Craig Sawyers

If you test parts into hard avalanche breakdown at large numbers of mA, you can permanently change their characteristics. Generally if you want to check if the breakdown voltage corresponds to datasheet values you need to limit breakdown current to the tens of microamps region. For example check the static characteristics in the original Toshiba datasheet of the 2SK246, where the breakdown voltage at each characteristic curve is limited to about 100uA.

OK that works, while keeping the nice pale appearance of ash. Several coats of sanding sealer, then several coats of wax polish.

Darn - they are all in the shop vac bag now

Ash plank, finished entirely with hand tools (planes and scraper). Well, not quite true, I dimensioned it using machine tools (radial saw and planer/thicknesser), and then moved to hand tools. Second pic is paper thin plane shavings from the process. This thing, once it has a coat or two of something to be determined, is a coat rack!

Marmite on a crumpet? That is just weird. The only way to eat marmite is on buttered white toast. I'm salivating at the thought - yum yum. Toasted crumpets should be butter and jam - black cherry is my fave.

Yup. Me neither. To put that sub 2 hour exhibition marathon into context - that is equivalent 102 laps of a running track at 70 seconds a lap. I'm a lifetime runner, but even when I was less than half the age I am now, I could just beat 70 seconds on a single lap and then be on my knees.

Kipchoge just won the mens Olympic marathon by 1 minute 20 seconds in 2h8m38s. He put in a 5k split of just over 14 minutes and ripped the legs off everyone else. When he finished he looked as if he had been for a Saturday morning jog. But in nearly 30C and 80% humidity. For anyone who has not come across this guy, in 2018 with pacemakers he did an exhibition marathon in Vienna and went inside 2 hours. First human to average faster than 4m35s a mile for 26.2 miles!

I've bought from NAC for shipping to the UK. They have no minimum order charge, unlike my supplier in the UK (Micross) who without warning imposed a UKP200 minimum order charge (plus shipping plus VAT). Happy I was not, and let them know, vociferously. Buying Linear Systems parts from NAC was straightforward, with very reasonable shipping to the UK, and with very nice personal service. Five star.

Alternatively Plus of course algebra is an Arabic term, from Al Jebr meaning to unite broken parts.

When Simone Biles lost the ability to orientate in 3 dimensions, I compared it to opera singers who forget how to sing (they do). They, like Biles, have to go back to basics and work through the problem. There was a shot of her in training during recent days - and trying to do a landing from the parallel bars - and landing on her face. But she worked it out enough to do a superb beam exercise, and got a probably the best bronze medal for overcoming adversity. Hats off to the woman!

Happy birthday!

Stars orbiting around our supermassive black hole, Sagittarius-A. http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~ghezgroup/gc/animations.html

Have a spectacular one Todd - Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday!

Heh - I only have 5. Three dynamic (fed by a dinahi) the two E/S (fed by BH, triode or T2 clone - all out of KG's fertile head).

Happy birthday!!

Congratulations! Sounds like you are truly smitten

Well astonishingly we won three golds today. First Adam Peaty in the 100m breaststroke. Then Tom Pidcock won in the cross country cycling; 1h 25m on an insanely difficult course in baking heat and humidity. That is the first medal of any colour we've won in that event. Then Tom Daley and Matt Lee won in the synchronised diving. So our little Island is currently fourth in the medal table. Woohoo!

TD in morse?

Yeah - I know what you mean. The 3D drone show was bloody impressive though, as was the lighting of the flame. By comparison to the London 2012 ceremony is was very muted though. In normal times Japan would have put on a show to rival London though. Going on to cycling - the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz really excelled on a truly brutal multi-lap 145 mile course and won by over a minute. I was strangely pleased that Tadej Pogačar came in third, outsprinted by Wout van Aert. Pogačar, in the last two Tour de France won yellow, white and polka dot jerseys. Which I think is odd when he is only 22 now. Shows how brutal the course was, because the average speed was "only" 24mph.

I wonder how Alan Shepard, a guy whose military, test pilot and astronaut is of the highest achievement, would feel about his name being associated with Bezos's vanity project? I guess Bezos, Musk and Branson wouldn't have a place at the table if NASA got its act together.

Well you certainly cannot make jokes about the holocaust, that is for sure. However at the time, the guy was 24, probably extemporizing and came out with what looks like one sentence. In all likelihood he had totally forgotten about it. Someone has clearly trawled through his past performances looking for mischief, and found something from when he was half the age he is now. I know several stand up comedians. My daughter went out with two of them. The best known is this guy https://www.ericlampaert.com/ , and let me tell you his humor can be pretty challenging. I'll bet if you poked around his past performances you could find something inappropriate. Like most comedians they prototype material at smaller venues, make a note of what works and what bombs. Then craft a show based on material they know to work. I suspect the one liner about the holocaust bombed, and was never repeated. He probably said it and then thought "oh fuck - what did I just say?" I'm not defending the guy's comment, just that I can understand how it happened.

This was anticipated in 1875: My grandfather's clock was too tall for the shelf So it stood ninety years on the floor It was taller by half than the old man himself But it weighed not a pennyweight more It was bought on the morn on the day that he was born It was always his treasure and pride But it stopped, short, never to go again When the old man died Ninety years without slumbering Tic toc tic toc His life's seconds numbering Tic toc tic toc etc

Ella Fitzgerald with her assistant in a Houston PD holding cell after she and fellow jazz great Dizzy Gillespie were arrested for "throwing dice" in Fitzgerald’s dressing room at the Houston Music Hall, 1955

Well, no-one is safe until everyone is safe.