Steve Jobs was my hero, the entrepreneur and person I most admired:
1. He invented the concept of awesome: things were either "insanely great" or "complete crap" and the things that he created were more often the former than the latter.
2. He made design a legitimate business strategy: he led the world to more blockbuster products than any another entrepreneur in history save Leonardo DaVinci (the personal computer, the powerbook, "toy story", the iPod, iTunes , the iPhone, etc.)
3. He understood the intimate and necessary connection between passion and death: http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_jobs_how_to_live_before_you_die.html
I regret never meeting him.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
the top three most awesome things my son said as a kid
My son Kyle just turned 20 and moved to Sydney, Australia to become a chef at the Cordon Bleu school. He made the best hollandaise sauce ever at the age of five and along the way said some interesting things:
1. At age 3: "because yeah" or "because no" or "both", in answering why he either other wanted something or didn't want something or wanted both alternatives, because, in the end, he didn't think he had to justify himself to anyone.
2. At age 4: "usually I'm introspective, but today I feel like talking".
3. At age 5: "look dad, surface tension", while holding his spoon up in the air with ice-cream stuck to it, a day after I explained the concept of surface tension to him as a joke.
Kids are way smarter than we think they are.
1. At age 3: "because yeah" or "because no" or "both", in answering why he either other wanted something or didn't want something or wanted both alternatives, because, in the end, he didn't think he had to justify himself to anyone.
2. At age 4: "usually I'm introspective, but today I feel like talking".
3. At age 5: "look dad, surface tension", while holding his spoon up in the air with ice-cream stuck to it, a day after I explained the concept of surface tension to him as a joke.
Kids are way smarter than we think they are.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
the top three most awesome things my daughter said as a kid
My daughter just turned 18 and is currently traveling by herself in Australia. She's always seemed ahead of her time and an old soul:
1. At age 4: I'm late to pick her up at day care four days in a row and holding my hand as we toddle to the car she says: "Daddy, you're losing your 'tegrity. Show does not know how to spell or pronounce the word but she knows how to nail her father to the wall with it.
2. At age 5: we are camping out in the Ghost River area, everyone but Maren and I have gone to bed, I'm drifting off in front of the fire and she's says: "I have thoughts that nobody knows about". I wake up immediately recognizing that this is not going to be some standard 4 year old babble. She goes on to explain her theories of the genesis of the universe and the structure of human consciousness. In retrospect, she might be right.
3. At age 7: she has completed her first year of school and tells me the friend making strategy she's learned: "it's better to make friends at the start of the year, because if you wait until the end of the year to try to make friends with someone, it could take up to five minutes."
"They grow up so fast" is a cliché, but it's a cliché for a reason.
1. At age 4: I'm late to pick her up at day care four days in a row and holding my hand as we toddle to the car she says: "Daddy, you're losing your 'tegrity. Show does not know how to spell or pronounce the word but she knows how to nail her father to the wall with it.
2. At age 5: we are camping out in the Ghost River area, everyone but Maren and I have gone to bed, I'm drifting off in front of the fire and she's says: "I have thoughts that nobody knows about". I wake up immediately recognizing that this is not going to be some standard 4 year old babble. She goes on to explain her theories of the genesis of the universe and the structure of human consciousness. In retrospect, she might be right.
3. At age 7: she has completed her first year of school and tells me the friend making strategy she's learned: "it's better to make friends at the start of the year, because if you wait until the end of the year to try to make friends with someone, it could take up to five minutes."
"They grow up so fast" is a cliché, but it's a cliché for a reason.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
the top three most awesome things about Las Vegas
My partner Aly Pain and I just spoke at our first international conference for the International Coach Federation in Las Vegas, on the topic of selling with integrity. This was awesome in itself but there were three additional Las Vegas qualities that made it more so:
1. the Fountains of the Bellagio: because every 15 minutes an elegant dance of water cannons blasts cool shafts of water high into the night sky to the music of Sarah Brightman and other awesome musicians.
2. Cirque de Soleil: because America is in massive financial dire straights and the most entertaining and lucrative part of its primary symbol of decadence–the strip–comes from Canada, and Quebec at that.
3. the standard Las Vegas women's uniform: I'm going old-school manly here, but the combination of cleavage, heels and short dress really works, especially when pulled off awesomely by my 47 year old wife with all the correct equipment to do so. (My business partner looked pretty awesome in her uniform as well and her husband Jeff was pretty pleased.)
1. the Fountains of the Bellagio: because every 15 minutes an elegant dance of water cannons blasts cool shafts of water high into the night sky to the music of Sarah Brightman and other awesome musicians.
2. Cirque de Soleil: because America is in massive financial dire straights and the most entertaining and lucrative part of its primary symbol of decadence–the strip–comes from Canada, and Quebec at that.
3. the standard Las Vegas women's uniform: I'm going old-school manly here, but the combination of cleavage, heels and short dress really works, especially when pulled off awesomely by my 47 year old wife with all the correct equipment to do so. (My business partner looked pretty awesome in her uniform as well and her husband Jeff was pretty pleased.)
Sunday, September 18, 2011
the top three most awesome guitar solos
I'm on a bit of a musical theme at the moment:
1. the opening bars of "where the streets have no name" by the Edge. I've heard this in concert live three times and I always surprise myself by getting up and dancing.
2. "Hotel California" by Don Felder and Joe Walsh. I had one of my top three brunches at the real Hotel California in Todos Santos, Mexico which had the all-time best fresh squeezed orange juice.
3. "Comfortably Numb" by David Gilmour. I missed seeing them in concert due to my unfortunate place at the end of the baby book and when I turned to look they were gone.
1. the opening bars of "where the streets have no name" by the Edge. I've heard this in concert live three times and I always surprise myself by getting up and dancing.
2. "Hotel California" by Don Felder and Joe Walsh. I had one of my top three brunches at the real Hotel California in Todos Santos, Mexico which had the all-time best fresh squeezed orange juice.
3. "Comfortably Numb" by David Gilmour. I missed seeing them in concert due to my unfortunate place at the end of the baby book and when I turned to look they were gone.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
the top three most awesome versions of Hallelujah
One of the most covered songs, this Leonard Cohen classic is a great Canadian invention:
1. the Canadian Tenors on Oprah. Celine Dion comes out as a surprise half way through. The look on Remy's face is priceless. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah58t5YZr7U
2. I hate to say it but I heard Jon Bon Jovi do an awesome job of this live. He has real soul under his famous coif.
3. Not going with K. D. Lang but with Bono who sang it just before they check out of their last 360 concert in Moncton. His voice was spent by that time in the night and that time in the tour, but it's bono and that's all that's required.
...all to the tribute of the lord of song Mr. cohen.
1. the Canadian Tenors on Oprah. Celine Dion comes out as a surprise half way through. The look on Remy's face is priceless. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah58t5YZr7U
2. I hate to say it but I heard Jon Bon Jovi do an awesome job of this live. He has real soul under his famous coif.
3. Not going with K. D. Lang but with Bono who sang it just before they check out of their last 360 concert in Moncton. His voice was spent by that time in the night and that time in the tour, but it's bono and that's all that's required.
...all to the tribute of the lord of song Mr. cohen.
top three most awesome desserts
I love when a chef figures out the best way to wrestle starch, sugar and animal fat into the final bliss of an already great evening.
The three best ones for me so far are:
1. "blueberry souffle" at the michelin rated Sante at the Fairmont in Sonoma. Souffle, in my opinion rivals the invention of the computer and the orchestral symphony as complex and likely, when you consider how finicky they are to make, particularly the narrow sliver of time the eggs are perfect.
2. "Topfenpalatschinken". I'm sorry I can't even provide a phonetic pronunciation guide for this one despite endless guidance from the waiter at Cafe Europe in St. Andrews-by-the-sea in New Brunswick. It's a custard-filled crepe, with some kind of awesome custardly sauce.
3. Gotta a go with "nutella crepes" from Cafe Crêpe on Queen's street west in the theatre district in Toronto. Bring a bib 'cause I always wnd up with chocolate all over myself.
The three best ones for me so far are:
1. "blueberry souffle" at the michelin rated Sante at the Fairmont in Sonoma. Souffle, in my opinion rivals the invention of the computer and the orchestral symphony as complex and likely, when you consider how finicky they are to make, particularly the narrow sliver of time the eggs are perfect.
2. "Topfenpalatschinken". I'm sorry I can't even provide a phonetic pronunciation guide for this one despite endless guidance from the waiter at Cafe Europe in St. Andrews-by-the-sea in New Brunswick. It's a custard-filled crepe, with some kind of awesome custardly sauce.
3. Gotta a go with "nutella crepes" from Cafe Crêpe on Queen's street west in the theatre district in Toronto. Bring a bib 'cause I always wnd up with chocolate all over myself.
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