The Temples at large

Thinking about it...

2009-02-10T19:49:00.000-08:00

I don't know yet...still thinking about the comeback, I would really hate to dissapoint my 20 readers.

RETURN OF THE ROBOTS...

2008-10-31T12:50:00.000-07:00

I haven't forgot about the Robots, it's just that I don't like inflicting my readers with constant terror. Here is the latest from the front line:

From the website: In this season of specters and spooks, what could be scarier than a steel-winged robotic spy plane shaped like a bat? The aptly named COM-BATis a six-inch surveillance device that is powered by solar, wind, and vibrations. The concept was conceived by the US military as a means to gather real-time data for soldiers, and the Army has awarded the University of Michigan College of Engineering a five year $10-million dollar grant to develop it.

Is it ok to hate...

2008-10-31T11:14:00.000-07:00

because someone is soo right? Just when you think you have all the answers lined up and are standing firmly on logic, reason, and justice, along comes John Piper to totally mess with your head. What do you do with a guy like this?

Good luck wrestling with that!

Wanna See Something...

2008-10-28T20:31:00.000-07:00

...that will make you really mad?

The late great America everyone!

What A Week...

2008-10-19T22:29:00.000-07:00

Sacramento, The OC, and finally the Central Coast...all in seven days! I told my buddy Jeff that I would lead worship for his retreat, and Julie had the Womens retreat at Hume Lake so that meant this trip to Morro Bay was just the Guys. If you can believe it I am a complete stranger to the Morro-Pismo area and this was my first ever trip. I now understand why it is called, "Fresno by the Sea" and after one trip do not feel compelled to return in the foreseeable future. I was, however, really intrigued by Highway 46 and all of the wineries so that is definitely in the future. When Reagan and I are together we do always have a blast so here are pictures of our exploits.

Life Lesson no charge...

2008-10-19T22:11:00.000-07:00

I had a meeting at one of our nations preeminent mega-churches this last week. This is the overall conclusion I came to:

You know you've made it when you have your own street:

From Saddleback

But you have REALLY made it when you have a street named after the book that the Pastor of the Church wrote:

From Saddleback

Next I think they should build a place to show movies out doors and they could call it the "Purpose Drive-In."

Too Much?...well I guess that is why I will never have my own street.

California, here I come...

2008-10-16T12:01:00.000-07:00

I am blogging about my trip to Sacramento from my hotel in Irvine. I took our family friends the Hales to be booth monkeys with me at a conference in Sac-Town over the weekend. None of us had been there since the fourth grade so we were all pleasantly surprised at how fun the downtown area was. Everything was in walking distance and we kept stumbling upon a bunch of great things to do. I was glad to go and definitely recommend if you are looking for a fun weekend getaway. Gotta love the pics:

More pics later...

2008-10-12T15:31:00.001-07:00

This accurately sums up my weekend...more pics to come.

Life is like a hurricane...

2008-10-01T21:55:00.000-07:00

I always knew my favorite childhood cartoon would teach us all a lifelong lesson on sound economics too bad DC cant be as smart as an animated duck.

Better than the duck brains...

2008-09-30T15:44:00.001-07:00

Deep dish in Chicago...hard to beat

Duck Brains...

2008-09-26T14:14:00.000-07:00

That is what I ate for lunch, how about you?

Good quote...

2008-09-25T23:33:00.000-07:00

"Justice is what Love looks like in public..."

I can't take it anymore...

2008-09-24T19:27:00.000-07:00

I wish the Hadron Collider would have taken us out rather than a slow painful death by our own hand. I think the people in wall street are idiots for getting bleary-eyed over fast money and selling their souls for millions. I feel bad for the millions of people whose retirements and bank accounts will be affected for years to come. I feel less bad for those who felt they could purchase a $450,000 house on a $35,000/year salary. I have, however, reached a new conclusion on the matter:

Because something is wrong it doesn't necessarily make the opposite right.

Example: I was driving to the men's retreat with my buddy Ryan and were behind an incredibly slow moving, out-of-state, thirteen cars behind it RV. It cleverly avoided about four turnouts despite the protesting horns from the choir of cars it had collected. That was wrong. However, as a response to the slow moving leviathan in front of us a late model Mazda sedan took it upon itself to weave through the slow moving caravan over the hilly terrain and double yellow lines, thus endangering many more people than a slow moving RV ever could. It was the opposite of the RV and just as wrong; maybe more so.

That is how I feel about the current financial situation. It was wrong for companies to run up billions in debt, but it is just as wrong for a government with TRILLIONS in debt to assimilate these losses when the ultimate burden falls on the taxpayer (that's you and me).

Call me an idealist but I always believe the private sector will always find a more efficient way to settle matters; even those it created. A bailout at this point is like giving a drunk a couple more shots so he doesn't feel the hangover, it will help now but hurt you worse later.

Finally, an inspiring Ron Paul snippet to vindicate my free-market views, I also love how he manages to school every pundit that tries to corner him:

PS-You can also digg an article I found inspiring right here.

A great Father Son evening...

2008-09-12T19:48:00.000-07:00

From Arsenal

I am certainly not defined by my athletic prowess and I will always endeavor never to be one of "those" parents that you see at the games (especially living Clovis), but Reagan and I have been having a blast preparing for his upcoming soccer season. This is an outfit I got him from a business trip to Europe a few years ago, it was huge then but it is really starting to look good now. Taken at the end of tonights practice I was definitely a lot more sweaty than he was (which is why I am behind the camera).

Quite possibly the last post I will ever write...

2008-09-08T22:13:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you are aware but the earth as we know might be coming to an end on Wednesday and there is nothing you can do to stop it. In an underground tunnel between France and Switzerland scientists will be trying to collide particles and the result might just be black holes erupting all over the place. So tell everyone you care about that you love them and good luck if you start to feel a violent shift in the space time continuum.

In case you don't fully believe me here is the skinny.

Been too long...

2008-08-29T15:43:00.000-07:00

I guess when you purchase a big new TV and watch it a lot it really cuts down on your blogging habits. For my dedicated readers sake I hope the newness wears off soon so I can thrill and titillate with some regularity in the near future. Never fear though, for I have found some jewels to satiate even the most ravenous bloggers appetite and here they are:

Pastor Doug-
You might not be aware that the executive pastor at Peoples Church has a blog, well he does and has recently updated with a challenge that he has given to our entire church. I am a big fan of anything that he writes or says so check out his posts (if you go way back you can even read the entries he wrote about our trip to Europe together). Give him a lot of comments so that he will post more often.

The Sermonspice Blog (Spiceblog)-
Not only do I have a riveting personal blog but I also do my best to keep up my companies blog. The main reason I bring this up is because I have posted a video that has caused quite a bit of conversation and definitely makes you think so in the absence of groundbreaking content here check the latest out there.

My Wife-
My lovely wife has done such a good job chronicling the Temple life I think that is another reason my posts have become more sporadic; the events have already been preblogged. So if you need the latest and greatest for all things Temple hit it up. It is also good for the female perspective on the purchase of a big screen TV.

There they are, have a great time and I apologize ahead of time for how much time you will lose perusing the online goodness.

Attack of the awake...

2008-08-21T02:03:00.000-07:00

I usually endure one night of insomnia a week...this is it.

BIG Weekend...

2008-08-18T23:27:00.000-07:00

52"

1080p

Mine

PS-You are welcome to come over anytime just stop at blockbuster and grab a Blu-Ruy or PS3 game.

Exhibit E...

2008-08-14T22:59:00.000-07:00

Who's the conspiracy theorist now?!? That's what I thought!

Will the U.S. Have a Droid Army? | LiveScience via kwout

Man this is going to be horrible...

California Adventure...

2008-08-11T15:52:00.000-07:00

What other state could get away with naming a theme park after itself and people still come...great park though!

Consider Thunder Mountain Blogged...

2008-08-10T19:28:00.000-07:00

Almost like you were there...actually not even close, it's like I am using my technical wizardry to rub in all the fun I am having.

It's been a while...

2008-08-09T23:11:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a while and I promise to all my faithful readers that more awesomeness is coming but every once in a while you come across something that begs to be posted and I would assert that this is it. I'll bet your car doesn't have Falkor on the wheelcover.

Exhibit D...

2008-08-01T23:49:00.000-07:00

They only ever look fun and innocent...

Noise Addicts » Blog Archive » Move over Wall-E and Johnny 5 - This one can dance! via kwout

Come to the unveiling...

2008-07-30T21:36:00.000-07:00

My Brother in law Cooper has been tirelessly working on converting an old VW bug to an all electric car. Well after six months and I can't tell you how many revisions it is coming out for its first public preview. It is a sweet ride that I have been able to try out a couple of times and you will too if you come out to the Farmer's Market at Bentley's market at the Fort Washington and Friant shopping center.

PS- Verdego is the name of Coopers company.

A Dastardly Secret...

2008-07-24T21:20:00.000-07:00

It's true everyone has them and the Temple family is no exception. I can't, however, withhold it any longer; My wife is a closeted blogger! That is right, Julie is a integral member to the blogosphere. She has been at it for quite sometime now and has tried her best to keep me quiet, but you can only keep talent like this quiet for so long. It is a very good blog and like a fine wine will only get better as it ages.

You probably want the link huh? Check it out here.

It's Now or Never...

2008-07-20T20:46:00.000-07:00

Here is the Skinny:

1. A Triathlon is high on the life checklist

2. I have everything that I need (shoes, bike, massive pool)

3. I would rather my clothes fit like a triathlete than a computer guy

4. The Shaver Lake Triathlon is Sept. 21st

5. I was training a few years ago and found out that I had a wedding on the same day...and never got back to it.

6. I will be at my pool tomorrow morning at 6 am (God willing).

7. Here is to mid year resolutions.

It's Good to be a Dad...

2008-07-20T20:23:00.000-07:00

As often as I can I try to get to an MMA class that I have been going to for about a year and a half. It is a lot of fun (sort of like fight club for "civilized" adults) and run by a great guy named Mike Kimsey. Friday night is open mat night so my brother and I brought our sons along to roll on the mats and jump on the trampolines that are there for the gymnastics classes.

It was awesome! Completely awesome! My son and I, lots of manliness, and no one to tell us to stop or clean up. I really think he was more excited to go to MMA than recent trips to Disneyland. His bag was all packed the night before and made sure a couple of times that his boxing gloves were in there. There was much bonding and it is always good to see your boy really looking forward to fighting and jumping and fighting and jumping. BTW he slept really good that night.

Rivers Edge MMA is a great place and with a bunch of great guys who never quite got all of the wrestling out of their system from high school. Here is a little video I put together for the gym if you want to see the gloriousness:

My dinner can beat up your dinner...

2008-07-14T18:38:00.001-07:00

I am having the aligator, my father is having the catfish and crawfish special, then we are splitting banana bread pudding for dessert. Not too shabby.

A Vile Temptress Indeed...

2008-07-12T20:36:00.000-07:00

It's 11:30pm and here I am at the Waffle House...Man I love it!

Summer fun perfected...

2008-07-06T22:47:00.000-07:00

We had some great friends of ours come over for a lazy Sunday evening at it lived up to all of our expectations; great food, swimming, rock band (again I know this is the last time I promise), and solving of all the worlds problems, It was what summer nights should and all too rarely are.

PS- the kids named their band, "High School Musical 2."

4th of July...

2008-07-05T10:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a small review of the 4th of July party we had last night. I had to get this video up quick otherwise the participants would deny it forever. The true energy and sheer noise level are not adequately represented here but I still think you get the idea.

Fourth of July 08 from Daniel Temple on Vimeo.

Zoo Camp...

2008-06-29T17:42:00.001-07:00

Reagan went to Zoo camp so here are some adorable pics of Reagan as a bird for the female contingent of the blog:

Here come the Pics...

2008-06-29T17:39:00.000-07:00

I am clearing off our digital camera so there will be plenty more where this came from; Here is some Chicago Lovin' :

Support is growing for The Cause...

2008-06-27T14:34:00.000-07:00

This can be our anthem of warning about the impending doom:

I hate to be picky but...

2008-06-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

My Hotel smells like cat pee with about 95% accuracy. I also don't really care for cats all that much so I wont post a picture cleverly illustrating my predicament.

I see too much "God" stuff...

2008-06-23T22:41:00.000-07:00

I am still in the process of deciding whether it is good or not; primarily for Christendom, secondly, for the purity of my soul. Of course I believe that the products I sell are quite exempt from most scrutiny and all the others are firmly placed on the chopping block.

I attend a number of conferences (another one this week in fact), meet a lot of great people, and a number of questionable ones, all of whom want to show, tell, or give me something. I haven't had to purchase a Christian book or magazine in about a year. I also get to hear a fair number of slogans and catch phrases.

It is this new level of jadedness that I revisited a very common phrase that many churches and ministries use as a tag line:

"Loving God, Loving Others."

What's wrong with that? It is a seemingly accurate if not benign statement right? Well here is my major contention with the statement and I will let you decide whether or not I am being prudish or profound:

The actionable sequence of these statements are completely contingent upon human behavior and competency. If, for example, this is the major mission statement of your church or ministry then everything is resting on you; God wont be loved without you and all those others will be unloved as well.

I would submit that I am far too aware of my own shortcomings to rest anything more than mediocre blogging as something to be accountable for. If a Christ-centered organization is hanging it's hat on the efforts of its people I think we have missed the point. The scary problem that we have is that we have missed it so beautifully. Never before has ministry been so pretty and strategically precise.

I hope though, that all of the effectiveness and strategy hasn't caused us to miss what we started out to do. I hope that we are not the church of Ephesus as indicated in Revelation:

BibleGateway.com - Passage Lookup: Revelation 2:1-4; via kwout

What do you think?

PS- You want some great Jesus Junk check this page out

Exhibit C...

2008-06-18T09:36:00.000-07:00

Shape-shifting robot squeezes onto military radar | NetworkWorld.com Community via kwout

Now I am just rubbing it in...

2008-06-13T16:50:00.000-07:00

Free concert, 72 degrees slight breeze, sun peaking over the sky scrapers...

Where I am today...

2008-06-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

Not a bad life.

Batting 1000% so far...

2008-06-11T08:27:00.000-07:00

I wont build it up, I will simply tell you what I had:

White wine rabbit sausage with some awesome cheese from France on top.

It is my new love language.

Very excited...

2008-06-09T15:28:00.000-07:00

About traveling without our son not about the book (yet).

On the road again...

2008-06-09T15:24:00.001-07:00

I guess it would be more correct to say I'm on the plane again. We are off to Chicago for a conference and I am with my Wife no kid and two great friends. Should be fun and I will be sure to post pictures of the deep dish.

PS- I picked out a Robert Ludlum novel for my wife to read on the plane, we will see how she takes to the trashy spy novel genre.

Exhibit B...

2008-06-08T08:59:00.000-07:00

Robots: New MAARS Kill-Bot Delivered to Military, May Finally Get to Shoot Something via kwout

This is for your own good...

2008-06-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

I am now starting a new section on my blog for the good of all humanity. It will simply be titled, "Robot Wars."

Don't say I didn't warn you that this was coming, go ahead laugh now but when we find ourselves locked in an epic struggle for survival against all the machines that we built then you won't think I am so crazy will you?

I humbly submit exhibit A:

Stay tuned.

A Cherished Experience...

2008-06-07T11:15:00.001-07:00

Though it's true awesomeness cannot be known by a cell phone picture, this is the "Crazy Burger". Chili, cheese, and pastrami. I am still paying for it.

Back to the future moment...

2008-06-02T22:48:00.000-07:00

A co-worker friend of mine and I were chatting online and he hooked a computer up to his LCD in the living room to act as a media center. I called him from skype and we had a little video chat. It was totally like the scene from Back to the future 2 where they had all of the guys chatting on the big TV at the same time. Hopefully next week I can post about the hover board that we have been tinkering on as well.

FYI- This is a screen shot from my computer of me looking at myself from his webcam pointing at his TV. Thats not confusing is it?

My Saturday Morning...

2008-05-31T08:35:00.000-07:00

Biking out to Auberry this morning.

Business School in a box...

2008-05-29T21:46:00.000-07:00

Having never been to business school myself I can only postulate as too what goes on in the hallowed halls of academia. Of course that is not the purpose of my posting here; rather it is my personal findings about conducting business:

1. It is going to cost more than you think it is going to cost

2. It is going to take longer than you think it is going to take

3. You are going to make less than you think you are going to make

At first glance these are pretty fatalistic axioms, however if you can find something that is worth doing while accepting these guidelines you will do pretty good. Anytime I have ever done something purely for the money it has proved to be a pretty horrendous experience. Now that is not to say that these are hard and fast rules without exception. It is simply the fact that you can't bet on stupendous success as an outcome, you can hope, but the better plan is more firmly based in the aforementioned parameters.

PS- Later I will talk about the nasty little word that almost killed any success that I have ever had.

Getting ready for the sale...

2008-05-23T21:55:00.001-07:00

Tonight we are cooking up the shells for the breakfast pizzas we are serving tomorrow and Reagan got to make himself a cupcake.

Your chance to say you were there...

2008-05-19T21:29:00.001-07:00

I have been experimenting with a new culinary endeavor and will be making it's debut this Saturday morning at the big yard sale that they have every memorial day weekend in the Tower district. It is a breakfast pie that is full of too much awesomeness. My informal taste testing has been terrific so now I am going to see if I can make some profit with it. A slice and a cup of coffee will run you $3.00. My goal is to move 100 pies (lofty I know but it is my goal none the less). The festivities commence at 4:30 am and will continue until 1:00pm. Come by, say hi, buy a ton, and tell everyone how awesome it is. BTW I will be located here.

A great moment pt.2

2008-05-18T11:28:00.001-07:00

This is my sons pictoral representation of his Mom singing. What can I say I have got it made!

A great moment...

2008-05-18T11:15:00.001-07:00

Though it is nearly indistinguishable that this is photographic evidence of my wife singing on our worship team, that is exactly what it is. She has worked really hard to learn her parts and was very nervous but did a great job and I am very proud of her. Love you Sugar!

Striving to endeavor to provide suckiness, mediocrity, and a forgettable experience...

2008-05-12T13:50:00.000-07:00

I don't generally blog during work hours but today proves to be the exception. I am evaluating a number of company's product's for our future development when it hit me; I hate mission statements. Not the concept of mission statement but rather the wording. It just sounds legal and sterile. Everyone's statement is striving or endeavoring to have excellence or efficiency. BORING. We need more action movie mission statements, especially if you are going to post it on your front page.

How about instead of:

Here at Generic Corp. we endeavor to provide the customer with excellence and professionalism while striving for the utmost in quality.

They tried this one:

Generic Corp. is awesome otherwise we wouldn't work here and you wouldn't be reading this. If you are ready for some awesomeness then give us a call and we will rock your world and blow your mind.

Which one would you choose?

PS-After looking at my company's mission statement I am changing it tonight.

A Stimulus Package and the Nanny State Creep...

2008-05-10T00:11:00.000-07:00

I received the stimulus check for our family today. It is, initially, a nice feeling to have this unaccounted for lump of money sitting in my checking account. Then as I sat looking at the money a slow hollow feeling emerged. This money was originally mine that went into the government abyss only to return to me after Washington said that we could have it back. It is kind of like when a bully took your baseball mitt as a kid and gave it back only after the teacher made him; it is nice to have it back, but it would have been better had it never been gone.

I have been and most likely will always remain a small government, Uncle Sam don't bug me, kind of guy so it is with slight melancholy that I view this latest stunt. I am glad to have the (my) money back, but it is sad that the government has so much say in our lives that they can play God with my money in the first place.

Statistically and historically speaking there is little chance that we will become a more limited form of government; more concerned with personal liberty and responsibility. Socialism and the Nanny State is the near inevitable creep that happens to every great empire and we seem to be in the carpool lane. It is not my preference and I hope that I am wrong, however I do have an overwhelming bit of history to back me up.

One of my main points of frustration with the Nanny Creep is that a large soulless organization presumes that they know better how to run my life than I. As the always controversial Barry Goldwater once said, "The Government that is big enough to give you everything that you want is big enough to take everything that you have."

PS-Maybe the Government should do with it's left over revenues what I am doing with mine; pay down it's debt.

Sometimes you just have to blog about your Mother-in-Law...

2008-05-04T18:20:00.000-07:00

She leads our children's choir and this her walking like an egyptian (love Ya Brenda).

You know you are in Hollywood when...

2008-05-03T13:19:00.001-07:00

Worth a thousand words...

Here comes the conference...

2008-05-03T09:57:00.000-07:00

Here is a shot of the soundstage where the conference is being held. It is pretty cool we are on stage 15 at CBS studios. There will be more pics to come...

Meeting that I am at right now...

2008-05-02T14:43:00.000-07:00

This is a meeting I am attending right now called Church 2.0. It is a bunch of people like myself who are passionate about the bleeding edge of technology and it's usefulness for the church. So what better way to commemorate this techie meeting than to blog from my phone.

PS- The main guy in the photo is Spencer Burke, he is a good guy and has a great site called theooze.com

What it takes to be an expert...

2008-05-01T22:23:00.001-07:00

I am sitting on my first panel at a conference we are sponsoring this weekend. It is kinda weird because people will be asking me questions and I will be answering them and there is the distinct possibility that they might listen to the actual answer. I have always enjoyed pontificating about the frivolous and trivial in life but to be a panelist, kinda scary.

Major Father Son moment...

2008-04-28T21:04:00.000-07:00

These are the training wheels my son threw away today because he no longer needed them. Today was the day that fate had smiled upon us and Reagan became truly free, here is the vid:

I can't help myself...

2008-04-28T20:55:00.000-07:00

I found a new Ron Paul video on youtube and I couldn't resist. Here's to you Ronny and here's to an independent run!

PS- In a mock election my classroom held back in '92 I was the lone vote for Perot, so this type of thing is typical for me.

few things start off good, fewer are great, and nothing begins perfectly...

2008-04-22T22:16:00.000-07:00

I had this conversation with myself as I finished a couple of projects at home and work the last couple days. The nature of what I do is to obsess over the tiniest minutia through scores of ads or copy and promos so that nothing interrupts the connection between the message and its audience. The idea being that if you noticed my work I have failed. If I have done a good job then my work and the work of my compatriots goes unnoticed. If we mess up then we get customer service complaints. All of this and a couple of really late nights stressing over individual frames of video (there are 24 frames in one second) led me to the larger idea:

My favorite part of the recent hit Juno was when the movies namesake declares her true feelings to the jilted lover/father Bleeker. In rapid fire razor sharp eloquence Juno describes all the things she loves about him (plays guitar, runs cross country, funny, has good breath) and how cool Bleeker is without really trying. To this he mutters nearly under his breath, "I actually try really hard."

Very few things start off good; probably fruit is one of the only products in the world that starts off pretty good and cannot really be made better. Other than that we have our work cut out for us. When we start a magazine ad it starts off like a rejected preschoolers tempra painting and ends up as a finished piece that only looks effortless and simple. Only after much collaboration, confrontation, and revision does a product leave our offices looking good. It was fought for, scrapped, rehashed, and finally approved and nobody outside our doors cares, nor should they. It is MY job to make things good. The only job the customer has is to know; to know whether they do or do not like our product, to know whether it works for them, and to know if they had a positive or negative experience. If I interrupt that process by allowing stale and sub par representations and messages about our company escape then regardless of the merit of my company's product I have failed.

The good news, however, is that as long as things don't start off too well and need to be made better I will have pretty tight job security.

PS- If you are wondering about the levels of great and perfect as indicated in the title, let me finish up with the good level first and then I will get back to you.

My latest creation...

2008-04-18T20:06:00.000-07:00

Here is a promo we did for the next conference we are sponsoring:

Not bad for for only two days of work!

The Divine nature of an otherwise sinful experience...

2008-04-15T22:19:00.000-07:00

The number two person on my list of people I would like to meet in the world is the quirky food scientist Alton Brown (number one is found on a way back post). I am a true devotee of his show and viciously chew through episodes on my tivo. However Mr. Brown's groundbreaking food show is not the subject of this post but rather the muse which lead to the inspiration.

The show was about espresso and I was hooked. From the first time I sipped a perfectly pulled shot at a nameless cafe in Vienna I knew something so complex, mysterious, and electrifying could only have it's origins firmly in the underworld. Anyone who talks about any coffee product for more than two minutes has to mention at minimum a latent caffeine addiction and addictions are wrong...right?

I began to ponder the process that espresso goes through to end up in a glass and I noticed something very familiar...my journey with God.

At the risk of sounding like a covert shill for Starbucks bear with me;
Here is the process:

-Beans are chosen ( a point of contention among my more arminian friends)
-Ground to a fine mist
-Next the grounds are compressed into a tight little form known as a puck
-Finally massive amounts of water pressure push what is considered usable through excruciatingly small holes until the dark elixir is ready for it's intended use.

I suppose this is the process that God uses to expose what is complex, mysterious, and electrifying in us.

The next shot is on me.

The Begining of Summer...

2008-04-13T00:57:00.000-07:00

When you live in Fresno California there is a very short window of opportunity to live without either your heater and especially your air conditioner running the majority of the time (I think 112 was the record last summer). Today was the epitome of these rare exceptions. Sandals were brought out, old furniture was moved, and all my windows are open. For those who live in the central valley we accept that the season known as spring is nothing more than a vile temptress, but today I willingly fell victim to her song.

A game of tug-o-war I didn't know I was losing...

2008-04-09T21:22:00.000-07:00

I have been traveling around the country so much lately I had no idea how much it was affecting my brain. It wasn't until I was sitting down tonight to put all of the matters of our house in order that I realized how long it had really been. I love traveling but sometimes you just need to be home. I had that feeling to where the events of my life were running me and not the other way around.

Since I am not one to usually make a new years resolutions maybe I will start a new trend of spring resolutions. It takes about that long to figure out what you really need to resolve anyway.

Here is my resolution for tonight:
Go to bed at decent hour and wake up without the aid of coffee.

(maybe we should just start with the early bed time)

As Promised...

2008-03-15T15:40:00.000-07:00

Here are the other pics of my nephew.

I am a proud uncle again...

2008-03-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

Say Hello to my newest nephew Milo Cooper Hilscher born March 15, 2008 at 12:56am. 6lbs.13oz. 20" long.

This is a cell phone pic the rest are coming in a bit.

A Honky Tonk in Nashville...

2008-03-11T18:07:00.000-07:00

If this is the house band on a Tuesday night I cant imagine Saturday. You can't tell from the video but the band is awesome and I cant tell you the last time that I heard a singer with pipes like that.

My Day so far...

2008-03-07T22:14:00.000-08:00

Here is where I started the day:

This is where it ended for me:

Who really knows what the day will bring? The last time I was in Nashville there was a Tornado, now it is the biggest snowstorm in the last five years. I think I would rather brave earthquakes and overly inflated property values back home.

BTW- I have a new addition to the list of things that I don't like; Life threatening turbulence.

Visiting my Son's namesake...

2008-03-01T18:29:00.000-08:00

My family and I took a quick detour to the Reagan Library on our way home from another business trip in southern California. It was really cool and it returned a long since remembered feeling of patriotism as I gazed upon the historical artifacts of the "Great Communicator".

PS- Walking through Air Force One really makes one long to be the commander in chief, if only for one day.

A bonified California Snob

2008-02-26T13:30:00.000-08:00

Where were your business meetings today?

This is what happens when you live in Clovis...

2008-02-25T22:01:00.000-08:00

This is definitely coming out on his first date.

A really good night...

2008-02-24T23:07:00.000-08:00

And it had nothing to do with the fact that "No Country..." won for best picture and director although I was glad that the academy finally agreed with ME for once; who in their right mind would pick, "Shakespeare in Love" over "Saving Private Ryan" please.

I digress, and a bitter rant over the failings of a finicky elite does not bode well against such a splendid evening as we enjoyed tonight. First, my good friend and his wife came over so us bros could bottle my homemade brew (only one more week to go) and the Gals could catch up. Shortly before they arrived however, I found a packet of active dry yeast in my pantry and became immediately inspired. Having just seen the Good Eats episode on pretzel making I knew this was divine inspiration.

Before long and without much planning we found ourselves in the middle of a great night. The pretzels were great and everyone got to make their own, my wife made an awesome stew, and the beer transfer seems to have been a success (only time will tell now). Good people, good food, and a good time, that was the best recipe of the whole evening.

Better than the Beer post...

2008-02-17T22:15:00.000-08:00

I suppose I have been on a bit of a winning streak lately; Beer on demand, Marriage conferences that don't tell men that they are wrong and evil, and the newly present ability to blog from my phone. Well whatever has transpired previously pales in comparison to the paternal joy that I found in a game of football with my four year old son this afternoon.

It started out very shaky ground this morning when we first set out. Him not being the most athletically interested (although very gifted) and me not being the most patient of persons it was an odd pairing at best despite our relation. After a number of failed attempts we left with not much progress having been made in either the passing or throwing departments, it was better but not by much.

Then something miraculous happened after nap time!

God made his face to shine upon us and before I knew it we were playing football, or as my son likes to say, "hut, hut, hike!" Passes were caught and successfully thrown, in fact my son launched a pass as far as twenty feet (he made sure I counted) and started running routes and making the catches. I felt a deep contentment and was quite satisfied before the best moment was yet to come...

We walked away from the field as the sun had set and I felt a small four year old hand slip into mine and heard the words, "Dad you are my best, best, good...favorite...Dad, Dad."

You can now be jealous.

At a Conference...

2008-02-16T09:05:00.001-08:00

We are at a marriage conference at my church. It is really good because this guy actually sticks up for the Bros in the audience and doesn't just bash them. I look forward to putting this into practice. BTW the name of the conference is Love and Respect.

Best Valentines Day Ever!!!

2008-02-15T10:53:00.000-08:00

Well in case you weren't aware of the fact that I had the best wife in the world let me tell what happened very recently. My awesome wife purchased the best gift a man could ever ask for. A home brew kit! Finally I am the master of all that I survey, and man with no formidable foe, no enemy left to vanquish. This is a time of manifest destiny.

So what did your woman get you?

PS-Party at my house in two and a half weeks (that is how long it will take)
PS PS- I did get my wife some awesome gifts(Season passes to Disneyland, and a chair from Cost Plus) as well in case you thought I was being chauvinist.

My latest business venture...

2008-02-13T19:30:00.000-08:00

My latest entrepreneurial endeavor involves a bunch of VW Beetles and an electric conversion. Thats right we are making electric cars! Get your name on the waiting list soon and before it is too late.

Beginning of a new era

2008-02-13T08:02:00.000-08:00

This is a test post from my new phone lets see how it works.

Child birth has nothin on me!!!

2008-02-04T19:34:00.000-08:00

I had my first ever stay in the ER about two weeks ago, which has been the reason for the absence of activity on this site. It all started when I was in line with my family for the Finding Nemo submarine adventure at Disneyland (yes we got our annual passes), I noticed a faint nagging pain in the lower part of my stomach that had refused to go away even after several coaxing attempts in various restrooms throughout the park. The pain continued to escalate to the point that I asked my wife if we could leave the park early and head home (we had already spent the last day and a half there). On the way home what started as a slight pain blew up into what I firmly consider God's Holy Wrath on my intestinal system.

We get into the car and my wife drives like mad. It took us a little more than three hours to get from Anaheim to Fresno, to give you an idea. All along the way we are calling anyone and everyone we know that has any medical background to diagnose what has to be a demon forming inside of me. We also coordinated a parental pickup of our son so that I could be ushered directly to the ER with no additional stopping.

If I had thought that the drive home was long then I was wholly unprepared for what was in store for me in the ER; Six and a half hours of sitting in a chair watching bad (I mean really bad) television and watching everyone get seen before me. Finally when Julie bugged the triage nurse a third time they put me into a room and I prepared for the worst.

it is now 1:30 am and they set up an IV and start pumping some painkillers into my system. Then I go for and X-ray, CT scan, and three doctors come by to poke at my sore spot (not fun). About two hours later we get the diagnosis:

Diverticulitis

If you haven't heard of it that is probably because you are under the age of 60. Yes that is correct I now have an old man condition. I always thought I was a bit mature for my age but this is a little extreme. So far I have gotten advice from a my wife's grandparents and a couple of their ilk. The only token I have beside some looming medical expenditure is that fact that several sources (including mothers) have confirmed that Diverticulitis is more painful than child birth.

Lucky me.

A fan of word pictures...

2008-01-08T19:43:00.000-08:00

I was attending an absolutely heart wrenching/warming funeral this weekend for a dear friend of the family. She was a saint that graced us with her presence for only 48 very short years. My home church's sanctuary of over 2,200 seats was nearly filled to capacity. However the main reason I choose to write this post is in regards to what one of my favorite people said at the funeral. Our executive Pastor Doug Holck delivered an absolutely devastating word picture (his term not mine) for the eulogy. It is perfect for casting God-sized vision in a message and wonderfully bittersweet and capable of creating perspective at such a tough funeral as my wife and I found ourselves. I shall spare you the suspense and allow to read what I begged him to post after hearing it. Here it is in it's entirety:

At the "Celebration of Life" Service for Rose MacAlpine, I shared the following account of a flying experiencing while traveling with our Pastor, GL Johnson, some friends and associates:

One of the memories of my time here at PC is a trip with Pastor Johnson, Ed Baloian, and a couple of others on our staff. We were flying in Ed’s plane, returning home via Arizona. In the distance I could see Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain in the continental US. The more I looked at it through the window of the plane, the more certain I was that we were going to crash into the mountain—it would be the end. Finally, trying to sound brave, but wanting to alert the pilot to the looming mountain, I said something to Ed, who was facing me. Without looking over his shoulder, he stated, “If you can see the horizon beyond the mountain, you’ve nothing to worry about. You’ll fly right over it. You’re in trouble, when all you can see is the mountain.”

Some would see death as a mountain, spelling an end. Rose saw it as a fly over point as she moved into the forever horizon of God’s eternal heaven.

If all you can see is the mountain, you’re in trouble.

I told you it was good; in case you are interested in more goodies I have him linked in the side bar just over to the right.

What you don't know...

2008-01-04T18:56:00.000-08:00

can kill you, or at least your new dog. We surprised our son this Christmas with a new puppy that we had picked out from the pound. But little did we know what lurked in the intestines of what would become a very temporary member of our family. After many disasterous bodily expulsions we decided it was time to go to the vet. There the vet informed us as to what was ailing our little puppy. It is called Parvo and it is basically a death sentence for puppies unless you can fork over about $2,000 or more for a hospital stay. Needless to say we couldn't and so "Pico" now lives in the proverbial big farm where he can be happy and run and play as much as he wants.

Side Note- Telling your kid that the dog died is about the hardest thing my wife and I have had to do in a long time.

Merry Christmas...

2007-12-25T22:50:00.000-08:00

Here is a snapshot from our latest Christmas adventures!

Another LA excursion...

2007-12-18T20:52:00.001-08:00

I had two life moments on my last trip to LA. The first was the privilege of lying on the greatest mattress in the world. We were in Culver City which tends to be pretty uppity and we saw this store called Hastens. It was an unexplainable experience until we heard the price...$62,000. Well I will sleep just fine on my Sealy thank you very much.

The next was a trip with my Sis and Bro in law to a Ron Paul tea party reenactment at the Santa Monica Pier on Saturday. It was awesome to see so many people excited about the constitution and abolishing the IRS. There are some photos on my flickr but there is plenty more stuff on youtube. VIVA LA REVOLUCION!

I made the front page of Digg.com

2007-12-12T11:35:00.001-08:00

A user generated news site that welcome chronic addiction. I submitted the article last night and this morning I saw it on the front page. Watch out internet stardom here I come. Here is the story I dugg.

Like Sonny and Cher...

2007-12-11T23:31:00.000-08:00

I enlisted the talents of my wife for a Christmas video we were shooting. I think she did a great job and this might be her big break, who knows? Here is her stunning debut!

Attack of the Sequel...

2007-12-11T23:19:00.001-08:00

Well we had moderate success with the first mock news cast we produced so we did what any self respecting hollywood producer would do...we made the sequel! Hopefully it will fare at least as well as its older brother and help pay for my impending vacation. Feel free to check it out here.

Nasville again...

2007-12-09T20:19:00.000-08:00

I was in Nashville this last week taking care of some business before the holiday season commences and all industry comes to a stand still. Well one of the companies that we had a meeting with offered to let us take a private tour of RCA's Studio B. This is a very big deal! Everyone has recorded in there and it was probably a number one record when they did. There were over 1,000 number hits recorded there. They told us all these stories about the recording technologies that were developed and furniture that Elvis damaged when he was angry at Chet Atkins. It was a great time and I was really blown away by the experience. To know more about Studio B check it out here

small screen debut...

2007-11-28T20:17:00.001-08:00

I recently made a video with a super talented friend of mine for distribution on Sermonspice. My goal was to sell more units than last years previous best seller turkey blues. Well I didn't even come close but if you would like you can check out the video here.

You know that person...

2007-11-02T09:07:00.000-07:00

The person that can pretty much ask you to do anything and you can't refuse them. Well Pastor Doug Holck is that guy for me. He is the Music and Exec pastor for Peoples Church and has kinda been our family's Pastor since I was really young and has married all of the Temple kids and so on. One of the things that I really like about him are his theologically profound one liners. The little sentences and quips that shake your theological foundation and make you evaluate everything. One of my favorites of his is this: Relationship precedes Truth.

That background is to say that he spoke recently in our church's third service and it is always a treat to hear the creative and passionate methods he uses to express God's word. His delivery in tender, understated, and devastating. I invite you to listen to his message and hope that you enjoy him as much as I do.

check it out here

2007-10-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

This is something that my sis put together, now you can be trendy, subversive, and patriotic all at the same time.

The Chance for a Renaissance...

2007-10-12T22:31:00.000-07:00

I have recently become a huge fan of dark-horse republican candidate Ron Paul. His is a simple straightforward message that revolves completely around the constitution. It is refreshing to hear and I hope he goes all the way. Any way here is the vid:

Where are all the good men dead...?

2007-09-26T20:20:00.000-07:00

The list of people that I would like to meet is quite a eclectic grouping of people. The "Iceman" Chuck Liddell is at the very top, He was the undisputed light heavyweight champ of the UFC and there is not one of his fights that I missed. Well no one can be on top forever and that fact was sadly proven as Chuck dropped his second fight in a row last Saturday night.

It was tough to see and we were all left very quietly. Chuck is still my guy though and I think that he might have another push left in him. I still believe in you Iceman.

Nashville...

2007-09-24T22:43:00.000-07:00

I had never been to Nashville or Tennessee for that matter. I was excited to go and even more excited that my family was able to come along. Sure I got a lot of business taken care of and got to meet with some pretty important people. Heck I was even allowed to sit in on a recording session at a Warner Bros. studio. But really the most exciting had to be the Bass Pro Shop.

For all of us Californians let me just give some background: Imagine a Costco building gutted out and filled with fishing poles, guns of all kinds, and camouflage. It was awesome. In fact we went back about four times throughout the week and bought all of our souvenirs from there as well.

It was a blast and I was really impressed by Nashville overall. What a great city that had a great blend of charm, beauty, great freeways (even though everyone drove crazy slow), and ridiculously low housing prices. I would definitely recommend it to anyone. That and they have great gun laws.

No. 132 cont'd...

2007-09-23T16:47:00.000-07:00

So I got to meet Mel Gibson's producer. We met at his beach front office in Santa Monica to talk about promoting some of his faith based products that they are working on. I was very excited to say the least. I think that my excitement peaked when I noticed a gleaming piece of thin metal in the corner of the conference room. It was the sword. I will leave you with that.

LA trip no. 132

2007-09-23T14:26:00.000-07:00

As you may have surmised from the title I travel to LA quite a bit for fun but also a lot of business. I love it there, my wife love's it there and my son knows that it is the home of Disneyland. Well I was not yet prepared for the experience that awaited us on this particular excursion. First of all, my sis and her hubby live there and have given is a slew of new restaurants to eat at. The star of this profile is a mind blowing trip to the heart of the most amazing greek food I have ever eaten. Papa Cristos is the name of the place and I was not prepared for what was about to unfold.

I was blessed enough to experience what had to be the most succulent gyro, pillow soft pita, and creamy delectable tzatziki sauce that the western mind could comprehend. It was after the my plate was clean that I saw the autographed poster from My big fat Greek wedding that thanked them for all the catering. Everything is making sense until they brought out the baklava. This is just any baklava this is the kind of delicacy that causes you to consider a change in nationality. When was the last time you were excited about baklava? Well I would be willing the wager that this small slice of honey dripping heaven could incite passion on the most stoic of souls (in case you were wondering I do think I will be 400 lbs. by the time I am 60). I have had a lot of amazing food experiences and this has to be top 5 easy.

About the time we were all feeling as though we had become examples of gluttony my son started flirting with the waitress and scored us another baklava this time it was filled with custard! The mind cannot comprehend and I cannot possibly go on any longer else I will get it my car and make the drive right now.

Reforming the reformation

2007-09-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

This blog originally started out as a sounding board for all of the deep, plaguing, introspective and theological issues that I had to let the world know about. Turns out there weren't that many and I am happy to report that I am relatively an untortured (is that a word?)person. So from now on I will post the happenings of my frenetic and crazy family. It should be fun and I have some great pictures and stories that have happened. Here is to some good reading!

Soapbox #2: Fear of Intimacy and a Relentlessly Personal God

2007-03-20T21:29:00.000-07:00

I can't figure out how to start this post. I guess it comes from the fact that it resides in deep inside and I don't want it to smell like a fart when it does come out. Let's just get to it.

Here is the conflict as I see it: The capital "C" Church has done a great job separating ourselves from the world as it pertains to the consumption of alcohol, smoking of any tobacco product, and dressing conservatively. I read an article recently promoting a book discussing how a truly Christian family MUST home school their children in order to avoid the evils of being swallowed by worldliness. These are just a couple of great ways that we have physically separated ourselves from an unregenerate world.

Where it starts to get tricky is the areas where we slowly have let the more corrosive elements in over the last two generations or so. In my opinion it is the massive breakdown of truly close and intimate relationships that have stagnated the growth of our Church. These last two generations of the population have dealt with a glut of divorces, dysfunction, and day care (no alliteration intended). Which has caused a base level mistrust and immediate defense to those around us. We have carried all these walls and defense mechanisms our whole life and forgotten to drop them off at the door step of the church once we got saved. Partly because we didn't know that we had them as they have been ingrained nearly from birth.

So now we have the biggest, coolest, most relevant churches replete with tattoos and coffee bars that have the loneliest people an incredibly affluent society has ever known. For so long the family structure has been intact and the churches response (which I believe was excellent) was to offer programs to already fully functioning families. They acted as a catalyst to give strong families even more tools and continue to make them stronger. It was a wonderful system that served this country very well for a number of decades. However a completely intact family structure can no longer be the assumption as all the statistics and overcrowded rehab programs can attest.

We, then, are faced with a breakdown at a base level that aside from the Bible I do not believe there is a manual for. It is an intimacy that was meant to be nurtured from birth by sacrificing parents, an involved community, and a growing relationship with God himself. Instead we were met with divorce, substance abuse, sitcoms, and a new term called "latchkey kid". It was these failings that caused us not to trust out of survival so that we would no longer get hurt. The problem was that we still needed intimacy but didn't know it and surely would not risk again for it.

Now we have a serious percentage of the population that cannot be intimate because they were never taught, the best solutions so far are casual sex and myspace. And we have a church that is used to offering programs as solutions. I have a feeling it is like the oil industry looking at electric cars, it is possible and will be necessary in the future but lets not deal with it now. My assertion for the subject avoidance is this: Intimacy is not something that is programmable, it doesn't fit it a pie graph or a vision statement, and most of all it is not something that is mass marketable. Once you hold intimacy with God and others as paramount then it is no longer about massive crowds and big results. It is about pouring yourself out before God and digging in with others. This is simply something that one person cannot do with 100, 50, 20, or even 10 other people. Jesus had twelve, he hung out with three, and one he called beloved.

It is time to reprogram our methods into heartbeats and to forsake our strategies for the sake of the people. Let us endeavor to know God personally and maybe for the first time allow Him to know us, even the nasty bits.

So I guess that all I am really saying is that man is sinful and in need of God for restoration, pretty original huh? Hey let's think up a three point action plan to help combat the lack of intimacy in the American church, and when that becomes successful we can write a book and start a small group study guide.

soapbox #1

2007-01-16T13:20:00.000-08:00

Well I have realized my first soapbox; it came to me as I was sitting in one of my many meetings that I sit through in a given week and it hits me. As I work in the full time ministry we encounter a lot of people that would like us to partner with them in doing whatever it is that they do. And it never fails during the pitch that this person is making I hear the dreaded phrase: "We need to be doing this" or "This needs to happen!"

Now to be fair these are generally good hearted people that are very passionate about what it is that God has called them to do and I don't fault them for that. The problem for me is what I will call the "Need" mentality with God. It is that thing people in church do when they unknowingly want to guilt people into showing up to something by telling them that they need to do it. Suddenly everything becomes top priority and everything needs to get done. Regardless of what your calling, passion, or talents are you really need to be doing this thing over here. I remember one such meeting a few months ago there were no less than five different people that were presenting their ministry and wouldn't you know it, I needed to be involved in every single one.

The main thing that bothers me about this mentality is it's underlying logical inconsistency. If everyone needed to do this one thing then who would do all the other things that need to get done. The second thing that I find troubling is the emphasis that it puts on performance rather than enjoyment. I believe that we are the best examples of Christ's love when we are carried by it and strengthened by His power rather than our own. When we as believers can exist out of the freedom and love that Christ bestows we can then be an unstoppable force. How much better does that sound than dutifully showing up to a banquet or function because we feel like it would make us bad Christians. Now I do not intend to invoke the theology of Freedom in Christ to alleviate us from any and all hard work or responsibility. In fact I believe that it would be just the opposite. When you are passionate about something then there is no stopping you or I from achieving an objective. It is out of freedom that you will pour out countless hours and resources in order the make happen what needs to get done. It is only when we are obligated under the pretense of need that we will only ever do enough just to get by. It is like being at a wedding where no one agrees that the couple should be getting married. It is quick routine and polite and sadly nothing more.

This is not my ideal for ministry or Christian life. So in order to validate my point even further I did a search on biblegateway.com for the word need in the same context as has been used here and this is the result that came up: Exodus 14:14 :The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

Ouch

The First...

2007-01-15T17:12:00.001-08:00

I am beginning this blog as I sit here with my son as he watches Disney's Treasure Planet and I have the day off because of Martin Luther King. It will be an interesting process as I learn what will work best in this, my little corner, of cyber space. My desire is to communicate the larger life themes that have more opportunity to change lives and find out how many agree or disagree with me. I will always welcome and truly thrive off of healthy debate as long as it remains logical and above the belt. I truly hope this is going to be awesome!