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
Driving Change With Comments – Force Multipliers
I 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...
Driving Change With Comments, You Should Do It
Grab any product you know like the back of your hand and check out its comments. Ditch the fake, fluffy ones—they’re as real as a three-dollar bill! Personally, I get a good laugh out of reading those one-star dramatics. Oh, and we’re ignoring the folks who say,...
Intelligent Garden Spiders? It’s Not Even Halloween
Let me make it clear, I don’t like spiders. It’s not like I run away screaming when I see one. I’ve been forced to share the bathroom with a wolf spider and we both survived but neither of us enjoyed that experience either. On the other side of the spectrum, my wife...
Musings On The Effectivity Of Lessons Learned Databases
People frequently suggest use of a Lessons Learned database as a best practice. Many companies have invested large amounts of time and money in creating those databases. Both the exceptional projects, where nothing goes wrong, and the plagued-ridden projects that...
Sundae, The Life And Times Of A Dedicated Companion
I’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 my desk too long...
Common Designs, Industrial Spies Or Technology, A Perspective
Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, or did he? The truth isn’t nearly as clear as we’ve been taught. In fact, in America, it was a dead heat to the patent office. The telephone isn’t the only invention with murky origins. Consider wireless, the light bulb,...
Random Posts
Using WordPress.com To Host Your BlogI used to work at a small electronics store that grew too fast and could not sustain itself when to economy took a turn for the worse. When the store finally closed, I was amazed by the ego of the owner as he started selling subscriptions to his newsletter, a newsletter giving advice on running […]
Don’t Be Seduced by TechnologyWhen it comes to new technology most of us are familiar with the terms “Bleeding edge” “leading edge” and “legacy”. Bleeding edge is the latest and greatest. It’s just beginning to show up in the hands of a few tech savvy consumers. We call it bleeding because it’s a given that you will endure pain. […]
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 IRS granting tax exempt status […]
Random Posts
Can A Love Of Reading Be Considered A Secret Advantage?If you were to ask me what my professional secret advantage is, I would say I love reading. Seems to be a strange thing to brag about. After all, almost all of us can read. The fact that you are reading this post says you can read but do you enjoy it? When you need […]
TechnolustIt should come as no surprise to anyone that reads this blog that I suffer from Technolust. I certainly won’t die from it (that is unless my wife discovers how much I paid for my latest video card). This means that although I can’t always afford it, I always want the latest and greatest in […]
Chopped, A Guide To Inspiring Engineering Creativity?Let’s get this out of the way first, despite it being a reality based cooking show, I enjoy watching Chopped. Not because of the cooking, although I have learned why my wife insists she needs both a stove and a microwave. No, I enjoy Chopped because it demonstrates a basic principal of engineering, hacking. There’s […]
Random Posts
Requirements, A Tale With Two SocksChance was and still is a very energetic Australian shepherd that spent last spring with us as a foster. His major vice, in my opinion, was that he loved to chew on my socks. Worse he managed to convince another dog, Cajun, that this was entertainment. By the time Chance found his permanent home, my […]
Contempt For Others, An Object LessonDuring my career I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some very skilled engineers. I’ve managed to learn from all of them but one stands out from the rest, not because he was such a good engineer, although he was, but rather because he taught me a very valuable lesson on how not to deal […]
Food ScoutIn almost every war movie I’ve watched there’s one guy that seems to be able to scrounge anything. In the corporate engineering world we all scrounge for parts but the talent we really admire is the food scout. It’s no secret that engineers are strongly food motivated. I don’t know what the connection is but […]
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
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 …
OTR Mobile, A ReviewOTR Mobile is not the Internet solution you’re looking for and whatever you do, don’t expect any money back from them. At $60 a month, OTR Mobile seemed like a no brainer decision. they offered me as much as 10 mps, almost 7 times than what my archaic ADSL service …
A Very Personal Look At The Engineering Decision Making ProcessI’ve written a number of posts about how engineers think and make decisions, so I was stunned when my Wife questioned my decision making process and demanded details. My first response was to deny any malfeasance on my part but when I recovered my composure I realized she might have …
The SainSmart Jinsoku LC-40 Laser Engraver, A ReviewI’ve always been fascinated by lasers. When I was much younger, I tried to make one using an LED and a transistor for amplification. Fortunately physics was against me and I think we’re all happy my attempt was a failure. That failure did nothing to diminish my interest in lasers. …
Journalism?I’m a little busy this week trying to finish my Udacity course and even though it doesn’t matter, I still want to get a good grade. With that in mind, I asked a friend to contribute and he was happy to help out. ___________________ The exposure and allure of journalism …