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
Storing Passwords In Your Browser, A Poor Security Practice?
When it comes to computer security, I used to pride myself on being pretty savvy. That self-assuredness shattered when I had the daunting task of replacing my wife's computer. The moment revealed to me a shocking truth about my own security ignorance. Her ancient...
Why Did My Electric Blanket Fail? An Autopsy Into Its Death
My electric blanket was just your typical, everyday electric blanket, barely a year old and lightly used. It came with a promising five-year warranty, a promise that quickly dissolved into nothing when the supplier conveniently went out of business or changed their...
Customer Service, Why The L8 Is My Last Sainsmart Product
When it comes to technology, I tend to have a pretty staunch brand loyalty. It’s not just about the tech meeting my needs; if two products are similar in technology and capability, the price isn’t as big a deal to me as the brand itself. However, there's another...
Retirement, A Very Personal Fear
Fear is a funny thing. I’ve seen grown men injure themselves to escape a common garden spider. Personally, I’m petrified when I have to climb higher than 3 feet on a ladder. They’ve never been bitten by a spider, I’ve never fallen off a ladder, so why the paralyzing...
2023, I’m Very Glad To See It End
2023 is now firmly in my rear view mirror and I have zero feelings of nostalgia. It was tough losing two of our beloved dogs to cancer. Sundae had been a part of our family for 14 years, leaving a significant void, and even though Hilde was with us for just under a...
A BambuLabs X1 Carbon for Christmas? Careful What You Wish For
My Prusa MK3 has been a true gem, but after a solid three years of unwavering service, the plastic pieces sadly started to show signs of wear, cracking under the strain. I was at a crossroads: should I invest in a shiny new printer, or breathe new life into my trusty...
Random Posts
How To Identify An EngineerHow 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 than with other people as long as you follow the […]
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 believe there’s any legitimate reason […]
Sundae Explains Why Fashion ChangesWhile engineers are far more challenged by fashion than most of our species, I don’t believe a lack of fashion sense is limited to engineers. I have the basic rules down, well as long as I’m wearing nothing more than business casual. Throw a tie into the mix and I fall to pieces. Now before […]
Random Posts
Engineers From Technicians, A PerspectiveIn electronics you have two classes of knowledge experts, Engineers and Technicians. I’m ignoring the programmers for the moment because they only complicate this discussion. The distinction between the two classes can become very blurred but Engineers are expected to create designs, while Technicians implement and troubleshoot those designs. At a practical level, the difference […]
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 […]
Spam, Spam and More Spam, A Closer Look At The DetailsReceiving more spam than email? Drowning in Amazon order cancellations? Wondering why your spam filter is so inefficient? I still believe I had the perfect solution when I suggested taxing email but no one seemed to like that idea. If you consider knowledge as power, I’m going to give you some power over these spammers. […]
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Email Taxation, Musings From The Thought Simulation ChamberI’m going to make a suggestion and please hear me out before you call on your fellow villagers and start lighting torches. I want the government to start taxing email. Wait, put away those lighters, I do have a reason. With approximately two hundred billion emails sent every day and assuming that one tenth of […]
When Did It Become Rude To Ask A Direct Question?You’re sitting at the airport terminal reading your Kindle when someone comes up to you and says, ”Pardon me but do you know what time it is?” If you’re like me, you look up, answer “Yes” and go back to reading. Rude? Maybe but which of us was being rude? We can infer that the […]
BeginningAs my age increases I’m starting to think that I’m wasting a huge opportunity to be a voice in this world. On the other hand, maybe it’s just that the current selection of video games is boring and I’ve always wanted to be part of the Internet. I like challenges, I enjoy accomplishing difficult accomplishments […]
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 Late Mother’s Day Praise For Mother NatureIt’s amazing how fast time passes. This makes my fourth Mother’s Day post since I started Opinionbypen. Okay, last year was a political piece but I dedicated it to both my Mother and Mother-in-Law because of their strong interest in politics. Given how tough it is to have good SEO …
Half Full or Half Empty, An Engineer’s ViewpointMy wife will confirm that living with an engineer is different. It’s not just that we tend to be socially inept or even standoffish. We see the world differently and until you spend time with one of us you can’t comprehend how differently. All my life I’ve listened to people describe …
TNSTAAFL, Windows 10TNSTAAFL, There’s No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. Microsoft’s continuing antics to coerce me, by hook, crook or outright trickery, into accepting their free upgrade to Windows 10 brought this phrase to mind. Microsoft is hardly a nonprofit organization and I doubt that are trying to apologize to all …
What Can Spirit Animals Teach Us About Today’s America?This week, while perusing my feed on Bluesky, I stumbled upon a post in which someone shared that she had just learned that crows can hold a grudge for 17 years and thus declared crows as her new spirit animal. While many responses expressed surprise or shared their own observations, …
Whimsy, This Engineer’s Stress ReliefSuch 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 …