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| California, Here I Come!!! | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 2 2013, 02:18 PM (259 Views) | |
| ivorythumper | Feb 2 2013, 02:18 PM Post #1 |
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
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For the past 5 months I've been studying for the California Supplemental Exam to be a licensed architect in CA -- in every other state I can just apply through the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, send in a couple hundred bucks, they send my file to the state I want to get licensed in, and then I pay the couple hundred bucks for state licensure. But CA has a massive number of regulations and procedures and special conditions (earthquake, environmental law, Coastal Commission, their own accessibility code that they don't enforce or care about ADA, layers of bureaucratic interfaces, etc) and so require a special exam to practice there. About 6 years ago, when it was an oral exam (before a panel of three humorless, personality free, emotionally undeveloped architects), I took the exam and crashed and burned. Since then, due to a law suit (I think they had a 15% pass rate), they shifted to a computer based, multiple choice, 3 1/2hour format -- one part that was project specific (they give you all the drawings and pertinent information) and one part general info. The test is administered by a contracting company, so I could go to about a dozen places in CA (Riverside the nearest), or Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Chicago, etc... So I drove up to Las Vegas on Thursday, took the exam on Friday morning, passed and drove home. Huge relief -- especially since I have a large project in Napa that I haven't been able to propose a contract on without running afoul of the California Architects Board. I'm happy. ![]() |
| The dogma lives loudly within me. | |
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| Horace | Feb 2 2013, 02:24 PM Post #2 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Congratulations IT! Interesting about the law suit, and news stories about that? |
| As a good person, I implore you to do as I, a good person, do. Be good. Do NOT be bad. If you see bad, end bad. End it in yourself, and end it in others. By any means necessary, the good must conquer the bad. Good people know this. Do you know this? Are you good? | |
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| Chris Aher | Feb 2 2013, 02:38 PM Post #3 |
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Middle Aged Carp
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Congrats!
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Regards, Chris | |
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| ivorythumper | Feb 2 2013, 02:49 PM Post #4 |
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
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I don't know the back story on the lawsuit (it might have been an internal decision to avoid a suit). The old method completely sucked -- they would ask vague questions that you had to scramble and ramble, hoping to say the secret words for them to check off their list. The written exam was not much better -- they could have at least found a native English speaker to write it, proofread grammar and punctuation errors, and it was full of very nontechnical, vague and ambiguous language that had to be filtered through what one understood of the actual regulations. Some of the questions had no correct answer, and I had to answer the "least wrong" answer. It might even ask what an architect "must" do, when the choices were not matters of liability, legal compliance or even the professional standards of care, but really optional if one wanted to be a nice guy. It actually though had a "comment" function, where you could make a comment on a question such as ""A" is wrong for this reason, "B" is wrong for that reason, etc....". It was really sloppy, given the highly technical and legally precise language of regulations, and it was about making the best educated guesses of what they "might" be really asking about. Highly relieved and I hope not to have to undergo that again! |
| The dogma lives loudly within me. | |
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| Mark | Feb 2 2013, 03:06 PM Post #5 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Congratulations IT!
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___.___ (_]===* o 0 When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells | |
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| Horace | Feb 2 2013, 03:08 PM Post #6 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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California's legal impediments to any sort of building are pretty legendary. It apparently even extends to people who want to do small home improvements. |
| As a good person, I implore you to do as I, a good person, do. Be good. Do NOT be bad. If you see bad, end bad. End it in yourself, and end it in others. By any means necessary, the good must conquer the bad. Good people know this. Do you know this? Are you good? | |
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| Klaus | Feb 2 2013, 03:17 PM Post #7 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Congrats! Was the new test still difficult or mostly a formality? |
| Trifonov Fleisher Klaus Sokolov Zimmerman | |
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| ivorythumper | Feb 2 2013, 03:50 PM Post #8 |
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
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Anything but a formality -- part one (40 questions) took all of the hour that they allowed, part two (110 questions) was 2 1/2 hours, and it took me 1 3/4 hours to complete, and 45 minutes to review and make changes. |
| The dogma lives loudly within me. | |
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| Axtremus | Feb 2 2013, 04:19 PM Post #9 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Congratulations, IT. |
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| Copper | Feb 2 2013, 04:21 PM Post #10 |
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Shortstop
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Now that you're in you'll be taking the democrat party entrance exam soon. It's not as tough. |
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The Confederate soldier was peculiar in that he was ever ready to fight, but never ready to submit to the routine duty and discipline of the camp or the march. The soldiers were determined to be soldiers after their own notions, and do their duty, for the love of it, as they thought best. Carlton McCarthy | |
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| ivorythumper | Feb 2 2013, 04:27 PM Post #11 |
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
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A) A pack of smokes B) A bottle of Thunderbird C) All the above D) All the above |
| The dogma lives loudly within me. | |
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| Copper | Feb 2 2013, 06:06 PM Post #12 |
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Shortstop
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You're gonna like it. |
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The Confederate soldier was peculiar in that he was ever ready to fight, but never ready to submit to the routine duty and discipline of the camp or the march. The soldiers were determined to be soldiers after their own notions, and do their duty, for the love of it, as they thought best. Carlton McCarthy | |
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| brenda | Feb 2 2013, 07:37 PM Post #13 |
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..............
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Well done, IT! Enjoy making CA more beautiful. |
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“Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.” ~A.A. Milne | |
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| Steve Miller | Feb 3 2013, 05:39 PM Post #14 |
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Bull-Carp
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Welcome to my world!
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Wag more Bark less | |
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| ivorythumper | Feb 3 2013, 07:07 PM Post #15 |
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
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thanks, I was thinking about you.
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| The dogma lives loudly within me. | |
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and drove home. 






12:37 AM Jul 11