What do you think?

From the Advocates for Self Government News letter (April 24, 2013):

Leonard E. Read is one of the true Founding Fathers of the modern libertarian movement. A wonderful and prolific writer, Read was the Founding President of America’s first libertarian think tank, the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE).

In an article published way back in May 1955, Read gave a particularly eloquent description of libertarianism.

Read said that in an ideal world, every person should be free:

"...to pursue his ambition to the full extent of his abilities, regardless of race or creed or family background.

...to associate with whom he pleases for any reason he pleases, even if someone else thinks it's a stupid reason.

...to worship God in his own way, even if it isn't 'orthodox.'

...to choose his own trade and to apply for any job he wants -- and to quit his job if he doesn't like it or if he gets a better offer.

...to go into business for himself, be his own boss, and set his own hours of work -- even if it's only three hours a week.

...to use his honestly acquired property or savings in his own way -- spend it foolishly, invest it wisely, or even give it away.

...to offer his services or products for sale on his own terms, even if he loses money on the deal.

...to buy or not to buy any service or product offered for sale, even if the refusal displeases the seller.

...to disagree with any other person, even when the majority is on the side of the other person.

...to study and learn whatever strikes his fancy, as long as it seems to him worth the cost and effort of studying and learning it.

...to do as he pleases in general, as long as he doesn't infringe the equal right and opportunity of every other person to do as he pleases.

“The above, in a nutshell, is the way of life which the libertarian philosophy commends. It means no special privilege from government for anyone. It is the way of individual liberty, of the free market, of private property, of government limited to securing these rights equally for all.”

SCRUG

The Southern California Revit Users Group meets monthly around Orange County California. Often this means a cheap dinner and conversations & presentations about Revit - a design and documentation software by Autodesk.

January 2013 the meeting had presentations by Louis Navarrete of Brookfield Homes and A. Jay Holland of KTGY.

Louis is Brookfield Homes's BIM (Building Information Modeling)Manager. He recounted the history of the firm's BIM experience and why he came on board and what he has implemented. Portions of the presentation focused on different softwares that assist their work flow. Specifically:

●BIM Link (exports/imports between Revit & Excel)
●Autodesk's Quantity Take Off (Estimating tool)
●Metal Wood Framer (Revit plug-in creates framing members)
●Sladia (Visualization tool)
●Autodesk's Navisworks (Visualization & clash detection tool)
●BH Export (Custom tool for Brookfield Homes)
The presentation included both descriptions and live demonstrations.

A. Jay Holland provided images of recent KTGY projects and recounted their struggles complying with Brookfield's requirements.

Some news items to take away form the meeting are:

●Consistency is King - when information resides in a specific spot from project to project it smooths the process of design, estimating, plan check, and construction
●When using design options in Revit always include "off" as the default or primary option
●Linking is more efficient than groups when documenting design options

Article about Seismic concerns...

http://www.seismic.ca.gov/pub/CSSC_2007-03_Field_Act_Report.pdf

Revit Family

Sometimes in the course of regular work, I need to create a custom component. Here is an example: Here is a link to the file: :-)

Acts of God.

If man caused global warming is really the cause of storms, why do insurance companies still have "Acts of God" disclaimers? With the legions of the non-believers growing, shouldn't the non-believers refuse to sign insurance documents that exclude Acts of God? How can you explain to an atheist that an Act of God caused the damage and their claim will not be paid?

Armstrong Project Showcase

I received this video from Armstrong. It shows several beautiful projects that use their products. Enjoy.

Second floor walkways

Here is the code section that triggers the treatment of second floor walkways as corridors:

 

SECTION 1019

EGRESS BALCONIES

1019.1 General. Balconies used for egress purposes shall conform

to the same requirements as corridors for width, headroom,

dead ends and projections.

1019.2 Wall separation. Exterior egress balconies shall be

separated from the interior of the building by walls and opening

protectives as required for corridors.

Exception: Separation is not required where the exterior

egress balcony is served by at least two stairs and a dead-end

travel condition does not require travel past an unprotected

opening to reach a stair.

It looks like the 10 feet requirement comes from the accessible means of egress section:

1007.7 Exterior area for assisted rescue. The exterior area for

assisted rescue must be open to the outside air and meet the

requirements of Section 1007.6.1. Separation walls shall comply

with the requirements of Section 705 for exterior walls.

Where walls or openings are between the area for assisted rescue

and the interior of the building, the building exterior walls

within 10 feet (3048 mm) horizontally of a n,onrated wall or

unprotected opening shall have afire-resistance rating of not

less than ,1 hour. Openings within such exterior walls shall be

protected by opening protectives having a fire protection rating

of not less than 3/4 hour. This construction shall extend vertically

from the ground to a point 10 feet (3048 mm) above the

floor level of the area for assisted rescue or to the roof line,

whichever is lower.