Lexus Lanes are coming to L.A.! The 1 percent will be getting their own 'free'way when Caltrans starts its one-year trial of converting some former carpool lanes on heavily trafficked highways such as the 110 to toll lanes in fall 2012. The opportunity to "buy into" a high occupancy toll...

It's become a ritual. Every spring, I'm forced to say good-bye to welcome visitors who've graced my home and provided me with fascinating company week after week. Yup, I'm talking about my favorite TV series that somehow find themselves on the chopping block even though millions of viewers across the...

Toyota and Ford just announced that they are partnering to develop hybrid fuel systems for monsters -- I mean, large SUVs and light trucks. This partnership will allow SUVs and light trucks to remain players in the U.S. market after the higher miles-per-gallon regulations kick in. As an...

I remember my pudgy fingers tightly gripping the pencil as I struggled to make the loops and whorls on my lined paper look like the flowery letters our third grade teacher had drawn on the dusty blackboard. We'd be graded on not only on our words, but their appearance --...

Nothing better than curling up by the fire, or stretching out on the beach with a good book. Don't know what to read? Each year there are over 300,000 new books released by traditional publishers from which to take your pick. For more choices, check out the million or so...

Maybe I don't have enough testosterone. Or balls. But I just don't understand, guys. Why can't you politicians keep your pants zipped up and the head on top of your shoulders in charge?

I know, I know. Politics tends to draw a disproportionate number of people who may be narcissistic...

I think it was sometime around 2007 that I finally couldn't keep up any more. Until then, for someone who grew up at a time when computers meant FORTRAN and punch cards, I'd always managed to stay one step ahead of the changes in the software and hardware I was...

I loved suturing. Maybe all those home economics courses I was forced to take in junior high built up my skills with the needle and thread. Sewing up a wound was actually easier than making those frilly gingham aprons, though.

But when I was in medical school in the Jurassic...

Floor the accelerator and I can leave Porsches in the dust, and give myself a case of instant whiplash. On the freeway, I could easily go 90. (Don't worry, California Highway Patrol, I'd never really do that ...) My Nissan Leaf -- it ain't no golf cart. It's just my...

What do we want for our children? Happiness, good health, independence, loving partners, good jobs, a nice home and a long life, right? Sure, some of us may want even more -- for our kids to be famous or rich, for our kids to provide us with grandchildren, for our...

Unlike the rest of America, I swore I wouldn't write about "The Tiger Mom" and her guide to hitting the bestseller list -- I mean, her guide to parenting, as she says, the "Chinese" way. But, like most Americans, I'm not good at keeping my resolutions. So, here we are.

Videotapes of men having non-consensual sexual relations with disabled women in residential care have recently surfaced and are being investigated. Sexual assault is a crime and a tragedy. And one of our greatest fears.

My 19-year-old daughter has frequently been described as beautiful. Like most parents, we can't help but...

Last Black Friday, we bought a big screen TV. Not that we could afford it. Not that we needed it. Not even that we really wanted it. Yet there it was, sitting in the middle of our garage, amidst the remnants of the other disposable "stuff" that was packed tightly...

Who'da thunk it? We children of the peace movement had it all wrong. "Make love, not war" was the wrong motto. We should have gone for "Do you want fries with that?" instead.

Yup, it seems that Army recruiters are upset they're having to turn away "supersized" applicants...

My colleague, a respected pharmacist for a non-profit organization, told me about a few experiences he's had recently with clients. One patient, given a new prescription for a second drug to treat his high blood pressure that the non-profit pharmacy would have to order, opted to try a local big...

I feel like the woman who's been burned in the singles scene too many times and finally goes on an extended break. No, I'm still happily married and monogamous--my betrayals have been not in the bedroom, but the family room, where my TV has let me down and left me...

Worried that your son's height -- or lack of it -- will ruin his life? John's father Thomas was. John was the shortest boy in his sixth grade class -- barely at the 10th percentile on his growth chart. "Can't you give him something, growth hormone?" Thomas repeatedly asked after...

The devastating natural gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, California is only the latest in a series of tragedies affecting our country's infrastructure. Bridges are falling, roads are crumbling, dams are leaking. Needed renovations to the burst of building and implementation of new technologies during our post World War II...

I suppose it was inevitable. CQI has invaded Art.

Continuous Quality Improvement, Quality Assurance, Assessment and Accountability, Closing the Loop. The vocabulary--and the gestalt--of the Analyticals have taken over the corporate world, manufacturing, marketing, education and now health care. PSAD--Plan, Study, Do, Act--the circle of implementing, testing, analyzing data...

Just published in the "Chronicle of Higher Education:"

"The Texas A&M University System is moving ahead with a controversial method of evaluating how much professors are worth, based on their salaries, how much research money they bring in and how much money they generate from teaching. Under the proposal, officials...