Lessons learned by T & E -Trial and error plus Error and trials

The long and winding road to the first post began almost a year ago with an itch to share experiences of the last seventy plus years.  First a website was purchased which then required a domain.  Every attempt to set up the inaugural words have resulted in maniacal frustration and the almost irresistible urge to slam the laptop to the floor and jump up and down until there is nothing left but powder.  There are two overwhelming reasons this has not yet occurred;  first because laptops cost money and baby boomers were educated from birth that money does not grow on trees and it is a sin to waste, (especially money), and second dancing on a mass produced HP would cut through my delicate skin like a politician’s razor edged tongue when describing an opponent during election year.  That would likely result in the need for stitches and a trip to the ER.

Utilizing the build your own website – so easy, it may be accomplished in just a few minutes, every 10th keystroke (or so it seemed) led me back to the page stating you need to buy a plan to allow you to connect the purchased website with the domain which had to be purchased separately.  Within two weeks, there was over a grand in charges to the website company without a place to expound on the thoughts struggling to escape the gray matter and be shared via prose. There was a congratulatory email acknowledging acquiring a new domain. Once there was an actual conversation with a human via phone, it was futile as my hearing aids were out of charge and he was speaking in techies and was not proficient at translating into plain ole English.    On line help only accomplished worsening the cracks in fingertips and around the cuticles.  Of course this resulted in bleeding, but not enough to necessitate visiting the local medical hobby shop.  For future reference, blood on a keyboard is not as serious as dumping a cup of coffee , but it still may cause hissing sounds and uncooperative keys. After consulting my natural proclivity with electronics, the laptop was closed and allowed to dry out for the next 60 days,

Feeling secure that the keyboard was again safe to resume the home row it was time to continue the necessity to compose - build you own website was revisited.  The same circumlocution resulted in the same result.  Some of the money was refunded since the previous visit, but there was still no website even though all previous charges had been paid in full. Back to the automated answering android with the same ire inflaming answers.  More emails and a faceless person would appear briefly in the on line assistance app.   Each interaction ended with searching for requested information just long enough for the on-line expert to give up and sign off before the response could be typed.  The tutorial recommended hiring a service such as LegalZoom to establish a legal entity and obtain a tax ID. It also suggested several banks which would be suitable to establish a business account.  A business account already existed, but there was no option to enter a preexisting account number.  The bank was contacting about changing the account name to match the blog, but they were in the middle of being bought out and were not promptly answering emails.  New inquiries regarding registering for a trademark were received, with another 1K price tag.  Decided to let this slide for the time being.  One credit card used for some of the website expenses was refused by multiple retailers requiring a call town the 888 number revealed this was due to a questionable series of charge to a website which the bank placed on hold. The fall had arrived by now with the usual avalanche of responsibilities starting with Halloween, then hosting Thanksgiving and surviving Christmas. 

Boxing day was the opportunity to resume the campaign to build the desired website. My personal goal was to complete the initial post by the beginning of 2026.  Nine hours of concentrated typing, roe-butt communications and finally an email to an actual person finally provided an answer stating that the “original plan” was discontinued due to non-payment (credit card company thought the charges were suspicious), and multiple attempts at completing the steps revealed that one site was started under a “studio account” requiring it’s own studio plan.  All it took was another $400 purchase to connect the website with the domain and miracle of miracles the site now exists!  If you ever feel the need to establish a website, please understand that the website purchase is only for the “lot”- To build a building which may then host a reachable address requires the purchase of a domain and ensuring it is associated with the “lot”.  The mystery and semi-panic brought back memories of Stephen King’s classic “Salem’s Lot, complete with the blood suckers! It would be so much easier to have written instructions and a competent co-conspirator available via rotary phone.

If you can identify with this tale of technical incompetence and trepidation, we may find many topics of mutual interest.  Further proof that the mind which matured under the tutelage of Red Skelton and Ed Sullivan does not function like a brain brined by x-box and pickled with PlayStation.  If you can identify with these statements,  please return to this emerging blog for additional doses of reality.