STC Special Interest Groups

Information Design and Architecture (aka Design Matters)
http://stc-on.org/id/

Online
http://stc-on.org/online

Consulting and Independent Contracting
http://www.stcsig.org/cic/index.html

Emerging Technologies
http://www.stcsig.org/et/

Environmental, Safety, and Health Communication
http://www.stcsig.org/esh/

Illustrators and Visual Designers
http://www.stcsig.org/ivd/

Instructional Design and Learning
http://stcidlsig.org/jmla/

Lone Writer
http://www.stc-lonewriter.org/

Management
http://www.stcsig.org/mgt/

Marketing Communication
http://www.stcsig.org/mc/resources107.html

Policies and Procedures
http://www.stcsig.org/pp/

Quality and Process Improvement
http://stc-on.org/quality/

Scientific Communication
http://www.stcsig.org/sc/

Single Sourcing
http://www.stcsig.org/ss/

Technical Editing
http://www.stc-techedit.org/index.php

Usability and User Experience
http://www.stcsig.org/usability/

Wikis

Adobe Labs
http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Apache Wiki
http://wiki.apache.org/general/

Sun OpenDS
https://www.opends.org/wiki

Cisco DocWiki Trial
http://docwiki.cisco.com/wiki/Main_Page

Floss Manuals
http://en.flossmanuals.net/

Splunkbase
http://www.splunkbase.com/

Stewart Mader
http://www.ikiw.org/

Wikinomics
http://www.wikinomics.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/25/intoducing-our-first-guest-blogger-stewart-mader/


MediaWiki.org
http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki

Tim Wang
http://blog.loaz.com/timwang/index.php/2008/03/07/best_wiki_platform_mediawiki_dokuwiki_ti

DokuWiki
http://www.dokuwiki.org

TikiWiki
http://info.tikiwiki.org/tiki-index.php

PBwiki
http://pbwiki.com/personal.wiki

PMwiki
http://www.pmwiki.org/

MoinMoin
http://moinmo.in/

DekiWiki by mindtouch
http://www.mindtouch.com/

wikispaces
http://www.wikispaces.com/

Abbreviations and Acronyms in the Design Industry

Architects and Interior Designers have their own language. Administrative personnel without prior experience in a construction or design related office can be mystified by the terms and acronyms that roll off their tongue. Here is a list of commonly used acronyms and what they mean. If I missed some or if you've heard something and not quite sure what they meant, let me know by leaving a comment.

ADA  Americans with Disabilities Act

AE or A/E  Architecture and Engineering (usually in reference to a firm)

AFF  Above Finished Floor

AHJ  Authority Having Jurisdiction

AHU  Air Handling Unit

AIA  American Institute of Architects

AIAS   American Institute of Architecture Students

ANSI   American National Standards Institute

ARE   Architectural Registration Exam

ASHRAE   American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers

ASI   Architect's Supplemental Instructions

ASID   American Society of Interior Designers

ASLA   American Society of Landscape Architects

BIM   Building Information Model

BNor B&N   Bidding and Negotiation

BUR   Built Up Roof

C of O   Certificate of Occupancy

CA    Construction Administration; Contract Administration

CAD   Computer Aided Drafting or Computer Aided Design

CCD   Construction Change Directive

CD   Construction Documents; Contract Documents; Construction Drawings

CIDA   Council for Interior Design Accreditation (formerly known as FIDER or "Foundation for Interior Design Education and Research"

CO   Change Order

COP   Change Order Proposal

CP   Change Proposal

CPR   Change Proposal Request

CRM   Construction Risk Management

CSI   Construction Specification Institute

DD   Design Development

DR   Door

EIT   Engineer in Training

EPDM   Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (a rubber-like material)

FAIA   Fellow of the American Institute of Architects

FAR   Floor Area Ratio

FF   Finished Floor

FFE   Two distinct meanings. You must know the context because it could mean (1) Finished Floor Elevation or (2)Furnishings, Fixtures and Equipment

FIDER   Foundation for Interior Design Education and Research (name changed to "Council for Interior Design Accreditation" January, 2006)

GC   General Contractor

Gyp. Bd.   Gypsum Board (Sheetrock is USG's brand name for gypsum board)

HC   Handicapped

HDRE   Hardware

HVAC   Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning

IBC   International Building Code

ICBO   International Conference of Building Officials

IIDA   International Interior Design Association

IDP   Intern Development Program

LEED   Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

MEP   Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing

MPE   Mechanical, Plumbing and Electrical

MOB   Medical Office Building

NCARB   National Council of Architectural Registration Boards

NCIDQ   National Council for Interior Design Qualification

NTS   Not to Scale

RA   Registered Architect

RFI   Request for Information

RFP   Request for Proposals

RFQ   Request for Qualifications

PE   Professional Engineer

SD   Schematic Design

Specs   Specifications

TBAE   Texas Board of Architectural Examiners

TFO   Tenant Finish Out

TSA   Texas Society of Architects

USG   United States Gypsum

USGBC   United States Green Building Council

VE   Value Engineer, Value Engineering

Fact Sheet - Summer Interns

Read from the series,  How to Tame Summer Job Applications.
.

Library Etiquette

When did it become acceptable to be noisy in a library?

What ever happened to whispers and soft talking?

At a recent visit to a neighborhood library where I went to spend some relaxing time with magazines I like enough to read but not enough to pay for, I was astonished at the behavior of the others around me.

It's a small library so seating choices are very limited. I was sitting near the group of audio books. A woman was intently searching for a particular book, or perhaps she was just reading the titles. I'm not sure which and it doesn't really matter. What does matter is that she was listening to an audio book on her headphones. How do I know it was an audio book and not music, you ask? It's because I could hear the words being spoken by the reader, "Chapter Six....girls sat down...it was noon..." I could hear it from 15-feet away. How loud, really, did she need to have the volume? The speakers were right next to her ears for crying out loud.

Later, there was the obligatory cell phone ringing, and I looked to see who it was. We're all supposed to cast our best stare in the direction of the sound and if one of us knows the person's name we're supposed to say, "[THEIR NAME] that's your phone." Now, you might think this person would find their telephone and reject the call, or stand up and exit the room to answer it. Not this person. No, he had to sit where he was, answer the phone and begin speaking in normal cell-phone-conversation volume. The kind of volume that you can hear from 20-feet away. I was 3-feet away. I could hear the person on the other end of the call. Something about visiting the doctor again. While still on the phone, he got up, walked over to his wife and handed her the phone so she could straighten out this doctor mess.

Then, today, (yes, I went back) there's suddenly somebody talking really loudly to the history books. Oh, no, wait, he was talking on his cell phone. Apparently he thought this was his personal telephone booth and that there were some invisible sound partitions around him. Later, as I was leaving the library, I saw him with his wife at one of the computer stations. Now I understood what he was doing. He didn't want to disturb his wife by taking the call right next to her, so he moved over to the history section where his voice could reverberate around the room. I guess he was just being neighborly by sharing all his family business in the neighborhood library.

Another commotion erupted from the computerized library catalog when a library worker approached a woman who had apparently asked for his help a little earlier. I know that because he was speaking in a normal level conversation as if he were at the grocery store and he was letting her know that the mayonaise could be found on aisle 15.

Finally, quiet returned, but not for long. The person sitting closest to me began to make a phone call. Not answer a call, make one. Although considerate enough to have turned off her phone when she got to the library, she now wanted us to listen to the clever little ditty her phone makes when she turns it on. She has Verizon service, by the way. I gave her my best leer to let her know that I heard her phone. She ignored me and started pressing numbers to make the call. Each press of the button a voice announced the number that she selected, "Five, four, eight..." And of course, I heard not only her end of the conversation but the other end as well. My leers were of no use.

So what happened to being quiet in the library? What happened to keeping your noises to yourself so that other people won't be disturbed? And what about the librarian who would lead by example? You could count on the librarian to keep people in check. They would come around every now and then and a hush would fall over the room. Nobody wanted to be told to be quiet so they toned it down before the librarian had a chance to point out their bad manners.

Is it manners and respect that's missing, or are we living in a time where there is so much noise everywhere that silence is not regarded as desirable?

.

Travel Snacks

What kind of snacks do you bring for your plane ride? Even if your ticket says a meal or snack is available, they don't give it to you until at least 30 minutes after take-off. What if you're stuck on the tarmac for 30 minutes or more?

There are several things to take into account when deciding what to bring. Will it make you even more dehydrated than the airplane will? Will it be smelly to the other people on the plane? Will it make it through security?

Once on the airplane, your access to water is limited, so don't bring anything that will make you thirsty. Bars and pubs generally put out bowls of snacks that will make you thirsty so you will order more drinks. Think of the snacks you have seen at the bars and don't bring those. You don't need to make yourself any more thirsty that you already are.

Fruit is a good choice, but be careful not to bring fruit with smells that will annoy the other passengers. There's no need to get your neighbors upset while trapped together in a giant metal container at 30,000 feet. Good choices are apples, grapes and cherries. Avoid bananas and oranges. Not only do they put out odors that some might consider offensive, they leave your fingers sticky and wishing you could rinse them off.

Baby carrots are a good choice. They are bite size, moist and have some fiber. Brocolli would be a bad choice. Too much fiber. The fart sponge you'll be sitting on can only absorb so much.

Forget the applesauce, pudding and Jell-O. The snack size containers you buy in the store exceed the limitations for national security and they will likely be confiscated. Ironically, they will let you bring a frozen ice pack - the kind you leave in your freezer and put in a cooler. Just make sure it's frozen when you take it through security. If it melts, it becomes a liquid that is in a container over 3 ounces and you know what happens to those...

When selecting your snacks at the store, be sure to check the ingredients on the labels. If you're trying to limit your carbohydrate intake, forget about bringing breakfast bars or granola bars. Even the "low-sugar" ones have too many carbs. Mini muffins are a better choice.

If you're travelling with someone, why not make a snack pack for them too? They will probably appreciate the hospitality and have fun opening up their snack pack gift.

.

Architectural Portfolios

I recently prepared a "FAQ" page regarding portfolios which architecture students prepare in order to display their work to potential employers. I am including it here as an example of my work and to provide guidance to college students.


Each year, we receive hundreds of job inquiries, some with portfolios and some without. An architectural class at a nearby university surveyed architectural firms, including ours, to discover what is “most admired in portfolio design”. We have assembled them into this FAQ, anticipating that other students may have similar questions.


What size of a portfolio works best?
If you are sending us your portfolio, something that fits in a file folder or hanging file, meaning no larger than 8 ½” x 11”, is preferred. However, if there is only one copy and we are looking at it during an interview, probably 11” x 17” would be the largest size.


Is digital media an asset? Is it ever just passed on?
Two schools of thought: Hard copies are easier to share with other decision makers because we can walk up to them, show it to them, and point out the highlights.
Digital media is easier to pass along in an email especially if it needs to go to several decision makers at the same time, or if those people are unavailable in person. Of course, if it is an animation or fly through, then it makes sense to do it that way. Keep in mind that the person initially receiving the digital media might not have the software needed to view that type of work.


How easy or difficult are loose-leaf pages to deal with in reviewing? Would you recommend binding over loose-leaf?
It depends on how big it is. If it’s more than 5 pages it’s probably better for it to be bound. With fewer pages, we may just staple them together or leave them separate. If your portfolio pages can become separated from your resume and/or cover letter, you should have your name somewhere on the page so we don’t get it mixed up with someone else’s work.


What type of binding works best?
Any kind that allows the book to lay flat when fully opened.


Do you prefer to see just architectural projects or should renderings, sculpture and photography work be included?
All examples of your creative work are helpful for us to see.


How many projects are appropriate?
About five. Choose the top five that represent your strengths and the type of projects you hope to work on. If you are asked to come in for an interview, you can bring additional examples to further explain your work.


Is it better to have a highly designed portfolio with elaborate cover and bindings or overly simple to show off the work?
It depends on what you want us to focus on – your skills in marketing and publishing or your skills in architecture. A simple but elegantly designed portfolio allows us to focus on your architectural work without distraction.


What is an example of a portfolio that stands out in your memory? What made it different? Was its difference good?
We receive hundreds of resumes every year. About half of those include some type of example of their work, usually a digital file such as a pdf or jpg. The portfolios we have received are all unique. Size, color, binding, sequence, text, font, layout – you name it, it’s always different. The positive things that stand out to us are:
Simple cover with your name on the front
Your contact information
Consistent format throughout – both in photo layout and project descriptions.
Gives credit to the team. If you’re including a rendering of a building, be clear about what your role was.


Should a resume be included in the bound portfolio or separate?
Either way is fine. Sometimes having it in both places is helpful in case they get separated.


What is the best advice you can give on portfolio creation?
Know your audience. Know what message you want to get across and stick to that. Use industry standard publishing guidelines. Use your money wisely.


Is it considered impolite to ask that the portfolio be returned?
It’s perfectly acceptable to ask for your portfolio back. We know that you invested time and money to develop it and that you don’t have an endless supply. We can’t always tell, though, if we’ve received your only copy or if it’s one of many. If you want it back, it’s best to let us know up front. Even if you get all the way through the interview process and we don’t make you a job offer, it’s still perfectly acceptable for you to ask for your portfolio back. After all, you’ll probably need it when you interview elsewhere.


The official FAQ can be found here:
http://www.gsc-inc.com/23/Internship.htm

.

Funny Headlines

• Iraqi Head Seeks Arms
• Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
• Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
• Enraged Cow Injures Farmer with Ax
• Farmer Bill Dies in House
• British Left Waffles on Falkland Islands
• Teacher Strikes Idle Kids
• Miners Refuse to Work after Death
• Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
• War Dims Hope for Peace
• If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile
• Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
• Enfield (London) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
• Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
• Man Struck By Lightning Faces Battery Charge
• New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
• Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
• Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
• Chef Throws His Heart into Helping Feed Needy
• Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
• Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
• Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead

Source: http://plainlanguage.gov/examples/humor/headlines.cfm

.

Funny Lyrics

Actually, misheard lyrics.

For starters, the real lyrics are:
Smoke on the water
A fire in the sky

But which way did you hear it?

Slow motion Walter.
The fire engine guy

Slow walking Walter,
fire engine guy

Slow, cousin Walter

Small can of water

Smoke whatcha wanna

Slow running horses.
Fire in the sky

Smoke marijuana
A fire in the sky

Stove's getting hotter.
Fire in the pies.

Smoke on the water.
Papaya in the sky

Slow running water
and fire in the skies


Source: http://www.kissthisguy.com/
(named after the world's most commonly misheard lyric)

.

Funny Quotes from the DC Folks

Whether you like him or not, you have to admit he has a way with words. Take the quiz to see if you can tell who said it - Rumsfeld, Quayle, George Sr. or George Jr.

Source: http://www.dubyaspeak.com/pickdubya.phtml

.

Funny Kids

Thanksgiving is a time of being with family - and maybe meeting some of the newer additions to the family. Here's the conversation between me and my 5-year old grand niece who I just met.

ME:...Hi, my name is Dianne
HER:..My name is Kalie. K - A - L - I - E. Kalie
ME:...Did you see that man who came in with me? His name is John.
HER:..Is he your husband?
ME:...Yes, he's my husband. See my ring?
HER:..I like your ring. Did he get it at Jared's?

.

Funny Signs

Caution: No Warning Signs
Eat Here and Get Gas
Caution: Water on Road During Rain
Parking for Drive-Thru Service Only
Shoplifters will be Beaten, Stabbed and Stomped. Survivors Will Be Prosecuted.
Poo Ping Thai Chinese Cuisine
Emergency Stoppping Only. Whale Watching is NOT an Emergency. Keep Driving.
Danger Ahead. Fasten Seat Belts and Remove Dentures.
Soft Shoulder, Blind Curves, Steep Grade, Big Trucks. Good Luck!
Some have to be seen to be appreciated, like my personal favorite, Funny Sign 33. Source: http://fun-with-words.com/funny_signs_09.html.

Travel: Port Aransas, Texas

Located on the Gulf of Mexico and along the Texas shores is a small town called Port Aransas. More than just a fishing village or tourist destination, Port A, as the locals call it, is a self-sustaining small town complete with schools, a community center, and multiple churches.

The beach season is a long one – from April to October with a few warm weekends scattered in March and November. The busiest holidays are, in order: July 4^th - especially if it falls on a weekend, Memorial Day, Spring Break, Easter, and Labor Day.

In Florida, they are called “snowbirds”, but in Texas, they are called “Winter Texans”. It’s the people from Minnesota and Wisconsin who are able to leave their frozen home up north and spend 3 or 4 months in the balmy south.

Whether you stay a day, a weekend, a week or a couple of months, a day at the beach is worth a month in the city.

Take a look for yourself. From this webcam, you can get an idea of the wave pattern and see some of the sand. The camera is mounted near the top of one of the condominiums that is on the beach.

http://www.thedunescondos.com/cam.cfm

Stuff to Do

Learn about the native habitat

University of Texas Marine Science Institute (UTMSI)

http://www.utmsi.utexas.edu/outreach/visitorcenter/vc.htm

Watch the Ferry Landing

Port Aransas is on the northern end of a really long island. The south is accessible by a bridge while the north is accessible by a ferry. The City of Port Aransas has four webcams of the ferry lines.

Port Aransas side - Landing looking South

http://www.cityofportaransas.org/ferrycam1.cfm

Port Aransas side - Landing looking East

http://www.cityofportaransas.org/ferrycam2.cfm

Port Aransas side - Cutoff Road, looking South

http://www.cityofportaransas.org/ferrycam4.cfm

Aransas Pass side - Looking North

http://www.cityofportaransas.org/ferrycam3.cfm

Look for “Boots” the alligator at the Birding Center

http://www.cityofportaransas.org/Leonabelle_Turnbull_Birding_Center.cfm

Read the local headlines

http://www.portasouthjetty.com/

Where to Stay

The Courtyard

http://www.courtyrd.com/

The view shown in the photograph on their website can be yours. Just ask to stay in room 203.

.

Intern to Architect
Administrative Personnel in Design Firms

What’s the difference between “intern” “architectural intern” and “architect” ?

Only licensed architects can call themselves an architect. It is against state law to call or portray yourself as an architect if you are not licensed.

Let’s work our way backwards:

The goal is to become a licensed architect.

In the United States, each of the 50 states determines their own regulations that a person would have to follow in order to become licensed in that state. Typically, you would try to become licensed in the state you live in. So first, you figure out what your state requires.

No matter what, all states require that you take and pass the Architect’s Registration Exam, or the ARE.

To take the ARE, a person has to demonstrate two main things:

a. that they have earned a degree in architecture

b. that they have gained real life work experience by working for an architect

The career path from high school to registration basically follows this sequence:

1. Choose the right College or University – must be accredited by NAAB

2. Earn a professional degree, such as Bachelor of Architecture. 5 year program

3. Apply to NCARB to establish a record. Cost: $285

4. Complete the Intern Development Program administered by the NCARB. This means that you work at an architect’s office and get experience in all areas of the firm. NCARB has established minimum number of hours you work in 17 different categories, so you have to keep track of how many hours you work in each area. This usually takes at least three years. If NCARB has to keep up with your record more than three years, they charge $60 per year.

NCARB has forms for reporting the hours and it has to be signed by the licensed architect that the intern is working with. When NCARB agrees that you have met all their requirements, they send you confirmation that you have completed the requirements of the Intern Development Program.

5. Apply to take the ARE in your state. Cost: 7 tests at $170 each = $1,190

6. Pass the ARE administered by your state. The format and content of the exam changes from year to year but in all cases, it is very intensive. There are about eight different tests to take, some are multiple choice and some require drawings or sketches of some sort. Currently, the exams are held at testing centers, and you can choose which test you want to take and when you want to take it. It can take 6 weeks before you find out the results. If you don’t pass a test, you can re-take it about 6 months later (after they have had a chance to think up new questions).

The tests drain you mentally and financially. Studying for the test is not easy when you’ve been out of school a while and if you’re working full time. About 30% of the people who take it fail at least one section.

7. After you receive confirmation from your state that you have passed the ARE, you have to send paperwork (and money) to NCARB to verify the results.

8. Once your state receives that information, they issue you a number, which becomes your registration number. The $285 fee includes NCARB sending your record to one state.

9. Success! You have become licensed in your state! At long last, you can call yourself an architect.

10. Look for your annual license renewal form to show up within the next 12 months. You will be paying an annual fee from now on, plus, you will be keeping track of how many seminars you take every year to show that you are keeping up with the practice. This doesn’t require formal tracking like the IDP, but you do have to produce evidence if they audit you.

Links to places mentioned above

NAAB - National Architectural Accrediting Board

Establishes educational standards

http://www.naab.org/

http://www.naab.org/information1725/information.htm

NCARB – National Council of Architectural Registration Boards

Administers the IDP and the ARE

http://www.ncarb.org/

IDP – Intern Development Program

http://www.ncarb.org/IDP/index.html

ARE – Architects Registration Exam

http://www.ncarb.org/are/index.html

Put a Word file on your blog

Putting the contents of a Word file on your blog is relatively easy.

All you do is go to Google docs. http://docs.google.com/

Select UPLOAD
Select BROWSE
Find the final you want to upload
Give it a name you can remember. No one else will be able to see it.
Select UPLOAD FILE

You should now be able to see and edit your text. It's not on your blog yet.
In the upper right corner, select PUBLISH
Now you have a choice of where to publish it. Choose the second option, which is to post it to your blog.

You, and everyone else, can now look at your blog and see the text from the Word file. If you can't see it, press F5 to refresh the screen.

If you still can't see it and you think I might have left out a step, please let me know by leaving me a comment.


You can edit the text two different ways.
1. From your blog.
When you edit it here, you aren't editing the original document but you are able to post the updates immediately. Probably very handy in those emergency situations when you have to change it RIGHT NOW before someone sees it.

2. From the Word file.
This is just like any other time you are updating the Word file. To get the changes to show up on your blog you need to upload it again. It's really easy but it is another step and you have to refresh your blog to confirm the updates are there.

You can also upload Excel and PowerPoint files. I haven't tried to do that yet but I would imagine it's very similar.

.

Abbreviations and Acronyms
Administrative Personnel in Design Firms

Architects and Interior Designers have their own language. Administrative personnel without prior experience in a construction or design related office can be mystified by the terms and acronyms that roll off their tongue. Here is a list of commonly used acronyms and what they mean. If I missed some or if you've heard something and not quite sure what they meant, let me know by leaving a comment.

ADA
Americans with Disabilities Act

AE or A/E
Architecture and Engineering (usually in reference to a firm)

AFF
Above Finished Floor

AHJ
Authority Having Jurisdiction

AHU
Air Handling Unit

AIA
American Institute of Architects

AIAS
American Institute of Architecture Students

ANSI
American National Standards Institute

ARE
Architectural Registration Exam

ASHRAE
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers

ASI
Architect’s Supplemental Instructions

ASID
American Society of Interior Designers

ASLA
American Society of Landscape Architects

BIM
Building Information Model

BN or B&N
Bidding and Negotiation

BUR
Built Up Roof

C of O
Certificate of Occupancy

CA
Construction Administration; Contract Administration

CAD
Computer Aided Drafting or Computer Aided Design

CCD
Construction Change Directive

CD
Construction Documents; Contract Documents; Construction Drawings

CIDA
Council for Interior Design Accreditation (formerly known as FIDER or "Foundation for Interior Design Education and Research"

CO
Change Order

COP
Change Order Proposal

CPM
Construction Risk Management

CP
Change Proposal

CPR
Change Proposal Request

CSI
Construction Specification Institute

DD
Design Development

DR
Door

EIT
Engineer in Training

EPDM
Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (a rubber-like material)

FAIA
Fellow of the American Institute of Architects

FAR
Floor Area Ratio

FF
Finished Floor

FFE
Two distinct meanings, must know the context
1. Finished Floor Elevation
2. Furnishings, Fixtures and Equipment

FIDER
Foundation for Interior Design Education and Research (name changed to "Council for Interior Design Accreditation" January, 2006)

GC
General Contractor

Gyp. Bd.
Gypsum Board (Sheetrock is USG's brand name for gypsum board)

HC
Handicapped

HDRE
Hardware

HVAC
Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning

IBC
International Building Code

ICBO
International Conference of Building Officials

IIDA
International Interior Design Association

IDP
Intern Development Program

LEED
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

MEP
Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing

MPE
Mechanical, Plumbing and Electrical

MOB
Medical Office Building

NCARB
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards

NCIDQ
National Council for Interior Design Qualification

NTS
Not to Scale

RA
Registered Architect

RFI
Request for Information

RFP
Request for Proposals

RFQ
Request for Qualifications

PE
Professional Engineer

SD
Schematic Design

Specs
Specifications

TBAE
Texas Board of Architectural Examiners

TFO
Tenant Finish Out

TSA
Texas Society of Architects

USG
United States Gypsum

USGBC
United States Green Building Council

VE
Value Engineer, Value Engineering

How to Roll Up a Set of Drawings

Administrative Personnel in Design Firms

How hard could this be? Just put the drawings on the table and start rolling, right?

Maybe. There's a trick to it that architects share with each other but not necessarily with the administrative staff.

Most drawings have some kind of title block along the right side. That's where you find the name of the project, the project number, the date, the client, the sheet number, the sheet name, and maybe some other similar information.

Drawings should be rolled up so that the title block can be read while the drawings are still rolled up. It's how we figure out what's in that roll without unrolling the whole thing.

They should be rolled with the drawing side facing out so that when it's time to unroll them, they will lay on the table curly side down. This makes it easier to get the roll to lie flat. Well, flatter than if the sides keep trying to roll back in on each other.

And here's a little known trick for dealing with those pesky drawings that just don't want to lie flat. This may be difficult to understand just reading this text without a diagram, but here goes.


DO NOT try this on fragile drawings or original artwork.

1. Roll the drawings back up inside out from what they had been. So if the drawings had been rolled up with the drawing side out, roll them up with the drawing side facing in.
2. Grab one end of the roll and bang the drawings on a flat surface such as a table. The drawings should land parallel to the table. Do not hit the edge of the table with the roll. It needs to hit the table with a good whack but not one that would cause the drawings to tear or bend. People in the next cubicle over should be able to hear it hit the table.
3. Grab the other end and repeat the same procedure.
4. Unroll the drawings. You should see a difference in how they lie on the table. Stubborn drawings may need a second whopping.

I don't understand how it works but it does.

Meet the Authors

This weekend, I had a chance to go to the Texas Book Festival in Austin. It's a free annual event held at the capitol. The festival is a combination of events ripe for writers, readers and listeners. Within the capitol, there are many sessions to choose from and there is such a variety that it is sometimes difficult to decide what you're willing to miss.

I attended both days, about 6 hours each day. On Saturday, I listened to Kristen Gore, Lynne Cheney, Jenna Bush, Josh Piven and Mark Penn. On Sunday, I listened to Michael Lindsay, Carl Bernstein, Todd Gitlin, Roy Blount Jr., and Douglas Brinkley.

At the end of each session, the speaker/author went to the "signing" tent where you could have them autograph their book (that you bought at the adjacent Barnes & Noble bookstore tent or brought from home).

In most cases, I hadn't planned on buying their book but after listening to them speak and feeling a connection with them, all I could think of was getting their book - and their signature. I did that with Jenna Bush, Mark Penn, Carl Bernstein and Douglas Brinkley. At the bookstore, in the collection of new books, there were already-autographed copies, presumably from a surplus of ones that the author had signed within the last few hours. At any rate, I bought "autographed copies" of books by Lynne Cheney, Josh Piven, and Kay Bailey Hutchison. Kay's speaking session conflicted with another one I went to but I was still very interested in her book (and her autograph).

So, after purchasing all those books, this "free" event cost me over $200. The up side is that I saw and heard the author in person, was greeted by Jenna's Secret Service Agents, told Carl Bernstein that he uses the word "obfuscate" alot, wandered the halls of the capitol, and sat at the desks of two Texas Senators.

Truly, it was two wonderful days in which to experience freedom of speech - in the capital city of the Great State of Texas.


My Saturday Sessions:
Kristen Gore, "Sammy's House"
Lynne Cheney, "Blue Skies, No Fences: A Memoir of Childhood and Family"
Jenna Bush, "Ana's Story"
Josh Piven, "Bad vs. Worse: The Ultimate Guide to Making Lose-Lose Decisions"
Mark Penn, "Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes"

My Sunday Sessions:
Michael Lindsay, "Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite"
Carl Bernstein, "A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton"
Todd Gitlin, "The Bulldozer and the Big Tent: Blind Republicans, Lame Democrats, and the Recovery of American Ideals"
Roy Blount, Jr., "Long Time Leaving: Dispatches from Up South"
Douglas Brinkley, "The Reagan Diaries"

Overheard at the Office, Part 2

Got stressed out people in your office? Check out this gems:


"I had to raise it down."

"Amy's house would be closer but I don't know where she lives."

"The only thing I know about AutoCad is that I don't know."

"Oh yeah. No. It's yeah."

"How does a hobo know?"

"Let's make butter around this station."

"Now, go O.K., okay?"

"Yeah, but once we figure it out, we'll know."

"She can't help it, she's trying to grow big hair quick."

"All I know is that the windows from there to there aren't there."

Overheard at the Office, Part 1

"One of our corporate goals needs to be to stay in business."

"Inspire Excellence. Nobody says inspire mediocrity "

"Just keep telling yourself: I never really cared about the little things."

"All you would have to do is not much to make it awesome."

"The only problem is we can't hit and we can't catch."

"A blurry image is better than total darkness."

"It doesn't matter what you do, someone will get mad."

"He's looking for his next tar pit to get into."

"They changed their brains around." (they changed their minds)

"That's the beauty of the Arabic system. You can always add one more number." (in reference to creating new project numbers)

"The beatings will continue until morale improves."

"Different clients are different."

"When you do something for nothing, they don't get much."

"It's a huge bubble moving through a snake."

"There's nobody with nothing to do."

"I can't speak from personal experience, but I can tell you that childbirth is painful. It's not like having your finger cut off."

"The most logical thing to do is to bring it to an illogical point."

"I can't answer your question right now, I'm busy getting behind on these plans."

"Whatever happens, that's what usually happens."

"The later you wait, the less your two cents is worth."

"Don't make me change this again."

"I'm so overwhelmed, I can't handle anymore surprises."

"Don't eat anything bigger than your head."

"I could do it, but I don't know what to do."

"I'll know as soon as I find out."

"Had they not screwed up, they still would have done it wrong."

"You'd be proud of me, Mom. I saved all my bags."

"I have things to do...I have to get this thing done."

"He says that's the way it is but that's not the way it used to be."

"If everyone would follow the rules, we wouldn't have any cheaters."

"You think you know you have your mind made up but you don't know that you really don't."

"That guy is so mean that anything you throw at him would change course."

"It's like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall."

"It's when I don't know what I'm going to do, that's when I get worried."

"That's going to be tough if you want it to be right."

"I'll explain it to you guys as soon as I figure it out."

"Yeah, yeah, that will work....Oh God, you're not going to do that are you?"

"The simplest thing for me to do at this point is...I don't know what the simplest thing to do is."

"If I were to say, 'thanks', would you say, 'don't dimension it' ? "

"When I don't remember my last thought, that's when I know I've passed out."

"Someday tell me what it was I wanted to know."

"Uh-oh! Our project is due today."

"That's one of the little things that it doesn't take much of."

"I don't think I like that, I know that."

"I'd be more articulate but I'm a little confused myself."

"If you ever find out what I'm supposed to tell you, let me know so I can tell you."

"He's like a fruit basket turned over and ready to go."

"I know that sacred cow. It bellows every time I kick it."

"That's so old I don't think it's new anymore."

"I'd toot my own horn but I don't know the tune."

"The floor plan looks too big for those elevations to be so small."

"Flatness is deceiving."

"I procrastinated for a long time."

"It's like trying to insert the bones back into a boneless chicken."

"We want you to get started, but not right now."

"Those guys are as flaky as a box of Special-K."

" Nobody is TBA's middle name."

"Mums the word but the cat is out of the bag."

"She can't help it. She's trying to grow big hair quick."

How To Be An Effective Project Architect

To be clear, the Project Architect works in an architectural design firm. They are typically licensed by the state in which they practice, though each state's requirements are different.

Effective Project Architects (PA) have a combination of skills and use their right and left brains equally well. They must have a design awareness yet be methodical as an engineer. They must be good listeners, good at delegating and managing people, good at reaching established goals and good at multi-tasking. Technically, they must understand every component of a building, have more than a cursory understanding of the building codes, be competent with computer aided drawing (CAD) and be able to sufficiently explain every decision they have made for their projects.

PAs have to anticipate what is coming next in their project so they prepare near-term goals and make assignment for their team. Not only do they have to feel confident in their work, they must also project that same confidence to their team. This includes the production team, the specification writer, the Principal in Charge, the Project Manager, the engineers, the owner, product vendors, and anyone else who will have contact with them during the course of the project.

There is much, much more to being an effective Project Architect. Look for future postings to continue learning about the role of the Project Architect.

Wuddidja say?

This is not an uncommon question to hear, especially if you talking to someone in Texas. Here are some other things you might hear:

"He's a snake in th' grass and he's pokin' a hole under the tent."

"That dog won't hunt."

"Flat as a fritter."

"Dance with who brung you."

"Smaller than a gnat's eyelid."

"Slicker than snot on a door knob."


More specific to central Texas:

"hook'em"

"gig'em"

"I saw Leslie today."

Employee Reviews: Preparing Yourself

Remember back when you interviewed for this job? Didn’t you prepare for it as if you were selling yourself?

The employee review, assuming that you have them, is your invitation to remind them what they bought. A lot has happened since your interview, including subsequent interviews of other job candidates and people hired after you. No matter how close you think you are to your manager, they don’t remember all the things you do like you do.

Some firms have an evaluation form they want you to fill out and submit prior to the review. Commit to spending quality time with yourself so that you can do a thorough analysis of your performance. Whether these things come up during an employee review or not is not as important as you might think. Going into an employee review with humble confidence can be your greatest asset.

Begin by writing down what tasks you have done and for each one answer these three questions:
1. Who initiated this task? Did someone direct you to do it or is it something you thought up yourself. Both answers speak positively about you. The former being that you followed directions and the latter being that you took initiative.

2. Before you started doing this task, what was it like before? Have there been positive changes because you are the one doing the task instead of someone else? Was there a procedure for it already in place or did you have to create the process yourself? Or are you just plain old good at completing the assignment.

3. What are the results? Did it make other people’s jobs easier? Can they find things now that they couldn’t find before? Can your manager focus on their specialized tasks better because they trust you to take care of it? Even if you haven't thought of it that way before, certainly others are benefitting somehow even if it's just that it's one less thing for them to do.


Consider your review your chance to make a positive impression on the ones you are meeting with. Don't get too hung up on listing goals and figuring out your strengths and weaknesses. Just prepare well and have confidence in yourself!

Admin Support vs The Boss (Why can't we all just get along?)

Administrative Personnel in Design Firms

Office workers who provide administrative support to the professional design staff are in a precarious position.

One of the unfortunate traps many fall into is the slowly creeping transition from being supportive to being indignant. Why does this transformation happen and can it be avoided?

For this we must look at each of the opposing views.

Here’s what the boss is thinking about the Admin Staff:

1. Don’t give me that hurt-puppy look when I point out an error you have made. You said you wanted feedback and now that I’m giving it to you, you can’t take it.

2. Spare me the heavy sighs and the body language that screams indignation when I ask you to run more copies. I have a job to do and so do you, so just do it.

3. You know I have a meeting every Tuesday morning. Why do I have to ask you every week to reserve a conference room and make some coffee for us?

4. If you spent more time filing/typing/copying and less time on the phone/internet/email/text messaging, you’d get a lot more work done.

5. Where were you? I needed you and couldn’t find you anywhere. What? A trip to Starbucks???



Here’s what the Admin Staff is thinking about the boss:

1. Don’t refer to me as “overhead”. Instead of uniting us, it puts us at odds with each other. If you want me to be on your team, call me your co-worker.

2. Be careful with the banter and the “kidding”. After a while, it feels like you are making fun of me and the work I do for you. It doesn’t make me want to be more helpful.

3. Don’t limit my work to just grunt work and take all the glory work for yourself. It limits me on what I can learn plus the other managers in the firm never find out what kind of work I do. When you take those jobs for yourself and present them in a way where you get all the credit and I get none, I feel betrayed.

4. Clearly define what you expect from me. I’m not a mind reader. If I know you have organized a meeting for 60 people but you never tell me you need help with the prep work, don’t expect the chairs, projector, coffee and whiteboard to magically appear.

5. Don’t take credit for my work. I’m the one who stayed late when you had to leave for your soccer game. I’m the one who covered for you when you arrived late. I’m the one that anticipated what you needed. And even if all I did was the typing and formatting for the report, I did that work too and I want credit for it.

6. Stop reminding me that it's cheaper for the company for me to do the work than it is for you to do the work. I realize you are in a higher position of authority and have specialized skills. I actually do understand the profit side and why it makes sense for me to do the copying for you. I don't need the constant reminder that you make more money than me. I'm reminded of that every time I see your vehicle in the parking lot.


Notice what is missing from both sides? Respect. It may have been there in the beginning but it’s gone now. This situation can be resolved but it will take at least three things:

1. cooperation from both sides
2. both individuals must be able to listen to and accept criticism from the other
3. both individuals must recognize their areas of weakness and take responsibility for their actions

This resolution can be initiated by either party. The first step is to tell the other one how you feel and that you want things to change.

Take Back Control of Your Meetings

In an office of college educated design professionals the managers should know and be able to follow the basic rules of meeting etiquette. Surprisingly, many of them do not and it sets a bad example to the rest of the staff. Poorly run meetings can be tiring, demeaning and exhausting.

Our design office typically has 70 to 90 active projects, 40 staff, and 15 project managers. As the scheduling coordinator, it is my job to solicit staffing requests from the project managers, consolidate it into one document, and review it weekly with all the managers. And the principals. And the finance department. This is a high-dollar meeting. We meet every Friday morning to make sure we have assigned the appropriate staff to each project. As leader of the meeting, I continue to be astounded at their lack of skills in the area of meeting etiquette.

Rule Breakers
1. Arriving more than 5 minutes late and announcing to all that they have to leave in 20 minutes
2. Using the meeting as a work-session instead of a reporting session
3. Looking at other papers (contracts, meeting minutes, letters, etc.) that are unrelated to the meeting.
4. Checking their email and sending text messages from their hand held
5. Striking up side bar discussions with the person next to them or worse, with the person sitting across the table from them. And worse than worse is when their cross-conversation is between the leader and the rest of the participants.
6. Heaving a deep sigh when they thought the meeting should be over and asking “Are we done yet?”

All my emails telling them to come prepared, to get there on time and to stay engaged in the meeting were not effective. Some of the people did change their ways but the ones who didn’t want to be told what to do continued to do it their way. And, since they are generally one of my bosses, it was a tricky situation indeed.

These meetings would often drag on for an hour or longer.

The difficulty I had in leading these meetings is that I wasn’t leading the meeting – it was leading me.

When I finally had enough and I didn’t care if I hurt their feelings or interfered with their power plays, I decided to enact some changes. This is what I did and it has been successful ever since.

1. Notify them in advance
I sent out an email the afternoon before the meeting to advise them to expect some changes to our meeting format. It included an agenda based on a 45 minute meeting. The beginning section, 5 minutes long, was for general announcements specific to the upcoming meeting. The middle section, 30 minutes long, was to take care of the bulk of the meeting. The wrap-up section, 10 minutes long, was to make sure that as a group, we had taken care of all projects and all staff.

2. Mentally prepare for the challenge
I visualized what might transpire at the meeting and prepared some phrases that I would use to get the meeting back on track. Being ready to say “that sounds like a topic for further discussion at another time” or “is [your side bar conversation] relevant to the rest of the meeting?” was instrumental in my success.

3. Begin the meeting on time and announce the expectations
Not everyone read my email and even if they did, they might not have taken it seriously. I told them that I would be trying to keep these meetings on track, to start and end on time, and to keep everyone engaged for the duration. I told them that these are the initial guidelines but if they thought we should add to them, to let me know.

4. Keep an eye on the clock
There’s no point in setting this type of agenda if you don’t follow the clock. On the other hand, you don’t want to sacrifice discussions or contributions just to beat the clock.

5. Squelch the sidebar conversations
This had become so routine in our meetings that I felt this would be one of my hardest challenges in regaining control. As soon as I started to hear or see people talking with each other, I started my mental 10-second clock and if they were still talking after 10 seconds, I stopped the main conversation and said, “Just a minute, Joe, there’s another discussion going on at the other end of the table and I want to find out if we need to include their input in what we’re going over with you.” Then, I turned to those two people and asked if what they were talking about was relevant to our other conversation. Most of the time, the answer was no, but there were a few times when it turned out that their side bar really needed to be heard by the rest of the group. This method was very effective, because it let everyone know that we were going to have one meeting at a time and if you tried to have a sub-meeting, I was going to call you on it.

6. Announce the end of the meeting
In the first meeting where I used this stronger approach, we finished right on time. The following week, we finished in a record 25 minutes. By the third week, they were getting more accustomed to the format and came prepared. It is now acceptable for any of them to say, “Can we move this along?” and it not be a personal attack.

Results
Shorter meeting = appreciative co-workers
It’s a win-win for everyone. Even those who used this meeting as a platform for proselytizing their point of view have had to find another venue to find a captive audience.

Beach Web Cams

PACIFIC OCEAN
Choshi, Chiba, Japan
http://www.grandhotel-isoya.co.jp/main/livecam/javaview.html
From this hotel, 50 miles east of Tokyo, you can watch the sunrise. Although it's a clear image during the day, pre-dawn images are more difficult to see because of the reflection in the glass. Even if you don't understand the language, try clinking on some of the links because some of them have photos of the hotel and the beach. Sunrise in Japan is about 3pm Central Daylight Time.


Santa Cruz, California, USA
http://www.ci.santa-cruz.ca.us/pr/wharf/index.html
This is a streaming beach web cam aimed at an area known by the local surfers as "Steamer Lane". Although you really don't get to see the beach with this web cam, you are getting the view you would see if you were on Main Beach in Santa Cruz. Way past this is an incredibly deep trench called "Monterey Canyon". I'm thinking they don't have a beach web cam for that.

Tauranga Harbor, New Zealand
http://www.citynews.co.nz/webcams/yacht/


GULF OF MEXICO
Port Aransas, Texas, USA
http://www.thedunescondos.com/cam.cfm
With this beach web cam you can really see how the waves are continuosly rolling up on the beaches in Texas. The web cam is mounted at the top of one of the many condos on the beach. I wish this beach web cam would let you see more of the sand so you could see the vehicles driving on the beach.


ATLANTIC OCEAN
Cape Cod Canal, Massachusetts, USA
http://www.maritime.edu/l2.cfm?page=88
Technically not the Atlantic Ocean, this is the canal that allows ships a shorter passage from the Boston area to New York and further south. So it's not really a beach web cam because you can't see any beaches from this web cam. But, the area around the canal is full of beaches and when I find a good beach web cam of a Cape Cod beach I like, I'll add that link too.

Eastham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA
http://www.morebeach.com/Cape_Cod_Beach_Cam.html
This is a really nice beach web cam because you can see the beach, the dunes, and the walkway. Their website also has a very nice map of the cape with all the towns labeled. Wood's Hole is where you take the ferry to Martha's Vineyard. Craigsville Beach is a nice public beach and the water is warmer than at East Sandwich beach. You would think the shallow waters of Cape Cod Bay would allow the water to warm up, but actually it's the Gulf Stream that helps warm the waters along the southern part of the cape.

Chatham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA
http://www.telecamsystems.com/outermost/index.htm
One thing I like about this beach cam is that they have saved the last photo taken during daylight and you can zoom in, pan left, or pan right. It's really a harbor cam, not a beach web cam, but I bet if you watched it long enough, you would see the high and low tides.

Carolina Beach, North Carolina, USA
http://www.hotwaxsurfshop.com/mall/atlanticsurf.asp
If you're looking for beach web cams, a great place to start is with surfer's websites. They have their beach web cams pointed at the surf so you can get a feel for the wind strength and cloud conditions. If I remember, I'll come back to this beach web cam next time they have a hurricane warning because this area gets hit alot.

Boston, Massachusetts, USA
http://www.hazecam.net/boston.html
This web cam gives a beautiful look at Boston Harbor.


Sun Cam
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/sun_cam.html
Finally...a web cam that works no matter what time zone you're in!

Not a web cam, but helpful when you want to find out if the sun is out at the web cam you're looking at!
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/sunearth.html

Traffic Cam
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
http://www.masspike.com/traffic_cameras/trafficcams.html