Hello Readers!
So, I have arrived safe and sound in Japan, but I am very surprised that I made it at all. When I think back on the number of times I have flown on Air New Zealand, and then think about how often I use my computer without it crashing, I am very surprised that AirNZ planes don’t just fall out of the sky with the last thing recorded on the blackbox being “Oh shit, we got blue screen of death!”
This line of thinking all started when part way through the flight I glanced at the TV screen of the empty seat next to me, and realised that it was ‘reloading’ the program that shows how far you have flown and how cold it is outside. You know the one with all that data that only serves to frustrate people wondering how much longer to go. As the program rebooted, what should come up on screen but a normal Windows XP style desktop! My friends, that is the most terrifying sight I’ve ever seen in all my air travel experiences.
Don’t get me wrong, I use Windows. Hell I even use Vista which most people seem to hate because it’s cool to hate on everything new that Microsoft makes and inflicts upon us. However because I always use the thing, I am well aware of most of the problems with it and also the fact that every 3rd time I turn the damn thing on, some program or other will suffer a critical error and need to be restarted. This brings me to the fear; I survived this time, but if the odds of Windows crashing once every 3 times it’s started up is true, then today I had a 1/3 chance, but that means when I fly home there’s a 50/50 chance, and if I go anywhere again, it’s 100%! (Statistics will tell you anything if you look at them the wrong way) What if the program that has the critical error just happens to be the one controlling the part that keeps the plane in the air?
I think I’ll just have to stay in Japan forever, or until someone tells me which Airline is powered by Unix or some other stable operating system.
Anyway we made it safe and sound, the movies weren’t great though. I watched one about a fat mall security guard who thinks he’s a cop, watched some TV shows, then tried to watch other movies and just kept falling asleep. The food was alright. Bland as usual but at least it seems easy to digest.
Went for a walk around Osaka this evening which was cool. Being in Japan feels like I have ‘returned’ to somewhere, rather than I’m just visiting again. We had a nice time looking around the little side streets and covered pedestrian mall areas. Finally decided to have a quick bite and a drink at a really small roadside hole-in-the-wall place. Great tasting food, and an amusing chief / waiter / owner guy who was doing everything. When I told him I was from NZ he said his friend is in NZ somewhere, surfing and smoking marijuana, then he also asked about sheep. This sums up the three things NZ has a reputation for quite nicely I guess.
As we were leaving the guy asked us to promise to come back again some day, and enjoy our time in Japan. He also apologised nd said that him and his friends had been drinking since 4pm so please don’t think that they are usually like this. I think I want to come and live in Osaka and work for this guy. He has the right employment attitude I’d want in a boss!
Well we have an early start tomorrow and I apparently have to drive the rental car, so time to get some sleep!
I’ll try and post photos tomorrow or the next day!
Talk to you all soon!
I forget which, the UK or US I think, their navy recently upgraded their weapons systems software to Windows-based. Why? Windows is more stable than their previous OS.
True But Strange.