Most of the blogs, forums and websites I used to visit regularly have turned sour. The content is similar to the comments on YouTube, Reddit (and I suspect other social media sites I don’t visit). I used to visit forums for entertainment, for thought provoking discussions and for information. Now, they seem to quickly devolve…
Author: Steve Ainslie
Cash Only
Until I was 18 years old, I never purchased anything I couldn’t pay for with cash. I grew up poor and started working in my early teens so I could buy things I wanted – like clothes, books and food. I saved 50% of my paycheck and spent 50%. Since I was working minimum wage…
Living In A Covid World
I have been paying far less attention to Covid lately. After more than two-and-a-half years of daily updates, every worsening news and constant speculation, conjecture and grandstanding from politicians, public health officials and media pundits, I am burnt out. But, I still don’t want to get Covid. I’m still not afraid of getting it, but…
End Of Longing
Ever since I was a teenager I wanted to be married. I longed to have a beautiful wife, a stable family, a nice house, a dog and 2-3 kids. As a teen I wasn’t ready for marriage, but I desperately wanted a girlfriend. Driven by hormones, lust, a desire for companionship, youth, mass marketing, and…
Intentionally Imprecise
My favorite subjects in school were Math and Science. They came to me naturally – especially Math. It also appealed to me that in these subjects there was always one “right” answer. There was no ambiguity or gray areas. Or at least, that’s how I was taught*. In most of my other classes we were…
Kiss The Ring
The dotcom boom period of the late ’90s was when my sales career took off like a rocket. I had joined a startup as employee number 38 as the first Business Sales rep and within 2 years was managing a sales team of 35 people selling millions of dollars of services a year. I ate…
Death Notice
My mother received a letter from an out-of-state County Coroner’s office asking if she could provide any information for relatives or decedents of some man. The first name was familiar, but the last name was not. Not sure what to do, my mother spoke to me and my sister before replying to the letter. It…
TV Influence
On many interviews I’ve heard lately, I’ve noticed that people often frame discussions in terms of TV shows. This happens during conversations with comedians, academics, scientists and people of all levels of intelligence, education and background. Some of the shows referenced lately include: Sex and the City The Cosby Show Friends The Office Law and…
Hanging Out In Cemeteries
I have always liked cemeteries. My earliest cemetery memories were from being a little kid attending the burial of my Uncle Bob and then my Grandma. Those were not good memories. I remember it being hot. I remember the priest droning on and on. I remember old people weeping. I wondered why they didn’t have…
Podcast Overload
I enjoy listening to podcasts. I listen when I’m driving, when I’m cooking, in the evenings,when I’m mowing the lawn, when I’m vacuuming and when I’m walking in the evening. I listen to history, comedy, advice shows, alternative news (libertarian), commentary and others based on whatever I happen to be interested or find entertaining at…