TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <1 Minute or Much Longer Read Good morning and happy Monday. Today's post is as long or as short as you wish, because what follows are my posts regarding October 2. Huh? I was 55 years old on this date in 2019 when an event occurred that set Julie and me on a course neither of us was expecting; I've written about it a...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <2 Minute Read Happy Friday and consider that only Republicans have caused government shutdowns. Further, if the Republican party were interested in reducing the deficit, they could repeal the Trump tax cuts and also tax capital at the same rate as labor. But you'll be pleased to know that's not what today is about. I...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 3 Minute Read I often prattle on (bang on and on?) about the state of my beloved SF, including its best and worst. Here's a recent example of the former. But comprising a big part of the latter category are the tent encampments that exist in certain locations here. As you may know, the City and County of San Francisco...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <3 Minute Read Gosh, it's a shame you're not retired like I am. If you were, you could fully utilize today's post. But it's a Monday for you (another Saturday for me!), so you better not pour a Paper Plane and put on Tim. "My God, Portico - even for you, that is obtuse." Well, in the interest of relating to my working...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <3 Minute Read I could also call today's post "A Refresher in Gratitude". Because, in summary: The San Francisco Giants' Brandon Crawford and The United States' Joe Biden should both retire. Crawford now, and President Biden should say he's not running in 2024. While also being very thankful for their absolutely, posi...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <2 Minute Read Short of a self-imposed media blackout over the past few weeks, you've certainly heard the name Deion Sanders and about what he's doing as the head football coach of the Buffaloes, at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Which, as I've mentioned a couple of times, is my alma mater. I graduated in 1985...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 1 Minute Read Over the weekend, I read yet another "The Stones Are Back!" puff piece, this time in Culture's Fall Preview 2023 in The New York Times. For your Monday, I give you my response: F'ING ENOUGH ALREADY. Don't get me wrong - me and The Rolling Stones go way, way back, and I have always been a fan, at times ev...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <1 Minute Read + Article Happy Friday, and lucky you, you're missing out on what was to be yet another rant about SF and its corrupted politics. But then I saw this referenced in yesterday's Dealbook, and well, that post is history. Or maybe the Earth is history? This is the f'ing Wall Street Journal blowing the lid o...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <2 Minute Read First, a rave worthy of the Boomer that I am, and now this. Let's turn to a 40 year-old concert movie, albeit arguably the best of them all. Monday night, I joined Byron Browne IV and Louise Lederhosen (fellow Thievery Corporation board members - so to speak - on Saturday) in attending one of the simult...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 1 Minute Read Today is September 11. I'm sure World War II was something, but 9/11, the 2009 financial crash, the pandemic, and January 6 were quite enough for this blogger. Onward, into an awkward transition . . . For today's post to make much sense, you'll need to first look at this from LinkedIn: https://www.linked...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 2 Minute Read It is a Friday, a day when many look forward to a couple of days of not working. Except for those that aren't working in the first place. You know: People like the ever-vacationing Hunter Deuce, me, and all of the writers and actors in Hollywood and elsewhere that are presently on strike. It is that last...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 4 Minute Read Hello Wednesday and it's great being retired. And also lazy, well-informed, and the editor of my own blog. Huh? Because I can decide to simply re-publish a brilliant article from my beloved Economist magazine as a post. Many of my whines about America stem from our refusal to learn from Europe; increasin...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 1 Minute Read Happy Monday of Labor Day, and what says "holiday weekend" more than a description and review of a recent sound system I installed? OK, virtually anything, but at least it involved "labor." As you might recall, not long ago, I went to Houston to install the WiFi and A/V at Dr. Shelly Murphy's new ginormo...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 1 Minute Read (+ endless hours of listening) So many have asked (actually, absolutely nobody has asked), "Portico, what rock albums have meant the most to you? Not necessarily your opinion on the best, but what albums could you not shut up about, upon discovery?" Here they are. This is not my list of the greatest albu...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <2 Minute Read Say hello to hump day. As we observe the Presidential candidacy of Ron DeSantis, the Republican Governor of Florida, implode, it is useful to consider his pandering on culture war issues in his state. And some of his worst bootlicking has been providing cover for those who want to ban particular books i...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 3 Minute Read Happy Monday, and let's make it interesting. If you've been following along at home, you know I've started putting out my (fantastical) ideas regarding addressing homelessness and lawlessness. I've put it all under the umbrella of Soft on People, Tough on Crime, or SOPTOC. I contend that if we make it ea...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <2 Minute Read Welcome to Friday. I followed through on what I said to Hunter Deuce: I didn't watch Wednesday night's Republican National Committee debate. What follows is all I've read or heard on the subject; it is from The Economist's daily news briefing yesterday. “Eight presidential hopefuls tussled in the Republ...

OVERVIEW We were only here for 3 days, but holy smokes, did we see and do a lot in this easily Diamond Certified area. Diamond Certified for so many things beyond fine wine, which of course we guzzled, too. We visited rad places in and outside of Paso Robles, stayed on a swank ranch in Templeton, went to a wacky museum and even crazier...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 4 Minute Read Happy Wednesday. Upon our triumphant return from Paso (yes, yes - a Travel Guide is coming soon), I finished the last few pages of Neil Peart's excellent book, "Roadshow: Landscape with Drums." It is appropriately subtitled "A Concert Tour by Motorcycle," as it documents the late Rush drummer's decision ...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <1 Minute Read + A Lot of Binge Watching Happy Monday and greetings from gorgeous Paso Robles. The upcoming Travel Guide will spell it out in all of its Diamond Certified splendor, but for now, here are a couple of tidbits to tide you over. I will say this: Mighty Mississippi played like their last gig was 5 or 6 days...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <1 Minute Read OK - let's get right into another long rant about Trump, and the lack of highspeed rail in the US. I will also work in more complaints (or brags!) about SF. Kidding! And happy Friday. Around noon today we are off on a highly-anticipated trip, and one almost certain to be immortalized in a proper Travel ...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 1 Minute Read I know, I know: I've regressed and have been writing about policy, if not politics (OK, maybe some politics, too) quite a bit lately. You can blame the United States Senate. Because hopefully we've now come to the final chapters in one of America's worst stories: the criminal melodrama of Donald J. Trump...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 4 Minute Read For the record, I am thrilled President Biden's Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to further investigate the dodgy Hunter Biden. If Hunter did something illegal, he should be prosecuted. If the criminality involved his father, so be it - he should be impeached and removed from ...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 1 Minute Read . . . and they are ugly. Happy Friday, and my apologies in advance for sharing this rather sobering information ahead of your weekend. But Gallup - the polling company - has been doing a big annual survey for 20 years now of how Americans feel on a variety of topics, and the results merit your attention....

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 4 Minute Read I mentioned on Monday that we saw Barbie this past Sunday. My God is Margot Robbie f'ing hot. There, that's the post. No, that's wrong. In actuality, she's really f'ing hot, but that's still not what today is about. Since Sunday, I've had a chance to consider 3 different, but related, inputs, and - shock...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 3 Minute Read Happy Monday, and how about a touch of Debbie Downer? You can thank the demise of college football's Pacific 12 Conference for the inspiration. Because lately, I've been thinking quite a bit about things that used to be, yet are no longer. Or still are, but rendered irredeemably Bogus. While it is sad fo...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 1 Minute Read + 8 Minute External Article Here's something to ponder for the weekend. I came across this interesting article from Foreign Affairs Magazine about the United Kingdom's British Broadcasting Corporation, the legendary BBC. I share it today as a reminder of the importance of a nation's soft power. For an ex...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 3 Minute Read Let's call this Worst Wednesday. Because today is about the two worst branding decisions I have personally witnessed. And I'm almost 60, FFS! Disclaimer: I am no branding, or even marketing, expert. But by now, you must know there's no correlation between my expertise and my popping off on a given subjec...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <1 Minute Read + Great External Stuff Happy Monday. Today's post is short, so at least there's that. I love to write, and I remain amazed by its inspiration. Like today. As you may have heard, a founding member of The Eagles, Randy Meisner, passed on. And there you are - a blog. Meisner's death, and one of my favorite...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <4 Minute Read Happy Friday. Julie and I live in one of the nicest neighborhoods in SF. And with all due modesty, that also (still) implies the world. This is down the street one block. Sorry, but it's true. Which begs the question: how on Earth can a man talk about Xanadu and paradise and winning lotteries and gratit...