title: Laughing at the Sun: The Story of a Man Who Changed His Spots
author: Michael Nejman
description: Like a lot of guys, I had this 12-year-old pleasure-seeking self always wanting to get out and distract me. My YOLO lifestyle from 1981 through 1996 led to an enthusiastic pursuit of a Ferris Buellers Day Off spontaneity and an Ill sleep when I die existence. Most men grow out of this stage in their late 20s. I had matured to a point, mostly in my professional life as I had a driven and highly responsible career in the academic world. However, I guess I was a late-bloomer when it came to making mature, responsible decisions when it came to the romantic partners I pursued. After a string of failed relationships, I turned 40 and realized it was time for me to change my ways and become a better man, a better person. Much of this journey is documented in Laughing at the Sun: The Story of a Man Who Changed His Spots. I am the author of well-regarded academic works, as well as a freelance writer of life-style articles. I have written for the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, L.A. Times Syndicate, and Programming magazine, with some of my articles being nationally and internationally syndicated. I currently reside in a Chicago suburb with my wife.
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  The GM Effect
  
  
  Frank Herbert, 1965
  
  
  It was a balmy fall evening and as Dr Valeric Sabantoce seated himself at the
  long table in Meade Hall's basement seminar room, he thought of how the
  weather would be sensationalized tomorrow by the newspapers and wire services.
  They would be sure to remark on the general clemency of the elements, pointing
  out how Nature's smiling aspect made the night's tragedy so much more
  horrible.
  
  
  Sabantoce was a short, rotund man with a wild shock of black hair that looked
  as though it had never known a comb. His round face with its look of infant
  innocence invariably led strangers to an incorrect impression - unless they
  were at once exposed to his ribald wit or caught the weighted stare of his
  deeply-socketed brown eyes.
  
  
  Fourteen people sat around the long table now - nine students and five faculty
  - with Professor Joshua Latchley in the chairman's seat at the head.
  
  
  'Now that we're all here,' Latchley said, 'I can tell you the purpose