Megan Lynch (she/her)

MSc in Hort & Ag UC Davis.  Pomologist. Expert on carob (Ceratonia siliqua). Expertise in dormant almond bud development.

I've migrated most of my public posting to ml@eldritch.cafe so I'm not really approving new followers here.

#Disability #Accessibility #Botany #Cycling #SciComm #NoBot #NoBridge

Public Key

npub1tx8prupeaasvh6tjznyf7w6p9n0t2nf8vp7gjes4uhvm0jkchk9s4gxy4p

NIP-05 Address

meganL@mas-to.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs9nrs37qu77cxta9epfjyl8dqjeh44f5nkqlyfvc27tkdhetvtmzcpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds5crfzu

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1tx8prupeaasvh6tjznyf7w6p9n0t2nf8vp7gjes4uhvm0jkchk9s4gxy4p

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Last Notes

2026-10-13 15:53:47 UTC

The other day I saw a viral toot with screenshots of a Blue Sky post saying (paraphrased) "WHY ISN'T THE US MEDIA COVERING WHAT'S HAPPENING IN ALBANIA??"
People seemed concerned about it in the replies and were favoriting and boosting the toot of the screenshot of Blue Sky.
Meanwhile, we're 4 hours into the latest wrinkle of the protest in Albania, which I toot links to daily, and I don't really see the same engagement people feel around screenshotted BlueSky posts...
I do wonder why that is and why we're like that.
#SocialMedia #Psychology #Protest

2026-09-28 12:45:56 UTC

The spacing between the staple racks here is better than average, but is not wide enough to really be accessible. The reason you can get a bakfiets in there is because not many cyclists are parked there.
Part of "enabling the decision" is making sure that cycle infrastructure is accessible to disabled people and the variety of cycles folks use.
Which means dedicating enough space that two fat cyclists riding two fat cycles with big loads can lock up at the same time without rubbing up on one another.
#CycleParkingAudit #Accessibility #Cycling #Velo #Bici #Fiets #Fahrrad #Infrastructure
https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:reu7q3altx5gsonhu5nxcfp6/post/3mwl5722pcs2n

2026-09-27 08:38:18 UTC

@nprofile…zywc
Do you happen to know of a video or blog that talks about how to keep flexibility in travel dates/destinations yet have the needed reservations early enough?
What I mean is that it's hard for me to plan far ahead yet it gets more expensive the longer it takes for me to know my route. Are there some seat reservations that are refundable or exchangeable? Are there optimal approaches to this kind of looser-than-usual planning?

2026-08-24 17:55:12 UTC

Whatever you think USians didn't do enough of, well enough, make sure you're doing that at home now. Because fascists are not only in the US and they're not going to stop at the US.
#USpol #Fascism

2026-08-16 10:30:38 UTC

Is there a tool in the Fediverse that allows folks to spin up a wiki? Not a wiki *about* the Fediverse, but a tool like Mastodon is a tool for microblogging.
#AskFedi

2026-08-15 14:23:48 UTC

What Life Is Actually Like in Syria Today
Kareem Rahma has a couple things he does. He does one thing where he does interviews on the NY Subway with celebrities and has certain questions he asks called "Subway Takes". Then there's another series where he gets in a cab (usually a NYC cab) and tells the immigrant cab driver to take him to their favorite places. Here, he goes to Syria and asks the cab driver to take him to his favorite places.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XotZuHZ3Uyk #Syria

2026-08-13 17:18:27 UTC

Bin. Face.
Bin. Face.
Bin. Face.
rah rah rah 👽 🗑️

2026-08-08 22:31:41 UTC

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@nprofile…0hde Hahaha! Be somewhere else under what circumstances? Is this normal life stuff or genie wishes? :) Or career sliding door moment ?

2026-08-04 04:03:09 UTC

"For a while, it seemed like cycling’s pandemic boom might be just that—a temporary response to lockdowns, empty streets and crowded transit systems. But a major international study suggests something very different happened in the world’s leading cycling cities. Where governments continued investing in protected bike lanes, traffic calming and connected cycling networks, more people kept riding long after COVID restrictions ended."
https://momentummag.com/study-finds-cities-that-kept-building-bike-lanes-saw-cycling-continue-to-grow-after-the-pandemic/ #Cycling #GoodNews #BikeTooter #Velo #Fahrrad #Rothar

2026-07-31 07:00:24 UTC

"I Received a Cease and Desist"
Most people fold when they get these because they know they don't have the money to fight a corporation's lawyer. So corp lawyers depend on these to bully people into things they'd never win in court and they know it.
May this Streisand Effect them to hell.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ha7Tehhasjg #Maine #USpol #Healthcare #Medicare

2026-07-24 05:01:02 UTC

"Free DC called for District residents to boycott DoorDash on Wednesday after the company spoke in favor of HR 9720, which advocates say infringes on D.C. Home Rule.
The bill, called the D.C. Taxing Authority Review Act, advanced through the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. It would require Congress to approve any tax or fee increases that the D.C. Council passes." #USpol #DC
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/general/free-dc-calls-for-doordash-boycott-over-dc-home-rule/ar-AA28ugUs

2026-07-10 09:04:53 UTC

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@nprofile…y789 @nprofile…jlef There's a train engineer on Mastodon? That is very cool! Certainly the place for being appreciated...

2026-07-09 13:57:55 UTC

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@nprofile…9mf3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urglg3WimHA

2026-07-08 14:11:49 UTC

I wish we could hold all the regulators and pols that let Musk get away with things one after the other for decades accountable.
These jerks were testing boundaries - what can we get away with? Public beta test of auto-pilot cars? No problem. Proposing "innovative" car tunnels simply to take money away from funding public transit? Sure.
Every thing this feckless fuck has done has been acting as if he were a state unto himself while the people the public entrusted to protect the public interest sold us out.
#Fascism #Techbros #Corruption
#nevent1q…jm95

2026-07-04 16:25:16 UTC

I discovered a huge number of photos I uploaded and didn't go back and tag, years ago.
I've already spent too many hours today tagging and saving and organizing when I should be doing other things, but I found this photo of the disabled parking sign at The Bunny Museum in Altadena, California...several years before the #EatonFire
#LosAngeles #Altadena #DisabilityPrideMonth
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/116/862/632/597/513/990/original/d5737176867c3ecc.jpg

2026-07-01 16:23:26 UTC

🧵 I have started & stopped a toot thread on internalized ableism and how it varies within the disability community.
Disability is a spectrum. There's a lot of diversity. Some folks are born disabled, some become disabled early, some become disabled later.
When I wrote the @nprofile…qlxm Demandifesto, I stipulated that the University should hire *diversely* disabled people because it's important to have a diversity of lived disabled experience, but also because abled institutions absolutely *love* to hire newly-disabled folks with a lot of internalized ableism. They're willing to continue ableism for the most part because they still buy into it (it takes a while & a lot of effort & experience to unlearn).
#DisabilityPrideMonth doesn't mean you have to like being in pain if your disability puts you in pain. It doesn't mean you have to like being tired.
It means a lot of things, but for me it means I don't have to feel the shame systemic ableism WANTS me to feel. I'm disabled and proud.

2026-06-30 15:36:59 UTC

I haven't yet found the details I'd like on this case (which cultivar is being marketed under Giumarra's trademarked name, what Giumarra's deal is, etc), but this grower is giving away white nectarines he's unable to legally sell.
So if you live anywhere near Reedley, CA, you can get some free.
"Mora posted an invitation for the public to visit his orchard in Reedley, California, and pick free nectarines between June 29 and July 3.
"Come pick free nectarines at 21500 E. Parlier, Reedley, CA," a post on X said. Those going can take "one bag or bucket per person.""
https://dailydot.com/a-california-farmer-couldnt-sell-his-nectarines-this-year-so-hes-giving-away-thousands-of-pounds-for-free-instead

2026-06-29 16:04:37 UTC

The person who wrote the headline understood the assignment.
#Connecticut #Porcupine #Journalism
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/116/834/233/137/809/261/original/e73927bba3894e61.png

2026-06-28 10:57:26 UTC

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@nprofile…2acj Add in cycle parking areas. Cyclists need shade even more than drivers do. #CycleParkingAudit #Solar #UK

2026-06-23 18:10:43 UTC

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@nprofile…63pg If you've been prescribed a night guard because of bruxing (grinding your teeth), WEAR IT. Not only does it help prevent headaches, but bruxing can cause gum recession and that can cause sensitivity, pain, tooth loss and deeper infection problems. https://powayperio.com/blog/bruxism-gum-recession/

2026-06-16 15:08:27 UTC

An orchard I've been supporting for years apparently switched to Shopify for their store. I selected "guest checkout". But it wasn't a real guest checkout because now the evil Shopify bullshit texts me, emails me, etc. Not the orchard - Shopify.
When I try to web search how to get my data deleted - which CA law requires on request (and not hiding the way to make a request) - they don't have any easy way to do that. All the answers fob it off onto the vendor or the customer to do - not Shopify.
And not for nothing, but this is not a corp based in the US. Tech evil isn't restricted to the US.
https://techwontsave.us/episode/232_shopifys_right_wing_inner_circle_w_luke_lebrun__rachel_gilmore

2026-06-14 12:38:13 UTC

Grand comme un vélo, pratique comme un cargo ! test Shwette
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n83gczS4Fr0 #Velo #Cycling #BikeTooter #CargoBike

2026-06-11 06:30:18 UTC

Fuck the tobacco and fossil fuel industries for making it so hard to get a breath of fresh air.
#Pollution

2026-06-10 09:13:58 UTC

I saw a headline about a cyclist being hurt by a bear and found myself wondering how fast an e-cycle would need to go to outrun a bear.
So I looked it up.
We're SOL in the US (and EU) because the speed governors on cycles are well below what it would take to outrun a bear, much less the Usain Bolt of bears...
The shocker to me is that giant pandas...who seem so slow and ungainly in zoos, can apparently run up to 20 mph.
https://fieldandstream.com/stories/survival-stories/wilderness-survival/how-fast-can-a-bear-run #BikeTooter #Cycling #Wildlife

2026-06-06 13:46:05 UTC

I want to start vlogging on:
- cycle culture in Albania
- cycle parking accessibility
- accessibility in general
- plant breeding/fruit/horticulture
I would like to eventually make some income creating informative videos so I will probably have to do YouTube, but I also want to choose a PeerTube instance.
Does anyone have suggestions for a PeerTube instance that is robust, has good tools for following/search? #BikeTooter #Cycling #Gardening #AskFedi

2026-06-01 19:11:12 UTC

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@nprofile…0hde "The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Jamie L. Whitten building in Washington, D.C. is illuminated with rainbow colors during the kick-off to Pride Month on June 1, 2023."
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/116/676/420/136/169/897/original/ea4728b57e2021cd.jpg

2026-05-23 19:52:12 UTC

Tangana en el aeropuerto de Bilbao ¿Gabinete Pradales? ¡Hola!
Article in Spanish (as written around Bilbao, I think)
Machine translation:
"More than twenty activists who were part of the Global Sumud Flotilla returned to Barcelona and #Bilbao this Saturday, and incidents and tense moments were recorded at the airport of the latter city between those who were waiting for them and the Ertzaintza, who arrested 4 people."
https://nortexpres.com/tangana-en-el-aeropuerto-bilbao-gabinete-pradales/

2026-05-18 11:34:35 UTC

Gaudi house opens to public for 1st time ever: an exclusive look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0PSnI5ruds #Architecture #Catalunya

2026-05-14 18:44:54 UTC

I wanted to look into the video footage I saw going around.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/protests-in-bolivia-escalate-amid-economic-turmoil-and-policy-demands/ar-AA22Ctb5 #Bolivia #Cars
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/116/574/401/604/986/356/original/b2180b8562d0e372.png

2026-05-12 14:04:54 UTC

Californians who cycle: the State Assembly is reacting to panic by trying to pass a bill that will punish legal and safe e-bike riders for the excesses of those riding e-motorcycles.
SFA has an email-writing campaign to send to your CA State senator and assemblyperson, but only 596 people so far have used it. WE CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT!
Please either use the tool or use the talking points to phone your reps on this matter! Link in the blog: https://bikinginla.com/2026/05/12/driver-asleep-at-the-wheel-in-mass-bike-crash-criticizing-criticism-of-criticizing-reporters-and-quitting-bicycling-because-of-bike-rage/
#BikeTooter #California

2026-05-11 10:35:36 UTC

You know what I have never seen from the folks on Kirsten Dirksen's channel who are building eco-communities?
#Accessibility
Why don't disabled people deserve progressive sustainable community?
Why do you abled folks think you're never going to need to use a wheelchair, or never lose most of your vision?
#Housing #EcoVillage #SolarPunk

2026-05-09 10:20:59 UTC

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@nprofile…y789 An Italian woman took my reserved seat and just told me to sit somewhere else. Everyone just looked as if *I* were the one making the problem. Even after I double-checked to make sure I was in the right car and not misreading my ticket. I should have had my money refunded for that...

2026-05-09 10:17:02 UTC

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@nprofile…y789 I think there's a tendency even of those white Europeans who do to normalize it. The speed with which that French business dude took the seat of the Black woman who was taken off the train for questioning (and later restored to the train) was breaktaking to me. He did not automatically restore her seat. Only after I spoke up about it. The others around just shrugged.

2026-05-09 10:04:02 UTC

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@nprofile…y789 I ran into some women from Belgium on the ferry. They were shocked to hear I'd experienced a train stopped for border control within Schengen 3 times in not that many different cross-border routes...
#Racism #Xenophobia #Trains #EU

2026-05-07 07:13:43 UTC

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@nprofile…y789 Good luck!
If you get a chance, let them know recumbent trike riders want on rail, too. ✊
#BikeTooter #Ableism #Trains

2026-01-04 12:18:29 UTC

@nprofile…jq75 Thanks for the link.
I'm using uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger on LibreWolf, but I could swear they're somehow getting words out of what I type on Mastodon.

2024-06-25 22:48:30 UTC

🧵 Folks who've admired my SOS Sport, but been disappointed that it's out-of-production, there is hope on the horizon.
I got this email this morning from the official Solar Oven Society domain with this update. #SolarCooking #Solar #Sustainability
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/112/679/684/298/697/556/original/03e8581bf28a46dd.png

2024-06-24 21:29:57 UTC

I am convinced one of the most radically positive things you can do as a middle class/wealthy person is provide a little seed capital to start a worker-owned cooperative. Groceries, community pharmacy, medical office, gym, local newspaper, co-housing, whathaveyou - a lot of the folks who could benefit most from a co-op don't have the $ to start one even if they can contribute sweat equity.
Start something that frees us all from the rapacious corps & plutocrats.

2024-06-24 19:56:15 UTC

This "invalid" found SoCal rents a tad pricy. 😉
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/112/673/343/133/462/615/original/f8e3d018784b4bff.png

2024-06-24 18:46:34 UTC

🧵 Look, I need leftists to realize that not everyone has a family of choice. Not everyone is living in a good network or the real possibility of building that network.
I'm not against organizing. I'm not against mutual aid.
But understand that one of the reasons someone like me might like secular democratic gov't when it's even sorta working is that help is not contingent on friendship. I am not forced to make friends with ppl I don't want in my life just to have a possibility of aid.

2024-06-24 04:18:17 UTC

This fuckstick just took his private jet from Bozeman, MT, to Whitehall, MT, a distance of about 60 mi. #ClimateChange #EatTheRich
https://mastodon.social/@elonjet/112668162980107803

2024-06-22 23:37:33 UTC

Just saw a local news report where it's apparent that the crew just used the disabled space as the place to set up their equipment for a remote report. 🤯 #Ableism

2024-06-20 01:06:16 UTC

Neal Brennan just likened being raised Catholic with that U2 album that Apple put on everyone's iTunes and that seems apt.
It's very hard to eradicate what Catholicism puts into you, no matter how much you want to.

2024-06-19 03:59:37 UTC

I've found at least the social media people at (US) National Weather Service to be super-ableist. So while this site is in pilot, screenreader users might want to take NWS at their word and give them feedback on how accessibly designed this is...
https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/heatrisk/ #a11y #Accessibility #ClimateChange
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/112/641/279/448/058/617/original/ed10a9ba64ec317b.png

2024-06-17 02:10:08 UTC

Another upright trike in #DavisCA #Cycling
The rear unit reminds me of the Cannondale Bugger - first US-made bike trailer of the late 20th c. That came with a black molded plastic body for taking passengers, but it could also be taken out, leaving a zipper-fabric area for cargo like sleeping bags, tents.
https://pedegoelectricbikes.com/product/trike/?color=mineral-blue
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/112/629/517/391/429/257/original/8217f6152fbbc71f.jpeg

2024-06-16 23:39:19 UTC

Featuring a look at why a shower with grab bars and a shower bench can still be inaccessible, or how an accessible space with hookups can be inaccessible (ADA checklists aren't enough, esp when they're made by abled people).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txTazx85Bbs #Ableism #StatePark #Camping

2024-06-16 07:05:06 UTC

*sigh*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jmq5F7PkyA

2024-06-16 02:15:45 UTC

Holy shit. I knew redwoods had been cleared for lumber, but I had assumed it was mostly for housing. I didn't know it was for as many different purposes as Jared Farmer is saying. And didn't know they'd been even more wasteful about it than I thought.
No wonder we're in the trouble we're in. That was all living fixed carbon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUkwI6vQxHs

2024-06-15 01:33:34 UTC

The used parabolic solar oven was delivered today. I forced myself to open the pkg despite being exhausted because I need to find out if there's anything to dispute.
I ran out of steam almost immediately, though. Hefted the box out of where I'd stored it, got it on the table, carefully sliced the tape & bubble wrapping. And just unzipped the carry case and *whoomph*.
I took photos, but I need to actually do a real inspection of the parts as soon as I can find the spoons. #SolarCooking

2024-06-14 23:15:15 UTC

"The sanctions target Tsav 9, a group with ties to Israeli army reservists and Jewish settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, over activities including blocking, harassing and damaging aid shipments."
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-impose-sanctions-israeli-group-that-attacked-gaza-aid-2024-06-14/

2024-06-14 00:36:34 UTC

I fucking hate the rich for jetting around, welcome in every country, while the majority of us couldn't just decide where to live based on what we feel fits us best.

2024-06-13 17:55:56 UTC

I can't find my old post, but remember when I posted that someone was using my Gmail acct to sign up for hotel rewards & personals dating? Now they're signing up for an NFT marketplace.
It would take me a while to de-Google myself and get me out of this account. (And would that make it worse - making it available for them to just take over the user name?)
What should I be doing? My credit is locked down due to previous BS. #Privacy #infosec

2024-06-08 23:28:47 UTC

I don't fear spiders the way I fear snakes, but we do have black widows around here.
I am, however, grateful that their webs are snagging seeds of Silybum marianum because those make a lot of work for me. None of the sources of those (Union Pacific, City of Davis, and my slumlord) do much or any prevention.
Thank you, spiders, for your service.

2024-06-08 22:09:08 UTC

#Ableism in the #Cycling community again. (Documented, but not necessarily agreed with by the photog.)
"Riding an electric bike is like eating mac 'n' cheese without cheese" is an odd take. Read the room, though, this is where a bunch of vegans shop.
I also saw more of these that likened electric bikes to burritos without beans, which is risible, or beer without hops, which makes about as much sense."
https://flickr.com/photos/jym/53778071923

2024-06-07 18:57:28 UTC

I'd block this bullshit right now, if I were you.
You not having your follows on lock is not the same thing as "explicit consent".
Note that they didn't even mention my handle on this - I went to check out who followed me and this was on their TL. #Consent #Ethics #NoBot
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/112/576/861/071/883/499/original/5c29b6bf7f6e8982.png

2024-06-06 23:13:52 UTC

Heh.😎
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/112/572/208/509/351/238/original/aa111833a8a8be87.png

2024-06-06 21:25:34 UTC

Good.
There's a lot of destructive shit people are doing for social media engagement/notoriety.
I wish savvy folks would find a way to harvest that kind of greed for fame/dopamine and channel it into things we need to be doing to save democracies and save our planet...
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-06-06/youtubers-destroying-a-lamborghini-with-fireworks-stunt-brings-federal-charge

2024-06-06 21:12:42 UTC

Was finally setting up Mona on my desktop (still trying to find the scheduling option...) and I saw that they do give you a reminder if you try to toot an image without alt text.
HOWEVER, that reminder is not turned on by default (inaccessibility should not be the default). Make sure you go into your Advanced Settings to turn it on. #Accessibility #a11y
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/112/571/716/717/018/854/original/7d29174e9d001de7.png

2024-06-06 00:37:01 UTC

After I graduate, I really hope I can take a good basic electrical class. In the meantime, I really enjoy Mehdi's videos, especially the ones where he uses a trip as an excuse to inspect the hotel's electrical maintenance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1mPemYUrVc

2024-06-05 16:24:47 UTC

Cornell print books on sociology are on sale for 50% off today with code 09YARDSOC
You could pre-order "Disciplining Democracy", which seems to be on a timely subject. #StudentSpring
https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501779961/disciplining-democracy/#bookTabs=1
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/112/564/937/787/597/768/original/388b614a6bb46e7c.png

2024-06-04 01:42:01 UTC

Not that coffee was working that well for me in keeping me alert for coursework, but I'm trying to wean myself off it with black tea and that's really not working.

2024-06-03 23:51:48 UTC

With auto-captions at the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2OIcYWjRXM

2024-06-03 01:59:21 UTC

We have *got* to get off using potable water to flush toilets. I'd say we need to get off using water toilets altogether, but I don't think some folks are ready for that conversation.
Fresh clean water has already gotten scarcer. Treating water only to use it to flush shit down is a really warped thing our society does.
#ClimateChange #Infrastructure

2024-06-03 01:22:54 UTC

What is under the parking lots, office buildings and mansions of Silicon Valley is some of the best agricultural land in California.
What a shitty trade that was
https://archive.org/details/californiaaprico0000chap

2024-06-02 23:02:18 UTC

As more people join the Fediverse, the % of people using alt text on images has gone down. This is not a desirable trend.
Please refuse to boost toots that have images lacking equitable alt text and/or image description.
Teach folks (capable of seeing & writing) how to write alt text/image description (including using the OCR tool in the Mastodon image edit window, if they must). https://mastodon.social/@AltTextHealthCheck/112549508282512228

2024-06-02 20:49:07 UTC

Another peek at that Yucca (rostrata?) in bloom in front of a dilapidated UC Davis building. Salvia in bloom in the foreground. #DavisCA #Flowers
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/112/548/982/883/137/945/original/d3ce22c48bb9bd42.jpeg

2024-06-01 04:12:14 UTC

Check Trending on your instance: is there any instance where #BikeNite is trending or are we on too many different servers to move the needle? @npub14yd…x86s

2024-05-31 22:01:31 UTC

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@npub1l54…3lye A concept I imagine younger people are unfamiliar with. It was so expensive to call, especially internationally.

2024-05-29 23:36:56 UTC

Make sure you submit websites to Internet Archive, Archive Today and other sites to keep those in power from burying stories they don't want folks reading.

2024-05-29 18:01:13 UTC

CalBike call to action!
"Legislators will finalize their version of the budget in the next week. Use CalBike’s action tool to email all the crucial members with one click. Please join us in standing up for biking and walking"
https://www.calbike.org/invest-divest/
#California #Cycling #ClimateChange #Transportation
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/112/525/681/077/346/884/original/b2bfc847347c4773.png

2024-05-24 08:35:13 UTC

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@npub1hqx…944s No, I missed that one. I think it'll take me a while to warm up to. It's rare for a band to re-form and get that same energy back. Thanks for drawing my attn to it.

2024-05-23 23:31:37 UTC

Took my ride around noon today and definitely feeling tired earlier as a result. Not so much because of the actual exertion as the heat/sun exposure.
I had hoped if I did a shadier ride I'd be ok, but there was enough time in open sun (plus time setting up the solar oven just now) to really sap me.

2024-05-23 16:51:32 UTC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI78WOW_u-Q #Agriculture #LastWeekTonight

2024-05-23 16:31:17 UTC

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I'm trying to think of how we fight this and I honestly think the best way to do it is to make community college free. If no money is changing hands, the worst the scammers could do would be get a free education.

2024-05-23 16:24:40 UTC

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It's a Calmatters story, but I can only find it in syndication. I can't easily find the original on Calmatters' site. https://www.the74million.org/article/california-community-colleges-are-losing-millions-to-financial-aid-fraud/

2024-05-23 16:15:27 UTC

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This is the video they just posted. It didn't have details on the scam, which is why I went looking them up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQDFi8pqBxg

2024-05-23 16:13:32 UTC

CalMatters just posted a short video and I wanted more details. When I looked it up, it seems it's an issue they started covering in 2021.
Scammers are the fucking worst. In this case, it is likely to contribute to our institutions not wanting to offer online accessibility because of these scammers. While systems could be put in place to make things more secure, it would take hiring more people and they never want to do that.
https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/college-beat/2021/09/california-community-colleges-financial-aid-scam/

2024-05-22 18:31:33 UTC

I often see abled urbanists leaping on the words of any disabled person who says that they can get along without a car, but not being as eager to boost efforts of disabled people pointing out inaccessible infrastructure that often prevents them from dumping cars.
Don't be that person - be as willing to boost (and work for) calls for accessibility as you are to boost disabled people who happen to cycle.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tyPf-0Cc69I
#Cycling #Urbanism

2024-05-22 15:52:30 UTC

It really is another aspect of systemic #ableism the way that media and caretakers have elevated the genuine challenges abled caretakers have into now being something that gets more attention than the needs of disabled people.
It really is remarkable how abled people can always make disability, inaccessibility, even systemic ableism all about themselves.
(venting in rxn to the umpteenth media Q about how ppl can support caretakers that skipped entirely over how ppl can support disabled ppl)

2024-05-22 08:38:28 UTC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4AIE18SrQ #Sports #Parasports

2024-05-21 21:32:14 UTC

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@npub1u3q…kt20 Such a fucking horror.
The GoFundMe started before is still going, if people can donate. https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-terry-williams-ensure-family-safety

2024-05-20 06:31:38 UTC

You know, one thing I haven't thought about for a while is just how badly Musk has tarnished the name of Nicola Tesla by making it associated with being a soul-sucking apartheid nosferatu.

2024-05-19 22:38:21 UTC

AI-lovers fucking up again:
2nd AI-driven corporation that spammed us, doesn't know what we do, and is listing us as their mistaken idea of what it is we do whether we consent or not.
And of course the illustration is from content thieved from actual human artists to train AI.
Fuck all you fuckers in business and institutions that are jamming through this agenda. This isn't anywhere near the worst thing they'll do with AI and it's bad enough. #Ethics
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/112/470/131/491/690/260/original/3bf11fb5290f891a.png

2024-05-19 19:59:57 UTC

French-made recumbent tadpole tilting trike.
I'm not wild about some of the design, but the "nose" of the velocar being a rolling cart you can take off, shop with, then affix to the nose again is really creative!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf6iN0zQ8Aw #Cycling #Recumbent

2024-05-19 05:29:01 UTC

I've known for decades that the religious right has targeted non-partisan school board seats in order to exert control over public schools, make them shitty & oppressive, and drive people to home schooling and private schools. And I've certainly observed how our current fascists are repeating Nazi tactics like a playbook.
But I didn't know until I read "The Nazi Seizure of Power" that even before the Nazis came to power, they were infiltrating every org they could. https://archive.org/details/naziseizureofpow0000alle_m2p7

2024-05-18 23:22:58 UTC

"Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, releases a video with Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee, entitled, “Denial, Disinformation, and Doublespeak: Big Oil’s Evolving Efforts to Avoid Accountability for Climate Change.” "
The video follows up on a joint staff report to the committee. #ClimateChange #USpol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilcweCaNQKg

2024-05-18 17:07:20 UTC

If I'm watching a YouTube video featuring a wheelchair user as a guest of an abled (or disabled person with internalized ableism) presenter, it's just a matter of time 'til the word "inspirational" is uttered.
What are you inspired to do? Dismantle systemic ableism? No?
Then it's just about feel-good bullshit. It's about seeing it as up to the individual to cope with an ableist system rather than lifting a finger to do anything to dismantle that system.
#Ableism

2024-05-17 22:13:49 UTC

That trip to Costco was entirely so I could get lidocaine patches for my brutal RSI pain. To try to make it worth the trip, I picked up butter and dried mangos as well. It was ~$75. It costs a lot to buy even OTC painkillers. #CripTax

2024-05-17 20:43:30 UTC

Trying to find a sweet spot again - baking frozen croissant dough in the solar oven used to be a snap but I might not have realized that was because of the time of year I was doing it.
Right now it's hot enough by afternoon that I need to use air conditioning. I have the thermostat set as high as I can make work for me and the mildew problems in the trailer. But that is too much cold air blowing from above down onto the dough - it doesn't want to rise.#SolarCooking

2024-05-15 23:20:54 UTC

Hegemons often characterize vandalism to property as "violence". And I guess that tracks with putting permanent metal bollard protection around property, but fostering a culture that puts human lives at constant risk. #Capitalism
https://mas.to/@meganL/112420447775564778

2024-05-15 22:22:10 UTC

Activism is required.
You cannot escape climate change by going off-grid and creating a permaculture ecovillage - climate change will catch up with you & yours.
Not saying there might not be other good reasons to form intentional communities, but you cannot ethically escape the requirement to be an activist.
The greedhead fascists who brought us anthropogenic climate change won't stop continuing their violence voluntarily. They must be met with active and constant resistance and outflanking.

2024-05-15 20:15:54 UTC

Calbike has a call to action.
CA governor Gavin Newsom has cut $600M from the Active Transportation Program in his draft budget.
https://www.calbike.org/invest-divest/ #California #Cycling #Sustainability #Transportation
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/112/446/939/265/081/238/original/51435d87835ae621.png

2024-05-15 01:42:30 UTC

You cannot complete a term as US President and have kept your hands entirely clean. Therefore, there is no perfect US President.
But as many improvements as Obama made, and there were plenty, Carter is probably my favorite in my lifetime. While Obama seems to have spent a lot of time hobnobbing on yachts post-presidency, Carter was doing Habitat for Humanity builds repeatedly - not just as photo opps. He did work as an int'l election monitor. Spoke up on Palestine.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/14/politics/jimmy-carter-health-update/index.html

2024-05-13 23:11:39 UTC

There's a difference between coping by operating with the unjust system we have now, and advocating & working for the systems we *ought* to have.
We can do both.
Advocating for something more just is not the same as being naïve and not knowing how things currently tend to work.
Talking down to ppl who are advocating for more just systems doesn't help us & can actually condition ppl to think what we have now is unchangeable. It's not.

2024-05-13 20:15:47 UTC

Just saw someone recommending cycling/urbanism accounts to follow and every one was a white (presumably abled) dude, with the exception of a podcast that has a white woman.
I know we're somewhat limited in recommendations by who joined Mastodon & participates here, but try to recommend more diverse follows. The most famous accts are not necessarily the ones doing the work. I've seen some scrape & re-brand the work of white women & BIPOC without credit.
Switch it up.
#Cycling #Urbanism

2024-05-12 22:28:40 UTC

Community participation:
What are your favorite non-monopoly places to shop online? Bonus if they're actually also really cool businesses.
Help folks discover non-Amazon, non-Walmart stores!
Ones I use include:
American Science & Surplus: https://sciplus.com/
Stonemountain & Daughter (high quality fabric, patterns, and notions) https://stonemountainfabric.com/
Davis Food Co-op (not mail order, but you can still do "curbside" pick-up) https://davisfood.coop/

2024-05-12 19:50:16 UTC

"Why Europe’s Right-Wing is More Divided Than You Think"
I hope they're more divided than the Left, but that seems too much to hope for...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JAT13DTlP4

2024-05-11 03:45:10 UTC

Late question for the #BikeNite crowd: Do you have recommendations for clear wraparound glasses to keep from getting beaned in the eyes by gnats and larger bugs when cycling at twilight? When it's sunny, I have sunglasses, but I need something for darker times of day when I still need eye protection. Something for big heads, hopefully with customizable fitting around the nose/cheeks. @npub14yd…x86s

2024-05-10 06:18:27 UTC

The way people flip from "it's too far off to get alarmed about" to "it's too late to do anything about" drives me NUTS.
Add to that people saying "recycling is a lie" because the plastics industry lied - HEY, glass, aluminum, and paper recycling still work!!!
#DespAIRHEADS

2024-05-09 21:44:02 UTC

I've been waiting for this! Recumbent News' well-done video of SPEZI 2024, a fantastic expo of cycles of all different types. #Cycling #CargoBike #Trike #Recumbent https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8dORsO8CGU