Solving Riprap Problems With Concrete Strips

Well-constructed loose riprap beds with proper elevation, gradation, filter layer, and subgrade preparation are a good solution to erosion. But riprap beds have some problems. Because they are uneven both on top and bottom, they obstruct debris and water and they dry or drain slowly. 

Be a CEO at NPS Global Engineers

Dear top prospective colleagues,

We hope for you to be an NPS CEO some day. 

Though the unusual reason NPS has for existing makes growth for profit meaningless, careful growth makes sense because more engineers deserve the NPS experience. One of the safeguards of the NPS experience is our Small Companies identity value. The Small Companies value requires one-team companies, meaning that our companies ideally have 6 to 8 colleagues. So for every team of NPS engineers, there must be a CEO.

I would love to add colleagues to NPS endlessly. I love being an engineer, I love what NPS has become, and I love finding the smartest people in the world. Our customers love working with smart, diligent, and attentive people. Hire, hire, hire! But not without more CEO's.

NPS exists to make great jobs and to do cool stuff. If your idea of a great job doing cool stuff might include being an NPS CEO some day, we may be ready for each other.

Sincerely,

Tom Haws
Founder of NPS Global Engineers

No owners
Part-time freelancers
Small, Self-managing companies

No owners, No salaries, Know everybody

AutoLISP Tutorial for AutoCAD Users: Lesson 4

We need a way to fully and permanently integrate our programs into our AutoCAD working environment. AutoCAD provides several ways. This lesson shows you how to make a well-documented system that can grow with you.

My first principle of music composition philosophy

I am the George W. Bush of music composition. I am embarking on it (as he did with painting) in earnest at the age of 55 mostly for my own enjoyment. But here's a first principle of my composition philosophy:

Don't confuse the listener.

NPS Global Engineers corporate structure

NPS Global Inc. is an Arizona nonprofit corporation with no special tax status. In other words, NPS is a normal business, but it has no owners or shareholders to receive profits or dividends. Surplus funds are split up among the hourly freelance contractors [formerly "by vote"].

Floodplains and Floodways, BFEs and RFEs - US FEMA's floodplain development strategy and Maricopa County AZ's policy

 In 1968 the US Congress established the National Flood Insurance Program that included standards for delineating floodplains and (optionally) floodways along significant sources of flooding. This post explains how it works as administered by Maricopa County, Arizona in 2020.

Whole Foods Plant Based Eating

Whole Foods Plant Based Eating

by Kato D. Haws Jr.

July 7, 2020

I began eliminating animal products because of high cholesterol. I removed first

whole milk and eggs. Later all dairy. We ended up learning about various vegan diets,

including the Hallelujah Diet and the McDougall diet. In the end the people most

influential for us are Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Michael Greger. We rely heavily on

the recipes of Cathy Fisher of True North Health, which use no salt, oil or sugar, and no

animal products. Her recipes also happen to be gluten free, which is important to me, given

my family history of problems with wheat.

If you want to try a whole foods plant-based (WFPB) diet but don't know where

to begin here are a few suggestions.

Fast AutoCAD project custom text linetypes on the fly

A simple instantaneous linetype reloading system is a huge relief when you want AutoCAD custom text complex linetypes that say things like 400mm W or 1 1/2" GAS (PE). Here is a system that disrupts you minimally so you can get back to your project design.

My discoveries about my immunity symptoms: mouth (canker) sores (ulcers), acne, gum disease, and ear infection

At the age of 53 I've had some success with certain immunity issues. My symptoms have included mouth sores, acne, gum disease (in the past), and middle ear infection (otitis media). In this post I will summarize each one.

How engineered grading and drainage works for homes in Arizona

Most houses in Arizona don't need an engineered grading and drainage plan. But some do. This post explains about that.

Stardew Valley Labor, Space, Keg, and Time Comparison of the High Profit Greenhouse crops: Starfruit, Ancient Fruit, and Hops

The high profile crops in Stardew Valley are Starfruit, Ancient Fruit, and Hops. This is because they have the highest profit per growing space per month. With Hops, this is because it produces daily and processes into Pale Ale in 1-2 days, which is great for a starting farmer with foresight to have Kegs (Oak Resin) ready. With Ancient Fruit and Starfruit, it is because their wines have unsurpassed sell prices. (The tree fruits Peach and Pomegranate are also notable because they produce every day and can be infilled once they are mature. But they take 7 days to process and 28 days to mature.) The following table is one way to look at them in terms of a) usage of the Greenhouse and b) labor, space, and kegs per 100kgp. It still amazes me what you can do in your second month with 2 Kegs and 60 gp of Hops (one starter).

The complex steps for renaming a Dropbox shared folder

If you have a folder shared with colleagues on Dropbox and you want to rename it for everybody, you can't. I explain why not at the bottom of this post. To change the name for everybody, you must create and share a new folder with the new name. Here are the full steps so you don't forget anything:

Custom geographic projections and HEC-RAS

This is my research report on using custom geographic projections with HEC-RAS 5.0.7. All my tests were based on the NAD83 AZ State Plane Central Zone 0202 International Feet (AZ83-CIF) projection.

Stardew Valley starting strategies

This is my notepad of Stardew Valley starting strategies. Comments are welcome.

Contents:

• Spring 2 Bridge: a Spring 1 to Spring 4 walk-through
• Fish Your Finger Off: leverage the agony of hopeless fishing into fun steady income
• 20 Free Strawberries: a two-week outline of an up and coming strategy
• Two-week walk-through: combines Spring 2 Bridge and 20 Free Strawberries. Also upgrades pick and axe in first two weeks.
• Floor 81 on Spring 27: give your attitude a boost and your deep-plunge drive a break with a trickle of gold bars (Quality Sprinklers!) before Summer starts
• Pale Ale Power: old Stardew wisdom is right; Hops are first king
• Easy Early Greenhouse: Take a chance on Fruit Bats
• Old School Calendaring: keep a calendar, people!
• You Had One Job: avoid running from place to place

Creating custom menu button icon image with transparency for AutoCAD Dark and Light themes

I am building this out into a detailed guide to creating a custom menu icon with transparency for AutoCAD Light and Dark themes. The guide begins assuming you have everything (the easiest case) and drills down step by step in case you don't have anything (the arduous case). I provide sample files, and I recommend you verify you can do each step before going to the next one. Please leave questions or comments (including section rewrites) as needed; I'd love to hear which software and method you used to create images and DLL files.