iLegend

As word of Steve Jobs' passing spread across Facebook and Twitter today, digested by millions through his revolutionary products that have reshaped the world, I did not know exactly how to react. I scrolled through my Twitter feed and my Facebook news feed, reading what my information graph and social graph had to say about such an incredible innovator.

Two things glaringly stood out. His remarkable vision that built Apple into what it is today. And his presence and message.

I am not smart enough nor am I qualified enough to write about Jobs' accomplishments in technology, product development, and invention. I am in awe of all of it.

His powerful presence and ability to deliver and live his message is what connects with me the most. My first experience with his presence and message took place in a corporate training class on public speaking. After our instructor let us fall on our faces with initial impromptu speeches, followed by the embarrassment of reviewing them on tape in front of the class, he shared a keynote from MacWorld 2007 from Mr Jobs that I'll never forget.

That video represents Steve Jobs' legacy quite nicely. A genius revolutionizing technology, communications, and entertainment on stage in a dynamic and powerful fashion. If I had watched that speech live, I may not have been as moved. Watching it two years later, knowing the impact that his announcements made on society, I was inspired. I YouTube'd as much Steve Jobs content as I could find for three days straight. Part of me hoped to morph into him for my final Public Speaking class test. Most of me just wanted more inspiration.

I re-watched a lot of old Steve Jobs' speeches tonight. His commencement speech at Stanford in 2005 really struck a cord in me.

Many of my friends and people in Twitter land shared snippets of this speech in their updates and tweets. And for good reason. His message is simple, but oh so powerful. Don't be afraid to take chances. Follow your heart. Find what makes you happy. Be foolish in your pursuit of your passion - in life and in work.

Think different.

He also acknowledges that you can't connect the dots to the future or in the present, only the past. You have to believe in something (faith, karma, a lucky egg) that will lead you on your way.

As I approach the dreaded age of 30, I can't help but think of his message and look myself in the mirror. The dots that have led me to this point in my life are clear. My girlfriend, my friends, my family, my job - all in a path of dots. What comes next is the hard part. The part where risks are involved. Leaps of faith that take you to places you've never heard or seen before.

I can only hope that I embody a tiny sliver of the courage, ambition, and passion that Steve Jobs demonstrated over the course of his life. A life that ended much too soon.

- Crafty Lefty

Culture of Complaining

The easiest and least interesting topic of conversation is and always has been the weather. It has been a go-to in all small talk exchanges for centuries.

Here in San Francisco, the weather is notoriously bizarre. Locals constantly complain about the micro climates, the wind, and the fog. Our jealously towards our neighbors in the north, south, and east bay areas (and pretty much all other parts of the country) during the summer months seeps through our pores. Even during sunny days, we bitch about the rolling fog that always ruins the chance of a warm evening outside.

In the winter, when most of the country is suffering through months of snow and rain while San Francisco stays consistently cool, we are still bitter about our lack of summer. We'll even try to argue that we get screwed for not receiving snow even though it is a royal pain in the ass to live in. Did I mention we have Lake Tahoe only a few hours away where snow is supposed to be enjoyed?

Never satisfied.

And here we are, at the end of September with temperatures topping 80 degrees in San Francisco. Our summer has finally arrived. Our complaining can stop for a few days of sun and warm nights in this beautiful city. What do we do?

We complain.

Our tiny, overpriced apartments don't have air conditioning. Why should they?

So for several days our cold, foggy city takes on a new spicy personality and unfortunately, we don't know what to do with ourselves. Do we take days off? Do we spend our days and nights outside? How long will it last? Are we sure the fog won't come rolling in over the bay?

We keep going to work. Colleagues nag about the AC being too cold. We sit, frozen, staring out of our office windows into the gorgeous sunlight glistening across a downtown desperate for UV rays. We rack our brains to pick restaurants with patios and roof decks with outdoor seating to enjoy a warm evening only to come to the conclusion that we don't really have any.

And here I am, blogging the night away in my stuffy, sauna of a loft. Sweating through the pair of shorts I didn't even know I still had.

- Crafty Lefty

Random Thoughts from a Dirty Floor

I’m sitting on the floor of an old San Francisco medical building hallway. On a carpet that has been here since the Kennedy administration. I can only hope that it has been cleaned since Marilyn Monroe was getting down in the White House.

Not exactly the ideal setting for a Friday morning.

I know you are probably concerned about the purpose for which, I find myself sitting on the hallway carpet of a medical building. No need to worry, I am only early to a routine appointment with a dermatologist.

Arriving earlier than expected, I pulled out the old laptop and opened up a blank Microsoft word document. It has been awhile since I last wrote. There is something beautiful about a blank word document. However, when uninspired, the blankness can be equally as terrifying. Today, I wouldn’t exactly call myself inspired. I just feel like rambling a bit. That was the original point of the blog, was it not? To spew my uncontrolled and often confusing thoughts on a blank screen and attempt to make sense of them. At the very least, entertain a few readers with a few minutes to spare.

The receptionist finally arrived and has now let me into the waiting room. My ass is no longer living in the 60’s. Though, that would have been a fascinating time to live in.

Anyway, now that I am in the comfort of plush waiting room chairs, old magazines, and elevator music, let me move on to other thoughts.

As I went through my morning routine today: wake up, check email to be sure nothing crazy happened during the 8 hours I was away from my iPhone, check Twitter for the same purpose, and then get the heck out of bed. Why is it that I have to check email and Twitter before taking a morning leak or brushing my teeth? I have to confirm whether or not something BIG happened or not. Just so I know.

What is with our fascination for ground breaking, earth shattering news? I can feel myself, for even a split second when my email is loading and my Twitter feed is updating, almost hoping for something big. Perhaps, a firing, acquisition, or reorganization announcement from the CEO of my company. Maybe a promotion, big opportunity, or random email with thought provoking or constructive feedback from my boss. And what exactly is it that I am hoping to find on Twitter? News of a political coup? Another quasi celebrity doing something moronic? Sources stating that the Los Angeles Dodgers have defected to the Mexican Penal Leagues to play for Rick Vaughn’s former club?

I understand our sensation for becoming enthralled with dramatic news. The Casey Anthony trial is a perfect example of that. There’s a reason why tabloids are such big business. We eat that shit up. What I am trying to wrap my head around, is whether or not it is our desire for discovering sexy, controversial, mind blowing news that feeds the nature in which we lock onto a story and ride it out for years once it breaks.

Maybe.

Either way, my morning ritual will stay the same until Twitter or Facebook develops a feature that wakes me up when something BIG happens that the algorithms know, for a fact, that I personally, will devour and share once I discover it.

- Crafty Lefty

Balancing Sports and Romance

Editor's Note: I wrote this while sitting on the couch watching the ABC Pregame and first quarter of the game.

Game 5 of the NBA Finals or a sushi dinner date with the love of your life?

I raced home from work tonight to catch the final glimpses of ABC's pregame show knowing that I might get a full quarter of live action before my girlfriend makes it home from her miserable commute, which has the tendency to morph her into a stiff cocktail made up of one part hungry, one and half parts cranky, with a splash of impatience. Not exactly the concoction you want coming home during the most entertaining NBA Finals in recent memory.

What do you do? Do you DVR the game, take her to dinner, tip the hostess to sit you away from the bar TV, get her a little tipsy, and attempt to avoid all contact from the outside world? OR, do you sit near the TV and get edamame thrown at you each time your eyes wander towards the screen. At least they aren't wandering towards the hostess, right?

By now, the game has started and her train is delayed. Sweet. More live action, but a shot of rum 151 just slipped in the cocktail to intensify the ingredients that are already simmering with feistiness. The odds of catching this game in its entirety are now less than LeBron James taking his talents back to Cleveland or Rep Weiner getting reelected.

NBA Finals…. sushi with the love of your life?

See, the NBA Finals represent a love of my life, sports. A sports fan needs to witness the greatness at its peak. The Finals! Chuck Klosterman has an excellent piece on the new Grantland.com that exquisitely covers the dynamic of sporting events in the technology era where it is virtually impossible to witness greatness on delay without somehow spoiling the greatness through all of the possible media outlets and methods of communicating with your friends. “If you successfully escape knowing the outcome, the game was merely good. Not great. Therefore, as you are watching, you already know you missed nothing. When you watch live, the possibility of greatness or even the unthinkable are always in play.” Sports might be the only thing left in life that presents that possibility.

Of course, the easy answer to this riddle is, why can’t you combine THE love of your life, with a love of your life? You can. And I do. She appreciates the sports fan in me. That doesn’t mean that some nights need a balance.

And on cue, as I am in the middle of this piece, my phone rings. My girlfriend (the love of my life, in case you were confused) is on the other end, and before I even have a chance to explain my predicament she says, “Hey, why don’t you order sushi in so we can both watch the game?"

A keeper, ladies and gentleman.

- Crafty Lefty

AMC: The Killing

As the major network shows come to a close, there's one show still on TV that is doing the damn thing week in and week out.

AMC's The Killing.

The show, already nine episodes deep, hasn't disappointed a network that has been churning out quality show after quality show lately. Following in the footsteps of Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and The Walking Dead, The Killing is an excellent and intense drama set in Seattle, Washington where, evidently, it rains like a monsoon 365 days a year.

The plot centers around a high school girl's disappearance, death, and the aftermath that ensues. The show does a great job of portraying the effect a horrific death has on the family. Some of the most powerful scenes involve the two little brothers of the victim and their parents - struggling to hold it together for their two remaining children. Beyond the family, the show shines a light on how murder connects to and shakes up a community.

Clearly murdered, the police investigation, led by a veteran detective on her way out of town and a rookie homicide detective who is far from polished in his approach to police work begins to connect as the case unfolds. The first connection brings in the show's other main subplot - a mayoral race. Though I don't pay much attention to mayoral races in my city, I suppose the press and some percentage of the population does so the plot still works - barely. 

As the show evolves, we learn more and more about the mayoral candidates, their campaign managers, the detectives, the family members, and others connected to the case. Everyone is a suspect.

Each episode sheds more light into certain characters and story lines that answer some questions, but raise many more. Like any 'who-done-it' drama or game of Clue for that matter, the answer to the question, 'Who Killed Rosie Larsen' remains a mystery and nine episodes in, I am more unsure of who the killer might be than ever before.

The most recent episode brought the investigation back to square one and added another violent crime to the mix. Where will the show turn next? How does a season 2 occur if the murder is solved in season 1?

Do yourself a favor and add this show to your DVR if you haven't bought into what AMC is selling already and come along for the ride. Catch up on the first nine episodes online and tune in on Sunday nights.

Everyone is a suspect...

- Crafty Lefty