Date:	11-06-95 02:08:19 PM
Subject:	Postcard from Australia

Arrived in Brisbane this morning after an 8 hour flight from Hong Kong.  
For the first time in 20 years, I actually slept on a plane.  My neck and 
upper back will never be the same.

I'm here for a conference with a bunch of computer industry dullards.
But, the company is paying for a near vacation, so who am I to 
complain.

Brisbane is a port city on the eastern coast of Australia, at the southern
end of the great barrier reaf that I won't see.  The sun is bright and 
hot, unfiltered by smog or ozone layers.  It has the peculiar brihtness reserved
for beach communities. The first impression of the city is an odd mix of 
Florida, Santa Cruz, and Seattle-sans-clouds.  

Just looking out of the bus window (too cheap to take a cab, even when 
someone else is paying) is like a time warp, going back 25 years.
Not in terms of architecture or anything:  the striking thing is the pace 
of the Aussies--relaxed and above all casual.  Even the policemen wear 
shorts.