A picture made for me

[glasseye]

Last night I was discussing the relative benefits of using a 555 timer over a schmitt triggered inverter. The two circuits cost basically the same, but the one I proposed is more flexible. For a simple astable design, it doesn't really matter though, the inverter will work just fine.

However, after being sent the following schematic, I must concede that the inverter circuit would totally win in this particular case.