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IP: Special mailing -- New Zealand Diary
From: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Date: Wed, 06 Sep 2000 14:38:06 -0400
On Tuesday 22 August 2000, GG and I left San Francisco for a vacation trip to New Zealand -- well what started out as a vacation trip anyway. We started by taking the United Shuttle from SFO to LAX. Guess what, just as we were about to board the shuttle, the gate crew discovered that they did not have any crew aboard the plane. Why was I surprised. When we left IAD for SFO, the starter motor on one of the engines failed and we waited three hours for that to be replaced (we were kept well informed but chased out of the Red Carpet club when we dared to suggest that there was no where civilized to eat a snack while waiting for United). Well we finally got to LAX and that evening boarded the United flight to Auckland. We taxied out roughly on time and just as we got to the end of the runway, the Captain discovered that the weight and balance of the plane was dangerously out of limits ( the United ground people suggested he cure this problem by moving the passengers to the front of the 747 for takeoff. The Captain declined and back we went to the gate where in 15 minutes they unloaded and reloaded some pods. It then took ONE hour for the United ground staff to recalculate the paperwork (maybe they used Monroe calculators?).. We finally left three hours late and had a uneventful flight to Auckland. We had arranged to stay at the Stamford Plaza in Auckland -- one of the best if not the best hotels I have ever stayed in. The service was excellent, the suite magnificent and the Room Manager and Concierge wonderful. More on this latter. I had had a violent allergy attack in the Bay area and so the first days in NZ were rather sneezy but still great. The City of Sails is a big digestible city with lots to see and great eating places. The three notable were Dragon Boat (Diem Sum), Cin Cin by the Ferry and Kermadet -- magnificent fish by the America Cup Village. We too the Ferry to a quaint village that was out of time and friendly and fun. Auckland even for a big , by NZ standards, city was friendly and neat. BTW, even though it hurts the NZers, the exchange rates made our stay in NZ a bargain. Prices were about equal numerically to those in the USA BUT were in NZ $s worth about 42 cents so great meals were a bargain. In fact NZ is a bargain!!! I had told the IP list we would be in NZ and guess what -- I was asked by EDS NZ and Telecom NZ to give an informal talk in Auckland and while I was down in Wellington with GG to do the same. Well things escalated out f hand -- the story of my life and I appeared on National TV and was interviewed by the key IT publication. We, GG and I , were invited by the USA Embassy for dinner. Attending was Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, Roderick Deane, Chairman, Telecom NZ, Jillian Deane, Helen Anderson, Chief Scientific Adviser, Ministry of Research, Science and Technology George Newstrom, President, Information Solutions, Asia Pacific, Robert Gray, Managing Director, EDS NZ ,James Higgins, Director, Networking Edge , James O'Neill, Executive Director, Information Technology Association of NZ , Sid Huff, Professor of Electronic Commerce, Victoria University and Paul Aceto, Economic Officer, U.S. Embassy, Wellington. It was very very stimulating. The Ambassador was charming and sharp as was Dr Deane (and the rest). The conversation ranged from the economic state of NZ to the question of whether classical economic models work in the internet world. One of the most stimulating dinners GG and I have had in a long time. I met two other people of interest. One was Theresa Gattung ¯ the CEO of Telecom NZ -- a live wire if I ever met one and the second was the Minister of Communications, Hon Paul Swain. The conversation with the Minister focused on the forthcoming report on the telecommunications industry. NZ is now loosely regulated by a general mechanism that looks broadly at all industry. The suspicion is that the report to the Government will suggest a Regulator for communications be appointed. Strange that at a time that the USA is moving away from regulation ¯ slowly, places like NZ may be moving into possibly more regulation. Sounds like the old US trick of believing that Japan knew the future and planning to follow it while the Japanese were trying to follow the USA. Some general remarks about NZ. It is a beautiful country with a friendly people. The population of NZ is 3 plus million. We say only the northern island. Next time the southern one is in order. Auckland ¯ the city of sails, is a big city and is like most big cities ¯ fun and on a wonderful bay ¯ remember that is where the America Cup is right now. Wellington is the national capital and right on a major fault line. It is hilly surrounding a bay. On can get houses with great views of the bay for next to nothing , by Silicon Valley standards, and still be 20 minutes from work. The Te Papa museum is excellent with a great restaurant -- the ICAN. It is the national museum with great displays, and an excellent Mauri history section. We took a tour from Auckand to Rotorua. That is the home of one of the sulfur spring resort areas and also the location of a village where the Mauri culture is viewable. The situation in NZ with the Mauri reminds me strongly of the Hawaii situation with the Native Hawaiins and also the Native American Indian nations. Real complicated and with lots of emotion on all sides. From a technology standpoint, NZ is heavily into wireless and the internet is every where with free ISPs etc. Also crowded Cybercafes that seem to do very well. Love to understand why they are so successful in NZ compared with elsewhere. NZ is searching for it's future. The main export products are commodities like wood, lamb, deer produce. There seems to be a point of view that says NZ can not compete in technology. I thing that is wrong. They have a well educated people with a stable government and a great climate. The thought of opening high tech boutique companies with people who love to live is such a wonderful climate seems feasible. In many ways NZ is like Finland. It is a rough hard path but of all the places I have visited it has a lot going for it. Now it needs the guts to try non standard paths. Remember those photons don't take long to go from NZ to Palo Alto. GG and I look forward to a return visit soon. Dave
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