FRIENDSHIP

My best friend Amit recently visited Portland. I had emailed him on a lark several months back because one of our favorite bands, Bon Iver, was going to be playing in town. I did not expect Amit to be able to make it because he has three young kids, including one year-old twins. However, he said yes... after getting permission from his wife Gillian!

We had not seen each other since last Christmas, but one would not have guessed this. As we began to catch up, it was clear that while much had transpired in our lives in the past year, we were the same friends and our affection was unchanged.

The two of us walked around the Japanese Garden, grabbed a beer at Deschutes Brewery, ate take out from Pok Pok, and reflected on how far we both had traveled in the past 13 years since becoming friends.

That night, Amit, Kathleen, and I went to see Bon Iver. They did not disappoint. It was one of the best concerts I have ever been to. Not just because of the music but also because the company was so good!

That weekend reminded me of the true meaning of friendship and the value of a real friend. I do not do acquaintances. I do not do casual contacts. Life is too short to share air with people that are fickle, undependable, or fair-weather. Sure, I am polite to those people, but I do not care to spend time with them.

I feel lucky to have friends like Amit who never let me down and who always bring something new and special to my life despite how familiar we are. Until I meet Amit or one of you again....here's to my friends!

THREE AT LAST...THREE AT LAST...

It is hard to believe that Catherine Reese turned three last week. Cate's foot next to mine in the same socks is shown below, and she is catching up!


On her birthday, we went to the Timbers game, where we had, among other things, chocolate ice cream!







The following night we had some friends over, and we celebrated for real with a cake. Please note the Tinkerbell meets Star Wars theme.



When I reflect on that cake and Cate at this age, it is obvious that Cate has become quite the individual. She went through several recent school transitions that were quite challenging, but she now seems quite settled. She knows what she likes and dislikes, and there is no better word to describe her than resolute. Some might say stubborn, but we'll call it resolute. Please see a recent New Yorker cover that captures Cate's essence below.



Cate has an amazing sense of self. I call her my little Messi not only for her amazing soccer strike but also because of the effortlessness with which she seems to excel! I cannot wait to see her grow and change! Here's to Cate!

WHAT MAKES STEVE JOBS GREAT

This is a great piece by Joe Nocera of the New York Times from August after Steve announced he was stepping down. Note the Henry Ford parallels. Little did he know...

REST IN PEACE, STEVE

Steve Jobs died today. He was one of the most visionary human beings ever to grace our earth, and he will leave a lasting imprint. I say that not because of the companies he founded or the products he created- although those are earth-shattering- but because of the singular way he led. He is an example to anyone who ever believed that they could create something of value.

Steve had no specific expertise in programming or hardware when he founded Apple Computer. What he had was the ability to imagine the future and what the demands of a modern world would require. How else could he have taken one look at the first prototype of a mouse and say of course this is how we will interface with computers. Only, he improved that device, and now when one utters the word mouse, the first thought that comes to mind is not an animal but a piece of computer hardware. Were it not for his vision, how could he have conceived that music would be cut up and sold so that we could purchase what we wanted whenever we wanted it. He not only convinced the record executives but every music lover on the planet who now consumes music this way.

Who does not have an Ipod? Who does not have an IPhone? How fitting that I heard of his death after logging on to the New York Times on my Ipad and that I could have chosen between my Ipad, my MacBook Air, my MacMini, or this MacBook Pro to write this post. We do not just buy these products. New research shows that we love these products, literally, and that using them activates key pleasure centers in the brain. I could not agree more.

The world is a lesser place without Steve Jobs. His memorable quotes and the ways he changed the world are far too numerous to count. Fittingly, I heard one of my favorite Jobs' lines today from one of the endless stream of remembrances of Steve on Twitter. It came from a commencement address at Stanford in 2005- perhaps the best such address I have ever heard because of its poignancy and its call to arms. In it Steve speaks of life, loss, and death. In many ways it was the story of his life and all of our lives. He closes with a message that is both sweet and simple- much like the many products he helped to create- "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish."

A comment on the New York Times by a reader said now I know how they felt when Henry Ford died. While I am sure the country mourned Mr. Ford's passing, I am confident that the depth of emotion felt around the globe over Steve's passing eclipses the loss of nearly any other person who has ever lived. That is the definition of legacy. I know that I have never felt so sad about the death of someone whom I never met, although I feel as though I really knew the man who introduced me to computing with that first Macintosh model some 27 years ago and who changed the way we live our lives... forever.

I leave you with one of his quotes that captures his essence- "Because the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones that do."

Stav Hungry. Stay Foolish. I know I will try to.