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
Why Did Amazon Kill Amazon Explore? It Was Becoming Great.
Why did Amazon kill Amazon explore? Let me start this rant by admitting I am an Amazon fan. I love the large selection of merchandise and the quick delivery. I’m a member of Prime and I frequently use their credit card. Still, they do enough boneheaded things that I...
Married To An Engineer: When Does Repair Become Replace?
“I know engineers better than that! They would never throw away a 3D printer that quit working without trying to repair it first.” These words were exclaimed by my wife as she watched a credit card commercial showing engineers trashing a malfunctioning printer and...
The SainSmart Jinsoku LC-40 Laser Engraver, A Review
I’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...
Why Can’t I Find A Good Book, The Evolving Nature Of Literature
There's nothing as wonderful as starting a new book and finding yourself totally immersed within the first chapter. Sadly, such books are becoming scarcer than finding a worthy political candidate. I find myself reading more books and enjoying far fewer of them. I...
Married to an Engineer, It’s More Complicated Than You Think
Unless you’re also an engineer, living with an engineer is an exercise in controlled frustration. Engineers live so closely tied to technology that we automatically assume everyone else has the same love and understanding of technology we do. My house is filled with...
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...
Random Posts
Email, A Training Tool For Poor PerformanceIn a typical game you have a number of obstacles that you have to overcome. Overcome enough of them and you gain a level. Not unexpectedly, the designers of these games often use psychologists to maximize the rush of endorphins you get for each accomplishment. It should come as no surprise that responding to your […]
Poser Debut, an Engineer’s ReviewI think Smith Micro has a real hit with Poser Debut. As a engineer I’ve always been impressed by an artist’s ability to convey a message using a minimum of information. If I want to represent a bird in a picture I immediately think of feathers, beak, eyes and wings. I break the feathers and […]
Shelby, The Reason I Have Australian ShepherdsGiven a number of choices, each having equal weight, I tend to use minor factors to decide rather than make a totally random choice. In this case a post on Shelby won out because she looks really good in the previous post with my wife. Shelby was and still is our first Australian Shepherd. She […]
Random Posts
2023, I’m Very Glad To See It End2023 is now firmly in my rear view mirror and I have zero feelings of nostalgia. It was tough losing two of our beloved dogs to cancer. Sundae had been a part of our family for 14 years, leaving a significant void, and even though Hilde was with us for just under a year, her […]
WW2 and Hacked Email AccountsI really enjoy World War II British movies. In a time of adversity, the British people pulled together. With rationing, nightly blackouts and regular air raids, you would expect some very cranky people. Knowing their way of life was being threatened allowed them to pull together and display some of the finer moments of humanity. […]
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
Teamwork, A Term Misunderstood By CongressApparently 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 work together […]- WW2 and Hacked Email AccountsI really enjoy World War II British movies. In a time of adversity, the British people pulled together. With rationing, nightly blackouts and regular air raids, you would expect some very cranky people. Knowing their way of life was being threatened allowed them to pull together and display some of the finer moments of humanity. […]
A Proposal For Developing Engineering SynergyIf you work in a factory you’re used to hearing management babble, just think about your mission statement. If it’s like most mission statements out there, it’s a collection of meaningless phrases. Take this for example, “Utilizing our engineering synergy, we will develop a paradigm of waste cutting and improved production, allowing us to totally […]
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
Interspecies Communication As Experienced By An EngineerI thoroughly enjoyed the first season of Star Trek: Enterprise because they spent much of the time grappling with communication issues. Universal translators, missing databases, peculiar methods of communication, and one memorable episode without a translator. I highlight this because finding similarities is one of my key problem-solving tools. When …
Fourth of July, Sleepless Nights and ThundershirtsI absolutely hate the Fourth of July. Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud to be an American and the Fourth of July used to be my favorite holiday but living in the country has caused a major shift in my perspective. When I was younger and living in the city, the …
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 …
Olympics, Meet The Connected AgeEvery two years my wife starts building her media center for Olympic viewing. This consists of carefully looking at all the schedules, verifying that all the recording devices operate, verifying that everything is hooked up correctly and that we get all the channels we need to watch the Olympics. I …
Congress, Too Focused on Being Politicians? – Part 2There’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 politics. I …