Technology sure shrinks distances!

Yesterday, I was in the office a bit early and up pops a skype text message on my computer from a friend in Australia.

It says 'Do you want to listen in on the timing shack at Kitzbuhel?' Now, Kitzbuhel is the site of the world famous Hahnenkamm downhill in Austria. The race going on at the moment was the World Cup SuperG. Five Canadians were in the event. Another friend, a Canadian is the head of the timing crew at Kitzbuhel.

I look around the office - things are pretty quiet - my first meeting isnt for about 40 minutes, so I pop on my headphones, Eric skypes me into a conference call and poof - I am listening in on the timing hut conversations as the timing crew go about their work doing the timing and data for the event.
I then log on to the FIS Live Timing website to track the racers through the event....and voila, I can hear the race announcer screaming outside, I can hear the conversations inside the the timing hut and and following the Live Timing tracking of results. I also did some spreadsheet work on field oil storage that we are using.

While this is going on, I send a text message to Eric asking if he is at Kitzbuhel in an official capacity or 'slumming at the event as a celebrity'? He sends back - 'Hell no, I am home in Australia in my PJ's listening to the event on skype.' I was in a skype conference call linking a guy in Austria with a guy in Australia with a guy in Argentina....pretty cool (geeky but cool). It was also fun to re-connect with ski racing and follow a world class event.

I have visions of ham radio operators decades ago linking the world in a similar way.

It's great that technolgy works to keep friends connected - we dont feel so far away!
B.