Two days ago I saw something truly beautiful, something that involved many of the primary forces that effect/affect weather, and I was just reminded of it by the still diffuse (yet increasingly congruous) aggregation of cumulonimbus clouds over Austin right now...
On wednesday afternoon at about 4pm there were two formations of clouds, one a high long squiggle of interacting cirrus clouds over a smaller, lower formation of cumulus clouds. The cirrus clouds resembled a skyscape from an impressionist painting, almost like something that sprang from the imagination of a Van Gogh. The higher cloud formation was one with hazy, indistinct borders that "sagged." That formation had a hole in its middle.
It took me a couple of minutes of observing to figure out what was going on...
The lower cumulus clouds were formed by the condensation of mists that were slowly descending from the upper cirrus clouds. The lower clouds were obviously in motion, but the upper clouds appeared "stationary" (or as stationary and static as an ephemeral manifestation of physical forces can be on an object that is rotating, revolving and hauling ass through space... but I digress).
What was happening:
Surface level winds were moving in a northwesterly direction at about ten miles per hour. The surface level air was warm and moist. The warmth and moisture created updrafts; strong sustained updrafts became thermals, cylindrical columns of rapidly rising moist air. The cirrus clouds were formed by a strong, sustained thermal updraft centered around the hole in the middle of the formation. Higher in the atmosphere was cooler drier air that was moving relatively slowly. So, here is how the system worked:
Warm and moist rises tens of thousands of feet until it hits the bottom or base of a cooler, drier system. Cirrus clouds form just below the barrier and spread in an irregular horizontal band (the squiggle in the sky). The moisture in those clouds begins to cool and condenses into a mist, which falls several thousand feet to condense again into cumulus clouds... which are sucked toward the thermal column at the center. When those clouds encounter the thermal, the moisture in them is warmed and propelled upward... to again form the cirrus clouds... and the process repeats.
The mist between the two cloud banks resembled a wedding veil... and the diffraction of sunlight through the warm, moist air created prismic effects and made the entire scene look as if some divine being had airbrushed it.
In this one little system of short duration one had all of the elements that make weather everywhere on Earth: wind, evaporation and condensation, pressure differentials, heat exchange... the individual forces are not complicated in theory, but in a large open system like that of Earth's atmosphere the interplay between all of the forces is very complex and unpredictable. While The Butterfly Effect can potentially occur in any large, diverse, complex diffuse system, the effect is experienced frequently in reference to weather.
I know several people who make disparaging remarks about the ability of meteorologists to make accurate predictions of future weather events. I am not one of them. What astounds me is that the predictions of meteorologists are ever entirely accurate considering the constant flux that is the interaction between forces which transpires in our atmosphere.
And enough about that.
- a vision of the manifestation of various forces at work in the sky
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aspergers_life- August 7th, 17:43
giddy
- Complex Open Systems
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- aspergers_life
- August 5th, 17:52
curious
There is actually a term for the thread that runs through all of my "near obsessive interests:" complex open systems. All of my intellectual and academic interests revolve around complex open systems. Aircraft design is the only one that doesn't entirely fit in that category (it is an exception of sorts), but I developed that one due to the passionate interest in that topic on the part of one of my five "bondeds" (those persons with whom I feel an enduring emotional attachment or connection). Oh, and on that topic... until a couple of years ago I had never bonded with anyone outside of my nuclear family... and now I'm bonded with others.
But I digress...
Meteorology... complex open system!
Astronomy... the ultimate complex open system
Human groups, organizations and societies... very complex open systems
Pretty much every interest I develop on my own without significant influence from a bonded person... involves the study of at least one complex open system.
So, in the future, when asked my particular intense interest, I will respond: "complex open systems"!
- med make zombie and job stuff continued
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- aspergers_life
- August 5th, 16:48
- curious
My place of employment is lit by flourescents, and I have light sensitivity issues. Exposure to flourescents and strobes can cause me to have severe stereotypy episodes that resemble seizures, and I really can't do that at work (at least not if I don't want to simultaneously be totally unproductive and freak out my coworkers... or risk losing my job). The damn lights also give me headaches, which doesn't help with productivity either. So, in order to cope with the ubiquitous flourescent lights at work, I take an anticonvulsant benzodiazepene. I'm not supposed to drive or operate machinery right after taking it, so I typically wait until I've arrived at work to ingest my daily pill. For 90 minutes to approximately 2 hours after ingestion the medication makes me lethargic and it takes me even longer than usual to process verbal information and to attempt to formulate a response; talking is a significant portion of my job.
In order not to resemble a somnambulist... and to function... I boost my energy level and enhance my ability to communicate via ingestion of: caffeine (I know... don't try this at home), B vitamins (especially B-5 and B-6), and something else (something legal but not at all good for a human). It sort of works, but I don't recommend it.
The combination of the environment in which I work, and my position and the duties I perform, could not possibly be less conducive for someone with a PDD... which is why I continue to work it. I'm living proof that special workplace accomodations are not necessary in all Asperger's/PDD cases, and that with a minimum amount of specialized OT, some supplements and perhaps a prescription anticonvulsant, that many of us can work "normal" jobs, live "normal" lives, and participate in society on a "separate but equal" basis. I've worked at the same job for six years... there are many NTs who can't say that.
STUFF THAT ROCKS ABOUT MY JOB:
1. good benefits
2. fairly steady
3. structure and order
4. unique position from which to observe humans and to document their individual and group behaviors (in my records I've assigned a unique numeric value to each person... I never use names or identifying characteristics in my records... the folks I observe have not been informed and thus must remain anonymous in order for my project to remain ethical)
5. Most of the time I can think about something other than work (or in addition to work... during the first half of my shift it is a pretty brain dead occupation, but during the latter half I've really got to be focused and a lot of thought is required). I've come up with a lot of great sh*t on my breaks and at lunch.
6. My bosses, supervisors and a few of my coworkers know I'm not NT. This means a degree of acceptance in the workplace that is new, different and often positive. Nobody expects me to initiate conversations, or have long conversations about the weather or sports (I've tried initiating conversations and making small talk.... with generally negative results... gave up on that about a year ago).
7. the uniform... I like uniforms (goes to my obsession with uniformity, order and structure... I liked the military for the same reasons)
STUFF THAT SUCKS ABOUT MY JOB:
1. flourescent lights
2. bureaucracy/Iron Law of Oligarchy/politics/gossip/bullshit... all abound
3. crowds/strangers... dealing with large numbers of people
4. frequent unstructured and seemingly non-purposive interactions/small talk
5. ignorance/presumptuous assumptions
6. total lack of control over schedule and environment
I used to have major gripes about my job, but those have largely ended. Our chronically broken equipment has either been fixed or is scheduled to be fixed, we've finally got good bosses and competent supervisors who actually care about doing a good job (a first in my eleven years of public service), and several policy and procedural changes have yielded positive results and seem likely to do so in the foreseeable future. All of these positive changes started when my workgroup was transferred from one division of our institution to another. I really like our new division.
- SI Study Discontinued
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- aspergers_life
- August 5th, 15:18
I've been conducting an informal observational analysis of communication patterns at work as time permits for almost a year. This "analysis" is a description of patterns observed, "collected," through the microsociological symbolic-interactionist method of detached/remote observations of symbolic communication and non-verbal interactions.
This is an attempt to understand the expressive needs of NTs. Why do they have such a great need to communicate? Why, if 80-90% of communication is basically unnecessary, do they expend the time and effort in what is essentially an unproductive pursuit? Is it really unproductive? What is the source of these expressive needs? What purposes or functions could such seemingly non-utilitarian communications serve?
While much of this is a general desire to understand those for whom the world has been "redesigned "and remade, the alternate purpose for the study is to compile data to be used for an occupational therapy manual for kids with PDDs (kind of a general guide to interpreting facial expressions and body language in the south central U.S.... the final envisioned form is a chapter or two in an OT manual for PDD treatment).
I don't know any more than when I started. NTs confuse me. I've got other things to focus on so I'll be discontinuing the data collection for a month or so, and possibly terminating the endeavor at some point in the future.
Why am I doing this? Curiousity plays a large role, but my primary motivation is to improve OT and B Mod for PDDs. We don't intrinsically have problems, what causes difficulties is our impaired ability to effectively interpret the communication of others, particularly non-verbal communication, and to respond appropriately in a timely manner. These are situational skills that can be learned, but the OT and B Mod approaches that are currently employed to aid such communication use methods designed by NTs for people with mental illnesses and other issues, and are not as effective and efficient as they could be. Contemporary B Mod methods are experienced by many persons with PDDs as a form of low-intensity torture, and are generally ineffective. So why suffer for little or no gain? It is my belief that an OT/B Mod program designed by fully functional adults with PDDs (I'm not quite there yet, but I'm getting more functional every day) for kids with PDDs might be more effective, and would almost certainly involve less suffering and shame. So that is my long term goal: not only to become an occupational therapist who specializes in juvenile PDDs, but also to design, test and implement a kinder, gentler and more efficient treatment regime. No kid should have to go through the crap that I did.
- pondering starting an Aspie support group for Austin/Central Texas
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- aspergers_life
- June 25th, 21:29
contemplative
I'm still checking things out, talking with my partner, and doing some preliminary planning (finding physical venues, seeing if there are existing groups [which I would join and then NOT have to start and manage my own group], etc.)
More posts on this topic to follow.
- DVD Review: Time Regained
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- aspergers_life
- June 18th, 21:09
tired
DVD Review: Time Regained
Director: Raul Ruiz
Actors: Marcello Mazzarella as Marcel Proust, with a fine supporting cast, including - Catherine Deneuve, Vincent Perez, John Malkovich, and the Angelina Jolie of France, Emmanuel Beart
I initially had high hopes for this film. It is "based" on the Proust novella with the same title, and it has a great cast. Those high hopes were largely dashed several minutes into the film.
Why this film is almost good but ultimately disappointing:
1. It is the entire Proust novella, at least the dialogue, which wasn't Proust's specialty. His specialty was an uncanny ability to conjure a mood, to quickly and deftly construct a scene, in his employment of unusual and evocative adjectives and descriptive phrases, and in his narration, especially in his segues.
But you get none of the good stuff in this film, with its general lack of narration, its abrupt transitions between scenes, and with its cast of characters who are introduced rapidly without reference or context.
Like Proust's novella, the film jumps forward and back in space and time, but without the brilliant segues the effect is disjointing, unnerving and downright confusing.
2. The cinematography, costumes and locations are all fabulous, but the English subtitles are rendered practically invisible in every scene in which there is backlighting (about a third of the film).
3. Malkovich isn't nearly as good in French as in English, and he is a supporting character who doesn't appear until approximately halfway through the film. His skill carry his scenes. Emmanuel Beart acts as well as she can, although her facial expressions are limited by all of the plastic surgery and botox. Vincent Perez's skills, intensity and charisma carry his scenes, and, of course, Catherine Deneuve is a great actor, so her scenes are worth watching. The main failing as far as acting goes is the main character of Proust, "portrayed" poorly by Marcello Mazzarella, who could probably pull off acting in community theater, but whose skills are insufficient to carry a lead role in a feature length film. And the relatively unknown cast of minor supporting characters and extras can't exactly be described as actors, at least not professional actors.
In summary, this is a film with great actors and much unrealized promise that was largely a disappointment to me.
- Pineal Gland Treatment
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- aspergers_life
- June 1st, 20:51
I'm going to be "treating" myself the same as those with pineal gland disorders.
No, I don't have a PGD.
So why do this?
I believe that many forms of autism are the result of a genetic predisposition combined with a pineal gland that has been altered, probably by a chemical or biological agent before the age of 3.
The acetylcholine boosting has already helped, I've been taking melatonin for months and that has helped, so it is now time to go all the way and find a food, chemical or supplement that directly affects the secretion, regulation and transformation of serotonin. Which means about a week of research, followed by procurement and implementation.
- Brownout
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- aspergers_life
- May 29th, 19:23
excited
Brownout isn't just a sudden diminution of power on a grid, it is also an excellent local Austin band... who happens to be headlining Pachanga Festival 2009... tomorrow night!!
And they are releasing a new disc in another month or two as well.
- Inner Space Caverns
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- aspergers_life
- May 29th, 18:42
- satisfied
So there is this large cave system located just north of Austin next to Interstate 35. Last weekend the cherub, the cherubaby and I toured the highlights of the system. Fascinating stuff:
1. the Balcones Fault runs right through the middle of the cave system and one can clearly see the delineation and the deformities caused by a crustal rift; there are indices of induction on one side and subduction on the other - spectacular
2. there are piles in there from different eras, white sedimentary formations composed of minerals deposited by fresh water runoff (in this case lime and calcium with some trace elements), older reddish-brown pre-ice age formations (indicating the presence of iron and other metals), and older still are the sedimentary deposits left on the floor of what was once an inland sea.
3. as the Balcones Fault has become less active (it is currently considered long-dormant or defunct), the formations inside of the cave have become more regular and uniform, and most of the newer forms resemble abstract "modern" art
4. Fibonacci is EVERYWHERE, with water-formed striations conforming precisely to the characteristic patterns, and the Fibonacci spiral makes regular appearances (also known as the "Golden Mean Curve").
5. Fossils: there are about 30,000 years worth of fossils spread throughout the cave system, including five different "dons" (e.g. - mastodon, iguanodon, etc.), those of several large and rather vicious mammals, ancient giant cave bats, and even those of marine animals that once lived in that ancient inland sea; my favorite fossils in the system, however, are those of primitive invertebrates - calcified ancient sea sponges compressed to extreme hardness, yet still resembling the large ocean sponges of today in appearance
6. Many of the chambers on the tour were SARA shells (sympathetic acoustic resonance amplifiers), so I had a lot of fun with "do-re-mi" working my way up and down frequencies until I found the one for the chamber that made it ring like a bell. I tried not to do it too loudly - the thought of being trapped under tons of rock had more to do with that than any consideration for my fellow tourists.
Stuff I didn't like so much about the tour:
1. being crammed into a cable car with 40 other people
2. having strangers touch me
3. our tour guide was LOUD
But it was totally worth it.
A truly interesting geological phenomena, but one I don't intend to visit frequently.
- laws of thermodynamics and how open macro systems pertain to statistical and probability math
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- aspergers_life
- May 29th, 0:26
LAWS OF THERMODYNAMICS, cut and pasted from the Wiki article, with my emphases (bold and italic) added where stat and prob math applies
The First Law states that energy cannot be created or destroyed; rather, the amount of energy lost in a steady state process cannot be greater than the amount of energy gained. This is the statement of conservation of energy for a thermodynamic system. It refers to the two ways that a closed system transfers energy to and from its surroundings - by the process of heating (or cooling) and the process of mechanical work. The rate of gain or loss in the stored energy of a system is determined by the rates of these two processes. In open systems, the flow of matter is another energy transfer mechanism, and extra terms must be included in the expression of the first law.
The First Law clarifies the nature of energy. It is a stored quantity which is independent of any particular process path, i.e., it is independent of the system history. If a system undergoes a thermodynamic cycle, whether it becomes warmer, cooler, larger, or smaller, then it will have the same amount of energy each time it returns to a particular state. Mathematically speaking, energy is a state function and infinitesimal changes in the energy are exact differentials.
All laws of thermodynamics but the First are statistical and simply describe the tendencies of macroscopic systems. For microscopic systems with few particles, the variations in the parameters become larger than the parameters themselves, and the assumptions of thermodynamics become meaningless. The First Law, i.e. the law of conservation, has become the most secure of all basic laws of science. At present, it is unquestioned.
The entropy of an isolated system not in equilibrium will tend to increase over time, approaching a maximum value at equilibrium.
In a simple manner, the second law states "energy systems have a tendency to increase their entropy rather than decrease it." This can also be stated as "heat can spontaneously flow from a higher-temperature region to a lower-temperature region, but not the other way around." (Heat can flow from cold to hot, but not spontaneously—for example, a refrigerator requires electricity.)
Second Law
A way of looking at the second law for non-scientists is to look at entropy as a measure of disorder. So, for example, a broken cup has less order (more entropy) than an intact one, and it is more difficult to repair a broken cup (reducing its entropy) than to break an intact one (increasing its entropy). Likewise, solid crystals, the most organized form of matter, have very low entropy values; and gases, which are highly disorganized, have high entropy values.
The entropy of a thermally isolated macroscopic system never decreases. However, a microscopic system may exhibit fluctuations of entropy opposite to that dictated by the Second Law
THIRD LAW
As temperature approaches absolute zero, the entropy of a system approaches a constant minimum.
In brief, this postulates that entropy is temperature dependent and leads to the formulation of the idea of absolute zero.
Large, open thermodynamic systems (which is to say most known physical systems whose constituent components are larger than molecules) can only be rationalized by using inference, probability and other statistical methods that describe complex open systems. So poker math and large-scale thermo math are similar because they are describing radically dissimilar systems that just happen to conform to similar "rules."
- upcoming PDD OT conference
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- aspergers_life
- May 28th, 21:54
- excited
The Texas Department of State Health Services is hosting an occupational therapy conference on pervasive developmental disorders next week. I just got confirmation, so I'm attending. I'll let y'all know if anything remotely relevant or useful is discussed in conference. I only hope my boss is cool with me "flexing" a couple of hours in order to attend the entire conference.
- a realization that caused some bewilderment
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- aspergers_life
- May 28th, 21:39
ENTROPY
OK, so entropy is a physical constant, or at least the "rate of decay" is assumed to be such. This involves a steady state or phase change from complex and energized to simple and less energized (but never quite losing all integrity and energy). One would think that the typical thermodynamics math would cover it, but it doesn't. Instead, much of the math employed to describe entropy is based on things not normally associated with thermodynamics, like probability and game theory. So, if this is a simple phase/state change that happens at a universal and relatively constant rate, why is the math used to describe it that also used to describe behaviors in complex variable open systems? How does a phase change relate to games of chance? What is going on here?
MOMENTUM
What is the relation between entropy and momentum? (Because there is a relationship) How do both of these relate to the conservations? (motion, mass, energy)
This is my brain teaser for the evening. I'll probably be poring over references later tonight.
- Electric Drone Project, pt 2
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- aspergers_life
- May 28th, 20:57
thirsty
So, more on the electric drone...
While I didn't get beyond designing, modeling and testing two of the components (propulsion and wing), I had a pretty clear idea of what needed to be included, and what its composition would be.
The airframe and internal components needed to be light, balanced and as integrated and simple as possible. Cost of materials was also a consideration, so I went "as cheap as possible" as frequently as I could manage.
The "fuselage" was conceived as a shell around an ultra-thin 1" circular tube made of aircraft aluminum. Inside of the tube were the twin "turbines" that provided thrust for the craft (essentially these were/are really long, fast, powerful muffin fans... I modified two small electric motors taken from a defunct HVAC heat exchange unit to make them work more like submarine propellers... good ole Bernoulli, whose work I used both in designing the propulsion system and the wings).
Other components packed around the aluminum tube inside of the shell of the fuselage included:
1. Two electric motors: a larger, faster and stronger one to power the turbines in the electric ram, the other to manipulate the various control surfaces.
2. A set of pulleys and "cables" (actually high-test fishing line in my proposed prototype). The pulleys acted in two ways: as a means of concentrating force and controlling speed in the electric ram, and as a method of precise control on the fishing lines in order to effectively manipulate the control surfaces.
3. A remote-control/"radio control" box that controlled the actions of the two motors (and thus the plane).
4. A tiny GPS transponder/receiver
5. Two wire loop antennas that each ran the length of the fuselage (one for the GPS, the other for the radio control unit)
Wings and fuselage composition:
The wings and fuselage were constructed of the same stuff - shaped white spruce shingle "main ribs" (verticals), balsa wood integral spacers (horizontals), with styrofoam between, all under a surface "skin" of 4mil rip resistant waterproof "gas plastic" (the stuff they use in helium weather balloons). I was intending to cover the entire top of the wing with a sheet of thin-film solar, placing 'trodes on the ends and hooking those back in to the control box and motors.
And that was/is the problem/issue:
A single layer of thin film solar material can't power the control box, transponder, and the ram and control surface motors, and batteries with a charge sufficient for sustained flight are too heavy and bulky. Now I could fly the craft for a couple of minutes with about a dozen small nickel-cadmium batteries, but what is the point in that? I mean, Orville and Wilbur could get excited about that, but nobody in the last seventy years has been thrilled with a flight that lasts less than 1000 seconds.
I'll come back to this when significant improvements in batteries have been made (and they will be made... electric storage technology is advancing relatively rapidly).
- note to self
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- aspergers_life
- May 27th, 21:21
Post pictures of Precious under the border collies section at the dog lovers group ASAP.
- aircraft design, part 1
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- aspergers_life
- May 27th, 20:34
THE ELECTRIC DRONE PROJECT, status report
I've run into a major hitch in the project, and, at least for the time being, I'm shelving it until a lighter and more powerful battery is available.
As for the components:
1. The electric mini-ram works and the twin turbines can propel air at 68mph.
2. The wing is near-laminar and has 11/100 lift at 60mph (proposed cruising speed in trim for the craft)
Problem: the thin-film solar covering on top of the wing doesn't provide sufficient power to run the mini-ram, and the available batteries are too heavy. The best power source for the ram would be a redox battery, which means heavy fluids. Fluids sloshing around destabilizes the airframe in flight, and redox batteries are so heavy that the craft would never make it off the ground.
This is pretty disappointing, but at least I haven't actually spent the time, effort and cash to build a prototype, and the exploration was worth the effort and may produce dividends at some point in the future.
- current jazz obsessions
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- aspergers_life
- May 27th, 20:31
- thoughtful
Early Mingus
Art Blakey
David Sanchez
Stan Getz
Quincy Jones (as trumpeter and arranger)
Duke Ellington (as musical theater composer)
- Bands/Artists I Like Who Will Be Releasing Discs This Summer
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- aspergers_life
- May 27th, 20:21
- calm
Chickenfoot
The Dead Weather (Jack White and an all-star retro rock backing band)
Sean Paul (guilty pleasure, but great for ass-shaking or cleaning house)
The Flaming Lips (one of my all-time favorite rock bands)
Elvis Costello (I'll have to add him to my favorite lyricists list... what an oversight!)
Iggy Pop (not a good songwriter or lyricist, but a super cool attitude and a great performer)
Dream Theater (one of the few remaining progressive rock acts, they are kind of a cross between Rush and Metallica)
Levon Helm (a former member of The Band)
Moby
TV on the Radio
- favorite modern lyricists and librettists
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- aspergers_life
- May 27th, 20:11
- contemplative
Cole Porter: demigod of the musical theater libretto. I adore Cole Porter's work. My favorite renditions of his songs are on Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook (old but great).
Sammy Cahn: Frank Sinatra's lyricist and songwriter for two decades, Sammy is believed to have invented the pop hook; he also wrote top 40 songs for other Rat Pack members, most notably Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr.
Bob Dylan: The Great Semanticist himself, the joker, oh he of double and triple entendre, of unusual yet entirely clear allusion. The short, ugly Jewish Minnesotan gravel-voiced nasal sage of the workingman's libretto; Orpheus with perpetual post-nasal drip.
Joni Mitchell: She could turn a shopping list, the phone book, a dictionary, or just about anything else into a beautiful, interesting, witty little ditty in about fifteen minutes, and did so consistently for a couple of decades.
Tom Waits: Man can that guy write a lyric. His '70s and '80s stuff is outstanding.
Gershwin: Of course
Kern: Of course
Hart: Of course
Loewe: Of course
- names. labels and change
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- aspergers_life
- May 23rd, 12:02
anxious
I've posted several times here about my job, so a description of what it is that I do for a living can be formed from a composite of previous job-related posts.
My job title has little to do with what tasks I actually perform at work. If it did, the folks who perform my job at times I'm not working would have different titles and different job descriptions, because each shift is radically different.
On the weekdays during business hours their title would be: Receptionist/Customer Service Representative/Maintenance Manager (I get about three hours of that a day when I work my four weekday shifts each week).
At night and on weekends the title would be: Electronic Surveillance Specialist/System Operator/Guard/Database Technician/Report Writer/Facilities Management Technician.
During business hours on weekdays we primarily deal with people; at night and on weekends we primarily deal with machines.
If might seem as if the person working nights and weekends has a more complex, varied and difficult job, but that isn't necessarily the case. There is as much to do at night and on weekends and there are fewer folks to do it, so those shifts require more activity than the weekday shifts. However, the night/weekend shifts require considerably less face-to-face interaction and require less coordination with other entities, so it balances out.
Why don't the job titles/descriptions have very much to do with what we actually handle at work?
Budgetary fictions: my institution officially has a receptionist; unofficially all that receptionist does is answer the customer service lines on the telephone. There is another person who is paid to be a customer service representative... but they are actually an executive assistant to the officer IIIs, officer IVs and the unit ombudsman. There isn't enough money in the institution's budget to hire someone else to perform the basic customer service and reception functions. This leaves a gap that we fill.
We are generalists in an institution full of specialists, and, as such, there is little understanding of or respect for what we do. I don't especially care about the respect, but the lack of understanding has created difficulties in the past and will likely do so in the future.
I don't think I'll be able to keep my current job in the fall, and I'm not entirely certain how I feel about that. While I've generally been studying social sciences in college for the last few years, I'm starting a specific and related vocational training program next spring and I've got four classes I have to take this fall in order to meet all prerequisite requirements. I can't work my current job and successfully complete more than two classes at a time, so I'm going to have to quit and find part-time employment some time before September. This will mean degraded and curtailed benefits (especially health insurance), but also better and more flexible hours. Once again, I'm not entirely certain how I feel about this.
- link to a May 20 2009 article in Time on autism
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- aspergers_life
- May 20th, 14:24
- pensive
