From the Doghouse
A look at dogs having fun
Poser Gallery
My gallery of pictures I’ve created in Poser
My Science Fiction and Fantasy stories
Stories I’ve written
Nature by Carol
A look at the less technical side of life
Do Electronics Have Feelings? How Can You Doubt It?
This morning as I left the shower, I heard my wife barking out orders to Alexa in a very forceful tone. Although Alexa has become an essential fixture in our life when she becomes confused, we tend raise our volume and enunciate very clearly. Almost like we were...
A Look At Class Action Suits Using the Google+ Settlement
When my sister asked me to write a post on class action suits, I greeted it with all the enthusiasm shown to managers showing up at the last minute asking for a white paper, before close of business. Never mind that the need has been languishing on their desk for the...
To Mask Or Not To Mask, Why Is There Even A Question?
2020 certainly was nothing like what we anticipated. We have politicians giving medical advice and orders based on nothing but their own fears and pocketbooks. We have doctors absolutely amazed that we’re ignoring their advice. Really, when was the last time you had a...
The Solar Powered Chicken Coop Fan Project Revisited
Between Google, Pinterest and the renewed interest in keeping chickens, my solar powered chicken coop fan project has become a very popular post. Although low maintenance, I was replacing the battery every year. The Texas heat and the way I hooked it up both conspired...
An Engineer’s Observations On Becoming A Better Supervisor
There was a time, long ago, when I thought the design was everything. Not to brag, but I was really good at it. I did the hardware, the software and the testing. I was a one man show. Fortunately, my management recognized this limited the complexity of the designs I...
Chopped, A Guide To Inspiring Engineering Creativity?
Let's get this out of the way first, despite it being a reality based cooking show, I enjoy watching Chopped. Not because of the cooking, although I have learned why my wife insists she needs both a stove and a microwave. No, I enjoy Chopped because it demonstrates a...
Random Posts
How to Argue With an Engineer and Feel Like You WonIf there is an engineer in your life you probably know just how frustrating an argument can be. Even when you have conclusively proved your case and maybe even gotten them to agree with you, you have a feeling that they only agreed with you to shut you up. You know, you’re probably right. Engineers […]
Wanted, a Women’s Magazine for the Rest of UsTop-Drawer Women’s Magazine Wanted By Zee “Top Drawer” is fine because our flexibility to bend down to the bottom drawer isn’t what it used to be … but we still want to be acknowledged as important, but not “aged” or “senior” or “mature” or other dastardly names we’re called after we pass about the age […]
How Much Memory Is A Megabyte?I’m constantly amazed when I encounter people who have no idea how to interpret their file sizes. Then I started writing this and I realized that a lot of this was very confusing. Almost like it was deliberately planned but I’m certainly not at liberty to tell you that. Let’s start with the basics. One […]
Random Posts
Ego, It Doesn’t Improve Your Homelife EitherA very long time ago I was a manager of the small group of electronic designers. Like many engineering managers I had been a very good designer and I’d been promoted to the position of manager without knowing what it took to become a manager. The way I saw it, the best way to be […]
An AI Assistant Comparison, Alexa, Google and Folgers?Once they hit the market, it was a given that sooner or later I would acquire one of the AI assistants on the market. The only thing holding me back was bandwidth and cost. When Google dropped the price on their mini and Amazon dropped the price on their Dot. I was unable to decide […]
Agility and Your DogA long time ago we acquired a Chow because someone had abandoned her and her sister near our place as puppies. My wife found her whimpering in the barn, hiding from a storm we were having. We called her Inka because she was completely black, including her tongue. We had several other dogs at the […]
Random Posts
Passwords, We Have Way Too ManyPasswords, it seems like everyplace you go on the Internet someone is asking for your password. It’s not bad enough that everybody and their brother wants you to set up an account with another password, they all have different rules for your password. Must be at least 10 characters, must have capital letters, must have […]
Reliability, Warranty and Why Nothing Lasts As Long As It Used ToFive years ago I had to make an emergency run to Fry’s because the video card in my wife’s computer had died and she had a raid scheduled with her gaming guild. With a wide selection of high end cards, I selected her current card because it had a lifetime warranty. Today I’m having to […]
The Up Mini 3D Printer RevisitedThe 3D printer testing this week by Make magazine inspired me to do this follow-up post on my Up Mini 3D printer. I’ll answer the most obvious question first. Then again, maybe not, I still have no rational reason for why I bought the printer but I can enthusiastically say I have no regrets about […]
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
An Easter Cactus FlowerNo matter how I considered it, I couldn’t come up with an appropriate post for Easter. To me, Easter announces the presence of spring and spending time with family. More than anything else it’s a time for relaxation. It was my cactus that gave me the inspiration for today’s post. …
Amazon vs Hachette, A Consumer’s ViewIn the current argument between Amazon and Hachette, I’m not qualified to discuss the finer details of price points and author royalties. What I can discuss is my opinion and my response as a consumer. I don’t expect anything I say to influence Hachette. I think they see e-books as …
How To Convince Your Spouse You Need A 3D PrinterSome of my favorite memories are from the times I spent as a computer salesman during the home computer revolution. I met astronauts, entertainers and an entire community of very smart people but the number one question my prospective customers always asked was “how do I convince my spouse?” Today, …
VR Goggles, I Still Look Like A Geek When I Wear ThemI try to acknowledge my weaknesses and technology is certainly one of my major weaknesses. My house is full of early adopter junk that never made it past the early adopter stage. Fortunately, there’s also the occasional gem such as my 3D printer and my drone. These gems are the …
Freezer Not Cooling? Check The Compressor Start RelayAfter enduring a long, brutal Texas summer, in a grand display of irony, my chest freezer—a Hotpoint HHM7SMWW—gave out during a winter cold snap. My wife caught it quickly, but not quickly enough—the upper layer was already flirting with unsafe temperatures. A few years ago, our upright freezer failed, and …