Looking back...

During my time in the Vineyard I often felt like the denomination had an over reliance on its founder, John Wimber. I can confidently say that the national conferences which I attended would always taken up with a fond reminiscing of the how 'John' would have done things.


I was particularly taken with this quote from Bloomberg business week about advice Tim Cook received from Steve Job in regards to leading Apple

“Among his last advice he had for me, and for all of you, was to never ask what he would do. ‘Just do what's right,'” Cook said. Jobs wanted Apple to avoid the trap that Walt Disney Co. fell into after the death of its iconic founder, Cook said, where “everyone spent all their time thinking and talking about what Walt would do.”

Not that I don't think what John Wimber did things not worth remembering;  Maybe the 'thing that are right' have to revealed, first and foremost. The rest will just fall into place.
Mind you, I think Tim Cook will always be in the shadow of Steve Job. The comparison will be hard for him  to avoid "What would Steve do..."

Steve Jobs

I can remember in the early 80's a friend of mine got an Apple IIe. Over at his house I remember reading the manual. It had an introduction to the company Apple, of its humble beginnings in a garage. It was the first time I had heard of the name Steve Jobs. From the 80's, 90's 00's and this decade I'd tracked with Steve Job.
My thoughts on the man ebbed and flowed. I liked his products but as a man he drove me to Linux (for a year or so until I got sick of tinkering to get things going). I had read  Icon and found like most people of brilliance he was complex with conflicting values and ways of going about things. (Interestingly Job's banned the books publishers John Wiley & Sons from any apple store!)

For example the whole idea of Jobs having an alignment with Buddhism yet reject philanthropy (at least publicly) is one puzzling aspect in his life.

His office dummy spits and his humiliation of staff are legendary. I can imagine other CEO's going of there rocker but still; its no excuse not to treat others with dignity.

There is almost a messianic language which for the last week has been associated with name; I'm sure that for the next couple of major apple releases his name will be dragged out...

Never the less, its  is always sad to see someone die, when if they had lived a full life, would still have a lot to offer. I'm looking forward to reading his official biography by Walter Isaacson, where I hope a lot of the negative stuff that has haunted him will be at least acknowledged. It will be interesting some of Jobs reflections knowing that death is just around the corner...

Aesthetics

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder",  it is complicated but yes true.
I can remember an up and coming photographer in our youth group who came from the Western District and took heaps of photos of the farm which he was brought up on. There was one of a dead lamb, who knows how it had died, but I was stuck at composition, the light; strangely in the horror of death there was something aesthetically pleasing to me.
On contemplating Steve Jobs death; I think one of the things which made him stand out was aesthetics. He would almost prioritise beauty over function. Grace seems to be easier to apply to something that looks good but doesn't quite do what you desire.

I am a default greenie. But when I think of the reasons I'm a greenie,  tit is aesthetics. The idea of self sufficiency producing only what you need.
Nature is beautiful. I think one of the main apologitics for God, especially in my experience as a Christian is the beauty of nature. Often quoted is Romans 1:20::

²⁰ For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 

This quote resonates with me deeply.
Working with nature, observing the seasons with garden. It is almost as if you begin to tune into the rhythms of God. There is also technology. Technology which helps come closer to self- sufficiency.  The type of car you drive to the curtains that you have in the windows in your house.

The other aspects which is pleasing, with my reduced consumption of finite resources, are that other may benefit. Be it in developing worlds or more easily quantified future generations.

Yes strangely to me this is aesthetically pleasing...

The Image of the Creator : Steve Jobs

One of glimpses that that you get of our  God, is the footprint he leaves with his creation. The environment is for all to see. You often read in Christian literature of artists or sculptors who's style or impression on a piece of work can easily be spotted and identified. This is reflective of God and his creation.
The passing of Steve Jobs has made me ponder this. In many ways his creation; the apple brand, can be easily spotted. There are not many brands which can be identified in such a global way. His footprint will remain for a long time, with products that have simplicity,  looks which are beautiful and most importantly function as they should.
There are not many people who have lived that have left this sort of legacy before...

Apple

Image via Wikipedia

The Age Green Guide had a great review on smart phones this Thursday (August 12th p22), by Adam Turner. He summed up beautifully why I don't want to go down the Apple route ::

Apple has a long history of treating iPhone application developers with disdain and iPhone owners with contempt. iPhone  applications mysteriously disappear from the online app store when they clash with Apple's business model or with those of Apple's business partners....
Apple head honcho Steve Jobs is famed for his arrogance when dealing with customer complaints. When details first emerged of the iPhone 4's reception issues Job's flippant response was "don't hold it that way". He eventually conceded the reception problem was a serious issue and Apple now offers a few case to iPhone 4 owners, which alleviates the problem.

And why I prefer Android::

Android's flexibility is its strength. Such flexibility lets phone makers build a variety of devices to meet different needs, while it also lets users run applications they want and customise the phone as they see fit. It's a stark contrast to Apple's one-size-fits approach. Now Android is reaching a critical mass, Apple's heavy-handed approach to dealing with developers and customers could work in Android's favour.