What's interesting is that as I watched the truly unbelievable images beaming down from space this morning I realized something, I had stopped thinking of this mission as the first time a private company visited the space station with a spacecraft, and started thinking of it as once again a uniquely American story of perseverance and technical ingenuity triumphing in the pursuit of the beckoning frontier.
Ironically a few days ago I was trying to rationalize my thoughts about that perhaps someday in the future humans may step foot on the surface of Mars (something I have desperately longed to see most of my adult life) but they might do so under the banner of private enterprise and not the flag of a country. Is that a bad thing? Will they not still be representatives of humanity? Time will tell I suspect but I've seen nothing this past week to make me anything other than optimistic about that future.
The NASA PAO made the comment that this was the first US craft to visit the space station since Space Shuttle Atlantis had been there in July of 2011. I'll admit that hearing this, frankly, it moved me and my immediate thoughts were, YES this is it! America is back in space!
I would be remiss if I didn't give a shout out here to the SpaceX team that designed and built Falcon and Dragon. They faced some tests on this mission with the check-valve on launch and the LIDAR testing today. As I've said before though from everything I've seen, and admittedly I'm just and interested observer, from the outside they've done exactly that you would expect. Work the data to a solution in a professional and methodical manner. I have a hard time imagining Gene Kranz expecting anything more of this troops. So hats off to the SpaceX team in the best steely-eyed tradition.
I caught myself thinking throughout the day, a bit sheepishly, that this really is the start of a new day. It sounds hyperbolic but not I'm not so sure that's the case. I fervently hope that the predictions of SpaceX founder will come to forition and that someday we will look back on this day as the one when the wagon trains started west again. I personally look forward to someday in the not to distant future, sitting on a space liner to Mars reminiscing about that mission the kickstarted something special. At the absolute least I think we have reason to be hopeful and hope is something that can never be in to short a supply.
Congratulations again to everyone involved. I've said it many times over the last few days but I will keep on saying it, it was an absolute privilege to watch the NASA and SpaceX teams do their jobs.
]]>On the personal side I think it has to do with a couple of things. The first is that I have always believed, since I was a teenager and read the Mars Trilogy that colonization of Mars should be the ultimate goal of humanity. Now for the first time in SpaceX founder Elon Musk there is someone with not only that same belief but a credible chance of doing something very legitimate about it. The second reason is that we are seeing real development of new space exploration technologies, and demonstrable progress and results. My generation has only ever really identified with the space shuttle as a launch vehicle and to a lesser extent Soyuz but in both of those cases we'd been flying that hardware for thirty-plus years. There's a new kid on the block and to some extent I think this is my generations Apollo -> Space Shuttle, we get to watch a new generation of spacecraft being developed in real-time. Perhaps it's more simple and just the fact that space has always trumped all for me, it's the one interest, one passion, one belief that I can pretty honestly say has never wavered.
The other thing that I've been thinking a lot about lately is the problems we bring technology to bear on. I guess this comes partiality out of the tweet that was making its way around the net on the idea that SpaceX's entire development has essentially cost less than what Facebook paid for Instagram. I know it oversimplifies complex issues but I have often wondered what the world might be like if we spent the same amount of energy worrying about issues like BioTech, Space Exploration, Alternative Energy as we do about the next big app or smartphone announcement.
I listened to a podcast today where Elon Musk posited the following (I'm paraphrasing): If you asked someone in 1969 what would be more likely a phone that you could carry around in your pocket and access limitless amounts of information with OR a human Mars mission they would laugh at your nieveness...Mars of course!
In the wake of Apollo it is the only answer that would make sense. In 1969 the fact that Americans had walked on the moon was the embodiment, the pinnacle of America's technological prowess and spirit of innovation. Today it's things like Facebook, iPads, and Angry Birds most commonly cited as examples of the same. Certainly the internet and the ability to access limitless amounts of knowledge from anywhere have fundamentally changed the world, I would not deny that. It is a subjective analysis but I guess I just can't make my brain accept that they are on the same plane as quite literally stepping into the next frontier. It is quite simply, that small step or giant leap, that has enabled the existence of those modern day examples of innovation and technological advancement. I think it's time we took the next leap.
Certainly it's not like SpaceX has landed on Mars and there's quite a bit to do before they have a legitimate shot of doing so. As they work towards that goal, I look forward to the efforts of all players as they bring their own efforts to bear towards the same goal (including NASA I might had who I believe still has a evolving but vital role to play and hope will get back in the game themselves in time). In the near term though, SpaceX has taken the bar and not simply just raised it but launched it into a new orbit. Regardless of what is next, I do hope that we can collectively hold on to the reminder the world has been given that the limitless frontier that's right outside our doorstep, is no just a little bit more accessible, and is only out of our reach for as long as we allow it to be.
]]>SpaceX is one of several new companies attempting to lower the barriers of access to low earth orbit (LEO) and create a real commercial market for that access. SpaceX was founded by Elon Musk who also founded a few other companies like oh PayPal and the electric car company Tesla. I think it is fair to describe Elon Musk as guy with a lot of drive, ambition, and some big dreams (Cool side note, Musk also served as inspiration for Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man, no really). While the sights of SpaceX initially are set on fulfilling NASA contracts for cargo and then crew transportation to the ISS, Elon Musk himself has stated that the goal of SpaceX is nothing short of providing the infrastructure humanity needs to become multi-planetary. A believe I personally have shared for just about my entire life, and I believe it needs to happen sooner rather than later.
In my opinion, purely as an passionate observer, SpaceX is the farthest along of the slate of so called "new space" companies all driving towards the same goal. They successfully launched the Falcon1 in 2009 and in 2010 successfully launched the Falcon9 rocket and then successfully launched the Dragon capsule into LEO becoming the first private company/non-state entity ever to do so. Of course they had their share of bumps along the road it took four launches of the Falcon1 before it flew successfully with attempts starting as far back as 2006. The last launch that put Dragon in orbit also had an abort but the count was recycled (within a few hours) and the launch proceeded nominally. Space is a hard business to be in it always has be and it always will be but the fact remains SpaceX today is the only private company to have made it as far as they have.
Back to this morning (very morning) the count proceeded very smoothly with no issues and everything given a "Ready"/Green as the final minutes then seconds approached. To understand what happened next it is important to understand that the Falcon9 designed in a very specific way that is different in the final seconds then the vehicle most are probably used to seeing, the shuttle. At T-0 the Falcon9's Merlin engines (there's 9 of them go figure) all powerup, but the rocket it self doesn't go anywhere it is held down to the pad by a series of hold-down bolts. As the engines power up a series of automated checks is run by software that is making sure all critical parameters are nominal and performance is as expected. In the event something is out of range, by virtue of the Falcon9 being a liquid fueled rocket, the firing can then be aborted Falcon9 remains on the pad and is safed while engineers troubleshoot the troublesome data that caused the computer to power down the engines. This is essentially what happened this morning, because Falcon9 has an "instantaneous" launch window (this effectively means you have to go at the exact time to make the right orbit so any delay pushes you to the next window) for the ISS a second attempt will not occur until the 5/22 window at the earliest to give time for troubleshooting. SpaceX is still searching for a root cause but generally speaking there was a parameter that violated a software check and the engines were powered down. Watching it can be a bit confusing we're accustomed to "T-0 annnd liftoff" in fact T-0 happens and liftoff happens only after the computers have verified it is safe to do so.
Falcon9 was very consciously designed this way. You will probably hear/see lots of stories in the media about how this was a failure and the launch had already been beset by numerous delays. Space is very unforgiving and once you jump off the pad on a trail of flame it isn't going to show you even the slightest mercy. I think it is important to understand that this is a completely new vehicle. We aren't accustomed to seeing that much these days. The shuttle was all we had known for 30 years and Soyuz has been flying even longer than that. Building something new requires a lot of troubleshooting, you look at the data, make the appropriate adjustments, and try again. This is exactly what development of a new vehicle should look like. So Falcon9 today did exactly what it was designed to do and it did it successfully. However that action was not a launch to orbit.
I fear the nay-sayers will rally and the media will say whatever they want. Consider as one final point that the only entities ever to accomplish what SpaceX is attempting today are countries. When the United States was attempting to build its first launch vehicles we were using repurposed ICBMs and on many of the first attempts to launch them they behaved much more like the missiles they were. To be frank their aborts typically ended with an explosion, SpaceX's Falcon9 stands ready on the pad to try again...that in itself is a non-trivial technical accomplishment.
Perhaps most importantly though I think SpaceX has shown it is up to the task with its performance to date, yes they have had setbacks, yes they have had delays, but each time they've done what you do when you are engineering something, worked the data, to find the problem and corrected it. For that I believe they deserve the time they need to get it right, and I believe they will. Perhaps Tuesday perhaps in a few more tries but this is what the business of pushing the limits and being a space fairing civilization looks like. If SpaceX serves to remind us all of that and of a time when we thrived on such challenges, well then that is a nothing but a success.
]]>Of course we all have differing music tastes and the songs that might trigger the reactions I mentioned above are more likely different then they are the same. For me it's more often than not powerful, generally though not always female vocals, that oscillate into the belt/scream territory and on the next note right back into a perfectly tranquil note (I'm sure there's some real cool musical theory explanation/term for what this is called), it never fails to astound me and my reaction tends to be something along the lines of head shaking "how is that even possible" flat out awe and a grin/laughter that probably looks pretty stupid but ends up being involuntary.
For me though lyrics are also important. A song you can identify with not only musically but also in terms of message is just that much more powerful. Then there's mood and song choice tends to reflect that there are those times when we want to rock out, or it's a warm summer day and HITS1 is on, or when we're down and only the perfect melancholy mix will do. Mood's a big factor for me and usually when I'm in not in a great one then skip button gets judicious use even for songs that are ordinarily my favorite. Although when I'm in a good mood it sometimes seems there are only a few that can actually capture it and when the shuffle on the volume gets equally judicious use.
Then you put all that together into the live music experience. For me it's weird I often feel like I got to a bunch of shows and then when I end up at one I usually come away thinking I don't go to nearly enough shows. There isn't much else that compares. If it's a group/band/artist I really like I usually want to be as close as possible shaving a few years off my ability to hear by standing next to the speaker where the music actually literally physically moves you. A band that definitely gets a volume adjustment upward from me is the female fronted (surprise right! but I mean seriously!) rock band Halestorm. They recently released a new album which shows a lot of range with some hard hitting rock and some near soul crushing acoustic numbers. The track "Rock Show" aside from being really catchy does a good job at kind of summing up the live experience...
At the rock show
You'll be right in the front row
Heart and soul, they both know
It's where we gotta be
Yeah at the rock show
Getting high on the solo
So what if it’s crazy?
That's gonna be me
Perhaps that's the answer right there. Perhaps there is a certain high associated with a great song, or that moment when the crowd collectively cheers because they know they've witnessed something special and flat out impressive. Perhaps it's getting caught up in the energy of a crowd or several 1000 at a big show or maybe it's the energy of the people on stage who are clearly passionate and doing something they really enjoy and having fun at a smaller show.
I still can't quite explain it for myself. There isn't any magical formula quite frankly, sometimes I wish it were that easy, I feel like I'd have some explanation some rationale for why this and not that. Up until about three years ago I guess I never really knew music could have such a visceral effect I mean I always liked listening to music always had favorite songs or bands but just getting so hooked is a bit of a new phenomenon I guess. In the end perhaps like so many things in life we can try to explain it, rationalize, analyze and just end up back where we started.
I guess I just know what is for me and when I hear it I'm hooked and then I don't want to let go.
]]>I woke up as I do most mornings, grabbed my iPad and remembered that Angry Birds Space was releasing 3/22, punched up the App Store and downloaded it. I should start by saying that I was never really a fan of the original Angry Birds for whatever reason it didn't really hook me. I found it to be quite repetitive for me it was a lot of trying the same thing over and over again, and as a result not a lot of fun I never bothered trying to beat or even play every level.
In contrast I find Angry Birds Space to be very fun. Aside from the space connection, which is obviously very cool, the game play mechanics feel like they just have more depth than the original game. Using gravity, inertia and the lack of them in combination makes it feel like there are potentially several answers to a given level. In addition there are various easter egg game-within-games, inspired by retro-arcade games (the first one I found was Space Invaders inspired). Some of the other little space themed details kind of crack me up, like how how if you pop one of the pigs helmets they turn into an ice block. So far I've been playing a lot of Angry Birds Space, enjoying it, and look forward to more.
Oh and of course the space geek in me would be remiss if I didn't thank Rovio for giving NASA a pretty big shoutout, right on the home screen between the game worlds there is an ISS with the NASA logo, clicking it directs you to a page that describes some of the real-world physics incorporated into the game. If that results in even one person paying a bit closer attention to NASA then they might otherwise have it's a huge win in my book!
* * * Minor Spoilers if you haven't read the first Hunger Games book * * *
Oh yeah also last night/this morning was a little event/gathering known as...The Hunger Games Midnight Premiere!!! Yeah it's no secret ever since reading all three of the books in three days last summer I've been a pretty unabashed fan of The Hunger Games story/premise/universe/etc. So obviously I've been awaiting to movie for quite a while now. I kept thinking yesterday as I waited for the premiere how when I finished the books I thought the March and the movie would never come. Well it finally did!
I have to say the experience of a midnight premiere was something new for me. I've been to a couple other midnight premieres but nothing like this and having not been to say a Harry Potter premiere or anything I wasn't entirely sure what to expect though it became clear very quickly.
I arrived at the local theater around 10pm with the same friend who got me into this world/story/franchise by insisting I read the books. A small line had already formed and as we took some seats she looked around turned to me and remarked "So you realize you're the only dude in this line." Once we entered the theater there were a few more guys but lets just call it like it is the vast majority weren't there on their own and the guys were outnumbered at least 10 to 1 I'd say. There were people with all manner of homemade or purchased t-shirts, most of them proclaiming allegiance to some "Team." Others were reading the books. There was chanting "I say Katniss you say Everdeen...Katniss....EVERDEEN!" Yeah that happened. I was surprised at the lack of costumes at our showing but from watching Twitter today that was certainly not the case elsewhere.
Many, like me, had had the foresight to bring their iPads with them. I have to say as an aside I'm really glad I made that choice. Not only did I get to knock off a few more Angry Birds Space levels but I eventually tethered to my Galaxy Nexus and had full 4G connectivity. I was able to catch-up with my Google Reader/Instapaper, keep and eye on Twitter, watch some YouTube videos. Tethering worked great and the 4G was like having a real wired internet connection so thanks for that Apple/Samsung/Verzion. It also got me thinking about the iPad I still have my Gen 1 and really try as I might I'm finding it pretty hard to find the gap that the new iPad would fill for me there's very little I do on a regular basis that the 1 doesn't still do pretty adequately if not well.
So we finally made it to 12am and the trailers started to roll. One of the funnier moments came with the last one which was a trailer for the next Twilight (Ugh! Really I know there's target demo overlap but Twilight != The Hunger Games in any universe) movie, you could feel a palpable disdain in the theater for everything about it from the true Hunger Games fans. Another comical moment came I think as Katniss and Peeta share their first kiss. There was a lone single clap as though someone expected the theater to applaud the moment and then after a pause "Awwwkward..." loud enough for the theater to hear.
So what about the movie itself? Well I hope to write a full post covering that at some point the, hopefully, in the not to distant future. I think I want to see the movie again not necessarily because I so rabidly need to see it again but because I feel like before I can talk about my impressions objectively I need to confirm some of them. There are a few things that seemed to stick today though. First, I liked the movie overall. For me it was a very solidly in the good to very good range. I do feel like I need to stop short of declaring it perfect as many have thought that's certainly a matter of opinion, and I can't fault anyone for feeling that way. Second, I think it had kind of what I'd describe as an amplifying effect. By that I mean the moments and things I had already liked and enjoyed from the book I really enjoyed getting the chance to see come to life in a sense on screen. Similarly the things I didn't care for much in the book I didn't all the sudden love just as a result of seeing their movie version. Finally for this post shout out to the cast! The principal named core characters were all great and the actors did a superb job lead by Jennifer Lawrence's (I never doubted) spot on Katniss! Bottom line though if you were at all a real fan of the books it is a must see in the theater!
Looking forward to future geekery next week when I'll be heading down to D.C. On tap, a cool video game art exhibit and a trip to see the Shuttle Enterprise before it's moved up to NYC!
Geek on.
]]>My line of thinking is something along the lines of well let's say I write a post and reference people or groups or maybe embed a YouTube video or something. Then later on the parties referenced Google themselves and my post turns up but maybe along with it is a post on a completely unrelated topic but that they don't agree with. Now they are associated with that post whether they wanted to be or not.
I guess you could make the argument well if you are on the internet at all particularly in any kind of public capacity you have to be prepared for that type of thing. If you post a video to YouTube it is in effect out of your hands at that point, but is that really a justification? I mean there is the old adage that any publicity is good publicity though I've always felt like while that may sound good in theory it is probably a much harder pill to swallow in practice.
The funny thing is if I mention something in a Twitter post I don't really feel the same concern and I'm not sure why, maybe Twitter just feels more public and it is more understood that you don't have any control?
So I don't know is there a line? Is the Internet just a wild west world and I'm being overly cautious? I guess it is one thing if you're a journalist maybe, but I'm just some guy with a bunch of opinions an passions on a range of things with a URL a rinky dink little blog. I don't know.
]]>So if you've been on the internet over the last few months there is a chance you've heard something about SOPA. SOPA and PIPA are two bills that have been under consideration by the U.S. House and Senate over the last few months. The bills are put forth by the content industries ostensibly to provide them with new powers to fight piracy and protect intellectual property which, if you're inclined to believe them, will destroy them any day now.
Funny I thought we had this argument already back during the whole MP3 thing? It never ceases to amaze me how we have to essentially fight this battle over and over again for each different medium, movies, books, TV, etc. They just can't seem to learn the lessons that the Music industry did a few years back and is now reaping the financial rewards of as a result.
I like listening to music, watching movies, TV, etc. I believe in the right of the creators of quality content to be compensated for their efforts in creating it. However I do NOT believe that playing fast and loose with core infrastructure of the internet and arguably the first amendment as was proposed by the now, seemingly dead, DNS blocking provisions that were in SOPA and PIPA. Content and content creators absolutely need to be protected but messing with the foundations of the internet and giving unprecedented powers to the courts and content industry groups, is not the way to do it.
SOPA seems to have been left starved of air given developments over the last few days but this will not be the last we hear about this type of legislation. The industry lobbying groups have already declared this is not a fight they intend to give up. They will hang on to their old business models which tend to benefit them first and consumers second until the last possible moment. It will only end when consumers demand new models by speaking with their wallets.
This battle isn't over and my concern is that now that DNS has been stripped from SOPA and PIPA and the congressional floor managers have tabled these bills that the issue will fade from the collective consciousness and who knows what provisions will make it into the next bill while everyone's attention has been diverted elsewhere. Which is why I support the various blackouts that Wikipedia and other sites will be conducting tomorrow.
UPDATE: Ars Technica has the MPAA quoted as saying with regards to the blackouts and protests:
"A so-called “blackout” is yet another gimmick, albeit a dangerous one, designed to punish elected and administration officials who are working diligently to protect American jobs from foreign criminals."
Wait WHAT!?! Do they think we live in a police state? Last time I checked the right to peaceful protest was actually an expressly guaranteed power of the people. If there's an clearer evidence for why this fight goes on I can't think of it.
Read up on the SOPA issue:
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This got me thinking about a number of things. The first is why aren't we doing a lot better in 2012? I would wager that if you were to make a list of say the 5 most common computing tasks things like: How do I get my digital pictures off my camera? How to I make a playlist of music and copy it to my media player? How do I sync my calendar with my phone?, etc. Then took a sampling of folks and asked them to do those tasks and compared their success or failure to that of Windows 95 the results wouldn't be a lot different. These are basics tasks and they are things that generally non-technical people still stumble over, but actually really want to be able to do.
This got me thinking about what a waste some of that technology ends up being. For example you can do amazingly powerful things with iTunes and playlists but I am constantly running in to people who don't even bother to sync music to their phone. Take media for example if you spend the time to tag your photos and store them in a library type of application you can slice and dice them in all kinds of cool ways and yet people still default to the age old method of file system folders. At the risk of sounding elitist, it actually depresses me a bit, to see large numbers of consumers not using their devices to the fullest potential. Particularly when there is so much untapped power locked inside most of them.
This dilemma in turn made me wonder, who bares the responsibility for that problem? Is it the consumers who aren't interested in learning how their devices really work or taking the time to figure out how to use them? Or is it the hardware and software makers who simply aren't providing the user experiences required to surface that functionality and make it useful in a non-burdensome way?
Perhaps it's a catch-22. As technology gets easier to interact with it only enforces the idea that it should be effortless in the users mind. We take things like the iPhone for granted and don't stop to think that just 20 years ago you had to carry a mobile phone in a briefcase. This also leads to a situation where when something goes wrong or stops working users are increasingly impatient and they just don't think about the incredibly complex interdependent systems that make the magic in their hand possible. As the software intentionally hides it's inner workings from the user it also creates an environment where it is more difficult for the user to understand what is happening and why. Users should though bear some responsibility for understanding their technology, and also remember that it is a complex system and in many cases sensitive electronics. If you spill beer on to your laptop, or throw it down a flight of stairs don't be surprised when it doesn't last like it should. Don't start from the position that it must always just work and then get frustrated. It is a complex system and may require some systematic thinking. As with everything you are going to get out what you put in. The more time you take to understand and be familiar with the intended use and functions of your devices the more you will get out. In short the better you treat them, the better they'll treat you.
The question though is what responsibility do the software and hardware makers have in this equation? Why is it still so baffling to accomplish these basic tasks? In the case of Windows a major selling point of perhaps every single edition has been that it will make common media tasks easier to deal with. Yet it feels like we are still waiting for the promise to truly be fulfilled. Even take Mac and iTunes and iPhoto. They are both powerful and easy to deal with...IF...you subscribe to and understand their unique ideologies of media management. In fact they again try to hide the complexities from the users, who then wonder where all their pictures went, "What happened to my folder structure?", as an example. In fact the race to hide complexity and solve every single problem the user might ever have is a trap of software design and tends to result in very complex systems which are potential complex to the user.
I believe part of the problem lies in the fact that here we are in 2012 but we don't really have any modern operating systems. Windows and Mac and their UI paradigms both have their legacies in an era computing when the primary uses were Word Processing and Spreadsheets. UNIX goes back even further and has its roots in a time before even UI was prevalent. It makes me wonder what would an OS or computing system that started with the goal of fundamentally just being amazing at those 5 things users want to do 90% of the time look like?
Of course this inevitably leads to the question: Well doesn't the cloud just solve this problem? Maybe one day it will. Of course the first problem with that question is that it assumes there is just one cloud and a consistent way of doing everything there. Just in the cloud music space it is an almost dizzying array of services each with their own ideologies, quirks, and idiosyncrasies. The cloud also brings with it of course the issues or privacy, ownership, etc. I frequently run into folks are loathe to put their personal photos online privacy or controls or not. I confess I too fall into that category despite recently going all in on Google Music.
The reality is that the path forward is that both group need to acknowledge the responsibility they have. Users need to treat technology like the complex system and sensitive electronics is really is and not just magic in the palm of their hand. Software and hardware makers need to be mindful of the ideologies their apps present and the impact they have on the users ability, or very likely, inability to understand how they work. Lastly, society has an obligation to educate future generations in away that removes the mystique of the technological magic occurring in the world around them and inspires them to ask questions like how? and why? about that technology.
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I read the vast majority of the book on my iPad and write this now on my MacBook Air. However, in an amusingly ironic turn of events I started reading in the dark by candlelight. It was the midst of the October storm here in New England and I had been without power for about 24 hours with no sign of it returning. Earlier in the day I had finished the Kindle book I'd been reading earlier in the day and wanted to start something new but without internet access couldn't download anything. I purchased the hardcover book as a memento and so I lit a candle and made it through about the first 60 pages that night. The irony could not be escaped, reading about one of the most prolific technology figures and stories in history...by literal candlelight!
Overall I found the read enjoyable particularly being a fan of the early personal computer era and the dynamic between Apple/Microsoft/IBM in those early days. It's a fascinating time in technology and history and Isaacson does a good job and providing a summary for those readers who might not be as familiar with the time and events. I would have to say though that I agree with the criticism of others that the book doesn't tread a whole lot of new truly uncovered ground. I had already heard a lot of the stories and anecdotes either online, or other tributes, or history of Apple. Perhaps that is a consequence of the material being fresh and having lived through, while not all, much of it certainly the rebirth of Apple.
It also seems that some who've read it have come away feeling conflicted. There is a line that Jobs uses with a columnist about to publish what he perceives to be an unflattering expose on him he says something to the effect of "So you've discovered I'm an asshole, why is that news?" I wonder if some of the problem people have with seeing how the sausage is made is that it is uncomfortable. Most Apple products are perceived as objects of beauty or joy. In truth though a lot of pain and torment was suffered by those who brought us these products. I have to wonder if part of the issue isn't that we no more want to look at an iPhone and think of the engineer who was made to cry, or fired, etc. than we want to look at our jeans and think of the child in a factory who might have made them.
I think we also know deep inside that while it offends societal norms such dazzling products and advancements could not have come without and equal level of both sacrifice but also dazzling levels of ruthlessness, control and arrogance. Thinking about this made me remember and old episode of the original "Star Trek." In the episode there is a transport accident (isn't there always? hehe) involving Captain Kirk. The accident results in two Kirks one the "evil/ruthless" side and the other the "good/compassionate." The "evil" side ends up being confined to the brig, I think, while the "good" side attempts to resume command of the Enterprise. Unfortunately the purely good side is paralyzed as a leader unable to make decisive decisions, etc. It's an age old idea but we simple aren't ourselves without the flaws. For all the criticism I have to wonder if a similar situation had happened to Jobs what would Apple products look like? Could there ever have been an Apple at all?
One thing that the story of Jobs has done is made me think a lot about my own life, place in the world, what I'm doing, etc. Perhaps some of that is that I'm right now essentially the age Jobs was when he was ousted from Apple and decided to start NeXT. After leaving Apple he talks about how he's 30 and needs to make sure he keeps making and impact on the world. I suspect most of us would be pretty content with having created and entire industry and a billion dollar company, but hey. Equally inspiring/thought provoking is of course the unequaled Stanford Commencement Address with lines like "don't settle" and don't live anyone else's dream, etc.
It isn't long before you start asking questions like: "Have I settled?", "What is my dream?", "Who's dream am I living?" Perhaps that only serves to connect the story of Steve once again so directly with Apple, both have always challenged the status quo, traditional way of thinking, and made us question ourselves for the better. In other words of course to "think different." If the story, life and work of Steve Jobs inspires people to keep doing that I suspect future is bright both for Apple and in general. I hope that is a legacy which would have produced one of Jobs' perhaps rare but wry smiles.
]]>Frankly I am really enjoying this season. It has been a good mix of the things that make this show great, the relationships, and a healthy mix of bone chilling action/twists and gut splitting comedy. More than that though I really feel like the Chuck v. Morgan plot actually fit in well with the mythology of the show. It was about both of them discovering who they are and being OK with it. Chuck is a hero and he always has been with or without Intersect. Even from the very first episode he never needed it to save the day, he just had to be himself. I think now he is finally coming to realize that and it's a good thing. That the intersect would malfunction in Morgan's head (tonight's EPIC plot twist not withstanding, which for the record I did not see coming so whatever haters!) to me it makes sense. There is a reason why Bryce sent Chuck the intersect, he was special he had the intellect and pureness of character to handle it and keep the intersect in check. Morgan on the other hand was always more impulsive and I think we saw the intersect taking advantage of that.
As far as the wild roller coaster ride that was tonight's episode well where to even begin. It was one of my favorite and they've definitely setup some interesting stuff going forward both on the spy side but also, in perhaps one of most hilarious twists of the show ever, involving Jeff on the Buy More side as well. I'll be a fan of this show until the very last episode there is not doubt in my mind about that and it looks like Chuck will go out with a few bangs, a few laughs, and of course there's Charah! What more could we ask from our favorite show after five GREAT seasons? Nothing. To the cast and crew I hope this last season was as enjoyable to make and the same fun wild ride as it has been to watch so far.
Aces Charles. Aces.
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