On Minaturisation and Computer Chips

I was reading an article on PC Mag online, which was about the start of mass production for the M2 chip by Apple. 

What caught my eye was this particular phrase and the measurement size: The M2 will be a 5nm processor.

Nm is nanometre, and nanometres are measured in billionths of a metre. One nm is one billionth of a metre, and it is used internationally to measure items like computer processing chips, atoms and DNA!

For an idea of scale, see the below picture:

Think about it...an atom can be 0.1 to 0.5 nm across. A chip can be composed of atoms. So in a 5nm chip, imagining that each atom is 0.5nm, there are 100 atoms. Wow! 

Back in 27 September 2011, an article was released, called: Is 14nm the end of the road for silicon chips? Obviously, we now know it isn't, and this was 10 years ago. 

Technology has processed in leaps and bounds, and what was amazing only a few years ago is now seen as ancient!

Will the size of things ever stop getting smaller? Perhaps, but I reckon that minaturisation is finite. After all, the smaller something is, the less scope you have to make it complex, and there is only so much detail you can add to something so small.

An excerpt from an article published 5 June 2020 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology confirms my thinking with its in-depth look at the evolvement of computer hardware tech: 

'In 1965, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore predicted that the number of transistors that could fit on a computer chip would grow exponentially —- and they did, doubling about every two years. For half a century Moore's Law has endured: computers have gotten smaller, faster, cheaper and more efficient, enabling the rapid worldwide adoption of PCs, smartphones, high-speed Internet and more.

This miniaturization trend has led to silicon chips today that have almost unimaginably small circuitry. Transistors, the tiny switches that implement computer microprocessors, are so small that 1000 of them laid end-to-end are no wider than a human hair. For a long time, the smaller the transistors were, the faster they could switch.

But today, we're approaching the limit of how small transistors can get. As a result, over the last decade researchers have been scratching their heads to find other ways to improve performance so that the computer industry can continue to innovate.'

The article goes on to explain why innovation must occur, since the progress of machine learning, virtual reality and robotics 'will require huge amounts of computational power that miniaturization can no longer provide'.

Humans have always been creative, adaptive, and innovative. I'm sure some mad brain out there will figure out a way, and computer technology will continue on apace! 

Until then, let's enjoy the fruits of computational labour and a dancing animatronic Baby Groot by clicking on the link below!

BABY GROOT

Hobbes from Calvin & Hobbes- knitted version!

I found this unfinished blog from 12 March 2012, and decided to complete it today. So here you go!

I was recently inspired to knit Hobbes from a facebook post written by a mate, who professed to a desire to have their own Hobbes! However, as you know, it is very hard to obtain a commercial plush toy of Hobbes.

According to an INTERVIEW with Bill Watterson held in February 1989, his thoughts on not having a plush toy made are as follows (the font in bold):

WEST: Well, what about something like a doll? That’s not a product like a coffee mag, which would be there whether the strip characters were printed on it or not. Why doesn‘t a doll fit into your definition of appropriate licensing?

WATTERSON: A doll communicates even less of the strip than the things mentioned before. A doll only cashes in on the recognizability of the character. Products like that take the character out of the world for which he was intended. If you stick thirty Hobbes dolls on a drugstore shelf, you're no longer talking about a character I created. At that point, you’ve transformed him into just another overpriced knickknack. I have no interest in turning my characters into commodities. If I’d wanted to sell plush garbage, I’d have gone to work as a carny.

The idea of a Hobbes doll is especially noxious, because the whole intrigue of Hobbes is that he may or may not be a real tiger. The strip deliberately sets up two versions of reality without committing itself to either one. If l’m not going to answer the question of who or what Hobbes is, I’m certainly not going to let Dakin answer it. It makes no sense to allow someone to make Hobbes into a stuffed toy for real, and deprive the strip of an element of its magic.

Bill probably lost over $300 million in merchandising over the years since the comic strip's creation on November 18, 1985 and its conclusion on December 31, 1995, but he never regretted his decision. He held firm on his beliefs, and kept his integrity intact. An admirable trait to have. 

So I ended up knitting a Hobbes, and here is what it looked like:

There is no knitting pattern for it- I just knitted it how I thought it should be, and it is totally unique. Hobbes- knitted version- was very well received!

On such a happy note, here's a couple of examples of the comic strip to end my post with! Enjoy!

I)

II)

An Assortment of Quotes that have made an impression on me.

So far, the culmination of all that I have read and heard in my life has led to the creation of my own personal quote:

Grow older, be wiser, think steady, be you. Teach others, learn better, be stable, be true.

There are many quotes that have made an impact on me, and in no particular order, here they are, highlighted in bold. Any comments I have regarding them follow.

Time Management is Personal Management 

How you handle your time personally is a reflection of how you handle yourself at work. For example, if you are late to work regularly, then procrastination is a familiar friend.

Their enjoyment is our employment (when talking about customers we serve). 

Working in hospitality, the customers are those who help pay towards our wage. There is no such thing as a bad customer, only those with special needs. How we serve them dictates how good an experience they have, so even if they complain a lot, there is always a way to ensure they are satisfied a lot without detriment to their pride or ours.

Burn the candle at both ends but don't burn yourself out.

Spoken by my dad who worked himself up from a very poor family. He was a great example of where hard work and graft can take you.

A job is a job.

Also spoken by my dad after I said I didn't want to work in McDonald's when I was young, because it was a crap job. He said a job is a job, and it doesn't matter what it is or who you work for because when you really need it, it pays your bills and puts food on the table. He told me one of his jobs was mucking out the pigs when he was 12 for a low wage, and he did it because it was a job that earned him money, and without it, he'd be homeless.

Experience is a harsh teacher for she gives the test first and the lesson after. 

Very true- you only learn through mistakes, which are...

Mistakes are never failures. There is no thing such as failure, just rehearsals towards success.

Success takes time. It might take a short time, it might take a long time, but eventually you get to a level where you think 'Yes, I made it!' 

Life is the art of drawing without an eraser. - John W. Gardner 

A linear concept but a true one until a time machine is invented and you can redraw your life!

If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut. - Albert Einstein

Hahaha! But learning the art of knowing when to open your mouth and keep it closed is a hard one. I know- because when one is young, you're always yammering away and sometimes forget that too much information is not always a good thing to give! Talking is a skill, but listening is a bigger skill, and harder to obtain.

Life is a journey, not a destination.

Walk your path in life at whatever speed you deem best, but always appreciate what you see, whether it be good or bad.

Life is like chocolate...sometimes you gotta deal with nuts. - Anonymous 

Of course, this applies because life ain't always plain and smooth.

Procrastination is my sin. It brings me naught but sorrow. I know that I should stop it. In fact, I will- tomorrow. - Gloria Pitzer

An ironic saying that calls you out on your mental laziness to do anything and bluntly points out your timeline on doing anything. So forget tomorrow, do what you need to do today.

The purpose of life is a life of purpose. – Robert Byrne 

Always.

Without purpose, there is nothing to aim for and you end up being flotsam and jetsam drifting upon the waves of life.

If you see your glass as half empty, pour it into a smaller glass. - Anonymous

This made me laugh because more volume in a smaller glass does change your outlook.

Music is not a science, but an art; an instant of true appreciation and perception is worth an age of learning and lore. - A. L. Bacharach 

Music is a vital part of who I am. I appreciate my parents pushing me into playing piano at age 7, and encouraging me until I found the joy to continue the melody and the resultant discipline on my own so I completed all the grades. This made me into a person who listens to most genres and all lyrics, but unfortunately is rusty nowadays with playing piano! Music colours my life with the courage to pursue my goals, and appeals to and supports the emo hidden within me.

If you want to be successful, it’s just this simple. Know what you are doing. Love what you are doing. And believe in what you are doing. - W.R. 

It took a while to figure out my passion in life. You are never too old to be successful.

Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least. - Johann Wolfgang van Goethe 

Learning what your priorities are in life can only be gained through your experience of it. The more you experience, the more you understand.

There is one art, no more, no less, to do all things with artlessness. - Grook by Piet Hein, Danish polymath. 

Art can be chaotic yet structured, abstract yet curved, mono yet colourful, ugly yet beautiful...life imitates art, and that's all I'll say about that!

Amid those scenes of solitude... the mind is cast into the contemplation of eternal things. - Thomas Cole

Learning to be alone and comfortable with yourself, to listen to your internal thoughts and feelings, and to  understand who you are- this takes time and space to do.

Shift: to one (life) spent proactively & consciously choosing what to neglect, in favour of what matters most. - Oliver Burkeman

Life is about choices, so it is important to consider the pros and cons of all choices available, and then embark upon that path that fits your aspirations best.

I shall leave you with one last quote, that is actually an old Irish blessing, which, for me, means to always look forward to every day that comes and make it the best I can be, to satisfy my need to have a productive day and know each day is superceded by yesterday's in terms of 'bestness'.

May the best days of your past, be the worst days of your future!

Integrity and other values

I came across this photo via a connection of mine on LinkedIn and it showed the values from the employee handbook of Honest Burger.

I like most of these points, but the implications of some others, not so much.

For example, point 3 on behaviour. It is fine to think like an owner, but as an employee, sometimes it is nice to have guidance and mentorship from someone like an owner. That's how you grow to helpfully become an owner of your own business one day!

Point 7 on what really is personal hygiene. Not sure how to take it because it says 'Be you, but please take a shower', implying that a lot of people do be themselves by not taking a shower! Perhaps it is me and my elderly attitude showing through, hahaha, but if you can't take a shower, at least take a baby wipe bath! I remember reading somewhere that Brad Pitt was a fan of this, and here's a LINK to that.

As for point 9, I agree with this, just not the way it was said. I understand that using a vulgar word can be used to emphasize a point to others and give an impact. However I think verbally this works but in printing- not so much. I think a piece of writing should be able to appeal to all ages (whatever the topic is) without having to resort to vulgarity. 

Otherwise, I agree with the values of Honest Burger as a whole, and it reminds me of the values of the place I work at. Their values reflect what I have always believed in and abide by, and I think the best example of a manager is one who lives their values through what they do, not what they say. 

The wording of my work place values have changed over time, but I still remember what they were at the beginning. Here they are, and on that note, this is how I will sign off:

Humility

Involvement

Passion

Integrity

Innovation

Acronym: HIPII

Now, off I go to be Hipii! 

Coffee

 I like coffee. 

Let me change that to: I like coffee nowadays.

When I was young, I did not like it all that much. I thought it was quite bitter and tasted awful, and that was just instant. My dad loved coffee until his health issues caused him to turn to decaf, and then not at all. He could easily drink several cups a day, even one before bedtime. I used to ask him how he was able to sleep, and he said he was so used to it that it was easy to!

I never understood that. I tried to by occasionally imbibing things non-coffee but caffeinated, but it isn't the same AND I was too wired to sleep. Coca-cola is not the same as coffee, haha! I even performed an experiment when I was in the first year of college- the effects of caffeine on myself. 

To carry out the experiment over a period of 47 hours, I used one day to drink 350ml of water every 24 hours, and a half hour after drinking the water, I would measure my pulse and my blood pressure and record the stats. Then for the other day, I drank 350ml of normal Coca-Cola every 24 hours, and recorded the stats for that. 

Outcome: I hardly slept on the day I drank Coca-Cola and was very tired the day afterwards. 

Hypothesis proven: Caffeine definitely affects me, keeps my body awake, and my brain very active. 

From that day on, I decided I'd only have one cup of any beverage containing caffeine up to a certain time of day (before 14:00) and not every day.

Until now, I maintain this even at my workplace, but I'm not so pedantic that I can't break my rule on that every now and then! It just depends on how intense work is at the time.

Anyhow, caffeine is a legal psychoactive drug that can be drunk in any quantity, and has no social stigma. That's what part of the below tongue-in-cheek YouTube video says, and what an interesting message it has! Click on the link below to see what I mean!

If Coffee Commercials were honest

And on that note, off I go to get a cup of coffee and hope that I don't get as super-active as my nieces look in the below picture!