JimboZA:
Once again, my rant isn't about not being willing to help. It's about the state of engineering education systems that don't teach a problem problem approach* and which are at a level where telling the pattern from 5 switches is final year stuff.*Although I suppose asking others for the answer is in itself a problem solving approach?
So do have a solution to share to improve that state of the world in engineering education? That was my point. One can find no limit of things to complain about the world not being as good as it should be or as good as it once seemed to be.
Think happy thoughts, that's my solution. 
Lefty