Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Quarts in a Gallon
15 June 2008
We were just talking at work about this problem... none of us can ever remember how many cups to a pint/quart/gallon... And until we go metric, we're going to need to find a way to remember. This graphic is cute and handy!
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Via Swiss Miss
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Memorial Day Weekend
29 May 2008
C & I were lucky enough to take a much needed vacation away with friends... We stayed at a friend's cabin up in the San Juan Islands. It was the first time that C and I had been up there and once we got there we really didn't want to leave. The weather was perfect... warm and sunny. Its really made getting back to the grind tough, but I'm so glad we went!
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ARE - Materials and Methods
28 May 2008
I've suddenly realized that I never finished writing up my experiences from the ARE... How can I talk about the 9 tests if I only write about 8? Although at this point its probably a waste of time - has the ARE moved to the 7 test format?- since I can barely remember my experience. Still... since I'm a bit of an obsessive compulsive, I wanted to at least share what I could remember.
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I started studying for the materials and methods exam after the mechanical and electrical building systems test. I was very nervous about this test, mainly because I didn't want to screw up the last one, so I postponed taking the test much longer than I needed. I felt like there was a fair amount of overlap between pre-design and materials and methods... so they worked as great bookends for me. Really, I've heard different schools of thought about the M&M test... some people think its good to take it early, as the range of material covered is so broad... I on the other hand, opted to take it last, hoping that I would have covered the majority of the material in previous tests. In fact, I think it would have worked out fine either way.
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As far as the actually studying went... I spent about 8 weeks preparing (way more than needed) and just like with the other multiple choice exams, I used the Kaplan Book and CD as well as the Archiflash cards as my main study materials. I also supplemented the Kaplan with Building Construction Illustrated
by Ching. As with the other exams, the simple diagrams and drawings in the Ching book really helped me to better understand the systems and methods.
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I started studying for the materials and methods exam after the mechanical and electrical building systems test. I was very nervous about this test, mainly because I didn't want to screw up the last one, so I postponed taking the test much longer than I needed. I felt like there was a fair amount of overlap between pre-design and materials and methods... so they worked as great bookends for me. Really, I've heard different schools of thought about the M&M test... some people think its good to take it early, as the range of material covered is so broad... I on the other hand, opted to take it last, hoping that I would have covered the majority of the material in previous tests. In fact, I think it would have worked out fine either way.
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As far as the actually studying went... I spent about 8 weeks preparing (way more than needed) and just like with the other multiple choice exams, I used the Kaplan Book and CD as well as the Archiflash cards as my main study materials. I also supplemented the Kaplan with Building Construction Illustrated
by Ching. As with the other exams, the simple diagrams and drawings in the Ching book really helped me to better understand the systems and methods. .
I feel like if you've already studied for the rest of the exam, this should be a fairly simple subject... There aren't really any calculations and the test is based on an understanding of materials that hopefully we should all have by this point in our education/careers. Still, I realize that all the exams are different, and I should consider myself lucky that I got a fairly easy version.
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I apologize for not writing about this exam earlier, when my memory could have better served us all... But, hopefully this little bit will help (even if it only helps ease your worries).
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Good Luck!
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I apologize for not writing about this exam earlier, when my memory could have better served us all... But, hopefully this little bit will help (even if it only helps ease your worries).
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Good Luck!
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And Then There Was None
13 May 2008
Ok... so these aren't the greatest photos (taken with a camera phone)... but you can kind of see the progress we made this past weekend. We finally lined up a plumber - he actually started on monday. So these photos show the finished demo, where the kitchen and bathroom used to be. I need to take some more photos now that we have new framed walls... I'll get those up soon.
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For Photography and Architecture Buffs
27 April 2008
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Via Materialicious
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And now I'm off to Hawaii for work... I'll get back to posting once I return later this week...
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I'm Addicted
23 April 2008
I'm warning you... its political and its liberal, so if you're not into that sort of thing, then just don't click through.
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The View from our Bed
22 April 2008
This is the current state of our demolition/remodel and the view from our bed. And yes, just in case you are wondering... that is the toilet you can see through the studs.
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I guess President will have to do...
08 April 2008
Barack Obama wanted to be an architect when he was growing up... I knew he seemed like my kind of guy!
Progress
06 April 2008
C & I made some definite progress this weekend on the house... We're still not moving along quite as fast as we'd like, but at least we're moving. During the week, we tore down the drywall (actually 1950s button board) on the wall separating the living room from the back side of the kitchen. Then this weekend we tore out the kitchen, including the kitchen sink, all the cabinets, the linoleum and plywood below. The demo is getting easier, as we're learning to work smarter not harder, but there is still a lot to do. The biggest problem is that since we're living amidst the construction/demo, and our house doesn't exactly leave room for us to be separated from the rubble, we spend a great deal of time prepping and cleaning. We're still a long way from being ready for the plumber, which I guess is a good thing since we haven't yet selected one....
I'm not exactly sure what we'll be working on next week, but it feels good to be finally making some forward motion on the house again.
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Life Without TV
04 April 2008
About 2 weeks ago, C & I decided that we were sick of giving comcast all of our money. When you start tallying up the costs for tv and internet you really start spending a decent percent of income on digital entertainment. On top of that, we had a subscription (albeit low level) to comcast, which really helped add up to a huge bill for tv/movies/internet. Combining our frustration over the bill with the fact that there is never anything on tv (and yet we always get suckered into watching terrible television) and we had a situation that just didn't make any sense. There are very few television shows that we actually want to follow on a weekly basis, and nearly all of those are available free on the internet.... so we decided to get rid of tv and change our internet over to a cheaper provider, and then we increased our netflix so that we could have a few more movies a week. In the end, we managed to save about $60/month as well a bit of our brains (hopefully!). We were a little worried that we'd be bored without tv, but actually we both feel very relieved and free! No need to worry about what's on tv anymore... we can just get to work on our house, tearing down walls, and only watching the things that we really are interested in! So, I guess the moral of the story is... If you've ever thought about getting rid of your tv, do it! There is so much time available once tv has been taken out of the equation!.
But, I guess I should probably wait a few more months before I get too preachy! Who knows if we'll be able to handle it forever!
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Love These Planter
03 April 2008
I really love both of these planters, although they are both out of my price range. Still, perhaps C and I can cast something similar for the backyard/deck area.... but first we'll have to build it!.
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Eleven Eleven East Pike
26 March 2008
Tonight C and I had the opportunity to check out Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen's new condominium project. The renderings, animations, and background information was all very interesting to check out, but it was particularly nice to listen to Tom Kundig speak about in the intent and inspiration behind the new condos..
Like many cities, Seattle is rife with monotonous mixed-use developer inspired condos. Its rare to find projects designed by architects, and extremely rare to find one designed by an architect of Kundig's caliber. In fact, this idea of well done, architect designed condos was one of the driving features of the project. With a local landowner who had spent nearly all her life in the Capitol Hill area of Seattle, the intent was always to create a spectacular design that would be at once modern and yet consistent with the flavor of the neighborhood. Using a multitude of inspirations, including the historic auto dealers of the neighborhood, as well as the desire to provide housing at a cost consistent with the neighborhood's inhabitants, Kundig and his cohorts created a quite lovely project.
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One of the more interesting facets of the projects is its adaptability to its tenants. The exterior colors (painted hardi-panels) will be chosen at will (from a selection of 4 colors) by each individual unit owner, creating an organic color patterning. At the interior, the puzzle shaped walls will allow the inhabitants to open and divide space per their particular needs. The idea is that by creating customizable units, it will help to sustain the neighborhood, keeping people in the city who actually want to live and work there.
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The project is already under construction, and units will likely go fast, so if you are interested I'd check into them sooner rather than later. I'll try and post photos of the construction as it goes along, so that we can see more progress.
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Time for Bed
20 March 2008
I love this Lax platform bed by Mash Studios. It would be perfect in our tiny bedroom, where we don't really have room for side tables.
Via Bloesem
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Cute and Useful
17 March 2008
This Mr. and Mrs. coat rack available at Bodie and Fou is probably a little too cute for my taste... but its been a while since I posted a coat rack (and I know you've been anxiously waiting for a new hook!).
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A Few Days Late
13 March 2008
I'm a few days late in posting this... but I'm currently out of town. I will return to posting on Monday.
Take Care!
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Bathroom Lighting
08 March 2008
Above: Talo Mini, Perch Hans Wall Sconce, El Ultimo Grito, and Lights Up! Rex
I'm having a very difficult time finding some modern, yet affordable bathroom lighting. Most of the fixtures that I like are a bit out of my price range, but I don't really want to stoop down to IKEA lighting, not because I'm particularly against IKEA, but because I don't particularly like their bathroom lighting. Besides, we are using IKEA for a fair amount of other items in the house, and I'd rather the result didn't look like a page out of their catalog.
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I know that Habitat in the UK also has some interesting (and relatively moderately priced fixtures), but there are no shops in the US, and they don't seem to sell their fixtures online. So, if anyone has any suggestions for great lighting, I'm all ears. I could even travel to Vancouver BC, if need be...
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This Would Make C Sooooo Happy
07 March 2008
C and I are having a few issues about the remodel... well, mostly I'm having a few issues. I just don't feel like C's model cars, airplanes, and slot car track are going to fit into the newly remodeled and decorated house. But, I have been working on ways to incorporate some of these models, because I do realize that we both live in the house.... :).
I think this slot car wall sculpture is a great idea! I may have to usurp it and make it my own in our house!
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Via Swiss Miss
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Its Official
01 March 2008
So I guess we are definitely going through with the remodel... Today we demolished one side of one wall (not much, but we need to stay relatively clean since we're living in the middle of all this). I had always assumed that all of the interior walls were original, but as you can see not there is a combination of newer and older walls. On the right, you can see the original framing and button board from the 50s (which is much harder to demo than regular gyp) and on the left is some new framing with gyp dated from 1997. We're buying a sawzall tonight, so that should make future demo a bit easier.....
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A Banana Republic
24 February 2008
If you haven't already checked out Indexed, a clever website by Jessica Hagy... then do so immediately. Her witty bubble diagrams and sketches will make you laugh and scratch your head wondering why you didn't think of it first....
I particularly like this one, which reminds me of an Architecture school mate who loved to talk of banana republics... both of the political and brick and mortar brands.
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