The Sundae Style of Management, Please Don’t Try This At Work
It’s been fairly busy at work this month and nobody wanted to help me out by writing a guest blog. In a moment of desperation, I agreed to let Sundae share her views on management. To be fair, I have worked for managers who seemed to share many of her theories....
An Engineer’s Dilemma, Beware The Time Team
When I got married, I knew my wife did not share my fascination with technology. She wouldn’t understand what I do on a daily basis and there would be communication problems. The trade-off was her love of history and her knowledge of animals. These were skills I...
How The FCC Wants To Improve Rural Internet
I caught on to Santa Claus fairly early in life. It’s unfortunate then that it took me so long to realize that, despite their strongly spoken rhetoric, my government really doesn’t care about helping me. Sometimes this truth is so evident that I question my...
Ever Think of Your Engineer as a Super Hero? The Evidence is There.
I’m going to assume you’re reading this because you’re trying to make sense of the engineer in your life. I’ve written several posts on understanding engineers but maybe you’re looking for new insights. Ever think of your engineer as a super hero?...
Amazon’s Secret Weapon, No Will Call Lines
When I needed 200 aluminum fence stays, I found them for $19 at Amazon and $11 at Lowe’s but I still bought them from Amazon. The decision wasn’t made because I’m a loyal dedicated Amazon shopper. It was a simple matter of economics. When I calculated all the...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
Why Is ChatGBT So Angry? It’s Only A Reflection Of OurselvesThis week I’ve been subjected to an overwhelming amount of drivel on the ChatBot being developed by Microsoft and ChatGPT. I’m not surprised, today’s reporters think research is searching a key word on Twitter. Real reporters have all but disappeared. Still, some of the conversations attributed to the ChatBot are …
The Use and Misuse of Metrics, What Do They Mean?I was showing a book in my Kindle library to a fellow engineer this week when he noticed the time to the end of the chapter was two minutes and fifteen seconds. The book was interesting to him but the use of reading metrics was even more interesting, not because of …
Failure To Communicate, The Evolution of A Bad DesignWhen I write about engineers, I naturally try to show us in the best light possible. Still, there’s no arguing that some of the things you cope with as a consumer of the products we design would have been avoided if a blind monkey were the designer. Why does this happen? …
Credibility, Amazon Lost It, Goodreads Failed. How Do I Choose My Next Book?There’s a big difference between consumer satisfaction and marketing. That difference is credibility and has become a major problem for me. Years ago books making it to the publisher had been carefully screened. After all, it was expensive to publish a book. This meant that the books getting published had …
When Did It Become Rude To Ask A Direct Question?You’re sitting at the airport terminal reading your Kindle when someone comes up to you and says, ”Pardon me but do you know what time it is?” If you’re like me, you look up, answer “Yes” and go back to reading. Rude? Maybe but which of us was being rude? …