The Leaning Tower of Pisa

This is the monument that, among the others of the "Piazza dei Miracoli", stirs the imagination of everybody, from the old to the young. Firstly we like to give you some information and events regarding its long history.

The construction of this imposing mass was started in the year 1174 by Bonanno Pisano. When the tower had reached its third storey the works ceased because it had started sinking into the ground. The tower remained thus for 90 years. It was completed by Giovanni di Simone, Tommano Simone (son of Andreo Pisano), crowned the tower with the belfry at half of 14th century.

The top of the Leaning Tower can be reached by mounting the 294 steps which rise in the form of a spiral on the inner side of the tower walls.

This very famous work is of Romanesque style, and as already stated dates back to the year 1174. Cylindrical in shape it is supplied whit six open galleries. A cornice separates these galleries one from the other and each presents a series of small arches fitted on the capitals of the slender columns. In the base there is a series of big blind arcades with geometrical decorations. In the belfry there is the same design of arcades as that of the base, with the difference that here, there are, apart from the reduced proportions, the housings of the bells.

Although stately, this monument is not lacking in elegance and lightness due to the arcades and open galleries between one storey and another. Although it can be considered a real masterpiece of architecture, this monument is mostly famous for its strong inclination. Regarding this inclination it can be safely stated that it is undoubtedly due to a sinking of the ground right from the time of its construction. Therefore, the assumption of those who desire to imagine that great tower was built inclined is entirely without foundation.

Unfortunately, even today the great mass continues to sink very slowly. It is a question of about 1 mm. every year. Since nobody can state with mathematical security that this sinking will continue in the future at the present yearly rate, without its ceasing, remedies by means of adequate measures, based on scientific studies and projects, are under consideration. In the meantime supervision with instruments of very high precision is continuously being carried out.

Positive changes happen only beyond the comfort zone

Yes its true!!!!Be it civil engineering or any other branch of science, stepping away from comfort zone is a very essential and crucial part since it can take you to victory very soon.Now here is an article which says about it......It was published in the famous news daily "THE HINDU" dt 5-3-08
Human beings have an extraordinary ability to adapt. Every change in our surroundings and our environment is a cue that sets our adaptive mechanism in motion and permits us to cope with new and changing circumstances.

But despite being extremely adaptive, we are always hoping for the stability of the status quo in our daily lives. We like the regularity of routine and the inevitability of monotony.

We feel vindicated when we can make dependable predictions and dictate rules regarding acceptable behavior.

Our comfort zone provides us with a degree of security and we are happy to let it at that.

However, extraordinary results are not obtained by staying within your comfort zone.

When you are happy with the status quo, you are not changing with the external changes that are taking place.You are not making progress; you may have momentum, but you are not moving forward.

Your comfort zone can trap you in a prison of sorts, keeping you away from fresh challenges, experiences, and people.

If you really want to get out of your comfort trap, and on to the vanguard of change, it is time to start pushing your boundaries and breaking the rules.

Examine consequences

Staying in your comfort zone can have both good and bad associations. For example, your comfort zone can be a great antidote for stress and burnout.

If you have been driving yourself hard for a long time, stepping back into your comfort zone can offer a temporary respite and help you refuel for your next run.

If you have already achieved your life’s dreams, stepping into your comfort zone is a great way to bask in the glory of your past achievements.

But if you still have your whole life and its aspirations ahead of you, your comfort zone can trap you in a mirage of satisfaction.

Need to get out

It can be difficult to let go of that warm, satisfied feeling that being in your comfort zone can give you.

It is like coaxing a child to leave behind his favorite teddy when he goes to school. But it is necessary for the child to abandon his old comfort zones in quest of newer milestones.

Recognise how being in your comfort zone is stopping you from growing and moving forward.

The recognition that your comfort zone is limiting you is the first big step towards breaking out of it.

Set new goals

What are your goals, and how is being in your comfort zone stopping you from achieving those goals?

Goals typically need to challenge you, draw out your best and bring you out of your comfort zone. If they can be achieved easily, you need to scale them up and raise the bar higher, so that you can test the upper limits of your potential.

Get your cheese

Believe it or not, successful people are more prone to failures than those who are less successful.

This is because they take more risks, try new things and never give up till they get what they strive for.

In his book ‘Who moved my cheese?’ Dr. Spencer Johnson tells a wonderful story around two little people named ‘Hem’ and ‘Haw’ who have lost their precious hoard of cheese and are stuck in a maze with no food and no prospects.

To find new cheese, they have to venture out and explore new uncharted paths in the maze. The fear of the unknown prevents Hem from leaving the comfort of the old cheese station even if he is starving, while Haw lets go of his fear and succeeds in finding new cheese and a whole lot of confidence after a few failed attempts.

Dump the fears, prejudices and old habits that keep you stuck to your comfort zone.Be more open to change. Remember that almost all positive changes happen beyond the familiarity of the comfort zone.

Pain of change

The moment people start experiencing the anxiety, the discomfort and the awkwardness of letting go, they pull back into the comfort zone.

If you want to improve your life or change it for the better, you must steel yourself to put up with the pain of change.

People who get out of their comfort zones derive greater success and satisfaction from life. They may not get immediate results, but they force themselves to go beyond the point of no return.

And when that happens, they realise that there is a new horizon beyond and greater challenges and experiences ahead.

BINDU SRIDHAR

Job Opportunities in Civil Engineering

Yes there are a huge opportunity in Civil Engineering recently in NHAI and PWD there are 70,000 Vacancies are short

As the country builds or upgrades over 68,000 km of national highways, more than 35 airports, two dozen of the biggest railway stations, countrywide freight corridors, a whole new hospitality and housing industry, it’s faced with a critical roadblock: an alarming dearth of civil engineers, the skilled professionals who are needed to put each building block in its precise place.

Industry experts estimate that India faces a shortage of over 70,000 civil engineers each year. Not surprising, when you have just one in ten IIT students opting for the civil engineering discipline and only 200 of the 1700 engineering colleges approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) offer the course.

All IITs taken together graduate barely 500-600 civil engineering students and estimates are that not more than a total of 10,000 civil engineers are created in India per year. In fact, between a third and a half of all civil engineering undergraduates either drop off that stream soon after college and take up the more lucrative IT sector. That explains why private engineering colleges have either been reducing civil engineering seats or just shutting down this department over the last few years.

How civil engineering lost the battle over the last two decades is a story of how bricks and mortar lost their glamour to clicks — the IT boom, fuelled by a growing army of footsoldiers in computer science and electronics reduced civil engineering to an “old economy” discipline.

With heftier pay packets and global opportunities offered by the IT industry, an entire generation of engineering students/aspirants switched over from traditional engineering disciplines to the newer ones. In this churning, civil engineering finally ended at the bottom of the student’s wishlist while computer science, biotechnology and electronics engineering raced up. Even those who would get civil engineering in an IIT, for example — based on their rank in the joint entrance examination — were dropping out if they got computers at a lesser-reputed college.

“So the demand steadily dropped and colleges started to shut down the civil engineering departments. Most of them replaced it with IT/electronics or communication courses that offer higher salaries. Of the total 1700 engineering colleges, just some 200 would probably be offering civil engineering as a discipline,” says Prof Harish C Rai , Advisor, Engineering & Technology Bureau, AICTE.

Source : Indian Express