March 27, 2023

Yesteryear
One year ago today: March 27, 2022, the weather & your ID.
Five years ago today: March 27, 2018, a 120 day diet (unsuccessful).
Nine years ago today: March 27, 2014, terribly over-priced.
Random years ago today: March 27, 2011, “as far as Chicago”.

           Yeow, I’m out of commission. It must have dropped into my danger zone overnight and I slept through it. We walked the dogs but generally it’s a day off for me. I opted for the library and entered an on-line discussion of whether the Mediterranean races and cultures are white. My answer is no, for they lack the recessive genetic makeup of Northern Europeans. What’s more, they lack it more now than in centuries past. They are considered White as definitionally they are in Europe. Just like people in Africa are black unless they somehow emphasize otherwise. The conversation was quite colorful, with the darker races saying yes and the lighter races saying no.

           I want to head back to the warmer climate before too long. Maybe this weekend, I’d say we take a vote but it’s not like I’m a majority around here. Having nothing new of my own, here is a picture of something you’ve never seen before. Give up? They are mounting lugs for 3D printed objects. The plastic is often too weak to attached firmly, so these apparently can be heated and inserted into the substrate as anchoring points.

           By much later, I was not improved, so I spent the evening doing some intense study of why electronics books are so terribly written. Some major reasons are akin to computer manuals. The people good at computers don’t have the skills teach or write. I say there is a need for a short book that bridges the gap between the texts that presume you know too much or too little. Read the following example because it applies to a lot of non-electroniscs books, many of which you have encountered.
           You want a basic understanding of how these circuits work. You start reading a number of beginner’s books. But every one of them takes you down a path you didn’t want. Forget the history lesson and don’t start with resistors. You don’t like getting hit with formulas and rules in Chapter One and it kills your incentive to continue.
           Myself, I would understand what probably got your attention was transistors. How about I tell you how they work in a single page, and then another page of how they don’t work? Would you, as a beginner, be interested in such a guide book? I’ll tell you what to avoid, even how to buy the right kind of soldering iron and why not to invest in most kits. My price is $9.95.

Picture of the day.
At world’s largest silver mine.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           Nope, the day was lost—except for the activities I have lined up so that no day is ever totally lost. I looked at “families” of chips. Integrated circuits that is. I realized I have 40 pages of a 50 page booklet already written. The Reb & I still have the rights to publish several free trial editions of anything we want, so I’m thinking. What I’ve written is not co-ordinated in a fashion that would make for a cut-and-past version. I could do that. But I hate it when others do it, so give me a while to think this through.

ADDENDUM
           Norwegian ammo company Nammo says it cannot keep up with artillery shell orders because TikTok’s data center is grabbing all the electricity. A couple who publish a magazine about on-line commerce decided to include a section on customer complaints, only to find themselves the target of sinister attacks by what appear to be eBay employees.

Last Laugh