The idea of writing this book came up one night while having dinner with Ventura at the Crocodile Cafe in Pasadena. This was really a joint project, that could have turned into a nightmare without her support, encouragement, and expertise in personal computers. For all these things, and for tolerating my sometimes single-minded attention, I am very grateful to her. I am also very much indebted to six good friends, Paul Burridge, Mladen Chargin, Gary Dilley, Carl Hennrich, Hector Jensen and Mark Miller, who read the entire manuscript of this book and made many useful suggestions. I also want to thank Burt Alperson for his guidance and advice during the preparation of this book. Finally, I thank the Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Southern California for the support provided during the course of this project, and my students of all these years for asking tough questions. Contents Introduction 1 Basic MSC/NASTRAN concepts 2 PARTl Statics Problem 1 7 1. 1 Statement of the problem 7 1. 2 Cards introduced 7 1. 3 MSC/NASTRAN formulation 7 1. 4 Input Data Deck 8 1. 5 Results 11 Problem 2 27 2. 1 Statement of the problem 27 2. 2 Cards introduced 27 2. 3 MSC/NASTRAN formulation 27 2. 4 Input Data Deck 27 2. 5 Results 28 Problem 3 37 3. 1 Statement of the problem 37 3. 2 Cards introduced 37 3. 3 MSC/NASTRAN formulation 37 3. 4 Input Data Deck 37 3.

Pedro is very poor. Yes, I can tell by the clothes he wears. I was mad because somehow the way they were whispering, it sounded like being poor was something very terrible. Meet six-year-old Pedrito, who lives on a South Texas farm with his mother, father, and younger sister. The year is 1941, and except for a trip to the big city of San Antonio, five hours away, Pedritos life is the farm and the school he attends in a village a few miles away. Pedritos father has the papers he needs to work legally in the United States, but that doesnt stop the Border Patrol from harassing him and his son. Pedrito speaks only Spanish and is frightened on his first day of school when he learns that he must speak English. Luckily his teacher, Miss Garca, is patient with her students, and soon Pedrito is sharing his new English words with his family. Pedrito also relates his opinion of outhouses vs. indoor plumbing and tells of a happy Easter decorating cascarones. ""Pedritos World"" is a wonderful window on the lives and culture of a Mexican family living and working in South Texas. Arturo O. Martnez based ""Pedritos World"" on his own South Texas childhood. He lives in Hoboken, New Jersey.