The Art of Animal Drawing: Construction, Action Analysis, Caricature (Dover Art Instruction)

The Art of Animal Drawing: Construction, Action Analysis, Caricature (Dover Art Instruction) Review

Former Disney animator offers expert advice on drawing animals both realistically and as caricatures. Use of line, brush technique, establishing mood, conveying action, much more. Construction drawings reveal development process in creating animal figures. Many chapters on drawing individual animal forms — dogs, cats, horses, deer, cows, foxes, kangaroos. 53 halftones, 706 line illustrations.

One Big Building: A Counting Book About Construction (Know Your Numbers)

One Big Building: A Counting Book About Construction (Know Your Numbers) Review

One Big Building: A Counting Book About Construction (Know Your Numbers) Feature

• Know Your Numbers Find the hidden numbers in these exciting counting books.
• Count by ones twos fives and tens.
• Satisfaction Ensured.
• Design is stylish and innovative.
• Functionality that is Unbeatable.

A counting book that follows the construction of a building, from one plan to twelve stories. Readers are invited to find hidden numbers on an illustrated activity page.

Not this Time (Men of 3X CONStruction)

Not this Time (Men of 3X CONStruction) Review

Veronique had done the monogamous relationship thing before and got her heart stomped in the process. She no longer allowed her emotions to join her liaisons and kept her heart locked away. Frank O'Connor was no exception, or so she thought.

This is a short story in the men of 3X CONStruction series hightlighting a romance between two favorite characters from earlier books. Frank is Red's brother and Veronique, is Cherise's mother. Enjoy!

Excerpt:

“Are you okay?”
The deep sexy-as-sin voice shot straight to her core. Damn. Now visions of tangled sheets and long nights ran through her mind with the voice. And she hadn't even seen the body it came from. Sitting back up in her chair, she eyed him while she rubbed the side of her face. Damn, he's fine.
“I'll live.”
“Can I get you another drink?” The dark eyes pinned her to her chair. A flutter of interest rose in her breast.
She nodded, her pussy tingled at his look of interest.
“What're you drinking?” He smiled. And Veronique, defense attorney extraordinaire, swore the sun had just come from behind a dark cloud, making her world seem brighter. Sappy, but true.

“Oh, a glass of zinfandel will be fine.” Any buzz she'd had earlier evaporated under the heavy dose of lust that'd swamped her. Although he wore jeans, his shirt was professional grade. Could he be in the gray area? A professional with blue-collar tendencies. Hmmm, watching him weave through the crowd, she marveled at his size. Tall, broad shoulders, dark hair and eyes. All-around nice package. Her lips puckered and smacked, wanting a taste.
God, please let him be capable of a halfway decent conversation. No matter how hot and horny he made her, she'd long passed the stage where she screwed dumb men. Even brief flings had to bring more than solid meat to the table. Placing her shoes into her large Coach bag, she watched him maneuver the crowd while holding her wine and a beer.
He handed her the glass as he sat next to her.
“Thanks, I appreciate it. I'm Veronique by the way.” She looked at him from beneath her lids as she took a sip of the cool liquid.
“I'm Frank. Your name's different. Are you from Philly?” He took a pull from his bottle. The weight of his gaze warmed her.
“No, I'm here for a conference. Two more days to go.” She gazed at his dark eyes, and the heat singed her core. His eyes blazed as he watched her lips on the glass. Yep, he was he interested. “Is this home for you?”
“I live an hour away, but I had some business in town, and came in here to unwind before heading out.” He looked at her and winked. “Glad I did.”
Me, too. “How about that? I was on my way out when you bumped into me. Must be kismet, huh?” She smiled as he placed his bottle on the table, and leaned toward her.
“Yeah, kismet works for me. Let me buy you dinner before you leave. You seem like an interesting person, Veronique. I'd like to know you better.”
Tingles shot down her spine when he said her name. “I am.” She stood, and picked up her purse.
He followed. “Is there anything you prefer?”
“Lean meats.” She smirked as her eyes roved slowly over his muscular frame. Did she say he was fine? Regardless, his body demanded another bravo for finess.
He placed his hands in his pocket and walked behind her. “Lean meats? Hmmm, lean and juicy, I hope.”
“Juicy works. Nobody likes dry meat.” She stopped and looked around the hotel lobby for the entrance to the in-house restaurant. Spotting it, she headed in that direction. “We can eat here.”
“Sounds good. I like lean and juicy myself.” He grinned. They entered the restaurant, and the hostess sat them in the back after Veronique explained the problem with her shoes.

After they'd been seated, she glanced at Frank over her menu. Damn. The man was handsome. Thick, dark shiny hair touched his collar, a small close-cropped beard, and a nice smile. He reminded her of Russell Crowe and Mel Gibson combined into a delicious package. A package she planned to unwrap before the night was over.

Construction Management JumpStart: The Best First Step Toward a Career in Construction Management

Construction Management JumpStart: The Best First Step Toward a Career in Construction Management Review

Launch your career in construction management with this one-of-a-kind book

The construction management industry is expected to increase employment by 16 percent over the next decade. This second edition of a bestselling introduction to construction management walks you through each stage of the construction management process.

Written from the constructor's perspective, this book will familiarize you with all the construction management fundamentals and how Building Information Modeling (BIM) is impacting the construction management profession.

• Covers interoperability of technology advances in the construction industry
• Explains how BIM is challenging the traditional approach to project delivery and how this affects the constructor's role
• Elaborates each stage of the design and construction process and the tasks associated with each of them
• Shows step-by-step how to estimate project costs, administer contracts, manage job site and construction operations, plan and schedule a project, monitor project performance, manage project quality and safety, and assess project risks
• Provides review questions at the end of each chapter to help enforce understanding

The tried-and-true project management principles presented in this book will help ensure you a successful start to your career.

Managing a Construction Firm on Just 24 Hours a Day

Managing a Construction Firm on Just 24 Hours a Day Review

This detailed overview of the construction contracting business delivers an invaluable collection of best practices, forms, templates, and checklists designed to reduce risks and increase profits. Contractors will learn everything they need to know about the make-or-break areas of estimating, pricing, bidding, project management, and financial management.

• The author is well-known in the industry, with a weekly newsletter, website, online digest, regular column for Contractor magazine, and 70-plus seminar bookings for 2006
• Extensive examples and illustrations help readers apply the insights offered

Dictionary of Architecture and Construction (Dictionary of Architecture & Construction)

Dictionary of Architecture and Construction (Dictionary of Architecture & Construction) Review

Updated and expanded, this Fourth Edition of the most trusted reference in architecture offers the most comprehensive coverage of architectural and construction terms available. This classic dictionary now features nearly 25,000 definitions (including 2,800 new terms), 2,500 illustrations (including 200 new illustrations), and maintains its extraordinary visual appeal and easy-to-read page design. Prepared by a renowned architectural editor in association with expert contributors and incorporating the work of many standards groups, the book presents clear, concise definitions of terms in nearly 80 working areas. The Fourth Edition covers new industry terms which have emerged due to changes in engineering and building technologies, organizations, materials, and legal developments, and has been expanded to include more historic architectural styles. New terms include: Legal Architectural Barriers Act Wheelchair Accessible Materials Fibrous Concrete Latex Mortar Polymer-Based Stucco Concrete Compliance Conformity Refractory Mortar Organizations Building Research Establishment (formerly Building Research Station) of Great Britain ASTM Historic Architectural Styles Anglo-Palladianism French Victorian Isabellino Mudajar Mozarabic Neo-Rococo

Log Construction Manual: The Ultimate Guide to Building Handcrafted Log Homes

Log Construction Manual: The Ultimate Guide to Building Handcrafted Log Homes Review

The Log Construction Manual tells you what you need to know to build your own handcrafted log home shell. This is a comprehensive and thorough guide to how to scribe-fit logs to each other, cut notches, and build roof support systems of large, round, naturally-shaped logs.

The Log Construction Manual is packed with information that is available nowhere else — including the Log Selection Rules, Chambers' brilliant and simple method for choosing which log to use next; detailed instructions for building handcrafted log roof trusses; step-by-step directions for laying out sill logs for any design or floor plan; how to cut state-of-the-art compression-fit saddle notches; methods to keep notches and grooves tight over time; allowing for settling and shrinkage of log walls; scribing tips that pro's use; and much more.

A Day in the Life of a Construction Worker (First Facts: Community Helpers at Work)

A Day in the Life of a Construction Worker (First Facts: Community Helpers at Work) Review

Children will explore a typical day of a community worker, following a firefighter as he puts out a fire, a construction worker on a building site, and more! Bright, bold photographs show how these helpers serve their communities.

Home Tree Home: Principles of Treehouse Construction and Other Tall Tales

Home Tree Home: Principles of Treehouse Construction and Other Tall Tales Review

Remember the view from atop a tree? You could survey the landscape like a monarch, escape your parents' watchful eye, and let your imagination run wild. Well, just because you've grown up, it doesn't mean you can't enjoy the sense of liberation a tree provides. Here is the most comprehensive guide ever to building your own castle in the air, be it a simple child's playhouse or an adult's cozy retreat with all the modern conveniences, including electricty. Peter Nelson, the nation's foremost authority on treehouses, tells you everything you need to know about designing and building the house that's right for you and your family. He gives you information on site selection (why some trees provide better homes than others), safety issues, tree care, advice on styles and materials, and other essential rules of thumb that will save time and money.

Nelson walks you through the construction of four actual projects: a children's playhouse, a vacation home, an office, and a full-time residence. Whether you'd like to build your children a safe and fun place to play and dream, or you're contemplating your own retreat from the drudgeries of earthbound living, this practical, wildly fanciful guide will show you how to make your tree fantasies come true.

Ready for Love (The Men of 3X CONStruction)

Ready for Love (The Men of 3X CONStruction) Review

Second book in Men of ThreeX CONStruction series. Red and Denise have been together eight years when she breaks it off. It couldn't have come at a worst time. His company is under attack and he's being targeted. He has to filter through all the mess to come up with a plan to both trap the crooks and save their relationship.

Excerpt:

Red sat in the driveway of the two-story brick home contemplating his next move. His partners in Three X Construction, Ross and Smoke, refused to allow him to quit over what they termed bullshit. He’d finally hopped in his Hummer and drove around to clear his head. At least that’s the shit he’d told his boys. The look on both their faces called him a liar. Hitting the steering wheel, he yelled out his frustration.
Why’d he always have to be the fuck-up?
All his brothers had strong careers working for themselves. As the youngest, he’d had less responsibility and stayed in the most trouble.
Smoke had called him out days before for straddling the fence in his non-relationship with his babies’ mama and ex-girl, Denise. She’d been right. He needed to grow up. Ever since the fundraiser a few weeks ago, she’d been on his mind more than usual. That was hard to understand since she was buried so deep inside him, she was never far from his thoughts.
The red sparkly dress she’d worn that night had his balls tensing and his cock straight hard. He lost his mind for a second when he saw her looking up at that asshole. Smoke had tried to stop him, but he was on autopilot. Nobody touched his woman. Fuck that they’d had a disagreement. She was still his. It was all he could do to keep from throwing her over his shoulder and taking her to a dark corner. He’d make her remember why they’d been so good together.
When he heard her complaining to Ms. Connie, the construction company’s office manager, and Cherise, something snapped. She’d broken up with him on a bullshit tip and wouldn’t talk to him. Lord knows he’d tried.
That was probably why he sat, like a lump of coal, in her driveway at nine pm. He had a shitload of mess on his mind and didn’t want to be alone. He’d bypassed his townhouse, as well as Smoke’s offer to crash at his beachfront condo. Now, like a jackass, he sat on the outside wanting in.
Pathetic.
That’s what this insatiable need to be around her was fast becoming. He inhaled and glanced at his watch for the tenth time in the past twenty minutes, hoping to clear his head in preparation for a titillating exchange with Denise. She wasn’t easy, but matched him perfectly. You’d never know she was a preacher’s kid the way her mouth went off. Thinking of her mouth, led to visions of her full lips, which made him hard. He swallowed, pushing away his desire and righting his pants.
Unlocking his door, he stepped out of his black Hummer and pocketed the keys as he moved slowly toward the door. A car sounded in the distance, the hum of a neighborhood settling for the night calmed his jangled nerves. The mat proclaimed ‘welcome.’ Somehow, he doubted it extended to him.
After ringing the doorbell, he stepped back so she could see him. He suspected she knew he’d been outside the moment he arrived. It probably tickled her that he took this long to knock on her door. Probably thought he’d been scared. He wasn’t sure how far off she was on that. Not of her, but the whole situation with someone sabotaging the company, his role in it and since he was being honest, their relationship or lack thereof, worked his nerves.
His hands stroked the cotton lining in his pockets searching for additional warmth as he ducked his chin into the collar of his heavy Burma jacket against the night chill. Light footsteps neared the door. Without conscious thought, he rocked side-to-side, digging in his pockets further.
“Red?” a muffled voice asked surprised.
“Yeah.” Who the hell else would be showing up this time of night, he wondered.

Graphic Guide to Frame Construction: Completely Revised and Updated

Graphic Guide to Frame Construction: Completely Revised and Updated Review

This is the new revised and updated edition of the complete visual handbook for architects, builders, students and DIY builders - anyone interested in wood frame house construction. Section by section the book covers foundations, floors, walls, stairs and roofs. Full cross-referencing gives information about building systems and materials. Written by an experienced self-builder and a practicing architect, this authoritative guide reviews all the options to solve specific building problems. * GRAPHIC: This is a definitive visual handbook featuring nearly 500 step-by-step detailed and annotated plans and drawings. * FULLY REVISED: Updated to keep paces with changes in the building industry in the last nine years, particularly new materials, disaster- and extreme weather-proofing concerns, and new energy conservation codes.

City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction

City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction Review

Text and black and white illustrations show how the Romans planned and constructed their cities for the people who lived within them.

Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction

Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction Review

Widely considered one of the best practical guides to programming, Steve McConnell’s original CODE COMPLETE has been helping developers write better software for more than a decade. Now this classic book has been fully updated and revised with leading-edge practices—and hundreds of new code samples—illustrating the art and science of software construction. Capturing the body of knowledge available from research, academia, and everyday commercial practice, McConnell synthesizes the most effective techniques and must-know principles into clear, pragmatic guidance. No matter what your experience level, development environment, or project size, this book will inform and stimulate your thinking—and help you build the highest quality code.

Discover the timeless techniques and strategies that help you:

• Design for minimum complexity and maximum creativity
• Reap the benefits of collaborative development
• Apply defensive programming techniques to reduce and flush out errors
• Exploit opportunities to refactor—or evolve—code, and do it safely
• Use construction practices that are right-weight for your project
• Debug problems quickly and effectively
• Resolve critical construction issues early and correctly
• Build quality into the beginning, middle, and end of your project

Little Construction Site Sticker Activity Book (Dover Little Activity Books)

Little Construction Site Sticker Activity Book (Dover Little Activity Books) Review

Fill a busy work area with sticker images of barricades, danger signs, figures of workers driving dump trucks and cement mixers, and much more. 24 stickers.

Building a House (Mulberry Books)

Building a House (Mulberry Books) Review

A machine digs a big hole. A cement mixer pours cement. Carpenters put up walls. Bricklayers, electricians, plumbers, and painters do their part. Through brilliantly simple words and pictures we follow each step, and before our eyes a house is built.

How to Open & Operate a Financially Successful Construction Company - With Companion CD-ROM

How to Open & Operate a Financially Successful Construction Company - With Companion CD-ROM Review

Starting a construction company, even a small one, can be a very profitable venture. In good times and bad construction is an industry that will always be in demand, and construction is not an industry where technology will replace or undermine it. The construction field is growing rapidly. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, construction firms are expected to be one of the fastest growing business segments in the U.S. economy. There has never been a better time to start a construction company and get ahead of the competition. This new book is a comprehensive, detailed study of the practical side of starting and operating a construction firm. It will take you step-by-step through every aspect and prepare you with everything you need including sample business forms, leases, contracts; worksheets and checklists for planning, starting, and running day-to-day operations. You will get dozens of other valuable, timesaving tools of the trade that every entrepreneur should have. While providing detailed instruction and examples, the author help you find a location and business name that will bring success, take you through the process of drawing up a winning business plan (The Companion CD-ROM has the actual business plan you can use in MS Word TM), and teach you how to start and manage your construction company. You will find guidance on obtaining licenses and permits, drawing up contracts, hiring subcontractors, meeting governmental regulations, attracting new clients and referrals, applying for financing, tracking utilities, employing basic cost control systems, dealing with pricing issues, and staying ahead of the competition. You will avoid trial by error when setting up equipment layouts, meeting legal and IRS requirements, and tapping into the best sales and marketing techniques and pricing formulas. This book will even help you set up computer systems to save time and money, teach you how to hire and keep a qualified professional staff, use the best computer software, network with publishers and associations, do your own sales planning, customer service, keep your own books, compile monthly profit and loss statements, and prepare taxes. You will become adept at media planning, pricing, and public relations. You will be able to manage and train employees, motivate workers, generate high profile public relations and publicity, and learn low cost marketing ideas and low cost ways to satisfy customers and build sales. You will learn how to keep bringing customers back and build referrals the secret of continued success as well as getting thousands of great tips and useful guidelines. The manual delivers literally hundreds of innovative demonstrated ways to operate and streamline your business. Learn new ways to make your operation run smoother and increase performance, shut down waste, reduce costs, and increase profits. The secret of continued success as well as getting thousands of great tips and useful ideas. In addition, you will appreciate the valuable CD-ROM resource in your daily activities as a source of ready-to-use forms, templates, worksheets, business plan, surveys, letters, web site resources, everything you will need to get up and running. We also went the extra mile and spent an unprecedented amount of time researching, interviewing, e-mailing, and communicating with hundreds of today's most successful construction company executives. Aside from learning the basics you will be privy to their secrets and proven successful ideas. Instruction is great, but advice from experts is even better, and the construction experts chronicled in this book are earning a great deal of money for their expertise.

The Gypsum Construction Handbook (RSMeans)

The Gypsum Construction Handbook (RSMeans) Review

One of the construction industry's longest-running, most relied-on references, The Gypsum Construction Handbook was first published by the U.S. Gypsum Company in 1904. For more than a century and through several editions, the book has become a trusted standard. The Handbook covers both new construction and repair and remodeling and includes: framing drywall and veneer plaster joint treatment and plaster finishing interior cement board ceilings conventional plaster New in this edition are chapters on sustainable construction methods and products, building movements, fire resistance, heat transfer, sound transmission, and vapor/moisture control. System descriptions - together with full data on prodcuts, accessories, tools, equipment and applications - help plan and estimate projects and ensure compliance with performance criteria. Cost - and time saving - techniques keep the work on budget.