Letting Off the Throttle

Letting Off the Throttle

I found myself letting off the throttle this weekend. Not because I was tired. Not because the bike wasn't running right. Because for the first time in a very long time, I wasn't trying to get somewhere. I was exactly where I wanted to be: surrounded by veterans, raising money for kids, riding with good people, and sharing the road with a woman who makes my soul feel whole.

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Twenty-Five Years Later

Twenty-Five Years Later

Twenty-five years after walking through the doors of this institution, I found myself sitting in a leadership class for first-time managers, raising my hand just to remind people I existed. It wasn't the training that bothered me. It wasn't even being overlooked. It was the realization that after decades of service, battles fought, and lessons learned the hard way, I'm still standing in the same place saying, "Excuse me, I'm over here." Maybe that's the lesson. Maybe after twenty-five years, it's finally time to stop asking for a seat at the table and build a new one.

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A Favor

A Favor

Most motorcycle riders have seen it: a loose piece of plastic, metal, or undercarriage hanging beneath the car in front of them, bouncing closer and closer to the pavement with every mile. Most drivers never even notice. The problem is that when that part finally falls off, it doesn't just become their problem. It becomes everyone else's problem too, especially for the rider sharing the road behind them.

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AI Is a Tool
Writing Life, Humor, Rants & Raves, Tech & Tools Kate Sjostrand Writing Life, Humor, Rants & Raves, Tech & Tools Kate Sjostrand

AI Is a Tool

Artificial intelligence is a tool. A useful tool. A powerful tool. But like every tool, it has limitations. Mine seems particularly determined to turn me into a hairy biker named Randy, plaster motivational slogans on everything, and lecture me about conflict resolution every time I suggest solving a problem with a gun. A love letter, a rant, and a public roasting of AI, all rolled into one.

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Heavenly Pursuits

Heavenly Pursuits

I always assumed all bikers loved horsepower. Loved torque. Loved the feeling of a machine trying to rip their arms from their sockets and launch them toward the horizon. Turns out that's not true. Some ride for peace. Some ride for scenery. Some ride for community. And some of us are engaged in an ongoing theological dispute with the laws of physics.

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Katelyn's Log, Earth Date 20260531

Katelyn's Log, Earth Date 20260531

This morning I found myself doing something I haven't done in a while: feeling nervous before a first meeting.

Not because I'm looking for "the one." Not because I've built some fantasy in my head. But because every now and then you meet someone who just clicks. Someone whose humor lands. Someone whose perspective makes sense. Someone who feels like they belong in your orbit, regardless of what comes next.

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“Outlaw” Bikers

“Outlaw” Bikers

A trip to the Harley dealership turns into an unexpected lesson about modern biker culture. Expecting to find an ally in the fight against government overreach, one rider instead discovers that not everyone wearing leather believes in freedom the same way. A rant about loud pipes, regulations, Baby Boomers, and the growing gap between the image of rebellion and the reality of compliance.

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The Weave

The Weave

Every motorcycle rider knows the feeling: getting trapped behind a painfully slow driver while traffic stacks up behind both of you. What starts as mild annoyance quickly evolves into a full psychological investigation of the driver's intelligence, ancestry, and questionable life choices. A profanity-laced exploration of why riders weave, why drivers misunderstand it, and why some people should never be entrusted with the accelerator.

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