January, 2006:

It’s almost time. Kids all over Western Australia are squeezing the last life out of their school holidays as they look towards starting their studies for another year.

In our family, Emily will move up to Year 5 and James will be a Year 2 in 2006.

It’s a strange time because there’s the disappointment that holidays are coming to an end but there’s also the excitement of being in a new class, catching up with classmates, making new friends.

What were you like on the last few days of your school holidays? Were you the kind of kid who couldn’t wait to get back to school or did you wish that holidays would last forever? What kind of parent are you? Are you looking forward to your kids being back in school to give you a break or do you enjoy having them around? I know that Pauline loves spending time with Emily and James during the holidays.

If your kids are about to start the 2006 school year, I hope that they’re well and truly rested and I especially hope that our teachers have had a good break. School teachers do a magnificent job. I don’t envy them for a moment and they certainly deserve to enjoy their time off.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

Technorati Tags: School – Holidays – Teachers

I had opportunity to delve into the darker side of my personality yesterday. You may not know it but somewhere deep inside, I’m a bit of a computer geek. I love fiddling inside machines and making them work properly.

I picked up 5 old computers in various states of disrepair on Saturday afternoon. Someone was giving them away and was glad to get rid of them.

They’re very old machines with lots of pieces missing. 4 out of the 5 are old Compaq Deskpro 4000s. After spending a bit of time playing around with them I managed to get a couple working.

I’ve never actually been taught anything about computer repair so it’s all pretty much hit and miss stuff but I was able to replace our very old computer at home with one that’s not quite as old. Our second computer used to be a Pentium 1 machine running a 100mhz processor. It had a 4GB hard drive. The one we have now is a Pentium Pro 200mhz with a 10GB hard drive. Not a huge step up but a step up never the less.

I changed parts, reformatted the hard drive and got it all happening. If I can find another couple of monitors, mice and keyboards I might get another couple working.

There’s something deeply satisfying about taking something that others consider to be worthless and turning it into something useful.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

Technorati Tags: Computers – Computer Repair – Compaq

It’s a daily thing. In fact it’s more than that. Several times every day I feel the call of India. Unless you’ve been there and fallen in love with the place you wouldn’t understand.

When I think about it, I’m not as much in love with India itself as with its people.

It’s not that I’m dissatisfied with anything here in Australia. This is the most magnificent place to live. I have an incredible family and a job I love yet I still yearn for India. My previous visits remind me that after a few weeks in India it’s great to get back home and being home in Perth is where I truly belong.

The smells, sights, tastes and sounds of India are amazing but its people remain the real draw for me. I’ve made friends there that I’d love to see again. I also want to meet many more of the colourful characters in that country. Every place you turn there are happy people who are pleased to meet you.

I may never set foot in India again. I don’t know what the future holds. The Bible Society of India, who have hosted my 2 previous trips, will be having big celebrations in 2010 and I keep thinking that it’d be fantastic to head back to join them. I’d also be great to take a small team of people to join the celebrations. One of the greatest thrills of my visit in February/March 2005 was that I was able to take a few other Aussies and introduce them to India.

So, do you want to join me in 2010? It’s still a few years away but we can start dreaming now.

I think I’ll have to post a few more photos from my India trips in the coming days.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

Technorati Tags: India – Travel – Bible Society

A part of me groans whenever I’m tagged with the latest meme but then again I reckon that memes can be a useful tool in getting to know a little bit more about people. They often cause me to think which is quite an achievement in itself. I’m also grateful that other bloggers think to nominate me to get involved.

Rita at Saved by Grace has tagged me with a ’4′ meme. Thanks Rita, I hope you enjoy my answers.

4 Jobs You Have Had In Your Life:

Radio Announcer
Chef
Community Liaison Officer
Creative Director

4 Movies You Could Watch Over And Over:

The Blues Brothers (I’ve seen it around 20 times so far.)
Young Frankenstein (Gene Wilder and Marty Feldman in a comedy classic.)
Take the Money and Run (A very early Woody Allen film.)
Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (Steve Martin at his best.)

4 Places You Have Lived:

Scarborough
Innaloo
Palmyra
Morley
(All suburbs of Perth, Western Australia.)

4 TV Shows You Love To Watch:

Spicks and Specks
The Bill
Black Books
Myth Busters

4 Places You Have Been On Vacation:

India (Not really a vacation but I did have to take holiday leave to go. I was on Bike for Bibles trips both times I visited.)
Canada (Same story as above. It was Canada’s first ever Bike for Bibles in 1992.)
Sydney
Hobart (We took a holiday after a Bike for Bibles ride across Australia.)

4 Websites You Visit Daily (or often):

Bloglines
Engrish
News.com.au
Bikeforums
(I didn’t select specific blogs because I read dozens everday through Bloglines.)

4 Of Your Favorite Foods:

Authentic Indian Curry
Chicken Biryani
Sushi
Chocolate

4 Places You Would Rather Be Right Now:

India
In a 5 Star Resort with my family
On a nice long bike ride
Canadian Rockies
(They’re all places I’d like to be but being at home with family is just fine.)

4 People To Tag:

Scott Parker
Paula Boardman
Thomas Williams
James Middelton

Posted by Rodney Olsen

Technorati Tags: Tag – Meme – Four Things

When do you stop thinking of household appliances as new? For instance, how long after buying a fridge, washing machine or stereo do you no longer consider that it’s a recent purchase?

James informed me yesterday morning that the batteries in the TV remote control were flat. I thought I’d better have a look so I wandered into the family room and looked at the television. No little red light on the front. Mmm.

I tried turning the telly on but soon realised that it had nothing to do with the remote. It would appear that the power supply in the set has failed. With the cost of repairs these days it’s often cheaper to replace electrical equipment so it means that we probably need a new TV.

I found it a bit annoying because it’s a fairly new set. We haven’t had it for that long. I searched out the users manual to get the model number and noticed the original receipt stapled to it. We bought it on the 8th of June 1995. Wow. That’s more than ten and a half years ago.

That means it’s the only family room TV our kids have ever known. I suppose we have had a fairly good run with it after all.

Mind you, we still have a portable set that Pauline bought well over 20 years ago. It doesn’t get SBS or tune into any modern VCRs or DVD players, but it’s still doing just fine.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

Technorati Tags: Television – Family – Household Appliances