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ToolboxThanks to readers for the emails asking if I had tuned out or given up writing at patrickWeb! No way! I still enjoy sharing points of view on various topics here in the blog. The reason for the lack of postings over the past few weeks is that I have been on holiday — reading books instead of writing. Most of the international travel over the past fifteen years has been for IBM and most trips were into a country one day and out the next day (if not the same day). I have been fortunate to be in many interesting parts of the world, but usually was not able to take the time to explore and learn much about them. This time was different. My wife and I and another couple, our best friends, decided to visit the other side of the globe. Surprises during the cruise included seeing a Tasmanian Devil and coping with an outbreak of Norovirus on the ship.
The trip began with a flight from New York to Los Angeles and then on to Auckland, New Zealand. The eighteen hours of flight (plus another ten or so in transit to the airport and waiting for the connecting flight) took us from 40° 45 minutes North latitude 73° 59 minutes West longitude (New York) to 36° 51 minutes South latitude 174° 46 minutes East longitude (Auckland, NZ) — nearly 9,000 miles from home. (Click here if you are interested in seeing the surface distance between any two points on Earth). All in all, the trip included five long flights and twelve nights at sea. There is much to share about the journey, but a whirlwind of activities since returning necessitate that the story come out in installments. Stay tuned.