# 292: Now I Feel Less Cool

- Show: [Embedded.fm](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm)
- Published: 2019-06-20
- Length: 54m
- Episode: 292
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2019-06-20-292-now-i-feel-less-cool
- Listen: https://makingembeddedsystems.libsyn.com/292-now-i-feel-less-cool

## Summary

Hosts Elecia White and Christopher White discuss a tour of Santa Cruz Guitar Company, detailing their artisanal manufacturing process, use of reclaimed wood, and collaboration with a Stanford grad student to apply scientific principles to instrument design. They also cover Christopher's ant simulator project using Swift's SpriteKit, Elecia's review of Aurélien Géron's 'Hands-On Machine Learning' book, and industry advice on PIC microcontrollers versus ARM, as well as educational paths for aspiring firmware engineers.

## Chapters

- [0:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2019-06-20-292-now-i-feel-less-cool#t=6) Introduction and Santa Cruz Guitar Company Tour
- [2:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2019-06-20-292-now-i-feel-less-cool#t=158) Wood Science and Acoustic Design at Santa Cruz
- [10:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2019-06-20-292-now-i-feel-less-cool#t=610) Manufacturing, RSI Prevention, and Open Data
- [15:41](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2019-06-20-292-now-i-feel-less-cool#t=941) Christopher's Ant Simulator Project in Swift
- [19:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2019-06-20-292-now-i-feel-less-cool#t=1191) Review of Hands-On Machine Learning Book
- [26:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2019-06-20-292-now-i-feel-less-cool#t=1614) PIC vs. ARM Microcontrollers and Tooling
- [34:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2019-06-20-292-now-i-feel-less-cool#t=2092) Career Advice: CS Degree and Firmware Engineering
- [41:47](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2019-06-20-292-now-i-feel-less-cool#t=2507) UL/FCC Testing and Episode 300 Party Announcement

## Topics

- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Certification & compliance](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/certification-and-compliance)
- [Embedded firmware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/embedded-firmware)

## Most relevant to

established companies

## Mentioned

- Santa Cruz Guitar Company (company)
- Hands-On Machine Learning with Scikit-Learn, Keras, and TensorFlow (other)
- Aurélien Géron (other)
- SpriteKit (tool)
- Swift (tool)
- PIC (chip)
- Embedded Artistry (company)
- Jay Carlson (other)
- Dennis Jackson (other)
- Kaggle (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Episode 241: Sketching with a Bandsaw](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2019-12-13-episode-241-sketching-with-a-bandsaw) (Making It)
- [Episode 176: Pretend you’re talking to a martian or a 3 year old.](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2018-07-20-episode-176-pretend-youre-talking-to-a-martian-or-a-3-year-old) (Making It)
- [Episode 173: Concrete Bandsaw](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2018-06-29-episode-173-concrete-bandsaw) (Making It)
- [120: Imbue All of the Choices](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered/2025-01-18-120-imbue-all-of-the-choices) (Thoroughly Considered)
- [Work on it for 10 years...](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-12-30-work-on-it-for-10-years) (The Amp Hour)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2019-06-20-292-now-i-feel-less-cool. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Embedded.fm.