Life on Almosta Ranch

Stories of ranch life and other silly musings of an old codger

David McClain

David McClain
Location
Doniphan, Missouri, USA
Birthday
February 08
Bio
I am a simple man who has lived a simple life for sixty years. I have not dined with movie stars nor Kings and Queens. I have not walked the halls of power, nor have I been a mover and a shaker. I have, however, been a soldier, a tinker, a jack of all trades. I have raised five children....I have been loved and I have loved. I do not see grand designs nor do I chase afer them. Instead, I listen to the heartbeat of the land and I rejoice in a bird's song in the morning. Do not come here seeking answers for I have none. I do have questions which I will ask you constantly though. I do not believe in aruging so Politics will not be discussed in my blog. I do not care what your personal beliefs are for you are free to believe as you will...please allow me to do likewise. I have never been rich, but I have always been poor. Being poor however has never stopped me from feeling rich. I feel rich because I have the love of a good woman. Melinda completes me. She gives me the peace of mind and soul required to write about life without regrets and without envy of those who might have more. She is my world. Almosta Ranch is our heaven and we are happiy. This is what I want to share with you in this blog.

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OCTOBER 6, 2011 8:01AM

I Never Owned an Apple I couldn't Eat

Rate: 25 Flag

Like everyone else in the world I learned last night of the death of Steve Jobs the Co-founder of Apple computers. Therefore I was not surprised this morning when I turned on the news and listened to the vast outpouring of tributes to a man who was, without a doubt, a leader in the technology field. Everyone was gushing about how much the man meant to them and how he had touched their lives.

I don't gush.

I never owned, nor did I ever want to own, an Apple product. I never owned a phone on which I could access the Internet, take a video, or text a message on. In fact I have never owned any product with the letter "I" in its name.  So you see, Mr. Job's passing has not effected me as it seems to have done many others in the world.

Yes. Of course I own and use a computer and Mr. Job's innovations have impacted all computers so in that sense I give him credit.

Maybe the problem is that I am from a generation to whom "Research" meant more than googling the subject at hand. I am from a generation whose phones resided upon a small table in my house and was attached to wires. I like it that way. I use the computer because that is what you do these days if you write. If the computer was not here I would be doing this piece just as I did so many others like it during the seventies...I would be writing it on paper, with a pen or I would be banging it out on my old Royal typewriter. And yes, you are right, few if any people would ever read them.

What Steve Jobs did do was to give the common man a voice that could be heard world-wide and that is a two-edged sword.

You know, as I write this it has occurred to me...it is six-thirty in the morning and instead of being out in the barn, saddling my horse for an early morning ride to clear my mind and plan my day I am sitting here in the house pounding the keys on this dang computer. I guess Steve Jobs has effected my life after all.  I never said it was a good thing, did I.

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Good, bad or indifferent, I am glad I can read your blog from states away.

Have a great day!
David,
1)I would read your letters written on paper
2)I agree with you about the two-edged-sword.

Your posting here is,as always, much to the point and very much appreciated.
Me neither, Tor. My wife and kids all have Macs but I'm still pecking away on my old H/P. I can't make heads nor tails of the Macs. But I've enjoyed some Pixar movies. The guy was a giant.
Same here, Torman. I would have been much more impressed with Jobs had he come up with a cheap and efficient substitute for gasoline. We needed that more.
I don't have igadgets either, but since 1986, have used exclusively Apple computers (six). It used to be only artists and designers, and everyone laughed at us until the sexy orange and turquoise bubbles came out, then blammo. They become like dogs or cats, defining and bracketing certain chapters of your life. I typed my former hub's doctoral thesis on the AppleII, was in the studio near the ocean with the Macintosh pizza boxer, my spanky new house with the chubby black laptop. I identify with more than the flesh and bone man, Steve Jobs.
I have no apple products either.. BUT when I heard he died I was sad like I lost a close friend.
Computers changed my life and brought people like you into my life that I cherish.
HUGGGGGGGGGG
Torman, I come from the 180 degree opposite direction on this one. From the Apple IIe to the latest iPod and MacMini I have had lots and lots of Apple products since 1983, nearly all of the them were/are part of my business and they were extremely reliable, that's one reason why I kept coming back for more as they continued to innovate. I also own some PCs, but the computer of choice remains the Mac for me.
Torman, you are able to offer a different view is a calm and reasonable manner. I'm sorry for the world's loss, Jobs was like Edison, but husband and I had a discussion, while computers have totally changed our lives, we would both still be a librarian and a journalist even without them. For all their good, there has been a price as well. I'm not a Mac user, but it has been out of financial reasons more than anything. They always cost more.
Oh your good and today your great. I kinda think the same way...
I've never owned an Apple computer, but I do have an iPod and an iTunes account that I use all the time. Unlike you, if I didn't have a computer, I probably wouldn't be writing at all. So while I'm well aware of the downside of all of Mr. Jobs' technological advances, I'm a better, happier person because of them.
" So you see, Mr. Job's passing has not effected me as it seems to have done many others in the world."

Wait, Steve Job passed away? When?

:D

Course, when I pass away, I hope everyone I have touched, cries like a little baby and goes, "He touched me!!"

And the judge will say, "SHOW US ON THE DOLL WHERE HE TOUCHED YOU!!" :D
I too have never owned any Apple products, but there's no denying that Mr. Jobs was a great innovator. The near-deification of the man I'm seeing today leaves me a little bemused - he was a tech guy and a businessman, not the Messiah, but you'd never know that from the breathless tributes I've been seeing everywhere today.
I do own an iPod and an iPad and must admit I love both of them.

However much or little we are involved it's always a sad loss when the world loses an innovator.

I just thank goodness you own that computer and decided to blog to the world. That makes it a better place too.
I love the point you make here-- we are all sitting down and staring at an artificially lit screen, not noticing the sunrise or hearing the birds' complex language of song, both of which will tell us more about the day ahead than the Weather website will...we truly are meant to spend time in the natural world each day, away from the electronic buzz and fuzz to our brains, and increasingly humans don't.
A double-edged sword indeed....
Yup. I grew up with the big black phone and the type writer and the adding machine.

But my computer (Dell not Apple) keeps in touch with the world and allows me to spout my musings for everyone to see.

I also text a few times a week on a cheap phone that can do nothing else. Shocked my daughter first time I texted her!!

Bye bye Steve J. You brought us the flash mob and Tahir Square.

R
He did indeed change the world for so many. I crossed over to the Apple side a little over a year ago, reluctantly at first. Now, I cannot imagine going back to a PC or a Blackberry. Love my Mac and iPhone so much and waiting for the next generation iPad with newer features and upgrades. Will be a little post Christmas/Birthday present to myself. I would light a candle for Steve Jobs and send a message through the universe, of thanks and appreciation for the incredible strides in communication technology, that will forever be linked to this iconic man.
P.S. - Love your post title! Hope you got on your horse and rode off into the early stirrings of another beautiful day.
I don't own many technical gadgets or gizmos or fancy phones, but I do appreciate a visionary like Steve Jobs and the legacy he leaves behind.

He was a college drop-out who was truly a guru at creating innovative technological communication devices the world wanted and I love that his philosophical outlook on pursuing one's dreams means that everything else is secondary.
I imagine some of the first sentences typed on Royals lamented the fountain pen on fine paper, and some of the first fountain pens wrote stories of smoke signals and the oral tradition. I imagine even Homer would have an iPad if he could have, but with a braille screen.
I don't gush either. Let them do it.
Love the title. Your personal opinion totally coincides with my personal opinion.
Awesome title.

I too don’t gush.

Its my understanding that one either worships at the Apple temple or they don’t.

I can’t stand that all the i-devices are locked up tight, can’t do anything without Apple’s permission.

Great quality goods but too much snob appeal for me.

To see what I mean check out the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL7yD-0pqZg

viewer discretion / some swearing
~R~
Auntynae....And I am glad you are here to read my blog friend.

jane smithie.....My phone is right where it belongs, in my house.

Heidi Banerjee.....Thanks for your kind words and thank you for reading.

Matt.....I'm with you, I love those Pixar movies old friend.

Miguela...I agree, just think how much better the world would be if people like him had worked as hard to solve problems rather than make money.

greenheron...you are not alone. Millions of people swore by the Mac I am told.

Linda...One can not argue the impact computers have had on our lives. It is all the other gadgets that make me break out in a rash.

designanator....180 degrees of difference is okay. After all, I am a known old crumbdudgeon who resists all the new fangled gadgets.

Bernadine....I am sorry for the family of Steve Jobs. I am sure they are hurting and miss their loved one. I have nothing against the man, I just don't care for some of the gadgets he is assocated with. As for being like Edison, well Edison was an inventor, he discovered and refined whole new concepts while Jobs was a "re-inventor" he took products and made them better.

Cranky....To be perfectly honest, I once owned an IPod. It was given to me by one of my kids for Christmas. The thing is, after a few weeks of use I figured out that I would rather listen to my music while relaxing at home.

Tink....Thank you. You made Mel laugh out loud when she read your comment. That was priceless, my friend.

nanatehay....I couldn't agree more.

Linda......One of the chief blessings the computer has brought me is letting me meet you, dear friend.

Just Thinking....And that was the main thrust of my entry. Thanks for getting it.

toritto...not sure that the flash mob is entirely a good thing.

Cathy GF....In the end he was a successful businessman. Oh and yes I did and it was a beautiful day indeed.

Belinda T.......I can't really ascribe to his philosophy of putting one's dreams ahead of everything else. To me, my family comes before my dreams.

Oryoki...You are probably right but I would hope that maybe one of those great men in history would have held out...who knows.

Kathy Knechtges....Seems there are enough of them to do that.

Chrissie Pissie....Thanks, I'm kinda proud of that title myself.

M.C. Sears.....Thanks, I will check out the link.
I have an iPod - much better to run with. Another great post Tor.
Being the techie nerd that I am, I fully appreciate Steve Jobs' genius and his many contributions to the cyber world. That having been said, I quickly tired of all the hoopla. I mean, he was an amazing man, but still just a man. Sheesh.
Great post, David. I always appreciate your level headed approach.
R