RE: https://mastodonapp.uk/@wood5y/117161602409063499
Okay, this is some fantastic messaging to me, a person who's considering the switch. Probably should've done it before now, but the second best time is now, right?
MAMAS open gardens day today!
Come by any of these gardens between 1-4pm today to meet other volunteers and learn about the MAMAS Gardening Collective:
Central Hill garden (Grand View Avenue at Walnut Street, near Somerville Central Library)
Area 52 garden (corner of Mossland and Elm Street, near Porter Square)
Hyperspace garden (42 Elm Street, near Porter Square)
Hey, mastodon, and esp my friend @therisingtithes! Is this "Trinidad folktale" familiar? It was in an assigned reading for my summer class, an excerpt from a 1992 book. Feels totally possible to me that it could be BS, particularly given the time period and the whiteness of the book's author (David W. Augsburger). Hard to know for sure unless someone can confirm it's NOT bullshit, though. #folklore #Trinidad
The mutual aid garden is work and has struggles, but it's always super exciting to pick veggies with my neighbors. #mutualaid #garden
Carol Danvers votes in favor of a nice nap. #catsofmastodon
This is just to say that my friend @effies is brilliant and this short story about developing laser eyes is SUPER RELATABLE. #SFF #scifi #disability #accessibility
https://www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fiction-123b-laser-eyes-aint-everything-by-effie-seiberg/
(I love bikes and pedestrians and buses, please don't yell at me if you are randomly seeing this, lol. I don't own a car. I just think I'm funny, but if I were truly brave, I'd shitpost this to the Facebook groups and watch the world burn.)
Hot take for Somerville residents: You know what? Let's admit that we're never going to redesign Highland Ave. This is fine.
The potholes are traffic calming. The trees growing out of the pavement are stormwater management. The warts are structural.
Let's save the city time and money by moving on. Don't drive on Highland. It'll be a gravel-ish-covered pedestrian way or shared bike/ped route in another decade, maybe w/ a bus lane. Let nature take its course. #SomerPoli #SomervilleMA
RE: https://mastodon.nu/@sorenhave/116932621360673006
Oooooh, not only is this a superb essay from @pluralistic , but it can be paired with Monroe Price's "Market for loyalty" theory -- really brings forward the notes of blood in the machine. Amazing stuff, well done, Cory!!
For those following the MA state senate seat to replace Pat Jehlen this fall:
https://www.gottaknowmedford.com/20260717_five-democrats-pour-nearly-500-000-into-open-2nd-middlesex-race/
For what it's worth, my vote is undecided at this time. I’m not voting for Barber and definitely definitely not voting for Hopcroft.
This brilliant essay from Ted Chiang re "AI" sentience bullshit. This right here:
"What would it take to convince me that a computer program is actually conscious and using language the way that people use language? ...Before anyone can credibly claim that they’ve solved an extraordinarily difficult engineering problem, I need to be confident that they have previously solved the many much simpler problems that precede the difficult problem."
I knew that the things being done to shut me up were intentionally silencing me, and a power play via the state’s process. I knew it wasn’t the fault of my community. Yet I felt radioactive and worried I would hurt them if I talked to them, but I needed to talk to someone because I needed help remembering I was human and I was doing the right thing.
It was really isolating and traumatizing. It was also hella expensive. Something like 3 years of discovery and $60k or more in legal fees.
Well, I’ve been having some feelings about the shitty anti-free-speech action the US gov’t has been taking. Kinda reminds me of the time I was sued for defamation, although obviously there are differences.
One thing about that experience is that I couldn’t achieve calm easily while being cut off from my community, told to shut up or it’ll harm them, and handled roughly by people with guns at their hips. It’s pretty hard to keep calm then, actually, in my experience. I cried daily for a while.
I think I miss having a summer reading game at the public library. I'm doing all of this reading, lately, but I haven't been awarded any stickers or advanced my game piece or gotten a certificate or anything.
... anyone want to play a summer reading game with me? 🥹
Food for thought if you don't use a wheelchair (b/c if you do use one, you already know all this):
“Currently, wheelchair users seeking to repair their equipment face significant barriers as a result of a wheelchair supply market that is largely controlled by two PE-owned companies... For the nation’s 5.5 million wheelchair users, repairs that take weeks are leading many to be trapped at home and at risk for other detrimental effects.” #accessibility #access
RE: https://mastodon.social/@CStamp/116749888303580861
I know lengthy processes in urban planning can cause other problems, but wow, if this had gone through a planning board or something, I feel like an environmental activist or someone would've caught this failure along the way. O.o
Community survey for #biketooter (and more) peeps in the #CambridgeMA area!
"Do you live, work, walk, drive, bike, roll, or ride the bus on Cambridge Street? We want to hear about your experience using the corridor and your thoughts on the proposed design for the Cambridge Street Safety Improvement Project." #MAPoli
Info website: https://www.cambridgema.gov/streetsandtransportation/projectsandprograms/cambridgestreetsafetyimprovementproject
Survey (closing June 12th!): https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RMBMVF9
Ooooh, this @pluralistic review of Obstetrix by @naomikritzer only increases my anticipation for the book!! #bookstodon #books #sff
I find it helpful to set bookmarks (“clips”) in Audible, and write notes on the bookmarks, when I’m reading something for a class. I don’t always go back to them afterwards, but the process always helps me remember what I wanted to retain from it for class discussion, if that makes sense. Also helps me figure out where to start looking in the physical copy if I want to quote it in a paper.