I wanted to send out a brief newsletter to my friends and subscribers to share a few updates. First, I am happy to announce that Jenny and I are expecting a new addition to the family this summer. Hayden Michael Olson is due on July 9, 2007. This will be number five for us… meaning that we will have a complete basketball team in kids!

In other news, I am happy to inform everyone that I am being represented by Roxanne Elings from Greenberg Traurig in the case Cambridge Who’s Who Publishing, Inc Vs Shawn Olson. There is not too much that is newsworthy for me to add about the situation except that I find it bizarre that I am being sued for $7 million. Not many people get to put something like that on their resume.

I did get a few minutes of the spotlight in the last couple of weeks. There was a double murder in my neighborhood. News crews scoured the neighbors for sound bytes. The first thing I told both TV crews that approached me: "I did not know the people who were killed and I don’t know anything about what happened. I really don’t have anything newsworthy to say.”

Well, I was still interviewed on camera twice. One station aired my interview in full throughout the day. Some of that was available in their online news report video (but is now gone). It almost looks like I was smiling in the video, probably because I couldn’t believe they still wanted me with nothing newsworthy; but such is the price for a little fame.

In other news, I have been without a laptop for a couple weeks due to a poor power inverter to my monitor. While trying to buy the part over the phone, the employee who took my call said that help would entail a charge since my warranty expired. I persisted by saying something like, "Why should I be charged for this call when I am trying to buy something from you.” The employee was soon more accommodating, but shortly informed me that they don’t sell that part individually.

In a little while a manager came onto the phone to tell me that I should send in the laptop for a complete servicing for several hundred dollars. I exclaimed that such a service is insane when I could buy a new laptop for almost that much. He then tried to sell me a new laptop. I said that I don’t have the cash for a new computer right now and would think about it, but he insisted it was a good deal and suggested I ask relatives for money.

So in the end I hung up and hired a local laptop repair shop. Despite their happy advertisements on the TV, they have not turned me into a happy customer. A job that was supposed to be 5-7 business days has now turned into three weeks. Not only that, but they tried to convince me that I needed a new hard drive on top of the power inverter—supposedly they could not boot into Windows while I had done so just before bringing them my laptop (it can take an external monitor).

Stay safe, warm and creative!

Shawn