Subject: 1626 Jefferson

Eddy,

I have a certificate to mail to you for the above referenced project but, we do not have a physical address on file.

Please provide your address and I will make sure the certificate is mailed.

Thank you,

This is the email I received to close out my LEED paperwork. It’s a testament to how this process went. Thankfully, they figured out the address was in the subject line of the email they wrote (not to mention on all the paperwork and they visited the house several times). With all that said, the lovely, oversized certificate arrived today.

Initial planning for the content took place in Vegas at Autodesk University 2010. James (left) wore his favorite shirt. We didn’t mind the colors, but Eddy (right) begged him not to roll up the sleeves. I was just dumbfounded that Eddy could grow a goatee. I didn’t think he was capable of facial hair.

As New Year rolled around, deadline pressures mounted. James lost the beard but insisted on the “I’llkickyourassallthewaytothefarendofLongIsland” sideburns when I dared to suggest authoring was “fun”. I like James, but I’m afraid of him when he’s pissed off.

By January, let’s just say we had to wear uniforms. Our publisher was getting a bit anxious about meeting deadlines for two books about the same time and after some trumped up charges were pressed we found ourselves “sequestered”. Note to self: always read the contractual fine print.

James picked up a nicotine habit to calm domestic related nerves. Eddy took one for the team. Me? I’m smiling. Let’s just say our cell mate will never again giggle when we say “Family Editor” or “Reload Latest”. It turns out that last year’s Mastering Revit book tucked in the end of a pillowcase is a weapon not to be reckoned with.

As February rolled around, Eddy was back on the rum and Coke. Not that we missed our uniforms and former “room mates” but it beats yard work around the house. James begged us to help with his gardening and we all chipped in. Eddy’s pissed that all the hydroponics are putting his electric bill through the roof.

Speaking of roofs, the very next day Eddy installed a 1kW photovoltaic system on the roof of the trailer and got the whole thing LEED certified (and then wouldn’t shut up about it). It seems silly to me – turning sunlight into electricity just to turn it back into artificial sunlight. But James recons it’s better in the long run cause otherwise my cats keep getting into his “gardening”.

Everything was fine till the editor showed us “finished and approved” cover art for the Revit Essentials book; cover art that we didn’t approve and what we all agreed looked like what comes out of a cat that’s eaten way too much from James’ indoor garden.

At this point, Eddy freaked said something about what he was going to do with the business end of the rake he was holding, which kind of freaked me out. Eddy is supposed to be the calm one – and now I found myself trying to talk down both James and Eddy. In the end, some really great cover art was selected by the three of us and Eddy settled down. But I wouldn’t be surprised if packs his rake for Vegas this year.

Wow – was this the best day ever. After spending months writing the book we find out – after the fact and at the last possible moment – that we have to go back and make sure that there’s all this extra stuff added to the book for certification purposes. Did I mention that a lot of the content the publisher wanted added had been previously edited out in order to make some bean counter with a spread sheet happy by keeping the book below a target page count? I said something about fire-ready-aim and James said something about being surrounded by f*&tards and needing to work in his garden and Eddy stopped adding Coke to his rum.

But in the end, it all came together. We’ve finished all the writing and now it’s just editing, choosing cover and center art. And my new eye wear prescription finally arrived.

We’re all really amazed how much James polished up after selling his first “harvest” (which pays way more than writing books anyway). You can’t see all the nicotine patches covering his back, but we’re glad he’s going to try to quit smoking (again). Eddy’s went back to adding Coke to his rum, but as you can see – he’s kind of melancholy. Since I help James cover his back with the nicotine patches, Eddy has to take them off.

Did I mention that I’d love to write a Family Editor book? Come on James…it’ll be fun!

Meanwhile, we’re having some landscaping done in the back yard. This involves bringing in some dirt, some rocks and a bobcat (the mechanical kind, smart-tard).

But moving of said dirt has thus caused there to be dust (we’ve not had rain in Charlotte for a few weeks). So this afternoon our neighbor…okay…the person that lives next to us…shows up at the front door to inform me that her house and car are “ruined” and demanding, “Who’s going to take care of it? Who’s going to pay for all of this!? Why should I pay for this!? I used to have really nice windows but now they’re all ruined!”

I willingly admit, at this point there was a lot of parametric and bi-directional yelling.

But for the record, I did not say she was **evil**.

http://www.youtube.com/get_player

So, big round of applause goes out to my contractor, Jamie Jefferies for all of his help and hardwork helping me do the LEED-thing. He’s a hell of a guy. It was an exploration for the both of us to do on a residence. As a ‘thank you’ (besides the bottle of scotch) he’d asked for a plaque to commemorate the event. So, dutifully, now that I’ve got my colors, a whole new opportunity for consumerism has opened it’s doors to me. It’s what I imagine it’s like being in fraternity. Now that you’re in, you get the unique privilege to buy all of the swag they offer only to club members.

If I’m not mistaken she’s chatting with Steve in this image. Can’t help but wonder if they mentioned AutoCAD on the Mac. As much as I love Revit, I’m blown away by this recent effort of Autodesk. Apple has come a long way since R12 AutoCAD (the last native release available for the Mac). Seems both Autodesk and Apple are playing well to each others strengths.

Images courtesy of the White House Flickr stream:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/5454952553/in/photostream/

honestly, I think this image says it all. I spent the last two years, almost to the day chasing this dream and I’ve finally achieved it and I feel somehow empty. My home is officially LEED Silver. First house in Kansas City, MO at 1236 sq ft. I received this illustrious award in the form of an email which also notified me that for an additional fee, I could purchase a lexan plaque to commemorate the event. Know anything about lexan? It’s a petroleum product. Kinda defeats the purpose. Would I recommend it to a client? No way. Not unless it was something they felt strongly in getting. Would I still design sustainably? Absolutely. It’s about making smart decisions, it’s not about the USGBC.

But if your glass is 1/2 full, my home uses 1/2 the energy of a regular Missouri home, 1/2 the water, has flooring that dates to 1890, and, well, it’s home.

One down and one to go. We’ve already selected the cover art for Revit Essentials. More to follow about that cover but it’s really fantastic and yet again not from a firm in the US (last years cover hailed from Australia).

The deadline to targeting Mastering Revit is quickly approaching. In other words – we’ll probably have to decide by the end of this week! So if you’d like to have your Revit efforts considered for the cover of Mastering Revit please email your submissions to masteringrevit@architecture-tech.com. Once again, there are two really important points:

1. Don’t send high-res images suitable for publication (yet). Just send medium-res PNGs and JPGs for review (and ppplease don’t email bandwidth choking BMP files).
2. If accepted, you (or someone with the appropriate authority) will need to sign a waver allowing the image to be published. Then we’ll resolve where to send/upload the high-res image.

But speaking of music covers, the Flat Tires, only play an occasional cover. And speaking of the Flat Tires (couldn’t resist) they’re playing next Saturday (2/19) less than an hour from Chicago. And since you’ve finally recovered your car from the city’s storage yard after wisely abandoning it along Lake Shore Drive during the recent freak snowstorm – you can drive!

The occasion is Ruff House Tattoos 11th Annual Art Show and Party. Think you’ve got artistic skills? We’ll – it’s one thing to casually sketch out an idea on a piece of trace paper and another thing entirely to believe you’ve got what it takes to permanently ink another human being. You’ll wonder how you were ever considered a candidate for a degree in architecture after checking out some of the talented work by the owner and staff of Ruff House Tattoos. Their Annual Party and Art Show is rumored quite legendary and not to be missed.

So head on over to The Modern Post in Schererville, Indiana next Saturday. The address and other details are below via Facebook link. The first person to take a photo of themselves with front man Clint Harrison and email it to me (he doesn’t usually bite and anyway he’s up to date on his shots) get’s a complimentary copy of either Mastering Revit or Revit Essentials – up to you!

Want to win both books? Bonus points if you’re the first person to send me a picture of yourself, Clint and Mark Schmieding. Long story!

I’m also really starting to like About.Me. It’s becoming the defacto place to start; everything links from there. One stop:

All part of the master plan to get these guys to Kansas City, MO/KS.

I realize the music is too high-brow for the local community, but that’s beside the point.

I miss Eddy.