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AUTISTIC CHALLENGES

Forgot to include the illustration...

Not much of the Republican delegation is actually MAGA, at least according to the scuttlebutt, but rather *cowards*.

The primary means of bullying these cowards into submission to the authoritarian Trump regime, it is said, is that they fear primary challenges -- largely bankrolled by Musk's bottomless pocketbook.

Trump himself is not a reliable bully, and his endorsement has soured.

So a Musk/Trump split seems a potentially optimistic turn for me.
[...]

Obviously, I did "google" this: I looked up with "reuse", "upcycle", "recycle".

The results are borderline insulting (lamps, macrame hangings, building a coffee table from VHS as bricks -- did NOT need an online article to think of those) and one really sounded like AI slop (at one point it started saying that "the tape inside is like video tape" -- OH YOU THINK?!)

But I'm thinking there has to be some practical construction use for strong plastic band.

I have a bunch of old VHS tapes that are most likely destroyed by heat (I doubt they are any good for watching).

I've read the tape is a great material for survival camping -- it's a very strong plastic band.

Anybody tried making a composite from them? Seems like it would be a functional substitute for fiberglass or carbon fibers, at least for light-duty applications like furniture or small buildings.

Or maybe use it in place of webbing or tape to secure joins?

I have had times when I entered a room, and clean clothes have been spread all over the floor, but I have an immediate errand I am in the process of doing.

The database would suggest I throw the clean dropped clothes in a laundry basket and look over them after I have done the immediate errand.

Executive dysfunction is ignoring the problem and walking all over the clean clothes making them dirty and making the problem bigger.
The dysfunction is making the decision in a timely matter.
Ya think?

So, I just got a metal bucket and picked up all of the things dropped on the floor so that It doesn't proceed to spread all over and get lost. SUCCESS!

And I did learn something about the app. There are two parts the app needs. 1. keep track of and identify moments of dysfunction.
2. Create a database of suggestions to help you solve problems real time.

This database is created by you in times when you have time to think.

For example, my current solution can be genralized and used again.
more

I'll tell you why I didn't. Because I was afraid that if I did not finish task A first, I would forget about task A.
Task A was to upload a set of photographs that I had just taken. I was afraid that if I did not do it immediately, I would forget it for months, because that has happened to me in the past.This is how the original app could have helped.
1. I see the spill.
2. I open #openSecretary and say Remember-upload photos
3. I pick up the spilled items and put them in a basket to sort later.

While writing these posts, the battery on my laptop ran out and I needed to get the power cord and plug it in.

I knew I needed to do that, and the powercord was nearby, but I did not because I was writing these series of posts.

Maybe the real neurodivergent problem I have is too much focus, or a difficulty with multitasking.

Problem B is still there, and rushing to plug in the laptop has started to create problem C.

Would it have been better If I had just picked up the dropped things first?

That sounds eerily like those online diagnostic chatbots used to solve technical problems.

It is both irritating, and obviously do-able if they already work. The problem is, they have complex databases which could not be stored on your phone.

This implies the need for creating a personal life support database with rules to help you execute functions which also sounds remarkably like someone telling you what to do.

But wanting to be told what to do is exactly what is wanted sometimes.

#openSecretary
The original app kept track of your time. It was manual, but I wanted to find a way to make it automatically measure it in the future.

What I need it to do is to keep track of your mood as well. This mess on the floor caused me a bit of distress. I physically stopped moving as I looked at the problem and tried to diagnose what to do.

What if it notices this inactivity, and prompts with "you okay" and offers suggestions.

Then it comes back with "Did that solve the problem?"

This thought process took 10 minutes.

So time management is not just having enough time to do all of the things that need to be done, including unexpected tasks.

It is also having a set of preset solutions for problems. A set of what to dos ready so that executive dysfunction does not paralyze you. It is like family mottos.
"If I need to choose whether to stay or go, I go!"
That was from Crest of the Stars.

So, perhaps what the app would do is tell me what to do when I have doubts. (continue)

#openSecretary
What I actually did is step over task B and went on the task A.

But if I ignore task B, the individual items will get kicked around and possibly lost leading me to have difficulty finding the items. Lost items would be task C.

Ignoring task B will lead to a harder task ahead.
So
I should contain task B immediately after completing task A.

If it takes 45 minutes to put everything in it's place, but 5 minutes to pick everything up, I should get a basket and put everything in it.

#openSecretary
So, the problem is not just having time to do a task. The problem is how I think about the time. Because the time I will spend worrying about the problem will be longer than the time it takes me to do the task.

I came into the room to do task A. In my mind task A would take 15 minutes. I see the mess of so many individual items. Sorting and placing these items is task B. In my mind task B will take 45 minutes.

So I chose to ignore task B because it will delay task A.
What to do?

I think a neurotypical person might...
1. Complain that someone had made a mess of their stuff
2. Bend down and pick up the items AND
3. Sweep them into a desk drawer until they have time to deal with them.

I don't do this because I don't see one problem (a mess on the floor), I see a dozen problems (where to place each individual item on the floor that I had planned to organize). I can tell that organization task will take more time than I allocated for coming into the room, so I ignore it.

#openSecretary

So here is a problem.
I come to my desk to find that many small items that I had laid out on the desk have been swept to the floor.

I could immediately bend down and start picking them up, but I laid them on my desk because I planned to organize them and put them into the drawers.

My instinct is to step over them and ignore the problem because I don't have time to do that now. I came here to do something else.

What is the solution to this problem? What would help me solve it?

#openSecretary
While trying to design an app that would help to accommodate a #neurodivergent person, I suddenly realized that there are ethical considerations when making an app.

Am I making an app whose goal is to make the neurodivergent person act neurotypical?

Am I making an app that relieves the stress of the person, but does not change behavior?
Am I making an app whose goal is money (helping the person keep their job). Or interpersonal (helping them with relationships).
WHAT IS SUCCESS

Once again, I see "Apollo 13" on a list of #ScienceFiction movies.

It's not, folks. It's a #HistoricalDrama

It happened 55 years ago (not EXACTLY as depicted, but they did pretty well).

DEAL with that fact. 🤔
🚀 🌒

I'd worry about dementia, but I've always been like this. If I do start to slip, how will anyone be able to tell? 🤦‍♂️

I have lost a very important item. No effing clue where I put it, and the house, my desk, and the car -- all the likely suspects -- are all pure chaos. I may have to clean everything. And even so, I might not find it.

How much of my life do I waste on stuff like this? IDK, maybe it's in the freezer or the bathroom or stuck on a high shelf by the tea? It's all happened before! :welp: