My nephew Jake is a tuba player. He has a master’s degree, M.A. with a specialty in music performance. He is in a doctorial program and is traveling in Europe, searching for orchestral jobs and seeking out musical instrument manufacturers. He also has two cats, and it is I who envisions them playing Jake’s tuba.


Roger Conrad is a stock analyst specializing in utility and income investments. His publisher sends out a brochure. There, a picture of a mouse wearing a helmet and he is going for the cheese in a trap. They claim that this picture is an apt description of Mr. Conrad’s methodology . I upgraded the mouse to a rat. Thus, an “Ode to Roger Conrad.”