by Phil Houseal | Jun 11, 2025 | All Articles, Education, Food, History, Philosophy
June 11, 2025–Maybe the solution to all our so-called modern problems is this: Live like your great grandparents lived. Not literally, but metaphorically. Recently our power went off and it got me to thinking again about how our ancestors coped. Let’s just go back 150...
by Phil Houseal | May 22, 2025 | All Articles, Education, Events, Music, People of the Hill Country, Venue
May 21, 2025–“Great music makes our lives better.” While the Lone Star State is revered for its western swing, outlaw country, Tejano, blues, and the whole Austin music scene, Joseph Kuipers is on his way to making it known for cello. Kuipers’ TexasCellos is launching...
by Phil Houseal | May 14, 2025 | All Articles, Education, Philosophy
May 14, 2025–What value do you bring? I’ve posited before that the key to success is maximizing your energy level. That is, recognize when during the day you feel the most energy; consume the food that creates the most energy, and discard relationships and activities...
by Phil Houseal | Apr 30, 2025 | All Articles, Education, Philosophy
April 30, 2025–Are you a shusher or a susser? An ongoing debate has revived about the best way to teach kids. The battle lines are drawn as: 1) Sitting kids in desks lined up facing the front of the classroom. Back to basics, rote and repeat, teacher lecturing. This...
by Phil Houseal | Apr 23, 2025 | All Articles, Education, History, Music, Philosophy
April 23, 2025–Was telling some youngsters about how my Music Theory final was to score out the melody to Jingle Bells without using an instrument. I don’t think I did very well. We used our knowledge of intervals to sing it in our heads. I could do it now with my...
by Phil Houseal | Apr 9, 2025 | All Articles, Education, History, Philosophy
April 9, 2025–A business guru recently proposed we could increase the global economy by 2-3% by installing large whiteboards in every home. This caught my attention because I am an inveterate wall scribbler. I have worked in offices where we truly believed if every...