Want to amaze and astound party guests with witty repartee, dazzling erudition, and conversational savvy? The Portable Pundit covers questions like: What is that whole Director's Cut thing about? Into which Circle of Hell might you place Homer Simpson? How can I use adjectives like "Proustian" and "Joycean"? What influence did Plato have on the film The Matrix? From Art History to Philosophy, Wall Street to the Internet, The Portable Pundit has it covered.

Physico-mechanical rock properties are significant in all operational mining activities. This book evaluates rock properties by using empirical equations and soft computing techniques. It predicts various physico-mechanical properties such as uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), Schmidt rebound number (SRN), dry density, P-wave velocity (Vp), tensile strength (TS), Young's modulus (E), and percentage porosity (n) using multiple regression and artificial neural network (MLP and RBF) techniques, taking drill bit speed, penetration rate, drill bit diameter, and equivalent sound level produced during drilling as input parameters.

Ultrasonic Methods of Non-Destructive Testing covers the basic principles and practices of ultrasonic testing, starting with the basic theory of vibration and propagation, design and properties and probes, and then proceeding to the principles and practice of the various ultrasonic techniques for different types of components and structures, both metallic and non-metallic. The design and operation of various types of equipment are covered and references to appropriate national and international standards are provided. Numerous applications are discussed comprehensively and special attention is paid to latest developments. A large number of references is provided so as to enable the reader to obtain further information.

Corrosion of Steel in Concrete provides information on corrosion of steel in atmospherically exposed concrete structures and serves as a guide for those designing, constructing and maintaining buildings, bridges and all reinforced concrete structures. This new edition incorporates the new European standards as well as USA and other international standards. It also covers developments in galvanic and impressed current cathodic protection, new electrochemical techniques such as electro-osmosis, and stainless steel clad reinforcing bars. The corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete is a major problem facing civil engineers and surveyors throughout the world today. There will always be a need to build structures in corrosive environments and it is therefore essential to address the problems that result. This is a book to educates about and forms a guide to the problems of corrosion, its causes and how to find solutions.

Concrete repair continues to be a subject of major interest to engineers and technologists worldwide. The concrete repair budget for the UK alone currently runs at some UKP 220 per annum. Some estimates have indicated that, worldwide, in 2010 the expenditure for maintenance and repair work will represent about 85% of the total expenditure in the construction field. It has been forecast that, in the same year in the USA, 50 billion dollars will be spent just for the restoration of deteriorated bridges and viaducts. An understanding of the latest techniques in repair and testing and inspection is thus crucial to the international construction industry. This book, with contributions from 34 countries, brings together the best in research, practical application, strategy and theory relating to concrete repair, testing and inspection, fire damage, composites and electro-chemical repair.

The proceedings of the December 1994 conference comprise papers and posters on topics in approaches to life management, condition monitoring, components, material damage, probabilistic approaches, and practical experiences. No index. Distributed by INSPEC. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the techniques involved in testing concrete in structures. The non-specialist civil engineer involved in assessment, repair or maintanance of concrete structures will find this a thorough update of the second edition, with an expansion of those areas where recent developments have made significant advances, for example in integrity assessment.

The works of Friedrich Nietzsche have fascinated readers around the world ever since the publication of his first book more than a hundred years ago. As Walter Kaufmann, one of the world’s leading authorities on Nietzsche, notes in his introduction, “Few writers in any age were so full of ideas,” and few writers have been so consistently misinterpreted. The Portable Nietzsche includes Kaufmann’s definitive translations of the complete and unabridged texts of Nietzsche’s four major works: Twilight of the Idols, The Antichrist, Nietzsche Contra Wagner and Thus Spoke Zarathustra. In addition, Kaufmann brings together selections from his other books, notes, and letters, to give a full picture of Nietzsche’s development, versatility, and inexhaustibility. “In this volume, one may very conveniently have a rich review of one of the most sensitive, passionate, and misunderstood writers in Western, or any, literature.” —Newsweek