Newspaper Page Text
4 A
Steve Jobs Really Did
Change the World
j i
VICTOR # Ui isOS*
These words were brought to
you by the late Steve Jobs.
I work on a late model iMac,
with a big, crystal-clear screen,
the whole thing seamlessly inte¬
grated into one package. F click
the mouse on little pictures,
called “icons,” to start various
programs and perform various
tasks. I copy stuff from one
application to another without
a second thought This way of
interacting with computers and
other devices seems natural to
us today, but there’s nothing
natural about it. Somebody
had to imagine it, think about
it. design it, program it, test
and revise it. and eventually
make it and convince the world
to buy it. Steve Jobs didn't
literally invent all the high-tech
stuff that’s so much a part of
our lives, but he did much to
establish the innovative culture
that both creates, and creatively
uses, the products that Apple
makes and others imitate.
It was way back in ancient
times, 1976, that Jobs and Steve
Wozniak came up with the
Apple I. It was the succes¬
sor, the Apple II. that became
the first personal computer to
appeal to a market bigger than
electronics enthusiasts. For a
time, IBM and its then partner.
Peach Publishing
Bob Tribble Mitch Tribble
President Vice President
Frances Tribble
Secretary
• Judy Robinson .General Manager/
Publisher
jrobinson@theleadertribune.net
• Renee Goggins.........Office Manager
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• Donna Trussell.........Business Manager
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• A.W. Dorsey.......Sports Correspondent
aw@ theleadertribu ne .net
• Billy Powell........Columnist
• Claire Houser Dodd......Columnist
Tara Mercer........Circulation Manager
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♦ OCTOBER 12, 201 1
i ^ 1 # icc
Opinions expressed by writers on ibis page art thrir own and not necessarily those of The LeaTribune
the now ubiquitous Microsoft,
looked as if they would steam
roll Apple with their business
like approach to personal com
puters. Today, IBM doesn't
even make PCs.
Jobs and Apple found a
way. The Macintosh came out
in 1984. Its black-and-white
screen seems primitive today,
but it was Apple’s first appli
cation of the principle that the
way the user interacts with the
machine is more important than
what it actually does. The first
Macintosh looked like a piece of
paper, something people write
on, read, copy and share every
day. The mouse allowed you
to just point at things and make
something happen, rather than
remember commands or sort
through menus.
Microsoft soon caught on,
and came up with Windows,
How much Microsoft “stole"
from Apple has always been a
point of dispute, but it is beyond
dispute that Apple created the
standard that still guides how we
interact with all of our electronic
stuff to this day. We point-and
click - and now just point - we
drag-and-drop, we cut and paste;
we have no idea what’s going
on inside the machine, and no
need to.
When Jobs returned to Apple
in 1997 after a decade of exile,
he did what the board of direc
tors hoped he would do: bring
the company back to life. He
took the failing company and
built it into the most valuable
technology company in the
world. Out came the stream
of “i” products: iPod, iTunes,
iPhone, iPad. Apple wasn’t the
first company to make a portable
S fj -
I
Ben Baker
It’s not the most manly thing
in the world to do, but every time
I go quail hunting, 1 get a little
misty-eyed. It’s easy to blame it
on the dust, smoke, every' now
and then (when I get invited)
the gaseous emissions front the
hay burner engines pulling the
wagons.
But, I must confess, it’s none
of that. I’m missing the best
quail hunting buddy a person
could ever have and it was not a
human or a dog. although 1 have
hunted with some fine dogs like
Sebastian, Darth Vader, Plato
and Quarter.
Nope. I’m missing Icky.
Icky was short for Ictalurus
punctatus. He was the world's
only quail hunting channel
catfish,
I got Icky when he was nothing
but a fingerling, just about the
precise size necessary for a good
eating catfish. 1 don’t know what
came over me that day on the
river, but when I hauled Icky up
and threw him in the bucket, I
The Punishment Dilemma
I'
1
The Biblical quote of an “eye
for an eye” hardly settles the
question of how we deal with
a major criminal offense: for
every pundit (and scholar) from
Genesis to the Twenty First
Century has offered their take on
the subject. As the world appears
to become more violent, a host of
compassionate Samaritans (sic)
insist that any execution is cruel
and unusual punishment; or the
punishment does not match (he
crime. Another recent clement
induced into the scenario is the
matter of DNA. Indeed, several
have been exonerated after years
in prison, when DNA overturned
*1
music device, online store, cell
phone or tablet computer, but
Jobs and Apple brought the user
experience of the Mac to new
areas of life. I'm not the first
to observe how many iPhone
users carry their lives with them
in a gadget that fits in the palm
of your hand. It is the genius
of Steve Jobs and Apple that
people actually can carry their
lives with them in one device,
and also their genius that people
believe they can’t live without
that thing.
I’m actually behind the curve,
I don’t have an iPod - I'm still
stuck with soon-to-be-obsolete
CDs. I use a Black Berry, which
seems to do what I need it to
do. My wife, however, just got
an iPhone, and it has quickly
seduced her with its touchscreen
and seemingly endless apps. I
might have to get one just to
keep interacting with her. You
see - it’s a "must have."
In a world where anybody
can become “influential” by
blogging and tweeting and viral
videos, it can be hard to sin
gle out the people who really
matter. Just look around your
own home, or w atch the people
around you at the mall or a res
taurant, see them bent over their
phones and music players and
tablets. Steve Jobs and Apple
have much to do with those
scenes. There will be time, after
today, to cast a critical eye on
Jobs and Apple and their influ
ence on our lives, but for now it
is safe to say that Steve Jobs was
one of those rare individuals
who really made a difference,
The world became richer with
him and is poorer without him.
leky
just stood and looked him
for a long time.
I had not named him yet
as I didn’t often give names
to the main course for
supper. The longer 1 stood
there, watching the catfish
swim around in the bucket,
the more I was just con¬
vinced I could not put him
in the fish fryer.
Finally 1 quit fishing for
the day and just went home
with a single little catfish in
the bucket. At the house, I
drilled a hole in the bottom
of the bucket. I stuck a cork
in the hole.
Every day 1 dropped a
little corn in the bucket for
the catfish to eat. Now I
don’t know what came over
me, but every- day I took that
cork out and let just a little
water run out of the bucket.
Every day that water got a
little lower and every day
the catfish got a little bigger.
Finally, the water was
completely gone. That
catfish just walked around
the bottom of the bucket, as
best he was able to.
I had to take him out of
the bucket then and put him
in a pen. That catfish would
rear up on his tail and hook
his front fins through the
fence. He’d grunt at me
and grin when he saw the
issue . Whether such has also
been “an error" will be debated
forever.
And more and more, deci¬
sions by a jury are being ques¬
tioned for validity and jurispru¬
dence.
The recent trials of Casey
Anthony. Amanda Knox, and
Troy Davis are perfect exam¬
ples of “legal” proceedings that
cause an uproar in the market¬
place. All had different time
lines, and extensions of debate
and/or convictions. Troy Davis,
and his lengthy reprieves, and
final execution (in September)
gained echoes of disapprov¬
al around the world. Was he
really guilty of the murder in
Savannah years ago? Juries
judged it so.
LET US KNOW WHATYOU THINK!
Submit letters to the editor to
nem@tkeleadertribme.iiet or
fax: 478-825-4130
v
Ronald Reagan's
'Ranch In The Sky'
mj % %
&
Ronald Reagan’s
Rancho del Cielo is one of
the nation’s most impor¬
tant historical sites. Not
only does it commemo¬
rate the life of one of
America's most effective
and beloved Presidents, it
also contains the personal
items President Reagan
used at his ranch. The
Reagan Ranch is the place
where a great man found
peace and strength and
planned both the demise
of the Soviet Union and
the revitalization of the
American spirit and
economy.
The Ranch was
Reagan’s home for 24
years. He spent 349 days
of his Presidency at his
“Ranch in the Sky.” Young
American’s Foundation
(YAF) stepped forward
and saved his beloved
ranch in 1998.
Ronald Reagan began
working with the YAF
in the 1970’s while
serving his second term
as governor of California.
Reagan’s desire was that
his patriotic, pro-Amer-
lean values, especially those
values !of free enterprise, personal
responsibility, limited government
traditional values and a strong
national defense, be passed on
to the young people who would
one day lead our nation. Today
the ranch serves as the focus for
YAF’s rapidly expanding national
effort to bring the patriotic values
of the former President to a new
generation.
YAF is the largest conservative
movement meeting place and con¬
ference center on the West Coast
as well as one of the largest in
the nation. YAF’s Reagan Ranch
Center, which is located near the
ranch in historic downtown Santa
Barbara, is the site for numer¬
ous student conferences, training
seminars and special events that
are held all year long.
Young people learn about
Ronald Reagan and his con¬
servative beliefs by visiting the
Center’s state-of-the art class¬
rooms, theatre, library filled with
books and dynamic interactive
exhibits featuring Reagan Ranch
treasures before seeing the Ranch.
The Center is also a gathering
place for conservative individuals
and groups dedicated to advanc¬
ing the movement Reagan led and
to defending his ideas from liberal
professors, biased historians and
the national media.
When Reagan purchased
Rancho del Cielo in 1974, he
never planned for his new home
to become a national treasure.
The Reagan Ranch remains today
just as he left it except for one dif¬
ference; it is now a monument of
inspiration. It stands as a revered
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handful of com in my hand.
One day I took him out of the
pen. Now by this time. I’d named
him.
Icky took one look and me and
hightailed it toward the pond across
the road at the far end of the field.
1 figured that was the end of it, but
Icky got down to the edge of the
field and stopped.
His whiskers started twitching
and his head was slinging back
and forth. I just watched as he
scooted along the dog fennels. A
few minutes later, Icky stopped.
His head went up and one fin stuck
straight out.
I just watched as a covey of quail
bobbed along in front of him. When
the quail would get too far ahead,
Icky would ease forward, keeping
the covey in sight, but being sure
not to spook them.
That was all 1 needed to see
and in a flash I ran into the house,
grabbed my old Remington 870
and <yid was down there. The covey
busted and I got a double, fully
expecting Icky to die of fright.
And Courts of Appeal refused
to negate the sentence. The
question always arises. Why so
long in determining the guilt
when evidence is at hand?
And when such persons as
Casey Anthony and Amanda
Knox are considered innocent;
the world still cries that justice
was neglected.
Every possible comment sur¬
rounding an execution the
fact, the proof, the methods, the
fallout — all have been “through
the circuit" on numerous occa¬
sions. Could all the early pros¬
ecutors (and juries) have gotten
it wrong? Or is it possible that
we have been invaded with a
group of sinister voices, who
utilize a false benevolence to
somehow justify their personal
THE LEADER TRIBUNE
historical site where the former
President shared in the glories of
the land he loved and crafted the
freedom initiatives that made his
Presidency such a success.
The resurgence of interest in
Ronald Reagan’s life and ideas
and the celebrations of his lead¬
ership have been sparked by the
100th anniversary of his birth.
More Americans are realiz¬
ing with each passing year that
Reagan’s principles are timeless
and are needed now more than
ever. Many people have worked
hard to keep our nation focused
on his freedom principles but our
nation is under great threats from
freedom's foes.
Hopefully. a Reagan
Revolution" will sweep across
our nation over the next year and
will be alive in the hearts and
minds of a new generation of
conservative men and women who
share Reagan's determination to
confront and resolve our nation’s
great challenges, strengthen our
country and our freedoms and
guarantee the livelihood of future
generations.
As we work together to shape
a better future for our nation we
can always be thankful for what
we have learned from the great
communicator.
We also know that President
Reagan had a deep faith in God
that was not staged. It was a
deep constant faith that guided
his thoughts and actions through¬
out his entire life. Oh how we
need another Ronald Reagan in
the White House today.
But no. Icky was tearing
through the dog fennels toward
where one of the birds was
downed. He brought that one to
me and went and got the second
bird. I’d be lying if I said those
birds were brought in with not a
feather out of place. He chewed
the birds to pieces.
I had a talk with Icky right
there about how to handle a
bird and 1 could tell by how his
head hung down he was sorry
and would not do it again.
When Icky jumped the rab¬
bit, I will admit to finally being
surprised beyond belief. You
should have seen that old cat¬
fish tearing through the briars
after that rabbit.
I still get all choked up when
1 think about that.
Icky and I hunted a few sea¬
sons together. Every time I’d
take that old 870 from the gun
cabinet, his eyes would light
up. he’d start bouncing around
and grunting. He just knew we
were going hunting.
Then one day we were down
on Little River on my uncle’s
place one day hunting and had
to go through a swampy area.
Icky was crossing a log when
he slipped. He fell in the water
and drowned before I could get
to him.
Ben Baker is the author of A
Dog Named Nekkid. Copies,
which contain this column, can
be ordered direct from him at
redneckgenius@hotmail.com
immorality? Since many coun
tries have now outlawed execu¬
tion, is it not possible (perhaps
even probable) that humanity’s
sense of balanced criminal
configurational technique has
become extinct? Only one thing
is certain. Those that have been
severed from civilization will
rob. assault . rape, or kill no
more. Those that have been
accused; and survive; have been
legally proclaimed not guilty;
or have beat the system, one
way or the other. Our exper¬
tise has been observed to be
in deficit on numerous occa¬
sions. We will not always get it
right; but that does not mean we
should quit trying!