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
Nothing Personal But I Don’t Trust Your Email
The idea for this post started with an email from a friend asking me if I had ever been an attorney and this link, http://abovethelaw.com/2013/02/inside-straight-assuming-that-people-are-idiots/. That’s two strikes against it right there, I dislike attorneys and I...
Why Publishers Should Allow Me To Loan Ebooks
I've come across a dark cloud in my digital world, I can't loan ebooks. It’s no secret that I’ve fully embraced the digital world. I have an Android smart phone, an iPad, a Kindle, a netbook and a few dozen other devices I used to use. My Kindle account is attached to...
Saying Thank You, It’s Not That Hard
The first time I entered a library I was overwhelmed by all the information. At the time I was more interested in all the science fiction but I soon learned that there was much more than just fiction. I never considered how much work went into putting that repository...
Lower Gas Prices And 100 MPG The Congressional Way
Over the last few weeks I’ve been thinking hard about two things, how to get lower gas prices and how to get better mileage on my vehicle. It was while I was in the thought simulation chamber (shower to you) that the solution came to me. I was amazed, all these weeks...
Class Action Suits, A Way To Balance The Budget?
The odds are strong you’ve been a client in a class action suit. You might never know you were involved in one. Maybe more than one, I know I’ve been represented in several. It seems the moment you buy something, you’re automatically included in a class action suit....
One Year In The Making, A Blogging Quest
One year in the making...that's how long this post has taken me. Exactly one year ago I started this blog with my first post, Beginning, embarking on this quest. Since then I've written 95 posts on a variety of topics. In response to those posts, Opinionbypen.com has...
Random Posts
An Engineer Looks At AccountantsPut a group of engineers together discussing projects and sooner or later the discussion will turn to beancounters. No, beancounters aren’t an apparatus for counting individual beans, we use the term to refer to the accounting department. As you might guess, this is not a term of high regard. There’s no denying that most engineers […]
ControlsI want you to try an experiment. Pick a remote control that you use frequently and tell me what each switch does. Odds are that you can’t. I would even guess that you only use a few of them. As an engineer I love choices. The more controls you give me the better. As a […]
Using Data To Influence My Content, How Opinionbypen.com ChangesIn the design and maintenance of Opinionbypen.com, there are two guiding principles I always consider. When it comes to technology, resisting change is the best way to become forgotten. Then again maybe you’re still using a rotary telephone as you watch your VHS tapes on that black and white television. Whether you’re a gadget or […]
Random Posts
Use It Or Lose It, A Cautionary Tale To All HusbandsWe’ve all heard the term, use it or lose it. All you have to do is look at the mess our current voting system is in to realize the truth of that statement. Still, I’ve promised that I’ll stay away from politics so I’ll let that one pass. In college I learned how to do […]
The SainSmart 3018 PROVer CNC Router, A ReviewGiven the number of posts I’ve made on 3D printers, it’s safe to assume that I feel I’ve mastered the basic techniques. Still you always wonder if the grass is greener on the other side. In my case, thanks in part to the Covid blues and Amazon’s Prime day I ended up with a SainSmart […]
Improving Our Vote Through Technology, A TSC IdeaMy wife dreads the arrival of Autumn. She loves the season, the brisk cold, the planning of next year’s garden but with the cold she also knows I spend more time in the shower taking long showers that completely drain our hot water system. The additional time spent in the Thought Simulation ChamberTM, gives me […]
Random Posts
Improving My Writing Means I Have To WriteWhen I started writing this blog, I had two goals, improve my writing and become comfortable sharing parts of my life. Well, there was also the lure of becoming rich and famous through my writing but reality set in quickly. Writing for a living takes a lot of work. The more writing I do, the […]
Companies Not Reading Your Complaints? You’re Probably Dealing With A ChatbotEver write to a company about a problem and their response made it obvious they weren’t reading your message? No, it’s not your spouse moonlighting as customer support. Odds are, you’ve just encountered a chatbot. Chatbots have been around as long as I’ve been interested in computers. My first encounter was a chatbot named Eliza […]
The Amazing Windows 8 Strategy, Thank You MicrosoftLet’s admit it, the last few years have been great for us geeks. At no other time in history has our fascination with technology been in so much demand. The fact that I could fix your computer, explain why Windows wasn’t working well and set up your router made it worthwhile for you to add […]
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
The Up Mini 3D Printer RevisitedThe 3D printer testing this week by Make magazine inspired me to do this follow-up post on my Up Mini 3D printer. I’ll answer the most obvious question first. Then again, maybe not, I still have no rational reason for why I bought the printer but I can enthusiastically say …
The Art Of Communication, Let Your Audience Dictate How You Say ItThere 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 …
Emotional Content as a Communication ProtocolI’m writing this post for all the other bewildered engineers out there. You’re welcome to read on if you’re not an engineer but I’m not sure what you’ll glean from it. If you’re familiar with communication theory you’ve already been introduced to the Nyquist theorem and understand that the maximum …
Email Scam or Luckiest Man Alive?I must be the luckiest man alive. Three weeks ago when I was looking at my bills and wondering how I was going to pay them, I got an email from an attorney in England. Some wealthy relative I didn’t even know about had died and left me his fortune. …
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 …