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 Look at Beauty Through The Eyes Of An Engineer
One look at my wife’s website, NaturebyCarol, and you can see she’s enamored with daylilies. As an engineer, I simply don’t understand the fascination. You put all this time and effort into a flower that only lasts a day. When I work on a project, I want it to last...
After The Crash, Comparing Backup Software, Acronis, Aomei and Paragon
The idea behind a software review is to give an unbiased appraisal of the program. Unfortunately most reviews are anything but unbiased. As hard as I tried, this review is no exception. After my experiences last month, I decided to see what else was out there for...
Ready For Your Hard Drive To Fail? Make Sure Your Backup Works
Backup software is a lot like an insurance policy. Until you have an accident you have no idea how good it is. Of course, if you race down the highway at 100 mph, trying to determine what your stockbroker meant when he texted you, “sell immediately,” you’ll probably...
Using 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...
The Zone, An Explanation For The Rest Of You
It’s evening and your dearly beloved has been sitting at the computer for hours. You know that this obsession has something to do with the latest project but you aren’t sure of the details. With a smile, you decide to do something nice for your beloved. You pour a...
Stop Insulting My Intelligence, A Rant For The Rest Of Us
I'm tired of people insulting my intelligence. No, I don't mean the comments on Opinionbypen suggesting my writing is only slightly better than what my dogs could write or the few choice words my supervisor uses after reading my latest progress report. I'm not even...
Random Posts
An Engineer’s Plan For Romance On Valentine’s DayIt’s not that I hate Valentine’s Day but I certainly have reason to fear it. From my point of view, nothing good comes from this holiday. Forget it and I’m in the doghouse. Use the day to tell my wife I love her and my wife questions me about the other 364 days. Putting in a bird […]
Sequestration, Escrow and Congressional Cuts, An IdeaThink about this. You’ve known for a while that your company was having some issues. Your company seems to be slipping in its market position and recently the board of directors can’t seem to agree on anything. Your manager calls you into his office to tell you that the board of directors can’t agree on […]
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 a threat to their existence […]
Random Posts
Musings On The Effectivity Of Lessons Learned DatabasesPeople frequently suggest use of a Lessons Learned database as a best practice. Many companies have invested large amounts of time and money in creating those databases. Both the exceptional projects, where nothing goes wrong, and the plagued-ridden projects that quickly become fodder for our nightmares, provide ample lessons learned. It’s not that I don’t […]
A Followup to Amazon Polly and My Solar FountainI live in Texas because I enjoy the hot summers, mild winters and the food. Well, also because my wife has told me she’s not moving out of Texas. What I really dread is springtime when my allergies kick into overtime and I feel like a druggie looking for my next Claritin fix. The majority […]
Why You Never Ask An Engineer, What Are You Thinking?It’s been a beautiful evening. The meal was delicious. The waiter had been right, the dessert was to die for. Noticing the smile on his face, you reach out and gently grasp your beloveds’ hand. In a warm voice, full of love and contentment, you say, “What are you thinking?” Your companion squeezes your hand […]
Random Posts
Email, A Training Tool For Poor PerformanceIn a typical game you have a number of obstacles that you have to overcome. Overcome enough of them and you gain a level. Not unexpectedly, the designers of these games often use psychologists to maximize the rush of endorphins you get for each accomplishment. It should come as no surprise that responding to your […]
A Cost Analysis of Blogging Versus GamingHypothesis : Blogging is cheaper than gaming. Experiment: Follow blogger through first three months and collect cost data. Results: Collected costs after the first three months are shown below. $300 Webhosting and Domain Name registration for 3 years…..Subject chose to do three years because it would keep him committed to the blog and […]
In Search of an EditorI’m afraid that my mental picture of a newspaper editor is largely limited to movie characters. Perry White and J. Jonah Jameson are two that come to mind. I also assumed that they had something to do with the big picture for a newspaper but I never gave it much thought. When it came to […]
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
Failure To Communicate, The Evolution of A Bad DesignWhen I write about engineers, I naturally try to show us in the best light possible. Still, there’s no arguing that some of the things you cope with as a consumer of the products we design would have been avoided if a blind monkey were the designer. Why does this happen? …
Using WordPress.com To Host Your BlogI used to work at a small electronics store that grew too fast and could not sustain itself when to economy took a turn for the worse. When the store finally closed, I was amazed by the ego of the owner as he started selling subscriptions to his newsletter, a …
How Did My Website Get Hacked?Getting hacked was not one of the new experiences I planned for my website in 2016. True, when I went to Rome’s Porta Portese flea market, I carried a spare wallet just so I could say I’d been pickpocketed but that was an experience I was planning for. I’ve already written …
Does Communication Method Influence Thought?I want to confess that my previous post was an experiment in communication. No, there’s no subliminal messages or hidden phrases. It wasn’t written using a random buzzword generator. Instead, it was written almost completely by dictating it to Dragon Naturally Speaking. Hmm, I see by the expression on your …
Congress, Too Focused on Being Politicians? – Part 2There’s an old saying “The enemy of my enemy is my ally”. Congress has certainly made me see the truth of that. My Mother-in-Law is a very nice person that shares my love of technology. There’s two topics where we are polar opposites, choice of computer platforms and politics. I …