Personally, I think Asperger's Syndrome is just an expression of Neanderthal and Denisovian genes on the brain, but I'm not going to open up that can of worms (much more than I just did). What I would like to point out is that the reason that some people don't like to call Asperger's a medical condition is because they fail to separate the condition that causes poor development of some areas of the brain with the miraculous benefits of what sometimes happens when the brain reroutes and tries to compensate.

Scientists have already proved with transcranial magnetic stimulation that some patients spontaneously developed savant skills when select areas of their brains were shut down temporarily.

I guess my point is that just because some people get something awesome out of the deal doesn't mean it's not still autism.

What the article doesn't tell you is that the "5" was followed by "@r@H c0Nn0r?"...

The biggest problem that pro-technology, pro-science Conservatives face today is an overly vocal minority that is either ignorant, mysognistic, racist, religious, or some combination of the four, and as we pull our money away from Education in the name of Defense Contracts and corporate tax breaks, it's not surprising that part of the population is going that way, as well.

If you have an RFID badge that you're forced to wear, just run it over the device they use to clear merchandise at many retail stores. Another thing you can do is short bursts in the microwave (1 second maximum) on high. Wait for the badge to completely cool down before doing mutliple doses, though! Remember, you're only required to wear it, not for it to actually work. And if you get questioned, be prepared to play dumb.

I could have camped the 25th District, but I heard the drops suck.

It's a given that modern Reality Television is crap, but it certainly wasn't better 100 years ago. Want to see for yourself? Search "Algie the Miner" on YouTube.

I suspect the real reason behind the increase in average scores is the greater access (or bombardment of) information during the formative years of children. Stick your child in front of a bunch of televisions that are showing educational or information programs, and you'll end up with a child who is smarter than his peers who don't.

Or even better, give your child access to a tablet. A buddy of mine has two tablet-savvy kids, and they are WAY ahead of what I'd expect for age-level learning development.

In yet other news, the last kid in John Jay High School to figure out the locker ID trick to skip school and stay in bed all day was not, in fact, mercilessly mocked and bullied by his peers because he was the only one there.

That's like saying that the bride and a groom don't really love each other because the ice sculpture swans at the reception were the wrong size.

Knowing how to fill out forms is the number one trick to government paperwork. Does the state with the job opening specify a temporary credential from that particular state? If it doesn't say that, you can shop around, find a state that will give you one with a qualifying degree and a signing fee, and apply with that. The system is often counter-intuitive, but you can often follow the letter of the law to achieve the desired results.

I still think it's pretty awesome that you can carry a device with the equivalent processing power of a device in 1979 that was so massive it had its own bench.

I wouldn't mind seeing more benchmarks of computational power/storage, etc. For instance, how much magnetic storage was there forty years ago? I have 13.6 tb on my home media server, and it sure would be nice to say that I have more storage than the entire world did in 1970...

(AP-Beijing) A spokesperson for the Shengyang Company said the new stealth plane will only have air-to-air missiles and no guns, as the nation's supply of lead has been exhausted by the children's toy and baby formula industries.

When I'm using a first-aid app for instructions on performing an emergency tracheotomy, I damn well better not get a bunch of windows and flashing ad bars telling me how I can lower my power bill using one simple trick, or why Plastic Surgeons hate one mom wearing a rubber halloween mask...

You mean funny in the sense that malic acid squirting into your eyes from a Gallagher-destroyed watermelon is funny.

Well, I also hardly ever get porno groped anymore. But that's probably because I lack confidence and look too needy when I go through Security, it's just like the bars in college...

"Or causing Sojourner to develop an inexplicable liking for Smash Mouth," he replied, hoping desperately that inane pop culture references from 1997 would trick people into thinking it was funny and give him a 5, since, after all, it worked for Family Guy.

Quietly, he clung to hopes of a Pity 5 through a desperate use of internal dialogue and a clumsy attempt to break the fourth wall.