Senses:// Re-engineered

Third day at work, the job itself have progressed nicely from yesterday. Nice learning curve, smooth but enough to kept me on edge. Same problem to solve: design a lintel which will support the weight of the bricks above, instead this time a simply-supported reinforced concrete beam will be used. Very straight forward but a chance for me to experience an alternative design and different document set.

My support was amazing, very patience, confident and all-knowing, strict Muslim who prays five times a day, good honest bloke! I must have learnt more from him in one day than I have from my lecturer of the concrete module in a one month! Although there was this rather weird look in his eyes when I asked him about having to pray in the direction of Mecca. I think I saw the same look before when I have shown a slight interest in Islam to my friend who later tried to convert me. Oh well. I will never make a good Muslim. I drink, I smoke and quitting pork would mean I won't be able to eat half the food my parents cook.

The process was so much simpler compare to when I first learnt it. Same as the process in the steel lintel, there is a loading due to the Load Triangle plus any additional attachments within the Load Triangle and 50% attachment contribution from within the Interaction Zone. The moment and shear imposed can be deduced from the point load or UDL (wL^2)/8 wL/2. Decide on an appropriate design and then calculate to see if such configuration will satisfy the required moment and shear: Work out the effective depth (d), determine K and then K' based on the redistribution factor. Choose the correct equation to work out the moment capacity based on the two Ks relationship. The necessity of shear links can be determined by working out the shear resistance of the beam + bars. If shear links are required then another equation can be used.

It is important to note that:
1/ The links can not be placed at the end of the re-bars;
2/ Even though compressive bars are not needs, they are often added so shear links can be installed;
3/ Shear links are included for safety issue even though the values suggests otherwise (shear stress<0.5 shear resistance of reinforced beam).

The highlight of my day - My support: "You are a designer now, you don't assume, you design!"

The method itself was pretty straight forward. It is assumed that the only part of the wall exerting a load on the lintel is within an isosceles triangle of two 45 degrees corners. The length of the base would be assumed to be the opening in the brick wall plus a predefined value (e.g. the width of a brick or a value given by the lintel manufacturer) for both ends. The volume of the load triangle can then be deduced with the thickness of the wall (presumed to be the thickness of two bricks) and when multiplied with the density of the brick and mortar, the loading on the lintel is produced. With the engineering industry as developed as it is today, the dimension of the lintel can then be chosen from the manufacturers' brochure. Additional detailing might need to be produced for the concrete padding below the lintel, which will help dissipation the loading into the bricks below, but they are usually specified by the lintel manufacturers.

Also had my medical test today. Considering the abuse I have put my ears through during all those endless raves and concerts, I am please to report that my hearing is only slight off optimal. Eye-sight is normal with my glasses on and so was my bloody pressure. Although the nurse was a little concerned with my high heart-rate which she measured three times. Each and every time, they were over 100bpm! I guess a guilty conscience can have a huge effect on your pulse! All I need to do now is wait for the result for the alcohol and drug test. *dum dum dum!*

Another week, another incident of football violence unfolded in the city of Manchester. The massive public TV erected in one of the city's main squares to broadcast the UEFA final broke down so a couple of hundreds of Ranger fans decided to go on a rampage. Ironically the Ranger fans usually have quite a good reputation when it comes to attending football matches. The media got hold of the affair like a rottweiler on a scouse toddler and spewed the content all over the front page of newspapers, websites and TV new reports. Honestly, since the Manchester police were renowned for their heavy handed tactics (2) (3), it was actually quite entertaining to watch those incompetent arseholes getting chasing down by 200+ Ranger supporters (2).However, after all the fun is over, was it all worth it? Money spent on the policing and crowd control, damage to the bars and shops and the cost of clean up afterwards, not to mention all the hurt and trauma to the people. Remember that there were women and children there as well! What was the point? All this over a game? I guess a lot of people don't see it that way.

The English football fans have such a bad reputation when it comes to football violence that millions of pounds and hours of police time are wasted to keep the aggression under control. Visiting fans are escorting to the sporting venue from the point of entry to the city at the beginning and end of the match by massive police presence. And the funniest thing is that English football hooliganism is at a level where police resource are wasted on admin work even when the game is not held in England! I mean FFS! So known football hooligans are not allowed to leave UK when the England football team playing a game? So how many pen pushers are needed to keep track of the hundreds of confiscated passports? And how many additional staffs are required to register every "potential troublemaker" reporting to the local police station every time England have a match on? And while football clubs and sport gear companies are raking in millions of pounds from football merchandises, how many percent of this income goes back into the police force for controlling the hooligans and local councils for repairs done to damages cause by riots?

Are they forgetting that this is just a game? And that there are better things in life to fight over? There are talks of football being a religion and when people have this kind of attitude, they are ultimately justifying what these criminals are doing. And the sad thing is that it's all going to be a downward spiral from here. The players are going to get increasingly absurd wages which validates their existence even more. I am sorry but am I the only one who thinks that being paid £1m to kick a ball around a field is too much? And that such "talent" (eg the ability to kick a round leather air-sack) should be better categorised as a circus art rather than being something "heroic"? Some of these arseholes wouldn't even donate a day's wage to a charity for disfranchised nurses! The people who bear the burden of treating and caring for society's sick and wounded? And I could almost taste vomit in my mouth when I saw the tributes for George Best, I mean the guy was a playboy womaniser when he was young and an alcoholic and a wife beater when he was old! He broke his wife's arm during an argument! And Alex Best is fucking hot!!! I mean why would someone like that get so much respect that Tony Blair, the Prime Minster at the time, mentioned his name in one of his conferences? And the twisted thing is that I foresee the same will happen for the insane Paul Gascoigne and Eric Cantona! Respect and glory with all the wrongs forgiven.

So we have false idols and figureheads being worshipped for their useless talents which serves no real purpose to society, the English fighting in foreign lands bearing the Cross of St George over a belief which again do not produce provide any enhancements to anyone's living standard in this lifetime. All this shit is actually pretty reminiscent of the crusade! So little have changes.

Another exam, another missed opportunity. Just the latest in a series of hopes and expectations failed to come to fruition. To be fair, most people were overwhelmed by the questions in the test but I know I could have done much better given more revision time (and more sleep!). Similar to the Integrated Design project, which I have have done so much more with the ideas I had in my head if only I were to have invested more thoughts and passion. And Constructionarium, although it was definitely a good idea to take a step back after being a team leader for the ID, choosing a position which ultimately put me completely out of the loop was a very bad idea. I guess in the end, I have managed to get myself a summer placement but I came out of the project feeling very unsatisfied. Not only was I not able to participate in and enjoy the core functioning of the team, I've also missed the opportunity to scorch in front of a bunch of contractors from Mott McDonald and Morrisroe. Getting an interview that way at the time would have been very handy indeed! It should not not about making excuses to explain why things can't be done, its about just making things happen. Can't scorch the sky with no fire!

Its in the air! Summer have officially began! Although I am still in the midst of the exams, I can't help but cast my mind to what I have install for me in the coming months. I will be working for a Civil Engineering consultancy company with the possibility of participating in the design of train station platform enhancement for the disabled. That would definitely be a dream come true since "making a difference" is one of the reason why I got into Civ Eng in the first place. Funny enough, during an interview I had with another company, the trainee manager was quite blunt in declaring the truth with the industry: "At the end of the day, we are in it for the money. However, every now and then, there will be projects which would give you karma point but these projects are hard to come by". This opinion was echoed by another engineer whom I have met, ironically, on a charity project. So I guess I am really lucky to have the opportunity to get my feet wet on something which means so much to me. I really need to stay focus this summer and give it my all. Three years ago, I moved away from Manchester pretty much with my tail between my legs, this time to be able to return to the city and work for one of the biggest engineering firm in the country is something I should treat with uppermost regards!

Apart from that, there is Glastonbury to look forward to! One of the most celebrated and longest running festival in Britain if not the world. The general opinion on the festival this year is lukewarm at best. Regulars complained that the overall atmosphere of the festival has degraded over the past couple of years and the public reactions to the choice of headliners (Jay-Z) were quite critical. Either way, I am just going to enjoy it for what it is. Fact is, there are still a lot of bands I want to see who will be playing so I am not fussed over who is playing at the Main Pyramid Stage. I will be stewarding with Oxfam for this festival and from my experience from last summer, I honestly don't think there is any other way of enjoying a festival. To combine charity work with fun, getting into the festival for free, the enjoyment of free meals and all the staff facilities like clean toilets/shower. Stewarding for Glade and Leeds last year was amazing and I hope to experience something similarly wonderful again!