The Final Countdown

This post may be my last for a while. I can honestly say I have enjoyed writing this blog and I may come back to the blogosphere at some point in the future. This semester has flow by faster than any one I can remember, but along the way this blog has developed and taken some twists and turns. The middle of the semester marked a change in our blog structure that shook things up a little bit.

The early part of this blog was dedicated to response to classes issues, articles, and other short readings that were part of our day to day class schedule. I do feel like I learned from these readings, and I enjoyed having the blog as a free space to respond, in my own way, to all the different topics we discussed. I have a much greater appreciation for rhetoric and its extensive presence in our culture today. Its nature was so accurately discovered early on by many of the greatest rhetoricians, but its manifestations seem to be new each day. I hope that as a result of reading and responding to these different pieces about rhetoric I myself will have a much stronger persuasive ability in my writing.

The second portion of the blog gave each of us the ability to explore writings in our specific fields of study. I took time each week to reach the ASME Mechanical Engineering Journal. I found so many great articles on advancements in engineering in various fields of expertise. I found that as I wrote about each article it was vital that I simplified the language used to describe each new break through so that anyone reading my blog could see the value in each invention. I have seen in my experience in the engineering field that many of the smartest engineers lack the ability to communicate effectively with persons in other fields. As I read these highly technical articles I could see how important it is that as an upcoming engineer I learn to write rhetorically to broad audience outside the engineering world.

I have enjoyed this semester of blogging and getting to read and respond to the blogs of everyone in class. I wish you all the best as we approach the busiest and most challenging time in the semester.

Learning to Walk

Today I read an article in the ASME Mechanical Engineering Journal about a new prosthetic foot design. This new design is a breakthrough in prosthetic technology. The article describes that when an amputee walks with a typical artificial leg or foot it would be like you or me walking with 30 pounds attached to our ankle. The human foot produces natural regenerative rebound forces in the ankle as a normal reaction when walking. Currently many prosthetic foot designs use small motors to create this regenerative action. The motors are power hungry and heavy. This new design uses a simple spring to imitate the regenerative action of your ankle. The only powered device in the foot is a small actuator that uses minimal power.

This design is really a much simpler design that the old style motor driven prosthesis. I see many new technologies being developed that are simpler than old technologies. Technology in general has come so far that things are easily over complicated. I believe that the simplification of multiple technological systems will be a huge focus of engineering and development in the coming years. This simple new foot design will provide great freedom for amputees.

This is the article...
Artificial Foot

Locked Up Tight

In the lastest article I read in the ASME Mechanical Engineering journal there was a series of articles relating to valves. There are valves in so many things we use everyday. One valve in particular that peaked my interest was a valve used on an HVAC (Air Conditioning) system. An air conditioning system, whether in your house or in your car, uses a fluid called refrigerant. This fluid is hazardous to your health and to the environment. In order to purchase, handle, install or dispose of this fluid you have to be licensed by the state. The article talked about a new valve that makes the refrigerant lines that run to the outside HVAC unit tamper proof. This is something that could be easily over looked, but these new valves guarantee that only a licensed professional could handle or release the fluid.

This is a small addition to a widely used system that could protect against serious injury. The part of the HVAC system that is located outside, most of the time in peoples' back yards, could be seen by a child. The curiosity of a young child could make them want to tamper with such a system. This new valve would most definitely insure that if they were to tamper with the unit they would be safe. A new HVAC system with these valves could be marketed effectively to the safety conscious parents who own homes. This is just another example of how important even the smallest engineering updates are.

Risky Business

Today I read and another article in ASME monthly journal. A division of ASME has recently begun a project involving risk assessment for students at institutes of higher education. The ASME group has been gathering data at several universities and schools of higher education in order to inform the universities of their areas of highest risk to students. This can include risk of natural disaster, risk of harm to personal property, theft, etc. This data will allow universities to better prepare for particular threats that are more prevalent at their particular institution.

This article made me think of Clemson's sirens and campus warning systems. I live in an apartment complex in close proximity to campus and their is a loud speaker right outside our building. The siren will sound and then a voice will usually say one of two things; "This is only a test," or "Seek shelter immediately cloud to ground light is in the area." It is painfully loud and frankly it is over used to the point that in the event of a real emergency it could easily be ignored. I would love to be informed if their is an armed criminal lose on campus, but every time a thundershower rolls through I would rather not have my ear drums ruptured.

Old Technology

Today I read an article in the Mechanical Engineering Magazine produced by ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) about a new walker designed by an Engineer out of Cornell University. The walker is designed for the added safety of elderly people who rely on walkers to get around without assistance.

Many walkers use a system of brakes similar to what is on a bicycle. This has proved to be less than effective for people with arthritis who can't quickly grip the brake levers. The new walker design has a sensor in the hand grip the engages and disengages the brakes without the need for large applied force from the user. If the user's hands begin to slip off the grip in the situation of a fall, the brakes automatically engage allowing the user to support themselves with the walker quickly and safely.

The reason I write about this is because I think many times people assume that the elderly are quick to reject technology, or are not competent enough to use it effectively. This new walker is definitely a piece of technology that, I believe, the elderly will use and benefit from. The nature of the product is such that it is so well designed that someone who knows very little can use it naturally. I don't believe that the more complicated a piece of technology the better it is, but in many cases it is quite the opposite. I think counting the elderly out of the potential users of certain technology is something that needs to be undone.

Here is the Article...

New Walker Design

Education Genre

In light of the recent events that took place in class while I was absent on Thursday I wanted to put up my blog post to address a few of my feelings. I was in Atlanta Thursday for a conference and I was sad to see that there had obviously been some rough waters in the English 314 sea while I was gone. I hope that this will not cause us to lose the opportunity to experience genres of education outside out major courses.

I love engineering, but it is by no means the only thing I want to study during my entire time at Clemson University. I do want to be a well rounded student, and even though my major is not English I think this course, and others that are required, play an important part in my education being well rounded. I have enjoyed the class so far and I hope it continues to provide me opportunities to study things outside my engineering disciplines.

I am also looking forward to the group project as it will take me far outside the realms of engineering. This project will not only be geared towards an English class, but the document we are planning to create will be for the forestry department. I know very little about forestry right now, but I intend to take this opportunity to learn some things about something I would otherwise probably never consider studying. I love the experience of College at a large highly recognized public University, and I think when I leave Clemson I will be thankful for everything I have experienced here.

Smart? Mobs

The topic of discussion in class today was Smart Mobs, and I have entitled this post Smart? Mobs very intentionally. This term Smart is so widely used in the technology saturated world we live in. I have a Smart phone, my laptop seems really Smart, my calculator is nothing short of a genius, I can talk to my car so it must be Smart, and my tooth brush tells me how long to bush my teeth... That's Smart! This Smart world we live in today has injected every aspect of our lives with something Smart.

I think there are many people in generations older than mine that are probably fed up with how Smart everything is. I also think there are people younger than me, that by the time they are my age, may be brain dead because their Smart world has thought for them their entire life. Please do not misunderstand me though, I LOVE technology. I would be lost without my iPhone, Macbook, GPS, and even my Sonicare toothbrush, but where will it stop? I am not saying I want it to stop, but how Smart can this world get before it has to shutdown and reboot?

I am reminded of all the IBM commercials about "building a smarter planet." I would love to help build a Smarter planet, and I think my long term carrer will contribute to that end. I like to think that one day I will, in some way, make this Smart planet just a little bit Smarter.

In case you have not seen one of those IBM commercials here is one I like...