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Don't Throw This Away!: The Civil Engineering Life

Abstract

  • If you keep your ties for so long, they start to curl up...

    If you think the Firth of Forth Rail Bridge is a dream vacation destination...

    If you evaluate infrastructure for your daughter's hamsters...

    If you one-up your techno-nerd neighbor by offering to network his toilets...

    ...you must meet Brian Brenner, a civil engineer's civil engineer. In Don't Throw This Away! The Civil Engineering Life, Brenner reports on what it's like to be a civil engineer in the 21st century: the mindset, the practice, the profession. Equally skilled as a writer and an engineer, Brenner ranges from serious discussions of suburban sprawl, technology run amok, and bridge aesthetics, to comical accounts of packrat habits, quacking moments, and engineering fashion. This entertaining collection of essays displays Brenner's distinctive combination of quirky humor and engineering "right stuff."

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Front Matter
i–xii
    Chapter 1:
    Brian’s Bridges
    1–3
      Chapter 2:
      Life Insurance
      4–6
        Chapter 3:
        The Twister
        7–10
          Chapter 4:
          Engineering Fashions
          11–13
            Chapter 5:
            Who Likes the Chocolate?
            14–16
              Chapter 6:
              The Maze
              17–19
                Chapter 7:
                The Ronald Reagan Room
                20–22
                  Chapter 8:
                  Bringing Out the Inner Civil Engineer
                  23–25
                    Chapter 9:
                    The Baby Sitter In-Law
                    26–28
                      Chapter 10:
                      Reston Town Center
                      29–31
                        Chapter 11:
                        Don't Throw This Away I
                        32–33
                          Chapter 12:
                          Don't Throw This Away II
                          34–36
                            Chapter 13:
                            Don't Throw This Away III
                            37–39
                              Chapter 14:
                              Don't Throw This Away IV
                              40–42
                                Chapter 15:
                                An Ideal Geotechnical World
                                43–44
                                  Chapter 16:
                                  Infrastructure and Coming of Age
                                  45–47
                                    Chapter 17:
                                    Learning the Expanding Body of Knowledge
                                    48–50
                                      Chapter 18:
                                      The Road Not Built
                                      51–54
                                        Chapter 19:
                                        Build It and They Will Come
                                        55–57
                                          Chapter 20:
                                          New Car
                                          58–60
                                            Chapter 21:
                                            Acronyms and the Explosion of Useless Data
                                            61–64
                                              Chapter 22:
                                              The Quacking Moment
                                              65–68
                                                Chapter 23:
                                                Fish
                                                69–71
                                                  Chapter 24:
                                                  The Bridge Tour
                                                  72–75
                                                    Chapter 25:
                                                    Fred Retires
                                                    76–77
                                                      Chapter 26:
                                                      The Sky Bridges and Malls of Minneapolis
                                                      78–80
                                                        Chapter 27:
                                                        Raising the Bar
                                                        81–83
                                                          Chapter 28:
                                                          Vegetarian Nerds Watching the Super Bowl
                                                          84–87
                                                            Chapter 29:
                                                            My New Cell Phone
                                                            88–90
                                                              Chapter 30:
                                                              Hamsters Gone Wild
                                                              91–94
                                                                Chapter 31:
                                                                A Comparison of Dilbert and Wally
                                                                95–97
                                                                  Chapter 32:
                                                                  The Discovery of Pluto
                                                                  98–100
                                                                    Chapter 33:
                                                                    What's New on the Xway
                                                                    101–104
                                                                      Chapter 34:
                                                                      Opryland
                                                                      105–107
                                                                        Chapter 35:
                                                                        The Last Game at Foxboro
                                                                        108–111
                                                                          Chapter 36:
                                                                          The Zucchini Story
                                                                          112–115
                                                                            Chapter 37:
                                                                            Moss on the Medium
                                                                            116–119
                                                                              Chapter 38:
                                                                              First Class
                                                                              120–122
                                                                                Chapter 39:
                                                                                After All, It's a Small World
                                                                                123–125
                                                                                  Chapter 40:
                                                                                  What Happened to Nantucket?
                                                                                  126–128
                                                                                    Chapter 41:
                                                                                    The Way Things Are
                                                                                    129–131
                                                                                      Chapter 42:
                                                                                      The Forest and the Trees
                                                                                      132–133
                                                                                        Chapter 43:
                                                                                        Mass MoCA and the Hoosac Tunnel
                                                                                        134–136
                                                                                          Chapter 44:
                                                                                          The Trail Ridge Road
                                                                                          137–139
                                                                                            Chapter 45:
                                                                                            Encino Engineer
                                                                                            140–141
                                                                                              Chapter 46:
                                                                                              Aberaeron
                                                                                              142–145
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                                                                                                Back Matter
                                                                                                146–148