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

Random Posts

  • Email Scam or Luckiest Man Alive?Email Scam or Luckiest Man Alive?
    I must be the luckiest man alive. Three weeks ago when I was looking at my bills and wondering how I was going to pay them, I got an email from an attorney in England. Some wealthy relative I didn’t even know about had died and left me his fortune. I immediately sent them all […]
  • Musings On A The Existence Of Parallel UniversesMusings On A The Existence Of Parallel Universes
    The concept of parallel universes has always fascinated us. Think about worlds identical in every respect to ours except for a single difference. Somewhere out there we took that job in California or married our childhood sweetheart or won the lottery. Roger Zelazny envisioned worlds separated from ours in terms of probability. The higher the […]
  • Congress, Too Focused on Being Politicians?Congress, Too Focused on Being Politicians?
    My previous post on Congress made me wonder, how is it possible that the people in Congress don’t see themselves in the same light we do? How can you have a 10% approval rating and honestly feel like you are doing the job you were elected for? All the evidence says that there are some […]

Random Posts

  • An Attempt To Make Sense Of The Rules Of WritingAn Attempt To Make Sense Of The Rules Of Writing
    Over the last 3 months I’ve been trying to improve the content of my blog, both the pictures I use to illustrate my articles and the quality of my writing. As I expected, Poser has helped me  to improve my pictures. I’m starting to understand the shortcuts and tricks that make a picture look real. […]
  • Why Can’t I Find A Good Book, The Evolving Nature Of LiteratureWhy Can’t I Find A Good Book, The Evolving Nature Of Literature
    There’s nothing as wonderful as starting a new book and finding yourself totally immersed within the first chapter. Sadly, such books are becoming scarcer than finding a worthy political candidate. I find myself reading more books and enjoying far fewer of them. I used to think that this was caused by self-publishing but this has […]
  • Communication As Seen By An EngineerCommunication As Seen By An Engineer
    Communication, the human race has been attempting it for thousands of years. Whither it’s art, music, writing, movies, even this website, it’s all a form of communication. With that much practice, you would think we’d be better at it. Honestly, I don’t know why we aren’t better at it but I think the problem exists […]

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 […]
  • Opinionbypen 2016 Goals in Review, How Well Did I Do?Opinionbypen 2016 Goals in Review, How Well Did I Do?
    I force my wife to read the first draft of all my posts. I’ve found that this keeps me out of trouble with her and gives me some insight on how people will feel when they read it. I mention that because after reading this post she said I always seemed sad when summarizing my […]

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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

  • The Up Mini 3D Printer RevisitedThe Up Mini 3D Printer Revisited
    The 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 …
  • Ego, It Doesn’t Improve Your Homelife EitherEgo, It Doesn’t Improve Your Homelife Either
    A 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, …
  • Making Decisions Based On Website DataMaking Decisions Based On Website Data
    If there’s an engineer in your life, you know how utterly fascinated we are by data. We use data to make purchases, to troubleshoot and to make important decisions. In How to Argue with an Engineer, I told you how engineers use data to support our arguments. It should come as …
  • Using Data To Influence My Content, How Opinionbypen.com ChangesUsing Data To Influence My Content, How Opinionbypen.com Changes
    In the design and maintenance of Opinionbypen.com, there are two guiding principles I always consider. When it comes to technology, resisting change is the best way to become forgotten. Then again maybe you’re still using a rotary telephone as you watch your VHS tapes on that black and white television. …
  • 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, …
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