In a major nuclear conflict you don't have the luxury of being out of the line of fire, and everyone back then knew that. If we and the Russians had ever started lobbing those things around for real, odds are some of them wouldn't have hit anywhere near their targets. And even if the missiles had all hit with one hundred percent accuracy, dead on target, both sides had (and still have) numerous targets in countries around the world. That's not even counting such unpleasant potential end-games as Nuclear Winter, either. People of all nations had much to be concerned about in those days, and frankly... they still do. The Cold War risks have been mitigated to a degree, but not eliminated, and we now have large-scale nuclear proliferation to worry us even further. Anyone who believes that the "World Is Now Safe for {insert favorite politico-economic system here}" is nuts.
In the nuclear age there is no way to assure your nation's safety, no way to remain "neutral". The destructive potential is just too great, and even if you aren't thoroughly volatilized in the first thirty minutes of a nuclear war you will be impacted, one way or another.
almost two grand for eleven inches. Now if Sony had managed to come up with a workable penis enlargement scheme, that $158.18 per inch would be very reasonable, not to mention more popular than any video display ever made.
Luck is an issue, sure, but the chances of success are greater if you actually know what you're doing. What I've found is that most technical people that start companies not only don't know what they're doing, business-wise, but don't even know that they don't know what they're doing! Consequently they tend to make fatal mistakes in almost every non-technical category. Most ultimately successful entrepreneurs had to fail two or three times before they figured out how to make a business work. That often involves accepting one's limitations.
Put it this way, all things being equal, who is going to have the greatest chance of success? A group of talented engineers all on their own... or that same group backed by an equally-talented business team?
You've evinced a calculated misunderstanding of my words and of the law itself. I made no "proposal", I simply commented on what already is, and why it was set up that way. You're welcome to disagree with me all your please, but I respectfully request that you re-read what I said, and respond to my comment as written. It would help if you made at least an attempt to grasp the purpose of naturalization before replying.
America has never been about preserving the equal opportunity of every human being, regardless of the circumstances of their birth. It has been about preserving the equal opportunity of every American citizen, under the law, regardless of the circumstances of their birth. Not everyone has a right to be here, not everyone should be here, and we have the right to make that determination. That's pretty gosh-darned basic to any national social order, not just the United States', and I'm surprised you have a problem with that. There's a reason why every nation on Earth makes a distinction between those who are "citizens"... and those who are not. It's why they have borders. I get modded downward every time I make this point but, God damn it, it's important.
The American value system is what it is, billions of people on this planet don't subscribe to it, don't understand it, and we are not responsible for preserving the equality of opportunity of everyone else. When we try to do that now and then, people complain that America is being "imperialist", trying to "spread democracy" or "be the world's police force." The fact that we've made something halfway decent for ourselves, and that many of those billions would like a share is not, in and of itself, reason to simply give it to them.
I don't know why it is so hard for many Americans to understand that. Does this country mean so little to them now?
I'm not surprised that he feels that way: my fiancee has exactly the same attitude. However, I'd like to ask you (and him) some additional questions. What benefit does our society (or any society, for that matter) derive from putting potential immigrants through such hoops? Is it, as many believe, just mindless torture aimed at people because they are from another country? Is it, as some people claim, a fundamentally racist proposition?
More importantly, when he finally earned his citizenship, was your friend more likely, or less likely, to perceive America as his country, as opposed to merely a better place to make a living? I think you know what I'm getting at, although a number of other people in this thread don't seem to have a clue. In any event, it sounds as if your friend passed his "test" with flying colors, and is the kind of person America needs and wants to have as a citizen. I'm glad he made it, really. The same cannot be said for everyone that washes up on our shores, and it takes time to find that out.
People that call selective immigration policies "racist" are, in fact, as racist as they come. They've decided, for whatever reason, to put people of other nations before their own fellow citizens, feel that people of other nations are intrinsically more valuable. As you might imagine from my other commentary, I take great exception to that.
I'll take one immigrant like your friend over a thousand of those others. He, at least, understands why he was put through the immigration wringer.
You're so intent on maintaining your "Americans are bigots" stance that I really don't know where else to take this. I believe I can enlighten you on a few key aspects of our current situation, though. I'm not going to get into the value of the naturalization process (it's called that for a reason, my friend) because you seem uninterested in understanding its purpose. There's plenty of information available on the subject: I suggest you Google for it.s
Regarding the immigration issue: why don't you go live where my mother does, some fifty or so miles from the border with Mexico. Actually, a one or two day visit should suffice. You will see firsthand the folly of your words, see firsthand the effects of unchecked immigration. She can't even walk into a grocery store there and read any of the labels. She speaks more than one language but Spanish isn't one of them, and she doesn't see any reason to learn it seeing as she lives in the United States of America. You wouldn't know it to go there though: it's gaining a very Mexican flavor because the existing locals are being squeezed out by our Hispanic friends, our illegal Hispanic friends. Now, please remember that this is sovereign U.S. territory we're talking about.
Thousands of illegals move through that territory weekly: they take everything that isn't locked up or nailed down. They cross over anywhere they can. Ranchers are constantly repairing their fences because the illegals keep tearing holes in them. In a vain attempt to reduce their losses, the ranchers tried leaving spots in the fencing where the illegals could just step through (so as to avoid the continuous maintenance and cattle-retrieval headaches) but the illegals figured they were traps and just ripped more holes anyway.
The Mexican gangs have also been moving into the area and in fact it's getting pretty ugly. Violence is on the rise. I was getting very worried about her and was gratified when she told me they've decided to move further north: the situation is getting way out of hand and it is going to get worse.
Believe me, an open border with Mexico is not in our best interests... it just isn't. Go play your race card if it makes you feel better, but what's happening is very real, very bad, and at some point even people like you are going to have to sit up and take notice.
There's a certain irony here, on my part. I use to make fun of the French (to any Frenchmen in the audience I apologize for that) because they are oh-so-concerned about their cultural purity. Not racial purity... cultural. As I understand it, they wish to maintain a sense of who they are, and what they are. As an American, exposed on a daily basis to people of every ethnic background under the Sun, I always felt that was somewhat... extreme. Now, I'm starting to think that maybe the French aren't so crazy after all, that maybe they have something there. I've come to realize that all those people of different races that I've encountered in my life were, for the most part, people that understood and respected this country, and believed in its fundamental principles. Wherever they were originally from they were, in a word, American.
Many of those individuals, in fact, understood what that means better than many native born citizens, because they came from societies where our much-vaunted (and rapidly disappearing) freedoms were never more than a pipe dream. I'm not talking about "white middle class males" (I have a pretty good idea what part of your anatomy you pulled that from) and I'm not trying to say that America wants you to fit some arbitrary behavior pattern. We do, however, expect that you've learned the basics of what is expected of you as a citizen, and within those rather liberal constraints you can do as you please.
The problem with hordes of people from a completely different culture simply taking up residence in a another country is that t
Please explain, in as much detail as you can muster, how our immigration laws are "racist"? We are under no obligation whatsoever to allow anyone to enter our country! None at all. Period. End-of-the-God-damned-statement. If we refuse to allow someone to enter the United States, for any reason, that is not discrimination in the sense that you are trying to make it out to be. It is because they have no right to be here and we've decided, for whatever reason, not to grant them that right. Get it through your head that this is not an issue of racism, it's an issue of sovereignty. This is OUR LAND. It is not YOUR LAND.
I might add that ALL nations enjoy the privilege of disallowing visitors and immigrants, by any criteria they choose to set, and ALL exercise it. Some don't allow anyone in all. They don't want visitors, they don't want immigrants. Are they, in your mind, also racist? Because if you say "No" then you are a hypocrite, pure and simple. In either case, you're mistaken.
America, however, allows many thousands of people every year from every nation in the world to enter legally. How can you possibly call that "racist"? What you object to, I assume, is the fact that we reserve the right to be selective about who we allow in. We don't want criminals, we don't want people that will be of no use to America and we especially don't want people that don't follow the GODDAMN PROPER CHANNELS. If the law says you shouldn't be here, well... you shouldn't be here. That's not racism, it's a perfectly even-handed application of the law, because it applies to everyone on the planet.
Thank you! I've been getting so much opposition to my commentary in this thread I've been starting to maybe I should just give it up and go have another beer. I think I might just do that anyway, I'm taking the day off tomorrow.
They're racist because we don't allow anyone and everyone into this country whenever and wherever they want. Gets back to the hypocritical attitudes I was referring to earlier.
Keep in mind that this is the poster that called me a racist prick. That's interesting, actually, since I quite specifically decried what our society did to the Native Americans, and pointed out how legal immigrants have a valued place in our society. But since I'm not all for breaking down our borders completely I guess I'm a racist prick. Oh well... some people just haven't learned to think, I guess.
Your example isn't relevant. Technology reduced the need for large numbers of people to work on farms, granted. Those displaced farmers ended up working in manufacturing plants, and the thousands upon thousands of businesses that supported our industrial base. If we don't need them to farm, and we don't need them to make things... what the hell are they going to do? Where are their paychecks going to come from? Do you have anything resembling an answer to that?
You seem to have a complete lack of understanding of what it means to be an industrial superpower, and why, if you want to maintain your "superpower" status it's important to keep the "industrial" attached to it. Let me ask you this: if we don't manufacture goods for export, where is our wealth going to come from in this new-fangled "global economy"? How are we going to pay for all the consumer goods and military equipment coming from China that we apparently need so desperately? We can only run on inertia for so long before the inevitable economic collapse comes. This time it will be worse because we've literally sold, for pennies on the dollar, much of our heavy equipment and machine tooling. China and Japan, in particular, have been snapping it up. They may or may not need it themselvers... but the point is that we don't have it any longer.
Understand that America is a powerful nation because of its industry, not because of some God-given right to be at the top of the economic heap. Sooner or later we will lose that spot, but if we fail to preserve and nourish our industry, we are going to reduce ourselves to third-world status that much more quickly. I have yet to see a rational justification for any nation to do that, other than some regurgitated "it's good for the global economy!" pablum. Sure it is: we're transferring a lot of our money to other countries right now, one in particular.
The real question to ask yourself is this: in the long run, is the global economy good for us? That's a much more difficult question to answer, but it's an important one.
Quitting a full-time job that supports you is a terrifying proposition for many people, as it should be. Most startups fail miserably (the vast majority of them, in fact) and usually because of a complete lack of understanding of the business world. If you're a good engineer and you have a solid product idea and you are qualified to develop it, odds are you'll succeed in that. But producing a quality product is maybe 5% of a successful product.
My perspective is perhaps a little different than most. Right out of college I started my own business (this was back in 1978-79) and ran it right up 'til 1999, when I finally got out of it. I specialized primarily in the industrial and manufacturing businesses... sold a bunch of testing systems to fastener manufacturers among other things. What I did learn from that experience is that you a. can't do everything yourself, b. can't be good at everything and c. at some point have to trust other people who can do things you can't. The best you can do is... get the best people you can.
LM741, huh. I thought about calling myself TL081, but didn't want people to think I was a bi-fet.
Radio Shack (once Allied Radio Shack, if you'll remember, the retail division of Allied Radio long before Tandy acquired them) was one of the most awesome stores I used to visit as a child. My father was a physicist and electronics engineer, so we would frequent the big Radio Shack in Bethesda, Maryland. The place was huge, full of every imaginable electronic component. I still remember the tube tester that was always over in the corner: Dad showed me how to plug in a tube and test it... I got to push the "TEST" button and make the filament glow, while watching the meter jump up the scale.
However, I followed the path of many a budding electronics engineer when the Personal Computer revolution began. I had no doubt in my mind that I was going to be a double-E just like my father, even to starting in the Electronics Engineering curriculum when I went to college. Then I started playing around with microcomputers... and everything changed.
You ask, what happened to the likes of Radio Shack and Lafayette Electronics, Heathkit, EICO, and all the wonderful hardware hacking delights that existed back in the sixties and seventies? Well, I'll tell you. It was the microcomputer. Thousands of young minds (like mine) that would have followed pc boards and components into a career in electronics or related fields got seduced by software, well, firmware at the time. It was just so much easier to bend a microprocessor to your will, than a complex assemblage of discrete parts that you'd actually have to use a soldering iron to modify.
The advent of the microprocessor, and eventually the personal computer, eliminated much of the need for knowledge of electronics and the ability to assemble circuitry by hand to achieve significant results. Companies that had previously catered to the hardcore electronics hobbyist found themselves faced with an entirely different breed of hacker. Most of those outfits didn't survive the change. I think Heathkit may still be around, but they're not what they once were.
We used to do that with early microcomputers and play music. Sounded like a noisy kazoo, and it was tricky getting the delay loops right... but it worked.
Well, when I said "in ruins" I was referring primarily to large-scale consumer product manufacturing, the kind of things that the Japanese took over from us many years ago. How many television sets, media players, LEDs, motherboards, integrated circuits, LCD panels, memory sticks and other such high-volume items are still produced in the U.S.? Not as much as there used to be... matter of fact we don't even know how to make a lot of that stuff on any significant scale anymore. I'm sure we could probably find some Japanese or Chinese engineers that might be willing to teach us though.
I hope your product is successful, but even if you do have it manufactured here, odds are most of the components won't be.
It's hard to find a real engineer in management anymore.
Engineers as managers don't necessarily do any better than managers trying to serve as engineers. A company run solely by engineers will generally fail: the disciplines are too different, too many basic assumptions don't carry over. There are exceptions to that, of course, some engineers acquire solid business acumen. That's rare, though. What's needed is management that understands engineering, its strengths and weaknesses, and is capable of working with it rather than trying to fight it for every last penny. Good engineers go hand in hand with good business people to build quality products and steady profits. You need both.
But you're right, though. America does have plenty of good engineers to go around. We just don't have management that is capable of using them properly.
Slashdot Mirror
In a major nuclear conflict you don't have the luxury of being out of the line of fire, and everyone back then knew that. If we and the Russians had ever started lobbing those things around for real, odds are some of them wouldn't have hit anywhere near their targets. And even if the missiles had all hit with one hundred percent accuracy, dead on target, both sides had (and still have) numerous targets in countries around the world. That's not even counting such unpleasant potential end-games as Nuclear Winter, either. People of all nations had much to be concerned about in those days, and frankly ... they still do. The Cold War risks have been mitigated to a degree, but not eliminated, and we now have large-scale nuclear proliferation to worry us even further. Anyone who believes that the "World Is Now Safe for {insert favorite politico-economic system here}" is nuts.
In the nuclear age there is no way to assure your nation's safety, no way to remain "neutral". The destructive potential is just too great, and even if you aren't thoroughly volatilized in the first thirty minutes of a nuclear war you will be impacted, one way or another.
Well, given the current foreclosure rate in the U.S. right now, I'd say it's an excellent negative indicator.
almost two grand for eleven inches. Now if Sony had managed to come up with a workable penis enlargement scheme, that $158.18 per inch would be very reasonable, not to mention more popular than any video display ever made.
Luck is an issue, sure, but the chances of success are greater if you actually know what you're doing. What I've found is that most technical people that start companies not only don't know what they're doing, business-wise, but don't even know that they don't know what they're doing! Consequently they tend to make fatal mistakes in almost every non-technical category. Most ultimately successful entrepreneurs had to fail two or three times before they figured out how to make a business work. That often involves accepting one's limitations.
... or that same group backed by an equally-talented business team?
Put it this way, all things being equal, who is going to have the greatest chance of success? A group of talented engineers all on their own
You've evinced a calculated misunderstanding of my words and of the law itself. I made no "proposal", I simply commented on what already is, and why it was set up that way. You're welcome to disagree with me all your please, but I respectfully request that you re-read what I said, and respond to my comment as written. It would help if you made at least an attempt to grasp the purpose of naturalization before replying.
... and those who are not. It's why they have borders. I get modded downward every time I make this point but, God damn it, it's important.
America has never been about preserving the equal opportunity of every human being, regardless of the circumstances of their birth. It has been about preserving the equal opportunity of every American citizen, under the law, regardless of the circumstances of their birth. Not everyone has a right to be here, not everyone should be here, and we have the right to make that determination. That's pretty gosh-darned basic to any national social order, not just the United States', and I'm surprised you have a problem with that. There's a reason why every nation on Earth makes a distinction between those who are "citizens"
The American value system is what it is, billions of people on this planet don't subscribe to it, don't understand it, and we are not responsible for preserving the equality of opportunity of everyone else. When we try to do that now and then, people complain that America is being "imperialist", trying to "spread democracy" or "be the world's police force." The fact that we've made something halfway decent for ourselves, and that many of those billions would like a share is not, in and of itself, reason to simply give it to them.
I don't know why it is so hard for many Americans to understand that. Does this country mean so little to them now?
I'm not surprised that he feels that way: my fiancee has exactly the same attitude. However, I'd like to ask you (and him) some additional questions. What benefit does our society (or any society, for that matter) derive from putting potential immigrants through such hoops? Is it, as many believe, just mindless torture aimed at people because they are from another country? Is it, as some people claim, a fundamentally racist proposition?
More importantly, when he finally earned his citizenship, was your friend more likely, or less likely, to perceive America as his country, as opposed to merely a better place to make a living? I think you know what I'm getting at, although a number of other people in this thread don't seem to have a clue. In any event, it sounds as if your friend passed his "test" with flying colors, and is the kind of person America needs and wants to have as a citizen. I'm glad he made it, really. The same cannot be said for everyone that washes up on our shores, and it takes time to find that out.
People that call selective immigration policies "racist" are, in fact, as racist as they come. They've decided, for whatever reason, to put people of other nations before their own fellow citizens, feel that people of other nations are intrinsically more valuable. As you might imagine from my other commentary, I take great exception to that.
I'll take one immigrant like your friend over a thousand of those others. He, at least, understands why he was put through the immigration wringer.
You're so intent on maintaining your "Americans are bigots" stance that I really don't know where else to take this. I believe I can enlighten you on a few key aspects of our current situation, though. I'm not going to get into the value of the naturalization process (it's called that for a reason, my friend) because you seem uninterested in understanding its purpose. There's plenty of information available on the subject: I suggest you Google for it.s
... it just isn't. Go play your race card if it makes you feel better, but what's happening is very real, very bad, and at some point even people like you are going to have to sit up and take notice.
... cultural. As I understand it, they wish to maintain a sense of who they are, and what they are. As an American, exposed on a daily basis to people of every ethnic background under the Sun, I always felt that was somewhat ... extreme. Now, I'm starting to think that maybe the French aren't so crazy after all, that maybe they have something there. I've come to realize that all those people of different races that I've encountered in my life were, for the most part, people that understood and respected this country, and believed in its fundamental principles. Wherever they were originally from they were, in a word, American.
Regarding the immigration issue: why don't you go live where my mother does, some fifty or so miles from the border with Mexico. Actually, a one or two day visit should suffice. You will see firsthand the folly of your words, see firsthand the effects of unchecked immigration. She can't even walk into a grocery store there and read any of the labels. She speaks more than one language but Spanish isn't one of them, and she doesn't see any reason to learn it seeing as she lives in the United States of America. You wouldn't know it to go there though: it's gaining a very Mexican flavor because the existing locals are being squeezed out by our Hispanic friends, our illegal Hispanic friends. Now, please remember that this is sovereign U.S. territory we're talking about.
Thousands of illegals move through that territory weekly: they take everything that isn't locked up or nailed down. They cross over anywhere they can. Ranchers are constantly repairing their fences because the illegals keep tearing holes in them. In a vain attempt to reduce their losses, the ranchers tried leaving spots in the fencing where the illegals could just step through (so as to avoid the continuous maintenance and cattle-retrieval headaches) but the illegals figured they were traps and just ripped more holes anyway.
The Mexican gangs have also been moving into the area and in fact it's getting pretty ugly. Violence is on the rise. I was getting very worried about her and was gratified when she told me they've decided to move further north: the situation is getting way out of hand and it is going to get worse.
Believe me, an open border with Mexico is not in our best interests
There's a certain irony here, on my part. I use to make fun of the French (to any Frenchmen in the audience I apologize for that) because they are oh-so-concerned about their cultural purity. Not racial purity
Many of those individuals, in fact, understood what that means better than many native born citizens, because they came from societies where our much-vaunted (and rapidly disappearing) freedoms were never more than a pipe dream. I'm not talking about "white middle class males" (I have a pretty good idea what part of your anatomy you pulled that from) and I'm not trying to say that America wants you to fit some arbitrary behavior pattern. We do, however, expect that you've learned the basics of what is expected of you as a citizen, and within those rather liberal constraints you can do as you please.
The problem with hordes of people from a completely different culture simply taking up residence in a another country is that t
Please explain, in as much detail as you can muster, how our immigration laws are "racist"? We are under no obligation whatsoever to allow anyone to enter our country! None at all. Period. End-of-the-God-damned-statement. If we refuse to allow someone to enter the United States, for any reason, that is not discrimination in the sense that you are trying to make it out to be. It is because they have no right to be here and we've decided, for whatever reason, not to grant them that right. Get it through your head that this is not an issue of racism, it's an issue of sovereignty. This is OUR LAND. It is not YOUR LAND.
... you shouldn't be here. That's not racism, it's a perfectly even-handed application of the law, because it applies to everyone on the planet.
I might add that ALL nations enjoy the privilege of disallowing visitors and immigrants, by any criteria they choose to set, and ALL exercise it. Some don't allow anyone in all. They don't want visitors, they don't want immigrants. Are they, in your mind, also racist? Because if you say "No" then you are a hypocrite, pure and simple. In either case, you're mistaken.
America, however, allows many thousands of people every year from every nation in the world to enter legally. How can you possibly call that "racist"? What you object to, I assume, is the fact that we reserve the right to be selective about who we allow in. We don't want criminals, we don't want people that will be of no use to America and we especially don't want people that don't follow the GODDAMN PROPER CHANNELS. If the law says you shouldn't be here, well
{sigh} sometimes I don't know why I bother.
Thank you! I've been getting so much opposition to my commentary in this thread I've been starting to maybe I should just give it up and go have another beer. I think I might just do that anyway, I'm taking the day off tomorrow.
They're racist because we don't allow anyone and everyone into this country whenever and wherever they want. Gets back to the hypocritical attitudes I was referring to earlier.
... some people just haven't learned to think, I guess.
Keep in mind that this is the poster that called me a racist prick. That's interesting, actually, since I quite specifically decried what our society did to the Native Americans, and pointed out how legal immigrants have a valued place in our society. But since I'm not all for breaking down our borders completely I guess I'm a racist prick. Oh well
Your example isn't relevant. Technology reduced the need for large numbers of people to work on farms, granted. Those displaced farmers ended up working in manufacturing plants, and the thousands upon thousands of businesses that supported our industrial base. If we don't need them to farm, and we don't need them to make things ... what the hell are they going to do? Where are their paychecks going to come from? Do you have anything resembling an answer to that?
... but the point is that we don't have it any longer.
You seem to have a complete lack of understanding of what it means to be an industrial superpower, and why, if you want to maintain your "superpower" status it's important to keep the "industrial" attached to it. Let me ask you this: if we don't manufacture goods for export, where is our wealth going to come from in this new-fangled "global economy"? How are we going to pay for all the consumer goods and military equipment coming from China that we apparently need so desperately? We can only run on inertia for so long before the inevitable economic collapse comes. This time it will be worse because we've literally sold, for pennies on the dollar, much of our heavy equipment and machine tooling. China and Japan, in particular, have been snapping it up. They may or may not need it themselvers
Understand that America is a powerful nation because of its industry, not because of some God-given right to be at the top of the economic heap. Sooner or later we will lose that spot, but if we fail to preserve and nourish our industry, we are going to reduce ourselves to third-world status that much more quickly. I have yet to see a rational justification for any nation to do that, other than some regurgitated "it's good for the global economy!" pablum. Sure it is: we're transferring a lot of our money to other countries right now, one in particular.
The real question to ask yourself is this: in the long run, is the global economy good for us? That's a much more difficult question to answer, but it's an important one.
No, I was referring to Bram Cohen, the creator of the Bit Torrent protocol. He's a self-described Asperger's Syndrome sufferer.
Really more an artifact of retinal fatigue, I'd say.
Quitting a full-time job that supports you is a terrifying proposition for many people, as it should be. Most startups fail miserably (the vast majority of them, in fact) and usually because of a complete lack of understanding of the business world. If you're a good engineer and you have a solid product idea and you are qualified to develop it, odds are you'll succeed in that. But producing a quality product is maybe 5% of a successful product.
... sold a bunch of testing systems to fastener manufacturers among other things. What I did learn from that experience is that you a. can't do everything yourself, b. can't be good at everything and c. at some point have to trust other people who can do things you can't. The best you can do is ... get the best people you can.
My perspective is perhaps a little different than most. Right out of college I started my own business (this was back in 1978-79) and ran it right up 'til 1999, when I finally got out of it. I specialized primarily in the industrial and manufacturing businesses
LM741, huh. I thought about calling myself TL081, but didn't want people to think I was a bi-fet.
... I got to push the "TEST" button and make the filament glow, while watching the meter jump up the scale.
... and everything changed.
Radio Shack (once Allied Radio Shack, if you'll remember, the retail division of Allied Radio long before Tandy acquired them) was one of the most awesome stores I used to visit as a child. My father was a physicist and electronics engineer, so we would frequent the big Radio Shack in Bethesda, Maryland. The place was huge, full of every imaginable electronic component. I still remember the tube tester that was always over in the corner: Dad showed me how to plug in a tube and test it
However, I followed the path of many a budding electronics engineer when the Personal Computer revolution began. I had no doubt in my mind that I was going to be a double-E just like my father, even to starting in the Electronics Engineering curriculum when I went to college. Then I started playing around with microcomputers
You ask, what happened to the likes of Radio Shack and Lafayette Electronics, Heathkit, EICO, and all the wonderful hardware hacking delights that existed back in the sixties and seventies? Well, I'll tell you. It was the microcomputer. Thousands of young minds (like mine) that would have followed pc boards and components into a career in electronics or related fields got seduced by software, well, firmware at the time. It was just so much easier to bend a microprocessor to your will, than a complex assemblage of discrete parts that you'd actually have to use a soldering iron to modify.
The advent of the microprocessor, and eventually the personal computer, eliminated much of the need for knowledge of electronics and the ability to assemble circuitry by hand to achieve significant results. Companies that had previously catered to the hardcore electronics hobbyist found themselves faced with an entirely different breed of hacker. Most of those outfits didn't survive the change. I think Heathkit may still be around, but they're not what they once were.
We used to do that with early microcomputers and play music. Sounded like a noisy kazoo, and it was tricky getting the delay loops right ... but it worked.
That's not a sufficient answer. There's always been economic disparity.
"What do you get when you multiply six by nine?"
"Six by nine? 42?"
"I always knew there was something fundamentally wrong with the universe."
They dropped "better" in an effort to be "cheaper, faster"
... is that you?
Another good answer.
By the way, your name should be spelled "Emordnys s'regrepsA".
Bram Cohen
Well, when I said "in ruins" I was referring primarily to large-scale consumer product manufacturing, the kind of things that the Japanese took over from us many years ago. How many television sets, media players, LEDs, motherboards, integrated circuits, LCD panels, memory sticks and other such high-volume items are still produced in the U.S.? Not as much as there used to be ... matter of fact we don't even know how to make a lot of that stuff on any significant scale anymore. I'm sure we could probably find some Japanese or Chinese engineers that might be willing to teach us though.
I hope your product is successful, but even if you do have it manufactured here, odds are most of the components won't be.
I'd say Japan did most of the damage a couple decades ago. China just came along to finish the job.
It's hard to find a real engineer in management anymore.
Engineers as managers don't necessarily do any better than managers trying to serve as engineers. A company run solely by engineers will generally fail: the disciplines are too different, too many basic assumptions don't carry over. There are exceptions to that, of course, some engineers acquire solid business acumen. That's rare, though. What's needed is management that understands engineering, its strengths and weaknesses, and is capable of working with it rather than trying to fight it for every last penny. Good engineers go hand in hand with good business people to build quality products and steady profits. You need both.
But you're right, though. America does have plenty of good engineers to go around. We just don't have management that is capable of using them properly.
... and established a meritocracy ruled by those who made electronic products cheaper, faster and better.
That's all well and good, but it's now 2007. Our electronics manufacturing sector is in ruins. What happened?
Ah ha! I knew it. They've been holding out on us. That whole "free health care" thing was just a distraction.
I think UDP stands for "University-Dropped Packets".