Will The US Let The Chips Fall On Semiconductor Policy? - Forbes

chips.indah.link

The expression "let the chips fall" (or "fly" as it was actually said) refers to woodchopping and is ... [+] attributed to the 1880 Republican Convention in an attempt to nominate Ulysses Grant for a third Presidential term.

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There is bipartisan, bicameral support in Congress for the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act (CHIPS for America Act), a set of investments and incentives to support US semiconductor manufacturing, research and development, and supply chain security. Recent proposals as part of the annual defense appropriations process calls for $49.5 billion ($39 billion in production and R&D incentives and $10.5 billion to implement programs including the National Semiconductor Technology Center and other R&D). Critics assert that this amount does not come close to other nations’ semiconductor ambitions. China plans to invest $150 billion (though this could be frittered away through waste and corruption), and South Korea just announced $450 billion. Some observers say the US needs sustained government investment of $100 billion for three to four years to catch up with other countries.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) asserts the US share of semiconductor manufacturing has eroded from 37% in 1990 to 12% today. It attributes this to other countries governments’ aggressive investment in chip manufacturing and R&D while federal dollars have been relatively limited. To lower labor cost and take advantage of foreign incentives, US semiconductor firms have long offshored. All things being equal, the same dollar invested in semiconductor manufacturing in Taiwan or Singapore offers a greater return than the US.  As such, the CHIPS Act investment tax credit seems a no-brainer.

Jerry Ferry of Coalition for a Prosperous America and I document that while the US maintains its edge in the design of chips, its advantages will diminish by the lack of connection to production. To improve Americans’ security and prosperity, we call on industrial leaders and policymakers to rebuild America’s chip making capabilities with a commitment to produce at least half of America’s needed chips by US majority-owned firms.  Such solidarity for the US is a tall order. Firms like Applied Materials, Lam Research, and KLA turn a profit by selling advanced semiconductor equipment to Chinese military fabs CXMT and YMTC, which in turn use this equipment to build war technologies which could be used against Americans.  

Another critique of the CHIPS Act is it gives large semiconductor firms public money which already have the cash to invest. Moreover questions remain to whether US policy is adequate to fuel next generation innovation in semiconductors, extend Moore’s Law, and ensure a sufficient supply of chips. These and related policy issues will be discussed at China Tech Threat’s June 8 event “Let the chips fall at BIS? ” which explores the future of the Bureau of Industry and Security, a key regulatory agency in the space.

View from a semiconductor startup 

About 95 percent of semiconductor device types have been made of silicon since the 1960s, but this presents some problems, not the least of which is overcoming the physical challenge of Moore’s Law. Silicon can get too hot as data is powered through it, and cooling it creates waste. Adam Khan is innovating a cleaner, cooler, faster, and more powerful semiconductor material alternative: diamonds. Through his Akhan Semiconductor, he wants to usher in the “Diamond Age” of electronics and revolutionize display glass, optics, thermal management to monolithically integrated diamond integrated circuits. Compared to silicon, electronics made of diamond material can run hotter without degrading performance, cool more easily, tolerate higher voltage, and deliver greater throughput.  

MORE FOR YOU

Lab-grown diamonds originate from Cold War experiments to fabricate hard materials and have subsequently be improved. Khan studied these materials in college and founded a company to manufacture diamond materials and join them with silicon semiconductor elements. Though the industry’s choice material silicon carbide continues to grow with the current install base as well as favorable cost and performance factors, Khan believes that diamond material can emerge because of its technical superiority, cleaner environmental profile, and ability to be implemented without overhauling the existing semiconductor manufacturing processes.

One mark of the value of Akhan’s technology is that Chinese tried to steal it, allegedly for its Hubei Space Bureau. Khan described cooperating with the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to address attempted theft of Akhan’s Miraj Diamond® technology by Huawei. Chinese actors also attempted to compromise Akhan’s computer system, according to an audit by Dark Wolf Solutions. Khan claims that US semiconductor policy does not address the strategic issue of materials, notably diamonds. He calls the clinging to the “aging silicon platform” as an “investment in stage coaches when the internal combustion engine has been invented.” 

Given their important to the US economy, innovation, and security, semiconductors have taken center stage in technology policy. Moreover, managing export controls of these sensitive, strategic and emerging technologies has catapulted the little-known BIS as a key actor in international affairs. Whether, how, and where the chips fall has implications for the future.

The Link Lonk


May 31, 2021 at 10:29PM
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Will The US Let The Chips Fall On Semiconductor Policy? - Forbes

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Chips

Global chip shortage costs automotive sector €90 billion - Consultancy.eu

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The world is in the grips of a global chip shortage, with demand for semiconductors surging beyond capacity for supply. The shortage is crippling players in a diversity of industries, though carmakers seemingly have it the worst.

At the beginning of 2021, the crisis was forecast to incur losses of approximately €60 billion in the automotive sector – but that figure having risen by a third in the months since. Now, according to a study by consulting firm AlixPartners, losses relating to the chip shortage stand at over €90 billion for the automotive sector.

Meanwhile, the industry has lost considerably more production volume over that same period. In January, AlixPartners projected that manufacturers would produce about 2.2 million fewer cars than planned – but currently, the loss for 2021 has already spirally to an estimated at nearly 4 million vehicles.

Such is the fall in production that many major car manufacturers – including Ford, General Motors, Volkswagen, Toyota and Daimler – have been shutting down their factories. With no end in sight, according to the researchers, the automotive sector will have to deal with this problem for some time to come.

“There are up to 1,400 chips in a typical car today,” said Stephen Dyer, a Managing Director with AlixPartners in Shanghai. “And that number will only increase as the industry continues to advance towards more electric vehicles and, in the longer term, self-driving cars. The chip shortage is therefore a critical problem for the global automotive sector.”

Asia’s chip march

A chip shortage, also referred to as semiconductor shortage or chip famine, is a phenomenon in the integrated circuit industry, when demand for silicon chips outstrips supply. The origin of this particular shortage has its roots in the global pandemic. The lockdowns ushered in to combat the Covid-19 outbreak caused disruptions in supply chains and logistics systems chip suppliers depended upon to maintain production, while at the same time, as people began spending much more time at home, there was a boom in demand for consumer electronics.

With the surge in the consumption of products such as game consoles, smart TVs and laptops, for example, each containing many chips, there are simply not enough to go around at present. While, as AlixPartners’ Hong Kong based Managing Director Shiv Shivaraman noted in the report, “the pandemic has exacerbated the chip crisis,” however, there might already have been a shortage without the crisis.

In recent years, the US has deployed a number of increasingly stringent sanctions on its rival superpower China. The official line from the US government has been that this is because chip production in China would mainly have military purposes. However, due to the interconnectedness of global trade, and many nations’ reliance on China for the production of affordable technology, the measure has created wide-ranging supply problems.

As the global chip market is increasingly dependent on Asia, while the US and other countries have tried to take matters into their own hands, they lack the manufacturing capacity to meet the high demand for chips. With or without the pandemic in this case, the ramping up of the trade wars between the US and China would likely also have led to a global chip shortage.

In order to learn from this, and avoid further shortages, UAE based Managing Partner Alessandro Missaglia warned that automotive companies should now take supply chain resilience into their own hands. The AlixPartners expert added that an effective strategy in this regard would include, “Long-term forecasting, strategic buffers, early-warning systems, and parts-design are a few tools and techniques to take a more active role down the supply tiers across many commodities.”

The Link Lonk


May 31, 2021 at 01:13PM
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Global chip shortage costs automotive sector €90 billion - Consultancy.eu

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Chips

Modern memory chips increasingly vulnerable to this physical hacking technique - TechRadar

chips.indah.link

New research by Google engineers reveals that attacks based on the physical memory hacking technique known as Rowhammer are now more plausible thanks to recent improvements in the design of modern DRAM memory chips.

The Rowhammer hack works by manipulating the electrical charge in modern memory chips. The repeated hammering to one row of transistors results in the flipping of values in the adjacent rows. 

First revealed in 2014, Google’s Project Zero released a working privilege-escalation exploit for Rowhammer in 2015. Since its revelation, DRAM manufacturers have added mitigations that keep an eye on rows of transistors for suspicious behavior.

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However, latest research by Google shows that as chips continue to get smaller with transistors packed in more closely together, hammering a particular row could in fact alter the values of not just the immediate neighbors, but of rows further away.

Half double attack

Google researchers refer to this new Rowhammer attack as Half-Double, even as they note that the technique wasn't viable on older generations of DRAM where transistor rows were placed farther apart than they are now.

“Traditionally, Rowhammer was understood to operate at a distance of one row: when a DRAM row is accessed repeatedly (the “aggressor”), bit flips were found only in the two adjacent rows (the “victims”). However, with Half-Double, we have observed Rowhammer effects propagating to rows beyond adjacent neighbors, albeit at a reduced strength,” write the researchers in Google’s Security blog.

The researchers also reveal that Google has been working with the JEDEC semiconductor engineering trade organization, and several other manufacturers from the industry to search for possible solutions for this new Rowhammer attack.

In fact, the Google researchers refer to Rowhammer as a “substantial” challenge with far-reaching ramifications. They’ve shared the details of the new Rowhammer attack technique in a bid to call on stakeholders from the industry to join the effort to look for viable solutions.

Via Wired

The Link Lonk


May 31, 2021 at 11:30PM
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Modern memory chips increasingly vulnerable to this physical hacking technique - TechRadar

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Chips

Intel reiterates chip supply shortages could last several years - Reuters

chips.indah.link

An Intel Tiger Lake chip is displayed at an Intel news conference during the 2020 CES in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 6, 2020. REUTERS/Steve Marcus

Intel Corp’s (INTC.O) CEO said on Monday it could take several years for a global shortage of semiconductors to be resolved, a problem that has shuttered some auto production lines and is also being felt in other areas, including consumer electronics.

Pat Gelsinger told a virtual session of the Computex trade show in Taipei that the work-and-study-from-home trend during the COVID-19 pandemic had led to a "cycle of explosive growth in semiconductors" that has placed huge strain on global supply chains.

"But while the industry has taken steps to address near term constraints it could still take a couple of years for the ecosystem to address shortages of foundry capacity, substrates and components."

Gelsinger had told The Washington Post in an interview in mid-April the shortage was going to take “a couple of years” to abate, and that it planned to start producing chips within six to nine months to address shortages at U.S. car plants.

Intel announced a $20 billion plan in March to expand its advanced chip manufacturing capacity, building two factories in Arizona and opening its plants to outside customers.

"We plan to expand to other locations in the U.S. and Europe, ensuring a sustainable and secure semiconductor supply chain for the world," Gelsinger said, without elaborating.

Intel's plans could directly challenge the two other companies in the world that can make the most advanced chips - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) (2330.TW), and South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS).

The two have come to dominate the semiconductor manufacturing business, moving its centre of gravity from the United States, where much of the technology was once invented, to Asia, where more than two-thirds of advanced chips are now manufactured.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The Link Lonk


May 31, 2021 at 11:47AM
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Intel reiterates chip supply shortages could last several years - Reuters

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Chips

Let the chips fall where they may - Ashland Tidings

chips.indah.link

galvin_lawn.jpg

In the beginning, there was a bag of potato chips — a Holy Grail that took Heaven and Earth to move from inside the vending machine to inside my mouth.

Well, that is, the potato chips … not the bag.

In my hand, briefly, were a pair of dollar bills that disappeared into the slot and allowed me to press the “A” and “0” buttons to retrieve the remedy for my mid-afternoon craving for a snack.

Gears set in motion, the potato chip bag dropped from the top row of available items and …

… promptly got stuck on the way down — wedged between the dispenser’s glass window and the roll of frosted mini-doughnuts housed in “F-0.”

I am not, it must be said, a genius when it comes to mechanical engineering. I once put together a desk from a kit in the spare bedroom of our Florida apartment … only to discover, as we were moving, that the desk was too big to get out of the room’s doorway.

So, odds were against my suddenly becoming MacGyver or Goldberg to extricate myself out of this circumstance weren’t very promising.

After attempting all the traditional dislodgement methods — asking around for the key (no dice), rattling the cage of the machine (not enough leverage), sticking my arm through the retrieval bin to knock potato chips to my grasp (not flexible enough … me, not the bag) — there remained two alternatives.

I could break the glass … although classifying this as an “emergency” would be stretching the definition.

Or,

I could retrieve my three quarters change, pull out another single and send a second bag of chips downward — the potential benefit of which would be getting two bags for the price of … no, that’s not right.

Or is it?

At the very least, the second bag would fall, bounce off the first and I could just be satisfied knowing I’d disproven the insane notion that you can’t get a different result from performing the same action over again.

Honestly, what’s the worst that could happen?

Damn you frosted mini-doughnuts … damn you straight to Hell!

There I stood — alone with my thoughts and 50 cents burning a hole in my pocket — contemplating my next move while checking my wallet to see whether I has any more Washingtons.

That’s when it hit me: This … this right here is why she doesn’t allow me near the checkbook.

Speaking of which, we recently discovered a $25 error in our account. Actually, the use of “we” in this case gives one of us far too much credit.

That one would be me — whose job in such matters is to track down a pesky mistake after she has calculated and recalculated her checks and balances at least twice.

And had them verified by the cat.

Then, and only then, am I allowed entry into her ledger domain to perform some mathematical magic trick and bring peace and tranquility to the kingdom for the next few weeks … until the next bank statement arrives.

We (and this time, I actually do mean “we”) have functioned in this way for more than 40 years — she hunched over the income and out-go; me across the room, mistaking her periodic mumbling as attempts at conversation; the cat pacing the floor, anticipating its role in this process.

Well, the two of us, at least. We don’t have a 40-year-old cat … although, if we did, we could become social media millionaires and not have our retirement hopes dependent on winning the “Take Your Shot Oregon” lottery for those who have been smart and selfless enough to get their COVID-19 vaccinations.

Back in the break room, I had pulled out another dollar, figured out which of the remaining quarters looked the luckiest and inserted them into the vending machine. That buck-twenty-five wasn’t going to last very long in our golden years, anyway.

I am not, it must be said, a genius when it comes to probability theory. My basic answer to questions in that regard is usually that everything has a 50% chance of happening — either it will … or it won’t.

That’s not true, of course. I’ve read that if you flip a coin three, the Cerberus Principle holds that the chances of getting three heads is 1 in 8, but I wasn’t going to allow facts to trump what I know to be true … the third time’s the charm.

A … 0

The chips fell, bounced off Bag No. 2 and made there way to a spot where even my arm could fetch them. Success.

Sure, it had taken $3.75 and a good 15 minutes. And, yes, there were still two bags which had to be left behind … but, I had emerged victorious, right? I’d completed my objective … carpe’d my diem, so to speak.

In the afterglow of accomplishment, I contemplated the plateau behind the glass when another thought made itself known.

After the second failure, I could have pressed “F-0” on the final attempt and used the offending snack as a bulldozer. That way, both of my intended targets would have been in my possession and I would have two bags for the price of … nope, still not right.

Besides, I shivered at the thought of admitting to her that I’d spent money on a pack of frosted mini-donuts I had no intention of eating.

Are you kidding me? I’m not even supposed to have the chips.

Mail Tribune news editor Robert Galvin lands on either his head or his tail at rgalvin@rosebudmedia.com

The Link Lonk


May 30, 2021 at 09:03AM
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Let the chips fall where they may - Ashland Tidings

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Chips

Intel announces two new 11th-gen chips and a 5G M.2 laptop module at Computex - TechCrunch

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Intel kicked off this year’s virtual Computex by announcing two new 11th Gen U-Series chips for use in thin, lightweight laptops. It also unveiled its first 5G M.2 module for laptops, designed in a partnership with MediaTek (Intel sold its smartphone modem business to Apple in 2019).

Both of Intel’s new chips have Intel Irix Xe graphics. The flagship model is the Core i7-1195G7, which has base clock speed is 2.9 GHz, but can reach up to 5.0 GHz on a single core using Intel’s Turbo Boost Max 3.0 tech. The other chip, called the Core i5-1155G7, has a base clock speed of 2.5GHzm and a maximum of 4.5GHz. Both chips have four cores and eight threads.

A comparison chart of Intel’s new 11th-gen chips

The 5G M.2 module, called the “5G Solution 5000,” supports 5G NR midband, sub-6GHz frequencies and eSIM tech. Intel has partnerships with telecoms in North America, EMEA, APAC, Japan and Australia. The module is expected to be in laptops produced by Acer, ASUS, HP and other manufacturers by the end of this year, and OEMs are also working on 250 designs based on 11th Gen U-Series chips, expected to hit the market by the holidays.

Specs for Intel’s new 5G M.2 module

The Link Lonk


May 31, 2021 at 11:47AM
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Intel announces two new 11th-gen chips and a 5G M.2 laptop module at Computex - TechCrunch

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Chips

Just how many Steelers will have chips on their shoulders in 2021? - Behind the Steel Curtain

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With the Steelers firmly in the middle of OTAs/mini-camp season, we’re already starting to discuss certain players and what will motivate them to be their very best in 2021. It’s around this time of year when we begin to read stories about specific individuals having chips on their shoulders. What are these chips? Motivational devices handed to them by the haters and doubters.

We’re almost certain to read and hear more of these “chip on his shoulder” stories as training camp fast approaches. However, it won’t end there, as some players will continue to carry their chips with them all throughout the 2021 season.

So just who will lug around these chips of motivation in 2021, and how many will do so? That’s what I’m about to show you in this little piece.

1. Alex Highsmith: The 2020 third-round pick out of Charlotte is what motivated me to embark on this little chip-on-shoulder discovery. If you paid attention to the stories coming out of the Steelers facilities, last week, you know that Highsmith, who is the number one contender to take the place of Bud Dupree as the starting outside linebacker opposite T.J. Watt, has put on a few pounds of muscle since the 2020 campaign concluded. Highsmith looks jacked. More than one mocker mocked an outside linebacker to the Steelers in the months leading up to the 2021 NFL Draft. With so much perceived and real doubt out there, it’s obvious that Highsmith had no trouble finding the motivation to churn out a few extra reps during each offseason workout.
2. Ben Roethlisberger: This one is quite obvious. Who hasn’t written off the 39-year old veteran Steelers quarterback? His dad...maybe? If there’s a quarterback ranking out there, yo, Big Ben is going to find himself near the bottom of it. If this man isn’t motivated by all the hate, he really should retire. Don’t expect Roethlisberger to spit any rap-type promos about the haters, however. Just be prepared for some passive-aggressive shots fired, such as, “You guys know me, I don’t carry chips; I eat them.”
3. T.J. Watt: Aaron Donald, 2020 Defensive Player of the Year. Duh!
4. Terrell Edmunds: The Steelers didn’t pick up his fifth-year option.
5. Devin Bush: Bush is coming off a torn ACL that shortened his 2020 season. I believe it’s the law that he practices and plays with a huge chip on his shoulder all throughout training camp and the regular season.
6. Eric Ebron: Ebron, a free-agent acquisition from the Colts, had seven drops during the 2020 regular season. Despite being the most dynamic tight end to come through Pittsburgh in ages, a lot of fans have already washed their hands of Ebron. Heck, some think so little of Ebron’s talents, they’ve been begging for the team to bring back Jesse James. This all should motivate Ebron for 2021. In fact, you can expect the out-spoken tight end to express such thoughts on Twitter. You can also expect some obvious replies from his fans: “Just make sure you don’t drop that chip.”
7. Hines Ward: Ward might be retired, but he’s still carrying a chip from that time Bill Cowher drafted Troy Edwards, as well as that other time when he drafted Plaxico Burress. And, don’t forget, Ward was just a third-round pick out of tiny little Georgia in 1998. Nobody gave him a chance then. Nobody’s giving him a chance now.
8. Zach Banner: Speaking of torn ACLs, Banner suffered one in Week 1 of the 2020 campaign, an injury that ended his debut as a starting right tackle just days after he won the job in training camp. The chip on Banner’s shoulder will be enormous in 2021, and you can expect him to entertain folks on social media while wearing it all throughout the summer, fall and winter. I certainly can’t wait.
9. James Harrison: Harrison is still miffed about those unkept promises made to him when he re-signed with the Steelers for the 2017 campaign. Deebo might be done with football, but he still likes to lift trucks. 2017 is his fuel.
10. Kendrick Green: This one is a certainty. Green, the rookie third-round pick out of Illinois, is trying to replace a legend at center. Therefore, you can expect Green, a nasty and aggressive youngster as it is, to have a huge chip on his shoulder in 2021. And since he’s a rookie, he’s also legally required to be a sponge.
11. Isaiahh Loudermilk: This one couldn’t be more obvious. Chips were made to be carried on the shoulders of players such as Loudermilk.
12. Jordan Berry: You can love that rookie punter all you want, but this is Jordan freaking Berry we’re talking about.
13. Chukwuma Okorafor: There are question marks in abundance about the Steelers' offensive line, and Okorafor and his ability to move from right to left tackle, may be at the top of the list. Many considered tackle to be Pittsburgh’s biggest need as the 2021 NFL Draft approached. While they didn’t select one with a premium pick, there are many who still expect the Steelers to sign a veteran free agent to compete with Okorafor at training camp. This should provide quite the large chip for the fourth-year man out of Western Michigan to carry around. Of course, considering Okorafor grew up in Africa before his family moved to the US in 2010, the gentle giant might have a hard time grasping this motivational tool often used by American athletes. “Behold, Semmi, a country so free, one can carry around a chip as he practices the American football game. Yes! Yes! T.J. Watt, bleep you, too!”
14. Najee Harris: Some people still can’t believe the Steelers drafted Harris, a running back, in the first round.
15. Benny Snell: Snell, a running back, is one of those people.
16. Anthony McFarland: So McFarland is chopped liver, now? Do you know the back of McFarland’s hand? He does, and that’s how well he knows Matt Canada’s offense, a system McFarland played in while at Maryland.
17. Chris Boswell: I don’t know why he would have a chip on his shoulder but has the guy ever cracked a joke about anything?
18. JuJu Smith-Schuster: No team was willing to sign Smith-Schuster to a lucrative deal in free agency, one befitting a number-one receiver. Is he a number-one receiver? Will he prove that in 2021 after signing a one-year deal to come back to Pittsburgh? Finally, will Smith-Schuster invent a “chip-carrying” touchdown celebration during the regular season? I’ll attempt to answer those three questions: Remains to be seen. Not sure. Absolutely.
19. Shakur Brown: Despite receiving draft-worthy grades from the likes of Pro Football Focus, Brown, a rookie cornerback from Michigan State, went undrafted in 2021 and signed with the Steelers. This should provide Brown with all the motivation he’ll need to stick it to every team who didn’t draft him...even if one of those teams was Pittsburgh.
20. Vince Williams: Williams was cut for salary cap purposes at the onset of free agency. He was then re-signed at a cheaper price later on. Also, the Steelers expect Robert Spillane to compete for and win a starting job at inside linebacker after doing quite well for himself filling in for the injured Bush a year ago. Throw in the selection of Buddy Johnson in the fourth round, as well as the fact that he’s Vince Williams, and you should probably expect Vinny Vidivici to bring an enormous chip with him to training camp this summer.

Talking about all these motivational chips has really fired me up. I think I will stop at 20. Did I miss any? Is that an alarming amount of motivated Steelers players? Should they have more? I’m actually angry, myself, after making this list.

Time to go prove the doubters wrong.

The Link Lonk


May 30, 2021 at 06:00PM
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Just how many Steelers will have chips on their shoulders in 2021? - Behind the Steel Curtain

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Chips

Let the chips fall where they may – Medford News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News - Mail Tribune

chips.indah.link

galvin_lawn.jpg

In the beginning, there was a bag of potato chips — a Holy Grail that took Heaven and Earth to move from inside the vending machine to inside my mouth.

Well, that is, the potato chips … not the bag.

In my hand, briefly, were a pair of dollar bills that disappeared into the slot and allowed me to press the “A” and “0” buttons to retrieve the remedy for my mid-afternoon craving for a snack.

Gears set in motion, the potato chip bag dropped from the top row of available items and …

… promptly got stuck on the way down — wedged between the dispenser’s glass window and the roll of frosted mini-doughnuts housed in “F-0.”

I am not, it must be said, a genius when it comes to mechanical engineering. I once put together a desk from a kit in the spare bedroom of our Florida apartment … only to discover, as we were moving, that the desk was too big to get out of the room’s doorway.

So, odds were against my suddenly becoming MacGyver or Goldberg to extricate myself out of this circumstance weren’t very promising.

After attempting all the traditional dislodgement methods — asking around for the key (no dice), rattling the cage of the machine (not enough leverage), sticking my arm through the retrieval bin to knock potato chips to my grasp (not flexible enough … me, not the bag) — there remained two alternatives.

I could break the glass … although classifying this as an “emergency” would be stretching the definition.

Or,

I could retrieve my three quarters change, pull out another single and send a second bag of chips downward — the potential benefit of which would be getting two bags for the price of … no, that’s not right.

Or is it?

At the very least, the second bag would fall, bounce off the first and I could just be satisfied knowing I’d disproven the insane notion that you can’t get a different result from performing the same action over again.

Honestly, what’s the worst that could happen?

Damn you frosted mini-doughnuts … damn you straight to Hell!

There I stood — alone with my thoughts and 50 cents burning a hole in my pocket — contemplating my next move while checking my wallet to see whether I has any more Washingtons.

That’s when it hit me: This … this right here is why she doesn’t allow me near the checkbook.

Speaking of which, we recently discovered a $25 error in our account. Actually, the use of “we” in this case gives one of us far too much credit.

That one would be me — whose job in such matters is to track down a pesky mistake after she has calculated and recalculated her checks and balances at least twice.

And had them verified by the cat.

Then, and only then, am I allowed entry into her ledger domain to perform some mathematical magic trick and bring peace and tranquility to the kingdom for the next few weeks … until the next bank statement arrives.

We (and this time, I actually do mean “we”) have functioned in this way for more than 40 years — she hunched over the income and out-go; me across the room, mistaking her periodic mumbling as attempts at conversation; the cat pacing the floor, anticipating its role in this process.

Well, the two of us, at least. We don’t have a 40-year-old cat … although, if we did, we could become social media millionaires and not have our retirement hopes dependent on winning the “Take Your Shot Oregon” lottery for those who have been smart and selfless enough to get their COVID-19 vaccinations.

Back in the break room, I had pulled out another dollar, figured out which of the remaining quarters looked the luckiest and inserted them into the vending machine. That buck-twenty-five wasn’t going to last very long in our golden years, anyway.

I am not, it must be said, a genius when it comes to probability theory. My basic answer to questions in that regard is usually that everything has a 50% chance of happening — either it will … or it won’t.

That’s not true, of course. I’ve read that if you flip a coin three, the Cerberus Principle holds that the chances of getting three heads is 1 in 8, but I wasn’t going to allow facts to trump what I know to be true … the third time’s the charm.

A … 0

The chips fell, bounced off Bag No. 2 and made there way to a spot where even my arm could fetch them. Success.

Sure, it had taken $3.75 and a good 15 minutes. And, yes, there were still two bags which had to be left behind … but, I had emerged victorious, right? I’d completed my objective … carpe’d my diem, so to speak.

In the afterglow of accomplishment, I contemplated the plateau behind the glass when another thought made itself known.

After the second failure, I could have pressed “F-0” on the final attempt and used the offending snack as a bulldozer. That way, both of my intended targets would have been in my possession and I would have two bags for the price of … nope, still not right.

Besides, I shivered at the thought of admitting to her that I’d spent money on a pack of frosted mini-donuts I had no intention of eating.

Are you kidding me? I’m not even supposed to have the chips.

Mail Tribune news editor Robert Galvin lands on either his head or his tail at rgalvin@rosebudmedia.com

The Link Lonk


May 30, 2021 at 09:00AM
https://ift.tt/2Tv4sfF

Let the chips fall where they may – Medford News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News - Mail Tribune

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When wood chips are added to soil they compete with plants for nutrients: Ask an expert - OregonLive

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The gardening season is up and running and if you’ve got questions, turn to Ask an Expert, an online question-and-answer tool from Oregon State University’s Extension Service. OSU Extension faculty and Master Gardeners reply to queries within two business days, usually less. To ask a question, simply go to the OSU Extension website and type it in and include the county where you live. Here are some questions asked by other gardeners. What’s yours?

Q: We added about 3-4 inches of yard debris compost into our garden. We got it from a landscaping company as a soil amendment. The leaves on our cucumbers, beans, tomatoes and squash are all starting to turn yellow. The cucumbers have it the worst. I don’t know if it’s from the compost or what. I haven’t done a soil test. Any advice? Could I till in some top soil? – Clackamas County

A: Yes, you have nailed the “compost” problem. As you can see by the size of the wood chunks, what they call compost has not really broken down yet. What it is doing right now is trying to break down by using up the nitrogen in competition with your plants. Obviously, the “compost” is winning.

According to the Permies website (permaculture): Vegetable gardens can be a problem when chips are mixed with soil. “These plants don’t have roots (for the most part) that go deep and widely spread, usually their roots are very near the surface and within 1 meter diameter circle from the main stem. Squash and other vining plants put roots out all along their vine leaf nodes, but these are still shallow roots, so they are vulnerable to nitrogen binding by any wood chip mulch we might put down.”

I think the simplest thing might be to add a fertilizer high in nitrogen. Fertilizers have three numbers on the bag and the first one is nitrogen. Find one that says it is for vegetable gardens and where the first number is highest. Apply it at the rate it says on the bag. That should allow your wood chips to continue breaking down and still give some direct support to your vegetables.

And the good news is, by next year the “compost” really will be compost and you should have good rich soil (although that can depend on water, weather and how much bacterial activity you can encourage in the soil).

It looks like your plants are in raised beds or planters. You will want to make sure they don’t dry out, as the wood chips will not hold the water as well as real soil would. It might be worth spreading topsoil (not from the garden, rather purchased bagged or bulk) on the top of the beds for about an inch to help the water absorb. That would also help the wood chips break down. And next time, check to see what the “compost” looks like before you decide to buy. Sometimes what is called “3-way” or “4-in-one” mixes are better bets for raised beds. They are a mix of compost, sand, soil and other things. – Rhonda Frick-Wright, OSU Extension Master Gardener

Putting rocks in containers doesn't help with drainage. File photo. reich

Q: I have several pots for indoor plants with no drain hole. Does a small layer of rocks help with drainage or should I incorporate the rocks with the potting soil? – Multnomah County

A: Rocks actually do nothing to help the plants avoid root diseases or promote healthy plants. Your pots really should have drain holes drilled in them, under which you can add saucers. Here is an Extension article on this topic. Here is a more general article on houseplant care. – Kris LaMar, OSU Extension Master Gardener

ChardOSU Extension Service

Q: I have some chard that over wintered and seemed healthy earlier this year. For the past month or more, they’ve been getting brown leaves, especially lower on the plant. The beets that I have planted are starting to show the same symptoms. – Lane County

A: It is spinach/beet leaf miner. The fly lays tiny white eggs on the back of the leaf, they hatch and burrow in between the two leaf surfaces where they feed. They are quite bad in our area. They attach beets, chard and spinach by preference.

When you first see the browning, pick the leaf and hold it to the light. You will see the trails and frass (poop) and may even see the maggot’s silhouette. If you let it go, the maggots will chew out, drop to the ground and wait to become new flies and multiply. More information and how to control them can be found in this article. – Pat Patterson, OSU Extension horticulturist, retired

Q: An enormous maple tree was removed in my backyard and the stump was ground out. There is a big area where the wood chips and dirt are mixed together. I would like to plant lawn there but I’m not sure of the best way to do this with the conditions that exist. – Washington County

A: You need to excavate all the organic debris and replace with soil. If you don’t, all the organic matter will degrade over time and the area will sink.

Also, the area will be continually needing to be fertilized with nitrogen because microbes will be continually breaking down all the organic matter and simultaneously using available nitrogen for that process.

Lastly, when you have high organic matter, you often end up with a fungal disease called fairy ring, which produces mushrooms, green rings and dry soil that can result in dead turf from lack of water.

After refilling the hole with soil, water it and drive heavy equipment over it to make sure it is packed well. Give it a couple weeks to a month to settle. I would also water it heavily during this time. Finally, add some more soil, smooth it out, and seed it. If you can, it helps to put a light coat of mulch (peat moss, saw dust, or horse compost) over the top of the seed to hold in the moisture during establishment.

Finally, fertilize the area with 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet and water it lightly 3-4 times a day to keep the surface moist, but not puddling. Once the seed germinates (in about 7-10 days), you can cut watering to once in the afternoon (unless it’s really hot you’ll have to water twice a day) for a week or two. After that, water thoroughly at night or in the morning. Before your first mow, dry the area down a little bit for a couple days (i.e. turn off the irrigation) to firm the surface so you do not rut the soil with your feet and the mower wheels.

Fertilize again four weeks after germination. – Brian McDonald, OSU Extension horticulturist

Tomato plant start.

Q: If I remove blossoms from my Brandy Boy tomato plants when I plant them in my garden, will it negatively impact the yield of tomatoes? I have the tomato plants in my greenhouse and they have quite a few blossoms already. My goal is to plant them the week of May 24th. Thanks in advance for your guidance. – Lane County

A: If the tomato plants are small still, yes, you need to remove all the blossoms to direct the energy to the root system for a full crop. If the tomatoes are very robust and have a large root system, then you can just transplant them. You may get some blossom drop, but it should not be significant. I am presuming you have already hardened them off to prepare for the transition to the outdoors. – Pat Patterson, OSU Extension horticulturist, retired.

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May 29, 2021 at 09:30PM
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When wood chips are added to soil they compete with plants for nutrients: Ask an expert - OregonLive

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Chips

The global chip shortage: What caused it, how long will it last? - TechRepublic

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Analysts offer observations on why it happened, the industries that will and won't be prioritized and what to expect in the short term.

Image: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg/Getty Images

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Manufacturing is making a comeback in most industries after languishing during the pandemic and supplies of chips—used to operate most devices—are in short supply. The shortage is being felt acutely in the automotive industry and will for as long as two years, analysts say.

One of the issues is there isn't the return on investment to build foundries to satisfy the demand by the automakers, said Mario Morales, program vice president of the semiconductor group at IDC. Many are also not investing in "what we'd call legacy technology," Morales said.

SEE: Global chip shortage: The logjam is holding up more than laptops and cars and could spoil the holidays (TechRepublic)

Poor planning is one cause of global chip shortage

Another problem is poor planning. During the second quarter of 2020 automotive OEMs "shut down, as did most of the world, but as they did that they canceled orders from a lot of the supply chain,'' Morales said. "So a lot of disgruntled suppliers found other markets that were still doing well despite the pandemic."

These include the big eight cloud infrastructure providers, which saw demand skyrocket when people began working from home and children were attending school remotely, causing a massive spike in PCs, tablets and consumer electronics, he said.

Trade sanctions and phone rollouts added to global chip shortage

Earlier this month, Gartner analysts said they expect the worldwide semiconductor shortage to last until the second quarter of 2022. 

Add to this rollout of the 5G smartphone and the trade sanctions the U.S. placed on China before the pandemic, said Gaurav Gupta, a vice president analyst at Gartner. This meant Huawei, one of the largest 5G smartphone makers in China, couldn't buy chips after a certain time, Gupta said. "They knew they couldn't procure chips for their products … so they placed big orders."

Likewise, Apple and other smartphone makers also placed large chip orders, "which kept the foundries extremely busy, then you had the sudden increase in demand for COVID-19," Gupta said.

The role of the pandemic in the global chip shortage

The pandemic played a big role, said Glenn O'Donnell, vice president research director at Forrester, in a recent blog post.

"Demand for cloud computing services from providers like AWS, Microsoft Azure and Alibaba continues to skyrocket. They buy lots of semiconductors," O'Donnell wrote.

"Mobile phone sales remain hot. Makers like Apple, Samsung, and Huawei buy lots of chips. PCs are hot … Piled atop all that is a shortage of GPUs and other chips gobbled up by cryptocurrency gluttons. Demand is hotter than ever, and it's only getting hotter."

The global shortage is cutting a wide swath beyond mobile devices. "If it has a plug or a battery, it is probably full of chips," O'Donnell wrote.

Gupta said, "The wireless community, industrial, aerospace, military—anyone or everyone whose products require semiconductor chips is facing a shortage."

A few isolated events, including an earthquake and semiconductor fabrication plant fire in Japan and a winter storm in Texas in March, which shut down some fabs this year, have also contributed to the problem, Gupta said.

Automotive, industrial sectors suffering most due to global chip shortage

Morales said the automotive and industrial market segments, which are still using legacy node technologies "are not only at the back of the line and don't get priority [for chip orders] like smartphones, PC or cloud infrastructure [providers] would get … it'll take longer for them to recover."

These industries have inefficient supply chains, and even if they could get chips to move upstream, it could take months for them to reach the end product, he said.

"They might get the chips by the third quarter of this year [then] they'll finally start seeing production but it will not be until the first half of next year potentially, that you will see cars with chips that they were asking for to run intelligent smart systems, ABS brakes or powertrain," Morales said.

"When you're shocked by the pandemic it's hard to operate without business continuity planning." Mario Morales, program vice president of the semiconductor group at IDC

Besides the fact that they use legacy technologies, these industries are also a low priority because when they shut down last year they forced the semiconductors "to take on the risk of uncertainty. So a lot of suppliers moved to other products and they'll move to the automotive industry when they're ready."

In contrast, gaming companies have experienced "a tightness in supply," because they are more on the leading edge side and forecasted products better, Morales said. 

"A lot of this has to do with the business decisions [companies] made. Automotive operates in a just-in-time environment," he said. "When you're shocked by the pandemic it's hard to operate without business continuity planning."

The Japanese semiconductors and automotive companies "aren't crying shock" because they know what to expect from past tsunamis and earthquakes, and are able to better anticipate their supply needs, Morales said.

There is no short-term solution, according to Gupta. "If supply is constrained you can't increase it in a short timeframe …. We're looking at the second quarter of next year" before lead times improve. In the meantime, prices will go up.

This article was updated on May 28, 2021.

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May 29, 2021 at 12:45AM
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AMD Threadripper 5000 chips could arrive in September with a 16-core CPU - TechRadar

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AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper 5000 CPUs (codenamed ‘Chagal’) could be on shelves come September, if the latest speculation on the high-end desktop (HEDT) processors is to be believed.

As you’re likely aware, when AMD will finally get around to refreshing its Threadripper chips has been the subject of a fair bit of gossip, seeing as the last time we saw new models was back in November 2019 – so a September 2021 launch would represent a gap of almost two years.

This new Threadripper 5000 rumor (spotted by VideoCardz) comes from a denizen of the STH Forum, a certain ‘lihp’ – so not a familiar source, meaning you should sprinkle some extra caution around with this one – who claims that AMD is planning to launch next-gen HEDT silicon in August. Following that announcement, the processors will go on sale in September (remember, a previous rumor suggested an August release, so this fresh speculation is pretty much in line with what came before).

Mind you, the comment mentions ‘planned availability’, so as ever with these kind of leaks, even if this is indeed AMD’s plan right now, that could change and the intended timeframe could slide.

Entry-level 16-core CPU?

This rumor also lends weight to the previously floated speculation that AMD could produce a 16-core model with the Threadripper 5000 range. That would be a departure from the current Threadripper (Zen 2) chips which ditched the 16-core model.

Other higher core count models will still be available with Zen 3-based HEDT silicon, of course, and Threadripper 5000 is expected to maintain the same 64-cores for the flagship chip as seen in the current Threadripper 3000 family.

As to how a theoretical 16-core Threadripper chip will fit in when you consider that AMD has consumer processors with that many cores, it’ll obviously flex its muscles in other ways. Remember that AMD’s HEDT platform confers further performance benefits for heavyweight computing including quad-channel RAM and more PCIe lanes.

These new chips are expected to be compatible with current TRX40 motherboards, so if upgrading, you’ll be able to slot the new CPU in, and all that will be required is a firmware update.

AMD has done well in terms of keeping a tight lid on next-gen Threadripper leaks thus far, but if a launch really is only a couple of months or so away, we can doubtless expect more spillage to come which will give a much better indication of how the range is shaping up, and whether there will be a more affordable 16-core HEDT chip nestling on the lowest tier.

It’s not too surprising that AMD hasn’t pushed out new Threadripper processors yet, given the well-documented supply and demand issues with consumer Ryzen CPUs of late – the last thing the firm needs is having to fight another battle to meet demand on the HEDT front, with production resources already stretched as it is.

Indeed, that could be the biggest stumbling block in the argument against Threadripper 5000 turning up in a few months, although AMD has said that the CPU stock situation will get better as 2021 goes on, and for that matter there are clear signs of improved availability already (but not at the lower-end).

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May 29, 2021 at 05:14PM
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The Most Popular Chips You Need to Try | Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That

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Potato chips are a classic snack that most people just can't seem to get enough of. In fact, the average American eats more than four pounds of potato chips in a year. That's a lot of fried spuds!

Potato chips seem to be the perfect vehicle for trying inventive flavors. And there does always seem to be a new bag on the shelf every time you go to the grocery store. While potato chips are not the healthiest snack option by a long shot, they're fine to enjoy every once in a while. You want to make sure when you do indulge, you are choosing the best flavor, though!

So, if you think you've tried the most popular chips in almost every flavor imaginable, keep reading. We've rounded up the 12 most popular potato chip brands you have to try at least once, and included a few flavor variations that you might not have enjoyed yet. And for more, check out these 15 Classic American Desserts That Deserve a Comeback.

Lay's potato chips are likely what comes to mind when you think of classic chips. The super-light, kind of greasy, but oh so munchable chips are usually served up at parties with some type of dip, or with hot dogs at a family cookout. These chips come in dozens of flavors from the iconic yellow bagged classic variation, to flamin' hot dill pickle and original honey bbq.

If you're like us then every time you hear the word "Ruffles," you think of the commercials from the early '90s that proclaimed, "Ruffles have ridges." Yes, the chips are known for their ridges, which is why these are the superior dip chip compared to classic potato chips. Ruffles come in quite a few flavors like jalapeño lime to the more traditional sour cream and onion.

Once you pop, the fun don't stop, right? Well, we have to agree that once we open a tube of perfectly stacked Pringles, it's nearly impossible to eat just one. While the original Pringles are perfectly crispy and addictive, the pizza and parmesan and roasted garlic flavor are a must. For those who are really creative, Pringles are the perfect chip to stack multiple flavors to create a chip flavor bomb!

There's just something really good about eating a super crunchy, kettle fried chip with a sandwich. Makes for the perfect pair! Cape Cod chips have the ultimate crunch factor that can also stand up to heavy dips like the classic that is French onion dip. When you're ready to up the flavor factor, try the brand's sweet mesquite barbecue or salt and vinegar varieties, too.

Doritos are forever and always a true school lunch staple and a Super Bowl icon, too, thanks to those funny commercials. Cool ranch and nacho cheese-flavored Doritos are obvious favorites, but there is much more to the brand than just two flavors, or even shapes. The 3-d puff-like version of the snack is back, so it's a must-try, along with the chile limón rolled tortilla chips.

Everyone knows the joy of eating Cheetos is licking the excess cheese dust off your fingers when you're done. Gross, kind of. Totally appropriate when eating Cheetos? Absolutely. Cheeto fans are still debating about whether or not crunchy or puffs are the best version of the chip, but either snack you go with, they both taste pretty darn good. The brand is also known for its Flamin' Hot Cheetos, which people put on everything from grilled corn and pizza to corn dogs and macaroni and cheese.

Funyuns are the ultimate when it comes to onion-flavored chips. Not only are they shaped like actual onion rings, but they really do have a distinct onion taste that other "sour cream and onion" flavored chips have yet to achieve. Funyuns only come in two flavors, original and flamin' hot, but why mess with the recipe when it's already great?

Sun Chips are the semi-healthy version of chips that most people try to reach for when the afternoon munchies . The wavy, crispy chips come in a variety of flavors like harvest cheddar and French onion, and most are really good. Sun Chips are considered heart-healthy, so if you're looking for that classic chip experience while trying to keep your diet in check, these are the chips for you.

If you're on the market for a super crunchy chip that packs a kick, it's time you consider Takis. The rolled tortilla chips are fun to eat, are extremely crunchy, and are available in some interesting flavors. The newest creation? It's called "Blue Heat" and is a blue, rolled tortilla chip that's labeled as a fireball for your mouth. Eat at your own risk here.

The only corn chips worth trying are Fritos. The classic chips are perfect as a Frito pie topped with cheese, chili, and sour cream, as a vehicle for dips, or just by themselves. While they are a bit salty, a bottle of ice-cold water goes perfectly with these. Something about Friots just screams road trip vibes, don't they? If you can find them, be sure to try the honey BBQ or chili cheese flavors.

New Orleans is known as a culinary destination. One item that has made its way out of the Big Easy and throughout the country? Zapp's chips. The bayou favorite has been kettle-cooked one batch at a time since launching. You'll definitely find some interesting flavors from Zapp's like cajun dill gator-tator, and spicy cajun craw-taters.

If you've ever had Bugles, you know the joy of putting a cone-shaped chip on each finger and pretending you have witch fingers. (Especially if you did this as a kid at the lunch table with your friends!) Bugles come in sweet and savory flavors like caramel and nacho cheese to satisfy any craving you might be having. The poppable chips are fun to eat and still after all of these years, are a favorite.

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May 29, 2021 at 12:59AM
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The Most Popular Chips You Need to Try | Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That

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