Last night, I restored the New Year's Eve Edition of my New Year's resolutions. And today, I've upgraded it to Destination '23: Neanderthal Edition.

Before the change, I thought all that I needed to do is what I championed from the beginning. However, I yearn to slam into the new year with barbarian rage as I cleave the months ahead!

"It's easy to reset," so I thought, "just mark out Facebook and gear down to pick up the slack and feel your bucket with win." But, no, I need MORE with LESS.

Give Me the Bible

Today, I find a fundamental shift: I want to dig into the Bible, not hit a checkmark and move into a commentary or a tome of theology. I want to reread the Scripture I've read. I feel like I just began Romans 1-8—I could spend the entire year studying it. Still, I want to hit those other texts, but not cram them into my morning timeslot.

Hard(ware) to Handle Now

From there, I chose to buy memory upgrades for both my Lenovo ideacentre and my Acer Nitro 5. Both systems have 8 GB; at $22 each, it is trivial to punch up their memory by 100%. I've decided to not rely so heavily on my shiny MacBook Pro workhorse. More of that in a bit. The machine I picked up on my arrival to Memphis is my Acer 5—I don't use it much anymore. It's a low-end gaming box that I have since tossed my kids' way. But, it's superior to the hardware on my Lenovo desktop (*ahem* of laptop hardware). But, I DO like its form factor! It reminds me of yesteryear when I ran my iMac G5. Now THAT was a beautiful rig! Who knows, I just might return to that if the house search settles down and I can restore classic computers.

THIS Lenovo is snappy running Linux Mint 21.1 with Cinnamon! Perhaps macOS animated tedium dulled my perception. I prefer an os to just move along with my fingers. I'm not looking for an airshow here, folks.

The other day, I picked up a 27" display for $10 after using a gift card. Long ago are the days I bought a 9" b/w monitor for AIM. My new display flips duty between Linux Mint and macOS. It's a little fuzzy for the Mac because that MacBook M1's resolution is ridiculous. Definitely not an OS that plays nicely with the Gen X'er.

Oh, and I tossed a box of micro-screwdrivers into the cart. My prior set broke on a project back in the country. I'll no longer be using the multipurpose tweezers!

Back to Life, Back to Reality

I've taken back control of my systems. I don't have one foot in the Apple ecosystem and the other in Google's. I closed both accounts then wiped and reinstalled my Mac. Look, at what point does my circular saw dictate anything in my life? When does my wood router tell me I must confirm with my phone that I am who I say I am? Then, why do these software tools demand so much? Has my drill ever talked to Lowe's to suggest to me a new bit? Has it gossiped with Walmart about those Mountain Dew Zero's I once loved so much?

It all reminds me of Facebook, that place that stole my friends' time and humanity. I don't know how we as a people have ceded so much to URLs like Google.com and Facebook.com. They plop down around the same 12 bucks as I do every year for their domain name.

We give far much too weight to monoliths—I'd rather sign up for my INTJBill.com world! And in my application, most of my best features are available offline.

I also closed my Garmin account. Once, it was my companion, plopped down in a cushy front row seat with a tub of popcorn as it tracked every curious step and every nuanced heartbeat. But, to what end? Do I gain value in any number that is posted? I know when I hit the mark; I know when I fail. And as injury has made step count nosedive, it doesn't have much remaining purpose in my life in a context of 0 social connections. It is just an expensive nightlight.

And in the greater context, I'm really in a good position to focus on resistance training.

FO4: "Rebuild, Renew"

What shall I do? In a world without iCloud and Google, what does it look like? It's a lot like how it once looked. I even flipped my browser user to Firefox—I'm ever reminded of that mid-2000s era when its use was so prevalent!

But this does not answer the question: this is about Destination '23: NE.

I retire the Software Standards:

1. Streaming Music Platform: Google Music, Bandcamp
2. Social Media: Facebook, Pinterest
3. Task Management: Google Calendar with Google Tasks
4. Email Provider: Gmail
5. Operating Systems: macOS; Android with Google integration
6. Cloud Storage: Google One
7. Website Template: my simple design

The only standard that remains is...

Hosting & CMS: NearlyFreeSpeech with Jekyll as a static site generator.

...and when I was on Facebook, I nearly gave that up in lieu of a GitHub Pro account with a Minimal-Mistakes fork! But, as it makes no sense to leave this big about hosting & CMS there all by itself, I'm clearing it off. I don't have a problem with the design of this site, but who knows, I might add something befitting of Technoir.

And it is with a heavy heart that I must share that the 365-day shot is over. In wiping my Mac, I did not consider the low priority pics! All 25 days of my facial hair evolution are forever lost! But the yeard continues.

And I wish I could continue my Cities Skylines build. This may seem insignificant, but I was laying out Erebor in parallel to Facebook, naming avenues after friends, creating parks after them—that sort of thing. Who would I have chosen to name the university after? Indeed, the events of the year were interwoven into the build. But, it too, like the 365 shots, was lost into the digital ether. Eh, I'm glad it did because I cheesed the game with a bit of insider trading. For story purposes, maybe I was carted off to prison as a disgraced mayor.

The title to this post is a bit provocative. You might expect everything that has been written on those ad-riddled blogs. Things about eroding social skills, diminishing focus and a whole host of other maladies. I typically hear the ol' "it's for sharing family photos!" I'll tell ya what, folks' families ARE a lot bigger than mine ever was and my momma had 8 brothers and sisters! No, we plug into that outlet for the immediate little dings of dopamine. It's like we're those rats in a lab experiment. And as Facebook has literally performed experiments on its people...well, this rat isn't in his cage.

The angle I'm writing regarding Facebook simply is where does it place me spiritually. Instead of looking toward others experientially, I consider myself these past 23 days. In the lens of Romans 1:21-25:

1. Did I not glorify God or show gratitude?
2. Did my thinking become nonsense?
3. Was my mind darkened?
4. Did I claim to be wise and become a fool?
5. Did I exchange the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles?
6. Might God have delivered me over to the cravings of my heart to sexual impurity, so that my body would be degraded?
7. Could I have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served something created instead of the Creator?

Those are challenging questions. Fast-forward to Romans 1:32 and pickup those frames:

1. Do I know God's just sentence, that those who practice sin deserve to die?
2. Do I practice sin?
3. Do I also applaud others who practice sin?

I bristle at the notion of congratulating sin! I shutter! And yet, I once stood with others that I was led to believe stood on the Rock, who in June, will be whipping about their rainbow flags with gusto like Axis WWII propaganda to celebrate men in dresses dancing provocatively for 5-year-olds! "For even their females exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. The males in the same way also left natural relations with females and were inflamed in their lust for one another. Males committed shameless acts with males and received in their own persons the appropriate penalty of their error" (Romans 1:26-27).

Yes, the world's father is Satan (John 8:44). It's just jarring to me when I run across another a (non)believer who sang the songs, took the sacraments and fellowshipped with me—we prayed together, shared our sins in our repentance! When I did the Icarus thing in college, God brought them into my life and used them to pick me up. Off the top of my head, I'm reminded of 1 John 2:19 and Matthew 7:21-23. They got jazzed up over the things of God. They shoulda joined a CrossFit gym instead, 'cause they coulda at least picked up a set of abs on the way out.

And I can only think the difference between me and them is the P in TULIP: Perseverance of the Saints. When I sin—even when I'm in a season of sin, where I'll beat upon my chest and tell the world that I am their new god—each time I'll have that sobering moment and recognize the truly great benevolence and awe-evoking power of our great God. I failingly try to consider what it might be like to just have a glimpse of an infinitely holy God. Isaiah 6:5 all the way.

I don't get that draw toward repentance from those who once kneeled to the Lord and now proudly raise the banner in DEFIANCE to God. They accept whatever new ideology is the ice cream flavor of the week. I must re-examine myself: in a quest to sit at the cool kids' table, would I accept this as well? Is that ol' frog sitting in that pot on the stove? He better look around and read the signs and hop the Hell out!

God brought me to and delivered me from Facebook. He let me experience that website so that I may realize the value of Romans 2:1. That verse is not a Get Out of Jail Free - Devil May Care - Party Card to Sin, Y'all card. It's followed up about wrath. Oh, how the world fails to interpret the Bible with their no casting stones bit! Everyone does what is right in their own eyes! No, the Bible warns us, that we too, have sin. (1 Corinthians 10:12-13)

Because of our sin, all of man is on a conveyor belt to be dropped into Gehenna for their just reward. And for reasons I'll don't know beyond His purpose, my Dad knew I'd be rolling on down that conveyor to Hell, scooped me up and adopted me as His own. Can you imagine? I'm an heir with Jesus? (Romans 8:17) I'll get full run of the Universe one day!

Interestingly, Gehenna is also where Israelite kings of Ahaz and Manasseh sacrificed their children to Molech, not unlike our leaders today who abort kids in reverence to the god of the liberal.

If I may segue for a moment, as it is a topic that pops up on Facebook in its cultural promotion, I refuse to believe that when people were kids, they thought it was OK for Mommy to murder her "frogs and snails and puppy dogs' tails" little boy or to bash in the skull of her "sugar and spice and all that's nice" little girl. Ultimately like with Satan, it's pride. Me. Me. Me. Sin got 'em into a world of hurt; sin sure ain't gonna save 'em.

This world CELEBRATES that sin. And Satan just laughs: hook, line and sinker.

No, I don't want to throw in my lot with them!

But, again, it is easy to say, "Yeah, those folks are whack." And while true, I gotta examine my own heart. So, I turn the pages to Romans 3:10-18. Lemme put those glasses on again and look at my own life:

1. Am I righteous?
2. Do I understand?
3. Do I seek God?
4. Have I turned away?
5. Have I become useless?
6. Do I do good?
7. Is my throat an open grave as I deceive with my tongue?
8. Is vipers' venom under my lips?
9. Is my mouth full of cursing and bitterness?
10. Are my feet quick to shed blood?
11. Are ruin and wretchedness in my path?
12. Have I known the path of peace?
13. Do I fear God?

My First Morning Without Facebook

I had a richer experience this morning during my Romans 1-8 study. I wasn't rushed to hop onto Facebook to wade through the sponsored spam to glean value. I sat and reread the text as the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to things I didn't read the prior day.

I love being loved by God! When I recognize how He sets my heart at ease, I trust Him for the day and the rest of my life—indeed, for all of eternity. He sets purpose into my life; He has placed eternity into my heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11). And this continues through my very limited time on earth; it does not get constrained as my bones become weak and my flesh whittles away.

As the adopted boy of Yahweh, NOTHING (including me) can separate me from the love of my Dad (Romans 8:38-39). However, when I do wrong, I don't have peace. Sin runs off with my joy. Even when I puff myself up in the world's eyes, truly, I am lurking in the shadows until the ol' prodigal comes home back to the farm and his Daddy.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream.

Sin is totally ice cream. Oh, when I first get it, it goes down sweet—I can't get enough of the stuff! That thing is on full-throttle! The guy in charge of my appetite assembly line, well, he just throws his hands up in desperation and hits the doors—he is out, jack!

But, you see, with ice cream, like sin, this fervor does subside eventually. It gets to a point where I'm not feeling so great. I don't get the same rush. It has the same taste, but it's not the same. The texture starts to fall apart; it loses its form and melts. It's just a lousy imitation of something good! I become unsatisfied. I feel a little sick from that engorged belly full of ice cream. I have to put physical distance between me and it! And yet, if I eat it day-after-day, I'll put on lbs of a heavy yoke onto my shoulders. Each step up a staircase is one where I gotta muster a lot of power to trudge upward. And quite literally, that sin of ice cream will lead to my physical death. Sin extends this further, for not only can there be physical death, you can add the infinitely more pricey spiritual death.

For all of the luster built up by the promise for 2023 had conceived, I can only say I have been underserved by a mechanical clanking, Dollar Tree imitation construct of the genesis of a better me.

I barreled out of the gate. I strove hard. I downshifted and my once purposely powerful strides became haltingly heavy. "Toss overboard the excess weight. Sure, down the road, pick those things up, but right now, you need speed!" I revised my Destination '23, that New Year's Resolutions list, to just hammer on the essentials. And yet, I do less, failing to do the core. Spinning a witty turn to a remark has been my chief goal; instead of championing change in 2023, I invest in nothing. How I regret adding that afterthought of a software standard of Facebook into Destination '23!

As I've written before, I joined Facebook to give a human touch. I am not there...

1. To pound my chest to Twisted Sister's We're Not Gonna Take It and quote, "You're all worthless and weak;"

2. To thump them over the head with "the firepower of this fully armed and operational" Logos Bible library;

3. To pull out my Dad card and say, "Honey, you don't need to be wearing that," or "Now that don't make a lick of sense—you're gonna hurt yourself," or "Now, son, measure twice and cut once."

No, raining down all of that is RIDICULOUS.

When I came aboard Facebook, I thought I would be a light in the darkness. I would write a personal note to everyone who accepted my friend request. I would post trivial things on my own wall and encourage others on theirs! Join people in feeling alive!

The Experiment

I did not get much engagement. Oh, I have never been into the view counts! Today's fixation on followers is vanity and has all the substance of flatulence. Maybe they just stare in silence at my posts. I would like to think I don't spread drab all over white bread. I ran an experiment today to see what kind of feedback I might elicit.

My results at 5:47 PM:

21 hours ago

I posted a pre-game video I shot of the UofM band, its cheerleaders and even Pouncer as our fight song triumphantly played on in front of the Liberty Bowl.

Commentary: I thought this was a big ol' softball over the plate, playing to the crowd.

11 hours ago

Me in 2021: "Weightloss is remarkably easy. Don't eat sugar. Carbs are sugar."
Me in 2023: "Weightloss is remarkably easy. Don't eat sugar. Carbs are sugar. Watch out for gluconeogenesis."

Commentary: Weightloss is always on folks' minds. This was like a free handout. Stylistically, I usually would turn this into a bit of humor at the end at my own expense. That said, I didn't expect any engagement here. Sad.

9 hours ago:

This entire 129-count thread just comes off like Dilbert to me.

An excerpt: "'Now, are you on 23? Ok, you are. But do you have Logos 10? No? I'm talking about Logos 10 'features' ... not 23. What's 23? It's your software. No, no, not the LSB interlinear. Oh, you don't. Ok, no Logos 10 features, Logos 10 package? Ok, you do have that?'"

Link

Commentary: This is straight-up addressing my computer crowd.

1 hour ago

My retired passport. "The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater." -Tolkien

an image of my passport

Commentary: 1) Something Personal; 2) Travel-Adventure; 3) Tolkien! Easy homerun?

52 minutes ago

What's on Bill's mind? These lyrics again!
Nevertheless - Live Like We're Alive

Commentary: And this one was JUST for me. A potential goodbye. A callback to an earlier post.

The Results

No comments on any posts. Not so much as even a single Like. Not one.

If I ran it longer, in time, my sweet cousin would have come online and tossed me a bone.

Other Considerations

Of those who accepted my friend request, all of whom received a personal, custom-tailored note, 28% have not replied these past 3 weeks. And I include that one person from high school who immediately blocked me after accepting and sending a hand-waving emoji.

When people post anything to me, I made sure I address it on some level. That's the social expectation, is it not? Or, did I stay too long from Facebook that Dale Carnegie no longer applies? I experience this on Facebook: I'll take the time to comment on someone's post, something in which they felt warranted merit. I'll say something light and fun, taking a thoughtful approach to something they shared...it goes unanswered.

No, I did not return to Facebook to get praise. At the same time, I didn't come back to be treated like a water-stained sofa at Goodwill!

When I posted how I just lost 30+ lbs, I got what, two exchanges? When I submitted a before/after featuring my 149 lb loss: I got my most interaction. 4 people. I didn't select strangers for Facebook; I handpicked everyone.

Now, I did have had some good interactions with a select few. It was a delightful, rare highlight of January 2023 on that platform. These exist in Facebook private messages, but if Facebook has SIMPLY got to be more than an email client for me to stomach it.

The Conclusion

I have failed to engage my audience.

Facebook has played an outsized role in 2023. I cannot afford to waste resources any longer—what is the payoff? For those for whom I've had a meaningful connection, I hope it can survive beyond Zuckerberg's slums.

I'll restore & advance Destination '23 to what it should have been.

And thus Facebook is my first resolution that's canned for the year. When it comes to Destination '23 and Facebook, the venerated Spock tells us, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."