Hiked the Shafthouse trail today. 9 miles, 8500 feet elevation, 4 hours in the dot.

Just finished the first draft of my retention dossier, a week ahead of schedule. I really don’t want to look at anything #academia related for the next couple of days…

Back from a gig. First time ever playing harmonica in a Celtic gig, and the first time I’ve played harmonica publicly in probably 10 years.

JFK had Marilyn Monroe signing “Happy Birthday Mr. President,” Trump will have two sweaty guys groping each other on the lawn. #progress

Spent every day this week working on drafting the narratives for my retention dossier. Tons of work here!

Had my parents in town over the weekend, so we went exploring around the Gallatin Valley and Helena.

“I’m Kid Rock.” “I’m Naomi Wolf.” “I’m Kanye West.” “I’m Matt Taibbi.” “I’m Catturd. Those stories, plus Rob Schneider, tonight on 60 Minutes.”

Yet another reason to avoid AI. www.amnesty.org/en/documents...

For those of you keeping track, RFK Jr. has a history with animals including: Bears: www.bbc.com/news/article... Worms: www.cnn.com/2024/05/09/p... Whales: www.cnn.com/2024/09/16/p... Racoons: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026... And now, snakes: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Called it…

OK - last major project of the day is done. I finished recording/editing a new piece for harmonica and computer, "Melting Voices." Here's a link - soundcloud.com/bfuhrman/mel...

Making pasta e lenticche for dinner and the smell of simmering red wine/garlic/onions/peppers/tomatoes is just about perfect.

Watching my neighbor try to solve the logic puzzle of getting his SUV out of his driveway. It might be easier if he didn't also own 2 Chevy Silverado's and an F150, or if he actually stored anything in his garage...

Just finished commencement, now off to play a gig. #MusicProfLife

Glad I finished grading and submitted everything on Tuesday. I suppose that’s the only upside of the registrar scheduling all my finals for Monday and the latest #CanvasHack…

Finished and submitted grades. Now just backing up a ton of files for the dossier (approx 40gb compressed).

Nearly 6 hours of straight finals grading, but it’s done. Except for ONE FREAKING PERSON whose score submission is corrupt and isn’t responding to email…

Happy first day of finals week! And as always, my deepest condolences to all the beloved grandparents who will suddenly and mysteriously be struck down so their students might request an extension. #IYKYK

Setup for tonight’s concert, which included four no-input mixing pieces in 8-channel surround sound. Super proud of my students.

The affair is over… I guess he’s back to sleeping on/with the couch…

Just talked a student down from submitting a 114 channel Atmos mix. Everything was a stereo object, no use of the surround bed, which they really should be using since it was all statically panned and didn’t use elevation at all. File size would have been ridiculous…

It’s the week before finals. What gear will break and require immediate fixing today?

My local hardware store keep bombarding me with requests to “please review your purchase!” Bro, it’s a M5 screw. A single M5 screw that’s it. 0 stars, because it’s a screw.

As an academic, I can pretty confidently say that if I see an “accelerated degree” student trying to transfer in, they’ll be as successful as a ITT Tech, DeVry Institute, or any other scammy for-profit in terms of credit transfer. These places smell like a scam. archive.is/d154j

I never expected a “spiritual advisor” to make such a compelling case for Satanism, and yet, here we are…

I own and use a bunch of methods for making coffee, and the French press is still my favorite.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any crazier with RFK Jr… www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Some big news - I've had TWO album releases in the last month. Here are the links to "Anonymous Veil" open.spotify.com/album/6Jitmr... And "An Expanding Distance of Multiple Voices." open.spotify.com/album/1h8ZM6...

Ok, this #MaxMSP patch is not going where I thought it would, but it’s still pretty freaking cool. I’m just going to roll with it and adapt the composition.

Well, I took the plunge and set a date for a #solo #mandolin #recital. Thursday, September 17th, 7:30pm at Montana State University and streaming in the School of Music YouTube channel.

😕

Had people over for Easter, so I made a Mushroom Wellington (not pictured, fresh bread, baked polenta, sautéed green beans, copious amounts of wine, and chocolate cake).

Lot of practicing this afternoon (cooking prep was yesterday) and I think I have a program for a #solo #mandolin #recital in the fall: Bach’s Chaconne and C Major Fugue, Kioulaphides’ “de George Markt,” Calace’s 3rd Prelude, and my Sonata for Mandolin Solo.

Yeah, grandpa’s been using meth instead of antipsychotics again…

Finally caught up on festival submissions, grading, and bread is started for tomorrow.

Finally feels like April in Montana.

The bass at the jam session last night. Perfect decoration. No other comments.

Video of this morning's #ModularSynth #Improv www.youtube.com/live/Hxg8HDf...

Did a live #ModularSynth improve for the music major seminar today with #LinnStrument, #ContinuuMini, and #Wingie2

I moved from “glaciers” to “supervolcano.”

Great. Hopefully the rest of Meta follows suit and goes belly up.

Just finished a long St. Patrick’s Day gig at a bar. Somewhat inebriated patron called for us to play “Loch Lomond.” Me: you know that’s Scottish, right? Drunk guy: I’ll tip you $20 each if you play it! Me: “Oh ye bonnie, bonnie banks, and ye bonnie, bonnie braes…”

This week, the exhibition I worked on with artists Sara Mast and Kevin Tracy at Echo Arts in Bozeman, Montana is coming to a close. So, without further ado, here's a copy of the sound and video installation for posterity, in glorious binaural audio. Enjoy! youtu.be/bbYXxWSO89g

Did some mic surgery today replacing a shattered grille. Pretty sure someone had dropped an amp on it…

Took students to tour the new studio facilities - still under active construction.

Love how random festivals seem to be. Accepted to one, rejected from another. Same piece…

Finished submitting a grant application. Let the waiting for a response commence…

So Sheehy gets tax credits for solar, but votes to cut it for everyone else? Yet another reason why he should resign in disgrace. #MontanaDeservesBetter www.politico.com/news/2026/03...

Great practice session looking at rep for a solo mandolin recital: Bach C Major Fugue, Calace’s Prelude No. 3, Kioulaphides’ De Grote Markt, and my solo Sonata. The big question will be if I can get Ysaÿe’s Obsession Sonata ready as well…

Tim Sheehy is a violent extremist who should resign in disgrace. Violently assaulting a uniformed military member for exercising their first amendment rights is utterly beyond the pale. #MontanaDeservesBetter www.newsweek.com/tim-sheehy-a...