A MacBook Pro in the Wolf Den
My first blog post. Writing a blog has been something I have been interested in for some time. I tend to read a lot of blogs but have been dragging my feet to start one of my own. So today’s the day.
First, why the Wolf Den? My whole life I have been interested in the study and conservation of the North American Gray Wolf. I got actively involved in the conservation side in the mid 90’s when they began the reintroduction of the Gray Wolf to Yellowstone National Park. I have also been an active supporter of a local wolf sanctuary in Washington State. I have been fortunate enough to see several wolves in the wild over the years, usually from a great distance. For those less inclined to walk the wilds of the Cascades in the Pacific Northwest, I recommend stopping by Wolf Haven International. You can have a look at the great work they are doing and see some beautiful wild animals.
So, why a MacBook Pro? You could say the decision process started in the early 90’s. My career in software development started at Microsoft where for the longest time Apple and Mac were words only spoken in shadows. Windows, Windows, Windows was the mantra of Steve Ballmer as Microsoft climbed to the top of the PC industry. Manufacturers like IBM, Gateway and Dell rode the DOS and Windows wave through the 90’s. Apple was out there, but mainly in schools. Jobs and Gates were the minor deities of the PC age. The industry was exploding. At Microsoft, Macs were just thought of as productivity tools for Graphic Artists, Video Editors, anyone doing desktop publishing. What did I need a Mac for, I was a Windows programmer.
Fast forward ten years. I left Microsoft in 2010 and became a Technology (Software) Consultant. My first gig was working with Adobe Flex and Oracle. A whole new world of non-Microsoft technologies opened up for me, some good, some bad, and some we just don’t talk about. I was still a Windows guy; you can take the programmer out of Microsoft but you can’t take Microsoft out of the programmer. I learned my trade at Microsoft and will forever be grateful for all the opportunities that came my way. But, there is so much more out there. Microsoft technology was no longer the solution to every problem.
In 2016 I started working on a contract supporting a company that manufactured IoT devices. It was yet another opportunity to play around with technology that I had only read about. It was a great learning experience and a lot of fun. I showed up at their office on the first day and from the very start I was getting odd looks from them as I setup my desk. It took me a few minutes to realize that I had the only Windows laptop in the office. Immediately they questioned my intelligence and could not understand how it was possible to get anything done with my “40 pound” brick of a laptop. All right-thinking developers work on MacBook Pros, everyone knows that. This was a first experience with an office run entirely on Apple products; all Macs, iPhones and iPads.
To date I had never use a Mac, not once. I did not even know how to turn one on. For nine months not a day went by that I was not reminded that I would get more done with a Mac and to be honest just holding one would make me look significantly more intelligent. All kidding aside, it occurred to me that the ability to use a Mac was a skillset that I simply did not have. It is not uncommon to work with a client where they provide the hardware. What would happen if they handed me a Mac? It was time to do something about it.
With the release of the new model MacBook Pros in the fall of 2016 I decided to pull the trigger over Christmas. My new MacBook Pro I7 arrived the first week of January 2017. I pulled it out of the box. First thing I noticed, it was heavier than my Windows laptop, what the heck! Where was the power button, what the heck were those tiny adapter ports on the side? Where are the USB ports?
And so the first steps into the dark side began…
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Wolf Facts – That last indigenous wolf pack in Yellowstone National Park was killed in 1926. The Gray Wolf was reintroduced in the park in 1995, today there are over 100 wolves roaming the park. Wolf Restoration
