Birthdays and Global Communication

On Friday I turned 58. It was a day full of communication with family and friends, and a reminder of how global and Internetty we have become.

The day started early with a Skype (via Internet) call with a friend in Uppsala, Sweden. Near the end of that call, I had a landline call from my brother calling to wish me a happy birthday. He was using Skype Out, so we hung up the regular telephone and had a much higher quality conversation on regular Skype. He was calling from a hotel room in Tokyo.

Then I talked to my parents. They were sitting out in their backyard in Dallas calling from their mobile phone. They called our Seattle (Vonage) line which tunnels from Seattle through the Internet to a router in our office which connects to line two on our business/home phone.

Later, my sister called from Dallas as she was driving home from a gathering with friends. She was using her mobile phone. Our daughter called from her mobile phone from somewhere in Anchorage.

Perhaps it's just having been born in the middle of the last century that makes me so aware of all the changes in communication and transportation. In any case, I am glad of these changes that makes possible contact with friends and family who are often so far away.