The Path to Success is Filled With Failure
When faced with a problem, engineers tend to fixate on solving the problem. Often we’re still looking for a solution when others would have given up long ago. It could be that I’m too stubborn to admit defeat but there’s nothing more satisfying than...
How To Identify An Engineer
How do you identify an engineer? My wife and I have frequent discussions about engineers being a unique class of people. She feels that communication with me is difficult because I think differently than most people. I feel that communication with me is far simpler...
What To Buy for the Engineer in Your Life?
Every year around this time my wife agonizes on what to get me for Christmas. This year I decided to help her by writing what to buy for the engineer in your life. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not hard to shop for but my wife and I live in two different worlds....
Space Heaters, They Need Lots of Power
It’s winter again in Texas. Most of the time, unless you’re a farmer, that statement means very little to us but every once in a while it gets below freezing and we break out the space heaters. These little heaters are very useful in heating greenhouses,...
Emotional Content as a Communication Protocol
I’m writing this post for all the other bewildered engineers out there. You’re welcome to read on if you’re not an engineer but I’m not sure what you’ll glean from it. If you’re familiar with communication theory you’ve...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
ESD Training, A Poser OpportunityAlmost everyone has heard the term ESD, ElectroStatic Discharge. It’s the little shock you get on a cold dry morning as you touch the doorknob. It’s seldom fatal to us unless it comes in the form of lightning, also a form of ESD. Fifty years ago, unless you were working …
Magic, An Engineer’s PerspectiveBeing an engineer isn’t easy. I don’t mean the bewilderment that comes with social interaction. I don’t mean dealing with math and science. I’m talking about trying to enjoy a good fantasy book. I’m drawn to fantasy because it gives me a vehicle to explore new concepts. The problem is …
One Year In The Making, A Blogging QuestOne year in the making…that’s how long this post has taken me. Exactly one year ago I started this blog with my first post, Beginning, embarking on this quest. Since then I’ve written 95 posts on a variety of topics. In response to those posts, Opinionbypen.com has had over 6500 …
Wordfence, Protection For Your WordPress SiteI first realized how much I appreciate Wordfence when WebHostingHub told me I had excessive activity on my server and I would have to disable Wordfence. That’s when I decided my relationship with WebhostingHub would be a short one. Wordfence is a free security plugin for WordPress sites. I’ve been …
Starting A Blog? Spend Some Time PlanningI think everybody would agree that planning is essential. There are degrees of planning that may be necessary to be successful but the planning still needs to take place. My wife tells me that I over plan everything. I don’t get it. If I’m going somewhere I’ve never been I’ll …