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If you have the money, try this 😉
http://www.maingear.com/custom/desktops/quantumshift/index.php

I checked out the E31 and I would avoid buying that model because of the lack of a dedicated graphics card and it’s an i3. You should at least have an i5 or Xeon processor and I would recommend getting a Quadro card or a high-end gaming card (Quadro…[Read more]

For me: the field has it’s ups and downs. At times, I really like what I do and am excited about my projects while at other times, I wonder “why do I even bother”. But honestly, the positive experiences outweigh the negatives….I’d say 90:10…with the 90 being the positive.
I was a degree change student: my BS was in Biomedical Science (a…[Read more]

Not ones to ask…but two of my most memorable:
1. (background: 1st job interview out of college…never having worked in an l.a. office) I was asked if I had ever “put together CD’s”. My mind froze and all I could think of were music CD’s. Of course, I said that I had “put together several”…not having a clue what he meant but “knowing” that “…[Read more]

Great! It sounds like you’ll be at a booth. If so, which one? I’ll stop by and say hello!

I was there last summer and my feet haven’t recovered yet!

I visited Spain earlier this summer.  In Madrid, I enjoyed the Royal Botanical Garden (near the Prado Museum) and Retiro Park.  There are many great little squares and parks through out the city, take a bike tour.  I liked the art center called Matadero Madrid–a complex of buildings with contemporary arts, film, dance, with art installations in…[Read more]

Paris is great for just the Tuileries, the Champs Elysee, Notre Dame and the Louvre, the Rodin Museum and the Sant Chapelle, most stained glass ever attempted and stayed standing. Stay at small hotels close to the Champs Elysee, and you can walk to it all, get a lovely cafe au lait for breakfast, and walk walk walk all day..
Then head to Sevilla…[Read more]

Vaux le Vicomte (short train ride to Melun, then a cab from the station to the chateau) Canal du Midi (before they finish cutting all those plane trees down), Parc des Buttes Chaumont (Paris – read Beth Meyer’s essay ‘The Public Park as Avant Garde’ comparing Buttes-Chaumont and de la Villette before going), Parc de la Villette.  Alhambra…[Read more]

Paris is great both for the traditional formal French landscapes and for more contemporary ones such as the Musée du Quai Branly,(http://www.quaibranly.fr/en/musee/areas/the-garden.html)

I was in Paris a couple of years ago in early September.  We signed up for a couple of different bike tours not being familiar with the city.  I found the bike tour of Paris and the tour of Versailes to be very entertaining.  The trip out to Versailes was nice because you are able to bike through the town of Versailes out toward the Palace and wi…[Read more]

I’ll be there, stop in and say hi!

I recently had a similar discussion with two LAs, one a professor and one in practice. They both talked about the need for good writing skills The professor said writing comprises roughly 70% of our daily activities, from email to proposals. So, if no writing sample is included in the portfolio, you could ask for a short descriptive paragraph, or…[Read more]

I’ll just add this. I’ve been out of school since ’74. I worked for 15+ years where everything was hand drawn.
In the early 90’s I had to learn cad or I would not be able to do projects with A/E firms in the area…so, old dog, new trick…it was difficult at first but later I caught on and now do a fair job with it.
Now, I still hand draw all m…[Read more]

The sarcasm apparently didn’t translate.

Or maybe buy a tablet so you can hand draw on the computer?
 

I believe the only way to solve this computers vs hand drawing debate that seems to surface anytime anybody mentions or insinuates anything about computers is to change this internet discussion forum into a chain letter.  We can all be pen pals!

It’s really unfortunate, but a few firms cling to this really inappropriate way to handle plotting.
Color based plotting works great for the AEC industry, and most firms use that, with CTB files to correlate a layer color to a plot thickness. It’s elegant and it works. Meanwhile, Named Plot Styles were developed for those in the Mechanical,…[Read more]

imo, dont let this prevent you to apply for this job, unless its a draftsman’s position. It’s one of these kind of skills you learn on the spot, by doing it. We all must learn new skills continuously in this profession.

You can grab the concept in a few hours, and use it ‘fluently’ in a project or two. Try practicing it now at home on your CAD…[Read more]

Hah, I knew those existed but didn’t know what they were called. Thanks!

There are cad standards for layer names.  The AIA list is probably the most recognized of all versions out there.  But knowing more than a few layer names requires experience using that standard.
http://www.cadinstitute.com/download/pdf/AIA%20Layer%20Standards.pdf
Where I work, the cad layers are predefined in the template file, but it doesn’t m…[Read more]