It’s been a long time since I did my first Level of Effort estimate. In case you don’t know, a Level of Effort estimate is an educated guess on how long it will take for your co-workers or employees to accomplish a given project. It’s important for scoping a proposal […]
My wife had lunch with a friend that is also an archaeology field director earlier this week. Conversing while they enjoyed a relaxing meal, her friend started describing how frustrating her last project was because of two particular co-workers. She was called upon to lead a particularly challenging archaeological testing […]
Throughout our careers, we all come in contact with people that really change our lives. I remember when I landed my first job as a project archaeology crew chief. College was a recent memory and I had a long way to go. All of my skills were pathetic. I couldn’t […]
I was talking with a neighbor about how crappy the cell reception is in our neighborhood. He told me that a couple of years ago, a telecommunications company had planned to build a cell tower adjacent to a nearby wash in a location where it would be able to serve […]
Most construction and development companies fear the discovery of historic properties. I’ve talked to dozens of construction head honchos and project managers that absolutely dread the thought of finding a historic building or archaeological site where they propose to build something because it will require them to re-think some major […]
At 9AM it was already about 95 degrees with 85 percent humidity. I was walking with my crew through a muddy wash somewhere in Pima County, Arizona. It rained yesterday. The wash was a smoldering sauna. Fifty-foot high cliffs enveloped me on both sides as my boots slipped in the […]
If you’ve worked in cultural resource management, historic preservation, heritage conservation, or architectural preservation you’ve probably had the following conversation: “What??!! That’s a historic property? It’s just an ol’ pile of noun that means garbage. Who’d ever wanna preserve that piece of noun that means excrement? What the expletive is […]
I love using my smartphone. I barely remember what life was like before I had it. Wanna watch a movie? Stream it on your phone. Is it going to rain today? Just consult your wireless oracle. Do you have a receipt you’re gonna need to submit to your company? Take […]
There are a number of people that would tell you resumes are dead. Especially for those of us looking for cultural resource, heritage conservation, or historic preservation employment. Your networking, skills, experience, and personality play a huge role in getting hired and impressing your future boss in an interview. But […]
Every cultural resource management, heritage conservation, or historic preservation project has stated and unstated goals. Check out my post on Random Acts of Science to learn more about how you can discern these two types of goals: I would really love to hear from you. If you have […]
