Technology surpassed my understanding years ago. I’ve been spoiled. At work, a tech support staff sets things up and fixes any problems. At home, Andy did the same thing. Since he died two years ago, I’ve been on my own for tech support — and it ain’t pretty.

A box in my living room has been blinking for months. I believe it has something to do with my Wi-Fi. There is no on/off switch. Unplugging it overnight didn’t resolve the issue. Everything seems to work so I haven’t worried about it.

The living room TV has three HDMI ports. Cable comes through one. A Roku device is connected to another. I have no idea how, but a slideshow of Andy’s pictures runs on the third HDMI channel. I can also cast things to that channel from my phone or laptop. As far as I can tell, it’s magic.

My web page is another challenge. I use WordPress (an easy-to-use content management system). The custom design I got several years ago forced a change from WordPress.com (limited features, host included) to WordPress.org (no limits, pay another host). The designer threw in the the migration to DreamHost.

Problems since moving to DreamHost have been rare and can usually be resolved with information from a Google search. Unresolved issues have accumulated over time, but everything continued to work so I didn’t worry about it. Much.

Earlier this year, I kept getting “update failed” messages for an essential update. Google was no help. Nobody I knew could help or even to point to someone who could. I ended up using Codeable to find a WordPress-approved freelancer on the other side of the world.

He cheerfully fixed the problems and suggested changing hosts to avoid future issues. Fixes and migration to a new server cost roughly twice what I paid for the original design and migration. He also made pages easier to read on phones and other devices (tripling the total cost of his services).

My site stats are way down since the changeover, leading me to believe maybe something is messed up. Or not. <shrugs> Damned if I know.

Sooner or later, the system Andy set up will stop working. An essential component will wear out, become obsolete, or otherwise cease to function. Unless I fall for another tech-savvy man before then, guess I’ll pay out the nose to get it fixed. What do you do?