BOOT COUTURE
What’s fun and exciting? Visiting the job site to see how buildings are constructed. What’s not fun and exciting? Hearing the words “proper thick soled shoes must be worn when on site.” What does this mean?!? I don’t even own such a thing!
I know for most of you fellows out there, this is not an issue. You probably have an old pair of boots just lying around waiting to be worn. I mean, what’s a guy to do without a trusty and dusty pair of work boots, right? For me this is not the case, and having discussed this issue with many of my female colleagues, I have discovered that I am not the only one. Here at BRW, I have survived a year and a half without having the proper “attire” when going on site visits — “What?! You mean to tell me that my purple Chuck Taylors aren’t going to get the job done? Or what about my Sperry Topsiders that have yet to be worn on an actual boat?!?” — I fear my luck is running out.
I am determined to find a pair of boots that comply with safety on the job site, yet have a slightly fashionable (not entirely hideous) aspect to them. The last thing I want is to be walking around with boots equivalent in weight and looks to a pair of CMUs. I have recently started researching possible solutions to this dilemma, but I have only scraped the surface. I have found a few that I like and several that I don’t like. At this rate, I will be a licensed architect before I can find a suitable solution. Any suggestions?
POSTED BY: jennasteinbeck
SERIOUSLY….I’M AN ARCHITECT.
Those of us in Architecture, we take ourselves seriously. We do. We wear dark colors and eccentric eye wear. We use fancy pens and write our names in ways that rival most doctors and/or 3rd graders. We are the ones that conquered “all that math in college.” We scrutinize details the average person never even looks at. We even align the screws on the light switches and wall receptacles at our homes. (It’s ok, admit it, you do).
Sometimes, we need to be less serious and laugh at ourselves, just a little. Below are a couple websites that poke some fun at those of us in the Architecture industry and thankfully, in some cases, you have to be in the industry to see the humor. “Architexts” is a comic that is issued a couple times a week and touches on topics that will make you wonder if someone in your office is the author/creator. It might not make you fall out of your chair laughing and some days it will just echo your frustrations, but it will remind you that maybe, just maybe, we shouldn’t take ourselves quite so seriously.
http://www.arkitectrue.com/tag/humor/
POSTED BY: charlesbrant
WELL, IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN.
NCARB Annual Renewal Fee time, of course.
Love it or hate it, IDP is one of those things that we have to do (although I bet most people feel one of these emotions more often than the other). Even on a good day, the entire process can be a headache: going through the old time cards, making the spreadsheets, organizing in the different categories, the new format they give you every 6 months!
Even though it is tedious, there is a sense of pride that comes after a good, long IDP session. Not only have you documented your work into the system before it expired, you are also working toward the overall goal. Several of us have wanted to be architects for a long time. (And one day guys, we’ll get there!) The endless questions from friends and family about what becoming an architect really entails can be frustrating. Why is it so hard? Why does it take so long? The only answer that matters is that anything that’s worth doing is going to be hard.
So here is my suggestion for making IDP more tolerable. Make a night out of it! Grab co-workers who are in the same boat and get together once a month. Turn it into a game – whoever is the last to submit experience on e-EVR by the end of the month is buying the first round, or has to sing The 12 Days of Christmas as The Count from Sesame Street. This one really works to get people motivated, I swear.
Work with your supervisors and let them know what areas you need time in. Make a recurring lunch meeting with them so it never falls behind. Whatever it is you gotta do, do it. It can be frustrating in the meantime, but it’s worth it.
Now, I’m off to Construction Phase – Observation.
POST BY: catherinehowley
WINDOWS 7 SLEEP
Windows 7 users… How often do you turn off your computer? For those that are patient enough to wait for the computer to boot up and become usable, how long do you have to wait?
Windows 7 has become a lot faster than XP or Vista at “waking up” from “sleep”, that is, you don’t have to turn off your computer to save power. Instead of shutting down, you can put it to “sleep”, which is a low-power consumption mode that enables you to save your computer’s state to memory while essentially turned off. “Wake up” the computer by clicking your mouse button or hitting a key on the keyboard. Using this feature enables your computer to return to its usable state in a fraction of the time. This is a simple way to reduce one’s carbon footprint (for those energy conscious individuals).
Watts x Hours Used x Cost per kilowatt-hour
————————————————————- = Total Cost
1000
If you leave your computer on overnight doing nothing, you are still consuming power. The power consumption varies widely from computer to computer. For example, let’s say you have a computer with a 400W power supply. Doing nothing but staying on, the computer will still use energy. It may use 150W simply idling. If you leave your computer on (idling) for 15 hours every night, and pay an average of $0.10 per kWh, your total cost per day is:
150 x 15 x $0.10
————————– = $0.225, or $82.13 per year (+ $14 for hours spent idling on the weekend)
1000
Imagine how much money could be saved if everyone did this!
POST BY rschmidt
ROADIES
Seven hours in a car with a co-worker can be daunting, Luckily, I like (most) everyone I work with. The thought of cruising down I-35 to Austin brings to mind several thoughts: catching up on sleep, listening to that “new” Vampire Weekend album, or feverishly finger-typing emails on my phone. Or maybe, just maybe…it’s an opportunity to chat with my driving buddy. This time out of the office can be a nice mental break from the day-to-day grind, forcing one to slow down. With the mass quantities of emails flying around the office, taking some time to have a casual chat about a particular project detail, a business development opportunity, or traveling office protocol can actually solve problems. Who knows…maybe talking can be more efficient than emailing.
POSTED BY: chrissano
GOT STUDENT ID?
As the youngest intern here at BRW, I have come to grow some thick skin when it comes to colleagues cracking jokes about my age. Considering it has become a daily occurrence, I’ve learned to take it with a grain of salt and if I’m feeling jovial, maybe throw a few back at ‘em. While this is all in good fun, I was completely blind sided when I was mistaken for an enrolled high school student this past spring. This horrifying event took place on site at Woodrow Wilson High School when fellow design team members and I were surveying existing conditions of this 1928 Dallas landmark. We were prepping for the renovation of the existing structure and design of a new three-story addition to begin construction summer of 2011. Making our way through the halls, counting lockers and marking down ceiling heights, seemed like smooth sailing until I was abruptly stopped by a visiting parent. “Excuse me young lady, could you please direct me to the library?”, he said. After I kindly told him I was not a student, I turn around to find all of my colleagues bursting with laughter. As if they already didn’t have enough material to use on me!
POSTED BY: jennasteinbeck
brwarchitecture
CCK
aevertson
Jenna
chrissano
dshankins
irobmtb
jskoch
abflores
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