I think the fable of The Scorpion and the Frog is worth knowing.
The Scorpion and the Frog
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Why can’t two series-connected diodes act as a BJT?
So it turns out you can’t make a transistor from two diodes. :P
Hans Camenzind on the Invention of the Microchip
In this video Hans Camenzind (the electronics engineer who invented the 555 timer) discusses the invention of the microchip. Conclusion? Life is not fair!
The UNIX Time-Sharing System
A little nostalgia: The UNIX Time-Sharing System.
Economics, writing, and C programming
“The three things I would tell people to learn are economics, writing and C programming,” said the Stack Overflow (SO) co-founder and globally-recognised expert on software development.
Fringe benefits
So someone on #arduino on libera.chat IRC network suggested that I get some Tic Tac containers to put my Arduino Nano circuit boards in… so I got some. A good problem to have! Yum. :)
Transistor count
Wikipedia has an interesting article on Transistor count.
USB Mass Storage Class
I found some info on how mass storage devices are operated over USB:
I believe the relevant kernel source code is here.
36 Inch IDE Dual Drives Ribbon Cable
Finding long IDE ribbon cables is a real hassle. But I found some over here: 36 Inch IDE Dual Drives Ribbon Cable.
7-step method to approach any new task
I’m reading Master Your Thinking: A Practical Guide to Align Yourself with Reality and Achieve Tangible Results in the Real World. Here are seven questions to ask before you begin a task:
- Is this task a priority, or could I do it later?
- If I could do only one thing today, which task would have the most impact?
- Is this task moving me closer to my main goal?
- Do I really need to do it right now, or can I do it later?
- Is this task valid, or can I forget about it?
- Do I really need to do this task?
- Is right now the best time? What would happen if I delay it for a week? A month? Forever?
- Do I need to do this task, or am I doing it because it makes me feel good? In short, am I working on this task to escape from what I really should be doing?
- What does done look like?
- What exactly do I need to do here?
- What am I trying to accomplish?
- What does the finished product look like?
- Am I the person to do this task, or can I delegate to someone else?
- Is this task really worthy of my time?
- Can someone else do it better than me? If so, can I ask for help?
- What would happen if I simply remove/postpone this task?
- Do I enjoy working on this task? Does it motivate me?
- What’s the best way to complete this task?
- What tool(s) can I use, people can I ask, or method can I rely on to complete this task as efficiently and effectively as possible?
- What skill(s) could I learn or improve to help me complete this task faster in the future?
- Can I batch this task with other tasks I need to do?
- Can I batch this task with other similar tasks to boost my productivity?
- Can I automate this task, or create a checklist or template?
- Can I create templates to reuse every time I work on this or on similar tasks? For instance, you could design templates for the specific emails, presentations or documents you need to create over and over.
- Can I create a checklist? Checklists provide you with specific steps to follow, making it less likely you will become distracted or confused.