Done Since 2022-01-02

[mdlbear]

How the heck did it get to be a week since I was snowed in on Whidbey? It feels like the entire week was spent (most people would put "on" or even "working on" here, but it reads better as simply) Going Sideways; mostly fighting with WordPress. I did get a little done on $writing-gig-6 though.

Dictionary.com defines "hot mess" as "used to describe a particularly disorganized person or chaotic situation. In some uses, a person [or thing] described as a hot mess is attractive but just barely keeping it together." Urban Dictionary says it's a "state of disarray so chaotic that it's dizzying to look at. A mess that is beyond the normal range of disarray." That's a pretty good description of WordPress. I'll post about that eventually.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to finish up $writing-gig-6, which is already a couple of weeks late. I think I'll make this the last in this series; I'm having trouble making progress on it. Partly because WordPress is a rabbit-hole deeper and weirder than the one Alice fell into.

My right TMJ is still giving me trouble. I suspect the disk is damaged.

Notes & links:
0102Su
  * up 6:30; S=5:50, BP=114/81, P=66; 
  @ Honeywell DF300-H910 N95 Particulate Disposable Respirators (Box of 50) $29:50
  : G going shopping in Molly.  So she'll get parked someplace reasonable.
  & reading T. Rex and the Crater of Doom by Walter Alvarez.  Kindle textbook
  & out of curiosity, went looking for my first TMJ problem.  It was 2002-07-20, so while
    it was (just barely) in my LJ history it predates the `to.do` log.
    @ Temporomandibular joint Temporomandibular joint dysfunction - Wikipedia
    @ 7
      Essential TMJ Exercises to Relieve Jaw Pain - University Health News
  % TMJ: crunching sounds heard mainly when moving lower jaw to the left
  % I keep getting distracted.  Before I started looking at TMJ stuff, I wanted to start a
    post on what I actually _accomplished_ last year.
  * 8:30ish finished T. Rex and the Crater of Doom - fast read (for me)
  % meloxicam with pm drugs

0103Mo  First anniversary without Colleen
  & Awake 2:30;  % anxiety mainly about politics  down 4:30ish  never really fell asleep
  * up 6:28; S=5:21; 
  % random intrusive thought - I'm not sure who I am anymore.
    % "random" because I don't know what it means, let alone whether I believe it.
  @ The Case Against Crypto
  * GLENLIVET - bring in from studio - also alcohol preps, nitrile gloves
  : Container Store isn't doing their usual 30% off Elfa sale :(  (20% off $500, etc.)
  * spent all afternoon wrestling with WordPress.  Things are wrong and I can't see where
    to edit them. (e.g. no author name in post header, lines in archive aren't links,...)
    * GS: Fix users:  create editors naomi and steve
    * GS: Google Analytics, MonsterAnalytics
  % not thinking about the day at all.  Probably a good thing.  I'd wanted to write
    something about the day, but got derailed.  After dinner?
    -> posted River: Forty-six
  % meloxicam

0104Tu
  % a rather vivid dream including a secret lunar base and a trip by light plane between
    two safe houses on Earth, several messy-but-cozy kitchens, and a car with very
    luxurious bucket seats.  A bit of a Fallen Angels vibe.
  * up 7am; S=8:02
  * GS: post N's latest - Last Steps
  & GS: more stabs at fixing the blog problems -> not much luck
    There are things that I can't figure out how to edit.  Nothing's documented, at least
    not where I can find it. -> Archive: SimpleYearlyArchive plugin, the link, which is
    just the post name, is class sya_postlink.  Found using FF web developer tools.
    took all afternoon.  Have to add custom CSS to re-style it (to blue with underline)
  * laundry, including the new sheet and blanket.
  % meloxicam.  Back and TMJ
  * we'll see whether the new blanket works.  Right now it's that and the flowered throw
    -> seemed to work ok

0105We
  & awake 4:30ish; probably won't need another blanket.  (Given that the blanket is sherpa
    I could actually get away without the top sheet)
  * up 6:30; S=5:44;
  : 9:30(?) N leaves for Africa.
    @ follow on Going Sideways blog
  & as usual, apending a lot of time following the James Webb Space Telescope
  * some work on $writing-gig-6 after mail from $editor
  % it is now nearly 2:30 and I'm just starting on my morning tabs.  That's _good_
  % more lip-biting.  Do. Not. Like.
  * 15min:  dishes
  % 5:20 sleepy
  @ If you're serious about privacy, it's time to use DuckDuckGo as your default Android
    browser - TechRepublic (currently in beta; have to use the browser to join the
    wait list.) -> DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser - Apps on Google Play
    -> turns out I have it installed, via the DDG search bar.
  % WP continues to be intensely frustrating.
  % meloxicam -> going to sleep ~midnight

0106Th
  * up 6:01; S=6:01, BP=116/82, P=64;
  @ Google fixes nightmare Android bug that stopped user from calling 911 | Ars
    How a bug in Android and Microsoft Teams could have caused this user’s 911 call to
    fail | by Mishaal Rahman | Dec, 2021 | Medium
    Pixel prevented me from calling 911 : GooglePixel includes fix from Google
  * bring out a few bookends
  @ An Ancient Greek Astronomical Calculation Machine Reveals New Secrets - Sci Am
  @ 4.x to 5.0 (Elementor) migration guide - XTemos re-create all pages from scratch

0107Fr
  * up 6:30ish; S=7:41;
  * spent all morning (through noon) on latest GS post:
    @ Seattle to Johannesburg - GoingSideways.blog
      Neither FB nor Twitter is picking up the featured image; it's annoying.  Also
      incomprehensible, as most things about WP are.
  * 11:00AM: j, Covid booster shot, Dr. Cahn's office (J)
  : Apparently Twitter has its own cache.  Unlike FB you can't refresh the image.
    post passes the validator, though.  Site doesn't yet apparently
  : Mobile site is way too heavy, according to mobiReady
    How to fix any of that given WP's nightmare collection of plugins...
  $ GS $49.50 HSX checking via PP to aioseo.com -> initially failed, not sure what I did

0108Sa
  & awake 4:40; S=6:07;
  * up 8am; S=7:31;
    % spent at least an hour without the CPAP, just not wanting to get out of bed.
  @ Dangerous humid heat extremes occurring decades before expected - NOAA Research 
  @ Bona Fide Masks
  ~ bought 120# of driveway salt at Home Despot.
  : Ferry on a 1-hour (= 1-boat) schedule
  * grocery shopping with c
  & made mac and cheese for dinner - a little thin and I had a little too much, but good.

Comments

[spiffyvoxel]

"Hot mess" is a very accurate description of the current state of WordPress, which has been in flux since version 5.0 as it moves from the old world of the Classic Editor and shortcodes to the new world of Gutenberg and full-site editing. Because it's rather like Word and Photoshop, 'what everyone else uses', that is a big deal, and has already created one fork in the form of ClassicPress. To be honest, I don't know if there's any better alternatives: I've not looking at Joomla or Drupal in a long while, and both suffer from not having as much coverage as WordPress. Meanwhile, the various static site generators just push the complexity from the web host back to you. Hosted services like WordPress.com, SquareSpace et al. aren't too bad though potentially expensive. Definitely steer clear of Wix, they seem to be a roach motel.

Hot mess

[mdlbear]

If you're trying to start a blog with the hope of monetizing it, WP is pretty much the only game in town. For most other purposes I prefer static site generators; I've used Jekyll (for GitHub Pages), and of course I've written a couple of my own. GoingSideways is using DreamPress -- DreamHost's paid hosting service.