March, 2005:

I’m sure that it was used to keep the Garden of Eden looking neat and tidy. I can just imagine Adam pushing this little beauty up and down the patch of green outside his place. We were given a lawnmower last weekend. It’s very, very old but I’m sure it’ll do the trick at our place.

I tipped it up on its side and noticed that the blades had seen better days. I took the old ones off and Pauline got some new ones. I’ll need to put them on in the next couple of days and give the lawn a good going over.

While the mower is an ancient relic, it does have a Briggs & Stratton motor so it should handle the job quite well.

After all these years I finally have a mower. I have finally joined the millions of Aussies who have been able to subdue their surroundings with little more than a tank of two stroke. I can keep my lawn (or at least that what we call it for lack of a better description) under my control. I can now cut it at the height that we want it, not at the length that the local lawn mowing contractor wants it.

Ooh. Now there’s a point. How do we tell our lawn mowing man that he’s no longer required? He’s always done a pretty good job at a very fair rate. I suppose we’ll still need his expertise in tidying up the edges. Anyone need the services of a good lawn mowing man? I know of one who’ll be looking for a new customer very soon.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

I must admit that my thoughts are with my wife Pauline and our 6 year old son James this morning. James wandered into our room in the middle of the night, telling Pauline that he’d been awake most of the night with a sore ear. He had apparently been putting the sore ear against his pillow to try to stop the pain.

I didn’t hear any of that exchange but apparently he was very calm and very matter of fact about it all. I woke up just after that and saw him heading back to his own bed.

He came back some time later. This time I was awake. He very calmly said something to the effect of, “I think my eardrum’s burst because it’s all slimy in my ear.” He was right. His eardrum does seem to have burst. He’s had that happen a few times in his life but not for quite a while.

The amazing thing is that he wasnt making a fuss about his burst eardrum, he just thought we should know.

Pauline’s trying to arrange a doctor’s appointment for him this morning and I know that she didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.

I’m a dreadful patient. I hate being sick or having an injury but I can assure you that I hate it even more when someone I love is suffering.

UPDATE: While it was pretty mucky inside his ear and thus hard to get the full picture, our doctor seems to think that James may have an outer ear infection. This would be preferable to a burst ear drum but still rather nasty.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

This Friday is the 1st of April. April Fool’s Day.

I was reminded of the fact when I noticed that someone had arrived at one of my archives while searching for april fools pranks.

What pranks have you played on others in the past? What are you planning this year? What’s the best April Fool’s prank you’ve heard about?

I’d love to hear your experiences. Please add your favourite pranks to the comments section of this post.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

It wasn’t as big as the devastating tsunami that was experienced on Boxing Day last year but it was big enough to cause major damage.

News.com.au continues to update details of the overnight earthquake off Indonesia and the resulting tsunami. The current story is here.

A THREE-metre wave smashed into the Indonesian island of Simeuleu, off the coast of Sumatra, causing extensive damage shortly after a massive earthquake, a military official said today.

Endang Suwaraya, the military commander in the western Indonesian province of Aceh, close to the epicentre of the 8.7-magnitude quake, said he had received reports the wharf in the island’s main port was badly damaged.

He said waves also affected the island’s airport in the coastal town of Sinabang.

Earlier today, Hong Kong seismologists reported registering a 5.7-magnitude aftershock near the area of this morning’s major quake. (Read the full story here.)

The death toll remains at around 2000 for the moment.

Posted by Rodney Olsen