Aeolienne

Off the top of my head I can cite Northern Lights in North Finchley and ALAG in Kentish Town.

On a different note(!), I'm going to a concert of Handel by candlelight at St-Martin's-in-the-Fields tonight (as in the church on Trafalgar Square).

Spandau Ballet, True

Same name as the time-wasting specialist I consulted at the Royal Devon & Exeter (http://www.asd-forum.org.uk/forum/index.php?/topic/9481-cbt/#entry311650) - I wonder if it's the same person?

Does it come with subtitles in 4 languages?!

Queen, I Want to Break Free

Add the Nissan Leaf to that.

Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Relax

DJ Cam feat. Anggun, Summer in Paris

I still don't know what exercise would be suitable for me with my shoulder injury. Plus the damned uncertainty wrt how much longer I'm going to be in London makes me reluctant to sign up to a gym contract.

Has anyone here used Searchmate?

I do have a soft spot for Toyota Priuses and Trabants - well, they're the only car models that make me turn my head. Slightly O/T but as a teenager it took me ages to learn the rules about how different car types were regarded. E.g. that you were supposed to be impressed by a Porsche and sneer at a Skoda (or at least you did 20 years ago). And like so many NT norms it baffled me. It also puzzled me why other teenage girls got all dewy-eyed over a bloke just because he had a car - hadn't society moved on from the mores depicted in 'Summer Loving' in Grease? Or were they being ironic? Who knows.

Last night I dreamt that I had taken part in a sex orgy with the current male participants on the Apprentice. Note use of pluperfect tense - I don't remember participating, only that Ricky Martin told me I had! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apprentice_%28UK_series_eight%29

NB: What follows, is not, repeat not, intended to be amusing in any way whatsoever. Please do not LOL in any replies. I can't remember how many lessons I had - I'd long lost count - only that I'd had four different instructors and two failed attempts before I passed at the age of 19. This was before the theory test was introduced. My first instructor (who was assigned to me for no better reason than that he'd taught my brother) made me a nervous wreck. A typical blast from him would be "Didn't you know you were supposed to change down a gear before turning?" which put me on the spot. If I said "Yes" he'd yell "Then why the hell didn't you?"; if I said "No" he'd yell "Why the hell didn't you know?" On the 30th lesson my mum sat in the back of the car (at the instructor's request) and realised that a change would do me good, so we used the excuse of wanting a female instructor. So I switched, but eventually instructor #2 had to give up driving because of a hysterectomy so I was moved to the man who is now her husband. I didn't take the test until over a year after starting lessons, and despite my instructor opting for the Barnet test route because it was easier than Hendon which was the nearest, I failed. I didn't resume lessons until my second term at St Andrews uni, where I took the test twice on the Cupar route. Unfortunately even after I passed I continued to remain nervous behind the wheel. Things were made even worse at my first graduate job, when I had a minor accident driving one of the company's pool cars. I feel nervous just writing about this here, because I soon learnt that other people found this inexplicably funny - I guess a lot of humour relies on schadenfreude. There seems to be this belief that once you have passed the test you should feel comfortable driving any model of car, yet I seem to be the exception. I've never had my own car. In Exeter (where I lived for the longest) I'm not sure where I would have parked one. It would have been more of an advantage when I worked in Skipton, as the public-transport route to the out-of-town business park was at best tiresome, at worst nightmarish (I'm referring specifically to crossing the A59 on a dark November evening and then finding that the bus drivers couldn't see me to stop). But as so often in life, I hesitated, and when I lost the job after five months there didn't seem any point in buying a car. But how do you overcome driving nerves if you don't own a car? Someone once suggested the advanced driving course, but when I contacted the Exeter branch of the IAM I found they expected you to have your own car, otherwise I guess it would be like going for a piano exam without an instrument to practise on. I was further confused when I learnt that RoSPA also does an advanced driving test - which is better? In 2009 I did Pass Plus in Exeter, and earned praise from my parents when I next drove their car along a stretch of the M6. Alas, the same motorway has proved my undoing - last week as I was driving to the Lake District with my dad in the passenger seat I failed to slow down soon enough when I pulled off at junction 36 and hit the crash barrier on the roundabout. Thanks to the airbags we survived: me with bruising to the knee and clavicle, my poor dad with extensive bruising to the ribcage and hips, although not enough to need hospital treatment. I've been charged with driving without due care and attention, but may be able to avoid the six points on my licence by doing a police-endorsed driving course. But will I ever feel safe behind the wheel?

What, even in London?

Henryk Wieniawski (1835-80), Violin Concerto no.2 in d minor, performed by Jascha Heifetz http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyzZL8L7VlI

Or what about David Downes? http://www.daviddownes.co.uk/

This page has some links to guitar books: http://www.paythepiper.co.uk/guitar.asp

It wasn't something I thought at the time (but then I hadn't heard of Asperger's then). It's something that I've heard said by other people, e.g. to quote a Swedish member of Aspies For Freedom (emphasis mine): I'm not sure whether it would be true to say we Brits rely as heavily on school friendships as do our European neighbours. Bear in mind that traditionally it has been the norm for British students to move away from home to go to university (although that is changing with the introduction of tuition fees). I get the impression, from having heard accounts of other British students on Erasmus exchanges, that our continental counterparts are more likely to remain in their home town. I have heard tell of Erasmus students being housed in halls of residences which are populated entirely by other foreign students where, unsurprisingly, the lingua franca is English, not the language of the host country which was supposed to be the whole point of the exchange.

I didn't like dancing lessons at school (or what passed for dancing lessons at primary school - we're not talking Strictly here) because it involved holding hands and most other kids had icky sweaty palms. Later on in life I did a bit of Scottish country dancing at St Andrews uni which I found relatively easy to pick up, unlike my experiences with salsa and tango. In all fairness I've only dabbled sporadically in salsa. My former workplace had a lunchtime salsa class, but as it clashed with a German class I only went along during the equivalent to school holidays, so I didn't really cover the basics. I'm told once you feel the core moves (and move from yourself, don't just follow the person in front of you otherwise you'll always be one step behind) it all flows naturally. As for tango, I signed up for a full term's course in the Argentinian variety, my rationale being that I'd read a lot of Jorge Luis Borges' works recently and therefore felt I was in touch with the culture intellectually (Does that make me sound even more Aspie?). Unfortunately my body and mind just couldn't seem to remember the moves. It didn't help that whenever the teacher said "Find yourself a partner" I had flashbacks to school PE. The worst moment was when one old lady (who didn't dance with anyone apart from her husband, rather against the spirit of the classes) rebuked me: "You should have brought someone with you!" I'm currently advised against partner dancing (both the Scottish and the Latin variety) because of my shoulder injury (see http://www.asd-forum.../26788-new-hand).

Facebook is a lot more useful than Twitter. What on earth is the point of that?

Is that a bassoon reed on his fretboard?

Interesting that Goldman Sachs are still involved, despite the negative publicity they've received elsewhere. Who knows if I'll ever have the chance to sample their workplace for myself.

What counts as "reasonable adjustment", there's the rub? I'm reminded of a former boss of mine whose report on me (which ultimately led to my dismissal) contained the words My experience has been that Aeolienne goes away and does what is asked (up to a degree), but what I am expecting (and what is required for a researcher), is a sense of initiative to manifest itself. Above all I am expecting there to be more than just producing results, but also to think about what they might mean. Interpretation of and a curiosity for exploration when provided a data set is essential. If as the supervisor I have to think of all the steps myself, I might as well do the analysis myself. That does not increase productivity.

The article paints a picture of recruitment only happening through applications and interviews. What about the so-called hidden jobs market - presumably that's even less Aspie-friendly?