Monthly Archives: August 2020

Writing with Spiders

Towards the end of my last post, using Classic Block in the new block editor, I ended up getting three blank screens and three error messages in the last couple of paragraphs.

I say “last couple of paragraphs” but according to the Block Editor, which seems to have a fetish about paragraphs, the whole post was only one paragraph. It must be something about the way the block editor works that makes it all count as one paragraph, because there were definitely plenty of paragraphs in there.

At that point I contacted WP about cancelling my account. I had had enough. No matter what I think about the added button pressing or other things I could cope with that but the added random glitches and the sense that I was fighting with the machine were more than I could take.

It seemed that I was still able to cancel and get a full refund on next year.

I have the blog content downloaded.

I was going to leave an email address in one last post and make a note of various domain names and I was one key stroke away from cancelling when the helper on the chatline actually started trying to help.

The result is that I have now downloaded the plug-in version of Classic Editor. It’s not actually the last editor, but the one before that. I suspect it’s a way of really rubbing it in that those of us who want to stay retro have to suffer the indignity of being relegated to WP’s version of a spider infested dungeon.

Still, I’d rather talk to spiders than web developers…

It’s refreshing to be using a no-frills version once again, and very relaxing to sit here with something that does exactly what I want, and leaves it where I put it on the page. No random movements, no surprise tool bars or dialogue boxes, no missing buttons and no sudden disappearances of a couple of hundred words.

This version counts my words and displays them at the bottom of the screen, and it saves automatically (which is something the other version seemed to have stopped doing some months back).

The only remaining problem I have is with WP’s management of the change.

I am not sure the change was necessary for a lot of people, who just come here to blog.

I’m not sure, from the strange faults I was getting, that it suits all set-ups (I’m still using XP and a variety of ancient bits and pieces. My computer equipment is getting on too.

I don’t like it that the new system requires more button pressing than the old one.

I don’t like having a change forced on me, particularly when I’m paying for a service.

I don’t like being told that WP are improving things for me, if only I wasn’t too stupid to appreciate it, which is the attitude that came across several times when I read a discussion thread.

Nor do I like the fact that they locked the discussion thread just before they forced me to change. I wasn’t even aware there was a programme of forced conversion until after it happened.

And I certainly don’t like that I’ve ranted my way through the last few days when I should have been writing about more interesting things.

The photographs are a bit slower than the last editor, which was bad enough, but I suppose I can get used to that. It’s only for 12 months, because I’m going to look for a new platform and start a new blog well in advance of the next renewal date.

My Final Word on the Subject

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I’ve just realised where I have been going wrong with the new Block Editor. I’ve been approaching it from the position of believing it to be better than the previous version, and simpler to use. I based this on the fact that WordPress used words like improved, intuitive and effortless.

I also allowed myself to be confused by the idea that one of the world’s best known blogging platforms would base its improvements on making blogging easier and that as I pay £240 a year there is a contract between us that they will deliver a decent service in return for the money.

When I look into it, it seems that the changes are all about allowing creativity and website design, which are not things I’m concerned about. I want to write a plain blog and if I’m told that it will be “improved, intuitive and effortless” I’d like my blogging to be better and easier tomorrow than it was yesterday.

That’s like buying a car to use for shopping and day-trips, only to find out that the car company has redesigned it to be better at brain surgery.

I don’t need that.

So, that one is solved – it hasn’t been re-designed with bloggers in mind, it has been designed for creative people (because bloggers clearly aren’t creative) and to create work for the WP team.

So, it isn’t actually improved.

Intuitive? I don’t think so. If it was I would be able to use it instinctively.

Effortless? I now have to press buttons for things like word count that showed automatically. I have to select the Classic block where I used to go straight into the editor. If I want to pin my toolbar to the top of the post (where it used to be automatically pinned) I now know which buttons to press to do that. None of this extra button pressing seems like less effort, so unless my dictionary has gone wrong (ie been re-designed by web developers) this is not “effortless”.

We then come on to the management of change. There was no discussion, I just switched on to find I had been forcibly placed in Block Editor. I don’t feel this is a good way of doing things. If I want to be bullied and forced into doing things I have Julia and the Government to do that. WP is supposed to be my escape from all that.

Then there is the glitchiness. During the writing of this post I looked up from the keyboard to find a blank screen and a fault message. This is the second time this week. Fortunately the post was saved in draft. I have also experienced a variety of missing buttons and other unexplained phenomena, such as things opening that I didn’t want.

I’m going to give up at that point – the editor has shut me out twice in the last two lines and I have struggled to get the text back. That’s three times in total. This shouldn’t be happening.

I’ve also got the “Convert to Blocks” box up again now – I thought I was in blocks.

Just when I thought it was all fixed…

I don’t have a picture of an elderly man crying tears of frustration, but if I did I would use it as the Featured Image, I promise you.

It Seems to be Getting Better

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Well, let’s see what it throws at me tonight.

Actually, it doesn’t matter what happens. Instead of throwing words into a post I’m sitting here wondering what could possibly go wrong.

I’m currently wondering why, after selecting the Classic Block I have a box popping up intermittently with “Convert to Blocks” in it. What do they expect me to convert? I’m already, as far as I know, in a block.

I just pressed it to see what would happen and the toolbar associated with the Classic Block disappeared. I do, however, have a sidebar which tells me that the paragraph is the building block of all narrative. As I’ve been blogging for nearly six years I’m not sure why some condescending machine that can’t even spell cheque or grey correctly should seek to educate me on the art of writing.

At least nothing else bad is happening so far.

I’m very tempted to write a Ten Reasons to be Cheerful post, but do Ten Reasons to be depressed.

Number One, as one of the Executors of my Dad’s will I have lost a letter I should have sent back to the accountant last week.

After that my WordPress worries don’t rank that highly in the top ten.

This isn’t because they aren’t extremely depressing (taking away my ability to relax and take refuge in writing) but because I know I could end the problem quickly and cleanly by going to another blogging platform.

That’s what makes some things difficult and some things less so – the degree of control you can exert.

Thanks to Derrick I now know how to find the word count. Now I am interested to know why I need to press another button to find something that used to be there in plain sight.

It’s almost like someone altered the editor to show how smart they were, rather than to make it better to use. I just want a system where I can put words down one after another, because whatever the new editor tells me – words are the building blocks of narrative.

Well, it looks like a lot of the problems I was having have not appeared tonight. Maybe this is coincidence,maybe it is because faults have been fixed. I still have to press a number of extra buttons just because some geek with a degree in IT values form above function, but at least I can write again.

Well, nothing is certain, but I am beginning to hope.

Now I have to find the photos…

Look into my eye, you can see a reflection of my arms taking the selfie.

I wonder how you spell narcissistic?

Things get worse

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When I first used a computer, I was 29 years old. I had returned to college in an attempt to secure a proper qualification (City & Guilds in Poultry Production (Part II) was not particularly impressive, and unless I was up for a job against somebody with only Part I, it didn’t seem likely to do me much good.

And so there I was – one of only two people on a course of around 40 people who didn’t have either a degree or a Higher National Diploma. I think I was the only person on the course who had never actually touched a computer.

Fortunately, it seemed, most of the people who had used computers hadn’t really used them properly. The instructor started off by telling us that most people used word processors like typewriters and that this was wrong as it had so much more to offer. The secret, he told us, was in cutting down the number of keystrokes.

I thought of that today when starting WordPress. I have to start by selecting a block, which is several keystrokes I would not have had to make if I had been able to stick with the old editor.

All this calls into question the concept of the new system being an improvement.

I just looked for my word count. I still can’t find as way to count the words as I type. Another unimprovement.

It’s 236. I just opened a word document, copied, pasted and checked the count. More useless key strokes. Does anybody know how to get a word count in the Classic Editor block? And if there is a way, does anybody know why it is no longer automatic?

Anyway, enough about WordPress, as other people have also been lying to me today.

This includes two customers and eBay. In two cases there’s nothing I can do about it – eBay is a monopoly that does what it likes, and one of the customers, though undoubtedly not telling the truth is unassailable because I can’t prove it.

The third one, I can prove, but the shop owner is refusing to take action.

It’s very frustrating and I am quite upset by the lack of news rel

And at that point all my text disappeared. I started a new blog post with the words below.

After writing over 300 words I have just been confronted by a blank page and a message “This block has encountered an error and cannot be previewed”. So much for the new and improved version.

If I were writing a story about one man’s struggle with technology even I wouldn’t make up a system so malevolent that it wiped out an hour’s work just like that.

I saved the draft and was surprised to find the whole post had been saved, including the two paragraphs I had written on a blank page after the first part disappeared.

Unfortunately, although I had typed them in a Classic Editor Block, they aren’t in it now and I can’t get the tool bar up. I have tried several times, but it won’t work.

It shouldn’t be such a struggle just to write a blog.

No photos tonight. I am losing the will to write.

The Fun Departs

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Here I am again.

It told me I could start typing or select a block, so I started typing. The only problem was that there was no bar for editing. So I deleted the first two sentences, selected a block and started again.

So far I am unable to see how that is an improvement over the previous system, where you just started typing and the editing toolbar was already there.

I’ve been reading other blogs and commenting, but so far the urge to write a post has not hit me.

I wrote a letter to my MP about the badger cull last night and have written to her tonight on the subject of hen harriers. I saw “wrote” – actually I filled in email forms and sent them off.

I’ve just had a bit of a struggle trying to add a link to Langholm – a centre for harrier research and conservation, and home of Tootlepedal.

It’s just taken me ten minutes to do the last few lines as the blocks seemed to break and wouldn’t let me add links. As far as I know I did nothing to cause it.

I can’t find a box to link to previous blog posts, or search my blog. I also can’t find a word counter at the bottom of the page. Whatever this “Classic” block is, it isn’t very much like the old classic editor.

In fact I’m fed up of writing this. The complexity of using the new system, and the lack of familiar features, has sucked the fun out of blogging. I’m off to write poetry now. It is more fun and nobody has yet devised a way of taking the fun out of it.

It’s now demanding I select a block to add a final paragraph – just going to say that the Featured Image and Category windows, which were missing last night, have returned. Featured image is a Speckled Wood from yesterday.

Capitulation

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It looks like I’m going to have to use some form of block editor whether I want to or not. I’m currently using the Classic Block. It isn’t as easy for me as using the old editor because I have to select something before starting and because I have various things floating round the scree as I try to type. I seem to have got rid of the small box of icons, but still have a small black box with a cross in it and a line that says “Start writing or type/to choose a block”.

None of this seems to be an improvement on the old one, and it certainly doesn’t seem intuitive, as they claim.

As a result, I went looking alternatives. There won’t be any sudden changes as I’m within days of paying for another year, but in the long term I can’t see myself staying with WordPress.

The inability to use large numbers of my photos is irksome, as I [pay what seems a lot of money each year for the storage of photos I cannot access. Ditto for the countless small glitches, particularly those that occur around the time of “improvements” – you will never persuade me these are anything other than faults caused by tinkering.

Finally, of course, we have the new editor. I don’t want it and I’m happy with the old one. I just need a basic package to write and add a few photos.

Having checked a few lists of top ten blogging sites I find that the only one where WordPress comes out on top is the list published by WordPress, the other two had it in at Number 4 and Number 5. This wasn’t the case when I started six years ago, but things seem to have changed.

Maybe it’s time I changed.

If I’m going to be forced into using a new editor I may as well use a whole new platform.

It’s done it again, a new pop up with a small selection of icons. Now my bar at the top with editing options has gone, it’s telling me to insert a featured image but I can’t see how and the side menu is not as good as it used to be.

I don’t need this.

Photos are from a walk I took yesterday in the wetland area behind the Mencap garden.

Oh look, instead of just starting to type again I have to select Classic Block again – what a great improvement.

Thoughts on writing

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I missed my deadline last night, just fell asleep in front of the TV as I drank a cup of tea and woke up minutes after midnight. I loaded the photos, posted, and found that although I was annoyed at missing the cut, it didn’t really matter.

I might be finding it hard to cut down on blogging, but I am, at least, managing to keep up the writing challenge I have set myself. One haibun essay, ten haiku and a poem a day. I did try writing a longer blog post on this subject but it quickly became dull, as mentioned here, so it remains in draft. After the 100 Day Challenge I’m only thinking of doing this for a month. A hundred days was gruelling.

The general idea is that I will use the practice challenge to gain more fluidity in writing and to build up ideas. If anything good comes out of it that will be a bonus.The haibun essays are generally usable, and some of the haiku aren’t too bad but the poems are mainly rubbish. With practice this may change.

I seem to remember from rugby training that it’s important to practice doing things perfectly, but with writing it’s slightly different as part of this is about overcoming the internal editor. There are a lot of ways to switch the internal editor off, and many posts. The one I’ve linked to there was at the top and was as good as any.

The best way I have found of switching of the internal editor is to write and keep writing, Don’t go back unless you spot a typo, and if you miss it don’y go back just because there’s a red squiggle in the text. You can do that later. I’ve just been back and fixed five typos in that paragraph. I’m not very accurate, but the inaccuracy doesn’t really affect the sense of the words.

I’ve often thought of writing a post and not sorting the typos. There are always some I miss anyway (I just re-read a post from four years ago and found a “their” where there should have been a “there”). I’m sure if I did that most of you would be able to read it OK. I’m told that as long as you have the first and last letters in place the brain will mostly sort out the rest.

Another thing I find is that the writing equipment affects the fluency of my writing. For haibun and poetry fountain pen is better than biro. Both are better than word processor.

Strangely, I can blog directly from the key board. In fact that’s the easiest way. Same with articles. It must be the way my brain works. Or doesn’t work.

A big stumbling block with my writing is the copying from longhand onto the computer. I really do not enjoy that bit, even though it isn’t really that onerous. It’s a few poems, not chunks of text. It’s not like actually doing any work.

eBay Excitement!

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I dropped Julia off at work etc…

(You can probably write that bit of the post for me.)

…turned on the computer, which refused to cooperate.

So I turned on the other computer and set to work. I had most of the parcels packed before anyone else arrive, at which point we had a look at the computer again, interrogated the internet and found that the pattern of pulsing lights indicate a problem with the power supply. This is what happens when you work with old, second-hand equipment.

However, this wasn’t the excitement.

Flying Horse of Gansu medallion & leaflet

We had a very nice horse medallion in auction on eBay. When we first put it on we had an email from somebody asking if they could buy it there and then, which is generally a good sign. We, of course refused, because we don’t do that – it is unfair to other bidders and it drives me mad when it happens. But partly it’s due to the fact that they never want to offer enough – they are just trying to avoid competing with others. Weonce turned down an offer of £250 for something that eventually sold for £75, but generally we don’t lose out, and we keep our integrity.

Normally, however, we turn down the offers and the bids keep rolling in.

On Saturday it had been around £50, by this morning it was £150 and by lunchtime it had climbed to £250.

Things were looking good.

It is, to be fair an exceptional medallion. The horse is well-modelled, in what I consider to be classic Chinese style, the lettering is high and crisp and the whole thing just oozed quality. Research indicates that the horse is the Flying Horse of Gansu. I knew the sculpture, but until then I didn’t know the name or the story. It was exhibited around the world in the 1970s but subsequent legislation prevents it from being taken outside mainland China.

Flying Horse of Gansu medallion – obverse

It came in the original box with paperwork and was made by Toye, Kenning and Spencer, who are one of the classic medallists. Even so, this was probably the best of their work I have ever seen.

In addition, it had a beautiful coloured tone where the silver had oxidised and was one of a limited run of just 2,000 medals. (Dealer’s note – when it enhances a medallion, or you are selling you call it tone or patina, when it is unpleasant, or when you are buying, you call it tarnish.)

Finally, the icing on the cake, it was to commemorate the Chinese Exhibition at the Royal Academy in 1973. The Chinese love good quality medallions, and they also like to buy items which have links to Chinese culture.so all in all we were hoping for great things.

The bidder who had made the running all week was finally outbid at £305 with an hour to go. There was a flurry of bidding which took it up close to £380 with eight minutes to go, but as I said, whilst sitting on the edge of my seat, the serious bidders don’t bid with eight minutes to go.

Serious bidders, like me, use automated auction sniper programmes which bid with only seconds remaining.

Sure enough, as the sale closed, there was a sudden rise in price and the screen faded. That’s when they transfer the details from being an auction to being sold. It is slightly annoying as a seller when this happens. It doesn’t seem to happen when you are a buyer – the numbers may whizz round but you don’t have to change screens to find them again.

Final price – £511.

Quite an exciting day.

After that we might be able to afford the repairs to my computer.

Flying Horse of Gansu medallion – reverse

Sunday Salad

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I’m showing off now – three posts, and the final one is about salad. Can’t generally stand the stuff, which is for girls, rabbits and Liberals, but now and again I do feel like a salad, particularly as I have been filling up on stodge this week, so it was time for a salad to give my stomach a break.

It wasn’t too bad.I started with rocket, then added slices of pear, a scatter of red peppers, home-grown red and yellow tomatoes, shop-bought coleslaw (I was feeling lazy), a fig, crumbled Stilton and some sweet potato pakora (also bought).

I always feel guilty about shop-bought coleslaw, but do I really want to be elbow deep in sliced cabbage and grated carrot or do I want to pass over 85 pence?

I meant to add sliced mushrooms and balsamic vinegar but I forgot.

Looking at the picture, it seems that you can see a lot of plate through the salad, but I assure you, it was filling.

I had to face an unpalatable fact this afternoon, and I don’t mean the salad. I’m just not very good at writing fact-filled posts. I spent several hours researching a post and trying to write it and so far, have come up with six hundred works of seriously soporific pap. It’s fortunate I’m not in full alliteration mode…

Sometimes I get it right, but more often than not I end up droning on with increasing pomposity as I cull facts from Wikipedia.

I’m much better at lightweight pieces about salad, or talking about my plums.

Or making puerile plum puns with potentially perplexing polysemy.

(Apologies if polysemy isn’t quite the right word, but I needed something beginning with p, knew that poly was a promising start and Googled the rest. If I’m wrong I will have to endure the vilification of lexicographers, but I can’t see that being much of a problem).

The Fruit Exchange

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We gave one of the neighbours a bowl of plums the other day. I thought Julia was being a bit generous with the size of the bowl, as I like plums, but let’s face it, they go bad easily so it’s better to give them away than see them rot.

Today we had a knock on the door and were given a bowl of figs and two sizeable squash. Fair exchange, as they say, is no robbery.

Figs – Brown Turkey

They look a bit green, but they are beautifully ripe – I’ve already had one to check. Some of the plums are perfect and some still a little sharp, but it’s better, I feel to pick at this point. One year we left them a bit late and a lot went brown and mouldy overnight. Some years, because of poor management, the tree fails to produce, but although it’s disappointing it’s not as bad as wasting the crop.

Our cherry tree, as I may have remarked before, was picked clean by birds most years so I simply took it out, which gave more room for the plum and the rhubarb.

Julia tells me that the container grown damson tree is almost ready to pick, though the harvest will only be eight fruits.

The final photograph is plums in a steel bowl. It’s difficult photographing fruit. They may sit still, but there’s not much of interest about them so when I got the chance to use the reflections I gave it a go.

Reflected Plums – Victoria

The problem was that as I took pictures I ate plums and by the end of the shoot there were significantly fewer plums in the photographs.

I’ve been thinking about my retirement and if I really need a garden or should buy a flat instead. A flat would mean no garden and less work, but a bungalow would mean space to sit outside and would make me take exercise, which I really should have. And I could plant fruit trees.

There are various proverbs and quotes on this subject, but it is now time for me to plant trees even though I may not live to sit in their shade.

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Life after the Care Farm