Genejoke wrote:

elektro wrote:
I started posting on an Autism forum. Not that I've ever showed it for the most part, but I'm on the spectrum and I've had some struggles with it lately, so I wanted to find a community of people like myself.

You probably found a lot on here, I have aspergers, as does my eldest.

Hmmm…… 1. My son (38) and I were having a big discussion, a week or two back, and something I said made him ask if I thought HE was on the autism spectrum. I said no. 2. I'd never really considered it for myself….then I saw a prog., where they were interviewing people with it…and now I think maybe I am ! Not in any debilitating way, but some of the traits of some of the interviewees…..

There's a huge danger when seeing any show about any illness and believing you have any number of the symptoms shown.

However the same symptoms are present in any number of states that aren't on the spectrum. Social anxiety is a part of aspergers as well as of any number of anxiety behaviors. Stubbornness could be on the spectrum or someone could just be obstinate.

One has to be careful.

bravo1102 wrote:
There's a huge danger when seeing any show about any illness and believing you have any number of the symptoms shown.

However the same symptoms are present in any number of states that aren't on the spectrum. Social anxiety is a part of aspergers as well as of any number of anxiety behaviors. Stubbornness could be on the spectrum or someone could just be obstinate.

One has to be careful.

Indeed, same goes for a lot of mental health issues. I remember talking to a guy who was convinced he was narcissistic, and that he thought he was “confirmed” he was correct. It turned out to be too much weed.

My sister has it in her head that I'm autistic. She made me paranoid for a bit because, while I am not on the spectrum near as I can tell, I am a self-diagnosed hypochondriac. I am also unabashedly “weird.” I think my sister thinking of me as on the spectrum helps her excuse my refusal to be “normal.”

I was dangerously starting to show OCD symptoms a few years ago. I hit a point where I once turned around halfway to work and drove home to check my door lock for the seventh time – knowing it was the seventh time and still did it just to make my brain shut up and leave me alone for the day. I was twenty minutes late to work. That was the day, I admitted to myself there was a problem and devised some coping mechanisms. I don't have nearly so many visions of catastrophes. (I also got a dog, so door locks are less of an obsession these days, especially at night. No way is my door opening without me knowing about it.)

When I was young I always hid the fact that I was autistic. Often times hated it. But later in my teens (about 18 and 19) I slowly began to make the transition of accepting as who I was and screwing off anyone who had a problem with it. I was bullied relentlessly because I was always called the Special Ed kid, called retard, and all of that mess. I had a small circle of friends who would back me up though. For those who are creators and who are on the spectrum, accept it.

It makes me laugh when people complain about labels. Asd/ADHD/bpd or whatever. The stuff like, “we didn't have labels when I was a kid,” or “I'm a person not a label” “labels are meaningless”
The labels serve a purpose, it's not about pigeonholing people, just understanding their difficulties or why they don't function the same as neurotypical people. If I'd been diagnosed as a kid my life could have been a hell of a lot easier, instead I had to figure things out the hard way.

Genejoke wrote:
It makes me laugh when people complain about labels. Asd/ADHD/bpd or whatever. The stuff like, “we didn't have labels when I was a kid,” or “I'm a person not a label” “labels are meaningless”
The labels serve a purpose, it's not about pigeonholing people, just understanding their difficulties or why they don't function the same as neurotypical people. If I'd been diagnosed as a kid my life could have been a hell of a lot easier, instead I had to figure things out the hard way.

My sister was diagnosed with a learning disability in college. (High school was so rough for her. She was frustrated, to say the least.) Having a “label” let her get accommodations, and suddenly she was succeeding and learning.

So, yeah, labels help. I am shocked at how many people in older generations maintain an “if it was good enough for me” attitude rather than “I want our kids to have a better life.” In reality, there are no “good old days.” It's an illusion viewed through a nostalgia lens.

So, yeah, labels help. I am shocked at how many people in older generations maintain an “if it was good enough for me” attitude rather than “I want our kids to have a better life.” In reality, there are no “good old days.” It's an illusion viewed through a nostalgia lens.

Yeah, I think for a lot of people, the “good old days” just happen to be when they were young, regardless of whether they happened to be the Great Depression, W.W.II…or the Black Death ! B-)
There are 20y.o.s who will look back on 2020/Covid19/Lockdown the same way, in 50 years. Haha !

BearinOz wrote:

So, yeah, labels help. I am shocked at how many people in older generations maintain an “if it was good enough for me” attitude rather than “I want our kids to have a better life.” In reality, there are no “good old days.” It's an illusion viewed through a nostalgia lens.

Yeah, I think for a lot of people, the “good old days” just happen to be when they were young, regardless of whether they happened to be the Great Depression, W.W.II…or the Black Death ! B-)
There are 20y.o.s who will look back on 2020/Covid19/Lockdown the same way, in 50 years. Haha !

What about in 90 years huh? What about 90 years? Whatdo you have against Generation Gamma?

generation Gamma? you're hoping, there will be no more generations, our end is nigh! it's the apocalypse, I say, The APOCALYPSE!

Well, probably not but it sounds exciting.

I have worked with students on all levels of the autism spectrum as an IA/BI (instructional assistant, behavior intervention aide) and each one is a unique experience that allows me to reflect and understand my own quirks and idiosyncrasies in ways I never challenged before. I love learning multiple ways of communication when a student has non-verbal autism; I can understand the frustration when a student picks up a chair and throws it at a back wall when they are upset about being misunderstood or bored with the lesson; I listen and engage on a topic when a student has studied and wants to talk about a new idea in full detail; and I am a lot more sensitive to the tiniest of noises (the squeak in a cabinet, the sound of metal against metal) and I have almost every device to dim lights, block out harsh sounds, lessen pungent smells, and gravitate to soft, and smooth textures of clothing.

Schools have started focusing more on special needs education because a bill was voted on the district to spend more money on Special Ed intervention programs and less on Gifted and Talented Education programs. In the sixties, if a student was book-smart, had perceived above-average intelligence, and was socially awkward, they would have been labeled a nerd. Today, that same person might be given an IEP with Asperger’s Syndrome and placed into a special day class that teaches socially accepted forms of communication and how to have conversations with peers.

I have thought about this a lot, and while there is no perfect human, this aim for normalcy is so relative to the person we are standing next to at any given point. Around my college friends, I am seen as changing topics often, possibly interrupting conversations and cutting people off, but around work colleagues, I might seem above-average intelligent and socially awkward. It is what you think it is around each given audience.

I love watching interviews with Elon Musk because he is naturally a very intelligent human being and you can tell he is thinking about a million thoughts at any given second, but when giving a complete answer, you hear him stutter and act reflective before the interviewer, which is a very human quality. Does someone like Musk fall on the higher-functioning end of the spectrum? It is quite possible, but does it even matter anymore? He is one of the most intelligent sentient human beings on the planet.


I have given myself a diagnosis (as I have never been officially diagnosed by a psychiatrist), and I always come to the conclusion that all those quirks that make me different are the same things that make me unique and interesting. If I was indeed a neuro-typical person, while socially acceptable and the norm, life would be a lot more boring. So accept it, it is life, ten-thousand years ago, our ancestors were caveman, and we have evolved, and our species will continue to evolve. There still is no example of a “perfect” human being.

I don't think Elon Musk is particularly above average in intelligence Kawaii.
Rather, he made a lot of money on a really basic, obvious web-app (Paypal), which wasn't visionary or clever, insightful or groundbreaking… just a simple money transfer system where the money is made by charging a little for use. It's a system as old as time. The reason for the success is that they simply got in first with the best, most universal solution at the time.

His Tesla stuff, Hyperloop and rocket projects are the result of him investing his money in “visionary” future style projects and paying for the right tech and people to work on it. None of that tech was groundbreaking or new, it's just existing tech that needed investment to get better- investment by someone rich enough not to mind making a loss.

Bill Gates is a good comparison- he made his fortune from a simple business operating system and office programs that turned into the world default for computing for many years, now he invests his fortune in life saving medical programs, paying the experts to do the work. Investing in things that need money but aren't profit making.

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Aaaaanyway, People often need to find their groove. It can be very hard to navigate the trecherous waters of social expectations and communication

The latest medication my cat is on to try to control stomatitis costs $50 per week.

It has thus far not reduced inflammation at all.

He has at least two to four more weeks before his re-examination and when we can schedule surgery. Which will be expensive af, but so is medication, and none of the medication has worked.

Charging it all to credit because I have no idea how I'm going to pay for it, but he's my cat, and I'm going to take care of him come hell or high water.

True, true, true about Musk @Oz. He does seem to come up with Big Picture ideas like: let’s dig holes in the ground and create a transportation system for elites and call it Boring Company, but once the company starts up, he finds the right engineer who can make the plans a reality through logistical planning, inventions and a team of more engineers. He is the leadership style of an “East”, which means he dreams BIG, develops the blueprints of an idea and finds the right person to manage it. He’s knows how to sell the look and feel of the future with Tesla cars and the new SpaceX uniforms, but what I love most are his fears of the inevitable Artificial Intelligence battle we will all be facing and escaping to Mars.

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My shipment of Linen-Cotton blend blazers arrived today, just in time for the start of Summer. 🤍🤍🤍 I absolutely adore the feel and smell of fresh linen (flax) and want to be surrounded by it at all times.

Got scammed trying to buy myself some printed t-shirts, lost 50 euro.

Before buying from a new eshop guys always check to see if there are reviews warning you of things about them. I will do that from now on.

I love linen too :)
I need some linen trousers. I got some for my last trip to Greece but They were an artificial linen I think. A pretty good fake but the fabric pilled, which I haven't seen real linen do :(

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That's a shame about the scamming Tantz :(

ozoneocean wrote:
I love linen too :)
I need some linen trousers. I got some for my last trip to Greece but They were an artificial linen I think. A pretty good fake but the fabric pilled, which I haven't seen real linen do :(

Yeah, can't beat linen. I recently got some casual drawstring linen pants online, and was really happy with them….unfortunately, I later ordered shirts from the same mob, and even @ 5XL, they weren't big enough - so they're off with my cleaner to Vinnie's/Salvo's or wherever. O.K. $55 down the drain, but someone will benefit.
…I'm a lot older, flabbier and larger than when I was buying the linen pants and jackets I see Donny in, on 9GO's late night “Miami Vice” re-runs B-) ….and over the years most of those made a similar journey to the above shirts.

Upon rereading, I found out my city ordinance does not prohibit roosters. So my missexed chick Fred is “legal,” and I can keep him guilt-free. The chicks are three months old and starting to develop grown-up voices.

(One of my next door neighbors and I talked about it, and they are fine with him. The other neighbor has his own rooster.)

I've spent the last couple of days making this. I started by experimenting with a 4-track cassette recorder, played the finished tape backwards, messing around while digitizing it, then later digitizing old audio and VHS tapes laying around the house and mixing it together. Basically trying to make something that would rate a 9.0 on the Weird-shit-o-meter.

Ghosts of the Past

elektro wrote:

Ghosts of the Past

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that's my favourite ever version of Take Me Home, Country Roads.

Ironscarf wrote:
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that's my favourite ever version of Take Me Home, Country Roads.

I know the sample you're talking about. I'm not sure who exactly sang it other than a child. My guess is one of my cousins, but whether it was a boy or girl cousin is up in the air because of the original source's lo-fi quality plus they didn't identify themself on the tape. All I know is that person is likely in their late 40s or 50s now because that was off a tape from the late 1970s.

My cat Zen is finally in surgery today, getting his back teeth removed to mitigate stomatitis. The vet says she'll need to keep him at least until Saturday.

He's my shadow so it is so weird to be without him. He's basically part of my house. I haven't been away from him for more than a night since I brought him home as a kitten last year.


EDIT:
Zen's surgery has been called off/delayed. -_-

He's running a fever of 104, and the inflammation is too severe. Coupled with slightly off coagulation on his tests (that's why they retested him because the numbers looked way off the first time and a little the second time) has given the vet concerns. She said with a minor surgery, they might go ahead, but she doesn't think it's wise to risk this.

So, we're sending blood tests to Cornell, and Zen is going on a different, short-acting anti-inflammatory. My vet says if the bloodwork looks questionable, she'd still recommend the surgery but with plasma on hand.

I'm all out of leave, so we're tying to work this into a lieu day. Next Monday or Tuesday if the results from Cornell get back.

This saga is starting to wear me down.

I hope your puspus is healing ok now!

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It's so disappointing how much misinformation is being spread on social media now. I'm pretty sure it's worse than it used to be.
Usually it's people trying to support their politics or theories about the world, whether right or left. It really doesn't matter which side you're on, they're all prone to using bullshit or falling for it.

ozoneocean wrote:
I hope your puspus is healing ok now!

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It's so disappointing how much misinformation is being spread on social media now. I'm pretty sure it's worse than it used to be.
Usually it's people trying to support their politics or theories about the world, whether right or left. It really doesn't matter which side you're on, they're all prone to using bullshit or falling for it.

Yep, the stupid is strong these days and you can't help but laugh.

Yep, the stupid is strong these days and you can't help but laugh.

Haha that reminds me of Yoda “The stupid is strong with him !” B-)
…there's certainly an awful lot of it about ! Is it pollution or food additives ? Haha…

BearinOz wrote:

Yep, the stupid is strong these days and you can't help but laugh.

Haha that reminds me of Yoda “The stupid is strong with him !” B-)
…there's certainly an awful lot of it about ! Is it pollution or food additives ? Haha…

Can't fix stupid. One can only try to prevent it.

The human capacity for Stupid is infinite, because once anything is made “idiot-proof” – a better idiot is invented.

Worst of all, statistics indicate that smart people have few children while the stupid breed like rabbits.

And this is the optimistic appraisal.

Trouble is that it's not stupid people, it's just people who are so invested in ideas that they don't care to investigate any source that seems to confirm them.

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Man, this site has been around forever ^_^
17 years I've been a member! Freaky

We're older than You-tube, Facebook, Twitter…

some of us are older than Sgt. Pepper.

14 years for me! Kinda neat.

Ironscarf wrote:
some of us are older than Sgt. Pepper.

Nice, a hussar officer!