From: bill.sloman@ieee.org   
      
   On 7/02/2026 5:53 am, john larkin wrote:   
   > On Fri, 6 Feb 2026 20:04:43 +1100, Bill Sloman    
   > wrote:   
   >   
   >> 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.   
   >   
   > Your repetitive, reflexive insults make you look silly.   
      
   Your repetitive reflexive assertions do make you look silly. You don't   
   know as much as you like to think, and your grasp of circuit theory is a   
   feeble as your grasp of "common sense" (which is basically a defense of   
   ignorance).   
      
   >>> 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.   
   >   
   > Your repetitive, reflexive insults make you look silly.   
      
   Your enthusiasm for blowing up parts because you can't make sense of   
   data sheets really is silly.   
      
   --   
   Bill Sloman, Sydney   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)