I'm reading an account about the development of a microprocessor told from the perspective of the microprocessor architect who compares himself to top gun pilots with "victory or death" attitudes about their work and life... (Next moment he is stuck in Austin traffic late to pick his children up from school.) Sure... Just keep telling yourself that...
(I should probably just put this book down now.)
Out of nowhere the warnings flashed red on his screen. David cursed as he ripped his oxygen mask from his sweat drenched face. He couldn't get timing closure on the design.
He was barely hitting 1.1GHz, and his goal was 1.5GHz. It was likely going to take weeks to untangle the longest paths causing the delays. They might even need to re-architecture some pieces.
1/n
His blood pounded in his ears. David knew he couldn't put it off any longer. He needed to try to get a deadline extension through combat, as was company policy. "Victory or death," he said to himself.
He took his helmet off and reached for the phone to call his wife to let her know not to wait up. Even if he survived tonight, he anticipated a trip to the emergency room later. Scars from his previous deadline extensions throbbed with phantom pain as he dialed.
2/2