Essentials

Our microwave oven has stopped working. What shall we do?

We use the microwave every day. It’s part of the way we live, yet I’m very aware that microwave ovens weren’t really a thing in Australia until the eighties. By the mid-eighties, Dire Straits and Sting were singing about installing them, and now most homes have one. They’ve become part of our ‘I need it now!!” lifestyle.

Today, Australians woke up to find that a massive range of pages had been wiped by Facebook.

Facebook banned Australian users from accessing news in their feeds this morning, as the government pursues laws that would force it to pay publishers for journalism that appears in people’s feeds.

Facebook’s justification for including non-news pages was that the proposed law has a broad definition of news.

“As the law does not provide clear guidance on the definition of news content, we have taken a broad definition in order to respect the law as drafted,” a statement from the company read.ABC News

Even my blog’s Facebook page is looking pretty empty with all my posts removed and I can’t share links to any of the posts here at RodneyOlsen.net on Facebook.

What shall we do?

Until February 2004, Facebook didn’t even exist and yet today we’re all wondering what’s going to happen without some of the posts and pages we’re used to seeing.

We’ll replace our microwave and once they’ve made their point, I believe that Facebook will restore their services (though I could possibly be wrong on that).

What is really essential? So much of what we take for granted these days didn’t exist even a few decades ago and yet people were able to live quite fulfilling lives.

Don’t get me wrong, I want a microwave, a full Facebook feed, electricity, double brick and tile homes, cars, running water and so many more of the advancements we’ve seen over decades and centuries. I think it was grossly irresponsible of Facebook to wipe out websites indiscriminately, including emergency services in some cases.

We have chosen to elevate so many things as ‘essential’ when they’re not really essential at all. I’ve stood with families in some nations that would consider most of what we call essential as absolute luxuries. Again, I’m not saying we should live without modern advancements, but we need to decide what’s really essential. These days we even call some oils essential. They’re not.

What is really essential for you? Let’s enjoy all the extras but ensure that we’re focusing on the essentials.



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About the author

Rodney Olsen

Rodney is a husband, father, cyclist, blogger and podcaster from Perth Western Australia.

He previously worked in radio for about 25 years but these days he spends his time at Compassion Australia, working towards releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name.

The views he expresses here are his own.

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1 Comment

  • Facebook? What’s that? As the liberal garbage kept flying and censorship became even more stringent against conservatives, I rejoiced once again that I never even started on FB. And I don’t miss it one iota. Parler tried to do an alternative but were shut down by Big Tech. I think I’ll stick to old school and do blogging and emailing and texting. And what a novel idea? Pick up the phone and talk to someone. 🙂 Hope you get your stuff straightened around. Love listening to your podcast Rodney. Now you know why there is no word from me on it on social media.

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