Charlie has a Stubborn Master
I am a stubborn bastard.
Four years ago I did not know that about myself (apparently I am an unaware bastard, too). One day my sister told me that her friend, with whom I played golf, considered me to be frustratingly stubborn. I relayed this story to my colleagues at work, fully expecting them to “boo hiss” the friend’s opinion. Instead, I learned that stubbornness is one of my defining characteristics. With my eyes opened, I realised that I am indeed a stubborn bastard.
I share this bit of personality with you as it explains not only why I moved my weblog, but also the next step in the life of Charlie.
Now, why did I move blog? In my departing entry on AspAdvice.com, I said that I moved for reasons best left unsaid. In retrospect, I realize that that hinted at deep discontent with AspAdvice.com. That is not the case, so I feel that I should redress any criticism that may seem implied by my departure.
There were two reasons that I moved my blog.
The first is that I did not take kindly to the IntelliTXT advertising that suddenly appeared within my weblog entries. As AspAdvice was providing me with a free weblog, I would have accepted advertisements to the left, right, top, or bottom of the weblog, or even between its entries. But I felt that the IntelliTXT advertising was just too invasive. I have since learned that this inline advertising was just a test, and with luck it will disappear.
The second reason I moved my weblog is that I could not get it to look any good. My writing is amateurish enough without looking amateurish too. I wanted for my weblog to follow the style of my website, because I had already spent many, many hours making the website simple, attractive, and easy to read. (I hope that I succeeded.) The blog software in use at AspAdvice is very good, but I could not get my weblog to look the way I wanted it to look. I appreciate that that may be a lot to ask when the blog is being provided for free, but my stubbornness knows no bounds.
Now, what is more interesting, and certainly more relevant to the story of Charlie, is how my personality is playing a part in the way Charlie is developing.
Because I am not a seasoned professional, I often don't know the “normal way” that something is done. I then research the topic and look at how others have approached a given problem. A little too often my response is, “Well, that’s just dumb.” If I were less stubborn, I might say, “Well, I don’t think that’s a good idea, but if that’s what professionals do, that’s what I’ll do too.” But no, this stubborn bastard says, “Well, I think that’s dumb, and I don’t care even if it is what professionals do, I’ll do it my own way.”
Poor Charlie has a stubborn master.
by Alister Jones | Next up: Charlie’s Approach to Authorization →
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