10,200 words since my last word count, which isn't great considering that was in mid-September. 68,760 for the year. That's equivalent to a short novel, and proof that even small numbers start to add up after a while.

The report on photovoltaics that I was working on a couple months ago is now published. More information and a brochure are available at the IntertechPira site.

The site was recently redesigned, and I'm told there may be some difficulties with the back end. If you can't find what you're looking for, let me know or leave a comment and I'll put you in touch with a human.

This is interesting. A very thorough explanation of one person's productivity system. (Assumes knowledge of David Allen's Getting Things Done methodology.) His approach is completely different from mine, but I still found the logic behind the system useful.

Many thanks to the people who made purchases through the bookstore in the last quarter or so. The Amazon Associate rebate isn't huge, but it does help support my own reading habit. It also reminds me to update the section occasionally.

I may have mentioned SEMI's oral history interviews before, but I'm only just now reading significant chunks of the collection. Well worth a visit. Lots of fascinating stories from the early days of the IC industry. I especially liked Ken Levy's explanation of the lack of venture funding for early equipment companies:

At that time people believed the semiconductor industry had a death wish because it kept lowering its prices every year. It sold semiconductors for less and less money and how could anybody make money in a business where you lowered your prices and you delivered more value every year. There was a great debate on that. Even worse than the semiconductor company was a semiconductor capital equipment company because it was known it was a very cyclical business and if your customers weren’t making any money, how could you make any money?