Criminally Incurious

topdogUnpopular Opinions 4 Comments

It is halfway through year 2 KFE (Kung Flu Era), and many people appear to have moved on with their lives, and that’s good. But if you think it’s over, you’ve got another thing coming. Most of us would sure like to see the world return to pre-Kung times, but that toothpaste has already been squeezed out of the tube and it ain’t going back. The power accrued by Big Tech, Big Media, Big Government …

Hundred Bux

The High Cost of Fools

topdogUnpopular Opinions 2 Comments

I always get gas in Idaho when I’m there or passing through. The taxes in Washington state are too oppressive, and things are generally less expensive across the border. I call it the Freedom Discount. But even with the discount, prices are still crazy. I filled up a couple 5 gallon jugs for our yard tools (lawnmower, tiller, chainsaws, etc.). My truck’s tank was half full, so I added another ten gallons to my truck. …

good guns

Good People With Guns

topdogUnpopular Opinions 2 Comments

We live in an imperfect world where bad people do bad things despite the fact there are plenty of laws against doing bad things. Many think the solution to bad people shooting good people is to take guns away from good people. That seems like poor thinking to me. Poor thinking indeed, particularly when you consider the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas where the police did not immediately attack the shooter, which obviously led …

Rachel Maddow who is that

Maddow? Who’s that?

topdogUnpopular Opinions 5 Comments

The Missus and I were out to dinner. We hadn’t seen The Missus’ cousin and husband for some time and had a lot of catching up to do. The conversations rolled along amiably, switching easily from one topic to another. Having touched upon tractors, forestry, and proper chainsaw sharpening, he and I were in a brief conversational hiatus, because what’s the point of ordering beer if you’re not going to drink it? It was then …

Dreamer Izzy feature image

Dreamer & Izzy

topdogPet Portraits 2 Comments

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything, let alone a pet portrait. To be honest, after Christmas portrait orders fell off a cliff and haven’t bounced back yet. I think the economy is forcing people to cut back on the frills. At any rate, here is one of my absolute favorite Christmas portraits from last year. This is Dreamer and Izzy. The owner sent me a bunch of very good photos to use …

redrock feature image

Returning to My First Love

topdogArt and Design 3 Comments

About fifteen years ago, a local estate sale organizer tipped my wife off about a couple estate sales, strongly urging that I attend. My wife was one of her regular customers, and somehow she knew I was an artist. So I went, and scored a huge supply of oil paints, canvas, brushes, palettes, paper stock, and even a large flat file on rollers. The flat file was an especially large wooden monster with 12 drawers …

twos-day

Twos-day

topdogUnpopular Opinions 3 Comments

The relentlessly perky morning radio hosts were going on and on about how today was 2-22-22. They also noted the low temperature was forecast to be 2° and the high temperature was expected to be 22°, which would frankly be a miracle because they’ve got just about every forecast wrong so far this year. All I know is I slept in a wool sweater and sweatpants last night, and I was still chilly. The cold …