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BZ– I’m pretty sure the states run the insurance, so it varies.  It usually costs more when you start out and gets less expensive after you have been around for a year or two–insurance companies like to have a track record.  E&O insurance is a specialty, but any insurance agent should be able to give a referral. 
It sound like you have positi…[Read more]

From your post, it seems like you are ready to draw the line of dignity. Clearly your mental health is being affected and therefore you should seek other options which will help you feel better about your day. I would try to ask them for a timeframe when you can expect your salary to return to its original level, and start to hunt for other…[Read more]

The thought of going out on my own is absolutely tantalizing at this point. Truth be told, i’ve been dreaming about it for well over a year now. I took a small business management course at a local college to learn about writing a business plan, how much start up capital i would need (not a terribly whole lot, compared to other types of…[Read more]

Thanks, Mark.  I get it now.

Well, maybe I’m wrong about the unemployment thing.
 
I thought that you could not be self employed while collecting unemployment, but maybe it’s that you cant collect unemployment benefits from self employment? Dont know. I know that you can get part time unemployment.
 
As far as expenditures–I think a lot of people think they need more than t…[Read more]

Right on, if a company doesn’t give you health insurance then that’s a huge deciding factor.  Especially if you have kids.  
I’m not sure there are ‘ways around’ costly expenditures though.  As a business expense you won’t be taxed on it but you still have to pay for it in some fashion. 
I looked into the legal aspects of starting your own busin…[Read more]

I am in that boat, I have had my own business for about 5 years.. so there is no unemployment benefit.  It’s sink or swim right now and I do not turn down much…Need your piano moved? I just reluctantly paid for E and O insurance for another year but it is a tough economy no doubt.
 

Keith,
 
You make some good points and generally I agree, but how can you mention obtaining legal copies of CAD and utilizing unemployment benefits to start your own firm in the same breath? Using unemployment when you are technically self-employed is illegal, though I realize the reality is that many professionals are doing this.
 
There are w…[Read more]

The more I think about this the more I think it would be absolutely asinine to quit a job in this field in this economic climate.  If you get laid off you can think about starting your own firm.  I know people that are using unemployment to help them get their business going.  But quitting a job means no unemployment.  Can you afford to buy a plo…[Read more]

I agree Jason. ‘Design Restraint’ is an important skill that I think comes with experience.
 
I agree completely that there is an underlying ‘style’ or ‘unity’ to their body of work, whether they like it or not. I picked it up on my own, so obviously it’s there. I like a lot of their work too by the way.
 
As far as a unifying theme to field o…[Read more]

I suppose I never intended to proclaim the entire body of Field Ops/Corner’s work as superior to everything else. I was really just trying to comment based on the context of the article. That is to say those who are labled as landscape urbanists are producing stuff that I really find compelling. I didn’t mean to get pigeonholed into being some sor…[Read more]

Think Troy is Bad come to Utica! where I am from haha I love Keene Valley best small town/area!!

They are only left to die if we leave them to die. Where do you live/work/shop?

Jonathon,
The info you requested is on my folio page –“my pictures” (I couldn’t get it to size appropriately here). 
I also included some photos of  material options to timbers which we have done.  There is an explanation of all on my comment wall.  Let me know when you have seen them, so I can take them down (especially the embarassing sect…[Read more]

ok, I admit defeats on Olin, since my perspective is from Hanna/Olin days, and also “classical’ is really not the right word..
design restraint is better..to describe their work as I know it..Are you guys saying there is no unity to their body of work, as their is to Frank Gehry’s ?(for example)
I geuss that is what I am looking for in Field Op -…[Read more]

“At the heart of the landscape urbanist agenda is the notion that the most important part of city planning is not the arrangement of buildings, but the natural landscape upon which those buildings stand.”
Actually, the arrangement of buildings in a city is extremely important, not only for people, but also for ecological processes. Obviously, o…[Read more]

works great on my BB curve

I too have met both David Rubin and Laurie Olin several times. They certainly do not have a  strictly”classical” style, but tend to get they types projects that warrant it. Design retraint is an important skill to learn. Their current Canal Park project in DC is certainly not traditional.

Jason,  it came in on my BB Storm just fine. 
 
Jonathan

I met david rubin a couple of years ago at CSU where he gave a lecture. He is the newest principal of Olin. I came to the conclusion on my own that if Olin has a style it is ‘classical or traditional.’ I asked Rubin about this and he vehemently denied having a style, especially that one…for what its worth.