Whitewall Nebraska, A Study Into Current Reality

I’m proud to announce that I’ve been elected mayor of Whitewall, Nebraska. It was unanimous—or will be as soon as I update the websites I created for this event. Of course, you’ve probably never heard of Whitewall, Nebraska. That’s not surprising because it doesn’t...

Christmas Ideas From My Fox Alien 4040 Vasto

Shortly after I retired, Fox Alien put their 4040 Vasto CNC on sale. The timing was perfect. I had already decided I wanted to get serious about carving wood, and although I had highly modified my 3018 (now a 3040), it was limited. First impression: the Vasto is...

In Defense Of My Junk Box: Married to An Engineer

Just about every electrical or mechanical engineer I know has some kind of junk box—a treasure trove of parts accumulated over the years, all saved with the hope they might come in handy someday. My own junk box started at a very early age. Too young to work a...

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

Random Posts

  • Married To An Engineer, A Matter of ConventionMarried To An Engineer, A Matter of Convention
    My wife always groans when we’re watching a movie and the climatic point is the hero trying to defuse a bomb. She knows that in about 2.3 microseconds I’m going to make some derogatory comment about bombers always using the same wiring convention. As I always explain to her, unless you’re wiring them for the […]
  • The Importance of Teamwork in a DesignThe Importance of Teamwork in a Design
    Imagine if you will, a design team that has been tasked with designing a tablet that will be crucial to the future of their company. The team consists of the best and brightest engineers and programmers in the company. For those of you that like names, let’s call the company Chester’s Online Natural Gas and […]
  • Improving Our Vote Through Technology, A TSC IdeaImproving Our Vote Through Technology, A TSC Idea
    My wife dreads the arrival of Autumn. She loves the season, the brisk cold, the planning of next year’s garden but with the cold she also knows I spend more time in the shower taking long showers that completely drain our hot water system. The additional time spent in the Thought Simulation ChamberTM, gives me […]

Random Posts

  • Apathy, How To Waste Your VoteApathy, How To Waste Your Vote
    Over the last few months I’ve had some very harsh words for our politicians in Washington. My Mother-in-law pointed out that the politicians really aren’t to blame for our current situation. They may be totally incompetent and dysfunctional but it’s not their fault they are in office. The only reason they are in office is […]
  • A Mother’s Day Post On Political ChangeA Mother’s Day Post On Political Change
    I should explain why I’m doing a political post for Mother’s Day. Last year I explained that I have to consider both my Mother and my Mother-in-law. When it comes to this blog both of them have given me strong encouragement to continue writing. They’ve only expressed one minor disappointment, both of them would like […]
  • Opinionbypen Hits 10,000 ViewsOpinionbypen Hits 10,000 Views
    Sometime this last week, Opinionbypen had its 10,000th page view. For those of you who, like myself, love numbers, that’s an average of 556 views a month or 18 views a day.  I’m proud of that number because those are page views by real humans, not bots. If I counted visits from bots the number […]

Random Posts

  • A Very Personal Look At The Engineering Decision Making ProcessA Very Personal Look At The Engineering Decision Making Process
    I’ve written a number of posts about how engineers think and make decisions, so I was stunned when my Wife questioned my decision making process and demanded details. My first response was to deny any malfeasance on my part but when I recovered my composure I realized she might have a point. Having admitted that […]
  • Why Can’t I get The Internet Speed I’m Paying For?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 I felt like I had […]
  • Toolbars, Software Trojans or Actual Benefit?Toolbars, Software Trojans or Actual Benefit?
    Every year people spend millions of dollars on software that prevents other people from installing undesired programs on their computer. We’re constantly reminded that’s it far better to pay for software rather than download a pirated copy and risk installing a whole bunch of surprises. When the software is free, and there’s a lot of […]

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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

  • Why is An Engineer So Brutally Honest But Still Can’t Read A Schedule?Why is An Engineer So Brutally Honest But Still Can’t Read A Schedule?
    For a marketing person, introducing a potential customer to an engineer is the stuff nightmares are made from. Engineers can be brutally honest about technology. Note I said technology. We’re perfectly capable of lying. Ask us about schedule, percent complete, does this dress make me look fat…. On second thought, …
  • I’m Sick And Tired Of Hearing Politicians Say Follow The DataI’m Sick And Tired Of Hearing Politicians Say Follow The Data
    I’m fairly sure it’s a conspiracy but since no one else is warning you, I feel that it’s my duty to warn you about the highly toxic nature of tomatoes. We’re all fortunate that tomatoes are becoming less toxic over time but their deadly nature cannot be denied. Of course, …
  • The Martian Notifier, Another Smartwatch?The Martian Notifier, Another Smartwatch?
    In today’s world it’s a given that in every large gathering of people somebody’s ring tone will blare out. Choosing not to be that person, I try to always keep my phone on vibrate. Only two problems with that plan, because I keep my phone in a holster, I don’t …
  • The Sundae Style of Management, Please Don’t Try This At WorkThe 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 …
  • When Did the Definition of Unlimited Change?When Did the Definition of Unlimited Change?
    It always irritates me when I see commercials preying on our stupidity. I guess that’s why watching Sprint’s commercial extolling how their reliability is within one percent of everyone else, always results in my wife having to endure a rant on the difference between reliability and coverage. My lecture on …
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