Size: height depth width… Can be easy to miss one dimension. Energy rating - obvious reasons Noise depending on the room it’s in Ergonomics - can you reach all the bits you need to… Imagine filling it with your weekly shop. - better energy rating=more insulation=less space. Doors can generally be reversed, but check. Some FFs have two compressor circuits, others only one. Can be important if keeping it in a garage. Do you need a water cooler/ice maker thing? More to clean, more to go wrong. YOUR FRIDGE DOES NOT NEED AN INTERNET CONNECTION Nor does it need funky windows & stuff Self defrost is a must. We spent ages discussing colour, now you can barely see it behind pictures & papers etc.

Think " is this a useful feature for me, or is it marketing fluff? "

Finally, while a fridge should be a long term purchase, is just a box that gets cold. Don’t lose sleep over it.

That when I grew up I’d know what I was doing and my body would work.

Not really read up on it yet, but can you do serial over Bluetooth? Quick Google gave me this: https://raspberry-projects.com/pi/pi-operating-systems/raspbian/bluetooth/serial-over-bluetooth

There may even be an android app that could help. Suppose it depends on the scope of your project.

Funnily enough I may have to do something with this tech myself later in the year.

Physically? Knees, even though they are the victims of bad feet.

After much thought I feel ID cards have their place, we kind of have them now as places expect you to have a drivers licence or passport to prove ID or age. My problem with digital is that it isn’t necessarily secure and by the time it’s been done it’ll be significantly over budget.

What about people without smartphones? - they do exist, and this scheme will risk marginalising some of them.

I think the scheme needs careful thought. One ID which the different organisations can scan to get data relevant to their needs only. NHS, tax, proof of age, proof of address, national insurance etc. If the card was sufficiently smart it could hold emergency data, allergies/ health issues, next of kin etc.

I’m comfortably into my second half century. In time I’ll give up on passports and driving licences. I’ll probably give up on smartphones as well (the screen’s too small to see easily already). What then? I won’t be able to prove my existence via the accepted means. I worry that the digital destitution will lead to physical destitution and isn’t something I look forward to.

Digital isn’t a panacea.

A physical ID card backed up with appropriately integrated government services rolling out over time would get my vote, but I’m confident it won’t happen.

I have tinnitus primarily in my left ear. After seeing the audiologist I was given a noise generator, basically a hearing aid that make a constant noise but doesn’t amplify sound. - I go with white noise but other options are available.

The idea is that it trains the brain to ignore the tinnitus noise. Note it doesn’t cure the cause but mitigates the symptom. It works very well for me, so much so that I’m getting a second unit for my other ear. The unit also streams from my phone which is very useful in and of itself.

This is in the uk where they’re provided free on the NHS. I guess if you’re in the us, then you’ll have to sell the house, car and kids too afford the initial consultation.

For people like that there’s no compassion, regret or remorse, it’s either water under the bridge or someone else’s fault.

Rolling codes may protect you from a replay attack, but if the attacker is more sophisticated and has worked out the algorithm, then they can send the commands and effectively lock you out.

Is Bluetooth no good? Lots of protection baked in already.

Right! Take a deep breath. You are the same person that you were yesterday, in that, the diagnosis means very little. I had no emotional response to my adult diagnosis either, though it has had an impact down the line that i’m still processing.

I too was the weird kid, now I’m just eccentric and mostly harmless. Accept yourself for who you are, the world needs more interesting people and if those in your circle can’t accept you, you deserve to find yourself a better circle.

Talk, friend. It may be cathartic, or you may work something out for yourself and find a new path. It’s all good

Being ND in a Neuroboring world will likely always be difficult, do what you can to make it easier without compromising yourself. - I’ve stopped masking, and don’t care that much if I cause a little disruption!

Another vote for obsidian. Plays quite nicely on android as well as the laptop and you can use syncthing to sync them. All for free.

If it’s your first car, I’ll assume that you’re young(ish) and or an inexperienced driver. Please forgive the assumptions if they’re wrong as the following is good advice for anyone.

Get yourself on an advanced drivers course. Many IAM local units used to do disounts for younger people, they may still do. They teach you to drive properly using the same system the emergency services use. Can save a massive hit on your insurance if you’re involved in an accident.

I thought I was a good driver beforehand, but it taught me loads.

One line, or a single riff… Round and round and round until something takes its place.

Unless you are taking the readings for a specific purpose under medical instruction, then so long as you’re consistent it probably doesn’t matter too much. You’ll get sufficient information to show any trends. - take readings throughout the day, that way you’ll get used to the process and your stress levels will fall giving more consistent numbers. Not a medic but have experience of BP measurement.

Haven’t they suffered enough?

People are strange. NT people are stranger. I too fail to move from positive first meeting to friend (whatever that is). - to be honest it’s something I’m not uncomfortable with. I don’t know what is said behind my back at work, but as I can be rather ferocious at times people tend to be careful. Being good at my job probably helps too.

One thing that did occur to me, and this is not meant to be offensive is that the uncanny valley may play a part. If you don’t know what this is, it started with humanoid robots that looked too human and they freaked people out, while non human robots were fine. If the masking isn’t perfect NTs can have a hard time with accepting, however people on the other side of the valley can be ‘endearingly eccentric’ and get along fine. I don’t mask anymore, I go for eccentric, it’s easier. It is however a fine line and even I have to pretend to be normal sometimes.

Getting diagnised: I suspected that I was ‘different’ for many years. I thought I was autistic for a few years but didn’t really admit it to myself. Finally I decided that I should get tested and stop hiding from it. I still only tell people on a need to know basis at the moment, but is an open secret.

Telling work: People at work know I’m not NT shall we say, but being in a technical field it’s kind of accepted. Work wise however it has held me back. I’ve been given (well meaning) opportunities that I’ve not been able to thrive with. Things are getting a little more cut throat nowadays, with more severe consequences, so I thought anything that I can do to preemptively rebalance the deck must be a good idea.

It means that I can have a conversation along the lines of “you know I’m going to have difficulty doing X with Y people, so I’ll need some support there, but you know I’ll do Z really well. Can we work something out?” Previously I’d just struggle with, and probably fail the whole task, benefitting noone. I’d get over stressed so probably fail other things too. To be absolutely honest, I’m too old and too tired for that shit. Another aspect is that being professional is communicating where you are not able to do a task to a high enough standard. The diagnosis allows me to do this in an open and constructive way.

What do I expect to happen from this? Not much, immediately other than an amount of ‘process’.

I don’t currently need adjustments and am reasonably good at my job, so don’t have major worries right now. However, things can change. I may be given a task that would be easy for an NT, but very difficult for me to do. This could affect my performance, with potential negative consequences over several years. Now the company knows, we can work something out to mutual benefit, otherwise I’d be in trouble.

To say I want to weaponise my diagnosis would be unfair, but if I can fairly use it to help me exist in an NT corporate environment, where otherwise I’d have difficulties, then I think I’m taking the sensible approach. Time will tell. In the UK, compared to perhaps other less civilised places, we have a degree of legal protection, but it is a two way street.

I’ve done what I call a ‘good engineering fix’ to a garage door opener. It now works fine on my bench power supply and the fob needs its surface Mount switches replacing so requires a knack to use.

It functions, I understand how it failed and what I need to do to make it work properly… So job done!

It’ll now live in my pile of technical crap for the next decade.

While I have no experience of healthcare, I know that office politics and culture can be a nightmare in any workplace. What I also know is that we are or own ‘brands’ and if we want to be good at anything we need to develop ourselves as we see fit. This is part of being professional. You choose to do it in work break hours where you have the time and maybe are less tied. Maybe it gives you access to people who can help when you need it. All this is good, but I think it’s worth noting that you will miss out on some of the office culture (for better or worse). Professionalism is as much about what you know as well as your network, and people make snap judgements about others. You seem to have come off badly this time, these things happen, but are fixable one way of another. What if you (force yourself to) spend one break ‘socialising’ every now and again? You may be able to turn the conversion into something more worthwhile. You may find someone who will become a real asset.

I’m waaaaay along the spectrum and I too would rather learn than idly chat. The above is very hard for me to do, but I have reluctantly found that there are benefits. It’s a bigger picture thing.

Be you and do your thing, but do it strategically. I suspect that your ‘brand’ is very saleable, so if it’s not working where you are, you can always try elsewhere.

this may be a generalisation, but is it that the new thing is within the autistic person’s field of interest so it’s not a new change, but legitimate continued research?

I’m not so change averse as surprise averse. The things I do habitually are because they work for me and I have no further need to think about them. Of something gets in the way of the habits i need to start thinking about it again, and that is annoying. In my field however I’m highly creative and take every opportunity to explore new ideas.

I am also very tolerant of lack of change, I an for example east the same lunch every day for years without a problem.

I think almost anyone can accept of change, as much as anyone can be against it. It just needs to be managed appropriately and at the correct rate.