ainslies.org

I’ve run out of projects. My new workout routines are settling down a bit as I get stronger, recover from various injuries and get my body & mind reacquainted with functional training. My computer upgrade project is finished. It’s now working great. I’ve got a good physical setup. I’m now good with the software, hardware…

I am about done with winter. Too bad it ain’t done with me. The last weekend in January we were hit with an ice storm that Raleigh down for 3 days due to sleet, ice and frozen rain followed by frigid temperatures. The ice finally melted a few days later making the roads drivable once…

A line that author David McCullough wrote about historical figures struck a cord with me. He said, the past was simply somebody else’s present. The people living during those times had no more ability predict the future than we have living in our present moment today. They didn’t know if the actions they took were…

For what it’s worth, I have an opinion based on a brief review of the most recent Epstein file dump online. I am not the least bit surprised by the so called “revelations“. Let’s review: Nothing about that is unique. Everyone already knows this is how people have acted for centuries long before the sordid…

One of my projects over the past few weeks has been to optimize and customize my new Mac Mini so that I can get everything I want from it. I do love the thing, but there are several areas where I “wish” an application would work differently. Or, where I find myself doing a lot…

One of the hosts of the Midlife Circus podcast said this on a recent episode: “…trust in yourself…we can figure this stuff out. That’s kind of our generational motto, right?…we’re the generation that had to go and figure stuff out. We were left to fend for ourselves.” He was referencing making big decisions about your…

I heard someone make an offhand comment on a podcast say that he neither he, nor anyone he knows, had ever used the quadratic equation to solve polynomials even though that was the focus of an entire year of high school trigonometry that every college bound student was required to take. I’ve been thinking about…

Everyone knows about the sunk cost fallacy. It’s likely that we have all experienced it many times. I certainly have. I rarely get tied down to possessions anymore. Getting rid of everything we owned in preparation for living on the road after my wife died completely changed my perspective on stuff. That said, I am…

On a podcast, Dan John was asked how his religion faith influenced his work, coaching and life. As part of his answer, he spoke about forgiveness. He told the following story about a conversation he had with Pat Flynn. Pat says that when someone has harmed you, it feels bad – like you have a…

Frugality is a core part of my life, my budget and my identity. I take pride in not spending money frivolously. Although I have loosened up my discretionary spending in recent years, it doesn’t come naturally to me. My initial instinct before making most purchases is to consider the cost and assess whether the purchase…