Every four years, this group becomes a discussion forum exclusively
for US politics, where heated opinions and insults are freely
exchanged. And this year it should be an absolute hum-dinger! May I
suggest we all get plenty of popcorn in before it's all sold out?

On 10/03/2024 10:26 pm, Cursitor Doom wrote:
> Every four years, this group becomes a discussion forum exclusively
> for US politics, where heated opinions and insults are freely
> exchanged. And this year it should be an absolute hum-dinger! May I
> suggest we all get plenty of popcorn in before it's all sold out?

Perhaps not this time around. It looks as it is going to be a replay of
2020, unless Trump gets convicted of trying to get around losing that
election.

There's not a lot to say - Trump is even more obviously a crook than he
was back then, and if you still haven't registered that there's not a
lot of point in talking with you.

--
Bill Sloman, Sydney

On 3/10/2024 7:26 AM, Cursitor Doom wrote:
> Every four years, this group becomes a discussion forum exclusively
> for US politics, where heated opinions and insults are freely
> exchanged. And this year it should be an absolute hum-dinger! May I
> suggest we all get plenty of popcorn in before it's all sold out?

Neither candidate is in any condition to govern effectively, and in
short order all day-to-day operations will be managed by bureaucratic
ideologues, corporate flunkies, or evangelical "Jesus He Knows Me"
stooges, depending.

The good news such as it is is that both candidates and their respective
parties have the perfect alibi to renege on any campaign promises as
required i.e. they don't remember making them.

On 3/10/2024 7:26 AM, Cursitor Doom wrote:
> Every four years, this group becomes a discussion forum exclusively
> for US politics, where heated opinions and insults are freely
> exchanged. And this year it should be an absolute hum-dinger! May I
> suggest we all get plenty of popcorn in before it's all sold out?

Neither candidate is in any condition to govern effectively, and in
short order all day-to-day operations will be managed by bureaucratic
ideologues, corporate flunkies, or evangelical "Jesus He Knows Me"
stooges, depending.

The good news such as it is is that both candidates and their respective
parties have the perfect alibi to renege on any campaign promises as
required i.e. they don't remember making them.

On Sun, 10 Mar 2024 11:26:34 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:

>Every four years, this group becomes a discussion forum exclusively
>for US politics, where heated opinions and insults are freely
>exchanged. And this year it should be an absolute hum-dinger! May I
>suggest we all get plenty of popcorn in before it's all sold out?

There's a simple explanation for why people who care about politics
are bad electronic designers.

Think about it.

On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 07:49:42 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
wrote:

>On Sun, 10 Mar 2024 11:26:34 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
>wrote:
>
>>Every four years, this group becomes a discussion forum exclusively
>>for US politics, where heated opinions and insults are freely
>>exchanged. And this year it should be an absolute hum-dinger! May I
>>suggest we all get plenty of popcorn in before it's all sold out?
>
>There's a simple explanation for why people who care about politics
>are bad electronic designers.
>
>Think about it.

Okay. I've thought about it and I'm none the wiser. What's the reason?

On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 20:09:09 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:

>On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 07:49:42 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
>wrote:
>
>>On Sun, 10 Mar 2024 11:26:34 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>Every four years, this group becomes a discussion forum exclusively
>>>for US politics, where heated opinions and insults are freely
>>>exchanged. And this year it should be an absolute hum-dinger! May I
>>>suggest we all get plenty of popcorn in before it's all sold out?
>>
>>There's a simple explanation for why people who care about politics
>>are bad electronic designers.
>>
>>Think about it.
>
>Okay. I've thought about it and I'm none the wiser. What's the reason?

They are tribal and social, so are hostile to new, unauthorized ideas.

Academic training can have the same effect, making people shy away
from anything original.

On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 13:44:10 -0700, john larkin <jl@650pot.com> wrote:

>On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 20:09:09 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
>wrote:
>
>>On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 07:49:42 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>On Sun, 10 Mar 2024 11:26:34 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
>>>wrote:
>>>
>>>>Every four years, this group becomes a discussion forum exclusively
>>>>for US politics, where heated opinions and insults are freely
>>>>exchanged. And this year it should be an absolute hum-dinger! May I
>>>>suggest we all get plenty of popcorn in before it's all sold out?
>>>
>>>There's a simple explanation for why people who care about politics
>>>are bad electronic designers.
>>>
>>>Think about it.
>>
>>Okay. I've thought about it and I'm none the wiser. What's the reason?
>
>They are tribal and social, so are hostile to new, unauthorized ideas.
>
>Academic training can have the same effect, making people shy away
>from anything original.

I don't follow. Everything in electronic design has already been done
- and much of it more than 60 years ago. What are these new ideas of
which you speak. Can you provide an example or two?

On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 20:50:18 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:

>On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 13:44:10 -0700, john larkin <jl@650pot.com> wrote:
>
>>On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 20:09:09 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 07:49:42 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
>>>wrote:
>>>
>>>>On Sun, 10 Mar 2024 11:26:34 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
>>>>wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>Every four years, this group becomes a discussion forum exclusively
>>>>>for US politics, where heated opinions and insults are freely
>>>>>exchanged. And this year it should be an absolute hum-dinger! May I
>>>>>suggest we all get plenty of popcorn in before it's all sold out?
>>>>
>>>>There's a simple explanation for why people who care about politics
>>>>are bad electronic designers.
>>>>
>>>>Think about it.
>>>
>>>Okay. I've thought about it and I'm none the wiser. What's the reason?
>>
>>They are tribal and social, so are hostile to new, unauthorized ideas.
>>
>>Academic training can have the same effect, making people shy away
>>from anything original.
>
>I don't follow. Everything in electronic design has already been done
>- and much of it more than 60 years ago. What are these new ideas of
>which you speak. Can you provide an example or two?

So we have no need of electrical engineers any more?

I know people who think that anything they need can be found in a book
or an appnote or on an eval board. No tiresome thinking or inventing
required. Nobody needs to design electronics any more.

Fine with me. Less competition.

On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 16:49:10 -0700, john larkin <jl@650pot.com> wrote:

>On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 20:50:18 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
>wrote:
>
>>On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 13:44:10 -0700, john larkin <jl@650pot.com> wrote:
>>
>>>On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 20:09:09 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
>>>wrote:
>>>
>>>>On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 07:49:42 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
>>>>wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>On Sun, 10 Mar 2024 11:26:34 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
>>>>>wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>Every four years, this group becomes a discussion forum exclusively
>>>>>>for US politics, where heated opinions and insults are freely
>>>>>>exchanged. And this year it should be an absolute hum-dinger! May I
>>>>>>suggest we all get plenty of popcorn in before it's all sold out?
>>>>>
>>>>>There's a simple explanation for why people who care about politics
>>>>>are bad electronic designers.
>>>>>
>>>>>Think about it.
>>>>
>>>>Okay. I've thought about it and I'm none the wiser. What's the reason?
>>>
>>>They are tribal and social, so are hostile to new, unauthorized ideas.
>>>
>>>Academic training can have the same effect, making people shy away
>>>from anything original.
>>
>>I don't follow. Everything in electronic design has already been done
>>- and much of it more than 60 years ago. What are these new ideas of
>>which you speak. Can you provide an example or two?
>
>So we have no need of electrical engineers any more?
>
>I know people who think that anything they need can be found in a book
>or an appnote or on an eval board. No tiresome thinking or inventing
>required. Nobody needs to design electronics any more.
>
>Fine with me. Less competition.

OK., that's settled then. Anyway, we should not be talking about
electronic design in a thread about US politics. It's off-topic!

On Tue, 12 Mar 2024 00:10:11 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:

>On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 16:49:10 -0700, john larkin <jl@650pot.com> wrote:
>
>>On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 20:50:18 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 13:44:10 -0700, john larkin <jl@650pot.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 20:09:09 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
>>>>wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 07:49:42 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
>>>>>wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>On Sun, 10 Mar 2024 11:26:34 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
>>>>>>wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Every four years, this group becomes a discussion forum exclusively
>>>>>>>for US politics, where heated opinions and insults are freely
>>>>>>>exchanged. And this year it should be an absolute hum-dinger! May I
>>>>>>>suggest we all get plenty of popcorn in before it's all sold out?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>There's a simple explanation for why people who care about politics
>>>>>>are bad electronic designers.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Think about it.
>>>>>
>>>>>Okay. I've thought about it and I'm none the wiser. What's the reason?
>>>>
>>>>They are tribal and social, so are hostile to new, unauthorized ideas.
>>>>
>>>>Academic training can have the same effect, making people shy away
>>>>from anything original.
>>>
>>>I don't follow. Everything in electronic design has already been done
>>>- and much of it more than 60 years ago. What are these new ideas of
>>>which you speak. Can you provide an example or two?
>>
>>So we have no need of electrical engineers any more?
>>
>>I know people who think that anything they need can be found in a book
>>or an appnote or on an eval board. No tiresome thinking or inventing
>>required. Nobody needs to design electronics any more.
>>
>>Fine with me. Less competition.
>
>OK., that's settled then. Anyway, we should not be talking about
>electronic design in a thread about US politics. It's off-topic!

Politics is boring, and your tiny little vote will have on effect on
anything.

But you can design something that works.

On 12/03/2024 1:49 am, John Larkin wrote:
> On Sun, 10 Mar 2024 11:26:34 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Every four years, this group becomes a discussion forum exclusively
>> for US politics, where heated opinions and insults are freely
>> exchanged. And this year it should be an absolute hum-dinger! May I
>> suggest we all get plenty of popcorn in before it's all sold out?
>
> There's a simple explanation for why people who care about politics
> are bad electronic designers.
>
> Think about it.

Simple, but wrong. H.L. Menken got there first.

Being obsessive about circuit design to the exclusion of everything else
isn't a recipe for being a good circuit designer.

--
Bill Sloman, Sydney

On 12/03/2024 7:44 am, john larkin wrote:
> On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 20:09:09 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 07:49:42 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On Sun, 10 Mar 2024 11:26:34 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Every four years, this group becomes a discussion forum exclusively
>>>> for US politics, where heated opinions and insults are freely
>>>> exchanged. And this year it should be an absolute hum-dinger! May I
>>>> suggest we all get plenty of popcorn in before it's all sold out?
>>>
>>> There's a simple explanation for why people who care about politics
>>> are bad electronic designers.
>>>
>>> Think about it.
>>
>> Okay. I've thought about it and I'm none the wiser. What's the reason?
>
> They are tribal and social, so are hostile to new, unauthorized ideas.

That has to be a particularly silly argument. The last fifty years of
circuit design has seen a flood of new devices. Anybody who fixated on
solving all their problems with a 555 wouldn't look like a good circuit
designer.

> Academic training can have the same effect, making people shy away
> from anything original.

John Larkin didn't get much academic training - or a least not much that
was any good. Academics have a habit of latching onto the latest new
idea and running with. If you want to produce new an exciting papers
that other academics will read, you have to keep up with the leading
edge, also know as the current state of the art.

Engineers have a habit of sticking to approaches that work until
something shows up that works appreciably better.

--
Bill Sloman, Sydney

On 12/03/2024 1:20 pm, John Larkin wrote:
> On Tue, 12 Mar 2024 00:10:11 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> wrote:
>> On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 16:49:10 -0700, john larkin <jl@650pot.com> wrote
>>> On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 20:50:18 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> wrote:
>>>> On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 13:44:10 -0700, john larkin <jl@650pot.com> wrote:
>>>>> On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 20:09:09 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> wrote:
>>>>>> On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 07:49:42 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com> wrote:
>>>>>>> On Sun, 10 Mar 2024 11:26:34 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> wrote:

<snip>

>>>> I don't follow. Everything in electronic design has already been done
>>>> - and much of it more than 60 years ago. What are these new ideas of
>>>> which you speak. Can you provide an example or two?

Sixty years ago I couldn't even buy a uA709, which became commercially
available in 1965 - I bought one for $30 the following year.

>>> So we have no need of electrical engineers any more?
>>>
>>> I know people who think that anything they need can be found in a book
>>> or an appnote or on an eval board. No tiresome thinking or inventing
>>> required. Nobody needs to design electronics any more.

He must have a bizarrely limited social circle. I've never met anybody
with that particular delusion.

>>> Fine with me. Less competition.
>>
>> OK., that's settled then. Anyway, we should not be talking about
>> electronic design in a thread about US politics. It's off-topic!
>
> Politics is boring, and your tiny little vote will have on effect on
> anything.

Politics get much less boring when it affect you personally. Your tiny
vote can have an effect from time to time.

> But you can design something that works.

Frequently not all that well, but some customers are less demanding than
others.

--
Bill Sloman, Sydney

On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 19:20:38 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
wrote:

>On Tue, 12 Mar 2024 00:10:11 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
>wrote:
>
>>On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 16:49:10 -0700, john larkin <jl@650pot.com> wrote:
>>
>>>On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 20:50:18 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
>>>wrote:
>>>
>>>>On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 13:44:10 -0700, john larkin <jl@650pot.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 20:09:09 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
>>>>>wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 07:49:42 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
>>>>>>wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>On Sun, 10 Mar 2024 11:26:34 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
>>>>>>>wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Every four years, this group becomes a discussion forum exclusively
>>>>>>>>for US politics, where heated opinions and insults are freely
>>>>>>>>exchanged. And this year it should be an absolute hum-dinger! May I
>>>>>>>>suggest we all get plenty of popcorn in before it's all sold out?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>There's a simple explanation for why people who care about politics
>>>>>>>are bad electronic designers.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Think about it.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Okay. I've thought about it and I'm none the wiser. What's the reason?
>>>>>
>>>>>They are tribal and social, so are hostile to new, unauthorized ideas.
>>>>>
>>>>>Academic training can have the same effect, making people shy away
>>>>>from anything original.
>>>>
>>>>I don't follow. Everything in electronic design has already been done
>>>>- and much of it more than 60 years ago. What are these new ideas of
>>>>which you speak. Can you provide an example or two?
>>>
>>>So we have no need of electrical engineers any more?
>>>
>>>I know people who think that anything they need can be found in a book
>>>or an appnote or on an eval board. No tiresome thinking or inventing
>>>required. Nobody needs to design electronics any more.
>>>
>>>Fine with me. Less competition.
>>
>>OK., that's settled then. Anyway, we should not be talking about
>>electronic design in a thread about US politics. It's off-topic!
>
>Politics is boring, and your tiny little vote will have on effect on
>anything.

You find it boring. Others clearly don't! And I don't vote.

>But you can design something that works.

I'm just a hobbyist. Okay, I've had many decades of experience with
electronics, but I'm no designer. I don't think that way.

On 12/03/2024 11:34 pm, Cursitor Doom wrote:
> On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 19:20:38 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com> wrote:
>> On Tue, 12 Mar 2024 00:10:11 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> wrote:
>>> On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 16:49:10 -0700, john larkin <jl@650pot.com> wrote:
>>>> On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 20:50:18 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> wrote:
>>>>> On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 13:44:10 -0700, john larkin <jl@650pot.com> wrote:
>>>>>> On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 20:09:09 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>> On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 07:49:42 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>> On Sun, 10 Mar 2024 11:26:34 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> wrote:

<snip>

>> Politics is boring, and your tiny little vote will have on effect on
>> anything.
>
> You find it boring. Others clearly don't! And I don't vote.
>
>> But you can design something that works.
>
> I'm just a hobbyist. Okay, I've had many decades of experience with
> electronics, but I'm no designer. I don't think that way.

Neither does John Larkin. He can put together circuits that work, but he
doesn't seem to be able to design them.

He never talks about the ripping up and starting over process that is an
integral part of real design, and he's strangely unwilling to justify
the choices he made in the circuits that he does boast about here.

There's an element of design where you work out how something that you
have slung together actually works, and that process often lets you
change it so that it works better, but it's not easy to talk about -
pretty much impossible while you are doing it, and it take an effort
when you are writing it up after you have got it sorted out.

Natural language didn't evolve to do that kind of work, and while we can
exploit natural language to document unusual activities, it takes ingenuity.

--
Bill Sloman, Sydney