On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 16:22:22 -0500, wrote:

On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 14:58:59 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 2/24/2018 2:50 PM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 2/24/18 2:39 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 2/24/2018 2:25 PM, justan wrote:
Wrote in message:
On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 09:36:12 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I'll betcha it's not so much a case of being anti-gun as it is legal
beagles recognizing that litigation could extend not only to the
shooter, the store that sold him the firearm (already happens) and to
the financing agency that made the purchase possible.* I'll bet more
credit card issuers will start prohibiting the use of their cards for
firearm purchases in the future.

There is legislation in place that shields sellers and manufacturers.
The left really wants to change that but not with much success so far.
This credit card thing is just kubuki theater. Like you say, once the
water calms down I bet it goes away, particularly if a number of big
chains decide to tell them to **** off.
Like someone said before, where does this stop? Are they going to stop
processing charges for dangerous food next? Far more people die from
obesity related disease than from guns, by a couple orders of
magnitude


Why don't we just ban everything the ATF people regulate and be
* done with it. Of the three, I don't know which is
* deadliest.



Greg seems to think that all of our society problems are mutually
inclusive, meaning you can only fix 'em if you fix *all* of them at
once.* It's ok to take one or two at a time.



My take on Greg is that he has no interest in anything other than the
anti-rule, anti-regulation, anti-societal libertarian nonsense. That
means no regulatory efforts to fix anything. Don't like dirty air? Wear
a gas mask. Dirty water? Filter it. Too many high-powered guns in the
wrong hands? Wear body armor.


I like Greg and have respect for his accomplishments, knowledge and
technical expertise. But I don't think I've ever come across anyone
who can come up with as many reasons why you *can't* do something as he
can. It makes me chuckle sometimes.

It's a little surprising because usually those with a technical or
engineering bent are just the opposite. Tell an engineer he can't do
something and he'll spend a lifetime trying to prove you wrong.

I lived my life on the other end of that product cycle and I see what
engineers can't do.
If they weren't wrong so often I would not have had a job.
I didn't lose my job because they got any better. It was just because
we simply throw away their mistakes and buy a new one instead of
trying to fix it.


===

I think you'd have to concede that the electronics of today are orders
of magnitude more reliable than 50 or 60 years ago. Even more
importantly, the complex electromechanical devices that IBM was famous
for, have mostly been phased out.

---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
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On 2/24/2018 5:22 PM, wrote:
On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 13:26:16 -0800 (PST), True North
wrote:

On Saturday, 24 February 2018 17:19:51 UTC-4, wrote:
On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 14:50:08 -0500, Keyser Soze
wrote:

On 2/24/18 2:39 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 2/24/2018 2:25 PM, justan wrote:
Wrote in message:
On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 09:36:12 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I'll betcha it's not so much a case of being anti-gun as it is legal
beagles recognizing that litigation could extend not only to the
shooter, the store that sold him the firearm (already happens) and to
the financing agency that made the purchase possible.Â* I'll bet more
credit card issuers will start prohibiting the use of their cards for
firearm purchases in the future.

There is legislation in place that shields sellers and manufacturers.
The left really wants to change that but not with much success so far.
This credit card thing is just kubuki theater. Like you say, once the
water calms down I bet it goes away, particularly if a number of big
chains decide to tell them to **** off.
Like someone said before, where does this stop? Are they going to stop
processing charges for dangerous food next? Far more people die from
obesity related disease than from guns, by a couple orders of
magnitude


Why don't we just ban everything the ATF people regulate and be
Â* done with it. Of the three, I don't know which is
Â* deadliest.



Greg seems to think that all of our society problems are mutually
inclusive, meaning you can only fix 'em if you fix *all* of them at
once.Â* It's ok to take one or two at a time.



My take on Greg is that he has no interest in anything other than the
anti-rule, anti-regulation, anti-societal libertarian nonsense. That
means no regulatory efforts to fix anything. Don't like dirty air? Wear
a gas mask. Dirty water? Filter it. Too many high-powered guns in the
wrong hands? Wear body armor.

I am sure I am doing more about water quality than anyone else here

We should compare quarterly water bills. I end up paying four times the basic water volume rate because of all the added on taxes/charges/fees etc for wastewater processing environmental charges etc.

I don't have a water bill. I get mine from a hole in the yard. That is
one reason why I am interested in water quality. The other is because
I want to protect where I boat.



The water is one thing about Florida that I don't miss at all. The
carbon filter tank, water softener tank and whatever that blue chemical
you had to add to remove the pungent sulfur stink so you could take a
shower was a pain in the ass. We replaced all the tanks, filters and
equipment in the first house we bought down there with a fully automated
system hoping it would improve the water quality. It didn't. Bought a
water dispenser/cooler for drinking water purchased in 5 gallon jugs
from Publix.

On 2/24/2018 6:12 PM, wrote:
On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 16:22:22 -0500, wrote:

On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 14:58:59 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 2/24/2018 2:50 PM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 2/24/18 2:39 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 2/24/2018 2:25 PM, justan wrote:
Wrote in message:
On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 09:36:12 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I'll betcha it's not so much a case of being anti-gun as it is legal
beagles recognizing that litigation could extend not only to the
shooter, the store that sold him the firearm (already happens) and to
the financing agency that made the purchase possible.Â* I'll bet more
credit card issuers will start prohibiting the use of their cards for
firearm purchases in the future.

There is legislation in place that shields sellers and manufacturers.
The left really wants to change that but not with much success so far.
This credit card thing is just kubuki theater. Like you say, once the
water calms down I bet it goes away, particularly if a number of big
chains decide to tell them to **** off.
Like someone said before, where does this stop? Are they going to stop
processing charges for dangerous food next? Far more people die from
obesity related disease than from guns, by a couple orders of
magnitude


Why don't we just ban everything the ATF people regulate and be
Â* done with it. Of the three, I don't know which is
Â* deadliest.



Greg seems to think that all of our society problems are mutually
inclusive, meaning you can only fix 'em if you fix *all* of them at
once.Â* It's ok to take one or two at a time.



My take on Greg is that he has no interest in anything other than the
anti-rule, anti-regulation, anti-societal libertarian nonsense. That
means no regulatory efforts to fix anything. Don't like dirty air? Wear
a gas mask. Dirty water? Filter it. Too many high-powered guns in the
wrong hands? Wear body armor.


I like Greg and have respect for his accomplishments, knowledge and
technical expertise. But I don't think I've ever come across anyone
who can come up with as many reasons why you *can't* do something as he
can. It makes me chuckle sometimes.

It's a little surprising because usually those with a technical or
engineering bent are just the opposite. Tell an engineer he can't do
something and he'll spend a lifetime trying to prove you wrong.

I lived my life on the other end of that product cycle and I see what
engineers can't do.
If they weren't wrong so often I would not have had a job.
I didn't lose my job because they got any better. It was just because
we simply throw away their mistakes and buy a new one instead of
trying to fix it.


===

I think you'd have to concede that the electronics of today are orders
of magnitude more reliable than 50 or 60 years ago. Even more
importantly, the complex electromechanical devices that IBM was famous
for, have mostly been phased out.


Very true and one of the reasons in hindsight that I am grateful that I
never tried to pursue a career in engineering using discrete components
and devices. The basic electronic engineering education I received led
to another, more physics related field that I enjoyed very much.

On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 16:32:43 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 2/24/2018 4:18 PM, wrote:
On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 14:39:58 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 2/24/2018 2:25 PM, justan wrote:
Wrote in message:
On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 09:36:12 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I'll betcha it's not so much a case of being anti-gun as it is legal
beagles recognizing that litigation could extend not only to the
shooter, the store that sold him the firearm (already happens) and to
the financing agency that made the purchase possible. I'll bet more
credit card issuers will start prohibiting the use of their cards for
firearm purchases in the future.

There is legislation in place that shields sellers and manufacturers.
The left really wants to change that but not with much success so far.
This credit card thing is just kubuki theater. Like you say, once the
water calms down I bet it goes away, particularly if a number of big
chains decide to tell them to **** off.
Like someone said before, where does this stop? Are they going to stop
processing charges for dangerous food next? Far more people die from
obesity related disease than from guns, by a couple orders of
magnitude


Why don't we just ban everything the ATF people regulate and be
done with it. Of the three, I don't know which is
deadliest.



Greg seems to think that all of our society problems are mutually
inclusive, meaning you can only fix 'em if you fix *all* of them at
once. It's ok to take one or two at a time.


Certainly true but why start with the one that causes a few hundred
deaths and ignore the ones that cause tens of thousands or even
millions?
Oh I forgot, they aren't news and the fix would be inconvenient for a
lot of people.



I give you this. You're amazing. :-)

(not trying to bust your chops but I am very, very thankful that not all
share your logic.)

You are pretty amazing yourself. You say you want to stop the killing
and then you say you will start with the weapon that kills the least
number of people.
You top that by saying this is not a slippery slope.
After the ARs are gone and the killers move to Mini 14s or Harry's
Scorpion, they will have to go. Then will it be shotguns or pistols
next.

Just as a sanity check, when you look into that bogus "18 school
shootings in 2018" (most were not any kind of actual murder attempt
and some were not even at an open school)
THEY WERE ALL HANDGUNS except Parkland.

On 2/24/2018 6:44 PM, wrote:
On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 16:32:43 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 2/24/2018 4:18 PM, wrote:
On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 14:39:58 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 2/24/2018 2:25 PM, justan wrote:
Wrote in message:
On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 09:36:12 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I'll betcha it's not so much a case of being anti-gun as it is legal
beagles recognizing that litigation could extend not only to the
shooter, the store that sold him the firearm (already happens) and to
the financing agency that made the purchase possible. I'll bet more
credit card issuers will start prohibiting the use of their cards for
firearm purchases in the future.

There is legislation in place that shields sellers and manufacturers.
The left really wants to change that but not with much success so far.
This credit card thing is just kubuki theater. Like you say, once the
water calms down I bet it goes away, particularly if a number of big
chains decide to tell them to **** off.
Like someone said before, where does this stop? Are they going to stop
processing charges for dangerous food next? Far more people die from
obesity related disease than from guns, by a couple orders of
magnitude


Why don't we just ban everything the ATF people regulate and be
done with it. Of the three, I don't know which is
deadliest.



Greg seems to think that all of our society problems are mutually
inclusive, meaning you can only fix 'em if you fix *all* of them at
once. It's ok to take one or two at a time.


Certainly true but why start with the one that causes a few hundred
deaths and ignore the ones that cause tens of thousands or even
millions?
Oh I forgot, they aren't news and the fix would be inconvenient for a
lot of people.



I give you this. You're amazing. :-)

(not trying to bust your chops but I am very, very thankful that not all
share your logic.)

You are pretty amazing yourself. You say you want to stop the killing
and then you say you will start with the weapon that kills the least
number of people.
You top that by saying this is not a slippery slope.
After the ARs are gone and the killers move to Mini 14s or Harry's
Scorpion, they will have to go. Then will it be shotguns or pistols
next.

Just as a sanity check, when you look into that bogus "18 school
shootings in 2018" (most were not any kind of actual murder attempt
and some were not even at an open school)
THEY WERE ALL HANDGUNS except Parkland.



Ok, ok Greg. Calm down. I am not busting your chops. But, I think
there's an element of the purposeful slaughter of a bunch of innocent
kids regardless of the weapon involved that maybe I am oversensitive to.
I can't septically (sp?) step away from that and compare it to auto
accidents or gangland slayings and arrive at a conclusion that it really
isn't all that bad, all things considered.

I think that ultimately the USA would be better off with no guns in the
hands of civilians, other than those purely designed for
recreational/competitive shooting or hunting. Certainly no need for
semi-automatic, copies of military weapons. But I don't think it will
be anytime soon. The "slippery slope" argument always comes up.
I like to believe that as generations go by each gets a little smarter
and wiser and at some point concepts that originated almost 250 years
ago have become a bit outdated.

The need for a "regulated militia" is a crock now-a-days, IMO. I accept
moving on with the times when the time is right. I think too many
people are clinging to miss-interpreted words, excuses and reasons that
are more obsolete than your Win 98 computers. :-)

I still have guns and will renew my permit later this year when due. My
only reason for having them is because of the world we live in and the
very remote but possible potential that I may need a gun as a last
resort means of defense for me and my wife still exists. I'd much
rather live in a world ... and pass on to my grandchildren a world ...
that owning a gun for self defense is no longer needed or even thought
about.

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 2/24/2018 4:22 PM, wrote:
On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 14:58:59 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 2/24/2018 2:50 PM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 2/24/18 2:39 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 2/24/2018 2:25 PM, justan wrote:
Wrote in message:
On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 09:36:12 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I'll betcha it's not so much a case of being anti-gun as it is legal
beagles recognizing that litigation could extend not only to the
shooter, the store that sold him the firearm (already happens) and to
the financing agency that made the purchase possible.Â* I'll bet more
credit card issuers will start prohibiting the use of their cards for
firearm purchases in the future.

There is legislation in place that shields sellers and manufacturers.
The left really wants to change that but not with much success so far.
This credit card thing is just kubuki theater. Like you say, once the
water calms down I bet it goes away, particularly if a number of big
chains decide to tell them to **** off.
Like someone said before, where does this stop? Are they going to stop
processing charges for dangerous food next? Far more people die from
obesity related disease than from guns, by a couple orders of
magnitude


Why don't we just ban everything the ATF people regulate and be
Â* done with it. Of the three, I don't know which is
Â* deadliest.



Greg seems to think that all of our society problems are mutually
inclusive, meaning you can only fix 'em if you fix *all* of them at
once.Â* It's ok to take one or two at a time.



My take on Greg is that he has no interest in anything other than the
anti-rule, anti-regulation, anti-societal libertarian nonsense. That
means no regulatory efforts to fix anything. Don't like dirty air? Wear
a gas mask. Dirty water? Filter it. Too many high-powered guns in the
wrong hands? Wear body armor.


I like Greg and have respect for his accomplishments, knowledge and
technical expertise. But I don't think I've ever come across anyone
who can come up with as many reasons why you *can't* do something as he
can. It makes me chuckle sometimes.

It's a little surprising because usually those with a technical or
engineering bent are just the opposite. Tell an engineer he can't do
something and he'll spend a lifetime trying to prove you wrong.


I lived my life on the other end of that product cycle and I see what
engineers can't do.
If they weren't wrong so often I would not have had a job.
I didn't lose my job because they got any better. It was just because
we simply throw away their mistakes and buy a new one instead of
trying to fix it.


Well that certainly explains it in a nutshell. Fire the engineering
department. Don't need it.




I did sustaining engineering for one company. Fixed lots of design
errors. Made a really nice living. Worked my way through fixing
mainframes. Also a decent income.

On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 16:42:36 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

Each week in Chicago and Bulletmore. Just people of color do not seem to
count.



I really don't have much compassion for gang members shooting each other
unless innocents are hurt or killed.

I have a *lot* of compassion and concern for nut cases entering
schools and killing 15 to 20 innocent kids ranging from 6 to 17 years old.

A parent's most important responsibility is the safety and well-being of
the kids they bring into this world. I can't begin to imagine the
anguish the parents of the recently deceased kids must feel.


Unfortunately innocents do get killed in these gang shootings.

As for the kids, it makes far more sense to harden the schools and get
more serious about identifying the people who would want to do harm in
there. Playing Whack a mole with the various weapons they might use is
just trying to prevent the last tragedy, not the next one.

On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 18:12:18 -0500,
wrote:

On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 16:22:22 -0500, wrote:

On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 14:58:59 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 2/24/2018 2:50 PM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 2/24/18 2:39 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 2/24/2018 2:25 PM, justan wrote:
Wrote in message:
On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 09:36:12 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I'll betcha it's not so much a case of being anti-gun as it is legal
beagles recognizing that litigation could extend not only to the
shooter, the store that sold him the firearm (already happens) and to
the financing agency that made the purchase possible.Â* I'll bet more
credit card issuers will start prohibiting the use of their cards for
firearm purchases in the future.

There is legislation in place that shields sellers and manufacturers.
The left really wants to change that but not with much success so far.
This credit card thing is just kubuki theater. Like you say, once the
water calms down I bet it goes away, particularly if a number of big
chains decide to tell them to **** off.
Like someone said before, where does this stop? Are they going to stop
processing charges for dangerous food next? Far more people die from
obesity related disease than from guns, by a couple orders of
magnitude


Why don't we just ban everything the ATF people regulate and be
Â* done with it. Of the three, I don't know which is
Â* deadliest.



Greg seems to think that all of our society problems are mutually
inclusive, meaning you can only fix 'em if you fix *all* of them at
once.Â* It's ok to take one or two at a time.



My take on Greg is that he has no interest in anything other than the
anti-rule, anti-regulation, anti-societal libertarian nonsense. That
means no regulatory efforts to fix anything. Don't like dirty air? Wear
a gas mask. Dirty water? Filter it. Too many high-powered guns in the
wrong hands? Wear body armor.


I like Greg and have respect for his accomplishments, knowledge and
technical expertise. But I don't think I've ever come across anyone
who can come up with as many reasons why you *can't* do something as he
can. It makes me chuckle sometimes.

It's a little surprising because usually those with a technical or
engineering bent are just the opposite. Tell an engineer he can't do
something and he'll spend a lifetime trying to prove you wrong.

I lived my life on the other end of that product cycle and I see what
engineers can't do.
If they weren't wrong so often I would not have had a job.
I didn't lose my job because they got any better. It was just because
we simply throw away their mistakes and buy a new one instead of
trying to fix it.


===

I think you'd have to concede that the electronics of today are orders
of magnitude more reliable than 50 or 60 years ago. Even more
importantly, the complex electromechanical devices that IBM was famous
for, have mostly been phased out.

Things are certainly more reliable but when they break, you just cut
open the box and replace it. Nobody fixes anything anymore.
We got rid of the electromechanical stuff when we got rid of paper. It
took 40 years but they are finally doing it.
I guess there are still production printers but I doubt check sorters
are really much of a thing. They just scan the paper and toss it.
These days a check doesn't really have to ever leave your sight. An
increasing number of merchants just scan the check and hand it back to
you. They may just read the MICR line.
I doubt tape is really a thing and disk drives are like BIC lighters.
If you have any trouble from them you just throw them away. Most are
in RAID arrays and can be hot swapped.

On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 18:25:22 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 2/24/2018 5:22 PM, wrote:
On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 13:26:16 -0800 (PST), True North
wrote:

On Saturday, 24 February 2018 17:19:51 UTC-4, wrote:
On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 14:50:08 -0500, Keyser Soze
wrote:

On 2/24/18 2:39 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 2/24/2018 2:25 PM, justan wrote:
Wrote in message:
On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 09:36:12 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I'll betcha it's not so much a case of being anti-gun as it is legal
beagles recognizing that litigation could extend not only to the
shooter, the store that sold him the firearm (already happens) and to
the financing agency that made the purchase possible.Â* I'll bet more
credit card issuers will start prohibiting the use of their cards for
firearm purchases in the future.

There is legislation in place that shields sellers and manufacturers.
The left really wants to change that but not with much success so far.
This credit card thing is just kubuki theater. Like you say, once the
water calms down I bet it goes away, particularly if a number of big
chains decide to tell them to **** off.
Like someone said before, where does this stop? Are they going to stop
processing charges for dangerous food next? Far more people die from
obesity related disease than from guns, by a couple orders of
magnitude


Why don't we just ban everything the ATF people regulate and be
Â* done with it. Of the three, I don't know which is
Â* deadliest.



Greg seems to think that all of our society problems are mutually
inclusive, meaning you can only fix 'em if you fix *all* of them at
once.Â* It's ok to take one or two at a time.



My take on Greg is that he has no interest in anything other than the
anti-rule, anti-regulation, anti-societal libertarian nonsense. That
means no regulatory efforts to fix anything. Don't like dirty air? Wear
a gas mask. Dirty water? Filter it. Too many high-powered guns in the
wrong hands? Wear body armor.

I am sure I am doing more about water quality than anyone else here

We should compare quarterly water bills. I end up paying four times the basic water volume rate because of all the added on taxes/charges/fees etc for wastewater processing environmental charges etc.

I don't have a water bill. I get mine from a hole in the yard. That is
one reason why I am interested in water quality. The other is because
I want to protect where I boat.



The water is one thing about Florida that I don't miss at all. The
carbon filter tank, water softener tank and whatever that blue chemical
you had to add to remove the pungent sulfur stink so you could take a
shower was a pain in the ass. We replaced all the tanks, filters and
equipment in the first house we bought down there with a fully automated
system hoping it would improve the water quality. It didn't. Bought a
water dispenser/cooler for drinking water purchased in 5 gallon jugs
from Publix.

We have a big aerator that takes out the sulfur and any sand we might
kick up, I have an R/O system for the drinking water and a water
softener. It is really pretty easy to maintain. The "city water" is
not much better and it is pretty expensive. Our neighborhood fights it
every time they bring it up.

On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 18:37:02 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 2/24/2018 6:12 PM, wrote:
On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 16:22:22 -0500, wrote:

On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 14:58:59 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 2/24/2018 2:50 PM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 2/24/18 2:39 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 2/24/2018 2:25 PM, justan wrote:
Wrote in message:
On Sat, 24 Feb 2018 09:36:12 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I'll betcha it's not so much a case of being anti-gun as it is legal
beagles recognizing that litigation could extend not only to the
shooter, the store that sold him the firearm (already happens) and to
the financing agency that made the purchase possible.Â* I'll bet more
credit card issuers will start prohibiting the use of their cards for
firearm purchases in the future.

There is legislation in place that shields sellers and manufacturers.
The left really wants to change that but not with much success so far.
This credit card thing is just kubuki theater. Like you say, once the
water calms down I bet it goes away, particularly if a number of big
chains decide to tell them to **** off.
Like someone said before, where does this stop? Are they going to stop
processing charges for dangerous food next? Far more people die from
obesity related disease than from guns, by a couple orders of
magnitude


Why don't we just ban everything the ATF people regulate and be
Â* done with it. Of the three, I don't know which is
Â* deadliest.



Greg seems to think that all of our society problems are mutually
inclusive, meaning you can only fix 'em if you fix *all* of them at
once.Â* It's ok to take one or two at a time.



My take on Greg is that he has no interest in anything other than the
anti-rule, anti-regulation, anti-societal libertarian nonsense. That
means no regulatory efforts to fix anything. Don't like dirty air? Wear
a gas mask. Dirty water? Filter it. Too many high-powered guns in the
wrong hands? Wear body armor.


I like Greg and have respect for his accomplishments, knowledge and
technical expertise. But I don't think I've ever come across anyone
who can come up with as many reasons why you *can't* do something as he
can. It makes me chuckle sometimes.

It's a little surprising because usually those with a technical or
engineering bent are just the opposite. Tell an engineer he can't do
something and he'll spend a lifetime trying to prove you wrong.

I lived my life on the other end of that product cycle and I see what
engineers can't do.
If they weren't wrong so often I would not have had a job.
I didn't lose my job because they got any better. It was just because
we simply throw away their mistakes and buy a new one instead of
trying to fix it.


===

I think you'd have to concede that the electronics of today are orders
of magnitude more reliable than 50 or 60 years ago. Even more
importantly, the complex electromechanical devices that IBM was famous
for, have mostly been phased out.


Very true and one of the reasons in hindsight that I am grateful that I
never tried to pursue a career in engineering using discrete components
and devices. The basic electronic engineering education I received led
to another, more physics related field that I enjoyed very much.

I got lucky that ICs were really coming of age just about the time I
really got serious about building things. I really like CMOS. If it
was not so easy and so reliable, I might have embraced
microprocessors. When you add SSRs to the mix, you can get some stuff
going. My spa controller is all CMOS with SSRs driving the 2.5HP
motor, a 3/4-1/10 2 speed motor and an 11kw heater.
The thermostat is an op amp and a thermistor water sensor (Ford part)
The whole thing is clocked with a 555.
The pool controller is even simpler. An intermatic timer motor with 3
cams on it that operate switches for the time base and the rest is
just a clever way to wire toggle switches. It runs the solar, gas
heater and pump.

I am still thinking about playing with something like a Raspberry PI
(or the other one) but I am not sure what I would do with it.
Maybe some kind of data acquisition thing like a tide stage sond. I
had a plan for one using a PC and a game card, I had the software
written but I did not want another PC running all the time.