Urban Onramps

Outreach’s web site has a new look, plus a head shot of yours truly that makes me look human. Dig it. For you fashionistas out there, the answer is No, I Do Not Own a V-neck Sweater. They handed that to me at the photo shoot.

Andrew Jones has a report (but kill off the movie upload, bro - it makes page loading difficult). These days, when reflecting on the Catholic church, I often think of the fact that Martin Luther himself was not trying to break away from Catholicism, but rather to reform it (or return it to a less corrupted state).

My combined Father’s Day, birthday (July 2 and wedding anniversary (aug. 13) gift is… a video ipod. Kafi brought it home yesterday. Dig it, my people. It’s all that. I had already ripped the Harambee banquet video to 320×240, and it transferred immediately and played. Also, I had already ripped the U2 Vertigo Tour DVD off of the dvd into an .mp4 file. So I set Quicktime to rip that .mp4 file into an m4v file. Man, did that take 5 or 6 hours or what? But I got up this morning, transferred the file over, and whoa - it’s there. Easy. At some point soon I’m going to get the iPod AV Cable which allows you to connect your iPod to any old TV and play a video. This will be perfect when I’m out speaking at a church and want to show a Harambee video. Just gotta make sure to not accidentally play Mind of Mencia.

How do you hold up under the expectations of the entire world and hit a free kick like this? Don’t count England out yet. When Beckham hit it, I was sitting in my reclining chair in my bedroom, my baby girl Micah on my lap, Sam on the ground playing a game on Kafi’s computer. I stifled my “whoooo” so as not to frighten the chirrens. It was a great moment.

FORTUNE EXCLUSIVE: Editor-at-large Carol Loomis speaks with Buffett on why he sped up his plan to give away his money and why he chose the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

This interview is better than reading a good management book:

What is the significance of your going on the board of the Gates foundation?

Not much. The biggest reason for my doing that is if they were ever to go down on an airplane together. Beyond that, I hope to have a constructive thought now and then. But I don’t think I’m as well cut out to be a philanthropist as Bill and Melinda are. The feedback on philanthropy is very slow, and that would bother me. I’d have to be too involved with a lot of people I wouldn’t want to be involved with and have to listen to more opinions than I would enjoy.

That’s a straight shooter.

Yo, nonprofit fundraisers, check this:

And frankly, I have some small hopes that what I’m doing might encourage other very rich people thinking about philanthropy to decide they didn’t necessarily have to set up their own foundations but could look around for the best of those that were up and running and available to handle their money.

In the same way some talk about moving from individual blogs to team blogs, Buffett describes foundations coming together, rather than doing it on their own. This sounds different from the Community Foundation model. In that model, the donor still designates where their particular funds get allocated. Buffett says just turn it over to key people who you really trust. Interesting. We’ll see if it becomes a trend.

The games today were great, Germany and Argentina going on ahead. Very young players have made a great impact on this world cup. Which brings me to this point: Why didn’t Eddie Johnson play more for the U.S. in this World Cup? Think about it. The German kid who scored the two goals is 20 years old. Lionel Messi for Argentina just turned 19. The kid for Mexico is 19. And the other Argentinian threat, Tevez, is 22. Heck, even Javier Saviola is 24. I just think the U.S. attack was stale, I thought it was stale with McBride before (back in 2002), and well we could have done a lot more with our youth.

And what about that goal by Maxi Rodriguez?! He’s a hero til the day he dies, and his children, too. He hit that baby in front of the entire world. Man. What a perfect strike. I was going strongly for Mexico, and they surprised me - their defense was a lot stronger than I thought. Think about it. Argentina’s first goal was actual an own goal by Mexico’s Borgetti. Their second goal was a wonder goal. Argentina did NOT get actually get through Mexico’s defense for a straight goal.

And I gotta say - the winner of the World Cup will be either Brazil or the winner of Germany-Argentina. Miroslav Klose looks great - he’s the reason for both of Germany’s goals. The kid merely finished plays that Klose set up. Germany looks strong, I gotta say. They are playing more energetic soccer, they are on home turf, and Klinsmann has prepped them for a faster game. That one will be a war.

Evidently Brazil won and Australia went through to the round of 16. Ghana is through. The US disappointed. I spent a little time with Athletes in Action at USC, Mike Sylvester and them, and that was good. I was in a meeting with an auditor this morning that was actually - gasp - stimulating and fun. I must be getting old.