What’s The Bottom Line On Tariffs? How Much Will They Cost Me?

Tariffs are a tax nations charge on imported or exported goods. The importer always pays the tax, and the money always goes straight into the pockets of the country imposing the tariff. But don’t be fooled—while the importer technically pays the tax, the cost always...

French Culture, I’m Forced To Admit I Was Wrong

My father returned from WW2 with pieces of shrapnel slowly working their way out of his body and a deep and abiding hatred of the French. I don’t know about you and your father, but mine never wanted to discuss the details. I never knew his reasons, but he passed his...

What Can Spirit Animals Teach Us About Today’s America?

This week, while perusing my feed on Bluesky, I stumbled upon a post in which someone shared that she had just learned that crows can hold a grudge for 17 years and thus declared crows as her new spirit animal. While many responses expressed surprise or shared their...

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

How To Be A Successful Mass Murderer

How To Be A Successful Mass Murderer

I’m not going to ask why you’re here. We've all thought about it. The jerk cutting you off on the freeway, the traffic jam you were stuck in because you were cut off or maybe it’s just the people you have to work with. You know, the ones demanding you honor their...

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Random Posts

  • Death By Productivity ImprovementDeath By Productivity Improvement
    Have you ever screamed in frustration when your favorite software company announced that they had come up with new methods of productivity improvement? Personally I’m tired of all the help I’m getting. Windows 8 serves as a perfect example of a productivity improvement that nobody wants. Unless your job consists of checking Facebook, the market […]
  • Quitting Doesn’t Always Mean FailureQuitting 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 cares.  It’s not like Udacity is going […]
  • Why Does Change Seem So Random?Why Does Change Seem So Random?
    It’s a given that change happens. From fashion to transportation to political viewpoints, it always changes, but why? Change is seldom welcome so why does it happen? And why does it happen so often to the things you like? Why does today’s Big Mac more closely resemble a White Castle Slider than the Big Macs […]

Random Posts

  • Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, Three Years LaterRamsay Hunt Syndrome, Three Years Later
    I’d like to say that I wrote about my experience with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome for humanitarian reasons, maybe to share my story with other people suffering from the early phases, but those of you who know me would see right through that lie. I wrote that post to close out a chapter of my life and […]
  • I’m Stuck But I Have A Bold And Cunning PlanI’m Stuck But I Have A Bold And Cunning Plan
    Have you ever started something but try as you might you can’t finish it? It doesn’t matter if it’s a book that you hope will get better, a movie that always puts you to sleep or the first blog post of a new year, we all been in that position. Come to think of it, […]
  • Suppose You Built A Blog And No One CameSuppose 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 known, after all, I don’t spend all my free time reading […]

Random Posts

  • A Late Mother’s Day Praise For Mother NatureA Late Mother’s Day Praise For Mother Nature
    It’s amazing how fast time passes. This makes my fourth Mother’s Day post since I started Opinionbypen. Okay, last year was a political piece but I dedicated it to both my Mother and Mother-in-Law because of their strong interest in politics.  Given how tough it is to have good SEO on politics, they were probably […]
  • Magic, An Engineer’s PerspectiveMagic, An Engineer’s Perspective
    Being 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 […]
  • UdacityUdacity
    When I signed up for CS101: Building a Search Engine at www.Udacity.com, I had no idea what to expect. I’ll admit what I really wanted to sign up for was CS373:Programming a Robotic Car. After a careful examination of the requirements for CS373, I realized I’d always wanted to build a search engine. Udacity is […]

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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

  • Encryption and Hacking, A Government Granted Right?Encryption and Hacking, A Government Granted Right?
    Did you heave a huge sigh of relief this year when your personal rights were reaffirmed? Twice in fact, once by the Library of Congress when they issued an opinion that hacking your vehicle’s software was legal and once by the UN when they declared encryption to be a basic personal …
  • Wordfence, Protection For Your WordPress SiteWordfence, Protection For Your WordPress Site
    I first realized how much I appreciate Wordfence when WebHostingHub told me I had excessive activity on my server and I would have to disable Wordfence. That’s when I decided my relationship with WebhostingHub would be a short one. Wordfence is a free security plugin for WordPress sites. I’ve been …
  • A Discussion on the Writing of DocksideA Discussion on the Writing of Dockside
    I’ll admit to a huge amount of pride in the stories I’ve written. Unfortunately very few of you have read my stories. That’s not your fault. I already know what I write doesn’t appeal to everyone. Before you protest, let me explain that the way my stories are published gives me …
  • Small Talk, How This Engineer Learned To Enjoy ItSmall Talk, How This Engineer Learned To Enjoy It
    It should come as no surprise that I regard social get togethers as a form of state sanctioned torture. There’s multiple reasons but the main issue is small talk. There’s no polite way to say how much I suck at small talk. At first mention of the train wreck to …
  • Bell, Book and iPadBell, Book and iPad
    When it comes to understanding women I often feel that my engineering background is a handicap. My entire career has been based on evaluating data, solving problems and looking beyond the obvious to find a root cause. All of which seems to be completely useless when it comes to dealing …
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