Blogger Headaches and Thomas Edison

I write because I love writing...and in having learned to play the piano, I had a manual dexterity in place to facilitate pretty fast-typing. Yesterday's entry of 'unknown' holiday movies was pure joy to write and fine-tune, the latter of which I do maybe just a little bit too much for my own good.

It was really pretty innocent...the post was up, and around 8am I realized I wanted to change an "i" to a "y" in one word...that was all, just one word...click on it, backspace, enter "y", then "republish"...and all hell broke lose on Blogger.

Fonts changed, type shifted, colors reassigned themselves, text disappeared, spacings vanished...it was nothing short of disaster. I have had Blogger misbehave before and it usually will correct itself in a matter of minutes...but not yesterday.

I tried every trick in the book to get it to post correctly...and it all looked fine and correct in my drafting window...but when I hit "publish" it all went out the window. So back and forth I went, looks fine - won't post, looks fine - won't post, looks fine - won't post...and typical of the situation that has never happened before, I had teased it to the viewers to go read for a chuckle...and I had to keep it offline while I feverishly tried to figure it out. I put a temporary paragraph up explaining the problems and for readers to check back...one of those situations you couldn't just let sit for another time...I had to keep hammering at a solution.

The only thing I figured I could do was to rewrite a whole new entry, which I did, and while it has minor spacing glitches, I at least got it up. And it only took a little over an HOUR for all of this to transpire...was it wasted time? I don't think so, but I sure had other things I then had to catch up and take care of...and it proved to me that this blog is a labor of love...and if one person gets something out of what I pen here most days, it's worth the effort.

In backing away from my 'trouble trees' and looking at the 'regional forest' as a whole, I question how many people today, especially younger people, have that drive to excel simply on a personal level...with our widespread technical advancements that make life faster and supposedly easier, there are often ways to cut corners in accomplishing some 'marker' on some timeline. We have clearly become a Society that is, arguably, lazy in many respects, physically and ethically...and I wonder who of us really has the moxie to reach deep down into their gut when the going gets tough...or who chooses the easier way out, rolls over, and cries 'victim' while pointing fingers at any and everyone but themselves.

Don't forget the core of finger pointing...and you can try this right now: point at something or someone...one finger points to your focus, and 3 curl back and point back at you. 'Nuff said.

And the Thomas Edison reference in the title? Keep in mind, he was no prince to his family and kids...quite to the contrary. Yet his accomplishments remain mind-boggling and felt in every corner of daily life. Life is a balance we all strive for while experiencing it slipping through our fingers all too often. But it takes work, and attention, and effort...for those willing to forge and succeed. I would like to think this quote of his has a place in every classroom and office around the globe:

"Opportunity is missed

by most people

because it is

dressed in overalls

and looks like work."

- Thomas A. Edison