I’m in a Plane

January 30, 2014
by Rodney Olsen
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The flight took off several minutes early and I have an entire row of seats to myself. The Garuda stewardesses are serving breakfast. I chose the scrambled eggs.

To say I live a life of privilege would be an understatement.

Most of the people I’ll meet this week don’t live in a comfortable, four bedroom, suburban home. They live a very different life to me but I know that at the heart of it all, they’re people just like me, walking, and sometimes stumbling, on this journey we call life.

I’m spending a week in Indonesia with Compassion Australia
, seeing how local churches are working with Compassion to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name.

I’ve seen poverty before in places like India, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, Haiti and Dominican Republic. I’ve also seen poverty in Australia.

Poverty looks different wherever it’s found and it takes many forms.

It’s been said that poverty is essentially a breakdown in four key relationships. Our relationship with God. Our relationship with ourselves. Our relationship with others. Our relationship with the rest of creation. By that definition poverty is something experienced every day by rich and poor alike right around the world.

I really don’t know what poverty will look like in the places I’ll visit this week but I’m looking forward to meeting people and hearing their stories. I’m looking forward to hearing how hope is being restored and how dreams are being born. Big dreams in the hearts of small children.

I hope that I’ll be able to share some dreams and hopes with you over the coming days and that maybe you’ll even decide to release a child from poverty through Compassion.

(This was posted from the airport after arriving in Indonesia.)



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25 Passwords that Hackers Love

January 21, 2014
by Rodney Olsen
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WorstPasswords-2013

Internet security firm SplashData has been at it again. They’ve been taking a look at the worst passwords used online last year and there have been a few changes since their 2012 list.

The big news is that for the first time since they started compiling the list, ‘password’ hasn’t come in at number one. It slipped into second place with ‘123456’ rising to the top position.

If you see your password among the top ten in the picture above, you’re data is in serious danger. In fact, you should take the time to check out SplashData’s full list for 2013. If anything there is familiar, it’s time to change your passwords or get ready to get hacked.

SplashData’s list of frequently used passwords shows that many people continue to put themselves at risk by using weak, easily guessable passwords. Some other passwords in the Top Ten include “qwerty,” “abc123,” “111111,” and “iloveyou.”

“Another interesting aspect of this year’s list is that more short numerical passwords showed up even though websites are starting to enforce stronger password policies,” Slain said. For example, new to this year’s list are simple and easily guessable passwords like “1234” at #16, “12345” at #20, and “000000” at #25.

The good news is that SplashData has advice that could help you build stronger passwords.

Use passwords of eight characters or more with mixed types of characters. But even passwords with common substitutions like “dr4mat1c” can be vulnerable to attackers’ increasingly sophisticated technology, and random combinations like “j%7K&yPx$” can be difficult to remember. One way to create more secure passwords that are easy to recall is to use passphrases — short words with spaces or other characters separating them. It’s best to use random words rather than common phrases. For example, “cakes years birthday” or “smiles_light_skip?”

Avoid using the same username/password combination for multiple websites. Especially risky is using the same password for entertainment sites that you do for online email, social networking, or financial service sites. Use different passwords for each new website or service you sign up for.

If you’re looking for a better solution you might like to try a password manager application.

SplashData has SplashID Safe which, as they say, offers solutions for people and organizations who care about keeping passwords and other information both secure and accessible.

I’ve been using LastPass for a while. It’s another password manager which makes web browsing more secure.



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Stepping Back in Time

January 18, 2014
by Rodney Olsen
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Old-Postcards

Minnesota woman Amanda Reddy bought herself a trip back in time recently when she purchased a home built in 1910. When she started renovating the kitchen she spotted something unusual and decided to take a closer look.

“When I first pulled off the baseboard I thought, ‘ewwww…someone’s nasty stuff is back here,’” Amanda Reddy told TheBlaze in an email.

Then, she started pulling out post cards dating back to 1907 and 1909 along with a few other possessions.

“It felt like I had discovered a time capsule,” Reddy, who purchased the south Minneapolis home in Dec. 2013, said.

The cards were addressed to a woman named Mayme Berneck. – The Blaze

I’d love to stumble upon some history like that but I’ve never lived in a home that old.

I’m wondering if you’ve ever found anything left behind in a home you’ve owned. Maybe nothing as old as 100 year old postcards but something of interest.

Have you ever left anything behind when you’ve moved? Something under floorboards in behind a wall? What about some kind of time capsule? have you ever put a few bits and pieces into a container to bury or hide?

What legacy are you laying down now that will live on well after you’re gone?

I’d love to hear your stories.



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When Helping Hurts

January 16, 2014
by Rodney Olsen
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When-helping-hurts

How would you feel if you discovered that after all your best efforts you were causing harm to the people you most wanted to help?

I’m now a couple of months into my new job at Compassion Australia and I’m continuing to learn more and more about the work we do in releasing children from poverty. I’m very keen to know that what we’re doing is having the effect that it’s meant to be having. With that in mind I’m grateful for books like the one I’ve just finished reading. While it’s not a new book, (first released in 2009) it’s the first book I’ve finished for 2014 and it was a challenging read.

When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself is a book that will continue to make many people uncomfortable.

Authors Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert point out how much of what has been done to alleviate poverty has actually caused damage to both those being ‘helped’ and those doing the ‘helping’ but far from being a book that simply points the finger, it gives a clear direction forward and urges us to increase our efforts to reduce poverty everywhere.

Corbertt and Fikkert speak directly to the Christian church and asks the hard questions about the nature of poverty and the best ways to change the lives of those in both what we term as developing and developed countries.

When-helping-hurts

When Helping Hurts uses the Bible and the Great Commission to state that the church’s mission should be to help the poor and the desolate.

Corbett and Fikkert state that the definition of poverty will change depending on who is defining it, with the poor defining it through the psychological and social scope while more wealthy churches emphasize the lack of material things or a geographical location.

The authors emphasize that this can cause a harmful cycle where North American churches provide material resources and evangelism to the poor, which reinforces the poor people’s sense of inferiority and lack of self-esteem, which in turn increases the original problem.

Corbett and Fikkert give several hypothetical scenarios to illustrate this cycle and then offer several solutions that they say can alleviate poverty. – Wiki

I’m pleased to say that there is a lot of encouragement in there for the direction Compassion is taking towards relieving poverty through holistic child development.

I would recommend When Helping Hurts to any Christian who is prepared to think through some of the harder issues of reducing poverty. If you want to do more than just feel good about doing something to help, grab a copy and be prepared to ask yourself and your church or ministry some tough questions.

The book is a must read for church leaders and especially anyone in a church or ministry involved in any kind of mission locally or overseas.



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Cavalia Shines in the West

January 9, 2014
by Rodney Olsen
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Cavalia

There’s something inspiring about watching people who are passionate about what they’re doing. Watching Cavalia is all kinds of inspiring. The two and four legged performers fill the stage with joyous celebration and they are masters of drawing the audience into their magical world.

The show has visited 60 cities in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Europe and Australia. Around 4 million people have been thrilled by the performance around the world. It’s an innovative multi-media production created by Normand Latourelle, one of the co-founders of Circe du Soleil.
VIT

If you want to see Cavalia in Perth there are shows until the 26th of January under the big white top at Belmont Racecourse.

I had the honour of being invited to a VIP Social Media Night last night. I took my son James and together we got the full VIP treatment with a delicious meal and drinks before the show and a guided stable tour after the show.

While the pre-show and post-show were wonderful, it was the performance itself we were there to see and it didn’t disappoint.

Before the curtain went up we had a quick chat to Ms Mystery Case and her husband who were seated next to us. If you want to see some better photos of the night than I was able to capture on my iPhone 4 you can read her review of the night.

James and I settled in among the other social media invitees, ready to take some snaps to post to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. From start to finish there was plenty to photograph. Whether it was the mind bending acrobatics performed by some of the 36 human performers or the graceful beauty of the 43 magnificent horses, there was always something mesmerising happening on stage.

The connection between human and horse was a highlight. From incredibly subtle and gentle moves to thundering past us at speed, the horses were captivating.

The live music added another thrilling dimension to the show. Sometimes quietly setting the scene with an understated soundtrack to the visual feast, sometimes driving the show forward with boldness and force, the music guided us throughout the performance.

There’s so much more I could say about the show but words will never fully describe the experience or prepare you for the masterpiece that is Cavalia. If you get the opportunity, get yourself to one of their shows and experience it for yourself.



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