All this talk about race...
white people arresting the black
black people resenting the whites
white, black, black, white, green, yellow, pink
aren't we all children of one DNA strand?
Is your X blacker than mine?
Is my Y somehow less colorful than yours?
All this talk about religion...
does your god love less
or hate more?
All this talk about politics...
since when is an elephant more noble than an ass?
When did we start letting donkeys and elephants think for us?
Oh what an ass we have become!
We fight phantasmal enemies wildly thrashing about in a stupefied panic beating away ghosts of religion and apparitions of nationalism until we are left mere shadows of humanity who have forgotten how to breath the fresh air of Life.
Have we not evolved past these insignificant separations that we choose to honor as truth? Color, race, religion, politics...all so finite in the light of the real truth which is that we are all mere specs of light in the infinite history of Being. We can choose to shine a brilliantly as we can for the smidgen that we exist or allow our lights to be squelched by pride and greed.
History will no more remember our petty quabbles for which we so willingly died and so expeditiously hated anymore than it remembers the senseless reasons why cavemen beat each other with blunt instruments...all that will be left will be the stains of our ignorance.
Let's remember the hundreds, thousands, millions, nay billions who have walked these hallowed moments before us...who have filled these scared halls of time with laughter, tears, joy and leave behind a legacy of light.
Live
Love
Think clearly
Honor each other
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
Our Handicaps
A couple weeks ago I went to the grocery store and at the checkout a mentally and physically handicapped (challenged) young man who asked me if I needed help getting my groceries to the car. I wasn't really paying attention, didn't understand him and asked him to repeat himself. Halfway through him repeating the request it dawned on me that he was handicapped and the oddest thing happened...I got really nervous. I sputtered out something like "no thanks" grabbed my stuff and headed out to the car. Since then I can't stop thinking about why I got nervous? I've presented or talked to large audiences, to very senior levels of management, to presidents of companies, even to a hot Swedish girl at my work (okay, I was really nervous the first time I approached Sofia so that doesn't count). Why in the hell would I get nervous talking to a mentally and physically handicapped teenager? I never have before.
This question has hounded me for a couple weeks and here are a couple theorems:
1. Perhaps I was just caught off guard. I am, after all, fairly absent-minded and just wasn't prepared for that exchange. Of course, that's too simple an explanation.
2. Maybe it's like my issue with racism. When I moved to the US from Columbia, I honest-to-goodness did not know that people judged each other based on skin color. Call in naive but that's what happens when you grow up in the middle of the jungle. I didn't know about racism, didn't have the term "racism" in my vocabulary and certainly didn't practice racism. Oddly enough over the next few years, I learned racism from both whites and blacks (the "in" term during those years). The more I learned, the more I was puzzled because my young mind could not comprehend how someones skin color could in any way have anything to do with anything. I kept saying to myself "skin color is only a thin covering on your body, so what's that got to do with what is inside the person?" Unfortunately, the more I learned the more difficult it became for me to feel free around "black" people. I found myself censoring everything that I said to a black person to make sure it didn't have racial overtones and the more I did that the more awkward I became and which led people to believe that I was racist. (Even in this paragraph, I felt bad saying "black" because that is not the right PC terminology.) So sad because in my heart, I love or hate all people equally regardless of race, education, sex, height, etc. People are people...black people are people, white people are people, yellow people are people. "People" is the common denominator. However, I am prejudiced against mean, hateful, arrogant, hurtful, demeaning, dishonest and pompous people...all internal, not external traits.
So, how this relates to the handicapped (challenged) boy is that I might have been rattled because society has put so much emphasis on not seeing handicapped (challenged) people as being different that I over correct my reaction to make sure I was not violating social norms.
The truth is that while this might be part of the reason I got nervous, I still didn't feel like it was the whole reason.
A couple night ago, something happened that made me fully understand my reaction.
Every night I go by Oliver and Siena's beds and I check on them to make sure they have covers or are tucked in or are breathing (yes, I am paranoid) and while by their bedsides, I say a little prayer of thanks for the amazing gifts that we have been given. Well, the other night, I was laying in bed after my little ritual thinking about how fortunate I am with the amazing people in my life...Sofia, Siena and Oliver...when the thought crossed my mind "would you still love them as much if they were disfigured, or mentally challenged or not as smart as they are?" I thought about it for a long time and came to the conclusion that yes, I would love them as much. The reason is because when I think of Sofia or Siena or Oliver, I actually don't think about what they look like on the outside or of all the individual little things that make them amazing but somehow I'm able to look inside and what I see is pure goodness and beauty and that makes me fall in love with them over and over again.
So I'm laying there basking in these good feelings and the thought crossed my mind "do you see yourself the same way?" After much deliberation, I realized that I just cannot look past all my defects, character flaws, physical flaws, painful memories, mistakes made, etc. to see the goodness and beauty that resides inside. In my heart, I know there is lots of goodness inside but my mind puts up such a stink about my handicaps that it completely overrides my heart. I realized that every time I've tried to convince someone that I was a good at my job or in my abilities or in my character, it's only been myself trying to convince myself that in spite of all my handicaps, I am a good person inside. (Of course, this is completely linked to the hundreds of hours of preaching that I was exposed to growing up where I was told that we are all sinful, hideous creatures that can only be redeemed by grace, but that is for another blog entry altogether.)
Finally, I realized that I got nervous around the young man at the checkout is because I saw in the flesh a representation of the way I view myself inside. He reminded me of all the ways that I am handicapped inside and it rattled me. I'll bet that inside that person in front of me was a pure, beautiful, amazing being but what I actually saw, in that split second, was a personification of the way that I often view myself.
So, what's my point? I am learning to get comfortable with the beauty and goodness that resides inside knowing that it's greater than all my handicaps, mistakes, painful memories, etc. And I think if we all take the time to do the same, we will find ourselves so much more at peace with ourselves that we just might start taking the time to see each other for who we are on the inside, not for all the things we are or are not on the outside. We focus on the expression "love your neighbor as yourself" as a reminder to love each other but the hidden gem in that expression is that if we don't love ourselves, then it sure doesn't bode well for the neighbor!
This question has hounded me for a couple weeks and here are a couple theorems:
1. Perhaps I was just caught off guard. I am, after all, fairly absent-minded and just wasn't prepared for that exchange. Of course, that's too simple an explanation.
2. Maybe it's like my issue with racism. When I moved to the US from Columbia, I honest-to-goodness did not know that people judged each other based on skin color. Call in naive but that's what happens when you grow up in the middle of the jungle. I didn't know about racism, didn't have the term "racism" in my vocabulary and certainly didn't practice racism. Oddly enough over the next few years, I learned racism from both whites and blacks (the "in" term during those years). The more I learned, the more I was puzzled because my young mind could not comprehend how someones skin color could in any way have anything to do with anything. I kept saying to myself "skin color is only a thin covering on your body, so what's that got to do with what is inside the person?" Unfortunately, the more I learned the more difficult it became for me to feel free around "black" people. I found myself censoring everything that I said to a black person to make sure it didn't have racial overtones and the more I did that the more awkward I became and which led people to believe that I was racist. (Even in this paragraph, I felt bad saying "black" because that is not the right PC terminology.) So sad because in my heart, I love or hate all people equally regardless of race, education, sex, height, etc. People are people...black people are people, white people are people, yellow people are people. "People" is the common denominator. However, I am prejudiced against mean, hateful, arrogant, hurtful, demeaning, dishonest and pompous people...all internal, not external traits.
So, how this relates to the handicapped (challenged) boy is that I might have been rattled because society has put so much emphasis on not seeing handicapped (challenged) people as being different that I over correct my reaction to make sure I was not violating social norms.
The truth is that while this might be part of the reason I got nervous, I still didn't feel like it was the whole reason.
A couple night ago, something happened that made me fully understand my reaction.
Every night I go by Oliver and Siena's beds and I check on them to make sure they have covers or are tucked in or are breathing (yes, I am paranoid) and while by their bedsides, I say a little prayer of thanks for the amazing gifts that we have been given. Well, the other night, I was laying in bed after my little ritual thinking about how fortunate I am with the amazing people in my life...Sofia, Siena and Oliver...when the thought crossed my mind "would you still love them as much if they were disfigured, or mentally challenged or not as smart as they are?" I thought about it for a long time and came to the conclusion that yes, I would love them as much. The reason is because when I think of Sofia or Siena or Oliver, I actually don't think about what they look like on the outside or of all the individual little things that make them amazing but somehow I'm able to look inside and what I see is pure goodness and beauty and that makes me fall in love with them over and over again.
So I'm laying there basking in these good feelings and the thought crossed my mind "do you see yourself the same way?" After much deliberation, I realized that I just cannot look past all my defects, character flaws, physical flaws, painful memories, mistakes made, etc. to see the goodness and beauty that resides inside. In my heart, I know there is lots of goodness inside but my mind puts up such a stink about my handicaps that it completely overrides my heart. I realized that every time I've tried to convince someone that I was a good at my job or in my abilities or in my character, it's only been myself trying to convince myself that in spite of all my handicaps, I am a good person inside. (Of course, this is completely linked to the hundreds of hours of preaching that I was exposed to growing up where I was told that we are all sinful, hideous creatures that can only be redeemed by grace, but that is for another blog entry altogether.)
Finally, I realized that I got nervous around the young man at the checkout is because I saw in the flesh a representation of the way I view myself inside. He reminded me of all the ways that I am handicapped inside and it rattled me. I'll bet that inside that person in front of me was a pure, beautiful, amazing being but what I actually saw, in that split second, was a personification of the way that I often view myself.
So, what's my point? I am learning to get comfortable with the beauty and goodness that resides inside knowing that it's greater than all my handicaps, mistakes, painful memories, etc. And I think if we all take the time to do the same, we will find ourselves so much more at peace with ourselves that we just might start taking the time to see each other for who we are on the inside, not for all the things we are or are not on the outside. We focus on the expression "love your neighbor as yourself" as a reminder to love each other but the hidden gem in that expression is that if we don't love ourselves, then it sure doesn't bode well for the neighbor!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
A beautiful day
Today was a great day in the US. After all the fighting, bickering, finger pointing, lying, exaggeration, etc. we have come together to make history. I am completely overwhelmed by the magnitude of what happened today. Five things stand out for me:
1. Never before in history (what I know of history) has the son of an enslaved people risen to the top position in the country without bloodshed, civil war, anarchy, etc. Amazing.
2. I can't think of another country who's had the opportunity to reach back to the darkest period of its history and redeem itself. Sure, voting in Barack Obama in no way erases the ugliness of slavery, segregation and prejudice but it is a huge step forward towards redemption.
3. The crowd cheering Obama was not a black crowd, or a minority crowd, it was a crowd of elated, overjoyed, hopeful Americans. I saw tears flowing from the eyes of white people, black people, young people, old people, minorities, majorities...basically Americans.
4. Three years ago Sofia and I were living in Sweden and travelling in Europe and everywhere we went the US was spit on, mocked, reviled, cursed. What a difference one man has made. Just go to any newspaper in any country in Europe and see the admiration, excitement, joy. One Swedish paper said it the best "today, the good America has reappeared."
5. There in no doubt in my mind that Obama is a man of destiny. Remember that Bill Clinton almost lost the election over having smoked pot and yet we have just elected a man who admitted smoking crack. We have just seen a man with no real political background, no blue blood running in his veins, no family connections to the White House, no ethnic entitlement become the next president of the US.
Not since Ronald Reagan has someone stirred in me the fires of patriotism like Obama did tonight. I am so proud that my little children will grow up with an African American in the Whitehouse because it will completely change the race conversation for them.
Now, I hope that Obama approaches the office of the presidency with the same class, zeal and determination as he did his election. I hope for the sake of this moment in our history that he turns out to be not only a great orator but also one of the greatest presidents in our history.
Finally, I pray that he is kept safe. If someone harms him or his family, we as a country will never be able to lift our head again in pride at the progress that we have made. In that way I hope he is completely unlike JFK.
1. Never before in history (what I know of history) has the son of an enslaved people risen to the top position in the country without bloodshed, civil war, anarchy, etc. Amazing.
2. I can't think of another country who's had the opportunity to reach back to the darkest period of its history and redeem itself. Sure, voting in Barack Obama in no way erases the ugliness of slavery, segregation and prejudice but it is a huge step forward towards redemption.
3. The crowd cheering Obama was not a black crowd, or a minority crowd, it was a crowd of elated, overjoyed, hopeful Americans. I saw tears flowing from the eyes of white people, black people, young people, old people, minorities, majorities...basically Americans.
4. Three years ago Sofia and I were living in Sweden and travelling in Europe and everywhere we went the US was spit on, mocked, reviled, cursed. What a difference one man has made. Just go to any newspaper in any country in Europe and see the admiration, excitement, joy. One Swedish paper said it the best "today, the good America has reappeared."
5. There in no doubt in my mind that Obama is a man of destiny. Remember that Bill Clinton almost lost the election over having smoked pot and yet we have just elected a man who admitted smoking crack. We have just seen a man with no real political background, no blue blood running in his veins, no family connections to the White House, no ethnic entitlement become the next president of the US.
Not since Ronald Reagan has someone stirred in me the fires of patriotism like Obama did tonight. I am so proud that my little children will grow up with an African American in the Whitehouse because it will completely change the race conversation for them.
Now, I hope that Obama approaches the office of the presidency with the same class, zeal and determination as he did his election. I hope for the sake of this moment in our history that he turns out to be not only a great orator but also one of the greatest presidents in our history.
Finally, I pray that he is kept safe. If someone harms him or his family, we as a country will never be able to lift our head again in pride at the progress that we have made. In that way I hope he is completely unlike JFK.
Emma
My little niece is fighting for her life having just been diagnosed with acute leukemia. If you want to follow her progress, you can do so by going to this website.
www.caringbridge.org/visit/emmaeinhorn
Nathan
www.caringbridge.org/visit/emmaeinhorn
Nathan
Thursday, September 25, 2008
WMDs or WMFDs
Is there anyone else besides myself that finds it sadly humorous that this Administration embarked on a 600 Billion dollar journey (originally was supposed to cost no more than $80B) to look for WMDs in Iraq and all along the Weapons of Mass Destruction were located a few buildings away from the Trade Center in the offices of Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns, Freddie Mae, Freddie Mac, Goldman, etc. These "dirty bombs" of gluttony, greed, irresponsibility and yes, even fraud are the WMFDs (Weapons of Mass Financial Destruction) that are threatening to bring this proud country to its knees in a way that no Al-Qaeda dirty bomb could. Now, us, the American tax payers have to step in and bail out these houses of financial worship. LET THEM BURN! Where was Washington when thousands of companies went bankrupt when the Dot-com bubble burst? Nobody submitted a bailout plan for WorldCom, Enron, AOL, Global Crossings, etc. because they knew that their demise was primarily their own fault and that our economy would be better off without them. I understand that our economy will probably go through a major correction or even depression if the government does not intervene but isn't that survival of the fittest?
I remember just about a year ago when these financial houses were making record earnings and doling out unprecedented bonus packages. There was such an infusion of wealth in NYC that the city ran out of yachts, exotic cars, high priced condos, etc. Now, not 18 months later we the struggling tax payers are asked to step in and bail their greedy asses out? No damn way! LET THEM BURN! At least in the Great Depression there were bankers jumping out of buildings which meant that they were feeling the pain. Now if a banker jumps off a building, it's because he/she is doing some base jumping. How times have changed.
What pisses me off the most is that I find myself unable to believe a word that the current administration is telling us about this crisis. Hell, the reasoning for invading Iraq was pretty damn airtight, wasn't it? Anyone remember Colin Powell in front of the UN with the satellite photos? Seven years after that pack of lies and after having sucked $600 Billion from our economy (imagine if we had that money now to spend salvaging our economy) we are being fed these irrefutable facts that if we don't mortgage our future then the economy will collapse. What if they are wrong just like they were about Iraq? What if we go with this bailout and they underestimate it the way they did the war ($80B to $600B)? Will we be left with a 2 or 3 Trillion dollar problem? And, what if they're wrong and our economy is capable of handling such a dramatic correction? I fear that we will be mortgaging the future of this great country to bail out a handful of greedy bastards. Hey Paulson and Bernake, why don't you donate a proportional amount to this bailout? If in the end it costs me $30,000 to bail out these banks (10% of my net worth) then each of you should pony up at least $100M each. Feel our pain!
Unfortunately, in the end, this bailout will pass. These banks will stabilize and in 5 years be recording record profits. The USD will continue to drop in value and my dreams of realizing the American Dream will haunt me until I'm 75 and working as a porter at a swank hotel somewhere opening the doors to some smug, filthy rich, calloused banker who just might or might not throw me a Yaun as a tip.
I remember just about a year ago when these financial houses were making record earnings and doling out unprecedented bonus packages. There was such an infusion of wealth in NYC that the city ran out of yachts, exotic cars, high priced condos, etc. Now, not 18 months later we the struggling tax payers are asked to step in and bail their greedy asses out? No damn way! LET THEM BURN! At least in the Great Depression there were bankers jumping out of buildings which meant that they were feeling the pain. Now if a banker jumps off a building, it's because he/she is doing some base jumping. How times have changed.
What pisses me off the most is that I find myself unable to believe a word that the current administration is telling us about this crisis. Hell, the reasoning for invading Iraq was pretty damn airtight, wasn't it? Anyone remember Colin Powell in front of the UN with the satellite photos? Seven years after that pack of lies and after having sucked $600 Billion from our economy (imagine if we had that money now to spend salvaging our economy) we are being fed these irrefutable facts that if we don't mortgage our future then the economy will collapse. What if they are wrong just like they were about Iraq? What if we go with this bailout and they underestimate it the way they did the war ($80B to $600B)? Will we be left with a 2 or 3 Trillion dollar problem? And, what if they're wrong and our economy is capable of handling such a dramatic correction? I fear that we will be mortgaging the future of this great country to bail out a handful of greedy bastards. Hey Paulson and Bernake, why don't you donate a proportional amount to this bailout? If in the end it costs me $30,000 to bail out these banks (10% of my net worth) then each of you should pony up at least $100M each. Feel our pain!
Unfortunately, in the end, this bailout will pass. These banks will stabilize and in 5 years be recording record profits. The USD will continue to drop in value and my dreams of realizing the American Dream will haunt me until I'm 75 and working as a porter at a swank hotel somewhere opening the doors to some smug, filthy rich, calloused banker who just might or might not throw me a Yaun as a tip.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Who I'm Voting For...
I really hate the way this election has devolved, once again, into an chicken pecking contest. We are no longer discussing substantive issues like the economy, national security, education, our needy, health care but rather discussing whether Biden told a cripple to stand or Palin had a clear opinion on the Bush Doctrine (does he have a doctrine?)
The Market meltdown last week was scary as hell but reinforced one of my core beliefs which is that it's not as important who we elect to be our next President but rather who that President appoints to his/her Cabinet. Notice how completely absent both Mc Cain and Obama are right now in the face of this financial crisis. All either of them can do right now is jump up and say "yeah, me too!" The truth is that neither of them have the ability to get us out of this mess without a team of very intelligent, experienced people. Simply put, Obama does not have the experience to be our next President and Mc Cain does not have the intelligence. So, who they pick to be part of their team is going to make my decision for me.
I am not ready to jump on the Hollywood-driven bandwagon of Bush haters. Being an amateurish student of history, I can't help but think that there are a couple good things to come from these past 8 years (Africa, Peak Oil, etc). However, one thing I think History will remember clearly is that Bush consistently made bad Staffing decisions. Let me list some obvious examples:
The Market meltdown last week was scary as hell but reinforced one of my core beliefs which is that it's not as important who we elect to be our next President but rather who that President appoints to his/her Cabinet. Notice how completely absent both Mc Cain and Obama are right now in the face of this financial crisis. All either of them can do right now is jump up and say "yeah, me too!" The truth is that neither of them have the ability to get us out of this mess without a team of very intelligent, experienced people. Simply put, Obama does not have the experience to be our next President and Mc Cain does not have the intelligence. So, who they pick to be part of their team is going to make my decision for me.
I am not ready to jump on the Hollywood-driven bandwagon of Bush haters. Being an amateurish student of history, I can't help but think that there are a couple good things to come from these past 8 years (Africa, Peak Oil, etc). However, one thing I think History will remember clearly is that Bush consistently made bad Staffing decisions. Let me list some obvious examples:
- Greenspan. I understand that at the time, he was globally recognized as the greatest Fed Chairman that ever lived but just take a look around.
- Head of EPA. He basically drove Whitman out at a time when the EPA needed to play a key role in transforming our country from a selfish, resource-hoarding nation to a nation who cares deeply about the precious resources we have been given.
- FEMA. Katrina, need I say more?
- SEC. The Bush administration has overseen two major Market meltdowns and underlying both has been wild speculation, lack of any kind of oversight and just plain greed. I think it's fair to say the SEC has seriously let us down.
- Ethics oversight. The whole Republican party has morphed from a party that used to represent values and morals to the party seemingly on the take.
- Iraq. From the original guy who bungled the transitional government to the lack of oversight on the $ Billions sent over to Iraq to the way that contracts were awarded without any kind of fair bidding process, the whole Iraq war has been a neon sign of poor staffing decisions.
- FDA. How many cases of poisoned food and poisoned toys have surfaced in the past 8 years?
I could go on and on but you get my point. The only government agency that has done anything in the past 8 years has been the FCC and they mainly have been Nazi-like in their abolition of nudity on TV. Frankly, that's the one agency I wouldn't mind failing. I would rather have nudity on TV than a financial meltdown...but that's just my opinion.
In conclusion, I am waiting anxiously to see who Mc Cain and Obama nominate for their Cabinet. When I see intelligent, seasoned, cross-party candidates being nominated, I will vote for that presidential candidate. That is how you will get this Independent's vote.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Is Apple Done? Probably Not But...
Every time Apple launches a new product, all the Apple Fanboys spring a collective *oner and rush like senseless automatons to the nearest store to hand over yet another chunk of hard earned money to that brilliant marketing machine. Another less noticeable and much smaller group of people also rush to the front of the lines not to make Steve Jobs and Apple richer but to attach themselves to that corpse in hopes of making themselves a little richer...I speak of all the class action leaches who file a flurry of class action lawsuits a month after the latest, coolest product has hit the shelves. It's a beautiful system driven by the unfettered ebullience of the mindless masses from Fanboys to investors to greedy attorneys.
Yesterday I was reading about the latest lawsuit brought against Apple for their 3G RF issues. A little research on this topic led me to discover that the world is in fact holding its breath to see if this issue is a hardware (oh god, please don't let it be so) or a software issue which can be remedied with a simple upgrade thus saving mankind from the evils of a defective Apple product. Of course those petty news articles about airplanes crashing, the Olympics ending, China suppressing freedom and Obama picking a new boss...er, running mate all paled in comparison to the raging hardware vs. software debate.
Well, on this topic, I happen to have a very educated point of view. I've been in the Telecom field most of my career so can tell you right now...."stop the speculation, it's both hardware and software." However, the issue is greater than an occasional dropped call. Here is my take on the problem.
Apple's genius has backfired a bit in three ways.
1. The ridiculous level of hype drummed up over the launch of the iPhone has brought with it an equally ridiculous level of scrutiny. Unfortunately for Apple, the iPhone is a piece of hardware, albeit a beautiful piece of hardware, that is manufactured by a fully outsourced supply chain and thus will never be without flaws. There is a reason that we measure quality in DPPM (defective parts per million)...this means that components and products will have defects. This is to be expected but Apple's hype machine has created a microscope that will trumpet the product's flaws as equally as it's beauty. Having built and hyped beautiful little toys (iPods) for the past 5-7 years, I honestly think that Apple underestimated the complexity of this product and the result is that every little problem will be over hyped.
2. Apple's global push has resulted in many more sales but has exposed the product to a global audience full of more educated users. The first wave of US iPhone users probably upgraded from one of those ghastly RAZRs (you know, the StarTac with the cool keypad) and so really had no idea what it was like to own a good mobile phone. Europeans and Asians, however, have been using iPhone-like products for the past 5 years and have very high standards.
3. The iPhone is such a sexy and useful device that people spend considerable more time on the iPhone than they would on any other mobile phone. What this means is that people will be spending many more hours staring at and using the iPhone...those are just more hours where imperfections can be noticed.
I guarantee you that this RF issue cannot be fully solved with software patches and chances are that this 3G chip has some inherent flaws, the 3G network is not ubiquitous enough to provide consistent coverage and AT&T probably lowered their RF standards just to get the phone launched. Guess what, by Apple being such a self-centered marketing machine they will bear the full brunt of this problem and those other companies that are equally culpable will get a pass. This is the cross they bear.
Last night I was watching "I Think I Love My Wife" with my wife and it got me thinking that Apple is alot like Nikki Tru; hot as hell, sexy but so damn narcissistic and manipulative that ultimately you just have to walk away if you want to keep your sanity. This, among other reasons, is why I won't buy an iPhone.
Yesterday I was reading about the latest lawsuit brought against Apple for their 3G RF issues. A little research on this topic led me to discover that the world is in fact holding its breath to see if this issue is a hardware (oh god, please don't let it be so) or a software issue which can be remedied with a simple upgrade thus saving mankind from the evils of a defective Apple product. Of course those petty news articles about airplanes crashing, the Olympics ending, China suppressing freedom and Obama picking a new boss...er, running mate all paled in comparison to the raging hardware vs. software debate.
Well, on this topic, I happen to have a very educated point of view. I've been in the Telecom field most of my career so can tell you right now...."stop the speculation, it's both hardware and software." However, the issue is greater than an occasional dropped call. Here is my take on the problem.
Apple's genius has backfired a bit in three ways.
1. The ridiculous level of hype drummed up over the launch of the iPhone has brought with it an equally ridiculous level of scrutiny. Unfortunately for Apple, the iPhone is a piece of hardware, albeit a beautiful piece of hardware, that is manufactured by a fully outsourced supply chain and thus will never be without flaws. There is a reason that we measure quality in DPPM (defective parts per million)...this means that components and products will have defects. This is to be expected but Apple's hype machine has created a microscope that will trumpet the product's flaws as equally as it's beauty. Having built and hyped beautiful little toys (iPods) for the past 5-7 years, I honestly think that Apple underestimated the complexity of this product and the result is that every little problem will be over hyped.
2. Apple's global push has resulted in many more sales but has exposed the product to a global audience full of more educated users. The first wave of US iPhone users probably upgraded from one of those ghastly RAZRs (you know, the StarTac with the cool keypad) and so really had no idea what it was like to own a good mobile phone. Europeans and Asians, however, have been using iPhone-like products for the past 5 years and have very high standards.
3. The iPhone is such a sexy and useful device that people spend considerable more time on the iPhone than they would on any other mobile phone. What this means is that people will be spending many more hours staring at and using the iPhone...those are just more hours where imperfections can be noticed.
I guarantee you that this RF issue cannot be fully solved with software patches and chances are that this 3G chip has some inherent flaws, the 3G network is not ubiquitous enough to provide consistent coverage and AT&T probably lowered their RF standards just to get the phone launched. Guess what, by Apple being such a self-centered marketing machine they will bear the full brunt of this problem and those other companies that are equally culpable will get a pass. This is the cross they bear.
Last night I was watching "I Think I Love My Wife" with my wife and it got me thinking that Apple is alot like Nikki Tru; hot as hell, sexy but so damn narcissistic and manipulative that ultimately you just have to walk away if you want to keep your sanity. This, among other reasons, is why I won't buy an iPhone.
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