Tech Zone

I’m back in the zone … the Tech Zone.

About 18 months ago one of my regular radio guests left Perth for Sydney, leaving me without a presenter for the Tech Zone segment that we used to present. David Cook is an absolute genius when it comes to all things technological so it was a sad day when work called him to the other side of the country. Well, sad for me and my listeners but David and his family seem to have taken to the change pretty well.

Recently it was suggested that I ask Jason Backshall from iiNet whether he was interested in reviving the segment. How stupid of me. I should have thought of Jason earlier. He was more than keen to get involved and so we reintroduced our segment which focusses on computers and all sorts of other new technologies this morning during my programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM.

Jason was brilliant, as I knew he would be. We talked about Video on Demand and Jason answered a couple of listeners questions.

You can listen to this morning’s discussion by clicking here.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

Click here for regular email updates from this blog.

Technorati Tags:



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Tech Zone? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

Music and Lyrics

One of the segments on my morning radio programme at 98.5 Sonshine FM is a fortnightly look at what’s on at the movies.

Aaron Kamp has been reviewing movies for some time and he posts his reviews at Cinemaniacs, part of the YFC website.

Every couple of weeks we look at what’s in the cinemas and what’s new on DVD.

Today we talked about the new Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore romantic comedy, Music and Lyrics. You can listen to our discussion by clicking here.

There is a whole range of audio options available now with 98.5 Sonshine FM’s Audio On Demand service. You can subscribe to a number of my regular radio features or simply look through the archives to find something that interests you.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

Click here for regular email updates from this blog.

Technorati Tags:



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Music and Lyrics? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

The fragrance of life

I started this morning with fresh brewed coffee then a big breakfast of bacon and eggs.

Unfortunately none of it got anywhere near my mouth.

Cycling in to work this morning I rode past the local drive through coffee place and took in the wonderful aroma of fresh coffee. A few metres on I cycled past a house that exuded the not so delicate fragrance of a full cooked breakfast. Yum.

I often smell fresh baked goods as I cycle past by the local shopping centre and as I get closer to work the smell of pies and sausage rolls wafts across from the nearby bakery.

It’s great to be on a bike and take in all the wondrous food smells as I whiz past. The best part is that sniffing food is a guaranteed low fat diet.

I love the fact that I can take in so much more of the world on two wheels. The smell of rain, the flowers I pass, even the less fragrant smells let me know that I’m alive and experiencing the journey rather than being shut inside a metal box and just passing through.

What smells do you enjoy as you travel? If you do get from A to B in a car, make sure you wind the windows down sometime and take in the local aromas.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

Click here for regular email updates from this blog.

Technorati Tags:



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading The fragrance of life? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

Valentine's Day roundup

I recently asked for a few romantic stories for Valentine’s Day. I got a number of responses.

David took up the challenge at Staypuff and posted the story of how he met his leading lady. Good to see that he’s planning on this Valentine’s Day being a little happier than some past years. What started as a friendship started to develop into something more. “Of course by this stage I was interested in her and I think she liked me too. I asked her if she would accompany me to a wedding of one of my friends, and she did, and was kind of our first real date by ourselves.” Smooth move taking someone to a wedding on a first date.

Shawna pointed me towards her post about her fiance proposing. She left a comment saying, “It wasn’t love at first sight at all when we met. He was just another guy I was working with.

After 9 months of working at a year round residential camp together we finally decided we were more than friends. (I think he decided this a few weeks before me and I definitely needed some convincing. I’m glad he convinced me though — its been worth it!!)” While Shawna may be romantic, she dosen’t buy into the whole Valentine’s Day thing. Check out her post on Cow Appreciation Day.

I really enjoyed Crofty’s comment. “I met my wife when we were both nurses at our local hospital. She was in charge of the ward but when I first arrived she was on holiday.

The staff spent two weeks bitching about the dragon in charge but when I saw her I fell for her straight away.

I suppose in our case our eyes met across a bed and the rest was history! See I mentioned bed and it wasn’t smutty.

Incidentally we celebrate twenty years in June.”

Barbara always has something interesting to say and so it was great to have her chime in on this one. “I have lots of romantic stories but the one that had the most impact was a “love at first sight”. I was 19, he was 25. I walked passed him, our eyes met, and that was it. It lasted only 6 months but was the most romantic relationship I’ve ever had – the whole thing was like scenes out of movies!

I don’t believe in love at first sight anymore – but I do believe that you can have such a strong attraction to a person that it would cause you to swim through shark infested waters to pursue the relationship because you believe that love is possible.

My latest love is an example of love at no sight – I have not met him in person, but I love him very much. He lives in Melbourne (yep he’s one of yours!) and we’ve been talking for 7 months. Its obviously complicated because of the distance and a few other things. But I firmly believe you can fall in love with someone through communicating. In some ways the way I feel about him is even more “real” because it hasn’t been affected by touching, kissing, etc. Once that enters the picture – ALL my senses fly out the window. This way, I know it’s the person I care for, not just the way he makes me feel or the physical attraction.”

Iris enjoys the simple displays of love. “Ingo sometimes leaves me notes where he emphasizes loving words inbetween words, making a sentence in the sentences that way. Or he watches “women-movies” with me. All the little stuff that makes it just big being together!” I know exactly what you mean. A simple word or a small thoughtful action has the ability to say so much.

Elsewhere around the blogosphere there’s some good Valentine’s reading. Joe from Evangelical Outpost has recycled his Valentine’s advice and it’s well worth the read.

James from Middo’s World reminded me of an old Joe Jackson song about Happy Loving Couples with his post about being single on the big day and his warning for couples to stay away from him.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

Click here for regular email updates from this blog.

Technorati Tags:



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Valentine's Day roundup? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

An atheist at church

Are there things that annoy you about church?

Friendly Atheist has just published a post titled, 20 Things That Christians Do in Church That Annoy Me. Hemant Mehta is an atheist who has visited many churches and he reflects on what he has experienced.

Go have a look at the post then tell me if you can understand where he’s coming from. Sadly, I’d have to say that while I can’t agree with all his points, I can relate to everything he’s saying.

I love the opportunity to get someone else’s point of view on what we do in church. I know that some Christians will be offended or simply dismiss his points completely but I think it’d be foolish to do so. If you think he’s misunderstood the intent behind some of the things he’s encountered at churches, maybe those of us who have been part of the church for a while are just not explaining ourselves well enough.

We need to ask ourselves if there are things on the list that give us a hint on why many churches find it hard to reach those without a church background. Church isn’t just about making people feel happy and welcome but if what we’re doing is stopping people from meeting Jesus, we’ve got to take a good look at what we’re doing.

Thanks to Phil Cooke for pointing out the post.

By the way, if you think he’s only sharing negative stuff about his experiences with churches you might like to read his post titled, 10 Things That Christians Are Better At Than Atheists. you’re not going to agree with all his points but they’re worth a look.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

Click here for regular email updates from this blog.

Technorati Tags:



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading An atheist at church? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.