If you want to watch the progress of a parcel across the world you can do it
with Fedex (admittedly not quite mail). Their internet tracking system is
(near) realtime by email query and gives fantastic detail. I once followed
an order step by step from Digikey to NZ "just for fun" (I think perhaps the
trace detail dies after delivery so mayhaps real time is the only way to do
this). Took about 3 or 4 hops before it reached a regional centre. Got a bit
boring once it was in the 'plane.

Only semi related - I once sent a temperature logger from here to Taiwan and
thence to Europe and back to NZ. The Taiwan-Europe leg was the one we wished
to record. On arriving in NZ (still going) on a Friday they placed it in a
freezer at substantially below freezing for 24 hours. I subsequently asked
them why they had done so. They swore they hadn't and when I told them I
could see that they had they said they had no idea why. Wonder if this is
standard treatment for inbound weekend parcels ? :-)


        RM

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