I think maybe I don't understand the difference between ethnicity and nationality, then. I thought ethnicity was more than just shared geographical boundaries. And not all people who live in the US have a shared cultural and ancestral heritage of Kraft dinner.

That's what I'm saying -- that the group of people who do have a cultural heritage of mac and cheese (and hamburgers, etc.) ARE a cultural group. "American" might not be the best name for them, since it also means a bunch of other things, but it is a culture just as much as any other culture.

I don't know that culture is the same as ethnicity, though.

All other things being equal, "chick sexer" looks way better on a business card.

Now I'm wondering if Young MC was actually referring to this job. "A chick walks by and you wish you could sex her/But you're standing on the wall like you was Poindexter."

FYI - if the racehorses on Keen Eddie were supposed to be thoroughbreds than they were wrong, wrong, wrong: the General Studbook (like the US Jockey Club) doesn't allow ai.

Sue-- that sounds like a really neat project. I wonder if I will see them out and about? One of the pictures they posted (on a rooftown) would have shown a falling down (thought still occupied) building at the heart of downtown rochester.

A chick walks by and you wish you could sex her/But you're standing on the wall like you was Poindexter."

I think I just realized that I thought he WAS talking about it in the sense that he couldn't tell what sex she was. My lyrics comprehension is very low.

FYI - if the racehorses on Keen Eddie were supposed to be thoroughbreds than they were wrong, wrong, wrong: the General Studbook (like the US Jockey Club) doesn't allow ai.

Quite possibly: god knows it wouldn't be the first time a tv show got facts wrong in the service of a good joke.

My project is falling apart. Right now I'm waiting desperately for some biologists to tell me there aren't any birds nesting yet on an Oregon island, so I can send people out there in a helicopter.

Note to self: never hire a contractor to go out to an island without having a plan for how to get them there, since you can't rely on them to figure it out. ARGH.

Am I writing a cover letter more for the benefit of HR or for my future manager? How technical should I be?

I would describe the culture I grew up in as American. The national background of the people in my area was German/English/Scots, but no one ever referred to that. We were a bunch of people who ate casseroles, watched Walter Cronkite on the news, had cookouts and went to fish frys. As pretty Mid-Century American as you can get.

I would describe the culture I grew up in as American.

So, does "ethnicity" = "culture" in your example? (I'm terribly confused by all of this; hence, all the questions.)

Am I writing a cover letter more for the benefit of HR or for my future manager? How technical should I be?

In my org, at least, HR weeds out a bunch and sends what they consider the best possibilities to the appropriate managers for consideration. So ideally the cover letter would appeal to both, but (again, in my org--others may vary) it definitely has to make it past HR first.

Well, first you have to get past HR, so I'd be concise, informative and follow the guidelines you got above. I know I am impressed when the letter shows that the applicant understands not just the job but our company. If the job description lists a specific skill which you excel at, you might want a sentence about that "I have 10 years experience with chick sexing and built the Scola Chick Sexomatic, which cut sexing time in half."