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
A Review Of The Audible Books I Listened To In 2018
In years past, my first post of the New Year tends to be a retrospective of the previous year for Opinionbypen. These have included a look at the numbers of visitors, my favorite posts, what I did right over the year and even a look back at how well I met my goals for...
How Much Am I Saving By Turning Out All The Lights?
The start of a new year provides us with a time of reflection and resolutions. Today, with the end of the old year on the horizon, I find myself going from room to room turning out lights in an attempt to keep my electricity bill reasonable. I remember my father...
Why Does A Request For Advice So Often Result In An Argument?
If there's anything that can cause conflict between my wife and me, it's a misunderstanding of my role in life when she makes a request for advice. Hmm, I said that poorly, let me give an example. You're sitting at your computer, trying to understand why your 3D...
The Killing Frost, A Transition to Winter In My Garden
After six years, I finally persuaded my wife to write a post for OpinionbyPen. Well, that and the sadness she felt with the transition to winter killing so much of her garden. She’s writing under the nom de guerre of Big Tomato. Keeping the Brussel sprouts at bay, I...
Why Is It So Hard To Leave A Comment?
The majority of Website owners want you to leave comments. After all, the only reason their site exists is for you to visit. Comments show you took enough time reading the post to make your comment. So why is it so hard to leave a comment? Why do these websites want...
Windows 10 Versus Chromebook, What Does Intregity Have To Do With It?
I'm writing this on a Chromebook. Think of it more as an experiment rather than a review of Chromebook capabilities. Why? When my wife asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I saw it as an opportunity to upgrade my computer. A little research and I realized that in...
Random Posts
Whimsy, This Engineer’s Stress ReliefSuch 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 […]
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 […]
A Discussion on the Writing of DocksideI’ll admit to a huge amount of pride in the stories I’ve written. Unfortunately very few of you have read my stories. That’s not your fault. I already know what I write doesn’t appeal to everyone. Before you protest, let me explain that the way my stories are published gives me the ability to see when […]
Random Posts
Using 1040 Advertising As A Revenue Stream, Why Not?Every once in a while I have an idea that’s almost brilliant. Google has made most of its money through advertising. Why can’t the US government do the same? Every year the IRS gets an update on where we live, how much money we made, and how we spend our money. They keep records of […]- 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 […]
Rest In Peace Kindle Write On, I Hardly Knew YouFrom the moment I learned about the existence of Kindle Write On, I felt this was a fantastic idea. Here was a place for aspiring writers to put their efforts under the eyes of a supportive community. Last February I opened an account, screwed up my courage and posted two of my stories there. I expected all sorts […]
Random Posts
Justifying My AI Hobby By Finding Blaze A Forever HomeFrom my early teenage years, technology has always played a significant part in my life. Though I was late to the party, I joined the technology revolution as the world transitioned from vacuum tubes to transistors in 1963. By 1975, I found myself in the midst of the personal computer revolution as the manager of […]- Whimsy, This Engineer’s Stress ReliefSuch 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 […]
Shouting Is A Poor Form Of CommunicationA few nights ago I was playing Tera with a friend who wanted to try it out. He was on a trial account and while he could receive messages from me he could not send them to me. This lead to a mildly frustrating 30 minutes involving phone texting and emotes. I understand the reasons […]
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
It’s Absolutely Impossible For Us To Stop Being An EngineerWe 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 …
A BambuLabs X1 Carbon for Christmas? Careful What You Wish ForMy Prusa MK3 has been a true gem, but after a solid three years of unwavering service, the plastic pieces sadly started to show signs of wear, cracking under the strain. I was at a crossroads: should I invest in a shiny new printer, or breathe new life into my …
Spam Reduction, An Idea From The Thought Simulation ChamberToday I’m the recipient of some sixty odd emails. Fifty-five of them assume I’m dumber than a pile of rocks and want me to visit their website and spend money. That’s not quite true, only eight of them want me to spend money on useless junk, the rest want to …
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 …
A Plea For An End To Short Power CordsIn a world where we’ve given up all pretense of individual responsibility we’re flooded with an ever expanding universe of safety regulations, safety stickers and short power cords. When I look at the sticker on my lawn mower, “Caution! Do not reach under mower while blades are turning,” I can …