tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7883005781610492663Wed, 06 Nov 2024 02:57:08 +0000The Construction BlogForecastinatingFamily AlbumOdd Numbersreal and imaginary numbers from a complex worldhttp://www.imaginarycareer.com/noreply@blogger.com (Herbert Higginbotham)Blogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7883005781610492663.post-590307144211460221Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:55:00 +00002010-02-09T11:01:51.150-08:00The Construction Blogchrys·a·lis (krĭs'ə-lĭs) n.: (1) a pupa, especially of a moth or butterfly, enclosed in a firm case or cocoon.  (2) a protected stage of development. We all remember grade school science, and the remarkable journey of the caterpillar to the butterfly.  And then we became teenagers, and formed our own protective cocoons of locked bedrooms and overamplified music in a desparatehttp://www.imaginarycareer.com/2010/02/85-ad-chrysalis.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Herbert Higginbotham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7883005781610492663.post-2589085122300803158Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:52:00 +00002010-02-01T11:57:29.293-08:00The Construction BlogWhen you're building a house, you can do all the planning you want - move a wall on a whim, add a doorway just for fun - but there comes a time when you just have to put pencils down and start building.  And when that time comes, you gotta start at the bottom.  You may have lofty visions of vaulted ceilings, but before all that you have to dig a hole and pour a http://www.imaginarycareer.com/2010/02/77-ad-you-gotta-start-at-bottom.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Herbert Higginbotham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7883005781610492663.post-4461442633699298717Thu, 21 Jan 2010 23:17:00 +00002010-02-01T10:39:27.619-08:00The Construction BlogBlogging about the construction was supposed to help me get into a writing rhythm.  Judging by the fact that I've now gone two months (!) between posts, I clearly have more work to do before I've got this right.  Fortunately, so does our contractor. 66 days into the project and still standing (in mud).  Progress is coming in chunks but is coming nonetheless.  Pics of the http://www.imaginarycareer.com/2010/01/66-ad-worst-blog-ever.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Herbert Higginbotham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7883005781610492663.post-4115328169927342917Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:38:00 +00002009-11-23T22:09:25.323-08:00The Construction BlogSitting in the doctor's office waiting for the results of our son's flu test, I drifted to the handy chart on the wall to self-assess not only the fever boy sitting in my wife's arms, but the general state of our family after one week of construction. We are decidedly in stage 4, the not-so-happy-but-not-so-sad-yet face.  Living in smaller quarters is a bit of a trick, as we have http://www.imaginarycareer.com/2009/11/7-ad-universal-pain-assessment-tool.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Herbert Higginbotham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7883005781610492663.post-514326914458859747Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:08:00 +00002009-11-18T00:09:38.305-08:00The Construction BlogThe demo guys seemed to have expended all their fun tearing frame down yesterday, because all they sent today was one lonely soul with a jackhammer who had to jack, pry, and haul all by himself for 8 hours.  As a result, the awesome gush of progress from yesterday was down to a trickle today.  Oh well.  Pool guys come tomorrow to start framing the new footprint.  Click throughhttp://www.imaginarycareer.com/2009/11/1-ad-slow-news-day.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Herbert Higginbotham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7883005781610492663.post-2119194757055807803Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:26:00 +00002009-11-17T09:43:47.305-08:00The Construction BlogWoo-frickin-hoo.  Tomorrow became today.  A new time begins that marks in process rather than waiting to process.  As exciting as demolition was because it marked the start of something new, it was equally exciting for what it signaled an end to.  The months and years of fretting, reworking, new architects, new plans, new engineers, new contractors, new bids - all preparation http://www.imaginarycareer.com/2009/11/0-ad-after-demolition.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Herbert Higginbotham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7883005781610492663.post-2823768820529893923Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:11:00 +00002009-11-16T22:13:21.947-08:00The Construction Blog1 B.C.  One day B.efore C.onstruction.  B.C. represents an ancient time, a prehistory before an epochal milestone.  And while I'm fairly certainly we won't be birthing the Messiah in the next 24 hours, we enter a new era nonetheless.  No matter how exciting the new age will be, today is a moment to reflect on the age that ends. When the converted patio room is torn down http://www.imaginarycareer.com/2009/11/1-bc-un-realtime.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Herbert Higginbotham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7883005781610492663.post-8648789938300037874Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:08:00 +00002009-11-16T11:09:53.093-08:00The Construction BlogMonday is the day, or so we think. It’s been pushed back so many times I’m having trouble getting psyched about it. But now, there are no more plans to revise or permits to acquire. No more contractor schedules to dovetail, at least for the demo. Just over two months after we thought we were starting, Monday is it. Amazingly, we still have things to do to be ready for Day 0. It’s like the book http://www.imaginarycareer.com/2009/11/2-bc-trench-warfare.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Herbert Higginbotham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7883005781610492663.post-1984391176105759706Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:48:00 +00002009-11-10T22:50:10.865-08:00ForecastinatingEvery four years, millions of dollars are spent and endless polls tallied in the quest to determine who will win the U.S. Presidential race. Sadly, all of this would be unnecessary by applying just a smidge of Forecastinating, which tells us a simple truth: The winner of the U.S. Presidential race will be the person with the longer name… (usually). Oh, what’s that? You caught that little “http://www.imaginarycareer.com/2009/11/forecastinating-lesson-1-law-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Herbert Higginbotham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7883005781610492663.post-7478087484027848827Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:21:00 +00002009-11-10T22:53:22.589-08:00ForecastinatingOne aspect of my work as a transit planning consultant involves forecasting ridership on a rail or bus line 25 years into the future. You can imagine the inherent inaccuracy of this. Yet we still do it, in part because it is necessary to at least attempt to plan for the future, but mainly because getting paid to predict the future is pretty cool. Many of us forecast futures of some kind – http://www.imaginarycareer.com/2009/11/intro-to-forecastinating.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Herbert Higginbotham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7883005781610492663.post-310233921240126171Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:12:00 +00002009-11-10T22:12:10.622-08:00The Construction BlogUp through the middle of the 20th century, the U.S. printed bills in denominations up to $100,000 - the Woodrow Wilson.  With Demolition Day fast approaching, my wife and I huddled up to review the finances for our little remodeling endeavor.  Yikes.  A few Woodrows lying around the house would come in handy right now. As the scope and vision for our project grew larger, so http://www.imaginarycareer.com/2009/11/3-bc-its-all-about-woodrows.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Herbert Higginbotham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7883005781610492663.post-2638254198845463732Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:54:00 +00002009-11-16T12:21:31.016-08:00Family AlbumLike any parent, my kids are an endless source of pride for my wife and me.  And the infinite ways they are adorable, kind-hearted, intelligent, or hilarious will no doubt be the topic of future posts.  But one particular piece of cuteness has stuck with me over the last couple weeks. I was walking through our neighborhood with our almost-2-year-old son on a day the Santa Anas http://www.imaginarycareer.com/2009/11/more.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Herbert Higginbotham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7883005781610492663.post-1233839992531358045Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:39:00 +00002009-11-03T16:40:12.043-08:00The Construction BlogOut for a jog the other day, iPhone - that sage master of the 21st century - randomized to Maroon 5's  "Harder to Breathe," which felt like an apt metaphor for this time in our lives.  Every day closer to construction feels like a little less oxygen left in the tank. The walls have been closing in on us for weeks as we evacuate the rear of our house and lot to make room for the http://www.imaginarycareer.com/2009/11/4-bc-harder-to-breathe.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Herbert Higginbotham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7883005781610492663.post-5671941627961422757Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:31:00 +00002009-11-10T22:16:33.965-08:00The Construction BlogThe permits are completed, one more step closer to the beginning. What a journey it’s been to here: 5 contractors, 3 engineers, 2 architects. And a plan check in a pear tree. Not that we didn’t play our own role in this endless adventure. We hemmed about the floor plan, hawed about the pool plan, and obsessed over every detail. No doubt we will continue to do so as planning gives way to http://www.imaginarycareer.com/2009/10/5-bc-past-perfect.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Herbert Higginbotham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7883005781610492663.post-2385722184595644997Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:18:00 +00002009-11-10T22:17:24.480-08:00The Construction BlogHere we are, a little over a month past the supposed start date, and no progress yet.  Plans have been in the plan check loop for several weeks.  We were warned, but no less annoying.  Despite the delays on the house, I'm taking the opportunity to ramp up the parallel initiatives of the remodel that seek to get my writing and body back on track.  This is the 72.3 http://www.imaginarycareer.com/2009/10/6-bc-723-plan.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Herbert Higginbotham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7883005781610492663.post-8933130260789009788Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:33:00 +00002009-10-08T13:33:06.505-07:00The Construction BlogSeven years ago, my wife and I got married, bought a house, and moved in with grand plans for it and for us.  Flush with life and savings in the bank, we boldly quit our day jobs to pursue THE DREAM.  In our case, this was a film and theatre production company.  I would write, she would direct.  We bought a camera and enrolled in film school. And then - Pregnant.&http://www.imaginarycareer.com/2009/10/7-bc-before-construction.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Herbert Higginbotham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7883005781610492663.post-6152914625366871536Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:09:00 +00002009-10-08T10:49:31.841-07:00Odd NumbersGraphs can be so useful and fun. So why don't we use them more for things we actually care about?  This is sample text. This is sample text. This is sample text. This is sample text. This is sample text. This is sample text. This is sample text. This is sample text. This is sample text. This is sample text. This is sample text. This is sample text. This is sample text. This is sample text. http://www.imaginarycareer.com/2009/09/better-black-box.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Herbert Higginbotham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7883005781610492663.post-4374839136017214376Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:00:00 +00002009-10-08T14:47:42.366-07:00At first a childhood, limitless and free of any goals. Ah sweet unconsciousness. Then sudden terror, schoolrooms, slavery, the plunge into temptation and deep loss. Defiance. The child bent becomes the bender, inflicts on others what he once went through. Loved, feared, rescuer, wrestler, victor, he takes his vengeance, blow by blow. And now in vast, cold, empty space, alone. Yet hidden http://www.imaginarycareer.com/2009/10/imaginary-career-by-rainer-maria-rilke.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Herbert Higginbotham)0