UConn James

I got a 73 on that Neurotypical distinction, and a 139/200 on the Aspie score and so it says, "You are very likely an Aspie." ... Any diagnosis or even a 'Hey, I think I might have X' requires a lot more than a multiple-choice 'Strongly Agree-Agree-Disagree-Strongly Disagree' test, tho. It includes any number of things like eye contact, facial-emotion recognition (I am terrible at this other than the obvious ones like a big smile = happy/laughing), if there were developmental delays, social interaction problems, problems with sensory stimuli (e.g. clothing tags or bunches, light levels, loud noises, etc. I enjoy food shopping, but.... it drains me). Food pickiness and eating issues (I've gotten a LOT better at this with age, but I'm still 165 lbs at 6'). Touch issues (I've been trying to get better at this and my young nieces and nephew now have been good at helping with this wrt hugging, piggybacks, etc.). Personal relationship effects (often, few friends (but the friends you do have are GREAT friends) or romantic relationships.) So-called "Special interests" where the Autie/Aspie is savant-like in particular areas or microcosms of particular areas (Me: Shakespeare, teevee antennas, cooking, stonework). ASD and other close signature conditions also tend to run in families, and I have that in spades from my mum's side of the family. I've seen that the self-diagnosis accuracy rate for Asperger's/HFA is a title less than 20 percent. It's like the whole thing of the med student who comes to believe they have every illness and our hypochondriac society. As I mentioned, I've gotten it separately from a few people who have familiarity (a recent s-i-l who has a master's in SW and worked with autistic people for years, and a retired nurse among them) that I am definitely on the spectrum and most likely traditional Asperger's. But the utility of getting a diagnosis this late in the game is negligible and mostly for a person's own edification; it's getting a Dx when a person is young that is important for school planning, behavioral therapy, etc. I'm open to it, but I don't know... and it can be expensive. Anyway, as the saying goes, if you've met one person with autism, you've met ONE person with autism, b/c it's like an a la carte and no two are the same. JiA, that's an example. Now, *I* would know it's not actual wheels falling off b/c we do learn through experience, but there are things like that which occasionally trip up.

Well... yes. Generally speaking, things are taken literally. As the oft-used example goes, if you say, "I'd like to put something on the table..." an Aspie/Autie might wait for you to physically put something on the table. Now, you learn these things, and you're like, 'Oh, she wants to say something' but still sometimes you get tripped up. I'm really good with language, so I understand and I have a very wry/dry sense of humor, but I remember that it took me awhile as a kid to 'get' sarcasm. And without a vocal or nonverbal context, it's sometimes difficult for me to detect it. In your above comment, there's no indication of sarcasm, so I took it as literal, by default. It took a forever for me to be able to ride a bike, too, but that's another story. Sorry, the video above went to a different link. Here's the one intended. (But the original link is a nice little video, too. I'm like her male counterpart.) www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIdazntSFKE

Sorry, I don't use it pejoratively. I suppose I could write "normal" but what does that even mean these days? Neuro- meaning brain and typical meaning... well... typical/"normal" I don't really see what's offensive about it. It's a word.

I don't have a formal diagnosis, but I've been told by a few people in the know that I have Asperger's, a high-functioning form of autism (well, it's all called autism now under the DSM-V... wrongly, I think, and as a recent brain study has highlighted. There is a major difference b/w Asperger's and traditional autism). It's not a "mental health" thing (by itself... tho often there are co-occurring conditions) it's an actual difference in brain structure and functioning. JiA, that's really not how autism works. It's not that simple. And, from the article it sounds as if his mum *does* accompany him. Auties and Aspies are extremely detail-oriented and change from routine varies from difficult to impossible. Plane travel is stressful even for neurotypicals. For an Autie, small things can cause MELTDOWN. I haven't had one in a number of years, and it's very hard to explain what it's like, but suffice to say it's not something that can be controlled, and therefore you have to do your best to avoid its triggers. How awesome is it that this carrier has strived to make this kid's trip easier and to set things on the Right Track by providing stability of experience that's not *terribly* inconvenient, given some planning? In the UK & Australia, they're really beyond our understanding, acceptance and accommodation with campaigns and how it's been shown in the culture/media/teevee... but we're getting there, bit by bit.

I think Walt may try to funnel his money to his family through the Blacks. They were donating millions to drug treatment.... Maybe Walt figures they can donate some to Skyler? Either that or he may ricin their asses, just for the diss on Charlie Rose.

I weep for this state. Seriously, do they in Hartford know how much $ horse businesses bring into the general fund that they love to piss away? SMH.

That phone call was Walt throwing his cap over the wall, to use the phrase. He has no intention of surrendering. There are things he wants done before he dies, and only he can do them... with the added emphasis on this season's tag line, "Remember My Name." In this episode, we're shown a hesitant side to Walt that hasn't been shown since the first couple of eps. He stares out at the icy road to town, what was it? Two or three times? To quote from "The Hunt For Red October": "When Columbus reached the New World, he burned his ships. As a result, his men were well motivated." Gilligan uses it to drive the plot, but there's more. We had just skipped over several months of Walt, after stepping into the vacuum guy's minivan, reverting to being a passenger in his life. Afraid, holing up, cut off, having to pay someone $10K to play cards for an hour for some human contact. He could either stay like that in his ill-fitting long johns in front of the stove, or he can set things in motion to force himself to go out in a blaze and set things right, according to his own mind. I think Walt may rescue Jesse from the AB, but Jesse is in far too deeply to have ANY semblance of a Happily Ever After with Brock. Not going to happen! Jesse will get his, and it may be by his own choice... after getting revenge on the AB.

Marissa looked seriously PISSED post-vote. I don't know if it was how Gervase went on and on gloating after the immunity challenge that he completely £^€£ing SUCKED in, but I'm sure that couldn't have helped. You know, I'm not one to play on stereotypes, but wow, in the past few seasons of reality shows (the twin doctors on Amazing Race), the black guys in swimming challenges just cannot swim. What's up with that? I've heard things in passing about muscle density and such, but I don't know if that's bunk. I also vaguely remember it being brought up by a black Olympic swimmer for the U.S. and how he had... overcome?.... that general rule/assumption. Has anyone ever read into this for a real scientific reason, if there is one? Yeah, this season looks to be one of the best with all the complications upon complications, your actions having influence into the other tribe, what will happen after a merge WRT alliances, and the return of Redemption Island, which I know some here have a negative view of, but I think is totally awesome b/c it adds another level of strategy and a chance for someone who gets railroaded.

When I hear knapsack, I think of either this type of bag, or the kerchief on a pole like in the Rockwell paintings.

This. Marrone / Hackett had to eat clock there... and they kept at it with the hurry-up and took about 30 seconds before the punt. Inexcusable. This is the NFL and clock management / killing time in the fourth Q is a proven strategy. Especially with Brady, and especially in crunch time, you've gotta keep him off the field. And there we were going with dumb---- plays that set things up for BB perfectly. And this is a Pats* team that is at its worst shape in over a decade.

Yeah, put Brady on his ass!

I can vouch for this. There's a reason I like the Quiet Corner of CT.

I'm not sure how different it would have to be from one of GBID's Hot for Teacher threads where the suspected educator is suspended without pay. People who quote the "Innocent Until Proven Guilty" thing take that way too far: that is language that government apparatuses must follow per the legal process. It does NOT mean that the suspect must not be thought less of to the general public, or that there will be no repurcussions in a suspect's personal or work life. If there is no morals clause or whatever language in the contract, it's likely that the Pats* will have to pay when it all gets winkled out. (I would be surprised if there is no morals clause in this day and age. IIRC, Rothlisberger has a motorcycle clause in his contract.) But even if they do have to pay the workout bonus, the team will no doubt sue AH for a return of some or all of his $10M signing bonus. At this point, everyone's playing contract theatre. They'll be forced to pay the bonus, they'll recoup the larger bonus, the NFLPA will get to say that they did what they were required to do in that special way where unions these days are there to always stick up for the f----ups of society, the team will get to look like they tried to stick it to a scumbag... after they tolerated the scumbag just b/c he could catch a rhomboid ball, AH will likely be convicted and his legal fees will totally bankrupt him (not that it really matters where he's headed), the merry-go-round that is the NFL and the world-at-large will continue to go in circles, and there will be plenty of scumbags in the future who are also million-dollar-talents-with-ten-cent-brains. La-di-frickin'-dah.

Merry Natal Anniversary, AD!

It's a nice gesture that they released him now so he'll likely be able to catch on with another club. And if it doesn't happen right away, he won't be out of work for very long. It was likely a consideration of both money and a feeling that they should err toward youth and try to get some gel time with a kicker/punter combo that can be with the team for another 10 years. So, we're full-on FSU for the kickers (and, one may speculate, QB). Did Hopkins and Powell(?) work together / FG-hold at FSU? Ramius?

I hope Susanna Martinez (NM Gov.) runs.

AJ, you started a Buckley thread awhile back, and I've got to add "I Know It's Over" to this list.... Sad to say, it's a kind of good summation of something on a personal level. Sigh.

I'm in home improvement places lots and it's definitely Lowe's. Definitely. Way better customer service especially WRT returns. Way faster. A very simple veteran 10% discount. Better organized and cleaner. Also has better wood quality, but I will say that HD has a more varied selection of mouldings.

He got paid a stevestojanload of $ and didn't earn it. What does he care? (And yes, for as much was said about Russ Brandon et al. at the time.... 20/20 says "Good call!")

Since when was Batman NOT a dark character? What happened to comic book heros? I hate to use the trite thing, but... 9/11. The world can be a dark place and set even good guys to an edge, especially for those who have to confront the darkness with any frequency.

You must not live in the real world. This stevestojan gets continued or pled down all the time, and people who should be in jail according to every letter of the law... walk out of the courtroom. Especially if you have the least little claim to fame.

Damn, buddy! I can't really add anything to what's been said already. They're always hiring for Fockers, at least up here.... Yeah, try not to stress yourself overly. That's wicked bad. Always welcome to PM, you know. And if you get really hard up for cash, you can always sell your $3K pair of headphones.

What really irritates me is when you see a dude place his palm flat against the wall, as if he's either half-splaying himself to be frisked by a cop or has to brace himself while taking leaving a #1. I won't say that I wish them to go to hell for this tho. Freaks me out a little, is all.

Put the Itchy and Scratchy store in your storage box, then re-place it on the boardwalk. That should trigger its completion.

I am so stealing this for FB.