New York is picking up about $350 million from the high speed rail money that Florida rejected. Most of the money will go into the line between Albany and New York, but Rochester will pick up $1.4 million to design a new train station.
NY 1 has a breakdown of how the cash will be doled out:
About $295 million will be allotted to service here in the city and $58 million will go to improvements in train service upstate. These high-speed trains will travel up to 160 mph.
And Steve Orr at the Democrat and Chronicle's 520 blog has a cynic's look at how the news trickled out.
If only Amtrak could be as fast and efficient as our political leaders in taking credit informing their constituents. Schumer emailed an announcement touting the Rochester work at 9:07 a.m. Gillibrand followed with her announcement at 9:12 a.m. Cuomo’s was sent at 9:23 a.m.
GE
At MIT's Technology Review, Kevin Bullis has a look at the three-dimensional printing technology that GE is deploying at its Niskayuna plant:
GE's first application of the technology could be ultrasound machines that are cheaper and perform better than current versions. One of the most expensive parts of an ultrasound machine is the device that transforms electronic signals into sound and back again—the part that's pressed against a person's skin during an ultrasound. These transducers are made up of thousands of tiny columns spaced just 30 to 40 micrometers apart, with each column being extremely thin, about eight to 10 times taller than they are wide. It's extremely difficult to make such parts using casting, since it's hard to free the part from the mold. So GE makes them using a precise cutting tool that very slowly carves away at a chunk of ceramic. The process is slow and expensive and can only be used to make a limited range of shapes. Now GE has developed a new printing technology that spreads out a thin layer of a slurry composed of ceramic embedded in a polymer precursor. When a pattern of ultraviolet light is projected on this layer, the material solidifies only where it's been exposed to the light. Another layer of slurry is spread out on top of this and flashed with light, and the structure is built up in this way, layer by layer.
New York wine
New York wines won big at the Riverside International Wine Competition last week, reports the Democrat and Chronicle, picking up more than 100 medals. Heron Hill, Glenora, and Swedish Hill, and Thirsty Owl picked up the most prizes.
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