From the Doghouse
A look at dogs having fun
Poser Gallery
My gallery of pictures I’ve created in Poser
My Science Fiction and Fantasy stories
Stories I’ve written
Nature by Carol
A look at the less technical side of life
Do Electronics Have Feelings? How Can You Doubt It?
This morning as I left the shower, I heard my wife barking out orders to Alexa in a very forceful tone. Although Alexa has become an essential fixture in our life when she becomes confused, we tend raise our volume and enunciate very clearly. Almost like we were...
A Look At Class Action Suits Using the Google+ Settlement
When my sister asked me to write a post on class action suits, I greeted it with all the enthusiasm shown to managers showing up at the last minute asking for a white paper, before close of business. Never mind that the need has been languishing on their desk for the...
To Mask Or Not To Mask, Why Is There Even A Question?
2020 certainly was nothing like what we anticipated. We have politicians giving medical advice and orders based on nothing but their own fears and pocketbooks. We have doctors absolutely amazed that we’re ignoring their advice. Really, when was the last time you had a...
The Solar Powered Chicken Coop Fan Project Revisited
Between Google, Pinterest and the renewed interest in keeping chickens, my solar powered chicken coop fan project has become a very popular post. Although low maintenance, I was replacing the battery every year. The Texas heat and the way I hooked it up both conspired...
An Engineer’s Observations On Becoming A Better Supervisor
There was a time, long ago, when I thought the design was everything. Not to brag, but I was really good at it. I did the hardware, the software and the testing. I was a one man show. Fortunately, my management recognized this limited the complexity of the designs I...
Chopped, A Guide To Inspiring Engineering Creativity?
Let's get this out of the way first, despite it being a reality based cooking show, I enjoy watching Chopped. Not because of the cooking, although I have learned why my wife insists she needs both a stove and a microwave. No, I enjoy Chopped because it demonstrates a...
Random Posts
Some Advice Before You Move To The CountryYou’re tired of your annoying neighbor that gets up at 6AM on a Saturday morning to mow his lawn. Or maybe it’s the neighbor that mows his grass once a month and seems to cultivate all those weeds that find their way to your yard. Or maybe you don’t like the home owners association telling you […]
Upgrading To The Prusa MK3S From the Prusa MK2 , Is It Worth It?It’s Saturday night as I listen to my new Prusa MK3S and wonder how I can justify my purchase of a third 3D printer to my wife. After two years, my Prusa MK2 was getting a bit long in the tooth. My prints were no longer a thing of beauty. Where I used to have […]
Toolbars, Software Trojans or Actual Benefit?Every year people spend millions of dollars on software that prevents other people from installing undesired programs on their computer. We’re constantly reminded that’s it far better to pay for software rather than download a pirated copy and risk installing a whole bunch of surprises. When the software is free, and there’s a lot of […]
Random Posts
Why Would An Engineer Find Gordon Ramsay Entertaining?One of the major differences between my wife and I is the way we view food. My wife likes to savor new foods and enjoy the delicate interplay between the seasonings. Me, I’m more concerned about how long it takes to prepare and eat. My wife accuses me of only having two taste buds, both […]
A Guide To Your Valentine’s Day ChocolateValentine’s day is always difficult for me. I love my wife but I have trouble remembering an arbitrary date hyped by advertising agencies to make poor fools like myself feel like lesser creatures if we don’t shower our wives with chocolate and presents. If you’ve read my previous Valentine’s Day posts, An Engineer Attempts Valentine’s Day […]
WaitingJust as I feared, I got the wrong name for my website. It’s a very small thing but still annoying. I had selected OpinionByPen.com and then realized I might want more than one opinion. Easily fixed or so I thought. I then registered OpinionsByPen.com but my hosting account was still under the previous name. As […]
Random Posts
Tired Of Being Spied On? Support Data Gathering TaxesIt’s fall again and with the lower temperatures I tend to take longer showers. Those of you that visit my site frequently know what that means, more time for me to think about solving world problems. My first shower of the season and I think I’ve really found a gem this time. It’s a given […]
A Very Personal Look At The Engineering Decision Making ProcessI’ve written a number of posts about how engineers think and make decisions, so I was stunned when my Wife questioned my decision making process and demanded details. My first response was to deny any malfeasance on my part but when I recovered my composure I realized she might have a point. Having admitted that […]
How Do I Know If an Engineer Loves MeAbout once a month I see a Google query from someone wanting to know how to tell if an engineer loves them. Google, for reasons best known to Google, directs them to my post How to Argue With an Engineer. I don’t know if this is always the same person but their answer is a […]
From the Doghouse -It’s all about them
A look at dogs having fun!
Short Stories
With posts like these, ever wonder what kind of fiction I would write?
Random Posts
Creating An Alexa Podcast For OpinionByPen Using Amazon PollyIn my previous post I took you on my journey to add Amazon’s speech synthesizer Polly to Opinionbypen. I have to admit I did this as an excuse to play with some of the emerging technologies offered by Amazon. Although there were a few minor obstacles along the way, Amazon …
Why Does Change Seem So Random?It’s a given that change happens. From fashion to transportation to political viewpoints, it always changes, but why? Change is seldom welcome so why does it happen? And why does it happen so often to the things you like? Why does today’s Big Mac more closely resemble a White Castle …
To Mask Or Not To Mask, Why Is There Even A Question?2020 certainly was nothing like what we anticipated. We have politicians giving medical advice and orders based on nothing but their own fears and pocketbooks. We have doctors absolutely amazed that we’re ignoring their advice. Really, when was the last time you had a doctor explain anything clearly to you. …
The Importance Of Good Grammar, A Mathematic LookEvery once in a while I have to let my inner engineer interact with the real world. I apologize to you now but this post is the result of one of those times. About a year ago I wrote a post bemoaning the confusing rules of writing. It’s my nature …
VR Goggles, I Still Look Like A Geek When I Wear ThemI try to acknowledge my weaknesses and technology is certainly one of my major weaknesses. My house is full of early adopter junk that never made it past the early adopter stage. Fortunately, there’s also the occasional gem such as my 3D printer and my drone. These gems are the …
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