@scotroutes I always have my camera ready to shoot the local wildlife

@jam bo If you are Scottish you’ll look like this in a kilt https://youtu.be/rKIGystgThc

Definitely try before you buy. I made a rookie mistake buying online, thinking a 27.5 small frame would fit and I can’t stand up without sitting on the top tube, even on my tiptoes. It’s fine when I’m riding, though it does affect my confidence as it hurts when a foot slips

Even scientific facts have a half life https://youtu.be/8kBD3lOax44

@perchypanther The Church of Scotland has a huge influence on our government and how it affects our lives “Religious representatives currently enjoy a legal right to places on council education committees in Scotland. At least three places on each council are reserved for religious nominees, under legislation dating back to 1929 and beyond. In most parts of Scotland this includes at least one Catholic and one representative of the Church of Scotland.”
They influence other agencies too

I can deal with living with kids, they seem to be more intuitive and empathetic than adults, but I still need time at the beginning and end of a day to process things in peace.
One thing I’ve learned is that I can’t cope with friendships never mind a relationship, as I have social emotional agnosia. I rely on what people say and take it literally, missing the facial expressions and body language which may suggest otherwise.
It’s led to a few laughs but comes at the expense of friends and leaves me open to abuse

@iancity1 I hope she gets well soon

@chakaping My mum works in psychiatry and still doesn’t agree with my diagnosis, she prefers idiot. By not seeking a diagnosis she’s denying him the support he will need to navigate through life and isn’t recognising the difficulties he may have. Autism isn’t just a label for a collection of cool behaviours, it’s a real disability that causes a lot of distress to the autistic individual and those around them.
I think people often forget that autistic children grow into autistic adults, for the majority of us our life outcomes aren’t that great with high unemployment and short life expectancy. Whilst it’s becoming more widely recognised and support is more accessible for parents, there’s very little resources for autistic adults.

5 is alive

Spike and Gizmo from Gremlins, Barf from Spaceballs in the bottom right and the Iron Giant looking in the skylight

Thanks for being so open and honest, we’ve definitely got oversharing in common 😀. Whether you’re diagnosed or not, I think the defining element is the struggle to understand social interaction and adverse reaction to change and stimuli. This thread shows that autistic people do have empathy and want to socialise, we’re just shit at it.
My lightbulb moment came when I was told that I had scored 47 in the AQ test, I argued that I couldn’t possibly be because I’m chatty, disorganised and shocking at maths. I had been expecting to be told that I was just a bit mentally disturbed and to take a pill, instead I was given a few leaflets. It was a relief at first, I felt freed of certain expectations and stopped masking and supressing so much, I naïvely thought it was a get out of jail card for not realising when to shut up or that I’d misunderstood. I’ve never been good at maintaining friendships and as I’ve gotten older it’s become harder, as it does for everyone, but I do think that it is compounded for people on the spectrum as people become less tolerant and more suspicious of our behaviours; especially women.
As others have said before, I also tend to have quite binary views and expectations and blurt out stupid things (some prefer crazy bitch). This weeks’ faux pas was, instead of saying “If I was male you would treat me differently” as rehearsed, to my boss it came out as “If I had a dick you would listen” 😳. It went down well with my male colleagues but I was pulled into another pre-disciplinary, I now have my own office. Result 😏

Try some towns and cities around Amsterdam. I’d recommend Haarlem, it’s only 15 / 20mins from Amsterdam by train and probably not much more by bike 😀

@Northwind I’ve wondered that, given how our understanding of it has changed over the years

Lol, I fell for that and double checked my spelling

In the UK you need a judicial review, it costs a minimum of £60k and legal aid doesn’t cover human rights or public law cases. Discrimination is entwined with practices and policies which are designed to ensure white male power. It’s a notion we all subscribe to, whether we know and like it or not. I’m happy to discuss and hear people’s views and it’s understandable that some feel hard done by and blame others. I’d never say that white males aren’t hard done by, I know plenty who face real hardships… But it’s not because they are white

@mikewsmith, you’re absolutely right but how do you do that when eugenics is being taught in classrooms and defended by education boards and governments?

Here's an example of what they were talking about, where a teacher made a racist comment, the council used eugenics to defend it as "fact", the SPSO can't investigate due to legislation and the government says it's nothing to do with them #Institutionalracism pic.twitter.com/G2XfKW3iN6

— Aweeshoe (@aweeshoe) December 23, 2018

Cheers for the heads up, it looks like it’ll be an interesting, if difficult watch.
I had a run in with the Proud Boys after Funk D’void (Lars Sandberg) designed and sold t-shirts with their logo and was dropped from gigs and barred from venues, he’s such a snowflake. I’ve also had threats from Scottish Dawn too, who are recognised as a terrorist organisation and have members living a bit too close for comfort

If you can sue for being born, could someone sue for being born with a disability?

@trumpton Nope, low functioning (comorbid disabilities) with savant syndrome

@trifoster You’re spot on, but that’s another thread/forum

@trumpton I didn’t just pick the fashionable traits, I was diagnosed by a psychiatrist. Those on the autistic spectrum are twice as likely to have a substance addiction compared to the general population

I used to only drink socially but as friendships have waned due to age, commitments and being autistic I now do so out of boredom. I’ve no intention of changing my habits as it’s my only form of escapism.
As @MrSmith and @edhornby have said attitudes towards mental health issues compound the problem. It’s all fine and well to say people should talk but there’s still very few people willing to listen. It’s not just a male issue, many people on the autistic spectrum use alcohol as a coping mechanism, one person I knew even said to me that they could only cope with me when strunk (not sure if it was me or them who had to be wasted)

The only reason ritual male circumcision is lawful is because people would continue to practise it in their own home, in unhygienic conditions.
Ritual circumcision isn’t done on the NHS (although some hospitals will do it for free to prevent the risk of it being done at home), Dr’s can refuse to consent and it requires the agreement of both parents in writing.
The boy can sue his parents/guardian under the human rights act when he’s old enough to think WTF have they done

People still protest, there’s been a permanent peace camp at Faslane since 1982. There’s not the numbers there used to be, it’s much easier to click submit on an e-petition prhttps://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/anti-nuclear-campaigners-stage-peaceful-protest-at-faslane-1-4803937

That’s what I’ve been thinking, what do you do if they won’t drink more? Drugs? Hammer?

Yup, and I don’t even have to be drunk for it to end that way

Thank you for all of your suggestions, they’re much more helpful than Google. Ta 🙂

Male circumcision is done for several reasons including religious, cultural and health, according to the NHS there’s evidence to suggest that it reduces the risk of HIV infection.
Whereas fgm not only has no benefits for the woman, it’s brutally detrimental and harmful. It tends to be more specific to certain communities, such as the south east of Nigeria and its diaspora and is not unique to a specific religion

I might do @cdoc! It’s gorgeous area and I know a few people around there. I used to work at HAPPA just outside Burnley and lived in Clitheroe for a while. I remember riding down Pendle 😮 thankfully I got a lift up, I probably should have got one back down too 😂

Thanks @cdoc, that’s very helpful as I’ve not found any myself that can offer coaching to autistic adults. I’ll give them a call to see what they can offer me. I’m keen to improve but I’ve hit a wall (tree) in my progress

@136stu “That actor with the big cock”, you’ll have to narrow it down a bit

We’re aw Jock Tamson’s bairns

I understand your concern, it’s definitely a hostile environment at the moment for “foreigners” and there’s a lot of uncertainty. I lived a village outside Berwick for a while and had friends of different ethnicities, whilst the locals were surprised they were friendly. I now live in Scotland and we have had overt, aggressive and institutional racism

Aye, they’re really easy. I’ve got mine on a wee tray and spray them once a week

Although borne out of bad science the anti-vaxxer movement morphed into a conspiracy theory. Alex Jones provides Andrew Wakefield with a platform (although Infowars is banned on mainstream platforms he’s given an outlet by people linking his videos, Twitter n’ that are all in on it anyway) where they now believe that Big Pharma are working to discredit another scientist named Dr Zimmerman, who says there’s a link between a reaction to vaccines such as a fever or immune stimulation causing a “regressive brain disease with features of autism spectrum disorder” which Jones describes as a brain injury, disease, pain, inability to communicate and a terrifying disorder dysfunction for any neurotypical to deal with. Would you say that someone who was left brain damaged after having swine flu had developed or caught autism?
The problem is that even if you don’t believe that vaccines cause autism you are likely to believe some of the myths surrounding autism, such as the extreme male brain theory or that we lack empathy, don’t like loud noises or touch, are violent, can’t communicate… All of which can be extremely detrimental to the individual. These ideas not only permeate through the gullible but through education, employment, friendships and healthcare by the seemingly educated and clean living set.
It’s scary how extremists will single out innocent individuals to target but it’s mental how rarely we question our own biases which negatively affect others

Wow! That’s such a kind, generous and caring thing to do, thank you for sharing as it’s good to hear that there are decent people about. I’m currently on 3 suicide attempts and month 22 of an 18 month waiting list (special needs) for therapy after an assault and other issues, my friends told me to **** off. Hence why I’m here, lol

@nofx it’s that kind of entitlement from cyclists that annoy all the other road users and local communities. It’s not a race track, it’s a public road. It’s not always possible to avoid the race routes as they cut through communities, disrupting access to properties and inconveniencing road users. Yes, notices are put up but often only state the times of the event and not the few moments that the cyclists are going to be passing a certain point. If these events are to be held on the road then they have to abide by the rules of the road

That horse reacted fairly calmly to a bike up its backside, many would have spooked and caused carnage as the first cyclist passed so closely. You should always give horses at least a 6ft gap and slow down below 30mph and if you can’t pass safely then wait, the rider will pull over when they can.
It wasn’t just the one who undertook who acted like a eijit, the whole group followed the leader without consideration. There was also another cyclist who was attempting undertake the horse as a it was bolting. I take my hat off to the horse rider for bringing her horse back under control without injury to the cyclists.
Horses have a 6ft blindspot behind them and you risk being double-barrelled into oblivion if you enter it. As an ex groom and jockey I used to try and desensitise my charges, even to idiots but they are still animals with a mind of their own

You’re spoilt for choice, there’s loads of great restaurants in the east end. Sticking close to Easter Road, Leith Walk is good for Italian restaurants like Vittoria, Valvona and Carolla or as already suggested La Favourite. On Broughton St there’s The Educated Flea for curry, or Eden’s Kitchen which has something for everyone and the one I want to go to right now. Damn, I’m hungry

Brexit may have given him a shove to move the headquarters there but the main production factories have been in Singapore and Asia since 2002. Back then he said it was to increase cost effectiveness and to be closer to suppliers… The company pretty much doubled its profits in the first year after the move