I have no need to. It is a clever and humorous take-off on Capt. Kirk's famous intro.
As for the main body of his text... I will continue to make a distinction between tube or op amp rolling and enclosure rolling.
"I will." I'll do no virtual or literal arm-twisting, and it's nothing personal towards anyone.
As for the main body of his text... I will continue to make a distinction between tube or op amp rolling and enclosure rolling.
"I will." I'll do no virtual or literal arm-twisting, and it's nothing personal towards anyone.
Of course that's the first impression I had when I saw the thing. It's all a boy needs to do to garner the right sort of encouragement at that tender age.
If his father was a player the way that's been suggested he'll have enough confusion to keep him going for a while, he probably has less idea what's happening than we do.
Back in my day we used to bring battery powered electric shockers to school. Nowhere on the level of a tazer, but you could generate a pretty good whallop out of a 6V lantern battery and a coil. The better ones had an oscillator and ran a 6V transformer in reverse. Those could also serve the purpose of charging up big high voltage capacitors, which you could then spark on things and get people to duck for cover. Do any of that now and they'd put you under the jail.
A few year later in college me and a buddy were making little audio amps with chips. TA7205's TDA2002's and such. All the idiost kept asking if we were making a bomb or something, when it should have been pretty obvious from the clearly labeled 'bass' and 'treble' controls what it was. We started etching the word 'BOMB' on the PCBs, so that when we were asked if we were building a bomb, we could say YES. Ignornace when it comes to electronic gadgets predates that poor kid by decades.
A few year later in college me and a buddy were making little audio amps with chips. TA7205's TDA2002's and such. All the idiost kept asking if we were making a bomb or something, when it should have been pretty obvious from the clearly labeled 'bass' and 'treble' controls what it was. We started etching the word 'BOMB' on the PCBs, so that when we were asked if we were building a bomb, we could say YES. Ignornace when it comes to electronic gadgets predates that poor kid by decades.
Remember some of the guys in 1st year charged a rather large cap with 200vdc and connected it to a chair. It connected right near his spine when he leaned back.
I really understand the fury and the hatred he developed for certain people.
After that they tried killing the cap with 230Vac, it took 35 minutes, glad the teacher was late for class. Still remember that really bad smell.
I really understand the fury and the hatred he developed for certain people.
After that they tried killing the cap with 230Vac, it took 35 minutes, glad the teacher was late for class. Still remember that really bad smell.
A 14 yr old to be handcuffed and questioned for an hour? Over-reach anyone? I started the same way back in 1961 with a fascination with electronics. I made a PA speaker from my 2-transistor radio and a crystal mike when I was 7. Not because I understand circuit boards, but because I experimented and was successful with a little trial and error! And, no I didn't take it to school. 😉
9 yrs later, me and a buddy from HS built a flame speaker (featured in Popular Electronics) - ~circa 1969. Complete with propane tank, bunsen burner and guitar amp! Science Fair was held during the weekend in the gym. As Juniors we walked way with First Place beating out all other senior projects in that category! And yes it did produce music straight out of flame with a little help from two carbon rods and some chemical (can't remember what it was) that we seeded the flame with. It was way cool. Ah, those were the less-restrictive days for sure. We even made a write up in the local Newport News paper. 🙂
9 yrs later, me and a buddy from HS built a flame speaker (featured in Popular Electronics) - ~circa 1969. Complete with propane tank, bunsen burner and guitar amp! Science Fair was held during the weekend in the gym. As Juniors we walked way with First Place beating out all other senior projects in that category! And yes it did produce music straight out of flame with a little help from two carbon rods and some chemical (can't remember what it was) that we seeded the flame with. It was way cool. Ah, those were the less-restrictive days for sure. We even made a write up in the local Newport News paper. 🙂
Ah, yes. Appreciate the whimsical nostalgia.
But the "we're stifling the next Bob Widlar" melodrama is just silly IMHO.
OK, I'll leave it alone.🙂
But the "we're stifling the next Bob Widlar" melodrama is just silly IMHO.
OK, I'll leave it alone.🙂
The whole point there was that what we used to do in fun would be considered criminal nowadays. Back then no one even gave a thought to burning the place down, killing anyone, or blowing anything (important) up. Never even crossed our minds. Today you can't discount the very real possibility that some madman is really out do people harm. Of course they are going to overreact.
And if/when the next Bob Widlar (or Steve Jobs) comes along, he would be considered a threat by some very large powerful corporations. When you start stealing market share from them they can get pretty nasty.
And if/when the next Bob Widlar (or Steve Jobs) comes along, he would be considered a threat by some very large powerful corporations. When you start stealing market share from them they can get pretty nasty.
Except for the inconvenient fact that all violent crime (including school violence) has been in a marked decline for decades.
The frequency is down, but the stakes and level of escalation are higher. Back in the 70's kids fought ALL THE TIME. At the end of the day they dusted themselves off and went home. And prayed dad didn't find out already.
That's pretty much the same now, except the numbers of killings is now lower than in the '70s, and the little dustup that would have gotten you or me detention will now get the school on lockdown and the kids carted off to jail.
today it can be years of mandatory psyc "anger management" counseling for a elementary schooler who shoved a verbally taunting classmate
definitely brings in the issues of heightened Bureaucracy, "Zero Tolerance" policy and Law Enforcement involvement today for things dealt with with much less drama in our youth
hard to advocate for kids trusting Teachers, Police when the consequences can be so bizarre, out of proportion
definitely brings in the issues of heightened Bureaucracy, "Zero Tolerance" policy and Law Enforcement involvement today for things dealt with with much less drama in our youth
hard to advocate for kids trusting Teachers, Police when the consequences can be so bizarre, out of proportion
In the 60's we didn't have 1/10th of the external influences that kids today have. We played outside, went swimming & fishing, rode our bikes all over and camped in the woods on Friday night. Today, influences are up and supervision is way down with both parents working. That cannot serve kids good when looking for a little guidence. We got off the bus and Mom was home, went right to play. I didn't have headphones, or a walkman, or ipod, internet or any of the other social media influences of today - for good or bad. It was a different time and place. Today they grow too fast! In some ways we should be glad that Ahmed was playing/learning about electronics instead of playing Counter Strike by the hours. OK. I'm done. 🙂
yup some of us here grew up in the "Mayberry / Father's Knows Best" years, and if we could accurately remember it all, we'd for the most part look back wistfully
I can certainly remember my first experience with adolescent females' garments - still have a fond recollection of snaps, straps and seamed stockings
oops, I digress
I can certainly remember my first experience with adolescent females' garments - still have a fond recollection of snaps, straps and seamed stockings
oops, I digress
I'm shocked! I have stated this before -- one of the Jesuit fathers explained the physics of brassieres to us...
I made a 25W ham radio transmitter for the science fair -- using a 365mmF (there were no pF's in "the day") variable cap with plastic film between the plates. It worked, but shortly the film melted with unfortunate results.
I think we got the biggest bite out of the apple.
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