I wanted to write something profound about my new handle. For a nerd, especially one who’s had the same handle for years and often uses it in real life instead of their real name, it’s a big change. But even now, with the domains registered, the server configured, and the DNS resolved, I’m finding that I simply don’t have anything to say about it.
The truly difficult part is that I don’t have any good reason for the change. Sure, I could blame the hate group squatting on a handle one letter off from my old handle or the degradation of the idea of patriotism in general in modern America, but even without those, I suspect @flpatriot just wouldn’t feel right.
In the span of a month, my hometown of St Petersburg was dealt two swift blows, the closing of a neighbourhood establishment, and the renaming the city’s newspaper to something that intentionally deemphasizes its (and my) home. The Florida I grew up believing in just doesn’t exist anymore, and I’m not sure that it ever did. That just hurts.
So with a heavy heart and a pocketful of words, I’m moving on.
