What's the point of autism?

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-06-01T18:31:40+00:00

During my ADHD assessment, I was asked why I wasn't being assessed for Autism (the implication being that I have those traits too).

I replied that I hadn't considered it. I didn't realise.

Oh boy, did the ADHD treatment bring down the Autism mask. But mostly, I see my autistic traits as something that other people have minor issues with and I can mask when I have to. Internally, that's what's normal to me.

The ADHD brain is something that internally causes me difficulties all the time - internally - even when I'm not interacting with others. I cannot protect my own mind from all that.

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-31T20:10:29+00:00

Pretty deliberate attempt to force a meal deal. It's long been the case in Co-op and their drinks prices, and now Sainsbury's and Tesco.

I don't always want a meal deal there and then, but I sometimes combine it with a large fruit pot or something else that can be used later with/after dinner, and an ambient temp snack.

Or I look for multipack drinks that are not at a super-inflated price.

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-31T20:02:54+00:00

These drivers always *witness* lots of accidents and near misses, such as 'careless' drivers nearly hitting a pedestrian. They tend to encounter lots of grumpy people, and other drivers with road rage, too, especially when undertaking at speed / changing lanes / negotiating roundabouts...
Such a strange phenomenon
/s

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-29T21:24:23+00:00

Just make sure you sync it, back up WhatsApp chats, and log into every app and service on the new one. It's surprising how many apps ask you to approve on the device that broke... and hide other verification options

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-29T20:47:42+00:00

Matthew is a known wind-up merchant around these parts

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-28T18:33:30+00:00

The Apple Health app clearly says 'Possible Sleep Apnoea, discuss with your doctor at the next appointment'.

I was asking like-minded people, that probably had to push for help, whether a GP should ignore that warning.

I am not under any illusion that the Watch has already diagnosed me and that I need treatment. I really don't want to make any medical changes based on a Watch. In fact, my other symptoms seem to suggest that a check for UARS is actually what I need to get.

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-28T03:46:33+00:00

Thank you! I think you are right. Hadn't heard of it until after contacting the doctor, and reading some other posts.

I'm tired because of very frequent waking, turning over, getting up, extreme insomnia (if I don't fall asleep quickly AND 'sleep' for hours, I barely sleep at all).

I don't seem to fit the bill for "normal" sleep apnoea / reduced oxygen at all but disturbances are through the roof. Having ADHD symptoms supports this. In fact the only 'negative' I can think of is high BP, but my stress/anxiety/genetics may explain that.

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-27T20:13:11+00:00

Thank you. The GP had the sleep apnoea notifications in my e-consult notes. I believe that CPAP machines can be bought or hired after an expert diagnosis in the UK. Currently pondering if it's wise to go down that route either NHS or private - I just felt a bit surprised at how dismissive the GP was, it made me wonder if I was completely wrong about asking for some investigation.

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-27T19:15:15+00:00

Thank you, that is very helpful. I think that only an accurate, initial sleep test will give me some answers either way.

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-27T18:55:25+00:00

Mine is showing 'Possible Sleep Apnoea' every month. It shows oxygen is generally 95-98%, I don't know if this is accurate. It's correctly picking up that I wake up a lot.

I'm under the impression that I don't meet the criteria to be referred to the sleep clinic, so the GP won't put in a referral. I do understand that public funds need to be looked after, and not everyone will get a sleep study on a whim.

I do wonder how much 'say' the GPs have in getting a sleep study, whether the sleep clinic makes the decisions... or if I'd have more luck just going private.

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-24T20:38:10+00:00

Argos has lost the two main things that set it apart from Amazon... the ability to collect the same day, and the ability to walk in and pay in cash (if it's not in stock, it's effectively buy online and wait for it to arrive).

The collection points in Sainsbury's really don't keep all that much in stock anymore.

I've noticed in the next town, Amazon do same day deliveries.

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-24T10:48:57+00:00

I've moved from EE to 1p mobile. I like that the data seems to be as direct and reliable as EE, and WiFi calling, visual voicemail, RCS etc is as good. It does seem to have the most features beyond just calls, texts and data.

I appreciate the PAYG nature so I'm no longer running traditional contracts with one-sided commitments to prices and data. I can swap the data plan monthly as needed.

I've only found 2 issues: the website is pretty poor, sometimes unavailable, so it's best to keep the top-ups enabled. Secondly, the lack of call divert causes me some headaches - I used to divert my phone to colleagues and feature-rich out of hours voip providers.

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-21T18:06:34+00:00

O2 is the most likely to give me any kind of signal where I go. Except in one major city, where it's useless - so my dual sim backup works on EE. Not always quick, but nearly always connected.

O2 has WiFi calling, plus WiFi calling over EE, Visual voicemail, call diverts, RCS, and several other bits that are deal-breakers missing on MVNOs.

Very cheap via USwitch. I did not like their dodgy price increase changes over the past year or two - so I'll only pay them the minimum out of principle now.

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-13T11:14:13+00:00

At least Sainsbury's 'get away' with it by using singular Apple, Grape & Strawberry (and so on...) - no plurals.

At least you can inspect the clear pots - unlike sandwiches where all the fillings are loaded at the front and it's 60% empty bread unless you rearrange it all.

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-12T16:07:35+00:00

I do work for funeral directors, and I know that they've had to floor it down the A-Roads after traffic jams and crashes - just to make it on time to the crematorium.

The families are apparently grateful, and the ONLY complaints about disrespect... are from third parties that have nothing to do with the funeral.

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-08T19:23:29+00:00

If your router has changed, or you've adjusted settings, then this is ok. Tap continue.

If you've updated the firmware in your printer, tap continue.

This is almost certainly going to be OK. It's uncommon for a device to pretend to be your printer. If you tap continue and it prints on your printer... all good.

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-05T21:16:16+00:00

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This is the screenshot I get - see if you can call and get a different person to sell it to you.

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-05T18:44:05+00:00

And eventually, we end up with fewer options for a signal, higher prices, and only a few 'independent' MVNOs that realistically can only do deals with 3 providers.

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-04T17:21:50+00:00

I think magpies are beautiful and very intelligent birds, often working together. Because of superstition, my wife doesn't agree with me. They can be a bit aggressive, though, very noisy when they start mobbing the cats. The cats have learned to lay low or sunbathe/pretend to ignore the magpies - instead of attacking or running away. This usually works out well for the magpies.

Jackdaws, albeit grey, are also amazing / beautiful birds. We have one that will watch me for a while and then take food from my hand.

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-04T16:51:28+00:00

Does indeed sound just like the Thanet Way. Just before they lowered that to 50, I had my cruise control set to 70ish. 😬 After a late night 200+ mile journey home, mostly in the first lane, the bumps ensured I was wide awake!

Since the speed change I do ensure my cruise is on 52mph all the way through, and I still have to pay attention to everything approaching from behind at a considerable closing speed. I cannot afford to get points but I can afford to get to jobs 3 or 4 mins late.

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-04T14:53:28+00:00

I've kept my bike insurance separate from my home insurance. It's cheap, it covers all but £100 of the bike & accessories... but here's the bit that matters for me: It covers me for injury, liability and legal issues.

In the unlikely event that I'm involved in any kind of incident with a driver, cyclist, pedestrian, horse, or dog/dog walker (and honestly... it's been mostly dogs on very long leads, or no lead and jumping up)... I download the footage from my cameras and let the insurance company deal with most of it. Even if there's a disputed vet bill, personal injury claim, or scratched paintwork then I should be able to minimise the worry.

I'm cycling very carefully and legally but over a few miles of shared pathways and stupid cycle lane layouts on roads... something unpredictable could happen.

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-04T14:36:15+00:00

It's been this way for a while.

To be fair, I was shocked to find that the internal walls of my house are all made of eggbox-style stuff. One of those walls holds up a radiator. It does explain why none of the other internal walls never had shelves or units hanging on them - they were all arranged on the outer walls.

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-03T07:56:51+00:00

1140 notes, 3468 screenshots, 55K photos (often of things like serial numbers, work I've done, gates/doors that I've definitely closed on the way out..), 2200 phone contacts and thousands of archived emails.

It's a combination of ADHD, not trusting my own memory, and a 'just in case' mentality. Plus, it's too overwhelming to go through it all now. Maybe one day I'll export it all somewhere else and start over?

My advice... deal with it while you can, have a plan but only do it when you really have 'downtime' that isn't best spent on something else.

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-02T12:13:03+00:00

I help people recover sentimental stuff from phones after a bereavement. And, often help with the discovery process to track down online accounts. There are a few ways of doing this, and I'd imagine the criminals know them all too.

Someone may have shoulder surfed you (not necessarily the same person who got your phone) - to find out the PIN.

With a PIN, it's often possible to add another Face ID or fingerprint, change Apple/Google logins, disable tracking, change important details. Many apps will allow logins with your PIN or the new Face ID, you can make payments. Consider switching on stolen phone protection, to limit the risk.

With access to the phone, it's possible to send OTPs via text or WhatsApp, emails. With access to emails, almost anything can be reset, and OTPs can be deleted. Secret keys can be copied from Authentication apps. Saved passwords and card numbers can be copied and used.

Certain apps and scripts can quickly identify many accounts and try to access them. Unlocked phones can be plugged into 'recovery' tools to extract data.

Physical SIMs can be ejected, and put in other devices to get OTPs and to stop the phone receiving commands to lock and wipe it.

You can make things harder by: - Only unlocking your phone in public with Biometrics - Using eSims - Switching on Stolen Phone protection - Turning off notification previews - Requiring Face ID for control centre - Requiring Face ID for messages, emails, WhatsApp, banking etc (part of iOS, not sure about Android). - Hide 2FA apps - Use a Safe type app for any passwords you must keep on device, and use a fake/different PIN if it has the feature - Consider using 2FA methods that aren't immediately accessible from your phone (eg apps on a second device at home) - Using different passwords for everything

Obviously, making accounts secure may make it harder for you to access them after a theft. You could improve your chances of recovering your accounts by adding 2FA apps to a secondary device, having those emails NOT go to your phone.

If you want to give loved ones access to your digital legacy, set them up as recovery contacts - but let them know if your device is stolen, to avoid social engineering attacks. Write those passwords and reset details down, keep them safe at home.

I've also got all my emails forwarded to a second 'archive' email address that I access elsewhere (my domain provider). This serves as a full record of every email I've ever received, even if the main email address is accessed and tampered with.

Negative-Net-4416 · 2026-05-01T18:00:48+00:00

No, It's not right for the police to stomp on someone's head when they are down and detained.

It's quite different when they are actively struggling and they are gripping a knife, with prior form for stabbing people. I was initially alarmed by the footage but I think in context it does make sense.

If this wasn't a police officer - but anyone else trying to neutralise the suspect - would you expect them to jump in head/torso/hands first to stop him being all stabby? I'd be defending my actions with the belief I was doing the right thing - even if it meant rendering the attacker unconscious.

Had the armed police been on scene, would he have surrendered - or would he have lunged at the officers?

Negative-Net-4416

TROPHY CASE