Knowing When To "Help" and When To Leave An Aspie "Alone"

[Coxhere]

It has some spectacular mountains, once again not overly tall, but still tall enough. Cradle Mountain is a popular tourist destination with alpine lakes in remote wilderness.

View attachment 143673

And Australia does get the occasional earthquake, but usually not severe enough to cause damage. Most of these occur in the Great Dividing Range in the sate of New South Wales.

I spent many years living in and around Darwin in the north and it's quite common to feel tremors there from earthquakes out in the deeper oceans between Australia and Indonesia. They sometimes cause minor damage to homes.

In the northern part of Australia where Darwin is located, aren't there alligators? It's much warmer up there?

 

[Coxhere]

Thank you, Outdated, for sharing your knowledge and experiences living in your beloved Australia. The photo of Tasmania is beautiful and splendid. Ever since boyhood when first seeing Tasmania on a map of your country, I've thought it must be a very mysterious island. I wonder what geologists would have to say regarding the island not being connected to the mainland.

Also, the northern parts of Queensland, Northern Territory, and Western Australia are warm and have alligators, correct?

I'm glad that Australia doesn't have strong quakes like Indonesia. The Philippine Islands have earthquakes too. I was stationed for two years in Okinawa when I was in the U. S. Army. I remember feeling a strong quake centered 900 miles south in The Philippines. The ground was "waving" like water! It was a strange and nauseating feeling.

 

[Outdated]

Thank you, Outdated, for sharing your knowledge and experiences living in your beloved Australia. The photo of Tasmania is beautiful and splendid. Ever since boyhood when first seeing Tasmania on a map of your country, I've thought it must be a very mysterious island. I wonder what geologists would have to say regarding the island not being connected to the mainland.

I'm not really sure but I don't think Tasmania has been connected to the mainland for many millions of years, the Bass Straight between Tasmania and Victoria is quite deep. A ferry trip from Melbourne to Launceston takes 11 or 12 hours. Interestingly, the aboriginal people there all had blue eyes, I think that's an evolutionary thing for people that live in snow country.

Tasmania isn't small by the way, it'll take about 4 hours to drive from one end to the other. Seems strange to Americans reading things like this but none of our states are smaller than Texas, yet Texas has a much larger population than our entire nation. Tasmania has a population of just over 500,000 people.

Also, the northern parts of Queensland, Northern Territory, and Western Australia are warm and have alligators, correct?

Crocodiles, not alligators. There is a huge difference, the first of those being size, our Saltwater Crocs are the largest reptiles on the planet. They are twice the length and more than 3 times the weight of an American Alligator. They are also the most aggressive of all the crocodillians and unlike the American Alligator, crocs see humans as food.

I was living in Darwin when Steve Irwin released his Crocodile Hunter TV series. In Darwin that series got pulled halfway through it's first episode and was never shown again due to complaints from parents. The problem is that kids will go out and play at being the Crocodile Hunter, and in Darwin they will find crocodiles.

We do also have some alligators, they are locally known as Freshwater Crocs and they're considered harmless unless interfered with.

 

[Coxhere]

OMG! That croc is ENORMOUS! And it was looking at those people as FOOD!

 

[Outdated]

OMG! That croc is ENORMOUS! And it was looking at those people as FOOD!

They can get up to 7 metres or 23 feet in length.

 

[Coxhere]

Are these crocs evolutionarily connected to dinosaurs?

 

[Outdated]

Are these crocs evolutionarily connected to dinosaurs?

They are dinosaurs. They haven't evolved at all in millions of years.

Necessity is the mother of all invention, this is also true in an evolutionary sense. Crocodiles are the perfect predator and have never had a need to evolve. They swim, they walk on land and they can jump pretty high too. They can go for months without food and not suffer in any way. They can hold their breath under water for around an hour waiting for prey to come closer. They also protect their eggs and their young very aggressively.

 

[Coxhere]

They are dinosaurs. They haven't evolved at all in millions of years.

Necessity is the mother of all invention, this is also true in an evolutionary sense. Crocodiles are the perfect predator and have never had a need to evolve. They swim, they walk on land and they can jump pretty high too. They can go for months without food and not suffer in any way. They can hold their breath under water for around an hour waiting for prey to come closer. They also protect their eggs and their young very aggressively.

Crocs survived that meteor strike of 60,000,000 years ago?

 

[Outdated]

Crocs survived that meteor strike of 60,000,000 years ago?

Yes, they did. According to current research there's been very little evolution in them since the Late Triassic period, a few minor adaptations to their skulls is about it.

Crocodile - Evolution, Classification, Adaptations | Britannica

[Edit] Just thought I should point out - Alligators are an even older family than Crocodiles, they're also dinosaurs.

Of course they're quite a tourist drawcard in Darwin, a popular attraction right in the city of Darwin is The Cage Of Death:

 

[Coxhere]

Yes, they did. According to current research there's been very little evolution in them since the Late Triassic period, a few minor adaptations to their skulls is about it.

Crocodile - Evolution, Classification, Adaptations | Britannica

[Edit] Just thought I should point out - Alligators are an even older family than Crocodiles, they're also dinosaurs.

Of course they're quite a tourist drawcard in Darwin, a popular attraction right in the city of Darwin is The Cage Of Death:

View attachment 143692

I'd click on "WOW" if there were such a place to click! Were these two humans in danger? If crocs have their bellies full, do they still attack humans? I'm learning so much from you! Thank you for sharing from your reservoir of knowledge, Outdated.

 

[Outdated]

I'd click on "WOW" if there were such a place to click! Were these two humans in danger? If crocs have their bellies full, do they still attack humans? I'm learning so much from you! Thank you for sharing from your reservoir of knowledge, Outdated.

I spent more than 20 years living up there. Those people are in no danger at all, the name is just a gimmick. They're just tourists by the way, they queue up and pay to go in there. The cage is laminated or "shatter proof" glass 3 inches thick.

Crocodiles don't have to eat all that often, in the wild once a week would see them steadily grow to full size. Because of this they're never normally in a rush to hunt but are more opportunistic in nature. They can wait until something just steps right in front of them.

They're also very cunning and will watch and stalk potential prey. This is a big mistake visitors are warned about up there, a croc will watch and wait while you come down to the same spot to swim every day and you'll have no idea that it's there. When it does get hungry it'll position itself for an easy takedown because it knows when and where you'll be.

They're also very protective of their nests and young and will instantly attack anything that comes within around 100 metres.

 

[Coxhere]

I spent more than 20 years living up there. Those people are in no danger at all, the name is just a gimmick. They're just tourists by the way, they queue up and pay to go in there. The cage is laminated or "shatter proof" glass 3 inches thick.

Another "WOW!" if I could give you one. . . .

 

[Coxhere]

I spent more than 20 years living up there. Those people are in no danger at all, the name is just a gimmick. They're just tourists by the way, they queue up and pay to go in there. The cage is laminated or "shatter proof" glass 3 inches thick.

Crocodiles don't have to eat all that often, in the wild once a week would see them steadily grow to full size. Because of this they're never normally in a rush to hunt but are more opportunistic in nature. They can wait until something just steps right in front of them.

They're also very cunning and will watch and stalk potential prey. This is a big mistake visitors are warned about up there, a croc will watch and wait while you come down to the same spot to swim every day and you'll have no idea that it's there. When it does get hungry it'll position itself for an easy takedown because it knows when and where you'll be.

They're also very protective of their nests and young and will instantly attack anything that comes within around 100 metres.

They are dinosaurs. They haven't evolved at all in millions of years.

Necessity is the mother of all invention, this is also true in an evolutionary sense. Crocodiles are the perfect predator and have never had a need to evolve. They swim, they walk on land and they can jump pretty high too. They can go for months without food and not suffer in any way. They can hold their breath under water for around an hour waiting for prey to come closer. They also protect their eggs and their young very aggressively.

Are you an entirely self-educated man or have you formally, academically studied evolution, geology, and other such sciences?

 

[Outdated]

Are you an entirely self-educated man or have you formally, academically studied evolution, geology, and other such sciences?

I'm quite typically autistic I'm afraid.

A drug addicted alcoholic high school dropout with mental problems.

I was academically brilliant but school was the most traumatic experience of my entire life, as soon as I turned 16 and was legally allowed to regardless of my fathers wishes I was out of there and never looked back. Got a job as a trainee printer and that became my trade until I started burning out in my late 30s.

 

[Outdated]

A quick explainer - I was never actually addicted to alcohol. I don't know how, I was a huge drinker when I was young, in the pub on average 5 nights a week as well as drinking during the day while I worked. But for me alcohol was a necessary social lubricant, it allowed me to have a life.

When I finally burnt out and ran away in to the bush I was no longer around people all the time and no longer needed alcohol. I never had to give it up, I just didn't need it. I still enjoy a beer now and then but that seems to be getting rarer as I get older, my last drink was about 3 months ago.

 

[Coxhere]

I'm quite typically autistic I'm afraid.

A drug addicted alcoholic high school dropout with mental problems.

I was academically brilliant but school was the most traumatic experience of my entire life, as soon as I turned 16 and was legally allowed to regardless of my fathers wishes I was out of there and never looked back. Got a job as a trainee printer and that became my trade until I started burning out in my late 30s.

And so you have learned all that's in that brilliant head through self-education. Phenomenal.

 

[Coxhere]

A quick explainer - I was never actually addicted to alcohol. I don't know how, I was a huge drinker when I was young, in the pub on average 5 nights a week as well as drinking during the day while I worked. But for me alcohol was a necessary social lubricant, it allowed me to have a life.

When I finally burnt out and ran away in to the bush I was no longer around people all the time and no longer needed alcohol. I never had to give it up, I just didn't need it. I still enjoy a beer now and then but that seems to be getting rarer as I get older, my last drink was about 3 months ago.

My dad drank ETOH to cope with mental issues that he could never admit. And his drinking got hold of him just as it did his own dad and all of his brothers, four of them, but one. That one, the youngest, was my favorite. He took me in because of all of the childhood traumas of consistent, predictable, and regular physical, emotional, and verbal abuses that I experienced. I'm glad that ETOH didn't and hasn't destroyed you like it did them. You, in contrast, are a good man. You make my life less isolated and less friendless. It's very easy for me to care about and to like you.

 

[Outdated]

And so you have learned all that's in that brilliant head through self-education. Phenomenal.

I had a few advantages. I'm one of those people that "learns by osmosis", my brain just sucks up information wether I want it to or not. I never paid attention in school, I never had to, I just sat there reading science fiction novels while a subconscious part of my brain did all the listening and learning. I was always a straight A student.

I also have an eidetic memory and I never had to study anything, I read it once and I remember it. At the beginning of every school year they issue you with a new set of text books, I'd sit down and read them over the weekend. That was exams and tests taken care of for the rest of the year.

From a very young age I started watching the news and taking notice of world events, I always had an interest in that sort of thing. Then when I was 11 my father got poached by a union, he has the exact same mental abilities as me, the union sent him to university to study Constitutional Law and then they employed him as an Industrial Advocate, the union's own lawyer.

During this time while my father was studying he talked through a lot of what he was learning with me. We actually never liked each other and never got along but I was the only one he could talk to that was actually interested so I basically got an ad-hoc education there as well.

Other than that I was always interested in pretty much everything except team sports.

You, in contrast, are a good man. You make my life less isolated and less friendless. It's very easy for me to care about and to like you.

Believe me, I'm no angel. Probably more harmless than most though.

People are just people to me and I take them as they are. I was never a big fan of racism, bigotry or any other form of bullying and I tend to have rather strong reactions when I see it happening. For some reason I was never able to stick up for myself but if I see someone else getting picked on I instantly become the scariest monster in the room.

Childhood trauma.

 

[Coxhere]

I had a few advantages. I'm one of those people that "learns by osmosis", my brain just sucks up information wether I want it to or not. I never paid attention in school, I never had to, I just sat there reading science fiction novels while a subconscious part of my brain did all the listening and learning. I was always a straight A student.

I also have an eidetic memory and I never had to study anything, I read it once and I remember it. At the beginning of every school year they issue you with a new set of text books, I'd sit down and read them over the weekend. That was exams and tests taken care of for the rest of the year.

From a very young age I started watching the news and taking notice of world events, I always had an interest in that sort of thing. Then when I was 11 my father got poached by a union, he has the exact same mental abilities as me, the union sent him to university to study Constitutional Law and then they employed him as an Industrial Advocate, the union's own lawyer.

During this time while my father was studying he talked through a lot of what he was learning with me. We actually never liked each other and never got along but I was the only one he could talk to that was actually interested so I basically got an ad-hoc education there as well.

Other than that I was always interested in pretty much everything except team sports.


Believe me, I'm no angel. Probably more harmless than most though.

People are just people to me and I take them as they are. I was never a big fan of racism, bigotry or any other form of bullying and I tend to have rather strong reactions when I see it happening. For some reason I was never able to stick up for myself but if I see someone else getting picked on I instantly become the scariest monster in the room.

Childhood trauma.

None of us are angels but some of us are closer than others. Thank you for being you.