Steve Jobs, 1955-2011

Most of my blog posts nowadays are written on my iPhone; I read Twitter on it, and the news, and a whole bunch of blogs, and my email, both personal and business. I never thought I’d say this just a few years ago, but my mobile phone has changed the way I interact with technology, and so it seems appropriate to remember Steve Jobs, who passed away earlier today.

As it’s normally better to let someone speak for themselves, here’s a video of Jobs’ speech to Stanford University graduates in 2005.

“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, don’t settle and keep looking.”

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”

RIP Steve.

Blogging My iPod: An exercise in futility

So I’m suffering a case of blogger’s block again. Never fear – I have a plan! Thanks to my fancy new smartphone I’m carrying around a good chunk of my music collection, and therefore I can use the song titles as inspiration. Genius, right?! Let’s go!

Hits Shuffle.

JCB Song
So. JCBs. They’re big. Big and yellow. Big, yellow and noisy. Yes.

Crickets chirp, hits Shuffle again.

The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight
Okay. The sidewinder is a… Is it a missile? I think it’s a missile. Either that or a minor Transformer. Let me check… No, it’s a snake or a plane. Snake on a plane?

Hits Shuffle again, in an attempt to hide his ignorance

Birdhouse in your Soul
This is an awesome song. Possibly about the ineffable nature of the human soul. Or maybe a birdhouse.

Hits Shuffle, hoping for something easier.

Jump

Hits Shuffle without even trying.

The Rising
Okay, this would be great if it wasn’t the basis for a post on the 10th anniversary of September 11. Next!

Hits Shuffle. Repeatedly.

Anyway You Want It
Well, I’ve been singing for five minutes but I haven’t actually written anything. This ain’t getting my blig blogged.

Wait, blig blogged? What does that even mean?! Stupid typos typed on stupid elfen iphone keypads with stupid sausage fingers…

Tries to hit Shuffle, misses, tries again.

The Group Who Couldn’t Say
I’m sitting here, an uninspired, sausage-fingered, musically illiterate, failed blogger, and now my iPod thinks I’m in the mood for abstract. Great. Because what you really want on a Wednesday is an enigma.

Hits Shuffle for the last time. This has to be the moment of truth. Gimme some sugar baby!

Salty Dog
I give up.

Hits Kindle app; battery runs ou

Apple want to copyright the word ‘pod’

Okay, so it’s in connection with technology – they’re trying to stop other companies coasting on the success of the iPod – but how far will this go? Will we one day be unable to use the collective noun for dolphins? Will HAL be unable to open the pod bay doors? Heck, the legal fight could get nasty – it could even affect how we see vegetables. After all, they come in pods, and they couldn’t possibly fight Apple in court. I guess what I’m saying is…

…Give peas a chance.

Sorry.