Technology's Betrayal

November 10, 2011

We are starting across the wide open plains of Alberta this morning, leaving Medicine Hat and on toward Banff.  No snow left, only vistas of tan land undulating out toward the sky, interrupted by the occasional farmhouse with a tree or two. You can see a long, long way. There is an incredible stark beauty to these plains. 

We discovered a new limit to our technology today. I awoke at 6 a.m., surprisingly ready to get out of bed, and then woke Bob. We were puzzled that no one else seemed to be up and moving around. The motel’s coffee was available at 6:30, so I scurried over to get a cup for Bob and me, only to find everything dark and locked up tight. Could we have crossed into mountain time? We checked our smart phones and our smart computers, both of which said nope, it’s 6:30 a.m. We decided on a second check, googled time zones, and found our phones had lied to us. We were on mountain time. They still think we’re on central time. So I went back to sleep and left poor Bob wide awake.

Speaking of the limits of technology, I’ve been ready to tear out the heart of Verizon, if it only had a heart.  I bought a global roaming plan for the time we’re in Canada, and still keep getting messages from Verizon that I’ve run up megabucks of overtime on my phone. I’ve called repeatedly, and found an amazing lack of knowledge in their staff.  When the last one said to me, “I can only guess that you’ve gone past your limit,” I seethed: Well, your Guess isn’t good enough. I huffed and puffed and yelled—on the inside.  On the outside I said a steely polite Minnesotan “thank you,” and hung up. To be fair, I have to add that I finally found a competent young man named Mo in Seattle who solved the problem (I hope). 

… 

Made it to Banff. Landscape’s been transformed. The mountains are sharp and rugged and the wind is harrowing. Tourist shop after tourist shop in town.  We are considering if we should go to the outdoor hot springs pool tomorrow; would it be pleasant in 40 mph wind gusts? For the moment we are oh-so-happily sitting on the interior balcony of our hotel room eating crackers, baba ganoush, and having a very drinkable glass of wine from British Columbia. We are happy to stay in all evening.