In a discussion with Teledyne DALSA about their MIDIS MEMS process, we spent a few moments discussing how the ASIC die and the MEMS die are mated together. With this technology, the MEMS die has landing pads and the ASIC die gets micro-bumped and flipped and mated to the landing pads.

The question was whether this was done wafer-to-wafer or using known-good dice. The answer was wafer-to-wafer, since yield allows it and the costs are much lower. All pretty much reasonable reasoning.

But then we turned into somewhat more surprising territory. The reason it’s cheaper is that it’s a whole lot easier for a robot to take a wafer, invert it, align it, and stick it onto the receiving MEMS wafer. If you take a known-good-dice approach, then you first have to test the ASIC wafer to figure out which ones are good, then saw the thing up, and then pick out the good dice. You then have to place them on the waiting MEMS dice (which would presumably still be in full wafer form), placing them only on MEMS dice that have been shown to work by whatever testing could be done at the wafer level.

This is a lot of work and requires much more worker intervention than the robotic wafer-to-wafer process. More specifically, it requires more workers. Which costs more. We’re used to casting aside jobs with technology because, in the emotion-and-ethic-free world of finance, the dollar (or your favorite currency) is king and is all that matters. If jobs suffer while I make more money, it’s not my problem (because it’s not my job suffering).

A lapse in employment can take a toll on your credit. You can do all you can to preserve your credit score, but during a long period of unemployment, you may have to make some difficult spending decisions that result in credit score damage. Once you’re back on the clock bringing in steady pay, you can begin rebuilding your credit score, to get some tips, visit the Mens Journal website. Knowing your updated monthly income will give you some idea about the lifestyle you can afford and what you can afford to put towards getting your credit back on track. Keep in mind that you’ll have taxes or other benefits deducted from your paycheck, so your actual take-home pay might be 30-40% less than what you’re expecting. Your first paycheck will give you a true idea of what you’re going to make enough month.

It was as if they wanted to address this potential conscience twinge that they went one step further to justify the fewer-workers approach, and it went like this: These things are assembled in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia has a bad reputation for employing child laborers. So by eliminating the jobs, we reduce the problem of child labor.

This is one of the simplest tips I can give: exercise every day. Sitting in front of a computer looking for jobs, updating resumes, and stalking people on LinkedIn is no way to spend an entire day. I got a gym membership for the first time last fall when I was already several months deep into the unemployed life. I was a skeptic at first. I wondered whether the $30 per month plus the yearly fee was worth it or whether I felt comfortable working out next to guys (and ladies) who could bench press me if they so desired. I’m also not a fan of locker rooms, even though Trump-style “locker-room talk” has been appreciably absent. I was the type of kid who never showered after gym class no matter how sweaty and smelly I became—a shy member of the first generation of American students who were not required to do so. But now is way different and if you can’t afford to spend money on at the gym just buy testosterone-boosting supplements and go to the park, use your bike, you might also have a community pool or aquatic center in your neighborhood. Swimming is excellent exercise, and if you don’t know how to do it yet, now is the time.

Bet you didn’t see that one coming! Nice to know we’re doing something good for the world…