Notices by Sommer Panage (sommer@macaw.social)

I finally found a way to get myself to put my phone down… This works shockingly well for those moments when I just unlock out of habit with no real intention.

Maybe I’m getting old but…

🧵 When it came out, the iPod felt like a game changer. No more skipping disks in my CD player. I could carry multiple albums at once. My little point-and-shoot camera? So much fun! It let me capture moments, but that was all it did. It was just a camera. [1/5]

Heard someone refer to Peanut M&Ms recently as “power pellets” and I’ll be taking no further suggestions.

Delivery services are convenient—sometimes even necessary—but they also make me feel subtly more disconnected. It used to be that when a friend was sick, I’d ask if they needed anything, then swing by a local spot for their fave soup. Now, it’s just “nah thanks, I’ll dash it,” and that’s that.

If I had a dollar for every person who, at some point, told me “I thought you were a snob when I met you, but it turns out you’re just a self-assured introvert…” 🤦🏻♀️

I noticed as I’ve gotten older, I prioritize small joys more. A 5-min stretch in the morning. Using pen & paper for my calendar, not a phone. Parking far away so I can walk outside just a bit more.

I think I finally realized I don’t want to be an efficient machine, at least not all the time. 🤖

Grateful to @muan for sharing her story. So often companies let #accessibility become an unsupported labor of love from one or two employees who care deeply—without resources, title, or training. This has happened to me as well as others I know.

It’s unfair to people who rely on accessibility.

And so companies skate by with this model until “something” happens: a law suit, a major acquisition, etc., only then to start taking aaccessibility seriously. https://mastodon.social/@muan/113494844740565000

Sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm lucky and privileged to not have time to do things I want to do b/c I'm busy doing other things I want to do.

It's easy to get down on myself - like there's something wrong with me for not having 36 hour days. But there's not. Time is a finite resource. I'm making the best choices I can with it. I like those choices AND I can still be bummed to miss out on other things that don't make the cut.

Me, 14 years into my career, all the freakin' time at work: "So I have no idea what that means. Could you explain it and/or show me where I can learn more? Thanks!"

I love seeing other managers and leaders do this too. While I believe it's important for me to know my work/field well, it's also important for me to know what I need to know, ask when I don't know, trust in the expertise of others when needed, and make sound/informed decisions whenever possible.

First time doing this balance without a spot! (I normally do rope, doing straps for cross training only, so this is very exciting!) I love and am so grateful that my body can still keep learning and getting stronger. #circus

I was scrolling through some old photos and I found this shot from 2015.

In 2014 I took two years off of tech to work full time in the performing arts—coaching aerial classes and working as a vertical rope performer, stage manager and tour manager.

This shot was taken just after a show. I was in the best shape of my life, and I don’t think I ever realized how strong I was. Even at the time, I thought I needed to train harder and do more. Now, I see this and I’m pretty proud of that beefcake.

Okay I’m finally trying @obsidian ! What are your favorite hacks, plugins, tips, and tricks?!

Pretty sure at least 1/2 my job is being confused in shared spaces so that everyone says all the things and we all know more at the end somehow.

It's a "one Slack message away from crying in my car" kind of day.

*opens gym across the street called Emacs & Energy*

A new rope sequence I’m working on! The goal of the sequences to show different ways in which small bits of momentum can be used during movement! I’m going to be teaching it in an upcoming workshop series in San Carlos. Really excited to be teaching again. #circus

I often hear "let's wait til we hear from users" as a way of deferring #accessibility work from a new feature. This is not ok. It puts the burden on the user to tell you how the feature should work for them rather than starting from the assumption that all features should work fully for everyone from the beginning. It also signals to people who rely on accessibility that #a11y was considered secondarily. A11y isn't part of the feature for all users; rather, it IS the feature for some users.

This has been, already, a powerful #WWDC23 for me. Seeing the work from #accessibility in the SoTU definitely got me to tear up. As we move into a world with a new and deeply visual platform, Apple is once again pushing the industry forward by prioritizing its accessibility.

In the dev community we talk a lot about Large Text & VoiceOver when it comes to #accessibility. But there is so much more! This article beautifully shares stories about how apps can empower other aspects of people’s lives such as communication. #GAAD https://apps.apple.com/us/story/id1679594697

Me when I have friends over for dinner: “so we’ll start with this charcuterie plate and some cocktails and then we’ll have some seared tuna with seasoned quinoa and mixed roasted veggies. That’ll pair great with this wine! And for dessert I’ve made a homemade apple tart!”

Me on my own for dinner: “so we put the spoon in the jar of peanut butter and we dig”