I find myself in an odd position. Today, I can’t much more than I’ve become a populist, even though that’s the only thing I could be described as being. The dichotomy inside of me (I’ve always wanted to say that) leads me to become one of the pack, while remaining on the outside, on my own.
It’s a familiar position for me, this populism, and something I attempt to avoid. Over the years I’ve tried in vain to either break away from convention, or to embrace it totally. That middle ground continually draws me, singing its siren song of harmony and discontent. Because that is what it is, here — stuck in the middle of the road.
Now, there’s safety there, true. That’s the real draw of it, you see. It’s always safer to stay with the rest of the school than to go swimming out on your own. Safer in the middle.
I still have to explain how clicking something makes it editable — that’s how it should be, and how Windows isn’t.
After another philosophical bout with Apple over their overly–politicized home page, I took a chance and looked at Ubuntu Linux. It is, in my mind, like 500 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean — it’s a good start. In fact, if this were 1995, I’d say they had the goods to put Microsoft out of business. But it isn’t 1995, and they’re barely going to damage the reputation (or much dent the market–share) of Windows anytime soon.
It’s good to have alternatives, but people stay with what they know. I convinced my father to get a Mac in 2004, and he’s still learning how to use the computer. He still wants to do things the right–click Windows way, where nested menus hide all the functions that should be obvious. I still have to explain how clicking something makes it editable — that’s how it should be, and how Windows isn’t.
Even though I’m not the greatest fan of Apple these days, it helps them that nobody else is putting out a competitive product. Mac OS X isn’t what everybody uses, but it’s used more than the bleeding–edge stuff like Ubuntu, and a lot less than Windows, used by the legions.
I tend to avoid being to far out in front, or too far in the back. Character flaw or hidden genius, I tend to go for what’s behind door number two. That’s why, for the entirety of 2007, I used Movable Type to power my small blogging empire. WordPress has become the leader of the blogging soft world, with literally dozens of other, smaller projects coming behind.
My constant predilection for the second–place finisher constantly leads me work to help that platform, regardless of my own needs or desires. Maybe there was a little bit of that while working with Ubuntu that made me want to get them competitive, I’m not sure. But it follows a trend I’ve seen myself doing, that I install a new content management system about once a year, usually around now.
In 2004, it was Mambo that led me to TextPattern in 2005. The WordPress press for 2.0 got me interested in that in 2006. And you know about 2007. Going back to WordPress is odd for me, since it goes against my normal instincts.
I’m giving up a deluxe condo on a private beach to live downtown in a tourist trap.
That’s not the only retrofit change, either. Just as Movable Type did everything I ever wanted from it, Ma.gnolia is a fantastic, feature–filled application that nobody I know uses. No amount of my conning, cajoling, or even bribing get me anyone over there that I genuinely cared to hear from. Great resources and people who were innovators, yes, but nobody I think I’d hit it off with in real life.
That, of course, is the disappointment, for me. There comes a time when you can’t fight the majority. When your will is broken, and it’s just easier to stay where it’s safe, and where you feel comfortable. In this instance, I’m giving up a deluxe condo on a private beach to live downtown in a tourist trap.
It isn’t part of something new or avant–garde, but it’s safe. Like a mouse’s nest. I’m not exactly thrilled about the location, but I’m hoping that what it lacks in ascetics and features, it’ll make up for in good intentions. Or something like that.
Deciding to return to this…blogging thing…was a tough decision. The only way to justify it, in my mind, was to stop trying to save the world, if you’ll pardon my cliché. If I’m really going to tell you what I think, in this mildly unfiltered way, it has to be about what I think, and who I am.
Sometimes, who I am is not all that exciting. That’s not entirely a bad thing, of course. Find somebody who’s exciting all the time, and I’ll show you some frazzled parents, lots of ex’s, and some well–paid insurance agents. Excitement is fun in it’s own time, but not all the time.
I once heard what I believe to be a Chinese curse that goes, “may your life be interesting.” The curse is that they don’t write stories about the folks who stay with the school. They write them about the 300 who fought against thousands, about the prowess of a fighter, fated to die on the battlefield, about the soldiers merely trying to hold up a flag.
There are days I want people to write stories about me. Today is not that day.
