American Gaijin

  • “Work Hard, Play Hard”?  Run.

    I have something that many people seem to consider a personality flaw – but less so as I grow older. When I was a child, I believed it was important to have “professional” relationships.  Specifically, when I would go to an event where a specific thing was to happen, I would go expecting to do…

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  • Why I’m Not A Republican

    If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know that I’m no fan of Democrats. Honestly, I’m being very nice when I say that. I’m no fan of Democrats in the same way I’m no fan of dirty diapers, and much for the same reason. So I’m not really going to go into that – I have…

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  • Never Family

    No company, organization, or group is ever family. Remember this, and never forget it. I have been in the computer field for over twenty years at this point. I have worked in the public sector, in retail, at tech companies, and at telecom companies over my career. Some companies were better than others (I have…

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  • My Cat

    Nearly twelve years ago, when I was still living in California (glad to be out!), I decided I wanted a cat. As it turns out, the friend of a coworker (whom I not-so-affectionately call Napoleon, the coworker, not the friend) had a bunch of kittens free to a good home. So I went and picked…

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  • The Importance of Speaking

    In the next day or so I am planning a post about my cat. So do rest assured that I am not yanking this blog over to one that talks exclusively about social justice and woke idiot topics. I have a few things I have to do first, but after that, I even plan on…

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  • I Will Not Apologize

    Right now, there is this particularly insidious idea that people like me, who are, shall we say, of the historically majority skin color in my country, need to somehow acknowledge and apologize for my “complicity” in “systemic racism”. I will not do that. That is my line. Is there systemic racism? I don’t believe so,…

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  • The Unbearable Arrogance of Wokeness

    I am not, and will never be, “woke”. I don’t even really need to go into what the term means, as that’s not even really germane to the conversation. The word itself should be sufficient to not want to go anywhere near it. Without even knowing what it pertains to, it’s an arrogant word. It…

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  • In Memory of my Father

    My memories of my father are incredibly conflicted – and as the time since his death recedes they only become more conflicted. Truth be told, he was also a conflicted person, though I don’t think he understands exactly how conflicted he was. He kept his own counsel. I often wonder how much of that was…

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  • You Can’t Follow the Science

    It has become a mantra among many people in this society that they are going to “follow the science”. Anyone who says this is either ignorant or stupid. And I’m going to explain why. Science is a very misunderstood practice amongst many people in this world. They rely on it almost as a savior, and…

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  • Vaccines

    Today I got the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. I had to drive about an hour to get it, as the distribution in my country is still a bit scattershot. They’re getting it to everyone, but the distribution network seems hit or miss – some places get some doses, some don’t, etc., etc. Not…

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