tears in rain | Wil Wheaton

http://wilwheaton.net/2015/08/tears-in-rain/

I walked out of the loading dock, through a cloud of rotting garbage, and into the alleyway behind the theater. A curtain of rain fell between me and my destination, a little over a block away.

“Do you want to wait here, while I get you an umbrella?” Liz, the producer from Wizards of the Coast, asked me.

“No,” I said, stepping into the rain, extending my arms outward and turning my palms and face to the sky, “it’s been so long since I felt rain fall on my body, I’m not going to let this opportunity pass me by.”

I walked down the sidewalk, surrounded by other PAX attendees. Some were not bothered by the rain, while others held up programs and newspapers and other things to keep it away. A man walked his dog next to me. The dog was unperturbed by the weather. We got to the corner and waited for the light to change. The rain intensified and it was glorious.

“Are you sure this is okay?” She said.

“Oh yes, this is so much more than okay,” I answered, “this is perfect.”

[…]

I’ve been feeling pretty much the opposite of awesome for several weeks, now, and actually getting to sit down, face to face, in a semi-quiet few moments with real people who wanted to be there with me was … restorative, I guess is the best word. One player told me, “Thank you for everything you do. From Tabletop to Titansgrave — which is the best thing I’ve ever seen — to talking so openly about anxiety and depression.”

[…]

Read Wil’s entire post at http://wilwheaton.net/2015/08/tears-in-rain/

The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity

The New York Times published an interesting review of a book entitled “NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity”, authored by Steve Silberman (534 pp. Avery/Penguin Random House).

Silberman describes how autism was discovered by a few different people around the same time, but with each the publicity around their work is warped by their environment and political situation.

This means that we mainly know the angle that one of the people took, which in turn warps our view of Aspergers and autism. Ironically, the lesser known story is actually that of Hans Asperger.

I reckon it’s an interesting read.

Sleep: How to nap like a pro | BBC Future

Why the modern world is bad for your brain | Guardian UK

Rat Park drug experiment cartoon – Stuart McMillen comics

http://www.stuartmcmillen.com/comics_en/rat-park/



Comic about a classic experiment into drug addiction science: Rat Park.
Would rats choose to take drugs if given a stimulating environment and company?

Read and learn.

Stuart McMillen is an awesome Australian based young artist.

Is depression a kind of allergic reaction? | The Guardian

BlueHackers at LCA 2015 (Auckland NZ)

BlueHackers will have a presence at Linux.conf.au (this year in Auckland NZ, 12-16 Jan 2015), the awesome John Dalton is organising the BoF (Birds-of-a-Feather) session one evening, and he’ll also have a stash the little BlueHackers stickers that you can put on your laptop to show your support and understanding for mental health. Some stickers may also be available at the LCA registration desk.

Have an awesome time there – unfortunately I can’t make it this year.

Depression Doesn’t Make You Sad All the Time | Meloukhia.net

Gender Acceptance

A very nice example of gender acceptance by parents.
Public acknowledgement in this way is awesome – well done to them!
And I figure the “tidy your room” is pretty much a “all is fine and normal, getting on with it” statement. Awesome.Source: Courier Mail (Brisbane AU, December 2014)

because we're not just geeks – we're humans.