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

Suppose You Built A Blog And No One Came

Suppose You Built A Blog And No One Came

Imagine your disappointment, if after building an entertainment park, your only visitors were robots for Google Street View (no references to EuroDisney please). When I started this blog, I never imagined how hard it was to get readers to my website. I should have...

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Quitting Doesn’t Always Mean Failure

Quitting Doesn’t Always Mean Failure

I spent a lot of time thinking of ways to say I was not finishing Udacity’s Interactive 3D Graphics course without sounding like a quitter. I even wrote a post on the difference between failure and quitting. The funny thing is that I’m probably the only one that...

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Pepper, Someone Else’s Problem

Pepper, Someone Else’s Problem

I’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....

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The Demise of the PC, Where I Blame Everbody

The Demise of the PC, Where I Blame Everbody

Writing this post took a lot longer than usual. It wasn't all the additional research,  the facts are staring us in the face. This post depressed me because it was so obvious. Building your own PC is about to go the way of the 70’s muscle cars, suddenly the entire...

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Random Posts

  • The Path to Success is Filled With FailureThe 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 difficult problem. I don’t get frustrated by failure, I […]
  • 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 […]
  • Windows 10 Versus Chromebook, What Does Intregity Have To Do With It?Windows 10 Versus Chromebook, What Does Intregity Have To Do With It?
    I’m writing this on a Chromebook. Think of it more as an experiment rather than a review of Chromebook capabilities. Why? When my wife asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I saw it as an opportunity to upgrade my computer. A little research and I realized that in order to upgrade, I would have […]

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  • Ego, It Doesn’t Improve Your Homelife EitherEgo, It Doesn’t Improve Your Homelife Either
    A very long time ago I was a manager of the small group of electronic designers. Like many engineering managers I had been a very good designer and I’d been promoted to the position of manager without knowing what it took to become a manager. The way I saw it, the best way to be […]
  • Tired Of Being Spied On? Support Data Gathering TaxesTired Of Being Spied On? Support Data Gathering Taxes
    It’s fall again and with the lower temperatures I tend to take longer showers. Those of you that visit my site frequently know what that means, more time for me to think about solving world problems. My first shower of the season and I think I’ve really found a gem this time. It’s a given […]
  • Are You Blocking Me Again Or Is It My ISP Cache?Are You Blocking Me Again Or Is It My ISP Cache?
    Some weeks seem fated to go bad. I started last week getting stung by a scorpion and then I learned a new term, ISP cache.  The scorpion sting stopped hurting long before I understood what kind of grief the ISP cache was causing me. When my aunt asked me why I was blocking her on […]

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    It’s inevitable that having mastered their own specialty, an artist will go on to explore other media. For example, a painter who has worked with oils will probably try watercolors. An experienced electrical engineer will probably think he’s capable of doing mechanical engineering. For myself, I’ve spent the last few years writing this blog and […]
  • The Art Of Communication, Let Your Audience Dictate How You Say ItThe Art Of Communication, Let Your Audience Dictate How You Say It
    There are times when my wife is so frustrated from trying to talk to me that she wonders if I’m an idiot savant with the emphasis on idiot. Why? Communication. Exchanging concepts between two people is difficult. Throw an engineer into the mix and it’s almost impossible. If you know an engineer, you already know […]
  • An AI Assistant Comparison, Alexa, Google and Folgers?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 […]

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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

  • Apathy, How To Waste Your VoteApathy, How To Waste Your Vote
    Over the last few months I’ve had some very harsh words for our politicians in Washington. My Mother-in-law pointed out that the politicians really aren’t to blame for our current situation. They may be totally incompetent and dysfunctional but it’s not their fault they are in office. The only reason …
  • Most of My Knowledge Started With FailureMost of My Knowledge Started With Failure
    There are people who say I have an enormous ego, not that I disagree. I’ve gone so far as to write about my ego, although in that post I attributed my ego to being an engineer. There are even a few people who believe I deserve to have a big ego. …
  • Company Buyouts, Good For The Consumer?Company Buyouts, Good For The Consumer?
    You’re justifiably proud of your waffle maker. It was a lesser-known brand, yet it cost half as much as its competitors, and its brilliant texture sensor guaranteed you got flawless waffles every time. Unfortunately, as soon as you plugged it in, someone mistook your power station for a drive-through, and …
  • Knowing Mechanics Of Writing Doesn’t Make Me A WriterKnowing Mechanics Of Writing Doesn’t Make Me A Writer
    Creative writing has always appealed to me. During my career I’ve had a lot of practice writing reports, proposals and specifications.  While these documents require the ability to communicate information in a clear concise and, hopefully, unambiguous manner, none of them require an active imagination. With the exception of a …
  • Married To An Engineer: When Does Repair Become Replace?Married To An Engineer: When Does Repair Become Replace?
    “I know engineers better than that! They would never throw away a 3D printer that quit working without trying to repair it first.” These words were exclaimed by my wife as she watched a credit card commercial showing engineers trashing a malfunctioning printer and using a credit card to order …
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