Author: Steve Ainslie

A few days ago when I was browsing in the library, I heard a guy talking while doing some kind of presentation on his laptop. Since I was deep in the back stacks and he was at a table in the corner, I assumed it was one of the few places he found that was…

I am always on the lookout for interesting podcasts. I listen when I’m driving, cooking, cleaning, doing chores and warming up before my workouts, which totals many hours each week. One way I find new podcasts is browsing feeds of top lists, new lists, and Apple recommendations. Those are not very fruitful for me. The…

The more history I read, the easier it is for me to accept the present. Right now I am reading Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant. In a chapter discussing forms of government, they wrote about monarchies and dictatorships that transformed into democracies over time. Then these same democracies later transformed back into autocracies….

While reorganizing my digital files today, I reviewed letters, documents and photos that I hadn’t looked at in years. Some went back 20 years. I saved them because at one time they seemed important. These included myspace pages, letters to courts, receipts, appeals written to help family members, obituaries, and the other miscellaneous documents you…

Diane Feinstein, the longtime California senator who remained in office long after her physical and mental deterioration made it obvious she could not longer perform her job, died this week at age 90. She was wheelchair bound and had been exhibiting unmistakable signs of dementia and severe age-related physical problems. She hung onto her position…

In a recent conversation with a relative, I was told, “They are shooting cops around here all the time… the former mayor is getting mugged because crime is rampant…we have a black mayor who is firing all the white employees and replacing them with his black friends…” And so, my relative no longer ventures far…

The funny thing about legacies is what lives on after we’re gone. When I visited my high school Ceramics teacher’s class a few years after I had graduated, he pulled a porous rock off the tool shelf that I had used to imprint designs on pottery and introduced me to the class as the man…

My neighbor stopped by the other day to ask if I could feed his dogs while he’s out of town. When he rang the doorbell, I was about 20 minutes into a 30 minute nap. I immediately woke up because my dogs went ballistic to ward off the “intruder”. Waking up from nap a few…

It occurred to me yesterday how unwilling I am to change my ways. This is in stark contrast to to friends of mine, both my age, who completely changed their lives and routines as soon as they got into a “serious” relationship. I completely understand how this happens. I’ve been there and done that –…

After Snickers died and Wiggles I were sending nearly every minute of the day together, I decided to get a dog DNA test so I could finally determine what breeds made up her genes. I had my guesses. Her long body, long snout and short legs, suggested Daschund. Her tri-color black/tan/white coat hinted at some…