ainslies.org

As someone who doesn’t enjoy negotiation, I try to avoid situations where high-pressure sales tactics are common. But, once I’ve decided to buy something like a house, car, windows, or a service, I’m ready to go. It’s only then that I’ll go offline to engage with salespeople and service providers to determine what to buy…

If you’re counting on the government to solve your problems, you’ll be waiting a long time. I’ve become acutely aware of this phenomenon over the past 20 years. By the time the government acknowledges that a problem exists, people have been living with it for years (or decades). Then, if the government creates a solution,…

When I bought my house, my home inspector pointed out a few areas where the wood trim was rotting and said I should get it fixed. I noted it at the time but had my hands full with putting in new floors, fixing plumbing leaks and settling into my new home and life. Since then,…

This is how I organize the tools in my garage. I use everything I own. Every few months, I’ll go through my stuff and donate items I no longer need. I used to have so many tools that I could never find what I needed. Now I know everything I own and can locate it…

It was disappointing to see that Trump won the Presidential Election this week. I am still baffled that more than half of my fellow citizens can vote for this guy. Regardless of his political positions, I cannot stomach his arrogance, lying, bullshitting and generally reprehensible behavior. I could never vote for someone like him. But…

I haven’t been writing as much lately because I’ve been doing home improvement projects that are consuming most of my free time. After reading blogs and watching YouTube tutorials to learn how to do something, buying tools and supplies, and doing the actual work, I don’t have the time or energy to do much else….

Looking at old photos of my wife and pets who are no longer with me makes my chest ache and brings tears to my eyes. I can’t do this for very long because of the sadness it brings. The feelings these photos stir up are bittersweet. I recall times of celebration, love and delight while…

Ever since I took down the paintings off of my walls earlier this month I have not drawn or painted a single picture. My afternoons have been jam packed with other activity. I patched, sanded and painted all the holes (over 200 of them). I painted the interior of my walk-in closet, a couple of…

With all of the headlines (and the reality) about inflation, predatory pricing and ever increasing costs of goods, I expected that retail shopping would be taking a significant hit. Personally, even with my limited amount of purchasing and general anti-consumerism tendencies, I cannot help but notice significant prices increases in the food and items I…

When Hurricane Helena hit North Carolina recently, several mountain towns near Asheville were devastated by floods and mudslides. Houses were flooded. Roads were washed away. Power, water, communications and basic services were nonexistent. People were stranded. If they were lucky, they had shelter and a few days supply of essentials. But with roads and bridges…