Walt Wooton

Herder of cats. Teller of tales. Wrangler of truths.

Former systems editor, (Spartanburg, SC) Herald-Journal; former operations manager of the The Independent Florida Alligator (Gainesville, FL); freelance magazine writer published in The Floridian (former Sunday magazine of the St. Petersburg Times) Florida Trend, Florida Sportsman, Florida Audubon.

Favorite quote: "We're all just walking each other home." — Ram Dass
Signal: waltwooton.34
Newsletter: https://dispatches.waltwooton.com

Last Notes

2026-09-14 11:06:49 UTC

Look! A news bot! That can't tell Columbia SC from Washington DC! I think I smell AI!
Hosted on a ghost instance!
With a website that returns ERR_HTTP2_PROTOCOL_ERROR!
Let's give it a rousing Fediverse welcome!
https://vive.im/@dc/117267754117646883
#mastoadmin

2026-07-12 18:40:54 UTC

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Those writing headlines no longer have the experience or ability that they used to have.

2026-04-19 15:39:49 UTC

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"-- There's a tasty bit here we call the pope's nose. If any lady or gentleman.
"He held a piece of fowl up on the prong of the carving fork. Nobody spoke. He put it on his own plate, saying:
"-- Well, you can't say but you were asked. I think I had better eat it myself because I'm not well in my health lately."
— "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man," James Joyce

2026-02-19 21:52:22 UTC

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This is near me. It's so pitiful.

2026-02-10 13:15:54 UTC

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You are teaching us about our society, and about how we can respond as humans to make it better. Do not underestimate the importance of that.
You are writing a memoir, 500 words at a time. Everyone needs to read it. And wants to.

2026-01-10 11:23:36 UTC

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But, but ... what if the new gadgets have AI?

2026-01-10 09:47:35 UTC

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You are writing a book. A memoir. You just don't know it yet.
Maybe a grandchild could help collect your writings and begin to put the pieces together. A skeleton, if you will.
I'm very serious.

2025-12-05 06:34:43 UTC

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When my father passed at 100 I realized he had never told me things, he showed me. How to a father. How to be a son. How to be a husband. How to be a worker. How to be a boss. How to be a friend.
It occurs to me that you are showing us how to be human. That is your invaluable gift to all of us.
It's appreciated.

2025-05-14 03:37:06 UTC

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You have more friends than you know.

2025-04-03 22:40:38 UTC

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Walking toward the two of you in the distance.
@npub15t7…08hr

2025-04-03 11:34:37 UTC

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Martin Buber approves this message.
@npub15t7…08hr

2025-03-12 15:48:09 UTC

First they came for the welfare state, and the Democrats "reached across the aisle."
Then they came for the Supreme Court, and the Democrats voted for Clarence Thomas, et al.
Then they came for the election finance law, and the Democrats said, "We really should do something about that."
Then they came for voting rights, and the Democrats promised to defend them.
Then they started to dismantle the national government, and the Democrats composed strongly worded letters.

2025-03-04 04:25:55 UTC

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I felt unusually cold for a couple winters. Finally discovered I had anemia due to decreased kidney function. 🤷 My wishlist now includes a towel warmer.

2025-02-22 18:10:18 UTC

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The editor seems to use inline style sheets. Perhaps a corrupt file? My intuition would be to update or reinstall Ghost.

2025-01-30 15:11:46 UTC

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@npub1e9d…cg28
Molly White wrote on her newsletter [citation needed] why and how to move from Substack to #Ghost.
https://www.citationneeded.news/substack-to-self-hosted-ghost/

2025-01-18 12:42:48 UTC

#Journalists saw SpaceX's Starship explode with their own eyes, but many of their stories reported that it had "failed, "was damaged,"" or was "lost." SpaceX, of course, called it a "rapid unscheduled disassembly ." Now that the FAA has grounded it, they all are willing to use the "ex" word. Attributions are not needed for things you see. The Sun rose in the east this morning. Fascists are preparing to take over the American government. Now, more than ever, we need #reporting, not #stenography.
https://media.spartanburg.social/masto-media/media_attachments/files/113/849/377/944/134/353/original/0b04521fea12ab5b.jpg

2024-12-15 13:22:56 UTC

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Why is it we have smart things and stupid people, when we need stupid things and smart people?

2023-04-02 13:42:27 UTC

I am the former systems editor for the Spartanburg, S.C., Herald-Journal.
Now I am working to establish a local media nonprofit for Spartanburg. If you don’t remember newspapers from 20 years ago, you may not realize what you’re missing.
But if you were a newspaper reader then, you probably realize what the hedge fund managers that bought up local media have done to us, and to our community. Spartanburg residents are invited to join me at https://spartanburg.social.
#introduction