Activity

I like that attitude! You are absolutely right! The most valuable activity a designer can do is travel. And anything done to feed oneself outside the profession will pay off in spades when you find what you learned is aplicable to so many other problems.

Do well doing good.

I guess its just about different circumstances and a different attitud about life. First of all, I have no family to feed, no car payments, no mortgage, and yes i pay the bare minimum on thousands of dollars of student loans every month. However, I also spent the last 2 years saving my pennies to afford this trip. Like Jessi I had to make…[Read more]

I’m not sure many cities do give away GIS data, but it’s not uncommon in my experience to ask nicely an dget free data for nonprofit/academic purposes. GISdatadepot.com and the USGS Seamless map server sites have a plethora of free data including demographics and dems.

Like I said before, if I wasnt at working full time I’d pursue this a lot more…[Read more]

AutoCad with LandFX, Sketchup for 3D, Photoshop for Image Manipulation and color-up work.

it was interesting taking a look at the city in google earth, including the panaramio images. looks fine.
but a tour around in google streetview is eye opening.

the city masterplan is interesting, not especially earth…[Read more]

Nice Chad, I was wondering about open source alt’s.. I had switched to Ubuntu not long ago, but my archaic Dell couldn’t even handle all the GUI bells & whistles I preferred, so I (unfortunately & reluctantly) switched back to Windows XP. Do you find that those programs play nicely with .PSD’s, .DWG’s, etc? Just wondering HOW seamless it is..…[Read more]

For me, there was an arrangement with the welding company that taught me, so I received a little income that way. And, I’m an avid saver! Also, I’ve done some freelance work around my neighborhood. On top of that, I canceled my cable, downgraded my internet and cell phone packages, started biking instead of driving, and learned to be thrifty. I’m…[Read more]

If I were unemployed and could not get a job within the profession, I’d still need to feed my family. I’d be learning the phrase “would you like fries with that, sir?” long before I’d be travelling the world or volunteering for anything. How do you people pay your bills, never mind afford trips to exotic places?

Thank you so much Richard. My e-mail address is elizabeth@mcfallblackburn.com.

I do quite a bit of planting design for contractors, and Land F/X is simply awesome. It works seamlessly w/AutoCAD.

Jessi, I think this is a great discussion! I have been traveling through Latin America since June. Although most of the time I was just traveling and learning about new cultures, I also had the chance to do a good amount of volunteer work, teach, and also improve my Spanish quite a bit. For me, it has actually been a pretty amazing year!

Rhino. Maya is a great program but the learning curve is fairly steep.

I’m now on my own, after working for small firms for years. I’m well versed in AutoCAD, but think it is WAY too cumbersome for the needs of an LA. I’m switching (& very seamlessly, I might add) to VectorWorks. It has all of the tools, but not too many of the extras we won’t ever use. It also has a great setup for material quans/pricelists, plant &…[Read more]

Well i’m just starting out (on the testing…not the industry) so really anything you’re willing to part with….
Taking A B & D in September…hopefully….

I have learned a dozen beatles songs on the guitar, sketched, slept till 8am everyday, exercised, read, have become the domestic servant (i am tired of dishes), visited family, and continue to pound the job search daily.

I’ll start the ball rolling:

Since being unemployed, I’ve found profound fulfillment in my volunteer work that I’ve done at a nursing home while also taking the time to learn how to weld, which is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I’ve also learned how to crochet, make lace, bake, cook, and have reorganized my pathetic little apartment…[Read more]