Adjusting To Retirement After A Lifetime Of Employment, A Journey
For all the fears I had about retirement, I wasn’t expecting the real problems. First, there was the insurance dilemma. It turns out that my wife was too young for Medicare, and there’s no such thing as a family plan that covers both of us. I ended up...
Company Buyouts, Good For The Consumer?
You’re justifiably proud of your waffle maker. It was a lesser-known brand, yet it cost half as much as its competitors, and its brilliant texture sensor guaranteed you got flawless waffles every time. Unfortunately, as soon as you plugged it in, someone mistook...
Interspecies Communication As Experienced By An Engineer
I thoroughly enjoyed the first season of Star Trek: Enterprise because they spent much of the time grappling with communication issues. Universal translators, missing databases, peculiar methods of communication, and one memorable episode without a translator. I...
A Conspiracy Theory Regarding Encryption Creating My Dilemma
It seems that the current trend on social media is overwhelmingly conspiracy theories, especially as elections draw near. I’m not particularly drawn to the political ones, but I’m gripped by a conspiracy theory regarding encryption that’s threatening to...
Musings On My Greatest Achievement As I Enter Retirement
When I retired, there were a few questions that everyone seemed to ask: how did I feel about stepping into retirement (frankly, terrified) and what was my first project going to be (the rebuilding of my dilapidated well house). Yet, there was one question that...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
A Discussion on the Writing of DocksideI’ll admit to a huge amount of pride in the stories I’ve written. Unfortunately very few of you have read my stories. That’s not your fault. I already know what I write doesn’t appeal to everyone. Before you protest, let me explain that the way my stories are published gives me …
Patent Reform, We Should Demand ItThere is no easier way to get me to jump on a soapbox than to start a discussion on patents. While I fully support the concept of patents and I feel that the inventor should be rewarded for his efforts, I just don’t think that’s the way our system is working. …
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 …
Hubris, An Engineering Malady?Hubris, excessive pride or self-confidence. Last year I barely understood what it meant, today I recognize it for the deadly threat it is. Speaking as an engineer, we all know how fun it is to impress our non-engineering friends and family with our near mystical understanding of all things mechanical …
The Eternal Conflict Between Human Behavior And Engineering LogicThe popularity of my Married to an Engineer posts tells me that most of you have difficulty understanding how engineers think. As an engineer, I can tell you that difficulty is mutual. We try to design based on rational human beings and the truth is most of you are anything …