My name is Lorin Olsen and I’m a middle-aged father of four, husband of one and child of the One. I have worked and played on computers since I was a teenager in the mid-70’s. Since that time, I have learned a lot – about computers, about people and about God. And one of the most important things that I have learned from being a child and a parent is that you must share your experiences with your mate, with your children and with your friends. If you don’t share what you have learned, then no one can buld upon what value you have brought into the world. This is true of computing, parenting and being.
So this is my inaugural post. As the title indicates, I intend this blog to be a compendium of ruminations and (hopefully) thoughtful meanderings. I expect to travel many subjects.
– In the computing domain, my interests are consumed with community-based computing (i.e., open source), systems management, computer performance measurement and systems security / privacy.
– On a personal level, I spend most of my time watching and learning from my children. I have four kids – each with a wealth of gifts as well as challenges. My eldest daughter is a college student at Central Missouri State University. My second daughter is an aspiring (and inspring) basketball player for her high school (Shawnee Mission South in Overland Park, Kansas). My third daughter is a scholar and a musician. And my youngest son is an all-around good fellow with a heart for service and a penchant for soccer.
– On a political level, I am a socially conservative Republican who believes in what the Founders wrote. There is a great marketplace of ideas. And we are invited (nay, commanded) to speak our minds in that marketplace. While the din form such a marketplace can be deafening, it is always thrilling!
– And in many ways, the most important part of me is the spiritual legacy that I will carry with me from this temporal realm into the eternal realm. I am a loud and proud follower of Jesus Chirist. He is the author and finisher of all things. As King of Kings, he set aside His eternal glory and died – in order to redeem me from my own sins and transgressions. Because of His generosity, I have the right to share His love with other people. And my heart has always been drawn to those who have sought God but have been distracted. At some point, I will share my complete testimony. But for now, know that my journey to Jesus brought me through many meandering streams of conciousness. So my heart yearns to reach those who have stumbled down the paths that I have walked.
And finally, someone will ask why I use ‘Roo-minations as a title for this blog. That is a long and complicated story. But here is the short version. Two-and-a-half years ago, I collapsed in an eye doctor’s office. My heart went into ventricular fibrilation – a serious, and deadly, heart rythm. Fortunately, a trained staff kept me alive with CPR until I could be transported to a hospital. As a precaution against this happening again, I received an implantable cardioverter/defibrilator (ICD). This device is deisgned to deliver an electrical charge if/when my heart rythms become abnormal. But such jolts are alarming and jarring. Indeed, folks who have been jolted by an ICD “jump” – noticably. Among those with ICD’s, we are known as “electric kanagaroos.” So as a “‘lectric ‘roo,” my idle musings must be called roo-minations.
So much for the pleasantries of a blog launch. I hope that I can keep this current as well as relevant.
Ciao, for now.
-CyclingRoo-