Texas Instruments, OPA & Chevy Volt - Nerdy Neuroelectronic Neurosis

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Dave is a daddy! Congrats to him! See Dave’s intro video to his new “project” below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzrtEYmuQJQ

• If you have suggestions for who to have on the show, check out the thread on the EEVblog forum (or leave comments below)
• Should the Jones' be worried about electromagnetic radiation sensitivity for the baby? Only if they're whack-jobs!
• Cell phone radiation studies have been inconclusive, but why risk it?
• New podcast out there from EEjournal. More podcast goodness to fill up your day! Should The Amp Hour double up 2x per week? Let us know!
• Lucas Weakley, a WOTW alum, has linked here from his site. Thanks!
• Is the tech bubble rising again? LinkedIn valued at $9 Billion! Craziness.
• Still, hardware maker Freescale IPO'd at $1B after being previously sold for $17B. Nice job, bankers.
• Should we care more about finance and politics as engineers? Those who make policy hold our fate in their hands.
• World's smallest 3D printer (via adafruit). 50 micron resolution on the printing. Perhaps another small step towards printable electronics?
• As medical electronics continue to shrink, perhaps they can use the small 3d printer mentioned above. The IEEE did a study of "convergent technologies".
• Brian Fuller of EEtimes (EElife) is driving a Volt across the country! Pretty awesome gig, though we're not sure why it'll take 12 months. Perhaps the 90 mile range of the batteries?
• Instead, he should drag race it by "slamming current", like the car White Lightning does in order to beat the pants off expensive cars. 1200 amps!
• Chip of the Week: The op amp OPA171. A good all-around op amp with a tiny footprint, low power and really good specs!
• How vigilant are people with their ESD protection? Dave caught flak on YouTube but figures no one is perfect with ESD, especially at home. Do you follow proper ESD procedures in your lab? Let us know in the comments!