@meganL@mas.to cover
@meganL@mas.to avatar

meganL

@[email protected]

Disabled. MSc in Hort & Ag UC Davis. Speaker on Accessibility in Higher Ed/Cycling/Plant Science. Speaker on carob.

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

Most of my posts are not asking for advice so please don't offer it unsolicited. When I'm asking for advice, I usually ask quite explicitly.

Banner = 2 UC Access Now buttons, with a seal that's a parody of the University of California's. It says "Let There Be Access > ADA" Profile = HG Peters drawing of Wonder Woman

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. View on remote instance

@meganL@mas.to avatar meganL , to random

Man, it is deeply disappointing to see a student journalist parrot stuff like:

"Kirk, whose Christian beliefs were central to his political opinions, publicly opposed LGBTQ+ rights and encouraged women to forgo their careers to get married and have children."

You'll find Christ didn't say anything about those subjects.

When media repeats crap like this, it gives violent people something to hide behind. Student journalists should be learning better journalism than carrying water.

@meganL@mas.to avatar meganL , to random

I'm a solo, low income, disabled older woman and have been without accessible independent transportation for about a year now. It will cost at least $8K to get something that meets my access needs.

Today is and every person who buys my music with a big tip is helping me get to that goal of better health, more independence, and travel freedom!

Thanks to all the kind Mastodonians who've already done this!

https://meganlynch.bandcamp.com/album/songs-the-brothers-warner-taught-me

"Bandcamp Friday - February 6" Image flier with blue stylized flower shape on a yellow field. I have modified it with a photo of the Azub Tricon GR, which is one of the models that could work for me. It is a folding recumbent tricycle in a tadpole shape (two wheels in front, one in back).
ALT
@meganL@mas.to avatar meganL , to random

Angry Catfish bike shop is helping plan and promote a memorial ride this Saturday in Minneapolis, and assisting organizers around the country in holding their own events.

https://www.bicycleretailer.com/retail-news/2026/01/27/minneapolis-retailer-helping-plan-pretti-memorial-rides-nationwide

@meganL@mas.to avatar meganL , to random

Thousands of Quebec children with disabilities kept out of school due to lack of resources

Advocacy groups sound alarm after 3,417 students faced disrupted schooling in 2025

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-schooling-students-disabilities-9.7037145

@meganL@mas.to avatar meganL , to random

Mayor Zohran Mamdani Holds Press Conference to Make an Announcement

Safe Streets: Completing the redesign of McGuinness Blvd., Greenpoint, Brooklyn

It is unbelievably wholesome and hopeful the way these activists and organizers cheer each other on, hand the mic to one another, etc. May this spread!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9M9JvnKC0s

@meganL@mas.to avatar meganL , to random

You know how Starbucks workers turn the credit card reader over to you when you're in the drive-thru, asking for a tip? I once asked the worker if they get all of that tip. They said management takes 50%.

If you cannot run your business with a living wage, you do not have a viable business plan. If you expand locations, you have $ to pay your workers a good wage. If you're a worldwide conglomerate & your workers are still unable to make it, it's just wage theft.

https://sbworkersunited.org/our-strike/

@meganL@mas.to avatar meganL , to random

Riding Middlebury with Larry! Stroke Survivor’s Adaptive Trike Journey (RAD Innovations)

Abled people: Please do not indulge in the kind of ableism Matt is by saying, "if this (disbled person) can do it, what's your excuse?" Disabled people don't exist to be soem kind of inspiration/motivation for abled people. More reasoning in replies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBWgAPFZGa8 @bikenite

@JessTheUnstill@infosec.exchange avatar JessTheUnstill , to random

[Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

    •
    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @JessTheUnstill Sadly, it ain't paid like it's important work unless they're assistants to executives. aka why I have no retirement savings.

    Also pretty disrespected by co-workers in departments who regularly get praised for what THEY do.

    @georgetakei@universeodon.com avatar georgetakei , to random

    And suddenly Albania VPN use is through the roof. (I understand there are a number of other countries that also ban ads…)

    Screenshot of a tweet from Jampzey on X.com that says “today I learned.” Below is a Reddit comment by user Jack_Brutal saying: “If you have a VPN, connect to Albania server. It is illegal for YouTube to have ads in Albania.” The comment shows upvotes, downvotes, and reply counts.
    ALT
    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @georgetakei Where's the link to Albanian law on this? Condition folks to look for more reputable sources than "dudes on Reddit and X".

    @gbhnews@mastodon.social avatar gbhnews , to random

    🌞 Hello ! This is GBH bringing you the world from . It's 50F at Logan Airport and visibility is 10mi.

    Prosecutors in announced 4 more arrests in the Louvre jewel heist.

    Massachusetts homes are poised to get electricity from hydropower as a long-delayed transmission line through Maine is approved.

    in 1783, the last British soldiers left New York.

    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @gbhnews Hello, GBH!

    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @gbhnews 📺

    @meganL@mas.to avatar meganL , to random

    Someone who has more up-to-date music review chops than I do should construct a chart of singing styles that have dominated US/UK charts in the last 30 years.

    To my ears, there are a lot of styles that are derivative of Billie Holliday. And then there's the domination of very technical melismatic singing, although I don't know enough to know whether it's Mariah Carey or others they're imitating.

    @meganL@mas.to avatar meganL , to random

    Gen AI, the proof that many workers wouldn't stand by workers who happen to create illustrations, photos, videos, animation, voiceover, music, etc. And by allowing their envy of creative workers to be used to keep creative workers down, they therefore opened the door to losing their own jobs....

    meganL OP ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @ai6yr People loved hearing how superior they were to creatives "underwater basketweaving"... So easy to buy their cooperation in their own eventual undoing.

    All you have to do is see how eager everyone is to use images, VO, and music when they don't have to pay for it. Network media even does it and they have plenty of $ to pay, so it's not like it only happens among those who couldn't otherwise afford to pay creative laborers.

    @nixCraft@mastodon.social avatar nixCraft , to random

    Most people want a usable OS - they don’t want any AI or copilot capabilities. But who will tell them? https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows-11/microsoft-ai-ceo-pushes-back-against-critics-after-recent-windows-ai-backlash-the-fact-that-people-are-unimpressed-is-mindblowing-to-me

    How do you work as a CEO when you don't know what customers wants? They are totally out of touch and batshit crazy with AI.

    A screenshot of a news article headline. The headline reads: "Microsoft AI CEO pushes back against critics after recent Windows AI backlash - 'the fact that people are unimpressed ... is mindblowing to me'" Below the headline is the short summary: "Mustafa Suleyman says people that are unimpressed with AI's capabilities are mind blowing to him, after recent backlash around Copilot and Windows as an agentic OS."
    ALT
    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @nixCraft The people who are in touch with customers are usually among the lowest-paid and least valued in any company I've been working for and that is part of the problem.

    @meganL@mas.to avatar meganL , to random

    My friends who travel as couples rarely believe me when I talk about how much I get punished for being single.

    Our society has financial punishments for not being in a pair or a family group.

    (United and Delta, but not American later backed off this when news outlets picked up on this blog story.)

    https://thriftytraveler.com/news/airlines/airlines-charging-solo-travelers-higher-fares/

    @LibrarianRA@worldkey.io avatar LibrarianRA , to random
    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @LibrarianRA Not as far back, but definitely my favorite Bob Barker clip.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI7NXpw8jFY

    @meganL@mas.to avatar meganL , to random

    Boy, do ableist institutions love disabled outliers who "overcome adversity" without the institution having to become accessible to all the public.

    One more motivational speaking engagement, one more "inspirational" event they can use for PR without ever having to change a goddamned thing about the ableist status quo... It's perfect for their purposes.

    @FediTips@social.growyourown.services avatar FediTips , to random

    Would you like to make your PeerTube accounts and videos more visible? Do you want to reach more viewers and more followers?

    I've done a guide to promoting your PeerTube accounts, channels and videos at:

    ➡️ https://fedi.tips/how-to-promote-your-peertube-videos-account-and-channels

    I've tried to list everything I could think of, let me know if I've missed anything! 🙂

    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @FediTips Thanks, I look forward to reading this!

    @organicmaps@fosstodon.org avatar organicmaps , to random

    Google is baking Gemini into Maps. Would you switch to the fast, privacy- and battery-friendly Organic Maps? What’s stopping you from switching?

    https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/05/google-maps-bakes-in-gemini-to-improve-navigation-and-hands-free-use/

    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @organicmaps I have Organic Maps loaded on both phones, but I haven't made the switch because it just is not as easy for me to use. Now that I am in a foreign country where businesses almost never have their own websites, the reviews being tied into Google Maps also makes a difference.

    I don't know if OSM has a way for there to be open reviews of places, with photos of the place and menu, their wares, and their hours.

    You could beat Google in Albania if you included cycle route info, too.

    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @organicmaps When you ask for directions in Google Maps for Albania, the cycle route option is greyed out.

    They definitely don't have as much info as OSM has in some respects and it's a place where OSM and apps that use it could gain yardage on Google.

    Tirana, Albania has some actual protected lanes and ones that are supposed to be protected (armadillos), but...well... And that doesn't even include recommended routes that have no lane but just have less car traffic.

    @_elena@mastodon.social avatar _elena , (edited ) to random

    [Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

    •
    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @aral Happy you said this. I used to go off on this regularly on the bird site and I think people thought I was being too "pie in the sky" about what designers and artists should expect.

    Of course, this sort of contest epitomizes the attitudes that made automated ripoff of artists and designers through AI acceptable to so many...

    @LibrarianRA@worldkey.io avatar LibrarianRA , to random

    Real Mayonnaise and frozen fruit salad (1938)
    .

    There’s a lot going on in this advertisement. In the center is a kind of comic strip of amongst young women discussing how they dislike frozen salads. And a chef steps in and tells them the difference is when you use real mayonnaise by either Hellmann’s or best foods. Above a woman is holding a gelatin salad with mayonnaise, candied fruits. The bulk of the salad is in a mold that’s white with green yellow and red gel candies like polkadots. It’s certainly something. Below is the same salad on a plate and the recipe is off to the side and it’s labeled frozen fruit salad. However, there doesn’t seem to be any steps that mention you freeze the salad.
    ALT
    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @LibrarianRA Oh my god. 1938, the Great Depression... Well, you can't be saving that much money with mayonnaise can you?

    @JessTheUnstill@infosec.exchange avatar JessTheUnstill , to random

    [Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

    •
    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @JessTheUnstill I loved my IKEA Tillreda induction cooktop. Wish I could have brought it with me...still looking into getting one.

    @JessTheUnstill@infosec.exchange avatar JessTheUnstill , to random

    [Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

    •
    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @JessTheUnstill I'm used to reading "LEO" as law enforcement officer. I assume it does not mean that in this context?

    @Curia@curia.social-network.europa.eu avatar Curia , to random

    🎓 From Luxembourg to your classroom – don’t forget about our virtual visit programme for students aged 15–18!
    ⚖️ Talks with a Judge, Advocate General or EU official
    🌍 Insights into how EU law impacts daily life
    🗣️ Interactive Q&As in your language
    📚 Educational resources for teachers

    ✅ Free | Online | Tailor-made

    🔗 https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/p1_3862585/en

    video/mp4

    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @Curia Hello, I hope you are interested in making justice accessible. The graphic you have posted lacks alt text & image description, which means those with vision loss are losing out on the information in it (including knowing what others are seeing).

    Here are directions for how to add that in Mastodon's web client: https://edtechfactotum.com/adding-alt-text-and-more-to-images-in-mastodon/

    If you're using social media management software, you can contact the developer to let them know you want to add alt text.

    @LibrarianRA@worldkey.io avatar LibrarianRA , to random

    Vintage Halloween stickers.
    .

    Six spooky stickers on a white background. You see bats, jack-o’-lanterns scarecrows, black cats, and a witch.
    ALT
    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @LibrarianRA I honestly think I recognize this particular pack, especially the bat.

    @JessTheUnstill@infosec.exchange avatar JessTheUnstill , to random

    [Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

    •
    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @JessTheUnstill The cognitive dissonance around any disability that is commonly experienced is enormous. The frame gets moved. See also: Diabetes, gestational diabetes, various temporary (and permanent, sometimes) disabilities arising from pregnancy, RSIs, broken limbs).

    @LibrarianRA@worldkey.io avatar LibrarianRA , to random

    New England Confectionery Co. (1951)
    .

    Advertisement is for Necho wafers. There’s a large jack-o’-lantern in the background. Three young children feed the jack-o’-lantern echo wafers. One child is dressed as a devil, another young child, distressed as a witch, while the last child is dressed as a ghost.
    ALT
    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @LibrarianRA Hard to imagine they once did chocolate. I know them for nothing but Necco wafers.

    @meganL@mas.to avatar meganL , to random

    Australian in Olympics protest to get apology

    13 year old reporting, but Working Class History made me revisit it.

    Australian Peter Norman stood with Americans John Carlos and Tommie Smith in an iconic image of protest from the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games and was snubbed for it but is now getting a posthumous apology from Federal Parliament.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yTLT0mv90w

    @meganL@mas.to avatar meganL , to random

    Several times a day, if not several times an hour, I see people using "sane" as some sort of synonym for ethical and "insane" as some sort of synonym for unethical.

    Think of what you're saying here - instead of grappling with the idea that abled people can do harmful and/or evil things, the moment some threshhold of evil is passed, you simply label them "insane".

    This equates disability with evil, and equates being abled with virtue. It's a rhetorical frame to keep you comfortable.

    meganL OP ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    If someone is "abled" up until the moment you finally agree they're acting unethically or evilly, at which point they are "insane", that's an awfully convenient rhetorical frame for you.

    It keeps you from having to grapple with the banality of evil. It is so much more threatening to our egos to imagine that we too could be unethical and harming people. When one is abled or abled-identified, it is easy to simply say "them" and chalk it up to "insanity". It's not that we could ever be evil.

    @zackwhittaker@mastodon.social avatar zackwhittaker , to random

    My latest: Discord said late on Friday that hackers stole users' government-issued IDs (passports and driver's licenses) from one of its customer support databases.

    I wrote a few words about the risks of age verification laws, and why collecting people's government IDs is bad for security and privacy.

    https://this.weekinsecurity.com/discord-says-users-government-ids-used-for-age-checks-stolen-by-hackers/

    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @zackwhittaker And yet this is precisely what the regime forcing those using Social Security and Medicare to move to Login.gov has done. Presenting gov photo IDs is part of the process.

    They unilaterally got rid of the existing username password system (not that that was invulnerable...but at least it wasn't your passport or driver's license).

    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @JessTheUnstill @zackwhittaker Sure, but if it was all easily available in one take, DOGE wouldn't have gone in there breaking those systems to make it even easier to fuck people over.

    @meganL@mas.to avatar meganL , to random

    Just by reading an LA Times story now, you supposedly agree to this.

    Alert with the only choice being a button that says "Continue". It appears over a news story I've just clicked to, even within Internet Archive. "By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service, which include arbitration and a class action waiver, and our Privacy Policy. You agree that we and our third-party vendors may collect and use your information, including through cookies, pixels and similar technologies, for the purposes set forth in our Privacy Policy such as personalizing your experience and ads."
    ALT
    @thejapantimes@mastodon.social avatar thejapantimes , to random

    Apple said on Wednesday that European Union users are experiencing delays in new features and facing increased privacy and security risks due to the bloc's landmark Digital Markets Act. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/09/25/tech/apple-eu-tech-law/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon

    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @thejapantimes "Rapacious corporation complains about regulation"

    @meganL@mas.to avatar meganL , to random

    Question for the geezers here:

    What materials do you remember seeing food, drink, and other things packaged in before mylar and other plastics took over?

    Would you start buy things packaged in more sustainable old methods if it were more widely available, even if it cost a few cents more?

    @LibrarianRA@worldkey.io avatar LibrarianRA , to random

    1973 Ford Pinto Wagon Advertisement
    .

    Do you advertisement is titled “Three basic reasons why the Pinto Wagon is the best-selling economy wagon in America“ you see a small to medium sized station wagon in the color red. There’s the faux wood accents along the sides. The car is facing from right to left. Below the car is a lot of information about what you’re purchasing. In less than one year, the Pinto Wagon became far and IT'S ENGINEERED FOR DEPENDABILITY. away America's favorite small wagon. Ahead of Vega A rugged 2,000 cc cam-in-head Kammback and VW Squareback; ahead of all Toyota, engine (right) is standard on Pinto Datsun and Opel wagons combined. Wagon. It delivers all the power and The reasons are simple, Its First and foremost, the Pinto Wagon is an economy car: dependability has been low in price, easy on gas, low on upkeep. developed in millions of But it's also a roomy little wagon. miles of actual driving. Put the rear seat down and you get Front disc The Pinto Wagon was designed to maximize carrying space. with durability in mind-from the welded unitized You get comfort and luxury, too: steel body to the extra strength ball and universal highback front bucket seats, plush carpeting, and plenty joints and the full synchromesh transmission. of leg, head, shoulder and hip room. Economy, depend- All this at a base sticker price of $2,319
    ALT
    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @LibrarianRA Explosive sales growth!

    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    fakeman_pretendname nucleative I was just thinking how grateful I am that my HD manufacturer did this and that I saved the extra plugs because I'm finding it difficult to find quality adapters for grounded US plugs here in Albania...

    The nice bit about the HD design is that it isn't separate cords. It's the same cord and you can slide in the proper plug type at the end of it.

    @LibrarianRA@worldkey.io avatar LibrarianRA , to random

    R.I.P Robert Redford
    .

    Another black-and-white photo of Robert Redford looking off to the left, same age

    Another black-and-white photo of Robert Redford looking off to the left, same age
    ALT
    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar
    @meganL@mas.to avatar meganL , to random

    The alacrity with which nominal progressives adopted and used the term "sanewashing" just demonstrates once more that anti-ableism isn't a part of most progressives' aims, for some reason.

    @0xabad1dea@infosec.exchange avatar 0xabad1dea , to random

    Why Americans Don't Walk To School - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lShDhGn5e5s

    this neighborhood he filmed looks so much like America-as-I-know-her that it hurts. When I was a child, I lived in a housing development, a separate loop from the main road, nothing but houses on both sides for the whole loop. Sounds safe for kids, right? I was utterly forbidden from crossing the street ever, for any reason. In the three years I lived there, two children I knew were flattened by cars. One was in a wheelchair for years, the other had permanent brain damage. And we were lucky to have a sidewalk the whole length of the loop - which would quickly disappear beyond its edge; walking anywhere else was impossible, it was an island in a sea of high-speed roads.

    The next development we lived in, the school had a street-by-street map of who was and wasn't allowed to walk to school. It was in theory a 15 minute walk, but we were forbidden because 10 of that would be on a highway with absolutely no accommodations for walking alongside it. There was a secret path through the woods that some kids used. There was a shopping center about as far in the other direction with, again, absolutely no way to walk there (and no busses). I grew up trapped in lonely fortresses in a sea of concrete, and I am still not used to the freedom I have in Europe to just... go places and do things.

    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @JessTheUnstill I wish we would focus on anti-sedentarism instead of anti-obesity. There's a lot of funding in the "anti-obesity" space because it continues the stigmatization of fat people while leaving car-centrism and enforced sedentarism (in school, in workplaces, in infrastructure) untouched.

    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @JessTheUnstill The money in research being steered to that is why it's a well-documented metric, as if one could not also be fat and fit & healthy. It varies. My fat is not healthy on me, but the hell if this society feels like doing fuck-all about the ableism and poverty that caused that. Whereas I have fat friends who are fit and can kick my ass and the asses of many others in running and other typical athletics.

    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @JessTheUnstill It's absolutely why that gets so much funding. It's a continuation of deputizing thin abled people to badger and harass fat people based purely on looks. It equates a certain morph type with "unhealth", it is entwined with ableism, car-centrism, white supremacy, misogyny, etc.

    Sadly, I even know (abled male-led, naturally) cycling orgs that take that "anti-obesity" money and keep that rhetoric going unexamined.

    @meganL@mas.to avatar meganL , to random

    Thanks to all who've bought my music today during

    $40.29 so far in purchases so far that help me get closer to buying an accessible cycle again!

    https://mas.to/@meganL/115151762574779221

    @JessTheUnstill@infosec.exchange avatar JessTheUnstill , to random

    [Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

    •
    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @JessTheUnstill That was one of the revolutions of when the car first became affordable to more people - it gave some the first place they had privacy from family (nuclear or extended).

    Since housing has skyrocketed in price all over the world, a lot of people can't afford private space.

    And, sadly, it long ago became vogueish for libraries to be louder spaces so it's also hard to find quiet spaces....

    @JessTheUnstill@infosec.exchange avatar JessTheUnstill , (edited ) to random

    [Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

    •
    meganL ,
    @meganL@mas.to avatar

    @JessTheUnstill I sometimes feel like this is the worst it's been in my lifetime, but I have to remind myself that my very young years are years I wasn't watching or reading the news and there were assassinations, KKK and other white supremacists killing folks, hijackings, Vietnam War, lots of other wars I'm sure, etc.

    I think what folks who voted for Trump think "great" means probably varies across several demographics that voted for him. The ones who mirror the kind of awful shitbag he

    @meganL@mas.to avatar meganL , to Disability group

    LIVE | Para Ice Hockey | Semi-final 2 | Day 5 | Women's World Championships | Dolny Kubin 2025

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ODD1b4M_As disability@a.gup.pe icon Disability group