Armstrong Technologies, Auburn, Ca.)

Brain Power

Research and development is the foundation for regional manufacturing growth

Like an oil derrick with arms, the school-bus-yellow robot is the center of attraction in an otherwise colorless room dominated by metal castings and concrete floors. Moving like a mime on a street corner, the robot picks up a metal casting, holds it to a computer-run camera and then places the part and the fixture that holds it on a machine for tooling.

Aug 31, 2013 Bill Sessa
Gary Morton, owner, Classics Gone Green

Classics Gone Green

A new take on an old favorite

Gary Morton has a dream and a car. If his dream comes true, like those of Henry Ford and Karl Benz before him, Morton will turn his prototype into a car company.

But Morton is not looking to build a big assembly plant or an extensive dealer network. His production will be limited to just one model that will offer baby boomers the nostalgia of the muscle cars they drove in their youth alongside their modern commitment to a pollution-free environment.

Mar 31, 2013 Bill Sessa

Hope for the Iffy Stiffy

Miracle drug or fake science?

Low testosterone. For men, these words have the same foul odor as “impotence,” “shrinkage” or “Justin Bieber.” The topic is taboo. Throughout civilization testosterone has been prized as the lifeblood of manhood, so a deficit would imply, by definition, that we are somehow less manly.

Mar 1, 2013 Jeff Wilser
(istockphoto.com)

Passing Clouds

The debate over public and private clouds

Instead of sitting down to watch White Christmas or another streaming movie or TV show, Netflix online video users huddled around their television on Christmas Eve were greeted with an unfortunate message: the online content was unavailable.

Feb 12, 2013 Staff Report

The Price of Progress

San Joaquin farmers protest bullet train

City dwellers driving past the expansive cotton fields and scattered farmhouses along Highway 43 to Corcoran might get the feeling they’ve left California. A haze of dust, bugs and little particles of cow dung blanket the road between Fresno and Bakersfield. Even on a nice day, wiping debris from a car windshield begins to feel futile.

Dec 1, 2012 Allen Young