New Technologies in Structural Health Monitoring

Structural Health Monitoring is a relatively new science, but it's actually pretty cool.

In times past, complex parts for machines would be replaced according to a best guess, based on statistics. It's kind of like, "Your car has 75,000 miles on it, you should replace the shocks." Your shocks may be perfectly good, or they may have been shot at 50,000 miles.

Now, it's possible through structural health monitoring to place sensors of various types to actually measure when a part is going to fail, then replace it just before it does. This saves a lot of money, since only "bad" parts are replaced. This is why the Ben Franklin Center of Excellence has teamed up with Penn State to fund new projects.

Proper Commercial Aprons

Finally, our store has got proper commercial aprons at a reasonable price. Made for the military, these aprons will last a long, long time.

New Catering Services for Barbecue

Red Todd has finally got a web site, and he's got catering on his mind. If you like barbecue like I do, you're probably tired of getting boiled and grilled ribs and "faux Q" when you dine out.

Red makes the real thing, and his prices are quite reasonable. Here's his BBQ catering menu online, as well as his event schedule for event vending.

If you like making your own BBQ, and you need some new marinades, The Ingredient Store has the choice of champions.

A new way to stimulate the economy?

A movement is now forming to create a new way to stimulate the economy by forgiving student loan debt. This resonates with me in a big way, since I owe my soul to my current employer, who just happens to be the university I spent $65,000 on. I tried starting my own little student loan reimbursement drive, to no avail. Unlike my attempt, though, I think this new group has a large enough following to make a difference. So far, more than 230,000 people have joined their FaceBook group, and it's starting to get some media play.

Forgiving student loans only makes sense. After all, a 19th and early 20th century worker got educated through the cooperative building and staffing of schools we now consider to be primary and secondary. Universities were only for the elite--the leaders of men and nations. Enter WWII and the GI Bill. Now everybody who's anybody can go to college, and they did. Universities turned into trade schools, and now a living wage is nigh on impossible in many industries without a college degree. So, in the 21st century, why shouldn't that debt load be shared like k-12? By forgiving student loans, a whole class of educated, hard-working people will have a tremendous burden lifted from their credit ratings and monthly cash flow. That's certainly got to stimulate the economy. After all, I majored in Economics for a few semesters :-)

Girl with Black Bird

Here is a nice piece of art my wife painted. I thought I'd just throw it out there in case anybody would want to have a copy.

It's a nice painting, but a bit dark for my tastes! If you're depressed and feeling black and orange, it's probably perfect for you.

Penn State art

Here's a new gallery with Penn State art and photos.

I particularly like this one of Old Main. It looks like it's a watercolor of the building at dusk.

The same artist has shots of Mount Nittany available, as well as a number of pictures from Gettysburg.

Knife Sharpening Service

I wrote to J.A. Henckels, wondering how to get my knife sharpened. They suggested that I either look in the yellow pages or ship it to Virginia.

I thought it was weird that the factory wouldn't sharpen their own knives, but I thought I'd share the link.

http://www.mrleonardknifesharpener.com/

Again, this is the knife sharpener recommended by the Henckels rep, so I guess their good. I'm going to send in my knife and see how they do...then report back!

New Blog

I stumbled across a new blog today, Funny You Should Mention it! is a collection of videos, snippets, and basically a humorous clipping service.

A fascination with bacon abounds, but everything is a little quirky and fun.

New Businesses in State College

There have been a lot of new businesses popping up in State College the last few months.

Rumor has it, there is a Walgreen's coming up on North Atherton St., and I just heard of a new State College therapeutic massage therapist, who happens to be a friend of mine.

Meanwhile, places to enjoy a good cigar are waning. Oh well.

New Facebook Page

I've made a FaceBook page for my Penn State Photos. Please check it out and become a fan of William Ames Photography!

For the last ten five years or so, I've been taking multiple shots of panoramic scenes in the hopes of being able to stitch them together someday. Well, it's someday. PhotoShop's new stitch tool is ready for prime time, and I've made some really nice panoramic landscapes.

Amateur Radio

Well, I've finally gone and gotten my ham radio license again.

I had let my old novice license from 1980 expire, but recently, I've thought it would be nice to have again, so I tested, passed, and am now KB3SUY. I have applied to get my old call sign back, so I hope to have KA3EDZ in a couple of weeks.

Give to Penn State

So I'm looking through my mail today, and I get this letter from "Jenny Georges". It seems she wants me to Give to Penn State. I've already given more than $60 grand to Penn State, and I figure it's time they give some back to me, so I asked their web master for a link back to Give to Bill, my new web site. We'll see.

Star Trek

So the new Star Trek movie is getting rave reviews.

Boffo!

I'm sure to see it on opening day, and I just hope it hasn't dumbed down too far for today's viewers.

More Penn State Pics

I keep finding more Penn State pics.

These are pictures of Old Main with daffodils, and some of just Old Main in the spring.

The one up top shows the actual quarry where the stone was hauled up to make the first Old Main.

We Surround Them Centre County - the 9-12 Project

I recently stumbled upon State College's Glen Beck inspired group called We Surround Them State College. It's a group of folks frustrated by higher taxes and the way the nation has strayed from the constitution. Check it out!

Graduation at Penn State

I thought that with spring approaching, and the imminent Penn State Graduation in May, I thought I'd post a few pictures of my favorite Penn State gift ideas, like the nittany lion and Old Main in the summer.

Of course, before you graduate, you have to climb mount nittany.

Grammar Blog

I was looking at site rankings a while ago, and found that my grammar blog got knocked off the radar, possibly because I had some paid advertising on there. How's a guy to make a buck? Anyway, at least my freelance editing is still going strong.

That reminds me...I'm amazed at how many people find my site, even though it's spelled "grammer cop".

Retroactive Penn State Scholarship

I had an idea the other day. There are all kinds of scholarships for students, but why aren't there any for people after they graduate? For example, I paid my way through school with a tremendous amount of student loan debt. I also worked 20-35 hours a week. Now I have over $60,000 in student loan debt that I'll never be able to repay, especially since I work for Penn State, and they don't seem to value their own education or degrees.

So, I decided to start a new site devoted to paying down my student loan burden through donations. After all, millions of dollars are given to students who may or may not succeed. With me, you get a proven history of helping the university, and you know the money's not wasted!

My page is for the Penn State retroactive scholarship, and it's purpose is to get rid of my student loans so I can finally start a family. Is that too much to ask from somebody who's been fortunate in life? They could spend their money on worse things.

Hiking Nittany Mountain

Spring is the best time for hiking the mountain, if you ask me. Climbing Nittany Mountain is strenuous if you're not used to it, but if you take your time and bring some water, it's a great way to spend a day.

If you want to find more hiking near Penn State, try http://www.billshikes.com