People are losing their command (if they ever had it) of the English language. Even global publications that have professional EDITORS are getting sloppy with all manner of mistakes (there / they’re / their, then / than, fill / feel, etc). It’s most evident on social media. For some reason people (especially young people) feel free when on social media to just butcher the language (e.g. “Imma gon bust yo ass mofo”). Continue reading
Author Archives: Alan Burkhart
Growing Up Normal Wasn’t So Bad
Growing up in the 70s, the family gun storage was my bedroom. There were at least a dozen guns, lots of ammo and several knives. Unlocked and within easy reach. There were several .22s including a semi-auto, three shotguns, a .303, a 30-30, a 7.62mm Mosin-Nagant, a .45 Colt service revolver, a matched pair of .32 revolvers, two .22 revolvers, a diver’s knife, my throwing knife, an antique dagger, and a couple of bayonets. Continue reading
Was America Ever Great?
Let’s look objectively at the “Again” part of MAGA. Was America ever great? It depends upon whom you ask. Continue reading Silly Pictures April 2023

The Eternal Infernal Gun Debate

Photo: https://www.wdrb.com/
So yet another mass shooting has happened. This one at a bank in Louisville, KY. This of course comes on the heels of the terrible shooting at Covenant School in Nashville. And once again the anti-gun crowd is demanding more gun control while people like Charlie Kirk try to balance gun violence with personal freedom. Continue reading
Random Observations March 2023
Over the years I’ve seen a lot of people try to explain one or another unfortunate event by saying “everything happens for a reason.” This is just another way of saying “God works in mysterious ways.” If they were honest with themselves, they’d just admit that they have no clue why some random event took place. But people, Christians especially, have this need to assign agency to every little thing (or big thing) that happens in their lives. If it’s a good thing they want a god to thank for it. If it’s a bad thing they want to think there’s a “reason” for it. Continue reading
Colors And ColorSpaces
This table represents the named colors found in Windows and most other operating systems. The first 140 colors are the Named Colors you can use when styling a webpage. Following the Named Colors are the Windows (as of Win-10) default System Colors used for coloring various screen elements. I likely wouldn’t have expended the effort to do this but I was bored and it’s cold as hell outside. Hopefully at least a few folks will find it useful. Don’t be too impressed (it ain’t that impressive). I did most of this by coding a bit of automation and letting it do the work for me. I actually rather enjoy writing code generators.Continue reading
Random Observations – January 2023
So I’ve been sitting here in Denny’s for an hour *after* finishing my burger. Surfing the news, FB, IMDB and Reddit. And in the back of my tired mind I’ve been stewing over several bits of unrelated bullshit, upon which I will now expound. Mind you, I’m not proclaiming anything. I’m merely opinionating. Why I expect anyone would care is a mystery even to me. Continue reading
What Are You Willing To Lose?
So it’s election time. Predictably, our politicians and the media are making fools of themselves with outlandish claims and impossible predictions. Each party accuses the other of being the enemy of democracy. Personally, I think both are correct. Regardless of which party wins, we stand to lose in some ways and gain in others. Continue reading Common Sense Has Become Uncommon
America’s political landscape has become a place of extremes. The common sense middle ground, where answers are found and problems are solved, is a deserted wasteland. Extremists from both sides of the political fence have come to define the political debates while those who seek to actually resolve those debates no longer have a voice in Washington. Continue reading 