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
Whimsy, 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...
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...
An Insidious Plot Against Men
I’ve recently become convinced that my wife has embarked on a deliberate campaign to fatten me up. I don’t know why, I certainly don’t need additional help but I can find no other explanation for her actions. Consider this. It’s the weekend, I’ve spent a grueling day...
Making a Demon Skull With LED Eyes
Two weeks ago, I promised I would explain why I had a collection of demon skulls and I would have met that schedule but repairing my 3D printer took priority. That’s done and unfortunately by the time you read this Halloween is probably over too. Still, I really like...
Repairing My 3D Printer
This week had a number of coincidences. After telling you that my wife is like a magnet for nails, she ended up with another nail in her tire and right after I published my latest post on my 3D printer, my printer died. My wife felt it was a very convenient...
Tis The Season For 3D Printing
June 2014, that’s the date I got my UP! Mini printer and wrote my first post on 3D printing. That was my introduction to 3D printers and while I intend to get another, I wanted to first review my reasons for getting that initial printer. I tend to review my goals and...
Random Posts
The Royal Cobbler, A Fairy Tale For Small BusinessA long time ago there was a cobbler of great renown. He made a comfortable living selling very nice shoes to rich people. As luck would have it, word of his skills reached the king. The king being a very noble and wise king ( they always are, aren’t they) decided to see the cobbler’s […]
The Puppy With No NameIn almost every culture there is a belief that one’s name has magical properties. There’s no question that I respond much quicker when I hear my name. I can hear my name being used in situations where it’s impossible to understand the other words being said. When my wife says my name she has my […]
Language and CultureI read a lot of Science Fiction and Fantasy. I enjoy the way it gives the author the freedom to explore different concepts, different rules of physics, different societies. I also don’t have to look for a deeper meaning. One of the books that really made me think was “The Languages of Pao” by Jack […]
Random Posts
How The FCC Wants To Improve Rural InternetI caught on to Santa Claus fairly early in life. It’s unfortunate then that it took me so long to realize that, despite their strongly spoken rhetoric, my government really doesn’t care about helping me. Sometimes this truth is so evident that I question my intelligence in ever believing their intentions were good. Avoiding the […]
Men And Their Toys, My 3D PrinterIt’s five AM and I’m up at my computer. I feel like a small boy again on Christmas morning, except I still have to wait another thirty minutes before my 3D printer finishes its first model. I started the printing over nine hours ago and then tried to sleep. Ever since I heard the concept […]
An Engineer’s Dilemma, Beware The Time TeamWhen I got married, I knew my wife did not share my fascination with technology. She wouldn’t understand what I do on a daily basis and there would be communication problems. The trade-off was her love of history and her knowledge of animals. These were skills I lacked. To say I did not fully comprehend […]
Random Posts
How to Create a Mind by Ray Kurzweil, a Review of the AudiobookI bought How to Create a Mind by Ray Kurzweil because Audible put it on sale the same day I had an argument animated discussion with a co-worker about Artificial Intelligence. Knowing I was right, I bought the book to provide supporting material for my position. While the book did support my argument, just barely, my victory […]
How To Talk With An EngineerLast week when I described my current systems engineer position as being all about communications, I almost lost my wife to uncontrollable laughter. When she finally recovered, all she said, while still trying to catch her breath was, “how do you stay employed?” She has a point. If you have an engineer in your life, you […]
Stop Insulting My Intelligence, A Rant For The Rest Of UsI’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 talking about the 500 emails I get every day telling […]
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 Solar Powered Chicken Coop Fan Project RevisitedBetween 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 to shorten the life of …
WW2 and Hacked Email AccountsI really enjoy World War II British movies. In a time of adversity, the British people pulled together. With rationing, nightly blackouts and regular air raids, you would expect some very cranky people. Knowing their way of life was being threatened allowed them to pull together and display some of …
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. …
Pepper, Someone Else’s ProblemI’m mad and worse I find myself exceedingly frustrated because I can’t express the full depth of my anger. All my life has been suppressing anger in favor of calm rational analysis. No, I don’t pretend to be Spock but I do believe anger can distract from the message. Wanting …
Common Designs, Industrial Spies Or Technology, A PerspectiveAlexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, or did he? The truth isn’t nearly as clear as we’ve been taught. In fact, in America, it was a dead heat to the patent office. The telephone isn’t the only invention with murky origins. Consider wireless, the light bulb, flying machines and the …