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Roller Buckle Last Friday afternoon, while Kennywood officials gushed on about the spirited delights of Ghostwood Estate, the new ride that replaced (at a cost of about $2 million) The Gold Rusher, I spied the eight "people" lucky enough to be sitting in the first two cars of the Thunderbolt.There they were, zooming up and down hills at breakneck speeds, without a single scream, for more than two hours. Then I learned that the "people" were actually water-filled, screw-top dummies taking the Kennywood favorite for a long test run. (The dummies weigh an average of 180 pounds, representing a cross section of actual human weights. Some have hair, a few have smiles, and all are white, not the shade of green I'd expect from roller-coastering for so long.)As a newbie to town and an amusement park aficionado, having the near-empty 40-acre Pittsburgh landmark to roam through was better than blue cotton candy, three hot dogs, a few funnel cakes and fresh-cut potatoes topped with cheese and bacon wolfed down right before getting on a ride.I got to ride Ghostwood Estate that day (more about it later), and I made a promise that I would return to Kennywood the following day, the official opening day, and test all the rides myself.Kennywood's promotion machine encourages one and all to "make a new memory." At my age (51) and my weight (yeah, right) I made memories all right ... and a few boo-boos. Sit down, buckle up and come share the rides with me. And there are no height restrictions!First stop: The Racer. This handsome wooden coaster, built in 1927 and the only single-track racing coaster in the country, packs a thrill. It boasts a respectful 50-foot drop at about 40 miles per hour, and at one minute and 30 seconds, it's just what I need to get my creaky bones cracking. I ride it twice, once in the front seat and once in the rear ... and, yes, the back is better and bumpier. (One Kennywood factoid I pick up along the way: The differently colored cars are not actually racing; weight distribution determines which color comes in "first.")My next stop: Cosmic Chaos. The aliens welcoming me to the ride look so cute (one fiddles with a digital camera, one is stuffing his/her face with popcorn), and I get to spin around in an open-air UFO. But I forget my body cannot take spinning in out-of-control circles at speeds of up to 43 miles per hour while 50 feet off the ground. I close my eyes. I silently beg for the ride to end. And it does, one minute and 40 seconds later, but not before I have spent the entire time screaming, praying and listening to the young woman next to me crying out that the centrifugal force made her "left boob fall out!"Two rides down, 31 more to go. And I am feeling sick, already stopping for a cup of water to ease my nausea.Aero 360 would have turned me into a human pendulum with a 360-degree over-the-top experience -- I thank God it's closed for maintenance. I spot this black and gold steel tower shooting 251 feet into the air. It's the tallest structure in the park; Kennywood calls it the "Pitt Fall" because riders get to ride all the way to the top then free-fall all the way down to the ground. I call it Sissy Suicide, refuse to ride it and start thinking I should head over to Kiddieland.Instead, I head over to the Phantom's Revenge. I sit in the pretty purple and teal car. The first car. Alone. It chugs up the metal track ... higher and higher ... until it reaches 160 feet. I see nothing but air -- where's the track? I momentarily convert back to Catholicism, say a Hail Mary, repent for all my wrongdoings. And then Zooooooooom! The coaster flies at 85 mph (even I have never driven that fast), twisting and turning over banked curves and reminding me that under my padding there are ribs. Sore ribs. But it's the second drop that's the killer -- a whopping 230-foot descent that leaves me quivering and queasy. Wow! This gets my highest fear and fun factor, a 10.What next? I remember how much the dummies loved the Thunderbolt. It's suggested I sit in the last car ... the first one may be scarier (the first plunge is immediate), but the rear gets all the rumblin' and rockin'. Fast? Yes. Fun? Yes. The New York Times dubbed the Thunderbolt "King of the Coasters" (way back in 1974), but it only hits a 7 on my fear factor scale.By now, my ribs ache. My throat hurts. My head pounds. But I want to make more memories.Then I get to The Exterminator. It looks so benign from the outside ... but who knows what evil lurks in its depraved heart? The ride sends me on a whirlwind into total darkness. I fight getting sick as I am violently tossed this way and that way with hairpin turns so sharp and so unexpected I felt like, well, a trapped rat.Other riders leave squealing with delight and returning back to the line. I head straight for the men's room and make a different kind of memory.I rest. I drink more water. I am refreshed but not rebuffed. Even though it's starting to rain, I decide to try the trio of water rides. I get soaked on the Pittsburg Plunge (its spelling pays homage to the days of yesteryear). The ride lasts about a minute, but oh! what a 50-foot drop! Oh what a splash! (Another Kennywood factoid: The "lake" at ride's end holds 200,000 gallons of water.) Another 10 on the fear and fun factor scale. The Log Jammer is too tame for me; the Raging Rapids less so. I still wonder if the group I rode with ever got dry.I trot off to Ghostwood Estate. The interactive ride --"guests" shoot at 200 targets and score points while helping Lord Kenneth rid his Addamsesque abode of ghosts -- is a disappointment. It's a slow, unexciting ride that proves mixing a video game with a dark ride doesn't work. Fear factor? 0. Fun factor? 1 ... the same rating as a cold corn dog.I meander. I listen to the screams at King Kahuna, Pirate, Wipeout, Skycoaster and Volcano. I think that taking a shot on Swingshot -- and plummeting to the earth at 50 miles an hour -- would make me the park's first ride casualty. I look at my water-sodden park map. Two dozen rides to go. I admit defeat. I roam through the park, making note of the "next time" rides.I end up in Kiddieland. I listen to the laughs coming from the Wacky Wheel, Whippersnapper, Steel City Choppers, Pounce Bounce and Red Baron.I sit, I watch, I listen. I am tired. I am aching. I am wet. But I am still making memories.

screw air compressor The Boge SLF series combines a direct-coupled drive system with frequency control to provide the ultimate compressor for pressure control under variable output requirements. LH Plastics enjoyed compressed air energy cost savings of 67% per annum after installing a Boge SLF40 frequency-controlled screw compressor This low-carbon technology was financed with an interest-free 'energy-efficiency' loan from The Carbon Trust Compressed air is used for a number of processes within the factory as part of the injection moulding machines, pad printing and hot foiling processes to powering the robotic and manual paint spraying systems. As part of a company-wide environmental drive, Paul Cahill the Production Director at LH Plastics contacted Boge Compressors to review the energy efficiency of the current compressed air system. The existing compressor had provided several years of reliable service but a comprehensive compressed air energy audit revealed that changes in compressed air demand coupled with the age of the compressor, meant the system was not performing efficiently. Boge recommended replacing the existing compressor with an SLF 40 to optimise energy efficiency and performance. The Boge SLF series combines a direct-coupled drive system with frequency control to provide the ultimate compressor for pressure control under variable output requirements. The SLF is therefore a low-carbon technology that works strictly in accordance with the compressed air demand by producing the exact volume of compressed air at the pressure required. Frequency control minimises idling time and evens out air demand fluctuations. A Boge SLF40 was subsequently installed at LH Plastics. LH Plastics chose to purchase the new energy efficient equipment with an interest free 'energy-efficiency' loan from The Carbon Trust. These loans are aimed at SME's within the UK who are making a commitment to save energy by investing in energy efficient technologies to replace dated existing equipment. Paul Cahill said "We have been very satisfied with the performance of the Boge SLF 40 to date - not least because we have created a 67% cut in our compressed air energy costs per annum".

PVC pipe extruder In December 2007, Cincinnati Extrusion GmbH, Vienna, Austria delivered its 7,000th conical extruder, a Konos 63, to Pipelife Austria GmbH & Co. KG in Wiener Neudorf near Vienna. The extruder is being used there to manufacture PVC corrugated pipes. Conical extruders from Cincinnati Extrusion are operating worldwide in the production of pipes, profiles and wood-plastic composite products. They are suitable as both main extruders and coextruders and can make virtually any product from small technical profiles, such as glass strips, foamed baseboards and cable conduits, up to multi-layer pipes and corrugated pipes. The Konos 63 delivered on this occasion belongs to the latest generation of conical twin-screw extruders. With their flexibility and extremely compact design, the four Konos models 38, 50, 63 and 72 have quickly established themselves in the market. In profile production, they cover a performance range from 20 to 300 kg/h throughput, and in pipe production from 50 to 500 kg/h respectively.

Plasma Cutting Torch Wilkinson Star launched at this week's MACH 2008 exhibition a multi-gas mechanised plasma-arc cutting power source shown performing simulated cutting of complex and intricate components. Wilkinson Star, sole UK representative for Cebora welding products, launched the Plasma Prof 164 HQC (High Quality Cut) multi-gas mechanised plasma-arc cutting power source at the UK's MACH 2008 machine tool exhibition this week The company showed the machine was interfaced with a SMS (Smart Machine Systems) SmartPLASMA plasma-arc cutting table, simulating the cutting of complex and intricate components Available in capacities of 220/230V, 380/400V and 415/440V, the 50/60Hz Plasma Prof 164 HGC power source is fully microprocessor controlled. It has a 22kVA input power and a maximum rating of 120A at 100% duty cycle with a infinitely adjustable current range between 20-120A. The machine includes a HV18 ignition unit, PGC-1/2 synergic parameter setting gas console, PVC secondary gas valve console and CP250G cutting torch. Wilkinson Star told manufacturingtalk that the Plasma Prof 164 HQC is designed for use in the fabrication industry to cut complicated highly intricate quality components in a multitude of steels using different gases including oxygen, nitrogen, argon-hydrogen, nitrogen-hydrogen and compressed air. All the process parameters including material to be cut and its thickness, the gas and current required, the optimum cutting speed and cutting torch nozzle diameter are set using the PGC-1/2 gas console. The user is able to access system updates as they become available, direct from the Cebora website using the RS232 port on the power source to update the equipments software.

trimming machine Police said Wednesday they uncovered a commercial-style marijuana growing operation allegedly set up by a local high school teacher and his close friend inside a rented storage unit. Teacher Jeff Burrell, 50, and Steven Laino, 46, face felony charges of marijuana cultivation, possession of marijuana, and maintaining a place for drug sales. Both have been released on $30,000 bail from Mendocino County Jail. Ukiah Sgt. David McQueary said Laino on Monday told investigators that because he and Burrell were in "deep financial debt," they agreed to set up the indoor marijuana growing operation, sell the crops, and split any proceeds "50-50." McQueary said investigators were told Burrell allegedly put up $15,000 to buy materials to build two marijuana grow rooms and a drying and processing area inside a rented storage unit on North State Street. Laino provided the labor, said McQueary. Burrell's current teaching status with the 8,100-student district was not known. Ukiah Unified School District administrators did not respond to calls Wednesday seeking comment. Burrell is a former head coach of the Ukiah High School girls' basketball team. A local standout football and baseball player who graduated from Humboldt State University, Burrell in 2006 was inducted into the Mendocino College Hall of Fame. McQueary said police and agents from the county's Major Crimes Task Force raided the North State Street storage yard Monday after being tipped that there was a commercial marijuana growing operation inside one of the units. Agents found a completely enclosed building had been constructed inside the metal storage shed, said McQueary. Two growing rooms were furnished with lights, water filtration, humidity, and cooling systems. A marijuana trimming machine typically used in larger pot-growing operations was discovered in the processing area, said McQueary. City building inspectors "red tagged" the unit after agents found exposed electrical wiring and multiple other building code violations. Repeated attempts to reach Burrell were unsuccessful. Burrell and Laino's arrests are the latest in a string of high-profile marijuana cases that local authorities say underscore how pervasive pot growing has become in the county. In January, a veteran Ukiah fire captain was arrested at her home for marijuana cultivation, along with her son and another man. Sheriff deputies last November seized 39 pounds of dried pot from the Redwood Valley home of the former budget and finance officer in the county's District Attorney's Office.