rw41s?si=4OBlPGZCw_lnkPbg
gw, you've given us this story before and I'm happy it worked out for you but this is an exception. For everyone else, it's a terrible system. The only people who boast of the greatness of the USA health care system are those for whom money is not a concern. This is why it's far better everywhere else.
No one is disputing the quality of the Healthcare in America, we are either not rich enough, or poor enough to get it without going bankrupt. Why is this so fucking hard to understand? Capping a couple of CEOs while funny as fuck, ain't gonna solve the problem; Nationalize Healthcare.
^and say no fucking way to for-profit healthcare.
gwharton - as before - the US doesn't have the best healthcare in the world. The US doesn't even have the best specialized healthcare in the world. There are various other countries that far exceed the US in certain types of specialized care.The US does have the best cancer research in the world.
You're statement that "literally anybody who can afford to comes here to get critical health care when the stakes are really high" is not true. You know this because we've been through this before.
Your daughter was extremely luck to get to see a specialist. Your daughter was even more lucky to not have to pay for it. 99% of the rest of the country wouldn't of had that outcome.
To gwharton's point - the US is amazing when it comes to severe diseases like cancer. It is not just about the research facilities here, but there is somehow a certain kind of "compassion" here when it comes to those diseases. Mind you, there are many stories of people getting kicked out of coverage when they are in their 4th round of chemo cuz etc, but it is still rare compared to many other countries where you die or resort to quack medicine cuz you did not have funds saved up. I know this from personal experience of my mom.
The bigger problem is for smaller ailments, which are common when one starts to get older. For example we need an expensive PPO insurance just to keep our GP and Pediatrician in network, as they accept only PPO. Doctors are rather fed up with the HMO system. This is where other developed countries excel. Although i just heard from a friend in the UK, that he has to bear his kidney stone pain for about 8 months as the next appointment is only in august of next year, so who knows. ?
It would be great if the subsidized Obamacare was available to medium earners the same way they are available to low earning families. It would necessitate us not sponsoring proxy wars or investing so heavily in the military industrial complex. though.
"It would necessitate us not sponsoring proxy wars or investing so heavily in the military industrial complex. though." Sounds like a win/win to me.
Some folks here seem to have a lot of difficulty distinguishing between the quality and capability of medical care, and the administrative delivery system used to deliver that care to patients. The USA has an incredibly high, essentially incomparable, capability and quality of care, with an absolutely disastrous delivery system. That delivery system is the problem. We have combined all the worst aspects of for-profit care with all of the worst aspects of socialized care. If you don't have the resources necessary to escape or bypass that system, you are locked into a nightmarish hellscape of administrative bullshit to get access. So, you all hating all over the US medical system need to focus on what the real problem is rather than repeating propaganda talking points distributed by the various competing interests associated with existence and perpetuation of the problem. It's especially rich to see people talking up Obamacare, which seems like it was specifically written by the insurance industry and their governmental enablers to make quality health care in America as inaccessible as possible for the majority of people while enriching themselves.
I dunno, gwarton, but Obamacare (or lets call it the ACA to make it less divisive) has changed a lot of stuff for good, especially the pre existing condition clause, which it did away with. It is not at all perfect, but here in california its worked rather well for a lot of people I know. Yes, the premiums are quite a bit if you make >80k as a family, but its better than what existed before that. It also frees up quite a few solo practitioners in the way of health coverage. I think its one of the only baby steps taken by Obama (and Biden) in terms of equitable healthcare.
If the ACA had been a single-payer system as originally designed it would have been far less expensive and more effective. But our politicians weren't ready for true socialized medicine.
GH, I believe everybody here is acknowledging that the difference between the behind-the-scenes aspects of our "healthcare" system and the delivery system, and that the delivery system, governed by insurance companies, is the worst aspect. But there are also plenty of issues with the quality and capability of care; I'm sure we all have personal experiences with that. It's probably worse in rural states like mine, where doctors are in short supply, and specialists are nearly non-existent.
The system you all are criticizing so hard literally is ACA/Obamacare. So is it the worst system in the world or really great? Make up your minds. This is exactly what I was referring to when pointing out how sloppy and political everyone's thinking is on this stuff.
No it's not.
I should clarify the ACA did a lot, and didn't do enough. No rational person thinks the ACA is any kind panacea, it still kept UHC and other scamming companies.
GW, I believe you're being disingenuous, but in case you aren't: I had even worse experiences back when I was on an employer's insurance plan, long before the ACA. My mom and MIL both have Medicare and have had numerous issues, both with their primary care docs and especially when trying to see specialists, who are often booked out 6-12 months.
While the ACA has some impacts on Medicare, they aren't the same thing. And I don't think anyone has said that the ACA is amazing; I think it's terrible, and expensive, but it's my only option.
Two things: (1) Do any of you seriously believe that care and coverage isn't regularly denied or unavailable in single-payer systems? and, (2) Before ACA, it was still possible for generally healthy people to buy cheap catastrophic care coverage (e.g. real health insurance) and self-cover regular visits and that kind of thing. That is now literally illegal. My health insurance premiums have nearly quintupled since ACA took effect, and cover less.
Why should you have to buy any insurance at all? What's the cost to a regular freedom-loving 'merican if they need to mend a broken leg? All I need to worry about is parking fees so I can break my leg as many times as I want without fear of insurance cost premiums.
"Before ACA, it was still possible for generally healthy people to buy cheap catastrophic care coverage" You are peddling the quack insurances sold by the companies before ACA - the insurance plans that did not cover anything at all.
For some context, i dealt with a loved one's gunshot injury (which is also patently an American issue) before the ACA and then a loved ones cancer diagnosis and treatment after the ACA. World of a difference in terms of what was covered and what wasnt.
"My health insurance premiums have nearly quintupled since ACA took effect, and cover less." This is really disingenuous and false, the part about covering less.
I think you are letting your politics getting in the way of your judgment. Again the ACA is not perfect by any means for a developed country, but is much better than what existed.
All healthcare systems deny coverage, because not all care is effective. Decisions about what to pay for are difficult and complex and imperfect. When insurance companies try to gather rent is when it goes wrong. On the other hand the fact that not everything is paid for seems a misdirect to avoid actual conversation.
In Japan all adults have insurance, mandated by the govt and it is progressive, based on income. It is not anywhere near as expensive as the USA. For my family it was a few hundred dollars a month which always seemed reasonable. Especially since that goes with impressive access to care.
That said, I have also seen wealthy friends pay directly for experimental care or care that was out of the system - a flag that there is a gap for some care at least. So it's not a utopia. Even so, it seems to be exactly what ACA was supposed to be.
Why there is no political will about that kind of approach in Canada or USA or UK is beyond me. No wonder so many feel so helpless. Its a tragedy.
gwharton wrote:
Two things: (1) Do any of you seriously believe that care and coverage isn't regularly denied or unavailable in single-payer systems? and,
It's denied or unavailable in all heath insurance systems, regardless of the type. In the US claims are denied or unavailable at a rate 3.5 times higher than countries with a single payer.
system. https://www.pgpf.org/article/how-does-the-us-healthcare-system-compare-to-other-countries/
(2) Before ACA, it was still possible for generally healthy people to buy cheap catastrophic care coverage (e.g. real health insurance) and self-cover regular visits and that kind of thing. That is now literally illegal.
That type of cheap coverage was basically worthless. That's why it's illegal.
My health insurance premiums have nearly quintupled since ACA took effect, and cover less.
That isn't because of the ACA. It's because a larger % of the US population are getting older (older than 65), living longer, and providers charge more.
https://www.pgpf.org/article/w...
When I worked in Philly in the late 90s, way before the ACA, our health insurance costs at the office went up 25% every year.
OA, while those are probably factors in why insurance premiums have gone up, insurance company profits have to be a major factor as well. Oddly I can't find a simple graph of health insurance company net profits online, only revenue.
WG - Oh yes - insurance company profits are a major factor. The source I linked even said so. It's just that it's not the ACA.
Just spent 2 hours in all today trying to get an appointment with a specialist (not a surgery or anything), who told me to call blue shield (even though I have a PPO) - only for the rep to put me on hold for 45 minutes while "researching", then transferring me to another department where no one picked up the phone for a good 45 minutes and I hung up. Finally found another specialist. The insurance bros deserve every ounce of hatred and ill-will directed towards them.
I just talk to my doctor and get a referral to specialists. Of which I see three. Makes things a lot easier. Still have to go through the process to ensure things are covered and the rest of it.
Well the GP that we like usually refers doctors to a network that Blue Shield suddenly decided to drop, so we have to find our own specialists, which is not super hard as we live in a big city with many good providers. But yes the difficult part is to make sure they are in network even after paying almost $1000 per month in premiums as a family.
Yup. I've at a referred doctor become out of network halfway through treatment. Most of the time it's the doctor's choice, sometimes the health insurance provider drops them.
Nikki Giovanni
A fucking legend in arts passed away recently, and I don't think we should let it pass without noting.
Who's going to lick these guy sandals to build some useless stadiums and villas? https://www.npr.org/2024/12/11...
such a stupid & corrupt organization... fits well that it's hosted by a stupid corrupt nation. What are the betting odds on the number of slaves killed during the construction?
I suspect there are plenty of firms wetting their tongues hoping to get some of this work.
I'm guessing BIG and ZHA are going after this.
The main stadium will be called JAK Arena, Jamal Ahmad Khashogg, it's going to be a cutting edge facility.
and after that, series of "Black Lives Matter" stadiums in good old USA.
The main stadiums (at least 2 that i know of) are being designed by Populous...
That makes sense. I've never been able to get my brain around such large scale projects. What a beast that would be.
Well I guess Rick knows more about law than lawyers . . . .
of course he does
It's odd that he's 'debating' that what a lawyer said and judge ruled on the issue.
I don't see anything from him since a long time, for the same reason.
Anyone here in Denver have some friends or students that are interested in digital fabrication? I am running out of room in my van and need to offload a CNC knife cutter. Free. I really just want to see it go to a good home.
Also an 11 x 17" format Brother printer from like 2006 that absolutely will not quit and ink costs like $0.12 for a refill.
cu denver arch 1250 14th St
Mrs. Claus branching out!
I often do my mark-ups while sitting on my models...
Merry Christmas TC!
@Donna I know a few folks who've stepped down/back from managing over years and one lesson their experiences have taught me is that our career trajectory isn't linear with management as some inevitable pinnacle. Agree with @arch perhaps less a demotion and simply a realization.
Also somehow I'd never come across Ms. Giovanni's work until her death. Finally, this is a bit old but a great line "Dang we got Italo Calvino in the forum" :P Night all!
I swear is it still *technically 12/25 here...
I completely forgot that I dropped that Calvino line
When all else fails bust through the structural concrete members ...
"Pipes go where pipes go."
that's funny - from the Plumber's Bible - Happy New Year ...
guess they never heard of concrete coring ...
I literally had a plumber tell me that once. It stuck with me.
I too have had a plumber tell me that "pipes go where they go" line. I responded with "well it can't go through structure like that. You're paying for cutting the beams and reinstalling them at no cost."
By their logic, any trade that comes behind them can simply cut through their pipes if they're in the way.
"Oops. Sorry. You didn't leave the pipes exactly as they were installed. Warranty voided! Bye!"
Lest we think structure gets all the stupid tax, I was once on a job site where low voltage wiring was run through ducts.
We had a contractor cut the bottom off a wide flange steel beam to pass ducts through it. When we saw it they told us it was fine because it's design build and they said so. We had to remind them that as the architect we're the one's responsible and liable for all our consultants work. We then informed the contractor that they could either let structural look at this and prescribe a fix OR the GC could sign a legal document describing what they did and that they accept all liability. The GC went with option 1.
sometimes seems like all we do is to stop contractors from doing a lot of damage....
Only unqualified design build contractors.
I love structural CPVC - so versatile.
good one - much like structural ductwork ...
We just gonna pretend that brickwork isn't a problem? Where is this being built, or remodeled? This looks like a retrofit.
Ya'll work with some bad trades/GCs. We show & dimension plumbing & HVAC routes on arch drawings when coordination is critical so shit like this is avoided.
beta makes a good point. Looking at the masonry, and also how little steel is in the chipped-away concrete, I bet this photo comes from somewhere not in the USA/Canada/Europe. Maybe Mexico or India?
Non, that's how I feel. An architect's (or designer's) role is to solve the problems ahead of time so the builders can build. If you aren't including ways to route mechanicals, you aren't doing your job. Of course in the residential design world that is very rarely done, and we all make mistakes, but it's been one way that I've found to be a designer that builders recommend to clients that find them first. And to charge much more than most residential designers.
cip concrete slab on cip conc bms w/ (2) #4's over poorly pointed masonry piers? it's lucky the pvc is there for reinforcing
I still think the picture is upside down.
Yeah, Non, I'm going to be the one to disagree with you. Means and methods. Now, I will make sure chases are sized appropriately, and that I make sure that pipe and ductwork runs above ceiling work, but I shouldn't have to tell numbnuts not to cut beams in half without speaking to the structural team. And this thing, could've and should've easily been cored through the beam center without to much of an issue, if it was absolutely necessary.
Beta, some of our projects require that level of coordination where each M&P service is layed out by us. Definitively not in the average commercial project though.
That's interesting I will say. I can drive that when it matters, visual, but beyond that I don't control schedule or sequencing, so I'm curious to hear more.
it is not always easy to build according to plans, especially when cost or some other issue comes up (and it always does). We carefully coordinated openings in CLT building for MEP only to see it undone when a last minute VE change in HVAC equipment increased the number of pipes in the building. All after the wood structure was cut and in place. I guess the only way to do things properly is to plan for everything and then have a plan for when it doesn't work too. Sounds like that is what you do, Non Sequitur, as matter of course?
Beta, Will... I have 2 clients with repeat projects where coordination is critical in advance of CA. One is more process pipiping and the other is very-high end vacation marina residences. There is little to no VE in these projects and we leave nothing for "site to figure out" because there are too many pieces that need to fit in very little space. I even make several details and 3D axo views showing where grills and other devices go on exterior walls so that we can properly predict what reveals are required and how the cladding is affected. My current main project (5 condo buildings) needs arch sections showing ducts and pipes so that the GC can tell who to go first.
Non, I would expect that level of coordination on those types, those kinds of clients will pay for that level of coordination, and you likely bill accordingly. However, the work I do won’t accommodate that level of coordination, sadly. On my private work, it will, because I make it a priority.
Ok OddArchitect, this is in Grand Junction so you've got some 'splaining to do. https://www.zillow.com/homedet...
WTF?!?
What is there to explain?
https://www.zillow.com/homedet...
Yes, that appears to be a in-floor hottub in a kitchen (see chandelier) and 6 tvs blocking the windows.
this is the result of "drill baby drill", nothing below 800k along I-70 west. You can see this particular box was sold for 260K 3 years ago. Interesting use of tron memorabilia.
Oh dear gowd.
I can't tell if this is a real home or some bustardized computer rendering. Either way my face hurts.
You forgot the stripper pole next to the hot tub in the kitchen with chandelier.
The site sold for 260k 3 years ago. The box was constructed this year.
I'm still not certain if the interiors of 'the box' have been completed. I'm going to go check out this 'gem' at lunch today. If I can I'll take pictures.
Thank you for sharing this... I'm going to think about it all day probably.
Pornos.
Our firm is considering moving our office to this building. ;)
I need to set up my zoom background mask as a rotating series on interior shots from this beauty.
Do it Non. Do it.
So I checked out the house. It was only 10 minutes from my office. Wow, it's way worse than we thought. Every single one of those photos are doctored. The exterior is already cracking, stucco coming off, the 'stone' is falling off. The interior looks kind of like the images. Well, except that none of cabinets are the same, the kitchen is different, and the lighting is just recess cans.
But, is it being sold as a *house* or as an event center for the 11 townhomes that are coming? Cuz as a house.....
I don't know what it's trying to be. I know what it is though . . .
Most importantly, is the stripper pole there? That's it, that's THE question.
Sadly, it was not b3ta. I'm sorry.
So... you just walked up to rando house and peaked in the windows?
Kind of. There where signs around the property saying to come check it out though. Looked like an open house that was being poorly executed. I mean the house wasn't occupied and was still under construction. Very weird to have signs up saying to look around.
This is the type of hard hitting investigative research I come to Thread Central for.
Please tell me the hot tub is there!!??!
The hot tub was there. No stripper pole though.
So I got a call from the relator trying to sell the property.
They wanted to know if I was interested in the property.
Apparently they had cameras at the site to see who came to 'open house' and got my phone number from my license plate.
Sketchy.
So if they lost the stripper pole thats a credit of at least $500k off the asking price? Asking for a friend.
"no stripper pole though"
To quote a guy... My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined.
I'd check the roof, that stripper pole looked structural.
That was definitely a load bearing stripper pole. Also, the hot tub is part of the septic black water system.
I suspect they were both actually part of the rainwater collection system.
Ewwwwww.
Great way to get a bacterial disease.
Double Ewwww
Anyone remember the user bennyc? I think he's back as godindetails.
Both are equally dumb and clueless... but there are a lot of dumb people out there.
True. I'm not sure if bennyc was banned or if he just ran off and deleted his account due to his 'legal' troubles associated with lying about being an architect.
You're sure digging deep for anything to post - who really gives a damn about this? - time to grow up little boy ...
Meh - You know nothing BCG - bennyc was harassing me outside of the site. When someone attempts to do what he did I bother.
BCG - if you want to trade insults I'll PM you my number and you can call me to do so.
Some people are miserable and feel the need to make everyone around them just as miserable. Best to ignore if you can.
I'll do my best. At least once I leave the site the couple of miserable people here cease to exist for me.
Their jealously and disdain will be enough to keep them warm in your absence.
OA, I thought exactly the same thing. I also think that he made an account to up vote himself.
Sounds like bannable activity — just quietly flag and let the BGH know & move on
what, and ruin the distraction while I wait for the coffee to brew? Have you no heart?
What Non said. I'm in the process of working on a few designs and need a pallet cleanser between them.
Stalking, flagging, bye
GID / Benny - give it a rest. You're not fooling anyone. You're here for attention.
Is it just me or are others ignoring more people in here lately? There are definitely more users showing their whole asses around.
I've got four on full ignore now. I generally don't like to do that for anybody, because I am not a delicate wilting flower incapable of rationally processing divergent perspectives, but when they start spamming the forum with low-content walls of text or endlessly repetitive reply-guying, they get blocked.
Josh, there are a few that appear to resurrect as other users. Perhaps it looks like this because of lack of other discussions? Personally, figuring out how to build a fanny pack in revit is interesting. Probably the only worthwhile contribution of godindetails.
I don't have anyone on ignore but some days I'm tempted to.
I don't have anyone on ignore. My opinion is that if a person's posts are so offensive then they should be banned. If that isn't happening I either deal with them or just don't read / respond to their posts.
I put that Chad wanker on ignore a few weeks ago. Have not seen anything by him since then. Coincidence?
That's odd
I see what you did there and I approve. :)
Still alive in '25.
Hell yeah
Edit: Oops this was supposed to be a reply to vado, but apparently I can't use the forum right.
Meh
Is this not where to get free archineting blueprints? My VCR is stuck but the Bluetooth is still working.
, I can't use the four right either.
Other than the west coast of the US being on fire . . . .
How is everyone's 2025 starting out? Hopefully good, or at least not painful. ;)
not too bad, other than getting to work with 0 degrees in the morning....brrrr.....
All the work I can handle plus more, just now got a nod on a great new project that should get some press/public attention, the weather's been nice and I've spent plenty of time hiking, my new-ish meds are helping me greatly with my usual winter blahs/non-productive time, December was my highest billing month of the year so my bank account is happy--can't complain! My wife and I are taking a long weekend at a fancy hotel in a nearby coastal/resort community--our main Xmas gift to each other for the second year in a row, so we can get out of our perennial renovation project and have some good restaurant food.
Are we going to be hearing about a new 'bundle of joy' after that trip WG? ;)
Save some time for your Spring skiing trip - Santa Fe Ski Basin at 12,004 foot elevation with no Colorado prices & lift lines - come see our soft organic architectural scene ...
WG should come ski at Powderhorn. Great skiing, no lines, and the lift fees are less than Santa Fe Ski Basin. Also, more runs. ;)
0 freedom degrees is like -17 so just about normal for me.
I was born and raised in metric, temperature is one of the things I have never got a grasp for conversion. it was more like -20 this morning.
I've been out winter backpacking down to -40. No units needed.
I'm sitting in an outdoor sauna as I write this. An apparent 90*c delta between inside and out right now. This is the way to do winter when it gets to -25. Stay warm everybody
Follow up: delta has reached 109* and we've hot boxed it. Happy Tuesday.
JLC -40°F = -40°C = Feckin' Cold!
OA, haha, zero chance of a "bundle of joy!" Unless you mean a bigger pot belly for me or a fresh pack of edibles.
Re: skiing, I'd love to get out west for that, but one of three brothers I was very close to growing up is ski school manager at Copper River so I'd probably have to go there. The other two live in Alma/Breckenridge and Salida, so by default I'm a front range guy ;-)
A pot belly is still a bundle of joy. ;)
atelier - it was very cold. Every time I've been out in such conditions I've built a snow shelter. That keeps the interior temps around 30 F in -40 F temps.
rip david lynch
Comedic gold from the white house today. Thoughts and prayers. Who ever believes this jive is dumb as fuck.
Roughly 48% of US citizens, apparently. It's going to be an interesting ride. I'd say an interesting four years, but I doubt he'll leave then, and if he does, the country will be permanently damaged.
Nice to see that at the very least, separation of church and state is still an important thing... I expected it to be bad, but it is just so unbelievably dumb. This is your "chief" who will bring international respect? Ha... you'd have more respect if you elected a potted house plant.
"separation of church and state" while having a cabinet full of fanatic evangelists.
I did notice that the wanker saying the prayer about the bullet said 1 millimeter instead of using freedom units... so maybe there is hope?
Non, re: electing a potted plant: I honestly wonder how all the mega-wealthy think their dollars in financial institutions are going to be safe when the world power US is annihilated by laughter because *no other world power respects us* anymore. Seriously, we're a laughing stock. The stock market will collapse and no one respects the "laws" any more anyway. The preppers are better off than Neri's husband, for real.
https://www.newsweek.com/hitler-incompetent-lazy-nazi-government-clown-show-opinion-1408136
“Many of the worst man-made events that ever occurred were not the product of evil geniuses. Instead they were the product of a parade of idiots and lunatics, incoherently flailing their way through events, helped along the way by overconfident people who thought they could control them.”
I'm going to quote that line axo.
He was obsessed with the media and celebrity, and often seems to have viewed himself through that lens. He once described himself as "the greatest actor in Europe," and wrote to a friend, "I believe my life is the greatest novel in world history." In many of his personal habits he came across as strange or even childish—he would have regular naps during the day, he would bite his fingernails at the dinner table, and he had a remarkably sweet tooth that led him to eat "prodigious amounts of cake" and "put so many lumps of sugar in his cup that there was hardly any room for the tea." great description, very updated.
Very classy. I wonder what all the liberals that own Teslas think now.
They probably think the same you do about owning a Toyota, Leaderships of both companies have done some crazy and horrible things. Hell, most car companies have. No one seems to mind.
I don't own a Tesla. I've known for quite a while (10+ years) that Musk hasn't invented anything. He simply buys up companies and pretends to be an inventor. I've also been aware of the Musk family obsession with 'procreating'. It appears that Elon is attempting to 'one up' his father and be the 'savor' of the human race with is Mars colony. In short, I've know for at least a decade that Elon is nutter.
Indeed, all CEOs are dicks and all that jazz. However, I do not see Mr. Toyoda enabling his overlord to win and then throwing Nazi salutes. Then again liberals owning Teslas is not the point, I agree. Its the fact that Elon Musk has been given such a mouthpiece is the point.
Yup. I would look up what the CEO's of Toyota have done. You'd be surprised. Also - why stipulate that liberals owning Teslas? I know many third party and republicans that own Teslas.
I own a Toyota hybrid. Don’t think it came with nazi baggage.
I own a Subaru and they were not as big of toolbags as Musk
I know a few Tesla-owning Democrats and leftists, and all feel conflicted. They love their cars but hate what Tesla and Musk now represent. I'm finally at the point where a lightly used Tesla would make a lot of sense, but I'll stick with my Subaru.
Better to not own a car - one of the greatest contributors and enablers for global warming and global-warming generating urban planning the world has ever seen.
Arch, I totally agree. As soon as my wife and I can move to Europe we'll get rid of our vehicles. Unfortunately the US has been designed around vehicles and unless you live in a large city they are a necessity. As I'm sure you know.
I'd love to no have to own a car. Until the entire infrastructure of the US changes I'll have to stick with my Subaru.
Oh and by the way thought their history both Toyota and Subaru;
While it's horrible behavior, they're still not as bad as Musk.
Musk, Subaru, Toyota, Ford, BMW, are not the problems: Capitalism is the problem.
Yes and no. I know of plenty of capitalists that are kind and fair. The issue are self centered, rapacious, avaricious people.
Ok.
You know, I did use the interwebs, and typed in “fair and kind capitalists” it spit out three companies, and then asked, oh, you were serious. Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, and Salesforce were the three MS Copilot spit out, and you know what, all three have been cited for exploitive practices, not the least of which is human trafficking. So you’ll pardon me if I am not aware of any “kind and fair” because to me, “kind and fair” would have a lot to do with how well the mix with fertilizer.
yes, in this day, everything comes from an exploitative supplier feeding the capitalist machine. well documented everywhere.
Capitalism is absolutely the problem--worship of money and the unending pursuit of it (and the power that comes from having it) is completely at odds with a fair and just society. They cannot co-exist. I don't see a way out of capitalism at this point. We have been fortunate to have a loose social contract that has helped keep capitalism in check, but that has disintegrated so now we are seeing what happens as the remaining controls are dismantled and the worship of money and power--the core element of capitalism--fully take over our society and others.
Many companies--maybe most--start with altruistic intentions. Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, grew up not far from me and has been a model of altruistic intentions throughout his life. But publicly traded companies have changed from investors who support their missions to having their primary mission to maximize shareholder value above all else, with no exceptions I can think of, which is another symptom of capitalism and leads directly to unethical behavior.
Oh I'm not defending capitalism. It easily causes a lot of the problems in the world. My point is that it's the greedy, money and power hungry people that cause the problems. It's the same in Communist, Socialism, and every other system used in the world. No system is good.
It's just like architecture. Even when we do our best to be kind to the planet and it's people we still do a lot of damage to it.. We could do a lot less damage however people won't allow it.
There is a difference between those systems, though. Capitalism ONLY seeks to maximize profits and consolidate power until there's a "winner." I'm sure you've heard that the game Monopoly was invented to show this concept.
Socialism works reasonably well where combined with democracy and a large majority of the people support the concept. Communism is a beautiful idea in theory, it's just too far from our animal instincts to be implemented effectively.
Both socialism and communism are ruined by greedy people. The point of capitalism is to support greedy people.
Americans don't know how to measure value, except via currency
some are better than others, but businesses are by definition sociopathically self-interested, no matter the leadership intent
There's definitely some truth to the old saw that "Americans know the cost of everything and the value of nothing." But it's also a glib dismissal of what is a deeper problem not specific to just capitalism. Instead, it's a huge cultural over-emphasis on quantification and analytical methods dating back to the 18th century. This has metastasized over the centuries into our current managerial technocracy, where managers have taken control of everything without owning or being accountable for anything, and will not consider the value or importance of anything which can't be listed and validated in a spreadsheet. That's not a capitalist problem. That's a managerial bureaucracy problem (Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy explains a lot about how this comes to be organizationally and politically - Burnham wrote several excellent books about it back in the 20th century). It manifests differently in different kinds of political and economic systems, but it's pervasive through the entire world at all levels. We're seeing a massive political backlash against it in the USA literally right now.
Capitalism is parasitic. Communism may not be perfect, but are we expecting perfection? At least with Communism it's the working-class making decisions, making mistakes and being held accountable. How do we hold oligarchs to account? How, I'll revert you to Boots Riley and The Coup.
you know what's the biggest issue with capitalism right now? the idea that growth can be infinite. I bet all the big shots know this very very well and have embraced it by speeding their own growth until they die and fuck whoever comes later....and we are all dancing to their tunes because what else can we do?
Literally every political system everywhere - capitalism, communism, monarchy, anarchy, etc., etc. - is fundamentally an oligarchy of some kind. Saying a country is run by oligarchs is literally a tautology and doesn't really mean anything at all. All you are disagreeing with is who the oligarchs should be and what sort of political formulas you are willing to accept as legitimate to justify their rule. Otherwise, the complaint is trite nonsense.
Not true. Because you said it, makes it even less than true. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DD_uOZLx0wc/?igsh=ejI0ang1dDV1bjRz
b3tadine[sutures] wrote:
"Capitalism is parasitic. Communism may not be perfect, but are we expecting perfection? "
We are not.
"At least with Communism it's the working-class making decisions"
No they aren't
,"making mistakes and being held accountable. "
The working class is blamed for the mistakes, the leaders are not.
"How do we hold oligarchs to account? How, I'll revert you to Boots Riley and The Coup."
True. But there are still oligarchs in communism. Just like there are in every other system. Well maybe not in Vulcan society but . . .
"Well maybe not in Vulcan society but . . ." I dunno. Spock's dad sure seemed like he was a big deal in the Vulcan power structure.
The psycho social control systems work almost the same in both political theories - carrots and sticks.
A, B, C’s of Oligarcy
OA, how is it you can be so wrong, and not share evidence of your wrongness?
b3ta - I'm willing to admit that I could be wrong. If you'd like create anther thread about communism and we can debate it there.
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