I’m Bored

April 17, 2011
by Rodney Olsen
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When was the last time you were bored?

I heard someone saying they were bored recently and I started to wonder when I could last say that I was bored. I do remember saying that I was bored when I was a child. That wouldn’t last long because mum would suggest that I relieve the boredom by cleaning my room. Suddenly life wasn’t so boring after all.

These days I can’t imagine ever being bored. Even if I have to wait endlessly for something or so someone I can enter new worlds by reading a book or magazine or even just think about a million different things. To me, boredom just shows a complete lack of imagination.

There always seems to be something to do and if there isn’t, a little imagination will open up a myriad of choices.

So how about you? Do you suffer from boredom? When was the last time you said, “I’m bored?”



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Happy Ears

April 13, 2011
by Rodney Olsen
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My ears are happy … very happy.

A couple of weeks back I won a set of t-JAYS Two earphones through a Twitter competition. I waited patiently for them to arrive and was very pleased that they didn’t take too long to find their way to my home.

It says a lot about a company when they even care about the packaging of their products. When you pick up a set of t-JAYS the first thing you’re likely to notice is the hard plastic case that houses them. The design team has been busy. Slip the package open and you’ll find everything laid out perfectly, from the earphones themselves to the extra silicone covers, the little black operating manual and the other adapters, including an airplane plug, each piece has its place. Impressive.

Of course all that comes to nothing if they don’t produce a reasonable sound. Thankfully they more than do the job.

Having worked in radio for over 23 years I’ve spent more time than most piping music directly to my ears through various kinds of headphones. I know what good quality audio is all about.

To say that my musical tastes are eclectic would be an understatement. If I put my iPod on shuffle I’m likely to hear anything from Alicia Keys to Slade, Train, David Bowie, Killing Heidi, Bing Crosby, Amy Winehouse, Regina Spektor, Duffy and I’m a huge Diana Krall fan. I’ll hear screaming guitars, thrashing drums, breathy jazz vocals, subtle orchestral movements, soft acoustic guitars and so much more. The t-JAYS somehow manage to reproduce all these sounds faithfully. Don’t be surprised if they allow you to hear musical nuances that you’ve never noticed in your favourite tracks before.

On the down side, they took me a little while to get over that uncomfortable new earphone feeling but I seem to get that with all new earphones. It didn’t take too long for them to feel comfortable. You might also take a short time to get used to having earphones that are designed to be firmly inserted into your ear canal. It’s worth it.

The sound isolation that the t-JAYS provide let me slip away into my own world as I travel on a packed bus or train. While the noise level around me continues to swell, I’m hearing every vocal and every instrument of my chosen music.

I’ll admit that I’ve used better headphones before but when it comes to earphones or earbuds, nothing I’ve tried before comes close.

I now have truly happy ears.



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India Celebrates

April 3, 2011
by Rodney Olsen
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There aren’t too many experiences that compare with sharing celebrations with good friends. If I had the money I’d book a plane right now and head to India to party with the nation that captured my heart when I first visited back in February 2003. I’m not a huge cricket fan but knowing how much the game means to millions of Indians, I know that the joy of beating Sri Lanka in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup will be the cause of huge celebrations.

The six wicket win has placed the cup in Indian hands for the first time since 1983 and it was the first time a team has won the tournament on home soil.

Wherever I travelled in India I saw children playing cricket. From the green fields around India Gate to dusty, sand covered patches of land, wherever there is enough room to swing a bat, you’ll see children imitating their cricketing heroes. Some have shiny cricket sets, others use rough pieces of wood as they imagine themselves hitting the winning runs to clinch the game. Cricket is everywhere in India.

It’s been over six years since I was last in that amazing country but I still think about India every day. One of my very favourite memories is being in the country during the 2003 World Cup. The Massey family had invited my good friend Mark and me to their home for some home hospitality. After we were served a truly incredible meal we sat in front of an old colour television to see Australia and India battling it out on the cricket field. There was a lot of good-natured banter as we barracked for our respective home countries. As I said, I’m not a massive cricket fan but watching that game with some amazing Indian friends will remain a treasured memory for life.

India, enjoy your win. I wish I was there with you today.



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