It may well be, but I need lead-based 3% silver solder for the oscilloscope, and I use 60-40 for my stuff. RoHS solder doesn't flow right and looks terrible.

It can when you don't want to reveal their gender.

I didn't say that. I said I have an oscilloscope in the kitchen.

From what? Eating my oscilloscope?

Well, another corrosive idea is that we keep being told how productive we are and how powerful our technology is, but we see very little benefit except for the top layer of society.

I just wonder how we were able to reduce our work week back in the 19th century with steam engines, but now we can't reduce the workweek again?

The socially corrosive mentality that one class of jobs, usually technical and electrical engineering, can be mercilessly outsourced needs to stop.
Lower-value service jobs like accounting, lawyers and notaries are immune to this phenomenon.
It's also good that more Chinese can earn better wages and hopefully benefit from the technology they are actually building.

Too true. I invited someone to my apartment yesterday and they said "how can you live like this?"

I told them I work in electrical engineering and that seemed enough of an answer.

I keep an oscilloscope in the kitchen.

Are you an Electric Universe supporter?

Could you read that again, please? How is there an average in there? Also, he mixed up density, temperature and energy density without blinking.

I'm not impressed.

OK here's a simple wikipedia peek for you my mouthy friend:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...

"The power production by fusion in the core varies with distance from the solar center. At the center of the Sun, theoretical models estimate it to be approximately 276.5 watts/m3,[55] a power production density that more nearly approximates reptile metabolism than a thermonuclear bomb."

An average fission reactor gives you about 1GW of electrical power and more like 3GW thermal power. To get a 1GW of power at the density of the Sun, you'd need a a building about 150 x 150 x 150 meters, just for the power production.

Since a fission reactor's core is much smaller than that, in many ways, we've already surpassed the conditions at the core of the Sun.

But anyways, maybe you can learn some lessons from this, like humility, and doing some simple peeking yourself before opening your big yap and inserting both your feet tonsil-deep.

Shoulda said POWER density.

" The "real" reason we don't have fusion power yet is because it requires creating a little piece of THE SUN inside a contained vessel. That's mind bogglingly difficult."

Not really. The conditions for fusion inside the Sun are actually mind-bogglingly MILD. Overall, the Sun converts ~4 million tons of matter into energy every second, yet it only has the energy density of decomposing manure. It's just that the Sun is so freaking HUGE.

The problem with getting fusion power on Earth is that we need to SURPASS by orders of magnitude the conditions at the heart of a star.

You're right, a for-profit only company would never have cut costs to the IT department. Nope.

Yes I can confirm that on my Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, the 2982791 update was present and it's removable.

Sure, I'm a hoarder, chances are I might have something I no longer use but would be happy if it helped you. Maybe you have the same situation?

I'm in Montreal.