is that it?

I think I may have a working blog again. I realised that if I mess too much with stuff I don't understand then all sorts of bad things happen. Really I think I learnt this lesson a long time ago, which why I no longer try to perform open heart surgery on my little brother. When I was a kid, so my parents tell me, they were scared to leave me alone for more than a few minutes with any electrical goods because I would take them apart to see how they worked. Apparently, we got through four radios and two TVs in the space of a couple of years. I just remember being interested in how things worked. The old TVs were just too tempting. All those rows of glowing tubes like straight out of an episode of Star Trek. How could anyone resist that? I am amazed that I didn't kill myself, although I do remember getting the odd electrical shock. But I always reckoned that the occasional heart-stopping moment was a price worth paying for the advancement of human knowledge.

Things haven't changed much. It's just that my toys have got more sophisticated. I don't think I mentioned my mishap with the electric screwdriver. The screwdriver had a little wire clip on the top of the handle, and during a moment of madness I decided to take the clip off to see what it was holding in place. Without any warning, as soon as I removed the clip, the whole thing fell apart in my hands. Scattered across the floor was hundreds of bits, little springs and cogs and other things that were a complete mystery to me. I took one look and realised that I could never put it back together again. I scooped up the lot and threw it in the bin. Eventually, I had to admit to Mrs McMuffin what I had done. I begged her forgiveness and promised never to do it again. In future, I swore, I would leave alone all things I don't understand. I would not tinker. Unfortunately, as I am a bit dog like in some respects, I quickly forgot all about my adventure with the screwdriver, and I never did let my many other failures trouble me, which I guess is how we have come to this sorry state. Those lovely people at Typepad have devised the perfect blogging software, and I just had to tinker. Although, it must be said, I hold them partially responsible for the mess I am in. Surely, they should have taken up references or something before allowing me to have access to all that customising potential?