Replies

You still found a way to succeed in spite of the obstacles. I found it interesting that many software engineers fall in the "Aspie" category. It's a mindset that complements the level of focus required to write software competently. My oldest had ADHD in a big way. He was kicked out of kindergarten the 2nd day. He needed heart surgery, so drugs like Ritalin were not an option. Once the first heart surgery was done, he did try Ritalin. It helped a little, but he ended up needing an IEP and special ed schooling. He had a memory like a steel trap and read massive books...and could quote sections with ease. What he lacked was executive functioning to plan and execute and objective. He also lacked focus and was dangerous driving a car. He ended up buying a car and having his youngest brother do the driving. Quid pro quo access to use the car. After 4 heart surgeries, a pacemaker, 2 artificial valves, a tricuspid collar, he succumbed to a Z-Pak prescription at age 32. Sudden cardiac death.

My ad hoc kitchen chemistry yielded all manner of interesting things. Hydrogen sulfide, bottle rockets, hydrogen balloons, nitroglycerin, contact explosive. It was useful experience for my college labs later.

I found it interesting that many software engineers fall in the “Aspie” category.

I have a daughter, a grandson, and two nieces who are all a little on the edge. I believe that a lot of firefighters have issues with ADHD which is sometimes associated with thrill seeking pastimes. Fortunately, I survived all the close calls that questionable behavior caused me to be in.

I can remember standing at cliff launches at several sites looking over the edge and waiting for the conditions to get right. On more than one occasion I got impatient and just took a leap before I should have. One time one of the people who was helping me didn't let go of my wire and almost caused me to crash back into the cliff.

Another time I made a poor launch and immediately dropped into zero visibility and fell hundreds of feet before the hang glider picked up enough speed that it nosed up by itself and popped out of the cloud that was forming against the side of the cliff. I had fallen nearly half of the elevation from the launch to the landing area... I couldn't do anything while I was falling because any input from me could have caused the hang glider to bank into the side of the cliff. It was a surreal experience that made no lasting impression at the time other than me chastising myself about not being more patient and doing such a bad launch.

I started out with a chemistry set that was sold by Sears and Roebucks. I worked through all the experiments in the manual within a day or two.

We lived on a busy road so I started making a selling planter boxes, it turned into a very profitable enterprise. So I ended up with plenty of money to order burners, glassware and chemicals mail order. My dad didn't have any reservations about ordering his 11-year-old son chemicals and lab equipment. I started working my way through other chemistry books “for boys”. My room started looking a little like a set from Breaking Bad.

Unfortunately, one morning just before my mother was having a get together with her women friends from church... I had a minor mishap. Unfortunately, it involved a runaway reaction which released enough hydrogen sulfide to make our house nearly uninhabitable for the rest of the day. My mother was so upset that my entire collection of equipment and chemicals was impounded, and I didn't get them back until I was living on my own.