Competing or Overlapping Social Media Accounts

Between Facebook, Instagram, Substack, e-mail subscriptions, and the few blogs I follow I am finding many duplicate posts from good writers and sources. I sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed by all of the noise and think I need to consolidate most reads to just one source so I can spend less time sorting through what I have read and haven't read.

I think I am going to follow most accounts on Substack and save Facebook and Instagram for the more personal accounts from family and friends. I need to drop a bunch of e-mail subscriptions.
Honestly, there are many days that I feel like I should dump it all. 
I mean, how much real benefit is there from the time I spend on social media? 

How do you use the various social media platforms?
Do you use one for everything and stay off of the others?
Do you use one for personal stuff, another for pics or videos, another for news and information, etc., etc.?

I'm just wondering how others deal with the media's constant need for our attention and money.

John

Wednesday Wisdom

If you know me at all, you already know that I don't talk to too many people. I don't even interact much on social media forums. I've gotten much better at reading and not commenting about what somebody else has posted. I still often type out a response or comment and then delete it before posting it, but I have mostly just scrolled on. 
Also, I rarely feel compelled to read all of the comments left on others' posts.

Having said that -- people seem to have a great need to comment, condemn, or criticize other people's feelings about Charlie Kirk and all that surrounds his past and his murder. There have been a lot of hateful and hurtful things said about people that loved him as well as by people that loved him.

As is usually the case with internet arguments -- nobody is going to change anybody's mind and we just end up angry and frustrated with one another. My thoughts on this are going to be -- If you feel the need to share your feelings on this -- do so, but allow others to do the same. And just as you don't want to hear their criticism of your stance, you should allow them to have their opinions without your negative comments.
Just scroll on.

People are going to have widely varying thoughts on what they find to be important. There will be those that find someone to be important and influential while others find the same person to be insignificant and irrelevant. So what?
There are some people that are deeply moved and motivated by their religious beliefs and others that feel that any religious beliefs are just foolish scams. And still others would go to war to make others know that their god is God. 

If you want the freedom to share your thoughts, beliefs, or even just your uninformed opinions without fear or favor then you have to be willing to allow others to do the same. 
Just scroll on.

For what it's worth -- I think Kirk was a master at his manipulative craft and not a nice person at all. I think he clothed his hate speech in religion and civility and was a modern day Pied Piper that lured unsuspecting people to very dark places. Kirk capitalized (made money off of) on the fear and hate and even on the religious beliefs of others. Even today, his organization continues to make money by showing his funeral and declaring that the fight must go on. 
As I've said in the past -- Hate sells.

I've disengaged a bit from social media recently. Honestly, I've even grown weary of people that share many of my beliefs but feel like they need to fight or argue or post mean things about people that see things from other perspectives.
Just scroll on.

That's my offering for this week's Wednesday Wisdom post -- 
Just scroll on.

And if you don't like it, well ...
Just scroll on.

John

Milestones and What Really Matters

Yesterday I reached a milestone here on Out of My Hat -- 1 million views!
I'm not too overly excited about it because I know that a large percentage are bot hits that have keyed on keywords or topics -- like Charlie Kirk or politics.
I've already had twice as many hits this month as I had for all of last month.

I suppose I could post more political or controversial content and keep a steady stream of high hit days. Then I could monetize my blog and allow ads to supplement my retirement. I could start adding video and make Out of My Hat more of a vlog or blog/vlog combo. 
To be honest, I have considered doing the advertising thing once or twice over the past almost 20 years, but didn't want the added pressure to write or to choose more controversial topics. I prefer to keep it a place for me to just write and share thoughts. I've had a few angry responses over the years, even got called in to the church office over a post that somebody didn't like -- and I wasn't even on staff or holding any kind of church position!

I don't mind writing controversial stuff and I don't really care if everybody agrees with me or not. Having said that, I would rather have people feel good about reading Out of My Hat and come back often for that feeling or maybe to learn something than to be angry or come back to reinforce their own prejudice and bias.

If we have learned anything from either the mainstream media or from social media (or politics) it is that causing division and spreading hatred sells way more than sharing good news and spreading kindness and love. It also appears to be way easier to get people to hate the people you hate than to love the people you love.  
Why is that?
Is it so important for us to feel more important, more powerful, or just better than somebody else?
Are we that insecure with ourselves and who we are that we need to tear other people down?
Why are we so willing to use technology to effectively spread hatred to build our tribes than to use love to enhance our communities?

I understand that it is a part of our natural instinct to be distrustful of things and people that we don't understand. But we can overcome those ancient survival skills and be better. Humanity should be better. We don't need to remain in our small competing tribes and factions. We can learn from one another and be better together. 
Violence is the least educated or least intellectual way to address our differences. It is the way of tyrants and bullies. We are better than that.

I have a few people-ing events this week -- dinner with a small group of friends tomorrow, barchurch on Thursday, and an afternoon of cigars, conversation and a sip or two of bourbon with a friend on Friday. I'll use Saturday as a recharging day and then Sunday is our church community service day followed by a celebratory party. 

Community is hard for me.
I think I'd be better as a hermit.

John

Technology

It was time for a new phone.
My old one was just getting too slow and was becoming a bit of a pain in the butt.
I'm a cheap android guy. Although I appreciate the technology of a smarter than me phone, I'm not the person that has to have the latest and greatest phone. I need to make calls and texts, I like the navigation to connect while driving, and there are a number of apps that I use regularly but could live without.

Calendar is great for keeping me on schedule for appointments and events. but I honestly don't have that many things going on in life that it is very necessary. 
The clock and alarm feature is necessary if I want to know what time it is since I gave up wearing a watch about the same time I started carrying a phone. Of course, it isn't all that necessary that I need to know the time on most days.
Some kind of photo organizer is a good thing to have. I don't take many pictures and a good camera isn't one of the selling points that guides my selection when choosing a phone.
I do have social media apps on my phone, but have been using them less often since I turned off the notifications and they quit calling for my attention on a regular basis. I could (should) probably delete them from my phone and check them in the morning and evening on my Chromebook instead.
Google or your search engine of choice is cool for just knowing and learning stuff.
Games are okay for when you need to waste or occupy time.
Streaming apps also fill long periods of otherwise wasted time, but there are plenty of other things that can occupy my time rather than playing games or watching someone else's stories on my phone.

In reconnecting with my new phone, I am a little concerned with how much I actually use it -- and I am pretty certain that I use my phone much less than others use their phones. I may be making an effort to use it even less in the coming days. I suppose that cyclical rise and fall of usage is a part of my love/hate relationship with technology. It is a great tool, but it can also take over much of our time and undermine many of our relationships (for those of you that actually have relationships).
I'm not condemning technology. Last night I had the St Louis Cardinals on the deck TV, and the Springfield Cardinals streaming on my phone. The outdoors, the drink, and the hand rolled cigar were my connection to the low tech world.

How much technology do you use every day?
What would your life be like without it?
Even if you discount the community technology of electricity and automotive tech stuff, how reliant have we become to the growing world of technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
I cautiously embrace the advance we are making. My ignorance of what is possible has me curious. My knowledge of man's depravity and greed has me frightened.

John

Facebook Memories: a gratitude journal

I enjoy looking through my Facebook Memories. It's fun and often interesting to see what I've posted through the years. Recently I was reading about keeping a gratitude journal and how looking back over such a journal can be an inspiration for continuing gratitude in our daily lives.

Over the past 60+ years, I have started and stopped several different types of journals. Rarely have I ever looked back over what was written. I figure if I keep a gratitude journal it will probably be the same -- unless I used something like Facebook and then am reminded daily of something I posted from previous years!

I am not thinking of the big things that people always mention when talking about gratitude. I'm thinking of the simple moments. Moments like this morning. 

It's a cool morning for coffee on the deck, about 50 (10c) degrees. I have my house sweater on and a blanket over my legs. I thought about having coffee inside this morning, but I really do like being outside as much as possible. I can endure the chill this morning as easily as I will handle the heat later in the summer during the afternoons that I sit out here.
I type a line or two and then pause to watch the hummingbirds at the feeder, I just look around and breathe in the cool, damp, pollen filled air and think how grateful I am for benadryl. 

I am so privileged and thankful to be able to have this home and this retirement life. It isn't fancy nor luxurious. We are not wealthy and can't afford to be travelling or dining out at nice restaurants regularly. But we are comfortable. We have the things we need and then some. I'll spend a few hours working in the yard today and then I'll be back here on the deck with a cool drink and a good cigar (and probably another dose of Benadryl). And I'll likely end the day out here watching the fights on my Chromebook. I may even decide to sleep out here tonight.
It is definitely a good life.

I don't know what algorithms are used to pull posts for daily memories so I don't really know if this plan will work. And I won't know if it works until a year from now. But I am certain that pausing daily to recognize moments with gratitude will not be a waste of time.

Does anyone care to join me?

John

Wednesday Wisdom

 

This is how we are easily manipulated by politicians, news, social media, even conversations with friends. Be careful of what you expose yourself to in our chaotic world. Check sources. Be honest about your own prejudices.

John

Daily habits

Do you have many daily habits?
I think my only regular habits are my morning coffee and a regular quiet time.
Quiet time isn't really as much of a habit as it is a way of life. Being retired and living in a semi-rural setting kind of makes it a natural daily happening.

Before retiring and for the early years of my retirement daily walking was a habit. It's funny how walking a mile in town goes by much quicker than walking a mile of rural streets. I really haven't had a daily walking habit since we've moved to our country home. I need to make some type of daily exercise a habit. Walking would probably be the easiest. 

I suppose I could say that reading is a daily habit, since I do read nearly every day. I don't have a time set aside for reading; I just have a lot of time. 
I could say the same thing for social media. The one social media habit is to check my Facebook memories daily. I have reduced my social media time quite a bit recently and will likely continue to do so in 2025. I only have Facebook and Instagram now. I have dropped my X (Twitter account). I did set up a BlueSky account, but rarely check it and will probably drop it, too.

I have no interest in going backwards to the days of no cell phones, no internet, and less technology. However, I think that I will lean into making more of an effort toward personal contacts (at least locally) in the coming year. We'll see how well that goes.

I should make an effort to make writing a daily habit -- even if it is never published here nor seen by anyone else. Writing helps me to think things through and often brings an understanding in the same way that talking through things helps people that actually have someone to talk to. It's cathartic. 

I play some puzzle type games pretty regularly. I enjoy the mental challenge. I typically do those on my phone, but I haven't been able to work out a process for Sudoku on digital platforms. That's a puzzle that I need to do on paper.

So maybe I have more daily habits than coffee and quiet time.
What about you?

John

It's the Weekend! (or just another day in retirement)

It looks like we are going to get a break from the cold for a couple of days. It won't be a big deal, but I'm all for a little warmer weather. 

Today's kindness will be doing a little housework before Chris gets back home later tonight. It's really not too big of a deal since the house never really gets that messy with just the two of us, and it's only been me for the past few weeks. 
It might seem like a bit of a cop out, but being kind to your spouse or partner should be a pretty regular behavior, don't you think?

As a kindness to myself (self-care is also important), I recently deleted my X (Twitter) account. Since the BlueSky platform is still underdeveloped and I don't think it will be something I really use much, I am saving a lot of time that was once spent on social media platforms. I am now spending that time trying to learn Spanish on a learning platform.
I took advantage of a Black Friday promo to re-subscribe to The Great Courses plus. It has a vast library of educational and informational courses to take and costs less than the monthly ESPN+ subscription that I just cancelled. The only thing I really used the ESPN+ subscription for was to watch the UFC events and I'm sure I can find them elsewhere when I really want to watch them. A little education is a better use of both my time and money. 
With The Great Courses plus app on my phone, I can keep up with the classes on my phone, on my Chromebook, or on the TV via Roku. Maybe I'll end up being a Spanish speaking, ukulele playing, master gardening herbalist by the end of next year! There really is a plethora of courses available.
Chris might find something she wants to learn about, too.

I didn't leave the house yesterday (not even to get the mail!), but I need to run an errand for Chris today, so fair warning, public! John will be on the loose today!

With new stuff to learn, books to read, and cigars to smoke -- who has time to interact with people?
I hope you can understand how being nice to people can be such a challenge.

John

Twitter/X; Should I Stay or Should I Go?

I've been considering leaving X for some time now, but haven't yet. I get a lot of my news from the sources I follow there. It has become such a platform for misinformation and there are just so many ads that I spend most of my time scrolling rather than reading.

+ I like that I can follow accounts without being followed back or that individuals can follow me and I don't have to follow them. 
+ I like that there are many sources and varieties of sources available.
+ I like that it is a popular social media platform.
+ It's free

- I don't like the ad targeting, but realize that I'm going to get that (to some degree) anywhere.
- I don't like that I'm seeing fewer posts from accounts I follow and more targeted posts that seem to be aggressively opposite to my tastes.
- I am not a fan of Elon Musk.

I don't know if Blue Sky will be the social media platform that people switch to, or if it will be something else. Blue Sky began in Twitter, before Twitter was bought by Musk, and has since separated. I've done a little reading about it and have opened an account there. I decided to stick with the  magicianary handle even though it really isn't me anymore. Look me up if you are on Blue Sky.

I have been working on spending less time on social media. I do like using Facebook to stay in touch with friends and family, especially since I never actually see many of them in person. Maybe I'll just drop X and not replace it with anything.
Facebook, Instagram, X, etc., can be good connections to news sources, but it's easy enough to go direct to the news sites or get links to breaking stories sent to your phone. The social platforms can be entertaining if you are entertained by the stories, experiences, and stupidity of other people's lives. They can also be educational if you choose to follow sites that share science, history, art, etc.

Since I only have a couple dozen direct followers to Out of My Hat, chances are good that you are here from a social media link. I don't think that people read or follow blogs as much as they once did. Both Facebook and Twitter were pretty much in their infancy when I started blogging and personal blogs like mine were popular. As more and more people turned to those platforms for expression, most of the blogs I followed just disappeared.

I suppose I have continued publishing Out of My Hat because writing helps me to organize the thoughts in my head. I don't expect to be a great influence in the world, nor do I think that my thoughts and ideas are particularly brilliant.
Mostly writing just gives me something to do.

Admittedly, I like when people read my words and feel moved to respond or leave a comment. I miss some of the bloggers that I once followed and that followed me. I wonder what they are doing and why they decided to quit blogging.
Some of us have kept at it, perhaps because we are set in our ways and unwilling to adapt to the changing world. We're like the group of old people you might find gathered for coffee and breakfast at any given McDonald's in any small town in the US. We often have different perspectives of the world around us, but the blogger community seems more reasonable about our areas of disagreement than other social platforms.

For now, I'm just going to leave this here. Maybe the only change I'll make is to spend less time on my social media accounts. 

John

Celebrity Influence

I've been thinking about how we tend to celebrate or demonize celebrities. It appears that we tend to celebrate the celebrities that agree with us and demonize the ones that don't. 
The real question should be -- Why do we give them any credibility at all on subjects that they know very little about?

Taylor Swift should be a go-to person if you are talking about success in music or entertainment. 
When it comes to politics, you might as well listen to Kid Rock or Ted Nugent.
If you want to know about acting or showbiz - sure, Tom Hanks or Meryl Streep would be great sources of info. But why would you consider their opinion for addressing climate change?
Haliey Welch (hawk tuah girl) might know something about capitalizing on random fame from YouTube videos, but I don't think she's well qualified to address the national economy.

I suppose it is good that many celebrities use the platforms they have to sway public opinions to match their own. Maybe I would do the same. But it seems that social media and streaming platforms like TikTok and YouTube have become equal to news sources for information when they are nothing more than opinion peddlers. 

I like that there are professional athletes that create charitable foundations that give back to the communities that support them. I think that is important and shows their character over those that don't give back in some way. But does giving millions of available dollars to homeless people vs buying a luxury lot make one more or less of an expert on whether or not we should wear masks during a pandemic?

I'm not big on idolizing those that do well in their chosen field.
Like you, I've known people that have had many different jobs -- firefighters, police officers, healthcare professionals, military service, auto mechanics, janitors, fastfood workers, etc. All of those are important jobs. In truth, I rarely thank a veteran or first responder for their service. It's their job and I hope they do it well.
There are many professions that I believe are undervalued which means they are under-appreciated and underpaid. Teachers are probably at the top of my list.

It would seem that the thing we value the most is entertainment. Our professional athletes, actors, musical entertainers, etc., are the ones we greatly value. We devote much of our lives to watching and following them and give them much of our money, as well.

Where do you spend your entertainment time and money?
I've started spending way less time on sports in the past few years. I think it's mostly due to spending less on television packages that include local broadcasts for Cardinal baseball and Blues hockey, but it may also be that those things have become less important to me.
I do enjoy watching MMA fighting and generally spend Saturday afternoon/evenings watching the fights. I have favorite fighters, but none that I would put on a pedestal to give credence to outside of fighting. 
I do wonder why celebrities (or even businesses) would take a chance on putting off half of their fans or customers by making political statements, but to each their own. 

I know I'm cheap. I don't pay for streaming music. I'll listen to Pandora with the ads. I don't pay the additional cost to watch Amazon Prime ad free. I don't have a cable or satellite subscription that includes ESPN or some subscription only news sources.
I do have online subscriptions to The Washington Post and the NY Times. I follow several news sources on X, but don't have the premium ad free version of X.
I'm okay with not listening to anything other than the outdoor sounds around the deck or the gentle wind chimes that hang where the hummingbird feeder once did.

I generally view most other than news sources as having suspect credibility, and am even careful about trusting some journalists and dedicated news sources.

How much news do you believe when it comes from people on streaming services or social media?
What news sources do you trust?
What friends do you trust to check their sources before sharing info on their pages or platforms?
How much misinformation do you have to sort through to find any truth?

John

IG Threads

It's almost daily that I now receive invites to view content on Instagram Threads. I often click on it based on the content, but am then directed to the Play Store to download the app since I didn't initially realize that it was a Threads post. I see that some of my IG friends are on Threads, But I have to ask myself if one more social app is something that I really need. While I am reasonably certain that my life will go on perfectly fine without it and I don't have FOMO anxiety, I still wonder if there are any good reasons to get it and adapt.

So...
To those of you that participate, tell me why I should get it.
What are the benefits or advantages to being on IG Threads?
I don't really need anything to occupy more of my time and likely already spend more time on social platforms than I really should. Will this experience enhance my life in any way?
I dropped my LinkedIn profile several years ago. As a willingly unemployed retiree, I didn't see how keeping up such an account was beneficial. 

My current social platforms include Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (does anyone really call it X?).
Should I add threads or not?

John

Wednesday Wisdom

No cute meme or inspirational quote for today's Wednesday Wisdom post, just a bit of friendly advice -- Be flexible.

Today I skipped my normal routine. I was supposed to go into Springfield for an early morning tour of the Child Advocacy Center, but opted out and enjoyed the gentle rain while drinking my coffee on the deck. I also skipped scrolling on my computer while I read for a couple of hours and finished reading my latest library book, David Baldacci's The 6:20 Man.
I have a few books ready to read and may opt for a non-fiction next. Maybe I'll go back to reading more than one book at a time.

I do realize that I have the privilege of being more flexible than most. My mornings are pretty routine and today wasn't vastly different from most days, but I do hope to spend way less time on social media in the coming days and weeks. I have enjoyed spending more time reading over that past several weeks, especially when it is too hot to be active outside. Reading for education instead of entertainment is something that I need to add to my day, and cutting time on social media will help with that.

Another flexibility thing --
I'm not always at my best around people, but I have been working on it. Maybe I need some semi-regular outings or encounters with people. It is sometimes difficult to convince myself to leave the quiet and comfort of the deck. People encounters are mostly pretty meaningless as they are usually with clerks at stores or something. I rarely meet with people for genuine conversation. 
I should probably be more flexible about that even though it is a lot of work for me.

I struggle to find volunteer things to do because volunteering usually means doing something that meets the needs of other people, and it's being around people that keeps me on the deck.
I know -- I need to take my own advice and be more flexible!

This turned out to be way more than I was planning on writing for today. Flexibility is sometimes just going with flow. I hope you are managing to flow through your week. Maybe I'll see you for Thursday Theology; maybe I won't. I'll see how flexible I am tomorrow.

John

Enough with the foolishness

It's early on April Fools' Day and I am thinking this would be an excellent day to stay off of social media. There is enough foolishness in our world without adding to it. I normally enjoy humor and pranks as much as the next person, but I'm feeling a little "Bah-Humbug"-ish this morning.

Maybe it's the grey, overcast sky and the impending April shower that has me feeling this way, but I don't really think so. I am actually hopeful for some good seasonal rains to water the flowers for me. 
Sitting on the deck for my morning coffee and quiet time is quite relaxing this morning. The birds seem to be a little extra loud as they feed and fly this morning. Perhaps they are working extra hard in preparation for April's first thunderstorm which is expected later today.

I think the low clouds tend to make the noise from the nearby highway a little louder and audible from farther away than usual. It's surprising how much you can hear when you take the time to listen. 

Perhaps that's the real problem in our world today -- nobody is really listening.
Or maybe we just hear too much foolishness that we are no longer paying attention to anything that anyone has to say rather than sorting through the noise to find the important voices. 
I've found that I can usually sift through the noise by eliminating the voices that have proven track records of spewing bullshit or constantly adding negative, complaining voices into the cacophony. 

Hmmm...
Maybe every day is an excellent day to stay off of social media.

What voices are you allowing into your life?
How's that working out for you?

It's something to think about.

John

Wednesday Wisdom

No meme today; just a thought about a lesson I'm still learning.

Silence is hard.

I've gone from being vocal and arguing
to being more contemplative and discussing
to being silent.

On social media--
I've gone from responding
to typing out a response that I delete before publishing (usually)
to just scrolling on.

It's still hard.
It's easier to avoid people and stay off of social platforms.
But (slowly) I'm learning.

Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
Proverbs 17:28

John

Feeling Disconnected -- and it's not a bad thing

I really don't watch much TV, and that includes the news. I primarily get my news from my Twitter feed and the news links I follow there. As I've pulled back from my social media time, I am beginning to feel a little disconnected from the big world. That's not entirely a bad thing. There seems to be enough connection to my small world to occupy my thoughts and time.

I don't want to be entirely oblivious to what's happening in the country or world, but I don't want to be burdened by it either. I'm wondering if there are a handful of Republicans in the House that recognize the idiocy of the party leadership that wants to hold the nation hostage over whether or not we should pay the bills we owe. I'm happy to ignore most of the shitshow that is happening under the divided GOP. The US should not negotiate with terrorist hostage takers, even if it is our own Congress!
I get so damned mad when I think about their self-serving brand of patriotism that I am reminded why I have reduced the time I pay attention to them. I don't want to be uninformed and ignorant, but neither do I want to be engaged with people that are uninformed and ignorant.

The thing that made me aware of my disconnect was someone asking me about the JFK nearmiss that happened on the runway earlier in the week. I hadn't even heard about it and had to look it up when I got home. The most disturbing thing that I read is that such runway incursions (the air traffic term for unauthorized vehicles or aircraft on an active runway) are up by a staggering amount over the past several years. It doesn't seem that the FAA has determined a reason for the rise in incidents, but somebody (either controllers or pilots) isn't paying enough attention to what they are doing.

By the way, I am coming up on the 8th anniversary of my retirement from the air traffic control gig. Another retired controller subtly shamed me for how little I've accomplished in my retirement years - not really. I fully embrace my non-productive retirement life. If others feel the need to be gainfully employed after being forced to retire at a younger age - well, good for them! They can serve on community or organizational boards and committees to their heart's content. They can work as contract controllers or teach ATC at the academy and pad their retirement nesteggs. I'll plant flowers, read books, and smoke cigars.

*****

In other news...
It appears that winter is returning to the Ozarks. After several days of a little warmer weather, it looks like our crisis cold weather shelters will be open for the next few weeks with few to no breaks. If you are in the Springfield area and would like to help, here is a sign up link for the Asbury Shelter where I work. If you include the staff coordinator that is on site and the one that is at the dinner/sign up it takes 16-17 people (more than a dozen volunteers!) each night that we are open. 
I'm sure other shelters have similar needs and sign-up lists. If we're full for a night you are available, let me know and I'll see if I can connect you to one of the other shelters.

Stay warm.
Be well,

John

Wrapping up 2022

Although I've posted nearly every day for the past two months, I am down a bit for posts for the year. This is my 170th post this year and post #2499 overall. My first post of 2023 will be #2500!

I don't know that there is much to glean from my experiences of 2022. I can't look back and see that it was a particularly good year, nor was it a bad one. I enjoyed some time with friends and family, but have also parted ways with a few people along the way. 

I was looking at my social media accounts recently and made a few observations. 
Facebook is my longest held account and now consists mostly of relatives which I apparently have a bunch of! While I don't have many past coworkers as FB friends, my associations through NATCA (the Air Traffic Controller's Union) probably account for the next largest group of "friends." There are fewer friends from church (or past churches) than I would have guessed, and fewer still from classmates and people from my hometown. I think I have way more social media friends than actual friends, but that's probably true for all of us.

Instagram has a lot of crossover followers from FB, plus a bunch of people that I don't really know but like their content. I like that I can follow someone on IG and they don't have to follow me back and vice versa. I do try to limit the bot followers on both IG and Twitter. I could probably tighten up my privacy settings, but haven't. I have fewer followers than on FB, but am I following more accounts that don't follow me back.

Twitter is my most used account as far as where I scroll and look for news or content from others. I follow a few celebrities and authors, but mostly I use Twitter for news content from a number of varied sources. I follow more than twice as many accounts on Twitter than I have as FB friends and also have the most followers of my social media accounts. 

I rarely use the "story" features of accounts and seldom post any original video content. 
I try to assess my social media usage from time to time to make sure it's not getting out of hand and isn't going to get me into too much trouble from a security or content issue.
I do spend way too much time watching the stupid (but often entertaining) videos that are posted. That's the time suck I find myself in most often.

*****

Since I use the Kindle app on my phone for reading, that is most likely the area of greatest screen time. I have read on my Kindle app every day this year (sometimes only a chapter or two) and am up to 495 consecutive days. Even though i do read every day, I have finished just fewer than 80 books (78) this year. I know that is still a lot of books; it's just fewer than I was expecting.

*****

I got a haircut yesterday (the first is several months) and shaved my face. Now all I have to do is lose 60 pounds by midnight and I will look clean and healthy to start 2023!
Maybe I'll get a little more exercise next year. Maybe I'll smoke fewer cigars. Or maybe I'll end 2023 much the way I'm starting it. I pretty much take things as they come and try to enjoy the present moments of life. I hope to see more of you face to face in the coming year. If not, we can continue to meet here or virtually on another platform. 
Here's to 2023!
May it be a good one for all of us!

John

Venting

If you are looking for a happy, feel good post you probably want to scroll on past this one. 
If you are keeping the negative bullshit out of your day, scroll on.
Don't want to read political crap? Scroll on.
You've been warned.
Here we go,

First - railway workers
How the hell does workers wanting sick leave pay turn into the workers are willing to shut down the economy for their own benefits? Why isn't it that the multi-million dollar profit railway companies are willing to shut down the economy to make a few more dollars rather than treat their employees decent enough to allow sick leave?
And why the f#@k is a Democrat/back-the-working-class president signing a bill to force workers to accept a contract they don't want? If you can't side with the workers then stay the f#@k out of it, Uncle Joe. 
Yeah, that really pisses me off.

Second - terminate the Constitution
I've pretty much stayed off the political rants this year, but the silence from the right over a Presidential candidate that wants to terminate the Constitution is really all anyone that was in doubt needs to hear to know that democratic rule isn't the objective of that political party. If you are still supporting this party in ANY WAY, you are complicit with traitors to the country and are as treasonous as they are.
Why isn't anyone speaking out about this?
If they want to keep the GOP intact, they need to cut ties with Trump, cooperate to see him prosecuted for all of his illegal and treasonous activity, and move on without him. It is possible that they have waited too long to be able to salvage anything, but such is the fate of corruption. 

I think the midterm elections are indicative of how Americans feel. There was no red wave and Democrats lost control of the house. Both houses of Congress are pretty evenly divided, but rather than take that as a sign that they need to work together, each majority party - no matter how slim the margin is - sees it as a sign that they move on their party's agenda without compromise. Our legislature is no longer about governance; it is about power and who gets to rule.
Ugh!

Whew!
I needed that. A controlled vent is sometimes needed. Just writing it out makes me feel better. Now I'm debating with myself over whether or not I should post it. I think I will - not to stir up shit or anything, just to give you permission to vent as well. 
By the way, I've cut back on my social media use a little bit and think I'll continue to do so. I may be lurking in the background a bit, but I hope to slowly fade from some platforms. We'll see how that goes. I'm afraid I'm pretty hooked.

I should probably stay away from people for a few days (including virtual contact).

John

New Twitter

I'm thinking about Twitter and the hub-bub around its purchase by Elon Musk.
I've kept my account and haven't noticed a great deal of difference other than I am seeing fewer tweets from the less conservative news feeds and posters that I follow.

I don't know if it is because they have decided not to use this media or because of a design to limit what I see in the way of more liberal posts. Or maybe it is just an untimely coincidence.
Just an observation.

When I feel like taking the time, I may go to certain sites directly to see if they are posting stuff that just isn't making it to my feed. That would be interesting - free speech says they can post what they want vs ownership saying they'll share certain things less than others.
Hmmm...?

For now I'm not concerned enough to take the time to examine it. Maybe some news feed is already on it.
Admittedly, I am subjected to confirmation bias - leaning into posts that agree with my positions more than those that don't. I do try to be educated about my positions and try not to rely on only a few select sources for information to come to my conclusions, but I imagine most people feel they do the same.

I'll keep my Twitter account for the time being. I'm not going to pay to keep it. I expect there will be more advertising, but that is the cost we all pay for free social media. As with other social media platforms, I have relatively few followers and try to be selective about the accounts I follow. The Musk model of say what ever you want and let the public sort out the truth is too tiresome for me so I fear I may have to abandon Twitter at some point. Differing opinions are one thing; outright lies and purposeful misinformation is another.

Have you noticed any changes in your Twitter feed?
Just wondering.

John

Who Are Your Friends?

I've been considering whether or not it's time for another social media friend evaluation. It would seem that I've gained a number of Facebook friends that I have relatively little in common with, along with IG and Twitter followers that I have even less commonality. In truth, I don't mind the IG and Twitter followers as much since I don't have to follow them back, but I try to keep from having a bunch of bots and fake accounts following my feeds. 

There are a number of Facebook friends that I no longer "follow" but have remained my friends because I generally don't like their posts (which is different than not agreeing with them), but still consider them friends and secretly hope that they still follow me though I expect they don't for the same reasons. 
I also have a growing number of "friends" that know me from church but I don't really know (also true for old school mates and other groups).
And then there are the people that I really don't have (or expect to have) contact with any more. It's not that I don't like them or wouldn't be friendly towards them if we did meet; it's just unlikely to happen.

Anyway, I've long ago ceased using social media as a marketing tool for preaching or magic and have already dropped most of those contacts from my feeds. I realise that my social accounts probably shape other people's thinking about the same way their posts shape mine--little to none at all. 
As I work on cutting back on my social media time, I'll probably also cut back on the contact list. I don't mean to offend anyone and this isn't that I don't want to be friends or friendly. It's just a little self care. It will probably be a poolside project in the coming weeks.

How do you determine your social media friends/followers?
Everybody that asks or super selective?
Are your social media accounts primarily for you to share your posts or to see what others are sharing?
I'm curious.

John

Youthful Arrogance vs Old Man Wisdom

I saw this tweet posted on my cousin's Facebook page.

She didn't write it, but she's a pretty sarcastic person so she could have.
I found it especially funny because I was just commenting about how there are so many young people coming up with and sharing great pearls of wisdom on everything from raising children to just being a better more thoughtful and positive person.

I'm not saying they shouldn't share their wisdom with others, it just seems funny how sure they are that they have all the answers to life. My poor generation and all of the others that have gone before us were doomed to living life in our ignorant, and unenlightened state of existence. 
To be fair, I was pretty much the same when I was in my 20s and 30s. We all probably were. Fortunately, we didn't have the internet and social media (WE hadn't invented it yet) to showcase our unearned arrogance to the world. 

Honestly, I have a great deal of hope in the coming generation of young adults. I do hope they do a better job of living life than my generation. God knows we have messed things up. The earth, the political climate, the inequitable wealth distribution, the social injustices, --I could go on for a long time. 

I doubt that any of them want to hear from a grumpy old guy that spends his days smoking cigars and sipping 10 year old bourbon (yes, that's what I'm doing right now). Hell, most of my own peers probably don't care what I think. But wtf. Feel free to scroll on by.

Here's my wisdom for the day.
Maintain an attitude of gratitude. 

I am well aware of the privilege that allows me the freedom to sit and sweat on my deck (it's 92 in the shade), enjoying a good Nicaraguan cigar and sipping bourbon while spewing nonsense that only a few will read. 
I spent a couple of hours this morning working in the yard, and we went into town for lunch and got to chat with a couple of old neighbors. I pretty much get to choose what I do or don't do--every single day.
Yesterday I took a short motorcycle ride to meet Chris and some friends for dinner.
Today we'll have a good meal at home. I don't worry about having enough to eat. In fact, I have more than enough
...and I am grateful.

I do wish I was more kind.
I'm learning kindness (still).
I wish that filter thing between my brain and my mouth worked better than it does and wouldn't say stupid things (or type them out in social media comments) as often as I do.
Sometimes I wish it was easier to make friends, but then I think I'd have to be around people more often and realize how grateful I am that that isn't the case.
I am grateful that I'm not as arrogant as I once was and that I can make allowances for those that are still learning the difficult lessons of life.
I wish I had learned them earlier.

It's become easier to admit mistakes and learn lessons.
It's become easier to make allowances for others that are still struggling with knowing everything and having to deal with us old fools.
When it comes to people skills, I'm a bit of a slow learner.
When it comes to retirement, I'm doing okay.

John