Gordon B. Hinckley: Prophet, Workhorse, Genius

We received the sad news last night that our current prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, passed away in his sleep yesterday. He was 97 years old and worked extremely hard right until the end. He was a remarkable man leading an amazing life. President Hinckley has been the prophet since I became an adult. He was "my prophet". Let me explain:

I’ve heard many people talk about “their” prophet. Often I hear this about David O. McKay. When someone considers their discipleship in this sense, I think they’d often name the President of the Church who served during their mission or during core formative testimony building years. Also, the sheer length of time the man has served probably makes a big difference as well.

President Hinckley’s signature is on my 1996 mission call. I was fortunate to meet him personally and shake his hand in 1998. I’ve heard so many of his masterful sermons and felt the Spirit early and often as he has shared his testimony and thoughts with the world. In this sense, truly President Hinckley is “my” prophet. His fingerprints are on so many modern-era Church activities that is would be difficult to document. To name a few: accelerated temple building, the perpetual education fund for people in developing countries, humanitarian efforts, conversion & retention & activation efforts, etc. He also dramatically improved the public, external view of the Church just simply by being personable and combining humor with a no-nonsense approach to the business at hand. I will truly miss him. The world has lost a true soldier in the fight for right. But how blessed we have been to have been led for a time during mortality by a truly remarkable leader. Marlin K. Jensen summed it up well in the Salt Lake Tribune this morning:

"His keen intellect and thirst to understand how everything works resulted in a storehouse of knowledge that will be nearly irreplaceable," said Elder Marlin Jensen, the church's official historian. "I believe he was a true prophet but it didn't hurt that he was a genius, too."

Thomas S. Monson, an inspired and hard working disciple in his own right, will now likely be the successor to President Hinckley. As President Monson takes over the helm, we’ll pray for his strength and vitality. How wonderful it is to be led by truly caring, exemplary, down-to-earth, Divinely inspired Priesthood bearers in this day and age.

Hydrogen + Oxygen = POWER

Many may not know this about me, but I am fascinated by the discussion of alternative energy sources. I believe most of my passion stems from my disgust that we are so dependent on other nations for fuel. I'm not a "flaming L-word", ...in fact, quite the opposite, but I do have a brain and see a significant need to find a solution to this huge problem in our global community. Since my undergraduate time in college, I've been an advocate of hydrogen Fuel Cell technology. Granted, I know there are problems with it, but overall it appears to have the most realistic upside to realistically support our economy while also preserving our freedoms afforded us by our automobiles. Anectodally, I also attended a business breakfast yesterday where a speaker (discussing traffic and congestion) said "Our economy cannot prosper unless people and goods can move freely." I agree. How important this is to our economy & lives in general. Of course, we could drive a whole lot less (i.e. commuting, frivolous unnecessary trips, etc) and probably be much better off, but still, even with significant conservation efforts, most of us lead lives that require a car for many activities.

Last week there was an intriguing article in the Portland Tribune that I did not want to neglect in my blogoshpere:

http://www.portlandtribune.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=119947556549650400

"Geoffrey Holland, the co-author of a primer on hydrogen technology, says it wouldn’t cost that much for Oregon to begin developing hydrogen filling stations, starting with one or two in the Portland area. More people are talking about West Coast “hydrogen highways” that could enable fuel-cell-powered cars to travel from British Columbia to Southern California. "

I'm glad to hear that progress is being made. I'd love to buy a hydrogen vehicle. The infrastructure isn't there and the kinks haven't been worked out, but I'm happy to find out major manufacturers (GM, Honda and others) will distribute fuel cell vehicles for real-world use this year.

Upping the projection to 48

As I predicted in an earlier entry, the new years eve game at Utah was a tough battle for this Portland team. Despite a valiant effort, they fell short and the losing streak was snapped at 13 straight w's. A number of my family members attended that game at Salt Lake City. My older brother, who also bleeds red and black, had an interesting comment after seeing the Trail Blazers live. He said "I knew Brandon Roy was good, but I didn't know he was THAT good." Well said.

After that loss, the true test came in the ensuing road games at Minnesota and Chicago. They beat Minnesota with a true lack-luster performance. The next night at Chicago was truly something special. In front of a national TV audience, The team seemed to coast through the first 2 and 1/2 quarters. That's almost precisely when I was able to turn the game on, by the way, but I digress. The team pulled out a double-overtime, high intensity win in a hostile environment. Man, this team sure is showing some impressive resolve and finding ways to will themselves to victory. Many people are jumping on the bandwagon, even nationally many analysts are projecting Portland as a playoff contender. I'm not gonna count anything here before it hatches, but I will say that if they can maintain this poise and intensity (and positive decision making), they have a very real chance to make the playoffs this year. I predicted 37 wins (which many believed was too high, mind you) and I do believe this is a good time to up that prediction to 41 wins. Precisely .500 ball. Will that be enough to make the playoffs? Probably not. But who's to say I'm not being conservative (stingy) with the prediction, eh?

(1/18/08 UPDATE) OK, I have looked through the schedule and given it a more logical approach. After close inspection of the season schedule and making predictions of games they 'ought' to win and games they 'may' win, I believe they can be closer to 50-ish wins. Really. The third youngest team in NBA history. Wow, it's a bit hard to believe I'm saying that. So, 48 wins is my prediction and 47 is my "disappointment" mark. 47 wins will give them a 57% winning percentage. I was feeling like they should end the season above 60%, but that would give them 50 wins. For some reason, I just can't allow myself to believe that the team will hit that mark this year. However, if they surprise me, I'm sure I'll figure out a way to get over it.

Ducks win Sun Bowl (December 31st)

A BOWL WIN! With how this season ended, we'll take it, man. We'll take it. The Ducks handed the South Florida Bulls a true schilaking on new year's eve. Jonathan Stewart's 253 rushing yards were a sight to behold. Most promising, I thought, was Justin Roper's play. The young QB has potential to be very good in the coming years. Most impressive play? J-Stew's 71 yard run to the end zone. I loved seeing Jaison Williams blocking for him as he made his way to the end zone. Great stuff. We'll miss you, Stew.

Chatting with Kevin Pritchard - 12/28/2007

So I was talking with Trail Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard the other day... OK, OK, let me clarify. I had my first conversation with KP last week when he appeared on a local talk radio show - which was interesting in itself because it was not a typical sports venue, but actually with a local conservative talk show host. Pritchard came on as the "lunch guest" and stayed for more than the allotted noon-1:00 format. I thought I had a good question, so I phoned in. I was the first caller on the show and ended up on the air with him for over 5 minutes. Pretty cool, I thought. My core question centered on young-talent retention. The team just recently exercised the team options for the young players, retaining them through next season (2008-2009). Then what? When other teams come calling, are they ALL really going to want to stay in Portland? Oden, Roy, Aldridge, Sergio, Webster... all of them? I really liked the essence of Pritchard's response:

"If they're the right fit for this team, we'll do what we need to do to keep them in a Portland uniform."

Now that's what I like to hear. Cap space, playing time, etc. Those are details. If they're the right fit, the team will keep them around. Simple enough. Now I'll stop fretting...until their contracts really do expire...

(First picture is of KP when he was a college basketball stud, winning a national championship at Kansas - I know I probably shouldn't expose him like that, but you know, I can rib him now and then, since we're friends and all).

Christmas at the Oregon Coast

We had a blast spending Christmas at the Oregon Coast. Literally. The weather was a strange blast of hail, snow and rain. But man we had some fun, memorable times. The family rented a home on the coast and people traveled from Utah, Boston, Southern California, Washington, Corvallis and we had the short trip from the Portland area. Christmas eve found the children acting out the nativity and the whole group (17 people in all). It certainly was a unique environment and a Christmas we'll never forget.

Clara's baby blessing (December 23rd)

As a father of a new baby and a holder of the Priesthood, I had an opportunity to bless our beautiful new daughter in front of our church congregation on 12/23/2007. I can't explain the rush of emotion that ran through me as I stood to give that blessing. I don't think of myself as a particularly emotional guy. Something special is at work inside of me. My fatherly instincts being re-kindled? I don't know. What I do know is that these lovely little spirits that are sent to live with us during mortality are a true miracle and blessing. As a father, I want to my very best.

Oh yeah....cute babies can make crazy faces, too!