David Lloyd-Jones Is a nice guy, though with some sharp edges sometimes, who tries to be useful. “Useful” is a technical term in the theology of Swedenborg, and DLJ’s mother was Swedenborgian.

Accomplishments so far? Wey-yull, my grand-daughter Sawada Mana was borne to my daughter Gwyneth, in Tokyo last month. I must be doing something right.

Keynote speaker, National Students Association Annual Conference, (“In Search of America,” a multi-media presentation which subsequently toured a whole bunch of campuses…) 1967.

Professional Staff, 89th and 90th Congresses. Wrote the House version legislation creating the National Institute of Education, clearing the way for the Federal Department of Education. (Yes, I’m as critical of the Feds in education as anybody else, the more so because I know more about the subject and a lot about who the specific good and bad guys are.)

President & Representative Director, Nippon Coin Laundry System, K.K. Built the first 400 coin laundries in Japan—because they just knew they didn’t need them. Japanese women just love to do laundry, doncha know? Oh, really? There is nothing out of bed as much fun as being on the upward slope of an industry you created yourself.

Moderator, sci.econ.research, the keep-out-the-bullshit, this-is-for-professionals Usenet feed, for a couple of years. Met, and stay in touch with, many of the heavies in economics. Failed to get Jane Jacobs her Nobel, though I got her 6 votes in the influential straw poll. She died to early - and anybody concerned about cities, population, production - how the human race lives from here on out, fer crying in the beer—bettah pay attention to wha Jane Jacobs had to say.

Background: I’m a graduate of the legendary late 1960’s crop of MIT AI Lab freaks—though I was there as a consultant to Marvin and Seymour. I commuted from Washington, rather than being really one of the gang. Still, I did a little bit here and there…

Currently I’m getting ready to go to China for a few years. Initially I shall be working in the housing industry, and of course learning the languages. I speak yi-di-arrr Putonghua and tourist Guangdonghua (at one point I and a prner manufactured touring bikes in Taiwan, introducing the touring style of bike to the Japanese market—but the Chinese are so eager to sell that that didn’t really make me learn a whole lot of Chinese.)

I have (small) investment interests in the lumber industry in the United States. and am working up my share in a very capable Chinese investment company. I'm not sure, but it has occurred to me that these might be synergetic with the construction work I'm going to be doing over there...   :-)

I arrived at Swik, btw, because I am looking for a smooth way of having lisp available on the machine I carry around with me. Haven’t found what I hoped for yet. i suspect that the olde rule applies: take the longe way arounde. I.e., in this cse, I should have just learning Gnu gcc, in all its variants, in the first place.

Damn, an’t hindsight nice?