Whitewall Nebraska, A Study Into Current Reality

I’m proud to announce that I’ve been elected mayor of Whitewall, Nebraska. It was unanimous—or will be as soon as I update the websites I created for this event. Of course, you’ve probably never heard of Whitewall, Nebraska. That’s not surprising because it doesn’t...

Christmas Ideas From My Fox Alien 4040 Vasto

Shortly after I retired, Fox Alien put their 4040 Vasto CNC on sale. The timing was perfect. I had already decided I wanted to get serious about carving wood, and although I had highly modified my 3018 (now a 3040), it was limited. First impression: the Vasto is...

In Defense Of My Junk Box: Married to An Engineer

Just about every electrical or mechanical engineer I know has some kind of junk box—a treasure trove of parts accumulated over the years, all saved with the hope they might come in handy someday. My own junk box started at a very early age. Too young to work a...

From the Doghouse

A look at dogs having fun

Poser Gallery

My gallery of pictures I’ve created in Poser

Nature by Carol

A look at the less technical side of life

A Mother’s Day Post On Political Change

A Mother’s Day Post On Political Change

I should explain why I’m doing a political post for Mother’s Day. Last year I explained that I have to consider both my Mother and my Mother-in-law. When it comes to this blog both of them have given me strong encouragement to continue writing. They’ve only expressed...

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Criticism, It’s Not Always Bad

Criticism, It’s Not Always Bad

When I started this website I was really concerned about the comments that I would receive. How much tolerance would I have for negative comments? Would I get a multitude of negative comments? Could I handle the criticism without giving up completely? I guess I really...

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Random Posts

  • Congress, Too Focused on Being Politicians?Congress, Too Focused on Being Politicians?
    My previous post on Congress made me wonder, how is it possible that the people in Congress don’t see themselves in the same light we do? How can you have a 10% approval rating and honestly feel like you are doing the job you were elected for? All the evidence says that there are some […]
  • Why is An Engineer So Brutally Honest But Still Can’t Read A Schedule?Why is An Engineer So Brutally Honest But Still Can’t Read A Schedule?
    For a marketing person, introducing a potential customer to an engineer is the stuff nightmares are made from. Engineers can be brutally honest about technology. Note I said technology. We’re perfectly capable of lying. Ask us about schedule, percent complete, does this dress make me look fat…. On second thought, we’re not always good about […]
  • The UP! Mini 3D Printer, A ReviewThe UP! Mini 3D Printer, A Review
    I 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

  • A Brief Guided Tour of an Engineer’s Thought ProcessA Brief Guided Tour of an Engineer’s Thought Process
    I’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 engineering is electrical but except […]
  • Data Mining For Personality CluesData Mining For Personality Clues
    I find understanding people every bit as difficult as trying to crack an encrypted file. I spend a lot more time at trying to understand people because I believe communication requires mutual understanding. While taking Udacity’s Cryptography course I learned about the use of side channels to help in decrypting messages. A side channel was […]
  • Olympics, Meet The Connected AgeOlympics, Meet The Connected Age
    Every two years my wife starts building her media center for Olympic viewing. This consists of carefully looking at all the schedules, verifying that all the recording devices operate, verifying that everything is hooked up correctly and that we get all the channels we need to watch the Olympics. I see this as a perspective […]

Random Posts

  • What’s Your Opinion On MOOCs?What’s Your Opinion On MOOCs?
    A good friend sent me this link because he knew that I often recommend Udacity courses, San Jose State suspends collaboration with online provider. The story tells how San Jose University is scaling back their partnership with Udacity because things were not going as well as San Jose wanted. The story was interesting to me […]
  • My Quest, Why I Started a BlogMy Quest, Why I Started a Blog
    Role Playing Games try to simulate the way we interact with the world and break the elements down to a few essentials. These essentials are then simplified and incorporated into the game as the designer envisions. For example, my character might be described as having 12 Strength, 15 Dexterity, 17 Intelligence, 15 Wisdom and 12 […]
  • Married To A Systems Engineer, Why Do Engineers Ask So Many QuestionsMarried To A Systems Engineer, Why Do Engineers Ask So Many Questions
    I 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 that’s still no excuse. She […]

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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 AppliancesKnow When to Say Goodby to Your Appliances
    When 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 …
  • Why All the Hate For PO Boxes?Why All the Hate For PO Boxes?
    Before you read too far, let me confess to you that I was in a very irritated frame of mind when I wrote this. After waiting two weeks for a word on the Nexus 7 I ordered from Google Wallet, I was notified yesterday that they cancelled my order because …
  • My Quest, Why I Started a BlogMy Quest, Why I Started a Blog
    Role Playing Games try to simulate the way we interact with the world and break the elements down to a few essentials. These essentials are then simplified and incorporated into the game as the designer envisions. For example, my character might be described as having 12 Strength, 15 Dexterity, 17 …
  • Website Data For My Udacity Statistics CourseWebsite Data For My Udacity Statistics Course
    A few weeks ago I did a post, “Probability, Statistics and Udacity”. Udacity read the post, tweeted it and posted a link on their site. The increase in traffic to my site was astounding.  This provided a whole new audience and a great opportunity to study the statistics generated by …
  • Reliability, Warranty and Why Nothing Lasts As Long As It Used ToReliability, Warranty and Why Nothing Lasts As Long As It Used To
    Five years ago I had to make an emergency run to Fry’s because the video card in my wife’s computer had died and she had a raid scheduled with her gaming guild. With a wide selection of high end cards, I selected her current card because it had a lifetime …
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