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It has been a heady week. On Tuesday January 20, 2009, I received only twelve e-mails from outside our EN-Genius operations. Oh, yes, there was that inauguration thingy going on in Washington, DC…Barack Obama’s presidency brings us hope for the US. He has inherited so many problems that you have to feel the weight of what needs to be done. So many boils to lance, so many broken relationships to mend, so much help for people who are in trouble – most not being of their own making.It calls to mind the line from William Goldman's The Princess Bride where Prince Humperdinck tells his sidekick (torturer and infamous Six-Fingered Man as well) that he won’t come down to the Pit of Despair because: “Tyrone, you know how much I love watching you work; but I’ve got my country’s five hundredth anniversary to plan, my wedding to arrange, my wife to murder, and Guilder to frame for it. I’m swamped.” Yes, President Obama has an economy to fix; a Middle East to bring to...

Although our new President is rumored to have awesome super powers, it’s unlikely that even Barack Obama will be able to swoop down on his flying unicorn and rescue the economy by hiring millions of unemployed auto workers to slap solar panels up on everyone’s roof. Nevertheless, the widespread use of sustainable technologies to update both our industries and our infrastructure can play an important role in getting the economy out of the deep ditch that we managed to drive it into.But, in order for sustainable technologies and the green jobs they create to play a meaningful role in re-inventing the industries that are the foundations of our wealth, we need to take a fresh look at the relationship between our society, our economy, and the ecosystem upon which they both depend. It’s impossible to write a prescription to heal a $13 trillion economy in the few hundred words provided here (even if I was an economist), but there is a relatively short list of first-order issues that would go a long...

John F “Jack” Gifford once told me that he was a so-so engineer. He passed away, reportedly from a heart attack, in Mauna Kea Beach (Kauna’oa), Hawaii, aged 68 on Sunday January 11, 2009. He was born and raised in Torrance, California, went to UCLA on a baseball scholarship and got his BEE there. His real metal showed not in engineering but in selling and he worked for both the original Fairchild (whose foundry in South San José is still an EPA Superfund site), and the original Intersil, and co-founded both AMD and Maxim Integrated Products. He was a tough boss who knew how to squeeze the last cent out of a sale.Jack, as CEO and Chairman of Maxim, was forced into retirement in 2007, citing health issues, with the SEC investigating him and the then CFO for stock option backdating – hardly a new issue in the Valley. He settled a civil suit with the SEC at the end of 2007 with a cash payment. He left a widow, three daughters, and seven grandchildren.There are a number of other...

We take a lot for granted, a truth I was reminded of not too long ago when I was requested to provide transportation for a disabled EE. I was warned that Don was totally blind, and I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I pulled up in front of his home at the appointed hour. My expectation was that I would accompany him from his door to my car, perhaps holding his hand and leading the way.Much to my astonishment, Don opened the house door when he heard my car idling at the curb. He then waved at me, stepped out into the sunshine, and briskly walked towards my vehicle, traversing a graceful arc across his front lawn as he approached. When he reached the car, he shifted slightly to one side, felt for the car's door handle, and almost instantly located it. He opened the door, sat down in the passenger seat, and flipped the door closed behind him. I hardly had time to greet him, much less catch my breath as we drove off.As we drove off, Don mentioned it was no problem for him to navigate the distance from his do...

Even though I’ve lived pretty modestly through both the up- and down-cycles that have punctuated my career, I’m caught by surprise at how uncomfortable it’s been for me to consider how I’d cope if the current recession found its way to my doorstep. After a couple of decades inside a culture based on seemingly-limitless growth, I’d gotten used to a life where most problems are made to disappear by throwing money at them and a day of recreation usually begins with a trip to the ATM. The small-but-real possibility of a long stretch where make-do and do-without would be the order of the day has haunted me like the monster that hid under my childhood bed until the film The World’s Fastest Indian finally hit the top of our NetFlix queue.Set in New Zealand and Western America during the 1960s, the movie chronicles the real-life adventures of Burt Munro, an aging Kiwi pensioner who’s spent most of his life turning a 1920 Indian Scout motorcycle into a streamlined bullet that ...

We recently upgraded our entertainment equipment after the premature death of our Sony Home Theatre Receiver. The only items that we did not replace were the speakers, including the pair of front, much beloved EPI speakers which have been with me for well over twenty years. As sure as the sun will come up again tomorrow… Yes, in the weeks leading up to Christmas one of them started distorting. At first I thought it was occasional crummy source material, or feline vandalism, but when I opened up the unit it was obvious that the butyl rubber [polyisobutylene, or PIB (C4H8)n] supporting the main cone and providing the air isolation from the front-to-back was falling apart.Since then it has gotten worse, with resonance setting in at some frequencies. Quite unbearable to ears that used to be paid to rent evening dress (tuxedo) to go to classical music concerts. There was no way, however, that new speakers were going to be acquired in the run up to the holidays.The after Christmas sales provided a nice disco...

Coming out of the quietness of the holiday period, here I am, on New Year’s Day 2009, thinking about what self-perceived wisdom I could distribute to readers. I am tired of looking-back at 2008 articles; annoyed by look-ahead at 2009 articles; puzzled by peoples’ resolutions for the New Year; frustrated about thinking about the present economy; maddened by the stupid system that doesn’t allow the elected will of the people to be enacted for another nineteen days; in total wonderment at the attempts by Bush, Cheney, and even little ex-AG Gonzales to change history and wonder why people think they did bad things; and puzzled by the rudeness of the White House in not letting the Obama family use Blair House so the daughters can get to start their new school on Monday, at least within viewing distance of their new home.No, enough of those depressing things. We can find those everywhere in extremely large dollops. How about positive things, like the truly awesome Sydney Harbour Bridge fireworks w...