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Daring Fireball: Universe Dented, Grass Underfoot

daringfireball.net

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Re: Daring Fireball: Universe Dented, Grass Underfoot

#81

Post by jayroh »

shabda wrote: post #25
jgrahamc wrote: post #13

Many years ago a colleague, Steve Holtzman, suddenly discovered he had colon cancer. Within a year he had faded away (it seemed almost literally) and was gone. He had money and access to the best doctors, but he wasn't vigilant (he had ignored odd weight loss and bowel trouble) and so it was too late. Although Jobs didn't die of a "man's disease" there are lots of men killers out there that can be stopped if you look…

In January 2009 I was Stage 5 chronic kidney disease, in July 2009 I had a kidney transplant. Looking back there were so many telltale signs that I had over the last six months, which I was ignoring as I was busy building my startup. A regular health check has the potential to catch a problem like this. I now nag each of my friends and family in having an annual health check. Its the best time you can spend. This was…

And I, just now, walked into my home office after a trip to my doctor for a check-up ... a check-up I'd been putting off for 2 years or so. The timing is impeccable with what happened yesterday in mr. Jobs' passing.

Health and your personal well-being have never been more important to me than it is now. I've lost 50+ pounds in the last 6 months because I couldn't ignore my health problems any more. It got to be too important that I pay attention. Another thing I've lost? My sister. She was 36 years old. She died from a pulmonary embolism while she was getting ready to go to work as an ICU nurse. Ironically, she was a nurse who rarely (if ever) saw a doctor and ended up passing away because she didn't know she was prone to easy blood clotting.

If that's not a wake up call, I don't know what is.

Why will I miss Steve Jobs? Not the iphones and macbooks and ipads that I've bought and enjoyed immensely - but the lesson that tomorrow is no sure thing and to live today as if it's not. This particular lesson is what I'll always remember about this man. He helped us get all of this wonderful STUFF, purchased with money, but the journey that got Apple there is entirely without a price tag.

Hug your family members first. Tell them to literally take care of themselves immediately after.

Re: Daring Fireball: Universe Dented, Grass Underfoot

#82

Post by Tashtego »

hugacow wrote: post #66

He was a great man. But, he wasn't perfect. He basically took credit for Woz's creation, backed the losing Lisa (and prior to that the Apple III) rather than the Mac and jumped ship to the Mac when the Lisa tanked. The OS X technology was written by NeXT before Apple bought them. iPod (etc.) was a design win and a business win, but Jobs just helped hire good people. He makes a great front-person, was a stellar busine…

"iPod (etc.) was a design win and a business win, but Jobs just helped hire good people."

That's like saying the iPod developers just helped write code, or the iPod designers just helped design. Hiring good people is huge.

Re: Daring Fireball: Universe Dented, Grass Underfoot

#83

Post by alanh »

solutionyogi wrote: post #7

Gruber uses the word 'Raconteur' in his Twitter Bio. I didn't know what the word meant, I looked it up. Well, for me, he is truly a raconteur (along with Joel). RIP, Steve.

FWIW, Lion users on new-ish hardware should be able to use three fingers to double-tap on words to define them: http://cl.ly/3w2r3p42261w1z2j1X3F

Re: Daring Fireball: Universe Dented, Grass Underfoot

#84

Post by [deleted] »

hugacow wrote: post #66

He was a great man. But, he wasn't perfect. He basically took credit for Woz's creation, backed the losing Lisa (and prior to that the Apple III) rather than the Mac and jumped ship to the Mac when the Lisa tanked. The OS X technology was written by NeXT before Apple bought them. iPod (etc.) was a design win and a business win, but Jobs just helped hire good people. He makes a great front-person, was a stellar busine…

[deleted]

Re: Daring Fireball: Universe Dented, Grass Underfoot

#85

Post by achompas »

dmm wrote: post #78
achompas wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very surprising to read this. Was there anything in particular that bugged you about it? To me, Gruber captures Jobs as both a loving family man and a visionary who is selective with his attention to detail. This is a nice lesson, as I often spend time focusing on the wrong details. Even the structure of the article -- a vignette with a narrative device built from a small detail -- is a tribute to Jobs's legendary fo…

> a loving family man He denied paternity of his daughter Lisa, even testifying in court that he was infertile. Lisa's mother was on welfare for a time because of this. So if you are going to say he was a loving father, you should also mention that he was a neglectful one. Hero worship is empty. If you want to admire something, admire the man, not some two dimensional pr bullshit.

He denied paternity of his daughter Lisa, even testifying in court that he was infertile. Lisa's mother was on welfare for a time because of this. So if you are going to say he was a loving father, you should also mention that he was a neglectful one.

You left out the part where he accepted paternity, supported his daughter financially, and had a very strong relationship with her until his death.

No one is perfect, but how can you hold mistakes he made decades ago (this happened in the 1980s) and subsequently rectified against him?

Re: Daring Fireball: Universe Dented, Grass Underfoot

#87

Post by rumblestrut »

Hisoka wrote: post #72
jgrahamc wrote: post #13

Many years ago a colleague, Steve Holtzman, suddenly discovered he had colon cancer. Within a year he had faded away (it seemed almost literally) and was gone. He had money and access to the best doctors, but he wasn't vigilant (he had ignored odd weight loss and bowel trouble) and so it was too late. Although Jobs didn't die of a "man's disease" there are lots of men killers out there that can be stopped if you look…

I think the stress and pressure of running a company also may have contributed to Job's health. He may have had pancreatic problems nonetheless, but the stress, lack of sleep, eating fast food at his desk, etc couldn't have been beneficial. Jobs may have contributed a lot to society, but he probably paid a huge price for it.

First of all, if you know a little bit about Steve Jobs, you'll know he wasn't likely a big fast food eater.

Secondly, I think Steve Jobs would have been much worse off if he had stepped down as CEO.

Steve Jobs needed Apple as much as Apple needed Steve Jobs.

Re: Daring Fireball: Universe Dented, Grass Underfoot

#88

Post by andrewljohnson »

timr wrote: post #80

"There is no grass in Moscone West." There's a gigantic grass lawn right next door, in Moscone Center. Steve Jobs was a great man, but this remembrance hit a sour note for me. It's not about Steve Jobs, so much as it's about an outsider's fantasy of what Jobs' (very private) inner life was like. And if this bears no resemblance to reality, it's not a remembrance at all. It could even be offensive to the people who kn…

Steve Jobs meant something different to each of us, and for the vast majority it's just fantasy. I think this blog was a tad touching, and a tad overwrought, but not sour.

Re: Daring Fireball: Universe Dented, Grass Underfoot

#89

Post by mahyarm »

meric wrote: post #77
shabda wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In January 2009 I was Stage 5 chronic kidney disease, in July 2009 I had a kidney transplant. Looking back there were so many telltale signs that I had over the last six months, which I was ignoring as I was busy building my startup. A regular health check has the potential to catch a problem like this. I now nag each of my friends and family in having an annual health check. Its the best time you can spend. This was…

> I now nag each of my friends and family in having an annual health check. I had an aunt and an uncle (from different sides and don't know each other) fight off cancer 5 years ago. After they were deemed "cured", they still didn't learn the lesson of an annual health check. Around 1 year ago they both started to feel strange symptoms and went to checkup again. They found out not only had the cancer recurred but that…

When your trying to loose weight, finding if there is anything else that might be making it hard can be helpful. Taking a blood test and finding out you have iron problems could literally save your life. 4 Hour Body kind of drills regular testing to see how your body is doing, and those accurate tests can be a wake up call. Seeing 30% body fat from a DXA scan surprised me a bit, since I estimated I was around 25% At the very least do it once or twice if you've never had a comprehensive blood test and a DXA scan to see where you are now and possibly catch things you've never tested for even once.

If your the typical fat american too, pre-diabetes and heart attacks happen to 20-somethings too. It's estimated in about a decade from now, %50 of the US population will be diabetic/pre-diabetic. Cancer can occur also, I know people who've died of cancer in their 30s, and pretty much the only way to somewhat avoid/'cure' cancer is the earliest possible detection, and that's no where near foolproof even then.

Weight gain can sneak up on you too even if your not doing too much that's different in your diet and exercise. I'm 25 and I'm starting to thin out in my hair region. Aging can catch up to you quicker than you think and if you have health insurance and an income, taking your health seriously and spending money on things like these can really reap benefits in the future.

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