Happy birthday, Steve.

59 years ago today, the world saw the birth of one of the greatest pioneers in human history: Steven Paul Jobs. Nobody at the time could have possibly seen what this boy would go on to do throughout the course of his life.

59 years later, Steve Jobs is no longer with us. He lost a battle with pancreatic cancer and left this world on October 5, 2011. It was a sad day in the technology industry and it had ripple effects all around the world. I remember very clearly where I was and what I was doing that day. I was getting ready for an awards and honors ceremony that was being hosted at Littleton High School. The news came to me via Facebook, while I was browsing it on my then-new 2011 MacBook Pro. The tears were falling before I could even stop them. Nobody wants to lose their hero. The man whose footsteps I want to follow would be a man that I would never meet.

US President Barack Obama put it aptly:

"The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented."

You could not be more right, Mr. President. By the end of October 2013, Apple hit the milestone of nearly 700 million iOS devices shipped. (This is just iDevices, not counting Mac computers.) Whether you adore or abhor Apple, there is no denying that in the road from being a garage company in 1976, to when Steve unveiled the Macintosh on January 24, 1984 with tears in his eyes, to the advent of the iPod on October 23, 2001, to the iPhone on January 9, 2007, to the iPad on January 27, 2010, to one of the world's largest companies in 2014, Steve and his colleagues helped shape the technology world for the better. In a statement Tim Cook and Apple released after his death, "Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple."

I would encourage anyone reading this to take a look at Steve's 2005 Stanford Commencement address, and take a moment to reflect upon his words and ponder how they may apply to you.

Steve has been an indirect mentor for me ever since I dipped my feet into Apple products in the middle of high school. To this day, it is my lifelong ambition to one day fulfill the role that he once did as CEO of Apple, and create innovations that will help the world for decades to come.  Every day that I wake up, I look in the mirror and ask what Steve also asked himself: "If today were my last day on Earth, how would I spend this day?" I know what I want to do every day. I want to take one step more on the road that is my destiny in life, whether that is flying airplanes, owning a Mercedes-Benz, or running Apple. I know that the dots will connect themselves looking back.

Happy 59th birthday, Steve. Thank you for everything.


Fun fact: This blog post is written in the Helvetica font, a font Apple used in non-Retina iOS 1-6 devices (iPad 1 and 2, iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPod touch 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generations) and still prominently uses today.

It's a Mistake

This is a song by Men at Work, and it is said to be written about war (specifically Cold War) tensions and the lust for power and the fear mongering of the era. It paints a beautifully terrible picture about how humans act so impulsively when given power, and how we tend to assume that everything can be made right afterwards.

Jump down the shelters to get away! 
The boys are cockin' up their guns.
Tell us general, is it party time? 
If it is can we all come? 

Don't think that we don't know. 
Don't think that we're not trying. 
Don't think we move too slow .
It's no use after crying 
Saying 

It's a mistake, it's a mistake! 
It's a mistake, it's a mistake!

After the laughter as died away, 
And all the boys have had their fun. 
No surface noise now, not much to say. 
They've got the bad guys on the run 

Don't try to say you're sorry. 
Don't say he drew his gun. 
They've gone and grabbed old Ronnie. 
He's not the only one, saying 

It's a mistake, it's a mistake! 
It's a mistake, it's a mistake! 

Tell us commander, what do you think? 
'Cause we know that you love all that power. 
Is it on then, are we on the brink? 
We wish you'd all throw in the towel! 

We'll not fade out too soon, 
Not in this finest hour. 
Whistle your favorite tune, 
We'll send a card and flower, 
Saying 

It's a mistake, it's a mistake! 
It's a mistake, it's a mistake!...

Two Gunslingers

An obscure song about finding peace within yourself, being happy with who you are, and envisioning peace in the world. One of my favorites.

From Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' 1991 album Into the Great Wide Open.

"Two gunslingers, walked out in the street 
And one said 'I don't want to fight no more.' 
And the other gunslinger, thought about it 
And he said, 'yeah what are we fighting for?' 

I'm takin' control of my life, 
I'm takin' control of my life. 
I'm takin' control of my life now, 
Right now, oh yeah 

Well the crowd that assembled 
For the gun fight were let down 
Everyone hissed and booed 
And a stranger told his Mrs. 
'That's the last one of these gunfights 
You're ever gonna drag me to...' 

I'm takin' control of my life, 
I'm takin' control of my life 
I'm takin' control of my life now, 
Right now, oh yeah 

Well the two gunslingers 
Went ridin' out of town and 
Were never heard from no more 
And there ain't been a gun fight 
For a long time, maybe never 
But nobody knows for sure 

I'm takin' control of my life, 
I'm takin' control of my life 
I'm takin' control of my life now, 
Right now, oh yeah
Now, right now, oh yeah
Now, right now, oh yeah."

The Legacy of Claire Davis

There are moments in people’s lives where every difference that we may have between one another, or our differing views and opinions, are cast aside and we are all united as one for the strength of humanity under the shadow of trouble. Of the 2200 students and staff currently at Arapahoe High School, I am but an outsider to 2198 of them. And yet, having received my K-12 education from Littleton Public Schools, I am quite attached to the community, and so I was no stranger to the emotions felt by everyone in light of the recent events at Arapahoe High School. It is my purpose to give whoever reads this post an idea of just how strongly the rest of the community, the state, and even the globe, have felt the roller coaster of emotions in the past month, and what we have all learned from it.

I want to express to the Davis family my full support during this time, and I would like to reiterate, as I’m sure they already know, that tens of thousands of people keep them in their hearts, and pray that they are finding the strength to work through the aftermath along with the rest of the community. It is also important to keep in our thoughts the family of Karl Pierson. Karl taught us a valuable lesson of what not to do. We can learn to not let ourselves be consumed by our emotions. Just like Claire, he was somebody's child, sibling, grandchild, etc. My heart is with the Pierson family as well.

Many people, including myself, did not even know that a beautiful young woman by the name of Claire Esther Davis existed until we had heard about what had happened to her, and yet we will now never forget her. The impact she has had on people that never knew her is invaluable. She has touched lives near and far, and she and her family are the shining examples of the perpetual love and happiness that exists in the world. The astounding level of class and dignity that the Davis family have shown continue to inspire and ignite a flame in all of us as we work to spread throughout the world the love and the light that they have instilled in us. While she is physically no longer with us, this does not mean that she is gone forever; rather, she eternally lives on in the form of our memories of her and the profound legacy that she is leaving for us. We must not let hate, judgment, anger, or jealousy get the best of us. We must remember that even in the darkest of times, we have a duty to control our emotions, and search within us and find the happiness that we all unconditionally possess somewhere inside of us, no matter what the circumstances are. There, we will also find Claire and the example that she is leading us all to live. A willingness to forgive and the search for self-betterment are essential in attaining our full potential in life. As fellow human beings, it is imperative that we work together to help each other when the going gets rough, and the compassion and concern we show for each other contribute to making the world a happier and safer place for us and our future generations. There is no shame in letting go of all fear of judgment and seeking help ourselves when we need it, as we all need each other to grow as people. We would not have come this far as humans if we did not rely on each other to mature and grow into the people that we are today.

Writing this has enabled me to express my thoughts in a form that I otherwise could not have adequately expressed in just my voice. It gives me a feeling of closure and a reaffirmed sense that Claire was not taken in vain. She has left on me and the rest of the community an everlasting message of love and happiness and an impression that we will never let fade away. She has helped to make myself and all of us around the world better people and she will continue to do so for the rest of our lives. For that, I thank you, Claire and the entire Davis family. I also want to thank those of you that took the time to read this post.

From a Littleton Lion I say unto you: We are all Warrior strong. Warriors, always take care of one another.

I'm back...again.

This blog is one of the forgotten treasures in the ocean that is my Internet life. I started it back in January 2008 when I was but a wee 8th grader new to the world of blogging, and anxious to join the crowd. I find it fascinating as I watch the transition from the Flight Simulator/Apple/Tom Petty obsessed kid -- which I still am -- to the college sophomore that I am today. Feel free to take a look through my post archives.

As I distance myself from the likes of Facebook and such, I have found that blogging is emotionally and mentally much more satisfying than social networking tends to be. I can write freely and express my thoughts more openly than I can on Facebook, and to a much wider audience (this blog is public). I intend on regularly updating this blog from here on, whereas I used to come back on Blogger maybe once every 2-3 years previously.

Check back soon. It is great to be writing again. You can follow my other non-personal blogs too, if you wish:

PKTech (Technology): http://techprad.blogspot.com
I Feel Cars.... (Automotive): http://ifeelcars.blogspot.com

What a long, strange month it's been.

Hey again everyone.

Wow, so much to tell you but so little time and space. What the hell, I'll you everything.

My last post was April 14, 2011, but so much has happened since then. Take for example, April 29, 2011. That marks one year since we came back from Louisville, KY for the DECA ICDC 2010. Wow, time flies. More on that later.

At about 2:40 PM, I walked into the Apple Store with the intent to buy a replacement iPhone 3G for my old and battered iPhone 3G. The Genius behind the Genius Bar got all my paperwork in order, and here came the first surprise: rather than billing me $199 for a replacement, I was only billed $85. 

The Genius walked over to the drawer and pulled out a replacement iPhone 3G. He then inserted his SIM tray ejector tool and tried to open the sim tray of the new iPhone, but to no avail. He spent at least 15 minutes trying to un-jam the SIM tray but it was useless. He then put the iPhone 3G back in the box and came over to me, and I was sure I was walking out of there without a phone at all until they could order a replacement.

Well, he walked over to me, and he said, "So we've been having some trouble with the SIM tray on the replacement iPhone 3G, so we're gonna go ahead and upgrade you to a 16-gigabyte iPhone 3GS.

I nearly lost it right there. Months of eBay-ing, months of making new contacts and asking around, all at an end. I jumped all around the Apple Store bragging that I had a new 3GS (and it's not even as good as a 4!). It's been such a great phone so far. It does everything I want, and then some. The battery lasted over 6 hours of usage on each charge, perfect for my trip to Orlando, which brings me to...

...the DECA International Career Development Conference 2011. Me, along with 8 of my classmates, traveled to Orlando, FL to compete and attend leadership conferences. It was the time of my life. Not only were there 3 plane rides involved (I filmed all the takeoffs and landings on my new iPhone 3GS, got yelled at by a flight attendant, but sneakily whipped out my phone and started filming again), but the weather was hot and humid (85 degrees and clear skies) as opposed to 40 degrees and snowy. Our hotel, the Hilton Orlando, had the best pool I have ever seen in a hotel. We went to SeaWorld, went mini-golfing, and whatnot. In terms of actual competition, me and my partner were the only ones in our group that made it to the Finals. We didn't get top 3 or even top 10, which is somewhat disappointing but I feel that being in the top 22 is still pretty good, especially on an international level.

I am now in the midst of my last full week of junior year, with finals next week. My grades are good, but barely. More work is needed. I have begun my Facebook hiatus for an indefinite amount of time and in the meantime will keep Tweeting and "Bloggering." Until then, I'm off!

And so begins a new era.

Hey guys.

Can you believe that it has been 1.3 years since I posted on this blog?

Well, I'm back. And I have changed.

More on this later. Please keep checking back. This blog WILL be kept up to date more and more over the next few months.

Thanks.