The Legacy of Steve Jobs

Life, Technology

I was going to write a review post today, but that will need to wait for next week.  Last night, I got the news that Steve Jobs passed away.  While I might not own any Apple devices (B has an iPod Touch that her parents gave her when they didn’t use it anymore), Steve changed the way I use computers many times.  He designed computers with graphical interfaces when needed to type in commands.  He saw a future in computer animated films and helped make Pixar what it is today.  He saw a digital future for music and pushed the music industry towards this future at a time when illegal file sharing was seen by the industry as pushing them to ruin.  He innovated in smart phones, tablet computers and many other areas.

Steve wasn’t just a technologist, though.  He had some pretty wonderful views on life in general.  Here are some quotes from a commencement speech that he gave in Stanford in June of 2005.

Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

 

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

Of course, for full effect, don’t just read his words, but watch and listen to them too.

Rest in Peace, Steve.  You will be remembered for changing the world for the better.

Animation Lesson, Part 2: Meet Mr. Crazy

Fun, NHL

Yesterday, I demonstrated TheAnimatedWoman’s technique for turning lines into cute drawings.  JC even promoted my post on Google+.  That’s when inspiration struck.  (Minus the lightning bolt.)  Why not use this as a drawing lesson with NHL?

He wasn’t going to be as good at drawing on the computer, so out came a piece of paper and some crayons.  I prepped my camera.  Then, I told him to draw a wiggly line.  (As always, click to see a larger version.)

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Quite wiggly.  Next came the eyes.

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After this, I told him to draw arms and legs.  Go crazy with them, I said.  He was more than happy to oblige.

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Now, I instructed him to have his character say something.  Can you guess what I was making for dinner?

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Finally, I told him to put the black crayon away and add some colorful elements.  (At this point, I went back to making the pizza and told him to call me when he was done.)

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He insisted on naming his character, but had a little trouble with the spelling of “crazy”.

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And there you have it.  Mr. Crazy was born.

Oh, and, in case you are wondering, I did show JC’s website to NHL and JSL.  They especially loved the story of the Last Snowman.

Animation Lesson

Comics, Internet

Few people know that, at one time, I wanted to be a cartoonist.  I even had a highly successful comic strip that I drew during college.  If you define “highly successful” to be “one of my friends liked it” and if you define “drew” as “It was about planets because I could draw circles and that was about it.”  Another career option cruelly cut short due to small details like lack of talent.

Fast forward to the present day.  I’m a big fan of web comics and love seeing the drawing talent that people possess.  One of the people I’ve most recently found, is JC of TheAnimatedWoman.com.  Head on over and see some of the wonderful posts and drawings that she’s done.  On second thought, read the rest of this post first and then go there.  I guarantee that, once you’ve browsed to her site, you’ll spend hours laughing at her wonderful posts and drawings.

A few months back, she posted a “how to draw” that involved lines.  Then, on Sunday, she followed this up with another one-liner post.  Inspiration struck.  So here is my attempt to follow her instructions.  Sure, my lack of skill might have gotten in the way a bit, but I couldn’t at least give it a try.

First, I started out with some lines.

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Then, I added some eyes.1

The arms and legs began to add some personality. 2

Next, came the dialog.

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Finally, I added some color elements to give it some zip.

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  Not bad, if I do say so myself. I don’t think I’ll quit my day job, though.

Setting The Theme For The Year

Cleaning, Holidays, Judaism

Growing up, we would go to temple on Rosh Hashana morning.  Then, we’d come home for lunch before heading back for the afternoon/evening services.  During this gap, there was little to do to fill the time.  I didn’t watch TV, use computers or, in fact, use any electrical device.

The tempting thing to do was get a nap in.  My mother would always nix this idea, though.  She had a superstition that how one spent the Jewish New Year would reflect how the year to come would be.  If you napped on Rosh Hashana, you might be setting yourself up for a lazy year.

So what kind of year did I set myself up for?

I began by getting the boys and myself ready for temple.  B didn’t feel like going, so I took the boys by myself.  I’ll admit that I didn’t get to spend as much time praying as I’d have liked.  Instead, I was making sure that the boys were quiet, well-behaved, entertained and fed.  (We brought quiet toys, books and snacks with us.)

When we got home, and after we ate lunch, I began to think about what I wanted to do.  I began thinking about my “surprise” for B when she returned from SheStreams.  I had done some cleaning in the front room to get rid of and/or organize clutter.  Still, it felt like the job wasn’t completely done.  There were sections of the room that hadn’t been dusted in awhile.  Hard-to-reach, out of sight sections, but still sections I hadn’t touched.  I dove in with the vacuum at hand*.  I cleaned, dusted and vacuumed.

When I was done, I went for the boys’ room, seeking out the obscure corners that seemed to perpetually hide from the vacuum.

The next day, the boys and I headed back to temple.  This time, instead of spending our time in the temple services, we took advantage of the kids’ services.  Again, this meant less time for me praying, but it meant that the boys enjoyed the experience more and, to be honest, I think this was more important.

When I got home, I decided to tackle another room.  This time, it was the kitchen.  Again, my target was mainly the obscure areas that tended to get passed over every other time I cleaned.

So, if we were to go by the old superstition, how is my year going to go?  Well, I think it means I’ll be spending quite a lot of time with the boys and I’ll pay attention to small details that are usually overlooked.  Not a bad way for the year to go!

 

* When I was younger, I didn’t use any electrical device.  Since then, I’ve re-examined my religious practices.  Now I follow the “don’t work at your occupation” rule.  Anything that could be used to do work for my job is set aside.  This includes computers, phones, and writing.  Luckily, I don’t vacuum for a living, so that’s allowed.

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