According to my records, which I keep in the best of shapes, so far this year I have written seven-hundred and seventy-nine notes and two-hundred and twenty-one addenda. In other words, in the year 2000 I have written one-thousand pieces and one piece—this one. This is pretty amazing, given that I have written five-thousand and eleven pieces in total since 1976. One fifth of the total in the twenty-fifth year alone! This year’s performance is the absolute record, and one that I do not wish ever to attempt again. I have written too much. Way too much. Although I am not concerned with anything like “quality” of what I write, I am very much concerned with the “natural” pace of my writing, whatever that may mean. This year the pace was far from natural, for I must confess that I had been competing with myself last year. Indeed, last year’s performance was my guide all year long. Every now and then, and increasingly often as the end of the year drew closer, I would check how many pieces I had written by that particular date last year and compare the number with this year’s record. In the end, I won, and I won by a wide margin. Last year I wrote seven-hundred and forty-eight notes and eighty-six addenda, which was an all-time record, too. So, one of my resolutions a few days from now will be straightforward: write as little or as much as you wish but never consult your records for comparison with previous years. Never, never.