One memorable deployment was in August of 2000, in Papua New Guinea at the capital Port Moresby.

I remember the local pub at the airport well. The sign as you went in said to leave your weapons, including knives and machetes at the door. Of course, I didn't have such things but there was indeed a collection waiting to be re-united with their owners. The airport was small and the pub itself was more like a shack at the side of the runway. If you walked out of the back of the pub, lo and behold, you were indeed on the runway, airside. There wasn’t much air traffic to speak of so maybe the lack of security didn't matter.

The project itself was quite a challenge. The staff did not really like the computer at all, they much preferred to write things down because, I think, otherwise they expected it would be lost forever. This fear was not unfounded, given the quality of the power supply, which frequently made the computer equipment unusable. But what wonderful people! Never in my life have I seen such an assortment of cultures. With more than 600 languages and "every village a different culture". The common language is Pidgin English, but don't be fooled by the "English" description, I really could not follow much of it.

Every year in Papua New Guinea, the tribes come together in a celebration of their culture and diversity. I was only there for one week but fortunately that was the week. The gathering is called a Sing-Sing. Tribes come from all across the country, dressed in their traditional clothing to talk, sing and dance. What a party, and it went on for days!

Here are some photographs from that Sing-Sing that show the diversity of the cultures and also one to show the effects of outside influences.

Bringing automation to one of the poorest nations economically but probably culturally the richest, was indeed a challenge. Who could forget that last picture of the Huli man from a tribe thought to be more than 1,000 years old?