There are some very good things about TypePad after using the barebones MBlog provides but there are also some drawbacks. Being an engineer and having an interest in computers I like to be able to play with the site quite a bit. TypePad has a basic interface that takes the need to know any HTML or movable type out of the equation. I guess this makes it bullet proof against dabblers like myself. On the other hand a few of the 'tricks' I taught myself with the barebones version are now largely unemployable.
Looks like I will have to keep on playing with it to get it how I want it to look. Fortunately the one area God gave me patience with (okay lets not blame God for my sins here) is playing with technology. I guess that is because it is much easier than humans eh......