gINT Software, Inc.
Press Releases

GEO5 Distribution Deal Signed by gINT Software, Fine

gINT Software, Inc.Leading Geotechnical Software Developers to Integrate Solutions

Windsor, CA – September 29, 2008 –  gINT Software, Inc.

gINT Software, Inc., developer of gINT data management and reporting software for geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering professionals, has signed a mutual distributorship agreement with Fine s.r.o. of Prague, Czech Republic, maker of the GEO5 geotechnical analysis software programs. gINT Software will represent GEO5 on an exclusive basis in the USA, Canada and Mexico. In addition, Fine has been granted exclusive rights to represent gINT in the Czech Republic and surrounding Eastern European countries, including Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

[Editor] All screen shots courtesy of gINT Software, Inc. Click through for the rest of the press release. [/Editor]

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Software Updates

Exciting Changes for gINT Software

If you haven’t read today’s gINT Software press release on their new Google Earth capabilities in gINT, do that first. Go ahead..I’ll wait.

As readers of this site know, I’m a big fan of utilizing Google Earth as a geoengineering tool, and since I’m a big fan of gINT as a geoengineering tool as well, this news for me was like a match made in heaven! The good folks over at gINT were kind enough to give me a sneak peek at the new Google Earth functionality a couple days ago. And they also discussed a shift in their approach to updates and upgrades that will be of particular interest to all gINT users. Click through for more info. (Screenshot courtesy of gINT Software)

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gINT Software, Inc.
Press Releases

Google Earth Integration Offered for gINT Borehole Data

gINT Software, Inc.Related Images, Calculations, Automated Displays Programmable by Users with New Interface

Windsor, CA – September 11, 2008 –  gINT Software, Inc.

A new upgrade to gINT geotechnical and geoenvironmental software lets users publish boreholes to Google Earth, Google’s satellite imagery–based mapping product. The version 8.2 upgrade enables users to specify an icon, color, label, and description to associate with the borehole via an easy-to-use Google Earth Setup dialog in gINT.  When the borehole icon on the Google Earth map is clicked by a viewer, a user-designed description will appear in a popup window.  The window can also contain links to any type of file, including images and PDFs displaying the boring log, enabling users to visually provide a substantial amount of information for each borehole.

[Editor] Click through for the rest of the press release and more screen shots. All screen shots courtesy of gINT Software, Inc. [/Editor]

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No Picture
Press Releases

States Forced to Delay Millions of Dollars in Highway Contracts

[UPDATE 9/11/08] Yesterday the senate broke through their deadlock and approved $8 Billion to restore the solvency of the highway trust fund. Very good news indeed. [/UPDATE]

[Editor] From American Association of Highway and Transportation Officials, released September 9, 2008.  Contact: Tony Dorsey 202-624-3690 [/Editor]

States have put the brakes on millions of dollars of highway construction projects and are scrambling to substitute scarce state funds for the federal funds that have been cut off due to the crisis in the Highway Trust Fund.

“States are suspending new contract awards, halting right-of-way acquisition and looking for ways to stop on-going construction while maintaining public safety,” said AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley. “It is truly a crisis that Congress must resolve immediately. Every day the federal IOUs are piling up and the states’ financial hole gets deeper.”

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters announced on Friday that the federal government would slow down reimbursements to the states, and would likely be able to make only partial payments beginning next week, due to insufficient funds in the Highway Trust Fund. She has urged Congress to enact by the end of the week an $8 billion transfer from the General Fund to preserve the solvency of the Highway Trust Fund. Action is pending in the Senate.

More than a dozen states have detailed the impacts of the federal default on state programs, either in news releases or via media reports. Those impacts are available on the AASHTO website www.transportation.org or at the following links: [Editor] Read on for the rest of the press release. [/Editor]


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Geologic Hazards

NY Landslide Halts Highway Construction

A report has been released by the NYSDOT on the Scoby Hill Landslide which has impacted a 4.2-mi improvement project of Route 219. The report, dated May 20, 2008 was headed to an FHWA peer  review panel.

The Feds were call in to help because of the unusual nature of the landslide. The slip surface is very deep, approximately 30-m (100-ft) below the surface and below all of the design phase investigations. And the remolded shear strength of the silty clay forming the slip surface was only 12-14 degrees.

Read on for more details of the slide. (Photo by NYSDOT)

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Miscellaneous

Geotechnical Engineer Dives to Inspect Bridges

The Progressive Engineer website has an interesting article profiling Colwyn Sayers, a geotechnical engineer with the Lexington, Kentucky office of Stantec. His specialty is inspecting underwater bridge foundations which requires either wetsuit or drysuit diving using topside air sources. Occasionally a hyperbaric chamber is required as well. (Photo credit: Progressive Engineer)

On a typical dive, Sayers looks for signs of deterioration that may cause instability or even collapse of the bridge. This includes scour, undermining from flowing water that erodes the streambed, deterioration, cracks, section loss, and impact and abrasion damage from trees. Tree debris caught in the bridge leads to scour and erosion. “It depends on the construction type as well as the materials on the bridge,” he states.

 

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Available Resources

Video: RPI Geotechnical Engineering Centrifuge

I stumbled across this video for the geotechnical engineering centrifuge at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Centrifuge testing is a popular way to economically test models at much higher loads and pressures than you would normally be able to in the laboratory. The goal is to more accurately represent the real world conditions. Click through for the video.

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Geoarchaeology

Tectonics and Ancient Civilizations

A new study published in the current issue of Geoarchaeology claims that earthquake-prone areas along the edges of tectonic plates were far more likely to give birth to great ancient civilizations than less dynamic landscapes. The author of the paper, Eric Force, a (U of A Wildcat!) says that 13 of 15 ancient civilizations sites aren’t the product of chance. Instead, ancient people appear to have chosen to settle close to a tectonic plate boundary. The exceptions were in ancient China and Egypt. [Image Adapted from Eric R. Force, Geoarchaeology: An International Journal, 23 (2008)]

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