I agree with mister e. It does seem that realistically a good contact is a lot more valuable than a good mind. (The real world taught me that.)

Seriously, though, if it all were invented...then why do I keep seeing potential for things that aren't out there? Why do R&D? You're telling me that you've never had a moment where you were like, "Wow, now only if they had something like that out there?" Right; the technology is out there. Surely, I'm wasting my time. Well, the next time you are sitting in traffic watching some cop direct traffic badly because the power went out when the whole thing could probably have been taken care of by a simple circuit and backup battery supply, don't say I wasn't right. (Then again, maybe cops need something to do). Maybe the technology is out there....but the applications for it sure as heck aren't.

Where does the hobbyist fit in to all these big ideas? They don't. They would only ever take care of the small issues and maybe enjoy it in the process. And I'm sure I'm not the first to have developed any typical circuit. "A multicell voltage alarm....whoopdeedo," you may have said...but that doesn't explain why it's not out on the market when there was a necessity for the item. And it was gratifying to have designed and built the darned thing on top of it. The fact of the matter is that I believe you'll always have people out there who can and like to take care of the small stuff; perfect niche for the hobbyist.

And if this a waste of my time, then by all means my time might as well be worthless. (Yea, I do Hallmark cards too).