Author: Steve Ainslie

I was watching a pharmaceutical commercial last night when I began to wonder why it repulsed me so much.  It was the smiles that really got to me.  Suddenly it became clear to me that the fake smiles gave me the feeling I get when I see a “too close to humanlike” robot or doll….

When I listen to an interesting podcast or watch an TV show, I’ll often check out the background of the people. I’m curious to see their work history, education, age and appearance. Most of the time, a quick search reveals personal websites, business related websites, wikipedia pages, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. Lately, I’ve noticed…

We’re raising a Generation of Pussies. Kids don’t need supervision 100% of the time. They need to be sent outside to play and told “Don’t come back inside until lunch time (or dinner time)”.  Parents shouldn’t set up play dates. They should encourage their kids to go to the playground, introduce themselves to kids on…

In my quest to improve my vocabulary, I’ve been reading the book “Grow your vocabulary: by learning the roots of English words” by Robert Schleifer. I tried different book on root words first, but it went way too deep into the archaic history of language with lots of “guessing” about the origins of words from…

There were four unrelated shootings in the news this week. And, of course, Chicago had at least 10 people shot and 1 killed over the weekend – just like every weekend. This is the America. We have decided that this is OK. Regardless of the reasons behind the shootings (a misanthrope, a known criminal, a…

I was thinking about my first house I bought in Raleigh back in 2012. It was perfect. It was on a cut-de-sac just 2 blocks from a park with a lake. We put in hardwood floors, new windows, removed the popcorn ceilings, updated the appliances, painted the entire interior and replaced the AC and hot…

When my parents were married and bought their first house, I got a real bedroom of my own with 2 bunkbeds, my own dresser and a toy chest. It was awesome. I loved that house. But after my parents divorced we moved far away to Pittsburgh and things went downhill. In Pittsburgh, I had to…

I hate playing baseball and always have for several great reasons: The good news is that I don’t have to play baseball. So I don’t. Throughout my life, I’ve intentionally opted out from other things like baseball: Clearly, all of these all personal preferences that matter to nobody but me. I’m didn’t opt out to…

Lately, I have been running into a woman at my pool whose swims coincide with mine. Sometimes I’ll see her as she’s on the way in and I’m leaving. Other times, I’ll see her walk to an empty lane while I’m in mid workout. She’s got curly gray hair so I assume she’s around my…

Even though I am intentionally not dating or seeking a romantic relationship, that doesn’t mean I’m disinterested in women. It seems like every week I run into attractive women throughout the day. The latest is a woman I’ll call the Pool Hottie. I’ve seen her once or twice before but this week our schedules are…