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

Whatever Happened To Compromise And Acceptance?

Whatever Happened To Compromise And Acceptance?

I have no mouth and must scream is a short story by Harlen Ellison. Unfortunately it also very accurately sums up my feelings on American politics. I’ll confess to avoiding Twitter and Facebook. I have my website but I’ve accepted that the stats on my website don't...

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The SainSmart 3018 PROVer CNC Router, A Review

The SainSmart 3018 PROVer CNC Router, A Review

Given the number of posts I've made on 3D printers, it's safe to assume that I feel I've mastered the basic techniques. Still you always wonder if the grass is greener on the other side. In my case, thanks in part to the Covid blues and Amazon's Prime day I ended up...

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Random Posts

  • Half Full or Half Empty, An Engineer’s ViewpointHalf Full or Half Empty, An Engineer’s Viewpoint
    My wife will confirm that living with an engineer is different. It’s not just that we tend to be socially inept or even standoffish. We see the world differently and until you spend time with one of us you can’t comprehend how differently. All my life I’ve listened to people describe personalities as, “a glass half […]
  • Whimsy, This Engineer’s Stress ReliefWhimsy, This Engineer’s Stress Relief
    Such a funny word, whimsy. It’s almost self-defining, although that could be because I’ve known what it meant for so long. For the rest of you, it’s defined as a capricious humor and I think there’s far too little of it in today’s life. Most people tend to think of engineers as boring people with […]
  • Is Your Team Always Missing Deadlines? It Might Be You!Is Your Team Always Missing Deadlines? It Might Be You!
    Perhaps it’s my background in electronic design speaking, but I’ve always regarded time as sacrosanct. Consider this: when you’re designing a system that operates at 100 MHz, tolerating a signal that “usually” arrives on time is out of the question. Too late, or even a bit too early, and your entire system risks malfunction. Yes, […]

Random Posts

  • Trust In The Digital Age, Has The Definition Changed?Trust In The Digital Age, Has The Definition Changed?
    I want to ask you the question. If Target announced that it was having a 50% off sale today and you could only use your credit card but they assured you that you could not get hacked, would you do it? My guess is no. Simply speaking, they have lost your trust in their ability […]
  • Musings On My Greatest Achievement As I Enter RetirementMusings On My Greatest Achievement As I Enter Retirement
    When I retired, there were a few questions that everyone seemed to ask: how did I feel about stepping into retirement (frankly, terrified) and what was my first project going to be (the rebuilding of my dilapidated well house). Yet, there was one question that genuinely made me pause and reflect deeply on my career: […]
  • SundaeSundae
    While I enjoy the company of our dogs I realize that their motivations are sometimes very far from what we ascribe to them. When we try to humanize their behaviors we often misinterpret instinct for personality.  At least that’s what the canine behaviorists tell us. I’m never quite as sure. Sundae is full of personality. […]

Random Posts

  • Fourth of July, Sleepless Nights and ThundershirtsFourth of July, Sleepless Nights and Thundershirts
    I absolutely hate the Fourth of July. Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud to be an American and the Fourth of July used to be my favorite holiday but living in the country has caused a major shift in my perspective. When I was younger and living in the city, the Fourth of July was my […]
  • Why Would You Want To Write A Blog?Why Would You Want To Write A Blog?
    Ever notice that the moment you describe a problem to an engineer, they stop listening to you? Before you’ve finished describing the problem, they’ve started working on a solution for you. True, some of the very best engineers have the ability to remain focused on you until you’ve fully described the problem. As my wife […]
  • Pepper, Someone Else’s ProblemPepper, Someone Else’s Problem
    I’m mad and worse I find myself exceedingly frustrated because I can’t express the full depth of my anger. All my life has been suppressing anger in favor of calm rational analysis. No, I don’t pretend to be Spock but I do believe anger can distract from the message. Wanting this post to be written […]

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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

  • How My Quest Took Me To Red Sneakers And ScrivenerHow 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 expected …
  • Class Action Suits, A Way To Balance The Budget?Class Action Suits, A Way To Balance The Budget?
    The odds are strong you’ve been a client in a class action suit. You might never know you were involved in one. Maybe more than one, I know I’ve been represented in several. It seems the moment you buy something, you’re automatically included in a class action suit. Many of …
  • The Pleasure of Finding Things Out by Richard Feynman, Too Enjoyable?The Pleasure of Finding Things Out by Richard Feynman, Too Enjoyable?
    The Pleasure of Finding Things Out by Richard Feynman was an unexpected treat. You would expect a collection of lectures from a Nobel Winning particle physicist to be dry, containing lots of math and another incomprehensible discussion on why they believe certain subatomic particles to exist. That was certainly not …
  • An Engineer Muses On Fictional WritingAn Engineer Muses On Fictional Writing
    If you’ve seen the movie, Apollo 13, you remember the scene where the mission director comes in with a box of stuff dumps it on the desk and says this is what we’ve got, make it work. I don’t think there’s an engineer out there who wouldn’t love to have …
  • Why All The Negative Political Ads? Are Politicians Afraid Of A Position?Why All The Negative Political Ads? Are Politicians Afraid Of A Position?
    I just finished exercising my political rights by voting against all the candidates so far from my own political views that I had no choice but to vote for their opposition. Looking back on my experience, I realize every vote I made was for the lessor evil. I did my …
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