josh susser
not your typical neuron.
de gustibus non est disputandum.
black lives matter. trans people are people.
pronoun: he.
d.e.i.
#ActuallyAutistic #autistic #ADHD #AuDHD #neurodivergent #neurodiversity
#queer #SciFi #StarTrek #webdev #RubyProgramming #pastafarian #NoBots
Ten ways why being #autistic is like being #queer:
- No one knows exactly why we are like this, but there have been people like us for as long as there have been people.
- We did not choose to be this way.
- The majority does not understand what our lives are really like, and probably never will.
- Being this way isn't the problem. The problem is how people treat us for being this way.
- We see people, life, relationships, and society differently.
- Growing up, we knew we were different, but we didn't know why.
- We learn early to mask our true nature, because society punishes us when we don't conform to the norm.
- We die by suicide at a rate higher than average. We die by violence at a rate higher than average.
- There are a lot of parents who would rather their child be dead than be like us.
- We don't want to be cured. It's only other people who want to cure us.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo.
It's 2026 and we now understand that neurodiversity is a thing, so maybe stop making psychological generalizations as if all humans naturally think the same way.
I think I've figured out why there are so many more British youtubers with autism channels than Americans. They have public healthcare, so these folks can afford to live off of youtube earnings. Free, universal healthcare would make so many things possible. It's hard to imagine what we could accomplish as a society if we just took care of people.
An autistic meltdown is not a teachable moment.
An autistic meltdown is not a teachable moment.
An autistic meltdown is not a teachable moment.
I have always thought of Ted Turner as Jane Fonda's ex, but I guess he did other stuff too.
today's shower thought: If I didn't overclarify things, how would people know it's really me?
It's not a price *update*. It's a price *increase*. Companies are such cowards they can't even admit they are raising prices in the announcement that tney are raising prices.
I can't seem to find apple butter in the stores anymore, so I learned how to make it myself. It took a few tries to tweak the recipe to my taste, but it was worth the effort. (I still see Eden Organic brand apple butter around sometimes, but I will never buy anything from them again after they did a Hobby Lobby copycat lawsuit and made abortion harder to access.)
## Apple Butter ##
Ingredients:
- 3 lbs apples, not peeled
- 1/3 C apple juice
- 1/2 C sugar
- 1 Tbsp molasses
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp Primal Palate Apple Pie Spice (cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cardamom, nutmeg)
Process:
Chop and core apples, but DO NOT PEEL. The peel is where the pectin is and you want that to thicken the consistency. Protip: A melon baller works great for scooping out the apple's core after cutting in half.
You can use water if you don't have apple juice handy. The apples will release liquid as they cook, but you need some liquid to start things off or the bottom will burn. I use only a small amount because any liquid added has to be cooked down later.
Put everything in InstantPot. Cook for 20 mins, followed by natural release for 20 mins.
Blend with immersion blender, then cook down to desired consistency.
My InstantPot can't simmer at a low temp, so I transfer everything to a big pot (I use a large wok) to avoid splashing and burning as it cooks down over a low flame. Takes 30-60 mins, depending. Stir & scrape bottom regularly to avoid burning or sticking. Note, it will be a bit thicker after it cools.
The apple butter will keep in the fridge for a week or two. Put the rest in jars and freeze for later (but don't fill the jars to the top, leave a little space for expansion).
I am literally old enough to remember when Dubya (Bush-43) pushed for his faith-based initiatives as a way to normalize side-stepping the First Amendment and get government in bed with Christian organizations. Democrats fought against it, but not hard enough, so we ended up with our tax dollars going to religious organizations that are free to discriminate against minorities because they claim their religion requires it. And yet now when Trump cancels funding for a Catholic charity that helps immigrants, Democrats are suddenly in favor of this faith-based initiative. Politics and strange bedfellows, indeed.
The "we don't take cash" rotisserie chicken truck at the farmers market is all kinds of incongruous.
I tried to watch the CA Gov debate, but I shut it off. It was just too awful. CBS is no longer a respectable news organization. The "we're owned by pro-fash Republicans" vibe is strong, and the moderators frame everything in as anti-Democratic a way as possible, and they lost control of things pretty quickly. The first question from a student began with him chiding the candidates, "Wow, that was a mess up there."
How do we fix our culture so that we can have substantive, meaningful debate about important things, in public, without it devolving into a clown show? I don't think I've seen a political debate that was worth watching since Al Gore was on stage. Whatever we do, it should probably start by cancelling that Jubilee channel on youtube.
my new pet peeve: when people pronounce "biopic" like it rhymes with "myopic"
What a lovely little documentary about The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the saintly, clownish, drag nuns sometimes seen on roller skates or raising money for queer charities.
https://youtu.be/qYF0e_TCaSg
I don't think people talk enough about how fucking stupid Melania is. For someone who got her permanent residency on the Einstein EB-1 "genius" visa program, she seems pretty dim. Has she ever done anything that hasn't seemed completely idiotic? I suppose if you give her credit for cruelty maybe she has shown some small intelligence, but it's easy to believe she's just acting out a prepared script. The few leaked recordings I've heard make her sound extremely dumb, petty, and self-centered —typical Trump mentality. I believe any impression people have that she is in any way smart is just because she looks pretty when someone has done her hair and makeup.
At this point, I'd vote for any candidate who promises to get rid of California's Jungle Primary