I should never try anything new. I hit a button on Blogger and now am having a lot of difficulty signing in. I've had to set up my laptop and go in that way. This new 'Google Chrome' which I just now installed on my home computer which was supposed to support the changes at Blogger now refuses to link to allow me to sign in or blog. YIKES.
I'm at the age where I find myself left behind all the time. I look at these devises that kids have wherein they can interact instantly and constantly, sending videos, sending text messages, and I just freeze. So, here I am, stuck. I have no where to turn and no one to ask. I don't want to have to switch to my laptop every time I want to write something here.
Oddly I made a joke of this a few weeks ago with someone with an intellectual disability. I said, 'I feel left behind,' and he said, 'Join the club.' We laughed, but I get it now, really get it.
I feel dumb.
I feel inadequate.
I act resentful towards those who use technology that I don't understand.
I find myself filled with a kind of rage at both myself for being so dim and at the computer for being so hard. I want to hit something.
The other day when explaining to someone that Joe is very nervous about using the computer to play a DVD in one of my classes, a young woman said, 'Oh, that's silly it's really easy.' I said to her, quickly because I was rushing, 'Don't say that, it's patronizing to tell someone who's genuinely fearful that their fear is silly.' I think she thought I was rude but I was serious.
I wonder how many times I've waved away someone's anxiety about trying something new because it's something easy for ME (and it's all about me). I wonder how many times I've been impatient with someone's frustration at trying to ... name it ... tie shoes, cook a meal, dial a phone number.
I say it LOUD.
I'm sorry.
Really sorry.
Cause right now I'm feeling dumb and anxious and I can't see a way out. I'm feeling angry and frustrated because I feel trapped by my own ineptitude. Somehow, now breaking something or hitting someone, makes sense.
I won't do it because I've been taught not to.
But I want to.
Now I've got to go back and try tuning it off and turning it on again, that will work I'm sure.
My sympathies. I don't consider myself a Luddite by any means, but I still bristle at the social pressure to join in on every technological trend just to stay "socially relevant," or whatever.
ReplyDelete(I'm trying to remember my first log in after switching to Chrome, to see if I have any useful advice... I probably don't. But I wish you a speedy and easy solution)
For those who might know computers, I get to the redirecting page and it seems to just load and load and load and nothing happens. I've tried all sorts of things and nothing helps. I'm not even able to comment using my google account
ReplyDeleteDave, I must admit that this blog very selfishly stresses me out. I've continued to use Blogger it the "old" format in Firefox without problem, but now I'm scared!
ReplyDeleteThat being said, in the next few days, I'll download Chrome on my other computer and try to jot down step-by-step what happens, IF I can figure it out!
Dave, I'm very sorry you're having this issue=s and unfortunately I am of no use to you in these areas but I do love when your blog strikes a chord in me and these are the ones I usually share to facebook. By chord, I very specifically mean brings me down off of my high horse and reminds me to be human and treat others humanly!
ReplyDeleteEvery time I try to use chrome it stuffs things up, so I say uninstall chrome and see if you can go from there. I believe you will find many people feel just as you do about being left behind, it is so easy to feel disempowered when it comes to technology.
ReplyDeleteElaine, I did uninstal Chrome and when I went to blogger it said that Blogger was no longer supported by my browser. So I reloaded Chrome and the problem is back. I've got Chrome on my laptop and can get on. It's a pain going back and forth between laptop, which is really just set up for emails and such on the road and my home computer. I appreciate your suggestion and hope other readers can come to my aid as well.
ReplyDeleteFinding ourselves in the shoes of another is so different than trying to put ourselves in the shoes of another, isn't it? Instead of just using our heads and (hopefully) hearts to empathize and respond to something difficult being experienced by someone else, all of a sudden we feel the experience in our bodies and often it is only then that we truly "get it."
ReplyDeleteThis is a great example of that happening and your response is beautiful. When my children were very small and seemingly always falling or bumping themselves and crying it was so easy to minimize their experience and do all I could to get them happily playing with them. Then every so often I would slip and fall and get a strong reminder of how much falling down really hurts! It's not that I was a bad or unsympathetic mum before those falls but literally feeling their pain in my own body changed my response to theirs and funnily enough, when I responded from that place they started calming down much faster! You are already a wonderful communicator with people who have an intellectual disability but I suspect this experience will enrich that even more.
Good luck with your computer.
Here are some suggested tips that have worked for others: http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/blogger/thread?tid=4423d55feadd0b36&hl=en
ReplyDeleteAlternatively, can you try a different browser, e.g. Firefox?
Dave I just watched a short video on you tube, you may have seen, if not take a look....Downs Syndrome Awareness -- Maddox Lucille. I enjoyed, think you may too. Hope your computer issues get worked out soon.
ReplyDeleteIt's fixed! I got great advice, I am so thankful for the help. I'm on my home computer and back on Blogger. No more switching over to the laptop, a cumbersome process, in order to work on the blog. I am so grateful to have such lovely and helpful readers.
ReplyDelete