The spiritual side of Steve Jobs

(CNN) -- It's well known that the secret to Apple's meteoric success in the world of consumer technology was the vision, leadership and creativity of Steve Jobs, the company's celebrity founder.

"Steve built a company and culture that is unlike any other in the world and we are going to stay true to that -- it is in our DNA," Tim Cook, Jobs' successor, wrote in a staff memo after Jobs resigned from his post as Apple's CEO in August.

What's less talked about is what drove Jobs, who died Wednesday at 56.

As with anyone, Jobs' values were shaped by his upbringing and life experiences. He was born in 1955 in San Francisco and grew up amid the rise of hippie counterculture. Bob Dylan and the Beatles were his two favorite musical acts, and he shared their political leanings, antiestablishment views and, reportedly, youthful experimentation with psychedelic drug usage.

The name of Jobs' company is said to be inspired by the Beatles' Apple Corps, which repeatedly sued the electronics maker for trademark infringement until signing an exclusive digital distribution deal with iTunes. Like the Beatles, Jobs took a spiritual retreat to India and regularly walked around his neighborhood and the office barefoot.

Traversing India sparked Jobs' conversion to Buddhism. Kobun Chino, a monk, presided over his wedding to Laurene Powell, a Stanford University MBA.

'Life is an intelligent thing'

Rebirth is a precept of Buddhism, and Apple experienced rebirth of sorts when Jobs returned, after he was fired, to remake a company that had fallen the verge of bankruptcy.

"I believe life is an intelligent thing, that things aren't random," Jobs said in a 1997 interview with Time, providing a glimpse into his complicated belief system that extends well beyond the Buddhist teachings.

Karma is another principle of the religion, but it didn't appear to be a system Jobs lived by. If he feared karma coming back to bite him, the sentiment wasn't evident in his public statements about competitors and former colleagues, calling them "bozos" lacking taste. Those who worked for Jobs described him as a tyrant they feared meeting in an elevator.

"You'd be surprised how hard people work around here," Jobs said in a 2004 interview with Businessweek. "They work nights and weekends, sometimes not seeing their families for a while. Sometimes people work through Christmas to make sure the tooling is just right at some factory in some corner of the world so our product comes out the best it can be."

Some engineers who worked tirelessly on the original Mac emerged from the project estranged from their spouses and children. Jobs' relentless work ethic may have been shaped by some of his dysfunctional family affairs as well.

'I've done things I'm not proud of'

Jobs was adopted by Clara and Paul Jobs, who promised his birth mother, Joanne Simpson (whom Jobs later tracked down with the help of a private investigator), that they would send him to a university. He dropped out of Reed College after one semester, and he reportedly never was willing to talk to his birth father.

Jobs had a daughter, Lisa, out of wedlock with Chrisann Brennan. He denied paternity for many years, swearing in a court document that he was sterile. Later, he had three more kids with Laurene Powell.

"I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of, such as getting my girlfriend pregnant when I was 23 and the way I handled that," Jobs said in a statement in 2011 to promote his authorized biography.

That youthful indiscretion came before Jobs turned to Buddhism and karma.

'The core values are the same'

The Buddhist scriptures, according to tradition, were transmitted in secret, as were many of Apple's business dealings and Jobs' personal struggles. Like the paranoid secrecy that surrounded product development at Apple, Jobs spurned most reporters' interview requests, misled them in statements he did give, refused to disclose details of his cancer to investors until undergoing an operation and became shrouded in a scandal involving backdating stock options.

By all accounts, he played by his own rules.

Those who disclosed his secrets or whispered about his company were punished or threatened. Apple sued, and eventually settled with, the anonymous young blogger behind Think Secret, which accurately reported on Apple rumors in the early 2000s.

And then there's the story of a lost iPhone 4 prototype, which was purchased and publicized by the blog Gizmodo.

"When this whole thing with Gizmodo happened, I got a lot of advice from people that said, 'You've got to just let it slide,' " Jobs said onstage at a technology convention in 2010. "I thought deeply about this, and I ended up concluding that the worst thing that could possibly happen as we get big and we get a little more influence in the world is if we change our core values and start letting it slide. I can't do that. I'd rather quit."

That stance was repeated this year, with Jobs still as CEO though on medical leave, when another employee left a prototype iPhone 5 in a bar. Apple enlisted the help of San Francisco police to investigate.

"We have the same values now as we had then," Jobs said at the AllThingsD conference. "We're a little more experienced, certainly beat-up, but the core values are the same."

'We're here to put a dent in the universe'

Perhaps the most salient of those values is, simply, to make an outsize impact on society. Or, as Jobs put it, "We're here to put a dent in the universe." However, Apple and Jobs didn't make much of a dent with philanthropy.

"We do things where we feel we can make a significant contribution," Jobs told Businessweek in 2004. "And our primary goal here is ... not to be the biggest or the richest."

To achieve that goal, Jobs was an obsessive micromanager. Part of the reason Jobs' DNA is so ingrained in Apple is because he forced his hand onto so many parts of it. He personally fielded some customer-service requests sent to him via e-mail; he was active in product design, co-authoring more than 300 patents; and he had a hand in the marketing efforts, including the famous Think Different and Mac vs. PC campaigns.

"What is Apple, after all?" Jobs mused to Time. "Apple is about people who think 'outside the box,' people who want to use computers to help them change the world, to help them create things that make a difference, and not just to get a job done."

'Focus and simplicity'

Jobs famously lured John Sculley, the PepsiCo president, to run Apple by saying: "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water, or do you want a chance to change the world?" (They had a permanent falling out when Jobs was booted from Apple.)

"What makes Steve's methodology different from everyone else's is that he always believed the most important decisions you make are not the things you do, but the things you decide not to do," Sculley said in a 2010 interview with Businessweek. "He's a minimalist. I remember going into Steve's house, and he had almost no furniture in it. He just had a picture of Einstein, whom he admired greatly, and he had a Tiffany lamp and a chair and a bed. He just didn't believe in having lots of things around, but he was incredibly careful in what he selected."

Restraint, at least in gadget design and interior decorating, was a primary principle for Jobs. Shortly after his return to Apple, he shuttered several divisions and turned his attention to a few key initiatives. Even today, Apple's product lines and revenue are zeroed in on just a few industries in which the company can dominate.

"That's been one of my mantras: focus and simplicity," Jobs told Businessweek in 1998. "Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains."

He elaborated in the interview with the publication six years later: "It comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don't get on the wrong track or try to do too much. We're always thinking about new markets we could enter, but it's only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important."

'Stay hungry. Stay foolish.'

Apple's management team members have each adopted parts of this code.

Jonathan Ive, the industrial-design executive, echoes Jobs' simplicity ethic.

Scott Forstall, the mobile software lead, has apparently inherited some of Jobs' enthusiasm and showmanship.

And Cook, the former operations chief and, by some accounts, current workaholic micromanager, runs the company like he manages his private life: shrouded in secrecy.

However, Cook comes out of his shell in order to impart the ethical standards onto new recruits. He, along with other execs, teaches at Apple University.

Apple University ensures that employees are thoroughly educated on the company's principles and that Jobs' ideals live on. Jobs believed people never stop learning and should voraciously open their minds to new ideas.

Put another way, like in his closing statement to Stanford's graduating class in 2005, "Stay hungry. Stay foolish."

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Analysts: Tim Cook passed first test

Cupertino, California (CNN) -- Tim Cook, Apple's newly appointed CEO, did not introduce a single product on Tuesday.

At Cook's first news conference since officially taking over for Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, his team of executives announced a new iPhone, an application for sending greeting cards, and a location-based social network called Find My Friends. But Cook himself did not announce a single thing.

To use artistic metaphors, perhaps that's indicative of how Cook sees his role as Apple leader -- not as a sculptor but as an orchestra conductor.

Jobs is renowned for his ability to mold the shape of products during their development and for his involvement in seemingly trivial details of the business. He does not hesitate to tell his employees or powerful partners outside the company when he thinks they are wrong and need to rethink products. And, as even those who have been on the receiving end admit, he's usually right.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates once said of Jobs, "I'd give a lot to have Steve's taste."

Cook, who filled in for Jobs when he had taken medical leaves in past years, opened and closed Tuesday's iPhone 4S presentation alone, a role typically reserved for Jobs.

The event was an important exam for Cook, and analysts say he passed.

"I think Tim Cook did fine today," said John Jackson, an analyst at Boston-based market research firm CCS Insight, who attended the keynote. "The bench picks up where Steve left off."

At Apple's developers conference in June, when Jobs was on medical leave and Cook was filling in as interim CEO, Jobs was the first to take the stage. At that event, he unveiled the ambitious iCloud Internet service and then concluded the keynote. On Tuesday, however, Eddy Cue, who was Cook's first top-level executive appointment since becoming chief, handled the iCloud segment.

Cook, Apple's longtime operating chief before rising to CEO, has had limited stage experience. He appeared in New York earlier this year for a Verizon Wireless news conference where the U.S. cellular giant announced that it would start carrying the iPhone.

Tuesday was Cook's first test on his home turf. Although some observers on Twitter griped during the event about a lack of eye-popping news, Cook appeared comfortable and confident. He recited his lines flawlessly, and cracked jokes about iPads making planes more fuel-efficient, which elicited hearty laughs. (However, Phil Schiller, Apple's marketing exec, drew the most laughs when describing the improved camera on the iPhone 4S and how hard it was to get a squirrel to stand still for a photo shoot.)

Apple's fall announcements are typically held at a convention center in San Francisco and focus heavily on new iPods, but this one took place in a small auditorium on Apple's campus here, which limited the size of the crowd.

"It's sort of like inviting you into our home," Cook said to a crowd of reporters, analysts and executives. "Just 10 years ago, we launched the original iPod here, and it went on to revolutionize the way we listen to music."

In between discussing Apple Store openings in China and explaining sales and market share data, Cook made several comments that seemed humble and personal.

"I consider it the privilege of a lifetime to have worked here for 14 years and am very excited about this new role," he said at the outset. And he closed with, "I am so incredibly proud of this company."

The amount of preparation and rehearsal that went into Cook's onstage arrangement was evident, said Gartner analyst Michael King, who did not attend the event but followed along from Washington.

"I actually thought it was a little more crisp than a Jobs presentation," he said. "Less story time, more presentation. It was extremely well timed."

The first row of seating in the room was filled with Apple execs, with one obvious omission. Jobs, who is now an Apple director and chairman of its board of directors, was nowhere in sight and was not mentioned once during the presentation, though his presence was felt. The experience was different with Cook taking center stage, but not drastically.

"Certainly, the tone was different," Jackson said. "It does herald a certain cultural shift at Apple. These events aren't going to be the same as they ever were."

"It's not going to be the Steve Jobs show that generates headlines worldwide," he added.

Apple has carefully crafted the persona of Jobs in recent years as a visionary who is dynamic, charismatic and likable, said Sasha Strauss, a director for consulting firm Innovation Protocol.

While Apple works its marketing magic on Cook, the company and its leader will need to figure out what role he should serve in the public eye. Maybe Cook is well-positioned to conduct an orchestra of Apple's key supporting players. But will the company's product launches continue to make the same splash without a superstar?

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Phillies, Brewers each seek trips to NLCS

The two National League Division Series both face a possible conclusion tonight as the Phillies and Brewers each need just one win to advance to the NLCS. The Phillies enter Game 4 against the Cardinals coming off a close win in Game 3, and (including the Texas Rangers' ALDS win this year over the Rays), teams that break a 1-1 tie in a best-of-five series with a win in Game 3 have now won 29 of the 37 such series in baseball history and 20 of the 24 Division Series that fit that description. The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, avoided a sweep at the hands of the Brewers on Tuesday night to close within 2-1, but still face a history in which 89 percent of the teams that lost the first two games of a best-of-five series also lost the series.

Series: NLDS, Game 4, Phillies lead 2-1

Time: 6:07 p.m. EST

TV: TBS

Starters: Roy Oswalt (9-10, 3.69 ERA) vs. Edwin Jackson (12-9, 3.79 ERA)

• The Cardinals are facing elimination and need to beat Roy Oswalt tonight for the privilege of facing Roy Halladay in Game 5. The Phillies, meanwhile, want to wrap this series up tonight so that they can save Halladay for Game 1 of the NLCS, not that they lose that much going with Cliff Lee instead. Have we mentioned that the Phillies rotation is very good?

• Roy Oswalt was inconsistent after returning from the disabled list at the beginning of August. In 10 starts down the stretch, Oswalt held the opposition scoreless three times, and allowed five or more runs three times, though the other four starts were all quality and his aggregate ERA was 3.59. He faced the Cardinals three times this season, but one was his last start before hitting the DL and saw him give up four runs in just two innings. In the other two, one in May and one in September, he held the Cardinals to one run over 12 innings, striking out 10 and walking just one. Over their careers, however, the current Cardinals have hit Oswalt well, combining for a .299/.333/.455 line, with even opposing pitcher Edwin Jackson picking up a walk and an RBI in two plate appearances. Albert Pujols has faced Oswalt 102 times and has connected for seven home runs against him as part of a .316/.363/.611 line.

• Jackson hasn't started since Sept. 25 and his only action since then was a one-inning, 20-pitch relief outing on the penultimate day of the regular season. Jackson seems to do well on extended rest, however. Coming out of the All-Star break, he faced the Tigers on nine-day's rest and twirled his only shutout of the season. His next start came after another seven days of rest and was a quality outing against the Indians (6 IP, 2 R). Over the last three seasons, he has posted a 3.04 ERA in 15 starts with six or more days of rest. Jackson last faced the Phillies as a member of the Diamondbacks last July and gave up five runs in five innings, though the only current Phillie to homer off him was Joe Blanton in the 2008 World Series when Jackson was with the Rays.

• If Jackson falters, expect Tony La Russa to go to his bullpen quickly, especially to the four men -- Fernando Salas, Octavio Dotel, Arthur Rhodes and closer Jason Motte -- who have held the Phillies scoreless over eight combined innings, allowing just one hit and no walks while striking out nine. Marc Rzepczynski and Mitchell Boggs have combined to allow five earned runs in 2 2/3 innings in this series and La Russa may not feel comfortable using them in an elimination game, especially when Game 1 starter Kyle Lohse and long man Jake Westbrook, who has not pitched in this series, should also be available. Even Game 2 starter Chris Carpenter might even be able to pitch in by taking his typical between-star side session to the game mound, particularly given that he only threw 64 pitches in Game 2. That's surely a last resort, though, as La Russa would want him to start Game 5 on Friday if the Cardinals win tonight.

• Matt Holliday came through with a pinch-hit single in Game 3 and should be available to pinch-hit again tonight, although his absence in the starting lineup really hurt the Cardinals in Game 3.

• If these are Albert Pujols' final games as a Cardinal, he's going out in style. He's 7-for-13 in this series with three doubles and his heel seems to be better as he beat Carlos Ruiz's throw to third on the front end of a highly improbable double-steal with Lance Berkman early in Game 3. The Cardinals' hottest hitter, however, is Ryan Theriot, who is 6-for-9 with two doubles and a stolen base.

• Placido Polanco is playing with a hernia and killing the Phillies offense as a result, going 1-for-12 thus far this series. Could rookie Michael Martinez really be any worse?

Series: NLDS, Game 4, Brewers lead 2-1

Time: 9:37 p.m. EST

TV: TBS

Starters: Randy Wolf (13-10, 3.69 ERA) vs. Joe Saunders (12-13, 3.69 ERA)

• I predicted that the Brewers would win this series in five, largely because of Milwaukee's extreme home/road splits. The Brewers had the best home record in baseball this year but were the only playoff team with a losing record on the road, so my expectation was that the home team would win every game in this series, which would give the series to Milwaukee in five. So far, so good, as the home team has won each of the first three games and rather convincingly at that, with the Brewers taking the first two in Milwaukee by a combined score of 13-5, and the Diamondbacks returning serve with an 8-1 victory in Game 3 Tuesday night.

• Saunders held the Brewers to two runs over seven innings in his only start against them this season, on July 20 at Chase Field, with both of the runs scoring on a Ryan Braun homer. Prince Fielder, Milwaukee's other big bat, went hitless against Saunders, which fits with the southpaw's rather extreme platoon split this season. Saunders held lefties to a .212/.240/.341 line with 40 strikeouts against just six walks, but righties touched him up to the tune of .281/.345/.465 with 61 walks (four intentional) against 68 strikeouts. Saunders did benefit from a low BABIP by opposing lefties, but that K/BB ratio proves his success against lefties was more than just luck. Indeed, the two lefties in the Brewers lineup, Fielder and Nyjer Morgan, are a combined 0-for-9 against Saunders in their careers. On the other hand, Saunders' home ERA this year was more than a run and a quarter higher than his road mark, but he had lower home run and walk rates when pitching in Phoenix and a slightly higher strikeout rate. Given those peripherals and his hundred-point swing in BABIP between home and road, it seems he was very lucky on the road and a little unlucky at home.

• The Brewers never know what they're going to get from Wolf. He was inconsistent all year -- June was the only month in which he didn't have at least one disaster start (as many or more runs allowed as innings pitched) -- and his two starts against the Diamondbacks reflect that inconsistency. On July 5 in Milwaukee, Wolf gave up seven runs in six innings and on July 18 he held them to three runs (two earned) over 7 1/3 frames in Phoenix. Most of the D-backs' best and all of their hottest hitters are right-handed. For their careers, the current Diamondbacks have hit a combined .328/.395/.542 against Wolf.

• Facing the lefthanded Wolf would seem a perfect match for the Diamondbacks righty-swinging rookie first baseman, Paul Goldschmidt, but Goldschmidt had a reverse split in the majors this season, hitting just .162/.279/.378 against lefties, and .277/.351/.504 against righties. Indeed, both of his home runs in this series, one in Game 2 and a grand slam in Game 3, have come off right-handed pitchers. I don't expect to Lyle Overbay get another start at first after Goldschmidt's performance the last two days, nor should he, but facing a lefty is no guarantee that Goldschmidt will deliver another big hit for Arizona.

• The Brewers' struggles on the road this season owed more to a disappearing offense than any struggles by their pitchers. Goldschmidt's grand slam aside, that held true in Game 3, as the Brewers managed just six baserunners against Josh Collmenter and company, their only run coming on a Corey Hart solo homer. Even that was surprising, as Hart hit just nine of his 26 home runs on the road this year. Here's a quick look at the change in OPS from home to road for the Brewers' regulars (using Jerry Hairston Jr.'s splits as a Brewer only):

Only Morgan didn't see his production drop on the road this season, and he is 1-for-11 with six strikeouts after the first three games of this series and 0-for-4 in his career against Saunders.

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Review: 'NBA2K12' lets you dream big

(CNN) -- No, there may not be an NBA season this year. But there is another installment of "NBA 2K," the top-rated basketball video game for 11 years running.

This year's version, "NBA 2K12," will let you end the debate about what historical team is the greatest by offering 15 classic teams and players to battle on the court.

The enhancements to the My Player mode, which allows you to create your own player and guide his career through the NBA draft, his rookie season and beyond, are what really make this an engaging game.

Like in previous versions of the game, you start off by creating your player's physical attributes (height, weight, age, etc.). The game then assigns your abilities based off what type of player you want to be (perimeter shooter, post player, etc.). In theory, you could create a 7-foot point guard with zero post abilities, but I'm guessing the high dribble would make you susceptible to steals.

After finalizing your player, you immediately play in a rookie showcase game that helps determine where you are selected in the"NBA Draft. This game shows off "NBA 2K12's" improvements over previous versions in replicating players' movements and facial features. The game's announcers also do a good job of mixing your player's performance into their play-by-play chatter.

In the game, you try to play flawlessly while improving your teammate grade by making good passes, playing transition defense and demonstrating other skills that lead to victory. Meeting these goals help increase your skill point totals, which translate into improved attributes.

I created a 6-foot-6 shooting guard from Marshall University (my alma mater) and picked up 18 points and a B-minus on my teammate grade in the rookie game. After the game, your player has to answer two questions from teams that will be interested in drafting him. How you answer is taken into consideration prior to the draft.

The Charlotte Bobcats (No. 9 pick), Golden State Warriors (No. 11) and Utah Jazz (No. 12) were interested in my shooting guard. I answered the questions in a way that I hoped would get me selected by each team, but there was an answer choice, "I do not want to play for your team," that would have automatically dropped me off that team's list.

Then it's time for the draft. Just like in real life, the draft starts off with NBA Commissioner David Stern (yes, it was really his voice) announcing the first pick and continuing on until your player gets selected. If you don't get picked early, this can be a rather drawn-out process since there is no way to skip to your selection.

(Developers say the highest any created player can be selected is No. 3 (Utah Jazz), so don't set your sights on being the top pick.)

After walking to the podium and signing your rookie contract, your team's public relations department contacts you and shows you a new billboard touting you as the future of the franchise. Having been selected by the Bobcats, it was pretty cool to see my player on some outdoor advertising in Charlotte.

Now it's time to earn that contract.

Your player's skills can be improved through buying skill points with your contract money or by doing individual and team drills -- most of which are new to this game.

My shooting guard took advantage of the new arsenal of moves in "NBA2K12" to put up 33 points in 16 minutes in his first game. (Oh, you didn't think your rookie was going to be in the starting lineup, did you?)

After every game, there is a press conference where you are asked about the game action. Your answers impact what your teammates think of you, your league-wide reputation and how you are perceived by your hometown fans. The answers were tough to interpret, and I came off as a jerk sometimes when I was trying to praise my teammates.

One flaw with this game: My player still looked awkward when he was speaking. His bottom lip didn't seem to move, making him appear frightening when he addressed the media.

As your season progresses, you can earn more playing time and more endorsements depending on your skills and reputation. (Those press conference answers are important.)

Later in your career, you can request trades, negotiate contracts and guide your player to the NBA Hall of Fame. How long that takes depends on how fast your avatar becomes one of the best players in the league.

Thanks to this My Player mode, "NBA2K12" has the depth and versatility to challenge even the best gamer to achieve basketball immortality. This improved feature personalizes pro hoops in a way that will have you cheering your player on -- maybe even to greatness.

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Samsung tries to block iPhone 4S sales

(CNN) -- Samsung Electronics announced plans Wednesday to file preliminary injunction motions in Paris and Milan, Italy, to block the sale of Apple's iPhone 4S there.

Samsung is accusing Apple of two patent infringement, both dealing with wireless telecommunications technology.

It did not rule out filing preliminary injunctions in other countries as well.

Apple could not immediately be reached for comment.

Apple announced the latest incarnation of its smartphone -- the iPhone 4S -- on Tuesday.

The two companies have been at odds, suing and countersuing, for several months -- both accusing the other of patent infringements.

Apple claims Samsung's Galaxy tablets and smartphones have copied its own successful iPad tablets and iPhones. Samsung denies the accusations and have made several of its own.

The latest accusation Wednesday deal with the Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) standards for 3G mobile handsets.

"Apple has continued to flagrantly violate our intellectual property rights and free ride on our technology, and we will steadfastly protect our intellectual property," Samsung said in a statement.

Worldwide, millions of mobile phones carry CDMA technology while others carry GSM.

By incorporating both in its new iPhone 4S, Apple said it intends for it to be a "world phone," working on any mobile network around the world.

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Two best friends, one shared pregnancy

(Parenting.com) -- For Texas-based mom Tamara*, the journey to motherhood was anything but easy. In 2003, after developing severe preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome (a life-threatening complication of preeclampsia), doctors had to deliver her daughter via emergency cesarean section at just 25 weeks into her pregnancy. She was born a micro-preemie, weighing a mere 1 pound, 4 ounces; Tamara was advised never to pursue another pregnancy, as she was given a 60 percent chance of developing the same complications. For the first two years of her life, Tamara kept her daughter at home much of the time, due to a host of medical problems and issues with her feeding and growth. It was only as of her daughter's second birthday that Tamara finally started to venture out to meet other moms and give her daughter a chance to meet other kids.

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It was at that point, in 2005, that Tamara and her daughter met another mom, Logan, at their local public library during story time. Logan was there with her 2-year-old as well as a younger baby. The two women started to form a friendship. "We all just became very, very close," says Tamara. "It was a really special kind of relationship -- and it happened kind of randomly at the time."

As time went on and Tamara's daughter became healthier, she and her husband, Brent, longed for another child, but they knew that they couldn't risk a second pregnancy. After just a year into their friendship and hearing her friend talk about wanting to become a mother again, Logan made an offer that would ultimately change their friendship -- and both of their lives -- forever. She said, "I'm good at pregnancy; I carry to full-term and have healthy kids. I would love to be a surrogate for you." Although Tamara knew it was a genuine offer, she didn't know that she would ultimately take Logan up on it.

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A few years passed and the families continued to grow closer; their kids became best friends, and Brent and Logan's husband, Nathan, became friends. Tamara eventually approached Logan to ask if she was still serious about her offer.

"I asked her if she had meant what she said. The thing I was most concerned about at the time was how her husband would feel about it. Logan's a special, giving person that genuinely wants to help people, and we had become best friends. I asked her about how Nathan felt many, many, many times -- I didn't want to create any problems in their marriage and I wouldn't have pursued it if I thought it would cause any problems for them," said Tamara. But Nathan was supportive of pursuing surrogacy, asking, "How often in life do you get to do something so big and so profound for someone else?"

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When it seemed that both couples were onboard with the plan, Tamara, Brent, and Logan went to see a reproductive endocrinologist in January 2010. After months of fertility drugs for both women, they attempted their first embryo transfer (using Tamara's eggs and Brent's sperm). Although that initial attempt failed, their second transfer in late November of that year was a success. "Our bun, her oven," says Tamara, with a laugh.

Watching Logan go through a pregnancy with Tamara and Brent's baby inside of her felt, "Weird. Different," says Tamara. "Particularly for me because not only had I somewhat experienced pregnancy, but mine had been cut really short. In many ways, I was so excited and happy and joyful that we were expecting a child -- but on the flip side, I did sometimes feel a pang of -- not regret -- but just wishing that it could be me. I felt a little bit cheated out of the pregnancy experience. I know that some people may not understand that -- and I really am thankful, but I've also come to realize that it's normal to have these feelings."

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By the time of the surrogacy, Logan had had a third child of her own, this time delivering at home, after two hospital births. Her homebirth experience had been so profound that it was actually a stipulation for her to do the surrogacy in the first place. Explains Tamara, "As you can imagine for my husband and me, getting on board with a homebirth was difficult because we had really needed the medical support of a hospital. But once I became educated about homebirth and the more the pregnancy progressed, the more we relaxed. We trusted Logan and Nathan, and that they knew what they were doing. I felt strongly that it was going to be OK."

The families used the same midwives that had attended Logan's previous homebirth, Gentle Beginnings Birth Center. Says Tamara, "They treated Logan and me as if we were both the clients."

Logan's labor was long and hard. She suffered through two days of labor, including painful prodromal labor. Of seeing her friend in labor, says Tamara, "It was just surreal... She got to a certain point, and then it just stopped progressing. Brent and I tried not to worry too much, but at some point the midwives decided to send us home, as they thought that our presence might be creating some anxiety for Logan."

Although the families had planned for a different scenario (Logan and Tamara took a doula class together so that Tamara could serve as Logan's doula), Nathan ended up serving as Logan's primary support during the long labor. Tamara and Brent remained in contact with the midwives throughout, though, and were called back to Logan and Nathan's home once Logan was dilated to 8 centimeters. "At that point, things progressed really quickly -- within an hour we had a baby," says Tamara.

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During labor, "I was in complete awe and was so proud of her. She was so strong -- because she's someone who was going through a lot of physical pain for someone else. I was really in awe of her strength -- and of birth itself. I remember I had my hand on Logan's knee, helping her to keep her legs apart, when I saw the baby start to crown. I had known there was a baby in there, but to actually see the baby coming out -- well, all that emotion on my face in the pictures is real," says Tamara.

"The labor was a bonding experience for all of us. It's one thing to go through the pregnancy, but this experience of coming together -- four people got together and we brought a child into this world. Everyone had to agree and be supportive of one another, and here she is."

The surrogacy has only brought the two best friends even closer. Although Tamara is breastfeeding after re-lactating (with the help of supplements and a breast pump starting months before the birth), Logan is also pumping for baby Josie because Tamara doesn't have a full supply of milk.

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"We see each other every day for a nursing session -- we're sort of co-nursing -- she helps the baby with her latch so that Josie wants to continue to breastfeed from me. That's one of the things that Logan treasures the most, I think, is that she's still in contact with the baby. She and my daughter have a special bond, and I like that. I really, really do."

*We've used first names only to protect the families' privacy.

See the full gallery of photos from the homebirth at here

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Review: 'NBA2K12' lets you dream big

(CNN) -- No, there may not be an NBA season this year. But there is another installment of "NBA 2K," the top-rated basketball video game for 11 years running.

This year's version, "NBA 2K12," will let you end the debate about what historical team is the greatest by offering 15 classic teams and players to battle on the court.

The enhancements to the My Player mode, which allows you to create your own player and guide his career through the NBA draft, his rookie season and beyond, are what really make this an engaging game.

Like in previous versions of the game, you start off by creating your player's physical attributes (height, weight, age, etc.). The game then assigns your abilities based off what type of player you want to be (perimeter shooter, post player, etc.). In theory, you could create a 7-foot point guard with zero post abilities, but I'm guessing the high dribble would make you susceptible to steals.

After finalizing your player, you immediately play in a rookie showcase game that helps determine where you are selected in the"NBA Draft. This game shows off "NBA 2K12's" improvements over previous versions in replicating players' movements and facial features. The game's announcers also do a good job of mixing your player's performance into their play-by-play chatter.

In the game, you try to play flawlessly while improving your teammate grade by making good passes, playing transition defense and demonstrating other skills that lead to victory. Meeting these goals help increase your skill point totals, which translate into improved attributes.

I created a 6-foot-6 shooting guard from Marshall University (my alma mater) and picked up 18 points and a B-minus on my teammate grade in the rookie game. After the game, your player has to answer two questions from teams that will be interested in drafting him. How you answer is taken into consideration prior to the draft.

The Charlotte Bobcats (No. 9 pick), Golden State Warriors (No. 11) and Utah Jazz (No. 12) were interested in my shooting guard. I answered the questions in a way that I hoped would get me selected by each team, but there was an answer choice, "I do not want to play for your team," that would have automatically dropped me off that team's list.

Then it's time for the draft. Just like in real life, the draft starts off with NBA Commissioner David Stern (yes, it was really his voice) announcing the first pick and continuing on until your player gets selected. If you don't get picked early, this can be a rather drawn-out process since there is no way to skip to your selection.

(Developers say the highest any created player can be selected is No. 3 (Utah Jazz), so don't set your sights on being the top pick.)

After walking to the podium and signing your rookie contract, your team's public relations department contacts you and shows you a new billboard touting you as the future of the franchise. Having been selected by the Bobcats, it was pretty cool to see my player on some outdoor advertising in Charlotte.

Now it's time to earn that contract.

Your player's skills can be improved through buying skill points with your contract money or by doing individual and team drills -- most of which are new to this game.

My shooting guard took advantage of the new arsenal of moves in "NBA2K12" to put up 33 points in 16 minutes in his first game. (Oh, you didn't think your rookie was going to be in the starting lineup, did you?)

After every game, there is a press conference where you are asked about the game action. Your answers impact what your teammates think of you, your league-wide reputation and how you are perceived by your hometown fans. The answers were tough to interpret, and I came off as a jerk sometimes when I was trying to praise my teammates.

One flaw with this game: My player still looked awkward when he was speaking. His bottom lip didn't seem to move, making him appear frightening when he addressed the media.

As your season progresses, you can earn more playing time and more endorsements depending on your skills and reputation. (Those press conference answers are important.)

Later in your career, you can request trades, negotiate contracts and guide your player to the NBA Hall of Fame. How long that takes depends on how fast your avatar becomes one of the best players in the league.

Thanks to this My Player mode, "NBA2K12" has the depth and versatility to challenge even the best gamer to achieve basketball immortality. This improved feature personalizes pro hoops in a way that will have you cheering your player on -- maybe even to greatness.

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