Sorry for the delays — I’m teaching a class this semester, and haven’t been able to both post as well as blog, obviously, given my esteemed stature as an adjunct professor in a biology department. Not to mention the fortunes bestowed upon me for my academic endeavor. Perhaps this semester I shall be entitled to a free parking pass. (One can dream, n’est çe pas?)
Please note that someone with incredibly good judgment has bestowed a me with a “chili pepper” on ratemyprofessor.com. This means I’m hot, inaccordance with the highest and most refined standards of aesthetic taste. Either that or the person slept through my entire class. Never mind, my post-grad, moneyed readers (according to robotic analytics). My “hotness” is confirmed again this semester as no one has fessed up or threatened to remove my “chili pepper” for receiving a bad grade. I am in no way milking this trivial confirmation of aesthetic prowess due to the utter lack of other aesthetic-approval anywhere in my life. Please excuse me while I put on my orthopedic shoes and various other physical corrective devices. Me-ow.
Another matter, I spotted this:
1 Out Of 100 People Think They’re Being Stalked (by Caroline Waxler, via Business Sheet, 1.14.09). According to BoJ statistics (reported via CBS):
About half of the victims experienced at least one unwanted contact per week from a stalker, and 11 percent had been stalked for five or more years, according to the report by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics. It covered a 12-month period in 2005-06.
…The researchers defined stalking as a course of conduct, directed at a specific person on at least two separate occasions, that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear. The most commonly reported types of stalking were unwanted phone calls (66 percent), unsolicited letters or e-mail (31 percent), or having rumors spread about the victim (36 percent).
More than one-third of the victims reported being followed or spied upon; some said they were tracked by electronic monitoring, listening devices or video cam. . .
Not to belabor the whole stalker thing, but seriously, there is an individual who, unfortunately, I’m related to, who constantly tries to get me ostracized from any public activity. Lately I’ve been consulting with a biotech start up, and this individual decided to invest. Please. This individual isn’t even in the bio area, and simply wanted to get some private shares so they could hassle me. I had to explain to the CEO what was going on (the last thing this guy needs, running a company and all), and offer to resign rather than put the company in the middle of any drama this individual (the stalker) is prone to create. The CEO caught on, and, thankfully, I’m able to keep consulting because this individual was turned down as an investor.
So, more anti-sociopath activism. My guess is that these financial fraudfeasors we are reading about have a fair amount of other pathologies, if my own experience with this particular stalker is any indication.
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