My Biography

One day early in the year the first space shuttle reached orbit, a singular sperm reached a human egg and fertilized and grew. I was born crying into this world on October 17, 1981. In the course of the years, many things happened. I enjoyed most of them, and most of them were solitary. I liked to build models and read books. When I did thing socially, I liked to be in charge unless I didn’t know the power relations between the individual members of the group then I was quite and reserved.

I went to school. I did well.

I moved around and made new friends. I moved more and lost touch with them. I learned early how to lose friends. I learned to not make friends too closely.
I got a job. I did well. I got more and did well at times and worse in other aspects.

I went back to school. I fell in love. I got a job. I got married. I got another job.

I lost a job.

I continue to read a lot. I have stopped reading fiction and instead read nonfiction and worry about the world. I am now learning and happy to be in a professional situation with adults .

Malthus Overlord Inc.

Malthus overlord is in the business of contraception to avoid the overpopulation of the planet and to be sage stewards of the world we live in. We focus on both genders starting at the age of ten. We believe our approach is the most moral and ethical approach to the elimination of suffering the world over. We do the majority of our work in developing countries where the population growth is over the replacement rate of 2.1 live births for every female of reproductive age. MOI is also developing groundbreaking technology to increase the incidence of homosexuality in the human population. We know the world does not necessarily want our services; but remember Malthus Overlord Incorporated, because the world needs us.

On the Corrosion of Character

Sennett's evocation of the nature of work in postmodern capitalism is spot-on in recognizing and explaining the alienating factors at play in a de-centered, job-based not career-based working world. In fact the book, a long essay, was in places hard to read because he evoked some memories of my own encounters with this world. It was harder to read also knowing that the research and the ideas driving the work were in place during the time of writing. Much has changed in ways that only amplify the alienation felt by workers. If, as Sennett claims, that the breakdown of the corporate structure is bad news psychologically for the worker -- where there is no clear antagonist in the workplace -- then the alienation is exponentially more evident in a world with ten percent unemployment. This essay was true when he was writing and the US economy was creating over a million jobs a year. The issues he explores are only more true now.