Author: Steve Ainslie

Since grief has become a permanent part of my identity, I have not found any person – in real life, on podcasts, online or in books, with whom I feel a connection. I have tried. I’ve read dozens of books with stories of people who lost a beloved spouse, child or pet. I tried to…

The CEO of Disney was criticized this week for being “tone deaf” when he said, “There’s a level of expectation that they have, that is just not realistic. And they are adding to the set of the challenges that this business is already facing that is, quite frankly, very disruptive” in reference to the Writers…

When I was a kid, I received next to no discipline (and little attention, as I’ve written before) from my mother. She worked. She took care of her boyfriend. She smoked and watched TV. When I was really young, she made dinner. Starting from around age 5, I fed myself most meals, got myself off…

When I wrote my thoughts about ChatGPT and AI a few months ago, I did not realize how accurate my predictions would turn out to be. Generally, I’m only good at predicting the past (ha!). Today I wanted to test Bard, which is Google’s version of ChaGPT. First I asked it “Who is Steve Ainslie”….

A podcast I listen to was soliciting feedback via an online survey. Because I’m a fan of the podcast, I completed the survey (using a throwaway email account to maintain my anonymity, of course). I had a few ideas that I think would improve the show. Unsurprisingly, the survey was clearly for corporate marketing purposes….

Many years ago I had a friend who loved to go to Disneyland – even though he was in his mid-30s and had no kids. He’d spend an entire week there. I, on the other hand, preferred to spend my vacation on the beach or at a lake. Over lunch one day, I asked him…

I regularly listen to the Breaking Points podcast. Like all news commentary, it gets a bit histrionic about “what you need to know” and “why people need to be concerned”. But overall, I enjoy listening to the hosts and find their longer form stories at least somewhat information and entertaining. Yesterday, they were discussing the…

Lately there have been a number of news headlines, government “whistle blowers” and “credible sources” (including laughably, congressmen) who all purport that the US government has extensive information about UFOs. So naturally, the news media, pundits and conspiracy nuts are speculating constantly about this. Everyone seems to have an option that they want to share…

Yesterday, I visited a blog I used to occasionally read called “Get Rich Slowly”. This was one of the more popular blogs for the FIRE crowd back in 2008-2010. The author, JD Roth, built the blog into a money making business then sold it and officially retired early. A few years ago, he repurchased it….

A woman on a podcast I listened to this week told this story. At the age of 19, she was working a low paying service job, had skipped college despite her parents’ best efforts to encourage her to go and was a typical carefree young adult. One night, after going out dancing with a bunch…