Amen. AoE, a desk drawer packed with assorted components and a couple of veroboards basically got me through university. Heck, I even got called to an EE profe

Amen. AoE, a desk drawer packed with assorted components and a couple of veroboards basically got me through university. Heck, I even got called to an EE professor's office after a circuit design exam - was told a couple of my answers clearly showed I had spent more time studying AoE than the curriculum. "So - we're going to have to give you a mediocre grade, but no worries, you'll do brilliantly in industry; I'd be happy to write you a recommendation to that effect." He actually did; it is framed and proudly displayed on my office wall.