Rich Kao

Here's a goofy, endearing, just plain fun, celebration of life kind of video entitled "Where is Matt?" (Actually this is the sanitized title; original is "Where the ____ is Matt?")  There's just one simple theme to the whole clip: a guy named Matt dances the same dance in places and spaces all over the world.  It's kind of neat, and has a funny inspiring quality about it; kind of like I'm glad to be part of the human race sort of thing. The colors are so rich, scenes so vivid, and people so free, there is a human connection you experience..  BTW, this clip has become quite famous as well as Matt himself.  He is now living in the Seattle area.   I think the clip will put a smile on your face.

Unlike most guys, I wanted our first child to be a girl.  There was something in me that wanted a little baby that I could protect, hug and provide for, and it just seemed a girl, rather than a boy fit my emotional desire best.  Of course, the decision was going to be up to God, but that was my desire.  Sure enough, it came to pass.  Our first baby was Kimmie.  Then our second was Heidi, and our third was Holly!  I guess good things come in threes.   (And to round out our family, Matthew was our fourth addition; time to balance things out!). 

Ever since my girls were born, I've always told them, get ready on your wedding day because Daddy is going to cry like a baby.  I truly do not know how I will keep it together.     If you've seen Fiddler on the Roof, you'll know what I mean.  The scenes where Teyva sees off his daughters are absolute killers.  Then a bit ago, Steven Curtis Chapman came out with the song "Cinderella."    As usual, Steven put together a song that has a great tune with great words, and in this case a great story - he traces his cinderella from little girl to the marriage.    Man, it's a killer, but I love it.  So do my girls.  If you have time, listen to the song. It's great. (BTW, this picture of my three Cinderella was from 2003!)

Compliments of my wife, who's got a rockin Canon PowerShot S5IS 8.0 Megapixel digital camera, here is a little photo essay of what happens at our 5 Stones Church on Sunday mornings.  Click here to see her work, posted publically at her Facebook site.

There's not a company in the world that can generate buzz like Apple can about a "developer's conference."  This is not a consumer's convention, it's a conference for under-the-hood software and hardware engineers that make Apple products work.   It's a conference for geeks, not mainstream  public, and yet it generates rock concert level publicity.  How do they do it?   Two  (actually three) words:  Secrecy and Track Record.  Steve Jobs is the master at holding his cards til the last possible moment, and then laying down his "royal flush."  Time and time again, it's a royal flush -- think iMac, ipod, iTunes, and most recently iPhone.  As a result, he builds this incredible anticipation every time he speaks --  everyone wants to see his cards, and track record has shown, not only does he rarely disappoint, but he exceeds expectations.  What do you get?  One of the best stocks in the last 10 years.  Around the block attendance at Apple store openings (see Vancouver opening here - this is so typical!), and awards upon award for their products.  Mr. Jobs himself is one of the most highly decorated CEO's in the world.    What does this have to do with me?  I'm waiting with baited breathe for Mr. Jobs keynote address on Monday June 9th.   I'm just as geeky and rabid a fan as the guy next door.  To be honest, I look forward to Mr. Jobs address like I do watching Tiger on Sunday afternoon.  I will  be at Apple's site at noon on June 9th to watch the streamed  address, and if it's live, I'll watch it live.  It's so fun to experience it live!  Last thought, the invite card shown here is perfect picture of how Apple generates anticipation - teases your imagination and alludes to something great.  Two golden gate bridges?  So what will Apple pull out of its hat (and my wallet!).

I just picked this post up from Guy Kawasaki's site...it's a link about the next level in video conferencing: holographic video conferencing.  My mind is reeling...click on the youtube frame at the end of this entry to see it in action.  Besides the obvious real-time ability to conference, meet, and never get on an airplance again (as Guy says in his blog), what about real time training in covert places?  what about doing evangelistic crusades?  What about virtual holographic classrooms?  What about church services with a "holographic preacher" in multiple locations?  This is freaky.  It's amazing.  Obviously, the technology is hugely expensive and inaccessible to the regular public now, but just like the genesis of any nascent new technology (computers, desktop publishing, telephony, etc), it will only be a matter of time before we'll get a crack at utilizing these tools ourselves for the Kingdom.

See Holographic Video conferencing in action. Comments?  What do you guys think?