Those of you who have read my postings for any length of time — all eight of you — know that I’m not the deepest philosopher in the world nor do I dig too deeply into the differences of what I believe versus anyone else’s perspective.  And this blog post will not be any different.  I am who I am, I am what I am…even when my definitions of what I am and who I am are in direct opposition to what someone else may state.  But – as is usual for me – I digress a bit.  And I’m only a few sentences into this post.  LOL

What I would like to talk a bit about is being inspired.  Back in 1984, when I graduated high school, I was completely mystified and entranced with a single device – the Apple //e.  In my senior year, my high school purchased and installed nearly thirty of these computers.  With a graduate student from a nearby college, I was taught my first steps in Apple Basic programming language.  Those were the first moments I had on a computer, where I got the chance to write my own programming sequences.  Those steps led me down the path towards finding out how the computer works – and discovering that people could get paid to do this kind of stuff.  I also found out that the United States Air Force provided training in this world as well – and off I went.  Now, close to a quarter of a century later – I’ve watched the computer system evolve from a clunky box, which the business world had no idea what to use it for – to becoming the primary lynch-pin in all sorts of business processes and communications.

I have one individual to thank for my desire to be curious about what happened under the cover on the Apple //e.  That’s the man who helped design it – Steve Wozniak.  When my school had the computers installed, we also received a Beta-Max tape from Apple.  On that tape was a video message from the Woz – telling us to be curious, to explore the limits of the machine — to dream big.  That single exhortation was enough to set me on my career path and explore the wide variety of options within the Information Technology world.  I’ve been a Tape Librarian, a Disaster Recovery Specialist, a level-one help desk specialist, a level-two help desk specialist, a Systems Administrator, a Director of Technology, and have even taught a wide variety of classes on the topic.  None of that would have been possible for me without the creation of the Steves (Wozniak and Jobs), nor would it have been something I looked deeply into without that statement of dreaming big from Woz.  I’ve watched his career from afar for most of my life.  I’m not envious over his riches – hardly.  I’m enchanted by his ability to create – by the beauty and simplicity of his designs.  There’s a line from one of my favorite songs by Rush – “I look at their beautiful buildings, and I wish I had their dreams.” (“Mission”, from the “Hold Your Fire” album).  That one particular segment of the song is how I feel when I look at an Apple // system.  I don’t have a working Apple // in my possession, but I do have a non-working Apple //+ motherboard that I showcase in my classes.  Its the perfect choice to showcase next to a modern motherboard – to show how much the design has changed – and yet stayed remarkable the same over the years.

Today, August 11th, is Steve Wozniak’s birthday.  Happy birthday to you Woz…I just wanted to say thank you for how you’ve inspired me to be curious about the world around me.