The Dino-Aspie Ex-Café (for Those 40+... or feeling creaky)

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The Evil Overlord gets his just deserts and an order of frys on the side!!

I had to kill this thread. I can't let Sleepy worry any longer she did it.

As anyone plainly see it wasn't she that did it or is that you Sleepy? Good shot!!

Well done. No. I like mine rare, but not bloody. I have an order of fried already, thanks anyway. Something to drink? Sure. I'll have a can of WD40.
(WD40 is Duck Tape(TM) worst nightmare come true.)

I do not know who has started this horrid rumor, as of just recently. It is just not true. SPAM(TM) does not stand for, Society Particularly Against Muffins. Do not be fooled by labels that don't have the (TM), which incidentally really means, Trust Me.

SPAM(TM), is the real deal and this was it.

And let us not forget The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates...

Lurking.......And stimming.......

I had a lengthy and interesting telephone conversation, earlier today, with one of the founders of ASPIA: Asperger Syndrome Partner Information Australia. I'm looking forward to meeting her in person on 13th March when I attend the Tony Attwood workshop. I am definitely going to design a new custom t-shirt for the occasion! Woo hoo!

I think — Lau might remember exactly — our record for longest elapsed time with no new post in the Café is just under 24 hours. Have to agree, though, that things have been quiet lately around the joint.

It's quiet because everyone is letting me sleep.

That would be because downwind from a joint, people get mellow. I hear it's coke that makes people babble. That's why we have no soda pops in the cafe. You want to get wired, at least you have to perform the coffee ceremony, first. That rule excludes Chuck. He can get wired from looking at an autumn leaf. Or a snowflake. Or...

Perhaps some poetry will help?

Robert Burns: To a Mouse
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wVo4Igl9gQ[/youtube]

Wee, sleeket, cowran, tim'rous beastie,
O, what panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi' bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee,
Wi' murd'ring pattle!

I'm truly sorry Man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,
An' justifies that ill opinion,
Which makes thee startle,
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,
An' fellow-mortal!

I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen-icker in a thrave 'S a sma' request:
I'll get a blessin wi' the lave,
An' never miss't!

Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin!
It's silly wa's the win's are strewin!
An' naething, now, to big a new ane,
O' foggage green!
An' bleak December's winds ensuin,
Baith snell an' keen!

Thou saw the fields laid bare an' wast,
An' weary Winter comin fast,
An' cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro' thy cell.

That wee-bit heap o' leaves an' stibble,
Has cost thee monie a weary nibble!
Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble,
But house or hald.
To thole the Winter's sleety dribble,
An' cranreuch cauld!

But Mousie, thou are no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men,
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

Still, thou art blest, compar'd wi' me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But Och! I backward cast my e'e,
On prospects drear!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear!

<lurk>.... </lurk>

Wow, you're braver than I am! We usually just toss the marinade out after we soak the meat in it.... I've just found this killer beef stew/soup recipe, I'll try to remember to post it.

My livingroom looks better. And the kid straightened up her room (I made her stop sleeping in my room after a week of getting no sleep - kid thrashes and I got popped in the face once too often). The dust and "stuff" in her room was amazing - she got an allergy attack from cleaning. Told her if she'd just keep it accessible I'd run the vacuum for her in there (she hates the noise!.l.. like I like it??) and the dust wouldn't build up so badly. I think she got that message. The spare room still looks like a bomb went off in there, but just rearranged a bit.

Still no luck on the job front for her. I checked, and she made the "short list" of about 60 resumes pulled for one job (out of over 500 applicants) on her own, and I don't believe they will have gotten through all those resumes to pick people to interview yet, so fingers are crossed. She has an appointment with voc rehab in two weeks. Maybe they can help.

I didn't put all of the marinade in the pan , just what was clinging onto the beef cubes. But that, plus the water in the meat from processing, made quite a lot of broth. The rest of the leftover marinade is still in the fridge, and I plan to have another lash at it, but this time I'll drain the meat a bit more thoroughly before I cook it.

Vacuuming! Ha ha ha! Every time I drag it out, they're like, "Oh god, do you have to do that NOW?" And I fume quietly to myself, and contemplate all the alternatives:

1. Wait until everyone is out of the house, then vacuum, whether I feel like doing it at the time or not. Probability: Not bloody likely.
2. Clench my teeth and carry on regardless of the bellyaching. Probability: fair to good, depending on how much irritation I feel like inflicting on them (not to mention on myself) at the time.
3. Shove the vacuum back into its lair, and let the cat hairs and breadcrumbs gather as they may. Probability: close to certainty.

Best of luck to your daughter in the job-hunting.

Very much enjoyed the ode to the mousie, Gromit.

and for equal airtime


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3GVbIT4UuU[/youtube]

Yeah, well, she's got an appointment at Voc Rehab a week from Wednesday. Unfortunately, the other agency, the unemployment folks, have tapped her for an interview a week from TUESDAY. So she'll have to keep her act together enough to tell them she has serious limitations to what she can do or they'll try to send her out to be a sign twirler or something else un-doable.

Sigh.

Notes. A list of notes. The name of the rehab lady, and copies of her medical records. I've got federal jury duty so I can't go with her. Oh well.

P2K - 900 approaches! (Or was I supposed to mention that?! ) Don't know if I'll be here to celebrate it - I gots 30 hours of continuing education seminars to attend this week (most of it dry as dust repeats of repeated repeats ). I don't mind lectures on pathology and therapeutics, but these are mandatory yearly business and law lectures. Fiendish devils do random head counts and ID checks. (I'll be daydreaming and drawing in a back corner, as usual).

I've certainly enjoyed meeting and befriending you cafe' frequenters these past ~1500 pages! Here's to reading your posted thoughts for ages more! (We needs a barista. Or is Cabana Joe still around?)

Last edited by Chuck on 27 Feb 2009, 2:20 am, edited 1 time in total.

Separately, I have almost finished studying several neuroanatomy and neurophysiology books, so went on to do an initial quick overview of 6 current books on autism research (published 2005-2008) to come up to speed. Gathered thousands of references from just these books. Even before perusing everything, which I will do next, I can state with confidence that there will never be a "cure for autism". Impossible.

"Autism" is similar to mental retardation and cancer - many different types, many different causes (e.g., there are over 200 known separate genetic causes of mental retardation). Headway will probably be made in certain cases, but the problems are too diverse to solve "autism" - as if the spectrum were shades of one single problem to be solved. Multiple problems in every one of the 22 human autosomes, and in the X sex chromosome, have been found to separately (and collectively) lead to autism. Lots of non-genetic problems also implicated and theorized (e.g., abnormal serotonin levels, mitochondrial DNA defects, cerebellar differences, endocrine problems, etc.) Almost all (estimated over 90%) of the "neurological defects" which lead to autism occur in the first and second trimester. If occurring in the third trimester - infection the most likely culprit. If after birth - head trauma, infection, environmental toxins, etc.

A lot of truth in something I saw Lau write once: If you've seen one Aspie, you've seen one Aspie. Probably none of us have the exact same problem causing our "neurological defect(s)". In 2003 they mapped the entire genomes of Finnish families diagnosed with having Aspergers (not sure how helpful this will be in light of all the separate causes, but it is interesting nonetheless):
http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/v9/n2/ ... 1385a.html

A lot of what I say here is probably not news to most of you. It was to me, because I wanted to build a solid science/ neurology base before heading into the autism literature. I still need to strengthen my knowledge of current genetic info. Lots to read!

(One factoid I found interesting: in one study of children with savant skills researchers identified a susceptibility locus within the GABRB3 gene. A separate study on children who insist on "sameness in their environment" found that this trait is also associated with the GABRB3 gene.)

I'm sure I will find lots of interesting factoids in this year's study list.

(Lastly, they won't be able to cure it, but it looks like they will definitely be able to screen for it: neonatal blood studies have revealed that 99% of those identified with higher than normal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotrophin 4/5 (NT4/5), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) are later identified as autistic or mentally ret*d (including those with Down syndrome). In one fell swoop, they can screen for and eliminate almost all future mentally ret*d and autistic individuals).

(Now that they have the means, care to lay odds on whether or not they will?)

I hate it. There was a TV commercial on two days ago, with a scarecrow singing the "If I Only Had A Brain" song from The Wizard of Oz and it's stuck in my head. I even watched two episodes of Dr. Who last night, thinking that the theme song would replace the scarecrow. But it hasn't! Arrrrrrghhhhhhh!

Future Horizons Super Conference on Autism and Aspergers Syndrome
in Murfreesboro, TN on Feb. 27,

It's hard to imagine a more unlikely celebrity than an autistic woman who designs slaughterhouses, but Grandin is unquestionably a star. Her innovations in livestock handling won her the respect of PETA activists and meat packers alike, and she has built a devoted fan base with her writing about autism and the insight it gives her into animal behavior. She's visiting Nashville to promote Animals Make Us Human, which describes the core emotions of animals and argues that those emotions should guide our treatment of pets, livestock and captive wildlife. She maintains that animals "don’t have purely behavioral needs," and she debunks widely held notions about training. Grandin will make a second area appearance at the Future Horizons Conference on Autism and Asperger's Syndrome in Murfreesboro on Feb. 27, where she'll sign and discuss her book The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism and Asperger's. Call (800) 489-0727 or (615) 890-4464 for more information. 7 p.m. at Davis-Kidd; Feb. 27 at Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro.

http://www.nashvillescene.com/events/fu ... me-158436/

Say Hi to Temple for us, Chuck!

Merle

oooo, I wish I could go! She's a great public speaker.