Could you give up alcohol for a month?

January 20, 2010
by Rodney Olsen
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FebFast is a fundraising campaign that invites people to participate in a booze-free February, and at the same time raise funds to support organisations working in research, prevention and service delivery concerning the use of alcohol and other drugs by young people.

FebFast founder Fiona Healy joined me on 98.5 Sonshine FM recently to talk about the initiative.

Over the past two years we have seen more than 3,500 people take up the FebFast challenge to give up the grog for a month. Collectively these people have raised more than $700,000 to support our cause.

Funds from our last two campaigns have been distributed to 13 organisations around Australia.

Proceeds from our 2010 registration and fundraising efforts will be shared amongst the Australian Drug Foundation (that operates nationally), YSAS (the Youth Substance Abuse Service) in Victoria, The Ted Noffs Foundation in NSW and the ACT, Mater Hospital’s Adolescent Drug and Alcohol Withdrawal Service in Queensland and FebFast’s grants program for smaller grass-roots organisations.

You can listen to our discussion by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

So what do you think? Could you give up drinking for a month?

I find that whole months can go past without me having a drink anyway. I’m not what you’d call a big drinker. 🙂 I enjoy a glass of red wine now and then and an occasional beer (especially Bees Knees) but I’ve never been drunk.

What are your thoughts on drinking? Do you only drink to get drunk? Do you prefer not to drink at all? I’d be very interested in your thoughts.

[audio:http://mpegmedia.sonshinefm.ws/feeds/MOR130110_1515.mp3]

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Getting adventurous with your family

January 20, 2010
by Rodney Olsen
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It’s a wonder that I don’t have constant back pain, or at least deep psychological issues, after being cramped in the back of an EH Holden station wagon for days on end.

Back when I was about 8 years of age, we packed up our family for the holiday of a lifetime. Dad, Mum and five kids with luggage all packed in station wagon for a memorable drive across Australia to catch up with relatives on the other side of the country. We were towing a trailer with what was called a ‘caravanette’. It was pretty much a glorified tent attached to the trailer frame. Dad shared the driving with my eldest brother who had recently turned 17 and got his drivers license. (The photo in this post was taken much earlier with the family leaning against what I remember as an EK Holden wagon. Yep, I’m the cute little one.)

The five children, of which I’m the youngest, slept in the tent thingy while Dad and Mum dropped the seats and slept in the car each night.

The trip across was cramped but not too bad. On the way home we’d bought all kinds of things that took up even more room (such as a kitchen bin with a swinging lid) so one of brothers and I were forced into a small area in the very back of the station wagon.

The conditions weren’t ideal but I loved that trip. It was a family adventure and all these years later I still think about that trip.

This morning during my radio programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM I was joined by David and Charissa Scotford for our Growing Families segment. We discussed family adventures and looked at those experiences that make great memories for our families. They see great importance in adventures of various kinds in enhancing family life.

As we are about to become parents of a teenager, we’ve been encouraged to keep the ‘lines of communication’ open and to make sure our teenagers have a chance to talk to us as they wrestle through this time of change.

Whether you pack up the car and head off around Australia or simply make time for an evening walk as a family, we need to be intentional about making time to spend together as a family and giving them opportunities to talk, before our children have all grown up and left the family home. – David and Charissa Scotford

I wonder what family adventures you remember from your childhood. Are there memories made many years ago that helped shape you? What kinds of adventures are you planning with your family?

If you’d like to hear our discussion about adventures and making memories, as well as some great input from listeners, click the pkay button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

[audio:http://mpegmedia.sonshinefm.ws/feeds/GRO200110_1430.mp3]

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Can I throw away my keyboard yet?

January 20, 2010
by Rodney Olsen
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KeyboardWhen will I be able to buy a computer which reacts to my thoughts? How much longer will we be using devices such as the keyboard and mouse to interact with our computers?

Professor Andy Cockburn, from New Zealand’s University of Canterbury reckons that we can forget about throwing out our keyboard and mouse anytime soon.

We keep hearing about advances in technology but Andy says while scientists are working on the next generation of interactive devices the keyboard isn’t going anywhere soon. At a conference in Brisbane he said he thinks the keyboard will continue to have a very, very, long life. He says it’s an extremely efficient way of getting information into a machine and it’s also really difficult to beat the mouse in terms of high fidelity precision of interaction.

The professor’s research interests are in human-computer interaction, so he certainly knows what he’s talking about, but I’m still reminded of a couple of famous quotes about computers from those “in the know”.

I think there is a world market for maybe five computers. – Thomas Watson – IBM Chairman (1943)

There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home. – Ken Olson – President, Chairman and Founder of DEC.

You can’t always tell what might be around the corner so I guess I’ll just keep on using my keyboard and mouse until something better comes along.



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