Thoughts from a Rain-Bound Cybercafe

Sitting here in this rather jolly but slightly warm cybercafe in Tawau, Sabah, I am attempting to write my blog in a thunderstorm. Well, I suppose it had to happen some time.

They say that thunderstorms and Internet connections do not mix and I just had a practical demonstration. Suddenly, completely without warning, there was an almighty crash and bang that sounded like the gods had thrown a titanic thunderbolt right into the street outside.

Of course, all the Internet connections in the place went dead, which was a good thing as I had just sent off my latest article to the publishers by Yahoo, and was about to go to my blog page. While the net connection is settling down, I will write this post in Word and post it later.

This is what happens when we rely too much on technology. You might be asking yourselves: "go on you old skinflint, why not invest in a wireless laptop when you go on holiday?" Well I agree with this, but you see I have heard so much about bluejacking and wireless eavesdropping lately that I have my doubts. Bluejacking is where someone else sends illicit files to you when you are using a wireless bluetooth connection. Wireless eavesdropping is the same thing, only people can use your wireless connection without your permission, if their PC is within your wireless footprint.

So you can be innocently using a wireless connection in Starbucks, or at home, and some other bugger may be using your service to connect to porno sites or to some terrorist web site.

So, I am forced to use cybercafes while I am away from base because my house in Tawau has no Internet connection. Yet. So here I am. It’s glutting down with rain outside and I’m basically twiddling my thumbs waiting for my sister in law and her daughter who have gone to the cinema to see some film about chipmunks. Each to their own.

Tawau is an old town that has rapidly outgrown its skin and is starting to burst at the seams. As a result, using a car in Tawau is a bit like using toenail clippers to mow a football field. Short journeys take on epic Oddyssean proportions, because firstly there are too many cars, and secondly most of those who drive them are raving bloody lunatics. Don’t get me started on that old chestnut or else I’ll need my pills!!

So, compared to Tawau, Kuching is a model road safety town! I mean, Tawau hardly has any traffic lights, and most of its roads are narrow, built for the 1950s yet choked with modern 4-wheel drive jeeps. So after I finish at this cybercafe, we will be driving home, which is a 10 minute journey that will take almost an hour.

Thank God I’m not driving, but that’s another story....