New posts from starshipchangeling.net
The Starship Changeling
I would also find the accessibility annoyances in this article frustrating. The advice given here applies not just to banking sites, but all websites. #A11y
The Nonbinary Experience
What's being nonbinary like for you? To understand what it’s like to be Nonbinary for me personally, imagine that you are in a room with people and you are all singing a simple song we all know. Everyone is on key, except the person who’s a half step too high or too low sitting near you. That person is me. It’s not a big deal eat mixed in with everyone like that, but it becomes quite apparent in a one-on-one setting. 🏳️🌈 🎶
I agree with this post. There's nothing that bothers me more than hearing, "Picture of the event flyer." or something like that.
just fyi summarising text in an image instead of pasting it into the alt text field is ableist too
the point is to know what the image says and make your own judgements about it rather than just read a summary from someone else
for some cases, summarising is unavoidable ("graph trending downwards") but specifically for text, just use the exact text please. and if you use OCR, double-check the output and fix any obvious mistakes instead of just assuming it's flawless
obvious exceptions apply for text that cannot simply be copy-pasted, where OCR is unavailable, or the author is low-energy, etc., but most of the time it's just someone taking a screenshot and not directly copying the text into the alt when they have it
Good morning, citizens of the internet. Are you gorgeous?
My experience says that micro.blog is where my forever posts go, and mastodon is where I put the things I want out there but go away after awhile. I set up Mastodon to automatically delete posts after a certain length of time. Not only does it make me more comfortable posting, it makes people more comfortable interacting with me.
Where's my 420 family? I do tend to talk a lot about cannabis and bannabis-related topics and humor. If you want to follow this category of posts specifically, use this link.. It seems these riced crispy treats with THC and CBD oil give me the ability to read code in documentation without hurting my brain.
This is an accessibility nightmare. How would you feel if you ivested thousands of dollars into an ecosystem and it suddenly became unuseable and maybe locked you out?
It appears Sonos is about to become less useable by screen reader users. The CEO should stop it now, but here’s how to protect your investment if he doesn’t mosen.org/sonos2024
Trying to work myself up to doing my morning swim. What are some of y’all’s favorite workout routines or self-motivation techniques? It’s Motivation Monday after all.
Finished reading: Bad Moon Rising by Jonathan Maberry 📚 3/5 stars. Would have liked it better if the National library Service had had this trilogy properly chronicled so I would have realized this was not the first but third in the series. Also would have helped if the author had put book numbers in the titles.
The Rabbit Listens, The Goon Knows
Finished reading: The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld 📚
I won't spoil it by including the message of the story, but I will say it's a good one. I was thinking, am I a good rabbit? In the bunniverse, I'm the goon. I listen, but I also have a chaotic thought process and energy which yields results that create forces and ideas not ideal for all riders.
That's okay, The Bunniverse also has this overlord--
Did I say overlord? I meant benevolent caretaker.
Anyway, she calls herself The Good Fairy. In a world where the caretaker has to put "Good" in their name, I'd rather be a goon, even if it is the punishment for not following the rules. If the rabbit listens, then the goon knows not to trust someone who needs to put "Good". Similar self-praising adjectives should also apply. The same with people smile too much, always talk in a happy voice, always insist on keeping it positive, etc.
So when the song that features She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is sung, I wonder how many people memorize a moral that was told to them. The moral being follow the always follow the rules of the one who takes care you or be turned into a creature your group, your society finds objectionable, apparently the worst possible outcome in this scinario.
Good Fairy?"
I also hope there are those who listen and follow the rules based on a trust factor. I've always valued being trusted more than I value being liked. I think that's why that song annoys the holy Hell out of me.
I wasn't in agreement with This article at first, but I was changing my mind by the end of it. It explains why I don't always answer texts right away or look at incoming notifications right away.
Now watching Drawn Together Not sure what I think just yet, but it was recommended to me by one of my pandas.
Panda
Definition
Pronounced pan-duh. My personal word that refers to someone for whom I am experiencing panalterous attraction, a grey area characterized by extreme emotional closeness without a romantic or sexual component.
Usage Examples
- Will you be my panda?
- I'm going out for some pizza with my panda later tonight.
- My panda and I are renting an apartment in downtown Kalamazoo together.
- I'd like you to meet Taylor. We're pandas.
P.S.
The feeling needn't be mutual for me to classify someone as my panda. Bringing the social aspect depicted in the above examples does require mutual consent.
The Mirror Lesson
I found this post on Mastodon and thought it was too good not to share.
Bathroom A private school recently was faced with a unique problem. A number of girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom.
That was fine, but after they put it on they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints. Every night, the maintenance man would remove them and the next day, the girls would put them back.
Finally the principal decided that something had to be done. She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night. To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required.
He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it. Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror. There are teachers, and then there are educators…
🎶 This micro blog of mine, I'm gonna let it shine! This micro blog of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.
🧑🏫 Did you know you can only follow the categories you want from The Starshipchangeling? Just see the categories link in the navigation region of any page to get started. :)
🎵🛜 Now listening to Organized Chaos on X Transmission FM with Nightdrake. She well-rounded musically, also reads a lot of books and gives enough of a fuck about me to call me on my shit. Everyone should go listen.
Swimming or Whatever
Why?
I'm live in the blind community, and one of the things that comes up is trouble accessing physical activity. Reasons for this include but are not limited to access to transportation, accessing the gym, following visual cues in group classes, etc. This means that any time a blind person appears to be getting regular exercise, other blind people want details. That's why I'm posting this. It’s not an exercise video, just a blog post by someone stuck on the idea that even written casual information needs some structure.
Disclosure I Hope Makes Me less Intimidating
I'm not particularly fitness oriented. I call any sporting event Sportsball, and some of my highlights in this portion of human existence include:
- Throwing a bowling ball backwards, not in the Nintendo Wii game.
- At the same bowling alley, I took out the bumper and got a gutter ball. We called it getting a gutter ball in a lane with no gutters.
- Tagging the barbecue grill in a game of horseshoes.
I'm also the one ordering the supersized order of fries This is why anyone who knows me is saying, An exercise routine? You? It’s also why this is not a training material
The fact of the matter is endorphins help manage my chronic pain and are cheap, comparatively speaking. Exercise is also good for helping to manage circadian rhythm disorders, from my own research to deal with my stuff. The existence of necessity combined with my general contempt for gym memberships, exercise videos, etc. (a completely different story) allow me to go into this with the understanding that I have no reason to be attempting physical activity. I don't care what I look like. I'm there to meet a need. I have, however, included a screenshot of a recent tracking session(https://starshipchangeling.net/uploads/2024/image.jpg) recorded by my Apple watch to show the results for myself.
I bring this up to tell you that if you are a blind person and if you want to be successful at something like this, you'll have to get comfortable with the idea that, when it comes to your exercise, you'll tell someone what their opinion is when you want it as long as you're not in any danger. You may even need to say so out loud. If you can get comfortable with that, you can own your exercise and are more likely to stick with it/return to it following a break. This is an underlying principle of fitness in general, I believe. The turning the not worrying about what I look like long enough to do the exercise is my personal struggle as a congenitally blind, fitness disoriented person.
Considerations
I live in Florida. My pool is outdoors, useable most of the year and appears to be open 24/7, though the earliest I have been out there is 7 in the morning. I based these adaptations on my own comfort and needs.
- Start and end in the same spot: I usually have my smartphone playing music and I set it on the corner of the pool. The distance of the sound tells me where I am. I also use markers along the length of the pool such as jets, steps and ladders for orientation. Finally, if the sun is out, I can use its position on my face to keep me on track.
- Empty Pool: I'm introverted and blind, making me an object of curiosity to people (another topic, etc., etc., etc.). My favorite thing about the pool in my apartment is I can hit the pool at 7 in the morning and be finished long before the children are out of school. This also makes it less of a problem if I veer.
- The same place for my things every time: My place is just inside the door against the fence. I know how far the pool is from there and I'm most comfortable starting from that spot. I also know how to get from the steps when I get out to my things.
The Routine
Before we begin, one final disclosure. The names of the moves are what I call them in my head. That's all. I didn't invent the moves, and please don't spend your energy replying to me with corrections. I really had to do some personal rewiring to get here, so on my starship, I call the moves what I call them. If you're reading this and yelling, "That's not what that's called!" At your computer, please relax. You can call these exercises whatever you like in your house of no imagination.
- Start the motor: Skip the stairs, take the plunge. My body deals with the shock of the cold all at the same time and I can get down to business. This is especially helpful on mornings are in the low '50's.
- Warm-up; Move my legs and arms like Gymnast Barbie for the verse and chorus of a song. I like to move everything at the same time so my body doesn't feel like it has a lot of extra parts coming out of it that I don't know what to do with, but there are a few ways to go about warming up. Also, to move like Gymnast Barbie, get to a place in the pool that is shallow enough that I can touch if I need to, but deep enough so I don't stub my toes. Then, move my arms and legs in a dog-paddle motion. I know when my body's ready to go, another benefit of regular activity.
- Free-style: I prefer to dog-paddle. I do this for a song and a half, or five plus however many laps I can take before I get tired if it's raining and my phone is safe and dry in my apartment. My pool’s a rectangle with an elbow for the stairs. I estimate it at about four yards long.
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The Big five: I do five of each of the following.
a. Ghost arm: Move around the pool using both legs and one arm in a forward motion. The total number of laps is 10. I alternate arms for a more comfortable workout, or use each arm 5 times consecutively for a more challenging session. My ghost arm, arm I'm not using, can either stay curled against my torso, or it can be used as a makeshift feeler to find walls.
b. T-Rex: Propel myself forward around the pool using only my arms. It gives my legs a chance to rest before the next set of exercises. If I'm not feeling it, I put my feet out behind me and just keep them stationary and remind myself I'm longer than normal when I make the turns. If I want to work my belly muscles (reminder: Not fitness oriented), I point my feet straight down and lift my legs in shallow areas. Another advantage here is my legs aren't completely stationary durning the time it takes me to do this exercise.
c. I forgot my kick board!: Fold my hands in front of me and use only my legs to go around the pool in a forward motion. Easier for me to write than to do.
d. Bizarro-cycle: Pretend I'm sitting upright on a bicycle, facing my feet out in front of me and use just them to move myself around the pool in a backward motion. If I'm having a hard day, I pretend I'm on an exercise bike and use my arms to help me move. If my back starts to spasm, the bicycle becomes a manually operated crotch rocket that also goes in reverse.
e. Flying chair: Sit in an upright position with my feet in front of me so my toes point up, and my soles are facing out. Then, move my arms in concentric circles to move around the pool in a forward motion. I use this one when my legs have giving up their grumbling about having to go through this routine agin in favor of an outcry to please stop what I'm doing. The extra challenge is to maintain the upright position. If my legs only grumble, this exercise usually stays on the bench as it is very time consuming.
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Cool-down: Return to Gymnast barbie position until my body doesn't feel like a coiled spring, then a shower.
Conclusion
When I first sat down to write this, I hadn’t intended for it to be a long-form post. I also hadn’t intended for it to be all about me. However, as I was reviewing the first draft, the part about not being fitness oriented, it hit me that the only way to write this in a way appropriate to my station was to make it personal. I’m not an exercise instructor, but a troubleshooter. In this case, the thing I needed to fix was my own personal attitudes toward exercise.
I’ve enjoyed the water since forever, so I’ve figured out ways to enjoy pools independently. There’s also just something about the smell of a swimming pool, the mix of chlorine and sun lotion, that I find invigorating. Combine that with changing what I was doing according to how my body felt before, during and after, and that’s how I found what worked for me. And the music, of course. That works for me more than trying to keep time.
All I wanted was a link I could give people that ask what I’m doing so I don’t have to keep repeating myself. I need a way to count words because based on the length of this, I’m the only one who read it. :P
On Today's Menu…
• Rhumatology appointment to continue receiving meds. • 'Pick up new sleepy time meds. • Eat • Take up space. • Go to the bathroom a few times. • Aspire to sleep.