Not gonna bother with a complete list. Mostly I’m just tired and used up this year, after three years of defending my soul from the “virus” monsters. Trying to step away from the keyboard into a more analog life.
For my own records, this item from February is probably the best new understanding of the year.
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Thinking about the instant response of Medium’s algorithm to my futile insults in comments, which was definitely a good thing. Kicked me out of a place I shouldn’t have bothered to enter.
Facebook has never cancelled or banned me despite some vastly harsher comments about the demons in charge, especially during the first year of the “virus” torture chamber.
I got thinking about the places where I’m NOT inclined to give the algorithm what it wants. Those places are Enid. When I post in Enid-related FB pages, I’m always positive and careful.
Why? Because I know the names of those people. They’re human, not algorithmic. I recognize more than half of their families, and I knew about 10 of the actual people who participate in those FB pages.
Enid is the only city that ever treated me as a citizen, and I still feel the reciprocal obligation of citizenship.
It’s also because they know my name. It’s an Okie name with historical resonance. Even though nobody else in this branch of the family still carries the name, I don’t want to disrespect my ancestors.
In fact it’s an oil name. Not nearly as big as Phillips or Champlin or Marland, but back in the 1920s it was recognizable in the oil world. The oil branch is distantly related, didn’t splash any of its money into our branch, and didn’t stay in oil very long. Still, a name is a name.
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Polistra's Mill 