A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs • Hacker News Board

Re: A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs

#91

Post by gbog » Mon, Oct 31, 2011, 2:22 PM UTC

rmason wrote: post #13

It was a moving and powerful eulogy. Probably the most beautiful thing I've seen written about Jobs since his passing. One important takeaway for me was the quote: “Fashion is what seems beautiful now but looks ugly later; art can be ugly at first but it becomes beautiful later.” I've experienced this firsthand. I've been privileged to work with some great web designers. I've forced myself to wait a minimum of 24 hou…

It is not a matter of hours or days, it is a matter of years and centuries. Bach is more beautiful every new century, so is Vermeer, so is Pride and Prejudice. It is the mark of a Classic, regenerated by each new generation.

But we are off-topic, this is again a Jobs thread, unless someone dare compare Sixtine Chapel (priceless) and an Ipad (expensive)?

Re: A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs

#92

Post by philwelch » Mon, Oct 31, 2011, 2:53 PM UTC

jimbokun wrote: post #49

jfb wrote: post #47

I always thought of him as a sociopath. It's nice to read an insider's take that isn't suffused with narcissism and loathing, although I always did figure him for a jerk for parking that Merc in the handicapped space every. goddamned. day.

I really found this eulogy quite moving and beautiful and gave me an appreciation for a Steve Jobs that has not been captured by any of the other things I've read about him since his passing. But the part about going through 67 nurses did give me a little chill. My heart goes out to those poor 64 people who tried and failed to care for him up to the level of his demanding standards.

Having visited loved ones in the hospital, it's not hard to imagine Steve declaring a lot of nurses "bozos" and demanding better. There is a lot of variability in nurse quality.

Re: A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs

#93

Post by shrikant » Mon, Oct 31, 2011, 3:05 PM UTC

jfb wrote: post #47

I always thought of him as a sociopath. It's nice to read an insider's take that isn't suffused with narcissism and loathing, although I always did figure him for a jerk for parking that Merc in the handicapped space every. goddamned. day.

Are you saying that in about 5 years of working at Apple, you've only ever heard words about Steve Jobs that were "suffused with narcissism and loathing"?

Re: A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs

#94

Post by MikeCapone » Mon, Oct 31, 2011, 3:27 PM UTC

stashdot wrote: post #86

MikeCapone wrote: post #59

I cried like a baby while reading the last part of this eulogy. It brought me straight back to a hot hotel room where I saw my uncle - a second father to me - die from brain cancer. Makes me want to donate more to medical research (my favorite foundation is SENS.org, but there are many good ones). I think it's okay to be sad, but we also have to do something to make things better.

So sad, buddy, but why was it a hotel room?

That was a weird typo; I meant to write hospital room.

Re: A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs

#95

Post by phuff » Mon, Oct 31, 2011, 3:41 PM UTC

dicroce wrote: post #46

nagrom wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

YT was in Snow Crash and I think that HT should be HP: Hiro Protagonist. Although I don't remember that quote in the book.

YT was also briefly in "The Diamond Age". :)

Where is YT in the Diamond Age?

Re: A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs

#96

Post by hugh3 » Mon, Oct 31, 2011, 3:56 PM UTC

seanmccann wrote: post #6

OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW. One can only wonder what he was referring to. Such a well written piece.

Without wanting to burst anyone's bubble, I'm guessing that the words actually refer to a dose of serious palliative care grade painkillers.

I don't like the emphasis on "last words" anyway. When I'm dying (and probably not especially lucid), I don't want to have to cope with the pressure that any set of words could be my last and hence I'd better make 'em good. I think we should let everyone record their official last words ahead of time, just so there's one less thing to worry about when you're actually dying.

Re: A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs

#97

Post by mixmastamyk » Mon, Oct 31, 2011, 3:57 PM UTC

I'm glad to hear he made some time for family.

Re: A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs

#98

Post by jfb » Mon, Oct 31, 2011, 4:03 PM UTC

shrikant wrote: post #93

jfb wrote: post #47

I always thought of him as a sociopath. It's nice to read an insider's take that isn't suffused with narcissism and loathing, although I always did figure him for a jerk for parking that Merc in the handicapped space every. goddamned. day.

Are you saying that in about 5 years of working at Apple, you've only ever heard words about Steve Jobs that were "suffused with narcissism and loathing"?

I should have clarified: since he died. At Apple, his complexities were largely well understood; I can't speak for those who reported to him directly.

Re: A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs

#99

Post by gruseom » Mon, Oct 31, 2011, 4:04 PM UTC

jfb wrote: post #47

I always thought of him as a sociopath. It's nice to read an insider's take that isn't suffused with narcissism and loathing, although I always did figure him for a jerk for parking that Merc in the handicapped space every. goddamned. day.

I always thought of him as a sociopath.

From your other comments we know you're not a troll and that you worked at Apple. So I find it regrettable that you can't say this here. Two forces prevent it: the taboo against speaking ill (i.e. objectively) of the dead, and the cult of personality. That's not to say that SJ isn't a fascinating character and the OP moving -- I feel both those things too -- but there's a lot of myth-making going on here. The author is a novelist. That's what novelists do.

Edit: not to share your description, necessarily. He seems too emotional to have been a normal sociopath, if there is such a thing. That's one thing I like about the OP - it dwells on the emotional side.

Re: A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs

#100

Post by freemarketteddy » Mon, Oct 31, 2011, 4:32 PM UTC

hugh3 wrote: post #96

seanmccann wrote: post #6

OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW. One can only wonder what he was referring to. Such a well written piece.

Without wanting to burst anyone's bubble, I'm guessing that the words actually refer to a dose of serious palliative care grade painkillers. I don't like the emphasis on "last words" anyway. When I'm dying (and probably not especially lucid), I don't want to have to cope with the pressure that any set of words could be my last and hence I'd better make 'em good. I think we should let everyone record their official la…

Try to go into Steve's mind when he said "OH WOW OH WOW OH WOW"....try going to the mind of a person who is about to die.....try going to the mind of a person who realizes that this is the end....these last few seconds are the last of a lifetime of seconds....I cant either but at least I am trying.