Steve Jackson died Thursday, July 15, 2010 at home after battling cancer for 15 years.

Hanging on a wall in Steve office is a quote from Theodore Roosevelt:
“It’s not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or when the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worth cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.”

Steve and I started working together more than 20 years ago, we quickly became friends and later partners. Years ago someone  referred to Steve as a “Texas Samurai” and I believe they were right.  This quote was Steve credo, one that I believe he followed everyday of his life with honor and honesty.

Steve Jackson will never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.

For a long time there were two types of computers for the common user, laptops and desktops. Years ago I used my desktop, my laptop was just used on trips or when I went to remote locations. Then wireless networking came alone and my laptop started get some use at home. There is value to being able to move with your computer from room to room. When I got my laptop I went for the big screen and fast computing power, it was going to replace my desktop. The problem with that laptop became I had a big laptop to haul around.

Enter the Netbook. The Netbook was small and light, easy to take anywhere I went. It was less powerful than my laptop, but it turns out I didn’t really matter for the things that I use it for. It’s size of a book and you can hold it for hours with out getting tired or cooked by the heat. When you add the extra long battery, you can go all day without plugging into a wall. Then you can charge it while you sleep and then use it all day on the battery.

Lots of people talk to me about how much they love their Blackberries and Iphones. The screen on those is just too small for me and I like the idea of a full computer. It’s the Netbook, that device that falls between laptop and Iphone that I’ve fallen for. It’s got it all—games, books, movies, music and the much used wireless Internet connection.

For now the Netbook is my favorite computing device. My costly laptop it went unused for months, my wife is taking it over.

It’s my belief that our massive use of  oil will be the down fall of our country. So about six years ago I made a commitment to myself to stop using as much gasoline. It started out with me using the bus to commute back and forth to work. Did that for a couple of years, then I got the great idea of getting a scooter.  After looking at and riding scooters for a few months I bought a Honda Shadow 600 (it’s wasn’t a scooter).

After driving the Shadow for a couple of months it was clear to me that this bike was not the one I wanted either. Loved riding, but the bike seems slow and handled poorly. At the time I felt the poor handling was my fault because not riding for years had made me rusty.  Put the Shadow up for sale and bought VT1100 ACE.

VT1100 ACE

The VT1100 has it’s issues, but I found my bike. It’s got a smooth ride and handles like a dream and my motorcycle mechanic tells me they are made to last. I’ve had the bike about 1 1/2 years and I’m heading into my second summer with it. So far this bike carried me over 20,000 miles and I’m really looking forward to the warmer weather.