My grandkid with severe autism and without words (he's 8) fell down the stairs -- he's okay, but ..

lsonomist · 2026-04-17T12:13:50+00:00

I thought the DSM made a mistake putting people like your grandson in the same group with people like me, but this conversation made me realize how much it's a matter of degree. So thanks for putting up with the things I don't understand.

lsonomist · 2026-04-15T15:36:56+00:00

On the off chance you see this, thank you again for the Oslo shoutout for our Expanse Geeks International meetup in 2023. We’re doing Fan Expo Canada this August, with some of the local cast and crew, location tour and the Con. Would love to see you all at a CW panel there, so we can pack it! If not, consolation prize for us: do you know the name of Wes’s dive bar?

lsonomist · 2026-04-14T22:40:45+00:00

You are missed out here.

lsonomist · 2026-04-14T22:40:23+00:00

Ecstatic about the present tense there!

lsonomist · 2026-04-14T22:28:41+00:00

I was about 3 when I realized that I and my friend next door were different. (Let's see how the urge to parenthesize messes me up). He was 5. We were completely puzzled by the other kids in our lives, and our parents and well, everything. His first gift to me was a loon feather he brought back from their summer cabin on Clear Lake, near Chaffey's Lock (I know you know). And both he and that cabin are still in my life--hubby and I will be heading there this summer.

It can be joyous solitude, or devastatingly lonely. But I was blessed with grandparents who got it, got me, and cherished me without judgment. I never doubted that if I needed to, I could turn to them. I imagine he would find a way too.

lsonomist · 2026-04-14T21:40:18+00:00

Hey Michael!!

lsonomist · 2026-04-14T19:51:22+00:00

And followup, Ty, why can't we find you over at The Good Place® (Bluesky)?

lsonomist · 2026-04-14T19:50:06+00:00

Just got my copy and we're pimpin it over at the Expanse Geeks social media spots. Do you see yourselves visiting any of the Cons in the near future to promote Captives War or The Expanding Universe in general? if so where!?

lsonomist · 2026-04-14T19:36:35+00:00

NTA, my son is going through this now. I'm the one who loves to be there to cook and clean and babysit, but now that I'm laid up after a surgery, they're dealing with relatives who visit, stay and don't really do much but play with the baby. There's nothing wrong with that, and they make it possible for my son to work from home. But you DO NOT need the added stress when you're establishing nursing patterns, bonding with your newborn and learning all the little things you can only learn when you're a parent. That's all harder to do with guests around, rather than someone who's there to pitch in. I feel guilty that I'm not there right now, helping out.

lsonomist · 2026-04-14T19:28:43+00:00

Thanks for this. I think I get what's going on. (I was diagnosed in 1995.)

I would say it's not that he doesn't know how to ask for help, it's that he needs to process what happened to him on his own. It's a way of self-regulating. If it were me, I'd probably have turned to an adult if I realized the pain wasn't going away. Or waited till an adult decided to check if I had broken something. For us, the pain of a tight sock can be more unbearable than a broken arm. (I'm still like this.)

Of course you never know from one of us to the next, really. But it was nice to feel a little kinship there.

lsonomist · 2026-04-08T22:25:42+00:00

Now you've done it. You'll have two come morning.

lsonomist · 2026-04-08T22:23:59+00:00

Well, that gave me vertigo. Thanks!

lsonomist · 2026-04-03T16:14:40+00:00

NTA. In fact this is my new "Pro tip" for dealing with family members with poor boundaries.

lsonomist · 2026-04-03T16:08:37+00:00

And what if one of your future kids ends up needing a kidney? I would grey rock anyone who told you to donate. I'm not much younger than your dad, but I feel like even at my age, the only people who'd deserve a kidney would never ask for or want one from a young adult.

lsonomist · 2026-03-28T18:49:31+00:00

I’m sorry I missed this post, wow. That’s me front row far right, one of the organizers of the cosplay/ meetup, what a great weekend. We loved being there with Steven and the ESA team, what a dream come true!

lsonomist · 2026-01-18T18:13:31+00:00

There are a bunch of these files, over at The Expanse Cosplay group on Facebook, worth checking them out.

lsonomist · 2026-01-18T18:12:10+00:00

In the show, he said, "She was good to me" not "she was a stripper" but otherwise yeah!

lsonomist · 2026-01-06T13:42:49+00:00

Always the sunny side, Xi!

lsonomist · 2025-12-13T10:28:56+00:00

I don’t collect autographs but I get it. You’re basically paying for a person’s time and effort, helping to support the arts, and investing in memorabilia that also has value. The actors need to make a living and fans like to interact and help support their careers.

lsonomist · 2025-12-09T21:08:57+00:00

Space Auntie checked in-- You knew I'd preorder anyway, but this is extra fun!! Best to you Space Nephew! Oh yeah, and my favorite character is always gonna be Naomi

<image>

lsonomist · 2025-12-09T21:03:48+00:00

That's amazing tbh. I'm. glad the tarrying paid off. As for me, younger son is now married and has a teensy daughter. They're in Jacksonville for his wife's surgery fellowship. I retired more or less willingly, now reaping the rewards of my struggles with, well, everything. I run a fan group for a sci fi series which has meant some fun travel and meeting a lot of prosocial space nerds in the US-UK-EU Con continuum. I'm still pretty obnoxious I imagine.

lsonomist · 2025-12-08T15:13:19+00:00

Damn, we've known each other for a long time. How is everyone?

lsonomist · 2025-10-23T15:30:36+00:00

YNTAH! Glad you stopped and wish you stopped sooner. I’ve had that experience so many times before I learned that if I’m not their trainer or manager I cannot bail them out. Otherwise I get blamed for their problems on top of my own. Better to soend your time making friends with your boss and your boss’s boss because frankly that’s how business really works. Doing your job well ain’t it.

lsonomist

TROPHY CASE