www.CoiaBlog.com: My Coffee with Steve Wozniak

On my way back to Portland from Salt Lake City, I ran into Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer. For those hardcore Apple fans out there, this is a big deal.

We chatted for awhile because I invited him to coffee. We went to Starbucks, and talked technology for about an hour. It was the geekiest time I had, and I mean that in the best possible way. I had a bit of a hard time following him, partly because he was talking over my head, and partly because I kept chanting in my head, "I'm talking to Steve Wozniak! I'm talking to Steve Wozniak!"

Steve (can I refer to him by his first name now?) was a friendly, animated guy with lots to say about what he has done and what he is doing. He works with a company called Fusion IO, as well as participating in a Segway Polo Team, and he prints his own money (!). He took out a pad of two-dollar bills, uncut, and told me he sells them for $5. I wanted to ask further, but I was afraid that I'd get involved in a counterfeiting sting operation. He talked briefly of Steve Jobs and his pot-smoking days at Reed College. I thought about asking about how Jobs screwed him out of the Atari Breakout money that could have cost Apple an early partnership with Intel, but I decided against it. Steve Jobs is quietly recovering with a new liver, and I'd hate to jinx the man.

We had a nice, uninterrupted conversation until some little kid asked, "Were you on Dancing with the Stars?" Steve said that he was, and the mom took a picture. After that, many others came up to have their picture taken with the guy from Dancing with the Stars. This barrage of fans stopped the nice flow of our conversation. Stupid fans... At least I knew that he was the Apple cofounder. (All fans think that they, and they alone, are the special fans unlike the others!)

This was one of the best experiences I've had in some time. It sure beat my playing around on my iPhone. Rather, I went right to the source!