Mitchell Shannon (seen here admonishing Betsy, the evil six-pound genius who long ago took over the home of his in-laws, in the process gaining power-of-attorney control over their finances) is the CEO of Chronicle Companies, an independent media company based in Toronto, which he founded with Allan Ryan in 1995. Chronicle publishes nationally distributed journals for healthcare professionals, and THE CHRONICLE OF HEALTHCARE MARKETING, a publication for the life sciences industry, in which most of these essays originally appeared. He is recognized not merely as the Dean of Canadian Medical Publishers, but as the Jan and Dean, a rarely bestowed honor that reminds him not to engage in risky behaviors in the vicinity of Deadman's Curve. His public profile on Linkedin.com will tell you more than you would ever want to know about his checkered background and ever-diminishing career prospects. His next book, currently being researched, will be titled "Admonishing Betsy." His e-mail address is: shannon@chronicle.org