What’s The Bottom Line On Tariffs? How Much Will They Cost Me?

Tariffs are a tax nations charge on imported or exported goods. The importer always pays the tax, and the money always goes straight into the pockets of the country imposing the tariff. But don’t be fooled—while the importer technically pays the tax, the cost always...

French Culture, I’m Forced To Admit I Was Wrong

My father returned from WW2 with pieces of shrapnel slowly working their way out of his body and a deep and abiding hatred of the French. I don’t know about you and your father, but mine never wanted to discuss the details. I never knew his reasons, but he passed his...

What Can Spirit Animals Teach Us About Today’s America?

This week, while perusing my feed on Bluesky, I stumbled upon a post in which someone shared that she had just learned that crows can hold a grudge for 17 years and thus declared crows as her new spirit animal. While many responses expressed surprise or shared their...

From the Doghouse

A look at dogs having fun

Poser Gallery

My gallery of pictures I’ve created in Poser

Nature by Carol

A look at the less technical side of life

OTR Mobile, A Review

OTR Mobile, A Review

OTR Mobile is not the Internet solution you’re looking for and whatever you do, don’t expect any money back from them. At $60 a month, OTR Mobile seemed like a no brainer decision. they offered me as much as 10 mps, almost 7 times than what my archaic ADSL service...

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Random Posts

  • Musings On Why Organizations Fail and How You Can Prevent ItMusings On Why Organizations Fail and How You Can Prevent It
    Just after Easter, a friend told me about attending the last meeting of a club he had helped start almost 42 years ago. Their downfall was caused by a simple problem, nobody wanted to serve as officers. I suspect there were other factors too but considering the state of our government, we can certainly see […]
  • A Look At The Snake Slayer IV From A New UserA Look At The Snake Slayer IV From A New User
    If you’ve ever wondered just how fast your reflexes are, try sticking your hand into a nest box occupied by a snake instead of eggs. The few times I’ve done this it took about two microseconds for me to realize it was a snake and then my hand attained warp speed as I pulled it […]
  • Risk Reward Analysis And How to Influence Your Engineer’s DecisionRisk Reward Analysis And How to Influence Your Engineer’s Decision
    Every decision an engineer makes goes through a risk reward analysis, each and every one. It’s not a complicated process, it doesn’t involve calculus but it’s not always obvious. Let me give you an example. Recently my two year old Samsung dryer decided to stop working. Power would come on but the drum wasn’t turning. […]

Random Posts

  • Why Do We Feel the Need To Revise History?Why Do We Feel the Need To Revise History?
    I’ve always liked the mystique of being a Texan. While I miss that six foot plus ruggedly handsome stereotype by several inches and …on second thought, several inches is as far as I will admit.  Every country I’ve been to fully expected to see me wearing boots, six gun and a ten gallon hat.  I […]
  • They Make It So Easy to Sign Up, Why Do They Make So Hard to Cancel?They Make It So Easy to Sign Up, Why Do They Make So Hard to Cancel?
    Why is it so easy to sign up for a service and yet so hard to cancel that same service? The current trend in business  lets you sign up with nothing more than a credit card and an internet connection but when time comes to end the relationship, they make it as difficult as possible. […]
  • Spam and Scams Filling My Email – Sound Familiar?Spam and Scams Filling My Email – Sound Familiar?
    One look at my investment portfolio and you know my ability to predict the future is seriously flawed. This trend gives me hope I’m wrong but if history is any guide, no one will be using email 10 years from now. Impossible you say? Before the advent of robocallers and phone soliciters, we looked forward […]

Random Posts

  • Surviving An Engineering PresentationSurviving An Engineering Presentation
    If you’re a nontechnical person and had the misfortune of having to sit through an engineering presentation you probably felt the presentation was never going to end. There was just not enough coffee in the room to keep you awake. There’s a reason for all of this. Like many engineers I never enjoyed giving these […]
  • Customer Retention, A Forgotten Concept Or Counting On Our LazinessCustomer Retention, A Forgotten Concept Or Counting On Our Laziness
    I just finished deleting Opinionbypen. No, not this version of my blog obviously. I’m talking about the version hosted at GoDaddy. This year when my renewal rolled around, GoDaddy rewarded my tenure with a rate increase. Having been with then for five years, they could have rewarded my customer loyalty with a discount.  Instead they […]
  • One Year In The Making, A Blogging QuestOne Year In The Making, A Blogging Quest
    One 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 page views and over 10,000 […]

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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

  • Did The Ninjas Use Mental Telepathy?Did The Ninjas Use Mental Telepathy?
    Remain calm. Act normal and look around slowly to make sure no one is watching you. I don’t want to scare you but I may have stumbled on an ancient technique of the Ninjas.  If I’m right, my hope is to spread it widely before I’m silenced. We’ve all had …
  • It’s Absolutely Impossible For Us To Stop Being An EngineerIt’s Absolutely Impossible For Us To Stop Being An Engineer
    We all do it. When we’re reading a book or watching a movie containing elements of our expertise and the story does something so ridiculous that we find it impossible to enjoy the story. Even worse we find ourselves sharing our disgust with anyone willing to listen. My wife finally …
  • Who Supports Ending Net Neutrality? Texas Senator John Cornyn, But Why?Who Supports Ending Net Neutrality? Texas Senator John Cornyn, But Why?
    I’ve always believed you shouldn’t get involved in a fight you have no hope of winning. I find it unfortunate that I’m not heeding that advice with regard to net neutrality. Still, I can’t help but wonder why Texas Senator John Cornyn supports an organization using fake comments to support …
  • News Reporters Or News Fabricators?News Reporters Or News Fabricators?
    News Reporters Or News Fabricators?                             by  –Zee– The “takedown” in McKinney Texas of a young lady by a police officer at a party held in a private neighborhood pool was vulgar, perhaps unnecessary, but it belonged to …
  • Time Travel As Viewed By Einstein. A Simplified DiscussionTime Travel As Viewed By Einstein. A Simplified Discussion
    Time travel, I don’t know of any other concept so used and misused in Science Fiction. Although judging from Avengers Endgame, a lot of writers have problems with the concept. Still, despite the inherent paradoxes, from the time I was first introduced to the concept, I was fascinated by it. …
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