Miles O'Brien

I my experience, the oldest child is forced to mature faster by being required to perform childcare duties, especially in families with many children.

Younger siblings basically “get to be a kid” longer than older ones.

This is unfair to both older and younger siblings for a myriad of reasons, but both are a failure of parenting, and society as a whole. The parents should not be forcing the dynamic, and society should not be putting parents in a position where they feel they have to.

As for “feeling immature” as an adult… That is entirely dependent on what you measure maturity by. My wife and I sing nonsense tunes at each other, sometimes just look up and go “QUACK!” for no reason. We have gone to a playground to go swinging. We have gone outside to play in the snow.

I didn’t get my first job without my mother’s help until 20. I didn’t get my license until 26. I didn’t get my first full time job until 33. I absolutely hate going to a store at all, let alone by myself. Although if I’m being honest I would rather go by myself since it’s faster and less chance of my wife grabbing 10 extra things because we passed the aisle and she went something snack-y.

Remember, “Autism Spectrum Disorder” is, as the name implies, a spectrum. As such everyone is on it. Most people are gathered in a general area area (the people who would be considered “normal” by someone who has a more traditional old way of thinking) I personally believe I’m a little further toward the “autism” side, based on a bunch of comparing my personal experience with others who are diagnosed. I don’t believe it’s that big a deal for me, as I am fully capable of functioning on my own as an adult.

A bit of armchair psychology, I’d wager you’re a bit like my wife and due to narcissistic and withholding parents you likely need more reassurance than the average person. This isn’t a failure on your part at all, and it’s not a “developmental disability” it’s just a bit of childhood trauma.

To answer more directly:

In my opinion, yes eldest siblings often mature faster. Feeling immature is probably normal, and maturity is a pretty vague notion in general. ASD in general isn’t as big a deal as many people think. If you’ll forgive me for saying so, your family kind of sucks.

Their funds are as deep as the administration feels like they are. Probably up to and including armed robbery of citizens at gunpoint if things keep going. Think “nazis ripping fillings out” type of “we need to fund ICE”

Yes, our taxes are paying for repairs.

I’m sure that England has been glad to be rid of us for quite some time. We haven’t been very good allies in my lifetime, let alone before that.

I’m also equally sure plenty of Americans today would rather be somewhere in the UK.

Sorry for being unable to answer the woman side of the question. 30s, “male” but honestly could also qualify as “closeted genderfluid” or “agender” maybe, I don’t know.

Never really felt “masculine” in the stereotypically toxic way older generations and conservatives are obsessed with, and if I’m being honest I’ve always wanted breasts and to look more feminine but have no desire to have any sort of “bottom surgery”

My wife has encouraged me to grow my hair out, but honestly I’m not sure what to do with it. I just put it in a ponytail, sometimes for multiple days in a row. But I want to do more stuff with it. Executive dysfunction goes great with a lot of things…

Although I would like to appear more feminine, I hate makeup. I have done musical theater since middle school and absolutely hate the feeling of stage makeup. I understand there are different types of makeup and I’m sure proper application would feel less like a layer of clay and more like a light dusting.

Some days I want to go out wearing women’s clothes, but never have. Some days I feel like wearing work jeans and a ratty t-shirt full of holes but it’s comfy. Some days I feel like a gelatinous blob only constrained by sweat pants.

Fuck labels, do you.

Lmao my mom used to say real men don’t cry.

One day as a teen I was angry and tearing up and she said that, so I just screamed at her “I’VE SEEN DAD AND GRANDPA BOTH CRY SO SHUT THE FUCK UP” And honestly I think she realized she was wrong at least about that, because she has never said it since even to my sister’s kids, and I didn’t even get in trouble for swearing at her.

Cry away, fellow human. Disregard those who cannot allow themselves to feel emotions for fear of seeming “less than”.

I’d say it’s not weird to wonder, but it is a little unhealthy if that’s what you assume is the truth every time.

That said, how often does internet go out for you?

I live on the same grid as a hospital so my power almost never goes out, and live close enough to several cell towers my phone can use that cell service isn’t a problem.

So if my internet goes out, I assume my provider is having technical problems.

Nationalists will attack anyone who doesn’t hold their exact narrow worldview from their narrowly defined area, regardless of which nationality they hold.

American nationalists are just called “republicans” (although plenty of democrats could be considered nationalists, it’s a bit of a “not all squares/rectangles” situation)

My parents are definitely in the “resist status-quo change” group, but I would argue they do understand “the cause” at least when it comes to American politics. They’re vocally against fascism in private, but any sort of resistance is illegal and therefore wrong. And it’s too bad these politicians are doing fascism, because they’re supposed to be good God-fearing types who just want abortion to stop.

Without an ounce of thought behind it, my mother will say medically necessary abortions should be allowed, and vote for someone who loudly tells everyone they won’t allow any at all. Will say ICE shouldn’t be executing people, but will happily support funding for them. Doesn’t like that the US keeps putting its military boot into other countries’ doors, but still says “support our troops”

I don’t get the fascination with sports either, but I get emotional about the stories in video games. I imagine someone who loves sports but doesn’t care for video games might view my tears over pixels as pathetic. My outrage at imginary injustice from a judgemental npc as ridiculous.

I have all these feelings for random collections of pixels on a screen. They can have their feelings for random groups of people.

I have to stop myself from mocking my brother in law for yelling at his TV on apparently bad plays, because I definitely have yelled at my screen before over a death, or plot twist.

From Ohio, and to me sleet is several things

Wet snow/rain mix

Tiny frozen spheres that aren’t big enough to be called hail

Snow/tiny hail mix

Any combination of the three, really.

Mostly it boils down to “not snow or rain or hail”, and “wintry mix” is something I never heard until adulthood.

You should know! I consider it important information that is necessary for life, as now you get to imagine every songbird tossing in a “cunt” or “good on ya” while twittering away.

I’ve started yelling “NO PRONOUNS” and “USE HE/SHE BECAUSE HE/SHE IS NOT AN OBJECT” at my conservative relatives and acquaintances who complain about pronouns and gender-neutral anything.

No, Deborah, the non-binary person who helped you figure out your phone today is not the cause of societies’ downfall, nor are they responsible for high grocery prices.

They complain about pronouns, but use them constantly. Clearly they don’t truly know what a pronoun is. They complain about gender neutral stuff, but use neutral language all the time.

So I’ve been loudly pointing out every time they do.

I’ve been uninvited from a lot of future family gatherings. oh nooooooooooo

Some AAA game company releases a big-budget title that turns out to be a complete buggy mess (like MindsEye)

[FREE SPACE] contenders in here, but I like this one the best. The next one is a very close second.

Just install Google ultron.

It’s what NASA uses.

We also didn’t need multiple movies with Russians as the bad guys, yet here we are.

Of course, it doesn’t yet talk in Majel Barrett’s voice yet…

That can be arranged. I’ve heard they recorded her saying a bunch of frequently used words/phrases, as well as phonetic sounds, so that her voice could be used in the future for the computer. I’m not sure how true that is, but I am a little afraid to look it up.

I’ve always hoped to hear her in the new trek shows.

I started out using PS but when they decided to be a subscription model, I started using GIMP.

I can’t stand trying to use photoshop anymore, and while I would love the user experience to be improved and the interface to be a little more intuitive, I’ve never been able to not do something I needed to do on gimp.

Maybe my needs are more simple than a lot of people here, I’m definitely not a photographer so if you’re using it often enough, I suppose it could be better to use photoshop.

I haven’t made it past s3 of Quantum Leap yet, but the bit with god sound super dumb, so I’m hoping you’re right and I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Krycek in X-Files was a piece of shit and I hated him. 10/10 performance from Nicolas Lea. Haven’t finished the series yet.

Damn, I keep burning myself out by binging a series and never finishing them…

If you’ve got any sci-fi show hot takes, I’d love to hear them!

Curiously enough, the only thing that went through the mind of the bowl of petunias as it fell was “Oh no, not again.”

I mean, half of my hammers have had their handles remade with whatever hardwood was closest. So I’m gonna go with those.

However, the most complex thing that I can repair with sourced parts would be either my truck, or my truck. I’ve had to fix it with “close enough” parts before, and I will fix it until the frame rusts (which given Northern states and salted roads probably won’t be more than a few more years)

There’s a smattering of electronics that I’ve seen mentioned multiple times as well.

One thing that is theoretically repairable, but is hard to find parts for, my washing machine. It’s a old 50s model with a lever to engage the motor, a roller on top to squeeze water out, and a simple steel gear system to drive everything. I should be able to open it up with a crescent wrench and flat head screwdriver, but I doubt I will ever be able to find ready-made parts (I have looked briefly when I thought I had a problem with it that sorted itself) but I might be able to bodge some things together if needed.