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
Congress, Too Focused on Being Politicians? – Part 2
There's an old saying "The enemy of my enemy is my ally". Congress has certainly made me see the truth of that. My Mother-in-Law is a very nice person that shares my love of technology. There's two topics where we are polar opposites, choice of computer platforms and...
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...
What Are The Odds? You’ll Enjoy Udacity Statistics
During the Christmas and New Year's holiday's I was doing research on hard drive failures when I came across the white paper by Google on hard drive failures. It's a really nice breakdown of hard drive failure statistics. A few caveats before I get into the details,...
Teamwork, A Term Misunderstood By Congress
Apparently I lied when I said I was going to skip Congress as a topic. This morning my wife told me how Congress was congratulating themselves on coming up with a deal at the last minute and I was reminded of the six phases of a project. 1. Enthusiasm - We're going to...
Utility Software I Depend On
I thought a lot about my first post of 2013. I wanted to start the year with a great post. I considered one on Congress but my efforts would be insignificant compared to the spectacle they've already made of themselves. Statistics is always a good topic and the course...
Handwriting as a training method?
There are a number of people that would describe my personality as a tightly closed book, written in small font, in code. I wasn't always this open. When I still lived in the city I had a ritual for starting my weekend. On Saturday morning I would walk to a used...
Random Posts
Customer Retention, A Forgotten Concept Or Counting On Our LazinessI just finished deleting Opinionbypen. No, not this version of my blog obviously. I’m talking about the version hosted at GoDaddy. This year when my renewal rolled around, GoDaddy rewarded my tenure with a rate increase. Having been with then for five years, they could have rewarded my customer loyalty with a discount. Instead they […]
News Reporters Or News Fabricators?News Reporters Or News Fabricators? by –Zee– The “takedown” in McKinney Texas of a young lady by a police officer at a party held in a private neighborhood pool was vulgar, perhaps unnecessary, but it belonged to McKinney, not the world. The […]
Spam Reduction, An Idea From The Thought Simulation ChamberToday I’m the recipient of some sixty odd emails. Fifty-five of them assume I’m dumber than a pile of rocks and want me to visit their website and spend money. That’s not quite true, only eight of them want me to spend money on useless junk, the rest want to infect my computer and eliminate […]
Random Posts
Driving Change With Comments – Force MultipliersI had barely hit “send” on my last post when Zee, ever the critic, called me on it. I mean, she’s penned a gallery of fire-breathing missives about shoddy products, clueless congressmen, and writers who wouldn’t recognize a plot if it slapped them in the face. What did she get for her literary fireworks? Coupons, […]
Whatever Happened To Compromise And Acceptance?I have no mouth and must scream is a short story by Harlen Ellison. Unfortunately it also very accurately sums up my feelings on American politics. I’ll confess to avoiding Twitter and Facebook. I have my website but I’ve accepted that the stats on my website don’t lie, nobody wants to read my political posts. […]
Why Are We Allowing The News Media To Manipulate Our Opinions?I know, I vowed no more political blogs but that was last year. This really isn’t about politics anyway. It’s about the manipulation of our society by the news media. I believe the divisiveness we see today is driven largely by this manipulation. Remember the recent headlines about a high school student harassing a Native […]
Random Posts
How Did My Website Get Hacked?Getting hacked was not one of the new experiences I planned for my website in 2016. True, when I went to Rome’s Porta Portese flea market, I carried a spare wallet just so I could say I’d been pickpocketed but that was an experience I was planning for. I’ve already written my 2016 plan. I changed […]
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 […]
What To Buy for the Engineer in Your Life?Every year around this time my wife agonizes on what to get me for Christmas. This year I decided to help her by writing what to buy for the engineer in your life. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not hard to shop for but my wife and I live in two different worlds. Her world […]
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 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 …- 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 …
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 only got one question, why is the …
Why You Never Ask An Engineer, What Are You Thinking?It’s been a beautiful evening. The meal was delicious. The waiter had been right, the dessert was to die for. Noticing the smile on his face, you reach out and gently grasp your beloveds’ hand. In a warm voice, full of love and contentment, you say, “What are you thinking?” …
Demystifying The Prusa PINDA With a Possible SubstituteSlightly over three years ago, I acquired my first 3D printer, a UP! Mini. I didn’t know it at the time but as a beginning printer it was perfect for me. Two years later I was familiar with the weaknesses of my printer and wanted more. I studied reviews, I …