[James DeRoussel]

Cool idea! Here’s a few that come to mind.

Big Yellow Taxi – Joni Mitchell
Mother Nature’s Son – The Beatles
This Land is Your Land – Woody Guthrie
Seminole Wind – John Michael Montgomery
Little Boxes – Malvina Reynolds
Five Feet High and Risin’ – Johnny Cash
June Hymn – The Decemberists
Big City – Merle Haggard

[James DeRoussel]

Matt, I am an LSU alum (2001) who just moved back to Louisiana after 15 years away. I am a licensed LA in Arizona, but not Louisiana, so I am also considering taking the Louisiana Supplemental Exam this year to get licensed in LA.

As you have probably already seen, the LA Horticulture Commission only says, “The written exam covers plant use and characteristics. Questions pertain to the use and characteristics of various plant materials. The questions are a mix of matching, fill in the blanks, and short answers.”

I spoke to an RLA in my office and he was able to provide the following info…

The written portion, as he recalls, is largely focused on plant communities and ecology, in addition to plant usage and characteristics. He suggests knowing the different bioregions/plant communities (Bottomland Hardwood, Coastal Marsh, Historic Longleaf, etc), where they are located geographically within the state, and the native species typical of those communities. In addition to all the plants you already know, familiarize yourself with some saltwater marsh grasses and other plants that may be of little ornamental use but have ecological importance.

The LHC suggests “Southern Plants” by Odenwald and Turner as the study guide for the exam.

If you find any additional information, please share.

[James DeRoussel]

Thanks Robert, that’s excellent. I may well take you up on that offer as we get a little deeper into Vectorworks. I literally started the trial period last week! Right now we are trying to test Vectorworks 3D terrain modeling capabilities versus Civil3D-to-Revit terrain modeling. I like what I see from VW so far.

In a broad sense, have you found anything that you miss about AutoCAD or that AutoCAD still does better than VW?

[James DeRoussel]

I have used AutoCAD my whole career at multiple firms. SketchUp quickly became the go-to program for 3D rendering. My impression is this is where the majority of LA firms are still working: AutoCAD and Sketchup.

With Architects rapidly moving over from AutoCAD to BIM software, Revit in particular, the limitations of AutoCAD for integration with BIM become glaring, especially for site work and landscape. We are currently looking at using Vectorworks for landscape architecture instead of AutoCAD, in order to better integrate with BIM and 3D modeling workflows.

If anyone has any experience with switching from AutoCAD to Vectorworks, or using them in tandem, or site/landscape integration with Architectural BIM in general, please share! After only a few days of use, I find Vectorworks to be capable and user-friendly, with many potential advantages over AutoCAD.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by James DeRoussel.

[James DeRoussel]

Thanks for posting this.  I had heard rumors, but nothing concrete.  

 

Very interesting; hopefully the new format makes the exam more accessible, but no less rigorous.

[James DeRoussel]

Nobody?!

[James DeRoussel]

I made the switch to Mac two years ago and do not regret it.  In fact, I will probably never buy another PC.  It used to be that the limitation was software, as in they did not make AutoCAD for Mac.  Now they do, and regardless, you can run Windows OS on a Mac anyway these days.  I have been running Windows 7 within Parallels on my Mac for two years with no problems at all.

 

The advantages of Mac, for me, are the stability/virus issue, ease of use, not being constantly bothered with time consuming software updates, and Apple’s unparalleled customer service.  Yes, you pay more for a Mac, but like anything, you get what you pay for in most cases.

 

There are a surplus of misinformed replies to your question in this forum, implying that Macs are simply a status symbol (eyes rolling), AutoCAD is not made for Mac, etc etc…  These appear to be mostly from people who do not use Mac’s and would, therefore, be in no position to know much about them.  Do your own research, weigh your needs, your budget, and make an informed choice for yourself.  A PC may indeed be the right choice for you, but don’t base your decision solely on the misinformed bias of people on the internets.  

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