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...
How A Hijacked Post Helped Me Realize The Value of Comments
When I said I wanted to expand my Opinionbypen experience, I was thinking more about advertising and social media. I didn’t mean getting my website hacked or getting one of my posts hijacked and yet so far this year that’s exactly what’s happened. There’s no...
Spam Avoidance And An Idea For A Great Mother’s Day Present
The idea was a inspired one. The more I use it, the more I appreciate what Scrivener, from Literature and Latte, does for writers. When I was offered a chance to buy a copy at half price, having already bought my own copy, I immediately thought buying it as a gift for...
Why Isn’t There An American Micro Bit?
I don’t know if you’ve seen this headline, “Every 11-year-old in Britain is getting a free minicomputer,” or what you thought when you did but I found it amazing that this was being done in Britain. The Micro Bit giveaway is a program sponsored by the BBC in a joint...
How My Quest Took Me To Red Sneakers And Scrivener
In my plan for 2016 I mentioned that I was going to get serious about my writing. I shared a few of my stories on Amazon WriteOn and received a rather lackluster response. The overwhelming lack of response made it obvious I’m not a natural. Well, it’s not like I...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 Dangerous Trend, Amateur Social IsolationistsI’ve always dreaded social gatherings. It’s not that I can’t do small talk, no, that would be a lie. I’m abysmal at small talk. Thirty seconds into my part of the conversation, I start seeing blank stares and glassy eyes. At forty five seconds, they usually develop an urgent need …
The Solar Fountain, A Case Study In Poor PlanningAsk anyone in the engineering profession what the most important phase of a project is and they will tell you planning. Okay, a few of the engineers already embarking on a career of management will say funding but they’ve already gone over to the dark side. I can safely ignore …
Why Can’t I get The Internet Speed I’m Paying For?This year my electric company made me a deal I couldn’t refuse, 1000 Mbps Internet. Only two years ago, I was still living with two very questionable ADSL lines from AT&T. On a good day I might get 1.2 Mbps. Last year T-Mobile Home offered service in my area and …
My Approach To Identifying And Eliminating Email SpamI don’t know about you but I’ve completely stopped answering my phone. If you want to talk to me, leave a message. I’m guessing you already know why I made that decision; 99.9 percent of the calls are someone trying to sell me something or to scam me. In case …
Teamwork, A Term Misunderstood By CongressApparently I lied when I said I was going to skip Congress as a topic. This morning my wife told me how Congress was congratulating themselves on coming up with a deal at the last minute and I was reminded of the six phases of a project. 1. Enthusiasm – …