A Word of Thanks

Thanksgiving is a special season. It brings to mind the wonderful people we meet and the beautiful times and memories we had throughout the year. And as we gather with family and friends over a sumptuous feast, we can't help but be thankful, that despite the pandemic that has ravaged for the past two years, two things still remain close and precious to our hearts——family and friendships.

While Thanksgiving Day is not a national holiday in my country, I want to take this opportunity to thank all my readers——those who have supported my works and left glowing reviews to spur me on in this journey which I started six years ago. Your honest purchase of my books has made it possible for me to continue writing and giving to charities, however meager by comparison to other renown authors. Still, it's the thought that counts, isn't it?

It is my hope that the knowledge and experience I put into print will benefit the electronics community for many years to come. As each generation of engineers embark on this challenging yet rewarding adventure of doing PCB-RE, may they hear the faint echo of this obscure writer cheering them onwards to master this niche and coveted skillset, long after he is gone.

Happy Thanksgiving Day, my readers! Stay safe and well throughout this festive seasons...

By George!

Happened to catch a re-telecast of Ocean's Thirteen on TV late last night. The plot was interesting and the cast of characters quite entertaining. But those who watched Steven Soderbergh's Ocean trilogy must admit that lead actor George Clooney who played Danny Ocean displayed a personal charm that had audiences captivated throughout the show, notwithstanding appearances by heavyweights like Al Pacino, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon.

The attempt to pull a heist over The Bank, Al Pacino's greatest and most advanced casino, run by an AI central control and surveillance system codenamed Greco, which even The Malloy Brothers believed was unbroachable, spun out a series of strategies that ultimately saw the team made off with half a billion in winnings and a quarter billion in diamonds.

A movie is just that—pure entertainment—if there is no takeaway after viewing and reviews. Strategies aside, I believe the success of a team is dependent on the participation of every player. More importantly, though, the charisma of a leader is the glue that gels the team and at the same time gives leeway for team members to be at their best in the roles and tasks assigned.

Do you have what it takes to be an Ocean, or the top players that swim in it? 

The Author-Reader Dichotomy

Not every book author takes pain in giving their readers the best reading and visual experience when it comes to the content and illustrations found in their books, especially those of the engineering genre. The reason is simple: it requires time and effort and to some extent, the ability of the writer to not only translate their thoughts into words but their ideas into drawings.

Among those who do, fewer still are willing to go the extra mile to produce the diagrams themselves. The easiest way is to make do with what's already available, or engage someone good at drawing to do the hard work for them. Finding consistency in the style of illustration in an engineering book is therefore even rarer.

Being an indie author and one who loves producing technical illustrations, I take pride in the books that I authored. There are times when I would spend hours drafting a diagram for a topic in discussion, only to discard or shelve it when the content underwent changes during the process of proofreading. One example is the 72-pin SIMM below:

It would seem like a waste not to include it after all the hard work and time invested, but that's just me. Being a perfectionist, I expect nothing less than the best from myself and for my readers. I believe if a reader is willing to support me through honest purchase of my books, he or she should receive value for investing his or her hard-earned money on my works.

Of course, not everyone share this sentiment or conviction. Some have no qualms stealing free copies from authors who make conscientious efforts to share their knowledge. Others go even further to rip-off the small earnings of these authors who spent months to a year writing their books, by offering pirated copies online in return for a fraction of the book price. It cost these pirates nothing (except their dignity and integrity) but it results in loss of income for the authors and ultimately the engineering communities, because without a sustainable income they had to quit writing and whatever valuable insights and experience will not get passed on.

There is no real winner in the long haul. Just some temporary gains for the unscrupulous loafers who live off the hard works of authors. So think about it before you mindlessly download the next free copy of ebook from those dark webs.

What Goes Up Must Come Down

That's as far as gravity is concerned, though there are those who argue it is the density of an object and not the gravitational force of the earth that is at work. I'm not a physicist but an engineer, so I'll just focus on what I know best——pull-up and pull-down resistors.

When you think about it, digital circuits aren't that 'digital' to begin with once you peel off the facade that confined their operational limits to the binary universe. Since its inception until today, the term 'digital' is not just about TTL or CMOS anymore. The insatiable appetite for the never ending quest of higher operating speeds has resulted in a kind of 'digital' metaverse, one in which different operating voltages exist side-by-side and interacting with each other via translators in the form of digital 'stargates'.

If ever MCU Studio decides to come out with a new series (X-Men and Avengers are really showing their age), perhaps they might want to consider Meta-Warriors or something to that effect. Just a suggestion.

Which Hierarchy?

Certainly not Maslow's 'hierarchy of needs'. When it comes to schematic diagrams, the term hierarchy means more than just a top-down structure:

Depending on the circuit design, a simple or complex hierarchy may be implemented to bring out the best representation possible. Still, it takes practice and experience to manage this kind of structure. Thankfully, most of us don't have to produce such designs. Deciphering them is another matter altogether.