| Author |
Message |
J. Peter Jordan
Senior Member
Username: jpjordan
Post Number: 1115
Registered: 05-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, March 12, 2020 - 08:33 pm: |    |
What is your company doing about working from home, travel, and meetings?
J. Peter Jordan, FCSI, AIA, CCS, LEED AP, SCIP
|
Brian Payne
Senior Member
Username: brian_payne
Post Number: 207
Registered: 01-2014
| | Posted on Thursday, March 12, 2020 - 09:01 pm: | |
BIM360 + Revit
Microsoft 365/Sharepoint/Teams/OneNote
BSD Speclink Cloud |
Brian Payne
Senior Member
Username: brian_payne
Post Number: 208
Registered: 01-2014
| | Posted on Thursday, March 12, 2020 - 09:03 pm: | |
We have travel restrictions and preparing software solutions (listed above) to support working remotely/home. |
Nathan Woods, CSI, CCCA, LEED AP
Senior Member
Username: nwoods
Post Number: 796
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, March 12, 2020 - 09:14 pm: | |
They posted this yesterday:
Our Employees and their families are important to us and we want everyone to remain safe and healthy.
With our technology and ability to work from virtually anywhere we want to encourage caution and healthy habits.
Please consider…
• Using Skype or Conference Calls in place of team meetings.
• Limiting or cancelling site meetings all together at medical facilities if possible. Our clients will understand.
• Postponing all company travel – use our technology to meet and work instead
• Working from home if you are not feeling well, or have sick family members at home, or have concerns about public transportation.
Keep this in mind as well:
• Stop Shaking hands
• Clean door handles and regularly wash your hands – every hour on the hour
• Disinfect surfaces of your desk, phone, doorknobs regularly
• Increase ventilation by keeping doors and windows open or adjusting air conditioning
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO): https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019 |
Michael Chusid, RA FCSI CCS
Senior Member
Username: michael_chusid
Post Number: 517
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Friday, March 13, 2020 - 01:05 am: | |
I was at a CSI Product Fair in Los Angeles tonight. 60 exhibitors registered but only 30 showed up. We usually get 100+ attendees, but tonight there were only 20. In addition to the panic, we have the biggest rain of the year in sunny California.
As far as the work situation is concerned, it's me, my wife and a dog.
Michael Chusid, RA FCSI CCS 1-818-219-4937
www.chusid.com www.buildingproduct.guru |
Marc Chavez
Senior Member
Username: mchavez
Post Number: 578
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Friday, March 13, 2020 - 11:17 am: | |
Assigned reading in Seattle: all the Fox Fire books to allow the reconstruction of society after the collapse...except the libraries are closed.
We'd burn witches but 1/2 of them are elected officials and we like them so that's out.
I personally have Nalley's Chili, Spam, a carton of Clorox wipes and 16,000 rolls of toilet paper (don't know why but everyone else was grabbing some, so I did) See my facebook page for photo.
Oh and I almost forgot! A growler of Hazy IPA guaranteed to stop any virus because viruses are not hip enough to drink Hazy IPAs. (I had to get a special permission slip because I don't have a man bun and I'm over 30)
PS: We've invited Donald Trump to Seattle so we can shake his hand and give him a big wet kiss! |
Guest (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Friday, March 13, 2020 - 01:57 pm: | |
As specifiers we should come out of this ok. We've been practicing social distancing for most of our careers.
More seriously though, my office has been encouraging those who can to work from home. Non-essential travel and meetings have been canceled. I've found that my connection to the files on my office's servers is better if I do a remote desktop connection to my computer in the office from my home computer than if I bring my work computer home and VPN into the office network. |
Nathan Woods, CSI, CCCA, LEED AP
Senior Member
Username: nwoods
Post Number: 797
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Friday, March 13, 2020 - 03:21 pm: | |
VPN is inherently slow, because every bit of data has to go back and forth to do anything, whereas, RDP (Remote Desktop Program) only sends the IMAGE of the data going back and forth, so it is significantly faster to use if you have a dedicated computer in you office to connect to from your external pc, laptop, tablet, whatever.
I have a standard PC desktop at my office, and I use a Macbook Pro laptop everywhere else. I use RDP constantly, so it basically looks like I am running Windows on my Mac, but I'm not. This allows me to text using iMessage and all my Mac applications are live and running simultaneously. Works great....provided that you have a decent network connection. No matter what though, it is much faster than VPN. |
Marc Chavez
Senior Member
Username: mchavez
Post Number: 579
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Friday, March 13, 2020 - 04:49 pm: | |
faster but not encrypted.....but if that doesn't matter then ...enjoy. Of course I live in Ballard(seattle) and have super fast download speeds and pretty good upload. so I'm happy with my company's VPN |
Dan Helphrey
Senior Member
Username: dbhelphrey
Post Number: 52
Registered: 12-2018
| | Posted on Monday, March 16, 2020 - 03:53 pm: | |
We've been told as soon as there's one confirmed case in the building (high-rise multi-tenant) the building's closed. Those of us who can work remotely will, but those who can't are either stuck using their PTO or get to file for unemployment. Many are already voluntarily working remotely.
Our VPN is faster than most, but we shall see how it handles all the added traffic. |
Ellis C. Whitby, PE, CSI, CDT, AIA, LEED
Senior Member
Username: ecwhitby
Post Number: 503
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Monday, March 16, 2020 - 05:04 pm: | |
Office closed today for cleaning. Foreseeing this, I bought and installed a docking station at home: now I can use my two home monitors with my company laptop. Today started rough: we have two factor verification for company sites, and both the two factor password system and the VPN had problems. Once that got fixed, my access to Bluebeam Studio crashed. Office is reopening tomorrow. We also have to get special permission to travel to any client site, including driving. I just received authorization to go on site tomorrow. Interesting times.. |
Phil Kabza
Senior Member
Username: phil_kabza
Post Number: 658
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 17, 2020 - 05:11 pm: | |
Something tells me that many facility managers, including Dan's, above, just don't get why it is that businesses are closing all over the country. The idea that Dan will be "safe" because the janitors came through and cleaned things is so far from reality that it's hard to comment on. If just one of Dan's workers who has been exposed to, but is not showing symptoms of, the virus comes to work and hangs out at the water cooler, puts their lunch in the fridge, makes some copier copies, uses the restroom, shares some jokes with coworkers at the end of the day, and goes home, those coworkers may very well take Dan's virus home with them and unknowingly give it to their families who think they are safely isolated. That's what exponential spreading of a virus with no known vaccination is all about. Message to Dan: 1) Read about this thing. 2) Please stay home.
Phil Kabza FCSI CCS AIA
SpecGuy Specifications Consultants
www.SpecGuy.com
phil@specguy.com |
ken hercenberg
Senior Member
Username: khercenberg
Post Number: 1273
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 17, 2020 - 06:11 pm: | |
I just read per CDC that gestation period is from 5 to 16 days which means that people are contagious for up to two weeks prior to showing symptoms.
Any company that still has doors open without having a good reason (such as food stores perhaps?) should reassess their priorities. Perhaps their employees should reassess the commitment they feel towards their employers. |
Robin E. Snyder
Senior Member
Username: robin
Post Number: 797
Registered: 08-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 17, 2020 - 09:24 pm: | |
Just. Stay. Home. The sooner we all stay home, the sooner we can start re-building. |
Ellis C. Whitby, PE, CSI, CDT, AIA, LEED
Senior Member
Username: ecwhitby
Post Number: 505
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 18, 2020 - 10:02 am: | |
Our local library closed, which is a real issue, since many people rely on the library for internet access. Schools are closed and families without internet, or computers, have no means for students to practice the recommended online learning.
Additionally, with "social distancing" in effect, access to books becomes more important. Personally, I can only take so much TV. Unfortunately not all library books are available in ebooks. I am hoping they setup "curbside pickup" for books that have been reserved online. That should be possible to do without endangering anyone. |
Reader (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 18, 2020 - 04:13 pm: | |
Ellis, Scribd just announced they will make their ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines free for 30 days for anyone without a credit card commitment. The Libby free app through the public library system also has audio books in addition to ebooks. Hope that helps. |
Marc Chavez
Senior Member
Username: mchavez
Post Number: 580
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 18, 2020 - 04:40 pm: | |
that's great to hear. Unfortunately as 1. I work from home and work has not stopped and 2. I'm a bit of a bibliophile (book hoarder) I'm going to have no problem finding something to read. Is it wrong to walk thru my library stroking the spines of the books whispering "my precious, my precious"? sounding like something between Gollum/Smeagol and Peter lorre. |
Robin E. Snyder
Senior Member
Username: robin
Post Number: 798
Registered: 08-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 18, 2020 - 05:08 pm: | |
Ellis: Our neighborhood has started a "community library". Take one. Leave one. Whatever anyone needs. It is a few boxes in front of someone's house and promoted on Nextdoor. Maybe something like that would work and be a community building thing also |
Ellis C. Whitby, PE, CSI, CDT, AIA, LEED
Senior Member
Username: ecwhitby
Post Number: 506
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 18, 2020 - 05:09 pm: | |
Marc;
My fantasy home is one on Capital Hill, with abasement tunnel to the Library of Congress. Of course, in my fantasy I have unlimited access to the LoC and I just shuffle over every morning (in my slippers with a cup of tea). I then proceed to roam the stacks selecting books to read. usually at that point I then wake up and have to go to work. :-( |
Lisa Goodwin Robbins, RA, CCS, LEED ap
Senior Member
Username: lgoodrob
Post Number: 375
Registered: 08-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 18, 2020 - 05:13 pm: | |
Ellis,
I don't know where you live, but our local independent bookstores are making home deliveries.
When you get your delivery, or a swap with your neighbors, remember that covid-19 lives on paper and cardboard for up to 24 hours.
Be safe. Be healthy. But don't wash your books.
- |
Ellis C. Whitby, PE, CSI, CDT, AIA, LEED
Senior Member
Username: ecwhitby
Post Number: 507
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 19, 2020 - 08:10 am: | |
Lisa;
I would love to buy new books, but I long ago was issued a "cease and desist" by my spouse. We have 100's of books, and until I get rid of some I can get more, and I whenever I start triage on the books I regress to hording. :-)
PS: we live in NOVA. so good book stores still exist. |
J. Peter Jordan
Senior Member
Username: jpjordan
Post Number: 1116
Registered: 05-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, March 19, 2020 - 10:02 am: | |
Here in Texas they are talking about allowing restaurants to deliver "adult beverages" along with food. Can direct delivery from package stores be too far behind (even in states where the government runs the stores that sell alcohol)?
J. Peter Jordan, FCSI, AIA, CCS, LEED AP, SCIP
|
Ellis C. Whitby, PE, CSI, CDT, AIA, LEED
Senior Member
Username: ecwhitby
Post Number: 508
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 19, 2020 - 10:59 am: | |
Peter;
I think you are correct. |
Marc Chavez
Senior Member
Username: mchavez
Post Number: 581
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, March 19, 2020 - 11:21 am: | |
Ellis....
new books are nice. but old books! Ah.....Every fall there is an antiquarian book fair in seattle. I passed up a first edition Pride and Prejudice in 3 volumes only $200,000.00  but did buy a couple of books on typefaces for $60.00 (more in my price range).
back to architecture of a sort. we are starting a large remodel to our house so we have to move out (across the street to an apt) and the books, the tube amplifiers, and tropical fish "hobbys" will become known. I will cull a bit as the herd does need thinning. but only so much. |
John Bunzick, CCS, CCCA, LEED AP
Senior Member
Username: bunzick
Post Number: 1799
Registered: 03-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, March 21, 2020 - 02:29 pm: | |
Mark, Microsoft Remote Desktop does, in fact, use encryption; can't cite differences with VPN, though. |
G. Wade Bevier, FCSI, CCS, LEED-AP BD+C, SCIPa, USGBC
Senior Member
Username: wbevier
Post Number: 64
Registered: 07-2004
| | Posted on Monday, March 23, 2020 - 04:53 pm: | |
I am used to working from my home office but as of last week all the offices in the company have been effectively closed and all staff is encouraged to work remotely. The IT support is working diligently and mostly successfully to support remote productivity.
Also all non-essential travel between offices or project sites have been curtailed or cancelled. To date the interaction between project teams and client, contractors, and suppliers has been making this transition to remote interaction at an rapid and for me astonishing rate. |
Michael Chusid, RA FCSI CCS
Senior Member
Username: michael_chusid
Post Number: 520
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Monday, March 23, 2020 - 06:07 pm: | |
I managed to wrangle a box of latex gloves. It turns out that I can't use them. The gloves are labeled "ambidextrous" and, well, I am right handed.
Michael Chusid, RA FCSI CCS 1-818-219-4937
www.chusid.com www.buildingproduct.guru |
Marc Chavez
Senior Member
Username: mchavez
Post Number: 582
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 - 11:21 am: | |
Michael, that's OK just put the glove on backwards
I found four N-95 masks in my work shop. My wife said I should donate them...I told her they had been sitting "literally" gathering dust for four or five years. We'll keep them and use them when and if needed. |
Nathan Woods, CSI, CCCA, LEED AP
Senior Member
Username: nwoods
Post Number: 798
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 - 12:14 pm: | |
Elis, regarding your cutoff order from She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed. I received the same edict a few years back, and in exchange for me being willing to come home again, she bought me a Kindle. I was very resistant at first, but I quickly came to LOVE it. The reading experience is much more pleasurable on the Kindle. I can read with less glare and FAR less fatigue than a paper book. I don't have to worry about ambient lighting conditions, and the news ones are waterproof, so I can take into the hot tub or pool. I can read for many more hours without fatigue, I can carry infinitely more books with me on a trip, it fits in my pocket, so I am never without my Kindle. With its built in back-light, my night time reading does not disturb She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed. With its adjustable font and scale, I can read with or without my glasses, and with Kindle Prime I have a never ending stream of new authors to tap into, or serial authors to feed my ever growing reading habit.
One of my favorite quotes:
“Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it’s a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it’s a way of making contact with someone else’s imagination after a day that’s all too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss.”
-- Nora Ephron |
Lynn Javoroski FCSI CCS LEED® AP SCIP Affiliate
Senior Member
Username: lynn_javoroski
Post Number: 2227
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 - 12:32 pm: | |
Nathan, are you aware of the origin of "She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed"? It's NOT originally from Rumple of the Bailey; it's from a Henry Rider Haggard book, called "She". I frequently bumped into this doing crossword puzzles and didn't think much about it until one day, I rounded a shelf in the library, and there it was on the shelf - "She". So I read it. Quite interesting. |
Nathan Woods, CSI, CCCA, LEED AP
Senior Member
Username: nwoods
Post Number: 800
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 - 12:38 pm: | |
LOL, I always assumed it was vaguely Native American in origin. I learned it in elementary school, along with such quaint terms like "Squat-to-Pee" for girls, etc....
I really never did grow up. |
Ellis C. Whitby, PE, CSI, CDT, AIA, LEED
Senior Member
Username: ecwhitby
Post Number: 511
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 - 03:03 pm: | |
Nathan;
I have tablet with Kindle and Overdrive for ebooks. I agree that eBooks are much more convenient for traveling (I used to have a separate bag for books when we vacationed), as I usually finish a book a day (Mostly reading SF or mysteries, rather than technical books or "deep" classics). That said, I prefer physical books: I find them much more comfortable (and I love the "library" smell). I use the tablet daily for news, and several days per week for eBooks, but I usually can be found reading a physical book every day.
Chacun ŕ son goűt. |
Nathan Woods, CSI, CCCA, LEED AP
Senior Member
Username: nwoods
Post Number: 801
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 - 08:53 pm: | |
Ellis, I agree, if I was using a table like my iPad or whatever, I would prefer paper also. The actual Kindle device (not the app), however, changes that equation.
As Bezos famously said, "Kindle is for reading. iPads are for playing Angry Birds" (or words to that effect). |
Marc Chavez
Senior Member
Username: mchavez
Post Number: 583
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 - 09:07 pm: | |
As I am about to move some thousand + Science Fiction paperbacks and another 4-500 "real" books. I'll tell you that I love books, but not moving them. (up from the basement and then across the street and up about 30 stairs to the top floor apt overlooking my house. |
Michael Chusid, RA FCSI CCS
Senior Member
Username: michael_chusid
Post Number: 521
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 - 10:09 pm: | |
Is Kindle a viable means for distributing project manuals?
Michael Chusid, RA FCSI CCS 1-818-219-4937
www.chusid.com www.buildingproduct.guru |
Marc Chavez
Senior Member
Username: mchavez
Post Number: 584
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 25, 2020 - 05:42 pm: | |
project manual? you mean like a "printed book?" those are so old school. and not really, use bluebeam |
Ellis C. Whitby, PE, CSI, CDT, AIA, LEED
Senior Member
Username: ecwhitby
Post Number: 512
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 26, 2020 - 02:35 pm: | |
Looking forward to upcoming weeks of working from home makes me realize that I cannot put off any longer (It’s only been a few years) cleaning/re-organizing our home office. Primarily (or at least first) cable management. I'm on WiFi now, which is fine, but not as fast as I would like, so I will the face running Cat5 cable from our Fios router (2nd floor) to the home office (ground floor). This necessitates cleaning part of the garage so I can get access to the wall cavities in order to run cable. Joy. Even if I pay someone else to reun cable, the garage needs cleaned for access. |
Marc Chavez
Senior Member
Username: mchavez
Post Number: 585
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, March 26, 2020 - 02:38 pm: | |
cat 5? that is so old school Cat 6 man...get with the century! |
Ellis C. Whitby, PE, CSI, CDT, AIA, LEED
Senior Member
Username: ecwhitby
Post Number: 513
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 26, 2020 - 02:46 pm: | |
OK: Marc just pointed out that I should "get with the century" and use "Cat6", not "Cat5". I promise to. That said, there are times I look back fondly to Fax machines, Diazo printers, and hand drafting. |
John Bunzick, CCS, CCCA, LEED AP
Senior Member
Username: bunzick
Post Number: 1800
Registered: 03-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, March 26, 2020 - 02:52 pm: | |
I'm going to stick my neck out here and suggest that for a typical home office, there is likely no noticeable difference between cat 5 and cat 6. I don't know if cat 5 is any cheaper, however. |
Marc Chavez
Senior Member
Username: mchavez
Post Number: 586
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, March 26, 2020 - 03:00 pm: | |
I collect drafting instruments or as they were called in the 1700's mathematical instruments. they are lovely, just dont use them for work anymore. one of these days I'll score a voluter (machine for making a volute) with a ruling pen tied to a fusee and chain (see clock making) and a spring for tension....wonderful time saving item for all those neoclassical architects pre CAD.. even in the old days we wanted to be finished and go have a beer.
remember old tech is now art or collectable. wet process blueprints are now "cyanotypes". it goes on and on. maybe one of these days I'll collect old computer cables....ah.. the halcyon days of rs232 to serial cables, null modem wiring...and ribbon cables |
John Bunzick, CCS, CCCA, LEED AP
Senior Member
Username: bunzick
Post Number: 1801
Registered: 03-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, March 26, 2020 - 03:22 pm: | |
Marc, I have a box with about 30 pounds of old computer, audio, and video cables in my basement; would you like me to send it out to you? It'd save me the trip to electronics recycling. |
Lynn Javoroski FCSI CCS LEED® AP SCIP Affiliate
Senior Member
Username: lynn_javoroski
Post Number: 2228
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, March 26, 2020 - 03:40 pm: | |
I have a beautiful maple adjustable T-square that I picked up at a flea market for 50 cents. It's cool. |
guest (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Friday, March 27, 2020 - 02:11 pm: | |
All you old dudes (and dudettes) are dating yourselves! Or is it "old specifiers never die, they just collect antiques"? |
ken hercenberg
Senior Member
Username: khercenberg
Post Number: 1274
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Friday, March 27, 2020 - 02:22 pm: | |
Sometimes I think we're collected as antiques. |
T.J. Simons, CSI, CCS
Senior Member
Username: tsimons
Post Number: 26
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Monday, April 06, 2020 - 06:46 pm: | |
Every so often I like to show some of the youngsters in the office one of my drafting tools and see if they can figure out what it was used for. I think thus far the erasing shield and the beam compass have been the most intriguing items. |
Nathan Woods, CSI, CCCA, LEED AP
Senior Member
Username: nwoods
Post Number: 805
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Monday, April 06, 2020 - 07:43 pm: | |
AIMES letter guide might be mystifying .... |
Rosa Cheney
Senior Member
Username: rdcaia
Post Number: 11
Registered: 07-2018
| | Posted on Monday, April 06, 2020 - 08:02 pm: | |
What about an eraser bag? As someone that only hand-drafted in college, I'm sure 'eraser bag' is not even the correct term. |
Nathan Woods, CSI, CCCA, LEED AP
Senior Member
Username: nwoods
Post Number: 806
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Monday, April 06, 2020 - 08:21 pm: | |
I think you mean a Scummex Pad |
Colin Gilboy
Senior Member
Username: colin
Post Number: 470
Registered: 09-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 07, 2020 - 12:07 am: | |
As I recall, there were different contents in the various bags. Some were like ground up rubber erasers. Others were much finer, almost rock dust, and used when inking: dust on, wait, and brush off. That removed undried ink, preventing smears.
[colin - posted by Ellis Whitby in an email to me]
Colin Gilboy
Publisher, 4specs.com
702-505-9119 - Las Vegas
|
T.J. Simons, CSI, CCS
Senior Member
Username: tsimons
Post Number: 27
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 07, 2020 - 10:20 am: | |
Dietzgen Skum-X was one of the main "eraser bag" products-the stuff also came in a little shaker can if I recall correctly. It was kind of messy, with the little crumbs all over the place, and filling up your Spiroll (who remembers those?). On a large sheet, sometimes it was easier to just tape pieces of tracing paper over the finished portions of the drawing to keep it clean.
Colin-I believe that's correct; there was also some kind of powder you shook out onto mylars to sort of prime the surface so it would take ink nicely.
Speaking of mylar, who used the infamous plastic leads? Those were a bear to work with at times. |
(Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 07, 2020 - 10:21 am: | |
I have some scales that I purchased on a trip to England in the mid-80s that could be used to read imperial units on metric scaled drawings and metric units on imperial scaled drawings. If I remember correctly, these were borrowed from me for use on two projects in two different offices.
If people were somewhat mystified by a typical flat scale (although I would imagine these are still occasionaly used), I would like to the the look on the face of someone trying to use these. |
Marc Chavez
Senior Member
Username: mchavez
Post Number: 587
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 07, 2020 - 10:37 am: | |
although I was hired to run the brand new 386-16 with a 20 inch fixed frequency monitor.....every desk had a "belly bar" that the drawing would roll up into as you worked on it and needed to raise it up or down. and we all purchased little scrub brushes shaped like a ? that you would run thru said bar to sweep out all the eraser shavings and skum-x powder....ah those halcyon days of yore... |
Nathan Woods, CSI, CCCA, LEED AP
Senior Member
Username: nwoods
Post Number: 807
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 07, 2020 - 02:18 pm: | |
Marc! I sill have that little brush. And yes, I used that finicky difficult plastic lead for several years. So hard to keep a sharp edge and a decent line weight. It also forced me to give up my lead holder and switch to a...I'm not sure what they are called, a technical pencil? 5mm, .7mm, and .9mm My blue .7mm was my favorite, but I still miss my lead holder and the little doughnut of foam around the sharpener |
Marc Chavez
Senior Member
Username: mchavez
Post Number: 588
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 07, 2020 - 03:16 pm: | |
and the feeling when the little ruby donut at the end of your jewel point goes skittering off onto the sheet...skipping like a stone on a calm lake leaving little bits of ink....ah it was times like those when you remembered to keep your pen perpendicular to the film and not press too hard and then to go buy another 25ish dollar pen tip. |
T.J. Simons, CSI, CCS
Senior Member
Username: tsimons
Post Number: 28
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 07, 2020 - 04:51 pm: | |
Oh, the joys of technical pens! Frankly the best ones I ever found were a disposable type made by Letraset-they didn't have jewel points, obviously but by the time the points really started showing wear they were out of ink anyway. Used these along with some plastic leads (mostly in thin-lead type mechanical pencils). Still use those with regular lead. We found that black Prismacolors were pretty good for lettering on mylar.
Ahh, all these arcane skills we spent so much time honing |
Ellis C. Whitby, PE, CSI, CDT, AIA, LEED
Senior Member
Username: ecwhitby
Post Number: 515
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 07, 2020 - 04:55 pm: | |
I remember how much of a pain it was to clean the smaller pen points if you let the dry out. Repeated soaking in hot water for hours, then VERY carefully removing the wire "nib" and flushing the barrel, the even more carefully reinserting the wire nib. Prior to graduation in 74'I had no money, so keeping pens in repair was the only course of action. In my 1st job (Smith Miller & Associates, Kingston, PA: A Great firm, sadly long gone) I recall being pretty happy when my supervisor said not to waist time cleaning the clogged pen, but to take a new one from storage. Much faster. |
Marc Chavez
Senior Member
Username: mchavez
Post Number: 589
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 07, 2020 - 05:06 pm: | |
in Las Vegas the secret was to add photo flo to the ink....enough to add a little "soap" but not enough to make the ink lighten up. that little bit of wetting agent did the trick for plotters and for pens....I had a 6X0 for a while but i was crazy.....the damn thing had to be cleaned completely every time you finished or you were toast! |
Dave Metzger
Senior Member
Username: davemetzger
Post Number: 765
Registered: 07-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 07, 2020 - 05:38 pm: | |
Ellis, those pen barrels and nibs sound like Leroy lettering sets. Each week on a summer job in 1965, I spent a couple of hours cleaning the pen points. How much time we wasted, not only cleaning but also doing the actual lettering. |
Mark Gilligan SE,
Senior Member
Username: mark_gilligan
Post Number: 927
Registered: 10-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 08, 2020 - 02:33 am: | |
In high school drafting I had to use a ruling pen, a technology unchanged since before the American revolution. |
Ellis C. Whitby, PE, CSI, CDT, AIA, LEED
Senior Member
Username: ecwhitby
Post Number: 516
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 08, 2020 - 11:46 am: | |
Mark;
Was your ruling pen brass or stainless steel? I think I still have a stainless steel one stored somewhere. |
J. Peter Jordan
Senior Member
Username: jpjordan
Post Number: 1118
Registered: 05-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 08, 2020 - 12:01 pm: | |
OK; am I the only one that did ink on linen (not ruling pens, but technical fountain pens on linen).
J. Peter Jordan, FCSI, AIA, CCS, LEED AP, SCIP
|
Ellis C. Whitby, PE, CSI, CDT, AIA, LEED
Senior Member
Username: ecwhitby
Post Number: 517
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 08, 2020 - 12:36 pm: | |
I spent the 1968 summer before I started college working for the Civil group in the AE firm that my Dad was a partner in. I learned to draft with ink on waxed linen for PennDot CDs. Italicized San Serif lettering if I recall correctly. After graduation 6 years later I again worked on PennDot drawings, and as I recall, by then they had moved to plastic lead on Mylar. |
David E Lorenzini
Senior Member
Username: deloren
Post Number: 184
Registered: 04-2000
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 08, 2020 - 01:13 pm: | |
One thing I remember about working with ink on linen in 1966 when I spent three months working in Sydney, Australia was that I had to use a razor blade to erase.
David Lorenzini, FCSI, CCS
Architectural Resources Co. |
Russ Hinkle, AIA, CDT, LEED BD+C
Senior Member
Username: rhinkle
Post Number: 146
Registered: 02-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 08, 2020 - 04:12 pm: | |
Worked in my Dads architectural office when I was in high school doing whatever they wanted including cleaning. Could not always tell the difference between cigarette ashes and eraser shavings!
Learned how to run a 'ditto machine" too.
Russ Hinkle |
bunzick (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 08, 2020 - 04:15 pm: | |
Marc, Photo Flo's active ingredient is ethylene glycol. It's no surprise, in a way. |
Ellis C. Whitby, PE, CSI, CDT, AIA, LEED
Senior Member
Username: ecwhitby
Post Number: 518
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, April 09, 2020 - 09:17 am: | |
Working with waxed linen: I remember working with a razor blade to make changes, but also watching my boss use a small device to apply new wax. As a 17 year old, I was not entrusted with that duty. I wish I could remember the name of that device or machine. |
Dan Helphrey
Senior Member
Username: dbhelphrey
Post Number: 53
Registered: 12-2018
| | Posted on Thursday, April 09, 2020 - 04:32 pm: | |
Y'all realize nobody under about 48 has any idea what Photo Flo is, right? I still remember the smell that never came off my fingertips all through high school (tongs or gloves were for sissies). |
Dan Helphrey
Senior Member
Username: dbhelphrey
Post Number: 54
Registered: 12-2018
| | Posted on Thursday, April 09, 2020 - 04:39 pm: | |
I take great pride in still having everything I would need to set my drafting table up just like my dad's in the 70s - tech pens, electric eraser, compass sets inherited from my father and grandfather, even a Leroy lettering set. |
J. Peter Jordan
Senior Member
Username: jpjordan
Post Number: 1119
Registered: 05-2004
| | Posted on Friday, April 10, 2020 - 10:21 am: | |
OMG, someone who knows Leroy!
J. Peter Jordan, FCSI, AIA, CCS, LEED AP, SCIP
|
Margaret G. Chewning FCSI CCS
Senior Member
Username: presbspec
Post Number: 327
Registered: 01-2003
| | Posted on Friday, April 10, 2020 - 10:49 am: | |
I had my mother's Leroy set for years and used it at one of my employers in mid 70's to make organizational charts for the company. Mom used it during her time working for army at Ft Lee illustrating operation manuals back in the early 50's and later in commercial art work.
Finally have passed it on to my brother to use for lettering on his wood craft work. |
Nathan Woods, CSI, CCCA, LEED AP
Senior Member
Username: nwoods
Post Number: 808
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Friday, April 10, 2020 - 11:35 am: | |
I say Bah to your Leroy, I am a Kroy man forever! |
T.J. Simons, CSI, CCS
Senior Member
Username: tsimons
Post Number: 29
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Friday, April 10, 2020 - 02:12 pm: | |
I went through miles of Kroy tape during the mid to late 80's; we used it for drawing tiles, etc. First you put the Kroy tape down, then we covered it with clear prescription bottle tape so the lettering wouldn't get damaged from multiple runs through the diazo machine. |
James Sandoz, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA
Senior Member
Username: jsandoz
Post Number: 297
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, April 11, 2020 - 09:09 pm: | |
You said it, Nathan. What fun the Kroy lettering machine was. I would try to see how fast I could spin that big ol' wheel moving from one letter to the next. Spin-n-punch, spin-n-punch, spin-n-punch. It seems typos and misspelling were less frequent then too.
Fast didn't mean careless. Those tapes weren't cheap. |
John Bunzick, CCS, CCCA, LEED AP
Senior Member
Username: bunzick
Post Number: 1803
Registered: 03-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, April 12, 2020 - 02:54 pm: | |
Zipatone anyone? |
Ellis C. Whitby, PE, CSI, CDT, AIA, LEED
Senior Member
Username: ecwhitby
Post Number: 519
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 14, 2020 - 01:48 pm: | |
Special new mask design, 100% guaranteed to block all viruses. There are some reports that shortness of breath may be a side effect.
PRO: No sewing required.
Con: Loss of IQ reported
 |
Ellis C. Whitby, PE, CSI, CDT, AIA, LEED
Senior Member
Username: ecwhitby
Post Number: 520
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 14, 2020 - 01:49 pm: | |
I’m concerned that the Easter Bunny is not following proper mask wearing protocol. Note the exposed chin. |
ken hercenberg
Senior Member
Username: khercenberg
Post Number: 1276
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 14, 2020 - 10:22 pm: | |
Well, my job is a casualty of COVID-19.
Know anyone who's hiring or needs help with consulting work?
Please get in touch with me at kenhercenberg at gmail dot com.
Thanks |
Nathan Woods, CSI, CCCA, LEED AP
Senior Member
Username: nwoods
Post Number: 809
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 - 10:33 am: | |
Man thats sad to hear Ken. I know here in Orange County all the residential and multifamily design firms are shedding people. Schools and healthcare still seems solid, but that might change. Had a major client ($300M project) waffle on this just Friday. With no “elective” services happening, hospitals are losing money and going through layoffs as well. |
Lynn Javoroski FCSI CCS LEED® AP SCIP Affiliate
Senior Member
Username: lynn_javoroski
Post Number: 2230
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 - 10:49 am: | |
Sorry to learn that, Ken. Construction here in Wisconsin is spotty, too. There's a house being built across the street - at least I think it will be. They demolished the old one this week, and something's being done today. But commercial construction is, as we all know, different. When we recover from the virus, we'll still have to recover from the economic illness. |
Jerome J. Lazar, CCS, CDT, CSI, SCIP
Senior Member
Username: lazarcitec
Post Number: 2089
Registered: 05-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 - 11:01 am: | |
90% of specification work has dried up in Florida, its going to be a depression for construction. |
J. Peter Jordan
Senior Member
Username: jpjordan
Post Number: 1121
Registered: 05-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 - 03:51 pm: | |
We are still blowing and going, and I have two RFPs to respond to. The construction industry has been deemed essential here in Texas, especially on projects in education and healthcare. However, we are seeing commercial, hospitality, and and multifamily projects as well as some "cats and dogs" repair projects. People seem to be looking ahead and almost all of these projects will not be ready for use before 2021, perhaps 2022.
In the Houston area, I am more concerned about the oil industry. With crude prices reaching prices in the low $20 per barrel, there is little incentive to produce, much less explore and drill. Although I am confident that this situation will also improve, many companies who do not have access to adequate capital reserves will go under. The pandemic is simply aggravating the pissing match between Russia and Saudia Arabia although seems to be resolving itself amid historically low demand.
J. Peter Jordan, FCSI, AIA, CCS, LEED AP, SCIP
|
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