“I have no doubt that I often speak of things which are better treated by the masters of the craft, and with more truth. This is simply a trial [essai] of my natural faculties, and not of my acquired ones. If anyone catches me in ignorance, he will score not triumph over me, since I can hardly be answerable to another for my reasonings, when I am not answerable for them to myself, and am never satisfied with them. … These are my fancies, in which I make no attempt to convey information about things, only about myself.”

Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, 1533-1592

(Ed note: This introduction was written before I was hired in 2011 by AllGov.com as a political writer and editor.)

My name is Ken and I don’t blog. I also don’t Tweet,  my Facebook page sucks and I only begrudgingly joined online social networks because, well, I need a job.

First and foremost, I am a journalist. Former urban reporter, sports columnist, copy desk slot, manager, newsroom tech troubleshooter and teacher, and page designer for web and print. I have spent the past 30 years working for newspapers in Southern California, the last 19 with the Los Angeles Times.

I am also a mostly-self-taught computer geek who has written the programs and designed the databases used to power portions of my website, The Editor’s Disclaimer.

Once upon a time that website was a place to post weekly standings of  Hardball, a private, non-profit fantasy baseball league run strictly for the amusement of, well, mostly me, and the ever-changing cast of team managers. … Then it mutated.

On June 5, 2009, I joined the ranks of the unemployed as part of ongoing staff reductions which have claimed half the newsroom’s 1,200 employees over the past three years.

Hire me.