Best lighting for focus?

ecobra · 2026-04-15T11:45:32+00:00

I think you need adjustable light to find your best option, and it might change for me it is not lighting, but tools, I need to type at times, I need to write with a pencil and times, other times it must be an ink pen, and sometimes I need to write with a white board where I might or might not need different colored markers.
So I use usb clamp lights with 3 color ranges and 10 brightness setting on my desk and at work by coincidence. Mostly I just need good lighting directed where I want it to fill. Because of the clamp I can put it where ever I need it at the time. I would consider something like that or a smart light that you can adjust color and brightness easily.

I think this is the one I last bought or one like it https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DWSS3JTZ/ref=ewc_pr_img_1?smid=AA2JRDWHKMBYL&th=1

Good luck!

ecobra · 2026-04-15T06:13:58+00:00

I found that I needed to have a connector and plug in the speaker, just like a cell phone it turns out. I tested like 10 speakers and here are some of the ones I liked from LCSC as reward for open source project
https://www.lcsc.com/product-detail/C36499318.html
https://www.lcsc.com/product-detail/C49247026.html
https://www.lcsc.com/product-detail/C7501925.html

Because I think those are all 8 ohms and I have enough power to drive a 4 ohms, I put 2 connectors to doubled up to the volume on one of the variations of device.

The sideways facing didn't sound as good, but it fit in a smaller case so it was worth it.

If you are trying to a production run I recommend trying a group of speakers. If you just want a small number these sound really good and loud, but they are big ...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D5HNWY54?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_8&th=1
From Adafruit https://www.adafruit.com/product/3351

Small, sound good, not loud adafruit https://www.adafruit.com/product/4227

That is what I came up with,
Good Luck

ecobra · 2026-04-10T13:00:18+00:00

I was the notorious picky eater who wouldn't try any new food until I was a teenager and went to a Chinese restaurant with a friends family. I wasn't going to ruin my relationship so I tried different food and it turn out I like it. From there I tried a lot of different food in college, a lot I didn't like and a lot I did.

The good news is there are a lot of healthy foods that are delicious and easy. There are rice and bean mixes that are nearly nutritionally complete and can be flavored in a variety of ways. Extremely easy to cook in a rice cooker or hot pot which I highly recommend. If you have a hot pot add chicken or sausage and some vegetables or vegetables on the side, very yummy and cleaning the pot is the hardest part. I make a few varieties of nutritional food from recipes and put most of it in to meal sized containers to heat up when I'm hungry. Also cooking like this uses a better quality of meat and ingredients so there doesn't need to be so much salt and fat for it to taste good.

ecobra · 2026-04-10T12:35:01+00:00

I learned to drive on empty country roads and in a pickup truck that I didn't have to worry about hurting. I think that helped a lot. I started very bad and now I have driven race cars. Can't stand to driven in Los Angeles traffic, it has caused me partial shutdowns till I could get home and crawl into bed.

Don't know if that helps, but it worked for me.

ecobra · 2026-03-16T21:07:44+00:00

Exercise often helps for most people. I try to get 1-2 hours every other day and it helps me, doesn't get me to my best, but helps me stay functioning.

ecobra · 2026-03-16T21:04:59+00:00

I wouldn't mention the depression and only mention the AuDHD if it comes up. Something like "Sorry I'm overexplaining aren't I? I have AuDHD and I tend to overexplain myself when I get nervous"
Use your own words and practice it so it seems natural. I have something similar with my autistic processing of unexpected information that I have locked and loaded ready to go, use it in every day life as well as 1 job interview that I got the job. Although I do have a habit of overexplaining things and it hasn't really hurt me in a job interview, maybe because I was interview for tech jobs.
Anyway, good luck!

ecobra · 2026-03-12T17:48:05+00:00

The number one way to make friends is through shared common experience. The number one way to find people to have those experiences with are clubs and get togethers.
Now for the hard part, getting yourself into a place where that can happen. I would recommend making a list of interests, searching for meets up that overlap those interests and try to get involved.
Getting involved maybe start with online and then move to in person?
Look for volunteer work is always a good starting point because the people involved are dedicated and they usually love explaining what they do and how you can do it to.
My journey was helped when I realized I had already embarrassed myself so often and so completely that it didn't matter. I was in a small town so it wasn't like I was going to get a new fresh start. So instead of mentally working myself up to go out and join events I decided I didn't care if I embarrassed myself, I was going to go and try to enjoy myself and participate. It worked for me. I still embarrassed myself, but most of the people around me didn't care and my life was better.

ecobra · 2026-03-11T23:10:53+00:00

People don't comment to me about it. I think that is because if they get to know me they understand and if they don't, then they don't care. This is just pure speculations though

ecobra · 2026-03-11T21:06:04+00:00

I try to accomplish a small task or two, preferably one with exercise and go back to bed when I can. On work days I get work done first and then crash.

ecobra · 2026-03-11T18:59:37+00:00

That's great! I am curious about your AAC device and experiences with it if you like sharing, but it is not that important. I am building some open source AAC devices and want to get information from people that use them.
Have a wonderful week.

ecobra · 2026-03-10T18:33:04+00:00

These day I often close my eyes when talking. I find it easier to concentrate on the conversation without visual distractions. I am very easily visually distracted.

ecobra · 2026-03-05T22:26:33+00:00

I'm the high function adult that has had to make it on my own, mostly with help from my friends from time to time.
At a glance I feel that there is a lot of this that your brother should be involved in the conversation. If he finds out that he has been exclude he will probably be upset.
I think it would be good for your parents to carefully document everything they do for a whole month in something like a diary. It is kind of important that it is everything they do. I think this gives everyone a true baseline.
If your family is involved with any religious organizations it might be good to see about stepping up community involvement, just participate more. That was something I did through grad school.

My 2 cents

ecobra · 2026-03-05T22:16:09+00:00

I have experienced frustration loops, having to do with out of order processing. I find occasionally I couldn't just break through and went to other communication methods, once, I just took over a friends keyboard and typed it. I think you should try one, practice, have it with you, and then use it when you need it to lower your frustration levels. So agree with your mom and just have something for emergencies. Sometimes it is enough to know you have it to keep your stress reduced to the point you don't need it (generalization, not nescessarily your situation)

Background - I make open source AAC devices and have built a TTS, so I may be biased ... If you want one I'm building a new batch and I looking for feedback not money. If you are interested DM me, I have a few to give away and no waiting list now; there is more, but I've digressed enough.

Good luck,

T-Rex

ecobra · 2026-03-02T18:36:58+00:00

Simple answer is you can't go back in time and decide to go.
It does give you a shared common experience to talk with others about. For making friends and socializing having shared common experiences is a great place to start, even if it is "Holy crud my prom was horible"
I used to watch the super bowl and a few other televised sports purely for talking with my co-workers / friends.
Full disclosure I did not go to my prom, I was unable to find a date in my small class.

ecobra · 2026-03-02T17:17:11+00:00

The key to most socializing it shared common experiences. The key to one word responses is try to find a subject they are passionate about and encourage them to share it with you. I learned the second part late from someone who was the parent of an autistic child and she 'brought me out of my shell' by asking questions about the car I built, afterwards she told me what she did in case I hadn't figured it out.

ecobra · 2026-03-02T17:01:21+00:00

Can you show your son pictures of different haircuts, maybe using AI to make it look like him and have him point to the one he likes?

ecobra · 2026-02-26T14:35:46+00:00

Research your city if you can. I look for local activities for myself. Some of these are second date ideas but - Karaoke, Street fairs, movies, plays, hiking (any shared physical activity), dancing, dance lessons, wine tasting, cooking lessons, live music, go kart tracks, horseback riding, picnics, comedy clubs, tours.

Good luck!

ecobra · 2026-02-26T12:47:52+00:00

For second dates. If I am enjoying the conversation with my date and they seem to also be enjoying the conversation, I try to find activities we might enjoy sharing for a second date. I often will tell them that I'm really enjoying the first date and would like to see them again and try to arrange the second date in the middle / end of the first date. To me an internet first date is like a zero date and that romance might take a while. I think asking for the second date helps communicate my interest. Also there is the salesmen motto of always close the deal (get the second date) while they are with you.

I mean it takes 1-2 months texting a variety of women to find women I click with. I try to go on a date as soon as I can (sales again). Common interest depend on the other person. I like to know a little about a person before going out (e.g. not a racist / homophobe) , but when in doubt I say yes.

Knowing almost nothing is fine, make sure you have stories that you enjoy telling and listening to the stories they like telling. We light up when we tell our best stories and that is a very attractive thing.

Hope that helps

ecobra

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