The problem appears to be the firewall or security level on my primary internet access PC. I'm not having the problem on this less secure PC.

One key seems to be using new.blogger.com instead of the blogger button on my Google toolbar.

I'm still trying to get the hang of this. It seems to be hit or miss trying to log into the posting section.

this still seems flaky

The technical problem I initially encountered seems to have been resolved, ergo this first entry.