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Skriven 2009-12-14 03:18:08 av FidoNews Robot (2:2/2.0)
Ärende: FidoNews 26:50 [02/05]: General Articles
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                        GENERAL ARTICLES
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"From Russia, With Love"

Ward Dossche
2:292/854


From Nov. 8th through the 22nd I had the distinct pleasure of
travelling to Russia as the head of delegation of my country for the
world championships gymnastics in tumbling, trampoline and double
mini-trampoline.

It was my certain intent, figuring I would have an ocean of time
available at moments, to link-up with the local sysops. Vladimir
Donskoy had mentioned he would come-up from Moscow for it, some other
people too.

It wasn't going to happen. A couple of things came in the way.

First of all communication ... people were sending netmail to my node
rather than to my point ... I missed reading the invitation and
details of a restaurant. It can be argued that I could've logged-in
into my server etc etc ...

Please understand that there were 800 rooms in the hotel where I
stayed and only a single low-bandwidth line for that. In the bar there
were often 50 people with a laptop and it easily took 15 minutes to
advance to the next screen ... and you had to pay 200 RUR per day (EUR
5,00/US$6.50) for that.

Communication in the sports venue was a little better. You had to be
there at 8am though on the first bus and by 9.30am enough people were
working there with laptops for everything to slow down again. From 4pm
onwards it improved again. Let’s say there were daily 2 communication
windows from 60 to 90 minutes each.

So now the playing field is explained where events were going to
unfold, I can go on with the real story.

In all my years of extensive business travelling my wife had never
called me on the phone, "too expensive" ... then in St.Petersburg
shortly after noon local time on Friday the 13th, the phone rang ...
it was my wife ...

My oldest daughter (22) had been hospitalised with strange symptoms
and the first examination revealed there was nothing wrong with her
... her water had broken, she was having contractions and actually she
was about to give birth.

Nothing unusual you might say, thousands of children are born every
day.

However ... neither my wife nor myself were aware of a pregnancy
situation. My other daughter didn't know, my sons didn't know...

We can have a lengthy discussion about "Were there no signs?" and "Was
she afraid to tell" and "She must have known" and "Don't believe she
didn't know" etc etc.

The fact of the matter which I am attempting to explain was that it
happened then and there to me, in St.Petersburg, right as I was taking
a photograph of the Church of the Resurection of Jesus-Christ.

What went on the next couple of hours need not to be described but the
first thing which I received after that communication that day, hoping
to get news from my daughter in the hospital, was a message from RC50
Vladimir Donskoy pleading for me to come to a meeting in a restaurant
where people would be waiting for me, nomatter what time would be
OK...

... while I was waiting to hear news from my daughter, was she in
pain? Was she experiencing much discomfort? Was the baby born? Was it
a boy or a girl? Am I a grandfather?

Eventually the news was SMS-ed that a healthy baby girl was born and
that photos would be on their way in some hours for me to view in the
hotel ... at 200 RUR per day ... on a system that hardly functioned.

I just had to see the photos and decided then and there I would
abandon my Russian friends in the restaurants. So over the course of
several hours I received some 15 pictures and at 3.30am I finally
could go to sleep.

If there's anyone who feels that I should have gone to that
restaurant, I will say "Put on my shoes, and imagine yourself there
and these events unfolding to you..."

I need to apologise however to the sysops in St.Petersburg who wanted
to put something together for me only not to have me there. I will try
to make it up to you.

Let's plan ahead, next year in September would be feasible I think,
and I will come to St.Petersburg to meet you all and get drunk
together. Perhaps some sysops from the west would care to join me as
well for the party.

Good idea?

Take care,

\x/@rd


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