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
I’m Stuck But I Have A Bold And Cunning Plan
Have you ever started something but try as you might you can't finish it? It doesn't matter if it's a book that you hope will get better, a movie that always puts you to sleep or the first blog post of a new year, we all been in that position. Come to think of it, you...
The Path to Success is Filled With Failure
When faced with a problem, engineers tend to fixate on solving the problem. Often we're still looking for a solution when others would have given up long ago. It could be that I'm too stubborn to admit defeat but there's nothing more satisfying than solving a...
What Happened To Rewarding Customer Loyalty
After almost ten years with Sprint, my wife and I changed our cell service to Verizon. There were a number of reasons but the number one factor was cost. In this case Verizon was offering $150 credit per line that I added and the monthly fee, with two new Galaxy S5s,...
Cloud Encryption, Prudent or Paranoia?
On a typical day I’ll use Dropbox three or four times. It provides an almost seamless method of sharing files between my smartphone, either of my tablets (iPad and Android) and my PC. I also use Dropbox to share pictures and files with my Wife and Mother-in-law. As...
How To Identify An Engineer
How do you identify an engineer? My wife and I have frequent discussions about engineers being a unique class of people. She feels that communication with me is difficult because I think differently than most people. I feel that communication with me is far simpler...
There’s Magic In A Name
It’s a common belief in mythology that knowing a person’s name gives you tremendous power over them. Based on personal experience, I certainly believe there’s magic in a name. When my wife wants my attention she doesn’t use any endearing nicknames. She goes straight...
Random Posts
Married To An Engineer, Why Can’t I Have A New OvenI wanted my wife to write this from her point of view because if anyone in this marriage has suffered, it’s her. She wants a new oven and I continue to repair the old one. As long as it continues to work, why do we need to replace it? I realized just how different my way […]
Some Advice Before You Move To The CountryYou’re tired of your annoying neighbor that gets up at 6AM on a Saturday morning to mow his lawn. Or maybe it’s the neighbor that mows his grass once a month and seems to cultivate all those weeds that find their way to your yard. Or maybe you don’t like the home owners association telling you […]
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 […]
Random Posts
TechnolustIt should come as no surprise to anyone that reads this blog that I suffer from Technolust. I certainly won’t die from it (that is unless my wife discovers how much I paid for my latest video card). This means that although I can’t always afford it, I always want the latest and greatest in […]
An Engineer’s Observations On Becoming A Better SupervisorThere 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 was able to produce for […]
The Me Too Movement, One Woman’s OpinionI want to make it very clear that this was not written by me. I could give the standard disclaimer about the opinions expressed here and so on but as a male, I’m not qualified to express an opinion on the topic. However, as a woman who has spent over forty years in several male […]
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 […]
Poser Debut, an Engineer’s ReviewI think Smith Micro has a real hit with Poser Debut. As a engineer I’ve always been impressed by an artist’s ability to convey a message using a minimum of information. If I want to represent a bird in a picture I immediately think of feathers, beak, eyes and wings. I break the feathers and […]
How To Torture An Engineer, An Engineer’s Wife Shows You The WayEver wonder how to torture an engineer? You know you want to get rid of that smug know it all attitude. No, I’m not talking about staking us to an antbed. Over the years, my wife has developed some very effective techniques. Let me share an example with you. Last week I was sequestered out […]
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
Know When to Say Goodby to Your AppliancesWhen I make a mistake I try to admit it. If I can turn it into something positive it helps reinforce this behavior. Writing this post is about as good as it gets for this one. From my wife’s point of view I have a very bad habit of maintaining …
Ready For Your Hard Drive To Fail? Make Sure Your Backup WorksBackup 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 find out …
Blogging Changes and ImprovementsTwo months ago I posted about the mistakes I made in starting this blog. It’s in my nature to review the changes I’m made since then and give them an objective look. The most obvious change is my theme. I know I said that I wouldn’t but as I also …
Use It Or Lose It, A Cautionary Tale To All HusbandsWe’ve all heard the term, use it or lose it. All you have to do is look at the mess our current voting system is in to realize the truth of that statement. Still, I’ve promised that I’ll stay away from politics so I’ll let that one pass. In college …
Why I Finally Allowed Microsoft To Put Windows 10 On My ComputerToday is the thirtieth day after I finally gave in and allowed Microsoft to put Windows 10 on my machine. That’s an important number for Windows 10. If you change to Windows 10 and decide you don’t like it, you have to do a roll back before 30 days have elapsed. After that …