Oct 2024 Newsletter Update

Rave Review 🌟

I have two degrees in Electrical Engineering, and Digital Logic is one of my favorite subjects. I've always wanted a clear, cool way to explain the concepts to my children. I explained to my daughter that if we go to the store and I tell her she has to pick between two toys—that’s the XOR function: you can have one or the other, but NOT both. She gets it now, and it's so fun. Thank you for this!

Not-so-Rave Review

The lights are cool but the logic too complex. I’m a Computer Science PhD, and I still struggle with some of the concepts in the book myself.

I like the contrast of these two reviews. It feels true that we lose half the class between the second and fourth day of ECE150.

 

Trick-or-Treat 📓

About four years ago, I was desperate to just finish a project and see it through to the end. For me, that meant producing 1,000 copies of Computer Engineering for Babies. I planned to launch a Kickstarter campaign, but I had already decided that even if the project didn't fund, I would front all the production cost myself. I imagined 1,000 books being delivered to my house, and that I would be giving them out every year to trick-or-treaters. Every Halloween, I smile to myself and feel so grateful it didn’t come to that.

Stupid Idea of the Month 💡

At the beginning of the summer, my wife bought some sandals she was really excited about. But every so often, when she steps down, the shoe makes a loud fart sound. The kids absolutely love it. I started thinking—maybe this could be a feature, not a bug. What if you designed insoles that made a huge fart noise every 1,000 steps or so? Kids love fart noises. 💨

Riddle 🧩

Here's a riddle I came up with the other day:
I was made of stones and rock to house a king
But tomorrow I’ll be no more

The answer seems to be between ChatGPT4 and ChatGPT4o, so I think it's a pretty good riddle.

Merry Christmas! 🎄

If you're not subjected to American holidays, then you're probably already getting into the holiday season and not so worried about zombies. Either way, don’t forget about Computer Engineering for Babies for any little ones you know! 🎁

Cheers,
Chase