STRATEGY CENTRAL

Sunday, 4:30 p.m. 65°F here in Rocklin.  67°F down on our home court in the OC.  Good times though.  Watched NorthPointOnline.tv for the first time today.  Andy Stanley was live at 3:00 p.m. PDT.  Very nice.  Definitely need a once a week hit of that.  Had just finished crafting a batch of a household Rick Bayless favorite…Chipotle-Cascabel Salsa.  Jammin’  We’ll have it tonight with King Ranch Chicken and Mexican Rice.  Good times!

Out here now on the patio listening to a little Dave Matthews Band on lala.com.  Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King.  Who wouldn’t be down with that title?

Got my copy of Andy’s latest, The Principle of the Path on Friday.  Very good.  If you’ve been following along here at StrategyCentral, you’ll want to pick up a copy.  Definitely right up your alley.

So…looking at my summer posts I can tell I've been a little off the radar. How's it going? Thought I'd take a moment and bring you up to speed! Today?  Although I was really tempted by the Cracked Crab Enchiladas in my Chevy's Fresh Mex Cookbook, we went with Fajitas with Rick Bayless's jammin' roasted tomato and jalapeno salsa (and it is jammin' – you can get the recipe right here).  Alongside we had some of the best pintos we've ever made.  Adding the leftover roasted jalapenos from the salsa made them come alive!  Dick Vitale would have said, "It was awesome, baby!"  To top it off…we listened to the Gipsy Kings on Lala.com.  Good times!

Sunday, 5:30 p.m. 86°F here in Rocklin.  68°F down on our home court.  Luckily…or providentially…depending on your world view…we have a pool here! 

All is well in lala land!  The Lakers move on to the finals!  Good times in so cal!  Much as I wanted to see LeBron vs. Kobe…the Nike Puppets will have to do for this year.  The Cavs…like the Nuggets have gone fishin', or as Charles Barkley said a few years back…one of those island destinations!

On tap tonight?  Grilled Cumin Chicken with Fresh Tomatilla Sauce and Cilantro Rice.  Sounds good doesn't it?  Wish you were here!

Sunday, 5:45 p.m. 99°F here in Rocklin.  73°F down on our home court.  Luckily…or providentially…depending on your world view…we have a pool here! 

All is well in lala land!  The Lakers move on to the next round.  Good times in so cal!  This pic says it all.  See ya later little guy!  Check it out: Highlight Reel

While we’re on the subject…check out Kobe’s 3 Championship Rings:

Sunday, 6:15 p.m. 83°F here in Rocklin…totally a so cal day. Beautiful.   

Listening to a little Elton John tonight. Rocket Man: Number Ones. Pretty good deal over on Amazon. You can get the MP3 album for $7.99. 17 songs? Come on. That's just good entertainment!

What'd we eat today? We made some of the best baby back ribs in recent northern
hemisphere history. In the oven for a while, then out on the grill just off the flame. Beautiful barbeque sauce carmelized with some slow cooked goodness. Debbie's jammin' potato salad. Grilled corn on the
cob. Dude. It was a great Mother's Day lunch! Wish you were here!

Sunday, 4: p.m.  66°F and finally not raining here in Rocklin.  Not sure what's on tap for dinner tonight.  After the 9 day Mr. Mom Experience…we'll see what happens. 

In the meantime, just want to mention the book I picked up last week one more time. How Breakthroughs Happen by Andrew Hargadon really looks good. I especially like the premise for soooo many of us.  The idea that the next big idea could more likely be discovered by taking pieces of disparate, pre-existing technologies, a kind of recombinant next step…that's got to be a good thing.  Now…if we can just get the right pieces!

By the way…how about my Dodgers!  18 and 8! 

Sunday, 5:15 p.m.  73°F here in Rocklin…totally a so cal day.  Beautiful.  Tonight?  Tostadas with the jammin' roasted tomato and jalapeno salsa from Rick Bayless' Salsas That Cook.  This is a cookbook that I use all the time.  Totally stained.  Coming apart at the seams.  Home of some truly great recipes.  Not to mention our house favorite salsa.  If you've ever been to Chicago's Frontera Grill or Topolobampo, then you've experienced the goodness.  If you haven't?  Put it on your list.  And in the meantime?  Order the cookbook right here!  Good times in no cal.

Opened up a new book this weekend.  Not a new book and one I actually had to order.  How Breakthroughs Happen: The Surprising Truth About How Companies Innovate by Andrew Hargadon just looked too compelling.  I read a story in Fast Company last week about Hargadon's energy efficiency work at UC Davis and it grabbed my attention.  Next thing I knew I was ordering the book!  Stay tuned for more as the pages turn.

Easter Sunday, 5:15 p.m.  70°F here in Rocklin…another totally so cal day.  Beautiful.

Killer ham today, accompanied by a great new gourmet mac and cheese
recipe, green beans and red potatoes and rolls.  Fairly traditional
fare for us.  Good times in no cal.

Awesome worship today at Adventure.  If you haven't heard Phil Wickham's True Love, you have missed something really special.  It came on today right before I stepped out to do lead communion.  Wow!  What a song. 

Sunday, 6:15 p.m.  72°F here in Rocklin…totally a so cal day.  Beautiful.  Ribs in the smoker.  Debbie's jammin au gratin potatoes in the oven.  Good times in no cal.

Picked up a new book off the stack this weekend.  The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by Sir Ken Robinson.  First heard about Robinson last year when I tripped across a TED talk by him that was very powerful.  You can check out the talk right here.  The book is off to quite a start.  Very much in the vein of Gladwell's Outliers, this one focuses on the spot where the activities individuals enjoy and are naturally good at come together.  Looks great!  The introduction had me at "hello."  I think you'll be hearing a lot about it over the next few weeks.

Sunday, 5:15 p.m.  59°F here in Rocklin…can't hang on the patio though,
totally windy, not so cal…by any stretch of the imagination.  No time on the patio today.

Saturday evening?  Chicken Chile Rellenos from the A Cowboy in the Kitchen: Recipes from Reata and Texas West of the Pecos with Cowcamp Creamed Corn.  Oh my.  Good times.  Wish you'd been here.