In some of my recents posts I've written about having bought a new Lexus RX 350h, and about some of the YouTube car reviews I watched as part of that experience. I wrote about some of the shortcomings of the reviewers in a recent post, and now I'd like to offer my suggestions for improving those videos, either a little or a lot. I make these recommendations knowing that practically nobody reads this blog. So I'm dropping my thoughts into the void for the most part. Neverthele

I bought myself a new car recently. This time around I really did myself proud. Not just some humdrum set of wheels, but a Lexus RX 350h in Copper Crest color, with a Palomino leather interior, and a trim level high enough to give me the majority of the requisite bells and whistles. Gorgeous luxury SUV that exemplifies Lexus design and engineering in all its considerable glory. Along the way, I read a number of reviews of the 2026 RX 350h, and particularly, I sought out the l

Cami in 2014 I bought my Toyota Camry XLE brand new off the lot at San Francisco Toyota in August 2014. Cami, as I soon named her, was top of the Camry line for the time. She had advanced features that were to become standard in many cars but were then considered quite high end, including blind-spot monitoring and a door lock-unlock system that operated just by grasping the door handle (unlock) or running a finger along the edge of the door handle (lock). She had all the bell

As time has gone slinking by, I realize that I can't keep on working indefinitely. Not that I'm thinking about packing it in just yet; I have plenty of spunk and there's no point in losing income until I just can't hack it any more. And no matter whether I keep up my long-term teaching job, I will continue to write program notes and give public lectures on music. I have no intention whatsoever of putting myself out to pasture before my time. My health is excellent for my age

Living an ethical life can be challenging when one is surrounded by an unethical society. The sheer corruption and mendacity that radiates from the current administration in Washington DC permeates American culture in ways both obvious and subtle. Yet, one has to question whether the corruption is a matter of degree or of kind, and I would quickly answer that it's the former. A nonchalant attitude towards unethical behavior runs deep in American society. We're more a society

I'm an utterly meticulous housekeeper. My home never gets dirty because I won't let it happen. My simple, aspirational mantra is: if it looks like it needs cleaning, I've waited too long . While I might be almost obnoxiously disciplined about maintaining a well-ordered and immaculate house, I haven't been quite so good about my own self. Not the external part, mind you. I always wear clean clothes, of course—that's part of the housekeeping, after all. I'm also a daily-shower

I've generally tried to follow the dictats of the most influential decorating types, the grand panjandrums, the esteemed poo-bahs, in regards to furniture placement. Not that I really have all that much to worry about. My house is nice sized and all that, but in most situations there is really only one practical place to put a specific item. Headboards go against the wall, for example, and in all of my bedrooms there is only one or two walls that would work. However, sofas c

As Fall 2025 semester approaches its end, I'm curious as to how much time I've spent teaching and writing over these past many years. So I ran some numbers, all rough estimates, but enlightening nonetheless. At the San Francisco Conservatory of Music I estimate that over 97 semesters I have spent about 19,000 hours teaching in classrooms. Between the Fromm Institute at USF and the University of California, Berkeley I have spent about 2950 hours teaching in classrooms. So m

Deep down inside I'm convinced that I'm an utter fool about money. I'm also convinced that I'm actually quite a lot better about it than a lot of folks. Certainly better than most musicians. We're a bunch of nincompoops about money on the whole. That's partly because we don't make very much of it, but it's also for the wonderful and compelling reason that we have other fish to fry. We aren't in it for the money, after all. If we were, we wouldn't be in it. My suspicions as to

Today I remembered a cute cartoon from some years ago, of a stick-figure young woman going about a happy day on her own. She played with her dog, had her lunch, read books, went for walks and bicycle rides, and tended her garden. It made for a fine counter to those folks who just can't seem to understand how people can be happy living on their own, without a lot of social contact. Introverts, in other words. People who like to be on their own, people who actually become stres

Retirement is in the air, at least from my main teaching job. It’s not coming really soon, but it is definitely coming. I’ve been...

Summer of 2015, shortly before me Summer of 2025, after 10 years of me I have been wondering why I let such a momentous 10th anniversary...

It is said that for every person there exists something that is the primary joy of life. Those somethings are highly varied, but each is...

After I had my home's windows replaced with fine new vinyl jobbers, the family-owned window company sent over their dad (the company...