Author: Steve Ainslie

Twice in the past 15 years, I had coworkers tell me about their plans to move to an over-55 community once their kids went to college. One talked endlessly about how much he loved “The Villages” in Florida, where he visited his in-laws each year. The other mentioned Sun City and another over 55 community…

While I wouldn’t necessarily go about making changes the way Elon and Trump are doing these first few weeks in Trump’s second term, I don’t disagree with everything they are doing. I’m a left-leaning libertarian. I like the idea of government helping people but my experience with government is that it is often (though not…

Lately, I’ve been agitated by the news of Trump’s and Elon’s actions. After reading about their antics and the ensuing chaos, it occurred to me that I have absolutely no control over what they do. And, realistically, they have almost no control of what I do. I’m not even a blip on their radar. Their…

There were protests held in cities across the US yesterday in response to Trump’s and Elon’s actions during the first few weeks of Trump’s second term. I watched video clips of protestors in Raleigh, where I now live and in Pittsburgh, my former hometown. Although I think protests are largely ineffective, I can still see…

In the book “How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World“, the author, Harry Browne, writes that you should present your true self in all social situations in order to meet others who share your interests and values. He says that doing this will also repel people who don’t share common interests with you. Browne…

A few years ago I read that Pennsylvania (where I lived for my first 35 years) spent ~ $60K per year for each person in prison. For comparison, I just looked up the current stats and read that my current home state of NC spends ~ $63K per inmate. Then yesterday, I read that the…

Yesterday I ate some foods outside of my regular diet – almonds, cheese and salsa. They were delicious – but totally not worth it. Within hours I had a headache, felt bloated and had a case of awful garlic/onion breath. That night, I tossed and turned in bed with nightmares while my body dealt with…

After observing the executive orders, hiring freezes, budget freezes and shutdowns from President Trump and Elon Musk over the past two weeks, one thing has become crystal clear to me. Neither one give two shits about poor and working class people. You don’t put large numbers of people’s jobs in limbo with no notice if…

Trump’s new tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada go into effect today. He’s also promised there will be more new tariffs on European and Asian countries. When questioned repeatedly, he finally acknowledged that, “We may have in the short term, a little pain, and people understand that…” Several different analyses estimate these tariffs would cost…

This week, we finally came out of the frigid polar vortex that had plagued us for more than week. Our afternoon temperatures hit the 40s then the 50s and finally even reached the 60s yesterday. With the clear blue skies and warm sunshine, it was fantastic. As I was walking my dogs through the neighborhood…