MISCELLANEOUS

I always wondered what it means to be on the spectrum as I've always suffered from various "quirks" that today might be considered autistic, yet I have an above average level of intelligence.

I've suffered from "misophonia" (hatred of certain sounds), but for me it involves the lower & upper ranges of human hearing. Low noises (such as the bass on car stereos) and high noises (such as ultra-sonics emitted from certain electronic devices) drive me crazy.

I've actually been tested and found to be able to hear beyond the normal ranges (I can tell when a sonic device used to keep mice away is going off and when it stops emitting frequency - humans aren't supposed to be aware of it at all).

I'm also susceptible to sensory overload: in the summertime, if two neighbors put on different radio stations outdoors I begin to break down. This goes for light too. Any conflicting or inconsistent sounds or lights cause me to be unable to think straight. (I could never read if there was music playing with lyrics - only to symphony music.) Just people talking at the same time causes me to withdraw.

As a child I suffered from social phobia (shyness) so severely that I was virtually non-communicable in social situations. I was easily mistaken for emotionally or mentally challenged due to my desire to be alone and have my solitude remain uninterrupted.

I still suffer from a phobia of crowds (if "phobia" is even the right word). Just this past Monday I was in the supermarket and it was so crowded I had to fight back the urge to just abandon shopping and leave - but people were counting on me so I fought off my feelings of near-panic.

I went through stages of creativity. Not that I was ever a savant, but it seemed that as my intelligence evolved, my creative abilities decreased.

I can sing very well (even opera), but I don't because I'm afraid someone might hear me. (Does that make any sense?)

So what does this all mean? Do these various sensitives and triggers mean I'm just eccentric or neurotic? Or am I autistic at some level?

Hey, major kudos to facing your fear!


Honestly, I won't bother to "diagnose" you because frankly, the little technicalities change so often in most scientific fields that I just gave up. But I will say this, I even have a seriously irrational fear that I made a major breakthrough in this year. Won't talk about it but I made one. Your fears seem much more serious than mine, and you made it clear you're willing to put them aside for others. If anything, my only diagnosis is that youv'e got balls.

Thank you.
I've found the only way to advance & function in life is to face fears rather than acquiesce to them (in most cases). Although, there are probably fears I refuse to face and those are the ones I'm not consciously aware of because I lie to myself that I even have them.

January is finally here! Happy 2025. Hope everyone has a great year.

Scary. Very scary.

I found a way to clean my keyboard--I just returned from a hardware store where I bought a 2" soft bristle paint brush. (Meant for latex paints; the ones for oil paints have harder bristlers) It works really good.

That's what I need! I've spilled everything from cracker crumbs to salsa in my keyboard. No wonder the keys stick.

Up to now I've used a feather duster, a Swiffer duster, compressed air duster, a damp sponge, and when I get really motivated, Q-tips. The paint brush beats the dusters for sure.

Think I could use a new keyboard, if I could just find the perfect one for me.

I've never used anything other than the entry-level ones...no ergonomic or anything like that. Like this, $20 and all I need...
https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell...pc-accessories

My computer is 15 years old. Who says no one collects antiques anymore.

I still have a Windows XP system with Microsoft Access 97 that I use every day for my online sales.

Does that computer go online? If so are you worried about malware because the OS is old?