Posts Tagged ‘Steve Jobs’

I would like to celebrate the birth of an upgraded iMac with my very own iMac story and a tip that may be helpful in an emergency for my fellow Apple aficionados.

Before we get into the details, please refer to the following:

1. I would like to think that I am not the only one who has gone through this terrifying experience.
2. Yes, I do act mindlessly at times and do stupid things. Ok, fine. I’m one of the clumsiest people on earth.
3. MacGyver was my hero when I was growing up, except that mine spoke Korean (dubbed; I was seriously traumatized when he started speaking English).

So with these in mind, let me start the story.

It was a peaceful Saturday morning. I had just gotten out of bed and was ready to start the day. A watch I had purchased was just delivered and with great excitement, I took a few pictures, so I can post them on Twitter. Then, as usual, I removed the SD card from the camera and inserted into the SD card slot on my iMac… or so I thought I was… until I felt it falling deep into a black hole (aka DVD Drive). @.@

In my head, Britney was singing, “Oops, I did it again” because mind you, this was NOT my first time. I thought, crap, my husband’s going to kill me. I tried hard to calm myself down. Breathe.. Breathe.!! Thank God he was asleep so I had some time to clean up the mess and act like nothing happened. The question was, ‘How the heck am I going to get it out?!?’ Darn, the last time it happened, hubby had to take it to the hospital (aka Apple Store)… It was covered by warranty and nothing was scratched but just the hassle of having to unplug everything, take it to the store only to return to pick it up is just a pain. So I had no choice but to think fast and strategically.

I thought of MacGyver, the genius who always had a solution to everything. I asked God for wisdom.

Then my light bulb went on. I grabbed an earring from the drawer. I needed a metal wire but thin enough to access the card slot. I thought of metal hangers or chopsticks but they were too thick and hard to manage once inside. So the earring hook came along. It was straightened then curved at the end to fit the card. I unplugged the computer, placed a towel on the floor and tilted it vertically (not completely vertical but I’d say about 45 degrees) and gently shook it back and forth (As you know, the slot is covered with rubber-like protectors so you really can’t see anything. Just focus on trying to get the card move to the bottom of the slot so you can pull it out). Then when I felt like it was where I wanted it to be, I inserted the earring hook at the bottom of the slot, set it at a right angle, and gently started dragging it out. Voila! Magically, the card was now on my palm. I felt so smart! hahaha anyways… yeah. that’s the end of the story.

So if you have any questions regarding this tip, please let me know. I will try my best to help. Remember that you are NOT ALONE. I’m not sure how many of you will, or have encountered this issue but I hope one day Apple will realize that this is indeed a result of a design defect. Seriously, who places a CD/DVD drive right below a SD card slot (world’s most innovative company does), especially when you can’t see neither from where you are sitting?! Come on.

Some may argue that you should always be cautious of what you are doing, but how many of you would get out of your seat and watch the “insertion process”?! I don’t know about you, but I’m lazy when it comes to things like that. I’m an economical person and prefer not to waste my time and energy on things that don’t (or shouldn’t) require much attention. My temporary fix was to place a scotch tape over the CD slot though I admit its ghetto-ness. oh well, until Apple introduces a countermeasure, a scotch tape should do…

But in all seriousness, while I am a diehard Apple fan, I need them to do something about this before it happens again. Mr. Jobs, are you listening!?

Photo Credit: Bing Images

Photo source: www.apple.com

In today’s fast changing environment, being ‘innovative’ perhaps is the most valuable asset that can act as a competitive advantage for both a person/employee and an organization. Innovation by definition means a mental process that leads to a new idea. I should probably make a distinction here between being ‘creative’ and ‘innovative’, as many times these terms seem to be used interchangeably, when in reality they are different animals. You can be creative, but not innovative if you cannot materialize the creative idea- consider Job’s iPhone project (I call him the ‘Epitome of Creativity & Innovation’- creative idea flawlessly executed).

Creativity can mundanely explained as some sort of psychological activity that occurs to a certain group of people in which an insight is provided, that which is argued in a book titled Creativity by world’s leading researcher in positive psychology, Dr. Csikszentmihaly. He claims that creativity is an interaction between a person’s thoughts and a sociocultural context, meaning that it’s a systemic phenomenon, not an individual phenomenon as many tend to believe. So you may be asking now- So, you mean people are not born creative, but can be made creative? Yes, according to Dr. C- and here are couple things you can do to enhance your creativity in your daily life:

• According to Dr. C, our brains have limited source of memory, just like the computers. There are limits on the amount of information that can be processed at any given time; thus it’s important to conserve your creative energy. In other words, don’t stretch yourself too thin. Give your brain time to relax.

• Try new things and keep record of them. They can be as extreme as sky diving or traveling to the deep forest of Amazon, or as simple as striking up a conversation with strangers or visiting a exotic restaurant down the street. Then, write them down either in your journal, a blog or whatever is most convenience so that you may revisit it later to observe a pattern, which will help you identify your favorite activities for further exploration and development. Mine is traveling to new places, unquestionably.

• Constant busyness is overrated. How will you ever think of new ideas when your mind and body are inundated all the time? Despite what the world tells us about successful people who never have time for anything, set aside a time for reflection and let your mind indulge in it at least for that occasion. On that note, there are couple things that can facilitate the creative processes- Walking, Showering (I know it’s random, but trust me, it works), Driving (wha–t! I should be driving more), Gardening (ok- my gardener just lost his job), Weaving, and Carpentry. So if possible, try to fit in some of these activities into your daily schedule- well, assuming you are interested in becoming creative! Then again, don’t you shower on a regular basis already? Perhaps it’s a good idea to extend the shower time.

• Research suggests that creative people tend to sleep longer. Sleep more- well only if that works for you as everyone has a different rhythm. As for me, I know my body longs for 8 hours, but it’s never possible!

• Get organized! By storing things like car keys in a same place all the time so that you don’t have to run around the house screaming your lungs out every time you leave the house, you not only save physical energy, but also save creative energy. Don’t waste your energy on unnecessary things.

• Your place can foster creativity. It’s not the environment itself that matters, but how harmonious you are with it. There is no certain set of solutions provided as this is a subjective matter, so we are advised to try different styles such as getting rid of everything except for furniture (so-called-Japanese style).

• Objects in your space can help you become creative, such as diplomas, books, photos, as well as what’s in your wallet, as they remind us who we are and what our interests are.

• Keep a record of your emotions throughout the day and activities associated with them. By knowing what you like and don’t like, you will gain control over it to start spending more time on doing things more meaningful to you.

It actually seems like developing these techniques will not only help you become creative, but also help you discover your true interests during the process. I personally have been struggling figuring out what my true interests are, which has also allowed me to experience many different things in life in a positive sense, but also has resulted in wasted time and resource. Now that I think about it, they were my subconscious attempts at developing these techniques to become creative, because there is no doubt that I’m much more creative now than I was 10 or even 5 years ago.

Source: Csikszentmihaly, M. 1996. Creativity. New York: HarperCollins.