Tanya Olson

Thanks Craig – very informative! Android would be great for campatability with my PC and phone – thanks for the app list and your critique of them too.
Tanya

same questions as above to you Roland….you must have a stylus. How well does the handwriting recognition work? Are the CAD apps clunky or work smoothly?

Doug – I would love a list of apps and what you are primarily using them for. It would really halp to give me a sense of what the slate-type computers can be used for. Did you consider anything other than an iPad? Do you use Mac or PC for other computing? I use PC, so would want easy interface there…
Thanks!

Chip happens
Nice to see you posting again Thomas.

Jeff – there are no benefits (I assume you are talking about health insurance, etc) if you are an independent contractor, not an employee. If you are a part time employee, you probably don’t qualify for benefits either – you would have to read their employee handbook.
If going the independent contractor route, you should expect to pay state and…[Read more]

Well I’m definitely going to go see it – The Gates was too far away (but CO is practically next door) and I love their drawings in preparation for each project. It will be interesting to see if the projects are as good as the drawings. Meet you guys for a drink in Salida in 2014?
 

The granite art walls are really compelling – I love the graffitti art movement and think it could be really cool. Plenty of other problems as everyone described from constructability to terrible security. Overall a bizarre, potentially nightmarish and narcissistic design with a meaning I can’t comprehend being related to AIDS.
On the other h…[Read more]

Plains cottonwood (the water table is within 6′ of the surface)  Rhus trilobata (Threeleaf Sumac), Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus (yellow rabbitbrush) and the usual suspects for shortgrass prairie native grasses – Little Bluestem, needlegrass, buffalo grass with some woody forbs like sages.
Like I indicated, planting numbers are in the 10’s, not…[Read more]

I just finished a project in an arid high plains region – about the same precip as you are talking about. Trees and shrubs were selected to be either native or well adapted. The client did not want permanent irrigation (no one has it up there, except for farming, so could be a maintenance and installation problem).We specified Tree Gators for the…[Read more]

Its a racket, thats for sure, and makes no sense. Our car insurance is out of TX, our liability from somewhere on the east coast. I am (perhaps mistakenly) under the impression that the new health care reform, if its sticks, will allow interstate health insurance… 

Not more accolades – appropriate representation. Sadly, I can’t volunteer if I can’t afford the dues…

Seems like there are some good ideas for John’s original questions, but I suspect he might have detected an underlying dissatisfaction with ASLA. I am hopeful that the dissatisfaction doesn’t read as (and hopefully isn’t intended as) shooting the messenger because overall I’m pleased that they are starting to ask questions….there are a lot of ot…[Read more]

How about awarding continuing education credits for mentoring?

Great points! How about a CAREER mentoring program? Most LAs end up owning their own firm eventually – how do they get to that point? How do they become principals in firms they are committed to? How do they move from college to licensure to professional? I know that we expect the firms to automatically provide this mentoring – some do some…[Read more]

Honestly, Thomas – most people in the midwest don’t sit outside in the winter. You must be one of those crazy nature lovers! ha! Most of the benches are clearly designed for summer use. I wonder if your observation is true for sunnier winter spots? CO, NM, even western SD is waaay sunnier than Chicago….the midwest is usually so overcast that a…[Read more]

“Woodstock”, but as a dirge. Its an ironic reminder of best hopes and ideals of the movement in the 60’s lost in the process of growing up, pushback, and the 80’s and 90’s….not exactly as specifically relevant of the other songs, but more zeitgeist….and darned sad in my opinion.

Hey Zach – I think you’re right. There has been a slow but steady increase in work and I think some offices that stayed down to the bare minimum for as long as possible are finally reaching the point where they need to hire to keep up with their workload.
My intuitive prediction: the next 6 months will make or break the recovery. If we keep slowly…[Read more]

I’ve always loved the way Mimosa Trees look when blooming. Can’t remember what they look like in the fall, but they have a nice structure for a patio tree. I don’t think you can ever go wrong with a specimen Live Oak, though I don’t know how well they do in Modesto….a specimen Olive! ooh. Or Magnolia, Gleditsia, could you grow Jacaranda?
Did…[Read more]

More later on OWS – but first….you took the job! I remember you trying to decide whether to take the leap or not….How is it going? Weren’t you supposed to report back about what your experience is working in China?

Yep – plant tall grasses in low areas and short grasses on top of hills with little water – this occurs naturally in the midwest, though the short grasses aren’t as short there as they are out here past the 100th meridian.