In the category of “horribly ironic,” I was watching the iPhone 4S event last night, comparing new CEO Tim Cook to Steve. Cook reminds me of a beloved professor I had back at Penn—even when he talked about things I found absolutely fascinating, his presentation made me feel like I was watching an Iowa farm report.

Simply put, I missed the Reality Distortion Field, and I gave some idle thought to what Jobs would do in retirement.

Reality came along and smacked me in the head a half-hour later.

Suffice to say that I’m not particularly concerned about Apple from a business or technology design perspective. Jobs was one hell of a leader, his protégé class has plenty of his skills, and all of them were working with a talented crew that remains in place. I fully expect an idiotic business/tech/analyst community to come up with a new meme to replace “beleaguered Apple” within three to six months, saying how badly Apple has lost its way since Steve died. Really, it’s just a matter of time, one of those stories that writes itself regardless of whether it’s true.

As for my feelings… anyone remember when Charles Schultz died the same day the last Peanuts cartoon was published? Yeah. That.

This was from Tuesday’s presentation, the first without Steve at the helm, and a day before he died. I don’t know if the reserved seat was for him, but a day later, the black drape with the “Reserved” moniker seems… appropriate. This seems to me to perfectly encapsulate where Apple stands.

A room full of people applauding Apple’s latest release.

Rows of Apple employees basking in the moment.

An empty chair for the man who won’t get to see next year’s model.