Ulladulla, Panopto, and "Surfing Roos"

I'm posting from a motel room in Ulladulla, a coastal town around 200 kilometers south of Sydney. Australia is a magnificent continent, full of gorgeous open spaces, mellow friendly people, and utterly unexpected flora and fauna. In a national park yesterday I stood by a waterfall as a flock of huge bright yellow cockatoos squawked and flew between treetops over my head. Today I looked down on a rainforest canopy from atop a 45-meter-high steel tower on an oceanside mountain. And tomorrow we'll visit Pebbly Beach and its famed "surfing roos": kangaroos who like to swim in the ocean. How cool that roos like to swim! I just hope they won't be deterred by the cold; it's mid-winter down here -- but quite mild, as winters go.

In MLIS news, I've been seizing internet connectivity wherever I can find it so as to keep up with course viewings, assignments, and communications. This morning in Wollongong I spent 45 minutes in an internet cafe nearly tearing my hair out... The network was glacially slow, and when I asked the proprietor what the problem was, he shrugged and said, "Eh, the internet's not working right today." His cavalierness accentuated my own technological dependence in stark relief. It's somewhat like an addiction ... most of the time it feels manageable (or at least, that is to say, I can feed my monkey), but as others ranging from Nicholson Baker to the cafe proprietor have pointed out, technology isn't always reliable!

When looking for a motel this evening we were certain to select one that advertised Broadband, and thus after watching a lovely sunset over the Pacific, I settled in to catch up on Panopto viewings and add to my Hot Topics wiki page. I hope I'll be able to participate fully in the group presentation preparations while on the road. I've been enjoying researching the topic when I've had the chance.

I'll try to post again soon!