Mike Melanson
mikethemelanson.bsky.social
Mike Melanson
@mikethemelanson.bsky.social
Writer/editor, cyclist, open source and outdoor aficionado. Formerly with GitHub, The New Stack, ReadWriteWeb, and more.
Are my speakers busted or is it just neutral milk hotel?
November 3, 2025 at 8:12 PM
I'm now "that cop looks like a child" old.
November 3, 2025 at 12:28 AM
My podcasts are all news and current events or AI and tech. I'd love some more deep journalism or storytelling. Got any suggestions out of the ordinary?
October 30, 2025 at 1:08 PM
A white SUV with fully tinted windows and flashers inside just went speeding up Waite St. in Hamden.

I imagine I'm not imagining things.
September 29, 2025 at 3:35 PM
I was back at 26 Federal Plaza today, where an ICE agent violently threw this bereft woman to the ground in front of her kids. She had not touched him. She did not pose any threat. She had to be taken to the hospital. (🎥: Elias Eliahu)
September 25, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Well, I definitely saw this coming.
GitHub is no longer independent at Microsoft, as CEO Thomas Dohmke resigns. GitHub is now moving to Microsoft's AI engineering team, CoreAI, with a new structure for GitHub's leadership team. Details 👇 www.theverge.com/news/757461/...
GitHub is no longer independent at Microsoft after CEO resignation
GitHub will be part of Microsoft’s AI engineering team
www.theverge.com
August 11, 2025 at 10:11 PM
so the new model is the "we dont want you to talk about which gpt it is anymore"-GPT?
August 8, 2025 at 3:17 AM
The TV show 'Silicon Valley' is a documentary.
June 3, 2025 at 5:48 PM
well, I'm happy to have made it to a point in life where I have a 401k and it's a thing I pay any attention to, but....all the money I've put in this year at 20% of my salary is all gone currently. in three days. so that's fun
April 5, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Tried to get to the riverwalk in Hartford yesterday only to find that the only ramp down to the trail was chained off for no reason, while all the stairs were open.

Why???

There's literally no other way to access the trail from downtown that I could find, with I95 cutting it off completely.
March 27, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Reposted by Mike Melanson
None of this is normal
“.. The odds of Elon getting whatever Elon wants are much higher today. .. No one ever anticipated that an industry competitor would have access to those kinds of levers of power.”

@nytimes.com
#OligarchEra 🇺🇸
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/23/u...
March 23, 2025 at 12:00 PM
I wrote a blog post about wikipedia as a breaking news source at SXSW 2010. I'm curious about its process and role these days...how it's doing amidst all this. archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes....
March 17, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Reposted by Mike Melanson
I’m hoping that when people watch this film that they get energized to make sure that we don’t lose these hard one rights and accessibility to lives that everyone else takes for granted. I co-directed Crip Camp with @nicolenewnham.bsky.social
History isn’t just what was—it’s what we do with it. We shape #PublicPolicy by remembering & showing up. #Disability Rights didn't stop w/the ADA. Nor should we. Proud to be part of #ChangeNotCharity, a powerful follow-up to #CripCamp by @jimlebrecht.bsky.social airing 3/25 on #AmericanExperiencePBS
March 17, 2025 at 4:22 PM
I don't even know how to use social media anymore. Used to feel so natural to share random thoughts.

I came to talk about my phone woes...but we're watching all the parts of the government that protect people be dismantled.
March 8, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Reposted by Mike Melanson
lol, from UK satirical magazine Private Eye
March 7, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Woke up to my Pixel phone in a boot loop.

shit.
March 7, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Reading "Ministry for the future" and it sure does ring true.
March 6, 2025 at 2:53 PM
A group of 17 states have sued the United States government. The states are asking the court to get rid of Section 504 and its new rules that protect people with disabilities from discrimination in health care and human services.

dredf.org/protect-504/
Texas v. Becerra: What it is and How You Can Help Stop the Attack on Section 504 | DREDF
This page explains what the lawsuit Texas v. Becerra is, how Texas v. Becerra threatens Section 504, and why Section 504 is important. Learn what you can do to help protect 504.
dredf.org
March 4, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Reposted by Mike Melanson
I'm scraping doge.gov - they're all about "transparency" so it was a little annoying that Cloudflare was blocking my scraper when it ran unassisted on GitHub Actions

Here's my git scraping repo: github.com/simonw/scrap...
GitHub - simonw/scrape-doge-gov: Track changes to doge.gov
Track changes to doge.gov. Contribute to simonw/scrape-doge-gov development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
February 23, 2025 at 2:39 AM
Reposted by Mike Melanson
Alt text is very important. Add it to your graphics and photos. Why deny a cross section of our society the benefit of your wisdom?
We need to keep pushing to make Bluesky accessible for all. Alt text is critically important for people who rely on screen readers, and it’s not hard to do!

If you’re struggling, ask for help or tag #Alt4Me. People will happily assist you so everyone can enjoy your content.
The reason I wanted people to keep thinking about accessibility wasn't just for the sake of accessibility, but because thinking about accessibility means thinking about others' needs and believing they matter.

Even when they aren't your needs.
February 10, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Reposted by Mike Melanson
Thank you for inviting me to tell my story, @kevinpowell.co!

The main message: you never know when this might happen to you.
My full conversation with @whitep4nth3r.com is up!

youtu.be/QYkjgd6_s4o
February 7, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Reposted by Mike Melanson
Not that it's a surprise, but Musk/Trump have now fired folks who worked on *securing elections*, including combatting foreign interference (they falsely claim this team was censoring conservatives, which is a lie).

www.politico.com/news/2025/02...
Trump continues federal purge, gutting cyber workers who combat disinformation
Roughly half a dozen employees at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency who previously worked to counter election-related disinformation have been put on administrative leave.
www.politico.com
February 9, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Reposted by Mike Melanson
The other shoe. Is dropped. Like I said, this is coordinated.
February 9, 2025 at 6:00 PM