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
Men And Their Toys, My 3D Printer
It’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...
Luck, Statistics and Long Meetings
It was during one of those long company meetings that I started thinking about luck. You know the meeting, it seems like a contest between the presenters on who can be the most boring. Trying to stay awake through one of those verges on the impossible. In an attempt...
Why All The Hate For PO Boxes, Part Two
Almost two years ago I preordered a Google Nexus tablet, only to have the order cancelled two weeks later because I had used a PO Box as my address. Needless to say I wasn’t happy. Being very frustrated and having limited options, I wrote Google Wallet, PO Boxes and...
Are Android Permissions Getting Out Of Hand?
It seems like every Android app builder out there wants permissions, no, absolutely needs permissions to access to my location, my contacts, my camera and so on. Without it there's no way they can trust me to use their app. I may be in left field here but I don’t...
Why Do I Need To Change My Passwords So Frequently?
I was in a discussion about passwords a few days ago when somebody mentioned that it was a good idea to change your passwords frequently. That sounds good on the face of it but if you have a strong password should you change it frequently? It’s that frequent changing...
Ronin, From Puppy To Adolescent
This post started as a very simple idea. Most of them do but this was an opportunity to have a fun post and gain a few brownie points with my wife. You see it was Mother’s day and five weeks earlier my wife had acquired Ronin. Strictly speaking, a puppy doesn’t...
Random Posts
Driving Change With Comments – Force MultipliersI had barely hit “send” on my last post when Zee, ever the critic, called me on it. I mean, she’s penned a gallery of fire-breathing missives about shoddy products, clueless congressmen, and writers who wouldn’t recognize a plot if it slapped them in the face. What did she get for her literary fireworks? Coupons, […]
Your Incredible Power To Influence Technologic EvolutionEvolution is one of those topics on which everyone has an opinion. Don’t worry, I’m not going to try influencing your opinion but I am going to tell you how it works to your advantage. Consider your phone for example. Wait, you thought I was talking about the biology version of evolution? No, I’m sure […]
The UP! Mini 3D Printer, A ReviewI bought the UP! Mini 3D printer from Amazon for $599. I found the sale price too good to pass up. Having had it for almost 48 hours, I don’t have buyer’s remorse but I might do more looking if I had it to do over. While this post is a review of the UP! […]
Random Posts
First ImpressionsWhen something irritates me, I tend to remember it a long time. Many, many years ago I applied for a summer job at Six Flags Over Texas. After filling out the resume and waiting for the interview I was told that they would not even interview me until I cut off my mustache. If they […]
Heidi’s Heavenly Cookies, WowI enjoy writing this blog because I’m not constrained to a single topic. Today is all about cookies. Let me set the background. I love cookies. Everyone who knows me knows I love cookies. The only thing that lured me off my Atkins diet was cookies. My Food Scout quickly learned how much I loved […]
Duolingo, How To Enjoy Learning A LanguageToday I completed my 76th consecutive Spanish lesson with Duolingo. Why Spanish? Why Duolingo and why is the number of days important? This isn’t my first attempt to learn a new language. My work brings me in contact with a number of different languages and while I try, the project is usually over before I […]
Random Posts
An Engineer Attempts Valentine’s DayToday is that most feared of all days, Valentine’s Day. You don’t fear Valentine’s Day? That can only mean you’re not an engineer or you’re not married to an engineer. Still not understanding? As an engineer, I automatically analyze all aspects of my life. When it comes to romance, I don’t have a clue. I […]
Comments on Udacity vs. CollegesToday I got to read an interesting article by David Youngberg , “Why Online Education Won’t Replace College—Yet ” He gives five points to support his beliefs and even took CS101 from Udacity as research. I think he’s very right in his main assumption but he certainly picked five very poor points on which to […]
Giving Criticism That Will Be Heeded, An Engineer’s GuidelinesWhen I started Opinionbypen, I had long discussions with myself wondering if I was tough enough for all the criticism I would get. I knew my writing needed help. I knew I my paragraph separation was accomplished by feel rather than doctrine. And, if we’re doing true confessions , my comma placement is just shy […]
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
A Brief Guided Tour of an Engineer’s Thought ProcessI’m going to break a few rules today. I’m going to take you on a guided tour of an engineer’s thought process. Just in case you know an engineer and realize just how easily we get distracted, we’ll keep this very focused with no detours allowed. My particular brand of …
Have A Message? Viewing Conversation As A Value TransactionI’ve embedded an audio version of this post. Of course, the voice is AI generated but please let me know how you feel about this feature. Thanks! Ever get out of a meeting thinking that’s an hour of my life I’ll never get back? When you consider it, getting someone …
A SEO Enhanced ResumePeople tell us not to judge a book by the cover but we’ve all passed up good books because of poor cover art. If you think about it, your resume serves much the same function as a book cover and let’s face it, compared to our counterparts in marketing, most …
The SainSmart Jinsoku LC-40 Laser Engraver, A ReviewI’ve always been fascinated by lasers. When I was much younger, I tried to make one using an LED and a transistor for amplification. Fortunately physics was against me and I think we’re all happy my attempt was a failure. That failure did nothing to diminish my interest in lasers. …
Married To A Systems Engineer, Why Do Engineers Ask So Many QuestionsI really don’t think it’s fair for my wife to break into uncontrollable laughter every time I explain that as a systems engineer, most of my job involves facilitating communications. I understand why she starts laughing, despite speaking a common language, communication between the two of us is difficult but …