https://land8.com/members/chriswhitted/activity/ Activity feed for Chris Whitted. Mon, 06 Apr 2026 22:39:39 +0000 https://buddypress.org/?v=6.0.0 en-US 30 hourly 2 d5a5ecb98b36fea1764887eaa07bdf28 https://land8.com/forums/topic/finding-up-public-work/#post-152576 Thu, 24 Jul 2014 17:18:24 +0000 To offer a counter point, many of the firms (LA/Planning/Engineering) around here had a very high percentage of private clients. The ‘crash’ happened, and of course places started closing left and right. As things began to recover, I spoke with several different firms and noticed a common trend. Those that were still in business either had one or…[Read more]

]]> 0 dc58c95c4da3cf57e049e5b1df261806 http://land8.com/forums/topic/downtown-gateway-feature/#post-152626 Mon, 30 Jun 2014 18:21:03 +0000 Your example is obviously at least five lanes, but I can easily see it hitting half to three-quarters of a million for a three lane version. The biggest wildcard I think would be the amount of custom metalwork.
Back in 2007 or so I worked on what was essentially a higher-end ranch gate – masonry (stone) column bases with wing walls, and timbers fo…[Read more]

]]> 0 72b990187a5ff8325d726f0b95886183 http://land8.com/forums/topic/technical-writing-examples-for-job-applications/#post-152654 Sat, 24 May 2014 19:33:27 +0000 When I first graduated and was looking for writing samples, I pulled from a couple of sources depending on whether they gave any kind of example as to what they were looking for. I wrote a tech column for the campus paper one semester, had the pro-practice proposal Wyatt mentions, some narrative/description documentation from various projects…[Read more]

]]> 0 ee20bdda765c81d8eff41928aad9c965 https://land8.com/forums/topic/is-a-project-management-professional-pmp-credential-worth-it/#post-153526 Wed, 11 Dec 2013 21:23:33 +0000 I’ve seen it hold more weight/advantage outside the LA profession than in, unless you’re talking some of the much larger and multidisciplinary firms.  Since it’s a generalist sort of thing (ie, applies to any industry) it can also help transitioning to another job or career.  That said, if you’re interested, have the time and opporunity, and e…[Read more]

]]> 0 4e5b81c562026cf445833cbc3db556e3 https://land8.com/forums/topic/seeking-autocad-help-resources-that-cater-to-landscape-architects/#post-153661 Tue, 05 Nov 2013 20:43:47 +0000 What you’re going to find (and sounds like you already have) is that there is no one right way to do construction docs.  There are no standards.  Or rather there are, but they’re not a one size fits all solution and nobody follows all of them.  Every office is going to do things a little bit different; some of them will have very detailed and ri…[Read more]

]]> 0 66d9c31183e455063947b6d142d9e228 https://land8.com/forums/topic/what-subject-can-a-landscape-architect-major-have-a-minor-in/#post-153686 Sun, 27 Oct 2013 20:04:04 +0000 Your options are pretty much limitless, depending on how YOU can make them relevant to the field, and what it is you want to do.  I had minors in computer science and Native American studies; I’ve used both in LA, though not necessarily on a regular basis.
That said, I agree with Toby that business would be a really good one.  Horticulture, fi…[Read more]

]]> 0 e6e80e960d6a83c9df5c8e00d378e0ca https://land8.com/forums/topic/securing-your-data-portable-drive-option-any-feedback/#post-153740 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 19:25:18 +0000 You are correct, I defaulted to expectations of a typical US firm when it comes to computer security.  There are a lot of smaller firms that operate in sort of the same way you describe (ie, no computer security with access levels and permissions and such).  With administrator rights on a machine, you would have the ability to install whatever p…[Read more]

]]> 0 b11dee21a701555f26c9a8e4cf41fb4c https://land8.com/forums/topic/securing-your-data-portable-drive-option-any-feedback/#post-153743 Thu, 24 Oct 2013 17:48:34 +0000 You can’t lock the workstation, but they’ll let you install programs to it?
The first problem I see with your current tool, in the minute I spent looking at the link, is that I don’t see any real security there.  My system is set to show hidden folders, so flagging one as hidden will do nothing for you.  Also, it does not appear to provide any e…[Read more]

]]> 0 855cdbb8fd11ebfa111c81d5a38a735b http://land8.com/forums/topic/correct-initials-for-a-licensed-landscape-architect/page/2/#post-153932 Mon, 07 Oct 2013 19:02:51 +0000 Bottom line, there is no ‘correct’ set of initials.  The two most common are R(egistered)LA and P(racticing)LA.  The only way there would be a correct set is if your state’s title/practice act spells it out, and most don’t.  I started a thread on this a while back and one of the responses is very in de…[Read more]

]]> 0 d828decc5c666db56681d6bd7ae108a6 https://land8.com/forums/topic/non-uniform-block-detection/#post-154077 Tue, 24 Sep 2013 20:04:17 +0000 I don’t have a lisp routine, but I do have a couple of ideas.
Are the plant blocks the only ones in the file (ie, are you getting a false positive from a non-plant block)?  Does the total number bcount result equal the data extraction result?  Are all of the blocks on one layer, or do they contain multiple layers themselves (thinking of ways to i…[Read more]

]]> 0 97c58bb1fc4ce683e3fb1d685725d30e https://land8.com/forums/topic/iphoto-alternative-for-imac/#post-154249 Fri, 30 Aug 2013 19:02:41 +0000 Since you haven’t gotten any other responses yet, maybe Adobe Lightroom?  Or Bridge if you’re already using the Creative Suite.  Are these images you’re shooting yourself or coming from outside sources?

]]> 0 20ea4d3254e1c3bb774c206fb7be87c3 http://land8.com/forums/topic/employer-wont-give-me-permission-to-use-any-of-the-work-ive-done-here/page/2/#post-154235 Fri, 30 Aug 2013 18:53:12 +0000 Your current employer sounds sketchy to me.  My response to why it’s important would be that as a professional in this field it’s important to maintain a record of my work, period.  It doesn’t matter if I’m looking right now or not, maintaining a portfolio simply comes with the territory.  A lot/most people tend to do it only in job search mod…[Read more]

]]> 0 4ae66509684be42e3372e0c42a3ab6fa https://land8.com/forums/topic/landscape-architecture-jokes/#post-175315 Fri, 07 Jun 2013 19:48:45 +0000 I’ve never heard it as reference to LAs, just types of engineers.  It first came to me as:
“An electrical, a mechanical and a civil engineer all sat down one day to try and decide what kind of an engineer God must be.
The Electrical Engineer said: “God must be an electrical engineer. You only have to look at the complex nervous system powered by…[Read more]

]]> 0 fac22946baa6ee6b736ad651cad85516 https://land8.com/forums/topic/autocad-full-path-vs-relative-path/#post-154892 Thu, 06 Jun 2013 20:38:05 +0000 I’ve always used relative.  It’s more for my (our) benefit than anyone else’s, as it allows relocating/renaming a file/project without breaking xref links so long as you preserve the folder/path structure. It really depends on your file management practices.  Bottom line, it doesn’t really matter unless you’re running into a problem on a re…[Read more]

]]> 0 6842af8e2c09097d5a52003a25059850 https://land8.com/forums/topic/admissions-prep-first-professional-mlarch/#post-154953 Sat, 01 Jun 2013 18:18:54 +0000 You might also take a look at this thread if you haven’t already:
https://land8.com/forum/topics/portfolio-for-entry-to-mla-programme

]]> 0 a4a9a50511ca28c8a0fafa350aee1162 https://land8.com/forums/topic/2-year-mla-programs-for-a-student-with-a-pre-professional-landscape-arch-degree/#post-155178 Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:09:50 +0000 I’m a little fuzzy on exactly what you’re asking.  The purpose of accreditation is to ensure that graduates meet a certain competency level – they’ve been exposed to a core set of skills and knowledge that is necessary to be an LA.  If your B is accredited, then you’ve got that.  If it hasn’t, then you may or may not meet those requirements, an…[Read more]

]]> 0 c6b390d74283f9a66d3c7f5f10520b77 https://land8.com/forums/topic/cad-practice-test-for-potential-employees/#post-155186 Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:50:04 +0000 I suppose the question is whether you’re looking to hire someone with little or no experience, such as a recent grad, someone with at least a few years who should know how to run CAD, or someone who has been a project manager or higher for some time and may not have worked with CAD on a regular basis for a while.  In my opinion, testing is not t…[Read more]

]]> 0 cd2033164033c2b4d97880c258524489 https://land8.com/forums/topic/autocad-to-sketchup-importing-issue/#post-155218 Sun, 14 Apr 2013 19:04:41 +0000 I have no direct experience with that issue, but a quick search finds the following:
http://support.google.com/sketchup/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=38578
In particular the section under the beige box.

]]> 0 649971f00aa8fc5a31faf5e1fba23bc7 https://land8.com/forums/topic/which-is-the-best-software-for-town-planning/#post-155221 Sat, 13 Apr 2013 19:57:06 +0000 Interesting that you’re running across Vectorworks in job postings.  I haven’t seen so much of that, whereas I’m not sure I’ve seen one yet that didn’t have SketchUp on the list.  Depending on if you need a smooth terrain or stepped, and (again) what level of the program you have access too, Sketchup can do terrain models fairly easily.  See th…[Read more]

]]> 0 8fe5e6ada51ceeda4286eeffd4446193 https://land8.com/forums/topic/which-is-the-best-software-for-town-planning/#post-155224 Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:15:36 +0000 Depending on which version of AutoCAD you’re working with (ie anything other than Civil 3D), yes a terrain model is going to be a challenge.  And depending on your license level (what extensions you have available) then ArcGIS may have its own challenges, but there is absolutely no reason you would not be able to display houses as accurately in…[Read more]

]]> 0 7bc6f354b84bcaffe26721a4a4d0142d https://land8.com/forums/topic/city-or-firm-employment-which-is-better/#post-155245 Fri, 05 Apr 2013 20:27:21 +0000 It’s definitely going to depend on the city and what role their LA’s play.  Are they strictly code review/authoring?  Are they within a department that uses them for design like parks?  Is the role primarily for overseeing design contracts that are bid out to firms?  Is it a public role or a behind the scenes position?  In my area I’ve seen extr…[Read more]

]]> 0 a52d1a0bc5a6d5a99dbfebd6fdcb8a31 https://land8.com/forums/topic/best-time-of-year-for-the-profession/#post-155276 Sat, 30 Mar 2013 17:03:14 +0000 It really depends on the area of practice.  There are opportunities year-round, but I’ve always heard and observed through numbers of job postings that late winter/early spring is the peak of hiring as most firms are busiest over the summer since that’s when most construction happens.  From about Thanksgiving to New Year’s is usually pretty dead b…[Read more]

]]> 0 46e9236d7c8aaf0e1ad433869d03c344 https://land8.com/forums/topic/entry-level-intern-landscape-designer/#post-155353 Sun, 24 Mar 2013 19:58:02 +0000 Again, pay rates would vary significantly based on geographic region.  I wouldn’t expect to be salaried, rather hourly (and with overtime, but that’s a whole other employment law issue).  I can’t give you any numbers with a real backing.  I did mine more than ten years ago, and I made $10 an hour.  Right now I would expect anything between tha…[Read more]

]]> 0 05a2b259e8030c1847cffaece86455f1 https://land8.com/forums/topic/entry-level-intern-landscape-designer/#post-155355 Sat, 23 Mar 2013 20:09:11 +0000 I’m going to have to at least partially disagree with both of you on this one.  It’s true I’ve been out of school (at least my LA degree) for a while and a lot of things have changed, but so far as I know an internship is still an internship and there are both paid and unpaid ones out there.  In fact, while I’ve never heard of one for LA yet (…[Read more]

]]> 0 1268f2fdb418cb8bf243565c1ecbbd2b https://land8.com/forums/topic/any-kind-of-book-for-project-a-terrain-footbal-stadiums/#post-155376 Sat, 16 Mar 2013 19:28:25 +0000 Were I to hazard a guess, I’d say he’s asking about turf options for sporting fields.  Soccer, specifically.

]]> 0 e7fd8f3b62756a22a1827c920f565290 https://land8.com/forums/topic/construction-document-resources-for-la-on-cad/#post-155448 Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:22:28 +0000 Are you trying to learn detailing, which is only a part of cds?  Are you trying to learn construction documentation for LA in general?  Or are you trying to learn specifically how to use AutoCAD to generate cds? Those three questions have very different answers.
There are a lot of resources on detailing out there.  Depending on the type of fi…[Read more]

]]> 0 5142061cc9e60b92fe2248cbeb3cd113 https://land8.com/forums/topic/asla-resume-posting/#post-155497 Tue, 26 Feb 2013 22:17:21 +0000 My experience differs from Roland’s, which may be a geographical thing or any of a host of other reasons.  But only once (twice?) was I ever contacted in the few times (and several months in total) I had a resume posted on ASLA over the years, and it was by a headhunter, not an actual firm or LA.  As a non-member, no it is absolutely not worth t…[Read more]

]]> 0 d5951a65873b8aeafbfcb2c9813db19a https://land8.com/forums/topic/1st-year-bla-student-second-guessing-choice-in-landscape-arch/page/2/#post-155993 Wed, 05 Dec 2012 18:48:19 +0000 Find someone who does what you want to do and talk to them.  Are they an engineer, landscape architect, or planner?  Or something else?  Do the people you think do what you think you want to do actually do it, or do they just manage it?  Is there enough of that kind of work to have a reasonable chance of getting into it, or unless you’re ‘per…[Read more]

]]> 0 9fac6a4b91b7623efc48e4822eec77bb https://land8.com/forums/topic/have-you-seen-the-la-tee-shirt-w-the-stupid-slogan/page/2/#post-155963 Wed, 05 Dec 2012 18:20:22 +0000 Sounds very similar to a shirt I was given that was created by the student ASLA chapter of a particular school for the 2011-12 year.  The front reads “Yes, I am a Landscape Architect.” while the back says “No, I will not do your back yard.”  I’m not sure which thought came first – wondering if they had any concept of the current job climate in ou…[Read more]

]]> 0 62fb4bb5217d3dd579c23656387080df https://land8.com/forums/topic/liability-awareness/#post-156181 Wed, 21 Nov 2012 01:17:11 +0000 I’m afraid professional liability seems to be one of those taboo subjects.  Nobody ever wants to discuss it in specifics, unless related to a code or design potential and then only in vague terms.
From what little I’ve gathered over the years, you’re looking for a lawyer.  I’ve been given the impression that most liability insurance providers e…[Read more]

]]> 0 bff3cb592b994adcf8730d0d432a0be5 https://land8.com/forums/topic/landscape-architecture-specifically-themed-entertainment/#post-156081 Sun, 18 Nov 2012 21:22:46 +0000 Rob obviously has more direct contact with/knowledge of those in the field than the rest of us, or at least those who are LAs in that field.  As he says, “depending on which part of the industry you’re aiming at” because to my mind there are a lot of other ways into what it seems like you want to do (the architects and set designers and e…[Read more]

]]> 0 b3e607b79e2d48e40b6117014d8981cf https://land8.com/forums/topic/landscape-architecture-specifically-themed-entertainment/#post-156086 Fri, 16 Nov 2012 21:22:43 +0000 Yes, there are some programs that are more science/practice oriented and some more design/process oriented – Purdue vs Ball State for example.  It’s actually a fairly common division among programs and may or may not be indicated by which school/college the program is in, though that’s a starting point.  You may also want to consider e…[Read more]

]]> 0 a5fdb075d5fb3798186a3960aff25059 https://land8.com/forums/topic/cadd-fence-linetype-issues/#post-156140 Wed, 07 Nov 2012 21:06:49 +0000 Assuming you set the TSPACEFAC variable back to the default 1 and that didn’t fix it, check the text style and/or font used in the linetype definition.  It’s possible the style or font is different in one of the two files.  If the second file came from someone else, the linetype saved in the file may be differently defined but named the same as…[Read more]

]]> 0 6346f909ba0daceafc4721cce9585c16 https://land8.com/forums/topic/feng-shui-and-landscape-architecture/#post-156194 Sun, 21 Oct 2012 21:47:28 +0000 I did, but it was ten years ago when I was just starting out and I don’t recall all that much detail.  The project was a car dealership renovation involving both architectural expansion/redesign and some landscape/display features.  I know we met with her once, but I don’t really remember her having any real feedback or changes for our de…[Read more]

]]> 0 e95a4a0386b542277a0a35be1314c3f9 http://land8.com/forums/topic/at-a-crossroads/#post-156266 Wed, 10 Oct 2012 20:06:28 +0000 Not from what I’ve seen.  As many or more civils around here were out of a job and offices closed as there were LAs.  And most of the civil-with-an-LA places I contacted in neighboring states were the same.  I think it has more to do with area of practice; civils and LAs are very similar in that they both have many fields of operation.  If you…[Read more]

]]> 0 0168c347f8cc79d81e260d74d6d5cd34 https://land8.com/forums/topic/best-computer-processor-for-autocadsketchup/#post-156312 Mon, 01 Oct 2012 21:09:00 +0000 Actually, comparing GHz between Intel and AMD or even between different processor designs (particularly differing numbers of cores) as a direct number is like comparing apples and oranges – they may both be fruit/speed, but they’re not the same thing.  Intel has a more efficient processor architecture currently, and can out-perform a same or e…[Read more]

]]> 0 96a864370f220faa45dcab0218d49089 https://land8.com/forums/topic/tell-us-something-we-already-didnt-know/#post-156340 Fri, 21 Sep 2012 23:03:53 +0000 Not to white-knight for ASLA or anything, but they did do at least a couple of things to try to help members.  There was a dues-relief program for at least a couple of years (not sure how long it lasted) during which they waived annual dues entirely for members facing ‘economic hardship’.  They also eliminated fees for posting your resume on the s…[Read more]

]]> 0 4c9153934f7252d90fc6b1c08d136db4 https://land8.com/forums/topic/is-this-landscape-architectures-finest-moment/#post-156432 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 21:54:42 +0000 “the chasm between what landscape architects think they do and what the majority of them actually do has been very deep. Until now.”
Is this true?  Am I in some tiny minority who has always recognized that they can’t all be grand, showy, award-winning projects?
From year one of school I was always told, and my experiences since have supported, th…[Read more]

]]> 0 840ca2dbdd01a017c41457ff1c23f562 https://land8.com/forums/topic/you-work-to-live-live-to-work/#post-156492 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 21:48:04 +0000 Let me start with I am neither currently employed or left to support a family.
It’s a well-written blog post but personally I find nothing new there.  His thoughts align much with my own, though our experiences have been a little different.  I’m not sure anyone makes it through an LA program and into the job market without hearing about long h…[Read more]

]]> 0 31784a5333b3cdc3c0a250a4f4103717 https://land8.com/forums/topic/nerds-in-the-landscape-how-does-lar-respond-to-a-tech-culture/#post-156815 Wed, 15 Aug 2012 19:04:01 +0000 For those of you who don’t get ASLA’s DIRT emailed to you, this appeared in my inbox today and I have to say exemplifies the first thought I had when this thread originally popped up.
http://dirt.asla.org/2012/08/14/a-natural-wi-fi-station-in-paris/
I’d also like to offer an observation or two regarding National Parks (and other goverment managed…[Read more]

]]> 0 f4c055cc9ff978b73f2337de00b67a40 https://land8.com/forums/topic/what-does-it-mean-when/#post-156755 Tue, 07 Aug 2012 19:50:26 +0000 Not applying to a job twice shouldn’t ever be an obvious thing unless you didn’t really want it in the first place.  As landplanner said, any one of your questions could be a valid reason for a reposting, some more likely than others.  I personally know of instances where:
a) they were set to hire and a major project/client fell apart taking the w…[Read more]

]]> 0 723d90c21fb50d77ad49d28f539f043b https://land8.com/forums/topic/design-build-course-as-graduate-project/#post-156801 Tue, 31 Jul 2012 20:19:52 +0000 This wasn’t uncommon at the college I attended, but with less build and more design.  Many times both grads and undergrads would do something based in the real world that mostly ended up as information/alternatives given to the ‘client’.  I recall our entire studio doing some community park work, including facilitating a public involvement s…[Read more]

]]> 0 33efbb64dec21924939244962f5e55d1 https://land8.com/forums/topic/integration-of-schedules-registers-across-platforms/#post-156883 Thu, 26 Jul 2012 19:20:51 +0000 I don’t know about ‘seamless’, nor do I know how well the current versions are working, but I use an add-on called AutoXlsTable.  In my version (2.53) it’s not completely automatic – you do have to click a tool and then the table to update it.  But it’s fast, easy enough to use once you get the parameters down, and worked very well for the land us…[Read more]

]]> 0 81c521ce190455810efda1e3a7051ead https://land8.com/forums/topic/statute-of-limitations-in-va/#post-157298 Sat, 09 Jun 2012 18:52:53 +0000 I am not a lawyer, but I do not believe the people you spoke to were correct.  I would highly recommend asking someone with the proper legal expertise for that state, possibly your insurance provider.
One thing that might help is the term you’re looking for isn’t ‘statute of limitations’ but rather ‘statute of repose’.  Generally it looks like in…[Read more]

]]> 0 28bebe7e1fd1a24816dade821b243cfa https://land8.com/forums/topic/image-quality-when-saving-indesign-doc-as-pdf-interactive-vs-pdf-print/#post-157530 Tue, 22 May 2012 19:52:09 +0000 On the contrary, there’s a huge difference between those two images – the second shows a great deal of jpeg artifacting from high levels of compression.
Looking at the first image being set to maximum, my first thought is it looks like a broken link in InDesign. When you link as opposed to insert an image it still places a small, low-resolution…[Read more]

]]> 0 b3720c5ad66bc78b8196a0d99a28c659 https://land8.com/forums/topic/image-quality-when-saving-indesign-doc-as-pdf-interactive-vs-pdf-print/#post-157534 Sun, 20 May 2012 18:50:08 +0000 Can you post an example page with both presets so we can see what’s coming out?  Maybe describe how that specific page was put together as well – what are images, what formats each of the images are in, what’s pdfs linked into another pdf, etc.
Also, I’m a little confused. Your original post said bitmaps (and did you mean bitmaps, as in .bmp or…[Read more]

]]> 0 8988dd02170a91387e36a096c69026a8 http://land8.com/forums/topic/software-for-scheduling-appointments/#post-157521 Wed, 16 May 2012 20:04:35 +0000 I’ve typically used Outlook in the past for the sharing of and managing joint calenders, but while it is available for Macs it would require an Exchange server – in short some expense and permissions configuration / management depending on what you already have.  One place used Google Calender instead, but I never used it extensively.  Without g…[Read more]

]]> 0 3160ceb89fd34c869d45e1692c2340b2 http://land8.com/forums/topic/image-quality-when-saving-indesign-doc-as-pdf-interactive-vs-pdf-print/#post-157541 Mon, 14 May 2012 20:20:50 +0000 The most likely issue is the Adobe Preset for pdf that you’re using.  In particular, the options in the Compression group.  There are two factors that affect quality for each of three types of images – downsampling, where if your original image is over a certain ppi it will reduce it to a lower ppi; and image quality, which sets the level of l…[Read more]

]]> 0 79913e9d333cc5fc3ad4e53d9499901b http://land8.com/forums/topic/scale-drawings-in-portfolio/page/2/#post-157591 Mon, 07 May 2012 21:40:17 +0000 If you did/do not use graphical scales, one way to handle the scale thing is with a caption.  If most of your text on a given page is describing the media or drawing itself as opposed to the project, you can include it in there.  Otherwise a little caption somewhere on the page that says something like ‘Original 36×48 marker on pressboard’ or ‘…[Read more]

]]> 0 720a17eaad84a45dd5fdeea13a5c240e http://land8.com/forums/topic/portfolio-pieces-from-previous-employers/#post-157640 Fri, 04 May 2012 19:51:19 +0000 There used to be a few discussions on this topic, but I can only find one recent one at the moment:
http://land8.com/forum/topics/professional-work-in-portfolios
The short answer is it depends, and it’s best to ask. As far as rights, laws vary from place to place as well as depending on contract wording, but typically your employer owns anything…[Read more]

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