BRCM is becoming more like a service company designing ASICs for other companies who want custom ASICs. There are many companies who do this? How is this news?
BRCM is a leader in SerDes along with Marvell and other companies. There is so many IPs from Synopsys and Cadence that in turn many of these chip companies use. Not sure what is hoopla here. Nobody is going to completely vertically integrate all these IPs.
I am seeing the flight to low cost countries now termed as "Best" cost countries is afoot in Europe. Germany has shot itself in the foot by destroying its energy sector. Now that the energy prices have shot through the roof most of the industries are going to get outsourced. The thirst for cheap labour and where the laws especially labour laws are lax is a wet dream for management.
> Economist and economy ministry advisor Jens Südekum called the analysis’s results “astonishing.” Commenting on social media platform X, Südekum pointed out that industry prices had fallen “significantly” and that price indicators continued to point downwards. The trend would be similar for private households, albeit at a slower pace, he argued. Once current contracts expire, Südekum said lower prices should become widespread in new ones. “Overall, the BDEW figures don’t chime with current mood in debates, which is that everything is going down the drain due to high energy prices,” he argued.
I understand where you are coming from, especially with the data. As I grew older I rarely trust data as it is not independent, manipulated or given a false view. It should be supported by physical evidences which is often missing.
An anecdotal evidence, a large semiconductor in Germany with fabs is moving to "best" cost countries and the message provided is clear by the management. Positions are moved to "best" cost countries and new offices in these locations are being opened. Support jobs i.e. back office, accounting etc are in the process first. R&D is next and many engineers have taken the hint. The biggest customers for them is automotive as is usually the case for most of the German companies. If automotive market falls then they are in serious trouble. Make what you want out of this.
FWIW there was a huge surge in energy costs following the war in Ukraine (due to the reduction in supply of Russian gas) which was dampened by the government with a subsidized price cap at 0.40€/kWh - for consumers anyway, as far as I'm aware there were different subsidies for industry.
But consumer prices have largely stabilized at a range of 0.25€ - 0.35€ although you'll also find some prices listed as low as 0.20€ or less if you are willing to price hop a lot.
Apparently there will also be price cuts in the North and East of Germany as well as Bavaria in the near future but I don't know the specifics of that.
> FWIW there was a huge surge in energy costs following the war in Ukraine (due to the reduction in supply of Russian gas)
And due to the fact that they decided to shut down the last nuclear power plants directly after that, which further reduced supply and until today I consider this one of the most stupid political decisions ever made.
I think the 4.1 percent that nuclear was providing was not having the impact you are assuming. Also the amount of energy produced by natural gas and renewables more than offset the cost of nuclear.
Well, electricity consumption has fallen quite a bit, because energy intensive industries (like chemical industry) already left the country. Energy prices are still high (not as high as 2022) and they would probably be much higher if those industries were still there.
Unfortunately there is little reason to invest in Germany at the moment. It will get worse(they are already announcing an increase in health insurance rates) before it will get better.
The quality of workmanship and repair has gone down drastically in India now. People have figured out how to make money by keeping things locked. Repair is just swapping out parts and cleaning or go for the next model. The mentality of people has also changed drastically with them changing products in short years. Consumerism has gone through the roof and there is an active disdain of people who preserve and get the product to function for a long time.
I suffer from anxiety and OCD although not diagnosed. I feel immense pain seeing many of my personal projects left at a standstill on my table because I get anxious about some random thing and get obsessive thoughts of it especially losing everything. This has devastated my personal life and relationships. I remember as a child crying and telling my parents about this but they took it as me making excuses to not work.
How did you manage to handle your anxiety and OCD? I am taking steps where I just start and that puts me on a groove and I forget most of my problems including my environment but the biggest problem I face is to just start. I kind of feel ok when I have people around but when I am alone it is a complete mess.
I can relate to you - I've been through a lot of shit with my OCD but I have finally figured it out. I found that in my case, diet plays a huge role. If I consume sugary crap it ruins my day, whereas something fresh like a lot of fruits and vegetables promotes calmness on the inside. Along with that, fitness is another thing that worked wonders. I would be on turbo mode with my mind working 3x more effectively with 0 anxiety after a quick workout and it would stay that way for a long time during the day.
For psychological changes - I trained myself mentally to not care about any shit so much actually, and I made it a habit of giving my best at everything I do, regardless of the outcome. I was a huge underachiever for a long time and a vast majority of the reason for all that was basically my own fear of failing. Once I started to only care about investing my best effort and not thinking about the results, I started to see some stellar consequences. The other piece of puzzle is to keep myself busy and occupied. It works wonders and gives me that calming feeling when I am focused on things. Working on my favorite projects is another plus. It will be a plus in your case too, I am sure.
I found that my neurodivergence is also my superpower that helps me identify and think of solutions incredibly quickly and effectively. That gave me a lot of confidence. I've been on a roll ever since. I keep pushing myself to higher limits that my baseline is now high by default. I have mentally trained myself in such a way that success is the only thing I live for now, and I am not going to settle for anything less than extraordinary. I will make sure my son also gets this sort of coaching from me from the get-go.
In your case with the projects you have at hand, I will recommend attacking them one at a time, and not touch others until you arrive at a closing point for the current project. That will surely reduce the mental load. Also, doing things to improve your outlook on your own self works wonders. It provides positivity and self-belief. You can do this.
I can so relate to this. I had anxiety since my childhood for some reason especially exams. I used to consistently stand top 3 in my class. Just like you I have under performed hugely for the amount of work that I have put in and I used to get this feedback constantly from my friends and classmates. I used to put a lot of effort and consistently and obsessively outworked my peers. The under performance made me a lot bitter unfortunately.
>I trained myself mentally to not care about any shit so much actually, and I made it a habit of giving my best at everything I do, regardless of the outcome.
I have started doing this. When I hit rock bottom, I lost a lot of relationships except my parents. This was kind of most comforting as I was now transported back to my younger days where I used to be absorbed with my books and projects. I have now started reading again and restarted a lot of projects. For some reason interacting with people causes me a lot of anxiety. Weirdly, being with elder older people has a very calming effect in me perhaps due to them taking things slow.
>Along with that, fitness is another thing that worked wonders.
Yes and this is something that I miss. My new office sucks and I don't get out as much. I used walk a lot when I was younger and was very slim and light. Now I have put on weight I feel that sluggishness and tiredness which I really have to work on. Along with this I want to get back to good sleeping habits. I feel incredible when I have a good night's sleep.
>Working on my favorite projects is another plus. It will be a plus in your case too, I am sure.
Yes definitely. I am feeling restlessness these few years because work at office is taking all my time. Personal projects used to give a me a lot of peace of mind as I still have my natural inquisitiveness. Learning new things is something I love to do and keeps my mind healthy and fresh. Working with my hands is something that I love to do.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. At least I know that I am not alone in this mess.
>- After: can't learn, can't work, can't remember, can't see solutions for trivial problems (e.g. if your shirt is wet, you can change it, but I stare at it thinking when it is going to get dried up)
I am having similar symptoms. I have suffered a lot at work, family problems and it conflicting with personal interests and hobbies. I trudged on with sheer will earlier and had unbounded enthusiasm, passion and motivation. Now everything is kind of broken and I feel I am just floating. Days passing by is just a blur. I have become completely disillusioned with society and its intentions and world just seems ultra complicated. I am not sure whether it is burnout as I don't have information of it nor do I have met people who suffer from it. I am not sure whether it is my age, diet or something else. :-(
>America, used to be engineering-led. Seeing “Made in USA” most often meant you were holding something that was engineered to work and to last. Exceptions to this were rare.
This is evident from the textbooks that I used to read or some of the old manuals especially explaining science and engineering when I was young. While in my graduation I desperately wanted to come to the US to work in some of the top engineering companies. Unfortunately I couldn't and I now see a steady decline in engineering work. All I see is silly sw engineering. Manufacturing has become non existent. Some of the vintage electronics stuff the engineers pulled before is very inspiring. This same thing applied to British engineering which is synonymous to poor quality these days.
I am looking for books which are for complete beginners but goes on to intermediate level, hobbyist and practical book where I can try out the concepts. Can you please recommend books for me?
