I know at least one person who’s annoyed with all the “Steve Jobs” mentions on both our Facebook feeds and Twitter timelines (*cough* Dommo, K.O.B. *cough* :P) but as another friend has mentioned (whom I think cancels out Dom since he, too, is an expat and supports the Pensioners ;)), regardless of which religious (technology) divide you stand, Steve Jobs was an innovator, in the truest sense of the word.
You can read the piece on the Wall Street Journal about his contributions to technology, history, accolades… but I think Jobs’ 2005 commencement address at Stanford University will give you a better idea of who this man really was:
I don’t necessarily agree with everything Steve Jobs said, but the underlying message of his speech was rather profound. Or at least, his encounter with mortality the first time (when he was diagnosed, operated upon, and initially lived through Pancreatic cancer), was rather poignant:
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to [H]eaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.
The Herman connection: Sadly, both finally succumbed to Pancreatic cancer (albeit Jobs survived a miraculous 7 years, when most, including Herman, don’t make it past 5 months). Another connection: Herman was an early adopter of technology — he had *all* things Apple, and even got me an “eMate 300” years ago for Christmas. He most likely would have upgraded to the iPhone 4s, too. 🙂 Anyway, just thinking that Herman’s finally meeting his Techie idol brings a smile to my face.
Whatever you believed in, hope you find eternal rest, Mr. Jobs. 
