A Quasi-technotard in Oz

My trip to Oz––Australia for the uninitiated––included 20 hours travel time in one fell swoop. Wednesday, October 22, I stumbled to the airport at 5 AM, Costa Rica time. The flight left at 7 AM and got into LAX about 5 PM that night, with a brief four-hour layover in Houston, Texas. Might as well see as many airports as possible in one day.

The Qantas flight left LA about 11 PM. I Arrived Friday morning, October 24, in Sydney. I have no idea where Thursday went. I gather I get it back on my return trip, arriving in LA two hours before I left Sydney. If your head is spinning, imagine mine.

This loss and gain of an entire day belongs in the same folder where I store my understanding of how the Internet works and where emails go when they are sent. I am better than Ted Stevens, though. I don’t think the Internet “is a series of tubes.” I know it works, or most of the time it works.

But what about the screw up at Heathrow airport a couple of months ago where 80,000 bags were “misplaced” in a 48-hour period? Let us hope I am not shunted off into the the Misplaced Passenger Warehouse in Milan to be sorted out and returned. Although, a side trip to Italy might be nice.

In any event, after 17 hours in a plane, packed like small fish in a tin, I was glad to get out and greet spring Down Under. The jacaranda is in bloom here so brick houses in sandstone colors of the Outback and red tile roofs poke through the greens of eucalyptus, palms, and billowy clouds of pale lavender.

I was met by my son-in-law, Tim, in his hybrid Toyota Pyrius. The combination of the silent “motor” (battery, actually) and driving on the left was a bit disconcerting so early in the morning, but I have been on the “wrong side” of the street most of my life so driving on the left seemed fitting somehow.

The next few days were spent getting my legs under me and tending to my son, who arrived a few days before from Japan for medical follow up, and to my daughter, who was freaking out because of many things. Read her blog for further details.

Soon we all settled into a routine of sorts. Sam and I would head off to the pubs to watch the World Series between his doctor visits and physio rehab for his botched ACL repair- long story, that. In the evening I cooked dinner and helped maintain calm. We are all staying in a rather small flat sharing space, stories, and modern technical knowhow.

I always enjoy hanging around my kids who are of that computerized generation. What are they called? GenX? Makes a person wonder what they will do after GenZ. Gen(2)A?

I am not a complete technotard when it comes to computers, though. I act as my own “techie” in the jungles of Costa Rica. I once had to troubleshoot my router/ wireless system and was able to fully confirm that it was, in fact, dead without sending it into Apple for a confirmation. It took a lot of Internet searching, forum entries, and downloading of analyzing software, but I did it. I have installed and de-installed software, repaired fractaled screens (after that I learned to turn it off during thunder and lightening storms)and several other techie items.

The last few weeks have been fun, learning about all the things available out there in this ever-more-connected Techie World.

Sam was traveling light when he left Japan and did not bring a computer with him. Instead, he was using his sister’s. This created a bit of tension in the apartment as she uses hers for work. Meraiah has just quit her job at AP to become a freelance writer for NYT/IHT (one of the many things on her plate she was freaking out over). Programs he installed on her laptop were slowing down the processing speed, but tended to accelerate her temper, so I moved him to my Mac laptop. This is how I learned about Slingbox.

Sam is an avid sports fan and has figured out a way to watch U.S. sports while living in Japan. He first used a cable package but discovered all the programs were in Japanese. Plus, they would simply cut off the play if the game ran over the allotted time. (Bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, one out… click… gone. Very frustrating.)

Slingbox is an amazing device. Created by a couple of nerdy guys from the Bay Area (now worth millions), who wanted to watch their favorite team when on the road, the device is hooked up to your TV set (or someone’s TV set) and then broadcasts all of the content over the Internet. Sam is now able to watch stateside TV on his computer from Japan. I suppose he could do it from an iPod as well. He also has a router that transfers files from his computer to his TV. Amazing, to say the least. I have no idea how all this is accomplished, but I now have Sling Player on my computer.

I also had installed, courtesy of Sam, a program that allows him to access his computer’s desktop remotely from anywhere in the world. Once installed on my Mac, Remote Desktop Access allowed him to view his own PC desktop, open and close files, look up items in his address book, and numerous other activities (even search for those missing bags from Heathrow?). Makes me think I’d better beef up my security and firewall.

Ever read Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon? It’ll make the hair on the nape of your neck stand straight.