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Two Towers

There are two towers seen in this photo.The steel tower in the background is a telecomunication tower used by cellular phone companies.There are every where even at my kampung(village) in Bachok, Kelantan.The green lighted minaret at Masjid Al_Hasanah,BB Bangi also a tower of its own and with its own functions.

The former ones were designed and constructed just for their own functional purpose but the later also add some estatic values.Minaret is a feature of the masjid and I love them.

It puts a smile on my face when I saw a cellular phone tower was decorated to look like a tree.No bad...

Harnessing the Fibonacci Sequence

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Remember Fibonacci Sequence ?I learnt this numerical series in my mathematics class in 1970.A few years later,I read about the its history that was related to how some branches of trees followed the Fibonacci Series!At that time,I only saw the beauty of Allah's creations manifested in an elegant mathematical series.

Last night,some forty years later,I read this attached article of a young man 13 years old who could find a relationship of this significance and applied it to incorporate this Fibonacci arrangement to improve the solar power generation of Photo Voltaic cells.That was ingenious!

A pattern does not exist for its own sake but it was created by a designer for a reason.Just ponder ..who might be The Master Designer?

Info on Fibonacci Series here.

Qiblat direction..

If you look towards Masjid Sultan Mizan through Perbadanan Putrajaya Building facade,you are facing Makkah i.e Qiblat where muslims face themselves when they perform their solat(praying).By default, The Boulevard connecting PM Office and PICC is running perpendicular to Qiblat direction.Congratulations to the Town Planner!

Facilities management(FM)

A few days ago I have a chat with  a professor of FM.He told me that in the whole life cycle costing of a facility(eg: offices,hospitals etc) the design and construction cost is only about 22% and the rest comes later in the cost of operations and maintenance of the facilities.When I asked him which country is leading the world in this industry,he replied Holland!I also knew Holland is one of the major exporters of world chocolate and yet she does not even have a single cocoa plant!Looking back to 500 years ago,now I think I know why Holland could colonised Indonesia more than 400 years!

Looking back to my beloved country Malaysia,the good professor told me we are 15 years behind in FM.The professor asked me what I am doing and I told him I am in project management(PM) business.Showing some figures to me  which I could not reveal here,I know where the money will be in the next 10 years.Now,I have another reason to go to Amsterdam-not only to cycle with my friend Guus but also to learn more about FM.

Billions of ringgits were spent on our infrastructure but are we doing the right FM for these national assets?Below is a nice bridge I love to photograph at Putrajaya.How do you FM this bridge and many more?

Putrajaya by night..

 During my cycling nights a few months back,I saw some beautiful buildings/structures in Putrajaya  and told my wife about them.Tonight, I took her there for a sight-seeing.To us,these buildings/bridges look more beautiful at night compared to day time.

This reminds me to arrange a night photowalk for my photobugs friends some time soon.Luckily I have my point and shoot camera in my camera and managed to snap this photo of the new mosque-Masjid Sultan Mizan.As an engineer,I really love the structurally demonstrative architecture!

Here is the link to more beautiful photos of this mosque.

Mechanical pencil

I was tempted to buy a high end Faber Castell mechanical pen but the price really made me feel guilty.It costs almost RM70!I know some brand are selling below RM5.When I enquired for cheaper mechanical pencils,I was shown the cheapest,a Faber Castell [email protected]!(as shown on the right)So I bought 2 pieces,one 0.5mm and the other 0.7mm.

My reason for getting a new mechanical pencil was to do some sketches.Anyway,  a RM2.90 fits very well with the quality of my sketches.May be,when my sketches get better later,then they deserve more expensive mechanical pencil.

There is a white cylindrical eraser~2mm in diameter.I pulled it out to see how long it is and discovered that is about 20mm long.To put it back I just pressed it into the casing but only half of it managed to get into it.Now,what do I do?This RM2.90 pencil does not come with a manual.My so called engineering mind started to think lateral.Don't push,just turn the eraser around while pushing it down into the casing.The result?it still did not get inside.

I told myself don't get panic.It is only a RM2.90 pencil that I am about to mess it up.I was fighting with my ego.How could a 57 years old engineer could not fix a mechanical pencil?Suddenly, I got the idea to turn the casing instead of the eraser.Voila,it works!

C'est la vie...

By the way,what is the moral of the story?

Two bridges in double,one in trouble;-)

Bailey bridge

The photo below(from The Star) is a bridge erected by the Army Engineers to facilitate the evacuation of the landslide victims at Bukit Antarabangsa.This type of temporary structure was designed by Sir Donald Bailey during WW11 and he graduated from Sheffield University.I saw his design and his photo on a wall along one of the corridors at my faculty of civil engineering,located at Mappin Street,Sheffield when I was an undergraduate there in 1973. When I joined JKR in 1976,we used to have a team of skilled workers who can erect a bailey bridge at any time as the needs arise.These Bailey bridges were so good that they are become permanent structures in isolated roads.To my fellow engineers in the Army,I salute you my comrades.This is a small contribution from us to the people in need of immediate helps.Please check my other posting on the tallest bridge in the world today.

Sydney Habour

View from hotel
Originally uploaded by m.a.h.e.r.a.d.i.b.

This photo was taken by my son Maher when he was in Sydney a few days ago.I love the view. It reminds me of my trip there in 2000 and I remember that I took a few photos of the boats coming and going into the harbour.

Another big item of my interest is the bridge on the left of the photo.A friend suggested that I take a trip with him and walk on the curved streel trusts of the bridge.I told him with a definite NO!Walking on the bridge deck is good enough for me.

Temporary space frame

  KLCC walk 13 Jan 2008 
  Originally uploaded by Adibi

How do you lift an already assembled roof space frame weighing at least 50 ton(my estimate) covering an area of at least 10 metres by 30 metres to a height of 10metres?

As an engineer mainly involved in permanent structures,it always baffles me to see tall cranes at construction sites.There must be a way and a mechanical system to do it but this is beyond my knowledge.

To my pleasant suprise,I happened to see this mechanism being fixed at each column as shown in the photo below.Now,I think I can figure out how it works.

Below is a photo of a permanent steel roof structure at The Mall.