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August 25, 2005
Blog Piece to be Aired on KQED Radio Perspectives
I am happy to announce that the blog entry, "Tales of a Wireless World," will be featured as a 2 minute read perspective for KQED public radio, our local San Francisco NPR affiliate. I always enjoy the Perspectives series driving around listening to the radio on the way to work, and fortunately this piece was accepted. For those unfamiliar with Perspectives, it is KQED radio's "opinion page," featuring listener perspectives and commentary.
I go in to record the piece in the studio next week and will post a follow-up as to an airtime and its location in the KQED archives.
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 10:34 PM | Comments (0)
August 24, 2005
School's Back & Traffic is Bad
I was driving down Highway 101 last week, the central artery through Marin County on the way to San Francisco, and something was wrong. It was 8:30 in the morning and the traffic was more reminiscent of 8:30 pm. This all changed however with many schools starting this week. Now traffic is back to its typical ugliness.
Not that bad traffic is unusual for the Bay Area. According to one report, the Bay Area had the second worst traffic congestion in the nation after Los Angeles. The Marin 101 corridor is typically one of the worse traffic spots in the area in yearly traffic assessments.
Maybe the new Transportation Bill will help, as Marin landed quite a few improvement projects including the widening of the Novato narrows.
The bad traffic might have been eased a bit if back in the 60's Marin had been connected to BART. Unfortunately, a ridership that was too small, and concerns about attaching BART to the Golden Gate Bridge prevented Marin's connection to the system. This was compounded by fears that connection to BART would spur development in the area. Now, of course, any connection to BART would cost hundreds of millions per mile of line (Just witness the SFO airport extension with a price tag of 1.5 billion for just under 8.8 miles).
Until new projects get under way, or more public transit is added (such as light rail from Sonoma County), we'll have to wait for the next school vacation for easy morning commutes.
For more on traffic visit the Marin Congestion Management Agency
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 05:57 PM | Comments (0)
August 22, 2005
Masters of Landscape Architecture- Lawrence Halprin
From time to time I will expound on some influential landscape designers in our "Masters" Series:
Lawrence Halprin is one of the most distinguished modern landscape architects. His scope of work and ability to capture the public imagination with his parks and projects made him as close to a household name as a landscape architect could attain. He is known for may great projects, including his groundbreaking integration of development and nature at Sea Ranch, and for the FDR Memorial in Washington D.C.
At 88 he continues to be active, recently consulting on George Lucas' the new Letterman Digital Art complex. (Also read his recent opinion piece on the Golden Gate Bridge in the SF Chronicle) His San Francisco resume alone is impressive, with works along the Embarcadero including Levi Plaza, involvement in selecting and developing Justin Herman Plaza, and a redevelopment of Ghirardelli Square.
A most captivating signature element to many of these projects is Halprin's fountains. Many of these are inspired by natural streams and water flow from areas such as the High Sierra. As Halprin writes, "I believe not only does form equal process in nature, but also think that we derive our sense of aesthetic from nature... I view the earth and its life processes as a model for the creative process." (1)
Three standouts of Halprin's fountains that I have visited, Levi Plaza in San Francisco, Freeway Park in Seattle, and the Ira Keller Fountain in Portland, clearly show these natural influences. Each Halprin fountain seems to be related, variations on a theme. Large slabs of concrete, that gray over time to look like stone. Man made geometric pieces that use the magic of water to transcend into something natural.
Like most aging public projects, especially fountains, many of Halprin's works are being threatened with removal or redevelopment (Portland, Washington State Campus, Denver, Virginia). Should you get a chance to visit one of these features, with the water turned on and running, you can appreciate some of Halprin's genius for creating a bold statement.
More Information on Halprin:
ASLA Michelangelo Award
Lovejoy Fountain, Portland
Ira Keller Fountain, Portland
(1) From: The Landscape of Man, Jeffery and Susan Jellicoe, p.333
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 12:08 PM | Comments (0)
August 21, 2005
Newly Expanded Great Gardens and Parks Portfolios
After much work and web toiling, we are happy to present our newly expanded Great Gardens and Parks portfolios. Here you will find gardens from California and the West, and Western Europe.
In the California and the West Galleries there are 15 galleries from gardens, parks and city spaces from British Colombia to Southern California. In the Western Europe Galleries there are over 20 galleries from 7 countries.
We hope that these galleries can serve as an information resource, and that they will be enjoyable to browse through. As with any web based project there is more on the way from Western Europe, and eventually from our travels in Kyoto Japan and surrounding areas.
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 03:37 PM | Comments (0)
August 19, 2005
Prado Museum Botanical Gardens, Madrid
The Prado Museum hosts one of Europe's great art collections. It is renoun, for its collection of Spanish Masters Goya, El Greco and Velasquez. In addition to the museum there is also an interesting botanical garden on the grounds. The Prado was originally comissioned in the 18th century to be natural science museum, which accounts for the botanical gardens, but by the time of its opening, it was used as a showcase of art from the Spanish empire.
The garden itself has a characteristic Spanish quality of being relaxed and a bit wild and overgrown. This is true of many of the other parks of Madrid that I visited. Below are some photographs-
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 07:30 AM | Comments (1)
August 17, 2005
Tales of a Wireless World
I have been fighting long hours with our company's wireless network for a new office space, and finally I gave up on the prospect. After about $1,000 in hardware, and too many hours on the phone with technical support, we are going back to a wired network. Hopefully with the new wireless standard that is being developed, the remaining kinks will be worked out of wireless hardware.
It is amazing how the technology is advancing and becoming commonplace, which reminds me of an amazing story a colleague recently told me-
She was in a downtown area with her laptop, trying to catch up on some projects for work, and feeling like getting out of the house. She was working, undisturbed, when an itinerant gentleman passed by. His appearance was disheveled; he was dirty and verbally rambling, scabs covering his face. She focused on her work and ignored him, minding her own business as she inclined the laptop towards her a bit more. For a time the man stopped his monologue and all was silent. It was at this moment when clearly and concisely the man pointed out,
"I bet you could get wireless access from those apartments up there," as he gestured to the surrounding buildings.
My colleague, a bit surprised, clicked on her wireless network on the laptop. Within seconds, she was connected with broadband speed to a surrounding network. Amazement and a bit of incredulity set in as she contemplated the man.
It was at this moment that the reality of our new wireless, technologically inclined culture hit. The man asked if he could check his email! My colleague, a young woman, prudently told the man that the connection had not been successful and he eventually went on his way.
With this, I contemplate whether I should have, instead of calling technical support, gone downtown in search of such a man. Maybe the dot-com recovery for the Bay Area has not been as good as imagined.
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 04:25 PM | Comments (0)
August 16, 2005
An Empowered Employee at SBC
We received a notice in the mail today confirming the new DSL service for our office. For only $44.99 a month, we would be connected to the "Pro" speed DSL service. There was only one problem, we had signed up for service at $36.99.
Our DSL activation with SBC has been a circus. We called before our move in, stating that we would be assuming occupancy at the first of the month, and that the existing tenants of the space should not be disturbed. The next day we receive a call from the existing tenants, the SBC tech was there to hook up phone service- as if it was even remotely possible to have service hooked up the day following one's call.
When we were ready to move into the space, our original appointment did not show up in the system, and the activation for our phone and internet service had been pushed back. This required several calls to SBC, which did not result in the usual greeting and promise of, "how can I provide you with excellent service today."
There were some bright spots in our dealings with SBC however. The tech that was eventually dispatched was excellent. He hooked up all of our jacks and configured our phones, and without charging us the standard per jack fee that would have amounted to hundreds of dollars.
This brings me back to today’s notice. When I called SBC to inquire about the bill, the representative, Steve, checked the account. Despite the fact that the account was still pending, and he could not make changes today, he said he would make a note and take the appropriate steps to fix the problem.
Wrapping up the call, we got to talking about the process of DSL activation. That’s when Steve offered to credit me for a month because of the difficulty we had with the process. That was a great gesture, and I appreciated it given all the problems we had. When I compare this experience with the sequence of indifference and denials I faced speaking with Nextel representatives, it is clear the value of empowered employees, especially in large organizations.
It’s not that we never receive complaints concerning customer service. We recently received a complaint from a customer with a concern about his bill. The customer was a valued client, and rather than argue over billing, we just told him to pay what he thought was a fair price for the work we completed. Again, to do this, employees need to be empowered to think and make decisions, rather than just blindly follow policies or procedures.
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 09:02 PM | Comments (0)
August 15, 2005
Cedarworks- Cedar Play Structure Design
I have had the fun task on a recent project to design a play structure for a client's young daughter. They selected a Cedarworks play structure, and as we design and outfit the set I am very impressed with the options and design tools the manufacturer provides.
There are several modules to choose from, ranging from basic swings and climbing rigs to the "Cedarsaurus," mega playcenter. From a design perspective one very helpful tool was the 3-D set designer. There was limited space available for the set and I was able to custom design the elements to fit the space available.
Now we will have to wait and see what the finished product will look like. Below is a rendering and plan outputted by the web design application-
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 09:24 PM | Comments (0)
August 14, 2005
Wireless Networking
We are in the process of hooking up a wireless network for our new office space and it has been quite an adventure. We are generally tech savvy, but there have been quite a few conflicts with hardware/software and details to configure on our Linksys hardware.
I have spent good chunks of the last few days talking with Linksys tech representatives in India and the Philippines. It is amazing to think of the global reach of technology and telecommunications. The Linksys support has been good as far as these things go. No wait times and knowledgeable support staff; the products, however, have not been plug-n-play.
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 11:06 PM | Comments (0)
August 13, 2005
Digital Tools Used in Landscape Design
I get asked frequently what software we use to create and render of landscape plans. Typically there are several software applications that we use in the design process-
Drafting: We use Vectorworks, a popular alternative to Autocad (which is the industry standard). Typically detail drafting is done in Vectorworks, which is well suited for residential landscape planning.
Image Processing and Plan Presentation Drawings and Graphics: We use Adobe products Photoshop and Illustrator for image processing. We will draft a plan in Vectorworks and then color and manipulate it using Illustrator. Photoshop is used for digital mock-ups and image improvements.
Plant Selection: We use a couple of plant databases to help with plant selection. PlantMaster is a regional California database that we use to select plants based on cultural requirements; soil type, water use, aspect, characteristics etc.
We also use Horticopia, a National database, with an excellent image library, so that clients get a good idea for the plants to be installed.
Other Software: Some other useful software applications we use in the design process.
Adobe Acrobat Professional- for client communication
MindManager- for planning and organization
Microsoft Office- for a variety of standard uses
Dreamweaver- for web publication
Plan Drafted with Vectorworks and Rendered with Adobe Illustrator
Digital Mock up of Pool Wall using Adobe Photoshop and El Dorado Manufactured Stone Textures
Planting Picture Contact Sheet Created with Plant Databases
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 10:29 PM | Comments (0)
August 10, 2005
Keukenhof Gardens
In the process of moving to our new office, I was reviewing some of my photographs of gardens in Europe from 2003. One of the most striking of all the gardens I visited there was the famous Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse, Holland. Of course, the Dutch are famous for their flowers, especially their tulips, and the gardens did not disappoint. There are acres of beautiful gardens that should be a must on any Netherlands visit.
As far as floral displays, from my travels these gardens may only be rivaled by the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Colombia.
Below are some of my favorite photos from the gardens:
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 08:57 PM | Comments (0)
August 09, 2005
Outstanding Service
After some frustrating experiences recently with SBC connecting phone service to our office, I reminisced on when the last time I received truly excellent customer service. In the case of SBC, I made 10 separate calls to get the automated DSL phone service to connect to a representative and had another 45 minute hold inquiring about our order (I have great luck with phone companies).
The last truly distinct service experience with a large company was with Microsoft. We had just updated our computers to Windows 2000 and there was a problem with a conflict that was causing Windows not to operate properly. I called the 24 hour support line at about 10:00pm and I think we did not wrap up until 2 or 3 in the morning. The tech was great; he walked me through every contingency until we found the problem.
The fact that the technical support representative was competent and able to solve this complicated and difficult problem was impressive enough. For those readers familiar troubleshooting computers, especially Windows, there can be many set of variables involved. However, the crowning and memorable service moment happened about a week later. I received in the mail a gift tower from Harry & David and a thank you note from customer support.
Now I don't know if this is standard operating procedure in this case. I would assume not. Maybe the follow-up gift was because of the duration of the call; maybe it was because Windows 2000 at the time was newly released and several large companies were switching over at the same time- whatever the reason, Microsoft Support got a gold star in my book for great service and great follow through.
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 10:46 PM | Comments (0)
August 08, 2005
Deer Resistant vs. Deer Proof
One of the major challenges we face in planting in Marin and Sonoma Counties is deer. The wooded slopes and open space are beautiful amenities to the local community, but also serve as great habitat for deer. In most areas any unfenced plantings need to be deer resistant. Notice that I say resistant and not deer proof. This is a major distinction. Just because a plant is on a deer resistant list does not mean it is deer proof. If the conditions are right deer can and will eat almost anything. This is not to say that there are not some plants that deer will rarely eat, but there is no such thing as a deer proof plant.
One product that we use on newly planted material (deer love juvenile foliage on plants they are not supposed to eat) is Liquid Fence. It is a deer repellant designed to be applied frequently at first, and then periodically once deer have been “trained” to stay away from your plants. We have found this product to be a moderately effective solution to deer “proofing” plantings if applications are made regularly.
Read our article on Planting with Deer, in the articles section of our website.
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 09:27 PM | Comments (0)
August 06, 2005
Good Garden Quotations
In the process of our move to our new office, as I was filtering through some books I stumbled up Maria Polushkin Robbins' book A Gardener's Bouquet of Quotations, and I wanted to share a few of my favorites.
A Garden is a thing of beauty and a job forever.
-Anonymous
Nothing is more completely the child of art than a garden.
-Sir Walter Scott
I don't know whether nice people tend to grow roses or growing roses makes people nice.
-Rowland A. Browne
The great challenge for the garden designer is not to make the garden look natural, but to make the garden so that the people in it will feel natural.
-Lawrence Halprin
But a weed is simply a plant that wants to grow where people want something else. In blaming nature, people mistake the culprit. Weeds are people's idea, not nature's.
-Anonymous
Again rejoicing Nature sees
Her robe assume its vernal hues
Her leafy locks wave in the breeze,
All freshly steeped in morning dews.
-Robert Burns
As is the garden such is the gardener.
A man's nature runs either to herbs or weeds.
-Francis Bacon
The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.
-Franklin D. Roosevelt
Unless you take care, the sun will pin you down. Put a hat on that foolish head of yours when you go out into the fields.
-Farmers Almanac
He who plants a garden, plants happiness.
-Chinese Proverb
There is nothing pleasanter than spading when the ground is soft and damp.
-John Steinbeck
What I enjoy is not the fruits alone, but I also enjoy the soil itself, its nature and its power.
-Cicero
We collect great garden quotes, let us know some of your favorites.
If you are looking for more good quotes try:
Wisdom Quotes
Quote Garden
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 08:57 PM | Comments (0)
August 05, 2005
Office Move
We are in the process of moving our office to a new location in Novato. Pictures and more info to come, once we finish moving in.
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 09:14 AM | Comments (0)