Bart Shoaf

Did I Check My Pockets?

All three of my children had become adults before we knew that I was on the autism spectrum. All I wanted when they were born – even before they were born – was to be a good dad. I wanted to spend time with my children, teach them the ways of faith and life, seeContinue reading “Did I Check My Pockets?”

Higher Octane – Let’s Make a Deal

We focus on thanksgiving & gratitude for a few weeks, and then we are pointed to celebrating the birth of the One who has given us the best deal ever: deliverance. I wrote about the connection between Abraham trying to make a deal with God and the deal God provided for us in this HigherContinue reading “Higher Octane – Let’s Make a Deal”

Dead Air

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was fascinated with radios as a child. Although I am experimenting with podcasts in the car, I usually listen to the radio. I switch the stations around based on whatever I like – or don’t like. Mistakes catch my ear, especially dead air. I recognize them, becauseContinue reading “Dead Air”

Eliminate! Eliminate!

The Daleks were a recurring enemy in the Doctor Who series that went around destroying people and worlds with one mantra, “Exterminate! Exterminate!” I thought of that mantra often, but exchanged it with a similar sounding word, when a doctor told me that I needed to eliminate some foods to see what some of myContinue reading “Eliminate! Eliminate!”

Do I Hear the Wheels Spinning?

My father tells me that my great-great-grandfather was a Dutchman. My middle name is passed down from that heritage – Holland. Hoping to visit the Netherlands one day, I was pleased to read a sizeable description of Dutch culture in the book, Niksen, Embracing the Dutch Art of Doing Nothing. The author, Olga Mecking, hasContinue reading “Do I Hear the Wheels Spinning?”

Picking a Peck

We did not take the Mini to the Piedmont area last week; we used instead my wife’s larger SUV. A tighter fit for 4 adults and lots of birthday presents, the Mini stayed home. This was our annual visit to Carter Mountain, a Charlottesville area orchard spot near Jefferson’s home – Monticello. It was aContinue reading “Picking a Peck”

My Brain on Movies

When my wife and I started to make a plan about how we would get some help with my autism, most therapists in my area we found only worked with children. We did, however find one neurofeedback therapist in a counseling practice who was willing to work with adults. I saw both adolescents and adultsContinue reading “My Brain on Movies”

Higher Octane – How Much More

One of my goals at work is to make issues or instructions obvious to others. I am learning a new program that allows me to produce better, more interactive graphs to make some of the data we have speak to us. When the numbers are made visual, real problems or real winners stand out. WhenContinue reading “Higher Octane – How Much More”

Which Fungus Should I Drink?

The Mini Paceman is unique in many ways, but it fits into the American car culture in at least this one way – good cupholders! It is not hard work to fit a coffee and a water into the two cupholders that sit in front of the stick shift. Using my right hand to consumeContinue reading “Which Fungus Should I Drink?”

Windows Open All Year Long

My nightmares usually fall into these three groups: I’m late for class and don’t have what I need when I get there, I’m running from a large animal, or I’m delivering the newspaper. The actual paper route I had for two different periods totaled about eight years, and it made an indelible mark on myContinue reading “Windows Open All Year Long”