Later, at a conference, I run into someone way-way high up in the California State Department of Doing Nothing. The Head Do-Nothing, practically. She, too, suggests I get onto the committee. I send her a follow up email, which she doesn't respond to.

It's apparent her action has incurred the wrath of the Governator.

It's time for me to gracefully bow out. Clearly, I am ruining people's careers, left-right-and-center. We know from bitter experience the things that can happen when we people committees with individuals who know what they're doing, namely:

• They don't worry about Esperanto.
• They focus on things that are important.
• They come up with brilliant ideas.
• They get the job done.

No, the system is simply not set up for that. To all the people whose careers I so thoughtlessly jeopardized, my sincere apologies. What was I thinking?