Nothing is Ever Easy

Originally posted on 2/18/2010

Writing a blog, putting out a podcast, really doing anything creative on a regular basis is hard work. If you don't think so, you've never tried it. I suppose that's why so many of the articles on blogging available on the web--second only to how to make money off your blog, a fool's hope if there's ever been one--are on the topic of writing consistently, getting the job done, moving the cursor to the right.

I suppose most of what I do on this site wouldn't make it a blog, since I post so seldom (a vice I'm endeavoring to correct, with admittedly limited success). It's the podcast that is my main medium of communication with those who visit. Nevertheless, the work that goes into blogging is equal to, or in some cases, greater than the work that goes into blogging. For not only must you select and research topics, there is the added time of engaging in the conversation and the time intensive work of post-production.

I don't mind the work since it comes with the territory. It's the hidden pitfalls that crop up with annoying regularity. Last week I had problems generating the feed that sends the podcast to those who had subscribed. Yesterday it was publishing an episode that I didn't mean to publish--at least not yet.

Bonnie and I leading a group from our church to Israel starting this Sunday. That means I won't be available to either produce or publish a podcast for the next two weeks. Note: For any opportunistic thieves who might have stumbled across this blog, our house is occupied by a very big young man who is normally very congenial but will turn mean quicker than a Bugatti Veyron should you try to steal something! 

Instead of letting the time limp tediously away, I decided to do the unexpected. I was going to work ahead! Thus my efforts yesterday to schedule my feed to publish next Monday morning.

I don't know if it was because I didn't set all the variables correctly, or if I accidentally hit the "publish" button, but the result was, shall we say, less than ideal. I know I got at least part of the procedure correct because even though the episode appeared in people's inbox yesterday, Libsyn wouldn't allow anyone to listen to it until next Monday.

So we had the worst of all possible worlds, at least when it came to publishing a podcast. For the latest episode was made available to subscribers and the iTunes store but it wasn't reeeeally available because it wouldn't play! Hopefully all that has been fixed now.

Still, just for the record, there isn't another one coming out next Monday. This one still counts. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!