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Recent Posts: M Thomas Apple Author Page
Boeing Starliner delayed. They should delay again.
A contractor for Nasa urged the space agency to conduct more safety checks before the highly-anticipated first launch of its Starliner rocket – which is set to take off as soon as next week – “before something catastrophic happens”. https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/nasa-contractor-boeing-starliner-launch-b2542947.html It was supposed to launch last week, but someone spotted a valve problem — *minutes* before the countdown procedure was about to start. […]
As George Carlin said…
Are you a leader or a follower? “Lead, follow, or get out of the way!” I obstruct.
Nuclear power on the Moon. Gee, no problem…
“The truth is that nuclear is the only option to power a moonbase,” says Simon Middleburgh from the Nuclear Futures Institute at Bangor University in Wales. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240417-the-nuclear-reactors-that-could-power-moon-bases So far there are two major consortiums that have plans for moon bases: The Artemis Accords, with 36 countries (the US, Japan, South Korea, UAE, India, etc.) The countries that […]
Top Posts & Pages
- “Japan should rethink gender roles”? Yeah, no kidding
- Ten Years of Taking Leave
- First Year Wall (Part 2) - The (not-so voluntary) parent-teacher conference
- The First Year Wall (Part 1) - Gakudo and the Kid
- End of an Era: Goodbye, Nursery School
- Death of a Cherry Tree
- How Do You Talk to Your Kids About Dying?
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Author Archives: MThomas
“Japan should rethink gender roles”? Yeah, no kidding
On December 5th, I gave an invited lecture-slash-workshop at a university in Gifu, where conservative values reign and men and women think they can run the families like it’s 1899. The very same I made the trek up there, an … Continue reading
Posted in gender roles, Japan, Japanese, Japanese society, parenting, roles, work
Tagged child care, child-raising, chores, clothing, family, gender roles, household, Japan, Japanese, Japanese kids, parental roles, parenting, parents
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Ten Years of Taking Leave
Looking back, it’s amazing to me now that I dared to even apply for a year of paternity leave while living in a foreign country. But I’ve never regretted the decision. As I told an audience of university students and … Continue reading
Posted in book, day care, education, gender roles, Japan, Japanese, Japanese culture, Japanese society, parenting, Paternity leave, school
Tagged bilingualism, blogging, child care, child-raising, children, education, family, family leave, fatherhood, gender roles, haafu, Japan, Japanese, Japanese kids, parental leave, parents
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First Year Wall (Part 2) – The (not-so voluntary) parent-teacher conference
In mid-April, I went to a parent-teacher conference. Actually, it was more like an enforced PTA committee, which one parent per kid had to attend. As a group. We sat at our kids’ desks (tiny!) and introduced ourselves. This was … Continue reading
Posted in education, Japan, Japanese, Japanese culture, Japanese law, Japanese society, parenting, school
Tagged education, elementary school, Japan, micromanaging, names, parents, PTA
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