I got one more A.R.E. test out of the way today, provided I passed it of course. Lateral Forces is in the books for the time being. It was a lousy test, poorly worded, and difficult to understand, it almost makes you feel like they want you to fail.
On to the next three, graphic divisions, should be easy. I hope.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Hobbies:High Octane and High Resolution
A couple of my hobbies include fast cars and cameras. Sometimes, i get to enjoy both at the same time. This past weekend, a bunch of my friends were at the track, Road Atlanta specifically. A world class race track that holds numerous races over the year. My friends were there with NASA, a growing organization that allows everyday people to take their car out on a race track...and drive it like you want to and not get arrested. I was not able to drive this weekend, but I did get to take pictures. So, I got to smell the burnt rubber, high octane fuel and see some really nice cars.
I thought i would share a couple pictures.
This is a friend of mine, his car is set up almost exactly like mine. We have a lot of fun out on the track together.
This next one is a friend of mine, who has lots of play toys. This is him in his Ford GT, nice car, but I like his Audi R8 better. His GT did get a lot of attention in the paddock, and it was really fast out on the track. I wonder how many other GT owners like to flog their prize cars on the track. He sure enjoys it.
His wife gets into it too, in her Lotus Exige S, that has been track prepped from the ground up. It is a fun little car too, and tough to keep up with.
And one of my favorite cars from the weekend, a nice Ferrari 348. It sounded so good, that nice Italian scream. It brought a big smile to my face every time it went by.
There are more pictures on my Flickr page @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/atrhoads/
Enjoy. I know I did.
I thought i would share a couple pictures.
This is a friend of mine, his car is set up almost exactly like mine. We have a lot of fun out on the track together.
This next one is a friend of mine, who has lots of play toys. This is him in his Ford GT, nice car, but I like his Audi R8 better. His GT did get a lot of attention in the paddock, and it was really fast out on the track. I wonder how many other GT owners like to flog their prize cars on the track. He sure enjoys it.
His wife gets into it too, in her Lotus Exige S, that has been track prepped from the ground up. It is a fun little car too, and tough to keep up with.
And one of my favorite cars from the weekend, a nice Ferrari 348. It sounded so good, that nice Italian scream. It brought a big smile to my face every time it went by.
There are more pictures on my Flickr page @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/atrhoads/Enjoy. I know I did.
General Structures...Done.
For now anyway, no idea how I did. But I got the test that scares me the most, behind me. At least until I find out if I passed. And with these, it is a PASS or FAIL. I am really hoping for the former, since I don't want to take that one again. It was rough enough the first time, but to wait 6 months, I would need a refresher course. So, the wait begins. But, in the meantime, Lateral Forces is next week, and then I am going to do my remaining 3 in the next month, they are all graphic sections, and really long. Joy. But, i need to get them all done, and passed, so that I can get rid of the moniker of intern. I hate that word, it sounds so...unpaid.
Monday, March 10, 2008
I've got Grass!
Well, sorta, it is starting to grow. the seed I spread on the yard last week is starting to grow, I noticed it yesterday. I got really excited, asked Andrea, my mother and my aunt to come out and see. None were as thrilled as I was. Well, they really thought I was crazy. But my grass is growing, that makes me smile. Last year, our yard looked awful, as bad as the rental across the street. I was embarrassed. I need to fertilize it tonight, just add to what the dog is doing for it.
Glad that is over!
My structures seminar that is, now I just need to get through the two tests. It was a long weekend, and I am pretty sure that my brain is over cooked today. Three days of stuff that makes my head hurt. But it was not as scary as i thought it would be, and I feel like I am now well prepared to take at least one of the exams. Now I just need to sign up for them, and study for the rest of the week, and take both of these by Monday the 24th. That way it is still fresh in my head. I thought I would just show one example of all the stuff we were going through, it was an easy one. It got worse. A lot worse.
I am looking forward to having these two test behind me, at least for the first round. If I fail either one, I have to wait six months. So, I have designed into the process, the chance to fail twice, and still stay on the old tests. In June of 2009, the Architectural Registration Exam gets an update, from ARE 3.0 to ARE 4.0. And if I have not passed both of these by then, I have to do them over. If I have only passed one, and not the other, I have to do them both over. So, I need to get them done, and have over a year, but I really hope it does not take that long, I have been trying to get these 9 tests done for over 3 years now, and that is pathetic. Just terrible on my part, it should not take that long. But, there were people in my class over the weekend that have been taking the test for 10-15 years, but just not very often, and not very regularly. So, while I am not the worst at it, I sure need to do it a little faster.
I am looking forward to having these two test behind me, at least for the first round. If I fail either one, I have to wait six months. So, I have designed into the process, the chance to fail twice, and still stay on the old tests. In June of 2009, the Architectural Registration Exam gets an update, from ARE 3.0 to ARE 4.0. And if I have not passed both of these by then, I have to do them over. If I have only passed one, and not the other, I have to do them both over. So, I need to get them done, and have over a year, but I really hope it does not take that long, I have been trying to get these 9 tests done for over 3 years now, and that is pathetic. Just terrible on my part, it should not take that long. But, there were people in my class over the weekend that have been taking the test for 10-15 years, but just not very often, and not very regularly. So, while I am not the worst at it, I sure need to do it a little faster.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
30 Hours of Structures
Tomorrow, I start a 3 day seminar on building structures. Sounds like fun huh. 3, 10 hour days, all designed to help me pass 2 of my registration exams. 2 of the 9 total. But the two I have put off, and been the most concerned about. I have had to print the syllabus for the next three days. Over 100 pages, roughly 40 pages per day of information that will be covered. This is gonna be a long weekend. I hope it goes well, I hope I don't get lost in all the calculations and theories, because I have to take the two test next week, so that it is still fresh in my head. Those will be a blast too.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
It's raining...WooHoo!!
Finally, I planned it just right. The weather people said it was going to rain today. So over the weekend I aerated the yard, and yesterday put down a whole bag of Atlanta Blend grass seed. In hopes that it actually would rain today. And now...it is RAINING!! it never worked out last year, every time I did something in the yard, what I wanted to happen did not, and what I did not want...did. I put down weed killer last year, and it rained that night, washing it all away. I gave up on the yard last year. This year, I am not giving up.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
The pain of Exemption
Homestead Exemption to be exact. It is a tax break I guess. But they make you work so hard for it. And I had to go through it.
We bought our house in January of last year, so we were not eligible to apply for Homestead Exemption(HE) last year. So, I had to do it this year. Well, I, like the rest of Fulton County forgot when the deadline was to file for HE. On Thursday we received a letter in the mail, reminding us to get it done by March 1. On February 28, we got a letter to remind us to get it done by March 1. Good thing it is a leap year. And on this paper, it is not very clear as to who needs to apply, or what you need to have to apply. it tells you which offices in the county to go to, but that is about it. First of all, send it out a little earlier, what a bunch of idiot folks over at the tax commissioners office. And then, maybe put some directions on that forum telling people what to do, rather than just being vague and uninformative.
So, I went to the Tax Office, and the line was out the door, and down the side of the building. I get in line, with nothing in hand, well, because I had no idea what to bring, and the website for the county has no information on it. In a day and age where we can't get too much information, the County website has none. Our news cast are covered with information, so much so that you can't pay attention to all of them, and if you are like me, you can only pay attention to one at a time. But the county can't provide any information to us. And their phones...of the hook. they opened at 9 am, and at 9:01, the line was busy, no holding pattern, just a good old fashioned tone that tells you, try again. Better luck next time. So, there in line I stand, and I start asking other people what you need to file for HE. None of them know either. Some had large folders of information about their house, some were like me, and came empty handed. Some had filed for HE before, but because of the vague letter sent out, thought they had to do it again. Eventually, someone who was smarter than me, decided to talk to someone leaving the tax office. We found out, that if you have already filed in the past, you can leave, you don't have to do it again. And to properly file for HE, you need a valid picture ID and, get this....your motor vehicle registration. You could see the confusion painted on the faces of the people in line. Huh, car tag info, what does that have to do with it. Well, we later learned, that it proves you live there. Well, that information should have been in the letter, because that would have made sense. So, I wait in line, and after about an hour, I get in the door, and to the desk to sign in. I am number 63. And i think, man, if they have not gotten past that by 11 am already, this is gonna be one long day. So, I sign in, and try to ask the guy behind the desk a question. He has no information, because HE is not his department, he is just there to help with the massive crowd for the day. Fantastic. They could have at least given him a tiny bit of information. Just to help ease the tension a little, but no, they didn't. Finally found someone that knew something, and found out what I needed, and I did not have it. A scramble to the DMV next door got what I needed, and then the wait. I wound up answering questions for new people in line, because I had gathered all of the info I needed in my recon work. At this point, I knew more about HE than the people working there. So, I finally got a chair in the waiting room, and sat. For 2 more hours. because our brilliant tax commissioner only assigned 2 people to this task of verifying information. And they were not too bright, one of them had her OWN name tattooed on her arm, in plain sight. I guess she needed to have it there, just in case she forgot, or maybe on those Friday nights when she drank too much, she could always look at her arm and remember her name. I finally got done with my ordeal. i ha missed 4 hours of work, and spent almost all of that time just waiting.
And all of that could have been avoided. In a time when everything is online, and everything is electronic, how hard would it have been to have an online form, to fill out, and submit. I mean really, the tax office does both your house and car taxes. How hard can it be to cross reference those, in an second or two, online, and make the whole process easier. it would have taken 5 minutes, and I would not have had to miss work, and neither would the thousands of people that were in the same situation. It just does not make sense to me. As a people, we must be running out of, or be completely out of common sense. And if we had any smarts left, we would rise against those that are in control, that make us jump through hoops like this.
OK, I feel better now.
We bought our house in January of last year, so we were not eligible to apply for Homestead Exemption(HE) last year. So, I had to do it this year. Well, I, like the rest of Fulton County forgot when the deadline was to file for HE. On Thursday we received a letter in the mail, reminding us to get it done by March 1. On February 28, we got a letter to remind us to get it done by March 1. Good thing it is a leap year. And on this paper, it is not very clear as to who needs to apply, or what you need to have to apply. it tells you which offices in the county to go to, but that is about it. First of all, send it out a little earlier, what a bunch of idiot folks over at the tax commissioners office. And then, maybe put some directions on that forum telling people what to do, rather than just being vague and uninformative.
So, I went to the Tax Office, and the line was out the door, and down the side of the building. I get in line, with nothing in hand, well, because I had no idea what to bring, and the website for the county has no information on it. In a day and age where we can't get too much information, the County website has none. Our news cast are covered with information, so much so that you can't pay attention to all of them, and if you are like me, you can only pay attention to one at a time. But the county can't provide any information to us. And their phones...of the hook. they opened at 9 am, and at 9:01, the line was busy, no holding pattern, just a good old fashioned tone that tells you, try again. Better luck next time. So, there in line I stand, and I start asking other people what you need to file for HE. None of them know either. Some had large folders of information about their house, some were like me, and came empty handed. Some had filed for HE before, but because of the vague letter sent out, thought they had to do it again. Eventually, someone who was smarter than me, decided to talk to someone leaving the tax office. We found out, that if you have already filed in the past, you can leave, you don't have to do it again. And to properly file for HE, you need a valid picture ID and, get this....your motor vehicle registration. You could see the confusion painted on the faces of the people in line. Huh, car tag info, what does that have to do with it. Well, we later learned, that it proves you live there. Well, that information should have been in the letter, because that would have made sense. So, I wait in line, and after about an hour, I get in the door, and to the desk to sign in. I am number 63. And i think, man, if they have not gotten past that by 11 am already, this is gonna be one long day. So, I sign in, and try to ask the guy behind the desk a question. He has no information, because HE is not his department, he is just there to help with the massive crowd for the day. Fantastic. They could have at least given him a tiny bit of information. Just to help ease the tension a little, but no, they didn't. Finally found someone that knew something, and found out what I needed, and I did not have it. A scramble to the DMV next door got what I needed, and then the wait. I wound up answering questions for new people in line, because I had gathered all of the info I needed in my recon work. At this point, I knew more about HE than the people working there. So, I finally got a chair in the waiting room, and sat. For 2 more hours. because our brilliant tax commissioner only assigned 2 people to this task of verifying information. And they were not too bright, one of them had her OWN name tattooed on her arm, in plain sight. I guess she needed to have it there, just in case she forgot, or maybe on those Friday nights when she drank too much, she could always look at her arm and remember her name. I finally got done with my ordeal. i ha missed 4 hours of work, and spent almost all of that time just waiting.
And all of that could have been avoided. In a time when everything is online, and everything is electronic, how hard would it have been to have an online form, to fill out, and submit. I mean really, the tax office does both your house and car taxes. How hard can it be to cross reference those, in an second or two, online, and make the whole process easier. it would have taken 5 minutes, and I would not have had to miss work, and neither would the thousands of people that were in the same situation. It just does not make sense to me. As a people, we must be running out of, or be completely out of common sense. And if we had any smarts left, we would rise against those that are in control, that make us jump through hoops like this.
OK, I feel better now.
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