Hidden Disabilities Please take note of our Sunflower Lanyard

As you read this, you may even be thinking, if he can write this well, he can't be disabled. Please note this is a written communication written over days, via a computer with a full spell checker in place and via a machine and not in person.  

No one wants to really admit that we are less abled or differently abled to what others are or what we used to be like. Yet many millions of us are and we have not really had a voice, because we just don't seem disabled! 

I know I am not the only one who has through the years not be able to cope in situations socially and in other areas of our lives, which many others take as being just a normal part of living. I know that I am not the only who in truth cut down on what they do and would have rather been called depressed, rather than face things which are hard if not impossible for us to cope with. We are the missing millions from society each one of just trying to get through each day. It really should not be this way and it should never have been this way.

https://hiddendisabilitiesstore.com/insights/category/invisible-disabilities is a great site to visit if you have what is known as a hidden disability and for others to learn what they are. You can also purchase  a SUNFLOWER LANYARD WHICH IS RECOGNISED INTERNATIONALL AS A SIGN OF SOMEONE WITH A HIDDEN DISABILITY. I have done this and I have a card attached which gives my name a contact and a contact number as well as any special needs on it. My wife who is also my carer has a card which is A CARER CARD showing she cares for someone with a a hidden disability. 

I took the step of of getting these, because the older I became the harder I have found it to cope and because, quite honestly I was fed up explaining or it having to be explained when I was having a meltdown and not coping. It was also for me another step forward of being honest and saying, yes I have a disability/ies that make my life hard. Now I have the Lanyard I personally feel more confident when going out that people will take note that things might not be as they seem.

I really wish that I could say that my wearing my lanyard has meant that I don't no longer and let's call it as it is prejudice, but I STILL DO  and I know that this is the experience that others face as well.

If you see someone with the Sunflower Lanyard and don't know what it is,  please ask if we are able we will answer you, or if not then our carer will. 

If you have a hidden disability and don't yet have the Sunflower Lanyard, get one, let's get as many out there as possible.

Please people take note of our Sunflower Lanyard,  we wear it for a reason and that reason is not obvious it shows we are DISABLED  in some way or another and NEED extra help or understanding. PLEASE GIVE US THAT UNDERSTANDING WHEN DEALING WITH AND PLEASE REMOVE ANY PREJUDICES THAT YOU HAVE - WE DIDN'T ASK TO BE DISABLED IT IS JUST WHAT EITHER WE WERE BORN WITH OR WHAT HAS HAPPENDED TO THAT HAS MADE US THAT WAY OR A COMBINATION OF BOTH. 

My MHKs first 3 Months since the General election

 It is now 3 months since we had the General Election and I thought I'd take a look at my new MHKs which were elected then in Arbory, Malew and Castletown. 

Tim Glover

A  first time MHK, I supported and voted for Mr Glover during the election, so have been watching how he has been doing. 

In his manifesto he was very clear that he wanted to get things done and not only be a listening voice, but a vocal voice for the area and for every one.  Right from the start it has been very clear that Mr Glover has been both these things and has stuck to his manifesto as much as possible. My personal contacts with him since then have been about 50% , but then I have to take into account that I am not the only one who has contacted him and he and his wife both have had Covid 19 and at the time of writing are still recovering. Covid 19 has, however seemed to be a bit of distraction for him at the moment, but I don't really think it will be too long before he's back on track.

Mr Glover has remained on twitter which is good and has linked to facebook which is also good. On a national level, he has been on most of our media outlets. 

A good start then.

Jason Moorhouse

The returning MHK, who I called the worst MHK I had ever known and didn't vote for in the Election.  I was not the only one with that opinion at the time as most people I spoke to also thought the same.

I wonder how much notice Jason took of what he was being told, because he seems a very different MHK now, more confident and I have to say has asked questions that I would like to know the answers to. Like Mr Glover, he is also sticking with his manifesto and not being put off from doing so. 

Such has been the change in Mr Moorhouse that I emailed him and said I was sorry for giving him such a hard time when he called. I since have contacted him again and received a reply. 

I know Mr Moorhouse has been very accessible locally  and certainly has been on facebook , I just wish he would take to twitter, if only to link to the facebook page so more people could know what he was doing.

Media wise, again Jason has been very visible.

Mr Moorhouse has really surprised me in a good way this time and I hope he continues to do so.

Final thoughts

Both Mr Glover and Mr Moorhouse have made great starts this time around and it would be petty to say otherwise, disagree with some things yes, but be fair about it.  Both have asked questions that personally I would like answers to and I like the fact that they both have our southern community interest to heart and are drawing attention in a way that was perhaps missing for sometime.  

It will be interesting to see how this works out, but from what I have seen thus far, the electors got the best people elected.  So perhaps all Mr Moorhouse needed was another person with whom he could work along side here, which perhaps he didn't have last time.

I shall keep updating this and it will be interesting to see how my thoughts change. 

Windows Verses Linux an update

 I was looking back on my Facebook memories from just 3 years ago and saw that I was praising Linux against Windows at the time, but here I am 3 years later using Windows. So I thought I'd give an update on things.

3 years ago I was using a Laptop that came with Windows 8.1 on it at first, which let's be honest wasn't Windows best as it replaced the much loved Windows 7. This I replaced with Windows 10 as soon as it came out and really didn't like it at the time, so I went looking for an alternative and ended up looking at Linux and ended up with Linux Mint, because it had the familiarness to Windows 7.

This you can see here. 

The version I used was 18.1 and after a bit of learning I found it good and went onto use the 19 series of Mint. I mentioned learning, because you have to learn how to download, make a disk image and then how to get it to load into you machine.  All of this can be confusing at first. Once you have done this you then have to go through the first install process to get to the desk top.  That is not the end of it, because once you get there you have to do things to get it to work. Yes there are forums and help available, but to be honest, looking back it was a right pain to do it. Once you have done so it is very useable, really I can't complain about that at all. Well there is the nagging updates and almost constant or so it seem requirement for backing up. While you don't really have to do them, every 6 months there are newer versions to upgrade to, while this is okay to do, again it is something you have to learn how to do.  While using Mint, the basic desktop remained the same and began to look like something that was very, very dated, which I found boring. 

The main problem that I encountered was that Linux couldn't keep up with the hardware,  particularly those which you use to connect to internet. There wasn't any way I could do it and I tried many many ways and different types of Linux and none worked. I really think that most people would give up at this point, because the reality is that all we really want is a system that works without our really having to think about getting it to do so.

The image above is the latest Windows, Windows 11 which I am now using and I felt only fair to compare with the latest versions Linux that I could find.  In this picture it shows the taskbar assignment in the centre of the taskbar, but you don't have to have it there as you can put it on the left where it has always been if you feel more comfortable with it being there. 

Most Laptops come with a version of Windows on it, but if you don't have a laptop with then if you have a friend with it on, then you can use Windows Media Creation tool (found on the official Windows site) to create a bootable USB, which you can then use to install Windows 10) I don't think earlier versions of Windows are available still. You also don't need to any other tools to create the disk. After that the install is easy and if you switch on your printer then 10 will install that at the same time.  Before long you will have a ready to use system.  

Comparing the updates, well Windows tends to do monthly updates, which means you might get a lot in one go, but really it doesn't matter as you can carry on using your system and chose when to restart to complete the updates. 

Since 5 October Windows 11 has been available and if your laptop is able to take it then, you will probably see a message about checking it out using the health check tool. Once this passes, if you go here, https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows11 and use the Installation Assistant you'll get 11 without losing any thing you already have on 10. Once it is complete you will see the layout above in the picture, however you can change the taskbar (and other things) to be on the left which is easier for most people who've used Windows for any length of time. I personally like there so have moved mine there.

CONCLUSION

3 years ago, after a lot of learning,  I chose Linux Mint as my main operating system and at the time I really liked it, but that was before I changed laptops and broadband. Since then Linux, any of  the many, many, Linux operating systems, haven't really caught up with the changes. In my opinion all of them look like something we would have used 20 years ago not now. I am not surprised that hardware manufactures often don't have the drivers for Linux, because it really isn't worth their while to do so. With Google now having Chrome Operating System and Apple having its own, no matter how much Linux fans might think otherwise, it will never have the number  of users that either of those or  Windows has. 

3 years later, I can see big changes in Windows, it is as if Microsoft has been listening and learning and has as result improved to give us an operating system in 11 that I think is going to be as much loved as 7 has been. 11 is just great, easy to learn (not that there is much learning needed) and very, very usable.  With built in security, you don't even have to worry about that really. It goes without saying that hardware and their drivers are readily available so it is just a matter of plug in and go.

On every count I personally think that Windows (in the real world) wins and that Linux can't match it. None of us really has the time to have to learn how to do things, we just want something to switch and work every time, not be nagging at us. Windows is free as much as Linux is free so that argument against it is no longer valid. Every Operating system tracts you and those who think they don't they do, just like every browser and every web page, if they didn't then they wouldn't know who was using them with out the statics. You can only to a certain extent limit this. The much vaunted security of Linux, well every operating system is not 100% secure and 11 now comes with built in activated security. 

You get the picture of what I am trying to say.

Windows verses Linux which one wins - for me it has to be Windows 

EMPTY CHAIR I wrote this in 2016, for our empty chair now sadly there are many more empty chairs

EMPTY CHAIR

Each year we lay your place

as we used to do

get your card

your present to

Each year we wait to hear

your voice

to see your smile

just waiting your hug

the one that took our breath

away

yet all there is this and every year

is an empty chair where you should be

we’re told time is a healer

it makes it easier

but that is not true

for all we see is not you

but an a empty chair

where you should be

for those missing loved ones this time of year

©merimaat 2016

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