Real men swear

November 25, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
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Today, in Australia, it is National Swear Day. I consider it my responsibility to swear today.

Men across Australia are being asked to swear an oath that commits them to never commit or excuse violence against women. The My Oath website has full details on why we should swear and lets men take part in the campaign.

National Swear Day has the support of high profile men such as Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Lt Gen Ken Gillespie, Hazem El Masri, Rove, Keith Urban, Wil Anderson, David Koch, Adam Goodes, Shannon Noll, Jason Culina, Dicko, and many others.

Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has labelled violence against women the most prevalent violation of human rights on the planet. And Australia is far from immune. Currently, one in three Australian women experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. Every single one of us knows a women who has suffered its effects, whether we know it or not. These women are our mothers, daughters, our wives, our girlfriends, colleagues and friends. By supporting this campaign you are helping to ensure that Australia becomes a safer place for all women, and their children.

The day is part of the White Ribbon Campaign. Today is also White Ribbon Day, and the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Australian men are urged to visit the My Oath website and follow the links to swear the following:

I swear:
never to commit violence against women,
never to excuse violence against women, and
never to remain silent about violence against women.
This is my oath.

Violence against women is never acceptable. Please swear today.



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Audio Books

November 25, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
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Desiring_Godfree.jpgDo you listen to audio books? I certainly haven’t in the past because I enjoy the ability to read the words from the page in front of me at my own pace. I like the fact that if I didn’t get the meaning of a sentence first time aound I can go straight back and re-read it or pause to reflect over a paragraph or two.

I was recently given a voucher to use at christianaudio so I decided if I’ve got nothing to lose, I might as well give it a try.

The first thing I found was that they have a free book to download each month and for the month of November, that book is John Piper’s Desiring God, a book I’ve wanted to read for quite a while. That was the first one to add to my list. I then found a couple of other John Piper books at sale price so I downloaded all three.

I started my audio book experience this morning with Desiring God. It’s not quite the same as holding a book in your hand but that can be a little dangerous when you’re cycling. I listened via my iPod on the way to work and I’m impressed. I can exercise my body, mind and spirit all at the same time. I think I’m going to like audio books.

Listening to audio books certainly won’t take the place of reading the paper version but it does mean that I can make better use of my time.

The good news is that christianaudio is running a twice yearly sale with almost all digital downloads currently available at US$7.49. The sale ends on the 4th of December.

Do you listen to audio books? Have audio books replaced ‘the real thing’ for you? What do you see as the differences between the two?



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The demise of the Polly Waffle

November 24, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
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PollyWaffle.jpgSurely this can’t be true. What a tragedy. After 62 delicious years the Polly Waffle will cease to exist. The announcement was made yesterday that the iconic Australian chocolate bar is going the way of the dodo due to poor sales.

For those outside Australia who have never tasted the delights of a Polly Waffle, it’s an Australian chocolate bar that is manufactured in Sydney, Australia by Nestlé. It consists of a waffle wafer tube filled with marshmallow and coated in chocolate.

Hoadley’s Chocolates made the first Polly Waffle bar in Melbourne with a number of company buy outs eventually bringing the Polly Waffle to Nestlé.

“It’s costing more to produce than what we get back in sales,” Nestlé’s Fran Hernon said, adding that it had been a difficult decision.

“Everybody says they love the Polly Waffle but the truth is no one buys it today. The time for it has been and gone.” – News.com.au

We didn’t have a lot of chocolate bars when we were growing up but it was always a real treat when dad or mum brought home a Polly Waffle. There was always the big decision of whether to bite straight in or to try to prize the wafer tube apart to eat the marshmallow first. Whichever way you did it, they were always delicious.

I think I’ll have to buy a crate or two and slowly work my way through them for old time’s sake. It’ll be sad to see the old Polly Waffle go.

Have you ever had a Polly Waffle? When was the last time you had one? Will you be sad to see the Polly Waffle go?



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Kids Characters Unite

November 23, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
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If you’ve had kids in the last couple of decades you’ll know a lot of the characters in this video. It’s the Official BBC Children In Need Single for 2009 and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as much as your kids do.



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Merging into conversations

November 23, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
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Merge_Sign.jpgHave you ever noticed how some people have no idea how to merge in traffic? In theory, vehicles should speed up or slow down slightly to allow for everyone to enter the lane seamlessly. When it works right it’s a wonderful thing but that’s often not the case.

Conversations can be a little like that at times. Some people seem to have no idea how to enter a conversation. They cut you off or cause you to swerve out of their way. Sometimes there are even nasty collisions.

I had an interesting and somewhat frustrating experience recently. I was involved in a conversation with someone I’d only just met. We were both adding interesting elements to the discussion and feeding off one another with a variety of anecdotes. The person I was talking to was a fascinating older gentleman who I could have talked to for hours.

Suddenly another person wandered over to where we were standing and without waiting, introduced himself and then derailed the conversation. We were both happy to welcome the other guy to our conversation but he didn’t want to merge, he wanted to cut in and completely hijack the conversation. Instead of merging we were suddenly moving in a completely different direction and the discussion we were having was lost.

What are you like at merging?

Merging into a pre-existing conversation shouldn’t be all that difficult. First, ascertain whether the conversation is a private one or an open one. If you believe it’s an open conversation, acknowledge the others involved and then listen for a while. Listen to the tone and direction of the conversation. Develop an understanding of what’s being discussed then join in when appropriate. That doesn’t mean taking over with bigger and better stories but adding your thoughts, sparingly at first, to see whether those already talking are seeking your input.

Sometime soon I hope to catch up with that older guy again so that we can continue our conversation that was halted so abruptly.

Have you experienced people who don’t know how to merge into a conversation? What are you like at joining others in their discussions?



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