Lost! - Work

End of the line...or is it?

ken@rustbelt.com (Keng) — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 07:17:08 -0700

I'm making some tough decisions lately. I've decided, after two years of debating with myself and plenty of self-doubts, that I will be looking for a real job. I've been making a decent living as a freelance cartographer, but there have been enough downs to make me think twice, three times, and more that this is frankly getting old.

I started doing this with the hope that I could implement more creative design work in mapping, and in this regard, I've been fairly successful. Some of my clients I've truly enjoyed working with and I'll probably continue to work with a few people in the future.

But there have been plenty of downers, too. Clients who neglect to pay; clients who pay late; clients who abruptly cancel projects. The kids are finally old enough to come home to an empty house from time to time, which was one of my biggest concerns. And I can look for someone else who will pick up my end of taxes (self-employed people pay double on taxes!) and insurance.

Sure, I'll still freelance (don't tell anyone!). I love the academic maps most of all...low paying, but intellectually and creatively stimulating. My new client in Texas is pretty easy going and has offered me photography work as well. But its time to cut back and to start working for a more stable future...

Miscellaneous stuff

ken@rustbelt.com (Keng) — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 13:41:03 -0700

Been very busy this summer with lots of work (maps) and lots to do on the house. Today's project was the railing out in from to prevent visitors from falling off of my stairs. My insurance company is concerned about my friends who drink, obviously. Oh! I have a girlfriend these days, too. Its looking pretty serious, so a lot of my blogging time simply does not exist anymore...

Recent map projects:

Aurora, OH (in progress)
Imperial County (sent the last of the second proofs yesterday)
Strongsvile (in progress)

I also need to finish up those pesky Historical Mormon maps, as well. At least they're not due until the end of the year...

Adventures as a Landlord:

A few weeks ago, I person interested in renting asked me if they could have the combination to the lock box so that she could look at the apartment! Eeek! Boy did I feel naïve! I explained to her that I didn't use a lock box because I felt that their use was unsafe...how would I know if the person returned the key? She didn't seem interested in a "high" security apartment apparently...

Someone else was interested, would I accept a pet? I asked her tell me more (against my dad's better judgement, I do accept pets)...three years old, never neutered, not licensed, no shots. She's been meaning to, however...I believe strongly in neutering pets because I just feel that its not fair to them to go wild during mating season (depending on the pet) and unneutered pets do icky things like spraying (as in cats). Also, is it too much to ask for verification of its shots? In both cases, it seems like the responsible thing to do, something that reflects on how a tenant may treat the premises. C'est la vie!

A cartoon in the Akron Beacon-Journal on Akron's new Nuisance Tenant Law. What exactly is a "Rat's Patootie" anyhow?

Passing of History: Hammond

ken@rustbelt.com (Keng) — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 07:43:41 -0700

I've been away for a while...life has been busy, although both of my readers probably don't really want to know all of the sordid details about how I've got a girlfriend (Mon Dieu!), a tenant, and a whole bunch of other banal details about my life. My work has also been somewhat boring as well...I bought a new hard drive last week...

From early 1991 to late 1992, I worked at Hammond Map Company in Maplewood, NJ. Caleb "CD" Hammond was the Patriarch of the company that his son Dean and daughter-in-law Kathy ran. Herb Pierce was head of the Drafting Department that was taken over by one of my early mentors, William "Bill" Abel. Both passed away last week and my friend and former coworker Web sent out the obits. Chuck Lees, quoted in one of the articles, was my former boss in the editorial department where I spent most of my career there:

As you may already know, C.D. Hammond and Herb Pierce died within a week of each other. Below is an article from yesterdays Star-Ledger about Hammond, Inc., followed by their obituaries. A couple of things I noticedits amusing that Helen requested anonymity; she shouldnt have to worry about such stuff at her age..and are Dean and Beth Irish twins?

Please forward this to those who may be interested..Ive lost the emails of several of our former cartographic comrades.

For decades on end, they drew the world
Sunday, June 11, 2006
BY JUDY PEET
Star-Ledger Staff
People paying their respects to Herbert Pierce, 87, and Caleb Hammond, 90, as they lay next to each other in a Maplewood funeral home last week were saying goodbye not just to old friends, but to an era.

For half a century, the two men worked side by side, making some of the best maps in the world at what was called one of the nicest companies in Maplewood.

Together, they took the company founded by Mr. Hammond's grandfather in 1900 and built it into a cartographic giant, second only to Rand McNally in Chicago. At the same time, Mr. Hammond created a workplace where family mattered and few employees left.

"It was a sweet little company," recalled Mr. Hammond's daughter, Beth Lynn Steele, 63. "I'm really sad that it's gone."

There are still Hammonds and there is still a Hammond World Atlas Corp., but the company is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Langenscheidt Publishing Group, a German publishing behemoth whose other acquisitions include Hagstrom Maps, American Map Corp., Berlitz and the World Almanac.

In its heyday in the early 1960s, Hammond employed 120 draftsmen, artists and researchers at its comfortable, paneled offices an easy walk from the quaint Maplewood village center.

Now the maps are reproduced by a half-dozen computer technicians at a generic office complex in Springfield (and reviewers say the quality of the maps remains high). The only person left who remembers Hammond of the old days is an elderly secretary.

She won't tell her age or name because she is afraid Langenscheidt might notice she reached retirement age when Jimmy Carter was still in office. She stays, she says, because she always liked the job and she's still good at it.

Most of the employees, however, left in the mid-1990s, when "it became obvious that the company could no longer survive," said former editor in chief Chuck Lees.

"What is ironic is that we were the company that was responsible for the demise of beautiful, handmade paper maps," said Lees, now 73, who was with the company for 40 years before leaving in 1997. "We were a company of old-timers who made ourselves obsolete."

What killed Hammond as a local, family-owned company was computer technology.

For centuries, maps were reproduced the same way: hand-drawn on paper and updated by whatever information was available.

In 1990 at Hammond, for example, keeping maps current still meant relying on researchers with extensive sources including the U.S. Board of Geographical Names, the State Department, the CIA, the United Nations and a Budapest-based organization called Cart Actual.

By that time, Caleb Hammond was chairman of the company board of directors, and his son, C. Dean Hammond, was running operations. The son was determined to jump on the technology bandwagon.

With the help of Mitchell Feigenbaum, the mathematical physicist who developed fractal geometry (the formula that predicts chaos), Dean Hammond developed the world's first digitized world atlas, published in 1992.

It was a work that took five years and millions of dollars to develop. The digital software revolutionized the map world, paving the way for Internet maps. And, admits Dean Hammond, it probably ruined the company.

"We made hand-drawing paper maps archaic," says Hammond, now 63. "We no longer needed or could afford our large staff. Then the Internet and global satellite positioning took over and we weren't really needed at all."

Teetering on insolvency, the company sold out to Langenscheidt in 1999. Hammond, who describes himself as a "map freak, but with gadgets, not paper," said he was "relieved not to deal anymore with the drama of a family business."

"I'll always love maps," said Hammond, who now works as a custom calendar salesman. "But that old world is gone."

http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-19/1150000903240730.xml?starledger?obits&coll=1

Caleb Dean Hammond Jr., 90, chairman of family map company
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
A service will be private for Caleb Dean Hammond Jr., 90, of Maplewood, a third-generation map company executive, who died Monday in Overlook Hospital in Summit. Arrangements are by the Jacob A. Holle Funeral Home, Maplewood.

Mr. Hammond was chairman of the board of C.S. Hammond Inc. in Maplewood, a publisher of maps and atlases, where he started as a production manager in 1939. He retired in 1998 from the company, which was established by his grandfather, C.S. Hammond, in 1900. Earlier, Mr. Hammond was a sales engineer for Texaco in Port Arthur, Texas, from 1937 until 1939.

He received his bachelors degree in mechanical engineering in 1937 from Worcester (Mass.) Polytechnic Institute (WPI), where he was the football manager in 1936. He was also a member of the Skull, a senior society, and the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity. From 1978 to 1999, Mr. Hammond served as a trustee at WPI, which in 1992 honored him with its Robert N. Goddard Award in recognition of outstanding professional achievement.

Mr. Hammond served as a lieutenant in the Coast Guard Reserve from 1942 until 1945 as an engineering officer on the APA14, USS Hunter Liggett, a manned combat transport.

He was a member of the American Geographical Society and the Publishers Lunch Club, both in New York City, and the Royal Geographical Society. Mr. Hammond was also director of the American Textbook Publishers Institute and a member of the American Book Publishers Council and the American Library Association.

He was a director of the Hospital Center at Orange and the Yorkwood Savings and Loan in Maplewood and a director and chairman of the Maplewood Library from 1962 until 1972. He was also a director and chairman of the Maplewood Bank and Trust Co., director and vice president of the Fraentzel Foundation in Maplewood, and a member of the Kiwanis Club in Maplewood, the Maplewood Country Club and the Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield.

Born in Orange, Mr. Hammond moved to Maplewood 81 years ago.

Surviving are his wife, Patricia; daughters, Beth Lynn Steele and Wendie Masterson; a son, C. Dean III; eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

http://www.nj.com/obituaries/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-19/114966928144020.xml&coll=1

Herbert S. Pierce of Millburn, Hammond Map chief cartographer
Thursday, June 01, 2006
A memorial service for Herbert S. Pierce, 87, of Millburn will be at 5 oclock Tuesday evening in the Jacob A. Holle Funeral Home, 2122 Millburn Ave., Maplewood.

Mr. Pierce, who died Friday in Overlook Hospital, Summit, was the head of the cartography department at the Hammond Map Co. in Maplewood, where he worked for 50 years before retiring in 1991.

He graduated from the Newark College of Fine Arts and served in the Army Air Corps during World War II.

Born in Newark, Mr. Pierce lived in Millburn for many years.

http://www.nj.com/obituaries/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-19/114915140470510.xml&coll=1

Where in The World???

ken@rustbelt.com (Keng) — Thu, 11 May 2006 10:30:00 -0700

Forgive me readers, for I have sinned. Its been a couple of weeks since my last entry...but I won't be telling you all about my sins today. Sorry!

Have been very busy setting up the apartments upstairs and getting the grounds looking nice. Landlording is like homeownership, but you can't slough off once in a while like you can with owning a home.

So...I have several open projects right now, but today I'm working on:

Suburban Chicago (DuPage and Kane counties in the far west): Its interesting to check population figures for this area, actually, because I still think in terms of what the area was like when I grew up there. For instance, Bolingbrook, IL was once a sleepy little burg on the prairie...in 1970, there were 7,651 people there. At around that time, someone built Old Chicago, touted as the first Indoor Amusement Park. Although featured in the movie The Fury, it flopped. As of 2000, there are now over 56,000 people there, and I imagine it no longer is out in the sticks as it once was...no longer on the frontier of suburban development.

Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railway: I have a handful of corrections to make on a brochure map for them...

Later today, I will be picking up my large light table in Cleveland. It has been storage at my ex-wife's house for several years...she's been asking me to remove it almost since we broke up...now that I own a house, I have room to store it.

Closing in on...closing

ken@rustbelt.com (Keng) — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 18:05:00 -0700

I'm exhausted with the process of closing. I took off for Chicago for a few days to get away from it all. On Thursday, I geared up to close the deal by hiring a contractor to install a fence as required by the city's planning department. I thought I was finished...but on Friday, the mortgage officer tipped me off on additional paperwork needed to document my divorce settlement. That warranted a trip to Cleveland.

Although the seller is required to handle certain things per our agreement, I'm also finding that I need to take care of them if there's going to be a deal at the end of the week. I bagged a ton of rubbish from the bag yard (I think that this property was used as a neighborhood dump for a while) that included a car gas tank, car battery, a couple of coats, loads of branches, railroad ties...and I had someone haul it out. Today was spent in the yard repairing the "trip hazard" caused by the upheaval in my front walk. Sure...the seller is supposed to do this, too...along with removing the vines growing under the aluminum siding.

I've also been working on planting the recently bulldozed backyard with perennials and weeding the front yard. I'm exhausted....Pepperint is dropping by later tonight...

I'm exhausted...

Landlord Step 2

ken@rustbelt.com (Keng) — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 01:01:00 -0700

The work crew is in the backyard digging away so that the property will meet with the zoning code for a multi-unit. ICK:

In order for the mortgage to go through, this property must meet proper zoning. Since the property was once vacant in the 1990s, the current owner was supposed to bring the property up to code. The current zoning law requires that multiunits must have a paved parking lot. Although the lot is big, the concrete slab is still going to dominate the yard: my parking lot will be 30' x 50' I hate concrete.

The process is ugly as well. There's a ten-foot pile of dirt on top of my daffodils. The Bobcat is leaving tracks all over the yard. I'll still be stuck with a ton of gravel (figuratively speaking; I don't really know how much) spread all over the back yard.

Right now, the excavator has bulldozed the area, laid a drain, and has started to grade the area with gravel from the old driveway. He has already pulled the permits, surveyed the lot and also started to install the forms for the concrete. He is also going to leave behind a 4' wide gravel path to the driveway. I'd like to install either a brick or stone walkway, but this is a couple of years off, probably. Reusing the railroad ties would be an idea, but I suspect that they would be slick in wet weather.

My gut tells me that the seller never got this work done in the past because he's a gardener, too. He dropped by last night to show me the various plantings in the front yard. I've been fighting a cold, so I'll need to ask him about it all again later. He's been super towards me, so I don't think that asking later will be problematic.

Still no tenants. The people in the two-family next door were all told on Monday night to leave. Someone just bought the place and has different plans. I tried to get one couple to lease here, but I suspect the units upstairs will be a bit small for them...I had wanted to buy that place, convert it to a single family and flip it, but since I'm not a real estate mogul with deep pockets, I opted for this place as a long-term investment. No regrets; just wish I had had a chance to jump on both places.

The Crush

ken@rustbelt.com (Keng) — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 08:20:20 -0700

I think that this sums it all up for me.

Bummer news: someone "broke" into my car (stupid me: I left the doors unlocked) last night and stole a handful of CDs (Cars-Greatest Hits; Cardigans-First Band on the Moon; Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon; Joachin Rodrigo-Concierto Andaluz played by the Angel Romero). Two things puzzle me: Why did they also steal the corny bead chili pepper ornament hanging from my mirror that my daughter made? Why did they spit all over my dashboard?

I'll bet the bastard doesn't even know who Rodrigo is...sigh!

Moving Season

ken@rustbelt.com (Keng) — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 08:30:00 -0700

I'm picking up keys today. I start moving stuff into the new (building? house? studio? palazzo? maisonette?) starting today. I hope that I can get the other two units rented out soon.

My day job has been filthy busy, hence my lack of updates here. How I'm going to swing a move in with everything else has helped contributed to the ongoing headache I've had for the last two weeks. Despite the stress of everything that's going on, I have a smile on my face.

Buying a business...

ken@rustbelt.com (Keng) — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 15:25:01 -0700

Signed mortgage papers this morning for over an hour and a half. Established phone and DSL service in the new house (dang! the phone number is going to change). I've been looking for the landlord, but I think he's avoiding me since I called last night to tell him that I'm giving notice. I have a rent check and written notice that I'm leaving. Inspection on Friday...appraisal on Monday. I could have a mortgage as soon as Wednesday, if I'm lucky...

I'm nervous that the repairs that the seller needs to make will not be completed on time (paving a parking lot in back). I also hope that he's able to get some tenants soon...

Taxes Suck.

ken@rustbelt.com (Keng) — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 22:45:37 -0700

Taxes rile everyone roughly this time of year and usually they irritate most self-employed people even more since we have more forms to fill out and more taxes to pay to compensate for the lack of employer-shares of certain taxes (like social security).

I'm under the gun to complete the 2005 taxes ASAP because the mortgage lender uses tax returns in lieu of conventional pay stubs. I could claim that I made $20 million last year, but then I'd better be prepared to pay the taxes on it if I want a mortgage commensurate with such an income.

2003's taxes were a bear because I hadn't filled out a tax form in something like ten years. Last year's taxes weren't too bad and I was eligible for a federal refund. I use an online service to prepare my taxes and I'd swear that they were easier last year. At one point, I owed $3300 to the feds, added my daughter as a dependent, found that I owed $440 instead and a few clicks later somehow ended up owing $1300. I've been reviewing page after page of CRAP all night. Can I claim depreciation for business use of my home if I live in an apartment? Just what the hell is depreciation in real life anyhow?

I'd rather be editing Toledo right now...did I mention that my large 3'x4' light table will fit through the door of the new place? Currently its used as a hamster display table at a former residence with a former spouse. It will really be nice to be reunited with that...

Just call me Lord...

ken@rustbelt.com (Keng) — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 08:25:25 -0700

In 1645, Oliver Cromwell led the Puritan Roundheads to victory over the royalist Cavaliers during the English Civil War. This victory initiated an era called the Long Parliament, the beheading of King Charles I, and one of the coolest titles ever bestowed upon a leader (Cromwell himself): Lord Protector.

Barring any unforeseen exigency, I will be signing lots of papers today that will commence the process of buying a home. In my case, a three-unit rental property of which I will claim one space of my own to live in.

Self-employment can be a real joy, but sometimes it leads to real anxiety. There have been several times where my monthly income from clients amounted to nothing (which is really irksome when you're swamped with work!). There have been several instances where my monthly income was $500. In those cases, I generally have to survive off of a stash of reserves which every business maintains. I pay myself a monthly draw from those reserves which helps even out my cash flow, but I frequently have lingering phobias about the upcoming months.

Enter the Lord. By maintaining a rental property, I am, in essence, buying another business to tide me over in lean times. I've created a separate category for these specific misadventures...enjoy what will surely become the Property Management Blog...(what next? The Joy of Accounting Blog?)

Busy Week

ken@rustbelt.com (Keng) — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 10:50:00 -0700

I keep thinking that I'll catch up with work. Everytime I finish something, I take a moment, relax, and say, "Ah-HAH!" Then, when I least expect it, something will bite me from behind. Its been a very stressful week. Some examples:

I finished a proof of Painesville yesterday. As a redesign and enhancement of an existing base, I can't really farm it out. I still have a ton of Cleveland maps to complete, an Akron map, some time-murdering projects here and there and Toledo hovering over me like an albatross. This morning, the subcontractor calls, asks if I've seen the latest proof he sent...I take a look and realize that he ignored all of my design specifications and did whatever he felt like. Since I just spent about 20 hours doing a redesign, its still fresh in my mind how labor intesive it can be. I tried to politely tell him that he botched all up. Technically nice looking, but not what I asked for. I also found out that some of the files that I sent to him were corrupt and that I needed to resend everything, and that there were discrepancies in the source materials that I sent. I've got a headache now...

I'm awaiting word on the bid that I submitted for a new house. Since I'm buying a multi-unit, that technically falls under work, as well. And you're darn tootin' it will at tax time as well...speaking of which, I need to do my taxes before I can apply for a mortgage to verify my income. I've subcontracted some of that labor out to my kindern, especially my old one, who want to prove she can use an adding machine. Parts of it I'll still need to take care of, but it might be a good experience for her to understand what kind of work goes into something as mundane as preparing and filing taxes.

Odd how there's two Brubeck pieces in this randomly generated selection from iTunes. Its nice to hear...it releases tension. Damnit! I forgot about a doctors appointment this morning! That's about par for this week...

Where do Hawaiians go for vacation?

ken@rustbelt.com (Keng) — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 09:00:00 -0700

I haven't been on vacation in over ten years. We (my ex-wife, oldest daughter, and I) went to Las Vegas about a year before my youngest was born (she'll be ten in May). I've been living in NEO for about seven years; divorced for two, in Akron for less than a year. I need one NOW. But I'll need to wait until April...I plan on leaving the girls behind somewhere (maybe in Chicago with mom) and head out!

Where do cartographers go for vacation? Las Vegas was fun from a geographic stand point: Hoover Dam, Rhyolite, and the Liberace Museum. I picked up a copy of Charles O. Paulin's masterpiece Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States for only $125 at a used book store.

So, where do I go now? Considerations include cost (must be CHEAP!!!); accessibility (I only have enough frequent flyer miles for the continental US, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, and Central America); interesting (I'd like to draw and paint there)...

My ideas:

Death Valley PRO: Lowest Place in North America; may be in bloom this time of year. CON: I really want to go there during the summer (except for the oven, where else can I easily experience such heat?); would probably rely on dad or vacation with him...best to leave family out; really far from everything, including airports.
Canyon de Chelly PRO: Cool area. CON: May be chilly that time of year; far from anything else.
Costa Rica PRO: Unusual location; good transport network; exotic; warm. CON:probably the most expensive idea I have; learning Spanish in eight weeks intimidates me!
New Orleans PRO: Doing volunteer work could really be rewarding! CON: Doing volunteer work is still work.
Puerto Rico PRO: I've always wanted to visit for its history and natural features; exotic (especially outside of San Juan); warm. CON: Crime; expensive (unless I were to travel with a PR friend of mine...a long shot); learning Spanish...&c.

I'm up for suggestions, of course. But I need realistic options; for instance, Cuba would be fun, but you can't get there from here. I have no interest in Florida. Yucatán would be interesting, but crime there intimidates me a bit as do the distances to Mayan ruins (I'd like to stay put a bit). Texas? No, except maybe to meet Cindy Sheehan (but then I'd still be in Crawford with nothing else to do). Comments are always welcome...

Stress

ken@rustbelt.com (Keng) — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 15:30:00 -0700

Its tough unburying oneself from a blizzard of work. I have a subcontractor calling me for work which I don't have time to set up because I have a client calling me wanting to know why one project is a week late. I wrapped up two big jobs in the past week (Licking County, OH and the new Towpath maps). The Toledo edit is way behind, and I have some long standing clients asking me to get some things done for them on short notice...plus some new clients. Is there an easier way to learn management!?

Hell, I'd just love it if someone would do the dishes, fold the laundry and sweep the floors...

Where am I heading?

ken@rustbelt.com (Keng) — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 07:39:14 -0700

This is what a typical week looks like to me:

A1: Toledo, OH--wrap up regional map; tackle main city map
A2: Invoice corrections from last week
A3: Licking County--corrections

B1: Kirltand, OH--make corrections
B2: Imperial County--fix colors and make corrections to county map
B3: Stow, OH--obtain source data
B4: Stow, OH--layout and send to client

C1: Avon Lake--awaiting sources
C2: Towpath--await corrections or invoice
C3: Painesville--new layout, respec and revise
C4: Layout new Cleveland schematics