Well, folks, I think I've finally found it! My new theme song*!
And it even has a totally fun video!
Who is this guy? He's awesome!
Some choice lines:
Today I don't feel like doing anything
I just wanna lay in my bed
And:
I'm gonna kick my feet up
Then stare at the fan
Turn the TV on, throw my hand in my pants
And:
I'll just strut in my birthday suit
And let everything hang loose
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah-eah
There would probably be even more fantastic lines, but it's a pretty simple song!
* I tend to think that my self-deprecating jokes about my desire to work, potential for work and actual work are actually taken at face value by many people in my life. My ambition in life is not to lay around all day, but it is to spend as much time doing and getting as good as possible at the things I am passionate about. So, please understand that this is a joke.
None of them were ideal. They either hurt my thumbs or my wrist, or had the wrong keyboard layout or the keys were a pain to depress or they were too light and so on and so on. So, I looked around and found something that programmers just raved about. And here it is:
And let me tell you, it is fantastic! Typing feels amazing, and it is heavy enough so that it doesn't float around my desk. In addition to that, it has no markings whatsoever, so it is going to whip this guy into tip-top-typing shape! No more looking down to find the '5' or the '*', I'm going to just know where that shit is!
It is kind of funny, it is notorious for being a very "clicky" keyboard and on the website they even sell earplugs to give to your office mate or spouse. I personally don't think it is all that loud, but it is definitely louder than any of my previous keyboards. Here's someone's video review on YouTube (yes, he talks for 14 minutes about a keyboard), in case you want to hear it in action...
So, next time you're at the apartment, you'll have to try it out!
I just know this post about a keyboard is going to get a lot of attention and interest!
This is a picture of me dancing at Peter's wedding a couple weeks ago:
I don't think it is a stretch to say that it isn't the most flattering photo... The most obvious problem being the huge sweat stains underneath my armpits, but you can also really see my receding hairline, my tie might be too short and what is my right pinky doing pointing straight out like that?
But I absolutely love it! Seriously, it is one of my favorite photos of myself. Partly because of the memories associated with it (at the time the photo was taken I was having an absolute blast), but also because it so accurately captures this feeling I love.
(I could have chosen moments from other weddings this summer to illustrate this, I've been to a lot of fun weddings this summer, but none of them had a photo like this!)
And that feeling is getting lost in music and forgetting, or not caring how you look or if your dance moves are good enough or cool enough. It is this state where everything you do feels good and seems good and you can do no wrong. Where you feel the music, and you're moving to the music, you're singing along, and everyone around you is doing the same thing. And you give each other these encouraging looks as you all rock out. You just let go and embrace the moment.
I especially love the photo because how I did look was so completely the opposite of how I was feeling. I didn't feel old, balding and sweaty! I felt liberated!
Every time I go out dancing I hope for a moment like this. But it doesn't always happen. Either I'm not in the right mood or I feel embarrassed or the setting isn't right or the people aren't right. So, when it does come along you have to capitalize on it for all it's worth!
I know, I know, I've been calling Colorado "home" for 6 years or so, but up until now, I've only been an impostor. I've been an Oregonian living in Colorado. But then my car insurance company caught onto my ruse, and realized I wasn't living in Oregon*, and made me switch my car insurance to Colorado. Which meant getting a Colorado drivers license and registering my car in Colorado.
Which means, Leeland and I are officially Coloradans:
It was very sad to have to remove my Share the Road plates, but Colorado made it up to me by raining a lot and generally acting like Portland when I did it (see the dreariness of the above photo).
Anyway, thanks for having me Colorado!
* it isn't like they did any super sleuthing or anything, I changed my address with them at the beginning of the year
I just learned that Steve Jobs died. I know that Apple, and thus by extension Steve Jobs, and I have had a rocky last few years together. But I think I can say that without a doubt that Apple has helped shape who I am today, and especially who I am as a programmer. Which is what I do to make a living, and what I do to express my self, and what I do anytime I'm not outside doing something active. And even when I'm out being active, I'm thinking about programming. I live to program, and Apple has helped make that happen.
When I bought my first Mac in 2005, it was the first time that I felt like I was apart of a worldwide community of programmers. Up until then I was someone who mostly programmed alone at night, and sometimes with my friend Omer. After I got my first Mac I remember talking to anyone and everyone that owned an Apple laptop about how much they loved their computer and how they used their computer. I would seek them out. It is through bonding over our Apple computers that I have made many great friends, in particular one of my best friends, Peter.
Sometime in 2005 I also started following programmers online and reading their blogs. This was the way that I taught myself how to program; By reading what the best and smartest people I could find in the web development world were doing. I don't think it would be any exaggeration to say that 90% of the developers and people I found constructive to follow were using Macs. I know that the percentage of Mac users out there is small, even if you look at just the personal computing sector, but when I come across a developer who isn't using a Mac it is weird. I know this isn't the case everywhere, Omer tells me that at Google it is nothing like that. But in particular, among the open source programming communities that I have fallen in love with, Ruby, Rails, Django, Node, the Macs are practically standard. In short the people I have looked up to, the people who are my programming heroes have all used Apple computers (or were when I started following them, I'm not the only one who has been switching lately).
And this is to say nothing about the Apple philosophy that is also my philosophy. I don't think this is what everyone would describe as Apple's philosophy, but this is what it has meant to me: Everything is art. There is no separation between the way something looks (art) and the way it works. Everything we do, we have a chance to do beautifully. I used to think that art was dumb. Paintings and sculptures and photos and design was all boring. Until I realized that in the things I do, I value beauty, elegance, creativity and so many other artistic qualities. And look at the things Apple creates. It tries to make beautiful things both in how they look but in how they work. When that is your fundamental philosophy, how can you not make great things?
And I think it has been fairly well established that Apple would be nothing like what it is today without Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs shaped the company. Steve Jobs shaped the philosophy.
Steve Jobs had another quality I greatly admire. Stubbornness would be one way to put it, but I would call it an inability to settle. If you know what you want, do everything you can to achieve that goal.
When I learned that Steve had died, it brought tears to my eyes. Steve Jobs was a man who I think has to be greatly admired for his philosophy and his work. He wasn't necessarily the nicest, but I for one am thankful for what he has done and how I feel it has affected me. The one thing I keep wondering about was whether or not Steve Jobs was happy. He seemed like the kind of person to me that was always looking for the next thing. Always planning ahead, never quite satisfied. I hope in his final days he looked back on his life and felt happy with what he accomplished and what his legacy is.
I'm not sure how to wrap this up. I guess I'll say this, I didn't like Steve Jobs as a person, the stories people tell make him sound like an ass hole, but I miss him now that he has gone for what he did and what he taught me. Pursue your dreams, and do it beautifully.
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