Tag: self-indulgence

Interview with a Student about Music

The Portly Politico6 Comments

It’s come to my attention that my blog comes across as “egotistical” and/or narcissistic, and that I’m guilty of stating my opinions as if they carry weight and should be listened to and applied. Well, that’s kind of the point of blogging, isn’t it? Blogging is a blend of self-confession, public diary, and raucous newspaper editorial section all rolled into one.

Well, I’m doubling down on the perceived egotism at least once more before I die to Self. A student reached out to me with some interview questions for an essay he’s writing. Here are the questions he posed to me:

  • What got you into the field of music, and what led you to become familiar with so many instruments?
  • What was your initial motivation for teaching music/band in particular instead of taking another music-related job?
  • What was the hardest moment you had to go through during your time in the field of music? (if you do not wish to answer, what was the best moment?)
  • What is the most interesting music-related thing you have ever seen or learned about?
  • If you could go back in time, would you change your hobby?

I was up late Sunday and wanted to hammer out a response, and since I’m a bullheaded egotist who loves talking about himself, I figured I’d share my responses (with some light editing and/or redactions). Since it’s about music, it seemed like a good substitute for New Music Tuesday this week, as I don’t have anything new to share (and my musical output is similarly self-indulgent).

As such, here are my responses:

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General Midweek Update: Beds, Tunes, WiFi, Peloton, Algae, Printers, Presentations

The Portly Politico2 Comments

It’s been a moderately busy week for yours portly, so writing has fallen on the backburner a bit. Dr. Wife and I spent much of Labor Day knocking out some projects around the house, including assembling a blue bedframe that has been the bane of my existence. I finally found some screws that would work to hold the footboard to the frame (I have no idea where I packed the original screws), so the bed is safe for human use.

Yesterday, while a bit more relaxed, also feels like a bit of a blur. I set to work fairly early on writing and arranging some music for my students, including “Will’s Waltz,” the subject of yesterday’s installment of New Music Tuesday. I also arranged a piano version of the legendary Tetris theme song, available for purchase here, here, and here (or you can screenshot it, you cheapskate, and print a copy). The famous “A Theme” from Tetris is based on the Russian folk song “Korobeiniki,” which is about a peddler seducing a woman—whoa! Now we associate the theme with dropping blocks and clearing lines.

Today I’ll be installing a WiFi mesh (that’s an Amazon Affiliate link; I receive a portion of any purchase you make through that link, at no additional cost to you—TPP). Our router from Spectrum isn’t cutting it in our house—the signal here in my office is very spotty, although my PC is connected via a dedicated Ethernet port—and my younger brother helped me find a scorching deal on the model linked above (which was almost $100 pricier the last time I checked). Our old house has plaster walls, which apparently disrupt WiFi signals terribly, so the three-point mesh should give us the coverage we crave.

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Telephone!

The Portly Politico2 Comments

Apparently, back in April blogger vᚻællKᚱᛁᛗvosᛏ of Vermont Folk Troth tagged me and several other bloggers in his post “Sonnelicht Telephone Whispers Game.” I don’t know much about vᚻællKᚱᛁᛗvosᛏ, but from what I can gather, he’s a pagan Vermont nationalist. That sounds on-brand for that part of the country.

What I do know is that my blog desperately needs some crosspollination with other blogs, so I’m going to join in on this game of telephone tag. Also, my apologies to vᚻællKᚱᛁᛗvosᛏ for not getting the notification back in April; apparently, Akismet was doing its job a bit overzealously. That said, thank you, my friend from the frosty North. May your people one day feel the breath of Odin wafting through their locks in the Republic of Vermont.

Now, on to the questions. vᚻællKᚱᛁᛗvosᛏ posed eleven questions to me; I, in turn, will pose eleven questions (goodness, that’s a lot) to some other bloggers, and we’ll all learn about each other (perhaps!).

Here are the questions:

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TBT: Interminable Heat

The Portly Politico2 Comments

It’s another insanely hot summer here in South Carolina, and we had a long drought in June with nary a drop of rain. It makes me wonder how people in pre-modernity survived droughts and famines that lasted for years.

The rains have come, but the days are still quite intense with heat. The afternoon showers are not as routine as I’d like, but they are at least bringing some reprieve in the evenings. Our upstairs unit runs nonstop on sunny days, regardless of where we set the thermostat; one day it was 85 degrees Fahrenheit up there! Our downstairs, thankfully, maintains a reasonable frostiness, even in the heat.

The koi and the minnows seem to be holding up well, however. The minnows don’t seem to mind at all! I’ve noticed, though, that even they stay a bit below the surface on the hottest days. The koi, who usually eat more when it’s hot out, have been eating less than usual; I think they’re enjoying the cooler temperatures a bit further down.

Dr. Wife and I are taking a cruise next week, and its a tour of the Western Caribbean: Mexico, Honduras, Belize, and another stop in Mexico on the way back to Tampa. It’s going to be brutal in the tropics, but at this point, how can it get much worse (perhaps I just jinxed it). One day we’re going to see a Mayan temple, so maybe yours portly will end up roasted on a spit above a pagan altar. Gulp!

With that, here is 23 July 2025’s “Interminable Heat“:

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TBT: The Joy of Coffee

The Portly Politico4 Comments

Blogger Esoterica over at Existential Ergonomics has once against inspiration for today’s post. She posed a fun question to readers in her post “Q&A: Are you a tea or a coffee person?“

It’s a smart title because it’s dripping (no pun intended) with engagement potential. Naturally, the comments section was poppin’—and yours portly was not shy about discussing coffee (and tea) with the other readers, especially after purchasing a new coffee grinder (that’s an Amazon Affiliate link; I receive a portion of any purchases made through that link, at no additional cost to you):

That got me thinking about a post I wrote way back in 2021. I looked it up, and was shocked to find that I’d never featured it in a TBT. Well, it’s time to change that and look back at a post about my favorite breakfast beverage.

With that, here is 24 March 2021’s “The Joy of Coffee“:

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Midweek Recuperation

The Portly Politico1 Comment

My students had their big Spring Concert last night and it was incredible.  It was the longest concert I’ve ever conducted, with over two hours of music.  As it was my “swan song” of sorts, I wanted to go out with a bang.

I’ll have a full rundown of the concert—a “postmortem,” as I call it—this Saturday for paid subscribers.  Suffice it to say that the evening went quite well and I am utterly exhausted.  I did indulge in some late-night, post-concert Taco Bell, the greatest of budget fast food joints in the modern era (somehow, Taco Bell has avoided the “enshittification” of other establishments, even if the results of consuming it result in a different from of enshittification) before the long drive home.

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Midweek Koi Pond Update IV: Purple Leopard Ramshorn Snails

The Portly Politico7 Comments

Maintaining a koi pond is a hobby that can take on a life of its own.  In learning about keeping koi and maintaining a pond, I’ve learned that a common phenomenon is people getting hooked on buying more fish.  Given that a full-grown koi can go for $50 or even hundreds of dollars, the hobby can get very expensive very quickly.  I’m thankful, then, that the previous owners stocked the pond so well.

What I find myself looking for are not more koi (not necessarily), but more species that I can introduce to the pond to increase its biodiversity.  At least, that’s the rationale—I really just want an excuse to buy more snails and minnows and what not.

So far, I’ve added rosy red minnows, two small butterfly koi, ramshorn snails, and Japanese Trapdoor Snails.  My next planned addition is three dojo/weather loaches, which are a peaceful, eel-like fish that feeds along the bottom of the pond.  In searching for those loaches, I came upon an eBay listing for seven purple leopard ramshorn snails.

These are just a color morph of ramshorn snails.  Instead of the typical dark brown, they have a slightly purplish, speckled appearance.  I would not have bothered purchasing them except that they were eight bucks (with free shipping), so I figured, “why not”?  They should add to the genetic mix of the existing ramshorn population.

One thing I’m learning when purchasing live animals on the Internet (read that out loud and it will sound questionable) is that, like most things in life, you often get what you pay for.

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Midweek Koi Pond Update III: Japanese Trapdoor Snails

The Portly Politico3 Comments

Yesterday (Tuesday, 7 April 2026) was a big day for the pond. After noticing the water level falling, I purchased a Boogie Blue Plus Garden House Filter (that’s an Amazon Affiliate link; I receive a portion of any purchases made through this link, at no additional cost to you) and topped off the pond.

I also had a shipment of Japanese Trapdoor Snails from www.prettykoifish.com.  I have been dying to add these massive mollusk beauties to our pond since I first learned about them.  They are the cleaning crew of any pond, and as they settle in and become active, they’ll deep clean the water and the liner.

Right now, our pond water is very murky.  That’s actually good for the koi—they prefer it to be murky—and is a sign of healthy biodiversity.  The only downside is that we can’t see our fish unless they’re coming up to feed!  It will take a few weeks, maybe months, but the Japanese Trapdoor Snails should start to hoover up lots of detritus.

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Closing and Taxes

The Portly Politico10 Comments

Yours portly has spent the last two nights laboring over income tax returns for Dr. Wife and myself.  My taxes are always a bit unusual because I have so many side hustles (and 1099s as a result), but getting married in late 2025 changed quite a bit.  Apparently, the State of South Carolina treats all income reported on the federal tax return as income due to the State, but you can claw it back to avoid double taxation (which is unconstitutional) by pulling the AGI from another State’s return (in this case, Dr. Wife’s earnings were entirely in North Carolina).  I was shocked to learn that North Carolina has a lower State income tax than South Carolina, especially as we’re the allegedly more conservative of the two Carolinas.  Yeesh!

Quick note:  do not take any of the above as financial or tax advice.  I’m not even sure if I’m explaining all of that correctly (to my younger brother:  don’t panic—I did everything by the book, I just can’t remember every little exact detail at the time of writing, and don’t feel like looking it all up again, but I did it correctly).

As per usual, filling out tax forms reminds me of how much I despise the income tax, in part because it demands that we reveal so much of ourselves to the federal government.  Like with so many things, though, we reveal intimate details about our lives—like how big our home office is—so we can grasp onto a few more of our  own dollars.  At this point, we should do away with all deductions and just charge everyone a flat 5% of their income—or, better yet, abolish the income tax and shift to a flat national sales tax.  It’s way easier to control my spending than to try to calculate what percentage of my cell phone usage was for business purposes.

It’s also frustrating to hustle and scrimp and save all year, only to be punished for it come tax day (and, yes, I should start paying taxes quarterly—that’s coming under the new Dr. Wife/Portly regime).

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