How to Stay Healthy at Work: Tips for the Office

Hellooo! Apologies for being away for a while! I am currently settling down in my new job so it getting a bit overwhelming.

Inspired from my daily routine at the office, and because I know many of you suffer from neck-back-hand-.....-aches, you have to check this out!

These are some tips for a healthy lifestyle given that I spend about 10 hours per day at work!




Farewell for now, and for more tips and interesting ideas to come!

Civil Engineering and Contracring Interviews: Must Know Information

Time for some Civil Engineering tourism!

 

After going through many job interviews as a fresh graduate, I really felt the necessity of going over several engineering principles which I have forgotten or have not sufficiently stressed on. A lot of stuff I learnt during early university courses turned out to be vital for every Civil Engineer especially when it comes to Contracting.

Therefore, I felt like sharing with you IMPORTANT links, principles, guides, and blogs I have collected across MONTHS of researching. Yup, you kind of won the lottery if you are engineer and a reader of this post! 

I will start with beneficial websites about Civil Engineering in general and contracting in specific. Most of these sites contain references, definitions, news, and case studies. Please find the links below:

- Civil Engineering Portal: http://www.engineeringcivil.com/

- Builder Bill: http://www.builderbill-diy-help.com/whoami_DIY.html

- The Constructor- Complete Civil Engineering Website: http://theconstructor.org/

- New Civil Engineer: http://www.nce.co.uk/

- History of Innovation: http://aehistory.wordpress.com/

Voila! I am sure you will bookmark these links ♥

Dwelling upon contracting, here are some major principles every civil engineer should know about contracting and working on site.

- Important Information for Site Engineers:

Source: https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/s480x480/936609_10151374829967477_2101768394_n.jpg

- Water/Cement Ratio in Concrete: 
As a reference, a 0.4-0.6 is used. A 0.4 w/c ratio is generally expected to produce concrete with a compressive strength (f’c) of approximately 5600 psi. A 0.8 ratio makes a weak concrete of about 2000 psi. As w/c increases strength decreases.

http://www.mastour.com/blog/

- Concrete Mixes for Different Conditions: 

As a reference, 1:2.5:3.5 means cement to sand to aggregates ratio, 1:2:3 can be also used.

- Portland Cement:

AS mentioned in Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, its name is derived from "its similarity to Portland stone, a type of building stone that was quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England".

- Setting out Foundation Trenches: 

Please follow the link for description of the methodology. 

http://theconstructor.org/practical-guide/setting-out-of-foundation-trenches/5986/

- Pouring, Testing, Finishing, and Curing of Concrete:

http://www.wikihow.com/Place-and-Finish-a-Concrete-Floor

http://media-cache-ec4.pinimg.com/736x/db/4c/0e/db4c0ecb5bba11ae19d11518e4995586.jpg

- Types of Joints: 

• Control/Contraction Joint: Isolates one major building component with another(example - new building abutting an existing building).Control joints are typically used in concrete to reduce the occurrence of shrinkage cracking. A control joint is a continuous vertical joint filled with mortar, but with a bond breaker. If control joints are not provided, a concrete masonry wall may crack as it shrinks over time.

http://faculty.delhi.edu/hultendc/A220-Week2-Lecture-Web.html

• Expansion/Isolation Joint: Used within straight lengths of the same wall. Expansion joints are typically used to cope with thermal and moisture expansion in clay brick masonry. An expansion joint is a continuous vertical or horizontal joint, left completely free of mortar and filled with elastomeric sealant to keep it watertight.

http://faculty.delhi.edu/hultendc/A220-Week2-Lecture-Web.html

- Types of Cracks: 

Please follow the link below.

http://theconstructor.org/concrete/types-of-crack-in-structures/5385/

Hope you enjoyed and most importantly benefited from this post!

Bridges in Paintings

Two of my interests together! Could it get any better?! ♥
Check this site for bridges in impressionist paintings.

Source: http://www.linesandcolors.com/images/2013-04/impressionist_bridges_450.jpg

Nature as an Engineer

Hello again 

Okay, please excuse my further fixation on my current reading "The Tower and the Bridge", but now whenever I come across construction projects which are in captivating harmony with nature I am touched  For some ideas about the book, you can have a look on my previous post http://pseudonymhorizondrift.blogspot.com/2013/04/interesting-perspective-tower-and-bridge.html.

Nowadays, communication is scarily fast, social media is updated every milli second, and Skype conferences disregard any notion of distance. With all of this "developing" industries overwhelming our sense of being, a contradicting picture is triggered; our free time is shrinking and our concentration span is narrowing down... For instance, when I sit for a while, just with myself *whom I often miss*, I can't think of any gadget which can solve my problems. No "thing" wipes away my grudge, or soothes up my disappointment... It is just me and the rest of the world whether in instances of happiness or misery. What I mean by the "world" is not Ipads, malls and tweetups.. I actually get more compassion from from the green pastures beneath my balcony. And even hanging out with my family and sharing my worries may significantly calm me down.

I don't think that checking half the globe's Facebook profiles and their relationships, exaggerated outings, made-up achievements and boastful parties will inspire my well-being in many ways. Don't regard my opinion as being an opponent to technology. What I merely strive to deliver is the importance of using technology as means for our intellectual, spiritual and, in many cases, health benefits. This might be so hard amid intensive media campaigns and political plans to turn a human being into an individual who cheers, wears himself working, buys stuff and sleeps day and night.

Anyway, I started this post with an intention of sharing with you an inspiring structural piece of art.

© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2013

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/picturesoftheday/8749433/Pictures-of-the-day-8-September-2011.html?image=6

As mentioned in the telegraph article, this captivating bridge is located in the "rainforests of the Indian state of Meghalaya". 
I guess no complicated softwares or infinite calculations were incorporated in constructing this bridge. The bridge spans are made of tree roots and veins which were allowed to grow freely and merge altogether across the river to eventually form a bridge ♥ Trust in nature and common sense are the disciplines governing this beautiful masterpiece!

What struck me after seeing this, is the absurd aspect of many of scientific and technological innovations. Most of these innovations are based on the intention of empowering humans over nature. We as humans work on proving that our intelligence is capable of controlling natural forces and effects. By adopting such a strategy, we neglect the fact that nature is way more successful in destroying man-made sophisticated skycrapers in a second. It may be a good idea to try to work with nature hand in hand instead of challenging it, since we won't always win

Interesting Perspective: "The Tower and the Bridge"

Hey! Hope your Saturday is as pleasant as mine :) I'd like to share my current inspiration source: "The Tower and the Bridge" by David B. Billingon. I must say it is oriented towards engineering in general and structural engineering in specific. So, I am totally enjoying it! 

What is appealing about the book is its captivating perspective of engineering. Billingon doesn't approach bridges, networks and towers as dull expression of steel and concrete calculations but as an art... 

Below is one of favorite bridges which demonstrates the inevitable need for paying back some respect for resources ♥

Source: http://thechive.com/2012/06/28/daily-morning-awesomeness-30-photos-72/

As an introduction to his discussion, Billingon conveys the historical and political circumstances which launched the relatively new field of structural engineering. According to the book, structural art is democratic because it possesses aesthetic freedom withing the brim of efficiency in materials (iron, steel, concrete...) and economy! It would be relevant to mention that the usage of iron in structural design emerged following the Industrial Revolution and its prices were high, and , hence, the need for its optimal usage.

Another noteworthy point is expressing the difference between Architecture and Civil/Structural Engineering as being similar to that between drawing and photography! What a deep analysis! In addition, Billingon says structures relevant to structural design are usually of large scale and of single use in comparison to those of Architecturally based design projects. Structural designers follow delicate procedures to control natural forces and offer the produced form safe and enduring resistance. Architecture designers, on the other hand, approach the designed forms as means of manipulating spaces.

This is briefly what I read till now. Yet, I totally recommend it for engineers or any person interested in technology and evolution. It is not your usual engineering manual readings; it sheds light on the spirit and mentality lying within humans' innovation...

Engineering Love!

Source: http://gingercoo.deviantart.com/art/Tower-197107002

Keiths Tower, near Peterculter, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.