About Steve Jobs and Heroes: Lemonade Day

. I'm taking the opportunity of this unplanned time off to connect with the many artists and creators in this wonderful city that I love. Come with me on my 100-day odyssey of art and creativity in Long Beach. I call it .

We all have our heroes.  The heroes that come to my mind today are President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Benjamin Franklin and Steve Jobs.  I will someday get to talking about FDR and Bennie, but today, I am thinking about Steve Jobs.  On October 5th, 2011, the world received the announcement about the death of visionary, Steve Jobs.

September 4th was Day 65.  I thought about Steve Jobs.

His death was not unexpected, Steve Jobs had been battling cancer for some time.  Still, the world grieved the loss of a great mind.  Some who grieved were avid users of Apple products, others, admiring of the person who underwent so many personal challenges and ended up on top.

I'd purchased Apple products, but never for myself.  Some of us are not necessarily eager adopters of new technology.  My respect for the person had nothing to do with a personal love of my iPhone or iPad.  My expression of sadness at his passing, however, netted me a gift as a sibling upgraded her iPhone.  She wanted me to know the legacy of the person I mourned.

Since then, it's been a constant source of discussion in our little family, as to whether I was actually deserving of an iPhone.  I don't play the games, or search randomly for apps.  I kept forgetting my password for iTunes and the App Store.  Even storing phone numbers is a chore for me, and yes, my phone is often misplaced or the battery uncharged.

I found a reason to figure out the iTunes password today and, for the first time,  purchased an app from the App Store.  I'm preparing for the Geocaching App Taste Test.

What is Geocaching

Geocaching is a worldwide treasure hunt.  Scavenger hunts, treasure hunts, connect the dots, mazes, spot the this or find the that... we love all of these activities.  Seeking something hidden and finding it is rewarding indeed!

In geocaching, random people around the world hide caches, then leave clues online for other random people around the world to find.  I've done a bit of this, and it's such a good feeling when you find the cache!  Some are smaller in diameter than a dime.  Others are big enough to hold a keychain with a stuffed animal.  I'm sure you can get even bigger.

If you'd like to play the geocaching game, you will need:

1/ An online account for a Geocaching site.  This is technically untrue, as you could hide a cache and give your friends clues by email.  The beauty of geocaching is the multitude of caches that can be found pretty much anywhere that you are.  The most comprehensive database of caches can be found at geocaching.com.  I found out today that there are several others. The Geocaching wikipedia entry also lists the following: NaviCache.com, OpenCaching network, Terracaching, GPSGames,  OpenCaching (Garmin sponsored site different from the OpenCaching network).

2/ A way to follow the clues.  A major clue is the Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates of the cache.  Seeking a cache requires that the user possess a GPS device which may either be in the form of dedicated GPS equipment or a smart device running a GPS application.  There may be additional puzzles to be answered in order to identify the cache.

Here is some information from a government website:

"Degrees of latitude and longitude can be further subdivided into minutes and seconds: there are 60 minutes (') per degree, and 60 seconds (") per minute. For example, a coordinate might be written 65° 32' 15". Degrees can also be expressed as decimals: 65.5375, degrees and decimal minutes: 65° 32.25', or even degrees, minutes, and decimal seconds: 65° 32' 15.275". All these notations allow us to locate places on the Earth quite precisely – to within inches."

Here is a sample cache coordinate.  It is made up, so please don't be upset with me if it's inside your house.

N 31° 43.354 W 117° 03.943
UTM: 114 E 383247 N 3873601

3/ A mode of transportation.  A car is recommended, but a bicycle is also good.  Buses and trains are possible, if you're dedicated to the game and have some time.

Penguin Note: There are rules to follow when seeking a cache, and rules to follow when hiding a cache.  Each site may have variations on the rules when you play.  Please read the rules for the site you choose.

The Geocaching App Taste Test

I've done the and the .  Today, I want to begin the Geocaching App taste test.  This will be a multi-day taste test and may take me most of September to complete.  I'll still have my usual artist visits and creative moments, but some of the days will be dedicated to the Geocaching App Taste Test. 

Enough for today. 

I want to talk about the qualities of Steve Jobs that I admired.

Steve Jobs

It's one thing to admire someone, it's another to explain why you do so.  You want to make sure you get all the admirable qualities down in your explanation.

So, I started looking for information on Steve Jobs.

There are many websites devoted to Steve Jobs.  The thing I found most poignant, however, was the much-watched video of the speech that he gave at the 2005 Stanford University commencement.

Steve did a pretty good job of explaining who he was and I'm pretty sure that everyone who watches his speech will agree that Steve Jobs can be on their list of heroes.  You may have seen it, but I find that it can be watched over and over again. What do you think?

I have linked another video, that of Apple executive Jonathan Ive's tribute speech after Steve's passing.  We are best known by those with whom we have struggled, and this is often our co-workers, our friends.

Apple's tribute site to Steve Jobs is especially moving.

I will list some bits of information I find interesting in Tips,Tidbits, Things.

Tips, Tidbits, Things

• Biography.com information on Steve Jobs.
• The iPad is also a platform for apps, so I'll be able to do the test on the iPad I received for Mothers' day as another family member upgraded his.
• And a bit about the Homebrew Computer Club, which is where he met Steve Wozniak.
• A bit about the club from Wikipedia: "The Homebrew Computer Club was an informal group of electronic enthusiasts and technically-minded hobbyists who gathered to trade parts, circuits, and information pertaining to DIY construction of computing devices." 
• Also... "Many of the original members of the Homebrew Computer Club continue to meet (as of 2009), having formed the 6800 Club, named after the Motorola (now Freescale) 6800 microprocessor. Occasionally and variously renamed after the release of the 6800, 6809, and other microprocessors, the group continues to meet monthly in Cupertino, California." Cool!
• I helped to organize a little tribute to Steve Jobs last year.  Held on October 26th, 2011 it was billed as "Bring Your Apple to Work Day".  There were apples for carving and sharing. Pumpkin carving tools too.  Instructions for shrunken apples.  Apple equipment for demonstration. Apple corers, apple slicers, vintage (original) Apple Macintosh equipment.  A bit dorky.  I like to think that Steve would have liked it.

Want more lemonade?           

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Trish Tsoiasue writes as herself about creative and maker topics for and as Handmade Penguin for the Handmade Penguin Blog.  She is currently playing .