“I’ve found that people who are great at something are not so much convinced of their own greatness as mystified at why everyone else seems so incompetent.”
– Paul Graham (http://www.paulgraham.com/gh.html)

This quote may be a little bit harsh or arrogant, but it’s from an interesting article about technically proficient problems solvers, affectionately known as “hackers”. Not the malevolent variety, mind you. Just your common nerd who can write a complete satellite tracking software with full featured 3D display in a week. (See Apple Computer’s World Wide Developers Conference video for an exampe…it’s about half way through).

I am a hacker of this variety, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading Mr. Graham’s article. I’d recommend it to anyone who needs to hire someone to get technical work done. We’re not lazy! We’re just…preoccupied. :-)

I cram for everything these days. Whether it’s tests, activities, friendships, exercise…I always seem busy at the last minute in preparation. I learned the “art of cram” very well in college. Well, I think I had the knack for it before, but had much more practice. :-) Because I’m getting sick of always feeling rushed and pressured, I’ve realized that I need some serious self-discipline in my life. To some, this will have seemed painfully obvious for years. For me, it’s just now becoming an issue. :-)

My hope is that I will be sufficiently self-disciplined so that the daily grind won’t pile up at the last minute, and I’ll remain flexible enough that when surprises (good or bad) come up I can flow with them and be more at ease. It’s akin to getting ready to pull an all-nighter for an exam tomorrow, but then getting a phone call from a friend to go see that new hit action flick at the local theater. If I had just been consistent and faithful with studying all along, I would feel the freedom to rest in the fact that I put in enough effort and can enjoy the rest of my evening.

Hence the title of this article. Discipline, from my frame of reference, is the doorway to freedom. I’ve bucked the idea for a while since I continue to find myself in the company of incredibly stiff people who have their lives so well scheduled that they really have no life at all. They are slaves to what they want to do. You probably know people like that, too. And if you are one, you have my deepest sympathy. But I digress.

So…on to the pathway of freedom! Now if only I could find my map…

Hi, my name is Jonathan, and I like beautiful things. I used to use PC’s (IBM Compatible, that is) for everything. I’m a self made website designer and audio engineer versed in various software tools and my trusty Fujitsu PC laptop. I’ve been a freelance technical troubleshooter for friends, family and co-workers because of my extensive knowledge of Windows based systems–and the bugs that fill them :-). But something was missing. I didn’t notice it until I was enticed by a new world. Yes, I am now a Mac User. Please, let me explain…

You see, I am not only a geek, but I’m an artistic geek. I’m not only a computer programmer, but a musician and poet. I’m not only bright, but stylish. (Okay, that may be up for debate) While working with Campus Focus as an intern (and going through their correspondence seminary program…fun stuff I might add) I entered into a world of Mac users. There were only three traditional Windows based PC computers in the whole building, and my laptop was one of them. I fit in well for the most part. Windows and Mac computers have been playing well together for some time. But I was intrigued…

I used to think Mac users were all simpletons who didn’t know much about their computers at all, much less a right-mouse button. But low and behold, the picture changed when I wasn’t looking. Apple went and built their newest and coolest operating system (OS X) on top of Unix. So what we have is a well designed, sleek, and pretty darn fun user interface skillfully placed on top of a well-tested, hard core, advanced operating subsystem. Pretty good, eh?

I know there are many that disagree about the user interface (UI), and some may agree that it’s cool but think that the UI is secondary to usefulness, but I disagree. In pure post-modern fashion, the experience when I use my computer is just as important. Fact is, the Mac OS X has the most advanced UI for any Unix brand. It’s fast, too. Did I mention it was fun?

What about the underpinnings? Well, Unix (and all the flavors it comes in) is a pretty sweet operating system. I’ve always wanted to mess around with a Unix distribution. There’s a lot of software out there that can be ported to the Mac with minimal effort, too. My Mac doesn’t feel like a toy. It feels like a workhorse.

And it works hard, too. I’ve been much more productive since switching. I’m selling my Fujitsu laptop on eBay to fund the purchase of my G4 PowerBook. Price was right, too. The PowerBook ended up being a couple hundred $$$ cheaper brand new than my Fujitsu was when I bought it brand new. I’m not completely abandoning the PC platform as my wife still uses a PC, and our home file server is a PC. But Mac’s have definitely found their place in my heart. It’s a serious tool for seriously un-serious people like me. Serious.

Side Note: I don’t want to knock Fujitsu or Microsoft more than necessary, of course. :-) If anyone is looking for a nice, rugged, and portable PC laptop then go for the Fujitsu S Series. It served me very well.

Whoa! I’ve just turned wavethenavel.com into my “blog” with the help from the very nice people at www.blogger.com . I didn’t realize it until I signed up for my free blog, but they will post the content to my web-server for me! That’s sweet! I can now use any of the lovely off-line blogging programs (like MacJournal) to type up my entries at my leisure, post them through the www.blogger.com protocols, and have blogger update the site on www.wavethenavel.com without ever breaking a sweat. If only cooking was this easy! I would eat like a king!

For those of you who are a little behind the times, a “blog” is world-wide journal kept by the likes of you and me. It’s equivalent to thinking out loud…REALLY LOUD. I’ve enjoyed reading the various quips people make on their own blogs and decided to join the ranks. It’s fun, it’s free, and it doesn’t involve laboratory testing on small animals.

Where did the term “blog” come from? Good question. A little background is needed. In greek mythology, a blog was a large creature that guarded the gates of knowledge and wisdom. Any who wished to become wise had to break through the line of defense. There was one young man who had the guts to slay the blog and carried it’s head on his spear as he walked through the gates and set knowledge and wisdom free for use by the masses. Since then, those who carry the head of the blog are sharers of wisdom and knowledge with others.

Just kidding. Actually, “blog” is a contraction of “website log” or “weblog”, which got shortened by lazy typists to just “blog”. I personally like the greek myth story. It’s more interesting

More to come…much more…