From: bill.sloman@ieee.org   
      
   On 6/02/2026 4:14 am, john larkin wrote:   
   > On Thu, 5 Feb 2026 09:22:59 -0700, Don Y    
   > wrote:   
   >   
   >> On 2/5/2026 7:52 AM, Liz Tuddenham wrote:   
   >>> Don Y  wrote:   
   >>>   
   >>>> I'm thinking back to how screwed up the supply chain got during   
   >>>> COVID and wonder what manufacturers and investors will do when   
   >>>> the future is far less certain than a "pandemic".   
   >>>>   
   >>>> Opinions?   
   >>>   
   >>> We have sleepwalked into this and the few who have raised the alarm have   
   >>> been (and still are being) ignored and ridiculed.   
   >>   
   >> "Computer chips, potato chips -- what's the difference?"   
   >>    -- Michael Boskin (Chairman of the President’s Council of Economic   
   >>       Advisers under GHW Bush)   
   >>   
   >> People making the policy decisions are inept so unable to comprehend   
   >> the consequences of those decisions.   
   >>   
   >> (Gotta wonder where the guy who came up with China's "one child"   
   >> rule is, today!)   
   >>   
   >>> There is a wider problem: we have become 'travel junkies' and rely too   
   >>> much on transport.  "I can get it cheaper from..." doesn't take into   
   >>> account the hidden costs such as liability to supply disruption, loss of   
   >>> control over the design and the fundamental need to teach underlying   
   >>> principles and train people in making things themselves.   
   >>   
   >> People are always looking for "more value" -- ignoring the costs   
   >> they incur in getting there.   
   >>   
   >> Look at how many product use Linux kernels -- yet likely have no one   
   >> on staff that understands or can maintain such a big chunk of code   
   >> ON WHICH THEIR PRODUCT DEPENDS.   
   >>   
   >>> We haven't got the factories.   
   >>> We haven't got the machines.   
   >>> We haven't got the people who know how to operste the machines.   
   >>> We haven't got the machines to make the machines.   
   >>> We haven't got the people who know how to make the machines   
   >>> We haven't got the material.   
   >>> We haven't got the undustry to make the materials.   
   >>   
   >> But each of these things have associated costs.   
   >>   
   >> Employers want "new hires" that are familiar with TODAY'S   
   >> technology.  There is no concern for how well suited they   
   >> will be for TOMORROW'S!  ("We'll just replace them!")   
   >   
   > Circuit theory and common sense haven't changed much in 100 years.   
      
   Not that you know much about either.   
      
   > I tell the kids that I expect electronic design to be about the last   
   > engineering profession that is killed by AI.   
      
   Human interface engineering is a lot more difficult. Human being can be   
   a lot more complicated than even the most complicated electronic   
   component, and you aren't great at appreciating the complexities of   
   electronic components.   
      
   --   
   Bill Sloman, Sydney   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)