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
A Design Principle Frequently Forgotten
In his lectures on rhetoric, Professor Michael Drout said write what your audience needs to hear, not what you want to say. Each time he said that I nodded my head in agreement. This concept was important enough that he repeated it several times at various points in...
Sequestration, Escrow and Congressional Cuts, An Idea
Think about this. You’ve known for a while that your company was having some issues. Your company seems to be slipping in its market position and recently the board of directors can't seem to agree on anything. Your manager calls you into his office to tell you that...
501(c)(4), Which Part Is The IRS Violating?
It was with surprise and horror that I, along with 20 million other Americans, first learned that the IRS was targeting specific groups for their in-depth investigations into tax exempt status. How did they possibly believe such a travesty would go undetected? I’ve...
Grammar and Rhetoric, the Drout Way
When I wrote my post on the confusing rules of writing, the last thing I expected to find was an answer. Two months later not only have I found several answers but I have a better insight into the way I learn. All thanks to two books on rhetoric and grammar. Living in...
In Praise of Two Moms, Mother’s Day
Mother’s day, that one day of the year that you devote the day to telling your mother thank you for everything she’s done. Of course, if you’re like my Mother and me, a full day is stretching it. Neither one of us has that much free time. When I started thinking about...
History, How To Reduce Events Into Meaningless Data
History, we know what that means, we’ve endured hours of study on the subject but we’re missing the point. Not only that but the scholars and teachers abandoned us long ago. I fully subscribe to the fact that history repeats itself and we can best understand our...
Random Posts
The Use and Misuse of Metrics, What Do They Mean?I was showing a book in my Kindle library to a fellow engineer this week when he noticed the time to the end of the chapter was two minutes and fifteen seconds. The book was interesting to him but the use of reading metrics was even more interesting, not because of what it meant but because […]
What Idiot Designed This? In Defense Of EngineersEver try to fix something and ask yourself, “what idiot designed this?” It’s certainly happened to me often enough. Yeah, a few of those times it was one of my own designs but we’re not going to discuss those today. Before I get too far into this post let me freely admit that not all […]
A Study In Communication As Demonstrated by SadieAs I continue in my journey to improve my writing, I’m starting to see some of the key elements of communication. To tell you the truth, I’m amazed at how difficult it is to communicate with you. I know you don’t believe you’re difficult but let’s try an exercise in communication. This is a horse. […]
Random Posts
Why Would You Want To Write A Blog?Ever notice that the moment you describe a problem to an engineer, they stop listening to you? Before you’ve finished describing the problem, they’ve started working on a solution for you. True, some of the very best engineers have the ability to remain focused on you until you’ve fully described the problem. As my wife […]
Sometimes the Engineers Get It Wrong, TPMSYesterday the TPMS warning for my wife’s canine roadshow, AKA known as a Dodge Grand Caravan, came on. In case you’re not familiar with the term, the TPMS is your tire pressure monitoring system. Now my wife’s relationship with tires is the stuff urban legends are built from, her tires attract more nails than a […]
Why Is It So Hard To Leave A Comment?The majority of Website owners want you to leave comments. After all, the only reason their site exists is for you to visit. Comments show you took enough time reading the post to make your comment. So why is it so hard to leave a comment? Why do these websites want our email addresses, force […]
Random Posts
Magic, An Engineer’s PerspectiveBeing an engineer isn’t easy. I don’t mean the bewilderment that comes with social interaction. I don’t mean dealing with math and science. I’m talking about trying to enjoy a good fantasy book. I’m drawn to fantasy because it gives me a vehicle to explore new concepts. The problem is that I automatically start thinking […]
Risk Reward Analysis And How to Influence Your Engineer’s DecisionEvery decision an engineer makes goes through a risk reward analysis, each and every one. It’s not a complicated process, it doesn’t involve calculus but it’s not always obvious. Let me give you an example. Recently my two year old Samsung dryer decided to stop working. Power would come on but the drum wasn’t turning. […]
Learning Through AnalogyI don’t know about most people but when I’m learning a new task, I look for analogies with skills I already possess. I’m not always successful but sometimes I stumble on a valid analogy that exists between two totally unrelated fields. For example, the relationship between raising plants and writing software is not intuitively obvious but close […]
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
Solar Powered Wyze Cameras, An Engineering EvolutionAs with most engineering projects, it started with a need. In my case, as soon as I got high-speed Internet, I eagerly added several cameras. I chose Wyze because they are affordable, don’t require a monthly subscription, and offer excellent picture quality. Wanting to extend coverage beyond just my house, …
Inspiration, It Might Be Closer Than You ThinkOn our journey through life we meet a number of people that have profound influences on us, our parents, our teachers, our friends, even our co-workers. I’ve been very fortunate to encounter a number of people who were very positive inspirations. As I sit here spending my Saturday morning taking …
Sundae, The Life And Times Of A Dedicated CompanionI’ve been fortunate enough to spend the last 14 years under very close supervision. If I tried to stay up too late, I was gently reminded it was past my bed time. Her displeasure was clear if I tried to snack too often. I was never allowed to sit at …
The Rubbermaid 7’ x 10’ Shed, A ReviewThis is a review of the Rubbermaid 7’ x 10’ shed but my story begins with a humbling confession of my own ignorance. When I bought my dream ranch, complete with a charming old barn, I was blissfully unaware of the storm of frustration that lay ahead. Neither the barn …
How To Take Part In A DDoS Attack Without Even TryingThis last Friday was a busy day for many of us. For my part, I was flying back to Texas after a brief business trip but if the numbers are to be believed, many of you were taking part in a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack that affected much of …