ainslies.org

I don’t watch shows or read books that feature torture, horror or extreme violence because they give me nightmares. I’d rather not expose my mind to thoughts of depravity, gore and abuse. It’s not good for my mental well being. For the past year, I’ve spent my evening hours before bed reading books, then browsing…

I have been a fan of computers since I first learned how to use WordPerfect in the early 90s. I couldn’t believe how easy it was type and make corrections vs. using a typewriter. Then, when I learned how to use Lotus to create spreadsheets, I was hooked. I could point, click, select edit, save…

Throughout my career in tech sales, I was exposed to new product launches, shifts in direction, mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, layoffs and other major changes in direction that were dictated from the C-level. Over the years, I learned that unless I had a direct alternative to affect the changes, my best approach was to take a…

There was a flash flood over the 4th of July weekend in Texas that killed 100+ people including 30 young children who were in summer camps. In the immediate aftermath politicians, government officials and pundits are pointing fingers at each other quickly assigning blame for the tragedy. I’ve been directly impacted by two hurricanes, one…

I haven’t been on a plane in 7 years. If my life goes as planned, I will never fly again. I despite everything about flying – the inconvenience, delays, abysmal customer service, late flights, cancellations, last minute problems, luggage issues, smells, sounds, people, TSA, add on fees and everything else. The only redeeming quality about…

Dan Gilbert is a psychologist and professor who is an expert affective forecasting. AF is a term he coined for “predicting how you would feel about a hypothetical event that occurs in the future”. This process applies to both positive and negative events. He’s studied how this applies to a person’s ability to predict what…

Four houses on my street recently sold. One was my 86 year old girlfriend’s home. Another was my 83 year old girlfriend’s home. The third and fourth are elderly neighbor’s whose moved into assisted living facilities. I knew all of these people from interactions during my dog walks and occasional chatting outside. Having lived in…

I realized the other day that I’m a prude. I don’t want to hear about anyone’s sex life. I especially don’t want to hear about someone else’s fantasies, turn-ons, problems or preferences. I don’t care if you’re straight, gay, or anything else on the “spectrum”. First, it is none of my business. Second, it’s not…

I wish I could claim that I invented this formula but I didn’t. Arthur Brooks said it on this podcast. He explained that most people focus their efforts on increasing “haves” through more work, more purchases and more consumption. Instead, Brooks argued that decreasing “wants” is the method to increase happiness. I agree since this…

I posted something in the GenX subReddit that went viral. Within 2 hours, it had more than 13,000 views and dozens of comments. By the next day it was over 250K views, 3600 upvotes and 300 comments. I’ve pasted the post below. It was a simple nostalgic memory I had that morning. I wondered if…