My illustrious brother recently visited us from down under, full of amazing stories of technology from the first world. It was awesome to see him again (it's been 4 years since he was last out here), but it was sometimes difficult not to strangle his bragging self.

Hearing what sort of infrastructure and services they have in the first world (even one that is on the other side of the world from EVERYTHING) really put our own situation into perspective for me. My boet has a 4mb line at home... for home use... privately. Our businesses are seen as super-advanced if they have that kind of speed!
Australia is also improving their network speeds by rolling a full
fiber-optic network. Back at home, I'm pleasantly surprised if my exchange stays online for more than two days running.

We also have a dearth of gadgets in South Africa. I've been meaning to start a podcast for a while now, and in the interests of such I'm trying to get my hands on a midlevel microphone. Something like the Samson Meteor... think I can find in SA? Think I can find something comparable? Think I can find a shop that sells ANY sort of microphone? If you answered no to all of those questions... you're both extremely cynical and absolutely right.
I love this country, I think we have the best weather, people and scenery in the world... but I do sometimes wish we could catch up to the first world just a bit. Maybe just make the attempt? I'll take false hope, really... anything?
-Odd
"The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow" -Bill Gates