Technology – Hugh's Views & News

Have you heard of the saying, ‘Don’t put off today what can be done tomorrow’? I should tell myself that more often because tomorrow becomes tomorrow, and that tomorrow becomes another tomorrow. Before you know it, weeks, months or even years have passed you by, and you still haven’t done what you were putting off until tomorrow.

Last week, after visiting some blogs, I asked myself, ‘Why haven’t I done what they have done yet?’ And the simple and truthful answer was ‘Because of me.’ But what am I referring to?

‘What if?’ moments. Do you ever have them?

A ‘What if’ moment is those moments in life when you believe something is holding you back from doing something you know needs to be done, but you have doubts about it. The problem is that it isn’t the doubts that are holding you back.

The ‘What if’ moment I’ve been having has lasted for the best part of two years.

‘What if changing the theme of my blog from Classic to Block causes problems?’

Given that thousands of other bloggers have done it, I know that, while problems may occur, they can be resolved!

When WordPress introduced the Block Editor, which now seems like many years ago, I disliked it and did everything I could to avoid giving it a chance. I fought myself, declaring I’ll never use it and that I hated the change. And there was my downfall – ‘change.’ I wasn’t willing to accept it.

Then another blogger said in one of her posts, ‘The Block Editor isn’t hard to use; it’s just different.’ That got me thinking, and it was not long before I realised that the reason I didn’t like the change was that I hadn’t set aside any time to read tutorials and watch them, and to give the Block editor a try.

It wasn’t long before I was telling myself that trying out the Block Editor was like switching up from black-and-white to colour television.

Why then has it taken me so long to begin the switch from a Classic to a Block theme? The answer to that question is ‘Me.’ What if something goes wrong? What if I break my blog? What if all my posts disappear? What if my blog disappears without a trace?’ Why if, what if, what if?

The problem with all those questions is that they are not problems. They are excuses. Excuses to stop myself from making changes. And I have found in life that change opens new doors and brings new opportunities. And that’s what switching to using the Block editor did.

But why fix what’s not broken?

I hear people say, ‘Why fix what’s not broken?’ But nobody is fixing anything. All websites have to keep up with technological changes; they would lose many paying customers if they didn’t adapt. It’s paying customers who keep companies alive by buying their products or services, allowing some users to use the site for free.

Now, replace the question ”Why fix what’s not broken?’ with, ‘Why update what is not broken?’ You now have your answer.

Not all WordPress users are lucky enough to have had a choice between a Classic and a Block editor. Many have never known anything but the Block Editor, and they all seem to be doing a great job. However, did you know that the Block editor includes a Classic block that allows users to use the Classic editor?

What’s about to happen on my blog?

Over the next few weeks, you may notice a few changes with my blog as I switch from a Classic to a Block theme. If you notice anything wrong, please let me know, so I can resolve it. There’s plenty of support available on WordPress when you take the time to find it. Part of the excitement for me is choosing a new theme, but another reason I am making the switch is that I gain access to many more blogging tools and options, many of which help users save time.

Finally, I’m pleased to say I’ve changed concerns into excitement. I’m no longer allowing change to stop me from moving ahead on my blogging journey. I want my blog to become part of today’s technology, rather than remain stuck in yesterday’s.

This is my final post using a Classic theme on my blog. Bear with me while I make the changes to a Block theme. Hopefully, it won’t be long before I see you on the other side.

A photo of a neat and tidy desk with a desktop computer, lamp, iPad, keyboard, printer and stationery items on it. — Where I blog from

Have you changed the theme of your WordPress blog from Classic to Block? Did you encounter any problems? What were they, and how did you resolve them?

The featured image on this blog post is sourced from Pixabay. AI reviewed spelling and grammar errors.

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This week’s flash fiction has an adult theme.

If I’d not taken five minutes, my eleven-year-old son Billy would now be dead.

It could have been so different if I had not decided to do what I promised myself for the last five years. Just five minutes, that’s all it took.

The world of technology had taken over my life. Like most of humanity, I had my head buried in a screen. Morning, noon and night, I couldn’t resist it.

I was missing out if I wasn’t checking my social media accounts or email every five minutes. I was missing out on a new world! A new world that just five minutes could change.

The distant sound of crying coming from Billy’s bedroom forced me to bring my head up from the screen of my iPad. Why was he awake and sobbing at this ungodly hour?

When the familiar sound of a ‘ping’ came from my iPad, I could feel myself being pulled into the online world again. I’d made the mistake of looking down and seeing the notification on the screen telling me that Rachel was online.

Aroused by the thought of Rachel, my finger hovered over the Skype button, where I could instantly connect with her, while my ears picked up the sobbing coming from Billy’s room.

What should I do? Check on Billy, or find out if Rachel wore that sexy nurses’ uniform.

Thank goodness I chose to take those five minutes wisely.

If I hadn’t used them to check in on Billy, I’d never have discovered he’d been contemplating suicide. Not only had the death of his mother, five years earlier, taken him to the edge of a cliff, but my new online world and the neglect it had forced upon him had also taken him there.

The self-harm images he’d been looking at online were worlds apart from those I’d watched when Rachel was online. Ready to blackmail me, she’d had the camera ready to record me that night.

Not only had those five minutes saved my son’s life, but they’d also saved mine.