Monday, October 29, 2007

Blog? I'd Rather Have Gum Surgery!!!!!

I've been blogging for awhile now. And one thing I can tell you - it isn't getting any easier.

I had visions, when I started out, of wafting about the house all day in my jammies, posting to my multiple blogs and smiling the whole time. Not crying tears of frustration while cursing my computer, my internet provider, Blogger and every tech "wizard" in the known universe.

My computer is, by computer standards, old and in need of replacement. In real years? That would make it three. My socks last longer!
Alan also has a computer. It's also old and past it. It has retained skills that mine has not and mine has retained skills that his has not. So most times, to post to one of my blogs, we sit down side by side, with both computers, trying to help each other out. This is not efficient, or (because of all the swearing and crying) romantic. It's just nuts.
One of the huge problems is that our security protocols keep updating. And every time they do, my range of possible activities narrows just a little more. There are some websites I can barely see anymore. There are some websites I can't even get into! Like the one I use for selling those nice books in my sidebar.

I'm a grown woman, dammit. Let me decide what I can and cannot see or do on the internet! I feel like my computer's being run by my Aunties.
Add this to the fact that (especially on rainy days) our server will suddenly drop the connection. It's nothing I've done, just... Ooopsy! And up comes the error message. Usually after I've just done something really complicated, the results of which are then lost forever.

And Blogger? Oh, don't get me started on Blogger!

Every time I sign into it these days, they've made some improvements. Which would be fine if they actually improved things. And sometimes, yes, an improvement is actually better. But usually it means I have to figure things out all over again, learning ever more HTML code. Because a little improvement over here means a total screw-up way over there. With no way out but to roll up your sleeves and fix it manually (anybody else having trouble with the centring function? If you centre your photo, it centres the text, too. And, while I'd like to believe that every word that spills from my keyboard is pure poetry, I know enough to know that setting it up like poetry will only annoy and alienate my readers. But if you don't centre the photo, the whole post just looks completely random.).

So here's my advice to the kind folks at Blogger. Quit updating! Quit making improvements! Just because you think, "Hey! It'd be neat to....." doesn't mean it would actually be neat to do it!

You've got middle-aged housewives using this software and we'd like to be able to put a day in our jammies to better use. Like TAKING A GIANT NAP!!!!!
It's called editing people! We bloggers have to learn to do it. You "Blogger tech support" types should too!

So. Because of all that I won't be posting today. But I did want to show you some pictures of the cool stuff Jim brought in recently.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh Noooo...

Now you've done it!

You've said bad things about Tech Support!!

They'll get you, and your friends will be forced to pretend they don't know you, or they'll get them too...

When you get to Tech camp, remember to horde bread. Maybe someone will send you care packages.

Anonymously.

We never had this conversation ...

Jane said...

That was an awesome rant. I enjoyed it very much. I have great admiration for your blogging, and the fact that pretty much everyday I get to read something new and interesting. I've attempted blogging for blogging sake, and it died a quiet death after about a month of inconsistent posting and was used mostly to procrastinate.

Hurray for ideas.

Janet said...

Barb,
Great rant, but now I scared since I am a techniphobe who just started her own blog yesterday, yes, yesterday and already I am confused. Guess I should just stop a five year old on the street and ask for help!
Janet

Barb McMahon and Alan Mailloux said...

Hee Hee! Thanks for the comments!

You'll send me food in Tech Camp, right?

Jane - blogs can be revived, should you so desire. But I think the early death thing is why we all get so excited about our hundredth posts.

And Janet, sorry to scare you. It's really not that bad. Just take it slowly - don't try to do everything at once.

And, yes, keep that 5-year old on speed dial...

Vineeta said...

:) I was SILING through this entire post, LOve you for calling a spade a spade! Since you've started the topic, I thought blogging would be a breeze too, it isn't for me for reasons beyond my comp ( its currently very well behaved!) Time! Will someone give me some extra time , so i do my job, keep my friends, have a life AND blog? I will make do with 28 hrs a da I promise!
And coming to blog editing- here's where I really thank you. I though I was the ONLY FOOL who was having trouble with the damn thing. And editing and laying out is my day job, Im an art director & it stumps me! SO we have each others shoulders to cry on- but I'd rather make blogger change our life for the better than cry :)

Vineeta said...

Ouch sorry for the spellos- I meant SMILING & '28 hrs a day'

Barb McMahon and Alan Mailloux said...

Yes, definitely we will make Blogger change!

I think these challenges are what make it such fun when bloggers get together!