Techno-Trauma, Not-So-Nice Normal

 [Note: this is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland.] 

3/27/21

Aloha Everyone –

Is spring sprung yet?  Actually, we have signs of our own change of seasons.  The baby Nenes are full grown (Karen hit one with a golf ball on Tuesday– no injury), the Plumeria are starting to bloom again, and the high surf has shifted to the east side of the island.  About as noticeable to a visitor as the difference between the Hawaiian word for flower (pua) and pig (pua’a).

On Tuesday afternoon a true crisis hit our house.  Our wireless router crapped out and all of our devices

NOT mine

that weren’t either on cellular data connections or hard-wired to the internet were suddenly techno-bricks. Imagine the hardship! This called for a swift solution, needless to say. Now, for most of you on the mainland this would mean a quick trip to one of the several techno-toy stores nearby to pick up a replacement and either arrange for someone to help switch to the new router or to do it yourself.  Here we have far fewer choices and the selection is comparatively limited, so this was much more of a problem.  After some cursory online research to update myself on the latest developments in routers, I realized I had a dilemma – either a pick up whatever was available locally without a thorough study of the alternatives, or order one online and wait at least a week. There is no such thing as same-day delivery from Amazon here, and 2nd Day Air service costs a fortune. On Wednesday morning I set out to see what I could get locally and found that for not much money I could buy a router on sale that was the current version of the brand and model I have now.  So I decided to buy it and see how well it worked, then do more research and if necessary order a fancier replacement online.  By mid-afternoon I had un-bricked most devices and by yesterday I had *nearly* everything connected and working (you’d be surprised/dismayed by the number of wireless devices we have around the house).  Techno-trauma averted!!!

The router that crapped out was a pretty high-end one when I bought it seven or so years ago.  My emergency research revealed an interesting picture of modern society – one of the major feature of today’s versions (and corresponding cost) is how many devices they can handle that are simultaneously streaming high-bandwith content.  The image is of each parent and possibly each of two or more kids cocooned in separate rooms video-chatting, streaming their favorite music, or watching different movies or tv programs at the same time.  A far cry from the single 300-baud dial-up connection, eh?

The other big news is that our tourist numbers are up considerably.  According to an article in yesterday’s local paper, 36k tourists came to our island in February, about 3300 arriving on Thursday alone.  So far, thanks to our double test requirement of arriving with a negative Covid test result and then taking another test at the airport upon arrival, we have kept the virus under control.  The uptick in tourism is very good for our economy, of course, with more people working and many venues opening up again.  This return to even partial normality has some downsides, however – traffic on our measly one highway that transports workers and tourists is jammed again in the mornings and afternoons, popular beaches are getting crowded, reservations at restaurants are essential again, and grocery stores in town are often out of all kinds of items (remember, everything is brought in by container ships every couple of days, so it may take a while to restock).  The lesson I guess is that “normal” is a balance of good and bad, though people tend to remember only the good.

Take care.  Enjoy your spring and stay healthy.