You'll Have to Go Through Me

Sometimes the only way to get what you need is to go through Helen Back.

(...not to be confused with her equally helpful co-worker Helen Waite.)

It's An Engineer!

Inspiration came when our oldest son and his wife came over to play the ultrasound video of what would be our fifth grandchild. It's a boy! ...and maybe he'll follow in the footsteps of his grandpa.

Build - Then Design

Sort of like the "ready, fire! aim" approach to construction...

Many of the public projects these days are design-build, a good project delivery method if the construction and design teams partner well together. By having the design team and the construction team collaborate from the start, the final design can perform better, be easier to build, and cost less.

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No matter how heated the rush to "git 'er dun", I've never seen a build-then-design approach that didn't end in disappointment.

Rush The Rush Job

I love the post office scene in the Jim Carrey movie The Grinch where the postmaster is frantically receiving packages at the counter, stamping them as "RUSH" or "HECKUVA RUSH", and then tossing them back over his shoulder.

With the instant responses that seem to be expected these days via phone, text, or email, almost everything is a "heckuva rush".

Calling In Life

I visited my daughter Anjuli's 2nd grade class recently (she's the teacher, not a student) to explain what an engineer does and help the students build towers with paper cups, Popsicle sticks and tin foil. All of the students were bright and very cute...

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...and more like the kid on the right.

The Right Brain

You'd think, based on my cartoons, that I believe the stereotype of the nerdy, left-brained engineer with thick glasses and no social skills. I do not, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy poking fun at them and everyone else in the construction industry. 

I have met engineers who resemble the stereotype, but the best engineers I know have a healthy balance of both left-brained technical smarts and right-brained creativity.  My own brain scan is included above (Figure 4) for your reference.

I created the first Right Brain cartoon for the inaugural edition of Wright Engineers' monthly news in February 1999.  Each issue since has featured an industry-related cartoon. 

Hanging Ducks

Despite protests from some activists, the building code still says it's perfectly legal to hang your duck.
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(It is, however, a code violation to pinch it.)

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No ducks were harmed in the making of this cartoon

Current Business Strategy

It seems like a lot of people these days are using this type of business strategy. Maybe this guy thinks he can make up the price difference with higher volume?

This One's From Our Attorney...

It takes some attorneys five times as many words as a normal person to say the same thing. That could be one reason law school is three years instead of a semester and a half.

Then These People Showed Up

My thanks to activists and protesters everywhere for providing the inspiration.

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No fur-bearing animals were harmed in the making of this cartoon. We do not test our cartoons on animals.

The New Corporate Brand

You always want to make sure you thoroughly test your new brand internally before unveiling it to the public.

Just Sign Here

It's amazing the ridiculously unfair contract terms some companies try to demand that their consultants and subs agree to - things like:

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"[insert your name here] shall take all liability and be responsible for any and all costs for anything and everything bad that could possibly happen, even if it has nothing whatsoever to do with anything done by [insert your name here], blah blah blah ten pints of blood blah blah blah pound of flesh blah blah blah firstborn child blah blah blah hand over everything you own..."

Do It Yourself Engineering

No matter the project, if the goal is an economical design and the assurance that the building will actually work as intended, you should retain the services of a reputable architect and engineer. The relatively small price for quality design is money well spent.
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I've seen many well intentioned but seriously misguided souls willing to invest millions in their project, who believe they'll "save money" by having their nephew who took high school drafting draw the plans and then hiring the cheapest engineer they can find.
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For more on why cheap engineering is not cheap, click here.

Request For Proposal

We are asked to propose a lot. As far as I know, no one in my office has misunderstood this badly.

See It My Way

Sometimes on Friday afternoons I begin to get "eye trouble" - I just can't see staying at the office. If there are glasses to correct that particular vision problem, I don't want them.

Go to Helen Waite

This one's my all-time favorite!
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Inspiration came after dealing with a difficult client who was demanding that we continue to provide services even though his unpaid account was waaaaaay past due.
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If you don't get it, try pointing your finger at someone close by and saying out loud over and over, "You want [insert noun here]? Go to Helen Waite!"

Click here for Helen Waite's associate Helen Back.

Might Not Be the Latest Drawings...

The inspiration for this came from a large project where the contractor created several headaches for himself and for us because he was building from an old set of drawings.

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When this cartoon was originally drawn,s I called the cartoon contractor Terry (coincidence?) instead of Bob.

Duck Penetration

One of several "duck" cartoons drawn by a humble structural engineer in honor of mechanical engineers and mechanical contractors everywhere.

It Really Does Flow Downhill

I've always believed it flows downhill, but it doesn't hurt to verify.

A Surprise Visit From OSHA

I thought it would be hilarious to show a superintendent who misunderstood a phone message tipping him off about a surprise visit from OSHA standing on the job site trying to explain to the straight-faced OSHA inspectors why he's dressed for the beach.