Christmas Ideas From My Fox Alien 4040 Vasto
Shortly after I retired, Fox Alien put their 4040 Vasto CNC on sale. The timing was perfect. I had already decided I wanted to get serious about carving wood, and although I had highly modified my 3018 (now a 3040), it was limited. First impression: the Vasto is...
In Defense Of My Junk Box: Married to An Engineer
Just about every electrical or mechanical engineer I know has some kind of junk box—a treasure trove of parts accumulated over the years, all saved with the hope they might come in handy someday. My own junk box started at a very early age. Too young to work a...
Justifying My AI Hobby By Finding Blaze A Forever Home
From my early teenage years, technology has always played a significant part in my life. Though I was late to the party, I joined the technology revolution as the world transitioned from vacuum tubes to transistors in 1963. By 1975, I found myself in the midst of the...
Maximizing Profit: Reliable Designs Or Frequent Repairs?
When I retired, my wife strongly suggested I put some of that newfound free time into cleaning rather than gaining another level in my current game. My trusty old vacuum cleaner, however, decided it wasn’t up to the increased workload and promptly broke a belt. Of...
Want To Try Some AI Song Writing? Songer Makes It Very Easy.
It’s an unfortunate truth that music plays a very small part of my life. So small that I’ve always felt handicapped as a writer because I don’t appreciate music. That probably stems from a lack of rhythm, I have none. I can’t even clap in time to music. Having...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
Driving Change With Comments – Force MultipliersI had barely hit “send” on my last post when Zee, ever the critic, called me on it. I mean, she’s penned a gallery of fire-breathing missives about shoddy products, clueless congressmen, and writers who wouldn’t recognize a plot if it slapped them in the face. What did she get …
Change, It’s Not Always ApparentI had an interesting discussion with a friend of mine a few weeks ago, he was contending that there had been no major changes in our lives over the last five years. Of course I brought up drones, 3D printers and well, that was the problem, I couldn’t think of …
Giving Criticism That Will Be Heeded, An Engineer’s GuidelinesWhen I started Opinionbypen, I had long discussions with myself wondering if I was tough enough for all the criticism I would get. I knew my writing needed help. I knew I my paragraph separation was accomplished by feel rather than doctrine. And, if we’re doing true confessions , my …
Closing Out 2019 In Bits And PiecesI admit it. Sometimes very logical conclusions completely escape me. I started Opinionbypen because I realized I was too isolated. At the time it never occurred to me that nobody cared. In order to people to take time out of their life and read my blog, they have to get …
A Conspiracy Theory Regarding Encryption Creating My DilemmaIt 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 upend my world. Venn, embodying the curiosity of her engineering owner and …