Confession: I really enjoy writing my Xml4Fun articles, over on MSDN. Sure, sometimes I manage to get myself in a bit too deep (in terms of scope), and some articles take way too long to actually complete - but it's an excellent challenge, and something that I really enjoy.
Worry: Only, I don't know everything about Xml. Sure, I know waaaaay more than say... my Grandma, or even my .... brother (who isn't in development/IT). Heck, I even know more about Xml than most developers that I _personally_ know. And hey, I've got a number of great books on Xml... so I can solve most problems when I need to. Right?
Only... there's this nagging feeling that some day I'll do something obscenely stupid. In one of my articles.
And it will be spotted by somebody who really knows what they're doing, like Scott Hanselman - who also has a Coding4Fun column; so it's only a matter of time 'till he checks out one of my ideas and then exclaims: "What was this guy thinking??!!!".
So yeah, I seriously dig Xml (hey, it's data) - but some day my cover will be blown, and I'll be found out. And I'll cry like a baby. In front of people.
The cool thing about Scott, from what I can tell, is that even though he's some kind of a freak of nature genius with secret hyper-productive clones out doing his bidding, he's a pretty down-to-earth guy. So it wouldn't probably be "What was this guy thinking??!!!" it might be more like "silly kid."
Posted by: Carson McComas | May 03, 2006 at 01:12 PM
Yeah, I once sent him an email about ReverseDOS possibly playing with DasBlog and he was way cool - offered to look at my code, etc - and gave some insanely nice feedback on it and all.
That's just it though - the guy is so smart, so cool, and so nice that I'd just cry if he thought badly of me. ;)
BUT, that said: When/If it ever happens, I can rest assured that I wrote this post BEFORE then, and take some solace in that...
Posted by: Michael K. Campbell | May 03, 2006 at 01:23 PM
You know what's funny, guys, is I feel the EXACT SAME WAY about the hardware stuff. One day someone will stand up at one of my talks and yell "Bullshit!" and it'll all be over. Everyone feels like that. EVERYONE.
Posted by: Scott Hanselman | May 03, 2006 at 05:22 PM
Awwww. Come on Scott. Don't even pretend that you're mortal. ;)
But yeah, I'm sure you're right. (And now I'm covered for that fateful day when somebody calls that about one of my articles *grin*.)
Posted by: Michael K. Campbell | May 03, 2006 at 08:10 PM